Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 July 2016
Results are presented of an investigation into the interference effects associated with end plates of a type commonly used for the simulation of infinitely long (‘two-dimensional’) cylinder flow conditions around models confined with the working section of a wind tunnel. Experiments were performed with smooth circular cylinders of low area blockage in steady, low-turbulence, uniform airflow at a Reynolds number of 4·4 x 104 and involved the measurement of vortex shedding frequencies in the wake of the body, together with mean and fluctuating surface pressures, from which coefficients of local mean drag, r.m.s. lift and r.m.s. drag were calculated, and the use of a surface flow visualisation technique. The results reveal the aerodynamic characteristics of the disturbance induced by an end plate within the interference region which extends to 3·5 diameters from each plate.