Interaction of grid generated turbulence with expansion waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xanthos, Savvas Steliou

2004-11-01

The interaction of traveling expansion waves with grid-generated turbulence was investigated in a large-scale shock tube research facility. The incident shock and the induced flow behind it passed through a rectangular grid, which generated a nearly homogeneous and nearly isotropic turbulent flow. As the shock wave exited the open end of the shock tube, a system of expansion waves was generated which traveled upstream and interacted with the grid-generated turbulence. The Mach number of the incoming flows investigated was about 0.3 hence interactions are considered as interactions with an almost incompressible flow. Mild interactions with expansion waves, which generated expansion ratios of the order of 1.8, were achieved in the present investigations. In that respect the compressibility effects started to become important during the interaction. A custom designed vorticity probe was used to measure for the first time the rate-of-strain, the rate-of-rotation and the velocity-gradient tensors in several of the present flows. Custom made x-hotwire probes were initially used to measure the flow quantities simultaneously at different locations inside the flow field. Although the strength of the generated expansion waves was mild, S = 6U6x EW = 50 to 100 s-1, the effect on damping fluctuations of turbulence was clear. Vorticity fluctuations were reduced dramatically more than velocity or pressure fluctuations. Attenuation of longitudinal velocity fluctuations has been observed in all experiments. It appears that the attenuation increases in interactions with higher Reynolds number. The data of velocity fluctuations in the lateral directions show no consistent behavior change or some minor attenuation through the interaction. The present results clearly show that in most of the cases, attenuation occurs at large xM distances where length scales of the incoming flow are high and turbulence intensities are low. Thus large in size eddies with low velocity fluctuations are affected the most by the interaction with the expansion waves. Spectral analysis indicated that spectral energy is shifted after the interaction to lower wave numbers suggesting that the typical length scales of turbulence are increased after the interaction.

Several examples where turbulence models fail in inlet flow field analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, Bernhard H.

1993-01-01

Computational uncertainties in turbulence modeling for three dimensional inlet flow fields include flows approaching separation, strength of secondary flow field, three dimensional flow predictions of vortex liftoff, and influence of vortex-boundary layer interactions; computational uncertainties in vortex generator modeling include representation of generator vorticity field and the relationship between generator and vorticity field. The objectives of the inlet flow field studies presented in this document are to advance the understanding, prediction, and control of intake distortion and to study the basic interactions that influence this design problem.

Demonstration of the role of turbulence-driven poloidal flow generation in the L-H transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, C. X.; Xu, Y. H.; Luo, J. R.; Mao, J. S.; Liu, B. H.; Li, J. G.; Wan, B. N.; Wan, Y. X.

2000-05-01

This paper presents the evidence for the role of turbulence-driven poloidal flow generation in the L-H transition induced by a turbulent heating pulse on the HT-6M tokamak. It is found that the poloidal flow υθ plays a key role in developing the electric field Er and triggering the transition. The acceleration of υθ across the transition is clearly correlated with the enhancement of the Reynolds stress gradient.

Anisotropic Stochastic Vortex Structure Method for Simulating Particle Collision in Turbulent Shear Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dizaji, Farzad; Marshall, Jeffrey; Grant, John; Jin, Xing

2017-11-01

Accounting for the effect of subgrid-scale turbulence on interacting particles remains a challenge when using Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) or Large Eddy Simulation (LES) approaches for simulation of turbulent particulate flows. The standard stochastic Lagrangian method for introducing turbulence into particulate flow computations is not effective when the particles interact via collisions, contact electrification, etc., since this method is not intended to accurately model relative motion between particles. We have recently developed the stochastic vortex structure (SVS) method and demonstrated its use for accurate simulation of particle collision in homogeneous turbulence; the current work presents an extension of the SVS method to turbulent shear flows. The SVS method simulates subgrid-scale turbulence using a set of randomly-positioned, finite-length vortices to generate a synthetic fluctuating velocity field. It has been shown to accurately reproduce the turbulence inertial-range spectrum and the probability density functions for the velocity and acceleration fields. In order to extend SVS to turbulent shear flows, a new inversion method has been developed to orient the vortices in order to generate a specified Reynolds stress field. The extended SVS method is validated in the present study with comparison to direct numerical simulations for a planar turbulent jet flow. This research was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant CBET-1332472.

On the computation of the turbulent flow near rough surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matveev, S. K.; Jaychibekov, N. Zh.; Shalabayeva, B. S.

2018-05-01

One of the problems in constructing mathematical models of turbulence is a description of the flows near a rough surface. An experimental study of such flows is also difficult because of the impossibility of measuring "inside" the roughness. The theoretical calculation is difficult because of the lack of equations describing the flow in this zone. In this paper, a new turbulence model based on the differential equation of turbulent viscosity balance was used to describe a turbulent flow near a rough surface. The difference between the new turbulence model and the previously known consists in the choice of constants and functions that determine the generation, dissipation and diffusion of viscosity.

Pressure atomizer having multiple orifices and turbulent generation feature

DOEpatents

VanBrocklin, Paul G.; Geiger, Gail E.; Moran, Donald James; Fournier, Stephane

2002-01-01

A pressure atomizer includes a silicon plate having a top surface and a bottom surface. A portion of the top surface defines a turbulent chamber. The turbulent chamber is peripherally bounded by the top surface of the plate. The turbulent chamber is recessed a predetermined depth relative to the top surface. The silicon plate further defines at least one flow orifice. Each flow orifice extends from the bottom surface of the silicon plate to intersect with and open into the turbulent chamber. Each flow orifice is in fluid communication with the turbulent chamber.

Preliminary study of the effect of the turbulent flow field around complex surfaces on their acoustic characteristics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olsen, W. A.; Boldman, D.

1978-01-01

Fundamental theories for noise generated by flow over surfaces exist for only a few simple configurations. The role of turbulence in noise generation by complex surfaces should be essentially the same as for simple configurations. Examination of simple-surface theories indicates that the spatial distributions of the mean velocity and turbulence properties are sufficient to define the noise emission. Measurements of these flow properties were made for a number of simple and complex surfaces. The configurations were selected because of their acoustic characteristics are quite different. The spatial distribution of the turbulent flow properties around the complex surfaces and approximate theory are used to locate and describe the noise sources, and to qualitatively explain the varied acoustic characteristics.

Experimental Study of Vane Heat Transfer and Aerodynamics at Elevated Levels of Turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ames, Forrest E.

1994-01-01

A four vane subsonic cascade was used to investigate how free stream turbulence influences pressure surface heat transfer. A simulated combustor turbulence generator was built to generate high level (13 percent) large scale (Lu approximately 44 percent inlet span) turbulence. The mock combustor was also moved upstream to generate a moderate level (8.3 percent) of turbulence for comparison to smaller scale grid generated turbulence (7.8 percent). The high level combustor turbulence caused an average pressure surface heat transfer augmentation of 56 percent above the low turbulence baseline. The smaller scale grid turbulence produced the next greatest effect on heat transfer and demonstrated the importance of scale on heat transfer augmentation. In general, the heat transfer scaling parameter U(sub infinity) TU(sub infinity) LU(sub infinity)(exp -1/3) was found to hold for the turbulence. Heat transfer augmentation was also found to scale approximately on Re(sub ex)(exp 1/3) at constant turbulence conditions. Some evidence of turbulence intensification in terms of elevated dissipation rates was found along the pressure surface outside the boundary layer. However, based on the level of dissipation and the resulting heat transfer augmentation, the amplification of turbulence has only a moderate effect on pressure surface heat transfer. The flow field turbulence does drive turbulent production within the boundary layer which in turn causes the high levels of heat transfer augmentation. Unlike heat transfer, the flow field straining was found to have a significant effect on turbulence isotropy. On examination of the one dimensional spectra for u' and v', the effect to isotropy was largely limited to lower wavenumber spectra. The higher wavenumber spectra showed little or no change. The high level large scale turbulence was found to have a strong influence on wake development. The free stream turbulence significantly enhanced mixing resulting in broader and shallower wakes than the baseline case. High levels of flow field turbulence were found to correlate with a significant increase in total pressure loss in the core of the flow. Documenting the wake growth and characteristics provides boundary conditions for the downstream rotor.

Turbulence generation through intense kinetic energy sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maqui, Agustin F.; Donzis, Diego A.

2016-06-01

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) are used to systematically study the development and establishment of turbulence when the flow is initialized with concentrated regions of intense kinetic energy. This resembles both active and passive grids which have been extensively used to generate and study turbulence in laboratories at different Reynolds numbers and with different characteristics, such as the degree of isotropy and homogeneity. A large DNS database was generated covering a wide range of initial conditions with a focus on perturbations with some directional preference, a condition found in active jet grids and passive grids passed through a contraction as well as a new type of active grid inspired by the experimental use of lasers to photo-excite the molecules that comprise the fluid. The DNS database is used to assert under what conditions the flow becomes turbulent and if so, the time required for this to occur. We identify a natural time scale of the problem which indicates the onset of turbulence and a single Reynolds number based exclusively on initial conditions which controls the evolution of the flow. It is found that a minimum Reynolds number is needed for the flow to evolve towards fully developed turbulence. An extensive analysis of single and two point statistics, velocity as well as spectral dynamics and anisotropy measures is presented to characterize the evolution of the flow towards realistic turbulence.

Creating Turbulent Flow Realizations with Generative Adversarial Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

King, Ryan; Graf, Peter; Chertkov, Michael

2017-11-01

Generating valid inflow conditions is a crucial, yet computationally expensive, step in unsteady turbulent flow simulations. We demonstrate a new technique for rapid generation of turbulent inflow realizations that leverages recent advances in machine learning for image generation using a deep convolutional generative adversarial network (DCGAN). The DCGAN is an unsupervised machine learning technique consisting of two competing neural networks that are trained against each other using backpropagation. One network, the generator, tries to produce samples from the true distribution of states, while the discriminator tries to distinguish between true and synthetic samples. We present results from a fully-trained DCGAN that is able to rapidly draw random samples from the full distribution of possible inflow states without needing to solve the Navier-Stokes equations, eliminating the costly process of spinning up inflow turbulence. This suggests a new paradigm in physics informed machine learning where the turbulence physics can be encoded in either the discriminator or generator. Finally, we also propose additional applications such as feature identification and subgrid scale modeling.

Transport Coefficients in weakly compressible turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rubinstein, Robert; Erlebacher, Gordon

1996-01-01

A theory of transport coefficients in weakly compressible turbulence is derived by applying Yoshizawa's two-scale direct interaction approximation to the compressible equations of motion linearized about a state of incompressible turbulence. The result is a generalization of the eddy viscosity representation of incompressible turbulence. In addition to the usual incompressible eddy viscosity, the calculation generates eddy diffusivities for entropy and pressure, and an effective bulk viscosity acting on the mean flow. The compressible fluctuations also generate an effective turbulent mean pressure and corrections to the speed of sound. Finally, a prediction unique to Yoshizawa's two-scale approximation is that terms containing gradients of incompressible turbulence quantities also appear in the mean flow equations. The form these terms take is described.

Competition of Perpendicular and Parallel Flows in a Straight Magnetic Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jiacong; Diamond, Patrick; Hong, Rongjie; Tynan, George

2017-10-01

In tokamaks, intrinsic rotations in both toroidal and poloidal directions are important for the stability and confinement. Since they compete for energy from background turbulence, the coupling of them is the key to understanding the physics of turbulent state and transport bifurcations, e.g. L-H transition. V⊥ can affect the parallel Reynolds stress via cross phase and energetics, and thus regulates the parallel flow generation. In return, the turbulence driven V∥ plays a role in the mean vorticity flux, influencing the generation of V⊥. Also, competition of intrinsic azimuthal and axial flows is observed in CSDX-a linear plasma device with straight magnetic fields. CSDX is a well diagnosed venue to study the basic physics of turbulence-flow interactions in straight magnetic fields. Here, we study the turbulent energy branching between the turbulence driven parallel flow and perpendicular flow. Specifically, the ratio between parallel and perpendicular Reynolds power decreases when the mean perpendicular flow increases. As the mean parallel flow increases, this ratio first increases and then decreases before the parallel flow shear hits the parallel shear flow instability threshold. We seek to understand the flow states and compare with CSDX experiments. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, under Award Number DE-FG02-04ER54738.

Special issue of selected papers from the second UK-Japan bilateral Workshop and First ERCOFTAC Workshop on Turbulent Flows Generated/Designed in Multiscale/Fractal Ways, London, March 2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laizet, Sylvain; Sakai, Yasuhiko; Christos Vassilicos, J.

2013-12-01

This special issue of Fluid Dynamics Research includes nine papers which are based on nine of the presentations at the Second UK-Japan bilateral Workshop and First ERCOFTAC Workshop on 'Turbulent flows generated/designed in multiscale/fractal ways: fundamentals and applications' held from 26 to 27 March 2012 at Imperial College London, UK. The research area of fractal-generated turbulent flows started with a chapter published in 2001 in one of the conference proceedings which came out of the 1999 Isaac Newton Institute 6 month Programme on Turbulence in Cambridge (UK). However, the first results which formed the basis of much of the work reported in this special issue started appearing from 2007 onwards and progress since then could perhaps be described as not insignificant. Research in this area has resulted in the following six notable advances: (a) the definition of two new length-scales characterizing grid-generated turbulence; (b) enhanced and energy-efficient stirring and scalar transfer by fractal grid and fractal openings/flanges with applications, in particular, to improved turbulence generation for combustion; (c) the non-equilibrium turbulent dissipation law; (d) non-equilibrium axisymmetric wake laws; (e) insights into the dependence of drag forces and vortex shedding on the fractal geometry of fractal objects and simulation methods for the calculation of drag of fractal trees; and (f) the invention and successful proof of concept of fractal spoilers and fractal fences. The present special issue contains papers directly related to these advances and can be seen as a reflection of the current research in the field of fractal-generated turbulent flows and their differences and commonalities with other turbulent flows. The financial support from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science has been decisive for the organization and success of this workshop. We are also grateful to ERCOFTAC who put in place the EU-wide Special Interest Group on multiscale-generated turbulence and for supporting the workshop both financially and by way of advertisement. Last but by no means least, we express our deep gratitude to the editors of FDR who handled this issue: M Funakoshi, A D Gilbert, L B Mydlarski and K Suga.

Investigation of flows in LAPD and their relation to edge turbulence and intermittency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaffner, D.; Carter, T. A.; Friedman, B.; Vincena, S.; Auerbach, D. W.; Popovich, P.

2009-11-01

We report on measurements of spontaneous flows and turbulence in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) at UCLA. Measurements of perpendicular and parallel flow using a six-sided Mach probe reveal edge-localized perpendicular flows. The source of this flow is under investigation and may be generated by boundary effects or turbulent processes. Particular cases where a plasma depletion zone is created, including inserting a blocking disk within the cathode region and forming a compressed column, are used to analyze the effects on plasma flows. Ultimately, the relationship between the flows, turbulence and intermittency---the formation of blobs---is sought.

Dynamics of intrinsic axial flows in unsheared, uniform magnetic fields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, J. C.; Diamond, P. H.; Xu, X. Q.

2016-05-15

A simple model for the generation and amplification of intrinsic axial flow in a linear device, controlled shear decorrelation experiment, is proposed. This model proposes and builds upon a novel dynamical symmetry breaking mechanism, using a simple theory of drift wave turbulence in the presence of axial flow shear. This mechanism does not require complex magnetic field structure, such as shear, and thus is also applicable to intrinsic rotation generation in tokamaks at weak or zero magnetic shear, as well as to linear devices. This mechanism is essentially the self-amplification of the mean axial flow profile, i.e., a modulational instability.more » Hence, the flow development is a form of negative viscosity phenomenon. Unlike conventional mechanisms where the residual stress produces an intrinsic torque, in this dynamical symmetry breaking scheme, the residual stress induces a negative increment to the ambient turbulent viscosity. The axial flow shear is then amplified by this negative viscosity increment. The resulting mean axial flow profile is calculated and discussed by analogy with the problem of turbulent pipe flow. For tokamaks, the negative viscosity is not needed to generate intrinsic rotation. However, toroidal rotation profile gradient is enhanced by the negative increment in turbulent viscosity.« less

Enhancement of fine-scale mixing for fuel-rich plume combustion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schadow, K. C.; Gutmark, E.; Parr, T. P.; Parr, D. M.; Wilson, K. J.; Ferrell, G. B.

1987-01-01

The effect of enhancing small-scale turbulent structures on the combustion intensity and flame stability was studied in nonreacting and reacting flows. Hot-wire anemometry was used to map the mean and turbulent flow fields of the nonreacting flows. Reacting flows were studied in a free flame and in a ducted gas-generator fuel-rich plume using Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence, a rake of thermocouples and high speed photography. A modified circular nozzle having several backward facing steps upstream of its exit was used to introduce numerous inflection points in the initial mean velocity profiles, thus producing multiple corresponding sources of small-scale turbulence generators. Cold flow tests showed turbulence increases of up to six times the initial turbulence level relative to a circular nozzle. The ensuing result was that the flame of this nozzle was more intense with a homogeneous heat release. The fuel-rich plume was stable even in supersonic speeds, and secondary ignition was obtained under conditions that prevented sustained afterburning using the circular nozzle.

Aeroacoustics. [analysis of properties of sound generated by aerodynamic forces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldstein, M., E.

1974-01-01

An analysis was conducted to determine the properties of sound generated by aerodynamic forces or motions originating in a flow, such as the unsteady aerodynamic forces on propellers or by turbulent flows around an aircraft. The acoustics of moving media are reviewed and mathematical models are developed. Lighthill's acoustic analogy and the application to turbulent flows are analyzed. The effects of solid boundaries are calculated. Theories based on the solution of linearized vorticity and acoustic field equations are explained. The effects of nonuniform mean flow on the generation of sound are reported.

USB flow characteristics related to noise generation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, W. H.; Reddy, N. N.

1976-01-01

The effects of nozzle and flap geometry on upper surface blown flow field characteristics related to noise generation were examined experimentally using static models. Flow attachment and spreading characteristics were observed using flow visualization techniques. Velocity and turbulence profiles in the trailing edge wake were measured using hot-wire anemometry, and the effects of the geometric variables on peak velocity and turbulence intensity were determined. It is shown that peak trailing edge velocity is a function of the ratio of flow length to modified hydraulic diameter.

Turbulence significantly increases pressure and fluid shear stress in an aortic aneurysm model under resting and exercise flow conditions.

PubMed

Khanafer, Khalil M; Bull, Joseph L; Upchurch, Gilbert R; Berguer, Ramon

2007-01-01

The numerical models of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in use do not take into account the non-Newtonian behavior of blood and the development of local turbulence. This study examines the influence of pulsatile, turbulent, non-Newtonian flow on fluid shear stresses and pressure changes under rest and exercise conditions. We numerically analyzed pulsatile turbulent flow, using simulated physiological rest and exercise waveforms, in axisymmetric-rigid aortic aneurysm models (AAMs). Discretization of governing equations was achieved using a finite element scheme. Maximum turbulence-induced shear stress was found at the distal end of an AAM. In large AAMs (dilated to undilated diameter ratio = 3.33) at peak systolic flow velocity, fluid shear stress during exercise is 70.4% higher than at rest. Our study provides a numerical, noninvasive method for obtaining detailed data on the forces generated by pulsatile turbulent flow in AAAs that are difficult to study in humans and in physical models. Our data suggest that increased flow turbulence results in increased shear stress in aneurysms. While pressure readings are fairly uniform along the length of an aneurysm, the kinetic energy generated by turbulence impacting on the wall of the distal half of the aneurysm increases fluid and wall shear stress at this site. If the increased fluid shear stress results in further dilation and hence further turbulence, wall stress may be a mechanism for aneurysmal growth and eventual rupture.

Observation of turbulent-driven shear flow in a cylindrical laboratory plasma device.

PubMed

Holland, C; Yu, J H; James, A; Nishijima, D; Shimada, M; Taheri, N; Tynan, G R

2006-05-19

An azimuthally symmetric radially sheared plasma fluid flow is observed to spontaneously form in a cylindrical magnetized helicon plasma device with no external sources of momentum input. A turbulent momentum conservation analysis shows that this shear flow is sustained by the Reynolds stress generated by collisional drift turbulence in the device. The results provide direct experimental support for the basic theoretical picture of drift-wave-shear-flow interactions.

Mean velocities and Reynolds stresses in a juncture flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcmahon, H.; Hubbartt, J.; Kubendran, L.

1982-01-01

Values of three mean velocity components and six turbulence stresses measured in a juncture flow are presented and discussed. The juncture flow is generated by a constant thickness body, having an elliptical leading edge, which is mounted perpendicular to a large flat plate along which a turbulent boundary layer is growing. The measurements were carried out at two streamwise stations in the juncture and were made using two single sensor hot-wire probes. The secondary flow in the juncture results in a considerable distortion in the mean velocity profiles. The secondary flow also transports turbulence in the juncture flow and has a large effect on the turbulence stresses. From visual inspection of the results, there is considerable evidence of similarity between the turbulent shear stresses and the mean flow strain rates. There is some evidence of similarity between the variations in the turbulent stress components.

Flow and heat transfer experiments in the turbine airfoil/endwall region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chung, Jin Taek

An experimental investigation of the three-dimensional flow and heat transfer near the junction between the endwall and suction wall of a gas turbine was performed. A large-scale, two-half-blade facility which simulates a turbine cascade was introduced. The simulator consists of two large half-blade sections, one wall simulating the pressure surface and the other wall simulating the suction surface. The advantage of this configuration is that the features of the secondary flow are large, because of the relatively large test section, and the flow is easily accessible with probes. Qualification of this simulator was by comparison to a multi-blade cascade flow. Various flow visualization techniques--oil and lampblack, ink and oil of wintergeeen, a single tuft probe, and a tuft grid--were employed to confirm that the important features of the cascade flow were replicated in this simulator. The triangular region on the suction surface, which was affected by the passage vortex, and the endwall secondary crossflow were observed by shear stress visualization and the liquid crystal measurement techniques. In order to investigate the effects of the turbulence level on the secondary flow in a turbine passage, a turbulence generator, designed to reproduce the characteristics of a combustor exit flow, was built. The generator was designed not only to generate a high turbulence level but to produce three main features of a combustor exit flow. The generator produced a turbulence intensity level of about 10 percent and an integral length scale of 5 centimeters. It was observed that the endwall secondary flow, including the passage vortex, is not significantly influenced by freestream turbulence levels up to 10 percent. A flow management technique using a boundary layer fence designed to reduce some harmful effects of secondary flow in the endwall region of a turbine passage was introduced. The boundary layer fence is effective in changing the passage of the vortex and reducing the influence of the vortex near the suction wall. The fence was even more effective in reducing secondary flows for high levels of freestream turbulence (approximately 10 percent).

Pressure measurements in a rapidly sheared turbulent wall layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diwan, Sourabh; Morrison, Jonathan

2014-11-01

The aim of the present work is to improve understanding of the role of pressure fluctuations in the generation of coherent structures in wall-bounded turbulent flows, with particular regard to the rapid and slow source terms. The work is in part motivated by the recent numerical simulations of Sharma et al. (Phy. Fluids, 23, 2011), which showed the importance of pressure fluctuations (and their spatial gradients) in the dynamics of large-scale turbulent motions. Our experimental design consists of first generating a shearless boundary layer in a wind tunnel by passing a grid-generated turbulent flow over a moving floor whose speed is matched to the freestream velocity, and then shearing it rapidly by passing it over a stationary floor further downstream. Close to the leading edge of the stationary floor, the resulting flow is expected to satisfy the approximations of the Rapid Distortion Theory and therefore would be an ideal candidate for studying linear processes in wall turbulence. We carry out pressure measurements on the wall as well as within the flow - the former using surface mounted pressure transducers and the latter using a static pressure probe similar in design to that used by Tsuji et al. (J. Fluid. Mech. 585, 2007). We also present a comparison between the rapidly sheared flow and a more conventional boundary layer subjected to a turbulent free stream. We acknowledge the financial support from EPSRC (Grant No. EP/I037938).

Heat transfer, velocity-temperature correlation, and turbulent shear stress from Navier-Stokes computations of shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interaction flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, C. R.; Hingst, W. R.; Porro, A. R.

1991-01-01

The properties of 2-D shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interaction flows were calculated by using a compressible turbulent Navier-Stokes numerical computational code. Interaction flows caused by oblique shock wave impingement on the turbulent boundary layer flow were considered. The oblique shock waves were induced with shock generators at angles of attack less than 10 degs in supersonic flows. The surface temperatures were kept at near-adiabatic (ratio of wall static temperature to free stream total temperature) and cold wall (ratio of wall static temperature to free stream total temperature) conditions. The computational results were studied for the surface heat transfer, velocity temperature correlation, and turbulent shear stress in the interaction flow fields. Comparisons of the computational results with existing measurements indicated that (1) the surface heat transfer rates and surface pressures could be correlated with Holden's relationship, (2) the mean flow streamwise velocity components and static temperatures could be correlated with Crocco's relationship if flow separation did not occur, and (3) the Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model should be modified for turbulent shear stress computations in the interaction flows.

A turbulent quarter century of active grids: from Makita (1991) to the present

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mydlarski, Laurent

2017-12-01

A quarter of a century ago, following a series of investigations with his colleagues, Makita published a paper (Makita 1991 Fluid Dyn. Res. 8, 53-64) in which the production of high-Reynolds-number, homogeneous, isotropic turbulence in a typical laboratory-sized wind tunnel by way of a novel ‘active grid’ was demonstrated. Until this time, classical (‘passive’) grids had been used to generate homogeneous, isotropic turbulence, which was almost invariably of low Reynolds number. In the years following the publication of Makita’s paper, active grids have played a major role in experimental studies of turbulence, given their ability to generate the most fundamental expression of a turbulent flow (homogeneous, isotropic turbulence) at Reynolds numbers large enough to (i) test Kolmogorov theory (posed in the limit of infinite Reynolds number), and (ii) match those of many natural and industrial flows. The present paper aims to review the research related to active grids undertaken since Makita’s seminal work. To this end, it firstly summarizes the key elements involved in the design, construction and operation of active grids, with the aim of providing a useful reference for those interested in studying or building active grids. Secondly, it discusses how active grids are now being customized to generate novel flows. Lastly, it reviews the accomplishments that have been achieved as a result of the invention of the active grid. It is hoped that the contribution to the field of turbulence brought by active grids a quarter of a century ago will moreover serve to inspire current fluid dynamicists to generate other simple and elegant innovations—like the active grid—to further advance our understanding of turbulent flows.

Random generation of the turbulence slopes of a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor.

PubMed

Conan, Rodolphe

2014-03-15

A method to generate the turbulence measurements of a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is presented. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the spatial and temporal statistic properties of the slopes are respected, allowing us to generate the turbulence wavefront gradient corresponding to both natural and laser guide stars, as well as time series in accordance with the frozen flow model.

The effect of free-stream turbulence on heat transfer from a flat plate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sugawara, Sugao; Sato, Takashi; Komatsu, Hiroyasu; Osaka, Hiroichi

1958-01-01

Turbulence was generated by using screens, and the turbulence percentage was measured by a hot-wire anemometer both in the boundary layer and the free stream. The local heat-transfer coefficient was measured at 12 locations along the plate for the cases of various turbulence levels. The transition Reynolds number from laminar to turbulent flow decreases as the main-stream turbulence level increases. In the range of laminar heat transfer the effect of turbulence in the main flow was not great, but in the range of turbulent heat transfer the heat-transfer coefficient increases according to the increase of turbulence.

Role of turbulence fluctuations on uncertainties of acoutic Doppler current profiler discharge measurements

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tarrab, Leticia; Garcia, Carlos M.; Cantero, Mariano I.; Oberg, Kevin

2012-01-01

This work presents a systematic analysis quantifying the role of the presence of turbulence fluctuations on uncertainties (random errors) of acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) discharge measurements from moving platforms. Data sets of three-dimensional flow velocities with high temporal and spatial resolution were generated from direct numerical simulation (DNS) of turbulent open channel flow. Dimensionless functions relating parameters quantifying the uncertainty in discharge measurements due to flow turbulence (relative variance and relative maximum random error) to sampling configuration were developed from the DNS simulations and then validated with field-scale discharge measurements. The validated functions were used to evaluate the role of the presence of flow turbulence fluctuations on uncertainties in ADCP discharge measurements. The results of this work indicate that random errors due to the flow turbulence are significant when: (a) a low number of transects is used for a discharge measurement, and (b) measurements are made in shallow rivers using high boat velocity (short time for the boat to cross a flow turbulence structure).

Electromotive force and large-scale magnetic dynamo in a turbulent flow with a mean shear.

PubMed

Rogachevskii, Igor; Kleeorin, Nathan

2003-09-01

An effect of sheared large-scale motions on a mean electromotive force in a nonrotating turbulent flow of a conducting fluid is studied. It is demonstrated that in a homogeneous divergence-free turbulent flow the alpha effect does not exist, however a mean magnetic field can be generated even in a nonrotating turbulence with an imposed mean velocity shear due to a "shear-current" effect. A mean velocity shear results in an anisotropy of turbulent magnetic diffusion. A contribution to the electromotive force related to the symmetric parts of the gradient tensor of the mean magnetic field (the kappa effect) is found in nonrotating turbulent flows with a mean shear. The kappa effect and turbulent magnetic diffusion reduce the growth rate of the mean magnetic field. It is shown that a mean magnetic field can be generated when the exponent of the energy spectrum of the background turbulence (without the mean velocity shear) is less than 2. The shear-current effect was studied using two different methods: the tau approximation (the Orszag third-order closure procedure) and the stochastic calculus (the path integral representation of the solution of the induction equation, Feynman-Kac formula, and Cameron-Martin-Girsanov theorem). Astrophysical applications of the obtained results are discussed.

Viscous flow drag reduction; Symposium, Dallas, Tex., November 7, 8, 1979, Technical Papers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hough, G. R.

1980-01-01

The symposium focused on laminar boundary layers, boundary layer stability analysis of a natural laminar flow glove on the F-111 TACT aircraft, drag reduction of an oscillating flat plate with an interface film, electromagnetic precipitation and ducting of particles in turbulent boundary layers, large eddy breakup scheme for turbulent viscous drag reduction, blowing and suction, polymer additives, and compliant surfaces. Topics included influence of environment in laminar boundary layer control, generation rate of turbulent patches in the laminar boundary layer of a submersible, drag reduction of small amplitude rigid surface waves, and hydrodynamic drag and surface deformations generated by liquid flows over flexible surfaces.

Semiempirical method of determining flow coefficients for pitot rake mass flow rate measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trefny, C. J.

1985-01-01

Flow coefficients applicable to area-weighted pitot rake mass flow rate measurements are presented for fully developed, turbulent flow in an annulus. A turbulent velocity profile is generated semiempirically for a given annulus hub-to-tip radius ratio and integrated numerically to determine the ideal mass flow rate. The calculated velocities at each probe location are then summed, and the flow rate as indicated by the rake is obtained. The flow coefficient to be used with the particular rake geometry is subsequently obtained by dividing the ideal flow rate by the rake-indicated flow rate. Flow coefficients ranged from 0.903 for one probe placed at a radius dividing two equal areas to 0.984 for a 10-probe area-weighted rake. Flow coefficients were not a strong function of annulus hub-to-tip radius ratio for rakes with three or more probes. The semiempirical method used to generate the turbulent velocity profiles is described in detail.

Adaptive unstructured triangular mesh generation and flow solvers for the Navier-Stokes equations at high Reynolds number

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ashford, Gregory A.; Powell, Kenneth G.

1995-01-01

A method for generating high quality unstructured triangular grids for high Reynolds number Navier-Stokes calculations about complex geometries is described. Careful attention is paid in the mesh generation process to resolving efficiently the disparate length scales which arise in these flows. First the surface mesh is constructed in a way which ensures that the geometry is faithfully represented. The volume mesh generation then proceeds in two phases thus allowing the viscous and inviscid regions of the flow to be meshed optimally. A solution-adaptive remeshing procedure which allows the mesh to adapt itself to flow features is also described. The procedure for tracking wakes and refinement criteria appropriate for shock detection are described. Although at present it has only been implemented in two dimensions, the grid generation process has been designed with the extension to three dimensions in mind. An implicit, higher-order, upwind method is also presented for computing compressible turbulent flows on these meshes. Two recently developed one-equation turbulence models have been implemented to simulate the effects of the fluid turbulence. Results for flow about a RAE 2822 airfoil and a Douglas three-element airfoil are presented which clearly show the improved resolution obtainable.

Emission of Sound from Turbulence Convected by a Parallel Mean Flow in the Presence of a Confining Duct

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldstein, Marvin E.; Leib, Stewart J.

1999-01-01

An approximate method for calculating the noise generated by a turbulent flow within a semi-infinite duct of arbitrary cross section is developed. It is based on a previously derived high-frequency solution to Lilley's equation, which describes the sound propagation in a transversely-sheared mean flow. The source term is simplified by assuming the turbulence to be axisymmetric about the mean flow direction. Numerical results are presented for the special case of a ring source in a circular duct with an axisymmetric mean flow. They show that the internally generated noise is suppressed at sufficiently large upstream angles in a hard walled duct, and that acoustic liners can significantly reduce the sound radiated in both the upstream and downstream regions, depending upon the source location and Mach number of the flow.

Emission of Sound From Turbulence Convected by a Parallel Mean Flow in the Presence of a Confining Duct

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldstein, Marvin E.; Leib, Stewart J.

1999-01-01

An approximate method for calculating the noise generated by a turbulent flow within a semi-infinite duct of arbitrary cross section is developed. It is based on a previously derived high-frequency solution to Lilley's equation, which describes the sound propagation in transversely-sheared mean flow. The source term is simplified by assuming the turbulence to be axisymmetric about the mean flow direction. Numerical results are presented for the special case of a ring source in a circular duct with an axisymmetric mean flow. They show that the internally generated noise is suppressed at sufficiently large upstream angles in a hard walled duct, and that acoustic liners can significantly reduce the sound radiated in both the upstream and downstream regions, depending upon the source location and Mach number of the flow.

Investigations of the role of nonlinear couplings in structure formation and transport regulation in plasma turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holland, Christopher George

Studies of nonlinear couplings and dynamics in plasma turbulence are presented. Particular areas of focus are analytic studies of coherent structure formation in electron temperature gradient turbulence, measurement of nonlinear energy transfer in simulations of plasma turbulence, and bispectral analysis of experimental and computational data. The motivation for these works has been to develop and expand the existing theories of plasma transport, and verify the nonlinear predictions of those theories in simulation and experiment. In Chapter II, we study electromagnetic secondary instabilities of electron temperature gradient turbulence. The growth rate for zonal flow generation via modulational instability of electromagnetic ETG turbulence is calculated, as well as that for zonal (magnetic) field generation. In Chapter III, the stability and saturation of streamers in ETG turbulence is considered, and shown to depend sensitively upon geometry and the damping rates of the Kelvin-Helmholtz mode. Requirements for a credible theory of streamer transport are presented. In addition, a self-consistent model for interactions between ETG and ITG (ion temperature gradient) turbulence is presented. In Chapter IV, the nonlinear transfer of kinetic and internal energy is measured in simulations of plasma turbulence. The regulation of turbulence by radial decorrelation due to zonal flows and generation of zonal flows via the Reynolds stress are explicitly demonstrated, and shown to be symmetric facets of a single nonlinear process. Novel nonlinear saturation mechanisms for zonal flows are discussed. In Chapter V, measurements of fluctuation bicoherence in the edge of the DIII-D tokamak are presented. It is shown that the bicoherence increases transiently before a L-H transition, and decays to its initial value after the barrier has formed. The increase in bicoherence is localized to the region where the transport barrier forms, and shows strong coupling between well-separated frequencies. These results are qualitatively reproduced in a simple numerical "thought experiment," described in Chapter VI, which suggests that zonal flows may trigger the L-H transition.

Studying Turbulence Using Numerical Simulation Databases, 2. Proceedings of the 1988 Summer Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

The focus of the program was on the use of direct numerical simulations of turbulent flow for study of turbulence physics and modeling. A special interest was placed on turbulent mixing layers. The required data for these investigations were generated from four newly developed codes for simulation of time and spatially developing incompressible and compressible mixing layers. Also of interest were the structure of wall bounded turbulent and transitional flows, evaluation of diagnostic techniques for detection of organized motions, energy transfer in isotropic turbulence, optical propagation through turbulent media, and detailed analysis of the interaction of vortical structures.

Performance tests for the NASA Ames Research Center 20 cm x 40 cm oscillating flow wind tunnel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cook, W. J.; Giddings, T. A.

1984-01-01

An evaluation is presented of initial tests conducted to assess the performance of the NASA Ames 20 cm x 40 cm oscillating flow wind tunnel. The features of the tunnel are described and two aspects of tunnel operation are discussed. The first is an assessment of the steady mainstream and boundary layer flows and the second deals with oscillating mainstream and boundary layer flows. Experimental results indicate that in steady flow the test section mainstream velocity is uniform in the flow direction and in cross section. The freestream turbulence intensity is about 0.2 percent. With minor exceptions the steady turbulent boundary layer generated on the top wall of the test section exhibits the characteristics of a zero pressure gradient turbulent boundary layer generated on a flat plate. The tunnel was designed to generate sinusoidal oscillating mainstream flows. Experiments confirm that the tunnel produces sinusoidal mainstream velocity variations for the range of frequencies (up to 15 Hz). The results of this study demonstrate that the tunnel essentially produces the flows that it was designed to produce.

Fluctuation-induced shear flow and energy transfer in plasma interchange turbulence

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, B.; Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139; Sun, C. K.

2015-11-15

Fluctuation-induced E × B shear flow and energy transfer for plasma interchange turbulence are examined in a flux-driven system with both closed and open magnetic field lines. The nonlinear evolution of interchange turbulence shows the presence of two confinement regimes characterized by low and high E × B flow shear. In the first regime, the large-scale turbulent convection is dominant and the mean E × B shear flow is at a relatively low level. By increasing the heat flux above a certain threshold, the increased turbulent intensity gives rise to the transfer of energy from fluctuations to mean E ×more » B flows. As a result, a transition to the second regime occurs, in which a strong mean E × B shear flow is generated.« less

Decoupling the Roles of Inertia and Gravity on Particle Dispersion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Groszmann, D. E.; Thompson, J. H.; Coppen, S. W.; Rogers, C. B.

1999-01-01

Inertial and gravitational forces determine a particle's motion in a turbulent flow field. Gravity plays the dominant role in this motion by pulling the particles through adjacent regions of fluid turbulence. To better understand and model how a particle's inertia effects its displacement, one must examine the dispersion in a turbulent flow in the absence of gravity. In this paper, we present the particle experiments planned for NASA's KC-135 Reduced-Gravity Aircraft, which generates microgravity conditions for about 20 seconds. We also predict the particle behavior using simulation and ground-based experiments. We will release particles with Stokes numbers of 0.1, 1, and 10 into an enclosed tank of near-isotropic, stationary, and homogenous turbulence. These particle Stoke numbers cover a broad range of flow regimes of interest. Two opposed grids oscillating back and forth generate the turbulent field in the tank with a range of turbulence scales that covers about three orders of magnitude and with turbulence intensities of about ten times the mean velocity. The motion of the particles will be tracked using a stereo image velocimetry technique.

Turbulence generation by waves

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kaftori, D.; Nan, X.S.; Banerjee, S.

The interaction between two-dimensional mechanically generated waves, and a turbulent stream was investigated experimentally in a horizontal channel, using a 3-D LDA synchronized with a surface position measuring device and a micro-bubble tracers flow visualization with high speed video. Results show that although the wave induced orbital motion reached all the way to the wall, the characteristics of the turbulence wall structures and the turbulence intensity close to the wall were not altered. Nor was the streaky nature of the wall layer. On the other hand, the mean velocity profile became more uniform and the mean friction velocity was increased.more » Close to the free surface, the turbulence intensity was substantially increased as well. Even in predominantly laminar flows, the introduction of 2-D waves causes three dimensional turbulence. The turbulence enhancement is found to be proportional to the wave strength.« less

The Hydrodynamic Distinctiveness of Living Organisms: Communication in Complex Hydraulic Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, M.

2015-12-01

Animals make decisions about the suitability of habitat and their reaction to other organisms based on the sensory information that they first obtain. This information is transmitted, masked and filtered by fluvial processes, such as turbulent flow. Despite governing how animals interact with the environment, limited attention has been paid to the controls on the propagation of sensory signals through rivers. Some animals interpret hydraulic events and use the characteristics of wakes to sense the presence of other organisms. This implies that at least some animals can differentiate turbulent flow generated by the presence of living organisms from ambient environmental turbulence. We investigate whether there are specific flow characteristics, distinct from the ambient environment, that potentially flag the presence of organisms to other animals. ADV and PIV measurements in a series of laboratory flume experiments quantified the flow around living Signal Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) and two inanimate objects of equivalent shape and size. Experiments were repeated across a gradient of turbulence intensities generated over nine combinations of flow velocity and relative submergence. Flows downstream of living crayfish were distinct from inanimate objects, with greater turbulent intensities, higher energy in low- to intermediate frequencies, and flow structures that were less coherent in comparison to those measured downstream of inanimate objects. However, the hydrodynamic signature of crayfish became masked as the intensity of ambient turbulence exceeded that generated by living crayfish. These results demonstrate the importance of the fluvial processes in the transmission of sensory information and suggest that the ability of animals to perceive hydraulic signatures is likely to be limited in many situations in rivers. Thus, animals may need to rely on other senses, such as sight or hearing, especially where depth is shallow relative to grain size.

Simulation of supersonic turbulent flow in the vicinity of an inclined backward-facing step

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Askary, W. A.

2011-08-01

Large eddy simulation (LES) is a viable and powerful tool to analyse unsteady three-dimensional turbulent flows. In this article, the method of LES is used to compute a plane turbulent supersonic boundary layer subjected to different pressure gradients. The pressure gradients are generated by allowing the flow to pass in the vicinity of an expansion-compression ramp (inclined backward-facing step with leeward-face angle of 25°) for an upstream Mach number of 2.9. The inflow boundary condition is the main problem for all turbulent wall-bounded flows. An approach to solve this problem is to extract instantaneous velocities, temperature and density data from an auxiliary simulation (inflow generator). To generate an appropriate realistic inflow condition to the inflow generator itself the rescaling technique for compressible flows is used. In this method, Morkovin's hypothesis, in which the total temperature fluctuations are neglected compared with the static temperature fluctuations, is applied to rescale and generate the temperature profile at inlet. This technique was successfully developed and applied by the present author for an LES of subsonic three-dimensional boundary layer of a smooth curved ramp. The present LES results are compared with the available experimental data as well as numerical data. The positive impact of the rescaling formulation of the temperature is proven by the convincing agreement of the obtained results with the experimental data compared with published numerical work and sheds light on the quality of the developed compressible inflow generator.

Turbulent structure of three-dimensional flow behind a model car: 1. Exposed to uniform approach flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozaka, Orçun E.; Özkan, Gökhan; Özdemir, Bedii I.

2004-01-01

Turbulent structure of flow behind a model car is investigated with local velocity measurements with emphasis on large structures and their relevance to aerodynamic forces. Results show that two counter-rotating helical vortices, which are formed within the inner wake region, play a key role in determining the flux of kinetic energy. The turbulence is generated within the outermost shear layers due to the instabilities, which also seem to be the basic drive for these relatively organized structures. The measured terms of the turbulent kinetic energy production, which are only part of the full expression, indicate that vortex centres act similar to the manifolds draining the energy in the streamwise direction. As the approach velocity increases, the streamwise convection becomes the dominant means of turbulent transport and, thus, the acquisition of turbulence by relatively non-turbulent flow around the wake region is suppressed.

Experimental investigation of flow over two-dimensional multiple hill models.

PubMed

Li, Qing'an; Maeda, Takao; Kamada, Yasunari; Yamada, Keisuke

2017-12-31

The aim of this study is to investigate the flow field characteristics in ABL (Atmospheric Boundary Layer) flow over multiple hills and valleys in two-dimensional models under neutral conditions. Active turbulence grids and boundary layer generation frame were used to simulate the natural winds in wind tunnel experiments. As a result, the mean wind velocity, the velocity vector diagram and turbulence intensity around the hills were investigated by using a PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) system. From the measurement results, it was known that the average velocity was increased along the upstream slope of upside hill, and then separated at the top of the hills, the acceleration region of U/U ref >1 was generated at the downstream of the hill. Meanwhile, a large clockwise circulation flow was generated between the two hill models. Moreover, the turbulence intensity showed small value in the circulation flow regions. Compared to 1H model, the turbulence intensity in the mainstream direction showed larger value than that in the vertical direction. This paper provided a better understanding of the wind energy distribution on the terrain for proper selection of suitable sites for installing wind farms in the ABL. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A temporal PIV study of flame/obstacle generated vortex interactions within a semi-confined combustion chamber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarvis, S.; Hargrave, G. K.

2006-01-01

Experimental data obtained using a new multiple-camera digital particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique are presented for the interaction between a propagating flame and the turbulent recirculating velocity field generated during flame-solid obstacle interaction. The interaction between the gas movement and the obstacle creates turbulence by vortex shedding and local wake recirculations. The presence of turbulence in a flammable gas mixture can wrinkle a flame front, increasing the flame surface area and enhancing the burning rate. To investigate propagating flame/turbulence interaction, a novel multiple-camera digital PIV technique was used to provide high spatial and temporal characterization of the phenomenon for the turbulent flow field in the wake of three sequential obstacles. The technique allowed the quantification of the local flame speed and local flow velocity. Due to the accelerating nature of the explosion flow field, the wake flows develop 'transient' turbulent fields. Multiple-camera PIV provides data to define the spatial and temporal variation of both the velocity field ahead of the propagating flame and the flame front to aid the understanding of flame-vortex interaction. Experimentally obtained values for flame displacement speed and flame stretch are presented for increasing vortex complexity.

Summary of the Madison Dynamo Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kendrick, R. D.; Spence, E. J.; Nornberg, M. D.; Forest, C. B.

2001-10-01

A spherical dynamo experiment has been constructed at the University of Wisconsin's liquid sodium facility. The goals of the experiment are to observe and understand magnetic instabilities driven by flow shear in MHD systems, investigate MHD turbulence for magnetic Reynolds numbers of ~100, and understand the role of fluid turbulence in current generation. Magnetic field generation is possible for only specific flow geometries. We have studied and achieved simple roll flow geometries in a full scale water experiment. Results from this experiment have guided the design of the sodium experiment. The experiment consists of a 1 m diameter, spherical stainless steel vessel filled with liquid sodium at 110 Celsius. Two 100 Hp motors with impellers drive flows in the liquid sodium with flow velocities ~ 15 m/s. A gaussian grid of Hall probes on the surface of the sodium vessel measure the generated external magnetic field. Hall probe feed-thru arrays measure the internal field. Preliminary investigations include measurements of the turbulent electromotive force and excitation of magnetic eigenmodes.

Design of the Madison Dynamo Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kendrick, R. D.; Bayliss, R. A.; Forest, C. B.; Nornberg, M. D.; O'Connell, R.; Spence, E. J.

