{"id":18205,"date":"2018-12-16T19:19:40","date_gmt":"2018-12-16T19:19:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.simscale.com\/?page_id=18205"},"modified":"2025-07-18T14:32:01","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T14:32:01","slug":"large-eddy-simulation-flow-over-a-cylinder","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.simscale.com\/docs\/validation-cases\/large-eddy-simulation-flow-over-a-cylinder\/","title":{"rendered":"Large Eddy Simulation: Flow Over a Cylinder"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The purpose of this numerical simulation is to validate the following parameters of the incompressible Large Eddy Simulation (LES) flow over a cylinder:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pressure distribution on the cylinder surface<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stream-wise Velocity distribution in the wake<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The numerical simulation results of SimScale were compared with the experimental results\\(^{1,2,3}\\). The flow regime selected for the study is classified as sub-critical with a flow Reynolds number of\u00a0\\(Re\\)=3900.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"hw-block hw-btnWrapper hw-btnWrapper--alignCenter \">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.simscale.com\/workbench\/?pid=1827749404448648015&#038;mi=run%3A922%2Csimulation%3A921&#038;mt=SIMULATION_RUN\" class=\"hw-btn    \" rel=\"noopener \" target=\"_blank\"    >\n        Import Project into Workbench    <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id='geometry' id='geometry' id='geometry' id='geometry' class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"geometry\">Geometry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The geometry of the study is a straight cylindrical body (see Figure 1). A brief description of the dimensions is provided by the table below.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/06\/image-67.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"721\" src=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/06\/image-67-1024x721.png\" alt=\"les cylinder\" class=\"wp-image-105349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/06\/image-67-1024x721.png 1024w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/06\/image-67-300x211.png 300w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/06\/image-67-768x540.png 768w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/06\/image-67.png 1144w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Figure 1: Geometry of the cylindrical body<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An O-type domain is selected as the flow domain around the cylinder. For cylinder diameter \\(D\\), the domain is 15 \\(D\\)&nbsp;in the radial direction and&nbsp;\\(\\pi D\\)&nbsp;in the span-wise direction (see Figure 2).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dimensions are given below<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Dimension<\/th><th>Value \\([m]\\)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Cylinder Diameter<\/td><td>0.1<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Domain Thickness<\/td><td>0.314<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Domain Diameter<\/td><td>3<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Table 1: Cylinder and domain dimensions in meters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 id='analysis-type-and-mesh' id='analysis-type-and-mesh' id='analysis-type-and-mesh' class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"analysis-type-and-mesh\">Analysis Type and Mesh<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tool Type<\/strong>:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.openfoam.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">OpenFOAM\u00ae<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Analysis Type:<\/strong> Transient, Incompressible with LES Smagorinsky turbulence model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mesh and Element Types:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For this study, a structured hexahedral mesh was created with the open-source \u2018BlockMesh-tool\u2019. The grid nodes are distributed by a geometric grading in the radial direction. Further, the nodes are clustered near the stagnation point and in the wake region along the streamwise direction. The mesh is based on a y-plus \\((y+)\\) criterion of&nbsp;\\(y+\\)&lt;1&nbsp;in the radial direction. The complete details of the mesh are listed in Table 2:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/06\/image-68.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"995\" height=\"932\" src=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/06\/image-68.png\" alt=\"les cylinder\" class=\"wp-image-105352\" srcset=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/06\/image-68.png 995w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/06\/image-68-300x281.png 300w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/06\/image-68-768x719.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 995px) 100vw, 995px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Figure 2: Mesh used for the LES cylinder SimScale case<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 id='simulation-setup' id='simulation-setup' id='simulation-setup' id='simulation-setup' class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"simulation-setup\">Simulation Setup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fluid:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul id=\"block-80b11cec-a99c-435d-adec-4522708785ee\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\\((\\nu)\\) <em>Kinematic viscosity<\/em>: 0.0000151116 \\(m^2\/s\\)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\\((\\rho)\\) <em>Density<\/em>: 1 \\(kg\/ m^3\\)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Boundary Conditions<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The inlet boundary was set as a non-turbulent fixed velocity condition, while a pressure boundary condition was applied at the outlet. For the spanwise boundaries, a symmetry condition was applied. The following table provides further details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table aligncenter\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Boundary Surface<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Velocity<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Pressure<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Inlet<\/td><td>Fixed value of 0.59 \\(m\/s\\)<\/td><td>Zero gradient<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Outlet<\/td><td>Inlet-outlet<\/td><td>0 \\(Pa\\) Fixed value gauge pressure<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Cylinder Wall<\/td><td>Fixed value of 0 \\(m\/s\\)<\/td><td>Zero gradient<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Front and back faces<\/td><td>Symmetry<\/td><td>Symmetry<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Table 2: Boundary conditions applied on the LES simulation domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To ensure meaningful results, it was ensured that the simulation was run for at least 3 fluid passes. The distance from the cylinder to the outlet is 1.5 \\(m\\). Thus, for the 0.59 \\(m\/s\\) inlet velocity, 3 fluid passes would take approximately 8 seconds. The simulation was run for 12 seconds to achieve trustworthy results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id='result-comparison' id='result-comparison' class=\"wp-block-heading\">Result Comparison<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The convergence plots seem to find an acceptable stability after 7 seconds. Since this is a transient simulation with eddies resolved, it was important to find the mean value of the comparing variables over the final few time steps (8-12 seconds). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-32.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"552\" src=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-32-1024x552.png\" alt=\"convergence plots les smagorinsky simscale\" class=\"wp-image-106638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-32-1024x552.png 1024w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-32-300x162.png 300w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-32-768x414.png 768w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-32-1536x829.png 1536w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-32.png 1622w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Figure 3:  Convergence plots for the LES cylinder case. The plots seem to find an acceptable stability after 7 seconds.