Vortex shedding suppression for flow over a circular cylinder near a plane boundary

In this study, the Navier-Stokes equations and the pressure Poisson equation for two-dimensional time-dependent viscous flows are solved with a finite difference method in a curvilinear coordinate system. With this numerical procedure, the vortex shedding flow past a circular cylinder near a wall is investigated. The flow is calculated for a broad range of gap ratios for different Reynolds numbers ranging from 80 to 1000. Based on the numerical solutions, the vortex shedding is observed using various methods, and the mechanism for the vortex shedding suppression at small gap ratios is analyzed. The critical gap ratio at which the vortex shedding is suppressed is identified at different Reynolds numbers. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.