Fluctuating forces on a rigid circular cylinder in confined flow

Abstract

The fluctuating lift and drag acting on a long, rigidly supported circular cylinder placed symmetrically in a narrow rectangular duct were investigated for various blockage percentages over a wide range of Reynolds numbers around the critical value. The data obtained permit a full assessment of the effect of confinement on the mean-drag coefficient, the root-mean-square values of both the drag and the lift fluctuations, the Strouhal number of the dominant vortex shedding, and the Reynolds number marking transition from laminar to turbulent flow separation. Besides experimental information on a subject on which little is known so far, the paper provides a basis for the deduction of better correction procedures concerning the effects of blockage.