FLOW STRUCTURES IN THE WAKE REGION OF TWO INCLINED FLAT PLATES IN A SYMMETRICAL TANDEM ARRANGEMENT

Abstract

Flow properties and wake structures behind bluff bodies have fascinated many researchers for years. Such interest in this phenomenon is due to various applications of bluff bodies in engineering and industry. In this study, flow structures and the downstream wake behind two inclined flat plates in a symmetrical tandem arrangement have been studied experimentally at Reynolds number of 23,000. Constant-temperature hot wire anemometers (CTAs) were employed to quantitatively measure the near wake properties in terms of shedding frequency, velocity components, and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE). The effects of gap ratio (<i>g/D</i>) between the plates and the angle of attack (&alpha;) on the wake flow structure have been probed in detail quantitatively. It was found that for a given gap ratio <i>g/D</i>, the Strouhal number decreases as the angle of attack increases. Moreover, for a given angle of attack a, the Strouhal number increases as the gap ratio <i>g/D</i> increases. Interestingly, it was observed that for a given gap ratio <i>g/D</i>, the coherent TKE peak production decreases as the angle of attack increases.