Computers Fluids Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 433-446, 1994 0045-7930/94 $6.00 + 0.

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Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved Copyright © 1993 Pergamon Press Ltd

UNSTEADY VISCOUS FLOW PAST A FLAT PLATE

ORTHOGONAL TO THE FLOW

H. R. TAMADDON-JAHROMI,P. TOWNSEND and M. F. WEBSTER

Department of Mathematics & Computer Science, University College of Swansea, Singleton Park,
Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, U.K.

(Received 27 May 1992; in revised form 12 November 1992)

Abstract--In this article, vortex shedding in unsteady flow past a thin plate placed normal to the flow
it studied using a Taylor-Galerkin/pressure-correction finite element algorithm. The flows are considered
over restricted time periods starting from some initial steady-state, eventually encountering a time after
which vortices are shed, prior to the onset of regular periodic shedding. The Strouhal number, St, which
is evaluated for Reynolds numbers of 126, 250 and 500, reflects excellent agreement with both the
experimental and numerical data available. Although flow asymmetry and, as a consequence, vortex
shedding, occurs naturally in the simulation, the shedding process is also initiated artificially by perturbing
the flow in two different ways, each over a short time period. The solutions in these cases are then
compared against the unperturbed situation. Here our concern is principally with the validation of our
method for solving the transient Navier-Stokes equations and complex unsteady problems, seeking to
confirm the accuracy and stability over long-time scales of operation. The Taylor-Galerkin method
employed here is capable of accurately capturing the long-time scales involved, and provides an effective
tool to analyse such unsteady problems.

1. INTRODUCTION
The process of vortex shedding is a classical problem in fluid mechanics and there have been many
theoretical and experimental studies on various aspects of this problem. Under particular
conditions, the motion of a viscous incompressible fluid past an object results in the generation
of a wake containing a double row of vortices, the so-called von K~irmfin vortex street [1]. The
behaviour of such flows may be characterized through a single parameter, the Reynolds number,
Re. From experimental observations it is held that for small values of Re less than some threshold
value Res the flow is steady, whilst when Res is exceeded the flow becomes unsteady and vortices
are shed, leading eventually to regular periodic shedding. As Re increases still further, eventually
a turbulent regime is encountered and the vortex shedding pattern then assumes an irregular
structure. This paper gives consideration to the different effects of a disturbed and an undisturbed
initial flow on the subsequent unsteady vortex shedding process that results beyond a plate
positioned with its length normal to the flow. It should be emphasized, however, that for this
problem, vortex shedding occurs naturally in our computations without artificial stimulation. The
shedding process a rises due to perturbing instabilities, causing an asymmetric configuration of the
wake past the plate. A finite element method is used to solve the unsteady incompressible
Navier-Stokes equations that model such flows, from which insight is gathered into the fundamen-
tal mechanisms governing the formation of the near wake by monitoring the temporal development
of the flow field. In particular, for any individual value of Re, the temporal evolution of the near
wake is traced through its initial growth in size as a symmetrical twin vortex structure, followed
by a transition to an asymmetrical twin vortex pattern, before finally yielding to the onset of vortex
shedding which only after some further time achieves regular periodic shedding.
Although there has been considerable interest for many years in unsteady flows past various bluff
bodies, only a few papers have appeared in the literature for the specific problem of present interest.
Hence, to provide some background we cite first those studies relating to steady flows and
companion problems. As an illustration, for steady flow past a plate positioned normal to the flow
direction, Hudson and Dennis [2] were able to obtain accurate numerical solutions at Re ~<20.
These results were limited in Re due to the difficulties encountered in resolving the singularity at
the edges of the plate. Castro et al. [3] and Castro and Jones [4] have also presented numerical
simulations for the same steady problem. The major objective of their work was to assess the
advantage of employing "higher-order" finite difference schemes for problems involving regions of
433
434 H.R. TAMADDON-JAHROMI,~l a[

