Sponsored by University of Alberta (U of A)
Research Motivation
Vortex shedding behind a circular cylinder at low Reynolds number can create undesirable periodic forces and drag forces on the cylinder. To reduce (or control) these forces, I utilized Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to test open-loop control with the goal of later implementing feedback control.
Key Idea
To attenuate the Von Karman vortex shedding wake, two actuators that inject fluid or remove fluid from the surface of the cylinder are implemented. The goal is to force the flow to be symmetric with respect to the horizontal downstream centerline of the cylinder and thus reduces drag as well as undesirable periodic forces.
Results
All cases except for pure injection achieved almost complete suppression of vortex shedding in the wake at the Reynolds number 100 if the actuator flow velocity is on the order of the free stream velocity. In the case of pure injection the flow is destablized and a stronger periodic wake is observed with the control flow turned on.
Publication
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