Bluff Body Aerodynamics

Bluff Body
A body moving through a fluid experiences a drag force,
which is usually divided into two components: frictional drag,
and pressure drag. Frictional drag comes from friction between
the fluid and the surfaces over which it is flowing. This friction
is associated with the development of boundary layers, and it
scales with Reynolds number. Pressure drag comes from the
eddying motions that are set up in the fluid by the passage of
the body. This drag is associated with the formation of a wake,
which can be readily seen behind a passing boat, and it is
usually less sensitive to Reynolds number than the frictional
drag. Frictional drag is important for attached flows (that is,
there is no separation), and it is related to the surface area
exposed to the flow. Pressure drag is important for separated
flows, and it is related to the cross-sectional area of the body.
Cylinders and spheres are considered bluff bodies because at
large Reynolds numbers the drag is dominated by the pressure
losses in the wake. These flows have large wakes which are
considerable to the dimensions of the body. We will study about
the flow over a cylinder in-order to understand the effects of
the large wakes on the performance of large number of bluff
body structures that we encounter in our day today life.

Figure 1 Examples of bluff body

When the drag is dominated by viscous drag, we say the body

is streamlined, and when it is dominated by pressure drag, we
say the body is bluff. Whether the flow is viscous-drag
dominated or pressure-drag dominated depends entirely on the
shape of the body. A streamlined body looks like a fish, or an
airfoil at small angles of attack, whereas a bluff body looks like
a brick, a cylinder, or an airfoil at large angles of attack. For
streamlined bodies, frictional drag is the dominant source of air
resistance. For a bluff body, the dominant source of drag is
pressure drag. For a given frontal area and velocity, a
streamlined body will always have a lower resistance than a
bluff body. For example, the drag of a cylinder of diameter $D$
can be ten times larger than a streamlined shape with the
same thickness

Figure 2 Drag coefficients of different bodies

Flow over a cylinder

Cylinders and spheres are considered bluff bodies because
at large Reynolds numbers the drag is dominated by the
pressure losses in the wake. The variation of the drag
coefficient with Reynolds number is shown in figure 3, and the
corresponding flow patterns are shown in figure 4. We see that
as the Reynolds number increases the variation in the drag
coefficient (based on cross-sectional area) decreases, and over
a large range in Reynolds number it is nearly constant. The flow
separates as it passes over the cylinder and we can also
observe that as the Reynolds number is increased the
vortex/wake behind the cylinder becomes more unstable and
results in vortex shedding and finally leads to turbulent flow.

Figure 3 Cd vs Re

Figure 4 Flow over the cylinder with various

Re

Vortex shedding
vortex shedding is an oscillating flow that takes place
when a fluid such as air or water flows past a bluff (as opposed
to streamlined) body at certain velocities, depending on the
size and shape of the body. In this flow, vortices are created at
the back of the body and detach periodically from either side of
the body. If the bluff structure is not mounted rigidly and the
frequency of vortex shedding matches the resonance frequency
of the structure, the structure can begin to resonate, vibrating
with harmonic oscillations driven by the energy of the flow. This
vibration is the cause of the "singing" of overhead power line
wires in a wind, and the fluttering of automobile whip radio
antennas at some speeds. Tall chimneys constructed of thinwalled steel tube can be sufficiently flexible that, in air flow
with a speed in the critical range, vortex shedding can drive the
chimney into violent oscillations that can damage or destroy
the chimney.

Strouhal number
The frequency at which vortex shedding takes place for a
cylinder is related to the Strouhal number by the following
equation:

St=

fD
v

Where St is the strouhal number, f is the vortex shedding

frequency, D is the diameter of the cylinder and V is the flow
velocity.

Figure 5 Strouhal Number vs Reynolds number

Vehicle Aerodynamics
Objectives of improvement of flow past vehicle bodies:
reduction of fuel consumption
more
favourable
comfort
characteristics
(mud
deposition on body, noise, ventilating and cooling of
passenger compartment)
improvement of driving characteristics (stability,
handling, traffic safety)
Vehicle aerodynamics includes three interacting flow
fields:
flow past vehicle body
flow past vehicle components (wheels, heat exchanger,
brakes, windshield),
flow in passenger compartment

Development of Aerodynamics design of Vehicles

Drag coefficient of vehicles