Recent contributions to the 3-D vortex method for bluff-body flows are presented. The numerical method--a vortex method combined with a boundary element method--is briefy reviewed. It is applied to direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the flow past a sphere (Re= 300, 500 and 1000). The on-going work to extend the method towards vortex-based large-eddy simulation (LES) for high Reynolds number flows is also presented. Preliminary results for the flow past a hemisphere are discussed.
Ploumhans, P., Daeninck, G., & Winckelmans, G. (2002). Simulation of three-dimensional bluff-body flows using the vortex particle and boundary element methods. Flow, Turbulence and Combustion, 73(2), 117-131. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:APPL.0000049278.56112.6c (Original work published 2004)