On the force and vortex shedding on a circular cylinder from subcritical up to transcritical Reynolds numbers

Static pressure distributions were measured in the test section of a newly built cryogenic tunnel using a cylindrical model with a diameter of 50 mm and a relative surface roughness of 10 to the -5th. The drag acting on the cylinder was calculated, and vortex shedding frequencies were determined for Reynolds numbers between 100,000 and 10 million. Typical results were obtained for the surface static pressure distributions in the subcritical, lower transition, critical, upper transition, and transcritical Reynolds number ranges. The calculated drag coefficient also shows typical characteristics for each Reynolds number range. The Strouhal number is constant in the subcritical and lower transition ranges, but not constant in the supercritical range. For Reynolds numbers of 570,000 and higher, it is constant again.