Effect of Corner Modifications on the Drag Coefficient of a Square Cylinder

Abstract

In this study, the coefficient of drag of several variations of square cylinder, with and without corner modifications, in a two-dimensional turbulent fluid flow was examined. A square cylinder with sharp edges, square cylinders with rounded corners, and square cylinders with chamfered corners were the configurations examined. Impact of modifying only leading corners and only trailing corners on the drag coefficient was studied. Corner radius and chamfer length were gradually modified between 0 to 0.28D where D is the side length of the unmodified square cylinder. Using Computational Fluid Dynamics technique and EASYCFD software, the drag coefficient for all configurations was calculated. The square cylinder with corner round radius of 0.24D had the lowest drag coefficient, which was followed by the square cylinder with a corner chamfer length of 0.24D, while the unmodified square cylinder had the highest drag coefficient. This paper sheds some important light on the understanding of the impact of corner shape on the drag force experienced by the tall buildings, marine structures, road, and air-borne vehicles.