Stability of viscous flow past a circular cylinder (Q5903499)

The stability of small disturbances of the two-dimensional nonparallel flow over a circular cylinder was investigated by spectral methods using trigonometric functions and Chebyshev polynomials as basis functions in the azimuthal and radial directions, respectively. This leads to a pair of decoupled generalized eigenvalue problems for the growth of symmetric and asymmetric disturbances. The symmetric disturbances became unstable at a Reynolds number ranging between 39 and 43 corresponding to Strouhal numbers between 0.11 an 0.13. The values varied according to the size of the computational field within which the perturbations were assumed to decay to zero. The present results should be compared with the recent finite-element stability analysis of \textit{C. P. Jackson} [J. Fluid. Mech. 182, 23-45 (1987)].