Numerical and experimental study of the fine structure of a stratified fluid flow over a circular cylinder

The fine structure of the flow field of a continuously stratified fluid around a circular cylinder for small values of the Froude number was investigated in laboratory and numerical experiments. The parameters of the leading perturbation, the internal-wave field, and the cylinder wake were calculated using a two-dimensional model. The existence of the previously experimentally observed high-gradient density layers in the wake that are parallel to the flow axis was for the first time confirmed by numerical calculations. Results of the numerical and experimental studies are in good agreement with each other and with analytical models for small values of the Froude number.