title: Reflectional symmetry breaking of the separated flow over three-dimensional bluff bodies.
abstract: Experimental observation of a permanent reflectional symmetry breaking (RSB) is reported for a laminar three-dimensional wake. Based on flow visualizations, a first bifurcation from the trivial steady symmetric state to a steady RSB state is characterized at Re=340. The RSB state becomes unsteady after a second bifurcation at Re=410. It is found that this RSB regime is persistent at large Reynolds numbers and is responsible for a bistable turbulent wake.
authors.affiliation: ENSTA-UME, Unité de Recherche en Mécanique, Chemin de la Hunière, 91761 Palaiseau Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grandemange
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cadot
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gohlke
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003198:Computer Simulation; D008956:Models, Chemical; D012212:Rheology / Q000379:methods*