A NUMERICAL STUDY OF VORTEX SHEDDING FROM A SQUARE CYLINDER WITH GROUND EFFECT

A numerical study has been conducted to investigate the behavior of th e vortical wake created by a square cylinder placed in a laminar bound ary-layer flow. The calculations are performed by solving the unsteady 2D Navier-Stokes equations with a finite-volume method. The Reynolds- number regime investigated is from 500 to 1500. Another parameter that is varied is the distance of the cylinder from the wall. The initial and subsequent development of the vortex shedding phenomenon are inves tigated. The presence of the wail is found to have strong effects on t he properties of these vortices, as well as lift, drag, and Strouhal n umber.