Control of three-dimensional phase dynamics in a cylinder wake

Recently there has been a surge of new interest in three-dimensional wake patterns. In the present work, we have devised a method to control the spanwise end conditions and wake patterns using “end suction”, which is both continuously-variable and admits transient control. Classical steady-state patterns, such as parallel or oblique shedding or the “chevron” patterns are simply induced. The wake, at a given Reynolds number, is receptive to a continuous range of oblique shedding angles (θ), rather than to discrete angles, and there is excellent agreement with the “cos θ” formula for oblique-shedding frequencies. We show that the laminar shedding regime exists up to Reynolds numbers (Re) of 205, and that the immense disparity among reported critical Re for wake transition (Re = 140–190) can be explained in terms of spanwise end contamination. Our transient experiments have resulted in the discovery of new phenomena such as “phase shocks” and “phase expansions”, which can be explained in terms of a simple model assuming constant normal wavelength of the wake pattern. Peter Monkewitz (Lausanne) also predicts such transient phenomena from a Guinzburg-Landau model for the wake.