OUTLINE

TACOMA NARROWS BRIDGE

FLOW REGIME PAST A CYLINDER
VORTEX SHEDDING
MODES OF VORTEX SHEDDING PARALLEL &
OBLIQUE
FLOW PAST A SPHERE AND A CUBE
SUMMARY
TACOMA NARROWS BRIDGE,
USA
THE BRIDGE COLLAPSED IN NOVEMBER 1940
AFTER 4 MONTHS OF ITS OPENING TO
TRAFFIC!
TACOMA NARROWS BRIDGE, USA
The dramatic collapse was induced due to VORTEX
SHEDDING AT A WIND SPEED OF 42MPH !
This is how strong a flow regime past a bluff body can become.
OVERVIEW OF FLOW REGIME PAST
A CYLINDER
The transitions in the flow regimes is affected by the
roughness, turbulence levels, cylinder aspect ratio, end
conditions and blockage.
Re =40-150 STABLE LAMINAR SHEDDING REGIME.
Re= 150-300 TRANSITION REGIME.
Re= 300-10000+ IRREGULAR REGIME.
Flow past a cylinder
(a) The flow past a cylinder for a very low
Reynolds number . The flow smoothly
divides and reunites around the cylinder.
(b) At a Reynolds number of about 4, the
flow (boundary layer) separates in the
downstream and the wake is formed by
two symmetric eddies . The eddies
remain steady and symmetrical but grow
in size up to a Reynolds number of about
40 .
(c) At a Reynolds number around 47, the
wake starts shedding vortices into the
stream.
VORTEX SHEDDING
At around Re=47 vortex
shedding begin to take place.
A Hopf bifurcation is breaks the
symmetry between the two
eddies and with a slight
bifurcation the vortex detaches
itself from the body.
In its place a new vortex is
formed.
The airflow past the object creates alternating
low-pressure vortices on the downwind side of
the object. The object will tend to move toward
the low-pressure zone.
VON KRMN VORTEX
STREET
Over a large Re range (47<Re<10
7
for
circular cylinders), eddies are shed
continuously from each side of the
body, forming rows of vortices in its
wake .
A Von Krmn vortex street is a
repeating pattern of swirling vortices
caused by the unsteady separation of
flow over bluff bodies.
They are named after the engineer &
fluid dynamicist, Theodore von
Krmn.
VON KRMN VORTEX STREET
A video showing a smoke visualization of the
FORMATION OF VORTEX STREETS as
wind flows past a cylindrical body.
FORMATION OF VORTEX
STREETS
Vortices are shed in to the downstream flow from alternate sides of the body ( with
alternate senses of rotation ), giving the appearance of alternately opposite signed
vortices.
Karman investigated the phenomenon and concluded that a nonstaggered row of
vortices is unstable, and a staggered row is stable only if the ratio of lateral distance
between the vortices to their longitudinal distance is 0.28.
Because of the similarity of the wake with footprints in a street, the staggered row of
vortices behind a blue body is called a Karman Vortex Street . The vortices move
downstream at a speed smaller than the upstream velocity U.
VORTEX DISLOCATIONS: Origin of
fluctuations
LARGE LOW FREQUENCY
IRREGULARITIES: Cross sectional
and plane view
Existence of vortex dislocations in
wake transition.
Primary vortices move out of
phase.
Irregularities dominates
downstream.
STROUHAL NUMBER
When considering a long circular cylinder, the frequency of vortex shedding is
given by the empirical formula
Strouhal number= fD/V where f = Vortex shedding frequency
While an eddy on one side is shed, that on the other side forms, resulting in an
unsteady flow near the cylinder. As vortices of opposite circulations are shed off
alternately from the two sides, the circulation around the cylinder changes sign,
resulting in a lateral force.
If the frequency of vortex shedding is close to the natural frequency of some mode of
vibration of the cylinder body, then an appreciable lateral vibration culminates.
This may cause large fluctuating pressure forces leading to structural vibrations,
acoustic noise, or resonance.
EFFECTS OF VORTEX
SHEDDING
When the frequency of vortex shedding matches the resonance
frequency of the structure, the structure will begin to resonate and
the structure's movement can become self-sustaining.
Vortex shedding was one of the causes proposed for the failure of the Tacoma
Narrows Bridge in 1940
A thrill ride "Vertigo" in Ohio suffered the vortex shedding during the winter of
2001, one of the three towers collapsed.
Vortex shedding caused the collapse of three towers at Ferrybridge power
stationin 1968 during high winds.
Flow at higher Reynolds
number
At about Re = 500 , multiple frequencies
start showing up and the wake tends to
become Chaotic.
As the Reynolds number becomes higher,
the boundary layer around the cylinder
tends to become turbulent. The wake,
shows fully turbulent characters .
For larger Reynolds numbers, the boundary
layer becomes turbulent. A turbulent
boundary layer offers greater resistance to
separation than a laminar boundary layer.
As a consequence the separation point
moves downstream and the separation angle
is delayed to 110
0
from the forward
stagnation point
STROUHAL NUMBER vs.
REYNOLDS NUMBER
Discontinuity is observed in
the Strouhal (S) vs. Reynolds no.
(Re) relationship in the laminar
shedding regime.
Scatter of the order of 20%
Disparity, though U, D, f can be
measured to 1% accuracy.
Many explanations have been
given over the years.
S-Re discontinuity is explained
by a changeover from one mode
of oblique shedding to another.
S = fD/V Re=VD/
MODES OF VORTEX
SHEDDING
PARALLEL MODE
OBLIQUE MODE
SQUIRES TRANSFORMATION
For a given wake profile and Reynolds number, and for a
parallel flow,
if f is the frequency
& is temporal growth of the most unstable 2D wave,
then for an oblique wave at an angle
f()= f cos