2003-10-01

A spherical dynamo experiment has been constructed at the University of Wisconsin's liquid sodium facility. The goals of the experiment are to observe and understand magnetic instabilities driven by flow shear in MHD systems, investigate MHD turbulence for magnetic Reynolds numbers of ˜100, and understand the role of fluid turbulence in current generation. Magnetic field generation is possible for only specific flow geometries. We have studied and achieved simple roll flow geometries in a full scale water experiment. Results from this experiment have guided the design of the sodium experiment. The experiment consists of a 1 m diameter, spherical stainless steel vessel filled with liquid sodium at 110 Celsius. Two 100 Hp motors with impellers drive flows in the liquid sodium with flow velocities ˜ 15 m/s. A grid of Hall probes on the surface of the sodium vessel measure the generated external magnetic field. Hall probe feed-thru arrays measure the internal field. Preliminary investigations include measurements of the turbulent electromotive force and excitation of magnetic eigenmodes.

About the coupling of turbulence closure models with averaged Navier-Stokes equations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vandromme, D.; Ha Minh, H.

1986-01-01

The MacCormack implicit predictor-corrector model (1981) for numerical solution of the coupled Navier-Stokes equations for turbulent flows is extended to nonconservative multiequation turbulence models, as well as the inclusion of second-order Reynolds stress turbulence closure. A scalar effective pressure turbulent contribution to the pressure field is defined to approximate the effects of the Reynolds stress in strongly sheared flows. The Jacobian matrices of the transport equations are diagonalized to reduce the required computer memory and run time. Techniques are defined for including turbulence in the diagonalization. Application of the method is demonstrated with solutions generated for transonic nozzle flow and for the interaction between a supersonic flat plate boundary layer and a 12 deg compression-expansion ramp.

Interaction between mean flow and turbulence in two dimensions

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

This short note is written to call attention to an analytic approach to the interaction of developed turbulence with mean flows of simple geometry (jets and vortices). It is instructive to compare cases in two and three dimensions and see why the former are solvable and the latter are not (yet). We present the analytical solutions for two-dimensional mean flows generated by an inverse turbulent cascade on a sphere and in planar domains of different aspect ratios. These solutions are obtained in the limit of small friction when the flow is strong while turbulence can be considered weak and treated perturbatively. I then discuss when these simple solutions can be realized and when more complicated flows may appear instead. The next step of describing turbulence statistics inside a flow and directions of possible future progress are briefly discussed at the end. PMID:27493579

Numerical simulations of current generation and dynamo excitation in a mechanically forced turbulent flow.

PubMed

Bayliss, R A; Forest, C B; Nornberg, M D; Spence, E J; Terry, P W

2007-02-01

The role of turbulence in current generation and self-excitation of magnetic fields has been studied in the geometry of a mechanically driven, spherical dynamo experiment, using a three-dimensional numerical computation. A simple impeller model drives a flow that can generate a growing magnetic field, depending on the magnetic Reynolds number Rm=micro0sigmaVa and the fluid Reynolds number Re=Vanu of the flow. For Re<420, the flow is laminar and the dynamo transition is governed by a threshold of Rmcrit=100, above which a growing magnetic eigenmode is observed that is primarily a dipole field transverse to the axis of symmetry of the flow. In saturation, the Lorentz force slows the flow such that the magnetic eigenmode becomes marginally stable. For Re>420 and Rm approximately 100 the flow becomes turbulent and the dynamo eigenmode is suppressed. The mechanism of suppression is a combination of a time varying large-scale field and the presence of fluctuation driven currents (such as those predicted by the mean-field theory), which effectively enhance the magnetic diffusivity. For higher Rm, a dynamo reappears; however, the structure of the magnetic field is often different from the laminar dynamo. It is dominated by a dipolar magnetic field aligned with the axis of symmetry of the mean-flow, which is apparently generated by fluctuation-driven currents. The magnitude and structure of the fluctuation-driven currents have been studied by applying a weak, axisymmetric seed magnetic field to laminar and turbulent flows. An Ohm's law analysis of the axisymmetric currents allows the fluctuation-driven currents to be identified. The magnetic fields generated by the fluctuations are significant: a dipole moment aligned with the symmetry axis of the mean-flow is generated similar to those observed in the experiment, and both toroidal and poloidal flux expulsion are observed.

The use of direct numerical simulation data in turbulence modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mansour, N. N.

1991-01-01

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of turbulent flows provide a complete data base to develop and to test turbulence models. In this article, the progress made in developing models for the dissipation rate equation is reviewed. New scaling arguments for the various terms in the dissipation rate equation were tested using data from DNS of homogeneous shear flows. Modifications to the epsilon-equation model that take into account near-wall effects were developed using DNS of turbulent channel flows. Testing of new models for flows under mean compression was carried out using data from DNS of isotropically compressed turbulence. In all of these studies the data from the simulations was essential in guiding the model development. The next generation of DNS will be at higher Reynolds numbers, and will undoubtedly lead to improved models for computations of flows of practical interest.

Velocity fields and optical turbulence near the boundary in a strongly convective laboratory flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matt, Silvia; Hou, Weilin; Goode, Wesley; Hellman, Samuel

2016-05-01

Boundary layers around moving underwater vehicles or other platforms can be a limiting factor for optical communication. Turbulence in the boundary layer of a body moving through a stratified medium can lead to small variations in the index of refraction, which impede optical signals. As a first step towards investigating this boundary layer effect on underwater optics, we study the flow near the boundary in the Rayleigh-Bénard laboratory tank at the Naval Research Laboratory Stennis Space Center. The tank is set up to generate temperature-driven, i.e., convective turbulence, and allows control of the turbulence intensity. This controlled turbulence environment is complemented by computational fluid dynamics simulations to visualize and quantify multi-scale flow patterns. The boundary layer dynamics in the laboratory tank are quantified using a state-of-the-art Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system to examine the boundary layer velocities and turbulence parameters. The velocity fields and flow dynamics from the PIV are compared to the numerical model and show the model to accurately reproduce the velocity range and flow dynamics. The temperature variations and thus optical turbulence effects can then be inferred from the model temperature data. Optical turbulence is also visible in the raw data from the PIV system. The newly collected data are consistent with previously reported measurements from high-resolution Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter profilers (Nortek Vectrino), as well as fast thermistor probes and novel next-generation fiber-optics temperature sensors. This multi-level approach to studying optical turbulence near a boundary, combining in-situ measurements, optical techniques, and numerical simulations, can provide new insight and aid in mitigating turbulence impacts on underwater optical signal transmission.

Turbulent Boundary Layers in Oscillating Flows. Part 1: an Experimental and Computational Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cook, W. J.

1986-01-01

An experimental-computational study of the behavior of turbulent boundary layers for oscillating air flows over a plane surface with a small favorable mean pressure gradient is described. Experimental studies were conducted for boundary layers generated on the test section wall of a facility that produces a flow with a mean free stream velocity and a superposed nearly-pure sinusoidal component over a wide range of frequency. Flow at a nominal mean free stream velocity of 50 m/s were studied at atmospheric pressure and temperature at selected axial positions over a 2 m test length for frequencies ranging from 4 to 29 Hz. Quantitative experimental results are presented for unsteady velocity profiles and longitudinal turbulence levels obtained from hot wire anemometer measurements at three axial positions. Mean velocity profiles for oscillating flows were found to exhibit only small deviations from corresponding steady flow profiles, while amplitudes and phase relationships exhibited a strong dependence on axial position and frequency. Since sinusoidal flows could be generated over a wide range of frequency, studies at fixed values of reduced frequency at different axial positions were studied. Results show that there is some utility in the use of reduced frequency to correlate unsteady velocity results. The turbulence level u' sub rms was observed to vary essentially sinusoidally around values close to those measured in steady flow. However, the amplitude of oscillation and phase relations for turbulence level were found to be strongly frequency dependent. Numerical predictions were obtained using an unsteady boundary layer computational code and the Cebeci-Smith and Glushko turbulence models. Predicted quantities related to unsteady velocity profiles exhibit fair agreement with experiment when the Cebeci-Smith turbulence model is used.

The Effect of Spanwise System Rotation on Turbulent Poiseuille Flow at Very-Low-Reynolds Number

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iida, Oaki; Fukudome, K.; Iwata, T.; Nagano, Y.

Direct numerical simulations (DNSs) with a spectral method are performed with large and small computational domains to study the effects of spanwise rotation on a turbulent Poiseuille flow at the very low-Reynolds numbers. In the case without system rotation, quasi-laminar and turbulent states appear side by side in the same computational domain, which is coined as laminar-turbulence pattern. However, in the case with system rotation, the pattern disappears and flow is dominated by quasi-laminar region including very long low-speed streaks coiled by chain-like vortical structures. Increasing the Reynolds number can not generate the laminar-turbulence pattern as long as system rotation is imposed.

The Effect of Stem- and Canopy-Scale Turbulence on Sediment Dynamics within Submerged Vegetation.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tinoco, R. O.; San Juan Blanco, J. E.; Prada, A. F.

2017-12-01

Stem- and canopy-scale turbulence generated by submerged patches of vegetation plays a paramount role on sediment transport within aquatic ecosystems such as wetlands, marshes, mangrove forests, and coastal regions, as dense patches dampen velocities and mean bed stresses within the plants, while also increasing turbulence intensity through stem-scale wakes and canopy-scale eddies. To explore the interactions between such processes, laboratory experiments are conducted using rigid cylinders placed in a staggered configuration as vegetation elements, embedded on a non-cohesive sediment bed in a racetrack flume. Quantitative imaging is used to characterize the flow field and the associated suspended sediment concentration throughout the water column at different submergence ratios, defined as the ratio between water depth, H, and plant height, h, to investigate the role of canopy-scale eddies formed at the top of the canopy, and their interaction with near-bed flow structures, on sediment dynamics. Turbulent kinetic energy, turbulent intensity, and Reynolds stresses are quantified within and above the array to clearly identify the contributions from bed generated turbulence and vegetation generated turbulence, at both stem- and canopy-scale, as submergence ratio increases from emergent, H/h=1, to fully submerged, H/h=5, conditions. The experimental results are compared with transport models to highlight the need for a multi-scale approach to represent flow-vegetation-sediment interactions.

A laboratory study of mean flow generation in rotating fluids by Reynolds stress gradients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGuinness, D. S.; Boyer, D. L.; Fernando, H. J. S.

2001-06-01

Laboratory experiments were conducted that demonstrate that a mean azimuthal flow can be produced by introducing Reynolds stress gradients to a rotating fluid with zero initial mean flow. This mechanism may play a role in the generation of mean currents in coastal regions. The experiments entail the establishment of turbulence in a thin annular-shaped region centered within a cylindrical test cell through the use of a vertically oscillating grid. This region rests in a horizontal plane perpendicular to the vertical axis of the tank, and the entire system is placed on a turntable to simulate background rotation. Flow visualization techniques are used to depict qualitative features of the resulting flow field. Measurements of the mean and turbulent velocity fields are performed using a two-component laser-Doppler velocimeter. The results show how rectified currents (mean flows) can be generated via Reynolds stress gradients induced by periodic forcing of the grid. In the absence of background rotation, rectified flow is observed in the radial and vertical directions only. The presence of background rotation tends to organize these motions in that the flow tends to move parallel to the turbulent source, i.e., in the azimuthal direction, with the source (strong turbulence) located to the right, facing downstream. The influence of rotation on the Reynolds stresses and their gradients as well as on the ensuing mean flow is evaluated, and the observations are examined by considering individual contributions of the terms in the Reynolds-averaged momentum equations.

Modeling of Fine-Particle Formation in Turbulent Flames

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raman, Venkat; Fox, Rodney O.

2016-01-01

The generation of nanostructured particles in high-temperature flames is important both for the control of emissions from combustion devices and for the synthesis of high-value chemicals for a variety of applications. The physiochemical processes that lead to the production of fine particles in turbulent flames are highly sensitive to the flow physics and, in particular, the history of thermochemical compositions and turbulent features they encounter. Consequently, it is possible to change the characteristic size, structure, composition, and yield of the fine particles by altering the flow configuration. This review describes the complex multiscale interactions among turbulent fluid flow, gas-phase chemical reactions, and solid-phase particle evolution. The focus is on modeling the generation of soot particles, an unwanted pollutant from automobile and aircraft engines, as well as metal oxides, a class of high-value chemicals sought for specialized applications, including emissions control. Issues arising due to the numerical methods used to approximate the particle number density function, the modeling of turbulence-chemistry interactions, and model validation are also discussed.

Instability mechanisms and transition scenarios of spiral turbulence in Taylor-Couette flow.

PubMed

Meseguer, Alvaro; Mellibovsky, Fernando; Avila, Marc; Marques, Francisco

2009-10-01

Alternating laminar and turbulent helical bands appearing in shear flows between counterrotating cylinders are accurately computed and the near-wall instability phenomena responsible for their generation identified. The computations show that this intermittent regime can only exist within large domains and that its spiral coherence is not dictated by endwall boundary conditions. A supercritical transition route, consisting of a progressive helical alignment of localized turbulent spots, is carefully studied. Subcritical routes disconnected from secondary laminar flows have also been identified.

Entropy Filtered Density Function for Large Eddy Simulation of Turbulent Reacting Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Safari, Mehdi

Analysis of local entropy generation is an effective means to optimize the performance of energy and combustion systems by minimizing the irreversibilities in transport processes. Large eddy simulation (LES) is employed to describe entropy transport and generation in turbulent reacting flows. The entropy transport equation in LES contains several unclosed terms. These are the subgrid scale (SGS) entropy flux and entropy generation caused by irreversible processes: heat conduction, mass diffusion, chemical reaction and viscous dissipation. The SGS effects are taken into account using a novel methodology based on the filtered density function (FDF). This methodology, entitled entropy FDF (En-FDF), is developed and utilized in the form of joint entropy-velocity-scalar-turbulent frequency FDF and the marginal scalar-entropy FDF, both of which contain the chemical reaction effects in a closed form. The former constitutes the most comprehensive form of the En-FDF and provides closure for all the unclosed filtered moments. This methodology is applied for LES of a turbulent shear layer involving transport of passive scalars. Predictions show favor- able agreements with the data generated by direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the same layer. The marginal En-FDF accounts for entropy generation effects as well as scalar and entropy statistics. This methodology is applied to a turbulent nonpremixed jet flame (Sandia Flame D) and predictions are validated against experimental data. In both flows, sources of irreversibility are predicted and analyzed.

Variability of stratification according to operation of the tidal power plant in Lake Sihwa, South Korea.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woo, S. B.; Song, J. I.; Jang, T. H.; Park, C. J.; Kwon, H. K.

2017-12-01

Artificial forcing according to operation of the tidal power plant (TPP) affects the physical environmental changes near the power plant. Strong turbulence by generation is expected to change the stratification structure of the Lake Sihwa inside. In order to examine the stratification changes by the power plant operation, ship bottom mounted observation were performed for 13 hours using an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) and Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) in Lake Sihwa at near TPP. The strong stratification in Sihwa Lake is maintained before TPP operation. The absence of external forces and freshwater inflow from the land forms the stratification in the Lake. Strong winds in a stratification statement lead to two-layer circulation. After wind event, multi-layer velocity structure is formed which lasted for approximately 4 h. After TPP operation, the jet flow was observed in entire water column at the beginning of the power generation. Vortex is formed by strong jet flow and maintained throughout during power generation period. Strong turbulence flow is generated by the turbine blades, enhancing vertical mixing. External forces, which dominantly affect Lake Sihwa, have changed from the wind to the turbulent flow. The stratification was extinguished by strong turbulent flow and becomes fully-mixed state. Changes in stratification structure are expected to affect material transport and ecological environment change continuously.

Effect of the prosthetic mitral valve on vortex dynamics and turbulence of the left ventricular flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Querzoli, G.; Fortini, S.; Cenedese, A.

2010-04-01

Mechanical heart valves implanted in mitral position have a great effect on the ventricular flow. Changes include alteration of the dynamics of the vortical structures generated during the diastole and the onset of turbulence, possibly affecting the efficiency of the heart pump or causing blood cell damage. Modifications to the hemodynamics in the left ventricle, when the inflow through the mitral orifice is altered, were investigated in vitro using a silicone rubber, flexible ventricle model. Velocity fields were measured in space and time by means of an image analysis technique: feature tracking. Three series of experiments were performed: one with a top hat inflow velocity profile (schematically resembling physiological conditions), and two with mechanical prosthetic valves of different design, mounted in mitral position—one monoleaflet and the other bileaflet. In each series of runs, two different cardiac outputs have been examined by changing the stroke volume. The flow was investigated in terms of phase averaged velocity field and second order moments of turbulent fluctuations. Results show that the modifications in the transmitral flow change deeply the interaction between the coherent structures generated during the first phase of the diastole and the incoming jet during the second diastolic phase. Top hat inflow gives the coherent structures which are optimal, among the compared cases, for the systolic function. The flow generated by the bileaflet valve preserves most of the beneficial features of the top hat inflow, whereas the monoleaflet valve generates a strong jet which discourages the permanence of large coherent structures at the end of the diastole. Moreover, the average shear rate magnitudes induced by the smoother flow pattern of the case of top hat inflow are nearly halved in comparison with the values measured with the mechanical valves. Finally, analysis of the turbulence statistics shows that the monoleaflet valves yield higher turbulence intensity in comparison with the bileaflet and, with top hat inflow, there is not a complete transition to turbulence.

Computation of Large Turbulence Structures and Noise of Supersonic Jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tam, Christopher

1996-01-01

Our research effort concentrated on obtaining an understanding of the generation mechanisms and the prediction of the three components of supersonic jet noise. In addition, we also developed a computational method for calculating the mean flow of turbulent high-speed jets. Below is a short description of the highlights of our contributions in each of these areas: (a) Broadband shock associated noise, (b) Turbulent mixing noise, (c) Screech tones and impingement tones, (d) Computation of the mean flow of turbulent jets.

Effect of free-stream turbulence on boundary layer transition.

PubMed

Goldstein, M E

2014-07-28

This paper is concerned with the transition to turbulence in flat plate boundary layers due to moderately high levels of free-stream turbulence. The turbulence is assumed to be generated by an (idealized) grid and matched asymptotic expansions are used to analyse the resulting flow over a finite thickness flat plate located in the downstream region. The characteristic Reynolds number Rλ based on the mesh size λ and free-stream velocity is assumed to be large, and the turbulence intensity ε is assumed to be small. The asymptotic flow structure is discussed for the generic case where the turbulence Reynolds number εRλ and the plate thickness and are held fixed (at O(1) and O(λ), respectively) in the limit as [Formula: see text] and ε→0. But various limiting cases are considered in order to explain the relevant transition mechanisms. It is argued that there are two types of streak-like structures that can play a role in the transition process: (i) those that appear in the downstream region and are generated by streamwise vorticity in upstream flow and (ii) those that are concentrated near the leading edge and are generated by plate normal vorticity in upstream flow. The former are relatively unaffected by leading edge geometry and are usually referred to as Klebanoff modes while the latter are strongly affected by leading edge geometry and are more streamwise vortex-like in appearance. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Introduction. Computational aerodynamics.

PubMed

Tucker, Paul G

2007-10-15

The wide range of uses of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for aircraft design is discussed along with its role in dealing with the environmental impact of flight. Enabling technologies, such as grid generation and turbulence models, are also considered along with flow/turbulence control. The large eddy simulation, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes and hybrid turbulence modelling approaches are contrasted. The CFD prediction of numerous jet configurations occurring in aerospace are discussed along with aeroelasticity for aeroengine and external aerodynamics, design optimization, unsteady flow modelling and aeroengine internal and external flows. It is concluded that there is a lack of detailed measurements (for both canonical and complex geometry flows) to provide validation and even, in some cases, basic understanding of flow physics. Not surprisingly, turbulence modelling is still the weak link along with, as ever, a pressing need for improved (in terms of robustness, speed and accuracy) solver technology, grid generation and geometry handling. Hence, CFD, as a truly predictive and creative design tool, seems a long way off. Meanwhile, extreme practitioner expertise is still required and the triad of computation, measurement and analytic solution must be judiciously used.

Computation of the sound generated by isotropic turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sarkar, S.; Hussaini, M. Y.

1993-01-01

The acoustic radiation from isotropic turbulence is computed numerically. A hybrid direct numerical simulation approach which combines direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the turbulent flow with the Lighthill acoustic analogy is utilized. It is demonstrated that the hybrid DNS method is a feasible approach to the computation of sound generated by turbulent flows. The acoustic efficiency in the simulation of isotropic turbulence appears to be substantially less than that in subsonic jet experiments. The dominant frequency of the computed acoustic pressure is found to be somewhat larger than the dominant frequency of the energy-containing scales of motion. The acoustic power in the simulations is proportional to epsilon (M(sub t))(exp 5) where epsilon is the turbulent dissipation rate and M(sub t) is the turbulent Mach number. This is in agreement with the analytical result of Proudman (1952), but the constant of proportionality is smaller than the analytical result. Two different methods of computing the acoustic power from the DNS data bases yielded consistent results.

Control of low-speed turbulent separated flow over a backward-facing ramp. Ph.D. Thesis - Old Dominion Univ.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, John C.

1992-01-01

The relative performance and flow phenomena associated with several devices for controlling turbulent separated flow were investigated at low speeds. Relative performance of the devices was examined for flow over a curved, backward-facing ramp in a wind tunnel, and the flow phenomena were examined in a water tunnel using dye-flow visualization. Surface static pressure measurements and oil-flow visualization results from the wind tunnel tests indicated that transverse grooves, longitudinal grooves, submerged vortex generators, vortex generator jets (VGJ's), Viets' fluidic flappers, elongated arches at positive angle of attack, and large-eddy breakup devices (LEBU's) at positive angle of attack placed near the baseline separation location reduce flow separation and increase pressure recovery. Spanwise cylinders reduce flow separation but decrease pressure recovery downstream. Riblets, passive porous surfaces, swept grooves, Helmholtz resonators, and arches and LEBU's with angle of attack less than or = 0 degrees had no significant effect in reducing the extent of the separation region. Wall-cooling computations indicated that separation delay on a partially-cooled ramp is nearly the same as on a fully-cooled ramp, while minimizing the frictional drag increase associated with the wall cooling process. Dry-flow visualization tests in the water tunnel indicated that wishbone vortex generators in the forward orientation shed horseshoe vortices; wishbone vortex generators oriented in the reverse direction and doublet vortex generators shed streamwise counterrotating vortices; a spanewise cylinder located near the wall and LEBU's at angle of attack = -10 degrees produced eddies or transverse vortices which rotated with the same sign as the mean vorticity in a turbulent boundary layer; and the most effective VGJ's produced streamwise co-rotating vortices. Comparative wind-tunnel test results indicated that transferring momentum from the outer region of a turbulent boundary layer through the action of embedded streamwise vortices is more effective than by transverse vortices for the separation control application studied herein.

Turbulent boundary layer in high Rayleigh number convection in air.

PubMed

du Puits, Ronald; Li, Ling; Resagk, Christian; Thess, André; Willert, Christian

2014-03-28

Flow visualizations and particle image velocimetry measurements in the boundary layer of a Rayleigh-Bénard experiment are presented for the Rayleigh number Ra=1.4×1010. Our visualizations indicate that the appearance of the flow structures is similar to ordinary (isothermal) turbulent boundary layers. Our particle image velocimetry measurements show that vorticity with both positive and negative sign is generated and that the smallest flow structures are 1 order of magnitude smaller than the boundary layer thickness. Additional local measurements using laser Doppler velocimetry yield turbulence intensities up to I=0.4 as in turbulent atmospheric boundary layers. From our observations, we conclude that the convective boundary layer becomes turbulent locally and temporarily although its Reynolds number Re≈200 is considerably smaller than the value 420 underlying existing phenomenological theories. We think that, in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection, the transition of the boundary layer towards turbulence depends on subtle details of the flow field and is therefore not universal.

Rayleigh Light Scattering for Concentration Measurements in Turbulent Flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pitts, William M.

1996-01-01

Despite intensive research over a number of years, an understanding of scalar mixing in turbulent flows remains elusive. An understanding is required because turbulent mixing has a pivotal role in a wide variety of natural and technologically important processes. As an example, the mixing and transport of pollutants in the atmosphere and in bodies of water are often dependent on turbulent mixing processes. Turbulent mixing is also central to turbulent combustion which underlies most hydrocarbon energy use in modern societies as well as in unwanted fire behavior. Development of models for combusting flows is therefore crucial, however, an understanding of scalar mixing is required before useful models of turbulent mixing and, ultimately, turbulent combustion can be developed. An important subset of turbulent flows is axisymmetric turbulent jets and plumes because they are relatively simple to generate, and because the provide an appropriate test bed for the development of general theories of turbulent mixing which can be applied to more complex geometries and flows. This paper focuses on a number of experimental techniques which have been developed at the National Institute of Standards and Development for measuring concentration in binary axisymmetric turbulent jets. In order to demonstrate the value of these diagnostics, some of the more important results from earlier and on-going investigations are summarized. Topics addressed include the similarity behavior of variable density axisymmetric jets, the behavior of absolutely unstable axisymmetric helium jets, and the role of large scale structures and scalar dissipation in these flows.

Turbofan noise generation. Volume 1: Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ventres, C. S.; Theobald, M. A.; Mark, W. D.

1982-07-01

Computer programs were developed which calculate the in-duct acoustic modes excited by a fan/stator stae operating at subsonic tip speed. Three noise source mechanisms are included: (1) sound generated by the rotor blades interacting with turbulence ingested into, or generated within, the inlet duct; (2) sound generated by the stator vanes interacting with the turbulent wakes of the rotors blades; and (3) sound generated by the stator vanes interacting with the mean velocity deficit wakes of the rotor blades. The fan/stator stage is modeled as an ensemble of blades and vanes of zero camber and thickness enclosed within an infinite hard-walled annular duct. Turbulence drawn into or generated within the inlet duct is modeled as nonhomogeneous and anisotropic random fluid motion, superimposed upon a uniform axial mean flow, and convected with that flow. Equations for the duct mode amplitudes, or expected values of the amplitudes, are derived.

Turbofan noise generation. Volume 1: Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ventres, C. S.; Theobald, M. A.; Mark, W. D.

1982-01-01

Computer programs were developed which calculate the in-duct acoustic modes excited by a fan/stator stae operating at subsonic tip speed. Three noise source mechanisms are included: (1) sound generated by the rotor blades interacting with turbulence ingested into, or generated within, the inlet duct; (2) sound generated by the stator vanes interacting with the turbulent wakes of the rotors blades; and (3) sound generated by the stator vanes interacting with the mean velocity deficit wakes of the rotor blades. The fan/stator stage is modeled as an ensemble of blades and vanes of zero camber and thickness enclosed within an infinite hard-walled annular duct. Turbulence drawn into or generated within the inlet duct is modeled as nonhomogeneous and anisotropic random fluid motion, superimposed upon a uniform axial mean flow, and convected with that flow. Equations for the duct mode amplitudes, or expected values of the amplitudes, are derived.

Space-based laser-driven MHD generator: Feasibility study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Choi, S. H.

1986-01-01

The feasibility of a laser-driven MHD generator, as a candidate receiver for a space-based laser power transmission system, was investigated. On the basis of reasonable parameters obtained in the literature, a model of the laser-driven MHD generator was developed with the assumptions of a steady, turbulent, two-dimensional flow. These assumptions were based on the continuous and steady generation of plasmas by the exposure of the continuous wave laser beam thus inducing a steady back pressure that enables the medium to flow steadily. The model considered here took the turbulent nature of plasmas into account in the two-dimensional geometry of the generator. For these conditions with the plasma parameters defining the thermal conductivity, viscosity, electrical conductivity for the plasma flow, a generator efficiency of 53.3% was calculated. If turbulent effects and nonequilibrium ionization are taken into account, the efficiency is 43.2%. The study shows that the laser-driven MHD system has potential as a laser power receiver for space applications because of its high energy conversion efficiency, high energy density and relatively simple mechanism as compared to other energy conversion cycles.

Evaluation of subgrid-scale turbulence models using a fully simulated turbulent flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, R. A.; Ferziger, J. H.; Reynolds, W. C.

1977-01-01

An exact turbulent flow field was calculated on a three-dimensional grid with 64 points on a side. The flow simulates grid-generated turbulence from wind tunnel experiments. In this simulation, the grid spacing is small enough to include essentially all of the viscous energy dissipation, and the box is large enough to contain the largest eddy in the flow. The method is limited to low-turbulence Reynolds numbers, in our case R sub lambda = 36.6. To complete the calculation using a reasonable amount of computer time with reasonable accuracy, a third-order time-integration scheme was developed which runs at about the same speed as a simple first-order scheme. It obtains this accuracy by saving the velocity field and its first-time derivative at each time step. Fourth-order accurate space-differencing is used.

On the mechanism of elasto-inertial turbulence.

PubMed

Dubief, Yves; Terrapon, Vincent E; Soria, Julio

2013-11-01

Elasto-inertial turbulence (EIT) is a new state of turbulence found in inertial flows with polymer additives. The dynamics of turbulence generated and controlled by such additives is investigated from the perspective of the coupling between polymer dynamics and flow structures. Direct numerical simulations of channel flow with Reynolds numbers ranging from 1000 to 6000 (based on the bulk and the channel height) are used to study the formation and dynamics of elastic instabilities and their effects on the flow. The flow topology of EIT is found to differ significantly from Newtonian wall-turbulence. Structures identified by positive (rotational flow topology) and negative (extensional/compressional flow topology) second invariant Q a isosurfaces of the velocity gradient are cylindrical and aligned in the spanwise direction. Polymers are significantly stretched in sheet-like regions that extend in the streamwise direction with a small upward tilt. The Q a cylindrical structures emerge from the sheets of high polymer extension, in a mechanism of energy transfer from the fluctuations of the polymer stress work to the turbulent kinetic energy. At subcritical Reynolds numbers, EIT is observed at modest Weissenberg number ( Wi , ratio polymer relaxation time to viscous time scale). For supercritical Reynolds numbers, flows approach EIT at large Wi . EIT provides new insights on the nature of the asymptotic state of polymer drag reduction (maximum drag reduction), and explains the phenomenon of early turbulence, or onset of turbulence at lower Reynolds numbers than for Newtonian flows observed in some polymeric flows.

On the mechanism of elasto-inertial turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubief, Yves; Terrapon, Vincent E.; Soria, Julio

2013-11-01

Elasto-inertial turbulence (EIT) is a new state of turbulence found in inertial flows with polymer additives. The dynamics of turbulence generated and controlled by such additives is investigated from the perspective of the coupling between polymer dynamics and flow structures. Direct numerical simulations of channel flow with Reynolds numbers ranging from 1000 to 6000 (based on the bulk and the channel height) are used to study the formation and dynamics of elastic instabilities and their effects on the flow. The flow topology of EIT is found to differ significantly from Newtonian wall-turbulence. Structures identified by positive (rotational flow topology) and negative (extensional/compressional flow topology) second invariant Qa isosurfaces of the velocity gradient are cylindrical and aligned in the spanwise direction. Polymers are significantly stretched in sheet-like regions that extend in the streamwise direction with a small upward tilt. The Qa cylindrical structures emerge from the sheets of high polymer extension, in a mechanism of energy transfer from the fluctuations of the polymer stress work to the turbulent kinetic energy. At subcritical Reynolds numbers, EIT is observed at modest Weissenberg number (Wi, ratio polymer relaxation time to viscous time scale). For supercritical Reynolds numbers, flows approach EIT at large Wi. EIT provides new insights on the nature of the asymptotic state of polymer drag reduction (maximum drag reduction), and explains the phenomenon of early turbulence, or onset of turbulence at lower Reynolds numbers than for Newtonian flows observed in some polymeric flows.

On the mechanism of elasto-inertial turbulence

PubMed Central

Dubief, Yves; Terrapon, Vincent E.; Soria, Julio

2013-01-01

Elasto-inertial turbulence (EIT) is a new state of turbulence found in inertial flows with polymer additives. The dynamics of turbulence generated and controlled by such additives is investigated from the perspective of the coupling between polymer dynamics and flow structures. Direct numerical simulations of channel flow with Reynolds numbers ranging from 1000 to 6000 (based on the bulk and the channel height) are used to study the formation and dynamics of elastic instabilities and their effects on the flow. The flow topology of EIT is found to differ significantly from Newtonian wall-turbulence. Structures identified by positive (rotational flow topology) and negative (extensional/compressional flow topology) second invariant Qa isosurfaces of the velocity gradient are cylindrical and aligned in the spanwise direction. Polymers are significantly stretched in sheet-like regions that extend in the streamwise direction with a small upward tilt. The Qa cylindrical structures emerge from the sheets of high polymer extension, in a mechanism of energy transfer from the fluctuations of the polymer stress work to the turbulent kinetic energy. At subcritical Reynolds numbers, EIT is observed at modest Weissenberg number (Wi, ratio polymer relaxation time to viscous time scale). For supercritical Reynolds numbers, flows approach EIT at large Wi. EIT provides new insights on the nature of the asymptotic state of polymer drag reduction (maximum drag reduction), and explains the phenomenon of early turbulence, or onset of turbulence at lower Reynolds numbers than for Newtonian flows observed in some polymeric flows. PMID:24170968

Turbulence and dissipation in a computational model of Luzon Strait

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jalali, Masoud; Sarkar, Sutanu

2014-11-01

Generation sites for topographic internal gravity waves can also be sites of intense turbulence. Bottom-intensified flow at critical slopes leads to convective instability and turbulent overturns [Gayen & Sarkar (2011)]. A steep ridge with small excursion number, Ex , but large super criticality can lead to nonlinear features according to observations [Klymak et al. (2008)] and numerical simulations [Legg & Klymak (2008)]. The present work uses high resolution 3-D LES to simulate flow over a model with multiscale topography patterned after a cross-section of Luzon Strait, a double-ridge generation site which was the subject of the recent IWISE experiment. A 1:100 scaling of topography was employed and environmental parameters were chosen to match the slope criticality and Fr number in the field. Several turbulent zones were identified including breaking lee waves, critical slope boundary layer, downslope jets, internal wave beams, and vortical valley flows. The multiscale model topography has subridges where a local Ex may be defined. Wave breaking and turbulence at these subridges can be understood if the local value of Ex is employed when using the Ex -based regimes identified by Jalali et al. (2014) in their DNS of oscillating flow over a single triangular obstacle.

Measurements of Turbulence Attenuation by a Dilute Dispersion of Solid Particles in Homogeneous Isotropic Turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eaton, John; Hwang, Wontae; Cabral, Patrick

2002-01-01

This research addresses turbulent gas flows laden with fine solid particles at sufficiently large mass loading that strong two-way coupling occurs. By two-way coupling we mean that the particle motion is governed largely by the flow, while the particles affect the gas-phase mean flow and the turbulence properties. Our main interest is in understanding how the particles affect the turbulence. Computational techniques have been developed which can accurately predict flows carrying particles that are much smaller than the smallest scales of turbulence. Also, advanced computational techniques and burgeoning computer resources make it feasible to fully resolve very large particles moving through turbulent flows. However, flows with particle diameters of the same order as the Kolmogorov scale of the turbulence are notoriously difficult to predict. Some simple flows show strong turbulence attenuation with reductions in the turbulent kinetic energy by up to a factor of five. On the other hand, some seemingly similar flows show almost no modification. No model has been proposed that allows prediction of when the strong attenuation will occur. Unfortunately, many technological and natural two-phase flows fall into this regime, so there is a strong need for new physical understanding and modeling capability. Our objective is to study the simplest possible turbulent particle-laden flow, namely homogeneous, isotropic turbulence with a uniform dispersion of monodisperse particles. We chose such a simple flow for two reasons. First, the simplicity allows us to probe the interaction in more detail and offers analytical simplicity in interpreting the results. Secondly, this flow can be addressed by numerical simulation, and many research groups are already working on calculating the flow. Our detailed data can help guide some of these efforts. By using microgravity, we can further simplify the flow to the case of no mean velocity for either the turbulence or the particles. In fact the addition of gravity as a variable parameter may help us to better understand the physics of turbulence attenuation. The experiments are conducted in a turbulence chamber capable of producing stationary or decaying isotropic turbulence with nearly zero mean flow and Taylor microscale Reynolds numbers up to nearly 500. The chamber is a 410 mm cubic box with the corners cut off to make it approximately spherical. Synthetic jet turbulence generators are mounted in each of the eight corners of the box. Each generator consists of a loudspeaker forcing a plenum and producing a pulsed jet through a 20 mm diameter orifice. These synthetic jets are directed into ejector tubes pointing towards the chamber center. The ejector tubes increase the jet mass flow and decrease the velocity. The jets then pass through a turbulence grid. Each of the eight loudspeakers is forced with a random phase and frequency. The resulting turbulence is highly Isotropic and matches typical behavior of grid turbulence. Measurements of both phases are acquired using particle image velocimetry (PIV). The gas is seeded with approximately 1 micron diameter seeding particles while the solid phase is typically 150 micron diameter spherical glass particles. A double-pulsed YAG laser and a Kodak ES-1.0 10-bit PIV camera provide the PIV images. Custom software is used to separate the images into individual images containing either gas-phase tracers or large particles. Modern high-resolution PIV algorithms are then used to calculate the velocity field. A large set of image pairs are acquired for each case, then the results are averaged both spatially and over the ensemble of acquired images. The entire apparatus is mounted in two racks which are carried aboard NASA's KC-135 Flying Microgravity Laboratory. The rack containing the turbulence chamber, the laser head, and the camera floats freely in the airplane cabin (constrained by competent NASA personnel) to minimize g-jitter.

International Congress of Fluid Mechanics, 3rd, Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 2-4, 1990, Proceedings. Volumes 1, 2, 3, & 4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nayfeh, A. H.; Mobarak, A.; Rayan, M. Abou

This conference presents papers in the fields of flow separation, unsteady aerodynamics, fluid machinery, boundary-layer control and stability, grid generation, vorticity dominated flows, and turbomachinery. Also considered are propulsion, waves and sound, rotor aerodynamics, computational fluid dynamics, Euler and Navier-Stokes equations, cavitation, mixing and shear layers, mixing layers and turbulent flows, and fluid machinery and two-phase flows. Also addressed are supersonic and reacting flows, turbulent flows, and thermofluids.

Annual Research Briefs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spinks, Debra (Compiler)

1997-01-01

This report contains the 1997 annual progress reports of the research fellows and students supported by the Center for Turbulence Research (CTR). Titles include: Invariant modeling in large-eddy simulation of turbulence; Validation of large-eddy simulation in a plain asymmetric diffuser; Progress in large-eddy simulation of trailing-edge turbulence and aeronautics; Resolution requirements in large-eddy simulations of shear flows; A general theory of discrete filtering for LES in complex geometry; On the use of discrete filters for large eddy simulation; Wall models in large eddy simulation of separated flow; Perspectives for ensemble average LES; Anisotropic grid-based formulas for subgrid-scale models; Some modeling requirements for wall models in large eddy simulation; Numerical simulation of 3D turbulent boundary layers using the V2F model; Accurate modeling of impinging jet heat transfer; Application of turbulence models to high-lift airfoils; Advances in structure-based turbulence modeling; Incorporating realistic chemistry into direct numerical simulations of turbulent non-premixed combustion; Effects of small-scale structure on turbulent mixing; Turbulent premixed combustion in the laminar flamelet and the thin reaction zone regime; Large eddy simulation of combustion instabilities in turbulent premixed burners; On the generation of vorticity at a free-surface; Active control of turbulent channel flow; A generalized framework for robust control in fluid mechanics; Combined immersed-boundary/B-spline methods for simulations of flow in complex geometries; and DNS of shock boundary-layer interaction - preliminary results for compression ramp flow.

Inhomogeneous helicity effect in the solar angular-momentum transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yokoi, Nobumitsu

2017-04-01

Coupled with mean absolute vorticity Ω∗ (rotation and mean relative vorticity), inhomogeneous turbulent helicity is expected to contribute to the generation of global flow structure against the linear and angular momentum mixing due to turbulent or eddy viscosity. This inhomogeneous helicity effect was originally derived in Yokoi & Yoshizawa (1993) [1], and recently has been validated by direct numerical simulations (DNSs) of rotating helical turbulence [2]. Turbulence effect enters the mean-vorticity equation through the turbulent vortexmotive force ⟨u'×ω'⟩ [u': velocity fluctuation, ω'(= ∇× u'): vorticity fluctuation], which is the vorticity counterpart of the electromotive force ⟨u'× b'⟩ (b': magnetic fluctuation) in the mean magnetic-field induction. The mean velocity induction δU is proportional to the vortexmotive force. According to the theoretical result [1,2], it is expressed as δU = -νT∇×Ω∗-ηT(∇2H)Ω∗, where ηT is the transport coefficient, H = ⟨u'ṡω'⟩ the turbulent helicity, and Ω∗ the mean absolute vorticity. The first term corresponds to the enhanced diffusion due to turbulent viscosity νT. The second term expresses the large-scale flow generation due to inhomogeneous helicity. Since helicity is self-generated in rotating stratified turbulence [3], an inhomogeneous helicity distribution is expected to exist in the solar convection zone. A rising flow with expansion near the surface of the Sun generates a strongly negative helicity there [4]. This spatial distribution of helicity would lead to a positive Laplacian of turbulent helicity (∇2H > 0) in the subsurface layer of the Sun. In the combination with the large-scale vorticity associated with the meridional circulation, the inhomogeneous helicity effect works for accelerating the mean velocity in the azimuthal direction. The relevance of this inhomogeneous helicity effect in the solar convection zone is discussed further. References [1] Yokoi, N. and Yoshizawa, A., "Statistical analysis of the effects of helicity in inhomogeneous turbulence," Phys. Fluids A, 5, 464-477 (1993). [2] Yokoi, N. and Brandenburg, A., "Large-scale flow generation by inhomogeneous helicity," Phys. Rev. E, 93, 033125-1-14 (2016). [3] Marino, R., Mininni, P., Rosenberg, D., and Pouquet, A., "Emergence of helicity in rotating stratified turbulence," Phys. Rev. E, 87, 033016-1-9 (2013). [4] Duarte, L. D. V., Wicht, J., Browning, M. K., and Gastine, T., "Helicity inversion in spherical convection as a means for equatorward dynamo wave propagation," Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 456, 1708-1722 (2016).

Airborne Aero-Optics Laboratory - Transonic (AAOL-T)

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-03

122–151. [30] DeGraaff, D. B. and Eaton, J. K., “Reynolds-Number Scaling of the Flat - Plate Turbulent Boundary Layer ,” Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol...elevation angle of the turret is fixed at 120 o . The inflow turbulence data are generated by a separate flat - plate boundary layers simulation. The...aero-optical distortion magnitude for turbulent boundary layers . Subsonic Flow over a Cylindrical Turret with a Flat Window. The flow over a

Andreev reflection, a tool to investigate vortex dynamics and quantum turbulence in 3He-B.

PubMed

Fisher, Shaun Neil; Jackson, Martin James; Sergeev, Yuri A; Tsepelin, Viktor

2014-03-25

Andreev reflection of quasiparticle excitations provides a sensitive and passive probe of flow in superfluid (3)He-B. It is particularly useful for studying complex flows generated by vortex rings and vortex tangles (quantum turbulence). We describe the reflection process and discuss the results of numerical simulations of Andreev reflection from vortex rings and from quantum turbulence. We present measurements of vortices generated by a vibrating grid resonator at very low temperatures. The Andreev reflection is measured using an array of vibrating wire sensors. At low grid velocities, ballistic vortex rings are produced. At higher grid velocities, the rings collide and reconnect to produce quantum turbulence. We discuss spatial correlations of the fluctuating vortex signals measured by the different sensor wires. These reveal detailed information about the formation of quantum turbulence and about the underlying vortex dynamics.

An experimental study of reactive turbulent mixing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cooper, L. P.; Marek, C. J.; Strehlow, R. A.

1977-01-01

An experimental study of two coaxial gas streams, which react very rapidly, was performed to investigate the mixing characteristics of turbulent flow fields. The center stream consisted of a CO-N2 mixture and the outer annular stream consisted of air vitiated by H2 combustion. The streams were at equal velocity (50 m/sec) and temperature (1280 K). Turbulence measurements were obtained using hot film anemometry. A sampling probe was used to obtain time averaged gas compositions. Six different turbulence generators were placed in the annular passage to alter the flow field mixing characteristics. The turbulence generators affected the bulk mixing of the streams and the extent of CO conversion to different degrees. The effects can be related to the average eddy size (integral scale) and the bulk mixing. Higher extents of conversion of CO to CO2 were found be increasing the bulk mixing and decreasing the average eddy size.

Andreev reflection, a tool to investigate vortex dynamics and quantum turbulence in 3He-B

PubMed Central

Fisher, Shaun Neil; Jackson, Martin James; Sergeev, Yuri A.; Tsepelin, Viktor

2014-01-01

Andreev reflection of quasiparticle excitations provides a sensitive and passive probe of flow in superfluid 3He-B. It is particularly useful for studying complex flows generated by vortex rings and vortex tangles (quantum turbulence). We describe the reflection process and discuss the results of numerical simulations of Andreev reflection from vortex rings and from quantum turbulence. We present measurements of vortices generated by a vibrating grid resonator at very low temperatures. The Andreev reflection is measured using an array of vibrating wire sensors. At low grid velocities, ballistic vortex rings are produced. At higher grid velocities, the rings collide and reconnect to produce quantum turbulence. We discuss spatial correlations of the fluctuating vortex signals measured by the different sensor wires. These reveal detailed information about the formation of quantum turbulence and about the underlying vortex dynamics. PMID:24704872

PDF approach for turbulent scalar field: Some recent developments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gao, Feng

1993-01-01

The probability density function (PDF) method has been proven a very useful approach in turbulence research. It has been particularly effective in simulating turbulent reacting flows and in studying some detailed statistical properties generated by a turbulent field There are, however, some important questions that have yet to be answered in PDF studies. Our efforts in the past year have been focused on two areas. First, a simple mixing model suitable for Monte Carlo simulations has been developed based on the mapping closure. Secondly, the mechanism of turbulent transport has been analyzed in order to understand the recently observed abnormal PDF's of turbulent temperature fields generated by linear heat sources.

Large Eddy Simulation of Entropy Generation in a Turbulent Mixing Layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheikhi, Reza H.; Safari, Mehdi; Hadi, Fatemeh

2013-11-01

Entropy transport equation is considered in large eddy simulation (LES) of turbulent flows. The irreversible entropy generation in this equation provides a more general description of subgrid scale (SGS) dissipation due to heat conduction, mass diffusion and viscosity effects. A new methodology is developed, termed the entropy filtered density function (En-FDF), to account for all individual entropy generation effects in turbulent flows. The En-FDF represents the joint probability density function of entropy, frequency, velocity and scalar fields within the SGS. An exact transport equation is developed for the En-FDF, which is modeled by a system of stochastic differential equations, incorporating the second law of thermodynamics. The modeled En-FDF transport equation is solved by a Lagrangian Monte Carlo method. The methodology is employed to simulate a turbulent mixing layer involving transport of passive scalars and entropy. Various modes of entropy generation are obtained from the En-FDF and analyzed. Predictions are assessed against data generated by direct numerical simulation (DNS). The En-FDF predictions are in good agreements with the DNS data.

