Numerical simulations of the aerodynamic response of circular segments with different corner angles by means of 2D URANS. Impact of turbulence modeling approaches

Abstract

This paper presents the results of numerical and experimental investigations on the force coefficients and Strouhal numbers of circular segments considering different corner angles or chord to sagitta ratios. The research is motivated because these geometries are becoming increasingly popular in several engineering disciplines. The so-called D-section (semi-circular cylinder with a corner angle of $ 90^{\circ } $ ) has been experimentally studied in the past, since it is a galloping prone geometry. However, there is a lack of research for cases with different corner angles, and the numerical investigations related to this topic are particularly scarce. In this work, a 2D Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes approach has been adopted aiming to study the circular segments at the sub-critical regime, considering corner angles from $ 40^{\circ } $ to $ 90^{\circ } $ , and the flow parallel to the rectilinear side. These sections were found to be particularly challenging since they present massive flow separation on the rectilinear side, alongside the inherent difficulties related to modeling the flow along curved surfaces at high Reynolds numbers. The impact of introducing low-Reynolds-number and curvature corrections in the $ k-\omega $ SST turbulence model and the performance of the Transition SST model have been extensively studied.

Keywords

• Bluff body aerodynamics
• CFD
• URANS
• turbulence models
• circular segment cylinders
• wind tunnel tests
• sectional models