S. C. R. Dennis

Bio: S. C. R. Dennis is an academic researcher from University of Western Ontario. The author has contributed to research in topics: Reynolds number & Potential flow around a circular cylinder. The author has an hindex of 30, co-authored 55 publications receiving 3698 citations.

Numerical solutions for steady flow past a circular cylinder at Reynolds numbers up to 100

Abstract: Finite-difference solutions of the equations of motion for steady incompressible flow around a circular cylinder have been obtained for a range of Reynolds numbers from R = 5 to R = 100. The object is to extend the Reynolds number range for reliable data on the steady flow, particularly with regard to the growth of the wake. The wake length is found to increase approximately linearly with R over the whole range from the value, just below R = 7, at which it first appears. Calculated values of the drag coefficient, the angle of separation, and the pressure and vorticity distributions over the cylinder surface are presented. The development of these properties with Reynolds number is consistent, but it does not seem possible to predict with any certainty their tendency as R → ∞. The first attempt to obtain the present results was made by integrating the time-dependent equations, but the approach to steady flow was so slow at higher Reynolds numbers that the method was abandoned.

Laminar boundary layer on an impulsively started rotating sphere

Abstract: The problem of determining the development with time of the flow of a viscous incompressible fluid outside a rotating sphere is considered The sphere is started impulsively from rest to rotate with constant angular velocity about a diameter The motion is governed by a coupled set of three nonlinear time‐dependent partial differential equations which are solved by first employing the semi‐analytical method of series truncation to reduce the number of independent variables by one and then solving numerically a finite set of partial differential equations in one space variable and the time The calculations have been carried out on the assumption that the Reynolds number is very large The physical properties of the flow are calculated as functions of the time and compared with existing solutions for large and small times A radial jet is found to develop with time near the equator of the sphere as a consequence of the collision of the boundary layers

The steady flow due to a rotating sphere at low and moderate Reynolds numbers

Abstract: The problem of determining the steady axially symmetrical motion induced by a sphere rotating with constant angular velocity about a diameter in an incompressible viscous fluid which is at rest at large distances from it is considered. The basic independent variables are the polar co-ordinates (r, θ) in a plane through the axis of rotation and with origin at the centre of the sphere. The equations of motion are reduced to three sets of nonlinear second-order ordinary differential equations in the radial variable by expanding the flow variables as series of orthogonal Gegenbauer functions with argument μ = cosθ. Numerical solutions of the finite set of equations obtained by truncating the series after a given number of terms are obtained. The calculations are carried out for Reynolds numbers in the range R = 1 to R = 100, and the results are compared with various other theoretical results and with experimental observations.The torque exerted by the fluid on the sphere is found to be in good agreement with theory at low Reynolds numbers and appears to tend towards the results of steady boundary-layer theory for increasing Reynolds number. There is excellent agreement with experimental results over the range considered. A region of inflow to the sphere near the poles is balanced by a region of outflow near the equator and as the Reynolds number increases the inflow region increases and the region of outflow becomes narrower. The radial velocity increases with Reynolds number at the equator, indicating the formation of a radial jet over the narrowing region of outflow. There is no evidence of any separation of the flow from the surface of the sphere near the equator over the range of Reynolds numbers considered.

Calculation of the steady flow past a sphere at low and moderate Reynolds numbers

Abstract: The steady axially symmetric incompressible flow past a sphere is investigated for Reynolds numbers, based on the sphere diameter, in the range 0·1 to 40. The formulation is a semi-analytical one whereby the flow variables are expanded as series of Legendre functions, hence reducing the equations of motion to ordinary differential equations. The ordinary differential equations are solved by numerical methods. Only a finite number of these equations can be solved, corresponding to an approximation obtained by truncating the Legendre series at some stage. More terms of the series are required as R increases and the present calculations were terminated at R = 40. The calculated drag coefficient is compared with the results of previous investigations and with experimental data. The Reynolds number at which separation first occurs is estimated as 20·5.

Control of Flow Over a Bluff Body

Abstract: In this review, we present control methods for flow over a bluff body such as a circular cylinder, a 2D bluff body with a blunt trailing edge, and a sphere. We introduce recent major achievements in bluff-body flow controls such as 3D forcing, active feedback control, control based on local and global instability, and control with a synthetic jet. We then classify the controls as boundary-layer controls and direct-wake modifications and discuss important features associated with these controls. Finally, we discuss some other issues such as Reynolds-number dependence, the lowest possible drag by control, and control efficiency.