Three-dimensional numerical simulation of flow around a circular cylinder under combined steady and oscillatory flow

Combined steady and oscillatory flow past a circular cylinder is investigated numerically by three-dimensional Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS). The incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are solved by finite element method (FEM). The aim of this study is to investigate influence of the existence of steady current on the flow regime and hydrodynamics forces. The computational results of pure oscillatory flow past a circular cylinder agree well with the experimental data. The flow ratios (ratio of current velocity to oscillatory velocity amplitude) are 0.0, 0.2 0.5 and 1.0 in the study. The influence of the flow ratio on the vortex shedding regime and hydrodynamic forces on the cylinder are investigated numerically.