Vortex Shedding Frequency
Vortex Shedding Frequency
JULY 2015
v
ABSTRACT
The study of various bluff body shapes is important in order to identify the suitable
shape of bluff body that can be used for vortex flow meter applications. Numerical
simulations of bluff body shapes such as circular, rectangular and equilateral
triangular have been carried out to understand the phenomenon of vortex shedding.
The simulation applied 𝑘-𝜀 RNG model to predict the drag coefficient of circular in
order to get a closer result to the previous research. By using CFD simulation, the
computation was carried out to evaluate the flow characteristics such as pressure
loss, drag force, lift force and flow velocity for different bluff body shapes which
used time independent test (transient) and tested at different Reynolds number
ranging from 5000 to 20000 with uniform velocities of 0.675m/s, 1.35m/s, 2.065m/s
and 2.7m/s. It is observed that triangular shape gives a low coefficient of pressure
loss with value 1.7538 and the low coefficient of drag coefficient is rectangular
shapes correspond to 0.7613. By adding splitter plate behind the bluff body, it can
reduce drag force and pressure loss. A triangular with splitter plate give a highest
percentage of pressure loss and drag force with 29% from 0.1969 to 0.1397 for
pressure loss and 1.746 to 1.2515 for drag force. The result concludes that in order to
get better performance, vortex flow meter requires bluff body with sharp corner to
generate stable vortex shedding frequency.
vi
ABSTRAK
Kajian terhadap pelbagai bentuk badan pembohongan untuk mengenal pasti bentuk
badan pembohongan yang sesuai untuk digunakan pada aplikasi meter aliran
pusaran. Simulasi berangka yang dilakukan pada badan pembohongan adalah
berentuk bulat, segi empat dan segi tiga sama sisi untuk memahami fenomena
gugusan pusaran. Penggunaan simulasi 𝑘-𝜀 model RNG digunakan bagi meramal
nilai pekali seretan pada bentuk bulat untuk mendapatkan nilai yang lebih hampir
kepada kajian lepas. Dengan menggunakan simulasi CFD, pengiraan telah dilakukan
untuk menilai ciri-ciri aliran seperti kehilangan tekanan, daya seret, daya angkat dan
halaju aliran untuk bentuk badan pembohongan yang berbeza dengan menggunakan
ujian masa bebas dan dan diuji dengan nombor Reynolds dari 5000 hingga 20000
dengan halaju seragam iaitu 0.675m/s, 1.35m/s, 2.065m/s dan 2.7m/s. Dapat
diperhatikan bahawa bentuk segi tiga memberikan pekali yang rendah bagi
kehilangan tekanan dengan nilai 1.7538 dan pekali yang rendah bagi pekali seretan
adalah berbentuk segiempat dengan nilai 0.7613. Dengan menambah plat splitter di
belakang badan pembohongan, ia boleh mengurangkan daya seret dan kehilangan
tekanan. Segitiga dengan plat splitter memberikan peratusan tertinggi kehilangan
tekanan dan daya seretan dengan 29% daripada 0.1969 kepada 0.1397 untuk
kehilangan tekanan dan 1.746 kepada 1.2515 untuk daya seretan. Secara
keseluruhannya, bagi mendapatkan prestasi yang lebih baik, meter aliran vorteks
memerlukan badan pembohongan yang bersudut tajam untuk menjana frekuensi
vorteks yang stabil.
