Abstract
The characteristics of axial flows around a circular cylinder with a forward facing step are experimentally investigated by flow visualization methods. To visualize the separation flow from front edge of the axial cylinder, the smoke method and the oil flow were used. The measurements of pressure distributions were carried out for various distances of the step from the leading edge of axial circular cylinder. The minimum drag coefficient of 0.2 was obtained at the optimal geometry. The flow visualization around the cylinder shows the stream line and the time line of separated flow region. The minimum value of the drag coefficient and that of cross area of the separated flow region is attained at the same geometry.
