Quantifying the nonlinear mode competition in the flow over an open cavity at medium Reynolds number

Our purpose is to quantify the rate of intermittency of nonlinearly competing modes, in a dominantly mode-switching scenario. What is the rate of presence of each mode? Can they simultaneously appear in, or disappear from the signal? The study is done in the context of open flows, exhibiting self-sustained oscillations, where air is here flowing over an open cavity. Reynolds numbers are of the order of 14,000. Velocity measurements downstream of the cavity are based on a laser Doppler velocimetry technique. We propose two methods to estimate the rate of presence of each mode: one based on a complex demodulation technique, the other on the distribution of the state vectors in the phase portrait of the signal.