The Fully Developed Wake of a Circular Cylinder

Abstract

Extending previous work on turbulent diffusion in the wake of a circular-cylinder, a series of measurements have been made of the turbulent transport of mean stream momentum, turbulent energy, and heat in the wake of a cylinder of 0.169 cm. diameter, placed in an air-stream of velocity 1280 cm. sec.-1. It has been possible to extend the measurements to 960 diameters down-stream from the cylinder, and it 1s found that, at distances in excess of 600 diameters, the requirements of dynamical similarity are very nearly satisfied. To account for the observed rates of transport of turbulent energy and heat, it is necessary that only part of this transport be due to bulk convection by the slow large-scale motion of the jets of turbulent fluid emitted by the central, fully turbulent core of the wake, which had been supposed previously to perform most of the transport. The remainder of the transport is carried out by the small-scale diffusive motion of the turbulent eddies within the jets, and may be described by assigning diffusion coefficients to the turbulent fluid. It is found that the diffusion coefficients for momentum and heat are approximately equal, but that for turbulent energy is considerably smaller. On the basis of these hypotheses, it is possible to calculate $he form of the mean velocity distribution in good agreement with experiment, and to give a qualitative explanation of the apparently more rapid diffusion of heat.