Aerodynamic study of the airflow around a scale triangular prismatic hill for Low Reynolds Number

Abstract

In this work is made the aerodynamic study of the airflow around a scale triangular prismatic hill for low Reynolds number. The study is made experimentally and numerically. The numerical simulation is used to complement the experimental results. The study considers a scale triangular prismatic hill with 4 cm of side and 20 cm of length. The scale triangular prismatic hill is located inside a channel with a square section, with 20 cm of side and 100 cm of length. The experimental study is made in a low air velocity aerodynamic tunnel, with a square experimental section of 20×20 cm2. In the experimental test, the airflow around a scale triangular prismatic hill is obtained using the smoke visualization, a laser and a film machine. In the image acquisition a rate of 25 images per second is used. In the numerical simulation the Computational Fluid Dynamics is used. The Computational Fluid Dynamics numerical model considers the two-dimensional turbulent airflows under steady-state and non-isothermal conditions. In the study the air velocity is 0.15 m/s. The air velocity is controlled, in the experimental tunnel, using a Babuc-A and confirmed in the final using a graphic methodology. In the paper the airflow around a scale triangular prismatic hill is analysed. The vortexes dimensions in steady state conditions are numerically calculated, while the vortexes formation in transient conditions are experimentally analysed.