Effect of slip on vortex shedding from a circular cylinder in a gas flow

Most studies of vortex shedding from a circular cylinder in a gas flow have assumed the no-slip condition on the cylinder surface. To investigate the effect of slip, we simulate vortex shedding using molecular gas dynamics (direct simulation Monte Carlo method) and computational fluid dynamics (incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with a slip boundary condition) and find the results of both methods to be in reasonable agreement. The critical accommodation coefficient below which vortex shedding ceases is found for Reynolds numbers of 60-100 at a Mach number of 0.3. Conditions to observe the effect of slip on vortex shedding appear to be experimentally realizable, although challenging.