Weakly nonlinear modelling of a forced turbulent axisymmetric wake

A theory is presented where the weakly nonlinear analysis of laminar globally unstable flows in the presence of external forcing is extended to the turbulent regime. The analysis is demonstrated and validated using experimental results of an axisymmetric bluff-body wake at high Reynolds numbers, ReD ∼ 1.88 × 105, where forcing is applied using a zero-net-mass-flux actuator located at the base of the blunt body. In this study we focus on the response of antisymmetric coherent structures with azimuthal wavenumbers m = ±1 at a frequency StD = 0.2, responsible for global vortex shedding. We found experimentally that axisymmetric forcing (m = 0) couples nonlinearly with the global shedding mode when the flow is forced at twice the shedding frequency, resulting in parametric subharmonic resonance through a triadic interaction between forcing and shedding. We derive simple weakly nonlinear models from the phase-averaged Navier–Stokes equations and show that they capture accurately the observed behaviour for this type of forcing. The unknown model coefficients are obtained experimentally by producing harmonic transients. This approach should be applicable in a variety of turbulent flows to describe the response of global modes to forcing.