EFFECTS OF INTRINSIC 3-DIMENSIONALITY ON THE DRAG CHARACTERISTICS OF A NORMAL FLAT-PLATE

A three-dimensional direct numerical simulation of the wake of a flat plate held normal to a free stream has been conducted for a Reynolds n umber of 1000, using a high-order finite-difference scheme. The calcul ated flow structures and the coefficient of drag are shown to be marke dly different from those obtained from an equally resolved two-dimensi onal simulation. The three-dimensional simulation is able to account f or the intrinsic three-dimensionality that develops beyond a certain c ritical Reynolds number (similar to 200). The time-averaged drag predi cted by the three-dimensional simulation is in good agreement with the experimental data, and also captures a low-frequency time variation t hat is seen in the experiments. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics .