Large-Eddy Simulation of the Flow Around a Three-Dimensional Bluff Body

Journal article, 2001

Large Eddy Simulations of the flow around a surface-mounted cube were made. It was shown that it is possible to obtain accurate results at a computational cost of only 60 CPU hours on a SGI R10000. Two one-equation subgrid models are used for modeling the SGS stress tensor. A series of time-averaged velocities and turbulent stresses are computed and compared with the experiments~\cite{martinuzzi:tropea}, showing good agreement. Global quantities such as drag and lift coefficients are presented. The transfer of the turbulent energy was studied, and the reverse transfer of energy (``backscatter'') was predicted. Coherent structures and other flow features were studied. The results show good agreement with experimental observations.