Influence of incidence angle on the aerodynamic characteristics of square cylinders with rounded corners: A numerical investigation

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the variation of wake structures and aerodynamic forces with changes in the cylinder corner radius and orientation.

Design/methodology/approach

Numerical simulations were performed for flow past a square cylinder with different corner radii placed at an angle to the incoming flow. In the present study, the rounded corner ratio R/D=0 (square cylinder), 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 (where R is the corner radius and D is the characteristic dimension of the body) and the angle of incidence α in the range of 0°-45° were considered.

Findings

The numerical model was validated by comparing the present results with results in the available literature, and they were found to be in good agreement. The critical incidence angle for the rounded corner cylinder – corresponding to the minimum mean drag coefficient (C _D ), the minimum root mean square value of the lift coefficient C _L,RMS), and the maximum Strouhal number – shifted to a lower incidence angle compared with the sharp corner square cylinder. The minimum drag and lift coefficient at R/D=0 were observed for the critical incidence angle α_cri=12°, whereas for R/D=0.1-0.4, the minimum drag and lift coefficient were found to be within the range of 5°-10° for α.

Originality/value

The presented results shows the importance of the incidence angle and rounded corners of the square cylinder for reduction of aerodynamic forces. The two parameters support the shear layer flow reattachment on the lateral surface of the cylinder, have a strong correlation with the reduction of the wake width, and hence reduced the values of C _D and C _L .

Citation

Miran, S. and Sohn, C.H. (2016), "Influence of incidence angle on the aerodynamic characteristics of square cylinders with rounded corners: A numerical investigation", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 269-283. https://doi.org/10.1108/HFF-02-2015-0058