Flow Past Two Interlocking SquaresCylinder at Low Reynolds Number

Abstract

Flow past two interlocking squares cylinder is largely unexplored in the field of bluff body wake. This paper aims to investigate the wake region behind this body at Re=150. The study was carried out numerically using ANSYS-Fluent solver with viscous-laminar model. The results obtained were compared with that of a square cylinder. It was observed that the flow separation was delayed at the downstream sharp corner of the two interlocking squares cylinder, resulting in an early interaction between the shear layers behind its wake. The maximum vorticity magnitude was slightly higher (of about 6%), indicating a higher intensity of vortices in the two interlocking squares wake than that of the square cylinder wake, consistent with the spectral analysis. A larger lift fluctuation with higher amplitude was also observed in the former in comparison to that in the latter.