Influence of the presence of a flat plate on the flow behavior around a smooth and rigid circular cylinder

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5216/reec.v21i1.79811

Keywords:

Vortex shedding, Circular cylinder, Boundary layer, Drag coefficient, Lift coefficient

Abstract

ABSTRACT: In some engineering applications, circular cylinders near flat boundaries are often subjected to flows normal to their axes. Physical simulations with this type of arrangement are typically conducted with cylinders mounted close to flat plates inside wind or water tunnels. In the present study, vortex shedding and aerodynamic coefficients of a smooth, rigid circular cylinder immersed in a flow near a flat plate were experimentally investigated. The experiments were performed with two distinct incident flows, with a Reynolds number, based on the cylinder diameter (D), of 3.1 × 10⁴. The boundary layer thicknesses (δ) of these flows were 1D and 1.4D. The results showed that both the drag coefficient (CD) and the lift coefficient (CL) were strongly influenced by the ratio of the distance between the cylinder and the plate (G/D), and that δ affected these coefficients unevenly. Analysis of the power spectra of hot-wire signals and CL signals indicated that the alternate vortex shedding was suppressed when G/D fell below a certain critical value – (G/D)cr. The (G/D)cr was 0.4 for δ = 1D and 0.3 for δ = 1.4D. Through the power spectral analysis, it was also possible to confirm results from previous studies that the Strouhal number in the intermediate range of the subcritical regime is practically insensitive to the presence of the plate when G/D > (G/D)cr.

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Author Biographies

  • Edson Luis Nicolait Fernandes, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil - edson.nicolait@suinfra.ufrgs.br

    Possui graduação em Engenharia Civil pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (2012). Atualmente é engenheiro civil da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Tem experiência na área de Engenharia Civil, com ênfase no projeto de estruturas de aço e madeira e no comportamento das estruturas frente à ação do vento.

  • Acir Mércio Loredo-Souza, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil - lac@cpgec.ufrgs.br

    Possui Graduação em Engenharia Civil pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (1988), Mestrado em Engenharia Civil pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (1992) e Doutorado em Engineering Science (Ph.D.) pela University of Western Ontario, Canadá (1996). Atualmente é Professor Titular da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Tem experiência na área de Engenharia do Vento, atuando principalmente nos estudos relativos à ação e efeitos do vento sobre edificações, pessoas e o meio-ambiente. 

  • Edith Beatriz Camano Schettinni, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil - bcamano@iph.ufrgs.br

    Possui Graduação em Engenharia Hídrica pela Universidad Nacional del Litoral (Argentina, 1983), Mestrado em Engenharia Civil pela UFRGS (1991) e Doutorado em Mécanique des Fluides et Transferts pelo Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (França, 1996). É professora DE, desde 1990, no Departamento de Hidromecânica e Hidrologia do Instituto de Pesquisas Hidráulicas da UFRGS, com maior atuação em ensino de Graduação e Pós-graduação e pesquisa. Atualmente, é Porfessora Titular e Vice-Diretora do IPH/UFRGS. Foi Coordenadora e Coord. Substituta do Programa de Pós-graduação em Recursos Hídricos e Saneamento Ambiental, e exerceu diversas funções como membro de Câmaras da Administração Central da UFRGS. Tem experiência na área de Mecânica de Fluidos, Hidráulica e Turbulência, sendo orientadora de diversos trabalhos de conclusão, como teses, dissertações, trabalhos de final de curso e iniciação científica. Possui diversos artigos publicados em revistas e anais de congressos na sua área de atuação. Coordena o NETT - Núcleo de Estudos em Transição e Turbulência do IPH/UFRGS. No momento, realiza pesquisas sobre a ação de escoamentos turbulentos sobre corpos submersos e estruturas, escoamentos estratificados e escoamentos com superfície livre. 

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Published

2026-06-28

Issue

Vol. 21 No. 1 (2026): [REEC] Revista Eletrônica de Engenharia Civil - Vol. 21, n° 1, 2026

Section

Estruturas

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How to Cite

NICOLAIT FERNANDES, E. L.; MÉRCIO LOREDO-SOUZA, A.; CAMANO SCHETTINNI, E. B. Influence of the presence of a flat plate on the flow behavior around a smooth and rigid circular cylinder. REEC - Revista Eletrônica de Engenharia Civil, v. 21, n. 1, p. 31–45, 28 Jun.2026.