CHAOTIC TRANSPORT IN 2-DIMENSIONAL AND 3-DIMENSIONAL FLOW PAST A CYLINDER

The response of transport measures (Nusselt number, drag and lift force) for two- and three-dimensional flow past a heated cylinder reaching a chaotic state is investigated numerically using a spectral element discretization at a Reynolds number Re = 500. The undisturbed two-dimensional flow remains periodic at this Reynolds number, unless a suitable forcing is applied on the naturally produced system. Three-dimensional simulations establish that three-dimensionality sets in at Re almost-equal-to 200. Successive supercritical states are established through a series of period-doublings, before a chaotic state is reached at a Re almost-equal-to 500. For the two-dimensional forced flow, all transport measures oscillate aperiodically in time and undergo a "crisis," i.e., a sudden and dramatic increase in their amplitude. The corresponding three-dimensional, naturally produced chaotic state corresponds to a less drastic change of the transport quantities with both rms and mean values lower than their two-dimensional counterparts.