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Flow Pass A Circular Cylinder

The document outlines an experiment to study the pressure profile and flow characteristics for flow around a circular cylinder. It discusses how boundary layer separation leads to a large increase in drag on the cylinder. At Reynolds numbers between 103 and 105, the boundary layer separates, resulting in a drag coefficient of around 1.2. Theoretical background is provided on boundary layer development from the stagnation point to separation, and how an adverse pressure gradient can cause separation. Diagrams show typical boundary layer velocity profiles and pressure distributions with and without separation.

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Adry Aqil
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596 views

Flow Pass A Circular Cylinder

The document outlines an experiment to study the pressure profile and flow characteristics for flow around a circular cylinder. It discusses how boundary layer separation leads to a large increase in drag on the cylinder. At Reynolds numbers between 103 and 105, the boundary layer separates, resulting in a drag coefficient of around 1.2. Theoretical background is provided on boundary layer development from the stagnation point to separation, and how an adverse pressure gradient can cause separation. Diagrams show typical boundary layer velocity profiles and pressure distributions with and without separation.

Uploaded by

Adry Aqil
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1.

0 TITLE
Flow pass a circular cylinder

2.0 OBJECTIVE
The objective of the experiment is to study the pressure profile and flow characteristics
for flow around a circular cylinder.

3.0 INTRODUCTION

In most situations it is inevitable that the boundary layer becomes detached from a
solid body. This boundary layer separation results in a large increase in the drag on the body.
We can understand this by returning to the flow of a non-viscous fluid around a cylinder. The
pressure distribution is the same on the downstream side of the cylinder as on the upstream
side; thus, there were no unbalanced forces on the cylinder and therefore no drag. If the
flow of a viscous fluid about a body is such that the boundary layer remains attached, then
we have almost the same result--we'll just have a small drag due to the skin friction.
However, if the boundary layer separates from the cylinder, then the pressure on the
downstream side of the cylinder is essentially constant, and equal to the low pressure on the
top and bottom points of the cylinder. This pressure is much lower than the large pressure
which occurs at the stagnation point on the upstream side of the cylinder, leading to a
pressure imbalance and a large pressure drag on the cylinder. For instance, for a cylinder in a
flow with a Reynolds number in the range, 103 < Re < 105 the boundary layer separates and
the coefficient of drag is CD ~ 1.2, much larger that the coefficient of drag due to skin friction,
which we would estimate to be about 10-2.

Figure 1: Flow patterns for flow over the cylinder


A Reynolds number-independent drag coefficient leads to a drag force D ~ U2 A/2.
More importantly, the power P required to maintain a constant speed in the presence of this
drag is P = DU = U3 A/2, so that it increases with the cube of the speed. Most of the
resistance at this speed is due to aerodynamic drag (there are other sources, such as
mechanical friction, rolling friction, and so on, but I don't think they dominate at this speed).
Boundary layers tend to separate from a solid body when there is an increasing fluid
pressure in the direction of the flow this is known as an adverse pressure gradient in the
jargon of fluid mechanics. Increasing the fluid pressure is akin to increasing the potential
energy of the fluid, leading to a reduced kinetic energy and a deceleration of the fluid. When
this happens the boundary layer thickens, leading to a reduced gradient of the velocity
profie ( / decreases), with a concomitant decrease in the wall shear stress. For a large
enough pressure gradients the shear stress can be reduced to zero, and separation often
occurs.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

The structure and development of viscous flow over a cylinder is described in


Figure 2 below. The development of the boundary layer and changes in velocity profile
from the stagnation point at A until flow separation at point E are described in Figure 3.
these changes are closely linked to the change of pressure gradient from A to F. negative
pressure gradient tends to maintain laminar boundary layer, while positive pressure
gradient will accelerate it to turbulent and (subsequently) reverse flow resulting in flow
separation.

Figure 2: Boundary layer separation location


Figure 3: Typical boundary layer Figure 4: Surface pressure
velocity profiles at various distributions for inviscid flow and
location on the cylinder. boundary layer flow.

Figure 4 compares the pressure distribution (it is customary to plot the


coefficient of pressure ) around the cylinder between low Re number and high Re flows
and of that predicted by inviscid flow theory.

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