Effects of pressure gradient on reattaching flow downstream of a rearward-facing step

Abstract

Reattachment problems of separated flow on a solid surface such as an airfoil, diffuser, cavity wall, etc. are of interest because a rapid rise of pressure and heat transfer takes place at the reattachment zone. Among the solid surface models for the study of the separated flow reattachment, the rearward-facing step is one of the simplest since the separation point is readily known. A number of investigations for the rearward-facing step is one of the simplest since the separation point is readily known. A number of investigations for the rearward-facing step flow showed that the reattachment length is strongly affected by the pressure gradient. This paper presents the experimental results of reattachment length and wall static pressure distribution affected by the constant streamwise pressure gradients.