Control of vortex shedding by thermal effect at low Reynolds numbers

An experimental study has been made of the control of vortex shedding in the wake of two two-dimensional bluff bodies, a circular cylinder and a flat ribbon. The study has shown that this control, easily realized by heating the bluff body, depends on the nature of the fluid. In the absence of buoyancy effects, related to the temperature dependence of the dynamic viscosity, the heating is found to stabilize the wake in air while the opposite result is obtained in water. Detailed measurements of the velocity fields in air, in isothermal and in heated body, show that this control is linked to slight modifications of the flow in the near wake and can be taken into account by the effective Reynolds number approach. The measurements also show that the degree of instability can be related to the level of interaction between the two initial shear layers at the end of the recirculation zone.