The Use of End Plates for a Cylinder in the Sub-critical Flow Regime

Experiments were conducted in a free-surface, re-circulating water channel to determine the dependence of spanwise flow uniformity in the near wake of a circular cylinder on the end conditions using Particle Image Velocimetry. The Reynolds number was 10,000. The end conditions consisted of plates with different leading edge geometries and configurations. A cylinder bounded by two endplates with sharp leading edge geometry generated the most uniform near wake. The horseshoe vortex dynamics in the cylinder/ wall and cylinder/endplate junctions were also studied. Upstream flow separation significantly altered the behavior of the horse shoe vortices. Periodic horse shoe vortex oscillation was found for experiments with the upstream flow attached; this periodic oscillation was disrupted with the presence of upstream flow separation. The endplate leading edge distance was also investigated. The oscillation frequency of the horse shoe vortex system was found to decrease with increasing leading edge distance.MAS