Validation 3.

Laminar Flow Around a Circular Cylinder

3.1 Introduction

Steady and unsteady laminar ow behind a circular cylinder, representing ow around blu bodies, has been subjected to numerous experimental and computational studies. Most of the experimental studies are based on ow visualization and they indicate that as the Reynolds number Re increases, the ow shows a series of dierent structures [1]. One of the most prominent ow structure changes takes place in the vicinity of Re = 40. Below this Reynolds number, the ow is steady and characterized by the presence of a symmetric pair of closed separation bubbles. Beyond Re = 40, the ow becomes unsteady and asymmetric, and alternate vortex shedding begins.

3.2

Purpose

The purpose of this test is to validate FLUENTs ability to predict the ow structure as well as the reattachment length and Strouhal number against experimental results. The present calculations were conned to the low-Reynolds-number regime (Re = 20, Re = 40, and Re = 100), which encompasses steady symmetrical separated ow as well as unsteady asymmetric ow. The results were compared with the ow visualizations presented in [1] and the experimental data in [2].

3.3

Problem Description

An innitely long circular cylinder of diameter D = 2.0 m is placed in an otherwise undisturbed uniform crossow (U = 1.0 m/s) as shown in Figure 3.3.1. The lateral boundary and the exit boundary in the far wake are placed at 5D and 20D from the center of the circular cylinder, respectively.

3.3.1

Fluid Properties

The properties of the uid are assumed to be constant, as shown in Table 3.3.1.

3.3.2

Flow Physics

The Reynolds number is based on the cylinder diameter and the free stream velocity. Dierent values of Re (20, 40, 100) in the simulation were obtained by changing the viscosity.

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Laminar Flow Around a Circular Cylinder

u=1.0, v=0.0

Flow U = 1.0 T = 273 K

u=0.0 v=0.0 T = 373 K

W

10D 20D

Figure 3.3.1: Problem Description

Table 3.3.1: Fluid Properties Reynolds No., Re Density, Viscosity, 20 1 kg/m3 0.1 Pa-s 40 100 1 kg/m3 1 kg/m3 0.05 Pa-s 0.02 Pa-s

Re =

UD

(3.3-1)

The experimental Strouhal number for the Re = 100 case is 0.165, derived from [2] and dened as S= D U (3.3-2)

where is the period of the vortex shedding.

3.3.3

Boundary Conditions

The no-slip wall condition is applied to the cylinder wall. Uniform free stream conditions (U = 1.0 m/s) are applied at the inlet and lateral boundaries. The ow exit is treated as a zero-normal-gradient outlet boundary.

3.4

Grid

A 51 51 quadrilateral mesh was used in this validation study, and is shown in Figure 3.4.1. 3-2
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3.5 Case Setup

velocity-inlet-3

velocity-inlet-7

outflow

velocity-inlet-3

Figure 3.4.1: Grid

3.5

Case Setup

The FLUENT case was set up using constant uid properties and the boundary conditions described in Section 3.3. Three runs were made using dierent values of viscosity to yield three dierent Reynolds numbers (Re = 20, 40, and 100) as shown in Table 3.5.1. Table 3.5.1: Run Conditions Run Reynolds Number, Re 1 2 3 20 40 100

3.6

Calculation

The second-order discretization scheme was used throughout this study. The rst two cases (Re = 20, 40) were run for steady-state solutions and the third case (Re = 100) was modeled as transient with a time step of 0.2 s. For velocity-pressure coupling, the SIMPLEC algorithm was used. When the SIMPLEC algorithm is used, the pressure under-relaxation is automatically increased to 1.0. (The setting for pressure under-relaxation is 0.3 when the default SIMPLE algorithm is used). Here the momentum under-relaxation has also been increased from 0.7 to 0.9 to yield better convergence. To break the symmetry of the ow and eventually trigger the vortex shedding, articial perturbation was applied. The ow was perturbed by patching a uniform x velocity of 1 m/s in the upper half of the domain and 0 m/s in the lower half. This is done using a custom eld function dened as u= y + |y | 2y (3.6-1)

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Laminar Flow Around a Circular Cylinder

where u is the x velocity. This custom eld function is saved in the case le with the name initialvelocity. After initializing the ow, the x velocity of the entire uid zone must be patched with this custom eld function. It should be noted that the use of articial perturbation is not mandatory. It was applied here to expedite the symmetry breaking and subsequent vortex shedding.

