Unrestricted.2016-11-142011-02-182016-11-141985-05http://hdl.handle.net/2346/18593A flat plate is a simplified model for a heliostat, which is a large flat tracking mirror used to reflect solar energy onto a central receiving boiler in a solar collector system. This is a study of vortex shedding from 3-dimensional single flat plates on a ground plane and the modifying effect on their wakes when plates are placed upstream. The multiple plate data is characterized by the single plate wake properties based on the plate separation distance referenced to the Strouhal identity length. The new characteristic body length is simply the multiple plate separation distance which produces the same Strouhal number for single and multiple bodies. For separation distances less than the Strouhal identity length, the multiple plate characteristics are very similar to the single plate. For separation distances greater than the Strouhal identity length, a multiple plate wake scale factor is developed which transforms the streamwise wake distance from the front plate into a new streamwise coordinate.application/pdfengWakes (Aerodynamics)Turbulent boundary layerVortex-motionPlates (Engineering)HeliostatThesis