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Three-dimensional numerical simulation of the wake flow of an afterbody at subsonic speeds

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Abstract

We numerically investigate the wake flow of an afterbody at low Reynolds number in the incompressible and compressible regimes. We found that, with increasing Reynolds number, the initially stable and axisymmetric base flow undergoes a first stationary bifurcation which breaks the axisymmetry and develops two parallel steady counter-rotating vortices. The critical Reynolds number (Re cs) for the loss of the flow axisymmetry reported here is in excellent agreement with previous axisymmetric BiGlobal linear stability (BiGLS) results. As the Reynolds number increases above a second threshold, Re co, we report a second instability defined as a three-dimensional peristaltic oscillation which modulates the vortices, similar to the sphere wake, sharing many points in common with long-wavelength symmetric Crow instability. Both the critical Reynolds number for the onset of oscillation, Re co, and the Strouhal number of the time-periodic limit cycle, Stsat, are substantially shifted with respect to previous axisymmetric BiGLS predictions neglecting the first bifurcation. For slightly larger Reynolds numbers, the wake oscillations are stronger and vortices are shed close to the afterbody base. In the compressible regime, no fundamental changes are observed in the bifurcation process. It is shown that the steady state planar-symmetric solution is almost equal to the incompressible case and that the break of planar symmetry in the vortex shedding regime is retarded due to compressibility effects. Finally, we report the developments of a low frequency which depends on the afterbody aspect ratio, as well as on the Reynolds and on the Mach number, prior to the loss of the planar symmetry of the wake.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Área de Mecánica de Fluidos, Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica y Minera, Universidad de Jaén, Campus de las Lagunillas, 23071, Jaén, Spain

    Patricio Bohorquez

  2. E. T. S. Ingenieros Industriales, Universidad de Málaga, Dr. Ortiz Ramos s/n, 29071, Málaga, Spain

    Luis Parras

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  1. Patricio Bohorquez
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  2. Luis Parras
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Correspondence to Patricio Bohorquez.

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Communicated by Colonius.

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Bohorquez, P., Parras, L. Three-dimensional numerical simulation of the wake flow of an afterbody at subsonic speeds. Theor. Comput. Fluid Dyn. 27, 201–218 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00162-011-0251-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00162-011-0251-9

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