Interactions between Tandem Cylinders in an Open Channel: Impact on Mean and Turbulent Flow Characteristics

Abstract

The flow hydrodynamics around a single cylinder differ significantly from the flow fields around two cylinders in a tandem or side-by-side arrangement. In this study, the experimental results on the mean and turbulence characteristics of flow generated by a pair of cylinders placed in tandem in an open-channel flume are presented. An acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) was used to measure the instantaneous three-dimensional velocity components. This study investigated the effect of cylinder spacing at 3D, 6D, and 9D (center to center) distances on the mean and turbulent flow profiles and the distribution of near-bed shear stress behind the tandem cylinders in the plane of symmetry, where D is the cylinder diameter. The results revealed that the downstream cylinder influenced the flow development between cylinders (i.e., midstream) with 3D, 6D, and 9D spacing. However, the downstream cylinder controlled the flow recirculation length midstream for the 3D distance and showed zero interruption in the 6D and 9D distances. The peak of the turbulent metrics generally occurred near the end of the recirculation zone in all scenarios.