3.7 3.7.1

Results Re = 20 and Re = 40

The near-wake contours of stream function and the velocity vectors for the Re = 20 and Re = 40 cases are shown in Figures 3.7.13.7.4. The ows are seen to be practically symmetric. The reattachment length is measured from the downstream side of the cylinder to the point where the x velocity changes sign from negative to positive. In this FLUENT model, a line named centerline and aligned with the x axis was created. XY plots of x velocity along the centerline are shown in Figures 3.7.5 and 3.7.6. The reattachment lengths, normalized by the cylinder radius (R = 1 m), are shown in Table 3.7.1. Figure 3.7.7, which was taken from [2], shows the time evolution of the reattachment length collected from various sources. The present results are seen to agree fairly well with the data from [2]. Table 3.7.1: FLUENT Dimensionless Reattachment Lengths (LA ) Re = 20 Re = 40 1.85 4.27

LA

3.7.2

Re = 100

Figures 3.7.83.7.17 show the instantaneous velocity vector eld and the corresponding streamlines at the ve phases during one cycle of the vortex shedding. The alternate formation, convection, and diusion of the vortices are clearly seen. To quantify the periodicity of the ow, the time history of the y velocity at a point situated 1 m behind the cylinder in the near wake (x, y ) = (2, 0) was recorded and is shown in Figure 3.7.18. The average period was found to be = 12.1 s, which is equivalent to a Strouhal number of 0.165. Figure 3.7.19, taken from [2], shows a collection of data from many sources on the Strouhal number vs. Reynolds number relationship. The FLUENT result agrees well with an average of the data shown in the gure.

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3.7 Results

1.01e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 9.99e+00 9.98e+00 9.98e+00 9.97e+00 9.96e+00 9.96e+00 9.95e+00 Laminar Flow Over a Cylinder ( Re=20) Contours of Stream Function (kg/s)

Feb 05, 2002 FLUENT 6.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 3.7.1: Stream Function Contours in the Wake (Re = 20)

1.01e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 9.99e+00 9.98e+00 9.98e+00 9.97e+00 9.96e+00 9.96e+00 9.95e+00 Laminar Flow Over a Cylinder ( Re=40) Contours of Stream Function (kg/s)

Feb 05, 2002 FLUENT 6.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 3.7.2: Stream Function Contours in the Wake (Re = 40)

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Laminar Flow Around a Circular Cylinder

6.00e-01 5.60e-01 5.20e-01 4.80e-01 4.40e-01 4.00e-01 3.61e-01 3.21e-01 2.81e-01 2.41e-01 2.01e-01 1.61e-01 1.21e-01 8.11e-02 4.12e-02 1.30e-03 Laminar Flow Over a Cylinder ( Re=20) Velocity Vectors Colored By Velocity Magnitude (m/s)

Feb 05, 2002 FLUENT 6.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 3.7.3: Velocity Vectors in the Wake (Re = 20)

7.85e-01 7.33e-01 6.81e-01 6.28e-01 5.76e-01 5.24e-01 4.72e-01 4.20e-01 3.67e-01 3.15e-01 2.63e-01 2.11e-01 1.59e-01 1.06e-01 5.43e-02 2.09e-03 Laminar Flow Over a Cylinder ( Re=40) Velocity Vectors Colored By Velocity Magnitude (m/s)

Feb 05, 2002 FLUENT 6.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 3.7.4: Velocity Vectors in the Wake (Re = 40)

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3.7 Results

centerline
5.00e-03 0.00e+00 -5.00e-03 -1.00e-02 -1.50e-02

X Velocity (m/s)

