A Numerical Study of Flow Patterns, Drag and Lift for Low Reynolds Number Flow Past Tandem Cylinders of Various Shapes

Abstract

The flow over two different shaped bluff bodies in tandem arrangement was numerically investigated by using the finite volume method with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques. The shape of the downstream main bluff body is a right circular cylinder, with shape unchanged, while the shape of the upstream bluff body varies between: circle, triangle, square, ellipse and cylindrical half-shell. The hydraulic diameters of both front and rear bluff bodies are equal. The analysis is carried out for Reynolds numbers of 100, 300 and 500, and center-to-center distance ratios, L/D, of 1.5, 2, 3, 4.5 and 6. Flow characteristics in terms of the lift and drag coefficients and Strouhal number are analyzed and the vortex shedding patterns around the bluff bodies are described. The influence of the shape of the fore cylinder on the flow characteristics is the innovation point of this paper. It is concluded that the center-to-center distance ratio, L/D, and the shape of the upstream bluff body have important effects on the drag and lift coefficients, vortex shedding frequencies from the two bluff bodies, and flowfield characteristics.