Direct numerical simulation of the flow around a cylinder with splitter plate: analysis for moderated Reynolds numbers

Abstract

The splitter plate has been one of the most successful devices in controlling the vortex shedding in the wake of the cylinder. In the present work, direct numerical simulations of the flow around a cylinder with a fixed plate are conducted. The Reynolds numbers studied, which are based on the cylinder diameter, were Re= 100 , 160, 300 and 1250, and the plate dimensionless length has been varied up to twelve times the cylinder diameter. The present work aimed to determine the optimum length of the plate, in the range of Re studied, for which occur the minimum Strouhal number, mean drag coefficient and lift coefficient root mean square. In this report, the plate has been effective in attenuating the vortex shedding, the Reynolds stresses and the turbulent kinetic energy, in good agreement with experimental data. The flow characteristics showed considerable dependence on the splitter plate length for Reynolds numbers in the laminar regime (Re≤ 300), while for the subcritical regime (Re= 1250) it exerted less influence.