The effects of turbulence on the mean flow past two-dimensional rectangular cylinders

Abstract

There are two main effects of turbulence on the mean flow past rectangular cylinders, just as found earlier for square rods. Small-scale turbulence increases the growth rate of the separated shear layers through increased mixing. Large-scale turbulence weakens regular vortex shedding by reducing spanwise correlation. The consequences of increased mixing and weakened regular vortex shedding depend on the depth-to-height ratio of a rectangular cylinder. In particular, the mean base pressure of a rectangular cylinder can be varied significantly by both the scale and intensity of turbulence.