Large-Eddy Simulations of the Flow past Bluff Bodies : State-of-the Art

Abstract

The flow past bluff bodies, which occurs in many engineering situations, is very complex, involving often unsteady behaviour and dominant large-scale structures, and it is therefore not very amenable to simulation by statistical turbulence models. The large-eddy simulation technique is more suitable for these flows, and recent work in the area of large-eddy simulations of bluff body flows is summarised, with emphasis on work by the author's research group as well as on experiences gained from two LES workshops. Results are presented and compared for the vortex-shedding flow past square and circular cylinders and for the flow around a surface-mounted cube. The performance, the cost and the potential of the LES method for simulating bluff body flows, also vis-a-vis statistical turbulence models, is assessed.