Wake-body resonance of long flexible structures is dominated by counterclockwise orbits.

We identify a dominant mechanism in the interaction between a slender flexible structure undergoing free vibrations in sheared cross-flow and the vortices forming in its wake: energy is transferred from the fluid to the body under a resonance condition, defined as wake-body frequency synchronization close to a natural frequency of the structure; this condition occurs within a well-defined region of the span, which is dominated by counterclockwise, figure-eight orbits. Clockwise orbits are associated with damping fluid forces.