A body submerged into a moving fluid forms a wake. The nature of the wake is closely linked to the body's aerodynamics, structural integrity and the noise it generates. Over the past 60 years, axisymmetric bodies, such as disks, spheres and bodies of revolution, have been used to generate axisymmetric wakes. Key parameters such as drag coefficient and drag fluctuations, shedding frequency and intensity, similarity and scaling of the wake width and velocity deficit have been studied and documented both experimentally and numerically. Non-axisymmetric fractal plates have only recently started being used to generate axisymmetric wakes. These multiscale wake generators provide a new way to investigate turbulent wakes by exciting several scales and weakening the vortex shedding. The aim of this video is to illustrate some key characteristics of fractal-generated wakes and compare them with regular wakes by means of both Direct Numerical Simulations and wind-tunnel measurements.
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