A 3D Numerical Method for Studying Vortex Formation Behind a Moving Plate

In this paper,we introduce a three-dimensional numerical method for computing the wake behind a flat plate advancing perpendicular to the flow.Our numerical method is inspired by the panel method of J.Katz and A.Plotkin[J.Katz and A.Plotkin,Low-speed Aerodynamics,2001]and the 2D vortex blob method of Krasny[R.Krasny,Lectures in Appl.Math.,28(1991),pp.385–402].The accuracy of the method will be demonstrated by comparing the 3D computation at the center section of a very high aspect ratio plate with the corresponding two-dimensional computation.Furthermore,we compare the numerical results obtained by our 3D numerical method with the corresponding experimental results obtained recently by Ringuette[M.J.Ringuette,Ph.D.Thesis,2004]in the towing tank.Our numerical results are shown to be in excellent agreement with the experimental results up to the so-called formation time.