Numerical investigation of drag force on flow through circular array of cylinders

A 2-D model for flow through a circular patch with an array of vertical circular cylinders in a channel is established using the Navier-Stokes equations with a hybrid RANS/LES turbulence model–the Scale Adaptive Simulation (SAS) model. The applicability of the model is first validated by test cases where experimental data are available for comparison with the computed results. It is verified that the present model can predict well the average velocity and turbulence structure. The drag force and drag coefficient are then calculated using the present model for a number of cases with different solid volume fractions, cylinder Reynolds numbers and patch diameters. It is shown that the drag coefficient increases with increasing solid volume fraction, but decreases with increasing Reynolds number. However, the drag coefficient is independent of the diameter of circular batch when the solid volume fraction and Reynolds number are kept constant.