Floquet stability analysis of the wake of an inclined flat plate

The route from a time-periodic two-dimensional wake flow to a three-dimensional flow has been investigated by means of linear Floquet stability analysis. The critical Reynolds number for the onset of three-dimensional instabilities in the wake behind a flat plate with an angle of attack α in the range from 20° to 30° with respect to the free stream was determined. For all three angles considered, in the lower wavelength range, the two-dimensional base flow first became unstable with respect to the sub-harmonic mode C. Although the critical Reynolds number decreased with increasing angle of attack, the spanwise wavelength remained close to two times the projected plate width. Qualitatively different transition scenarios were obtained for the three angles of attack with a particularly simple scenario for α = 30°.