Hydrodynamics of non-circular bluff bodies

Abstract

The present doctoral thesis is devoted to investigate and study the complex three-dimensional wake flow dynamics from different types of non-circular bluff bodies. The bluff body configuration considered in this work is mainly a flat flat plate, but the wakes behind other geometries such as T-shape plate and hexagonal cylinder are also explored. Different flow regimes ranging from steady to non-stready laminar, transitional and turbulent shedding are analyzed. Several cases are studied in this thesis. First the wake of a tapered plate at unsteady laminar regime is discussed. The system rotation influence on the wake of a flat plate is the subject of the second study. In a comprehensive investigation the flow past an inline oscillating flat plate is considered and finally the complex flows past a hexagonal cylinder and a T-shape plate are addressed separately. In all simulations, direct numerical simulation is used to solve the Navier-Stokes equation for the Newtonian isothermal flows. The physics of the problems and the flow features are described by means of frequency analysis, flow visualizations and Reynolds-averaged statistical quantities