Numerical simulation of flow past a square cylinder

Abstract

A study of the behavior of a square cylinder subjected to an upstream uniform air flow is presented. The present investigation uses commercial CFD software FLUENT 6.2.16 to simulate time-resolved flow field using constitutive relationships suitable for laminar flows. Variation of flow induced lift force coefficient is used to estimate shedding frequency and resultant mean structural vibration for the Reynolds number range of 2000-8000. Simulation results in terms of limit cycle oscillation amplitude are compared with pre-existing experimental data.