Effects of annulation on low Reynolds number flows over an orthocone

This study numerically examines the influences of transverse annulation around a cone surface on the characteristics of a flow over an orthocone. This work is inspired by Spyroceras , a fossilized genus of nautiloid cephalopods from the Paleozoic era, whose method of locomotion is understudied. As a baseline case, a flow over a smooth orthoconic model with a blunt cone end is investigated numerically at Reynolds numbers from 500 to 1500. As Reynolds increases, two different shedding mechanisms—hairpin-vortex wake and spiral-vortex wake—are captured. We notice that an introduction of annulation over the cone surface changes the critical Reynolds number for the transition of the shedding mechanism. The dominant shedding frequency increases with the Reynolds number for the smooth and annulated cone flows. Moreover, the annulation reduces the dominant frequency for the same Reynolds number and increases the time-averaged drag coefficient. Modal decompositions—Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) and Spectral Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (SPOD)—are used to capture the coherent structures and their oscillating frequencies. We have captured modes corresponding to the hairpin-vortex wake and spiral-vortex wake shedding mechanisms. Comparing the leading POD modes for the smooth and the annulated cone flows, we find that the annulation can reduce the twisting effects of the coherent structures in the wake. Additionally, we find that the SPOD analysis can identify modes presenting both hairpin-vortex wake and spiral-vortex wake in one flow condition as leading modes, while the POD leading modes only reveal one shedding mechanism in each flow. Graphical abstract