Star-CCM+ Lab

Star-CCM+ CFD Lab – Flow Past a Rotating Cylinder (Re = 200)

Conducted within the RESA module (numerical resolution of PDEs) at Arts et Métiers, this CFD lab studied the flow around a rotating cylinder, a classical case used to analyze boundary-layer separation, vortex shedding (von Kármán street), and the influence of rotation through the Magnus effect.

The goal was to reproduce reference results from the literature and analyze the evolution of aerodynamic coefficients as a function of the rotation rate α at Reynolds number Re = 200, using unsteady laminar incompressible Navier–Stokes simulations in Star-CCM+.

Key Outcomes

• CFD setup in Star-CCM+: geometry creation, meshing strategy with local refinement around the cylinder, boundary conditions (inlet velocity, pressure outlet, slip walls, rotating wall).
• Regime identification vs α: unstable vortex shedding for low α, stabilized/steady behavior for intermediate α, and asymmetric wake behavior for high α.
• Results discussion and comparison with the reference paper (Mittal & Kumar, 2003), including limits observed when α becomes large (mesh sensitivity).

This work provided hands-on experience with a complete CFD workflow: model selection, convergence monitoring, post-processing (velocity/vorticity fields and aerodynamic coefficients), and critical comparison with scientific literature.

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