recirculation. These authors established that for this steady flow, the length of the symmetrical
vortex pair that develops beyond the plate increases linearly with increasing Re
Acrivos e t al. [5] performed some valuable experiments on steady flows past a variety of isolated
bluff bodies and showed again that the length of the recirculating vortices increases linearly with
the Re. In a series of papers, Acrivos and Schrader [6], Milos and Acrivos [7, 8] and Hawken et aL
[9] have studied a related problem of steady laminar flow over a step in a two-dimensional channel.
The interest in this problem focuses on the formation of a downstream vortex in the lee of the
step and its subsequent behaviour under varying flow conditions, where similarities may be
drawn to the wake beyond the plate. These authors have performed such studies by employing an
inlet profile of parabolic and uniform type, and results are available for a wide range of ratios,
2, of the upstream channel width to the step height. The general consensus for the step problem
is that it is not always possible to attain steady solutions at Re > 400, yet still well within the
laminar flow regime. The salient corner vortex length downstream of the step is again observed
to increase with increasing Re for values of 2 < 5, but for 2 > 5 the vortex length tends to a constant
limiting value.
For unsteady flows past a fiat plate positioned normal to the flow we cite for comparison the
works of Taneda and Honji [10], Yoshida and Nomura [11] and Laval and Quartapelle [12]. To
our knowledge, this problem has attracted scant attention in the literature and detailed documen-
tation is not in evidence to cover all the various evolutionary stages of flow development involved.
In an earlier paper for simple model problems [13], we established the merits of our advocated
scheme in relationship to other possible methods. Here our concern is principally with the
validation of our method for solving the transient Navier-Stokes equations and complex unsteady
problems, seeking to confirm the accuracy and stability over long-time scales of operation and its
correctness in the light of the above-stated evidence. To satisfy the present requirements, a
comparison is drawn with the above-cited studies, though some attempt is made here to indicate
the general flow structure throughout a characteristic evolutionary period. Different aspects of the
vortex shedding process may be investigated, such as the generation and separation of the vortices,
the stability of vortex streets, the forces involved and the suppression of the shedding process. In
the present study we pay particular attention to the flow patterns and general structure of the
transient flows generated. Starting from rest, either impulsively or with uniform acceleration, the
development of the separated flow past the plate was investigated experimentally by Taneda and
Honji [10] using flow-visualization techniques. Yoshida and Nomura [11] conducted a compu-
tational study of the flow evolution, both prior to and during the vortex shedding process~
incorporating an initial transient build-up to the inlet flow and superimposing an additional
small-amplitude random perturbation to generate an asymmetrical response. With the level of
detail provided in Refs [10-12], we are able to compare directly against these results during the
early flow development prior to vortex shedding whilst the wake vortices remain symmetrical.
Beyond such a state, only values of the Strouhal number, St, and the times of transition in the flow
formation provide a basis for comparison. The numerical method employed in Ref. [11] was a
conventional Galerkin finite element spatial discretization of the Navie~Stokes equations using a
primitive variable formulation. In each time integration step this involved an iteration process to
accommodate the non-linear convection terms. Laval and Quartapelle [12] conducted simulations
only for the early flow development prior to vortex shedding, and tabulated the temporal
development of the symmetrical vortex pair in the wake of the plate. Again this data provides a
guideline for comparison, albeit over only a relatively brief start-up period. In Ref. [12], the
numerical method employed bears close resemblance to the present scheme, being a fractional-step
Taylor-Galerkin method in which the convective, viscous and pressure terms are treated in three
distinct phases.
The outline of the remainder of the paper is as follows. First the basic equations are introduced
in Section 2, and details on the specific discretization and numerical formulation employed follow
in Section 3. A complete statement of the problem is provided in Section 4 that includes the flow
parameters sought. In Section 5, the numerical results are presented and discussed for three values
of Re, where 126 ~<Re ~<500, and both unperturbed and perturbed flows are addressed for
alternative statements of the imposed boundary conditions. The conclusions of this work are then
presented in Section 6.
 Unsteady flow past a flat plate 435

