Wavelet Analysis of Reynolds Number Effect on 3-D Vorticity in a Turbulent Near Wake
When Reynolds number, Re (≡U∞d/v, where U∞ is the free stream velocity, d is the cylinder diameter and v is the kinematic viscosity of the fluid), is in the range of 103 to 104, there is a large variation in the near-wake formation region in terms of the base pressure coefficient, the fluctuating lift coefficient, the vortex formation length, which have previously been connected to the generation of small-scale Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices. This work aims to investigate how this Re variation affects the three components of vorticity in terms of time-averaged and small-scale structures and also to provide a relatively complete set of 3-D vorticity data. All three components of vorticity data were simultaneously measured in the intermediate region of the turbulent wake using a multi-wire vorticity probe. It is observed that the root-mean-square (rms) values of the three vorticity components increase with Re, especially the streamwise component, which shows a large jump from Re = 5×103 to 104. At the central frequencies of f0 and 2f0, the contributions from the large-scale and intermediate-scale structures of ωzi2/(ωz2)max decreases 13% and 16% respectively as the Re. increases. However, at the central frequency of 16f0, the contribution of the small-scale structure of ωzi2/(ωz2)max dramatic suddenly 7% increase at Re = 5×103 to 104. The result suggest the generation of small-scale Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices in the spanwise structure. The effect of Re on vorticity signals, spectra, contributions from the wavelet components to the vorticity variances are also examined.