Experimental investigation of strut effects on slanted cylinder afterbody and balance

In this study, strut support effects on a slanted cylinder afterbody were investigated by a magnetic suspension and balance system installed in a wind tunnel. The results showed that the aerodynamic characteristics with respect to the critical Reynolds number where the flow field and aerodynamic forces change significantly. In the cases with the dummy strut, the range of the critical Reynolds number decreases, and the variation depends on the location of the strut. The size of the recirculation region and the separation bubble on the wake center plane also changes depending on the location of the strut. Moreover, additional weak vortices are observed to be formed behind the strut, which changes the wake structure. That change affects the variation of the vortex core wandering, and is a factor in the power spectral density peaks observed in previous studies. It is suggested that the strut support strongly interferes with the flow around the test model and should be carefully considered.