2. BASIC EQUATIONS
Adopting the notation and convection of Ref. [14], where bold type implies vector notation, the
incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in the absence of a body force, are given by
pu,, = # V2u - p u ' Vu - - V p , (1)

with
V'u=0,

where V is the vectorial gradient operator, V2 is the Laplacian operator, u is the velocity vector,
p is the pressure and p and # are the density and viscosity, respectively.
If one takes u0 and d as the characteristic velocity and length scales of the problem, a suitable
non-dimensionalization may be established using:
u=u*uo, x=x*d; p =p*pu2o, t = t*d/uo. (2)
Employing expressions (2) within equation (1) and adopting a velocity-based time scale (d/uo),
provides the appropriate non-dimensional equations. For conciseness in notation, henceforth we
discard the * superscripts, though non-dimensional forms are assumed and equation (1) now reads as
u, = Re-1 V2u _ u. Vu - Vp, (3)

where the Reynolds number (Re) is defined as

Re = puo d/#.

3. N U M E R I C A L METHODS
The basic methodolgy follows a Taylor-Galerkin/pressure-correction time-stepping scheme
[14, 15]. This scheme involves a temporal discretization in a Taylor series prior to a spatial Galerkin
discretization. The Taylor~Galerkin scheme is advocated to resolve transient convection~liffusion
problems, whilst the pressure-correction scheme provides a mechanism for incorporating the
incompressibility constraint through three fractional equation steps. In the most basic form of the
algorithm, an initial non-divergence-free velocity field is computed using a predictor-corrector pair
through a half time-step scheme. At the second fractional stage, this leads to a Poisson equation
to solve for the temporal pressure difference field on the time-step, governed by a discrete symmetric
banded matrix. The solution for the pressure difference is obtained by a direct Choleski method,
the result of which is then used to produce the final solenoidal velocity field at the end of the
time-step cycle. The Galerkin mass matrix equations that arise at the first and third stages are
solved by Jacobi iteration.
Numerical stability and accuracy are major factors influencing the particular choice of finite
element scheme. Once such a scheme is selected, these factors determine the quality of the solution
and the amount of effort afforded to obtain it. Implicit methods are generally chosen for their
favourable numerical stability properties. Therefore, some degree of implicitness is sought when
the stability constraints, on say the time-step, of an explicit method would be more restrictive than
the desired level of accuracy would impose. This is the conclusion reached in our earlier studies
[9, 13, 15], where for convection~liffusion problems a semi-implicit Taylor-Galerkin algorithm was
preferred. The implicitness apparent in such a scheme comes not only from the presence of the
consistent mass matrix inherent in a Galerkin finite element discretization, but more importantly
from a Crank-Nicolson treatment for the diffusion terms, that otherwise pose severe stability
restrictions. The convection terms are treated explicitly and the standard CFL condition for
stability emerges. The pressure terms are themselves resolved indirectly through a Crank-Nicolson
approximation, though this is veiled by the pressure-correction splitting of the equation system.
The finite element approximation for velocity, U(x, t), and pressure, P(x, t), may be taken over
nodal indices j and k as
U(x, t) = Uj(/)~bj(x), P(x, t) = Pk(t)~bk(X ),
where piecewise continuous quadratic polynomials, ~by(x), are used to approximate the velocity
components over a triangular subdivision of the spatial domain, and likewise piecewise linear
 436 H. R TAMADDON-JAHROMIet al.

functions, ~Ok(x), are employed for the pressure interpolation. The time-dependent nodal velocity
and pressure vectors are then U and P, respectively.
Using the notation given in Ref. [14], the semi-implicit fully-discretized scheme referred to above
reads as:
Step la,

M + ~ S (U "+ ,/2 _ U") = (F" + F "+ ,/2) + { _ [ u S + pN(U)]U + Lxp}"; (4a)

Step lb,

(PM + 2 s ) (u* - u") = I(F"+' + 17.) + { _ u s u + L P}" - [pN(U)tq"+ ,;2; (4b)

Step 2,

OKQ,+, = /9 LU*; (4c)

At
and
Step 3,

P--- M(U "+~ - U*) = OLTQ"+ '; (4d)

