2022/02/27 by Jose Luis Ortiz-Tarin, Ortiz-Tarin, J. L., Sheel Nidhan +3
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Engineering · Environmental Science · #FOS: Physical sciences #Fluid Dynamics (physics.flu-dyn) #Fluid Dynamics and Vibration Analysis #Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research #Wind and Air Flow Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2202.13287
openalex publication_date 2022/02/27 · openalex created_date 2022/04/03 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The high-Reynolds-number wake of a slender body with a turbulent boundary layer is investigated using a hybrid simulation. The wake generator is a 6:1 prolate spheroid and the Reynolds number based on the diameter D is Re = 105. The transition of the unstratified wake to a state of complete self-similarity is investigated by looking for the first time into the far field of a slender body wake. Unlike bluff-body wakes, here the flow is not dominated by vortex shedding in the near wake. Instead, the recirculation region is very small, the near wake is quasi-parallel and is characterized by the presence of broadband turbulence. The simulations show that these particularities alter the decay rate of the wake significantly and challenge the notion of universality -- the idea that far from the body all turbulent wakes decay at the same rate. The influence of stratification in the wake is also studied at Froude numbers Fr=U_∞/ND=2 and 10. The results imply that the onset of buoyancy effects depends on the wake generator and that the far wake retains information of the initial conditions.