Flowfield predictions for multiple body launch vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deese, Jerry E.; Pavish, D. L.; Johnson, Jerry G.; Agarwal, Ramesh K.; Soni, Bharat K.

1992-01-01

A method is developed for simulating inviscid and viscous flow around multicomponent launch vehicles. Grids are generated by the GENIE general-purpose grid-generation code, and the flow solver is a finite-volume Runge-Kutta time-stepping method. Turbulence effects are simulated using Baldwin and Lomax (1978) turbulence model. Calculations are presented for three multibody launch vehicle configurations: one with two small-diameter solid motors, one with nine small-diameter solid motors, and one with three large-diameter solid motors.

Detailed study of spontaneous rotation generation in diverted H-mode plasma using the full-f gyrokinetic code XGC1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, Janghoon; Chang, C. S.; Ku, S.; Kwon, J. M.; Yoon, E. S.

2013-10-01

The Full-f gyrokinetic code XGC1 is used to study the details of toroidal momentum generation in H-mode plasma. Diverted DIII-D geometry is used, with Monte Carlo neutral particles that are recycled at the limiter wall. Nonlinear Coulomb collisions conserve particle, momentum, and energy. Gyrokinetic ions and adiabatic electrons are used in the present simulation to include the effects from ion gyrokinetic turbulence and neoclassical physics, under self-consistent radial electric field generation. Ion orbit loss physics is automatically included. Simulations show a strong co-Ip flow in the H-mode layer at outside midplane, similarly to the experimental observation from DIII-D and ASDEX-U. The co-Ip flow in the edge propagates inward into core. It is found that the strong co-Ip flow generation is mostly from neoclassical physics. On the other hand, the inward momentum transport is from turbulence physics, consistently with the theory of residual stress from symmetry breaking. Therefore, interaction between the neoclassical and turbulence physics is a key factor in the spontaneous momentum generation.

Characterizing pressure issues due to turbulent flow in tubing, in ultra-fast chiral supercritical fluid chromatography at up to 580bar.

PubMed

Berger, Terry A

2016-12-02

It has been widely suggested that the outlet pressure be changed to maintain constant density ("isopycnic" conditions) when comparing the kinetic performance of different columns in supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC). However, at high flow rates, flow in the tubing is turbulent, causing large extra-column pressure drops that limit options for changing outlet pressure. Some of these pressure drops occur before and some after the column, obscuring the actual column inlet and outlet pressures. In this work, a 4.6×100mm, 1.8μm R,R-Whelk-O1 column was used with low dispersion LD (120μm) plumbing to generate sub-1min chiral separations. However, the optimum, or near optimum, flow rate was 5mL-min -1 , producing a system pressure of 580bar (with 40% methanol, outlet pressure 120bar). Both the flow rate and pump pressure required were near the limits of the instrument, and significantly exceeded the capability of many other SFC's. Extra-column pressure drops (ΔP ec ) were as high as 200bar, caused mostly by turbulent flow in the tubing. The ΔP ec increased by more than the square of the flow rate. Reynolds Numbers (Re) were calculated for tubing as a function of flow rate between 100 and 400bar and 5-20% methanol in CO 2 , and 40°-60°C. This represents the most extensive analysis of turbulence in tubing in the SFC literature. Flow in 120μm ID tubing was calculated to be laminar below 1.0mL-min -1 , mostly transitional up to 2.5mL-min -1 and virtually always turbulent at 3mL-min -1 and higher. Flow in 170μm tubing is turbulent at lower flows but generates half the ΔP ec due to the lower mobile phase linear velocity. The results suggest that, while sub-minute chromatograms are easily generated, 4.6mm columns are not very user friendly for use with sub-2μm packings. The high flow rates required just to reach optimum result in high ΔP ec generated by the tubing, causing uncertainty in the true column inlet, outlet, and average column pressure/density. When comparing kinetic performance of columns with different dimensions, the pressure drops in the tubing must be considered. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Shear-flow trapped-ion-mode interaction revisited. II. Intermittent transport associated with low-frequency zonal flow dynamics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ghizzo, A., E-mail: alain.ghizzo@univ-lorraine.fr; Palermo, F.

We address the mechanisms underlying low-frequency zonal flow generation in turbulent system and the associated intermittent regime of ion-temperature-gradient (ITG) turbulence. This model is in connection with the recent observation of quasi periodic zonal flow oscillation at a frequency close to 2 kHz, at the low-high transition, observed in the ASDEX Upgrade [Conway et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 065001 (2011)] and EAST tokamak [Xu et al., Phys. Rev. Lett 107, 125001 (2011)]. Turbulent bursts caused by the coupling of Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) driven shear flows with trapped ion modes (TIMs) were investigated by means of reduced gyrokinetic simulations. It was foundmore » that ITG turbulence can be regulated by low-frequency meso-scale zonal flows driven by resonant collisionless trapped ion modes (CTIMs), through parametric-type scattering, a process in competition with the usual KH instability.« less

Dynamical eigenfunction decomposition of turbulent channel flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ball, K. S.; Sirovich, L.; Keefe, L. R.

1991-01-01

The results of an analysis of low-Reynolds-number turbulent channel flow based on the Karhunen-Loeve (K-L) expansion are presented. The turbulent flow field is generated by a direct numerical simulation of the Navier-Stokes equations at a Reynolds number Re(tau) = 80 (based on the wall shear velocity and channel half-width). The K-L procedure is then applied to determine the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions for this flow. The random coefficients of the K-L expansion are subsequently found by projecting the numerical flow field onto these eigenfunctions. The resulting expansion captures 90 percent of the turbulent energy with significantly fewer modes than the original trigonometric expansion. The eigenfunctions, which appear either as rolls or shearing motions, possess viscous boundary layers at the walls and are much richer in harmonics than the original basis functions.

Computation of the turbulent boundary layer downstream of vortex generators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Paul K.

1987-12-01

The approximate analysis of three-dimensional incompressible turbulent boundary layer downstream of vortex generators is presented. Extensive numerical computations are carried out to assess the effectiveness of single-row, counter-rotating vane-type vortex generators to alleviate flow separation lines. Flow separation downstream of the vortex generators on a thick airfoil are determined in terms of size, location, and arrangement of the vortex generators. These lines are compared with the separation line without the vortex generators. High efficiency is obtained with the moderately slender rectangular blade of the generator. The results indicate that separations is alleviated more effectively in the region closer to the symmetry axis of the generator than in the outer region of the symmetry axis. No optimum conditions for the alleviation of flow separation are established in this investigation, and no comparisons are made with other analytical results and experimental data.

Environmental turbulence and climate-weather scaling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ben Mahjoub, Otman; Cherubini, Claudia; Jebbad, Raghda; Mosso, Cessar; Benjamin, Juan Jose; Jorge, Joan; Diez, Margarita; Redondo, Jose M.

2017-04-01

Climate changes in Harbours, coastal areas and ROFI are key to Environmental flows. Ocean and Atmospheric turbulence is an energetic, eddying state of motion that disperses material at rates far higher than those of molecular processes alone; The role of intermittency and understanding of how turbulence is modified at Climatic and Weather scales in shallow seas, the deep ocean, and in the mixed layers is of great importance and practical applications. The larger-scale and time coherent structures associated with large Stommel diagram processes akin to turbulence that also have intermittency. With the aid of remote sensing we also use surface signatures[1,2] that can be detected and used to infer ocean parameters. Such effects dominate mesoscale vorticity, the role of Rossby deformation radius, Spiral eddies, convective cells, or the spacing of Langmuir turbulence, related to the depth of the mixed layer, or to cloud tops. The dominant instability processes can generate different intermittency , detected often as bursts or in variations in the scale to scale transfer of turbulence. We include climatic scales where Extended Self Simmilarity is used also in these scales in a fractal way. Global experiments, even with a wide range of new configurations are possible[3-6]. Such complex flows are known to generate nonequilbrium and non-local turbulence which produces different turbulence properties and varying intermittency. Applications to enhanced mixing and drag reduction are still being investigated [6, 7], and how do the turbulence and mixing properties change in Lagrangian and Eulerian descriptors with generalized Rayleigh, Rossby, Richardson and Reynolds numbers? in complex Poincare like, parameter spaces. [1]. Redondo J.M., Mixing efficiencies of different kinds of turbulent processes and instabilities, Applications to the environment in Turbulent mixing in geophysical flows. Eds. Linden P.F. and Redondo J.M. 131-157. 2002. [2]. Ben Mahjoub, Redondo J.M.and Babiano A. Structure functions in complex flows . Applied Scientific Research 59, 299.1998. [3]. Castilla R., Onate E. and Redondo J.M. Models, Experiments and Computations in Turbulence. CIMNE, Barcelona. 2007. P. 255. [4]. Nicolleau, F.C.G.A.; Cambon, C.; Redondo, J.M.; Vassilicos, J.C.; Reeks, M.; Nowakowski,A.F. (Eds.)(2012) New Approaches in Modeling Multiphase Flows and Dispersion in Turbulence, Fractal Methods and Synthetic Turbulence. ERCOFTAC Series. [5]. Fraunie P., Berreba S. Chashechkin Y., Velasco D. and Redondo J.M. (2008) LES and laboratory experiments on the decay of grid wakes in strongly stratied fows. Il Nuovo Cimento 31, 909-930 [6]. Gonzlez-Nieto, P., Cano J.L., and J. M. Redondo. (2008) Buoyant Mixing Processes Generated in Turbulent Plume Arrays. Fsica de la Tierra 19, 2008: 205-217. [7]. Redondo J.M. and Babiano A.: Turbulent Diffusion in the Environment, 2001, Fragma, Madrid.

Development of Hairpin Vortices in Turbulent Spots and End-Wall Transition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Charles R.

2007-01-01

The end-stage phase of boundary layer transition is characterized by the development of hairpin-like vortices which evolve rapidly into patches of turbulent behavior. In general, the characteristics of the evolution form this hairpin stage to the turbulent stage is poorly understood, which has prompted the present experimental examination of hairpin vortex development and growth processes. Two topics of particular relevance to the workshop focus will be covered: 1) the growth of turbulent spots through the generatio and amalgamation of hairpin-like vortices, and 2) the development of hairpin vortices during transition in an end-wall junction flow. Brief summaries of these studies are described below. Using controlled generation of hairpin vortices by surface injection in a critical laminar boundary layer, detailed flow visualization studies have been done of the phases of growth of single hairpin vortices, from the initial hairgin generation, through the systematic generation of secondary hairpin-like flow structures, culminating in the evolution to a turbulent spot. The key to the growth process is strong vortex-surface interactions, which give rise to strong eruptive events adjacent to the surface, which results in the generation of subsequent hairpin vortex structures due to inviscid-viscuous interactions between the eruptive events and the free steam fluid. The general process of vortex-surface fluid interaction, coupled with subsequent interactions and amalgamation of the generated multiple hairpin-type vortices, is demonstrated as a physical mechanism for the growth and development of turbulent spots. When a boundary layer flow along a surface encounters a bluff body obstruction extending from the surface (such as cylinder or wing), the strong adverse pressure gradients generated by these types of flows result in the concentration of the impinging vorticity into a system of discrete vortices near the end-wall juncture of the obstruction, with the extensions of the vortices engirdling the obstruction to form "necklace" or "horseshoe" vortices. Recent hydrogen bubble and particle image visualization have shown that as Reynolds number is increased for a laminar approach flow, the flow will become critical, and a destabilization of the necklace vortices results in the development of an azimuthal waviness, or "kinks", in the vortices. These vortex kinks are accentuated by Biot-Savart effects, causing portions of a distorted necklace vortex to make a rapid approach to the surface, precipitating processes of localized, three-dimensional surface interactions. These interactions result in the rapid generation, focussing, and ejection of thin tongues of surface fluid, which rapidly roll-over and appear as hairpin vortices in the junction region. Subsequent amalgamation of these hairpin vortices with the necklace vortices produces a complex transitional-type flow. A presentation of key results from both these studies will be done, emphasizing both the ubiquity of such hairpin-type flow structures in manifold transitional-type flows, and the importance of vortex-surface interactions n the development of hairpin vortices.

Further studies of turbulence structure resulting from interactions between embedded vortices and wall jets at high blowing ratios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doner, William D.

1989-12-01

Interactions of wall jets and vortices embedded in turbulent layers commonly occur near gas turbine blades and endwalls where film cooling is employed. These interactions frequently result in undesirable heat transfer effects at blade and endwall surfaces. In this thesis, a crossed hot-wire probe is used to measure the turbulence structure resulting from this type of interaction. The vortex is generated using a half delta-wing vortex generator mounted 12 deg with respect to a 10 m/s mean velocity flow over a flat plate. A single injection hole, 0.95 cm in diameter, inclined 30 deg to the horizontal, is positioned 59.3 cm downstream of the vortex generator. The vortex generator is positioned so that vortex upwash and downwash could be located over the injection hole. Streamwise development of the turbulent boundary layer was investigated for the following cases: (1) boundary layer with jet only (m = 1.5), and (2) boundary layer with vortex only. Measurement of interaction between the boundary layer, vortex upwash, and the wall jet was made at one station with various blowing ratios. At low blowing ratios (m = 0.5 and 1.5) the vortex dominates the flow. Significant alterations to the turbulent structure are seen in the Reynolds stress components, vorticity distributions and mean velocities. At higher blowing ratios (m = 2.5 and 3.5) the jet dominates the flow, the vortex is blown away from the wall, and its turbulence effects are dispersed over a larger area.

Simulations of turbulent compressible flows using periodic boundary conditions: high fidelity on a budget

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beardsell, Guillaume; Blanquart, Guillaume

2017-11-01

In direct numerical simulations (DNS) of turbulent flows, it is often prohibitively expensive to simulate complete flow geometries. For example, to study turbulence-flame interactions, one cannot perform a DNS of a full combustor. Usually, a well-selected portion of the domain is chosen, in this particular case the region around the flame front. In this work, we perform a Reynolds decomposition of the velocity field and solve for the fluctuating part only. The resulting equations are the same as the original Navier-Stokes equations, except for turbulence-generating large scale features of the flow such as mean shear, which appear as forcing terms. This approach allows us to achieve high Reynolds numbers and sustained turbulence while keeping the computational cost reasonable. We have already applied this strategy to incompressible flows, but not to compressible ones, where special care has to be taken regarding the energy equation. Implementation of the resulting additional terms in the finite-difference code NGA is discussed and preliminary results are presented. In particular, we look at the budget of turbulent kinetic energy and internal energy. We are considering applying this technique to turbulent premixed flames.

Transitional flow in thin tubes for space station freedom radiator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loney, Patrick; Ibrahim, Mounir

1995-01-01

A two dimensional finite volume method is used to predict the film coefficients in the transitional flow region (laminar or turbulent) for the radiator panel tubes. The code used to perform this analysis is CAST (Computer Aided Simulation of Turbulent Flows). The information gathered from this code is then used to augment a Sinda85 model that predicts overall performance of the radiator. A final comparison is drawn between the results generated with a Sinda85 model using the Sinda85 provided transition region heat transfer correlations and the Sinda85 model using the CAST generated data.

Fluidic Energy Harvester Optimization in Grid Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Danesh-Yazdi, Amir; Elvin, Niell; Andreopoulos, Yiannis

2017-11-01

Even though it is omnipresent in nature, there has not been a great deal of research in the literature involving turbulence as an energy source for piezoelectric fluidic harvesters. In the present work, a grid-generated turbulence forcing function model which we derived previously is employed in the single degree-of-freedom electromechanical equations to find the power output and tip displacement of piezoelectric cantilever beams. Additionally, we utilize simplified, deterministic models of the turbulence forcing function to obtain closed-form expressions for the power output. These theoretical models are studied using experiments that involve separately placing a hot-wire anemometer probe and a short PVDF beam in flows where turbulence is generated by means of passive and semi-passive grids. From a parametric study on the deterministic models, we show that the white noise forcing function best mimics the experimental data. Furthermore, our parametric study of the response spectrum of a generic fluidic harvester in grid-generated turbulent flow shows that optimum power output is attained for beams placed closer to the grid with a low natural frequency and damping ratio and a large electromechanical coupling coefficient. NSF Grant No. CBET 1033117.

Testing of RANS Turbulence Models for Stratified Flows Based on DNS Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Venayagamoorthy, S. K.; Koseff, J. R.; Ferziger, J. H.; Shih, L. H.

2003-01-01

In most geophysical flows, turbulence occurs at the smallest scales and one of the two most important additional physical phenomena to account for is strati cation (the other being rotation). In this paper, the main objective is to investigate proposed changes to RANS turbulence models which include the effects of stratifi- cation more explicitly. These proposed changes were developed using a DNS database on strati ed and sheared homogenous turbulence developed by Shih et al. (2000) and are described more fully in Ferziger et al. (2003). The data generated by Shih, et al. (2000) (hereinafter referred to as SKFR) are used to study the parameters in the k- model as a function of the turbulent Froude number, Frk. A modified version of the standard k- model based on the local turbulent Froude number is proposed. The proposed model is applied to a stratified open channel flow, a test case that differs significantly from the flows from which the modified parameters were derived. The turbulence modeling and results are discussed in the next two sections followed by suggestions for future work.

Direct Numerical Simulation of Complex Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsieh, Alan

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of spanwise-rotating turbulent channel flow were conducted. The data base obtained from these DNS simulations were used to investigate the turbulence generation cycle for simple and complex turbulence. For turbulent channel flow, three theoretical models concerning the formation and evolution of sublayer streaks, three-dimensional hairpin vortices and propagating plane waves were validated using visualizations from the present DNS data. The principal orthogonal decomposition (POD) method was used to verify the existence of the propagating plane waves; a new extension of the POD method was derived to demonstrate these plane waves in a spatial channel model. The analyses of coherent structures was extended to complex turbulence and used to determine the proper computational box size for a minimal flow unit (MFU) at Rob < 0.5. Proper realization of Taylor-Gortler vortices in the highly turbulent pressure region was demonstrated to be necessary for acceptably accurate MFU turbulence statistics, which required a minimum spanwise domain length Lz = pi. A dependence of MFU accuracy on Reynolds number was also discovered and MFU models required a larger domain to accurately approximate higher-Reynolds number flows. In addition, the results obtained from the DNS simulations were utilized to evaluate several turbulence closure models for momentum and thermal transport in rotating turbulent channel flow. Four nonlinear eddy viscosity turbulence models were tested and among these, Explicit Algebraic Reynolds Stress Models (EARSM) obtained the Reynolds stress distributions in best agreement with DNS data for rotational flows. The modeled pressure-strain functions of EARSM were shown to have strong influence on the Reynolds stress distributions near the wall. Turbulent heatflux distributions obtained from two explicit algebraic heat flux models consistently displayed increasing disagreement with DNS data with increasing rotation rate. Results were also obtained regarding flow control of fully-developed spatially-evolving turbulent channel flow using phononic subsurface structures. Fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations were conducted by attaching phononic structures to the bottom wall of a turbulent channel flow field and reduction of turbulent kinetic energy was observed for different phononic designs.

There can be turbulence in microfluidics at low Reynolds number.

PubMed

Wang, G R; Yang, Fang; Zhao, Wei

2014-04-21

Turbulence is commonly viewed as a type of macroflow, where the Reynolds number (Re) has to be sufficiently high. In microfluidics, when Re is below or on the order of 1 and fast mixing is required, so far only chaotic flow has been reported to enhance mixing based on previous publications since turbulence is believed not to be possible to generate in such a low Re microflow. There is even a lack of velocimeter that can measure turbulence in microchannels. In this work, we report a direct observation of the existence of turbulence in microfluidics with Re on the order of 1 in a pressure driven flow under electrokinetic forcing using a novel velocimeter having ultrahigh spatiotemporal resolution. The work could provide a new method to control flow and transport phenomena in lab-on-a-chip and a new perspective on turbulence.

Experimental and mathematical modeling of flow in headboxes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shariati, Mohammad Reza

The fluid flow patterns in a paper-machine headbox have a strong influence on the quality of the paper produced by the machine. Due to increasing demand for high quality paper there is a need to investigate the details of the fluid flow in the paper machine headbox. The objective of this thesis is to use experimental and computational methods of modeling the flow inside a typical headbox in order to evaluate and understand the mean flow patterns and turbulence created there. In particular, spatial variations of the mean flow and of the turbulence quantities and the turbulence generated secondary flows are studied. In addition to the flow inside the headbox, the flow leaving the slice is also modeled both experimentally and computationally. Comparison of the experimental and numerical results indicated that streamwise mean components of the velocities in the headbox are predicted well by all the turbulence models considered in this study. However, the standard k-epsilon model and the algebraic turbulence models fail to predict the turbulence quantities accurately. Standard k-epsilon-model also fails to predict the direction and magnitude of the secondary flows. Significant improvements in the k-epsilon model predictions were achieved when the turbulence production term was artificially set to zero. This is justified by observations of the turbulent velocities from the experiments and by a consideration of the form of the kinetic energy equation. A better estimation of the Reynolds normal stress distribution and the degree of anisotropy of turbulence was achieved using the Reynolds stress turbulence model. Careful examination of the measured turbulence velocity results shows that after the initial decay of the turbulence in the headbox, there is a short region close to the exit, but inside the headbox, where the turbulent kinetic energy actually increases as a result of the distortion imposed by the contraction. The turbulence energy quickly resumes its decay in the free jet after the headbox. The overall conclusion from this thesis, obtained by comparison of experimental and computational simulations of the flow in a headbox, is that numerical simulations show great promise for predictions of headbox flows. Mean velocities and turbulence characteristics can now be predicted with fair accuracy by careful use of specialized turbulence models. Standard engineering turbulence models, such as the k-epsilon model and its immediate relatives, should not be used to estimate the turbulence quantities essential for predicting pulp fiber dispersion within the contracting region and free jet of a headbox, particularly when the overall contraction ratio is greater than about five. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Development of a Low-Reynolds Number, Nonlinear kappa-epsilon Model for the Reduced Navier-Stokes Equations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boger, David A.; Govindan, T. R.; McDonald, Henry

1997-01-01

Previous work at NASA LeRC has shown that flow distortions in aircraft engine inlet ducts can be significantly reduced by mounting vortex generators, or small wing sections, on the inside surface of the engine inlet. The placement of the vortex generators is an important factor in obtaining the optimal effect over a wide operating envelope. In this regard, the only alternative to a long and expensive test program which would search out this optimal configuration is a good prediction procedure which could narrow the field of search. Such a procedure has been developed in collaboration with NASA LeRC, and results obtained by NASA personnel indicate that it shows considerable promise for predicting the viscous turbulent flow in engine inlet ducts in the presence of vortex generators. The prediction tool is a computer code which numerically solves the reduced Navier-Stokes equations and so is commonly referred to as RNS3D. Obvious deficiencies in RNS3D have been addressed in previous work. Primarily, it is known that the predictions of the mean velocity field of a turbulent boundary layer flow approaching separation are not in good agreement with data. It was suggested that the use of an algebraic mixing-length turbulence model in RNS3D is at least partly to blame for this. Additionally, the current turbulence model includes an assumption of isotropy which will ultimately fail to capture turbulence-driven secondary flow known to exist in noncircular ducts.

Physical experiments and analysis on the generation and evolution of tsunami-induced turbulent coherent structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalligeris, Nikos; Lynett, Patrick

2017-11-01

Numerous historical accounts describe the formation of ``whirpools'' inside ports and harbors during tsunami events, causing port operation disruptions. Videos from the Japan 2011 tsunami revealed complex nearshore flow patters, resulting from the interaction of tsunami-induced currents with the man-made coastline, and the generation of large eddies (or turbulent coherent structures) in numerous ports and harbors near the earthquake epicenter. The aim of this work is to study the generation and evolution of tsunami-induced turbulent coherent structures (TCS) in a well-controlled environment using realistic scaling. A physical configuration is created in the image of a port entrance at a scale of 1:27 and a small-amplitude, long period wave creates a transient flow through the asymmetric harbor channel. A separated region forms, which coupled with the transient flow, leads to the formation of a stable monopolar TCS. The surface flow is examined through mono- and stereo-PTV techniques to extract surface velocity vectors. Surface velocity maps and vortex flow profiles are used to study the experimental TCS generation and evolution, and characterize the TCS structure. Analytical tools are used to describe the TCS growth rate and kinetic energy decay. This work was funded by the National Science Foundation NEES Research program, with Award Number 1135026.

Universal scaling for polymer chain scission in turbulence

PubMed Central

Vanapalli, Siva A.; Ceccio, Steven L.; Solomon, Michael J.

2006-01-01

We report that previous polymer chain scission experiments in strong flows, long analyzed according to accepted laminar flow scission theories, were in fact affected by turbulence. We reconcile existing anomalies between theory and experiment with the hypothesis that the local stress at the Kolmogorov scale generates the molecular tension leading to polymer covalent bond breakage. The hypothesis yields a universal scaling for polymer scission in turbulent flows. This surprising reassessment of over 40 years of experimental data simplifies the theoretical picture of polymer dynamics leading to scission and allows control of scission in commercial polymers and genomic DNA. PMID:17075043

Comparison of a simulated velocity profile of a turbulent boundary layer with measurements obtained by Femtosecond Laser Electronic Excitation Tagging (FLEET)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

New-Tolley, Matthew; Zhang, Yibin; Shneider, Mikhail; Miles, Richard

2017-11-01

Accurate velocimetry measurements of turbulent flows are essential for improving our understanding of turbulent phenomena and validating numerical approaches. Femtosecond Laser Electronic Excitation Tagging (FLEET) is an unseeded molecular tagging method for velocimetry measurements in flows which contain nitrogen. A femtosecond laser pulse is used to ionize and dissociate nitrogen molecules within its focal zone. The decaying plasma fluoresces in the visible and infrared spectrum over a period of microseconds which allows the displacement of the tagged region to be photographed to determine velocity. This study compares the experimental and numerical advection of the tagged region in a turbulent boundary layer generated by a supersonic flow over a flat plate. The tagged region in the simulation is approximated as an infinitely thin cylinder while the flow field is generated using the steady state boundary layer equations with an algebraic turbulence model. This approximation is justified by previous computational analyses, using an unsteady three-dimensional Navier-Stokes solver, which indicate that the radial perturbations of the tagged region are negligible compared to its translation. This research was conducted with government support from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Dr. Ivett Leyva and the Army Research Office under Dr. Matthew Munson.

Flow-combustion interactions in ducted flameholder-stabilized premixed flames

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soteriou, Marios; Arienti, Marco; Erickson, Robert

2006-11-01

Turbulent premixed combustion is present in many power generation and propulsion systems due to its large energy conversion rate (as compared to non-premixed combustion) and its potential for reduced emissions (at the lean limit). As a result, the study of turbulent premixed flames has received substantial attention in the past through experiment, analysis and simulation. In the recent past, unsteady Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) based models have been increasingly leveraged towards the in depth study of the physics of turbulent premixed flames. The bulk of this effort focuses on the response of the flame to turbulence. In contrast, we focus on the opposite problem, i.e. the modification of the turbulent flowfield by the flame. This topic has also received some attention but with a strong emphasis on planar (in the mean), flames propagating normal to the flow. Instead, we focus on flameholder-stabilized ducted flames, i.e. ones in which the flame is confined and substantially inclined to the incoming flow. The fundamental mechanisms by which the flame impacts the flow, i.e. dilatation, baroclinic vorticity generation and molecular diffusion enhancement are discussed in detail and their relative impact quantified. Limitations of modeling these mechanisms in current state of the art CFD models are also addressed.

Effects of gravity on sheared and nonsheared turbulent nonpremixed flames

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elghobashi, Said; Lee, Yong-Yao; Zhong, Rongbin

1995-01-01

The present numerical study is concerned with the fundamental physics of the multiway interaction between turbulence, chemical reaction, and buoyancy in a nonpremixed flame. The method of direct numerical simulation (DNS) is used to solve the instantaneous, three-dimensional governing equations. Because of the present supercomputer limitations, we consider two simple flow geometries, namely an initially uniform flow without shear (equivalent to grid-generated turbulence) and an initially uniform shear flow. In each flow, the fuel and oxidant initially exist as two separate streams. As the reactants mix, chemical reaction takes place and exothermic energy is released causing variations in density. In the presence of a gravity field, the spatial and temporal distributions of the induced buoyancy forces depend on the local density gradients and the direction of the gravitational acceleration. The effects of buoyancy include the generation of local shear, baroclinic production or destruction of vorticity, and countergradient heat and mass transport. Increased vorticity and small-scale turbulence promote further mixing and reaction. However, if the strain-rates become too high, local flame extinction can occur. Our objective is to gain an understanding of the complex interactions between the physical phenomena involved, with particular attention to the effects of buoyancy on the turbulence structure, flame behavior, and factors influencing flame extinction.

Vortices and turbulence (The 23rd Lanchester Memorial Lecture)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lilley, G. M.

1983-12-01

A comprehensive discussion is presented concerning the phenomena characteristically treated in vortex and turbulence theory, as well as the degree of success achieved by various computation and visualization methods and theoretical models developed for vortex flow behavior prediction. Note is taken of the pioneering research conducted by F. W. Lanchester in 1893-1907, and attention is given to vortex tip and edge generation by rectangular and delta wings, the cool core effect of the Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube, the modeling of shear flows by means of vortex array methods, the classification and modelling of turbulent flows (together with a taxonomy of their calculation methods), and NASA ILLIAC IV computations of two-dimensional channel flow. Also noted are recent results concerning the boundary layer coherent structure of a flat plate at zero pressure gradient, including the regeneration structure and flow distortion and breakdown of a turbulent boundary layer.

Statistical parameters of thermally driven turbulent anabatic flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilel, Roni; Liberzon, Dan

2016-11-01

Field measurements of thermally driven turbulent anabatic flow over a moderate slope are reported. A collocated hot-films-sonic anemometer (Combo) obtained the finer scales of the flow by implementing a Neural Networks based in-situ calibration technique. Eight days of continuous measurements of the wind and temperature fluctuations reviled a diurnal pattern of unstable stratification that forced development of highly turbulent unidirectional up slope flow. Empirical fits of important turbulence statistics were obtained from velocity fluctuations' time series alongside fully resolved spectra of velocity field components and characteristic length scales. TKE and TI showed linear dependence on Re, while velocity derivative skewness and dissipation rates indicated the anisotropic nature of the flow. Empirical fits of normalized velocity fluctuations power density spectra were derived as spectral shapes exhibited high level of similarity. Bursting phenomenon was detected at 15% of the total time. Frequency of occurrence, spectral characteristics and possible generation mechanism are discussed. BSF Grant #2014075.

Enhancement of heat transfer and entropy generation analysis of nanofluids turbulent convection flow in square section tubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bianco, Vincenzo; Nardini, Sergio; Manca, Oronzio

2011-12-01

In this article, developing turbulent forced convection flow of a water-Al2O3 nanofluid in a square tube, subjected to constant and uniform wall heat flux, is numerically investigated. The mixture model is employed to simulate the nanofluid flow and the investigation is accomplished for particles size equal to 38 nm. An entropy generation analysis is also proposed in order to find the optimal working condition for the given geometry under given boundary conditions. A simple analytical procedure is proposed to evaluate the entropy generation and its results are compared with the numerical calculations, showing a very good agreement. A comparison of the resulting Nusselt numbers with experimental correlations available in literature is accomplished. To minimize entropy generation, the optimal Reynolds number is determined.

A Nonlinear Dynamic Subscale Model for Partially Resolved Numerical Simulation (PRNS)/Very Large Eddy Simulation (VLES) of Internal Non-Reacting Flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shih, Tsan-Hsing; Liu, nan-Suey

2010-01-01

A brief introduction of the temporal filter based partially resolved numerical simulation/very large eddy simulation approach (PRNS/VLES) and its distinct features are presented. A nonlinear dynamic subscale model and its advantages over the linear subscale eddy viscosity model are described. In addition, a guideline for conducting a PRNS/VLES simulation is provided. Results are presented for three turbulent internal flows. The first one is the turbulent pipe flow at low and high Reynolds numbers to illustrate the basic features of PRNS/VLES; the second one is the swirling turbulent flow in a LM6000 single injector to further demonstrate the differences in the calculated flow fields resulting from the nonlinear model versus the pure eddy viscosity model; the third one is a more complex turbulent flow generated in a single-element lean direct injection (LDI) combustor, the calculated result has demonstrated that the current PRNS/VLES approach is capable of capturing the dynamically important, unsteady turbulent structures while using a relatively coarse grid.

Magnetic Eigenmodes in the Madison Dynamo Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nornberg, M. D.; Bayliss, R. A.; Forest, C. B.; Kendrick, R. D.; O'Connell, R.; Spence, E. J.

2002-11-01

A spherical dynamo experiment has been constructed at the University of Wisconsin's liquid sodium facility. The goals of the experiment are to observe and understand magnetic instabilities driven by flow shear in MHD systems, investigate MHD turbulence for magnetic Reynolds numbers of 100, and understand the role of fluid turbulence in current generation. Magnetic field generation is only possible for specific flow geometries. We have studied and achieved simple roll flow geometries in a full scale water experiment. Results from the water experiment have guided the design of the sodium experiment. The experiment consists of a 1 m diameter, spherical stainless steel vessel filled with liquid sodium at 110 Celsius. Two 100 Hp motors with impellers drive flows in the liquid sodium with flow velocities of 15 m/s. A gaussian grid of 66 Hall probes on the surface of the sodium vessel measure the generated external magnetic field. Hall probe feed-thru arrays measure the internal field. A pair of magnetic field coils produce a roughly uniform field inside the sphere with a centerline field strength of 100 gauss. Preliminary investigations include measurements of the turbulent electromotive force and excitation of magnetic eigenmodes.

Density-ratio effects on buoyancy-driven variable-density turbulent mixing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aslangil, Denis; Livescu, Daniel; Banerjee, Arindam

2017-11-01

Density-ratio effects on the turbulent mixing of two incompressible, miscible fluids with different densities subject to constant acceleration are studied by means of high-resolution Direct Numerical Simulations. In a triply periodic domain, turbulence is generated by stirring in response to the differential buoyancy forces within the flow. Later, as the fluids become molecularly mixed, dissipation starts to overcome turbulence generation by bouyancy. Thus, the flow evolution includes both turbulence growth and decay, and it displays features present in the core region of the mixing layer of the Rayleigh-Taylor as well as Richtmyer-Meshkov instabilities. We extend the previous studies by investigating a broad range of density-ratio, from 1-14.4:1, corresponding to Atwood numbers of 0.05-0.87. Here, we focus on the Atwood number dependence of mixing-efficiency, that is defined based on the energy-conversion ratios from potential energy to total and turbulent kinetic energies, the decay characteristics of buoyancy-assisted variable-density homogeneous turbulence, and the effects of high density-ratios on the turbulence structure and mixing process. Authors acknowledge financial support from DOE-SSAA (DE-NA0003195) and NSF CAREER (#1453056) awards.

Key vortical structure causing laminar-turbulent transition in a boundary layer disturbed by a short-duration jet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshikawa, Joe; Nishio, Yu; Izawa, Seiichiro; Fukunishi, Yu

2018-01-01

Numerical simulations are carried out to discover the flow structure that plays an important role in the laminar-turbulent transition process of a boundary layer on a flat plate. The boundary layer is destabilized by ejecting a short-duration jet from a hole in the surface. When the jet velocity is set to 20% of the uniform-flow velocity, a laminar-turbulent transition takes place, whereas in the 18% case, the disturbances created by the jet decay downstream. It is found that in both cases, hairpin vortices are generated; however, these first-generation hairpins do not directly cause the transition. Only in the 20% case does a new hairpin vortex of a different shape with wider distance between the legs appear. The new hairpin grows with time and evokes the generation of vortical structures one after another around it, turning the flow turbulent. It is found that the difference between the two cases is whether or not one of the first-generation hairpin vortices gets connected with the nearby longitudinal vortices. Only when the connection is successful is the new hairpin vortex with wider distance between the legs created. For each of several cases tested with changing jet-ejecting conditions, no difference is found in the importance of the role of the hairpin structure. Therefore, we conclude that the hairpin vortex with widespread legs is a key structure in the transition to turbulence.

Simulation of Helical Flow Hydrodynamics in Meanders and Advection-Turbulent Diffusion Using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gusti, T. P.; Hertanti, D. R.; Bahsan, E.; Soeryantono, H.

2013-12-01

Particle-based numerical methods, such as Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH), may be able to simulate some hydrodynamic and morphodynamic behaviors better than grid-based numerical methods. This study simulates hydrodynamics in meanders and advection and turbulent diffusion in straight river channels using Microsoft Excel and Visual Basic. The simulators generate three-dimensional data for hydrodynamics and one-dimensional data for advection-turbulent diffusion. Fluid at rest, sloshing, and helical flow are simulated in the river meanders. Spill loading and step loading are done to simulate concentration patterns associated with advection-turbulent diffusion. Results indicate that helical flow is formed due to disturbance in morphology and particle velocity in the stream and the number of particles does not have a significant effect on the pattern of advection-turbulent diffusion concentration.

Turbulent particulate transportation during electrostatic precipitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Bum Seog

The generation of secondary flows and turbulence by a corona discharge influences particle transport in an electrostatic precipitator (ESP), and is known to play an important role in the particle collection process. However, it is difficult to characterise theoretically and experimentally the ``turbulent'' fluctuations of the gas flow produced by negative tuft corona. Because of this difficulty, only limited studies have been undertaken previously to understand the structure of corona-induced turbulence and its influence on particle transport in ESPs. The present study is aimed at modelling electrohydrodynamic turbulent flows and particle transport, and at establishing an unproved understanding of them. For a multiply interactive coupling of electrostatics, fluid dynamics and particle dynamics, a strongly coupled system of the governing equations has been solved. The present computer model has considered the most important interaction mechanisms including an ionic wind, corona- induced turbulence and the particle space charge effect. Numerical simulations have been performed for the extensive validation of the numerical and physical models. To account for electrically excited turbulence associated with the inhomogeneous and unsteady characteristics of negative corona discharges, a new turbulence model (called the electrostatic turbulence model) has been developed. In this, an additional production or destruction term is included into the turbulent kinetic energy and dissipation rate equations. It employs a gradient type model of the current density and an electrostatic diffusivity concept. The results of the computation show that the electrostatic turbulence model gives much better agreement with the experimental data than the conventional RNG k-ɛ turbulence model when predicting turbulent gas flows and particle distributions in an ESP. Computations of turbulent particulate two-phase flows for both mono-dispersed and poly-dispersed particles have been performed. The effects of coriona-induced turbulence and the particle space charge on particle transport and the collection process have been investigated. The calculated results for the poly-dispersed particulate flow were compared with those of the mono-dispersed particulate flow, and significant differences were demonstrated. It is established that effective particle- particle interaction occurs, due to the influence of the particle space charge, even for dilute gas-particle flows that occur in ESPs.

The mean and turbulent flow structure of a weak hydraulic jump

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Misra, S. K.; Kirby, J. T.; Brocchini, M.; Veron, F.; Thomas, M.; Kambhamettu, C.

2008-03-01

The turbulent air-water interface and flow structure of a weak, turbulent hydraulic jump are analyzed in detail using particle image velocimetry measurements. The study is motivated by the need to understand the detailed dynamics of turbulence generated in steady spilling breakers and the relative importance of the reverse-flow and breaker shear layer regions with attention to their topology, mean flow, and turbulence structure. The intermittency factor derived from turbulent fluctuations of the air-water interface in the breaker region is found to fit theoretical distributions of turbulent interfaces well. A conditional averaging technique is used to calculate ensemble-averaged properties of the flow. The computed mean velocity field accurately satisfies mass conservation. A thin, curved shear layer oriented parallel to the surface is responsible for most of the turbulence production with the turbulence intensity decaying rapidly away from the toe of the breaker (location of largest surface curvature) with both increasing depth and downstream distance. The reverse-flow region, localized about the ensemble-averaged free surface, is characterized by a weak downslope mean flow and entrainment of water from below. The Reynolds shear stress is negative in the breaker shear layer, which shows that momentum diffuses upward into the shear layer from the flow underneath, and it is positive just below the mean surface indicating a downward flux of momentum from the reverse-flow region into the shear layer. The turbulence structure of the breaker shear layer resembles that of a mixing layer originating from the toe of the breaker, and the streamwise variations of the length scale and growth rate are found to be in good agreement with observed values in typical mixing layers. All evidence suggests that breaking is driven by a surface-parallel adverse pressure gradient and a streamwise flow deceleration at the toe of the breaker. Both effects force the shear layer to thicken rapidly, thereby inducing a sharp free surface curvature change at the toe.

Unstructured mesh algorithms for aerodynamic calculations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mavriplis, D. J.

1992-01-01

The use of unstructured mesh techniques for solving complex aerodynamic flows is discussed. The principle advantages of unstructured mesh strategies, as they relate to complex geometries, adaptive meshing capabilities, and parallel processing are emphasized. The various aspects required for the efficient and accurate solution of aerodynamic flows are addressed. These include mesh generation, mesh adaptivity, solution algorithms, convergence acceleration, and turbulence modeling. Computations of viscous turbulent two-dimensional flows and inviscid three-dimensional flows about complex configurations are demonstrated. Remaining obstacles and directions for future research are also outlined.

Negative viscosity from negative compressibility and axial flow shear stiffness in a straight magnetic field

DOE PAGES

Li, J. C.; Diamond, P. H.

2017-03-23

Here, negative compressibility ITG turbulence in a linear plasma device (CSDX) can induce a negative viscosity increment. However, even with this negative increment, we show that the total axial viscosity remains positive definite, i.e. no intrinsic axial flow can be generated by pure ITG turbulence in a straight magnetic field. This differs from the case of electron drift wave (EDW) turbulence, where the total viscosity can turn negative, at least transiently. When the flow gradient is steepened by any drive mechanism, so that the parallel shear flow instability (PSFI) exceeds the ITG drive, the flow profile saturates at a level close to the value above which PSFI becomes dominant. This saturated flow gradient exceeds the PSFI linear threshold, and grows withmore » $$\

Three-dimensional structure of dominant instabilities in turbulent flow over smooth and rough boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grass, A. J.; Stuart, R. J.; Mansour-Tehrani, M.

1991-01-01

The current status of knowledge regarding coherent vortical structures in turbulent boundary layers and their role in turbulence generation are reviewed. The investigations reported in the study concentrate attention on rough-wall flows prevailing in the geophysical environment and include an experiment determining the three-dimensional form of the turbulence structures linked to the ejection and inrush events observed over rough walls and an experiment concerned with measuring the actual spanwise scale of the near-wall structures for boundary conditions ranging from hydrodynamically smooth to fully rough. It is demonstrated that horseshoe vortical structures are present and play an important role in rough-wall flows and they increase in scale with increasing wall distance, while a dominant spanwise wavelength occurs in the instantaneous cross-flow distribution of streamwise velocity close to the rough wall.

Effects of Periodic Unsteady Wake Flow and Pressure Gradient on Boundary Layer Transition Along the Concave Surface of a Curved Plate. Part 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schobeiri, M. T.; Radke, R. E.

1996-01-01

Boundary layer transition and development on a turbomachinery blade is subjected to highly periodic unsteady turbulent flow, pressure gradient in longitudinal as well as lateral direction, and surface curvature. To study the effects of periodic unsteady wakes on the concave surface of a turbine blade, a curved plate was utilized. On the concave surface of this plate, detailed experimental investigations were carried out under zero and negative pressure gradient. The measurements were performed in an unsteady flow research facility using a rotating cascade of rods positioned upstream of the curved plate. Boundary layer measurements using a hot-wire probe were analyzed by the ensemble-averaging technique. The results presented in the temporal-spatial domain display the transition and further development of the boundary layer, specifically the ensemble-averaged velocity and turbulence intensity. As the results show, the turbulent patches generated by the wakes have different leading and trailing edge velocities and merge with the boundary layer resulting in a strong deformation and generation of a high turbulence intensity core. After the turbulent patch has totally penetrated into the boundary layer, pronounced becalmed regions were formed behind the turbulent patch and were extended far beyond the point they would occur in the corresponding undisturbed steady boundary layer.

Analyzing Transient Turbuelnce in a Stenosed Carotid Artery by Proper Orthogonal Decomposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grinberg, Leopold; Yakhot, Alexander; Karniadakis, George

2009-11-01

High resolution 3D simulation (involving 100M degrees of freedom) were employed to study transient turbulent flow in a carotid arterial bifurcation with a stenosed internal carotid artery (ICA). In the performed simulation an intermittent (in space and time) laminar-turbulent-laminar regime was observed. The simulation reveals the mechanism of the onset of turbulent flow in the stenosed ICA where the narrowing in the artery generates a strong jet flow. Time- and space-window Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) was applied to quantify the different flow regimes in the occluded artery. A simplified version of the POD analysis that utilizes 2D slices only - more appropriate in the clinical setting - was also investigated.

How do animals communicate in complex hydrodynamic environments? Linking hydraulics and ecology in rivers.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Matthew; Rice, Stephen

2015-04-01

Animals make decisions about the suitability of habitat and their reaction to other organisms based on the sensory information that they first obtain from the environment and other organisms within that environment. Sensory information, such as sounds, scents, vibrations and visual cues, is transported, transmitted, masked and filtered by fluvial processes, such as turbulent flow. Despite the fundamental importance of this information in dictating how animals interact with the environment, only limited attention has been paid to the environmental controls on the propagation of sensory signals and cues through fluvial systems. Aquatic animals use and respond to hydraulic characteristics when navigating their environment and selecting habitat. There is evidence that some animals can also sense the presence of other organisms from the hydraulic characteristics of their wake. This implies that at least some aquatic animals can differentiate between the turbulent flow generated by the presence of living organisms and ambient turbulence generated by the environment. We investigate whether there are specific flow characteristics, distinct from the ambient environment, that potentially flag the presence of organisms to other animals. Acoustic Doppler and Particle Image Velocimetry measurements in a series of laboratory flume experiments quantified the flow around living Signal Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) and two inanimate objects of equivalent shape and size. Experiments were repeated across a gradient of turbulence intensities generated over nine combinations of flow velocity and relative submergence. Flows downstream of living crayfish were distinct from inanimate objects, with greater turbulent intensities, higher energy in low- to intermediate frequencies, and flow structures that were less coherent in comparison to those measured downstream of inanimate objects. However, the hydrodynamic signature of crayfish became masked as the intensity of ambient turbulence exceeded that generated by living crayfish. This was particularly the case at low relative submergence. These results demonstrate the importance of the fluvial environment in controlling the transmission of sensory information and suggest that the ability of organisms to sense the presence of crayfish from their hydraulic signature is likely to be limited in many situations in rivers. Thus, animals in rivers may have to rely on other senses, such as sight or hearing, especially where depth is low relative to substrate roughness and where velocities are relatively high.

Nonlinear Generation of shear flows and large scale magnetic fields by small scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aburjania, G.

