Bifurcation and instability problems in vortex wakes

Abstract

A number of instability and bifurcation problems related to the dynamics of vortex wake flows are addressed using various analytical tools and approaches. We discuss the bifurcations of the streamline pattern behind a bluff body as a vortex wake is produced, a theory of the universal Strouhal-Reynolds number relation for vortex wakes, the bifurcation diagram for "exotic" wake patterns behind an oscillating cylinder first determined experimentally by Williamson & Roshko, and the bifurcations in topology of the streamlines pattern in point vortex streets. The Hamiltonian dynamics of point vortices in a periodic strip is considered. The classical results of von Kármán concerning the structure of the vortex street follow from the two-vortices-in-a-strip problem, while the stability results follow largely from a four-vortices-in-a-strip analysis. The three-vortices-in-a-strip problem is argued to be relevant to the wake behind an oscillating body.