α-, β-phenomena in the post-symmetry break for the flow past a circular cylinder Available to Purchase

In the existing literature, the so-called α- and β-phenomena have been reported only for the early stages for the flow past an impulsively started circular cylinder. The current study endeavours to explore the possible existence of these phenomena even in the later stages of the flow. The flow is computed using a recently developed compact finite difference method for the biharmonic form of the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations for a wide range of Reynolds numbers (Re). We establish that these secondary phenomena not only appear once the wake becomes asymmetric but also periodically during the post-vortex shedding period for Re = 1000. Further, the recently reported sub-α- and sub-β-phenomena for Re = 5000 at the tertiary level during the early stages of the flow could be identified even during the later stages of the flow as well. The formation of these tertiary structures has been explained through a detailed theoretical characterization of the topological aspects of the boundary layer separation. Both qualitative and quantitative results are provided to substantiate our claim.