-2.00e-02 -2.50e-02 -3.00e-02 -3.50e-02 -4.00e-02 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3

Position (m)
Laminar Flow Over a Cylinder ( Re=20) X Velocity

Feb 05, 2002 FLUENT 6.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 3.7.5: x Velocity Along the Centerline (Re = 20)

centerline
4.00e-02 2.00e-02 0.00e+00 -2.00e-02

X Velocity (m/s)

-4.00e-02 -6.00e-02 -8.00e-02 -1.00e-01 -1.20e-01 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Position (m)
Laminar Flow Over a Cylinder ( Re=40) X Velocity

Feb 05, 2002 FLUENT 6.0 (2d, segregated, lam)

Figure 3.7.6: x Velocity Along the Centerline (Re = 40)

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Laminar Flow Around a Circular Cylinder

Figure 3.7.7: Reattachment Length vs. Time (from [2])

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3.7 Results

1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 9.98e+00 9.95e+00 9.93e+00 9.90e+00 9.88e+00 9.85e+00 Laminar Flow Over a Cylinder ( Re=100) Contours of Stream Function (kg/s) (Time=4.2200e+01)

Jun 06, 2002 FLUENT 6.0 (2d, segregated, lam, unsteady)

Figure 3.7.8: Stream Function Contours in the Wake (Re = 100, t = 42.2 s)
8.00e-01 7.47e-01 6.94e-01 6.41e-01 5.88e-01 5.35e-01 4.82e-01 4.28e-01 3.75e-01 3.22e-01 2.69e-01 2.16e-01 1.63e-01 1.10e-01 5.69e-02 3.81e-03 Laminar Flow Over a Cylinder ( Re=100) Velocity Vectors Colored By Velocity Magnitude (m/s) (Time=4.2200e+01) Feb 05, 2002 FLUENT 6.0 (2d, segregated, lam, unsteady)

Figure 3.7.9: Velocity Vectors in the Wake (Re = 100, t = 42.2 s)

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Laminar Flow Around a Circular Cylinder

1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 9.99e+00 9.97e+00 9.95e+00 9.93e+00 9.91e+00 9.89e+00 9.87e+00 9.85e+00 Laminar Flow Over a Cylinder ( Re=100) Contours of Stream Function (kg/s) (Time=4.5200e+01)

Feb 05, 2002 FLUENT 6.0 (2d, segregated, lam, unsteady)

Figure 3.7.10: Stream Function Contours in the Wake (Re = 100, t = 45.2 s)

8.00e-01 7.47e-01 6.94e-01 6.41e-01 5.88e-01 5.35e-01 4.82e-01 4.28e-01 3.75e-01 3.22e-01 2.69e-01 2.16e-01 1.63e-01 1.10e-01 5.69e-02 3.81e-03 Laminar Flow Over a Cylinder ( Re=100) Velocity Vectors Colored By Velocity Magnitude (m/s) (Time=4.5200e+01) Feb 05, 2002 FLUENT 6.0 (2d, segregated, lam, unsteady)

Figure 3.7.11: Velocity Vectors in the Wake (Re = 100, t = 45.2 s)

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3.7 Results

1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 9.99e+00 9.97e+00 9.95e+00 9.93e+00 9.91e+00 9.89e+00 9.87e+00 9.85e+00 Laminar Flow Over a Cylinder ( Re=100) Contours of Stream Function (kg/s) (Time=4.8200e+01)

Feb 05, 2002 FLUENT 6.0 (2d, segregated, lam, unsteady)

Figure 3.7.12: Stream Function Contours in the Wake (Re = 100, t = 48.2 s)

8.00e-01 7.47e-01 6.94e-01 6.41e-01 5.88e-01 5.35e-01 4.82e-01 4.28e-01 3.75e-01 3.22e-01 2.69e-01 2.16e-01 1.63e-01 1.10e-01 5.69e-02 3.81e-03 Laminar Flow Over a Cylinder ( Re=100) Velocity Vectors Colored By Velocity Magnitude (m/s) (Time=4.8200e+01) Feb 05, 2002 FLUENT 6.0 (2d, segregated, lam, unsteady)

