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On the origin of forces in the wake of an elliptical cylinder at low Reynolds number

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Abstract

An analysis of forces for flow around an elliptic cylinder at low Reynolds number has been presented in this work. The finite-volume based open source code OpenFOAM is used for the numerical simulations. pimpleFoam solver is used to solve Navier- Stokes equations for incompressible flow. The combined effects of aspect ratios (AR = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0), domain sizes (\(D_s\) = 30\(D_h\), 40\(D_h\), 50\(D_h\) and 60\(D_h\)) and Reynolds numbers (Re = 40, 100) on flow fields and various aerodynamic parameters are presented. Here, \(D_h\) represents characteristic length, which is two times the semi-major axis. It is found that at \(Re = 40\), the value of \(C_{D,avg}\) decreases with the increase of aspect ratio. While, at \(Re = 100\), the value of \(C_{D,avg}\) first decreases up to \(AR = 0.5\) and then increases for all domain sizes. The contribution of the pressure and viscous force in the flow is studied in detail for both the Reynolds number. The contribution of pressure in lift force at \(Re = 40\) is found to be one to two times higher than that of viscous force. Whereas, at \(Re = 100\) the contribution of viscous force in producing lift force is insignificant. The value of Strouhal number at \(Re = 100\) is non-decreasing for increase in aspect ratio at a given value of domain size.

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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was carried out mainly as a part of the IIT Kharagpur Institute Scheme for Innovative Research and Development (ISIRD) for the project titled “3D CFD modeling of the hydrodynamics and local scour around offshore structures under combined action of waves and current”. The project number is IIT/SRIC/CE/MOS/2017-18/200.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal, 721302, India

    Arijit Pradhan, Mohammad Saud Afzal & Ainal Hoque Gazi

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Zakir Husain College of Engineering and Technology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, 202002, India

    Md. Reyaz Arif

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  1. Arijit Pradhan
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Correspondence to Mohammad Saud Afzal.

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Pradhan, A., Arif, M.R., Afzal, M.S. et al. On the origin of forces in the wake of an elliptical cylinder at low Reynolds number. Environ Fluid Mech 22, 1307–1331 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-022-09892-z

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