Axial Flow over a Blunt Circular Cylinder with and without Shear Layer Reattachment

Flow over a circular cylinder with its axis aligned with the free stream was investigated experimentally. Both upstream and downstream faces of the cylinder are sharply truncated. The fineness ratio (length to diameter ratio) was varied and the behavior of the leading-edge separating shear layer and its effect on the wake were studied in water using both flow visualization and PIV techniques. For the moderately large fineness ratio, the shear layer reattaches with subsequent boundary layer growth, whereas over a shorter cylinder the shear layer remains detached. This causes differences in the wake recirculation region and the immediate wake patterns. The shear layer structure was analyzed using the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). The model in the water channel was sting-mounted and in some cases the effect of model support was detected in the wake measurements. To avoid such disturbance from the model support, an experiment was initiated in air using a magnetic model support and balance system. The drag variation with fineness ratio is presented and discussed in light of the flowfield measurements.