Theoretical investigation of flow past bluff-bodies

In this final year project, the author will be performing a series of analysis on the uniform potential flow past multiple circular cylinders. A bluff-body is one which has a comparable dimension along the x and y axes. For an ideal flow past a symmetrical bluff-body such as a circular cylinder, the streamlines form a symmetric pattern. The effect of viscous flow which will create boundary layers and flow separation will not be discussed. A total of five sets of programs that simulate flow past a total of five cylinders had been generated and will be analyzed in this report. The simulation was created using MATLAB and through the shifting of coordinates of circle images in an infinite series on the same plane. For each cylinder, a minimum of three levels of the infinite series was performed to ensure that the accuracy of the resulting diagrams are not compromised. Each additional level corresponds to an increase in the terms produced and therefore increases the complexity. The bluff bodies will ultimately be analyzed for the different numbers of cylinders, directions of incident uniform flow, different diameters of cylinders and different positions of cylinders. This will be done on a progressive basis from one cylinder onwards. From the simulated results, the stream function values of the various circles as well as the visual appearance of the streamline can be observed. The pressure, lift and drag coefficient values and trends will also be displayed.Bachelor of Engineerin