ABSTRACT
Vortex dynamics plays a vital role in the transport of mass, momentum and energy of a flow field. Moreover, vortex manipulation is the key parameter for controlling any device that involves flow mixing. Present work deals with studies on a flat plate with and without chamber edges and when the plate is attached to a triangle with different inclinations and shapes at the top. Mach numbers of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.15 are considered. Parameters such as wake zone dimensions, flow separation and attachment points, drag force, and coefficient of drag are estimated. Experimentation is done using an open 500channel setup that is fabricated to the designed dimensions with water as the working fluid for the Reynolds numbers ranging from 4000 to 7000. Computational fluid dynamics analysis is also carried out with the same set of parameters and the variations of flow parameters are plotted for various Reynolds numbers and Mach numbers. Flow visualization over steps with different inclinations is made and parameters such as pressure uphill size, separation zone, reverse flow length variation and coefficient of drag with Reynolds numbers are compared. It is observed that the flat plate attached to the triangle shape object has less drag coefficient, when compared with other geometries. A similar phenomenon is observed in both computational and experimental approach. From the results it is observed that the flat plate attached with an equilateral triangle also possesses less wall shear force and less wake zone size in both approaches. The present results showed that the flat plate with triangular geometries has less drag coefficient, when compared with other geometries.
