Two and three-dimensional Instabilities of the Cylinder Wake in an Aligned Magnetic Field

2-D and 3-D instabilities in the wake of a circular cylinder placed in an electrically
conducting fluid and subjected to a constant magnetic field aligned with the freestream are investigated numerically. Increasing magnetic fields suppress 2-D instability
(vortex shedding), whereas 3-D instabilities are influenced in a more complex way. In the presence of a magnetic field, 3-D instability has been detected below the 2-D stability threshold. This can lead to a reversal of the order of instabilities, i.e. 3-D instability appears at lower Re than 2-D instability.