Prediction of the flow over a circular cylinder at high Reynolds number using detached-eddy simulation

Detached-eddy simulation (DES) is applied to prediction of the super-critical flow around a circular cylinder. One of the primary aims is to assess a new DES version developed by Spalart et al. [2006. A new version of detached-eddy simulation, resistant to ambiguous grid densities. Theoret. Comput. Fluid Dyn. 20(3), 181–195] against results obtained using the baseline version of the method. In the new DES version, known as delayed detached-eddy simulation (DDES), the turbulent length scale is determined using information from the solution field in addition to the wall distance and grid spacing. Computations are performed at a Reynolds number, based on the freestream velocity and cylinder diameter of 8×106. The predictions are assessed against experimental measurements. Flow visualizations show that there is comparable eddy content resolved using the baseline and new DES versions. Predictions are obtained using three grids, with the coarsest mesh having 1.47×106 cells and the finest grid having 9.83×106 cells. The average force coefficients obtained using both models are in good agreement. Predictions of the pressure coefficient using the baseline and new DES versions are in the range of experimental measurements.