An experimental study of vortex shedding behind linearly tapered cylinders at low Reynolds number

1993 ◽  
Vol 246 ◽  
pp. 163-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul S. Piccirillo ◽  
C. W. Van Atta

Experiments were performed to study vortex shedding behind a linearly tapered cylinder. Four cylinders were used, with taper ratios varying from 50:1 to 100:1. The cylinders were each run at four different velocities, adjusted to cover the range of laminar vortex shedding for a non-tapered cylinder. The flow was confirmed to consist of discrete shedding cells, each with a constant frequency. For a centrespan Reynolds number greater than 100, the dimensionless mean cell length was found to be a constant. Individual cell size was found to be roughly self-similar. New shedding cells were created on the ends of the cylinders, or in regions adjacent to areas not shedding. Successful scalings were found for both the cell shedding frequencies and their differences, the modulation frequencies. The modulation frequencies were found to be constant along the cylinder span. The shedding frequency Strouhal number versus Reynolds number curve was found to have a slightly steeper slope than the Strouhal number curve for a non-tapered cylinder. Vortex shedding was found to begin at a local Reynolds number of about 60, regardless of any other factors. End effects were found to be of little importance.The vortex splits, which form the links between shedding cells, were found to be similar in some respects to those found by earlier investigators. Amplitude results suggested that the splits at different spanwise locations are temporally sequenced by an overall flow mechanism, a supposition confirmed by flow visualization. Wavelet analysis results showed that while the behaviour of the shedding frequencies in time was relatively unaffected by changing taper ratio, the behaviour of the modulation frequency in time was greatly affected. Comparisons with other experiments point out the universality of vortex splitting phenomena.

Author(s):  
Matthew Anderson ◽  
Dylan Shiltz ◽  
Christopher Damm

A fluids laboratory experience that introduces students to dimensional analysis and similitude was designed and performed in a junior-level first course in fluid mechanics. After students are given an introduction to dimensional analysis, the technique is applied to the phenomenon of vortex shedding from a cylinder in cross-flow. With help from the instructor, lab groups use dimensional analysis to ascertain the relevant dimensionless pi terms associated with the phenomenon. After successfully determining that the pi terms are the Strouhal number and the Reynolds number, experiments are performed to elucidate the general functional relationship between the dimensionless groups. To conduct the experiments, a wind-tunnel apparatus is used in conjunction with a Pitot tube for measurements of free stream velocity and a platinum-plated tungsten hot-wire anemometer for rapid (up to 400 kHz) measurements of velocity fluctuations downstream of the cylinder. Utilizing an oscilloscope in parallel with a high-speed data acquisition system, students are able to determine the vortex shedding frequency by performing a spectral analysis (via Fourier transform) of the downstream velocity measurements at multiple free stream velocities and for multiple cylinder diameters (thus a varying Reynolds number). The students’ experimental results were found to agree with relationships found in the technical literature, showing a constant Strouhal number of approximately 0.2 over a wide range of Reynolds numbers. This exercise not only gives students valuable experience in dimensional analysis and design of experiments, it also provides exposure to modern data acquisition and analysis methods.


1982 ◽  
Vol 123 ◽  
pp. 379-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsushi Okajima

Experiments on the vortex-shedding frequencies of various rectangular cylinders were conducted in a wind tunnel and in a water tank. The results show how Strouhal number varies with a width-to-height ratio of the cylinders in the range of Reynolds number between 70 and 2 × l04. There is found to exist a certain range of Reynolds number for the cylinders with the width-to-height ratios of 2 and 3 where flow pattern abruptly changes with a sudden discontinuity in Strouhal number. The changes in flow pattern corresponding to the discontinuity of Strouhal number have been confirmed by means of measurements of velocity distribution and flow visualization. These data are compared with those of other investigators. The experimental results have been found to show a good agreement with those of numerical calculations.


1969 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 577-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. W. Bearman

The flow around a circular cylinder has been examined over the Reynolds number range 105 to 7·5 × 105, Reynolds number being based on cylinder diameter. Narrow-band vortex shedding has been observed up to a Reynolds number of 5·5 × 105, i.e. well into the critical régime. At this Reynolds number the Strouhal number reached the unusually high value of 0·46. Spectra of the velocity fluctuations measured in the wake are presented for several values of Reynolds number.


