Numerical simulation of flow around two side-by-side circular cylinders at high reynolds number

Abstract

The fluid flow around a cylinder is one of the classic issues in fluid mechanics because of its various applications. Cylindrical structures, both single and in the group patterns, are present in the design of cooling systems of nuclear power plants, hydro-structures, heat exchangers, chimneys, high buildings, power lines, cables and networks in air and water. In many engineering applications, Karman's vortex shedding produces flow-induced vibrations. To comprehend the fluid structures surrounding the cylinders, it is vital to understand some fundamental issues such as boundary layers, flow separation, free shear layer, sequence and dynamics of vortices. According to the limited studies conducted for the vertical arrangement of two cylinders in a flow with the high Reynolds number, there is no evidence of oblique flow or bi-stable pattern except in the case where cylinders are close to each other. In this paper, the impact of the vertical arrangement of two cylinders on flow with high Reynolds number has been investigated via numerical modelling. The results indicated that the flow pattern is irregular and unstable for denser arrangements while the propagation of vortices does not have any tendency in different spacing.