On the topological bifurcation of flows around a rotating circular cylinder

Flow fields around a rotating circular cylinder in a uniform stream are computed using a low dimensional Galerkin method. Reslts show that the formation of a Fopple vortex pair behind a stationary circular cylinder is caused by the structural instability in the vicinity of the saddle located at the rear of the cylinder. For rotating cylinder a bifurcation diagram with the consideration of two parameters, Reynolds numberRe and rotation parameter α, is built by a kinematic analysis of the steady flow fields. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China