A review of bluff body wakes

Abstract The application of an unsteady viscous flow around a bluff body has covered a wide range of scientific fields. This paper reviews the wakes of different cross-sectional bluff bodies, including circular, square, triangular and rectangular cylinders. The two most prominent parameters (e.g., Reynolds number and cylinder geometry) that can significantly alter the wake are taken into account. The dependence on the two parameters of Strouhal number, vorticity, circulation, and efflux angle of vortices in the wake of bluff bodies is investigated. The detailed features of the wakes for different bluff-body shapes at different Reynolds are identified and summarized.