At
where U" is a nodal velocity vector at time t", U* is an intermediate non-divergence-free velocity
vector, P" is a pressure vector at time t", and Q , + t = p , + l _ p, is the pressure difference vector.
Here the notation follows conventional/2-inner products on the domain f~ given by

(f' g) = .In f(x) 'g(x) dfL

so that the system matrices, derived from the elemental contributions, are defined as
(M)~j = (d?,, dpy) is the mass matrix
(S)iy = (Vq~, V~by) is the diffusion matrix,
(N(U))~j = (~b~,U" V~bj) is the convection matrix,
(K)ej = (V~ki, V~bj) is the pressure stiffness matrix,
(Lk)~j = (~b~,VkCkj), so that L = (Lk) is the incompressibility matrix,
and
Fg= Sr2 49i(x)g(x)dF2 is a forcing function vector,
due to traction boundary conditions g(x) imposed on boundary segment F2. Note that time-
independent boundary conditions imply F" = F" + 1/2= F" + ~.
For insight into the numerical behaviour and time accuracy of this algorithm we cite some of
our earlier studies on simple model problems where analytical solutions were generally available
[13, 16]. Here our primary objective is to validate for the first time this algorithm for a non-trivial
complex unsteady problem governed by the evolutionary Navier-Stokes equations. In this respect,
with the sparsity of available data against which to compare, we show that the algorithm performs
well in the early transient flow build-up prior to vortex shedding, beyond which we provide
extensive problem documentation on the further evolutionary stages of development. Here only
St values and flow transition times are available against which to monitor quality of solution and
algorithm performance. There is clearly a need for such a thorough study and the establishment
of this method in its various forms as it is evidently capable of a high degree of accuracy in both
a spatial and temporal sense. In the related area of steady flows we cite Refs [9, 15, 17] for prior
validation covering both two- and three-dimensional calculations.

4. P R O B L E M S P E C I F I C A T I O N
The schematic diagram of the problem is shown in Fig. la, where vanishing exit traction is
imposed normal to the boundary segment expressed as (o • n)x = 0, for Cauchy stress tensor ~ and
 Unsteady flow past a flat plate 437

3u/3y = O, v=O

¢ /on plate surface u---O,v--O

12hp [n.~r]x=O
v=O

I
I
i I
I
4.5hp I ~u[Oy = 0, v----O

60hp

Fig. la. Schematic diagram.

outward pointing normal vector n to the domain exit flow boundary. The dimensions of the
problem are taken as a flow domain length and width of 60 and 12 units, respectively, and a plate
length and width of 1 and 1/30 units, respectively, to compare directly against the experiments of
Ref. [10]. The initial condition is uniform flow. The boundary conditions are taken as: the essential
condition U~0 = 1 unit at the inlet; normal component traction free at the outlet; and along the
remaining boundaries vanishing tangential tractions and normal velocity components are imposed.
The outer flow domain boundaries are fluid boundaries and their location is selected so that they
have an insignificant effect on the solution in the near-flow domain to the plate. The no-slip
boundary condition is imposed at the plate surfaces. As the flow is expected to vary most rapidly
near the edges of the plate, a mesh is employed that is graded towards the plate, as illustrated in
Fig. 1b. Both the complete mesh and an expanded view of the zone in the neighbourhood of the
plate are provided, giving a total of 2028 elements and 4212 nodes. Relevant numerical parameters,
such as the number of mass iterations and the value of the time-step were selected according to
empirical evidence and the precursor studies of Refs [9, 13, 15]. The semi-implict method of
equations (4) is employed with the time-step At--0.005 observing the appropriate stability
guideline illustrated in Ref. [15]. At Steps la,b and ld, 5 Jacobi iterations are used for Re = 126
and 250, whilst correspondingly no more than 1 iteration is used for Re = 500 with At = 0.0025,
to imbue the scheme with the necessary stability properties. For one iteration the scheme reduces
to mass lumping. To have a direct comparison of the experimental and numerical results, the
non-dimensional time has been rescaled to dimensional time (i.e. seconds), using the dimensional
scales reported in Refs [10, 11].
iiiii i i i /

illgi!! III::111lli!111111111111111111
!111 :, i! ;lll:ll l llllllillllllllilll

i / I / 1 ~ I .I ./ - - i /

/ ,I]/1A/Ptl t /l l / / I /
liili'; i,',r,',;',',IlIlIIiiililillllillillil J/ lllll////
f
Plate location
1
Plate location
Fig. lb. Finite element mesh; full on the left, enlarged on the right.
 438 H . R . TAMADDON-JAHROMIet aL

