VISCOUS FLOW MODELING USING THE VORTEX PARTICLES METHOD

Abstract

The vortex particle method is an easy and attractive tool to analyze flow phenomena by investigating vorticity fields and the generation of vorticity at solid walls. The vorticity generation at the walls and its introduction to the flow is of fundamental significance for understanding such phenomena as transition to turbulence, boundary layer separation in an eruptive way, and vortex structures regeneration. In the present study the vortex-in-cell usefulness of the method has been tested using a variety of simple test problems: the Poiseuille flow, the second Stokes problem, the cavity, the backward step flow, the vortex dipole interaction with the wall, and the flow past a square cylinder in the vicinity of a wall in order to illustrate the correctness and usefulness of the vortex particle method.