2011 ◽  
Vol 690 ◽  
pp. 173-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Assemat ◽  
David Fabre ◽  
Jacques Magnaudet

AbstractWe consider the transition between the steady vertical path and the oscillatory path of two-dimensional bodies moving under the effect of buoyancy in a viscous fluid. Linearization of the Navier–Stokes equations governing the flow past the body and of Newton’s equations governing the body dynamics leads to an eigenvalue problem, which is solved numerically. Three different body geometries are then examined in detail, namely a quasi-infinitely thin plate, a plate of rectangular cross-section with an aspect ratio of 8, and a rod with a square cross-section. Two kinds of eigenmodes are observed in the limit of large body-to-fluid mass ratios, namely ‘fluid’ modes identical to those found in the wake of a fixed body, which are responsible for the onset of vortex shedding, and four additional ‘aerodynamic’ modes associated with much longer time scales, which are also predicted using a quasi-static model introduced in a companion paper. The stability thresholds are computed and the nature of the corresponding eigenmodes is investigated throughout the whole possible range of mass ratios. For thin bodies such as a flat plate, the Reynolds number characterizing the threshold of the first instability and the associated Strouhal number are observed to be comparable with those of the corresponding fixed body. Other modes are found to become unstable at larger Reynolds numbers, and complicated branch crossings leading to mode switching are observed. On the other hand, for bluff bodies such as a square rod, two unstable modes are detected in the range of Reynolds number corresponding to wake destabilization. For large enough mass ratios, the leading mode is similar to the vortex shedding mode past a fixed body, while for smaller mass ratios it is of a different nature, with a Strouhal number about half that of the vortex shedding mode and a stronger coupling with the body dynamics.


1988 ◽  
Vol 110 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Sakamoto ◽  
H. Haniu

The effect of the addition of the turbulence intensity to the free stream on the characteristics of the bistable flow which takes place around two square prisms in tandem arrangement was studied experimentally at a Reynolds number of 3.32 × 104. A method of obtaining the fluid forces acting on two prisms in the bistable flow regimes where two flow patterns appear intermittently was introduced, and then the characteristics of the fluid forces, the Strouhal number, and the switching frequency of the switch phenomenon with the variation of the freestream turbulence intensity were investigated. Furthermore, the behavior of the fluid forces and the vortex shedding for other spacings between the two prisms were presented for the variation of the turbulence intensity.


1990 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 386-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Sakamoto ◽  
H. Haniu

Vortex shedding from spheres at Reynolds numbers from 3 × 102 to 4 × 104 in a uniform flow was investigated experimentally. Standard hot-wire technique were used to measure the vortex shedding frequency from spheres in a low-speed wind tunnel. Flow-visualization experiments were carried out in a water channel. Important results from the investigation were that (i) the variation of the Strouhal number St (=fD/U0, U0: freestream velocity, D: diameter of the sphere, f: vortex shedding frequency) with the Reynolds number (= U0D/v, v: kinematic viscosity) can be classified into four regions, (ii) the Reynolds number at which the hairpinshaped vortices begin to change from laminar to turbulent vortices so that the wake structure behind the sphere is not shown clearly when a Reynolds number of about 800 is reached, and (vi) at Reynolds numbers ranging from 8X102 to 1.5X104, the higher and lower frequency modes of the Strouhal number coexist.


2014 ◽  
Vol 580-583 ◽  
pp. 3089-3092
Author(s):  
Rong Sheng Cao ◽  
Yuan Yuan Fang ◽  
Ling Wang

The wind load acted on ship mast at different wind angles of large Reynolds number is numerically simulated in this paper. CFX software was used to analyze the trend of constant and fluctuating forces that the mast surface suffered at different Reynolds numbers.The vortex shedding strength of the wind load around the mast was also analyzed according to the trend of Strouhal number varing with the simulated Reynolds numbers. The results show that the wind angle has an important impact on the lift, drag, and vertical force of the mast. The vertical force of the inclined side wall on the mast can not be ignored,and the angle of direction wind has great impact on the Strouhal number at different Reynolds numbers.


1967 ◽  
Vol 71 (684) ◽  
pp. 854-858 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Maull ◽  
B. J. Hoole

SummarySome experiments on the effect of boat-tailing on the pressure distribution round blunt-based aerofoils are described. The experiments were carried out at low speeds at a Reynolds number of 1.5 X 105. The wake was investigated with attention being paid to the vortex shedding, and to the distance downstream of the base where vortices form.It is shown that the theory due to Nash predicts the effect of boat-tailing on base pressure quite well and that a correlation of drag coefficient, Strouhal number and base pressure proposed by Bearman applies to the models tested here.


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