Flow around a cylindrical structure mounted in a plane turbulent boundary layer

The wind force acting on a low-aspect-ratio (height to diameter) cylindrical structure placed in a turbulent boundary layer has been investigated. The diameters of the cylindrical structure models were D=40 and 80 mm, and the Reynolds numbers based on D were varied from 1.1 x 10(4) and 1.1 x 10(5). The turbulent boundary layer thickness at which the cylindrical structure was placed varied from 26-120 mm. The aspect ratio was varied from 0.125-1.0. Flow visualizations were performed based on the surface oil-flow pattern method. The surface pressure distributions on the models were measured, and the drag and lift coefficients were determined by integration of the surface pressure distributions. The correlations between the fluid force, the turbulent boundary layer thickness, and the aspect ratio of the cylindrical structure were clarified. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.