Flow Structure from a Horizontal Cylinder Coincident with a Free Surface in Shallow Water Flow

Vortex formation from a horizontal cylinder coincident with a free surface of a shallow water flow having a depth of 25.4 mm was experimentally investigated using the particle image velocimetry technique. Instantaneous and time-averaged flow patterns in the wake region of the cylinder were examined for three different cylinder diameter values under the fully developed turbulent boundary layer condition. Reynolds numbers were in the range of 1124  Re  3374 and Froude numbers were in the range of 0.41  Fr  0.71 based on the cylinder diameter. It was found that a jet-like flow giving rise to increasing the flow entrainment between the core and wake regions depending on the cylinder diameter was formed between the lower surface of the cylinder and bottom surface of the channel. Vorticity intensity, Reynolds stress correlations, and the primary recirculating bubble lengths were grown to higher values with increasing the cylinder diameter. On the other hand, in the case of the lowest level of the jet-like flow emanating from the beneath of the smallest cylinder, the variation of flow characteristics were attenuated significantly in a shorter distance. The variation of the reattachment location of the separated flow to the free-surface is a strong function of the cylinder diameter and the Froude number.