Conformal Mapping-Based Discrete Vortex Method for Simulating 2-D Flows around Arbitrary Cylinders

Abstract

A novel technique based on conformal mapping and the circle theorem has been developed to tackle the boundary penetration issue, in which vortex blobs leak into structures in two-dimensional discrete vortex simulations, as an alternative to the traditional method in which the blobs crossing the boundary are simply removed from the fluid field or reflected back to their mirror-image positions outside the structure. The present algorithm introduces an identical vortex blob outside the body using the mapping method to avoid circulation loss caused by the vortex blob penetrating the body. This can keep the body surface streamlined and guarantees that the total circulation will be constant at any time step. The model was validated using cases of viscous incompressible flow passing elliptic cylinders with various thickness-to-chord ratios at Reynolds numbers greater than Re = 1 × 105. The force and velocity fields revealed that this boundary scheme converged, and the resultant time-averaged surface pressure distributions were all in excellent agreement with wind tunnel tests. Furthermore, a flow around a symmetrical Joukowski foil at Reynolds number Re = 4.62 × 104, without considering the trailing cusp, was investigated, and a close agreement with the experimental data was obtained.

Keywords

• boundary method
• circle theorem
• conformal mapping
• discrete vortex simulation
• surface pressure distribution