Proceedings of the ASME-JSME-KSME 2015 Joint Fluids Engineering Conference
AJKFluids2015
WAKE INTERACTION OF A SQUARE CYLINDER WITH A SPLITTER PLATE
BOUNDARY LAYER AT A LOW REYNOLDS NUMBER
Smriti Srivastava
Galgotias University
Greater Noida, U.P, India
(* Corresponding author, e-mail: sudipto.sarkar@galgotiasuniversity.edu.in)
ABSTRACT
One of the most important researches in bluff body
aerodynamics is to control the shear layer evolution leading to
vortex formation. This kind of research is closely associated
with reduction of aerodynamics forces and acoustic noise.
Passive and active control of wake-flow from bluff bodies have
received a great deal of attention in the last few decades [1-4].
Keeping this in mind, authors investigate the interaction of a
square cylinder (side of the square = a) wake with a flat plate
(length L = a, width w = 0.1a) boundary layer positioned at
various downstream locations close to the cylinder. The gap-to-
side ratios are maintained at G/a = 0, 0.5, 1 and 2 (where G is
the gap between square cylinder and plate), and the simulation
is performed at a Reynolds number, Re = 100 (Re = U∞ a/ν,
where U∞ is free stream velocity and ν is kinematic viscosity).
Instantaneous flow visualization, aerodynamic forces and
vortex shedding frequencies for all cases are described to gain
insight about the changes associated with wake of the cylinder
when a short plate is kept in its downstream.
INTRODUCTION
Flow over a bluff body in an unbounded condition is a
classic fluid dynamics problem for over a century and has been
studied extensively by several researchers [5-8]. Bluff bodies
are characterised by low or negligible lift, high drag and vortex
shedding in the wake region. Several experimental and
numerical studies have been performed for flow over a cylinder
(both circular and square cross-section) along with a
downstream plate for different ranges of Reynolds number [9-
13]. These studies are mostly associated with the critical gap-
ratios (Gc/a), where Gc is defined as the gap length up to which
vortex formation does not occur in between the cylinder and
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July 26-31, 2015, Seoul, Korea
AJKFluids2015-01793
Sudipto Sarkar*
Galgotias University
Greater Noida, U.P, India
plate. Indirectly the value of Gc helps to control the cylinder
wake.
Yucel et al. [10] performed experiments for circular
cylinder splitter plate arrangement in a large scale water
channel in between Re = 200 to 750. They varied the splitter
plate position both in streamwise and flow normal direction.
Modified near wake, vortex formation length and Strouhal
number (St = fa/U∞, where f is the frequency of vortex
shedding) variation were shown in their results. They
concluded that the characterization of vortex shedding depend
both on vertical and horizontal locations of the splitter plate
with respect to the cylinder.
Ali et al. [11] numerically investigated the interaction
of the square cylinder wake with a detached plate in between 0
≤ G/a ≤ 5 for a Reynolds number in periodic vortex shedding
regime. They divided the flow field in three different zones: 1.
Short gap (G/a < 2) for which the splitter plate has maximum
influence on the cylinder wake. 2. Intermediate gap (2 ≤ G/a ≤
2.5), where flow field transformed to a new mode of wake-
plate interaction and 3. Long gap (2.5 ≤ G/a ≤ 5), where the
flow structure at the near wake region was unchanged with the
gap. Their results revealed that when the splitter plate was kept
at a short gap from the cylinder, the roll-up of vortices occurred
only after the downstream of the plate. For long gap, roll-up of
shear layers started within the gap itself. A sudden increased in
Strouhal number in between G/a = 2 to 3 indicate the change of
mode in transition zone.
In the present study, two-dimensional simulation of
flow around a square cylinder with a detached downstream
plate at Re = 100 is performed using Ansys Fluent for short
gap-ratios (G/a ≤ 2) to understand the changes in flow physics
only when the wake region of the cylinder is interfere by a
downstream splitter plate.