2009-04-01

EGU2009-233 Nonlinear Generation of shear flows and large scale magnetic fields by small scale turbulence in the ionosphere by G. Aburjania Contact: George Aburjania, g.aburjania@gmail.com,aburj@mymail.ge

Microbial Fouling and Its Effect on Power Generation.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-09-01

Bryers, J. D. (1980) " Dynamics of Early Biof’dm Formation in a Turbulent Flow System." Ph.D. dissertation, Rice University. Trulear, M. G. (1980...studies to date have avoided addressing fundamental questions concerning fouling in fluid flow and heat transfer systems and their effect on fluid...34clean" surface exposed to turbulent flow of a tuid con- taining dispersed microorganisms, nutrient, and organic macromolecules. Adsorption of an organic

Perpendicular blade vortex interaction and its implications for helicopter noise prediction: Wave-number frequency spectra in a trailing vortex for BWI noise prediction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Devenport, William J.; Glegg, Stewart A. L.

1993-01-01

Perpendicular blade vortex interactions are a common occurrence in helicopter rotor flows. Under certain conditions they produce a substantial proportion of the acoustic noise. However, the mechanism of noise generation is not well understood. Specifically, turbulence associated with the trailing vortices shed from the blade tips appears insufficient to account for the noise generated. The hypothesis that the first perpendicular interaction experienced by a trailing vortex alters its turbulence structure in such a way as to increase the acoustic noise generated by subsequent interactions is examined. To investigate this hypothesis a two-part investigation was carried out. In the first part, experiments were performed to examine the behavior of a streamwise vortex as it passed over and downstream of a spanwise blade in incompressible flow. Blade vortex separations between +/- one eighth chord were studied for at a chord Reynolds number of 200,000. Three-component velocity and turbulence measurements were made in the flow from 4 chord lengths upstream to 15 chordlengths downstream of the blade using miniature 4-sensor hot wire probes. These measurements show that the interaction of the vortex with the blade and its wake causes the vortex core to loose circulation and diffuse much more rapidly than it otherwise would. Core radius increases and peak tangential velocity decreases with distance downstream of the blade. True turbulence levels within the core are much larger downstream than upstream of the blade. The net result is a much larger and more intense region of turbulent flow than that presented by the original vortex and thus, by implication, a greater potential for generating acoustic noise. In the second part, the turbulence measurements described above were used to derive the necessary inputs to a Blade Wake Interaction (BWI) noise prediction scheme. This resulted in significantly improved agreement between measurements and calculations of the BWI noise spectrum especially for the spectral peak at low frequencies, which previously was poorly predicted.

Drag Reduction by Riblets & Sharkskin Denticles: A Numerical Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boomsma, Aaron

Riblet films are a passive method of turbulent boundary layer control that can reduce viscous drag. They have been studied with great detail for over 30 years. Although common riblet applications include flows with Adverse Pressure Gradients (APG), nearly all research thus far has been performed in channel flows. Recent research has provided motivation to study riblets in more complicated turbulent flows with claims that riblet drag reduction can double in mild APG common to airfoils at moderate angles of attack. Therefore, in this study, we compare drag reduction by scalloped riblet films between riblets in a zero pressure gradient and those in a mild APG using high-resolution large eddy simulations. In order to gain a fundamental understanding of the relationship between drag reduction and pressure gradient, we simulated several different riblet sizes that encompassed a broad range of s + (riblet width in wall units), similarly to many experimental studies. We found that there was only a slight improvement in drag reduction for riblets in the mild APG. We also observed that peak values of streamwise turbulence intensity, turbulent kinetic energy, and streamwise vorticity scale with riblet width. Primary Reynolds shear stresses and turbulence kinetic energy production however scale with the ability of the riblet to reduce skin-friction. Another turbulent roughness of similar shape and size to riblets is sharkskin. The hydrodynamic function of sharkskin has been under investigation for the past 30 years. Current literature conflicts on whether sharkskin is able to reduce skin friction similarly to riblets. To contribute insights toward reconciling these conflicting views, Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) are carried out to obtain detailed flow fields around realistic denticles. A sharp interface immersed boundary method is employed to simulate two arrangements of actual sharkskin denticles (from Isurus oxyrinchus) in a turbulent boundary layer at Retau ≈ 180. For comparison, turbulent flow over drag-reducing scalloped riblets is also simulated with similar flow conditions and with the same numerical method. Although the denticles resemble riblets, both sharkskin arrangements increase total drag by 44-50%, while the riblets reduce drag by 5%. Analysis of the simulated flow fields shows that the turbulent flow around denticles is highly three-dimensional and separated, with 25% of the total drag being form drag. The complex three-dimensional shape of the denticles gives rise to a mean flow dominated by strong secondary flows in sharp contrast with the mean flow generated by riblets, which is largely two-dimensional. The so resulting three-dimensionality of sharkskin flows leads to an increase in the magnitude of the turbulence statistics near the denticles, which further contributes to increasing the total drag. The simulations also show that, at least for the simulated arrangements, sharkskin, in sharp contrast with drag-reducing riblets, is unable to isolate high shear stress near denticle ridges causing a significant portion of the denticle surface to be exposed to high mean shear. Lastly, it has been theorized that sharkskin might act similarly to vortex generators and prevent separation. In order to test this theory, we have conducted simulations with and without sharkskin upstream of a steady separation bubble. Using large eddy simulation, our study shows that sharkskin worsened the weak separation region and enlarged the separation bubble's boundaries. The cause was shown to originate due to the denticles acting as blockages, rather than vortex generators. In fact, our results showed that separation occurred just after the second row of denticles and that the turbulent flow was unable to recover its lost momentum. Streamwise turbulence intensities were decreased compared to the baseline case. Finally, in the present case, the sharkskin induced reversed flow within the denticles---something that was not observed with sharkskin in channel flow.

Generating and controlling homogeneous air turbulence using random jet arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carter, Douglas; Petersen, Alec; Amili, Omid; Coletti, Filippo

2016-12-01

The use of random jet arrays, already employed in water tank facilities to generate zero-mean-flow homogeneous turbulence, is extended to air as a working fluid. A novel facility is introduced that uses two facing arrays of individually controlled jets (256 in total) to force steady homogeneous turbulence with negligible mean flow, shear, and strain. Quasi-synthetic jet pumps are created by expanding pressurized air through small straight nozzles and are actuated by fast-response low-voltage solenoid valves. Velocity fields, two-point correlations, energy spectra, and second-order structure functions are obtained from 2D PIV and are used to characterize the turbulence from the integral-to-the Kolmogorov scales. Several metrics are defined to quantify how well zero-mean-flow homogeneous turbulence is approximated for a wide range of forcing and geometric parameters. With increasing jet firing time duration, both the velocity fluctuations and the integral length scales are augmented and therefore the Reynolds number is increased. We reach a Taylor-microscale Reynolds number of 470, a large-scale Reynolds number of 74,000, and an integral-to-Kolmogorov length scale ratio of 680. The volume of the present homogeneous turbulence, the largest reported to date in a zero-mean-flow facility, is much larger than the integral length scale, allowing for the natural development of the energy cascade. The turbulence is found to be anisotropic irrespective of the distance between the jet arrays. Fine grids placed in front of the jets are effective at modulating the turbulence, reducing both velocity fluctuations and integral scales. Varying the jet-to-jet spacing within each array has no effect on the integral length scale, suggesting that this is dictated by the length scale of the jets.

A Comparison Between Internal Waves Observed in the Southern Ocean and Lee Wave Generation Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikurashin, M.; Benthuysen, J.; Naveira Garabato, A.; Polzin, K. L.

2016-02-01

Direct observations in the Southern Ocean report enhanced internal wave activity and turbulence in a few kilometers above rough bottom topography. The enhancement is co-located with the deep-reaching fronts of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, suggesting that the internal waves and turbulence are sustained by near-bottom flows interacting with rough topography. Recent numerical simulations confirm that oceanic flows impinging on rough small-scale topography are very effective generators of internal gravity waves and predict vigorous wave radiation, breaking, and turbulence within a kilometer above bottom. However, a linear lee wave generation theory applied to the observed bottom topography and mean flow characteristics has been shown to overestimate the observed rates of the turbulent energy dissipation. In this study, we compare the linear lee wave theory with the internal wave kinetic energy estimated from finestructure data collected as part of the Diapycnal and Isopycnal Mixing Experiment in the Southern Ocean (DIMES). We show that the observed internal wave kinetic energy levels are generally in agreement with the theory. Consistent with the lee wave theory, the observed internal wave kinetic energy scales quadratically with the mean flow speed, stratification, and topographic roughness. The correlation coefficient between the observed internal wave kinetic energy and mean flow and topography parameters reaches 0.6-0.8 for the 100-800 m vertical wavelengths, consistent with the dominant lee wave wavelengths, and drops to 0.2-0.5 for wavelengths outside this range. A better agreement between the lee wave theory and the observed internal wave kinetic energy than the observed turbulent energy dissipation suggests remote breaking of internal waves.

Dynamics of motile phytoplankton in turbulence: Laboratory investigation of microscale patchiness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crimaldi, J. P.; True, A.; Stocker, R.

2016-02-01

Phytoplankton represent the basis of oceanic life and play a critical role in biogeochemical cycles. While phytoplankton are traditionally studied in bulk, their collective impact stems from cell-level processes and interactions at the microscale. A fundamental element that determines these interactions is the small-scale spatial distribution of individual cells: this directly determines the local cell concentration and the probability that two cells contact or interact with each other. The traditional, bulk perspective on phytoplankton distributions is that turbulence acts to smear out patchiness and locally homogenizes the distributions. However, recent numerical simulations suggest that the action of turbulence on motile phytoplankton may be precisely the opposite: by biasing the swimming direction of cells through the action of viscous torques, turbulence is predicted to generate strong patchiness at small scales. Flow-mediated patch formation has been demonstrated experimentally in simple laminar flows, but has never been tested experimentally in turbulence. In this talk we report on preliminary laboratory experiments performed in a purpose-built flow facility that uses a pair of computer-controlled oscillating grids to generate approximately homogenous isotropic 3D turbulence. Turbulent flow characteristics and dissipation rates are first quantified using particle image velocimetry (PIV). Then, 2D distributions of the motile dinoflagellate Heterosigma akashiwo are imaged using planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF). Analysis of imaged phytoplankton distributions for patchiness is performed using a Voronoi tessellation approach. Results suggest that motile phytoplankton distributions differ from those of passive particles. Furthermore, computed values for the patch enhancement factor are shown to be roughly consistent with those of previous DNS predictions.

Analysis and Improvement of Aerodynamic Performance of Straight Bladed Vertical Axis Wind Turbines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmadi-Baloutaki, Mojtaba

Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) with straight blades are attractive for their relatively simple structure and aerodynamic performance. Their commercialization, however, still encounters many challenges. A series of studies were conducted in the current research to improve the VAWTs design and enhance their aerodynamic performance. First, an efficient design methodology built on an existing analytical approach is presented to formulate the design parameters influencing a straight bladed-VAWT (SB-VAWT) aerodynamic performance and determine the optimal range of these parameters for prototype construction. This work was followed by a series of studies to collectively investigate the role of external turbulence on the SB-VAWTs operation. The external free-stream turbulence is known as one of the most important factors influencing VAWTs since this type of turbines is mainly considered for urban applications where the wind turbulence is of great significance. Initially, two sets of wind tunnel testing were conducted to study the variation of aerodynamic performance of a SB-VAWT's blade under turbulent flows, in two major stationary configurations, namely two- and three-dimensional flows. Turbulent flows generated in the wind tunnel were quasi-isotropic having uniform mean flow profiles, free of any wind shear effects. Aerodynamic force measurements demonstrated that the free-stream turbulence improves the blade aerodynamic performance in stall and post-stall regions by delaying the stall and increasing the lift-to-drag ratio. After these studies, a SB-VAWT model was tested in the wind tunnel under the same type of turbulent flows. The turbine power output was substantially increased in the presence of the grid turbulence at the same wind speeds, while the increase in turbine power coefficient due to the effect of grid turbulence was small at the same tip speed ratios. The final section presents an experimental study on the aerodynamic interaction of VAWTs in arrays configurations. Under controlled flow conditions in a wind tunnel, the counter-rotating configuration resulted in a slight improvement in the aerodynamic performance of each turbine compared to the isolated installation. Moreover, the counter-rotating pair improved the power generation of a turbine located downstream of the pair substantially.

Evolution and dynamics of shear-layer structures in near-wall turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johansson, Arne V.; Alfredsson, P. H.; Kim, John

1991-01-01

Near-wall flow structures in turbulent shear flows are analyzed, with particular emphasis on the study of their space-time evolution and connection to turbulence production. The results are obtained from investigation of a database generated from direct numerical simulation of turbulent channel flow at a Reynolds number of 180 based on half-channel width and friction velocity. New light is shed on problems associated with conditional sampling techniques, together with methods to improve these techniques, for use both in physical and numerical experiments. The results clearly indicate that earlier conceptual models of the processes associated with near-wall turbulence production, based on flow visualization and probe measurements need to be modified. For instance, the development of asymmetry in the spanwise direction seems to be an important element in the evolution of near-wall structures in general, and for shear layers in particular. The inhibition of spanwise motion of the near-wall streaky pattern may be the primary reason for the ability of small longitudinal riblets to reduce turbulent skin friction below the value for a flat surface.

Dynamics of Turbulence-generated E × B Flows: Simulation and Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hahm, T. S.

1998-11-01

Many magnetic confinement experiments have indicated that E × B shear can suppress turbulence and consequently lead to significant reduction of plasma transport.^1 It has been observed in flux-tube gyrofluid^2,3 and gyrokinetic^4 simulations that small radial scale fluctuating E × B flows driven by turbulence (often called radial modes,^3 or zonal flows) play a dominant role in regulating toroidal ITG (ion temperature gradient) turbulence. Furthermore, the radial modes with similar characteristics and significant impact on transport have been also observed in the recent global gyrokinetic simulations with improved numerical capabilities^5 as well as in edge turbulence simulations with a collisional poloidal flow damping.^6 In this work, we analyze turbulence and flow statistics from gyrofluid and gyrokinetic simulations and compare to various theoretical predictions. The observed radial modes contain significant components with radial scales and frequencies comparable to those of turbulence. While the fast time varying components (including Geodesic Acoustic Modes) contribute the most to the instantaneous E × B shearing rate, they are less influential in suppressing turbulence. The effective E × B shearing rate capturing this important physics is analytically derived and evaluated from the recent nonlinear simulation results. Its magnitude is much smaller than the instantaneous E × B shearing rate, but typically of the order of the decorrelation rate of the ambient turbulence. This is consistent with the reduced, not completely stabilized level of turbulence with broadened kr spectrum observed in simulations. Zonal flows are linearly stable, but can be generated either by incoherent emission of turbulence or by inverse cascade of spectrum yielding negative turbulent viscosity which is related to the Reynolds' stress.^7 Various analytical calculations and proposed mechanisms for zonal flow generation and saturation^7,8 will be tested numerically. Finally, the collisional damping of flows and its effect on transport will be studied via gyrokinetic simulations with momentum and energy conserving Fokker-Planck operator.^5 renewcommandthempfootnotefnsymbolmpfootnote footnotetext[1]This work supported by DOE contract DE-AC02-76-CHO-3073. footnotetext[2]In collaboration with M. A. BEER, Z. LIN, G. W. HAMMETT, W. W. LEE, and W. M. TANG. renewcommandthempfootnotearabicmpfootnote setcountermpfootnote0 footnotetext[1]K. H. Burrell, Phys. Plasmas 4, 1499 (1997); E. J. Synakowski, Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion, 40, 581 (1998). footnotetext[2]M. A. Beer, Ph.D. Thesis, Princeton University, 1995; G. W. Hammett et al., Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion, 35, 973 (1993) footnotetext[3]R. E. Waltz, G. D. Kerbel, and J. Milovich, Phys. Plasmas 1, 2229 (1994). footnotetext[4]A. M. Dimits et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 71 (1996). footnotetext[5]Z. Lin et al., To be submitted to Phys. Plasmas (1998). footnotetext[6]B. N. Rogers, J. F. Drake, and A. Zeiler, Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett.(1998). footnotetext[7]P. H. Diamond and Y. B. Kim, Phys. Fluids B 3, 1626 (1991); P. H. Diamond, J. Fleischer, and F. L. Hinton, Presented at Transport Task Force Meeting (1998). footnotetext[8]M. N. Rosenbluth and F.L. Hinton, Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 724 (1998).

The behavior of a compressible turbulent boundary layer in a shock-wave-induced adverse pressure gradient. Ph.D. Thesis - Washington Univ., Seattle, Aug. 1972

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rose, W. C.

1973-01-01

The results of an experimental investigation of the mean- and fluctuating-flow properties of a compressible turbulent boundary layer in a shock-wave-induced adverse pressure gradient are presented. The turbulent boundary layer developed on the wall of an axially symmetric nozzle and test section whose nominal free-stream Mach number and boundary-layer thickness Reynolds number were 4 and 100,000, respectively. The adverse pressure gradient was induced by an externally generated conical shock wave. Mean and time-averaged fluctuating-flow data, including the complete experimental Reynolds stress tensor and experimental turbulent mass- and heat-transfer rates are presented for the boundary layer and external flow, upstream, within and downstream of the pressure gradient. The mean-flow data include distributions of total temperature throughout the region of interest. The turbulent mixing properties of the flow were determined experimentally with a hot-wire anemometer. The calibration of the wires and the interpretation of the data are discussed. From the results of the investigation, it is concluded that the shock-wave - boundary-layer interaction significantly alters the turbulent mixing characteristics of the boundary layer.

Computer design of microfluidic mixers for protein/RNA folding studies.

PubMed

Inguva, Venkatesh; Kathuria, Sagar V; Bilsel, Osman; Perot, Blair James

2018-01-01

Kinetic studies of biological macromolecules increasingly use microfluidic mixers to initiate and monitor reaction progress. A motivation for using microfluidic mixers is to reduce sample consumption and decrease mixing time to microseconds. Some applications, such as small-angle x-ray scattering, also require large (>10 micron) sampling areas to ensure high signal-to-noise ratios and to minimize parasitic scattering. Chaotic to marginally turbulent mixers are well suited for these applications because this class of mixers provides a good middle ground between existing laminar and turbulent mixers. In this study, we model various chaotic to marginally turbulent mixing concepts such as flow turning, flow splitting, and vortex generation using computational fluid dynamics for optimization of mixing efficiency and observation volume. Design iterations show flow turning to be the best candidate for chaotic/marginally turbulent mixing. A qualitative experimental test is performed on the finalized design with mixing of 10 M urea and water to validate the flow turning unsteady mixing concept as a viable option for RNA and protein folding studies. A comparison of direct numerical simulations (DNS) and turbulence models suggests that the applicability of turbulence models to these flow regimes may be limited.

Mixing in 3D Sparse Multi-Scale Grid Generated Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Usama, Syed; Kopec, Jacek; Tellez, Jackson; Kwiatkowski, Kamil; Redondo, Jose; Malik, Nadeem

2017-04-01

Flat 2D fractal grids are known to alter turbulence characteristics downstream of the grid as compared to the regular grids with the same blockage ratio and the same mass inflow rates [1]. This has excited interest in the turbulence community for possible exploitation for enhanced mixing and related applications. Recently, a new 3D multi-scale grid design has been proposed [2] such that each generation of length scale of turbulence grid elements is held in its own frame, the overall effect is a 3D co-planar arrangement of grid elements. This produces a 'sparse' grid system whereby each generation of grid elements produces a turbulent wake pattern that interacts with the other wake patterns downstream. A critical motivation here is that the effective blockage ratio in the 3D Sparse Grid Turbulence (3DSGT) design is significantly lower than in the flat 2D counterpart - typically the blockage ratio could be reduced from say 20% in 2D down to 4% in the 3DSGT. If this idea can be realized in practice, it could potentially greatly enhance the efficiency of turbulent mixing and transfer processes clearly having many possible applications. Work has begun on the 3DSGT experimentally using Surface Flow Image Velocimetry (SFIV) [3] at the European facility in the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization located in Gottingen, Germany and also at the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) in Spain, and numerically using Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) in Saudi Arabia and in University of Warsaw in Poland. DNS is the most useful method to compare the experimental results with, and we are studying different types of codes such as Imcompact3d, and OpenFoam. Many variables will eventually be investigated for optimal mixing conditions. For example, the number of scale generations, the spacing between frames, the size ratio of grid elements, inflow conditions, etc. We will report upon the first set of findings from the 3DSGT by the time of the conference. {Acknowledgements}: This work has been supported partly by the EuHIT grant, 'Turbulence Generated by Sparse 3D Multi-Scale Grid (M3SG)', 2017. {References} [1] S. Laizet, J. C. Vassilicos. DNS of Fractal-Generated Turbulence. Flow Turbulence Combust 87:673705, (2011). [2] N. A. Malik. Sparse 3D Multi-Scale Grid Turbulence Generator. USPTO Application no. 14/710,531, Patent Pending, (2015). [3] J. Tellez, M. Gomez, B. Russo, J.M. Redondo. Surface Flow Image Velocimetry (SFIV) for hydraulics applications. 18th Int. Symposium on the Application of Laser Imaging Techniques in Fluid Mechanics, Lisbon, Portugal (2016).

A numerical study of bidisperse particles in cluster-induced turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patel, Ravi; Kong, Bo; Capecelatro, Jesse; Fox, Rodney; Desjardins, Olivier

2016-11-01

Particle-laden turbulent flow is an important feature of many diverse environmental and industrial systems. To elucidate the mechanics of these types of flows, we study cluster-induced turbulence (CIT), wherein momentum coupling between a carrier fluid and setting particles leads to turbulent-like fluctuations in various quantities of interest. In this work, simulations of CIT with bidisperse particles are presented. The flow of kinetic energy is tracked from its generation due to drag until its dissipation due to fluid viscosity and particle collisions. As suggested by Fox (2014), the particle kinetic energy is separated into a correlated turbulent kinetic energy and an uncorrelated granular energy. An overall energy balance is computed for various exchange terms to determine their relative importance and to understand the underlying physical mechanisms in bidisperse CIT. Additionally, volume fraction and velocity statistics for both particle types and the fluid are presented. From these results, the consequences on closures for Reynolds-averaged stress models of particle-laden flows are discussed. National Science Foundation.

Computation of turbulent reacting flow in a solid-propellant ducted rocket

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chao, Yei-Chin; Chou, Wen-Fuh; Liu, Sheng-Shyang

1995-05-01

A mathematical model for computation of turbulent reacting flows is developed under general curvilinear coordinate systems. An adaptive, streamline grid system is generated to deal with the complex flow structures in a multiple-inlet solid-propellant ducted rocket (SDR) combustor. General tensor representations of the k-epsilon and algebraic stress (ASM) turbulence models are derived in terms of contravariant velocity components, and modification caused by the effects of compressible turbulence is also included in the modeling. The clipped Gaussian probability density function is incorporated in the combustion model to account for fluctuations of properties. Validation of the above modeling is first examined by studying mixing and reacting characteristics in a confined coaxial-jet problem. This is followed by study of nonreacting and reacting SDR combustor flows. The results show that Gibson and Launder's ASM incorporated with Sarkar's modification for compressible turbulence effects based on the general curvilinear coordinate systems yields the most satisfactory prediction for this complicated SDR flowfield.

Computation of turbulent reacting flow in a solid-propellant ducted rocket

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chao, Y.; Chou, W.; Liu, S.

1995-05-01

A mathematical model for computation of turbulent reacting flows is developed under general curvilinear coordinate systems. An adaptive, streamline grid system is generated to deal with the complex flow structures in a multiple-inlet solid-propellant ducted rocket (SDR) combustor. General tensor representations of the k-epsilon and algebraic stress (ASM) turbulence models are derived in terms of contravariant velocity components, and modification caused by the effects of compressible turbulence is also included in the modeling. The clipped Gaussian probability density function is incorporated in the combustion model to account for fluctuations of properties. Validation of the above modeling is first examined bymore » studying mixing and reacting characteristics in a confined coaxial-jet problem. This is followed by study of nonreacting and reacting SDR combustor flows. The results show that Gibson and Launder`s ASM incorporated with Sarkar`s modification for compressible turbulence effects based on the general curvilinear coordinate systems yields the most satisfactory prediction for this complicated SDR flowfield. 36 refs.« less

Turbulent flow separation control through passive techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, J. C.; Howard, F. G.; Selby, G. V.

1989-01-01

Several passive separation control techniques for controlling moderate two-dimensional turbulent flow separation over a backward-facing ramp are studied. Small transverse and swept grooves, passive porous surfaces, large longitudinal grooves, and vortex generators were among the techniques used. It was found that, unlike the transverse and longitudinal grooves of an equivalent size, the 45-deg swept-groove configurations tested tended to enhance separation.

A rapid and low noise switch from RANS to WMLES on curvilinear grids with compressible flow solvers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deck, Sébastien; Weiss, Pierre-Elie; Renard, Nicolas

2018-06-01

A turbulent inflow for a rapid and low noise switch from RANS to Wall-Modelled LES on curvilinear grids with compressible flow solvers is presented. It can be embedded within the computational domain in practical applications with WMLES grids around three-dimensional geometries in a flexible zonal hybrid RANS/LES modelling context. It relies on a physics-motivated combination of Zonal Detached Eddy Simulation (ZDES) as the WMLES technique together with a Dynamic Forcing method processing the fluctuations caused by a Zonal Immersed Boundary Condition describing roughness elements. The performance in generating a physically-sound turbulent flow field with the proper mean skin friction and turbulent profiles after a short relaxation length is equivalent to more common inflow methods thanks to the generation of large-scale streamwise vorticity by the roughness elements. Comparisons in a low Mach-number zero-pressure-gradient flat-plate turbulent boundary layer up to Reθ = 6 100 reveal that the pressure field is dominated by the spurious noise caused by the synthetic turbulence methods (Synthetic Eddy Method and White Noise injection), contrary to the new low-noise approach which may be used to obtain the low-frequency component of wall pressure and reproduce its intermittent nature. The robustness of the method is tested in the flow around a three-element airfoil with WMLES in the upper boundary layer near the trailing edge of the main element. In spite of the very short relaxation distance allowed, self-sustainable resolved turbulence is generated in the outer layer with significantly less spurious noise than with the approach involving White Noise. The ZDES grid count for this latter test case is more than two orders of magnitude lower than the Wall-Resolved LES requirement and a unique mesh is involved, which is much simpler than some multiple-mesh strategies devised for WMLES or turbulent inflow.

Three-Dimensional Navier-Stokes Simulations with Two-Equation Turbulence Models of Intersecting Shock-Waves/Turbulent Boundary Layer at Mach 8.3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bardina, J. E.; Coakley, T. J.

1994-01-01

An investigation of the numerical simulation with two-equation turbulence models of a three-dimensional hypersonic intersecting (SWTBL) shock-wave/turbulent boundary layer interaction flow is presented. The flows are solved with an efficient implicit upwind flux-difference split Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes code. Numerical results are compared with experimental data for a flow at Mach 8.28 and Reynolds number 5.3x10(exp 6) with crossing shock-waves and expansion fans generated by two lateral 15 fins located on top of a cold-wall plate. This experiment belongs to the hypersonic database for modeling validation. Simulations show the development of two primary counter-rotating cross-flow vortices and secondary turbulent structures under the main vortices and in each corner singularity inside the turbulent boundary layer. A significant loss of total pressure is produced by the complex interaction between the main vortices and the uplifted jet stream of the boundary layer. The overall agreement between computational and experimental data is generally good. The turbulence modeling corrections show improvements in the predictions of surface heat transfer distribution and an increase in the strength of the cross-flow vortices. Accurate predictions of the outflow flowfield is found to require accurate modeling of the laminar/turbulent boundary layers on the fin walls.

Turbulent Mixing of Primary and Secondary Flow Streams in a Rocket-Based Combined Cycle Engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cramer, J. M.; Greene, M. U.; Pal, S.; Santoro, R. J.; Turner, Jim (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This viewgraph presentation gives an overview of the turbulent mixing of primary and secondary flow streams in a rocket-based combined cycle (RBCC) engine. A significant RBCC ejector mode database has been generated, detailing single and twin thruster configurations and global and local measurements. On-going analysis and correlation efforts include Marshall Space Flight Center computational fluid dynamics modeling and turbulent shear layer analysis. Potential follow-on activities include detailed measurements of air flow static pressure and velocity profiles, investigations into other thruster spacing configurations, performing a fundamental shear layer mixing study, and demonstrating single-shot Raman measurements.

Understanding L-H transition in tokamak fusion plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Guosheng; Wu, Xingquan

2017-03-01

This paper reviews the current state of understanding of the L-H transition phenomenon in tokamak plasmas with a focus on two central issues: (a) the mechanism for turbulence quick suppression at the L-H transition; (b) the mechanism for subsequent generation of sheared flow. We briefly review recent advances in the understanding of the fast suppression of edge turbulence across the L-H transition. We uncover a comprehensive physical picture of the L-H transition by piecing together a number of recent experimental observations and insights obtained from 1D and 2D simulation models. Different roles played by diamagnetic mean flow, neoclassical-driven mean flow, turbulence-driven mean flow, and turbulence-driven zonal flows are discussed and clarified. It is found that the L-H transition occurs spontaneously mediated by a shift in the radial wavenumber spectrum of edge turbulence, which provides a critical evidence for the theory of turbulence quench by the flow shear. Remaining questions and some key directions for future investigations are proposed. This work was supported by National Magnetic Confinement Fusion Science Program of China under Contracts No. 2015GB101000, No. 2013GB106000, and No. 2013GB107000 and National Natural Science Foundation of China under Contracts No. 11575235 and No. 11422546.

Reynolds stress flow shear and turbulent energy transfer in reversed field pinch configuration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vianello, Nicola; Spolaore, Monica; Serianni, Gianluigi; Regnoli, Giorgio; Spada, Emanuele; Antoni, Vanni; Bergsåker, Henric; Drake, James R.

2003-10-01

The role of Reynolds Stress tensor on flow generation in turbulent fluids and plasmas is still an open question and the comprehension of its behavior may assist the understanding of improved confinement scenario. It is generally believed that shear flow generation may occur by an interaction of the turbulent Reynolds stress with the shear flow. It is also generally believed that this mechanism may influence the generation of zonal flow shears. The evaluation of the complete Reynolds Stress tensor requires contemporary measurements of its electrostatic and magnetic part: this requirement is more restrictive for Reversed Field Pinch configuration where magnetic fluctuations are larger than in tokamak . A new diagnostic system which combines electrostatic and magnetic probes has been installed in the edge region of Extrap-T2R reversed field pinch. With this new probe the Reynolds stress tensor has been deduced and its radial profile has been reconstructed on a shot to shot basis exploring differen plasma conditions. These profiles have been compared with the naturally occurring velocity flow profile, in particular during Pulsed Poloidal Current Drive experiment, where a strong variation of ExB flow radial profile has been registered. The study of the temporal evolution of Reynolds stress reveals the appearance of strong localized bursts: these are considered in relation with global MHD relaxation phenomena, which naturally occur in the core of an RFP plasma sustaining its configuration.

Fluid Dynamics Prize Otto Laporte Lecture:Turbulence and Aeroacoustics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Comte-Bellot, Genevieve

2014-11-01

Some significant advances obtained over the years for two closely related fields, Turbulence and Aeroacoustics, are presented. Particular focus is placed on experimental results and on physical mechanisms. For example, for a 2D channel flow, skewness factors of velocity fluctuations are discussed. The study of isotropic turbulence generated by grids in the «Velvet wind tunnel» of Stanley Corrsin, constitutes a masterpiece. Of particular note are the Eulerian memory times, analysed for all wavenumbers. Concerning hot-wire anemometry, the potential of the new constant voltage technique is presented. Some results obtained with Particule Image Velocimetry are also reported. Two flow control examples are illustrated: lift generation for a circular cylinder, and noise reduction for a high speed jet. Finally, the propagation of acoustic waves through turbulence is considered. Experimental data are here completed by numerical simulations showing the possible occurrence of caustics.

Numerical analysis of turbulent coaxial flow with internal heat generation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, A.; Weinstein, H.

1981-01-01

A computational method with which to obtain a physical understanding of the turbulent field of two coaxial jets entering an axisymmetric chamber is developed. Even the laminar field of this flow is quite complicated. This is due to the many different domains which exist in the field especially in the entrance region. Physically, three regions may be identified: the wall region, the initial region near the axis of symmetry and the mixing region. Advancing downstream, these regions change relative size with the ratio of the two jets' mass fluxes as the main parameter. The turbulent field of these flows is much more complicated due to the difference in the effective transport coefficients and turbulence level from region to region. However, being aware beforehand of the complications and the different regions of this field, the appropriate turbulence model and numerical scheme can be adjusted to treat the problem.

The effects of free stream turbulence on the flow field through a compressor cascade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muthanna Kolera, Chittiappa

The flow through a compressor cascade with tip leakage has been studied experimentally. The cascade of GE rotor B section blades had an inlet angle of 65.1°, a stagger angle of 56.9°, and a solidity of 1.08. The final turning angle of the cascade was 11.8°. This compressor configuration was representative of the core compressor of an aircraft engine. The cascade was operated with a tip gap of 1.65%, and operated at a Reynolds number based on the chord length (0.254 m) of 388,000. Measurements were made at 8 axial locations to reveal the structure of the flow as it evolved through the cascade. Measurements were also made to reveal the effects of grid generated turbulence on this flow. The data set is unique in that not only does it give a comparison of elevated free stream turbulence effects, but also documents the developing flow through the blade row of a compressor cascade with tip leakage. Measurements were made at a total of 8 locations 0.8, 0.23 axial chords upstream and 0, 0.27, 0.48, 0.77, 0.98, and 1.26 axial chords downstream of the leading edge of the blade row for both inflow turbulence cases. The measurements revealed the formation and development of the tip leakage vortex within the passage. The tip leakage vortex becomes apparent at approximately X/ca = 0.27 and dominated much of the endwall flow. The tip leakage vortex is characterized by high streamwise velocity deficits, high vorticity and high turbulence kinetic energy levels. The result showed that between 0.77 and 0.98 axial chords downstream of the leading edge, the vortex structure and behavior changes. The effects of grid generated turbulence were also documented. The results revealed significant effects on the flow field. The results showed a 4% decrease in the blade loading and a 20% reduction in the vorticity levels within tip leakage vortex. There was also a shift in the vortex path, showing a shift close to the suction side with grid generated turbulence, indicating the strength of the vortex was decreased. Circulation calculations showed this reduction, and also indicated that the tip leakage vortex increased in size by about 30%. The results revealed that overall, the turbulence kinetic energy levels in the tip leakage vortex were increased, with the most drastic change occurring at X/ca = 0.77.

Lean Premixed Combustion Stabilized by Low Swirl a Promising Concept for Practical Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheng, R. K.

1999-01-01

Since its inception, the low-swirl burner (LSB) has shown to be a useful laboratory apparatus for fundamental studies of premixed turbulent flames. The LSB operates under wide ranges of equivalence ratios, flow rates, and turbulence intensities. Its flame is lifted and detached from the burner and allows easy access for laser diagnostics. The flame brush is axisymmetric and propagates normal to the incident reactants. Therefore, the LSB is well suited for investigating detailed flame structures and empirical coefficients such as flame speed, turbulence transport, and flame generated turbulence. Due to its capability to stabilize ultra-lean premixed turbulent flames (phi approx. = 0.55), the LSB has generated interest from the gas appliance industry for use as an economical low-NO(x) burner. Lean premixed combustion emits low levels of NO(x), due primarily to the low flame temperature. Therefore, it is a very effective NO(x) prevention method without involving selective catalytic reduction (SCR), fuel-air staging, or flue gas recirculation (FGR). En the gas turbine industry, substantial research efforts have already been undertaken and engines with lean premixed combustors are already in use. For commercial and residential applications, premixed pulsed combustors and premixed ceramic matrix burners are commercially available. These lean premixed combustion technologies, however, tend to be elaborate but have relatively limited operational flexibility, and higher capital, operating and maintenance costs. Consequently, these industries are continuing the development of lean premixed combustion technologies as well as exploring new concepts. This paper summarizes the research effects we have undertaken in the past few years to demonstrate the feasibility of applying the low-swirl flame stabilization method for a wide range of heating and power generation systems. The principle of flame stabilization by low-swirl is counter to the conventional high-swirl methods that rely on a recirculation zone to anchor the flame. In LSBS, flow recirculation is not promoted to allow the premixed turbulent flames to propagate freely. A LSB with an air-jet swirler is essentially an open tube with the swirler at its mid section. The small air-jets generate swirling motion only in the annular region and leaving the central core of the flow undisturbed, When this flow exits the burner tube, the angular momentum generates radial mean pressure gradient to diverge the non-swirling reactants stream. Consequently, the mean flow velocity decreases linearly. Propagating against this decelerating flow, the flame self-sustains at the position where the local flow velocity equals the flame speed, S(sub f). The LSB operates with a swirl number, S, between 0.02 to 0.1. This is much lower than the minimum S of 0.6 required for the high-swirl burners. We found that the swirl number needed for flame stabilization varies only slightly with fuel type, flow velocity, turbulent conditions and burner dimensions (i.e. throat diameter and swirl injection angle).

Fish responses to flow velocity and turbulence in relation to size, sex and parasite load

PubMed Central

Hockley, F. A.; Wilson, C. A. M. E.; Brew, A.; Cable, J.

2014-01-01

Riverine fish are subjected to heterogeneous flow velocities and turbulence and may use this to their advantage by selecting regions that balance energy expenditure for station holding while maximizing energy gain through feeding opportunities. This study investigated microhabitat selection by guppies Poecilia reticulata in terms of flow characteristics generated by hemisphere boulders in an open channel flume. Velocity and turbulence influenced the variation in swimming behaviour with respect to size, sex and parasite intensity. With increasing body length, fish swam further and more frequently between boulder regions. Larger guppies spent more time in the areas of high-velocity and low-turbulence regions beside the boulders, whereas smaller guppies frequented the low-velocity and high-turbulence regions directly behind the boulders. Male guppies selected the regions of low velocity, indicating possible reduced swimming ability owing to hydrodynamic drag imposed by their fins. With increasing Gyrodactylus turnbulli burden, fish spent more time in regions with moderate velocity and lowest turbulent kinetic energy which were the most spatially and temporally homogeneous in terms of velocity and turbulence. These findings highlight the importance of heterogeneous flow conditions in river channel design owing to the behavioural variability within a species in response to velocity and turbulence. PMID:24284893

Fish responses to flow velocity and turbulence in relation to size, sex and parasite load.

PubMed

Hockley, F A; Wilson, C A M E; Brew, A; Cable, J

2014-02-06

Riverine fish are subjected to heterogeneous flow velocities and turbulence and may use this to their advantage by selecting regions that balance energy expenditure for station holding while maximizing energy gain through feeding opportunities. This study investigated microhabitat selection by guppies Poecilia reticulata in terms of flow characteristics generated by hemisphere boulders in an open channel flume. Velocity and turbulence influenced the variation in swimming behaviour with respect to size, sex and parasite intensity. With increasing body length, fish swam further and more frequently between boulder regions. Larger guppies spent more time in the areas of high-velocity and low-turbulence regions beside the boulders, whereas smaller guppies frequented the low-velocity and high-turbulence regions directly behind the boulders. Male guppies selected the regions of low velocity, indicating possible reduced swimming ability owing to hydrodynamic drag imposed by their fins. With increasing Gyrodactylus turnbulli burden, fish spent more time in regions with moderate velocity and lowest turbulent kinetic energy which were the most spatially and temporally homogeneous in terms of velocity and turbulence. These findings highlight the importance of heterogeneous flow conditions in river channel design owing to the behavioural variability within a species in response to velocity and turbulence.

Statistical analysis of Hasegawa-Wakatani turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Johan; Hnat, Bogdan

2017-06-01

Resistive drift wave turbulence is a multipurpose paradigm that can be used to understand transport at the edge of fusion devices. The Hasegawa-Wakatani model captures the essential physics of drift turbulence while retaining the simplicity needed to gain a qualitative understanding of this process. We provide a theoretical interpretation of numerically generated probability density functions (PDFs) of intermittent events in Hasegawa-Wakatani turbulence with enforced equipartition of energy in large scale zonal flows, and small scale drift turbulence. We find that for a wide range of adiabatic index values, the stochastic component representing the small scale turbulent eddies of the flow, obtained from the autoregressive integrated moving average model, exhibits super-diffusive statistics, consistent with intermittent transport. The PDFs of large events (above one standard deviation) are well approximated by the Laplace distribution, while small events often exhibit a Gaussian character. Furthermore, there exists a strong influence of zonal flows, for example, via shearing and then viscous dissipation maintaining a sub-diffusive character of the fluxes.

Detailed film cooling effectiveness and three component velocity field measurements on a first stage turbine vane subject to high freestream turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polanka, Marcus Damian

1999-11-01

This experimental program studied the effects of high freestream turbulence on film cooling for a turbine vane. This investigation focussed on the showerhead and pressure surface of an airfoil. An emphasis of this study was to acquire highly detailed film cooling effectiveness and velocity measurements in the showerhead region. Acquisition of both pieces of information resulted in detailed knowledge of the physics involved in the interaction of the coolant jets and the freestream flow in this region of an airfoil. By generating a 18% turbulence level at the leading edge of the airfoil, the impact of elevated freestream turbulence was also studied. Of further interest was the affect of a highly turbulent flow resulting from both the freestream flow as well as that generated from the showerhead jets themselves, further downstream. The impact of this turbulent approach flow will have significant consequence on downstream film cooling designs. In order to achieve the desired goals, modification to the existing closed loop wind tunnel facility was required. The new tunnel consisted of a test section containing a center, instrumented airfoil with inner and outer walls positioned to match the flow parameters around the center airfoil. The center airfoil was built at a nine times scale ratio. In utilizing this large scale vane and still matching the engine conditions, a better understanding of leading edge film cooling was gained. This was a result of the high spatial resolution of the flow field gained from the large scale of the airfoil. This benefited both the Laser Doppler Velocimeter (LDV) system for velocity measurements and the infrared camera used for thermal field measurements. High effectiveness levels were measured throughout the showerhead region. This was attributed to a build up of coolant along the span of the airfoil. The introduction of a high freestream turbulence level increased the uniformity at the expense of lower overall effectiveness levels. Velocity field measurements verified that a core of coolant existed in the near wall region of the airfoil. This showerhead coolant flow dominated the flow at the downstream coolant row.

Prediction of High-Lift Flows using Turbulent Closure Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rumsey, Christopher L.; Gatski, Thomas B.; Ying, Susan X.; Bertelrud, Arild

1997-01-01

The flow over two different multi-element airfoil configurations is computed using linear eddy viscosity turbulence models and a nonlinear explicit algebraic stress model. A subset of recently-measured transition locations using hot film on a McDonnell Douglas configuration is presented, and the effect of transition location on the computed solutions is explored. Deficiencies in wake profile computations are found to be attributable in large part to poor boundary layer prediction on the generating element, and not necessarily inadequate turbulence modeling in the wake. Using measured transition locations for the main element improves the prediction of its boundary layer thickness, skin friction, and wake profile shape. However, using measured transition locations on the slat still yields poor slat wake predictions. The computation of the slat flow field represents a key roadblock to successful predictions of multi-element flows. In general, the nonlinear explicit algebraic stress turbulence model gives very similar results to the linear eddy viscosity models.

Experimental and Numerical Studies of Mechanically- and Convectively-Driven Turbulence in Planetary Interiors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grannan, Alexander Michael

2017-08-01

The energy for driving turbulent flows in planetary fluid layers comes from a combination of thermocompositional sources and the motion of the boundary in contact with the fluid through mechanisms like precessional, tidal, and librational forcing. Characterizing the resulting turbulent fluid motions are necessary for understanding many aspects of the planet's dynamics and evolution including the generation of magnetic fields in the electrically conducting fluid layers and dissipation in the oceans. Although such flows are strongly inertial they are also strongly influenced by the Coriolis force whose source is in the rotation of the body and tends to constrain the inertial effects and provide support for fluid instabilities that might in-turn generate turbulence. Furthermore, the magnetic fields generated by the electrically conducting fluids act back on the fluid through the Lorentz force that also tends to constrain the flow. The goal of this dissertation is to investigate the characteristics of turbulent flows under the influence of mechanical, convective, rotational and magnetic forcing. In order to investigate the response of the fluid to mechanical forcing, I have modified a unique set of laboratory experiments that allows me to quantify the generation of turbulence driven by the periodic oscillations of the fluid containing boundary through tides and libration. These laboratory experiments replicate the fundamental ingredients found in planetary environments and are necessary for the excitation of instabilities that drive the turbulent fluid motions. For librational forcing, a rigid ellipsoidal container and ellipsoidal shell of isothermal unstratified fluid is made to rotate with a superimposed oscillation while, for tidal forcing, an elastic ellipsoidal container of isothermal unstratified fluid is made to rotate while an independently rotating perturbance also flexes the elastic container. By varying the strength and frequencies of these oscillations the characteristics of the resulting turbulence are investigated using meridional views to identify the dominate modes and spatial location of the turbulence. For the first time, measurements of the velocity in the equatorial plane are coupled with high resolution numerical simulations of the full flow field in identical geometry to characterize the instability mechanism, energy deposited into the fluid layer, and long-term evolution of the flow. The velocities determined through laboratory and numerical simulations when extrapolated to planets allow me to argue that the dynamics of mechanical forcing in low viscosity fluids may an important role as new and potentially large source of dissipation in planetary interiors. To study convective forcing, I have modified and performed a set of rotating and non-rotating hydrodynamic convection experiments using water as well as rotating and non-rotating magnetohydrodynamic convection in gallium. These studies are performed in a cylindrical geometry representing a model of high latitude planetary core style convection wherein the axis of rotation and gravity are aligned. For the studies using water, the steady columns that are characteristic of rotating convection and present in the dynamo models are likely to destabilize at the more extreme planetary parameters giving way to transitions to more complex styles of rotating turbulent flow. In the studies of liquid metal where the viscosity is lower, the onset of rotating convection occurs through oscillatory columnar convection well below the onset of steady columns. Such oscillatory modes are not represented at the parameters used by current dynamo models. Furthermore a suite of laboratory experiments shows that the imposition of rotational forces and magnetic forces both separately and together generate zeroeth order flow transitions that change the fundamental convective modes and heat transfer. Such regimes are more easily accessible to laboratory experiments then to numerical simulations but demonstrate the need for a new generation of dynamo simulations capable of including the fundamental properties of liquid metals as are relevant for understanding the dynamics of planetary interiors.