The St is calculated for each of the instances quoted above and is defined by the non-dimensional
ratio

st = h e J T U ~ , (5)

in which f is the frequency of shedding, hp is the length of the plate and U:~ is the free stream
velocity. The frequency was calculated by measuring the period of vortex shedding from the
transverse velocity evolution. Comparison is then made with both the experimental and numerical
results of Refs [10-12, 18].

5. N U M E R I C A L RESULTS
For this problem, we consider in detail the case of Re = 126 for both the perturbed and
unperturbed situation. We then proceed to consider the higher values of Re = 250 and 500 for the
case where the underlying flow is undisturbed. The particular chosen value of Re = 126 may appear
somewhat curious in this context and this choice is made purely to facilitate direct comparison with
the cited literature.

5.1. Unperturbed flow Jor Re = 126

This unsteady calculation showed that in an early stage, flow separation occurred on each side
of the plate forming two symmetrical recirculation regions in the near wake. The length of this
recirculation increased with time, and the dimensionless eddy lengths are plotted against time for
Re = 126 in Fig. 2(a). The present results are in good agreement with the experimental work of
Taneda and Honji [10], and with the numerical results of Yoshida and Nomura [11] and Laval and
Quartapelle [12]. For a direct comparison at a fixed time of 8 s, the experimental flow patterns of
Taneda and Honji [10] are presented in Fig. 2(b) in contrast to the velocity vectors from the
simulations of Yoshida and Nomura [11] in Fig. 2(c) and those of the present study in Fig. 2(d).
Good agreement is apparent. The St for the present study is 0.173, which exactly matches the
numerical result of Yoshida and Nomura [11]; their corresponding experimental result is St
= 0.165. Table 1 gives the magnitude of the stream function at the vortex centres ~uvc~ and ~u,.c2
and the position of the stagnation point Ls. A stagnation point is located by observing the
coincident position where the vorticity vanishes and the horizontal velocity component undergoes
a sign change on the centreline. In this case a transition from the initial uniform flow to a symmetric
flow is observed, displaying two symmetrical vortices of opposite strength formed beyond the plate.
Artificial perturbation of the basic flow to stimulate the onset of non-symmetrical flow patterns
is unnecessary here, as they begin to appear around t = 400 s. By t = 500 s the vortex in the lower
part of the field has grown significantly and by t = 600 s has broken into two parts with a new
vortex appearing by t = 700 s. Regular periodic shedding began at t = 800 s.
For comparison purposes, this problem has also been solved by adopting the essential Dirichlet
boundary conditions on the outlet and upper and lower boundaries (i.e. u = U_~). Table 1 reflects
the corresponding vortex strengths and stagnation points during the development of twin vortices
for this situation. Here it appears that the flow becomes symmetric around t = 300 s, some 100 s
earlier than in the previous case where natural boundary conditions are employed. The pattern of
vortex shedding, prior to the onset of regular periodic shedding, is exhibited clearly in Fig. 3: in
which a horizontal S-shaped pattern of streamlines in the wake is observed, as is the shedding of
positive and negative vortices alternately from the surface of the plate. During the shedding process,
the relative positions of the vortices alter. The upper vortex in the wake starts growing in size at
about t = 460 s and after some time it breaks away, giving rise to an S-shaped pattern of streamlines
at t = 500 s, while the lower vortex is diffused and becomes very small. After the upper vortex has
split the lower vortex starts increasing, whilst the S-shaped pattern of streamlines occurring in the
upper/lower section gets elongated towards the main stream. The lower vortex then also breaks
up and a new vortex is formed in the upper region of the wake. Regular periodic shedding begins
to appear at about t = 700 s. The St value evaluated in this case was 0.172; almost identical to the
situation when natural boundary conditions were employed, though the onset of regular vortex
shedding has occurred here significantly earlier than in the case with natural boundary conditions.
The flow patterns are qualitatively similar for the natural boundary condition alternative and so
for brevity are not represented.
 U n s t e a d y flow p a s t a flat p l a t e 439

