Numerical aerodynamic analysis of bluff bodies at a high Reynolds number with three-dimensional CFD modeling

This paper focuses on numerical simulations of bluff body aerodynamics with three-dimensional CFD (computational fluid dynamics) modeling, where a computational scheme for fluid-structure interactions is implemented. The choice of an appropriate turbulence model for the computational modeling of bluff body aerodynamics using both two-dimensional and three-dimensional CFD numerical simulations is also considered. An efficient mesh control method which employs the mesh deformation technique is proposed to achieve better simulation results. Several long-span deck sections are chosen as examples which were stationary and pitching at a high Reynolds number. With the proposed CFD method and turbulence models, the force coefficients and flutter derivatives thus obtained are compared with the experimental measurement results and computed values completely from commercial software. Finally, a discussion on the effects of oscillation amplitude on the flutter instability of a bluff body is carried out with extended numerical simulations. These numerical analysis results demonstrate that the proposed three-dimensional CFD method, with proper turbulence modeling, has good accuracy and significant benefits for aerodynamic analysis and computational FSI studies of bluff bodies.