vii
TABLE OF CONTENT
TITLE i
DECLARATION ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
ABSTRACT v
ABSTRAK vi
TABLE OF CONTENT vii
LIST OF FIGURES x
LIST OF TABLES xiii
LIST OF SYMBOL xiv
LIST OF APPENDICES xv
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 32
4.1 Introduction 45
4.2 Analysis on Flow around Circular Cylinder 45
4.2.1 Effect on Pressure Loss 46
4.2.2 Effect on Drag Force 47
4.2.3 Effect on Flow Velocity 48
4.2.4 Effect on Lift Force 51
4.3 Analysis on Flow around Rectangular 52
4.3.1 Effect on Pressure Loss 52
4.3.2 Effect on Drag Force 53
4.3.3 Effect on Flow Velocity 54
4.3.4 Effect on Lift Force 57
4.4 Analysis on Flow around Equilateral
Triangular 57
4.4.1 Effect on Pressure Loss 58
ix
5.1 Conclusion 68
5.2 Recommendation 69
REFERENCES 71
APPENDIX 75
x
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF SYMBOL
St Strouhal Number
f Frequency
d Width of shedding body
𝑈 Fluid velocity
Re Reynolds Number
𝑉𝜌 Inertial force
𝜇 Free stream velocity
𝐷 Diameter of the bluff-body
𝑣 Kinematic viscosity of the fluid
𝐶𝑝 Pressure coefficient
𝐶𝑑 Drag coefficient
F Amount of pressure
A Area
xv
LIST OF APPENDICES
INTRODUCTION
to measure the flow rate in vortex parameter. The shape of the bluff body in a stream
determines how efficiently it will form vortices. The impact of this study was to
optimize the performance of flow meters, such as flow velocity, pressure loss, drag
force and lift force in time response by designing a bluff body which generates
vortices over a wide range of Reynolds numbers. By completing a vortex shedding
analysis, engineers can evaluate whether more efficient structures can and should be
developed.
The researches about geometrical shape of bluff body have been conducted
by many researchers. However, the flow around circular, rectangular and triangular
have been choose to get better understand fluid dynamics and related accuracy of
numerical modeling strategies. The research was carried out with various bluff body
shapes to identify an appropriate shape which can be used for optimize the
configuration of the bluff body on the performance of flow meter
i. To investigate the effect of bluff body shape on the pressure loss, drag
force, flow velocity and lift force in the time response (unsteady
state).
ii. To investigate the effect of bluff body attached with splitter plate on
the flow characteristics.
i. Develop the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model for the flow
simulation of a bluff body.
ii. Using three different shapes of bluff body which are circular,
rectangular and equilateral triangular
iii. Cross-sectional area of the bluff bodies 0.0079m2 for circular,
0.015m2 for rectangular and 0.0087m2 for equilateral triangular.
iv. Dimension of the splitter plate is 0.075m
v. Test at different Reynolds Number ranging from 5000 to 20000.
4
Requirement to optimize the configuration of the bluff body is very important in the
flow meter performance, especially in terms of size and shape of the bluff body. To
produce the size and design of an appropriate bluff body in order to get the optimum
configuration bluff body, deeper study should be carried out from various aspects.
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter introduces the fundamentals of the main topics forming the basis of the
current study. In order to fully understand the vortex shedding in various shapes,
there must be a deeper understanding of the forces involved. Furthermore the vortex
shedding phenomenon may affect the bluff body shapes. This literature will
introduce vortex shedding, Von Karman Vortex Street, vortex shedding frequency,
Reynolds number, flow velocity, pressure loss, drag and lift force and bluff body.
One of the first to describe the vortex shedding phenomenon was Leonardo da Vinci
by drawn some rather accurate sketches of the vortex formation in the flow behind
bluff bodies. The formation of vortices in body wakes is described by Theodore von
Karman (Ausoni, 2009). In fluid dynamics, vortex is district, in a fluid medium,
where the flow, most of which revolve on the vortical flow axis, occurring either
direct-axis or curved axis. In other words, vortex shedding occurs when the current
flow of a water body is impaired by an obstruction, in this case a bluff body. Vortex
or vortices are rotating or swirl, often turbulent fluid flow. Examples of a vortex or
vortices appear in Figure 2.1. Speed is the largest at the center, and reduces gradually
with distance from the center
8
Figure 2.1: Vortex created by the passage of aircraft wing, which is exposed by the
colored smoke (Rafiuddin, 2008)
This region arises when a flow is unable to follow the aft part of an object. As
the aft part has certain bluntness the flow detaches initially from the object's surface
9
Generally, ordinary study on vortex shedding bluff body are Von Karman
Vortex Street, Vortex Induced Vibrations, excitation vortex and vortex shedding
characteristics.
10
Von Karman Vortex is a term defining the detachment periodic alternating pairs of
vortices that bluff-body immersed in a fluid flow, generating up swinging, or Vortex
Street, behind it, and causing fluctuating forces to be experienced by the object.
