Dynamics and Control of Flow around Circular Cylinder

"Dynamics and Control of Flow around Circular Cylinder

James Ramsay, University of Canterbury
Mathieu Sellier, University of Canterbury
Wei Hua Ho, University of South Africa

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/APS.DFD.2019....

The flow around a circular cylinder is a simple flow and has been studied for a long time. However, like Isaac Newton describing the motion of a falling apple, it is often by gaining a deeper understanding of simple phenomena that we learn useful lessons for wider contexts.This video shows some of the results of numerical simulations that modelled laminar flow around a circular cylinder. The separation of the flow and the formation of the wake were controlled by suction through the cylinder surface. The suction profiles were optimised at a variety of Reynolds Numbers to determine how the separation can most effectively be prevented. The optimised profiles - in particular the centre of suction and strength, were found to be dependent on the Reynolds number (or alternatively, on the original separation angle) with a predictable trend.

See other videos from the 2019 Gallery of Fluid Motion: https://gfm.aps.org/"