I "~ "-----"f,'~-VJ, f N ~ ' ~ ' ~ - ' s ' a ~

I .~-- ~_....-~.,~ .,x~',~ ~'~'~"

I
I :~- .
% %~.,i,e.t.*- ~ ~,qT~a'.;.~=~

(b) Ref[lOl
(a)
I.
-- IL. I 0
• I 0 0 +

erimental results . . . . ......,._._.~.~. -. , . . . . .

~.~"~ -- Y o s h i d a and N o m u r a [85] ~ "- ' ' ~-'~-~" l~ It ~-'~-"~
1

---... ~ x , , , - ,.;,.--'~'~--~,.....

l l l l (c) R e f [ l 1]
l0 20 30 40
Time (s)

(d) Present study

Fig. 2. (a) M o v e m e n t o f the s t a g n a t i o n p o i n t s in time. ( b ) - ( d ) Velocity v e c t o r s at t = 8 s, R e = 126.

5.2. Perturbed flow for Re = 126

Several ways have been devised to numerically perturb the flow in order to simulate the
non-symmetric configuration of the wake downstream of a bluff body. Physically, when the Re
value is greater than some critical value, the onset of vortex shedding should appear naturally,
hence breaking the symmetry of the flow. However, due to mathematically imposed symmetries

Table I. Vortex characteristics at Re = 126, 250 and 500

Re=126 Re = 250 Re=500
Time J~v,] I I~vvc21 Ls I~',~ I I~21 Ls I~,I Im'~21 Ls
5 0.216 0.216 0.829 0.265 0.265 0.844 0.219 0.219 0.606
8 0.257 0.257 1.147 0.327 0.327 1.159 0.317 0.317 0.761
15 0.303 0.303 1.620 0.390 0.390 1.671 0.387 0.387 1.273
25 0.320 0.320 2.203 0.411 0.411 2.241 0.443 0.443 1.804
200 0.441 0.441 6.729 0.645 0.646 5.689 0.746 0.746 4.718
300 0.490 0.490 7.664 0.818 0.824 . . . .
400 0.507 0.511 -- 0.899 0.913 -- 1.060 1.070 --
440 H . R . TAMADDON-JAHROMIet al.

in the geometry and boundary conditions, it is often found necessary to artificially induce
asymmetry. There are many ways in which this can be achieved and for comparison purposes two
such mechanisms are employed here. Such perturbations were triggered at a time when the twin
vortex pattern was well-established. The first approach, case (a), for disturbing the flow was
performed by adjusting the plate position through a complete vertical cycle of motion. This was
achieved by moving the plate up by half a plate length at time t = 15 + At, and then subsequently
over the next two time-steps moving it down again by half a plate length, before returning to the
original undisturbed position at time t = 15 + 4At. After the resulting asymmetry was introduced
into the flow field, symmetry was regained by t = 100 s. Thus, the numerically predicted unsteady
solution correctly reflects the physical reality. In this case, the flow becomes asymmetric after about
t = 200 s, some 200 s sooner than when the flow is unperturbed. This may be gathered by inspection
of Fig. 4, which illustrates the various stages during a complete regular periodic cycle for case (a)
perturbation, the earlier flow development being largely similar to that displayed in Fig. 3. Regular
periodic shedding is observed at t = 600 s for the perturbed situation, in contrast to t = 700 s for
the unperturbed case. In order to show the vortex pattern further downstream, the stationary

t=25 t = 300

t = 425 t = 445

i.~-¢

t = 450 t = 460

Fig. 3 continued opposite.