When a fluid flows over a blunt, 2 dimensional bodies, vortices are created and shed
in an alternating fashion on the top and bottom of the body (Graebel, 2007; Bjswe et
al., 2010). This phenomenon was initially symmetrical but then it turned into a
classical alternating pattern because the body is symmetrical. Figure 2.4 is a good
depiction of a common von Karman vortex street. This behavior was denominated
Theodore Von Karman for his studies in the field. The Von Karman vortex street is a
typical fluid dynamics example of natural instabilities in transition from laminar to
turbulent flow conditions The Von Karman Vortex Street is a typical example of the
fluid dynamic instability inherent in the transition from laminar to turbulent flow
conditions.
The first theory of vortex streets in 1911 has been published by Theodore von
Karman that examines the model analysis Von Karman Vortex Street for. He found
that linear stability has been common for point vortex of finite size and can stabilize
the array (Azman, 2008). Even though von Karman’s (1912) ideal vortex street has
been long associated with the wake of a circular cylinder; the only requirement for
the existence of a vortex street is two parallel free shear layers of opposite circulation
11
which are separated by a distance, h. The ideal mathematical description, limited for
two-dimensional flows, is predicated on the stability investigation of two parallel
vortex sheets with the same but opposite vortices with intensity. Linear vortex
intensity that is located at the same distance from each other along the sheets and
movement velocity resulting from pushing investigated. The intensity of the vortex is
based on circulation and is defined as;
⃑ . 𝑑𝑟
Γ=∮ 𝑈 (2.1)
Figure 2.5: Von Karman Vortex Street, the pattern of the wake behind a cylinder
oscillating in the Re = 140 (Aref et al., 2006; Azman, 2008)
The vortex flow meter is based on the well-known von Karman vortex street
phenomenon. This phenomenon consists on a double row of line vortices in a fluid.
Figure 2.6 show the under certain conditions which Karman Vortex Street spilled in
the center of the cylinder body lies when the fluid velocity is relatively perpendicular
to the cylinder generator. A remarkable phenomenon because the flow direction of
the oncoming flow may be perfectly steady when the occurrence of periodic
shedding of eddies. Vortex streets can often be visually perceived, for example, each
successful meter design is determined by comprehensive understanding of applied
12
physical phenomena. Von Karman vortex street phenomenon is very intricate and
sensitive on numerous physical factors.
Vortex flow meter is still very attractive for industrial applications due to its
high accuracy, is not sensitive to the medium physical properties and linear
frequency-dependent than the flow rate. The frequency of the vortex generated is
directly proportional to the flow velocity. It should be noted here that many less
obvious factors influence the phenomenon. Therefore, the need to apply various
research methods for the characterization of the phenomenon of vortex shedding
causes is necessity of investigations with application of miscellaneous methods.
𝜇𝐷
𝑅𝑒 = (2.4)
𝑣
Where;
𝜇 – Free stream velocity
𝐷 - Diameter of the bluff-body
𝑣 - Kinematic viscosity of the fluid
According to Du, Qian, & Peng (2006), the flow is steady and laminar at low
Reynolds number while with increasing Reynolds numbers, flows becomes chaotic
and turbulent. Zdravkovich (1997) also confirmed the statement and added that the
flow becomes very erratic with instability beyond Reynolds number of 2x105. For
lower Reynold's number (Re <2000), Taylor et al., (2014) state that the vortex
shedding frequency of several elongated bluff body is controlled by the shear layer
separated impinging on the trailing edge corner at lower Reynold's number (Re
<2000). Mastenbroek (2010) states that, with different Reynolds number arising
different frequencies of vortex pair can be seen in Figure 2.7.
16
form bluff body at various Reynolds numbers. Velocity profile in a circular pipe is
not two-dimensional and vortex shedding from the cylinder body is unstable, it is
difficult to maintain two dimensionality in the axial direction. Therefore to obtain
high performance of vortex flowmeter, the number of vortex shedding need constant
over a wide range of flow rate because the point of separation of the boundary layer
can be fixed to two-dimensionally (Yunus & John, 2006).
The use of the flow meter type of obstacles has been widely used in the industry for
the measurement of the flow. Total consequence of the pressure loss in the pipeline
because of the restrictions that exist in the type of flow meter. Permanent pressure
loss depends on the nature of the obstruction, the ratio of diameter and also on the
properties of the fluid. The calculation of fluid flow rate by measuring the pressure
loss across obstruction is perhaps the most commonly used and oldest flow
measurement technique in industrial applications. Estimated loss constant pressure to
flow through the flow meter type flow meter obstacles assist in the selection for
industrial applications where the operating pressure is identified (Prajapati et al.,
2010).
