Experimental observations of the three-dimensional wake structures and dynamics generated by a rigid, bioinspired pitching panel

The effects of changing Strouhal number on the three-dimensional wake produced by a rigid, bioinspired trapezoidal pitching panel are analyzed through the use of stereoscopic particle image velocimetry over a Strouhal number range of 0.17-0.56. The results show that for all cases, at least some section of the wake comprises an alternating series of interacting vortex rings. The behavior of the flows induced by these vortex rings is consistent with the wake phenomena of spanwise compression and transverse expansion. Increases in Strouhal number correspond to an increased rate of spanwise compression, a greater amount of transverse expansion, and the movement of the location of wake breakdown onset upstream.