Aerodynamic Characteristics of Asymmetric Bluff Bodies

Abstract

The wake of asymmetric bluff bodies was experimentally measured using particle imaging velocimetry, laser Doppler anemometry, load cell, hotwire, and flow visualization techniques at Re=2600–8500 based on the freestream velocity and the characteristic height of the bluff bodies. Asymmetry is produced by rounding some corners of a square cylinder and leaving others unrounded. It is found that, with increasing corner radius, the flow reversal region is expanded, and the vortex formation length is prolonged. Accordingly, the vortex shedding frequency increases and the base pressure rises, resulting in a reduction in the mean drag as well as the fluctuating drag and lift. It is further found that, while the asymmetric cross section of the cylinder causes the wake centerline to shift toward the sharp corner side of the bluff body, the wake remains globally symmetric about the shifted centerline. The near wake of asymmetric bluff bodies is characterized in detail, including the Reynolds stresses, characteristic velocity, and length scale, and is further compared with that of the symmetric ones.