An optical interferometric study of the wake of a bluff body

Abstract
A Fizeau optical interferometer has been used to visualize the wake behind a circular cylinder at low Reynolds numbers Re. As well as showing the vortex shedding mechanism and development of the far wake in a new light, the shed vortex strength and age were derived from the results. The vortex velocity distributions, at downstream distances of 5 to 16 diameters, were found to be those of convected Oseen vortices. These measurements confirmed the existence of a transition at Re ≈ 100, which reflects the emergence of convection as the dominant process in the near wake.

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