The near wake of three circular cylinders in an equilateral triangular arrangement at a low Reynolds number Re=100

Abstract

Two-dimensional numerical simulations are conducted at a low Reynolds number Re = 100 to investigate the near wake of three identical circular cylinders that are arranged in an equilateral triangular configuration. The incident angle of the three-cylinder configuration with respect to incoming flow is varied from θ= 0° to 60°, while the spacing between adjacent cylinders (L) covers a wide range of L/D = 1.25-7.0, where D is diameter of the cylinder. Typical flow structures in the near wake of the three-cylinder configuration are identified, including a single Karman vortex street, bistable flip-flopping near wake, anti-phase and/or in-phase vortex shedding, shear layer reattachment, and vortex impingement, depending on the configuration (L/D, θ). The behavior of Strouhal number (St) is discussed in detail, echoing the distinct structures of near wake. Furthermore, fluid forces on the individual cylinders are examined, which, though highly depending on (L/D, θ), exhibit a close correlation to the near wake behavior.