Interaction of Vortex Streets

Abstract

Vortex street eddies shed from multiple cylinders located one behind the other in the plane of flow were observed to interact in a very complex fashion. Contraction, expansion, cancellation, and coalescence of vortices occurred for different values of cylinder separation and Reynolds number. The results appear to have important implications both for turbulence promotion during heat or mass transfer and for theoretical interpretation of vortex street phenomena.