Computation of three-dimensional multiphase flow dynamics by Fully-Coupled Immersed Flow (FCIF) solver

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miao, Sha; Hendrickson, Kelli; Liu, Yuming

2017-12-01

This work presents a Fully-Coupled Immersed Flow (FCIF) solver for the three-dimensional simulation of fluid-fluid interaction by coupling two distinct flow solvers using an Immersed Boundary (IB) method. The FCIF solver captures dynamic interactions between two fluids with disparate flow properties, while retaining the desirable simplicity of non-boundary-conforming grids. For illustration, we couple an IB-based unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (uRANS) simulator with a depth-integrated (long-wave) solver for the application of slug development with turbulent gas and laminar liquid. We perform a series of validations including turbulent/laminar flows over prescribed wavy boundaries and freely-evolving viscous fluids. These confirm the effectiveness and accuracy of both one-way and two-way coupling in the FCIF solver. Finally, we present a simulation example of the evolution from a stratified turbulent/laminar flow through the initiation of a slug that nearly bridges the channel. The results show both the interfacial wave dynamics excited by the turbulent gas forcing and the influence of the liquid on the gas turbulence. These results demonstrate that the FCIF solver effectively captures the essential physics of gas-liquid interaction and can serve as a useful tool for the mechanistic study of slug generation in two-phase gas/liquid flows in channels and pipes.

A study of large scale gust generation in a small scale atmospheric wind tunnel with applications to Micro Aerial Vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roadman, Jason Markos

Modern technology operating in the atmospheric boundary layer can always benefit from more accurate wind tunnel testing. While scaled atmospheric boundary layer tunnels have been well developed, tunnels replicating portions of the atmospheric boundary layer turbulence at full scale are a comparatively new concept. Testing at full-scale Reynolds numbers with full-scale turbulence in an "atmospheric wind tunnel" is sought. Many programs could utilize such a tool including Micro Aerial Vehicle(MAV) development, the wind energy industry, fuel efficient vehicle design, and the study of bird and insect flight, to name just a few. The small scale of MAVs provide the somewhat unique capability of full scale Reynolds number testing in a wind tunnel. However, that same small scale creates interactions under real world flight conditions, atmospheric gusts for example, that lead to a need for testing under more complex flows than the standard uniform flow found in most wind tunnels. It is for these reasons that MAVs are used as the initial testing application for the atmospheric gust tunnel. An analytical model for both discrete gusts and a continuous spectrum of gusts is examined. Then, methods for generating gusts in agreement with that model are investigated. Previously used methods are reviewed and a gust generation apparatus is designed. Expected turbulence and gust characteristics of this apparatus are compared with atmospheric data. The construction of an active "gust generator" for a new atmospheric tunnel is reviewed and the turbulence it generates is measured utilizing single and cross hot wires. Results from this grid are compared to atmospheric turbulence and it is shown that various gust strengths can be produced corresponding to weather ranging from calm to quite gusty. An initial test is performed in the atmospheric wind tunnel whereby the effects of various turbulence conditions on transition and separation on the upper surface of a MAV wing is investigated using the surface oil flow visualization technique.

How shear increments affect the flow production branching ratio in CSDX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, J. C.; Diamond, P. H.

2018-06-01

The coupling of turbulence-driven azimuthal and axial flows in a linear device absent magnetic shear (Controlled Shear Decorrelation Experiment) is investigated. In particular, we examine the apportionment of Reynolds power between azimuthal and axial flows, and how the azimuthal flow shear affects axial flow generation and saturation by drift wave turbulence. We study the response of the energy branching ratio, i.e., ratio of axial and azimuthal Reynolds powers, PzR/PyR , to incremental changes of azimuthal and axial flow shears. We show that increasing azimuthal flow shear decreases the energy branching ratio. When axial flow shear increases, this ratio first increases but then decreases to zero. The axial flow shear saturates below the threshold for parallel shear flow instability. The effects of azimuthal flow shear on the generation and saturation of intrinsic axial flows are analyzed. Azimuthal flow shear slows down the modulational growth of the seed axial flow shear, and thus reduces intrinsic axial flow production. Azimuthal flow shear reduces both the residual Reynolds stress (of axial flow, i.e., ΠxzR e s ) and turbulent viscosity ( χzDW ) by the same factor |⟨vy⟩'|-2Δx-2Ln-2ρs2cs2 , where Δx is the distance relative to the reference point where ⟨vy⟩=0 in the plasma frame. Therefore, the stationary state axial flow shear is not affected by azimuthal flow shear to leading order since ⟨vz⟩'˜ΠxzR e s/χzDW .

An Experimental Investigation of Forced Mixing of a Turbulent Boundary Layer in an Annular Diffuser. Ph.D. Thesis - Ohio State Univ.; [for boundary layer control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaw, R. J.

1979-01-01

The forced mixing process of a turbulent boundary layer in an axisymmetric annular diffuser using conventional wing-like vortex generators was studied. Flow field measurements were made at four axial locations downstream of the vortex generators. At each axial location, a total of 25 equally spaced profiles were measured behind three consecutive vortex generators which formed two pairs of vortex generators. Hot film anemometry probes measured the boundary layer turbulence structure at the same locations where pressure measurements were made. Both single and cross film probes were used. The diffuser turbulence data was teken only for a nominal inlet Mach number of 0.3. Three vortex generator configurations were tested. The differences between configurations involved changes in size and relative vortex generator positions. All three vortex generator configurations tested provided increases in diffuser performance. Distinct differences in the boundary layer integral properties and skin friction levels were noted between configurations. The axial turbulence intensity and Reynolds stress profiles measured displayed similarities in trends but differences in levels for the three configurations.

Visualization of grid-generated turbulence in He II using PTV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mastracci, B.; Guo, W.

2017-12-01

Due to its low viscosity, cryogenic He II has potential use for simulating large-scale, high Reynolds number turbulent flow in a compact and efficient apparatus. To realize this potential, the behavior of the fluid in the simplest cases, such as turbulence generated by flow past a mesh grid, must be well understood. We have designed, constructed, and commissioned an apparatus to visualize the evolution of turbulence in the wake of a mesh grid towed through He II. Visualization is accomplished using the particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) technique, where μm-sized tracer particles are introduced to the flow, illuminated with a planar laser sheet, and recorded by a scientific imaging camera; the particles move with the fluid, and tracking their motion with a computer algorithm results in a complete map of the turbulent velocity field in the imaging region. In our experiment, this region is inside a carefully designed He II filled cast acrylic channel measuring approximately 16 × 16 × 330 mm. One of three different grids, which have mesh numbers M = 3, 3.75, or 5 mm, can be attached to the pulling system which moves it through the channel with constant velocity up to 600 mm/s. The consequent motion of the solidified deuterium tracer particles is used to investigate the energy statistics, effective kinematic viscosity, and quantized vortex dynamics in turbulent He II.

Documentation of Two- and Three-Dimensional Hypersonic Shock Wave/Turbulent Boundary Layer Interaction Flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kussoy, Marvin I.; Horstman, Clifford C.

1989-01-01

Experimental data for a series of two- and three-dimensional shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interaction flows at Mach 7 are presented. Test bodies, composed of simple geometric shapes, were designed to generate flows with varying degrees of pressure gradient, boundary-layer separation, and turning angle. The data include surface-pressure and heat-transfer distributions as well as limited mean-flow-field surveys in both the undisturbed and the interaction regimes. The data are presented in a convenient form for use in validating existing or future computational models of these generic hypersonic flows.

Generation and characterization of gas bubbles in liquid metals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eckert, S.; Gerbeth, G.; Witke, W.

1996-06-01

There is an ongoing research performed in the RCR on local transport phenomena in turbulent liquid metal (LM) duct flows exposed to external magnetic fields. In this context so-called MHD flow phenomena can be observed, which are unknown in usual hydraulic engineering. The field of interest covers also the influence of magnetic fields on the behaviour of liquid metal - gas mixtures. Profound knowledge on these LMMHD two-phase flow plays an important role in a variety of technological applications, in particular, in the design of Liquid-Metal MHD generators or for several metallurgical processes employing gas-stirred reactors. However, the highly empiricalmore » nature of two-phase flow analysis gives little hope for the prediction of MHD two-phase flows without extensive experimental data. A summary is given about the authors research activities focussing on two directions: (a) Momentum transfer between gas and liquid metal in a bubbly flow regime to investigate the influence of the external magnetic field on the velocity slip ration S (b) Peculiarities of the MHD turbulence to use small gas bubbles as local tracers in order to study the turbulent mass transfer.« less

Helical vortices generated by flapping wings of bumblebees

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farge, Marie; Engels, Thomas; Kolomenskiy, Dmitry; Schneider, Kai; Lehmann, Fritz; Sesterhenn, Jörn

2016-11-01

We analyze high resolution numerical simulation data of a bumblebee with fixed body and prescribed wing motion, flying in a numerical wind tunnel, presented in. The inflow condition of the tunnel varies from unperturbed laminar to strongly turbulent. The flow generated by the flapping wings indicates the important role of the leading edge vortex (LEV), responsible for elevated lift production and which is not significantly altered by the inflow turbulence. The LEV has a conical structure due to the three-dimensional motion of the wings. This flow configuration produces strong vorticity on the sharp leading edge and the outwards velocity (from the root to the tip of the wing) in the spanwise direction. Flow visualizations show that the generated vortical structures are characterized by a strong helicity. We study the evolution of the mean helicity for each wing and analyze the impact of turbulent inflow. We thankfully acknowledge financial support from the French-German AIFIT project funded by DFG and ANR (Grant 15-CE40-0019). DK gratefully acknowledges financial support from the JSPS postdoctoral fellowship.

Active turbulence in a gas of self-assembled spinners

PubMed Central

Kokot, Gašper; Das, Shibananda; Winkler, Roland G.; Aranson, Igor S.; Snezhko, Alexey

2017-01-01

Colloidal particles subject to an external periodic forcing exhibit complex collective behavior and self-assembled patterns. A dispersion of magnetic microparticles confined at the air–liquid interface and energized by a uniform uniaxial alternating magnetic field exhibits dynamic arrays of self-assembled spinners rotating in either direction. Here, we report on experimental and simulation studies of active turbulence and transport in a gas of self-assembled spinners. We show that the spinners, emerging as a result of spontaneous symmetry breaking of clock/counterclockwise rotation of self-assembled particle chains, generate vigorous vortical flows at the interface. An ensemble of spinners exhibits chaotic dynamics due to self-generated advection flows. The same-chirality spinners (clockwise or counterclockwise) show a tendency to aggregate and form dynamic clusters. Emergent self-induced interface currents promote active diffusion that could be tuned by the parameters of the external excitation field. Furthermore, the erratic motion of spinners at the interface generates chaotic fluid flow reminiscent of 2D turbulence. Our work provides insight into fundamental aspects of collective transport in active spinner materials and yields rules for particle manipulation at the microscale. PMID:29158382

The impact of turbulent fluctuations on light propagation in a controlled environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matt, Silvia; Hou, Weilin; Goode, Wesley

2014-05-01

Underwater temperature and salinity microstructure can lead to localized changes in the index of refraction and can be a limiting factor in oceanic environments. This optical turbulence can affect electro-optical (EO) signal transmissions that impact various applications, from diver visibility to active and passive remote sensing. To quantify the scope of the impacts from turbulent flows on EO signal transmission, and to examine and mitigate turbulence effects, we perform experiments in a controlled turbulence environment allowing the variation of turbulence intensity. This controlled turbulence setup is implemented at the Naval Research Laboratory Stennis Space Center (NRLSSC). Convective turbulence is generated in a classical Rayleigh-Benard tank and the turbulent flow is quantified using a state-of-the-art suite of sensors that includes high-resolution Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter profilers and fast thermistor probes. The measurements are complemented by very high- resolution non-hydrostatic numerical simulations. These computational fluid dynamics simulations allow for a more complete characterization of the convective flow in the laboratory tank than would be provided by measurements alone. Optical image degradation in the tank is assessed in relation to turbulence intensity. The unique approach of integrating optical techniques, turbulence measurements and numerical simulations helps advance our understanding of how to mitigate the effects of turbulence impacts on underwater optical signal transmission, as well as of the use of optical techniques to probe oceanic processes.

Anisotropy in pair dispersion of inertial particles in turbulent channel flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pitton, Enrico; Marchioli, Cristian; Lavezzo, Valentina; Soldati, Alfredo; Toschi, Federico

2012-07-01

The rate at which two particles separate in turbulent flows is of central importance to predict the inhomogeneities of particle spatial distribution and to characterize mixing. Pair separation is analyzed for the specific case of small, inertial particles in turbulent channel flow to examine the role of mean shear and small-scale turbulent velocity fluctuations. To this aim an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach based on pseudo-spectral direct numerical simulation (DNS) of fully developed gas-solid flow at shear Reynolds number Reτ = 150 is used. Pair separation statistics have been computed for particles with different inertia (and for inertialess tracers) released from different regions of the channel. Results confirm that shear-induced effects predominate when the pair separation distance becomes comparable to the largest scale of the flow. Results also reveal the fundamental role played by particles-turbulence interaction at the small scales in triggering separation during the initial stages of pair dispersion. These findings are discussed examining Lagrangian observables, including the mean square separation, which provide prima facie evidence that pair dispersion in non-homogeneous anisotropic turbulence has a superdiffusive nature and may generate non-Gaussian number density distributions of both particles and tracers. These features appear to persist even when the effects of shear dispersion are filtered out, and exhibit strong dependency on particle inertia. Application of present results is discussed in the context of modelling approaches for particle dispersion in wall-bounded turbulent flows.

Simulation of a turbulent supersonic underexpanded jet flowing into a submerged space with the help of a shear stress transfer model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isaev, S. A.; Lipnitskii, Yu. M.; Baranov, P. A.; Panasenko, A. V.; Usachov, A. E.

2012-11-01

We have calculated the flow of an axisymmetric turbulent supersonic underexpanded jet into a submerged space with the help of the VP2/3 package as part of the generalized pressure correction procedure. The shear stress transfer model modified with account for the curvature of streamlines has been verified on the basis of comparison with V. I. Zapryagaev's data obtained at the S. A. Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The influence of the generated vortex viscosity on the shock-wave structure of the jet, the field of flow parameters, and the turbulence characteristics has been analyzed.

Design of an Efficient Turbulent Micro-Mixer for Protein Folding Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inguva, Venkatesh; Perot, Blair

2015-11-01

Protein folding studies require the development of micro-mixers that require less sample, mix at faster rates, and still provide a high signal to noise ratio. Chaotic to marginally turbulent micro-mixers are promising candidates for this application. In this study, various turbulence and unsteadiness generation concepts are explored that avoid cavitation. The mixing enhancements include flow turning regions, flow splitters, and vortex shedding. The relative effectiveness of these different approaches for rapid micro-mixing is discussed. Simulations found that flow turning regions provided the best mixing profile. Experimental validation of the optimal design is verified through laser confocal microscopy experiments. This work is support by the National Science Foundation.

Bioinspired surfaces for turbulent drag reduction

PubMed Central

Golovin, Kevin B.; Gose, James W.; Perlin, Marc; Ceccio, Steven L.; Tuteja, Anish

2016-01-01

In this review, we discuss how superhydrophobic surfaces (SHSs) can provide friction drag reduction in turbulent flow. Whereas biomimetic SHSs are known to reduce drag in laminar flow, turbulence adds many new challenges. We first provide an overview on designing SHSs, and how these surfaces can cause slip in the laminar regime. We then discuss recent studies evaluating drag on SHSs in turbulent flow, both computationally and experimentally. The effects of streamwise and spanwise slip for canonical, structured surfaces are well characterized by direct numerical simulations, and several experimental studies have validated these results. However, the complex and hierarchical textures of scalable SHSs that can be applied over large areas generate additional complications. Many studies on such surfaces have measured no drag reduction, or even a drag increase in turbulent flow. We discuss how surface wettability, roughness effects and some newly found scaling laws can help explain these varied results. Overall, we discuss how, to effectively reduce drag in turbulent flow, an SHS should have: preferentially streamwise-aligned features to enhance favourable slip, a capillary resistance of the order of megapascals, and a roughness no larger than 0.5, when non-dimensionalized by the viscous length scale. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Bioinspired hierarchically structured surfaces for green science’. PMID:27354731

Bioinspired surfaces for turbulent drag reduction.

PubMed

Golovin, Kevin B; Gose, James W; Perlin, Marc; Ceccio, Steven L; Tuteja, Anish

2016-08-06

In this review, we discuss how superhydrophobic surfaces (SHSs) can provide friction drag reduction in turbulent flow. Whereas biomimetic SHSs are known to reduce drag in laminar flow, turbulence adds many new challenges. We first provide an overview on designing SHSs, and how these surfaces can cause slip in the laminar regime. We then discuss recent studies evaluating drag on SHSs in turbulent flow, both computationally and experimentally. The effects of streamwise and spanwise slip for canonical, structured surfaces are well characterized by direct numerical simulations, and several experimental studies have validated these results. However, the complex and hierarchical textures of scalable SHSs that can be applied over large areas generate additional complications. Many studies on such surfaces have measured no drag reduction, or even a drag increase in turbulent flow. We discuss how surface wettability, roughness effects and some newly found scaling laws can help explain these varied results. Overall, we discuss how, to effectively reduce drag in turbulent flow, an SHS should have: preferentially streamwise-aligned features to enhance favourable slip, a capillary resistance of the order of megapascals, and a roughness no larger than 0.5, when non-dimensionalized by the viscous length scale.This article is part of the themed issue 'Bioinspired hierarchically structured surfaces for green science'. © 2016 The Author(s).

Why turbulence sustains in supercritically stratified free atmosphere?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zilitinkevich, Sergej

2016-04-01

It is widely believed that in very stable stratifications, at Richardson numbers (Ri) exceeding critical value Ric ˜ 0.25 turbulence decays and flow becomes laminar. This is so at low Reynolds numbers (Re), e.g., in lab experiments; but this is not true in very-high-Re geophysical flows. Free atmosphere and deep ocean are turbulent in spite of strongly supercritical stratifications: 1 << Ri < 103. Until recently, this paradox remained unexplained. The Energy- and Flux-Budget (EFB) turbulence-closure (Zilitinkevich et al., 2013) has disclosed the following turbulence self-control mechanisms. Until recently, the role of negative buoyancy flux, Fb > 0, in turbulence energetics was treated in terms of the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) budget equation and understood as just consumption of TKE by the buoyancy forces. This has led to the conclusion that sufficiently strong static stability causes the negative buoyancy flux sufficiently strong to exceed the TKE generation rate and thus to kill turbulence. However, considering TKE equation together with budget equation for turbulent potential energy (TPE proportional to the squared buoyancy fluctuations) shows that the role of Fb in turbulence energetics is nothing but conversion of TKE into TPE (Fb just quantifies the rate of this conversion); so that Fb does not affect total turbulent energy (TTE = TKE + TPE). Moreover, as follows from the buoyancy-flux budget equation, TPE generates positive (directed upward) buoyancy flux irrespective of the sign of the buoyancy gradient. Indeed, the warmer fluid particles (with positive buoyancy fluctuation) rise up, whereas the cooler particles sink down, so that both contribute to the positive buoyancy flux opposing to the usual, negative flux generated by mean buoyancy gradient. In this context, strengthening the negative buoyancy flux leads to decreasing TKE and increasing TPE. The latter enhances the counter-gradient share of the total flux, thus reduces |Fb| and, eventually, increases TKE. The above negative feedback was disregarded in the conventional concept of down-gradient turbulent transport. This mechanism imposes a limit on the maximal (independent of the buoyancy gradient) value of |Fb| and thus prevents degeneration of turbulence. The EFB theory has predicted that the critical Richardson number, Ric ˜ 0.25, characterising the hydrodynamic instability limit and the turbulent-laminar flow threshold at low Reynolds numbers, remains a principal threshold also in the very-high-Re turbulence; but here it separates the two turbulent regimes of dramatically different nature: Ri < Ric: the familiar "strong-mixing turbulence" typical of boundary-layer flows, wherein turbulent Prandtl number remaines practically constant: PrT ˜ 1 (the so-called "Reynolds analogy"); Ri > Ric: the newly revealed "wave-like turbulence" typical of the free atmosphere and deep ocean, wherein sharply increases with increasing Ri (asymptotically as PrT ≈ 5 Ri). This theoretical finding fits well with experimental evidence. Modellers long ago knew that turbulent heat transfer in the free atmosphere should be taken much weaker than the momentum transfer. The EFB theory gives authentic formulation for this rule and provides physically grounded method for modelling turbulence up to very stable startifications.

PIV measurement of high-Reynolds-number homogeneous and isotropic turbulence in an enclosed flow apparatus with fan agitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dou, Zhongwang; Pecenak, Zachary K.; Cao, Lujie; Woodward, Scott H.; Liang, Zach; Meng, Hui

2016-03-01

Enclosed flow apparatuses with negligible mean flow are emerging as alternatives to wind tunnels for laboratory studies of homogeneous and isotropic turbulence (HIT) with or without aerosol particles, especially in experimental validation of Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS). It is desired that these flow apparatuses generate HIT at high Taylor-microscale Reynolds numbers ({{R}λ} ) and enable accurate measurement of turbulence parameters including kinetic energy dissipation rate and thereby {{R}λ} . We have designed an enclosed, fan-driven, highly symmetric truncated-icosahedron ‘soccer ball’ airflow apparatus that enables particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) and other whole-field flow measurement techniques. To minimize gravity effect on inertial particles and improve isotropy, we chose fans instead of synthetic jets as flow actuators. We developed explicit relations between {{R}λ} and physical as well as operational parameters of enclosed HIT chambers. To experimentally characterize turbulence in this near-zero-mean flow chamber, we devised a new two-scale PIV approach utilizing two independent PIV systems to obtain both high resolution and large field of view. Velocity measurement results show that turbulence in the apparatus achieved high homogeneity and isotropy in a large central region (48 mm diameter) of the chamber. From PIV-measured velocity fields, we obtained turbulence dissipation rates and thereby {{R}λ} by using the second-order velocity structure function. A maximum {{R}λ} of 384 was achieved. Furthermore, experiments confirmed that the root mean square (RMS) velocity increases linearly with fan speed, and {{R}λ} increases with the square root of fan speed. Characterizing turbulence in such apparatus paves the way for further investigation of particle dynamics in particle-laden homogeneous and isotropic turbulence.

An observational study of turbulence inside a closed basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Peijian; Zhong, Shiyuan; Whiteman, C. David; Horst, Tom; Bian, Xindi

2010-12-01

Data from a flux tower on the floor of Arizona's Meteor Crater are compared to data on the plain outside the crater to determine the impact of basin topography on surface-layer mean and turbulence properties, focusing particularly on windy periods. The bowl-shaped crater amplifies the diurnal oscillations of temperature and heat fluxes, with the amplification most pronounced under quiescent synoptic conditions. The crater's rim shelters the crater atmosphere from mean background flows so that wind speeds inside the crater are usually less than half the speeds on the outside plain. But flows in the crater are much more turbulent, with turbulence presumably generated by the conversion of mean flow into turbulent motion. On days with near-surface winds outside the crater greater than 10 m s-1, turbulent kinetic energy can reach extremely large values (˜15 m2 s-2) inside the crater. Compared to the velocity and temperature spectra outside, spectral peaks occur at lower frequencies inside the crater, especially for the cross-stream wind component. The surface layer is very shallow (<2 m) on the crater floor, suggesting that the similarity theory-based empirical formulas may not be useful for describing properties of the flow at that location.

Three dimensional investigation of the shock train structure in a convergent-divergent nozzle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mousavi, Seyed Mahmood; Roohi, Ehsan

2014-12-01

Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics analyses have been employed to study the compressible and turbulent flow of the shock train in a convergent-divergent nozzle. The primary goal is to determine the behavior, location, and number of shocks. In this context, full multi-grid initialization, Reynolds stress turbulence model (RSM), and the grid adaption techniques in the Fluent software are utilized under the 3D investigation. The results showed that RSM solution matches with the experimental data suitably. The effects of applying heat generation sources and changing inlet flow total temperature have been investigated. Our simulations showed that changes in the heat generation rate and total temperature of the intake flow influence on the starting point of shock, shock strength, minimum pressure, as well as the maximum flow Mach number.

Flow field topology of submerged jets with fractal generated turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cafiero, Gioacchino; Discetti, Stefano; Astarita, Tommaso

2015-11-01

Fractal grids (FGs) have been recently an object of numerous investigations due to the interesting capability of generating turbulence at multiple scales, thus paving the way to tune mixing and scalar transport. The flow field topology of a turbulent air jet equipped with a square FG is investigated by means of planar and volumetric particle image velocimetry. The comparison with the well-known features of a round jet without turbulence generators is also presented. The Reynolds number based on the nozzle exit section diameter for all the experiments is set to about 15 000. It is demonstrated that the presence of the grid enhances the entrainment rate and, as a consequence, the scalar transfer of the jet. Moreover, due to the effect of the jet external shear layer on the wake shed by the grid bars, the turbulence production region past the grid is significantly shortened with respect to the documented behavior of fractal grids in free-shear conditions. The organization of the large coherent structures in the FG case is also analyzed and discussed. Differently from the well-known generation of toroidal vortices due to the growth of azimuthal disturbances within the jet shear layer, the fractal grid introduces cross-wise disturbs which produce streamwise vortices; these structures, although characterized by a lower energy content, have a deeper streamwise penetration than the ring vortices, thus enhancing the entrainment process.

Plasma issues associated with the use of electrodynamic tethers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hastings, D. E.

1986-01-01

The use of an electrodynamic tether to generate power or thrust on the space station raises important plasma issues associted with the current flow. In addition to the issue of current closure through the space station, high power tethers (equal to or greater than tens of kilowatts) require the use of plasma contactors to enhance the current flow. They will generate large amounts of electrostatic turbulence in the vicinity of the space station. This is because the contactors work best when a large amount of current driven turbulence is excited. Current work is reviewed and future directions suggested.

Generation and development of small-amplitude disturbances in a laminar boundary layer in the presence of an acoustic field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kachanov, Y. S.; Kozlov, V. V.; Levchenko, V. Y.

1985-01-01

A low-turbulence subsonic wind tunnel was used to study the influence of acoustic disturbances on the development of small sinusoidal oscillations (Tollmien-Schlichting waves) which constitute the initial phase of turbulent transition. It is found that acoustic waves propagating opposite to the flow generate vibrations of the model (plate) in the flow. Neither the plate vibrations nor the acoustic field itself have any appreciable influence on the stability of the laminar boundary layer. The influence of an acoustic field on laminar boundary layer disturbances is limited to the generation of Tollmien-Schlichting waves at the leading-edge of the plate.

Direct numerical simulation of transition and turbulence in a spatially evolving boundary layer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rai, Man M.; Moin, Parviz

1991-01-01

A high-order-accurate finite-difference approach to direct simulations of transition and turbulence in compressible flows is described. Attention is given to the high-free-stream disturbance case in which transition to turbulence occurs close to the leading edge. In effect, computation requirements are reduced. A method for numerically generating free-stream disturbances is presented.

Can fractal objects operate as efficient inline mixers?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laizet, Sylvain; Vassilicos, John; Turbulence, Mixing; Flow Control Group Team

2011-11-01

Recently, Hurst & Vassilicos, PoF 2007, Seoud & Vassilicos, PoF 2007, Mazellier & Vassilicos, PoF, 2010 used different multiscale grids to generate turbulence in a wind tunnel and have shown that complex multiscale boundary/initial conditions can drastically influence the behaviour of a turbulent flow, but that the detailled specific nature of the multiscale geometry matters too. Multiscale (fractal) objects can be designed to be immersed in any fluid flow where there is a need to control and design the turbulence generated by the object. Different types of multiscale objects can be designed as different types of energy-efficient mixers with varying degrees of high turbulent intensities, small pressure drop and downstream distance from the grid where the turbulence is most vigorous. Here, we present a 3D DNS study of the stirring and mixing of a passive scalar by turbulence generated with either a fractal square grid or a regular grid in the presence of a mean scalar gradient. The results show that: (1) there is a linear increase for the passive scalar variance for both grids, (2) the passive scalar variance is ten times bigger for the fractal grid, (3) the passive scalar flux is constant after the production region for both grids, (4) the passive scalar flux is enhanced by an order of magnitude for the fractal grid. We acknowledge support from EPSRC, UK.

An implementation of an aeroacoustic prediction model for broadband noise from a vertical axis wind turbine using a CFD informed methodology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Botha, J. D. M.; Shahroki, A.; Rice, H.

2017-12-01

This paper presents an enhanced method for predicting aerodynamically generated broadband noise produced by a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT). The method improves on existing work for VAWT noise prediction and incorporates recently developed airfoil noise prediction models. Inflow-turbulence and airfoil self-noise mechanisms are both considered. Airfoil noise predictions are dependent on aerodynamic input data and time dependent Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) calculations are carried out to solve for the aerodynamic solution. Analytical flow methods are also benchmarked against the CFD informed noise prediction results to quantify errors in the former approach. Comparisons to experimental noise measurements for an existing turbine are encouraging. A parameter study is performed and shows the sensitivity of overall noise levels to changes in inflow velocity and inflow turbulence. Noise sources are characterised and the location and mechanism of the primary sources is determined, inflow-turbulence noise is seen to be the dominant source. The use of CFD calculations is seen to improve the accuracy of noise predictions when compared to the analytic flow solution as well as showing that, for inflow-turbulence noise sources, blade generated turbulence dominates the atmospheric inflow turbulence.

PDF calculation of scalar mixing layer with simple chemical reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanzaki, Takao; Pope, Stephen B.

1999-11-01

A joint velocity-composition-turbulent frequency PDF(JPDF) model is used to simulate reactive mixing layer in a grid-generated turbulence with the influence of second-order irreversible chemical reactions. To investigate the effects of molecular mixing, a gas flow and a liquid flow are simulated. For a gas flow, the oxidation reaction (NO+ O3 arrow NO2 +O2 ) between nitricoxide (NO) and ozone (O3 ) is used. For a liquid flow, the saponification reaction(NaOH+HCOOCH3 arrow HCOONa+CH_3OH) between sodiumhydroxide(NaOH) and methylformate(HCOOCH_3) is used. The both cases are moderately fast reactions. Therefore, reactive scalar statistics are affected by turbulent mixing. The results of caliculation are compared with experimental data of Komori et al.(1994) and Bilger et al.(1991)

Effect of Resonant Magnetic Perturbations on secondary structures in Drift-Wave turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leconte, Michael

2011-10-01

In this work, we study the effects of RMPs on turbulence, flows and confinement, in the framework of two paradigmatic models, resistive ballooning and resistive drift waves. For resistive ballooning turbulence, we use 3D global numerical simulations, including RMP fields and (externally-imposed) sheared rotation profile. Without RMPs, relaxation oscillations of the pressure profile occur. With RMPs, results show that long-lived convection cells are generated by the combined effects of pressure modulation and toroidal curvature coupling. These modify the global structure of the turbulence and eliminate relaxation oscillations. This effect is due mainly to a modification of the pressure profile linked to the presence of residual magnetic island chains. Hence convection-cell generation increases for increasing δBr/B0. For RMP effect on zonal flows in drift wave turbulence, we extend the Hasegawa-Wakatani model to include RMP fields. The effect of the RMPs is to induce a linear coupling between the zonal electric field and the zonal density gradient, which drives the system to a state of electron radial force balance for large δBr/B0. Both the vorticity flux (Reynolds stress), and particle flux are modulated. We derive an extended predator prey model which couples zonal potential and density dynamics to the evolution of turbulence intensity. This model has both turbulence drive and RMP amplitude as control parameters, and predicts a novel type of transport bifurcation in the presence of RMPs. We find a novel set of system states that are similar to the Hmode-like state of the standard predator-prey model, but for which the power threshold is now a function of the RMP strength. For small RMP amplitude and low collisionality, both the ambient turbulence and zonal flow energy increase with δBr/B0. For larger RMP strength, the turbulence energy increases, but the energy of zonal flows decreases with δBr/B0, corresponding to a damping of zonal flows. At high collisionnality, zonal flow damping occurs even at small RMP amplitude. Finally, for very strong values of δBr/B0, the system bifurcates back to an Lmode-like state. This work was supported by the World Class Institute (WCI) Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Korea (MEST).

Remote visualization and scale analysis of large turbulence datatsets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Livescu, D.; Pulido, J.; Burns, R.; Canada, C.; Ahrens, J.; Hamann, B.

2015-12-01

Accurate simulations of turbulent flows require solving all the dynamically relevant scales of motions. This technique, called Direct Numerical Simulation, has been successfully applied to a variety of simple flows; however, the large-scale flows encountered in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (GFD) would require meshes outside the range of the most powerful supercomputers for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, the current generation of petascale computers has enabled unprecedented simulations of many types of turbulent flows which focus on various GFD aspects, from the idealized configurations extensively studied in the past to more complex flows closer to the practical applications. The pace at which such simulations are performed only continues to increase; however, the simulations themselves are restricted to a small number of groups with access to large computational platforms. Yet the petabytes of turbulence data offer almost limitless information on many different aspects of the flow, from the hierarchy of turbulence moments, spectra and correlations, to structure-functions, geometrical properties, etc. The ability to share such datasets with other groups can significantly reduce the time to analyze the data, help the creative process and increase the pace of discovery. Using the largest DOE supercomputing platforms, we have performed some of the biggest turbulence simulations to date, in various configurations, addressing specific aspects of turbulence production and mixing mechanisms. Until recently, the visualization and analysis of such datasets was restricted by access to large supercomputers. The public Johns Hopkins Turbulence database simplifies the access to multi-Terabyte turbulence datasets and facilitates turbulence analysis through the use of commodity hardware. First, one of our datasets, which is part of the database, will be described and then a framework that adds high-speed visualization and wavelet support for multi-resolution analysis of turbulence will be highlighted. The addition of wavelet support reduces the latency and bandwidth requirements for visualization, allowing for many concurrent users, and enables new types of analyses, including scale decomposition and coherent feature extraction.

Zonostrophic turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galperin, Boris; Sukoriansky, Semion; Dikovskaya, Nadejda

2008-12-01

Geostrophic turbulence is a flow regime attained by turbulent, rotating, stably stratified fluids in near-geostrophic balance. When a small-scale forcing is present, flows in this regime may develop an inverse energy cascade. Geostrophic turbulence has been used in geophysical fluid dynamics as a relatively simple model of the large-scale planetary and terrestrial circulations. When the meridional variation of the Coriolis parameter (or a β-effect) is taken into account, the horizontal flow symmetry breaks down giving rise to the emergence of jet flows. In a certain parameter range, a new flow regime comes to life. Its main characteristics include strongly anisotropic kinetic energy spectrum and slowly evolving systems of alternating zonal jets. This regime is a subset of geostrophic turbulence and has been coined zonostrophic turbulence; it can develop both on a β-plane and on the surface of a rotating sphere. This regime was first discovered in computer simulations but later revealed in the laboratory experiments, in the deep terrestrial oceans, and on solar giant planets where it is believed to be the primary physical mechanism responsible for the generation and maintenance of the stable systems of alternating zonal jets. The hallmarks of zonostrophic turbulence are the anisotropic inverse energy cascade and complicated interaction between turbulence and Rossby-Haurwitz waves. Addressing the goals of the conference 'Turbulent Mixing and Beyond' that took place in August 2007 in Trieste, Italy, this paper exposes the regime of zonostrophic turbulence to a wide scientific community, provides a survey of this regime, elaborates its main characteristics, offers novel approaches to describe and understand this phenomenon, and discusses its applicability as a model of the large-scale planetary and terrestrial circulations.

Influence of regional nighttime atmospheric regimes on canopy turbulence and gradients at a closed and open forest in mountain-valley terrain

DOE PAGES

Wharton, S.; Ma, S.; Baldocchi, D. D.; ...

2017-02-07

Stable stratification of the nocturnal lower boundary layer inhibits convective turbulence, such that turbulent vertical transfer of ecosystem carbon dioxide (CO 2), water vapor (H 2O) and energy is driven by mechanically forced turbulence, either from frictional forces near the ground or top of a plant canopy, or from shear generated aloft. The significance of this last source of turbulence on canopy flow characteristics in a closed and open forest canopy is addressed in this paper. We present micrometeorological observations of the lower boundary layer and canopy air space collected on nearly 200 nights using a combination of atmospheric lasermore » detection and ranging (lidar), eddy covariance (EC), and tower profiling instrumentation. Two AmeriFlux/Fluxnet sites in mountain-valley terrain in the Western U.S. are investigated: Wind River, a tall, dense conifer canopy, and Tonzi Ranch, a short, open oak canopy. On roughly 40% of nights lidar detected down-valley or downslope flows above the canopy at both sites. Nights with intermittent strong bursts of “top-down” forced turbulence were also observed above both canopies. The strongest of these bursts increased sub-canopy turbulence and reduced canopy virtual potential temperature (θv) gradient at Tonzi, but did not appear to change the flow characteristics within the dense Wind River canopy. At Tonzi we observed other times when high turbulence (via friction velocity, u*) was found just above the trees, yet CO2 and θv gradients remained large and suggested flow decoupling. These events were triggered by regional downslope flow. Lastly, a set of turbulence parameters is evaluated for estimating canopy turbulence mixing strength. The relationship between turbulence parameters and canopy θv gradients was found to be complex, although better agreement between the canopy θv gradient and turbulence was found for parameters based on the standard deviation of vertical velocity, or ratios of 3-D turbulence to mean flow, than for u*. These findings add evidence that the relationship between canopy turbulence, static stability, and canopy mixing is far from straightforward even within an open canopy.« less

Influence of regional nighttime atmospheric regimes on canopy turbulence and gradients at a closed and open forest in mountain-valley terrain

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wharton, S.; Ma, S.; Baldocchi, D. D.

Stable stratification of the nocturnal lower boundary layer inhibits convective turbulence, such that turbulent vertical transfer of ecosystem carbon dioxide (CO 2), water vapor (H 2O) and energy is driven by mechanically forced turbulence, either from frictional forces near the ground or top of a plant canopy, or from shear generated aloft. The significance of this last source of turbulence on canopy flow characteristics in a closed and open forest canopy is addressed in this paper. We present micrometeorological observations of the lower boundary layer and canopy air space collected on nearly 200 nights using a combination of atmospheric lasermore » detection and ranging (lidar), eddy covariance (EC), and tower profiling instrumentation. Two AmeriFlux/Fluxnet sites in mountain-valley terrain in the Western U.S. are investigated: Wind River, a tall, dense conifer canopy, and Tonzi Ranch, a short, open oak canopy. On roughly 40% of nights lidar detected down-valley or downslope flows above the canopy at both sites. Nights with intermittent strong bursts of “top-down” forced turbulence were also observed above both canopies. The strongest of these bursts increased sub-canopy turbulence and reduced canopy virtual potential temperature (θv) gradient at Tonzi, but did not appear to change the flow characteristics within the dense Wind River canopy. At Tonzi we observed other times when high turbulence (via friction velocity, u*) was found just above the trees, yet CO2 and θv gradients remained large and suggested flow decoupling. These events were triggered by regional downslope flow. Lastly, a set of turbulence parameters is evaluated for estimating canopy turbulence mixing strength. The relationship between turbulence parameters and canopy θv gradients was found to be complex, although better agreement between the canopy θv gradient and turbulence was found for parameters based on the standard deviation of vertical velocity, or ratios of 3-D turbulence to mean flow, than for u*. These findings add evidence that the relationship between canopy turbulence, static stability, and canopy mixing is far from straightforward even within an open canopy.« less

Interaction of weakly compressible isotropic turbulence with planar expansion waves: Flow anisotropy and vorticity alignment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xanthos, Savvas; Gong, Minwei; Andreopoulos, Yiannis

2010-01-01

Further analysis of the experimental data of the velocity gradient tensor first published by Xanthos et al. [J. Fluid Mech. 584, 301 (2007)] has been carried out and new results are reported here to provide additional insights on the effects of expansion waves interacting with isotropic turbulence. The flow field was generated by the reflection of an incoming shock wave at the open end of a large scale shock tube facility which interacted with the induced flow behind the incident shock wave which passed through a turbulence generating grid. In the present configuration the interaction is free from streamline curvature effects, which cause additional effects on turbulence. The strength of the applied expansive straining was 240 s-1. Rectangular pattern grids of different mesh sizes were used to generate isotropic and homogeneous turbulence with turbulent Reynolds number Reλ based on Taylor's microscale between 450 and 488. Lateral vorticity fluctuations and fluctuations of enstrophy and all stretching vector components are drastically reduced during the interaction. Residual attenuation in the postinteraction flow field was found only in the lateral vorticity fluctuations and in the longitudinal stretching term S11Ω1. Helicity and the helicity angle were computed from the data and the orientation angle of the vorticity vector in reference to the velocity vector was determined. Large fluctuations of the helicity angle were observed which extend from 0° to 180° with most probable values close to 30° and 130° and a mean value of 85°. Rotational dissipation rate was found to be high at these angles. The time-dependent signals of enstrophy, vortex stretching/tilting vector, and dissipation rate were found to exhibit a rather strong intermittent behavior which is characterized by high amplitude bursts followed by low level activities. It was found that the observed strong dissipative events are mostly associated with strong activities in the longitudinal stretching S11Ω1 rather than with events in the lateral components.

One- and two-dimensional Stirling machine simulation using experimentally generated flow turbulence models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldberg, Louis F.

1990-01-01

Investigations of one- and two-dimensional (1- or 2-D) simulations of Stirling machines centered around experimental data generated by the U. of Minnesota Mechanical Engineering Test Rig (METR) are covered. This rig was used to investigate oscillating flows about a zero mean with emphasis on laminar/turbulent flow transitions in tubes. The Space Power Demonstrator Engine (SPDE) and in particular, its heater, were the subjects of the simulations. The heater was treated as a 1- or 2-D entity in an otherwise 1-D system. The 2-D flow effects impacted the transient flow predictions in the heater itself but did not have a major impact on overall system performance. Information propagation effects may be a significant issue in the simulation (if not the performance) of high-frequency, high-pressure Stirling machines. This was investigated further by comparing a simulation against an experimentally validated analytic solution for the fluid dynamics of a transmission line. The applicability of the pressure-linking algorithm for compressible flows may be limited by characteristic number (defined as flow path information traverses per cycle); this warrants further study. Lastly the METR was simulated in 1- and 2-D. A two-parameter k-w foldback function turbulence model was developed and tested against a limited set of METR experimental data.

Augmentation of Stagnation Region Heat Transfer Due to Turbulence From a DLN Can Combustor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

VanFossen, G. James; Bunker, Ronald S.

2000-01-01

Heat transfer measurements have been made in the stagnation region of a flat plate with a circular leading edge. Electrically heated aluminum strips placed symmetrically about the leading edge stagnation region were used to measure spanwise averaged heat transfer coefficients. The maximum Reynolds number obtained, based on leading edge diameter, was about 100,000. The model was immersed in the flow field downstream of an approximately half scale model of a can-type combustor from a low NO(x), ground based power-generating turbine. The tests were conducted with room temperature air; no fuel was added. Room air flowed into the combustor through six vane type fuel/air swirlers. The combustor can contained no dilution holes. The fuel/air swirlers all swirled the incoming airflow in a counter clockwise direction (facing downstream). A 5-hole probe flow field survey in the plane of the model stagnation point showed the flow was one big vortex with flow angles up to 36' at the outer edges of the rectangular test section. Hot wire measurements showed test section flow had very high levels of turbulence, around 28.5 percent, and had a relatively large axial-length scale-to-leading edge diameter ratio of 0.5. X-wire measurements showed the turbulence to be nearly isotropic. Stagnation heat transfer augmentation over laminar levels was around 77 percent and was about 14 percent higher than predicted by a previously developed correlation for isotropic grid generated turbulence.

Generation of large-scale vorticity in rotating stratified turbulence with inhomogeneous helicity: mean-field theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleeorin, N.

2018-06-01

We discuss a mean-field theory of the generation of large-scale vorticity in a rotating density stratified developed turbulence with inhomogeneous kinetic helicity. We show that the large-scale non-uniform flow is produced due to either a combined action of a density stratified rotating turbulence and uniform kinetic helicity or a combined effect of a rotating incompressible turbulence and inhomogeneous kinetic helicity. These effects result in the formation of a large-scale shear, and in turn its interaction with the small-scale turbulence causes an excitation of the large-scale instability (known as a vorticity dynamo) due to a combined effect of the large-scale shear and Reynolds stress-induced generation of the mean vorticity. The latter is due to the effect of large-scale shear on the Reynolds stress. A fast rotation suppresses this large-scale instability.

Large eddy simulations and direct numerical simulations of high speed turbulent reacting flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Givi, P.; Madnia, C. K.; Steinberger, C. J.; Frankel, S. H.

1992-01-01

The basic objective of this research is to extend the capabilities of Large Eddy Simulations (LES) and Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) for the computational analyses of high speed reacting flows. In the efforts related to LES, we were primarily involved with assessing the performance of the various modern methods based on the Probability Density Function (PDF) methods for providing closures for treating the subgrid fluctuation correlations of scalar quantities in reacting turbulent flows. In the work on DNS, we concentrated on understanding some of the relevant physics of compressible reacting flows by means of statistical analysis of the data generated by DNS of such flows. In the research conducted in the second year of this program, our efforts focused on the modeling of homogeneous compressible turbulent flows by PDF methods, and on DNS of non-equilibrium reacting high speed mixing layers. Some preliminary work is also in progress on PDF modeling of shear flows, and also on LES of such flows.

Experimental study of strained and destrained turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jun; Meneveau, Charles; Katz, Joseph

2003-11-01

Planar Particle Image Velocimetry measurements are performed in a water tank facility in which high Reynolds number turbulence is generated by an array of spinning grids. Straining fields are applied using a piston with rectangular cross-section which is pushed towards the bottom of the tank, setting up a planar straining field there. The facility can also be used to reverse the distortion ("destraining'') by pulling the piston upwards. We present calibration tests characterizing the flow in the facility. The initial turbulent state is characterized by means of ditributions of rms values and energy spectra, and corresponds closely to isotropic, homogeneous turbulence. The applied straining is characterized using high-speed camera and PIV measurements of the mean flow without turbulence. Initial results of turbulence subjected to a sequence of straining and destraining motions are presented, with particular emphasis on the flux of kinetic energy from large to small scales and possible backscatter during destraining.

Fluid simulation of tokamak ion temperature gradient turbulence with zonal flow closure model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamagishi, Osamu; Sugama, Hideo

2016-03-01

Nonlinear fluid simulation of turbulence driven by ion temperature gradient modes in the tokamak fluxtube configuration is performed by combining two different closure models. One model is a gyrofluid model by Beer and Hammett [Phys. Plasmas 3, 4046 (1996)], and the other is a closure model to reproduce the kinetic zonal flow response [Sugama et al., Phys. Plasmas 14, 022502 (2007)]. By including the zonal flow closure, generation of zonal flows, significant reduction in energy transport, reproduction of the gyrokinetic transport level, and nonlinear upshift on the critical value of gradient scale length are observed.

Fluid simulation of tokamak ion temperature gradient turbulence with zonal flow closure model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yamagishi, Osamu, E-mail: yamagisi@nifs.ac.jp; Sugama, Hideo

Nonlinear fluid simulation of turbulence driven by ion temperature gradient modes in the tokamak fluxtube configuration is performed by combining two different closure models. One model is a gyrofluid model by Beer and Hammett [Phys. Plasmas 3, 4046 (1996)], and the other is a closure model to reproduce the kinetic zonal flow response [Sugama et al., Phys. Plasmas 14, 022502 (2007)]. By including the zonal flow closure, generation of zonal flows, significant reduction in energy transport, reproduction of the gyrokinetic transport level, and nonlinear upshift on the critical value of gradient scale length are observed.

