Flow characteristics around an inclined elliptic cylinder in a turbulent boundary layer

Abstract

The flow characteristics around an inclined elliptic cylinder located near a flat plate were investigated experimentally. The axis ratio of the elliptic cylinder was AR=2. The pressure distributions along the surface of the cylinder and the flat plate were measured by varying the angle of attack of the elliptic cylinder. The velocity profiles behind the cylinder were measured using hot-wire anemometry. When the angle of attack varies, the peak pressure location on the windward cylinder surface moves towards the rear edge of the cylinder, while that on the leeward surface moves towards the front edge of the cylinder. The vortex-shedding frequency also gradually decreases, defining a critical angle of attack for each gap ratio. The location of the minimum pressure on the flat plate surface moves downstream for positive angles of attack, while it moves upstream for negative angles of attack. Negative angles of attack cause a greater disturbance in the boundary layer near the wall compared to positive angles of attack. This shows that the separated wall shear layer from the boundary layer and the lower shear layer of the cylinder wake are strongly merged compared to other cases. (C) 2001 Academic Press.