ARCHER2 Calendar August 2024
By ARCHER2 Calendar on August 1, 2024
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Flow past a succulent-inspired cylinder
Dr Oleksandr Zhdanov, University of Glasgow, James Watt School of Engineering
Unlike humans and animals, plants are sessile and cannot seek shelter from wind. Most plants rely on reconfiguration to reduce the wind loadings they experience. However, this strategy is not possible for tall arborescent cacti and succulents since they have an inflexible structure. Nevertheless, they can withstand high wind loadings without being uprooted. In this project, passive flow control used by succulents was investigated using large eddy simulations performed on ARCHER2. The studied four-ribbed cylinder is inspired by several succulents of the Euphorbiaceae family. Its aerodynamic properties were investigated for different orientations relative to the wind direction The image shows complex vortical structures around and in the wake of the cylinder. Reattachment of the flow separated from the upstream rib at the downstream rib can be observed over the bottom part of the succulent, leading to reduction of the drag force experienced by the succulent at this orientation.
This image was published on the August page of the ARCHER2 2024 printed calendar.