Supercomputer computation of unsteady flow past a circular cylinder.

The following videos show in detail how the flow becomes detached from a body's surface due to the rising pressure along the surface, and the resulting vortex shedding. The location where the flow separates changes with time. Governing equations were solved numerically using a supercomputer at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan. All videos courtesy of Professor K. Kuwahara, ISAS.

Note: large files may take long download times.

Details of unsteady boundary layer separation from a circular cylinder at
Reynolds number 10,000. 
Moderate Resolution (1MB) 
High Resolution (4.5MB) 
 

Details of unsteady boundary layer separation from a circular cylinder at
Reynolds number 100,000. 
Moderate Resolution (1.3MB) 
High Resolution (4.3MB) 
 
 
 

Vortex shedding as a result of boundary layer separation from a circular cylinder at Reynolds number 100,000. 
Moderate Resolution (1.5MB)
High Resolution (5.8MB)