A simplified CFD approach for bluff-body aerodynamics under small scale free stream turbulent flow

The study of free stream turbulence (FST) effects on bluff bodies by means of computational approaches has been addressed so far mainly applying scale resolving methods adopting a three-dimensional domain, which is cumbersome and complex. The development of an alternative more affordable approach capable of providing reliable data, at least qualitatively, about the impact of FST in aerodynamic responses of interest would be very beneficial for the penetration of CFD techniques in industrial applications. In this work, a 2D URANS approach is adopted to numerically replicate the well-known rod-induced small scale turbulent flow in wind tunnel testing. A square cylinder is selected as canonical application case to study the effects caused by ambient turbulence (0.7%), and 3.3% and 6.8% FST levels. The numerical results for the force coefficients, base pressure coefficient, mean and fluctuating pressure coefficient distributions, time-averaged flow structures, mean streamwise velocity and Reynolds stresses distributions are reported along with experimental data in the literature for exhaustive validation. The agreement between the proposed CFD approach and the wind tunnel data is remarkable as not only qualitative agreement has been reached, but in many cases consistency between numerical and experimental data has been obtained. The proposed approach, once its feasibility and accuracy has been satisfactorily assessed, may be applied for affordably study FST-dependent aerodynamics problems of interest in wind engineering.

Automated summary

A 2D URANS approach was used to numerically simulate the effects of free stream turbulence on bluff bodies, and the results showed good agreement with experimental data. This method can be used affordably to study aerodynamics problems related to free stream turbulence in wind engineering.