End boundary effects on wakes dynamics of inclined circular cylinders

Abstract

We perform direct numerical simulations to characterize the three-dimensional wake dynamics of long inclined circular cylinders with inhomogeneous end boundary conditions. Three Reynolds numbers, Re=100, 200 and 300, corresponding to the regimes of laminar flow, mode A* wake, and mode B wake, respectively, are considered to reveal the roles of the intrinsic secondary instabilities and the extrinsic end boundary effects in shaping the three-dimensional flows. At Re=100, the end boundary effects are felt over the entire cylinder span by inducing oblique vortex shedding, which is associated with stronger spanwise flow in the wake than a parallel shedding. The Strouhal number of the oblique shedding is related to that of the parallel shedding of straight cylinder by the cosine law, considering the combined inclination angle and oblique angle. At Re=200, the intrinsic secondary instability results in large-scale vortex dislocation, precluding the propagation of the end boundary effects towards further span. Nevertheless, for the inclined cases, oblique shedding is still observed within limited span from the upstream end boundary. The oblique vortices feature intact and straight vortex cores, and are related to the two-dimensional flow at Re=200 (that are void of vortex dislocations) from the viewpoint of cosine law. Further along the span, the oblique vortices destabilizes with the formation of small-scale vortices, and the flow transitions to the typical mode A* wake. At Re=300, the highly three-dimensional flow near the end boundary creates disturbances that travel along the cylinder span, creating vortex dislocations for cases with low inclination angles. For high inclination angle, oblique vortex shedding is again observed over the cylinder span, and is not disrupted by vortex dislocations of either intrinsic or extrinsic causes. The present study offers renewed insights into the three-dimensional wake dynamics of inclined cylinders, and lays the foundation for the designs of long flexible engineering structures and related flow control techniques.