A study of vortex shedding in a staggered tube array for steady and pulsating cross-flow

This paper describes an experimental investigation of the vortex shedding phenomena in a staggered tube array with streamwise and transverse spacing to diameter ratios of 2.1 and 3.6, respectively. LDA measurements were employed to monitor the flow fluctuations and a visualization technique was implemented to reveal the underlying flow patterns in the array for steady and pulsating cross-flow, The results obtained in steady flow are in general agreement with results from previous investigations and show that vortex shedding occurs at two distinct frequencies in the front and inner rows. A lower frequency component was detected at the exit of the array, which has not been previously identified. Pulsating flow caused the frequency of vortex shedding to lock-on at the subharmonic of the imposed frequency. In the lock-on range, vortex shedding from all the tubes was synchronized and in-phase and velocity fluctuations at the shedding frequency increased considerably compared to their counterparts in steady flow.