Experimental study on the interaction between turbulent boundary layer and wake behind various types of two-dimensional cylinders

The interaction between the turbulent boundary layer and wake behind various types of two-dimensional cylinders is examined based on the velocity measurements by hot-wire anemometry and particle image velocimetry. Three types of cylinders, such as circular, square, and 1:5 rectangular cylinders, of two different diameters of 5 ​mm and 10 ​mm were employed in this study. The streamwise velocity distributions of the wake flow showed that its width is sustained in the streamwise direction within the boundary layer because of its interaction with the turbulent boundary layer flow. Interestingly, this phenomenon was observed regardless of the cylinder shapes. The momentum exchange in both spanwise and vertical directions showed that the advective momentum flux considerably contributes to momentum budget in the wake flow owing to the weak vertical flow formed within the boundary layer. Consequently, the spanwise width of the wake does not expand in the streamwise direction due to the alternation of the momentum budget. The results of this study can contribute to clarifying the effect of interaction between the wake and the turbulent boundary layer, as well as explain the sustaining mechanics of the low speed streaks formed within the turbulent boundary layer, even for different origins of the low-speed regions.