Numerical Analysis of Flow Around a Cylinder in Critical and Subcritical Regime

Abstract

Modeling the wind flow around cylindrical buildings is one of the problems within urban physics. Despite the simple geometry of the cylinder, it is an interesting physical phenomenon. Partial knowledge of flow field properties can be found in the literature, but in terms of their use for practical tasks, the data are still incomplete. The authors performed a numerical analysis of the flow around the smooth cylinder in the subcritical and critical regime for Reynolds numbers in the range of Re = 2.3 × 103 to 4 × 105. Turbulent flow was solved using LES model and the numerical solution was compared with available data from experiments or standard. Analysis of the mean stream velocity showed the elongation of the core of the wake with decreasing Re. The pressure coefficient evaluation showed a big difference between its distribution in the subcritical and critical regime. In the subcritical regime, a significant increase in the minimum value and a shift of the extreme close to the axis of the cylinder is proven. The results of the drag coefficient confirm a significant decrease in the transition from subcritical to critical regime, which is indicated in the cited experiments.