Effect of Free-Stream Turbulence on Characteristics of Fluctuating Forces Acting on Two Square Prisms in Tandem Arrangement

Abstract

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.