Connection between base drag, separating boundary layer characteristics and wake mean recirculation length of an axisymmetric blunt-based body

The variation of the base drag of an axisymmetric bluff body caused by modifications of the boundary-layer separating at the sharp-edged contour of its base is analysed through different numerical simulations, and the results are compared with those of a previous experimental investigation. Variational MultiScale Large-Eddy Simulations (VMS-LES) are first carried out on the same nominal geometry and at the same Reynolds number of the experiments. Subsequently, Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) are performed at Reynolds numbers that are roughly two orders of magnitude lower, in order to investigate on the sensitivity of the main findings to the Reynolds number. The results of experiments, VMS-LES and DNS simulations show that an increase of the base pressure – and thus a decrease of the base drag – may be obtained by increasing the boundary layer thickness before separation, which causes a proportional increase of the length of the mean recirculation region behind the body. In spite of the different setups, Reynolds numbers and turbulence levels in the experiments and numerical simulations, in all cases the base pressure is found to be directly proportional to the length of the mean recirculation region, which is thus a key index of the base drag value. In turn, the recirculation length seems to be connected with the location of the incipient instability of the detaching shear layers, which can be moved downstream by an increase of the thickness of the separating boundary layer and upstream by an increase of the turbulence level. •Effect of boundary layer thickness on the base drag of an axisymmetric bluff body.•The base drag decreases with increasing separating boundary layer thickness.•The quantitative effect depends on the turbulence level and on the Reynolds number.•A direct correlation exists between the mean recirculation length and the base drag.