Comparative study of turbulent flow around a bluff body by using two- and three-dimensional CFD

Abstract

In this study, the turbulent flow around a bluff body for different wind velocities was investigated numerically by using its two- and three-dimensional models. These models were tested to verify the validity of the simulation by being compared with experimental results which were taken from the literature. Variations of non-dimensional velocities in different positions according to the bluff body height were analysed and illustrated graphically. When the velocity distributions were examined, it was seen that the results of both two- and three-dimensional models agree with the experimental data. It was also seen that the velocities obtained from two-dimensional model matched up with the experimental data from the ground to the top of the bluff body. Particularly, compared to the front part of the bluff body, results of the upper and back part of the bluff body are better. Moreover, after comparing the results from calculations by using different models with experimental data, the effect of multidimensional models on the obtained results have been analysed for different inlet velocities. The calculation results from the two-dimensional (2D) model are in satisfactory agreement with the calculation results of the three-dimensional model (3D) for various flow situations when comparing with the experimental data from the literature even though the 3D model gives better solutions.