Figure 3.7.13: Velocity Vectors in the Wake (Re = 100, t = 48.2 s)

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Laminar Flow Around a Circular Cylinder

1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 9.99e+00 9.97e+00 9.95e+00 9.93e+00 9.91e+00 9.89e+00 9.87e+00 9.85e+00 Laminar Flow Over a Cylinder ( Re=100) Contours of Stream Function (kg/s) (Time=5.1200e+01)

Feb 05, 2002 FLUENT 6.0 (2d, segregated, lam, unsteady)

Figure 3.7.14: Stream Function Contours in the Wake (Re = 100, t = 51.2 s)

8.00e-01 7.47e-01 6.94e-01 6.41e-01 5.88e-01 5.35e-01 4.82e-01 4.28e-01 3.75e-01 3.22e-01 2.69e-01 2.16e-01 1.63e-01 1.10e-01 5.69e-02 3.81e-03 Laminar Flow Over a Cylinder ( Re=100) Velocity Vectors Colored By Velocity Magnitude (m/s) (Time=5.1200e+01) Feb 05, 2002 FLUENT 6.0 (2d, segregated, lam, unsteady)

Figure 3.7.15: Velocity Vectors in the Wake (Re = 100, t = 51.2 s)

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3.7 Results

1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.01e+01 1.00e+01 1.00e+01 9.99e+00 9.97e+00 9.95e+00 9.93e+00 9.91e+00 9.89e+00 9.87e+00 9.85e+00 Laminar Flow Over a Cylinder ( Re=100) Contours of Stream Function (kg/s) (Time=5.4600e+01)

Feb 05, 2002 FLUENT 6.0 (2d, segregated, lam, unsteady)

Figure 3.7.16: Stream Function Contours in the Wake (Re = 100, t = 54.6 s)

8.00e-01 7.47e-01 6.94e-01 6.41e-01 5.88e-01 5.35e-01 4.82e-01 4.28e-01 3.75e-01 3.22e-01 2.69e-01 2.16e-01 1.63e-01 1.10e-01 5.69e-02 3.81e-03 Laminar Flow Over a Cylinder ( Re=100) Velocity Vectors Colored By Velocity Magnitude (m/s) (Time=5.4600e+01) Feb 05, 2002 FLUENT 6.0 (2d, segregated, lam, unsteady)

Figure 3.7.17: Velocity Vectors in the Wake (Re = 100, t = 54.6 s)

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Laminar Flow Around a Circular Cylinder

Average Y Velocity
7.00e-01 6.00e-01 5.00e-01 4.00e-01 3.00e-01 2.00e-01

Velocity Magnitude (m/s)

1.00e-01 0.00e+00 -1.00e-01 -2.00e-01 -3.00e-01 -4.00e-01 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Time (s)

Laminar Flow Over a Cylinder ( Re=100) Velocity Magnitude (Time=4.2200e+01)

Feb 06, 2002 FLUENT 6.0 (2d, segregated, lam, unsteady)

Figure 3.7.18: y Velocity History (Re = 100, t = 42.2 s)

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3.8 Conclusion

Figure 3.7.19: Strouhal Number vs. Reynolds Number (from [2])

3.8

Conclusion

FLUENT has been validated for a classical example of external ows around blu bodies. The results agree fairly well with the data from various sources, in terms of the length of the recirculation region in the two steady cases (Re = 20, Re = 40), and the vortex shedding frequency in the unsteady case (Re = 100).

3.9

References
1. Coutanceau, M. and Defaye, J.R., Circular Cylinder Wake Congurations A Flow Visualization Survey, Appl. Mech. Rev., 44(6), June 1991. 2. Braza, M., Chassaing, P., and Minh, H.H., Numerical Study and Physical Analysis of the Pressure and Velocity Fields in the Near Wake of a Circular Cylinder, J. Fluid Mech., 165:79130, 1986.

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