A New View of the Dynamics of Reynolds Stress Generation in Turbulent Boundary Layers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cantwell, Brian J.; Chacin, Juan M.

1998-01-01

The structure of a numerically simulated turbulent boundary layer over a flat plate at Re(theta) = 670 was studied using the invariants of the velocity gradient tensor (Q and R) and a related scalar quantity, the cubic discriminant (D = 27R(exp 2)/4 + Q(exp 3)). These invariants have previously been used to study the properties of the small-scale motions responsible for the dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy. In addition, these scalar quantities allow the local flow patterns to be unambiguously classified according to the terminology proposed by Chong et al. The use of the discriminant as a marker of coherent motions reveals complex, large-scale flow structures that are shown to be associated with the generation of Reynolds shear stress -u'v'(bar). These motions are characterized by high spatial gradients of the discriminant and are believed to be an important part of the mechanism that sustains turbulence in the near-wall region.

The Surface Pressure Response of a NACA 0015 Airfoil Immersed in Grid Turbulence. Volume 1; Characteristics of the Turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bereketab, Semere; Wang, Hong-Wei; Mish, Patrick; Devenport, William J.

2000-01-01

Two grids have been developed for the Virginia Tech 6 ft x 6 ft Stability wind tunnel for the purpose of generating homogeneous isotropic turbulent flows for the study of unsteady airfoil response. The first, a square bi-planar grid with a 12" mesh size and an open area ratio of 69.4%, was mounted in the wind tunnel contraction. The second grid, a metal weave with a 1.2 in. mesh size and an open area ratio of 68.2% was mounted in the tunnel test section. Detailed statistical and spectral measurements of the turbulence generated by the two grids are presented for wind tunnel free stream speeds of 10, 20, 30 and 40 m/s. These measurements show the flows to be closely homogeneous and isotropic. Both grids produce flows with a turbulence intensity of about 4% at the location planned for the airfoil leading edge. Turbulence produced by the large grid has an integral scale of some 3.2 inches here. Turbulence produced by the small grid is an order of magnitude smaller. For wavenumbers below the upper limit of the inertial subrange, the spectra and correlations measured with both grids at all speeds can be represented using the von Karman interpolation formula with a single velocity and length scale. The spectra maybe accurately represented over the entire wavenumber range by a modification of the von Karman interpolation formula that includes the effects of dissipation. These models are most accurate at the higher speeds (30 and 40 m/s).

Influence of turbulence on the wake of a marine current turbine simulator.

PubMed

Blackmore, T; Batten, W M J; Bahaj, A S

2014-10-08

Marine current turbine commercial prototypes have now been deployed and arrays of multiple turbines under design. The tidal flows in which they operate are highly turbulent, but the characteristics of the inflow turbulence have not being considered in present design methods. This work considers the effects of inflow turbulence on the wake behind an actuator disc representation of a marine current turbine. Different turbulence intensities and integral length scales were generated in a large eddy simulation using a gridInlet, which produces turbulence from a grid pattern on the inlet boundary. The results highlight the significance of turbulence on the wake profile, with a different flow regime occurring for the zero turbulence case. Increasing the turbulence intensity reduced the velocity deficit and shifted the maximum deficit closer to the turbine. Increasing the integral length scale increased the velocity deficit close to the turbine due to an increased production of turbulent energy. However, the wake recovery was increased due to the higher rate of turbulent mixing causing the wake to expand. The implication of this work is that marine current turbine arrays could be further optimized, increasing the energy yield of the array when the site-specific turbulence characteristics are considered.

Influence of turbulence on the wake of a marine current turbine simulator

PubMed Central

Blackmore, T.; Batten, W. M. J.; Bahaj, A. S.

2014-01-01

Marine current turbine commercial prototypes have now been deployed and arrays of multiple turbines under design. The tidal flows in which they operate are highly turbulent, but the characteristics of the inflow turbulence have not being considered in present design methods. This work considers the effects of inflow turbulence on the wake behind an actuator disc representation of a marine current turbine. Different turbulence intensities and integral length scales were generated in a large eddy simulation using a gridInlet, which produces turbulence from a grid pattern on the inlet boundary. The results highlight the significance of turbulence on the wake profile, with a different flow regime occurring for the zero turbulence case. Increasing the turbulence intensity reduced the velocity deficit and shifted the maximum deficit closer to the turbine. Increasing the integral length scale increased the velocity deficit close to the turbine due to an increased production of turbulent energy. However, the wake recovery was increased due to the higher rate of turbulent mixing causing the wake to expand. The implication of this work is that marine current turbine arrays could be further optimized, increasing the energy yield of the array when the site-specific turbulence characteristics are considered. PMID:25294966

Experimental Aeroheating Study of Mid-L/D Entry Vehicle Geometries: NASA LaRC 20-Inch Mach 6 Air Tunnel Test 6966

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hollis, Brian R.; Hollingsworth, Kevin E.

2014-01-01

Aeroheating data on mid lift-to-drag ratio entry vehicle configurations has been obtained through hypersonic wind tunnel testing. Vehicles of this class have been proposed for high-mass Mars missions, such as sample return and crewed exploration, for which the conventional sphere-cone entry vehicle geometries of previous Mars missions are insufficient. Several configurations were investigated, including elliptically-blunted cylinders with both circular and elliptical cross sections, biconic geometries based on launch vehicle dual-use shrouds, and parametrically-optimized analytic geometries. Testing was conducted at Mach 6 over a range of Reynolds numbers sufficient to generate laminar, transitional, and turbulent flow. Global aeroheating data were obtained using phosphor thermography. Both stream-wise and cross-flow transition occured on different configurations. Comparisons were made with laminar and turbulent computational predictions generated with an algebraic turbulence model. Predictions were generally in good agreement in regions of laminar or fully-turbulent flow; however for transitional cases, the lack of a transition onset prediction capability produced less accurate comparisons. The data obtained in this study are intended to be used for prelimary mission design studies and the development and validation of computational methods.

Effects of Fetch on Turbulent Flow and Pollutant Dispersion Within a Cubical Canopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michioka, Takenobu; Takimoto, Hiroshi; Ono, Hiroki; Sato, Ayumu

2018-03-01

The effects of fetch on turbulent flow and pollutant dispersion within a canopy formed by regularly-spaced cubical objects is investigated using large-eddy simulation. Six tracer gases are simultaneously released from a ground-level continuous pollutant line source placed parallel to the spanwise axis at the first, second, third, fifth, seventh and tenth rows. Beyond the seventh row, the standard deviations of the fluctuations in the velocity components and the Reynolds shear stresses reach nearly equivalent states. Low-frequency turbulent flow is generated near the bottom surface around the first row and develops as the fetch increases. The turbulent flow eventually passes through the canopy at a near-constant interval. The mean concentration within the canopy reaches a near-constant value beyond the seventh row. In the first and second rows, narrow coherent structures frequently affect the pollutant escape from the top of the canopy. These structures increase in width as the fetch increases, and they mainly affect the removal of pollutants from the canopy.

Theory of Fine-scale Zonal Flow Generation From Trapped Electron Mode Turbulence

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lu Wang and T.S. Hahm

Most existing zonal flow generation theory has been developed with a usual assumption of qrρθ¡ << 1 (qr is the radial wave number of zonal flow, and ρθ¡ is the ion poloidal gyrora- dius). However, recent nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of trapped electron mode (TEM) turbulence exhibit a relatively short radial scale of the zonal flows with qrρθ¡ ~ 1 [Z. Lin et al., IAEA-CN/TH/P2-8 (2006); D. Ernst et al., Phys. Plasmas 16, 055906 (2009)]. This work reports an extension of zonal flow growth calculation to this short wavelength regime via the wave kinetics approach. A generalized expression for the polarizationmore » shielding for arbitrary radial wavelength [Lu Wang and T.S. Hahm, to appear in Phys. Plasmas (2009)] which extends the Rosenbluth-Hinton formula in the long wavelength limit is applied.« less

Control of flow separation in a turbulent boundary layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, Minjeong; Choi, Sangho; Choi, Haecheon

2015-11-01

Towards the development of successful control methods for separation delay in a turbulent boundary layer, we adopt a model flow field, in which a turbulent separation occurs above a flat plate (Na and Moin 1998 JFM), and apply controls to this flow for reducing the size of the separation bubble and investigating the interaction between the forcing and flow near the separation bubble. We provide a single-frequency forcing with zero net mass flow rate at the upstream of the separation bubble. At low forcing frequencies, spanwise vortices are generated and travel downstream, bringing high momentum toward the wall and reducing the size of the separation bubble. Also, these vortices cause the separation and reattachment points to travel downstream. On the other hand, at high forcing frequencies, the size of the separation bubble becomes smaller and larger in time, respectively, due to the pressure gradient alternating favorably and adversely in time. Supported by NRF-2011-0028032 and 2014048162.

Experimental and theoretical study of combustion jet ignition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, D. Y.; Ghoniem, A. F.; Oppenheim, A. K.

1983-01-01

A combustion jet ignition system was developed to generate turbulent jets of combustion products containing free radicals and to discharge them as ignition sources into a combustible medium. In order to understand the ignition and the inflammation processes caused by combustion jets, the studies of the fluid mechanical properties of turbulent jets with and without combustion were conducted theoretically and experimentally. Experiments using a specially designed igniter, with a prechamber to build up and control the stagnation pressure upstream of the orifice, were conducted to investigate the formation processes of turbulent jets of combustion products. The penetration speed of combustion jets has been found to be constant initially and then decreases monotonically as turbulent jets of combustion products travel closer to the wall. This initial penetration speed to combustion jets is proportional to the initial stagnation pressure upstream of the orifice for the same stoichiometric mixture. Computer simulations by Chorin's Random Vortex Method implemented with the flame propagation algorithm for the theoretical model of turbulent jets with and without combustion were performed to study the turbulent jet flow field. In the formation processes of the turbulent jets, the large-scale eddy structure of turbulence, the so-called coherent structure, dominates the entrainment and mixing processes. The large-scale eddy structure of turbulent jets in this study is constructed by a series of vortex pairs, which are organized in the form of a staggered array of vortex clouds generating local recirculation flow patterns.

Anisotropy of MHD Turbulence at Low Magnetic Reynolds Number

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zikanov, O.; Vorobev, A.; Thess, A.; Davidson, P. A.; Knaepen, B.

2004-01-01

Turbulent fluctuations in MHD flows are known to become dimensionally anisotropic under the action of a sufficiently strong magnetic field. We consider the technologically relevant case of low magnetic Reynolds number and apply the method of DNS of forced flow in a periodic box to generate velocity fields. The analysis based on different anisotropy characteristics shows that the dimensional anisotropy is virtually scale-independent. We also find that, except for the case of very strong magnetic field, the flow is componentally isotropic. Its kinetic energy is practically uniformly distributed among the velocity components.

Simulations of Heterogeneous Detonations and Post Detonation Turbulent Mixing and Afterburning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menon, Suresh; Gottiparthi, Kalyana

2011-06-01

Most metal-loaded explosives and thermobaric explosives exploit the afterburning of metals to maintain pressure and temperature conditions.The use of such explosives in complex environment can result in post detonation flow containing many scales of vortical motion, flow jetting and shear, as well as plume-surface interactions due to flow impingement and wall flows. In general, all these interactions can lead to highly turbulent flow fields even if the initial ambient conditions were quiescent. Thus, turbulent mixing can dominate initial mixing and impact the final afterburn. We conduct three-dimensional numerical simulations of the propagation of detonation resulting from metal-loaded (inert or reacting) explosives and analyze the afterburn process as well as the generation of multiple scales of mixing in the post detonation flow field. Impact of the detonation and post-detonation flow field on solid surface is also considered for a variety of initial conditions. Comparison with available data is carried out to demonstrate validity of the simulation method. Supported by Defense Threat Reduction Agency

Numerical simulation of steady three-dimensional flows in axial turbomachinery bladerows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basson, Anton Herman

The formulation for and application of a numerical model for low Mach number steady three-dimensional flows in axial turbomachinery blade rows is presented. The formulation considered here includes an efficient grid generation scheme (particularly suited to computational grids for the analysis of turbulent turbomachinery flows) and a semi-implicit, pressure-based computational fluid dynamics scheme that directly includes artificial dissipation, applicable to viscous and inviscid flows. The grid generation technique uses a combination of algebraic and elliptic methods, in conjunction with the Minimal Residual Method, to economically generate smooth structured grids. For typical H-grids in turbomachinery bladerows, when compared to a purely elliptic grid generation scheme, the presented grid generation scheme produces grids with much improved smoothness near the leading and trailing edges, allows the use of small near wall grid spacing required by low Reynolds number turbulence models, and maintains orthogonality of the grid near the solid boundaries even for high flow angle cascades. A specialized embedded H-grid for application particularly to tip clearance flows is presented. This topology smoothly discretizes the domain without modifying the tip shape, while requiring only minor modifications to H-grid flow solvers. Better quantitative modeling of the tip clearance vortex structure than that obtained with a pinched tip approximation is demonstrated. The formulation of artificial dissipation terms for a semi-implicit, pressure-based (SIMPLE type) flow solver, is presented. It is applied to both the Euler and the Navier-Stokes equations, expressed in generalized coordinates using a non-staggered grid. This formulation is compared to some SIMPLE and time marching formulations, revealing the artificial dissipation inherent in some commonly used semi-implicit formulations. The effect of the amount of dissipation on the accuracy of the solution and the convergence rate is quantitatively demonstrated for a number of flow cases. The ability of the formulation to model complex steady turbomachinery flows is demonstrated, e.g. for pressure driven secondary flows, turbine nozzle wakes, turbulent boundary layers. The formulation's modeling of blade surface heat transfer is assessed. The numerical model is used to investigate the structure of phenomena associated with tip clearance flows in a turbine nozzle.

Heat transfer in turbulent magneto-fluid-mechanic pipe flow

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Andelman, M.P.

1975-12-01

The ability to predict heat transfer in Magneto-Fluid-Mechanic flow is of importance in light of the development of MHD generators and the proposed development of thermonuclear reactors. In both cases heat transfer from (or to) a conducting fluid in the presence of a magnetic field plays an important part in the overall economics of the system. A semi-empirical analytical method is given for obtaining heat transfer coefficients in turbulent liquid metal pipe flow in the presence of a magnetic field aligned to the flow. The analysis was based on the Lykoudis turbulent transport model with the influence of a longitudinalmore » magnetic field included. The results are shown to be in agreement with available experimental values. Experimental velocity profiles in mercury for pipe flow in a transverse magnetic field were made at a Reynolds number of 315,000; for Hartmann numbers of 0, 92, 184, 369, and 1198; and at orientations of 0 degrees, 45 degrees, and 90 degrees from the magnetic field. These results provide a basis for the determination of the effect of a transverse magnetic field on turbulent diffusivities.« less

Implicit LES of Turbulent, Separated Flow: Wall-Mounted Hump Configuration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sekhar, Susheel; Mansour, Nagi N.; Caubilla, David Higuera

2015-01-01

Direct simulations (ILES) of turbulent, separated flow over the wall-mounted hump configuration is conducted to investigate the physics of separated flows. A chord-based Reynolds number of Re(sub c) = 47,500 is set up, with a turbulent in flow of Re(sub theta) = 1,400 (theta/c = 3%). FDL3DI, a code that solves the compressible Navier-Stokes equations using high- order compact-difference scheme and filter, with the standard recycling/rescaling method of turbulence generation, is used. Two different configurations of the upper-wall are analyzed, and results are compared with both a higher Re(sub c) (= 936,000, Re(sub theta) = 7,200, theta/c = 0.77%) experiment for major flow features, and RANS (k-omega SST) results. A lower Rec allows for DNS-like mesh resolution, and an adequately wide span. Both ILES and RANS show delayed reattachment compared to experiment, and significantly higher skin friction in the forebody of the hump, as expected. The upper-wall shape influences the C(sub p) distribution only. Results from this study are being used to setup higher Rec (lower theta/c) ILES.

Nonlinear saturation of the slab ITG instability and zonal flow generation with fully kinetic ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miecnikowski, Matthew T.; Sturdevant, Benjamin J.; Chen, Yang; Parker, Scott E.

2018-05-01

Fully kinetic turbulence models are of interest for their potential to validate or replace gyrokinetic models in plasma regimes where the gyrokinetic expansion parameters are marginal. Here, we demonstrate fully kinetic ion capability by simulating the growth and nonlinear saturation of the ion-temperature-gradient instability in shearless slab geometry assuming adiabatic electrons and including zonal flow dynamics. The ion trajectories are integrated using the Lorentz force, and the cyclotron motion is fully resolved. Linear growth and nonlinear saturation characteristics show excellent agreement with analogous gyrokinetic simulations across a wide range of parameters. The fully kinetic simulation accurately reproduces the nonlinearly generated zonal flow. This work demonstrates nonlinear capability, resolution of weak gradient drive, and zonal flow physics, which are critical aspects of modeling plasma turbulence with full ion dynamics.

Computation of Vortex Shedding and Radiated Sound for a Circular Cylinder

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cox, Jared S.; Brentner, Kenneth S.; Rumsey, Christopher L.; Younis, Bassam A.

1997-01-01

The Lighthill acoustic analogy approach combined with Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes is used to predict the sound generated by unsteady viscous flow past a circular cylinder assuming a correlation length of ten cylinder diameters. The two- dimensional unsteady ow field is computed using two Navier-Stokes codes at a low Mach number over a range of Reynolds numbers from 100 to 5 million. Both laminar ow as well as turbulent ow with a variety of eddy viscosity turbulence models are employed. Mean drag and Strouhal number are examined, and trends similar to experiments are observed. Computing the noise within the Reynolds number regime where transition to turbulence occurs near the separation point is problematic: laminar flow exhibits chaotic behavior and turbulent ow exhibits strong dependence on the turbulence model employed. Comparisons of far-field noise with experiment at a Reynolds number of 90,000, therefore, vary significantly, depending on the turbulence model. At a high Reynolds number outside this regime, three different turbulence models yield self-consistent results.

Extreme concentration fluctuations due to local reversibility of mixing in turbulent flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Hua; Francois, Nicolas; Punzmann, Horst; Szewc, Kamil; Shats, Michael

2018-05-01

Mixing of a passive scalar in a fluid (e.g. a radioactive spill in the ocean) is the irreversible process towards homogeneous distribution of a substance. In a moving fluid, due to the chaotic advection [H. Aref, J. Fluid Mech. 143 (1984) 1; J. M. Ottino, The Kinematics of Mixing: Stretching,Chaos and Transport (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1989)] mixing is much faster than if driven by molecular diffusion only. Turbulence is known as the most efficient mixing flow [B. I. Shraiman and E. D. Siggia, Nature 405 (2000) 639]. We show that in contrast to spatially periodic flows, two-dimensional turbulence exhibits local reversibility in mixing, which leads to the generation of unpredictable strong fluctuations in the scalar concentration. These fluctuations can also be detected from the analysis of the fluid particle trajectories of the underlying flow.

Numerical Modeling of Turbulent Combustion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghoneim, A. F.; Chorin, A. J.; Oppenheim, A. K.

1983-01-01

The work in numerical modeling is focused on the use of the random vortex method to treat turbulent flow fields associated with combustion while flame fronts are considered as interfaces between reactants and products, propagating with the flow and at the same time advancing in the direction normal to themselves at a prescribed burning speed. The latter is associated with the generation of specific volume (the flame front acting, in effect, as the locus of volumetric sources) to account for the expansion of the flow field due to the exothermicity of the combustion process. The model was applied to the flow in a channel equipped with a rearward facing step. The results obtained revealed the mechanism of the formation of large scale turbulent structure in the wake of the step, while it showed the flame to stabilize on the outer edges of these eddies.

Three Dimensional Compressible Turbulent Flow Computations for a Diffusing S-Duct With/Without Vortex Generators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cho, Soo-Yong; Greber, Isaac

1994-01-01

Numerical investigations on a diffusing S-duct with/without vortex generators and a straight duct with vortex generators are presented. The investigation consists of solving the full three-dimensional unsteady compressible mass averaged Navier-Stokes equations. An implicit finite volume lower-upper time marching code (RPLUS3D) has been employed and modified. A three-dimensional Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model has been modified in conjunction with the flow physics. A model for the analysis of vortex generators in a fully viscous subsonic internal flow is evaluated. A vortical structure for modeling the shed vortex is used as a source term in the computation domain. The injected vortex paths in the straight duct are compared with the analysis by two kinds of prediction models. The flow structure by the vortex generators are investigated along the duct. Computed results of the flow in a circular diffusing S-duct provide an understanding of the flow structure within a typical engine inlet system. These are compared with the experimental wall static-pressure, static- and total-pressure field, and secondary velocity profiles. Additionally, boundary layer thickness, skin friction values, and velocity profiles in wall coordinates are presented. In order to investigate the effect of vortex generators, various vortex strengths are examined in this study. The total-pressure recovery and distortion coefficients are obtained at the exit of the S-duct. The numerical results clearly depict the interaction between the low velocity flow by the flow separation and the injected vortices.

Challenges in Scale-Resolving Simulations of turbulent wake flows with coherent structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pereira, Filipe S.; Eça, Luís; Vaz, Guilherme; Girimaji, Sharath S.

2018-06-01

The objective of this work is to investigate the challenges encountered in Scale-Resolving Simulations (SRS) of turbulent wake flows driven by spatially-developing coherent structures. SRS of practical interest are expressly intended for efficiently computing such flows by resolving only the most important features of the coherent structures and modelling the remainder as stochastic field. The success of SRS methods depends upon three important factors: i) ability to identify key flow mechanisms responsible for the generation of coherent structures; ii) determine the optimum range of resolution required to adequately capture key elements of coherent structures; and iii) ensure that the modelled part is comprised nearly exclusively of fully-developed stochastic turbulence. This study considers the canonical case of the flow around a circular cylinder to address the aforementioned three key issues. It is first demonstrated using experimental evidence that the vortex-shedding instability and flow-structure development involves four important stages. A series of SRS computations of progressively increasing resolution (decreasing cut-off length) are performed. An a priori basis for locating the origin of the coherent structures development is proposed and examined. The criterion is based on the fact that the coherent structures are generated by the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability. The most important finding is that the key aspects of coherent structures can be resolved only if the effective computational Reynolds number (based on total viscosity) exceeds the critical value of the KH instability in laminar flows. Finally, a quantitative criterion assessing the nature of the unresolved field based on the strain-rate ratio of mean and unresolved fields is examined. The two proposed conditions and rationale offer a quantitative basis for developing "good practice" guidelines for SRS of complex turbulent wake flows with coherent structures.

Scaling for turbulent viscosity of buoyant plumes in stratified fluids: PIV measurement with implications for submarine hydrothermal plume turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wei; He, Zhiguo; Jiang, Houshuo

2017-11-01

Time-resolved particle image velocimetry (PIV) has been used to measure instantaneous two-dimensional velocity vector fields of laboratory-generated turbulent buoyant plumes in linearly stratified saltwater over extended periods of time. From PIV-measured time-series flow data, characteristics of plume mean flow and turbulence have been quantified. To be specific, maximum plume penetration scaling and entrainment coefficient determined from the mean flow agree well with the theory based on the entrainment hypothesis for buoyant plumes in stratified fluids. Besides the well-known persistent entrainment along the plume stem (i.e., the 'plume-stem' entrainment), the mean plume velocity field shows persistent entrainment along the outer edge of the plume cap (i.e., the 'plume-cap' entrainment), thereby confirming predictions from previous numerical simulation studies. To our knowledge, the present PIV investigation provides the first measured flow field data in the plume cap region. As to measured plume turbulence, both the turbulent kinetic energy field and the turbulence dissipation rate field attain their maximum close to the source, while the turbulent viscosity field reaches its maximum within the plume cap region; the results also show that maximum turbulent viscosity scales as νt,max = 0.030(B/N)1/2, where B is source buoyancy flux and N is ambient buoyancy frequency. These PIV data combined with previously published numerical simulation results have implications for understanding the roles of hydrothermal plume turbulence, i.e. plume turbulence within the cap region causes the 'plume-cap' entrainment that plays an equally important role as the 'plume-stem' entrainment in supplying the final volume flux at the plume spreading level.

Turbulent flow separation in three-dimensional asymmetric diffusers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeyapaul, Elbert

2011-12-01

Turbulent three-dimensional flow separation is more complicated than 2-D. The physics of the flow is not well understood. Turbulent flow separation is nearly independent of the Reynolds number, and separation in 3-D occurs at singular points and along convergence lines emanating from these points. Most of the engineering turbulence research is driven by the need to gain knowledge of the flow field that can be used to improve modeling predictions. This work is motivated by the need for a detailed study of 3-D separation in asymmetric diffusers, to understand the separation phenomena using eddy-resolving simulation methods, assess the predictability of existing RANS turbulence models and propose modeling improvements. The Cherry diffuser has been used as a benchmark. All existing linear eddy-viscosity RANS models k--o SST,k--epsilon and v2- f fail in predicting such flows, predicting separation on the wrong side. The geometry has a doubly-sloped wall, with the other two walls orthogonal to each other and aligned with the diffuser inlet giving the diffuser an asymmetry. The top and side flare angles are different and this gives rise to different pressure gradient in each transverse direction. Eddyresolving simulations using the Scale adaptive simulation (SAS) and Large Eddy Simulation (LES) method have been used to predict separation in benchmark diffuser and validated. A series of diffusers with the same configuration have been generated, each having the same streamwise pressure gradient and parametrized only by the inlet aspect ratio. The RANS models were put to test and the flow physics explored using SAS-generated flow field. The RANS model indicate a transition in separation surface from top sloped wall to the side sloped wall at an inlet aspect ratio much lower than observed in LES results. This over-sensitivity of RANS models to transverse pressure gradients is due to lack of anisotropy in the linear Reynolds stress formulation. The complexity of the flow separation is due to effects of lateral straining, streamline curvature, secondary flow of second kind, transverse pressure gradient on turbulence. Resolving these effects is possible with anisotropy turbulence models as the Explicit Algebraic Reynolds stress model (EARSM). This model has provided accurate prediction of streamwise and transverse velocity, however the wall pressure is under predicted. An improved EARSM model is developed by correcting the coefficients, which predicts a more accurate wall pressure. There exists scope for improvement of this model, by including convective effects and dynamics of velocity gradient invariants.

Study of Hydrokinetic Turbine Arrays with Large Eddy Simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sale, Danny; Aliseda, Alberto

2014-11-01

Marine renewable energy is advancing towards commercialization, including electrical power generation from ocean, river, and tidal currents. The focus of this work is to develop numerical simulations capable of predicting the power generation potential of hydrokinetic turbine arrays-this includes analysis of unsteady and averaged flow fields, turbulence statistics, and unsteady loadings on turbine rotors and support structures due to interaction with rotor wakes and ambient turbulence. The governing equations of large-eddy-simulation (LES) are solved using a finite-volume method, and the presence of turbine blades are approximated by the actuator-line method in which hydrodynamic forces are projected to the flow field as a body force. The actuator-line approach captures helical wake formation including vortex shedding from individual blades, and the effects of drag and vorticity generation from the rough seabed surface are accounted for by wall-models. This LES framework was used to replicate a previous flume experiment consisting of three hydrokinetic turbines tested under various operating conditions and array layouts. Predictions of the power generation, velocity deficit and turbulence statistics in the wakes are compared between the LES and experimental datasets.

Reynolds and Maxwell stress measurements in the reversed field pinch experiment Extrap-T2R

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vianello, N.; Antoni, V.; Spada, E.; Spolaore, M.; Serianni, G.; Cavazzana, R.; Bergsåker, H.; Cecconello, M.; Drake, J. R.

2005-08-01

The complete Reynolds stress (RS) has been measured in the edge region of the Extrap-T2R reversed field pinch experiment. The RS exhibits a strong gradient in the region where a high E × B shear takes place. Experimental results show this gradient to be almost entirely due to the electrostatic contribution. This has been interpreted as experimental evidence of flow generation via turbulence mechanism. The scales involved in flow generation are deduced from the frequency decomposition of RS tensor. They are found related to magnetohydrodynamic activity but are different with respect to the scales responsible for turbulent transport.

The Effect of Flow Curvature on the Axisymmetric Wake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holmes, Marlin; Naughton, Jonathan

2016-11-01

The swirling turbulent wake is a perturbation to the canonical axisymmetric turbulent wake. Past studies of the axisymmetric turbulent wake have increased understanding of wake Reynolds number influence on wake characteristics such as centerline wake velocity deficit and wake width. In comparison, the axisymmetric turbulent swirling wake has received little attention. Earlier work by our group has shown that the addition of swirl can change the characteristics of the wake. The goal of this current work is to examine how wake mean flow quantities are related to the wake Reynolds number and the swirl number, where the latter quantity is the ratio of the angular momentum flux to the axial momentum deficit flux. A custom designed swirling wake generator is used in a low turbulence intensity wind tunnel flow to study the turbulent swirling wake in isolation. Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry is used to obtain three component velocity fields in the axial-radial plane. From this data, the wake Reynolds number, the swirl number, centerline velocity decay, wake width, and other relevant wake mean flow quantities are determined. Using these results, the impact of swirl on wake development is discussed. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, under Award # DE-SC0012671.

Numerical study of entropy generation due to coupled laminar and turbulent mixed convection and thermal radiation in an enclosure filled with a semitransparent medium.

PubMed

Goodarzi, M; Safaei, M R; Oztop, Hakan F; Karimipour, A; Sadeghinezhad, E; Dahari, M; Kazi, S N; Jomhari, N

2014-01-01

The effect of radiation on laminar and turbulent mixed convection heat transfer of a semitransparent medium in a square enclosure was studied numerically using the Finite Volume Method. A structured mesh and the SIMPLE algorithm were utilized to model the governing equations. Turbulence and radiation were modeled with the RNG k-ε model and Discrete Ordinates (DO) model, respectively. For Richardson numbers ranging from 0.1 to 10, simulations were performed for Rayleigh numbers in laminar flow (10⁴) and turbulent flow (10⁸). The model predictions were validated against previous numerical studies and good agreement was observed. The simulated results indicate that for laminar and turbulent motion states, computing the radiation heat transfer significantly enhanced the Nusselt number (Nu) as well as the heat transfer coefficient. Higher Richardson numbers did not noticeably affect the average Nusselt number and corresponding heat transfer rate. Besides, as expected, the heat transfer rate for the turbulent flow regime surpassed that in the laminar regime. The simulations additionally demonstrated that for a constant Richardson number, computing the radiation heat transfer majorly affected the heat transfer structure in the enclosure; however, its impact on the fluid flow structure was negligible.

Numerical Study of Entropy Generation due to Coupled Laminar and Turbulent Mixed Convection and Thermal Radiation in an Enclosure Filled with a Semitransparent Medium

PubMed Central

Goodarzi, M.; Safaei, M. R.; Oztop, Hakan F.; Karimipour, A.; Sadeghinezhad, E.; Dahari, M.; Kazi, S. N.; Jomhari, N.

2014-01-01

The effect of radiation on laminar and turbulent mixed convection heat transfer of a semitransparent medium in a square enclosure was studied numerically using the Finite Volume Method. A structured mesh and the SIMPLE algorithm were utilized to model the governing equations. Turbulence and radiation were modeled with the RNG k-ε model and Discrete Ordinates (DO) model, respectively. For Richardson numbers ranging from 0.1 to 10, simulations were performed for Rayleigh numbers in laminar flow (104) and turbulent flow (108). The model predictions were validated against previous numerical studies and good agreement was observed. The simulated results indicate that for laminar and turbulent motion states, computing the radiation heat transfer significantly enhanced the Nusselt number (Nu) as well as the heat transfer coefficient. Higher Richardson numbers did not noticeably affect the average Nusselt number and corresponding heat transfer rate. Besides, as expected, the heat transfer rate for the turbulent flow regime surpassed that in the laminar regime. The simulations additionally demonstrated that for a constant Richardson number, computing the radiation heat transfer majorly affected the heat transfer structure in the enclosure; however, its impact on the fluid flow structure was negligible. PMID:24778601

Full Coverage Shaped Hole Film Cooling in an Accelerating Boundary Layer with High Free-Stream Turbulence

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ames, Forrest E.; Kingery, Joseph E.

2015-06-17

Full coverage shaped-hole film cooling and downstream heat transfer measurements have been acquired in the accelerating flows over a large cylindrical leading edge test surface. The shaped holes had an 8° lateral expansion angled at 30° to the surface with spanwise and streamwise spacings of 3 diameters. Measurements were conducted at four blowing ratios, two Reynolds numbers and six well documented turbulence conditions. Film cooling measurements were acquired over a four to one range in blowing ratio at the lower Reynolds number and at the two lower blowing ratios for the higher Reynolds number. The film cooling measurements were acquiredmore » at a coolant to free-stream density ratio of approximately 1.04. The flows were subjected to a low turbulence condition (Tu = 0.7%), two levels of turbulence for a smaller sized grid (Tu = 3.5%, and 7.9%), one turbulence level for a larger grid (8.1%), and two levels of turbulence generated using a mock aero-combustor (Tu = 9.3% and 13.7%). Turbulence level is shown to have a significant influence in mixing away film cooling coverage progressively as the flow develops in the streamwise direction. Effectiveness levels for the aero-combustor turbulence condition are reduced to as low as 20% of low turbulence values by the furthest downstream region. The film cooling discharge is located close to the leading edge with very thin and accelerating upstream boundary layers. Film cooling data at the lower Reynolds number, show that transitional flows have significantly improved effectiveness levels compared with turbulent flows. Downstream effectiveness levels are very similar to slot film cooling data taken at the same coolant flow rates over the same cylindrical test surface. However, slots perform significantly better in the near discharge region. These data are expected to be very useful in grounding computational predictions of full coverage shaped hole film cooling with elevated turbulence levels and acceleration. IR measurements were performed for the two lowest turbulence levels to document the spanwise variation in film cooling effectiveness and heat transfer.« less

Implicit Large-Eddy Simulations of Zero-Pressure Gradient, Turbulent Boundary Layer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sekhar, Susheel; Mansour, Nagi N.

2015-01-01

A set of direct simulations of zero-pressure gradient, turbulent boundary layer flows are conducted using various span widths (62-630 wall units), to document their influence on the generated turbulence. The FDL3DI code that solves compressible Navier-Stokes equations using high-order compact-difference scheme and filter, with the standard recycling/rescaling method of turbulence generation, is used. Results are analyzed at two different Re values (500 and 1,400), and compared with spectral DNS data. They show that a minimum span width is required for the mere initiation of numerical turbulence. Narrower domains ((is) less than 100 w.u.) result in relaminarization. Wider spans ((is) greater than 600 w.u.) are required for the turbulent statistics to match reference DNS. The upper-wall boundary condition for this setup spawns marginal deviations in the mean velocity and Reynolds stress profiles, particularly in the buffer region.

Wind-tunnel experiments of turbulent flow over a surface-mounted 2-D block in a thermally-stratified boundary layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wei; Markfort, Corey; Porté-Agel, Fernando

2014-11-01

Turbulent flows over complex surface topography have been of great interest in the atmospheric science and wind engineering communities. The geometry of the topography, surface roughness and temperature characteristics as well as the atmospheric thermal stability play important roles in determining momentum and scalar flux distribution. Studies of turbulent flow over simplified topography models, under neutrally stratified boundary-layer conditions, have provided insights into fluid dynamics. However, atmospheric thermal stability has rarely been considered in laboratory experiments, e.g., wind-tunnel experiments. Series of wind-tunnel experiments of thermally-stratified boundary-layer flow over a surface-mounted 2-D block, in a well-controlled boundary-layer wind tunnel, will be presented. Measurements using high-resolution PIV, x-wire/cold-wire anemometry and surface heat flux sensors were conducted to quantify the turbulent flow properties, including the size of the recirculation zone, coherent vortex structures and the subsequent boundary layer recovery. Results will be shown to address thermal stability effects on momentum and scalar flux distribution in the wake, as well as dominant mechanism of turbulent kinetic energy generation and consumption. The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the Swiss National Foundation (Grant 200021-132122), the National Science Foundation (Grant ATM-0854766) and NASA (Grant NNG06GE256).

Hybrid Optical-Magnetic Traps for Studies of 2D Quantum Turbulence in Bose-Einstein Condensates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Myers, Jessica Ann

Turbulence appears in most natural and man-made flows. However, the analysis of turbulence is particularly difficult. Links between microscopic fluid dynamics and statistical signatures of turbulence appear unobtainable from the postulates of fluid dynamics making turbulence one of the most important unsolved theoretical problems in physics. Two-dimensional quantum turbulence (2DQT), an emerging field of study, involves turbulence in two-dimensional (2D) flows in superfluids, such as Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). In 2D superfluids, a turbulent state can be characterized by a disordered distribution of numerous vortex cores. The question of how to effectively and efficiently generate turbulent states in superfluids is a fundamental question in the field of quantum turbulence. Therefore, experimental studies of vortex nucleation and the onset of turbulence in a superfluid are important for achieving a deeper understanding of the overall problem of turbulence. My PhD dissertation involves the study of vortex nucleation and the onset of turbulence in quasi-2D BECs. First, I discuss experimental apparatus advancements that now enable BECs to be created in a hybrid optical-magnetic trap, an atom trapping configuration conducive to 2DQT experiments. Next, I discuss the design and construction of a quantum vortex microscope and initial vortex detection tests. Finally, I present the first experiments aimed at studying 2DQT carried out in the updated apparatus. Thermal counterflow in superfluid helium, in which the normal and superfluid components flow in opposite directions, is known to create turbulence in the superfluid. However, this phenomenon has not been simulated or studied in dilute-gas BECs as a possible vortex nucleation method. In this dissertation, I present preliminary data from the first experiments aimed at understanding thermal counterflow turbulence in dilute-gas BECs.

Generation of interior cavity noise due to window vibration excited by turbulent flows past a generic side-view mirror

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Hua-Dong; Davidson, Lars

2018-03-01

We investigate the interior noise caused by turbulent flows past a generic side-view mirror. A rectangular glass window is placed downstream of the mirror. The window vibration is excited by the surface pressure fluctuations and emits the interior noise in a cuboid cavity. The turbulent flows are simulated using a compressible large eddy simulation method. The window vibration and interior noise are predicted with a finite element method. The wavenumber-frequency spectra of the surface pressure fluctuations are analyzed. The spectra are identified with some new features that cannot be explained by the Chase model for turbulent boundary layers. The spectra contain a minor hydrodynamic domain in addition to the hydrodynamic domain caused by the main convection of the turbulent boundary layer. The minor domain results from the local convection of the recirculating flow. These domains are formed in bent elliptic shapes. The spanwise expansion of the wake is found causing the bending. Based on the wavenumber-frequency relationships in the spectra, the surface pressure fluctuations are decomposed into hydrodynamic and acoustic components. The acoustic component is more efficient in the generation of the interior noise than the hydrodynamic component. However, the hydrodynamic component is still dominant at low frequencies below approximately 250 Hz since it has low transmission losses near the hydrodynamic critical frequency of the window. The structural modes of the window determine the low-frequency interior tonal noise. The combination of the mode shapes of the window and cavity greatly affects the magnitude distribution of the interior noise.

Technical note: Influence of surface roughness and local turbulence on coated-wall flow tube experiments for gas uptake and kinetic studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Guo; Su, Hang; Kuhn, Uwe; Meusel, Hannah; Ammann, Markus; Shao, Min; Pöschl, Ulrich; Cheng, Yafang

2018-02-01

Coated-wall flow tube reactors are frequently used to investigate gas uptake and heterogeneous or multiphase reaction kinetics under laminar flow conditions. Coating surface roughness may potentially distort the laminar flow pattern, induce turbulence and introduce uncertainties in the calculated uptake coefficient based on molecular diffusion assumptions (e.g., Brown/Cooney-Kim-Davis (CKD)/Knopf-Pöschl-Shiraiwa (KPS) methods), which has not been fully resolved in earlier studies. Here, we investigate the influence of surface roughness and local turbulence on coated-wall flow tube experiments for gas uptake and kinetic studies. According to laminar boundary theory and considering the specific flow conditions in a coated-wall flow tube, we derive and propose a critical height δc to evaluate turbulence effects in the design and analysis of coated-wall flow tube experiments. If a geometric coating thickness δg is larger than δc, the roughness elements of the coating may cause local turbulence and result in overestimation of the real uptake coefficient (γ). We further develop modified CKD/KPS methods (i.e., CKD-LT/KPS-LT) to account for roughness-induced local turbulence effects. By combination of the original methods and their modified versions, the maximum error range of γCKD (derived with the CKD method) or γKPS (derived with the KPS method) can be quantified and finally γ can be constrained. When turbulence is generated, γCKD or γKPS can bear large difference compared to γ. Their difference becomes smaller for gas reactants with lower uptake (i.e., smaller γ) and/or for a smaller ratio of the geometric coating thickness to the flow tube radius (δg / R0). On the other hand, the critical height δc can also be adjusted by optimizing flow tube configurations and operating conditions (i.e., tube diameter, length, and flow velocity), to ensure not only unaffected laminar flow patterns but also other specific requirements for an individual flow tube experiment. We use coating thickness values from previous coated-wall flow tube studies to assess potential roughness effects using the δc criterion. In most studies, the coating thickness was sufficiently small to avoid complications, but some may have been influenced by surface roughness and local turbulence effects.

Comparing Split and Unsplit Numerical Methods for Simulating Low and High Mach Number Turbulent Flows in Xrage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saenz, Juan; Grinstein, Fernando; Dolence, Joshua; Rauenzahn, Rick; Masser, Thomas; Francois, Marianne; LANL Team

2017-11-01

We report progress in evaluating an unsplit hydrodynamic solver being implemented in the radiation adaptive grid Eulerian (xRAGE) code, and compare to a split scheme. xRage is a Eulerian hydrodynamics code used for implicit large eddy simulations (ILES) of multi-material, multi-physics flows where low and high Mach number (Ma) processes and instabilities interact and co-exist. The hydrodynamic solver in xRAGE uses a directionally split, second order Godunov, finite volume (FV) scheme. However, a standard, unsplit, Godunov-type FV scheme with 2nd and 3rd order reconstruction options, low Ma correction and a variety of Riemann solvers has recently become available. To evaluate the hydrodynamic solvers for turbulent low Ma flows, we use simulations of the Taylor Green Vortex (TGV), where there is a transition to turbulence via vortex stretching and production of small-scale eddies. We also simulate a high-low Ma shock-tube flow, where a shock passing over a perturbed surface generates a baroclinic Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI); after the shock has passed, the turbulence in the accelerated interface region resembles Rayleigh Taylor (RT) instability. We compare turbulence spectra and decay in simulated TGV flows, and we present progress in simulating the high-low Ma RMI-RT flow. LANL is operated by LANS LLC for the U.S. DOE NNSA under Contract No. DE-AC52-06NA25396.

Effect of turbulent flow on an atmospheric-pressure AC powered gliding arc discharge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kong, Chengdong; Gao, Jinlong; Zhu, Jiajian; Ehn, Andreas; Aldén, Marcus; Li, Zhongshan

2018-06-01

A high-power gliding arc (GA) discharge was generated in a turbulent air flow driven by a 35 kHz alternating current electric power supply. The effects of the flow rate on the characteristics of the GA discharge were investigated using combined optical and electrical diagnostics. Phenomenologically, the GA discharge exhibits two types of discharge, i.e., glow type and spark type, depending on the flow rates and input powers. The glow-type discharge, which has peak currents of hundreds of milliamperes, is sustained at low flow rates. The spark-type discharge, which is characterized by a sharp current spike of several amperes with duration of less than 1 μs, occurs more frequently as the flow rate increases. Higher input power can suppress spark-type discharges in moderate turbulence, but this effect becomes weak under high turbulent conditions. Physically, the transition between glow- and spark-type is initiated by the short cutting events and the local re-ignition events. Short cutting events occur owing to the twisting, wrinkling, and stretching of the plasma columns that are governed by the relatively large vortexes in the flow. Local re-ignition events, which are defined as re-ignition along plasma columns, are detected in strong turbulence due to increment of the impedance of the plasma column and consequently the internal electric field strength. It is suggested that the vortexes with length scales smaller than the size of the plasma can penetrate into the plasma column and promote mixing with surroundings to accelerate the energy dissipation. Therefore, the turbulent flow influences the GA discharges by ruling the short cutting events with relatively large vortexes and the local re-ignition events with small vortexes.

Torque fluctuations caused by upstream mean flow and turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farr, T. D.; Hancock, P. E.

2014-12-01

A series of studies are in progress investigating the effects of turbine-array-wake interactions for a range of atmospheric boundary layer states by means of the EnFlo meteorological wind tunnel. The small, three-blade model wind turbines drive 4-quadrant motor-generators. Only a single turbine in neutral flow is considered here. The motor-generator current can be measured with adequate sensitivity by means of a current sensor allowing the mean and fluctuating torque to be inferred. Spectra of torque fluctuations and streamwise velocity fluctuations ahead of the rotor, between 0.1 and 2 diameters, show that only the large-scale turbulent motions contribute significantly to the torque fluctuations. Time-lagged cross-correlation between upstream velocity and torque fluctuations are largest over the inner part of the blade. They also show the turbulence to be frozen in behaviour over the 2 diameters upstream of the turbine.

The Evolution of Modulated Wavetrains Into Turbulent Spots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gaster, M.

2007-01-01

Experiment are being carried out to study the process by which th almost periodic disturbance waves generated naturally by the freestream evolve into turbulence. The boundary layer on a flat plate has been used for this study. The novelty of the approach is in the form of artificial excitation that is used. In this work the flow is excited artificially by deterministic white noise. The weak T-S wave created develops down stream, becomes nonlinear and blows up locally onto a highly distorted flow. These large local distortions of the mean flow allow very high frequency disturbances to grow and form into small turbulent spots. The spots arise from the excitation, and if the same noise sequence is repeated a spot will form at the same position and time instant relative to the excitation.

Simulation of spatially evolving turbulence and the applicability of Taylor's hypothesis in compressible flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Sangsan; Lele, Sanjiva K.; Moin, Parviz

1992-01-01

For the numerical simulation of inhomogeneous turbulent flows, a method is developed for generating stochastic inflow boundary conditions with a prescribed power spectrum. Turbulence statistics from spatial simulations using this method with a low fluctuation Mach number are in excellent agreement with the experimental data, which validates the procedure. Turbulence statistics from spatial simulations are also compared to those from temporal simulations using Taylor's hypothesis. Statistics such as turbulence intensity, vorticity, and velocity derivative skewness compare favorably with the temporal simulation. However, the statistics of dilatation show a significant departure from those obtained in the temporal simulation. To directly check the applicability of Taylor's hypothesis, space-time correlations of fluctuations in velocity, vorticity, and dilatation are investigated. Convection velocities based on vorticity and velocity fluctuations are computed as functions of the spatial and temporal separations. The profile of the space-time correlation of dilatation fluctuations is explained via a wave propagation model.

Laser Doppler Velocimeter measurements in a 3-D impinging twin-jet fountain flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saripalli, K. R.

