Numerical simulation of a flow around an impulsively started radially deforming circular cylinder

The development of a two‐dimensional viscous incompressible flow generated by a deformable circular cylinder impulsively started into rectilinear motion is studied numerically for the Reynolds numbers equal to 550 and 3000. The vorticity transport equation is solved by a second‐order finite difference method in both directions of the domains. The Poisson equation for the streamfunction is solved by a Fourier–Galerkin method in the direction of the flow that is assumed to remain symmetrical and a second‐order finite difference for the radial direction. The advance in time is achieved by a second‐order Adams–Bashforth scheme. The computed results are compared qualitatively with experimental and numerical results done before in the particular non‐deformable case. The comparison is found to be satisfactory. The influence of the deformation of the cylinder on the flow structure and the drag coefficient is then analyzed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.