Damping of rotational and translational movements of a rectangular prism

Abstract

The curved body hypothesis is used to analyze the development of rotational velocity perturbations of rectangular prisms blown by an air flow at low Reynolds numbers. Undisturbed motion is a rectilinear motion in a direction perpendicular to the prism’s generatrix. The development of perturbations of the transverse velocity of prisms is investigated using the quasi-stationary hypothesis. The Navier-Stokes equations are solved by the finite volume method using the freely distributed SU 2 software package. The behavior of prisms differing in the aspect ratio of a transverse rectangular section is studied. It is found that rotational velocity perturbations develop if the aspect ratio is less than 10. Perturbations of the translational transverse velocity develop if the aspect ratio is less than 3.

Keywords:

curved body hypothesis, quasi-stationary hypothesis, perturbations, rotational velocity, translational velocity, rectangular prism