Measurement of instantaneous velocity and surface topography in the wake of a cylinder at low Reynolds number

A technique capable of simultaneous measurement of free-surface topography and velocity vector field data is presented. This technique offers substantial benefits of both reduced complexity and enhanced accuracy over all other techniques known to offer the same measurements. The flow behind a circular cylinder at low Reynolds numbers is measured using this technique. The velocity and vorticity fields as well as Strouhal number closely match the expected results. The free-surface topography, which can be related to the pressure field, exhibits an intimate relationship to the vorticity field.