Abstract
A finite-element model of the Navier-Stokes equations is used for numerical simulation of flow past two normal flat plates arranged side by side at Reynolds number 80 and 160. The results from this simulation indicate that when the gap between the plates is twice the width of a single plate, the individual wakes of the plates behave independently, with the antiphase vortex shedding being dominant. At smaller gap sizes, the in-phase vortex shedding, with strong wake interaction, is favored. The gap flow in those cases becomes biased, with one of the wakes engulfing the other. The direction of the biased flow was found to be switching at irregular intervals, with the time histories of the indicative flow parameters and their power spectra resembling those of a chaotic system.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Biermann, D., and Herrnstein, W.H., Jr., The Interference Between Struts in Various Combinations, Technical Report 468, NACA (1933), pp. 515–524.
Spivack, H.M., Vortex Frequency and Flow Pattern in the Wake of Two Parallel Cylinders at Varied Spacings Normal to an Air Stream, J. Aeronaut. Sci., 13 (1946), 289–297.
Higuchi, H., and Park, H., Unsteady Wake Behind Multiple Normal Plates, AIAA Paper 90–1498 (1990).
Hayashi, M., Sakurai, A., and Ohya, Y., Numerical and Experimental Studies of Wake Interference of Two Normal Flat Plates at Low Reynolds Numbers, Mem. Fac. Engrg. Kyushu Univ., 43(2) (1983), 165–177.
Hayashi, M., Sakurai, A., and Ohya, Y., Wake Interference of a Row of Normal Flat Plates Arranged Side by Side in a Uniform Flow, J. Fluid Mech., 164(1986), 1–25.
Ohya, Y., Okajima, A., and Hayashi, M., Wake Interference and Vortex Shedding, in Encyclopedia of Fluid Mechanics (ed. N.P. Cheremisinoff), Gulf, Houston (1989), pp. 323–389.
Temam, R., New Emerging Methods in Numerical Analysis: Applications to Fluid Mechanics, in Incompressible Computational Fluid Dynamics—Trend and Advances (eds. M. Gunzburger and N. Nicolaides), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1991), to appear.
Temam, R., Infinite-Dimensional Dynamical Systems in Mechanics and Physics, Applied Mathematical Sciences, Vol. 68, Springer-Verlag, New York (1991).
Higuchi, H., Liou, J., Behr, M., and Tezduyar, T.E., Finite Element Computations and Experimental Studies of Flow Past an Array of Plates, in Computational Experiments (eds. W.K. Liu et al.), Proceedings of the 1989 ASME Pressure Vessels and Diping Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, July 23–27, 1989, ASME, New York (1989), pp. 45–54.
Gresho, P.M., Some Current CFD Issues Relevant to the Incompressible Navier-Stokes Equations, preprint (1990).
Tezduyar, T.E., Liou, J., and Ganjoo, D.K., Incompressible Flow Computations Based on the Vorticity-Stream Function and Velocity-Pressure Formulations, Comput. Structures, 35(4) (1989), 445–472.
Shih, R., and Tezduyar, T.E., Numerical Experiments with the Location of the Downstream Boundary for Flow Past a Cylinder, Report UMSI 90/38, University of Minnesota Supercomputer Institute (1990).
Kim, H.J., and Durbin, P.A., Investigation of the Flow Field Between a Pair of Circular Cylinders in the Flopping Regime, J. Fluid Mech., 196(1988), 431–448.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by Roger Temam
This research was sponsored by NASA-Johnson Space Center under Grant NAG9-449, by NSF under Grant MSM-8796352, and by the U.S. Army under Contract DAAL03-89-C-0038.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Behr, M., Tezduyar, T.E. & Higuchi, H. Wake interference behind two flat plates normal to the flow: A finite-element study. Theoret. Comput. Fluid Dynamics 2, 223–250 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00271639
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00271639