Recently, the turbulence research team at SIT, in deep collaboration with Shanghai University, has made groundbreaking research progress in the field of fluid mechanics. The research findings, entitled "Effects of a short splitter plate on the wake characteristics and vortex evolution of flow around a circular cylinder in proximity to a wall," were published in the top-tier fluid mechanics journal Journal of Fluid Mechanics (JCR Q1, Impact Factor 3.9).
This research provides an important reference for flow control and model design related to near-wall bluff body flows in engineering practice, fully reflecting the distinct application-oriented focus of fundamental research at our university. It represents another significant scientific achievement for the university in the field of fluid mechanics. The paper lists Dr. Zhou Jiankang as the first author, with Professor Liu Yulu and Professor Qiu Xiang from SIT serving as corresponding authors. Senior Experimentalist Li Jiahua also contributed to the work.
The problem of flow around a near-wall bluff body holds significant engineering application value in fields such as aerospace, architectural structures, chemical fluid processing, and marine engineering. Research into the complex interaction mechanisms between bluff body flow and wall turbulence inherent in these problems is of great theoretical importance. The introduction of a splitter plate can effectively suppress vortex-induced oscillations, mitigate unstable dynamic loads, and thereby enhance the safety and stability of engineering structures.
Within turbulent boundary layers, the coupled effect of splitter plate length and gap ratio, along with its underlying mechanism, has long been a challenging research topic in fluid mechanics. Supported by a key project from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the research team systematically conducted experimental studies using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). Through comparative analysis of flow field characteristics under four typical splitter plate lengths and three gap ratios, the research team has, for the first time, revealed the influence laws of splitter plate length and gap ratio on flow field characteristics.
