Reduction of flow-induced forces on a circular cylinder using a detached splitter plate

Control of flow-induced forces on a circular cylinder using a detached splitter plate is numerically studied for laminar flow. A splitter plate with the same length as the cylinder diameter is placed horizontally in the wake region. Suppressing the vortex shedding, the plate significantly reduces drag force and lift fluctuation; there exists an optimal location of the plate for maximum reduction. However, they sharply increase as the plate is placed further downstream of the optimal location. This trend is consistent with the experimental observation currently available in the case of turbulent wake. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.