LARGE-EDDY SIMULATIONS OF THE FLOW PAST BLUFF-BODIES - STATE-OF-THE-ART

The flow past bluff bodies, which occurs in many engineering situation s, is very complex, involving often unsteady behaviour and dominant la rge-scale structures, and it is therefore not very amenable to simulat ion by statistical turbulence models. The large-eddy simulation techni que is more suitable for these flows, and recent work in the area of l arge-eddy simulations of bluff body flows is summarised, with emphasis on work by the author's research group as well as on experiences gain ed from two LES workshops. Results are presented and compared for the vortex-shedding flow past square and circular cylinders and for the fl ow around a surface-mounted cube. The performance, the cost and the po tential of the LES method for simulating bluff body hows, also vis-a-v is statistical turbulence models, is assessed.