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mean stream-wise velocity profile was calculated by averaging the x-component of the velocity at time steps 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 seconds. This is compared with experimental data provided by L.Ong and J.Wallace\\(^2\\),\u00a0and L.M.Lourenco and C.Shih\\(^3\\) as shown in Figure 4.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2018\/12\/FlowOverCylinder-results-velocity.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1111\" height=\"1111\" src=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2018\/12\/FlowOverCylinder-results-velocity.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18211\" style=\"width:589px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2018\/12\/FlowOverCylinder-results-velocity.png 1111w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2018\/12\/FlowOverCylinder-results-velocity-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2018\/12\/FlowOverCylinder-results-velocity-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2018\/12\/FlowOverCylinder-results-velocity-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2018\/12\/FlowOverCylinder-results-velocity-1024x1024.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1111px) 100vw, 1111px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Figure 4: Streamwise velocity profile comparison<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A comparison of the mean pressure distribution obtained with SimScale and experimental data provided by C.Norberg\\(^1\\) is given in Figure 5.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-5.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"898\" src=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-5-1024x898.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-105431\" style=\"width:653px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-5-1024x898.png 1024w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-5-300x263.png 300w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-5-768x674.png 768w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-5.png 1026w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Figure 5: Mean Coefficient of Pressure distribution over the cylinder surface<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A visualization of the instantaneous flow field for the velocity and pressure fields of the LES cylinder validation case is shown in Figures 6 to 10, along the cross-sectional and spanwise planes, at a time step of <strong>9 <\/strong>seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"501\" src=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-3-1024x501.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-105427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-3-1024x501.png 1024w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-3-300x147.png 300w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-3-768x376.png 768w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-3-1536x752.png 1536w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-3.png 1653w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Figure 6: Cross-section velocity contours<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"461\" src=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-1-1024x461.png\" alt=\"les cylinder\" class=\"wp-image-105423\" srcset=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-1-1024x461.png 1024w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-1-300x135.png 300w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-1-768x346.png 768w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-1-1536x691.png 1536w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-1.png 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Figure 7: Cross-section velocity contours with streamlines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"461\" src=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2-1024x461.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-105424\" srcset=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2-1024x461.png 1024w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2-300x135.png 300w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2-768x346.png 768w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2-1536x691.png 1536w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2.png 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Figure 8: Cross-section velocity contours with vectors<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"504\" src=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-1-1024x504.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-105425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-1-1024x504.png 1024w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-1-300x148.png 300w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-1-768x378.png 768w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-1-1536x756.png 1536w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-1.png 1640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Figure 9: Spanwise velocity contours with vectors<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"568\" src=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-2-1024x568.png\" alt=\"les cylinder\" class=\"wp-image-105426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-2-1024x568.png 1024w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-2-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-2-768x426.png 768w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-2.png 1281w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Figure 10: Cross-section pressure contours<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"346\" src=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-4-1024x346.png\" alt=\"les cylinder\" class=\"wp-image-105428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-4-1024x346.png 1024w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-4-300x101.png 300w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-4-768x260.png 768w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-4-1536x519.png 1536w, https:\/\/frontend-assets.simscale.com\/media\/2025\/07\/image-4.png 1559w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Figure 11: Spanwise pressure contours with streamlines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class='hw-block hw-references hw-references'>\n    <p class='hw-references__title'>References<\/p>\n    <ul class='hw-references__list'>\n\n        <li><cite>Norberg, \u2018Effects of Reynolds number and low-intensity free stream turbulence on the flow around a circular cylinder\u2019, Publ. No. 87 \/2, Department of Applied Thermoscience and Fluid Mech., Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden, 1987.<\/cite><\/li><li><cite>Ong and J. Wallace, \u2018The velocity field of the turbulent very near wake of a circular cylinder\u2019, Exp. Fluids, 20, 441\u2013453, Springer Verlag, Berlin (1996).<\/cite><\/li><li><cite>L.M. Lourenco and C. Shih, \u2018Characteristics of the plane turbulent near wake of a circular cylinder, a particle image velocimetry study\u2019, Private Communication, 1993.<\/cite><\/li>\n    <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The purpose of this numerical simulation is to validate the following parameters of the incompressible Large Eddy...","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":105422,"parent":17191,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/template-documentation.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-18205","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.simscale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.simscale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.simscale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.simscale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.simscale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.simscale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18205\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.simscale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17191"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.simscale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.simscale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}