1987-01-01

Mean velocity and turbulence measurements were conducted on the three dimensional fountain flow field generated by the impingement of two axisymmetric jets on a ground plane with application to vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. The basic instantaneous velocity data were obtained using a two component laser Doppler velocimeter in a plane connecting the nozzle centerlines at different heights above the ground emphasizing the jet impingement region and the fountain upwash region formed by the collision of the wall jets. The distribution of mean velocity components and turbulence quantities, including the turbulence intensity and the Reynolds shear stress, were derived from the basic velocity data. Detailed studies of the characteristics of the fountain revealed self-similarity in the mean velocity and turbulence profiles across the fountain. The spread and mean velocity decay characteristics of the fountain were established. Turbulence intensities of the order of 50% were observed in the fountain.

A Concept of Cross-Ferroic Plasma Turbulence

PubMed Central

Inagaki, S.; Kobayashi, T.; Kosuga, Y.; Itoh, S.-I.; Mitsuzono, T.; Nagashima, Y.; Arakawa, H.; Yamada, T.; Miwa, Y.; Kasuya, N.; Sasaki, M.; Lesur, M.; Fujisawa, A.; Itoh, K.

2016-01-01

The variety of scalar and vector fields in laboratory and nature plasmas is formed by plasma turbulence. Drift-wave fluctuations, driven by density gradients in magnetized plasmas, are known to relax the density gradient while they can generate flows. On the other hand, the sheared flow in the direction of magnetic fields causes Kelvin-Helmholtz type instabilities, which mix particle and momentum. These different types of fluctuations coexist in laboratory and nature, so that the multiple mechanisms for structural formation exist in extremely non-equilibrium plasmas. Here we report the discovery of a new order in plasma turbulence, in which chained structure formation is realized by cross-interaction between inhomogeneities of scalar and vector fields. The concept of cross-ferroic turbulence is developed, and the causal relation in the multiple mechanisms behind structural formation is identified, by measuring the relaxation rate and dissipation power caused by the complex turbulence-driven flux. PMID:26917218

Agitation, Mixing, and Transfers Induced by Bubbles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Risso, Frédéric

2018-01-01

Bubbly flows involve bubbles randomly distributed within a liquid. At large Reynolds number, they experience an agitation that can combine shear-induced turbulence (SIT), large-scale buoyancy-driven flows, and bubble-induced agitation (BIA). The properties of BIA strongly differ from those of SIT. They have been determined from studies of homogeneous swarms of rising bubbles. Regarding the bubbles, agitation is mainly caused by the wake-induced path instability. Regarding the liquid, two contributions must be distinguished. The first one corresponds to the anisotropic flow disturbances generated near the bubbles, principally in the vertical direction. The second one is the almost isotropic turbulence induced by the flow instability through a population of bubbles, which turns out to be the main cause of horizontal fluctuations. Both contributions generate a k-3 spectral subrange and exponential probability density functions. The subsequent issue will be to understand how BIA interacts with SIT.

Temporal characteristics of coherent flow structures generated over alluvial sand dunes, Mississippi River, revealed by acoustic doppler current profiling and multibeam echo sounding

USGS Publications Warehouse

Czuba, John A.; Oberg, Kevin A.; Best, Jim L.; Parsons, Daniel R.; Simmons, S. M.; Johnson, K.K.; Malzone, C.

2009-01-01

This paper investigates the flow in the lee of a large sand dune located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, USA. Stationary profiles collected from an anchored boat using an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) were georeferenced with data from a real-time kinematic differential global positioning system. A multibeam echo sounder was used to map the bathymetry of the confluence and provided a morphological context for the ADCP measurements. The flow in the lee of a low-angle dune shows good correspondence with current conceptual models of flow over dunes. As expected, quadrant 2 events (upwellings of low-momentum fluid) are associated with high backscatter intensity. Turbulent events generated in the lower lee of a dune near the bed are associated with periods of vortex shedding and wake flapping. Remnant coherent structures that advect over the lower lee of the dune in the upper portion of the water column, have mostly dissipated and contribute little to turbulence intensities. The turbulent events that occupy most of the water column in the upper lee of the dune are associated with periods of wake flapping.

Radial transfer effects for poloidal rotation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hallatschek, Klaus

2010-11-01

Radial transfer of energy or momentum is the principal agent responsible for radial structures of Geodesic Acoustic Modes (GAMs) or stationary Zonal Flows (ZF) generated by the turbulence. For the GAM, following a physical approach, it is possible to find useful expressions for the individual components of the Poynting flux or radial group velocity allowing predictions where a mathematical full analysis is unfeasible. Striking differences between up-down symmetric flux surfaces and asymmetric ones have been found. For divertor geometries, e.g., the direction of the propagation depends on the sign of the ion grad-B drift with respect to the X-point, reminiscent of a sensitive determinant of the H-mode threshold. In nonlocal turbulence computations it becomes obvious that the linear energy transfer terms can be completely overwhelmed by the action of the turbulence. In contrast, stationary ZFs are governed by the turbulent radial transfer of momentum. For sufficiently large systems, the Reynolds stress becomes a deterministic functional of the flows, which can be empirically determined from the stress response in computational turbulence studies. The functional allows predictions even on flow/turbulence states not readily obtainable from small amplitude noise, such as certain transport bifurcations or meta-stable states.

Unsteady Separated Flows: Vorticity and Turbulence.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-10-01

investigation. The vortex train used in the mathe- matical model is adapted to simulate the flow generated in the wake of an oscillating spoiler moving...weak wake structure. C H - At K = 1.5, the trailing edge vortex clearly leads the vorte : generated from the leading edge in the normal geonetry tests...flows is summarized. Specific projects reviewed include: (a) oscillating airfoil dynamic stall; (b) vortex entrapment and stability analysis -and (c

Low-frequency dynamics of pressure-induced turbulent separation bubbles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weiss, Julien; Mohammed-Taifour, Abdelouahab; Lefloch, Arnaud

2017-11-01

We experimentally investigate a pressure-induced turbulent separation bubble (TSB), which is generated on a flat test surface through a combination of adverse and favorable pressure gradients imposed on a nominally two-dimensional, incompressible, turbulent boundary layer. We probe the flow using piezo-resistive pressure transducers, MEMS shear-stress sensors, and high-speed, 2D-2C, PIV measurements. Through the use of Fourier analysis of the wall-pressure fluctuations and Proper Orthogonal Decomposition of the velocity fields, we show that this type of flow is characterized by a self-induced, low-frequency contraction and expansion - called breathing - of the TSB. The dominant Strouhal number of this motion, based on the TSB length and the incoming velocity in the potential flow, is of the order of 0.01. We compare this motion to the low-frequency dynamics observed in laminar separation bubbles (LSBs), geometry-induced TSBs, and shock-induced separated flows.

Turbulence transition and the edge of chaos in pipe flow.

PubMed

Schneider, Tobias M; Eckhardt, Bruno; Yorke, James A

2007-07-20

The linear stability of pipe flow implies that only perturbations of sufficient strength will trigger the transition to turbulence. In order to determine this threshold in perturbation amplitude we study the edge of chaos which separates perturbations that decay towards the laminar profile and perturbations that trigger turbulence. Using the lifetime as an indicator and methods developed in Skufca et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 174101 (2006), we show that superimposed on an overall 1/Re scaling predicted and studied previously there are small, nonmonotonic variations reflecting folds in the edge of chaos. By tracing the motion in the edge we find that it is formed by the stable manifold of a unique flow field that is dominated by a pair of downstream vortices, asymmetrically placed towards the wall. The flow field that generates the edge of chaos shows intrinsic chaotic dynamics.

Helium-filled soap bubbles tracing fidelity in wall-bounded turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faleiros, David Engler; Tuinstra, Marthijn; Sciacchitano, Andrea; Scarano, Fulvio

2018-03-01

The use of helium-filled soap bubbles (HFSB) as flow tracers for particle image velocimetry (PIV) and particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) to measure the properties of turbulent boundary layers is investigated in the velocity range from 30 to 50 m/s. The experiments correspond to momentum thickness-based Reynolds numbers of 3300 and 5100. A single bubble generator delivers nearly neutrally buoyant HFSB to seed the air flow developing over the flat plate. The HFSB motion analysis is performed by PTV using single-frame multi-exposure recordings. The measurements yield the local velocity and turbulence statistics. Planar two-component-PIV measurements with micron-sized droplets (DEHS) conducted under the same conditions provide reference data for the quantities of interest. In addition, the behavior of air-filled soap bubbles is studied where the effect of non-neutral buoyancy is more pronounced. The mean velocity profiles as well as the turbulent stresses obtained with HFSB are in good agreement with the flow statistics obtained with DEHS particles. The study illustrates that HFSB tracers can be used to determine the mean velocity and the turbulent fluctuations of turbulent boundary layers above a distance of approximately two bubble diameters from the wall. This work broadens the current range of application of HFSB from external aerodynamics of large-scale-PIV experiments towards wall-bounded turbulence.

Turbulent Transfer Between Street Canyons and the Overlying Atmospheric Boundary Layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salizzoni, Pietro; Marro, Massimo; Soulhac, Lionel; Grosjean, Nathalie; Perkins, Richard J.

2011-12-01

The turbulent exchange of momentum between a two-dimensional cavity and the overlying boundary layer has been studied experimentally, using hot-wire anemometry and particle image velocimetry (PIV). Conditions within the boundary layer were varied by changing the width of the canyons upstream of the test canyon, whilst maintaining the square geometry of the test canyon. The results show that turbulent transfer is due to the coupling between the instabilities generated in the shear layer above the canyons and the turbulent structures in the oncoming boundary layer. As a result, there is no single, unique velocity scale that correctly characterizes all the processes involved in the turbulent exchange of momentum across the boundary layer. Similarly, there is no single velocity scale that can characterize the different properties of the turbulent flow within the canyon, which depends strongly on the way in which turbulence from the outer flow is entrained into the cavity and carried round by the mean flow. The results from this study will be useful in developing simple parametrizations for momentum exchange in the urban canopy, in situations where the street geometry consists principally of relatively long, uniform streets arranged in grid-like patterns; they are unlikely to be applicable to sparse geometries composed of isolated three-dimensional obstacles.

Effects of axisymmetric contractions on turbulence of various scales

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tan-Atichat, J.; Nagib, H. M.; Drubka, R. E.

1980-01-01

Digitally acquired and processed results from an experimental investigation of grid generated turbulence of various scales through and downstream of nine matched cubic contour contractions ranging in area ratio from 2 to 36, and in length to inlet diameter ratio from 0.25 to 1.50 are reported. An additional contraction with a fifth order contour was also utilized for studying the shape effect. Thirteen homogeneous and nearly isotropic test flow conditions with a range of turbulence intensities, length scales and Reynolds numbers were generated and used to examine the sensitivity of the contractions to upstream turbulence. The extent to which the turbulence is altered by the contraction depends on the incoming turbulence scales, the total strain experienced by the fluid, as well as the contraction ratio and the strain rate. Varying the turbulence integral scale influences the transverse turbulence components more than the streamwise component. In general, the larger the turbulence scale, the lesser the reduction in the turbulence intensity of the transverse components. Best agreement with rapid distortion theory was obtained for large scale turbulence, where viscous decay over the contraction length was negligible, or when a first order correction for viscous decay was applied to the results.

Global characteristics of zonal flows due to the effect of finite bandwidth in drift wave turbulence

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Uzawa, K.; Li Jiquan; Kishimoto, Y.

2009-04-15

The spectral effect of the zonal flow (ZF) on its generation is investigated based on the Charney-Hasegawa-Mima turbulence model. It is found that the effect of finite ZF bandwidth qualitatively changes the characteristics of ZF instability. A spatially localized (namely, global) nonlinear ZF state with an enhanced, unique growth rate for all spectral components is created under a given turbulent fluctuation. It is identified that such state originates from the successive cross couplings among Fourier components of the ZF and turbulence spectra through the sideband modulation. Furthermore, it is observed that the growth rate of the global ZF is determinedmore » not only by the spectral distribution and amplitudes of turbulent pumps as usual, but also statistically by the turbulence structure, namely, their probabilistic initial phase factors. A ten-wave coupling model of the ZF modulation instability involving the essential effect of the ZF spectrum is developed to clarify the basic features of the global nonlinear ZF state.« less

A stochastic vortex structure method for interacting particles in turbulent shear flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dizaji, Farzad F.; Marshall, Jeffrey S.; Grant, John R.

2018-01-01

In a recent study, we have proposed a new synthetic turbulence method based on stochastic vortex structures (SVSs), and we have demonstrated that this method can accurately predict particle transport, collision, and agglomeration in homogeneous, isotropic turbulence in comparison to direct numerical simulation results. The current paper extends the SVS method to non-homogeneous, anisotropic turbulence. The key element of this extension is a new inversion procedure, by which the vortex initial orientation can be set so as to generate a prescribed Reynolds stress field. After validating this inversion procedure for simple problems, we apply the SVS method to the problem of interacting particle transport by a turbulent planar jet. Measures of the turbulent flow and of particle dispersion, clustering, and collision obtained by the new SVS simulations are shown to compare well with direct numerical simulation results. The influence of different numerical parameters, such as number of vortices and vortex lifetime, on the accuracy of the SVS predictions is also examined.

Measurement and analysis of the noise radiated by low Mach numbers centrifugal blowers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeager, D. M.; Lauchle, G. C.

1987-11-01

The broad band, aerodynamically generated noise in low tip-speed Mach number, centrifugal air moving devices is investigated. An interdisciplinary approach was taken which involved investigation of the aerodynamic and acoustic fields, and their mutual relationship. The noise generation process was studied using two experimental vehicles: (1) a scale model of a homologous family of centrifugal blowers typical of those used to cool computer and business equipment, and (2) a single blade from a centrifugal blower impeller which was placed in a known, controllable flow field. The radiation characteristics of the model blower were investigated by measuring the acoustic intensity distribution near the blower inlet and comparing it with the intensity near the inlet to an axial flow fan. Aerodynamic studies of the flow field in the inlet and at the discharge to the rotating impeller were used to assess the mean flow distribution through the impeller blade channels and to identify regions of excessive turbulence near the rotating blade row. New frequency-domain expressions for the correlation area and dipole source strength per unit area on a surface immersed in turbulence were developed which can be used to characterize the noise generation process over a rigid surface immersed in turbulence. An investigation of the noise radiated from the single, isolated airfoil (impeller blade) was performed using modern correlation and spectral analysis techniques.

Tidal Conversion and Mixing Poleward of the Critical Latitude (an Arctic Case Study)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rippeth, Tom P.; Vlasenko, Vasiliy; Stashchuk, Nataliya; Scannell, Brian D.; Green, J. A. Mattias; Lincoln, Ben J.; Bacon, Sheldon

2017-12-01

The tides are a major source of the kinetic energy supporting turbulent mixing in the global oceans. The prime mechanism for the transfer of tidal energy to turbulent mixing results from the interaction between topography and stratified tidal flow, leading to the generation of freely propagating internal waves at the period of the forcing tide. However, poleward of the critical latitude (where the period of the principal tidal constituent exceeds the local inertial period), the action of the Coriolis force precludes the development of freely propagating linear internal tides. Here we focus on a region of sloping topography, poleward of the critical latitude, where there is significant conversion of tidal energy and the flow is supercritical (Froude number, Fr > 1). A high-resolution nonlinear modeling study demonstrates the key role of tidally generated lee waves and supercritical flow in the transfer of energy from the barotropic tide to internal waves in these high-latitude regions. Time series of flow and water column structure from the region of interest show internal waves with characteristics consistent with those predicted by the model, and concurrent microstructure dissipation measurements show significant levels of mixing associated with these internal waves. The results suggest that tidally generated lee waves are a key mechanism for the transfer of energy from the tide to turbulence poleward of the critical latitude.

Prediction of broadband trailing edge noise from a NACA0012 airfoil using wall-modeled large-eddy simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehrabadi, Mohammad; Bodony, Daniel

2017-11-01

In modern high-bypass ratio turbofan engines, the reduction of jet exhaust noise through engine design has increased the acoustic importance of the main fan to the point where it can be the primary source of noise in the fight direction of an airplane. While fan noise has been reduced by improved fan designs, its broadband component, originating from the interaction of turbulent flow with a solid surface, still remains an issue. Broadband fan noise is generated by several mechanisms, usually involving a turbulent boundary layer interacting with a solid surface. To prepare for a wall modeled large eddy simulation (WMLES) of the NASA/GE source diagnostic test fan, we study the broadband noise due to the turbulent flow on a NACA0012 airfoil at zero degree angle-of-attack, a chord-based Reynolds number of 408,000, and a Mach number of 0.115 using WMLES. We investigate the prediction of transition-to-turbulence and sound generation from the WMLES and examine its predictability compared with available experimental and DNS datasets for the same flow conditions. Verification of WMLES for such a canonical problem is crucial since it provides useful insight about the WMLES approach before using it for broadband fan noise prediction. AeroAcoustics Research Consortium.

Mount St. Helens (Washington, USA) and World Trade Center (New York, USA) collapse: a fluid dynamic analogy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doronzo, Domenico; de Tullio, Marco; Pascazio, Giuseppe; Dellino, Pierfrancesco

2013-04-01

When a skyscraper collapses, the non-fragmented material is rapidly deposited close to the source, whereas the fragmented counterpart is loaded turbulently in the associated currents. Indeed, on impact with the ground, collapses of volcanic columns, domes, or sectors of volcanoes generate thick deposits of coarser material, and from there on the finer material is suspended over the landscape, to be re-deposited far away in thin deposits. Here, we explore the multiphase fluid dynamic behavior of the World Trade Center (New York, USA) collapse, which on 11 September 2001 followed the fragmentation of the Twin Towers, and generated shear dusty currents. These currents had a multiphase and turbulent behavior, and resemble the volcanic flow generated during the 18 May 1980 explosive eruption of Mount St. Helens (Washington, USA), in which a sector of the volcano collapsed, then a highly mobile, multiphase turbulent current followed and heavily interacted with the surrounding landscape. This analogy allows to focus on the comparison between volcanic and skyscraper collapse. A computational fluid dynamic investigation, along with a locally refined Cartesian grid, are adopted to simulate numerically the propagation of the 11 September dusty currents in Manhattan. Results of flow dynamic pressure, the parameter of volcanic hazard, and particle deposition reveal that the pressure can locally increase up to a factor 10 because of flow-building interaction. Also, the surrounding buildings make the urban setting as of a high turbulence and exponential decay of deposit thickness.

Application of mean wall shear stress boundary condition to complex turbulent flows using a wall-modeled large eddy simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, Minjeong; Lee, Jungil; Choi, Haecheon

2012-11-01

The mean wall shear stress boundary condition was successfully applied to turbulent channel and boundary flows using large eddy simulation without resolving near-wall region (see Lee, Cho & Choi in this book of abstracts). In the present study, we apply this boundary condition to more complex flows where flow separation and redeveloping flow exist. As a test problem, we consider flow over a backward-facing step at Reh = 22860 based on the step height. Turbulent boundary layer flow at the inlet (Reθ = 1050) is obtained using inflow generation technique by Lund et al. (1998) but with wall shear stress boundary condition. First, we prescribe the mean wall shear stress distribution obtained from DNS (Kim, 2011, Ph.D. Thesis, Stanford U.) as the boundary condition of present simulation. Here we give no-slip boundary condition at flow-reversal region. The present results are in good agreements with the flow statistics by DNS. Currently, a dynamic approach of obtaining mean wall shear stress based on the log-law is being applied to the flow having flow separation and its results will be shown in the presentation. Supported by the WCU and NRF programs.

Confined Turbulent Swirling Recirculating Flow Predictions. Ph.D. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abujelala, M. T.

1984-01-01

Turbulent swirling flow, the STARPIC computer code, turbulence modeling of turbulent flows, the k-xi turbulence model and extensions, turbulence parameters deduction from swirling confined flow measurements, extension of the k-xi to confined swirling recirculating flows, and general predictions for confined turbulent swirling flow are discussed.

Evaluation of the Use of Second Generation Wavelets in the Coherent Vortex Simulation Approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldstein, D. E.; Vasilyev, O. V.; Wray, A. A.; Rogallo, R. S.

2000-01-01

The objective of this study is to investigate the use of the second generation bi-orthogonal wavelet transform for the field decomposition in the Coherent Vortex Simulation of turbulent flows. The performances of the bi-orthogonal second generation wavelet transform and the orthogonal wavelet transform using Daubechies wavelets with the same number of vanishing moments are compared in a priori tests using a spectral direct numerical simulation (DNS) database of isotropic turbulence fields: 256(exp 3) and 512(exp 3) DNS of forced homogeneous turbulence (Re(sub lambda) = 168) and 256(exp 3) and 512(exp 3) DNS of decaying homogeneous turbulence (Re(sub lambda) = 55). It is found that bi-orthogonal second generation wavelets can be used for coherent vortex extraction. The results of a priori tests indicate that second generation wavelets have better compression and the residual field is closer to Gaussian. However, it was found that the use of second generation wavelets results in an integral length scale for the incoherent part that is larger than that derived from orthogonal wavelets. A way of dealing with this difficulty is suggested.

Experimental parametric study of jet vortex generators for flow separation control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Selby, Gregory

1991-01-01

A parametric wind-tunnel study was performed with jet vortex generators to determine their effectiveness in controlling flow separation associated with low-speed turbulence flow over a two-dimensional rearward-facing ramp. Results indicate that flow-separation control can be accomplished, with the level of control achieved being a function of jet speed, jet orientation (with respect to the free-stream direction), and orifice pattern (double row of jets vs. single row). Compared to slot blowing, jet vortex generators can provide an equivalent level of flow control over a larger spanwise region (for constant jet flow area and speed). Dye flow visualization tests in a water tunnel indicated that the most effective jet vortex generator configurations produced streamwise co-rotating vortices.

Roughness topographical effects on mean momentum and stress budgets in developed turbulent channel flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aghaei Jouybari, Mostafa; Yuan, Junlin

2017-11-01

Direct numerical simulations of turbulent channel flows are carried out over two surfaces: a synthesized sand-grain surface and a realistic turbine roughness that is characterized by more prominent large-scale surface features. To separate the effects of wall-normal variation of the roughness area fraction from the (true) variation of flow statistics, the governing equations are area-averaged using intrinsic averaging, contrary to the usually practice based on the total area (i.e., superficial averaging). Additional terms appear in the mean-momentum equation resulted from the wall-normal variation of the solid fraction and play a role in the near-wall balance. Results from surfaces with a step solidity function (e.g., cubes) will also be discussed. Compared to the sand grains, the turbine surface generates stronger form-induced fluctuations, despite weaker dispersive shear stress. This is associated with more significant form-induced productions (comparable to shear production) in Reynolds stress budgets, weaker pressure work, and, consequently, more anisotropic redistribution of turbulent kinetic energy in the roughness sublayer, which potentially leads to different turbulent responses between the two surfaces in non-equilibrium flows.

Incompressible variable-density turbulence in an external acceleration field

DOE PAGES

Gat, Ilana; Matheou, Georgios; Chung, Daniel; ...

2017-08-24

Dynamics and mixing of a variable-density turbulent flow subject to an externally imposed acceleration field in the zero-Mach-number limit are studied in a series of direct numerical simulations. The flow configuration studied consists of alternating slabs of high- and low-density fluid in a triply periodic domain. Density ratios in the range ofmore » $$1.05\\leqslant R\\equiv \\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{1}/\\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{2}\\leqslant 10$$are investigated. The flow produces temporally evolving shear layers. A perpendicular density–pressure gradient is maintained in the mean as the flow evolves, with multi-scale baroclinic torques generated in the turbulent flow that ensues. For all density ratios studied, the simulations attain Reynolds numbers at the beginning of the fully developed turbulence regime. An empirical relation for the convection velocity predicts the observed entrainment-ratio and dominant mixed-fluid composition statistics. Two mixing-layer temporal evolution regimes are identified: an initial diffusion-dominated regime with a growth rate$${\\sim}t^{1/2}$$followed by a turbulence-dominated regime with a growth rate$${\\sim}t^{3}$$. In the turbulent regime, composition probability density functions within the shear layers exhibit a slightly tilted (‘non-marching’) hump, corresponding to the most probable mole fraction. In conclusion, the shear layers preferentially entrain low-density fluid by volume at all density ratios, which is reflected in the mixed-fluid composition.« less

Incompressible variable-density turbulence in an external acceleration field

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gat, Ilana; Matheou, Georgios; Chung, Daniel

Dynamics and mixing of a variable-density turbulent flow subject to an externally imposed acceleration field in the zero-Mach-number limit are studied in a series of direct numerical simulations. The flow configuration studied consists of alternating slabs of high- and low-density fluid in a triply periodic domain. Density ratios in the range ofmore » $$1.05\\leqslant R\\equiv \\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{1}/\\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{2}\\leqslant 10$$are investigated. The flow produces temporally evolving shear layers. A perpendicular density–pressure gradient is maintained in the mean as the flow evolves, with multi-scale baroclinic torques generated in the turbulent flow that ensues. For all density ratios studied, the simulations attain Reynolds numbers at the beginning of the fully developed turbulence regime. An empirical relation for the convection velocity predicts the observed entrainment-ratio and dominant mixed-fluid composition statistics. Two mixing-layer temporal evolution regimes are identified: an initial diffusion-dominated regime with a growth rate$${\\sim}t^{1/2}$$followed by a turbulence-dominated regime with a growth rate$${\\sim}t^{3}$$. In the turbulent regime, composition probability density functions within the shear layers exhibit a slightly tilted (‘non-marching’) hump, corresponding to the most probable mole fraction. In conclusion, the shear layers preferentially entrain low-density fluid by volume at all density ratios, which is reflected in the mixed-fluid composition.« less

Laminar, Transitional, and Turbulent Heating on Mid Lift-to-Drag Ratio Entry Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hollis, Brian R.; Hollingsworth, Kevin E.

2012-01-01

The boundary-layer transition characteristics and convective aeroheating levels on mid lift-to-drag ratio entry vehicle configurations have been studied through wind tunnel testing. Several configurations were investigated, including elliptically-blunted cylinders with both circular and elliptically-flattened cross sections, biconic geometries based on launch vehicle dual-use shrouds, and parametrically-optimized analytic geometries. Vehicles of this class have been proposed for high-mass Mars missions, such as sample return and crewed exploration, for which the conventional sphere-cone entry-vehicle geometries of previous Mars missions are insufficient. Testing was conducted at Mach 6 over a range of Reynolds numbers sufficient to generate laminar, transitional, and turbulent flow. Transition onset locations - both straight-line and cross-flow - and heating rates were obtained through global phosphor thermography. Supporting computations were performed to obtain heating rates for comparison with the data. Laminar data and predictions agreed to well within the experimental uncertainty. Fully-turbulent data and predictions also agreed well. However, in transitional flow regions, greater differences were observed. Additional aerodynamic performance data were also generated through Modified-Newtonian analyses of the geometries.

Flow unsteadiness effects on boundary layers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murthy, Sreedhara V.

1989-01-01

The development of boundary layers at high subsonic speeds in the presence of either mass flux fluctuations or acoustic disturbances (the two most important parameters in the unsteadiness environment affecting the aerodynamics of a flight vehicle) was investigated. A high quality database for generating detailed information concerning free-stream flow unsteadiness effects on boundary layer growth and transition in high subsonic and transonic speeds is described. The database will be generated with a two-pronged approach: (1) from a detailed review of existing literature on research and wind tunnel calibration database, and (2) from detailed tests in the Boundary Layer Apparatus for Subsonic and Transonic flow Affected by Noise Environment (BLASTANE). Special instrumentation, including hot wire anemometry, the buried wire gage technique, and laser velocimetry were used to obtain skin friction and turbulent shear stress data along the entire boundary layer for various free stream noise levels, turbulence content, and pressure gradients. This database will be useful for improving the correction methodology of applying wind tunnel test data to flight predictions and will be helpful for making improvements in turbulence modeling laws.

Large-scale Density Structures in Magneto-rotational Disk Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Youdin, Andrew; Johansen, A.; Klahr, H.

2009-01-01

Turbulence generated by the magneto-rotational instability (MRI) is a strong candidate to drive accretion flows in disks, including sufficiently ionized regions of protoplanetary disks. The MRI is often studied in local shearing boxes, which model a small section of the disk at high resolution. I will present simulations of large, stratified shearing boxes which extend up to 10 gas scale-heights across. These simulations are a useful bridge to fully global disk simulations. We find that MRI turbulence produces large-scale, axisymmetric density perturbations . These structures are part of a zonal flow --- analogous to the banded flow in Jupiter's atmosphere --- which survives in near geostrophic balance for tens of orbits. The launching mechanism is large-scale magnetic tension generated by an inverse cascade. We demonstrate the robustness of these results by careful study of various box sizes, grid resolutions, and microscopic diffusion parameterizations. These gas structures can trap solid material (in the form of large dust or ice particles) with important implications for planet formation. Resolved disk images at mm-wavelengths (e.g. from ALMA) will verify or constrain the existence of these structures.

Comparison of analytical models for zonal flow generation in ion-temperature-gradient mode turbulence

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anderson, J.; Miki, K.; Uzawa, K.

2006-11-30

During the past years the understanding of the multi scale interaction problems have increased significantly. However, at present there exists a flora of different analytical models for investigating multi scale interactions and hardly any specific comparisons have been performed among these models. In this work two different models for the generation of zonal flows from ion-temperature-gradient (ITG) background turbulence are discussed and compared. The methods used are the coherent mode coupling model and the wave kinetic equation model (WKE). It is shown that the two models give qualitatively the same results even though the assumption on the spectral difference ismore » used in the (WKE) approach.« less

Experimental Studies of Premixed Flame Structure and Propagation Characteristics in Compressible Flow

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-07-14

turbulence has not been addressed experimentally. These issues are important for next generation high-pressure gas turbine , and especially, for scramjet...subsonic wind tunnel capable of Mach numbers in excess of Mach 0.7, with the ability to generate varying turbulence levels and accommodate fuel injection...square O- ring stock seal mounted in the corners to aid in locating the individual seals and window panes, as well as RTV silicone gasket seal galleries

Measurement and Analysis of the Noise Radiated by Low Mach Number Centrifugal Blowers.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeager, David Marvin

An investigation was performed of the broad band, aerodynamically generated noise in low tip-speed Mach number, centrifugal air moving devices. An interdisciplinary experimental approach was taken which involved investigation of the aerodynamic and acoustic fields, and their mutual relationship. The noise generation process was studied using two experimental vehicles: (1) a scale model of a homologous family of centrifugal blowers typical of those used to cool computer and business equipment, and (2) a single blade from a centrifugal blower impeller placed in a known, controllable flow field. The radiation characteristics of the model blower were investigated by measuring the acoustic intensity distribution near the blower inlet and comparing it with the intensity near the inlet to an axial flow fan. Results showed that the centrifugal blower is a distributed, random noise source, unlike an axial fan which exhibited the effects of a coherent, interacting source distribution. Aerodynamic studies of the flow field in the inlet and at the discharge to the rotating impeller were used to assess the mean flow distribution through the impeller blade channels and to identify regions of excessive turbulence near the rotating blade row. Both circumferential and spanwise mean flow nonuniformities were identified along with a region of increased turbulence just downstream of the scroll cutoff. The fluid incidence angle, normally taken as an indicator of blower performance, was estimated from mean flow data as deviating considerably from an ideal impeller design. An investigation of the noise radiated from the single, isolated airfoil was performed using modern correlation and spectral analysis techniques. Radiation from the single blade in flow was characterized using newly developed expressions for the correlation area and the dipole source strength per unit area, and from the relationship between the blade surface pressure and the incident turbulent flow field. Results showed that radiation from the single blade was dominated by the effects of the incident turbulence. Normalized correlations areas of approximately 25% were measured at low frequencies. While the noise generation was more efficient at the trailing edge of the isolated blade, more noise was radiated from the region near the leading edge.

Experimental analysis of the vorticity and turbulent flow dynamics of a pitching airfoil at realistic flight (helicopter) conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahoo, Dipankar

Improved basic understanding, predictability, and controllability of vortex-dominated and unsteady aerodynamic flows are important in enhancement of the performance of next generation helicopters. The primary objective of this research project was improved understanding of the fundamental vorticity and turbulent flow physics for a dynamically stalling airfoil at realistic helicopter flight conditions. An experimental program was performed on a large-scale (C = 0.45 m) dynamically pitching NACA 0012 wing operating in the Texas A&M University large-scale wind tunnel. High-resolution particle image velocimetry data were acquired on the first 10-15% of the wing. Six test cases were examined including the unsteady (k>0) and steady (k=0) conditions. The relevant mechanical, shear and turbulent time-scales were all of comparable magnitude, which indicated that the flow was in a state of mechanical non-equilibrium, and the expected flow separation and reattachment hystersis was observed. Analyses of the databases provided new insights into the leading-edge Reynolds stress structure and the turbulent transport processes. Both of which were previously uncharacterized. During the upstroke motion of the wing, a bubble structure formed in the leading-edge Reynolds shear stress. The size of the bubble increased with increasing angle-of-attack before being diffused into a shear layer at full separation. The turbulent transport analyses indicated that the axial stress production was positive, where the transverse production was negative. This implied that axial turbulent stresses were being produced from the axial component of the mean flow. A significant portion of the energy was transferred to the transverse stress through the pressure-strain redistribution, and then back to the transverse mean flow through the negative transverse production. An opposite trend was observed further downstream of this region.

Numerical study of elastic turbulence in a 3D curvilinear micro-channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Hongna; Kunugi, Tomoaki; Li, Fengchen

2012-11-01

Elastic turbulence is an intriguing phenomenon of viscoelastic fluid flow, and dominated by the strong nonlinear elasticity due to the existence of flexible microstructures. It implies the possibility to generate a turbulent state (so-called an elastic turbulence) in the micro-scale devices by introducing the viscoelastic fluids, which could significantly enhance the mixing efficiency therein. Several experiments have been carried out to study its characteristics and underlying physics. However, the difficulty in measuring the flow information and behaviors of the microstructures, especially in the cross section normal to the mean flow direction, limits our current understanding and controlling. In the present study, the nondimensionalization method in which the characteristic velocity is defined as the ratio of the solution viscosity to the width of the channel was adopted to simulate the elastic turbulence in the micro-scale devices. And the elastic turbulent flow was obtained numerically in the 3D curvilinear micro-channel. Therein, the characteristics of the velocity field and polymer's behavior are discussed. Moreover, the energy transfer between the kinetic energy and the polymer's elastic energy is also investigated to understand its physical mechanism. Supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science research fellowship and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology via `Energy Science in the Age of Global Warming' of Global Center of Excellence (G-COE) program (J-051).

A High-Lift Building Block Flow: Turbulent Boundary Layer Relaminarization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bourassa, Corey; Thomas, Flint O.; Nelson, Robert C.

2001-01-01

A working wind tunnel test facility has been constructed at the University of Notre Dame's Hessert Center. The relaminarization test facility has been constructed in the 1.5m x 1.5m (5ft x 5 ft) atmospheric wind tunnel and generates a Re(theta)=4694 turbulent boundary layer in nominally zero-pressure gradient before it is exposed to the Case #1 pressure gradient (K approximately equal to 4.2 x 10(exp -6), which is believed to be sufficient to achieve relaminarization. Future work to be conducted will include measuring the response of the turbulent boundary layer to the favorable pressure gradients created in the test facility and documenting this response in order to understand the underlying flow physics responsible for relaminarization. It is the goal of this research to have a better understanding of accelerated turbulent boundary layers which will aid in the development of future flow diagnostic utilities to be implemented in applied aerodynamic research.

Turbulent mixing and fluid transport within Florida Bay seagrass meadows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hansen, Jennifer C. R.; Reidenbach, Matthew A.

2017-10-01

Seagrasses serve an important function in the ecology of Florida Bay, providing critical nursery habitat and a food source for a variety of organisms. They also create significant benthic structure that induces drag, altering local hydrodynamics that can influence mixing and nutrient dynamics. Thalassia testudinum seagrass meadows were investigated to determine how shoot density and morphometrics alter local wave conditions, the generation of turbulence, and fluid exchange above and within the canopy. Sparsely vegetated and densely vegetated meadows were monitored, with shoot densities of 259 ± 26 and 484 ± 78 shoots m-2, respectively. The temporal and spatial structure of velocity and turbulence were measured using acoustic Doppler velocimeters and an in situ particle image velocimetry (PIV) system positioned both above and within the seagrass canopy. The retention of fluid within the canopy was determined by examining e-folding times calculated from the concentration curves of dye plumes released within the seagrass canopy. Results show that a shear layer with an inflection point develops at the top of the seagrass canopy, which generates instabilities that impart turbulence into the seagrass meadow. Compared to the overlying water column, turbulence was enhanced within the sparse canopy due to flow interaction with the seagrass blades, but reduced within the dense canopy. Wave generated oscillatory motion penetrated deeper into the canopy than unidirectional currents, enhancing fluid exchange. Both shoot density and the relative magnitude of wave- versus current-driven flow conditions were found to be important controls on turbulent exchange of water masses across the canopy-water interface.

Physical aspects of computing the flow of a viscous fluid

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mehta, U. B.

1984-01-01

One of the main themes in fluid dynamics at present and in the future is going to be computational fluid dynamics with the primary focus on the determination of drag, flow separation, vortex flows, and unsteady flows. A computation of the flow of a viscous fluid requires an understanding and consideration of the physical aspects of the flow. This is done by identifying the flow regimes and the scales of fluid motion, and the sources of vorticity. Discussions of flow regimes deal with conditions of incompressibility, transitional and turbulent flows, Navier-Stokes and non-Navier-Stokes regimes, shock waves, and strain fields. Discussions of the scales of fluid motion consider transitional and turbulent flows, thin- and slender-shear layers, triple- and four-deck regions, viscous-inviscid interactions, shock waves, strain rates, and temporal scales. In addition, the significance and generation of vorticity are discussed. These physical aspects mainly guide computations of the flow of a viscous fluid.

Flow visualization in radial flow through stationary and corotating parallel disks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mochizuki, S.; Tanaka, M.; Yang, Wen-Jei

Paraffin mist is used here as a tracer to observe the patterns in the radial flow through both stationary and corotating parallel disks. The periodic and alternative generation of separation bubbles on both disks and the resulting flow fluctuation and turbulent flow in the radial channel are studied. Stall cells are visualized around the outer rim of the corotating disks.

Cut-cell method based large-eddy simulation of tip-leakage flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pogorelov, Alexej; Meinke, Matthias; Schröder, Wolfgang

2015-07-01

The turbulent low Mach number flow through an axial fan at a Reynolds number of 9.36 × 105 based on the outer casing diameter is investigated by large-eddy simulation. A finite-volume flow solver in an unstructured hierarchical Cartesian setup for the compressible Navier-Stokes equations is used. To account for sharp edges, a fully conservative cut-cell approach is applied. A newly developed rotational periodic boundary condition for Cartesian meshes is introduced such that the simulations are performed just for a 72° segment, i.e., the flow field over one out of five axial blades is resolved. The focus of this numerical analysis is on the development of the vortical flow structures in the tip-gap region. A detailed grid convergence study is performed on four computational grids with 50 × 106, 250 × 106, 1 × 109, and 1.6 × 109 cells. Results of the instantaneous and the mean fan flow field are thoroughly analyzed based on the solution with 1 × 109 cells. High levels of turbulent kinetic energy and pressure fluctuations are generated by a tip-gap vortex upstream of the blade, the separating vortices inside the tip gap, and a counter-rotating vortex on the outer casing wall. An intermittent interaction of the turbulent wake, generated by the tip-gap vortex, with the downstream blade, leads to a cyclic transition with high pressure fluctuations on the suction side of the blade and a decay of the tip-gap vortex. The disturbance of the tip-gap vortex results in an unsteady behavior of the turbulent wake causing the intermittent interaction. For this interaction and the cyclic transition, two dominant frequencies are identified which perfectly match with the characteristic frequencies in the experimental sound power level and therefore explain their physical origin.

Observations of reduced electron Gyroscale fluctuations in national spherical torus experiment H-mode plasmas with large ExB flow shear.

PubMed

Smith, D R; Kaye, S M; Lee, W; Mazzucato, E; Park, H K; Bell, R E; Domier, C W; Leblanc, B P; Levinton, F M; Luhmann, N C; Menard, J E; Yuh, H

2009-06-05

Electron gyroscale fluctuation measurements in National Spherical Torus Experiment H-mode plasmas with large toroidal rotation reveal fluctuations consistent with electron temperature gradient (ETG) turbulence. Large toroidal rotation in National Spherical Torus Experiment plasmas with neutral beam injection generates ExB flow shear rates comparable to ETG linear growth rates. Enhanced fluctuations occur when the electron temperature gradient is marginally stable with respect to the ETG linear critical gradient. Fluctuation amplitudes decrease when the ExB flow shear rate exceeds ETG linear growth rates. The observations indicate that ExB flow shear can be an effective suppression mechanism for ETG turbulence.

Analytical Studies of Boundary Layer Generated Aircraft Interior Noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howe, M. S.; Shah, P. L.

1997-01-01

An analysis is made of the "interior noise" produced by high, subsonic turbulent flow over a thin elastic plate partitioned into "panels" by straight edges transverse to the mean flow direction. This configuration models a section of an aircraft fuselage that may be regarded as locally flat. The analytical problem can be solved in closed form to represent the acoustic radiation in terms of prescribed turbulent boundary layer pressure fluctuations. Two cases are considered: (i) the production of sound at an isolated panel edge (i.e., in the approximation in which the correlation between sound and vibrations generated at neighboring edges is neglected), and (ii) the sound generated by a periodic arrangement of identical panels. The latter problem is amenable to exact analytical treatment provided the panel edge conditions are the same for all panels. Detailed predictions of the interior noise depend on a knowledge of the turbulent boundary layer wall pressure spectrum, and are given here in terms of an empirical spectrum proposed by Laganelli and Wolfe. It is expected that these analytical representations of the sound generated by simplified models of fluid-structure interactions can used to validate more general numerical schemes.

In-cylinder flows of a motored four-stroke engine with flat-crown and slightly concave-crown pistons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huang, R.F.; Yang, H.S.; Yeh, C.-N.

2008-04-15

The temporal and spatial evolution processes of the in-cylinder flow structures and turbulence intensities in the symmetry and offset planes of a motored four-valve, four-stroke engine during the intake and compression strokes are diagnosed by using a particle image velocimeter. Two pistons of different crown shapes (flat-crown and slightly concave-crown pistons) are studied. The inception, establishment, and evolution of the tumbling vortical flow structures during the intake and compression strokes are clearly depicted. Quantitative strengths of the rotating vortical flow motions are presented by a dimensionless parameter, the tumble ratio, which can represent the mean angular velocity of the vorticesmore » in the target plane. The turbulence intensity of the in-cylinder flow is also calculated by using the measured time-varying velocity data. The results show that the flat-crown piston induces higher bulk-averaged tumble ratio and turbulence intensity than the slightly concave-crown piston does because the tumble ratio and turbulence generated by the flat-crown piston in the offset planes during the compression stroke are particularly large. The engine with the flat-crown piston also presents larger torque and power outputs and lower hydrocarbon emission than that with the slightly concave-crown piston. This might be caused by the enhanced combustion in the engine cylinder due to the stronger tumble ratio and turbulence intensity. (author)« less

Turbulent mixing noise from supersonic jets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tam, Christopher K. W.; Chen, Ping

1994-01-01

There is now a substantial body of theoretical and experimental evidence that the dominant part of the turbulent noise of supersonic jets is generated directly by the large turbulence structures/instability waves of the jet flow. Earlier, Tam and Burton provided a description of the physical mechanism by which supersonically traveling instability waves can generate sound efficiently. They used the method of matched asymptotic expansions to construct an instability wave solution which is valid in the far field. The present work is an extension of the theory of Tam and Burton. It is argued that the instability wave spectrum of the jet may be regarded as generated by stochastic white noise excitation at the nozzle lip region. The reason why the excitation has white noise characteristics is that near the nozzle lip region the flow in the jet mixing layer has no intrinsic length and time scales. The present stochastic wave model theory of supersonic jet noise contains a single unknown multiplicative constant. Comparisons between the calculated noise directivities at selected Strouhal numbers and experimental measurements of a Mach 2 jet at different jet temperatures have been carried out. Favorable agreements are found.

On the structure of the turbulent vortex

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, L.

1985-01-01

The trailing vortex generated by a lifting surface, the structure of its turbulent core and the influence of axial flow within the vortex on its initial persistence and on its subsequent decay are described. Similarity solutions of the turbulent diffusion equation are given in closed form and results are expressed in sufficiently simple terms that the influence of the lifting surface parameters on the length of persistence and the rate of decay of the vortex can be evaluated.

Analysis of turbulent transport and mixing in transitional Rayleigh–Taylor unstable flow using direct numerical simulation data

DOE PAGES

Schilling, Oleg; Mueschke, Nicholas J.

2010-10-18

Data from a 1152X760X1280 direct numerical simulation (DNS) of a transitional Rayleigh-Taylor mixing layer modeled after a small Atwood number water channel experiment is used to comprehensively investigate the structure of mean and turbulent transport and mixing. The simulation had physical parameters and initial conditions approximating those in the experiment. The budgets of the mean vertical momentum, heavy-fluid mass fraction, turbulent kinetic energy, turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate, heavy-fluid mass fraction variance, and heavy-fluid mass fraction variance dissipation rate equations are constructed using Reynolds averaging applied to the DNS data. The relative importance of mean and turbulent production, turbulent dissipationmore » and destruction, and turbulent transport are investigated as a function of Reynolds number and across the mixing layer to provide insight into the flow dynamics not presently available from experiments. The analysis of the budgets supports the assumption for small Atwood number, Rayleigh/Taylor driven flows that the principal transport mechanisms are buoyancy production, turbulent production, turbulent dissipation, and turbulent diffusion (shear and mean field production are negligible). As the Reynolds number increases, the turbulent production in the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate equation becomes the dominant production term, while the buoyancy production plateaus. Distinctions between momentum and scalar transport are also noted, where the turbulent kinetic energy and its dissipation rate both grow in time and are peaked near the center plane of the mixing layer, while the heavy-fluid mass fraction variance and its dissipation rate initially grow and then begin to decrease as mixing progresses and reduces density fluctuations. All terms in the transport equations generally grow or decay, with no qualitative change in their profile, except for the pressure flux contribution to the total turbulent kinetic energy flux, which changes sign early in time (a countergradient effect). The production-to-dissipation ratios corresponding to the turbulent kinetic energy and heavy-fluid mass fraction variance are large and vary strongly at small evolution times, decrease with time, and nearly asymptote as the flow enters a self-similar regime. The late-time turbulent kinetic energy production-to-dissipation ratio is larger than observed in shear-driven turbulent flows. The order of magnitude estimates of the terms in the transport equations are shown to be consistent with the DNS at late-time, and also confirms both the dominant terms and their evolutionary behavior. Thus, these results are useful for identifying the dynamically important terms requiring closure, and assessing the accuracy of the predictions of Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes and large-eddy simulation models of turbulent transport and mixing in transitional Rayleigh-Taylor instability-generated flow.« less

A parallel direct numerical simulation of dust particles in a turbulent flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, H. V.; Yokota, R.; Stenchikov, G.; Kocurek, G.

