The wake of a square cylinder at zero angle of incidence oscillating inline with the incoming stream has been experimentally studied. Measurement data are reported for Reynolds numbers of 170 and 355. The cylinder aspect ratio is set equal to 28 and a limited study at an aspect ratio of 16 has been carried out. The frequency of oscillation is varied around the Strouhal frequency of a stationary cylinder, and the amplitude of oscillation is 10–30% of the cylinder size. Spatial and temporal flow fields in the cylinder wake have been studied using particle image velocimetry and hot-wire anemometry, the former providing flow visualization images as well. A strong effect of forcing frequency is clearly seen in the near wake. With an increase in frequency, the recirculation length substantially reduces and diminishes the time-averaged drag coefficient. The time-averaged vorticity contours show that the large-scale vortices move closer to the cylinder. The rms values of velocity fluctuations increase in magnitude and cluster around the cylinder as well. The production of turbulent kinetic energy shows a similar trend as that of spanwise vorticity with the former showing greater asymmetry at both sides of the cylinder centerline. The instantaneous vorticity contours show that the length of the shear layer at separation decreases with increasing frequency. The effect of amplitude of oscillation on the flow details has been studied when the forcing frequency is kept equal to the vortex-shedding frequency of the stationary cylinder. An increase in amplitude diminishes the time-averaged drag coefficient. The peak value of rms velocity increases, and its location moves upstream. The length of the recirculation bubble decreases with amplitude. The reduction in drag coefficient with frequency and amplitude is broadly reproduced in experiments with the cylinder of lower aspect ratio.
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July 2007
Technical Papers
Sensitivity of a Square Cylinder Wake to Forced Oscillations
Sushanta Dutta,
Sushanta Dutta
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
, Kanpur 208016, India
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P. K. Panigrahi,
P. K. Panigrahi
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
, Kanpur 208016, India
Search for other works by this author on:
K. Muralidhar
K. Muralidhar
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
, Kanpur 208016, India
Search for other works by this author on:
Sushanta Dutta
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
, Kanpur 208016, India
P. K. Panigrahi
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
, Kanpur 208016, India
K. Muralidhar
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
, Kanpur 208016, IndiaJ. Fluids Eng. Jul 2007, 129(7): 852-870 (19 pages)
Published Online: January 19, 2007
Article history
Received:
July 18, 2006
Revised:
January 19, 2007
Citation
Dutta, S., Panigrahi, P. K., and Muralidhar, K. (January 19, 2007). "Sensitivity of a Square Cylinder Wake to Forced Oscillations." ASME. J. Fluids Eng. July 2007; 129(7): 852–870. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2742736
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