Finite mixture model applied in the analysis of a turbulent bistable flow on two parallel circular cylinders

This paper presents a study of the bistable phenomenon which occurs in the turbulent flow impinging on circular cylinders placed side-by-side. Time series of axial and transversal velocity obtained with the constant temperature hot wire anemometry technique in an aerodynamic channel are used as input data in a finite mixture model, to classify the observed data according to a family of probability density functions. Wavelet transforms are applied to analyze the unsteady turbulent signals. Results of flow visualization show that the flow is predominantly two-dimensional. A double-well energy model is suggested to describe the behavior of the bistable phenomenon in this case. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.