Particle Image Velocimetry Experiment and Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation of Flow Around Rigid Cylinder

Abstract

This work focuses on the study of the flow around a rigid cylinder with both particle image velocimetry (PIV) experiment and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. PIV measurements of the flow field downstream of the cylinder are first presented. The boundary conditions for CFD simulations are measured in the PIV experiment. Then the PIV flow is compared with both Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) two-dimensional (2D) and large eddy simulation (LES) three-dimensional (3D) simulations performed with ANSYS fluent. The velocity vector fields and time histories of velocity are analyzed. In addition, the time-averaged velocity profiles and Reynolds stresses are analyzed. It is found that, in general, LES (3D) gives a better prediction of flow characteristics than RANS (2D).