Effect of Corner Cut on the Near Wake Flow Structures of a Square Cylinder

In this paper, results of a flow visualization study on the flow around a square section cylinder with corner chamfering are presented. The corners of the cylinder are chamfered so that the each corner forms a triangle with horizontal (stream-wise) and cross stream (perpendicular to the free stream velocity) dimension ‘b’. Experiments are conducted for b/B₀ ratios of 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 where ‘B₀’ is the side dimension of the uncut square cylinder. The flow structures, particularly the vortex shedding mode and mechanism around the cylinder with chamfered corners are investigated in order to deduce the effect of corner modifications on the flow. For studies with stationary cylinder (case (a)), the results are taken at Reynolds number values of 1500, 2100 and 2800. For sinusoidally oscillated cylinder case (case (b)), the studies are restricted to Re=2100. To bring out the effect of corner chamfering more clearly, experiments are also conducted with a square cylinder without corner cuts, i.e., with sharp corners. For the case (b), a special mechanism is made to oscillate the cylinders at a desired amplitude and frequency. That is, the cylinder undergoes forced sinusoidal oscillation in case (b). It is found that drag decreases and Strouhal number increases with b/B₀ ratio. Quite uniquely, at b/B₀=0.2, cross-stream convection of vortices have been observed. Vortex coalescence is observed in almost all cases. Results indicate that corner chamfering brings notable changes in the near-wake flow structures of a square section cylinder. In view of marine structures and building sections with similar geometries, the present results carry considerable practical significance.