Numerical Modeling of the Flow around a Cylinder using FEATool Multiphysics

Abstract

The current study examines the numerical analysis of the laminar flow around a cylinder at various Reynolds numbers (0.1, 1.1, 20, 26, 50, 100, and 195). The research found that a steady state can exist for Reynolds number values of 0.1, 1.1, 20, and 26. However, the flow pattern becomes unstable at Reynolds numbers 50, 100, and 195, leading to the development of the Kármán vortex street. The FEATool Multiphysics software in MATLAB (R2019b) was utilized to numerically solve the steady 2D Navier-Stokes equation. The study compared the estimated drag coefficient to previous experimental and analytical studies in Abaqus/CFD. The lift and pressure coefficients were also calculated, and their results were found to be in strong agreement with earlier investigations in terms of predicting pressure and velocity distribution. The analysis provided insight into how the flow field changes with increasing Reynolds numbers.