Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 May 2009
A model of hairy medium is developed using a homogenized approach, and the fluid flow around a circular cylinder partially coated with hair is analysed by means of numerical simulations. The capability of this coating to adapt to the surrounding flow is investigated, and its benefits are discussed in the context of separation control. This fluid–structure interaction problem is solved with a partitioned approach, based on the direct resolution of the Navier–Stokes equations together with a nonlinear set of equations describing the dynamics of the coating. A volume force, arising from the presence of a cluster of hair, provides the link between the fluid and the structure problems. For the structure part, a subset of reference elements approximates the whole layer. The dynamics of these elements is governed by a set of equations based on the inertia, elasticity, interaction and losses effects of articulated rods. The configuration chosen is that of the two-dimensional flow past a circular cylinder at Re = 200, a simple and well-documented test case. Aerodynamics performances quantified by the Strouhal number, the drag and the maximum lift in the laminar unsteady regime are modified by the presence of the coating. A set of parameters corresponding to a realistic coating (length of elements, porosity, rigidity) is found, yielding an average drag reduction of 15% and a decrease of lift fluctuations by about 40%, associated to a stabilization of the wake.
Movie 1. Top frame: instantaneous vorticity contours of the motion past a ciliated cylinder. Blue colours denote clockwise vorticity. Only reference cilia are shown in the figure, modeling a dense coating which self-adapts to the surrounding flow. Bottom frames display the time history of the drag and lift coefficients with solid lines (dashed lines represent the case without actuators).
Movie 2. Time history of the vertical velocity contours in the developed, periodic regime. Blue colours denote velocity directed from the top towards the bottom. The motion of the reference cilia is displayed in the top frame. The bottom frame shows scaled vectors of the force produced by the coating, which counteracts the mouvement of the fluid.