 Unsteady flow past a flat plate 441
t = 470 t = 480

t = 500 t = 510

t = 745 t = 795

Fig. 3. Streamlinepatterns for unperturbed flow (Dirichlet boundary condition, Re = 126)prior to regular
periodic shedding.

streamlines for Re = 126 at t = 600 s are presented in Fig. 5. The stationary streamlines are defined
as those viewed by an observer moving with the free stream velocity. Here the fluid appears to be
at rest with respect to the observer, while the plate is regarded as being shifted from right to left.
The St value was found to be 0.171. A typical regular periodic shedding which occurs between 1200
and 1235 s is illustrated in Fig. 6. The velocity histories and the relative temporal increment norms
for the solution during the vortex shedding process are presented in Fig. 6, indicating that a full
regular periodic shedding has already been well-established by t = 1200 s.
The second approach employed to disturb the flow, case (b), is to adjust the inlet boundary
conditions. At t = 15 + At, the velocity on half of the inlet nodes is set to zero and the remainder
are set to 2 U~, and at the following time-step the original inflow position is recovered. This change
in the inlet boundary condition during one time-step had a dramatic effect on the numerical
solution, markedly differing from the results reported above. This perturbation was so large in fact,
that an immediate effect was visible in the flow pattern following the disturbance, and regular
periodic shedding occurred at t = 300 s, some 300 s sooner than for case (a). For both methods
442 H . R . TAMADDON-JAHROM1et al.

t = 1200 t = 1206

- ~ , ~ --

--j

t = 1212 t = 1218

t = 1224 t = 1230

" ~ - - ~ - ~ ~ ,

Fig. 4. Streamline patterns in a periodic cycle for perturbed flow case (a), Re = 126.

of disturbing the flow qualitatively similar flow patterns were observed, and the St value for induced
periodic shedding was, as one would expect, the same as for the unperturbed case.

5.3. Solutions for Re = 250 and 500

Similar to the previous case, the flow for Re = 250 separates from the edges of the plates forming
an attached symmetrical vortex pair, and the flow becomes irregular after some 300 s. Table 1
reflects the character of the vortices corresponding to where the magnitude of the stream function
is increased compared to the solutions obtained for Re = 126, providing values of ~ c l and ~vc2.
More than two vortices appeared at t = 500 s and regular periodic shedding after around t = 700 s.
Once shedding has been instigated, the vortices continue to be shed from both edges of the plate,
and a value of St = 0.157 was obtained for this case.
In contrast, the flow development for Re = 500 is illustrated by the streamline plots in Fig. 7.
Since the scheme is unstable for such a high value of Re at At = 0.005 with 3 or 5 mass iterations,
mass lumping was employed to stabilize the calculation. This instability is associated with the
non-linearity of the equations at this high Re value. Comparison with the previous results shows
 Unsteady flow past a fiat plate 443

(J (

Fig. 5. Stationary streamlines for perturbed flow case (a) at t = 600 s prior to regular periodic shedding,
Re = 126.

1.6

1.2
÷ (7.98,6.19)
0
> × (5.43,6.50)
0.8
o [] (4.91,4.78)

" ~n (4.91,7.22)
0.4

0.0
1100 1130 1160 1190 Time, s

(a)

0.005

.+ L velocity
m
× L velocity
D
L _2 p r e s s u r e
0.003 L 2 pressure
¢.J
.9
E-

0.001

0.0
1100 1130 1160 1190 Time, s
(~
Fig. 6. Perturbed flow case (a) during regular periodic shedding, Re = 126: (a) length of the velocity vector;
(b) temporal increment norm (Tinc = Ila'7 ÷ ~-,~'7 II/lla'Tll).
444 H. R. TAM~DDON-J~-mOMIet al.

t = 25 t=200

t = 400 t = 600

f ~

t = 700 t = 710

Fig. 7. Evolution of unperturbed flow streamline patterns, Re = 500.

that although mass lumping introduces a certain amount of damping, it does not change the overall
flow configuration. As described in Table 1, the flow becomes asymmetric around t = 400 s and
the vortex street appears after t = 700 s. This is reflected in Fig. 7, where the last two frames
represented typical points in a regular periodic evolution cycle. The St value for this case is 0.115.
F r o m the value of St obtained at Re = 126, 250 and 500, it is apparent that the frequency of vortex
shedding decreases as Re increases. This is in agreement with the finding of Blevins [18] for a variety
o f bluff bodies. In quantitative terms the results for Re = 250 are substantially similar to those for
Re = 500 and, therefore, for brevity the former are omitted. To provide some insight into the
structure of the flow, Fig. 8 shows the velocity and pressure contours at a typical instance in a
periodic shedding cycle for Re = 500 at t = 700 s.

