Incompressible Laminar Flow Over a Three-Dimensional Rectangular Cavity

This paper investigates unsteady incompressible flow over cavities. Previous research in incompressible cavity-flow has included flow inside and past a 2-dimensional cavity, and flow inside a 3-dimensional cavity, driven by a moving lid. The present research is focused on incompressible flow past a 3-dimensional open shallow cavity. This involves the complex interaction between the external flow and the re-circulating flow within the cavity. In particular, computation was performed on a 3-dimensional shallow rectangular cavity with a laminar boundary layer at the cavity and a Reynolds number of 5,000 and 10,000, respectively. A CFD approach, based on the unsteady Navier-Stokes equations for 3-dimensional incompressible flow, was used in the study. Typical results of the computation are presented. These results reveal the highly unsteady and complex vortical structures at high Reynolds numbers.