Large Eddy Simulation of the Subcritical Flow over a U-Grooved Circular Cylinder

With the aim of numerically replicating a drag reduction phenomenon induced by grooves presence, this paper presents a comparative large eddy simulation study of the flow over a smooth circular cylinder, and the flow over a U-grooved cylinder, at Re = 140,000, which is near transition between the subcritical and critical flow regimes. The grid densities were 2.6 million cells and 20.7 million cells for the smooth and the U-grooved cylinder, respectively. Both meshes were composed of hexahedral cells disposed in a structured form with additional refinements in near-wall regions, in order to obtain y + < 5 values. The cases were simulated during 25 vortex shedding cycles with the purpose of obtaining significant statistic data through the commercial software FLUENT V.12.1, which solved the Navier-Stokes equations in their unsteady and incompressible forms. Regarding the U-grooved cylinder flow, parameters such as the drag coefficient, lengths of recirculation, the transition from subcritical to critical flow, and the formation of a wake formed by secondary vortices of smaller sizes were predicted satisfactorily by the LES technique. From the manner in which the flow separates at different angles for both valleys and peaks of the U-grooves, a distinctive transitional mechanism induced by grooves presence is conjectured.