Direct numerical simulation of three-dimensional flow past a yawed square cylinder

Abstract

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of flow past a stationary square cylinder with yaw angles of 0°~45° are performed at Reynolds number of 1000. The three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations are solved using the finite volume method with OpenFOAM. The effect of yaw angles on the wake structures is investigated in terms of the vortex shedding frequency, hydrodynamic forces and vorticity iso-contours. Significant changes in the flow field can be observed when the yaw angle increases from 0° to 45°. The appearance of the spanwise velocity component and the less organized spanwise vorticity contour at large yaw angles denote the impairment of the quasi-two-dimensionality and the development of the three-dimensionality of the wake.