Influence of Blockage Effect and of Turbulence Intensity on the Flow Around U-Profile

The significant distortion of wind tunnel data may occur, when the boundary layer of the tunnel wall interacts and modifies the flow around the tested object.To numerically evaluate the influence of this blockage effect on aerodynamic coefficients, 2D RANS simulations of airflow around porous and non-porous U-profiles in two computational domains with varying distances between the top and bottom walls were carried out.Another factor investigated in relation to aerodynamic characteristics was the turbulence intensity of the inlet stream.Simulations of the U-profile at various impact angles, using two differently sized computational domains and two levels of turbulent intensity, were performed.The mean drag and lift coefficients, fluctuating lift coefficient, and Strouhal number were evaluated.