Prasad Patnaik B S V

A finite element method is used to study the effect of flow past a circular cylinder with an integral wake splitter. A fractional step algorithm is employed to solve the Navier-Stokes and Energy equations with a Galerkin weighted residual formulation. The vortex shedding process is simulated and the effect of splitter addition on the time period of shedding is studied at a Reynolds number of 200 and a blockage ratio of 0.25. The effect of splitter and the Strouhal number and heat transfer augmentation per unit pressure drop has been investigated.

Understanding and control of wake vortices past a circular cylinder is a cardinal problem of interest to ocean engineering. The wake formation and vortex shedding behind a variety of ocean structures such as spars, are subjected to fatigue failure limiting their life span. The additional influences due to ocean waves and currents further exacerbate these effects. In the present study, flow past an isolated circular cylindrical structure subjected to an oscillatory upstream are numerically investigated. These studies involve high resolution simulations over the low Reynolds number range (100–200). Although the practical range of interest is in high Reynolds number range of 103 - 105, the flow physics and a number of qualitative and quantitative aspects are similar to the low Reynolds number flows. In the high Reynolds number range, statistical averaging tools in conjunction with suitable closure models would be necessary. The control of wake vortices is achieved with the aid of two small rotors located in the aft of the main cylinder. A control algorithm was coupled to determine the quantum of actuation to the rotating elements. Although control of wake vortices was observed for harmonic in-let forcing, residual vortical structures were found to persist at higher amplitudes of oscillation. To study the efficacy of this control, numerical simulations were further extended, when the circular cylinder was flexibly mounted. The control of flow induced vibrations was observed to be reasonably effective in controlling the wake generated behind the main cylinder due to oscillatory upstream.

The effect of coupled transverse and in-line motion of an elastically mounted rigid circular cylinder, subjected to vortex induced vibrations (VIV), is predicted using a reduced-order model. The model comprises of coupled wake and structural oscillators, where the nonlinearities in the fluid damping and forcing terms of the structural oscillator are retained. The classical van der Pol equation is used to model the wake oscillator. The unknown model constants are tuned to fit to experimental data. The influence of these tuning constants on the model performance are identified. The nonlinear contributions are shown to be insignificant in predicting the VIV characteristics associated with the transverse (y-only) oscillations of the cylinder at low Re. Surprisingly, the nonlinear terms were found to play a key role in predicting the two degree-of-freedom (2 DoF) motion of the cylinder. The model results for the cylinder with mass ratios in the low and moderate ranges are in good agreement with the experiments.

A wide variety of waves and currents are abound in wind and ocean engineering practice. These wave forms could be harmonic as well as non-harmonic and may lead to the formation of wake vortices, behind a circular cylinder. The alternating lift forces on such structures could in turn result in damaging flow induced vibrations. In the present study, we propose a simple momentum injection based active flow control strategy to suppress such vortex induced oscillations at low Reynolds numbers. Two small control cylinders located at 120°, behind the main cylinder play the role of actuators, that enforce the desired momentum injection. Detailed Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are carried out, by solving mass, momentum conservation equations in conjunction with a control equation, and a dynamical evolution equation for the structural motion. Non-harmonic inlet forcing on a flexibly mounted circular cylinder generates vortex induced vibrations, which is numerically simulated. Then by controlling the wake vortices, vortex induced vibrations are completely controlled. Analysis of the leeward region behind the main cylinder reveals a different wake signature, with blobs of residual vorticity along the wake centreline. This is attributed to the phase asynchrony between the inlet forcing and the vortex induced vibrations.

An algorithm is proposed to model, predict and control vortex shedding behind a circular cylindrical configuration. The main ingredients of the algorithm include multiple-feedback sensors, actuators (with zero net mass injection) and a control strategy. Along with the mass and momentum conservation equations, a control equation is implemented to enable the desired flow control goals. A number of sensors are chosen in the downstream of the body to report the state of the flow. The role of externally controllable actuators on the fluid flow patterns past a circular configuration is assessed. To enable, zero net mass injection, two simple rotary type mechanical actuators are located at 120°, right behind the main cylinder. The popular finite volume based SIMPLE scheme is employed for the numerical calculations. As a precursor, the scheme simulates flow past an isolated cylinder, which is validated over a moderate range of Reynolds numbers. The design parameters of interest such as Strouhal number, drag and lift coefficients etc are used for the purpose of validation. The simulated flow fields are compared against the flow visualization study, which clearly demonstrates the efficacy of the actuators at discrete levels of rotation. The basic character of the flow is completely modified at Uc/U∞ = 2.0 and Re = 100, where a complete suppression of vortex shedding is observed. This is tantamount to complete control of all the global instability modes. Fictitious tracer particles are released to visualize the vortex structures in the form of streaklines. The results clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of a rather simple active control algorithm in suppressing the vortex structures. All the relevant fluid flow features of the bluff-body fluid mechanics under the influence of actuators are studied in the sub-critical Reynolds number range of Re = 100-300. © 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.