Numerical investigation of cross-flow around a circular cylinder at a low-Reynolds number flow under an electromagnetic force

The effect of the electromagnetic force(or Lorentz force) on the flow behavior around a circular cylinder is investigated by computation. Two-dimensional unsteady flow computation for Re=10(2) is carried out using a numerical method of finite difference approximation in a curvilinear body-fitted coordinate system by solving the momentum equations including the Lorentz force as a body force, The effect of spatial variations of the Lorentz forcing region and forcing direction along the cylinder circumference is investigated. The numerical results show that the Lorentz force can effectively suppress the flow separation and oscillation of the lift force of circular cylinder cross-flow, leading to reduction of drag.