& ()= cos
UNIVERSAL STROUHAL CURVE
With parallel shedding , the
Strouhal - Reynolds Number curve is
completely continuous.
Garry Brown suggested that
cylinder wake frequencies follow the
same trend as oblique waves.
Williamson defined a universal
Strouhal curve in which the
experimental oblique shedding data
[S

] closely collapses onto the
parallel shedding curve [S
o
] by the
transformation :
S
o
= S

/ cos
OBLIQUE MODE OF VORTEX
SHEDDING
Even for a cylinder that is hundreds of diameters in length, theangle of
shedding depends on the particular boundary conditions at the span
wise ends of the cylinder.
Shedding assumes a cellular
structure, with different
frequencies co-existing at
different span wise locations.
PARALLEL MODE OF VORTEX
SHEDDING
Promotion of oblique shedding to parallel vortex
shedding:
Very large aspect ratios ( L/D > 2000)
Slight speeding up of the flow near the ends
Techniques to manipulate end
boundaries
USING EDGE OF END PLATE:
angling inwards the leading edge of
endplates.
USING COAXIAL END
CYLINDERS:
Ending the span with larger coaxial
cylinders
Techniques to manipulate end
boundaries
USING CONTROL CYLINDERS: locating
large cylinders normal and upstream of the test
cylinder.
USING SUCTION TUBES FROM
DOWNSTREAM: incident flow near the ends
is speeded up by suction pipe.
Flow past spheres: MAGNUS
EFFECT
A Transverse aerodynamic force can be detected on a rotating body.
Magnus force results from the asymmetric distortion of the boundary layer
displacement thickness caused by the combined spinning and flow past the
sphere.
Boundary layer separation is delayed
on the side of the spinning object that
is moving in the same direction as the
free stream flow, while the separation
occurs prematurely on the side moving
against the free stream flow.
The wake then shifts toward the side moving against the free stream flow.
AERODYNAMICS OF CRICKET
BALLS
The key to making a cricket ball swing is to cause a pressure difference
between the two sides of the ball.
Swing is achieved by keeping
one side of the ball polished
and bowling while keeping the
seam at particular angle.
This turbulent boundary layer by
virtue of its increased energy,
separates relatively late compared to
the boundary layer on the nonseam side.
FLOW PAST SPHERES
Calculated streamlines colored by
velocity at Re = 100. Flow is steady and
axis symmetric and exhibits a large (~D)
toroidal vortex in the near wake.
By Re =211 the axial symmetry of the flow past
the sphere breaks down although the flow remains
temporarily steady. This figure shows select
streamlines at Re = 250.
By Re = 270, the flow field
becomes unsteady but periodic.
Streamlines colored by pressure
are shown here for every quarter
period at Re = 300.
The unsteadiness results from the
rapid growth of a portion of the wake
vortex.
The section of the vortex formed in
the separating shear layer at t = T/2
quickly outgrows its equilibrium
strength. As it increases in strength,
it eventually cuts itself from the
wake and sheds.
FLOW PAST A CUBE
The simulation of an external flow
around a square cylinder at
Re=22,000
Unlike spherical cylinders and
cube, the square cylinders have
sharp corners.
The formation of vortices
depends on the edges and the
corners.
SUMMARY
Vortex shedding, vortex dislocations and different vortex
shedding regimes.
Oblique shedding and influence of end boundary
conditions.
Variation of Strouhal number with Reynolds no.
Vortex shedding around spheres and cubes.
THANK YOU FOR
YOUR ATTENTION.