How does switching synchronization of pitching parallel foils from out-of-phase to in-phase change their wake dynamics?

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Alterations to the unsteady wake dynamics imposed by abrupt changes in the phase angle between two pitching side-by-side foils are computationally examined at the Reynolds number of 1000 and 4000 and Strouhal number of 0.25–0.5. Four hybrid modes are considered in this study inspired by the swimming habits of red nose tetra fish and burst-and-coast swimming phenomenon. At the higher Strouhal number of 0.50, abrupt changes in the phase angle result in the formation and growth of a secondary vortex street between the two primary streets, which enable and maintain a split-wake configuration. Furthermore, phase switching alters pressure levels on the top and bottom surfaces of both foils to similar levels, which attribute to lowering the side-force. The growth rate of the secondary vortex street remains consistent for all four hybrid modes. At lower Strouhal numbers (0.25–0.4), however, the abrupt change in the phase angle converts the wake to a single vortex street. Thus, this indicates that the wake reactions for such cases in synchronization substantially change at lower Strouhal number. Although a different behavior of total side force production is observed at a lower Reynolds number for Strouhal number of 0.50, the wake dynamics implies that phase alterations act as a similar flow control mechanism to stabilize the wake. Finally, it is identified that the suspension of oscillations significantly limits the implications of initiation of oscillations on wake dynamics and performance following abrupt changes in the phase angle.