Dynamics and stability of the wake behind tandem cylinders sliding along a wall

Abstract The dynamics and stability of the flow past two cylinders sliding along a wall in a tandem configuration is studied numerically for Reynolds numbers ( $\mathit{Re}$ ) between 20 and 200, and streamwise separation distances between 0.1 and 10 cylinder diameters. For cylinders at close separations, the onset of unsteady two-dimensional flow is delayed to higher $\mathit{Re}$ compared with the case of a single sliding cylinder, while at larger separations, this transition occurs earlier. For Reynolds numbers above the threshold, shedding from both cylinders is periodic and locked. At intermediate separation distances, the wake frequency shifts to the subharmonic of the leading-cylinder shedding frequency, which appears to be due to a feedback cycle, whereby shed leading-cylinder vortices interact strongly with the downstream cylinder to influence subsequent leading-cylinder shedding two cycles later. In addition to the shedding frequency, the drag coefficients for the two cylinders are determined for both the steady and unsteady regimes. The three-dimensional stability of the flow is also investigated. It is found that, when increasing the Reynolds number at intermediate separations, an initial three-dimensional instability develops, which disappears at higher $\mathit{Re}$ . The new two-dimensional steady flow again becomes unstable, but with a different three-dimensional instability mode. At very close spacings, when the two cylinders are effectively seen by the flow as a single body, and at very large spacings, when the cylinders form independent wakes, the flow characteristics are similar to those of a single cylinder sliding along a wall.