Large-scale structures and the spatial evolution of wakes behind axisymmetric bluff bodies.

Abstract

The wakes behind a variety ofaxisymmenic bodies were investigated with flow visualization and hot-wire measurements. The main objective of this study was to correlate changes in the time-averaged features of the wake with changes in the characteristics of the coherent large-scale structure resulting from changing the solidity of the wake generator or by introducing periodic disturbances to force the wake. The use of an axisymmenic probe holder permitted instantaneous decomposition of the axialvelocity field into temporal and azimuthal Fourier modes. Increases in the body solidity resulted in nearly proportional increases in the size of the mean wake boundary. For the non-shedding (low body solidity) wakes, flow visualization shows that the amplitude of discernible large-scale structure is small in comparison to the wake diameter, and there is no evidence of a recirculation region. For the shedding wakes, flow visualization reveals large-scale structure with amplitude that is comparable in size to the wake diameter, and a recirculation region is observed that oscillates in axial extent Fourier analysis of velocity measurements discloses that the temporal scale of the coherent large-scale structure for a non-shedding wake decreases in value with downstream distance while the corresponding scale for a shedding wake is constant Significant changes in the both the time-averaged features of the wake and in the large-scale structure usually occurred only when the forcing frequency was near the natural shedding frequency (within ± 25%). Those time-averaged features changed by forcing include the drag, the mean- and variance-profile shapes, and the size of the wake. The mean profile was observed to change from a regular shape to that which resembles a variance profile. Forcing results in a number of peaks being present in 2-D spectra plots, most of which are the result of non-linear interactions of the forcing wave with the natural shedding frequency. The flow visualization reveals that those peaks which are harmonics or subharmonics of the forcing frequency may be more prominent than the forcing frequency if they are closer to the natural shedding frequency of the unforced wake.