Large eddy simulations of a circular cylinder at Reynolds numbers surrounding the drag crisis

Mean drag, fluctuating lift Strouhal number and base pressure are compared to experiments and empirical estimates for Reynolds numbers ranging from 6.31 × 104 to 5.06 × 105. In terms of the drag coefficient, the drag crisis is well captured by the present simulations, although the other integral quantities (rms lift and Strouhal number) show larger discrepancies. For the lowest Reynolds number, the drag is seen to be more sensitive to the domain width than the spanwise grid spacing, while at the higher Reynolds numbers the grid resolution plays a more important role, due to the larger extent of the turbulent boundary layer.