INTRODUCTION

Flow past a circular cylinder is an area of study that has been under research for more than half a
century due to its wide range of applications like marine pipelines, bridge columns, ship and
submarine components, and other underwater structures. The drag force acting on the cylinder is
majorly due to the flow separation occurring on the surface of the cylinder as stated by JY Hwang et
al.[1]. When the Reynold’s number exceeds a critical value during the flow of a fluid over a bluff
body, vortex shedding takes place in the wake region, which causes a significant pressure drop on the
rear surface of the body, causing serious structural vibrations, resonance, and significant rise in mean
drag and lift fluctuations according to H. Choi [2]. Roshko [3] was the first to measure the period of
Karman vortex shedding behind a bluff body and his works [4][5] are considered to be fundamental
in this area of research. It is of great interest to reduce these drag forces on the cylinder for the sake
of stability, maintenance, and safety of the structure.

There are two main methods of reducing these drag forces acting on the cylinder. Active control
techniques need external energy to effectively suppress the frequency of vortex shedding which
makes them expensive and complex. Examples include synthetic jets investigated by LH Feng et al.
[6], suction flow researched by WL Chen et al. [7], heating the cylinder by JC Lecordier et al.[8],
plasma actuators investigated by T.C. Corke et al.[9] etc. Passive control techniques involve modifying
the surface characteristics of the cylinder. Examples include splitter plates used in works by A.
Igbalajobi et al [10], Kai Liu et al. [11], Kwon et al. [12], modifying the surface roughness of the
cylinder was investigated by V.C Patel et al. [13], making grooves on the cylinder surface was
researched by S.J. Quintavalla et al. [14] etc.

The implementation of splitter plates in different orientations and lengths with respect to the
cylinder as well as the flow has been proven to be widely successful in a number of research works.
DL Gao et al found that inclusion of an upstream splitter plate reduced drag coefficients significantly
at a Reynold’s number of 2.66 × 10 4. [15]. The presence of a downstream splitter plate dampens the
vortex shedding frequency according to Bhanuman Bharman et al.[16]. Y. Sun et al found that double
splitter plates reduced drag up to 44% at a Reynold’s number of 1.1 – 7.7 × 10 3 [17]. JY Hwang used
dual detached splitter plates which resulted in maximum drag reduction of 38.6% [18]

Therefore, the most effective method not only in terms of performance but also cost, is the
implementation of splitter plates. The different orientations and geometry of the splitter plates have
so far yielded a variety of different results, at different ranges of Reynold’s numbers. However, most
of the Reynold’s numbers used thus far have been under 10 5 as evident in studies by Kai Liu et al.
[19], E. Rathakrishnan [20], C. Apelt et al. [21]. Most of the research works like H. C. Vu et al. [22], E.
Naresh et al. [23], Akili et al. [24] have also designed the experiment/simulation in such a way that
the position of the splitter plate(s) is in parallel to the flow, rather than at an angle.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of splitter plates’ lengths and angles on the
reduction of drag on a cylinder amidst a flow through numerical simulation and experimentation.
Both upstream and downstream splitter plates are kept in different angles with respect to the flow
and the changes in drag coefficient are recorded. Reynold’s number used is 1.56 x 105.
[1] Jong-Yeon Hwang, Kyung-Soo Yang. (2007) Drag reduction on a circular cylinder using dual
detached splitter plates. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, Volume 95, Issue
7, Pages 551-564

[2] Choi, H., Jeon, W.-P., & Kim, J. (2008). Control of Flow Over a Bluff Body. Annual Review of Fluid
Mechanics, 40(1), 113–139

[3] Roshko, A. (1961) Experiments on the flow past a circular cylinder at very high Reynolds number.
Journal of Fluid Mechanics

[4] Roshko, A. (1954) On the drag and shedding frequency of bluff cylinders. Nut. Adv. Comm. Aero.,
Wash., Tech. Note 3169.

[5] Roshko, A. (1955) On the wake and drag of bluff bodies. J. Aero. Sci. 22, 124-32.

