Experimental study of the Magnus effect in cylindrical bodies with 4, 6, 8 and 10 sides

The Magnus effect is an aerodynamic phenomenon of great relevance, that has been studied from different perspectives. However, current knowledge of the Magnus effect in non-circular cylindrical bodies is limited. This paper presents the results of an experiment to study the flow behavior around different cylindrical bodies with 4, 6, 8, and 10 sides. A wind tunnel was used to measure the aerodynamic forces and to explain the fluid dynamic behavior through flow visualization tests. Aerodynamic force coefficients for each body were determined and classified according to both rotation rate and free stream velocity. To explain the experimental results, a fitting algorithm was created, allowing for the lift of the bodies to be predicted as a function of tip speed to wind speed ratio u/v and the number of sides (for cylindrical bodies with 4–10 sides). •Non-circular cylindrical bodies present Magnus effect.•The aerodynamic forces depend on the body number of faces and the velocity ratio.•Depending on the angular position, the bodies with edges generates different vortices.•Lift is a consequence of the vortex formation, separation and detachment process.•A developed mathematic model predicts the lift in non-circular rotational bodies.