Turbulent vortex streets and the entrainment mechanism of the turbulent wake

Abstract

The results of an experimental investigation of a turbulent vortex street in the range 10³ [lsim ] Re [lsim ] 2 × 10⁴ are presented. The vortex street was created by the motion of a circular cylinder in a motionless fluid (mercury). Photographs obtained showed that the turbulent street, created by the vortex shedding behind the cylinder, persisted at longer downstream distances and higher Reynolds numbers than previously reported in the literature. A theory was developed to account for the experimental measurements pertaining to the change of the geometrical characteristics, h (distance between the two rows of vortices) and α (longitudinal distance between two consecutive vortices on the same row), of the street in the downstream direction. The implications of the structure of the vortex street on the entrainment mechanism of the turbulent wake are discussed. Some observations of the flow in the formation region of the vortices are discussed in relation to existing work.