Effects of an upstream tetrahedron on the circular cylinder–flat plate juncture flow

Abstract

A technique of installing a tetrahedron at the upstream corner of the circular cylinder–flat plate juncture is developed to control the characteristic horseshoe vortices appearing in the natural juncture flow. The Reynolds numbers based on the cylinder diameter are within the range of 500–2900. The flow patterns and time-averaged velocity fields in the vertical symmetry plane and a horizontal plane near the flat plate of the natural and tetrahedron-controlled juncture flows are examined by using the laser-assisted particle flow visualization method and particle image velocimetry in a towing water tank. The flow approaching the circular cylinder–flat plate juncture can induce a characteristic horseshoe vortical flow consisting of a single vortex, dual vortex, or triple vortex. These horseshoe vortices appearing in the natural case may be changed to a characteristic mode of vortical flow, reverse flow, or forward flow when a tetrahedron is installed at the upstream corner of the juncture. The appearance of the vortical flow, reverse flow, or forward flow mode depends on the geometric parameters of normalized axial length, expansion angle, and tilt angle as well as the flow parameter of the Reynolds number. The vortical flow mode appears at small axial length of tetrahedron. The forward flow mode appears at the large axial length of tetrahedron. When the forward flow mode appears, the boundary-layer upstream of the circular cylinder does not separate. Therefore, the horseshoe vortices induced in the natural juncture flow disappear. The data bank consists of the design parameters of axial length, tilt angle, and expansion angle of the tetrahedron, which is provided as a figure.