Mean and Dynamic Aspects of the Wakes of a Surface-Mounted Cube and Block

Abstract The flow downstream of surface-mounted finite height square prisms with aspect ratio AR = 1 (cube) and 0.5 (block) was investigated experimentally in a low-speed wind tunnel, to determine the overall structure and dynamic behavior of the wake and the source of the streamwise vorticity. The Reynolds number based on the prisms' width D was Re =7.5×104 and the boundary layer thickness at the location of the prisms was δ/D=0.73. A vortex shedding frequency was found in the wake of the cube, but no periodicity was found in the wake of the block. The mean wake of the cube showed features of prisms below the critical AR, but the wake of the block had a distinct behavior due to the dominant shear flow from the boundary layer. The shear changed the downwash and, consequently, the streamwise vorticity distribution in the wake, in addition to reducing the magnitude of the Reynolds stresses. The phase-average analysis for the cube revealed the alternate shedding of inclined structures related to the streamwise vorticity in the upper part of the wake. These vorticity regions were caused by the alternate bending and entrainment of the side flow, caused by the downwash. The periodic component of the total Reynolds stresses was, however, significantly smaller than the turbulence-related stresses. This study showed that the wake had a transitional behavior for the cube, but became fundamentally different for the block when compared with prisms of higher AR.