Pressure loss coefficient is a dimensionless number that describes the relative
pressure throughout the flow field in fluid dynamics. Pressure coefficient used in
aerodynamics and hydrodynamics. Each point in the flow field has its own pressure
coefficient, 𝐶𝑝 . Normally, the pressure coefficient is placed near a body independent
of body size in most situations in aerodynamic or hydrodynamic. Thus the
engineering model can be tested in a wind tunnel or water tunnel, the pressure
coefficient can be decisive in critical areas around the model, and the pressure
coefficient can be used with confidence to predict fluid pressure in critical locations
throughout the full sized bluff body. The relationship between the dimensionless
coefficient and the dimensional numbers is
18
𝑃𝑏 − 𝑃𝑤𝑏
𝐶𝑝 = (2.5)
1 2
2 𝑝𝑢
Where;
𝑃𝑏 − Static pressure difference between inlet and outlet in the presence of bluff body
(Nm-2)
𝑃𝑤𝑏 – Static pressure difference between inlet and outlet without bluff body (Nm-2)
Theoretically, the drag force is a resistance force caused by the movement of the
body through a fluid, such as water or air. A drag force acting opposite to the
19
direction of oncoming flow velocity. When the vortices are shed from the top of the
cylinder, the suction created and experience lifting cylinder. Half a cycle later, an
alternate vortex is created at the bottom part of the cylinder. Throughout this process,
Lift force changes alternately in the complete cycle of vortex shedding but cylinder
drag experience constantly where drag changed twice the frequency of lift. It is
important that any turbulence model can simulate all mentioned parameters in
formula below properly for the analysis of flow around bluff bodies. (Liaw, 2005)
Based on studies by Muhammad Tedy Asyikin (2012), drag and lift Forces
oscillating as a function of the vortex shedding frequency. Figure 2.9 shows the
effect of the drag and lift measured pressure distribution.
Figure 2.9: Oscillating drag and lift forces traces (Muhammad Tedy Asyikin, 2012)
The dimensionless drag and lift coefficients depend only on the Reynolds
number and an object’s shape, not its size (Bhuyan et al., 2012). The coefficients are
defined as:
𝐹
𝐶𝑑 = (2.6)
1⁄ 𝜌𝜇 2 𝐴
2
Where A is the area in the direction of flow and F is the amount of pressure
and viscous force components on the surface of the cylinder acting in the along-wind
direction. Lift coefficient is calculated similarly but vertical force is considered
rather than along-wind force. In selecting a variety of body shape bluff, we need to
think about the geometry and stability. According to some previous studies,
20
Figure 2.10: Schematic of key features in a low dilatation ratio bluff-body flow; time
averaged velocity profiles (Shanbhogue, 2008)
The problem of bluff body flow remains virtually entirely in the empirical,
descriptive realm of knowledge, although our knowledge of this flow is extensive
Flow properties are influenced by these three types of the flow field on the rate of
entrainment and the drag coefficient. Zdravkovich (1997) has made studies on the
flow characteristics of circular cross section bluff bodies. Through his research, the
multiple distinct transitions in the base suction coefficient (−𝐶𝑝𝑏 ), directly related to
bluff body drag dependence upon Reynolds number (𝑅𝑒𝐷 ) occur with increasing
Reynolds numbers, as different instabilities appear in the flow or as the different
flow regimes transition to turbulence. These tendencies are influenced by bluff-body
end conditions of the cylinder, approach flow turbulence, aspect ratio,
compressibility effects at high velocity and blockage-ratio (Shanbhogue, 2008).
Vortex formed from the flow through the bluff body. The efficiency of vortex is
formed depends on the on how easily vortices are generated, how big they are, and
how large the frequency is, which is determined by the Strouhal number (Bjswe et
al., 2010). Although many studies related to bluff body shape but it is not
comprehensive for all shapes. Among bluff body shape that has been studied are
circular cylinder, triangular, rectangular, bluff body attached with splitter and
elongated bluff body.
23
No separation
Re < 5
Creeping flow
Transition to turbulence in
200 < Re < 300
the wake
C. Boundary layer
1.5 x 106 < Re < 4 x106
completely turbulent at one
Upper transition
side
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