Assessment of Flow Interactions Between Circular Cylinders and Naca-0018 Hydrofoils at Low Reynolds Numbers

Abstract

Force oscillations and flow around submerged objects at low Reynolds numbers are very important subjects in marine environments. On the other hand, NACA hydrofoils and circular sections are two of the most prevalent shapes that are applied in marine systems and due to the stated reason their hydrodynamic investigation becomes immensely important. Accordingly, in this paper, a flow solver has been developed based on finite volume method, and flow interactions between circular cylinders and NACA-0018 hydrofoils have been considered. For this purpose, different parametric studies have been conducted on the angles of attack and the distance of the foil from the cylinder at three different Reynolds numbers of 100, 200, and 300. Moreover, frequency of the lift and drag coefficients have been analyzed in different cases. As a result, suitable arrangements of the cylinders and foils are determined in the context of an energy conversion system where force fluctuation is helpful and flow around foils and cylinders where fluctuation of forces around them are harmful and vibration or noise propagation should be controlled.