A numerical study on turbulent flow around a square cylinder with uniform injection or suction

Purpose This paper aims to predict the effects of uniform injection or suction through a porous square cylinder on the flow field and on some aerodynamic parameters. Design/methodology/approach The finite volume method has been used for solving the ensemble averaged Navier–Stokes equations for incompressible flow in conjunction with the k‐ ε turbulence model equations including the Kato and Launder modification. Findings The parameters taken into account are injection or suction velocity, position of injection and suction surface, drag and lift coefficients and Strouhal number. The numerical results show that increasing suction velocity decreases the drag coefficient for all the suction configurations considered in the present study, except that of suction through rear surface. The vortex‐shedding motion gets weak by the suction application through top and bottom surfaces. Research limitations/implications The problem is restricted with a 2‐D simple geometry such as square cylinder due to the limited computer capability. Further extensions of the present study could include the more complex configurations and some other aspects such as heat transfer between porous cylinder and main flow. Practical implications The injection or suction application through a porous bluff body can be used as an efficient drag and vortex control method in aerodynamics. Originality/value This paper describes an attempt to simulate numerically the flow around square cylinder with uniform injection and suction in a manner different from what is given in the literature.