6. C O N C L U S I O N S
The unsteady flow past a plate has been considered for three selected values of Re = 126, 250
and 500, that reflect the influence of increasing inertia upon the flow. T h e e n t r a i n m e n t of the fluid
from inside the wake by the growing vortex, and the drawing of fluid from outside the wake, have
been observed in detail here. Fluid which has passed either side of the plate has been monitored
 Unsteady flow past a flat plate 445

.................. " " ' " " ' " .... ~ 7 7 7 ~

- ~ -.,-..~. ~ . ~ ..- ~ i; t. I ~ " ~ '" "

(a)

(b)
Fig. 8. (a) Velocity vectors and (b) pressure contours for unperturbed flow; Re = 500, t -- 700 s.
446 H.R. TAMADDON-JAHROMIet aL

at each i n s t a n t in the w a k e p a t t e r n f o r m a t i o n . The St values e v a l u a t e d f r o m the vortex shedding

process at R e = 126, 2 5 0 a n d 500 are St = 0 . 1 7 3 , 0.165 and 0.115, respectively. The c o m p u t e d
results are in excellent overall a g r e e m e n t with the e x p e r i m e n t a l results o f T a n e d a a n d H o n j i [10],
the n u m e r i c a l results o f Y o s h i d a a n d N o m u r a [11] at Re = 126 a n d the pictorial results r e p o r t e d
by Blevins [18] a t Re = 250 a n d 500. It has been shown that v o r t e x s h e d d i n g m a y be o b t a i n e d
w i t h o u t d i s t u r b i n g the u n d e r l y i n g steady flow, a n d this result has been c o m p a r e d against the
p e r t u r b e d s i t u a t i o n by d i s t u r b i n g the flow in two different ways. In these p e r t u r b e d situations
r e g u l a r p e r i o d i c s h e d d i n g onsets s o o n e r than in the u n p e r t u r b e d instance, but the frequency o f
s h e d d i n g is u l t i m a t e l y unaffected. P e r t u r b a t i o n case (b) was f o u n d to have a c o n s i d e r a b l y stronger
influence u p o n the flow than case (a) and, in c o n t r a s t to the u n p e r t u r b e d case, regular shedding
o c c u r r e d s o m e 400 a n d 100 s s o o n e r in these instances, respectively.
T h e T a y l o r - G a l e r k i n m e t h o d used here is clearly c a p a b l e o f a c c u r a t e l y c a p t u r i n g the long-time
scales involved, whilst retaining stability for m o d e r a t e values o f Re ~ 500. This n u m e r i c a l study
has allowed a careful v a l i d a t i o n o f the n u m e r i c a l m e t h o d e m p l o y e d in this c o m p l e x c o n t e x t solving
the full e v o l u t i o n a r y N a v i e r - S t o k e s equations, a n d has e n a b l e d a close e x a m i n a t i o n o f the flow
process for this p a r t i c u l a r p r o b l e m t h r o u g h o u t its transient d e v e l o p m e n t . C o n s i d e r a b l e insight has
been g a t h e r e d by s t u d y i n g all phases o f the flow d e v e l o p m e n t , which has revealed the m a n n e r o f
initial s y m m e t r i c a l vortex g r o w t h leading to the b r e a k i n g o f flow s y m m e t r y , as well as the detailed
structure o f the s u b s e q u e n t p e r i o d i c vortex f o r m a t i o n . The success o f the p r o p o s e d m e t h o d in this
p a r t i c u l a r a p p l i c a t i o n b o d e s extremely well for future a p p l i c a t i o n s in the u n s t e a d y regime.

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