Numerical Investigation of Vortex Shedding from a 5:1 Rectangular Cylinder at Different Angles of Attack

Although flow around a 5:1 rectangular cylinder at small angles of attack (AoA) has been extensively studied, when the AoA becomes larger, the research is rare. Therefore, this study performs Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes simulations (URANS) using the <i>k-ω</i> SST turbulence...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jian Wu, Yakun Liu, Di Zhang, Ze Cao, Zijun Guo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-12-01
Series:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/12/1913
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Summary:Although flow around a 5:1 rectangular cylinder at small angles of attack (AoA) has been extensively studied, when the AoA becomes larger, the research is rare. Therefore, this study performs Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes simulations (URANS) using the <i>k-ω</i> SST turbulence model for unsteady flow around a two-dimensional 5:1 rectangular cylinder at different AoAs up to 45°. A strong dependence of the flow characteristics on AoA is observed through the analysis of the time-averaged lift coefficient, drag coefficient, and Strouhal number. The peak of lift and drag coefficient is observed to be correlated, respectively, to the leading- and trailing-edge vortex based on the analysis of the flow. The <i>x′</i>-directional length of the main recirculation bubble on the top side and the distance from the bubble center to the leading edge of the cylinder both reach the maximum when α = 15°. In addition, the standard deviation <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mi>σ</mi><mrow><mi>x</mi><mo>′</mo></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> of the time-averaged velocity <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mover accent="true"><mi>U</mi><mo>¯</mo></mover><mrow><mi>x</mi><mo>′</mo></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> along the cylinder shows a trend of increasing at first and then decreasing, and that <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mi>σ</mi><mrow><mi>y</mi><mo>′</mo></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> also shows the same trend at α = 20°~45°; it fluctuates within a range of 0.05~0.2 at α = 0°~20°. Finally, two principal modes of vortex shedding are observed with α = 15° being their turning point, (i) “1 + 1” mode: in one vortex shedding period, two major vortices shed off from the top and bottom sides of the cylinder at α ≤ 15°; (ii) “2 + 2” mode, four vortices shed off from the top and bottom sides of the cylinder at α > 15° in one vortex shedding period.
ISSN:2077-1312