COMPUTATIONAL DETAILS
The geometry of the flow domain is developed using
Gambit 2.2.30, which also helps to impose the boundary
conditions. The coordinates x and y denote the streamwise and
wall-normal directions respectively and the corresponding
velocities are denoted by u and v.
The 2-D simulation is performed in Cartesian grid
considering the origin of axes lies at the centre of the
downstream face of the square cylinder. The computational
domain extends up to -8.5D at the inflow and ±8D in flow
normal directions from the origin and 27.5D in the outflow from
the trailing edge of the flat plate for all cases. The schematic
diagram of flow geometry along with the boundary conditions is
shown in Fig. 1 for a better understanding of the present
problem. The origin of the axes is also included in the figure. A
mesh of 268×208 points in the streamwise and flow normal
directions are used for G/a = 0 after performing a grid
independent test for a square cylinder in an unbounded
condition. To illustrate further, a total of 72×80 uniform grid
points are employed in a domain (size 3a×2a) which covers
both the square cylinder and the splitter plate for G/a = 0. Away
from the domain, meshes are slowly stretched out in all
directions. The number of grid points in the streamwise
direction for G/a = 0.5, 1 and 2 are 280, 292 and 316
respectively, although no changes has been made in the flow
normal direction.
In the present simulation, non-dimensional mesh
spacing varies as Δx = 0.042 - 0.265 and Δy = 0.025 - 0.01 in
the near wake region (x/a = 3 to 15 and y/a = 0 to ± 3) for all
G/a cases. These values are reasonably good to resolve the
interaction of vortices with the splitter plate boundary layer. The
time step is kept about t = 0.024 in non-dimensional unit (for
G/a = 2) per flow-time in the time of computation. This value of
time step helps to keep the Courant number below 1.0 for the
entire simulation. The computation requires 3.125
microseconds/iteration/grid point, based on an i3 (Intel core)
processor of 2.20 GHz.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
To understand the flow mechanism behind the square cylinder
in the presence of a splitter plate, the authors calculate the
aerodynamics forces, Strouhal frequency and draw the
instantaneous flow field in different time instants.
(a)

(b)
FIGURE 2. TIME EVOLUTION OF CL FOR (a) CYLINDER
AND (b) PLATE AT G/a = 0.

FIGURE 1. SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF FLOW GEOMETRY

Here the boundary conditions are set by considering (a)

velocity inlet (u = U∞), pressure outlet, symmetry (free-slip
boundary condition) at upper and lower domain. Wall boundary
condition (u = v = 0) is imposed both on the cylinder and the
splitter plate surfaces. The Navier-Stokes (momentum) equation
is non-dimensionalized by considering a and U∞ as unity. The
flow field is then solved by Ansys Fluent 14.5 using SIMPLE
algorithm [14] in second-order upwind momentum scheme with
a standard pressure solver. A total of 20 iterations at each time
step are considered to increase the accuracy of the solution. (b)
FIGURE 3. TIME EVOLUTION OF CL FOR (a) CYLINDER
AND (b) PLATE AT G/a = 0.5.

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 Table 1: VARIATION OF St AND C̄D WITH GAP-RATIOS

Cases St C̄D
Cylinder Plate Cylinder Plate
0 0.134 0.134 1.399 0.025
(a) 0.5 0.132 0.133 1.462 -0.051
1 0.127 0.109 1.44 -0.043
2 0.114 0.113 1.432 -0.078

Average drag coefficient (C̄D) along with Strouhal

frequency (St) are documented in Table 1 both for cylinder and
plate in all cases. These values are in good agreement with the
(b) previous studies [12, 15]. Also as the splitter plate is moved
more downstream from the cylinder, the influence of plate-
FIGURE 4. TIME EVOLUTION OF CL FOR (a) CYLINDER boundary layer reduces and the cylinder starts behaving like an
AND (b) PLATE AT G/a = 1.
unbounded body. Negative value of C̄D is obtained for plate
when the splitter plate is detached from the bluff body (G/a =
0.5, 1 and 2). This changes in the sign of C̄D is associated with
the change in vortex dynamics from G/a = 0.5 onwards. As the
splitter plate moves away in the downstream, its effects on the
cylinder diminishes which is reflected from the cylinder
Strouhal number data. The value of St at G/a = 2 comes close
to a single cylinder placed in the unbounded flow field.
(a)

(b)
FIGURE 6. POWER SPECTRA DENSITY VS. St AT G/a = 0 FOR
FIGURE 5. TIME EVOLUTION OF CL FOR (a) CYLINDER
BOTH THE SQUARE CYLINDER AND THE SPLITTER PLATE.
AND (b) PLATE AT G/a = 2.

Time evolution of lift coefficient for both the cylinder

and plate are shown for all cases in Figs. 2 to 5. These figures
illustrate reduction in fluctuation of lift coefficient (CL/) for
cylinder with the increase in gap-ratio, although CL/ value for
plate shows just opposite trends. These differences in CL/
values can be attributed to different flow physics associated
with varying gap-ratios. The value of mean lift coefficient (C̄L)
is calculated as 0 in case of G/a = 0, 0.5 and 2. For G/a = 1, C̄L
values are obtained as -0.01 and -0.5 in case of cylinder and
plate respectively. The reason behind negative lift values for FIGURE 7. POWER SPECTRA DENSITY VS. St AT G/a = 2 FOR
both cylinder and plate at G/a = 1 is significant; here the vortex BOTH THE SQUARE CYLINDER AND THE SPLITTER PLATE.
rolls behind the cylinder try to perturb the flat plate boundary
layer in a different fashion. More detailed explanation is given
in the study of instantaneous vorticity.

