Direct numerical simulation of turbulent wake behind a surface-mounted square cylinder

In this research, direct numerical simulation has been performed to study the turbulent wake behind a wall-mounted square cylinder with aspect ratio 4 and Reynolds number 12 000 (based on the free-stream velocity and obstacle side length) in a developing boundary layer. Owing to the relatively high Reynolds number and high aspect ratio of the cylinder tested, the wake is wide spread behind the cylinder and exhibits complex and energetic vortex motions. The lateral and tip vortex shedding patterns at different frequencies, coherent structures downstream of the obstacle, the production rate and distribution of turbulent kinetic energy, and the instantaneous pressure distribution in the wake region have been thoroughly investigated. In order to validate the numerical results, the first- and second-order flow statistics obtained from the simulations have been carefully compared against available wind-tunnel measurement data.