Stably stratified flows past a two-dimensional hill in a channel of finite depth are analyzed numerically by using a newly-developed multi-directional finite-difference method at a Reynolds number of 2000 based on the freestream velocity
U and the obstacle's height h. Attention is focused on unsteady characteristics of the flow around the hill for the cases of 1<
K (=NH/πU) 2 (strong stratification) where
N and
H are the buoyancy frequency and the domain depth. The numerical results clarify that the periodical change in the flow around the hill, which leads to a persistent
Cd oscillation, is caused by the detaching of the upstream advancing columnar disturbance with mode
n=1. Furthermore, it is shown that the unsteadiness in the flow is strongly affected by the Reynolds number, the blockage ratio
H/h and the body shape.
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