Investigation of turbulent flow past a yawed wavy cylinder

A large eddy simulation (LES) study was conducted to investigate the three-dimensional characteristics of the turbulent flow past wavy cylinders with yaw angles from 0° to 60° at a subcritical Reynolds number of 3900. The relationships between force coefficients and vortex shedding frequency with yaw angles for both wavy cylinders and circular cylinders were investigated. Experimental measurements were also performed for the validation of the present LES results. Comparing with corresponding yawed circular cylinders at similar Reynolds number, significant differences in wake vortex patterns between wavy cylinder and circular cylinder were observed at small yaw angles. The difference in wake pattern becomes insignificant at large yaw angles. The mean drag coefficient and the Strouhal number obey the independence principle for circular cylinders at yaw angle less than 45°, while the independence principle was found to be unsuitable for yawed wavy cylinders. In general, the mean drag coefficients and the fluctuating lift coefficients of a yawed wavy cylinder are less than those of a corresponding yawed circular cylinder at the same flow condition. However, with the increase of the yaw angle, the advantageous effect of wavy cylinder on force and vibration control becomes insignificant.