Turbulent Flow Structures around a Wavy Square Cylinder Based on Large Eddy Simulation.

Flow structures around a wavy square cylinder with a perturbation wavelength of 5.6D are investigated using large eddy simulation at the Reynolds number of 23 500. The detailed force characteristics and wake flow structures of the wavy square cylinder are captured and compared with a square cylinder. Under the effect of wavy leading edge up to 27% and 98% reduction in the mean drag and the lift fluctuations are achieved, respectively. The 3D mean flow field implies a high shear flow between node and saddle positions, which is associated with the generation of additional streamwise and vertical vortex pairs. These vortex structures are responsible for the three-dimensionality of the wake flow behind the wavy square cylinder. The instantaneous flow patterns suggest that the staggered pattern of von Kármán vortex shedding is suppressed and replaced by symmetric vortex shedding into the near wake region of the wavy square cylinder. This symmetric vortex structure in the near wake plays a role in preventing the upper and lower shear layers from interacting with each other. The time–frequency analysis exhibits a reduction in the dominating vortex shedding frequency for the case of wavy square cylinder, indicating a relatively steady wake flow. This can be attributed to the vortex dislocation behind the wavy square cylinder. In the range of high frequencies, small streaks associated with small-scale fluctuations are enhanced by the wavy leading edge. The present study suggests that the perturbation wavelength obtained from the wavelength of Mode A instability at laminar flow regime can be served as a basis for flow control in turbulent flow regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]