Vortex shedding from a circular cylinder with a slit and concave rear surface

Vortex shedding from short circular cylinders with a slit was studied using a flow visualization and amplitude spectrum analysis of a thermoanemometry probe signal. It was found that a circular cylinder with a slit and concave rear surface produces stronger vortices than other bluff cylinders but that these vortices are very vulnerable to the end wall conditions. It was established that two small splitter plates (tails) fixed directly behind the cylinder at the end walls effectively isolate the vortices shed from the cylinder from the end wall boundary layer effects. For this arrangement a perfect regularity of vortex shedding and almost constant Strouhal number were achieved in the Reynolds number test range of about 250 to 43,000.On a leave from Technical University, 60965 Poznan, Piotrowo 3, Poland.