Study on the Unsteady Wakes Past a Square Cylinder near a Wall

Experimental and numerical studies on the unsteady wake field behind a square cylinder near a wall were conducted to find out how the vortex shedding mechanism is correlated with gap flow. The computations were performed by solving unsteady 2-D Incompressible Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations with a newly developed ${\epsilon}-SST$ turbulence model for more accurate prediction of large separated flows. Through spectral analysis and the smoke wire flow visualization, it was discovered that velocity profiles in a gap region have strong influences on the formation of vortex shedding behind a square cylinder near a wall. From these results, Strouhal number distributions could be found, where the transition region of the Strouhal number was at $G/D=0.5{\sim}0.7$ above the critical gap height. The primary and minor shedding frequencies measured in this region were affected by the interaction between the upper and the lower separated shear layer, and minor shedding frequency was due to the separation bubble on the wall. It was also observed that the position (y/G) and the magnitude of maximum average velocity $(u/u_{\infty})$ in the gap region affect the regular vortex shedding as the gap height increases.