The suppression of lift on a circular cylinder due to vortex shredding at moderate Reynolds numbers

This paper discusses the effect of a small control cylinder on the transverse force (lift) on a large primary cylinder when the control cylinder is placed at select locations in the shear layer emanating from the primary cylinder. We have conducted both CFD and flow-visualization studies of this situation for Reynolds numbers of 100, 1000, and 3000. A 2-D Large Eddy Simulation was used in the CFD study to include the effects of wake turbulence. The CFD results show that the LES model predicts essentially an elimination of the transverse force on the primary cylinder for an appropriate placement of the control cylinder. The results also show that the drag on the primary cylinder is reduced. Our results, both from computation and flow visualization, indicate that the placement of a control cylinder has a noticeable influence on the drag and lift on the primary cylinder. (C) 2001 Academic Press.