[6] L. H. Feng and J. J. Wang, “Synthetic jet control of separation in the flow over a circular cylinder,”
Exp. Fluids, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 467–480, 2012

[7] W. L. Chen, H. Li, and H. Hu, (2104) An experimental study on a suction flow control method to
reduce the unsteadiness of the wind loads acting on a circular cylinder, Exp. Fluids, vol. 55, no. 4,
2014

[8] J. C. Lecordier, L. Hamma, and P. Paranthoen, (1991) The control of vortex shedding behind
heated circular cylinders at low Reynolds numbers Exp. Fluids, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 224–229, 1991.

[9] T. C. Corke, C. L. Enloe, and S. P. Wilkinson, “Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuators for Flow
Control,” Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech., vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 505–529, 2010.

[10] A. Igbalajobi, J. F. McClean, D. Sumner, and D. J. Bergstrom, “The effect of a wake-mounted

[11] Kai Liu, Jianqiang Deng, Mei Mei. 2016. Experimental study on the confined flow over a circular
cylinder with a splitter plate. Flow Measurement and Instrumentation, Volume 51, Pages 95-104

[12] Kwon, Kiyoung, Choi, Haecheon, 1996, Control of laminar vortex shedding behind a circular
cylinder using splitter plates, Physics of Fluids, 8 (2), pp. 479 – 486

[13] O. Güven, C. Farell, and V. C. Patel, “Surface-roughness effects on the mean flow past circular
cylinders,” J. Fluid Mech., vol. 98, no. 4, pp. 673–701, 1980.
[14] S. J. Quintavalla, A. J. Angilella, and A. J. Smits, “Drag reduction on grooved cylinders in the
critical Reynolds number regime,” Exp. Therm. Fluid Sci., vol. 48, pp. 15–18, 2013.

[15] Gao, D.-L., Chen, G.-B., Huang, Y.-W., Chen, W.-L., & Li, H. (2020). Flow characteristics of a fixed
circular cylinder with an upstream splitter plate: On the plate-length sensitivity. Experimental
Thermal and Fluid Science, 117, 110135.

[16] Bhanuman Barman, S. Bhattacharyya, Control of Vortex Shedding and Drag Reduction through
Dual Splitter Plates Attached to a Square Cylinder, Journal of Marine Science and Application, 2015,
14(02): 138-145.

[17] Yuankun Sun, Jiasong Wang, Zhongming Hu, Hanxu Zheng. 2022. Oscillation control and drag
reduction for a low mass ratio cylinder with double splitter plates. Ocean Engineering, Volume 263

[18] Jong-Yeon Hwang, Kyung-Soo Yang. 2007. Drag reduction on a circular cylinder using dual
detached splitter plates. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, Volume 95, Issue
7, Pages 551-564

[19] Kai Liu, Jianqiang Deng, Mei Mei. 2016. Experimental study on the confined flow over a circular
cylinder with a splitter plate. Flow Measurement and Instrumentation, Volume 51, Pages 95-104

[20] E. Rathakrishnan. 1999. Effect of Splitter Plate on Bluff Body Drag. AIAA Journal Volume 37 Issue
9, 1125-1126.

[21] Apelt, C., West, G., & Szewczyk, A. 1973. The effects of wake splitter plates on the flow past a
circular cylinder in the range 104<R<5×104. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 61(1), 187-198.

[22] Vu, H.C., Ahn, J. & Hwang, J.H. 2016. Numerical investigation of flow around circular cylinder
with splitter plate. KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering, 20, 2559–2568

[23] Eppakayala Naresh, Pinnamaneni Dileep Kumar, B. Nagaraj goud and Anil kumar.N, (2017). Drag
Reduction over a Circular Cylinder, International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 8(8),
2017, pp. 1334–1345

[24] Akilli, H., Sahin, B., & Filiz Tumen, N. (2005). Suppression of vortex shedding of circular cylinder
in shallow water by a splitter plate. Flow Measurement and Instrumentation, 16(4), 211–219.