Change of Vortex Dynamics in the Cylinder Wake by the Lock-on to Oscillatory Incident Flow

When vortex shedding is locked-on to a single frequency oscillatory flow, the variations of vortex dynamics are investigated using a time-resolved PIV system. Wake regions of recirculation and vortex formation, dynamic behavior of the shed vortices and the Reynolds stress fields are measured in the wake-transition regime at the reynolds number 360. In the lock-on state, reduction of the wake region occurs and flow energy distributed downstream moves upstream being concentrated near the cylinder base. To observe the dynamic behavior of the shed vortices, the trajectory of the vortex center extended to the inside of the wake bubble is considered, which describes well the formation and evolution processes. The Reynolds stresses and their contributions to overall force balance on the wake bubble manifest the increase of the drag force by the lock-on.