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 The power spectra density along with strouhal of equal spacing are considered in a single time-period (t/T = 0,
frequency for the two extreme cases (G/a = 0 and 2) are 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1) to pertain the value of ωz.
depicted in Figs. 6 and 7 respectively. The spectra have drawn
by collecting the data of CL over 15 non-dimensional time
period. Single peak obtain for both cylinder and splitter plate
indicate the shear layers set vortices in a single frequency when
G/a value is in between 0 and 2.

FIGURE 9. INSTANTANEOUS VORTICITY CONTOURS AT G/a = 0.5.

FOR DETAILS REFER FIG. 8.

Figures 8-9 reveal that when the gap between square

FIGURE 8. INSTANTANEOUS VORTICITY CONTOURS AT G/a
= 0. A TOTAL OF 10 NON-DIEMNSIONAL CONTOURS ARE
CONSIDERED IN BETWEEN -1 and +1. THE NEGATIVE
VORTICES ARE REPRESENTED BY DOTTED LINES.
To inspect the flow visualization more critically,
instantaneous vortex dynamics for different gap-ratios are
described with the help of spanwise vorticity (ωz) contours as
depicted in Figs. 8-11. These figures are drawn between a time-
period (T) of vortex shedding that has been calculated from the
Strouhal frequency already discussed in Tab 1. Six time frames
cylinder and splitter plate is very less (G/a = 0, 0.5), both the
upper and lower shear layers formed from the cylinder are
stretched extensively and roll-up of shear layers with vortex
shedding occur in far downstream. A big separation zone is
created which hampered the formation of boundary layer over
the plate surface and delayed its formation. The differences in
celerity of the upper and lower vortices form from the shear
layer of the cylinder can be understand from Fig. 8, where the
translation of both vortices are shown by dashed lines.

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FIGURE 10. INSTANTANEOUS VORTICITY CONTOURS AT
G/a = 1. FOR DETAILS REFER FIG. 8.
As the splitter plate moves away from the square
cylinder (G/a = 1 and 2, as given in Figs. 10 and 11), the low
pressure zone between these two solid structures (cylinder and
splitter plate) reduces, which helps the shear layers to intrude in
the boundary layer of the plate and finally change the vortex
dynamics and magnitude of mean aerodynamic forces. This
interaction becomes more intense with the increase in gap-
ratio. However, as the splitter plate is positioned downstream of
the critical gap-ratio (Gc/a), the vortex-boundary layer
interaction reduces as the transition of flow field occurs to a
new mode of wake-plate interaction described by several
researchers [11-14].
Most of the researchers [11-13, 15] concluded that the
downstream flow field start behaving differently after G/a = 2.
But from the present simulation it is obvious that the vortex
dynamics of wake-plate interaction starts to change flow mode
from G/a = 1 onwards at least for Reynolds number in the
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laminar periodic vortex shedding regime. Effect of this mode
change of the flow field is also evident in the mean
aerodynamic forces values which is demonstrated in Tab 1.
FIGURE 11. INSTANTANEOUS VORTICITY CONTOURS AT
G/a = 2. FOR DETAILS REFER FIG. 8.
Figure 12 depicts the contours of pressure coefficient
CP = (P-P∞)/0.5ρU∞2 along with instantaneous streamlines also
reflect the similar flow physics already described in
instantaneous vortex dynamic. CP contours indicate that the
maximum value of it occurs at the front stagnation point and
pressure becomes negative in the downstream wake region. CP
value is minimum at the extreme two edges of the front surface
of the cylinder indicating separation of shear layers from these
two edges. Selected instantaneous streamlines are also drawn in
the same figure to understand the unsteady recirculation region
due to the Kármán periodic vortex shedding from the shear
layers of the square cylinder.

(a) (b)
(c) (d)
FIGURE 12. INSTANTANEOUS Cp CONTOURS WITH
STREAMLINES AT Re = 100 FOR DIFFERENT GAP-RATIOS. (a) G/a
= 0, (b) G/a = 0.5 (c) G/a = 1 and (d) G/a = 2. A TOTAL OF 10 NON-
DIEMNSIONAL Cp CONTOURS ARE CONSIDERED IN BETWEEN -
1 and +1. STREAMLINES ARE DRAWN BY LINE DIAGRAM.
CONCLUSION
In the present work, authors have reported the
simulation of cylinder wake and splitter plate boundary layer for
a low Reynolds number. Here Re belong to the periodic vortex
shedding regime. Gambit 2.2.30 is used to develop the
geometry, after which the computation is performed using
Ansys Fluent 14.5. When compared with the previous
experimental and numerical works, it can be concluded that
Fluent can produce almost identical results for flow problems.
Four different cases (G/a = 0, 0.5, 1 and 2) have been
studied in the short gap region (G/a < 2), where the splitter plate
has maximum influence on the square cylinder. Present results
reveal that it is possible to divide this short zone into two sub-
zones due to difference in flow physics before and after G/a = 1.
The mean aerodynamic forces and instantaneous vortex
dynamics confirm these two different flow modes. A more
detailed study in between G/a = 1 and 2 is required to gain
better insight.
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