Direct numerical simulations of a cylinder cutting a vortex

Abstract

The interaction between a vortex and an impacting body which is oriented normally to it is complex due to the interaction of inviscid and viscous three-dimensional mechanisms. To model this process, direct numerical simulations of a thin cylinder intersecting a columnar vortex oriented normally to it are conducted. By varying the impact parameter and the Reynolds number, the two regimes of interaction mentioned in the literature are distinguished: the weak and strong vortex regimes. Low impact parameters, representing strong vortices, led to ejection and interaction of secondary vorticity from the cylinder's boundary layer, while high impact parameters, representing weak vortices, led to approximately inviscid interaction of the cylinder with the primary vortex through deformations. No significant effect of the Reynolds number in the overall phenomenology is found, even if larger Reynolds numbers lead to the formation of increasingly smaller and more intense vortex structures in the parameter range studied. Finally, the hydrodynamic force curves on the cylinder are analyzed, showing that intense forces could be locally generated for some parameter regimes, but that the average force on the cylinder does not substantially deviate from baseline cases where no vortex was present. Our results shed light on the underlying mechanisms of vortex-body interactions and their dependence on various parameters.