2012-04-01

Due to their effects on radiation transport, aerosols play an important role in the global climate. Mineral dust aerosol is a predominant natural aerosol in the desert and semi-desert regions of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The Arabian Peninsula is one of the three predominant source regions on the planet "exporting" dust to almost the entire world. Mineral dust aerosols make up about 50% of the tropospheric aerosol mass and therefore produces a significant impact on the Earth's climate and the atmospheric environment, especially in the MENA region that is characterized by frequent dust storms and large aerosol generation. Understanding the mechanisms of dust emission, transport and deposition is therefore essential for correctly representing dust in numerical climate prediction. In this study we present results of numerical simulations of dust particles in a turbulent flow to study the interaction between dust and the atmosphere. Homogenous and passive dust particles in the boundary layers are entrained and advected under the influence of a turbulent flow. Currently no interactions between particles are included. Turbulence is resolved through direct numerical simulation using a parallel incompressible Navier-Stokes flow solver. Model output provides information on particle trajectories, turbulent transport of dust and effects of gravity on dust motion, which will be used to compare with the wind tunnel experiments at University of Texas at Austin. Results of testing of parallel efficiency and scalability is provided. Future versions of the model will include air-particle momentum exchanges, varying particle sizes and saltation effect. The results will be used for interpreting wind tunnel and field experiments and for improvement of dust generation parameterizations in meteorological models.

On the Effect of Rigid Swept Surface Waves on Turbulent Drag

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Denison, M.; Wilkinson, S. P.; Balakumar, P.

2015-01-01

Passive turbulent drag reduction techniques are of interest as a cost effective means to improve air vehicle fuel consumption. In the past, rigid surface waves slanted at an angle from the streamwise direction were deemed ineffective to reduce skin friction drag due to the pressure drag that they generate. A recent analysis seeking similarities to the spanwise shear stress generated by spatial Stokes layers suggested that there may be a range of wavelength, amplitude, and orientation in which the wavy surface would reduce turbulent drag. The present work explores, by experiments and Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS), the effect of swept wavy surfaces on skin friction and pressure drag. Plates with shallow and deep wave patterns were rapid-prototyped and tested using a drag balance in the 7x11 inch Low-Speed Wind Tunnel at the NASA LaRC Research Center. The measured drag o set between the wavy plates and the reference at plate is found to be within the experimental repeatability limit. Oil vapor flow measurements indicate a mean spanwise flow over the deep waves. The turbulent flow in channels with at walls, swept wavy walls and spatial Stokes spanwise velocity forcing was simulated at a friction Reynolds number of two hundred. The time-averaged and dynamic turbulent flow characteristics of the three channel types are compared. The drag obtained for the channel with shallow waves is slightly larger than for the at channel, within the range of the experiments. In the case of the large waves, the simulation over predicts the drag. The shortcomings of the Stokes layer analogy model for the estimation of the spanwise shear stress and drag are discussed.

High-Speed Turbulent Reacting Flows: Intrinsic Flame Instability and its Effects on the Turbulent Cascade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poludnenko, Alexei

2016-11-01

Turbulent reacting flows are pervasive both in our daily lives on Earth and in the Universe. They power modern society being at the heart of many energy generation and propulsion systems, such as gas turbines, internal combustion and jet engines. On astronomical scales, thermonuclear turbulent flames are the driver of some of the most powerful explosions in the Universe, knows as Type Ia supernovae. Despite this ubiquity in Nature, turbulent reacting flows still pose a number of fundamental questions often exhibiting surprising and unexpected behavior. In this talk, we will discuss several such phenomena observed in direct numerical simulations of high-speed, premixed, turbulent flames. We show that turbulent flames in certain regimes are intrinsically unstable even in the absence of the surrounding combustor walls or obstacles, which can support the thermoacoustic feedback. Such instability can fundamentally change the structure and dynamics of the turbulent cascade, resulting in a significant (and anisotropic) redistribution of kinetic energy from small to large scales. In particular, three effects are observed. 1) The turbulent burning velocity can develop pulsations with significant peak-to-peak amplitudes. 2) Unstable burning can result in pressure build-up and the formation of pressure waves or shocks when the flame speed approaches or exceeds the speed of a Chapman-Jouguet deflagration. 3) Coupling of pressure and density gradients across the flame can lead to the anisotropic generation of turbulence inside the flame volume and flame acceleration. We extend our earlier analysis, which relied on a simplified single-step reaction model, by demonstrating existence of these effects in realistic chemical flames (hydrogen and methane) and in thermonuclear flames in degenerate, relativistic plasmas found in stellar interiors. Finally, we discuss the implications of these results for subgrid-scale LES combustion models. This work was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) under Award No. F4FGA06055G001, and the Department of Defense (DoD) High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) under a Frontier project award.

A method for obtaining a statistically stationary turbulent free shear flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Timson, Stephen F.; Lele, S. K.; Moser, R. D.

1994-01-01

The long-term goal of the current research is the study of Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) as a tool for aeroacoustics. New algorithms and developments in computer hardware are making possible a new generation of tools for aeroacoustic predictions, which rely on the physics of the flow rather than empirical knowledge. LES, in conjunction with an acoustic analogy, holds the promise of predicting the statistics of noise radiated to the far-field of a turbulent flow. LES's predictive ability will be tested through extensive comparison of acoustic predictions based on a Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) and LES of the same flow, as well as a priori testing of DNS results. The method presented here is aimed at allowing simulation of a turbulent flow field that is both simple and amenable to acoustic predictions. A free shear flow is homogeneous in both the streamwise and spanwise directions and which is statistically stationary will be simulated using equations based on the Navier-Stokes equations with a small number of added terms. Studying a free shear flow eliminates the need to consider flow-surface interactions as an acoustic source. The homogeneous directions and the flow's statistically stationary nature greatly simplify the application of an acoustic analogy.

Turbulent Premixed Flames in Microgravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Menon, Suresh

1996-01-01

The experimental cold-flow facility is now full operational and is currently being used to obtain baseline turbulence data in a Couette flow. The baseline turbulence data is necessary to confirm the capability of the chosen device to generate and maintain the required turbulence intensity. Subsequent reacting flow studies will assume that a similar turbulent flow field exists ahead of the premixed flame. Some modifications and refinements had to be made to enable accurate measurements. It consists of two rollers, one (driven by a motor) which drives a continuous belt and four smaller rollers used to set the belt spacing and tension to minimize belt flutter. The entire assemble is enclosed in a structure that has the dimensions to enable future drop tower experiments of the hot facility. All critical dimensions are the same as the original plans except for the pulley ratio which has been changed to enable a wider operating regime in terms of the Reynolds number. With the current setup, Reynolds numbers as low as 100 and as high as 14,000 can be achieved. This is because the in-between belt spacing can be varied from 1 cm to 7.6 cm, and the belt speed can be accurately varied from .15 m/sec to 3.1 m/sec.

Linear flow dynamics near a T/NT interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teixeira, Miguel; Silva, Carlos

2011-11-01

The characteristics of a suddenly-inserted T/NT interface separating a homogeneous and isotropic shear-free turbulence region from a non-turbulent flow region are investigated using rapid distortion theory (RDT), taking full account of viscous effects. Profiles of the velocity variances, TKE, viscous dissipation rate, turbulence length scales, and pressure statistics are derived, showing very good agreement with DNS. The normalized inviscid flow statistics at the T/NT interface do not depend on the form of the assumed TKE spectrum. In the non-turbulent region, where the flow is irrotational (except within a thin viscous boundary layer), the dissipation rate decays as z-6, where z is distance from the T/NT interface. The mean pressure exhibits a decrease towards the turbulence due to the associated velocity fluctuations, consistent with the generation of a mean entrainment velocity. The vorticity variance and dissipation rate display large maxima at the T/NT interface due to the existing inviscid discontinuities of the tangential velocity, and these maxima are quantitatively related to the thickness of the viscous boundary layer (VBL). At equilibrium, RDT suggests that the thickness of the T/NT interface scales on the Kolmogorov microscale. We acknowledge the financial support of FCT under Project PTDC/EME-MFE/099636/2008.

Experimental studies on the influence of the degree of turbulence and of a turbulence thread on the compressible subsonic flow through flat compressor cascades

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barsun, K.

1978-01-01

The measurements revealed that at low Reynolds numbers the profile loss is considerably reduced both by the increased degree of turbulence and by a turbulence thread, while it is somewhat increased at high Reynolds numbers, and that a profile loss reduction is connected with an increase in deflection and in pressure shift. The turbulence generator is most effective on the one hand in the middle of the operating range of the cascades, and on the other at very high Mach numbers together with a large angle of incidence.

Consistent Initial Conditions for the DNS of Compressible Turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ristorcelli, J. R.; Blaisdell, G. A.

1996-01-01

Relationships between diverse thermodynamic quantities appropriate to weakly compressible turbulence are derived. It is shown that for turbulence of a finite turbulent Mach number there is a finite element of compressibility. A methodology for generating initial conditions for the fluctuating pressure, density and dilatational velocity is given which is consistent with finite Mach number effects. Use of these initial conditions gives rise to a smooth development of the flow, in contrast to cases in which these fields are specified arbitrarily or set to zero. Comparisons of the effect of different types of initial conditions are made using direct numerical simulation of decaying isotropic turbulence.

Numerical investigation of hub clearance flow in a Kaplan turbine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, H.; Feng, J. J.; Wu, G. K.; Luo, X. Q.

2012-11-01

In this paper, the flow field considering the hub clearance flow in a Kaplan turbine has been investigated through using the commercial CFD code ANSYS CFX based on high-quality structured grids generated by ANSYS ICEM CFD. The turbulence is simulated by k-ω based shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model together with automatic near wall treatments. Four kinds of simulations have been conducted for the runner geometry without hub clearance, with only the hub front clearance, with only the rear hub clearance, and with both front and rear clearance. The analysis of the obtained results is focused on the flow structure of the hub clearance flow, the effect on the turbine performance including hydraulic efficiency and cavitation performance, which can improve the understanding on the flow field in a Kaplan turbine.

CALL FOR PAPERS: Special cluster issue on `Experimental studies of zonal flow and turbulence'

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itoh, S.-I.

2005-07-01

Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion (PPCF) invites submissions on the topic of `Experimental studies of zonal flow and turbulence', for consideration for a special topical cluster of articles to be published early in 2006. The topical cluster will be published in an issue of PPCF, combined with regular articles. The Guest Editor for the special cluster will be S-I Itoh, Kyushu University, Japan. There has been remarkable progress in the area of structure formation by turbulence. One of the highlights has been the physics of zonal flow and drift wave turbulence in toroidal plasmas. Extensive theoretical as well as computational studies have revealed the various mechanisms in turbulence and zonal flows. At the same time, experimental research on the zonal flow, geodesic acoustic modes and generation of global electric field by turbulence has evolved rapidly. Fast growth in reports of experimental results has stimulated further efforts to develop increased knowledge and systematic understanding. Each paper considered for the special cluster should describe the present research status and new scientific knowledge/results from the authors on experimental studies of zonal flow, geodesic acoustic modes and generation of electric field by turbulence (including studies of Reynolds-Maxwell stresses, etc). Manuscripts submitted to this special cluster in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion will be refereed according to the normal criteria and procedures of the journal. The Guest Editor guides the progress of the cluster from the initial open call, through the standard refereeing process, to publication. To be considered for inclusion in the special cluster, articles must be submitted by 2 September 2005 and must clearly state `for inclusion in the Turbulent Plasma Cluster'. Articles submitted after this deadline may not be included in the cluster issue but may be published in a later issue of the journal. Please submit your manuscript electronically via our web site at www.iop.org/journals/ppcf or by e-mail to mailto:ppcf@iop.org. Electronic submissions are encouraged but if you wish to submit a hard copy of your article then please send your typescript, a set of original figures and a covering letter to: The Publishing Administrator Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion Institute of Physics Publishing Dirac House Temple Back Bristol BS1 6BE UK Further information on how to submit may be obtained on request by e-mailing the journal at the above address. Alternatively, visit the homepage of the journal (www.iop.org/journals/ppcf).

Study of compressible turbulent flows in supersonic environment by large-eddy simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Genin, Franklin

The numerical resolution of turbulent flows in high-speed environment is of fundamental importance but remains a very challenging problem. First, the capture of strong discontinuities, typical of high-speed flows, requires the use of shock-capturing schemes, which are not adapted to the resolution of turbulent structures due to their intrinsic dissipation. On the other hand, low-dissipation schemes are unable to resolve shock fronts and other sharp gradients without creating high amplitude numerical oscillations. Second, the nature of turbulence in high-speed flows differs from its incompressible behavior, and, in the context of Large-Eddy Simulation, the subgrid closure must be adapted to the modeling of compressibility effects and shock waves on turbulent flows. The developments described in this thesis are two-fold. First, a state of the art closure approach for LES is extended to model subgrid turbulence in compressible flows. The energy transfers due to compressible turbulence and the diffusion of turbulent kinetic energy by pressure fluctuations are assessed and integrated in the Localized Dynamic ksgs model. Second, a hybrid numerical scheme is developed for the resolution of the LES equations and of the model transport equation, which combines a central scheme for turbulent resolutions to a shock-capturing method. A smoothness parameter is defined and used to switch from the base smooth solver to the upwind scheme in regions of discontinuities. It is shown that the developed hybrid methodology permits a capture of shock/turbulence interactions in direct simulations that agrees well with other reference simulations, and that the LES methodology effectively reproduces the turbulence evolution and physical phenomena involved in the interaction. This numerical approach is then employed to study a problem of practical importance in high-speed mixing. The interaction of two shock waves with a high-speed turbulent shear layer as a mixing augmentation technique is considered. It is shown that the levels of turbulence are increased through the interaction, and that the mixing is significantly improved in this flow configuration. However, the region of increased mixing is found to be localized to a region close to the impact of the shocks, and that the statistical levels of turbulence relax to their undisturbed levels some short distance downstream of the interaction. The present developments are finally applied to a practical configuration relevant to scramjet injection. The normal injection of a sonic jet into a supersonic crossflow is considered numerically, and compared to the results of an experimental study. A fair agreement in the statistics of mean and fluctuating velocity fields is obtained. Furthermore, some of the instantaneous flow structures observed in experimental visualizations are identified in the present simulation. The dynamics of the interaction for the reference case, based on the experimental study, as well as for a case of higher freestream Mach number and a case of higher momentum ratio, are examined. The classical instantaneous vortical structures are identified, and their generation mechanisms, specific to supersonic flow, are highlighted. Furthermore, two vortical structures, recently revealed in low-speed jets in crossflow but never documented for high-speed flows, are identified during the flow evolution.

An economical model for simulating droplet spectrum evolution in turbulent cloud chambers and wind tunnels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krueger, Steven; Cantrell, W.; Niedermeier, D.; Shaw, R.; Stratmann, F.

2017-11-01

Although airborne instruments provide detailed information about the microphysical structure of clouds, the measurements provide only a few snapshots of each cloud. Deducing the droplet spectrum evolution from such measurements is next to impossible. We are using two alternative approaches: laboratory studies and numerical simulations. The former relies on a new turbulent cloud chamber (the Pi Chamber) at Michigan Technical University, as well as the first humid turbulent wind tunnel (LACIS-T) at the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research. Both produce conditions for droplet growth (i.e., supersaturation) by mixing saturated vapor at different temperatures. The Pi Chamber produces turbulence by inducing Rayleigh-Bénard convection, while the wind tunnel generates turbulence with a grid. We are using the Explicit Mixing Parcel Model (EMPM) to numerically simulate droplet spectrum evolution in these flows. The EMPM explicitly links turbulent mixing and droplet spectrum evolution by representing a turbulent flow in a 1D domain with the linear eddy model. The EMPM can economically span scales from those of the smallest turbulent eddies to those of the largest. The EMPM grows or evaporates thousands of individual cloud droplets according to their local environments.

An apparatus for generation and quantitative measurement of homogeneous isotropic turbulence in He ii

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mastracci, Brian; Guo, Wei

2018-01-01

The superfluid phase of helium-4, known as He ii, exhibits extremely small kinematic viscosity and may be a useful tool for economically producing and studying high Reynolds number turbulent flow. Such applications are not currently possible because a comprehensive understanding of the complex two-fluid behavior of He ii is lacking. This situation could be remedied by a systematic investigation of simple, well controlled turbulence that can be directly compared with theoretical models. To this end, we have developed a new apparatus that combines flow visualization with second sound attenuation to study turbulence in the wake of a mesh grid towed through a He ii filled channel. One of three mesh grids (mesh number M = 3, 3.75, or 5 mm) can be pulled at speeds between 0.1 and 60 cm/s through a cast acrylic flow channel which has a 16 mm × 16 mm cross section and measures 330 mm long. The motion of solidified deuterium tracer particles, with diameter of the order 1 μm, in the resulting flow is captured by a high speed camera, and a particle tracking velocimetry algorithm resolves the Lagrangian particle trajectories through the turbulent flow field. A pair of oscillating superleak second sound transducers installed in the channel allows complementary measurement of vortex line density in the superfluid throughout the turbulent decay process. Success in early experiments demonstrates the effectiveness of both probes, and preliminary analysis of the data shows that both measurements strongly correlate with each other. Further investigations will provide comprehensive information that can be used to address open questions about turbulence in He ii and move toward the application of this fluid to high Reynolds number fluid research.

Statistics of spatial derivatives of velocity and pressure in turbulent channel flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vreman, A. W.; Kuerten, J. G. M.

2014-08-01

Statistical profiles of the first- and second-order spatial derivatives of velocity and pressure are reported for turbulent channel flow at Reτ = 590. The statistics were extracted from a high-resolution direct numerical simulation. To quantify the anisotropic behavior of fine-scale structures, the variances of the derivatives are compared with the theoretical values for isotropic turbulence. It is shown that appropriate combinations of first- and second-order velocity derivatives lead to (directional) viscous length scales without explicit occurrence of the viscosity in the definitions. To quantify the non-Gaussian and intermittent behavior of fine-scale structures, higher-order moments and probability density functions of spatial derivatives are reported. Absolute skewnesses and flatnesses of several spatial derivatives display high peaks in the near wall region. In the logarithmic and central regions of the channel flow, all first-order derivatives appear to be significantly more intermittent than in isotropic turbulence at the same Taylor Reynolds number. Since the nine variances of first-order velocity derivatives are the distinct elements of the turbulence dissipation, the budgets of these nine variances are shown, together with the budget of the turbulence dissipation. The comparison of the budgets in the near-wall region indicates that the normal derivative of the fluctuating streamwise velocity (∂u'/∂y) plays a more important role than other components of the fluctuating velocity gradient. The small-scale generation term formed by triple correlations of fluctuations of first-order velocity derivatives is analyzed. A typical mechanism of small-scale generation near the wall (around y+ = 1), the intensification of positive ∂u'/∂y by local strain fluctuation (compression in normal and stretching in spanwise direction), is illustrated and discussed.

The generation and dissipation of solar and galactic magnetic fields.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, E. N.

1973-01-01

Turbulent diffusion of magnetic field plays an essential role in the generation of magnetic field in most astrophysical bodies. Review of what can be proved and what can be believed about the turbulent diffusion of magnetic field. Observations indicate the dissipation of magnetic field at rates that can be understood only in terms of turbulent diffusion. Theory shows that a large-scale weak magnetic field diffuses in a turbulent flow in the same way that smoke is mixed throughout the fluid by the turbulence. The small-scale fields (produced from the large-scale field by the turbulence) are limited in their growth by reconnection of field lines at neutral points, so that the turbulent mixing of field and fluid is not halted by them. Altogether, it appears that the mixing of field and fluid in the observed turbulent motions in the sun and in the Galaxy is unavoidable. Turbulent diffusion causes decay of the general solar fields in a decade or so, and of the galactic field in 100 m.y. to 1 b.y. It is concluded that continual dynamo action is implied by the observed existence of the fields.

Towards Natural Transition in Compressible Boundary Layers

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-29

Behaviour of a natural laminar flow aerofoil in flight through atmospheric turbulence. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 767:394–429, 003 2015. [70] O...DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited See report Wave packet, compressible boundary layer, subsonic flow ...Base flow generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 3.1.1 Boundary layer profiles

Modeling Coherent Structures in Canopy Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luhar, Mitul

2017-11-01

It is well known that flows over vegetation canopies are characterized by the presence of energetic coherent structures. Since the mean profile over dense canopies exhibits an inflection point, the emergence of such structures is often attributed to a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. However, though stability analyses provide useful mechanistic insights into canopy flows, they are limited in their ability to generate predictions for spectra and coherent structure. The present effort seeks to address this limitation by extending the resolvent formulation (McKeon and Sharma, 2010, J. Fluid Mech.) to canopy flows. Under the resolvent formulation, the turbulent velocity field is expressed as a superposition of propagating modes, identified via a gain-based (singular value) decomposition of the Navier-Stokes equations. A key advantage of this approach is that it reconciles multiple mechanisms that lead to high amplification in turbulent flows, including modal instability, transient growth, and critical-layer phenomena. Further, individual high-gain modes can be combined to generate more complete models for coherent structure and velocity spectra. Preliminary resolvent-based model predictions for canopy flows agree well with existing experiments and simulations.

Vortex multiplication in applied flow: A precursor to superfluid turbulence.

PubMed

Finne, A P; Eltsov, V B; Eska, G; Hänninen, R; Kopu, J; Krusius, M; Thuneberg, E V; Tsubota, M

2006-03-03

A surface-mediated process is identified in 3He-B which generates vortices at a roughly constant rate. It precedes a faster form of turbulence where intervortex interactions dominate. This precursor becomes observable when vortex loops are introduced in low-velocity rotating flow at sufficiently low mutual friction dissipation at temperatures below 0.5Tc. Our measurements indicate that the formation of new loops is associated with a single vortex interacting in the applied flow with the sample boundary. Numerical calculations show that the single-vortex instability arises when a helical Kelvin wave expands from a reconnection kink at the wall and then intersects again with the wall.

Understanding the impact of insulating and conducting endplate boundary conditions on turbulence in CSDX through nonlocal simulations

DOE PAGES

Vaezi, P.; Holland, C.; Thakur, S. C.; ...

2017-04-01

The Controlled Shear Decorrelation Experiment (CSDX) linear plasma device provides a unique platform for investigating the underlying physics of self-regulating drift-wave turbulence/zonal flow dynamics. A minimal model of 3D drift-reduced nonlocal cold ion fluid equations which evolves density, vorticity, and electron temperature fluctuations, with proper sheath boundary conditions, is used to simulate dynamics of the turbulence in CSDX and its response to changes in parallel boundary conditions. These simulations are then carried out using the BOUndary Turbulence (BOUT++) framework and use equilibrium electron density and temperature profiles taken from experimental measurements. The results show that density gradient-driven drift-waves are themore » dominant instability in CSDX. However, the choice of insulating or conducting endplate boundary conditions affects the linear growth rates and energy balance of the system due to the absence or addition of Kelvin-Helmholtz modes generated by the sheath-driven equilibrium E × B shear and sheath-driven temperature gradient instability. Moreover, nonlinear simulation results show that the boundary conditions impact the turbulence structure and zonal flow formation, resulting in less broadband (more quasi-coherent) turbulence and weaker zonal flow in conducting boundary condition case. These results are qualitatively consistent with earlier experimental observations.« less

Stanley Corrsin Award Lecture: Lagrangian Measurements in Turbulence: From Fundamentals to Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bodenschatz, Eberhard

2014-11-01

In my talk I shall present results from particle tracking experiments in turbulence. After a short review of the history of the field, I shall summarize the most recent technological advances that range form low and high-density particle tracking to direct measurements of the Lagrangian evolution of vorticity. I shall embark on a journey that describes the discoveries made possible by this new technology in the last 15 years. I present results that challenge our understanding of turbulence and show how Lagrangian particle tracking can help us ask questions on turbulent flows that so far were hidden. I shall show how Lagrangian particle tracking may provide important insights into the reversibility of turbulent flows, on vorticity generation, the energy cascade and turbulent mixing. I shall describe the consequences of inertial particle transport on rain formation and end with an outlook on how Lagrangian particle tracking experiments on non-stationary flows in real-world situations may provide high quality data that can support real world engineering problems. I am very thankful for the support by Cornell University, the National Science Foundation, the Research Corporation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, the German Research Foundation, the European Union and the Max Planck Society. I very gratefully acknowledge the excellent partnership with many colleagues in the field of fluid mechanics and turbulence.

Periodic unsteady effects on turbulent boundary layer transport and heat transfer: An experimental investigation in a cylinder-wall junction flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Qi

Heat transfer in a turbulent boundary layer downstream of junction with a cylinder has many engineering applications including controlling heat transfer to the endwall in gas turbine passages and cooling of protruding electronic chips. The main objective of this research is to study the fundamental process of heat transport and wall heat transfer in a turbulent three-dimensional flow superimposed with local large-scale periodic unsteadiness generated by vortex shedding from the cylinder. Direct measurements of the Reynolds heat fluxes (/line{utheta},\\ /line{vtheta}\\ and\\ /line{wtheta}) and time-resolved wall heat transfer rate will provide insight into unsteady flow behavior and data for advanced turbulence models for numerical simulation of complex engineering flows. Experiments were conducted in an open-circuit, low-speed wind tunnel. Reynolds stresses and heat fluxes were obtained from turbulent heat-flux probes which consisted of two hot wires, arranged in an X-wire configuration, and a cold wire located in front of the X-wire. Thin-film surface heat flux sensors were designed for measuring time-resolved wall heat flux. A reference probe and conditional-sampling technique connected the flow field dynamics to wall heat transfer. An event detecting and ensemble-averaging method was developed to separate effects of unsteadiness from those of background turbulence. Results indicate that unsteadiness affects both heat transport and wall heat transfer. The flow behind the cylinder can be characterized by three regions: (1) Wake region, where unsteadiness is observed to have modest effect; (2) Unsteady region, where the strongest unsteadiness effect is found; (3) Outer region, where the flow approaches the two-dimensional boundary-layer behavior. Vortex shedding from both sides of the cylinder contributes to mixing enhancement in the wake region. Unsteadiness contributes up to 51% of vertical and 59% of spanwise turbulent heat fluxes in the unsteady region. The instantaneous wall Stanton number increased up to 100% compared with an undisturbed flow. Large-scale fluctuations of wall Stanton number were due to the periodic thinning and thickening of the thermal layer caused by periodic vertical velocity fluctuations. This suggests that the outerlayer motion affects near-wall flow behavior and wall heat transfer.

Studies of Shock Wave Interactions with Homogeneous and Isotropic Turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Briassulis, G.; Agui, J.; Watkins, C. B.; Andreopoulos, Y.

1998-01-01

A nearly homogeneous nearly isotropic compressible turbulent flow interacting with a normal shock wave has been studied experimentally in a large shock tube facility. Spatial resolution of the order of 8 Kolmogorov viscous length scales was achieved in the measurements of turbulence. A variety of turbulence generating grids provide a wide range of turbulence scales. Integral length scales were found to substantially decrease through the interaction with the shock wave in all investigated cases with flow Mach numbers ranging from 0.3 to 0.7 and shock Mach numbers from 1.2 to 1.6. The outcome of the interaction depends strongly on the state of compressibility of the incoming turbulence. The length scales in the lateral direction are amplified at small Mach numbers and attenuated at large Mach numbers. Even at large Mach numbers amplification of lateral length scales has been observed in the case of fine grids. In addition to the interaction with the shock the present work has documented substantial compressibility effects in the incoming homogeneous and isotropic turbulent flow. The decay of Mach number fluctuations was found to follow a power law similar to that describing the decay of incompressible isotropic turbulence. It was found that the decay coefficient and the decay exponent decrease with increasing Mach number while the virtual origin increases with increasing Mach number. A mechanism possibly responsible for these effects appears to be the inherently low growth rate of compressible shear layers emanating from the cylindrical rods of the grid.

Computational Fluid Dynamics Symposium on Aeropropulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

Recognizing the considerable advances that have been made in computational fluid dynamics, the Internal Fluid Mechanics Division of NASA Lewis Research Center sponsored this symposium with the objective of providing a forum for exchanging information regarding recent developments in numerical methods, physical and chemical modeling, and applications. This conference publication is a compilation of 4 invited and 34 contributed papers presented in six sessions: algorithms one and two, turbomachinery, turbulence, components application, and combustors. Topics include numerical methods, grid generation, chemically reacting flows, turbulence modeling, inlets, nozzles, and unsteady flows.

The Madison Dynamo Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bastian, N.; O'Connell, R.; Kendrick, R.; Goldwin, J.; Forest, C. B.

1998-11-01

A liquid metal magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) experiment at the University of Wisconsin is being constructed in order to validate 3 key elements of MHD dynamo theory: magnetic instabilities driven by flow shear, the effects of turbulence on current generation (primarily the α and β effects) and the nature of saturation for these on these processes. The experiment consists of two main stages, the first of which uses water to test impeller designs that are used to generate flows capable of supporting a dynamo. Since water has nearly the same viscosity and mass density as sodium, it is the ideal substance with which to test our impeller designs. The second stage of the experiment uses a one meter diameter sphere filled with ≈ 200 gallons of liquid sodium to directly test MHD theory. Impellers will be used to impose flows on the liquid sodium that are predicted by MHD theory to lead to a growing magnetic field. In addition, large scale flows will lead to small-scale turbulence which can produce a dynamo effect and a current. This is known as the turbulent α-effect which we will attempt to observe. The MHD theory also predicts an anomalously high resistivity or magnetic diffusivity (the β-effect). Once a growing magnetic field is present it should be possible to measure the effect that the growing magnetic field has on the flow that created it.

The behaviour of turbulence anisotropy through shock waves and expansions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Minh, H. H.; Kollmann, W.; Vandromme, D.

1985-01-01

A second order closure has been implemented in an implicit Navier-Stokes solver to study the behavior of the Reynolds stresses under the influence of severe pressure gradients. In the boundary layer zone, the strongly sheared character of the mean flow dominates the turbulence generation mechanisms. However, the pressure gradients play also a very important role for these processes, but at different locations within the boundary layer. This aspect may be emphasized by the analysis of turbulence anisotropy through shock waves and expansions.

Non-Markovian Effects in Turbulent Diffusion in Magnetized Plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zagorodny, Anatoly; Weiland, Jan

2009-10-08

The derivation of the kinetic equations for inhomogeneous plasma in an external magnetic field is presented. The Fokker-Planck-type equations with the non-Markovian kinetic coefficients are proposed. In the time-local limit (small correlation times with respect to the distribution function relaxation time) the relations obtained recover the results known from the appropriate quasilinear theory and the Dupree-Weinstock theory of plasma turbulence. The equations proposed are used to describe zonal flow generation and to estimate the diffusion coefficient for saturated turbulence.

Computing Normal Shock-Isotropic Turbulence Interaction With Tetrahedral Meshes and the Space-Time CESE Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Venkatachari, Balaji Shankar; Chang, Chau-Lyan

2016-11-01

The focus of this study is scale-resolving simulations of the canonical normal shock- isotropic turbulence interaction using unstructured tetrahedral meshes and the space-time conservation element solution element (CESE) method. Despite decades of development in unstructured mesh methods and its potential benefits of ease of mesh generation around complex geometries and mesh adaptation, direct numerical or large-eddy simulations of turbulent flows are predominantly carried out using structured hexahedral meshes. This is due to the lack of consistent multi-dimensional numerical formulations in conventional schemes for unstructured meshes that can resolve multiple physical scales and flow discontinuities simultaneously. The CESE method - due to its Riemann-solver-free shock capturing capabilities, non-dissipative baseline schemes, and flux conservation in time as well as space - has the potential to accurately simulate turbulent flows using tetrahedral meshes. As part of the study, various regimes of the shock-turbulence interaction (wrinkled and broken shock regimes) will be investigated along with a study on how adaptive refinement of tetrahedral meshes benefits this problem. The research funding for this paper has been provided by Revolutionary Computational Aerosciences (RCA) subproject under the NASA Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program (TACP).

Evidence for the role of turbulence-induced poloidal flow shear in triggering the L-H transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, C. X.; Xu, Y. H.; Jiang, Y.; Luo, J. R.; Mao, J. S.; Liu, B. H.; Li, J. G.

1999-11-01

We have studied the role of turbulence-driven Reynolds stress induced poloidal flow shear in triggering the L-H transition induced by turbulent heating (TH) on HT-6M tokamak. This improved confinement regime has a set of features similar to that of H-mode are commonly observed in large tokamaks. The time evolution indicates that V_θ begins to evolve 0.1ms prior to the change in Er which precedes any measurable change in local confinement characteristics. The measurements of the turbulence-driven Reynolds stress S shows that S and its gradient in the edge region evolve sharply after the start of the TH pulse. Moreover, the time evolution and the temporal structure of the poloidal velocity computed from the measured Reynolds stress profile and the directly measured V_θ look remarkably similar. The time behavior and magnitude of the Reynolds stress-induced-V_θ B_φ term are also found to be in good correlation with that of the measured E_r. These results suggest that the turbulence-driven Reynolds stress might be the dominant mechanism to generate the poloidal flow shear which causes the rapid changes in Er and its shear to trigger the transition.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vaezi, P.; Holland, C.; Thakur, S. C.

The Controlled Shear Decorrelation Experiment (CSDX) linear plasma device provides a unique platform for investigating the underlying physics of self-regulating drift-wave turbulence/zonal flow dynamics. A minimal model of 3D drift-reduced nonlocal cold ion fluid equations which evolves density, vorticity, and electron temperature fluctuations, with proper sheath boundary conditions, is used to simulate dynamics of the turbulence in CSDX and its response to changes in parallel boundary conditions. These simulations are then carried out using the BOUndary Turbulence (BOUT++) framework and use equilibrium electron density and temperature profiles taken from experimental measurements. The results show that density gradient-driven drift-waves are themore » dominant instability in CSDX. However, the choice of insulating or conducting endplate boundary conditions affects the linear growth rates and energy balance of the system due to the absence or addition of Kelvin-Helmholtz modes generated by the sheath-driven equilibrium E × B shear and sheath-driven temperature gradient instability. Moreover, nonlinear simulation results show that the boundary conditions impact the turbulence structure and zonal flow formation, resulting in less broadband (more quasi-coherent) turbulence and weaker zonal flow in conducting boundary condition case. These results are qualitatively consistent with earlier experimental observations.« less

Tetrahedral-Mesh Simulation of Turbulent Flows with the Space-Time Conservative Schemes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chang, Chau-Lyan; Venkatachari, Balaji; Cheng, Gary C.

2015-01-01

Direct numerical simulations of turbulent flows are predominantly carried out using structured, hexahedral meshes despite decades of development in unstructured mesh methods. Tetrahedral meshes offer ease of mesh generation around complex geometries and the potential of an orientation free grid that would provide un-biased small-scale dissipation and more accurate intermediate scale solutions. However, due to the lack of consistent multi-dimensional numerical formulations in conventional schemes for triangular and tetrahedral meshes at the cell interfaces, numerical issues exist when flow discontinuities or stagnation regions are present. The space-time conservative conservation element solution element (CESE) method - due to its Riemann-solver-free shock capturing capabilities, non-dissipative baseline schemes, and flux conservation in time as well as space - has the potential to more accurately simulate turbulent flows using unstructured tetrahedral meshes. To pave the way towards accurate simulation of shock/turbulent boundary-layer interaction, a series of wave and shock interaction benchmark problems that increase in complexity, are computed in this paper with triangular/tetrahedral meshes. Preliminary computations for the normal shock/turbulence interactions are carried out with a relatively coarse mesh, by direct numerical simulations standards, in order to assess other effects such as boundary conditions and the necessity of a buffer domain. The results indicate that qualitative agreement with previous studies can be obtained for flows where, strong shocks co-exist along with unsteady waves that display a broad range of scales, with a relatively compact computational domain and less stringent requirements for grid clustering near the shock. With the space-time conservation properties, stable solutions without any spurious wave reflections can be obtained without a need for buffer domains near the outflow/farfield boundaries. Computational results for the isotropic turbulent flow decay, at a relatively high turbulent Mach number, show a nicely behaved spectral decay rate for medium to high wave numbers. The high-order CESE schemes offer very robust solutions even with the presence of strong shocks or widespread shocklets. The explicit formulation in conjunction with a close to unity theoretical upper Courant number bound has the potential to offer an efficient numerical framework for general compressible turbulent flow simulations with unstructured meshes.

DIRECT OBSERVATION OF THE TURBULENT emf AND TRANSPORT OF MAGNETIC FIELD IN A LIQUID SODIUM EXPERIMENT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rahbarnia, Kian; Brown, Benjamin P.; Clark, Mike M.

2012-11-10

For the first time, we have directly measured the transport of a vector magnetic field by isotropic turbulence in a high Reynolds number liquid metal flow. In analogy with direct measurements of the turbulent Reynolds stress (turbulent viscosity) that governs momentum transport, we have measured the turbulent electromotive force (emf) by simultaneously measuring three components of velocity and magnetic fields, and computed the correlations that lead to mean-field current generation. Furthermore, we show that this turbulent emf tends to oppose and cancel out the local current, acting to increase the effective resistivity of the medium, i.e., it acts as anmore » enhanced magnetic diffusivity. This has important implications for turbulent transport in astrophysical objects, particularly in dynamos and accretion disks.« less

Validation of a turbulent Kelvin-Helmholtz shear layer model using a high-energy-density OMEGA laser experiment.

PubMed

Hurricane, O A; Smalyuk, V A; Raman, K; Schilling, O; Hansen, J F; Langstaff, G; Martinez, D; Park, H-S; Remington, B A; Robey, H F; Greenough, J A; Wallace, R; Di Stefano, C A; Drake, R P; Marion, D; Krauland, C M; Kuranz, C C

2012-10-12

Following the successful demonstration of an OMEGA laser-driven platform for generating and studying nearly two-dimensional unstable plasma shear layers [Hurricane et al., Phys. Plasmas 16, 056305 (2009); Harding et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 045005 (2009)], this Letter reports on the first quantitative measurement of turbulent mixing in a high-energy-density plasma. As a blast wave moves parallel to an unperturbed interface between a low-density foam and a high-density plastic, baroclinic vorticity is deposited at the interface and a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability-driven turbulent mixing layer is created in the postshock flow due to surface roughness. The spatial scale and density profile of the turbulent layer are diagnosed using x-ray radiography with sufficiently small uncertainty so that the data can be used to ~0.17 μm) in the postshock plasma flow are consistent with an "inertial subrange," within which a Kolmogorov turbulent energy cascade can be active. An illustration of comparing the data set with the predictions of a two-equation turbulence model in the ares radiation hydrodynamics code is also presented.

Characterizing Laminar Flame Interactions with Turbulent Fluidic Jets and Solid Obstacles for Turbulence Induction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerdts, Stephen; Chambers, Jessica; Ahmed, Kareem

2016-11-01

A detonation engine's fundamental design concept focuses on enhancing the Deflagration to Detonation Transition (DDT), the process through which subsonic flames accelerate to form a spontaneous detonation wave. Flame acceleration is driven by turbulent interactions that expand the reaction zone and induce mixing of products and reactants. Turbulence in a duct can be generated using solid obstructions, fluidic obstacles, duct angle changes, and wall skin friction. Solid obstacles have been previously explored and offer repeatable turbulence induction at the cost of pressure losses and additional system weight. Fluidic jet obstacles are a novel technique that provide advantages such as the ability to be throttled, allowing for active control of combustion modes. The scope of the present work is to expand the experimental database of varying parameters such as main flow and jet equivalence ratios, fluidic momentum ratios, and solid obstacle blockage ratios. Schlieren flow visualization and particle image velocimetry (PIV) are employed to investigate turbulent flame dynamics throughout the interaction. Optimum conditions that lead to flame acceleration for both solid and fluidic obstacles will be determined. American Chemical Society.

Influence of strong perturbations on wall-bounded flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buxton, O. R. H.; Ewenz Rocher, M.; Rodríguez-López, E.

2018-01-01

Single-point hot-wire measurements are made downstream of a series of spanwise repeating obstacles that are used to generate an artificially thick turbulent boundary layer. The measurements are made in the near field, in which the turbulent boundary layer is beginning to develop from the wall-bounded wakes of the obstacles. The recent paper of Rodríguez-López et al. [E. Rodríguez-López et al., Phys. Rev. Fluids 1, 074401 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevFluids.1.074401] broadly categorized the mechanisms by which canonical turbulent boundary layers eventually develop from wall-bounded wakes into two distinct mechanisms, the wall-driven and wake-driven mechanisms. In the present work we attempt to identify the geometric parameters of tripping arrays that trigger these two mechanisms by examining the spectra of the streamwise velocity fluctuations and the intermittent outer region of the flow. Using a definition reliant upon the magnitude of the velocity fluctuations, an intermittency function is devised that can discriminate between turbulent and nonturbulent flow. These results are presented along with the spectra in order to try to ascertain which aspects of a trip's geometry are more likely to favor the wall-driven or wake-driven mechanism. The geometrical aspects of the trips tested are the aspect ratio, the total blockage, and the blockage at the wall. The results indicate that the presence, or not, of perforations is the most significant factor in affecting the flow downstream. The bleed of fluid through the perforations reenergizes the mean recirculation and leads to a narrower intermittent region with a more regular turbulent-nonturbulent interface. The near-wall turbulent motions are found to recover quickly downstream of all of the trips with a wall blockage of 50%, but a clear influence of the outer fluctuations, generated by the tip vortices of the trips, is observed in the near-wall region for the high total blockage trips. The trip with 100% wall blockage is found to modify the nature of the inner-wall peak of turbulent kinetic energy.

Analysis of tonal noise generating mechanisms in low-speed axial-flow fans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Canepa, Edward; Cattanei, Andrea; Zecchin, Fabio Mazzocut

2016-08-01

The present paper reports a comparison of experimental SPL spectral data related to the tonal noise generated by axial-flow fans. A nine blade rotor has been operated at free discharge conditions and in four geometrical configurations in which different kinds of tonal noise generating mechanisms are present: large-scale inlet turbulent structures, tip-gap flow, turbulent wakes, and rotor-stator interaction. The measurements have been taken in a hemi-anechoic chamber at constant rotational speed and, in order to vary the acoustic source strength, during low angular acceleration, linear speed ramps. In order to avoid erroneous quantitative evaluations if the acoustic propagation effects are not considered, the acoustic response functions of the different test configurations have been computed by means of the spectral decomposition method. Then, the properties of the tonal noise generating mechanisms have been studied. To this aim, the constant-Strouhal number SPL, obtained by means of measurements taken during the speed ramps, have been compared with the propagation function. Finally, the analysis of the phase of the acoustic pressure has allowed to distinguish between random and deterministic tonal noise generating mechanisms and to collect information about the presence of important propagation effects.

Direct numerical simulation of axisymmetric turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qu, Bo; Bos, Wouter J. T.; Naso, Aurore

2017-09-01

The dynamics of decaying, strictly axisymmetric, incompressible turbulence is investigated using direct numerical simulations. It is found that the angular momentum is a robust invariant of the system. It is further shown that long-lived coherent structures are generated by the flow. These structures can be associated with stationary solutions of the Euler equations. The structures obey relations in agreement with predictions from selective decay principles, compatible with the decay laws of the system. Two different types of decay scenarios are highlighted. The first case results in a quasi-two-dimensional flow with a dynamical behavior in the poloidal plane similar to freely decaying two-dimensional turbulence. In a second regime, the long-time dynamics is dominated by a single three-dimensional mode.

A computational study on oblique shock wave-turbulent boundary layer interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joy, Md. Saddam Hossain; Rahman, Saeedur; Hasan, A. B. M. Toufique; Ali, M.; Mitsutake, Y.; Matsuo, S.; Setoguchi, T.

2016-07-01

A numerical computation of an oblique shock wave incident on a turbulent boundary layer was performed for free stream flow of air at M∞ = 2.0 and Re1 = 10.5×106 m-1. The oblique shock wave was generated from a 8° wedge. Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulation with k-ω SST turbulence model was first utilized for two dimensional (2D) steady case. The results were compared with the experiment at the same flow conditions. Further, to capture the unsteadiness, a 2D Large Eddy Simulation (LES) with sub-grid scale model WMLES was performed which showed the unsteady effects. The frequency of the shock oscillation was computed and was found to be comparable with that of experimental measurement.

Gyrokinetic studies on turbulence-driven and neoclassical nondiffusive toroidal-momentum transport and the effect of residual fluctuations in strong E x B shear.

PubMed

Wang, W X; Hahm, T S; Ethier, S; Rewoldt, G; Lee, W W; Tang, W M; Kaye, S M; Diamond, P H

2009-01-23

A significant inward flux of toroidal momentum is found in global gyrokinetic simulations of ion temperature gradient turbulence, leading to core plasma rotation spin-up. The underlying mechanism is identified to be the generation of residual stress due to the k parallel symmetry breaking induced by global quasistationary zonal flow shear. Simulations also show a significant off-diagonal element associated with the ion temperature gradient in the neoclassical momentum flux, while the overall neoclassical flux is small. In addition, the residual turbulence found in the presence of strong E x B flow shear may account for neoclassical-level ion heat and anomalous momentum transport widely observed in experiments.

A viable method to predict acoustic streaming in presence of cavitation.

PubMed

Louisnard, O

2017-03-01

The steady liquid flow observed under ultrasonic emitters generating acoustic cavitation can be successfully predicted by a standard turbulent flow calculation. The flow is driven by the classical averaged volumetric force density calculated from the acoustic field, but the inertial term in Navier-Stokes equations must be kept, and a turbulent solution must be sought. The acoustic field must be computed with a realistic model, properly accounting for dissipation by the cavitation bubbles [Louisnard, Ultrason. Sonochem., 19, (2012) 56-65]. Comparison with 20kHz experiments, involving the combination of acoustic streaming and a perpendicular forced flow in a duct, shows reasonably good agreement. Moreover, the persistence of the cavitation effects on the wall facing the emitter, in spite of the deflection of the streaming jet, is correctly reproduced by the model. It is also shown that predictions based either on linear acoustics with the correct turbulent solution, or with Louisnard's model with Eckart-Nyborg's theory yields unrealistic results. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Experiments on identification and control of inflow disturbances in contracting streams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, A. H.; Nagib, H. M.; Tan-Atichat, J.; Wittwer, D. M.

1982-01-01

Vorticity from all surfaces and isolated objects in the vicinity of the fan intake, including the outside surfaces of the fan housing, were identified as the major sources for disturbances leading to blade passing frequency noise. The previously proposed mechanism based on atmospheric turbulence is refuted. Flow visualization and hot wire techniques were used in three different facilities to document the evolution of various types of disturbances, including the details of the mean flow and turbulence characteristics. The results suggest that special attention must be devoted to the design of the inlet and that geometric modeling may not lead to adequate simulation of the in flight characteristics. While honeycomb type flow manipulators appear to be effective in reducing some of the disturbances, higher pressure drop devices that generate adequate turbulence, for mixing of isolated nonuniformities, may be necessary to suppress the remaining disturbances. The results are also applicable to the design of inlets of open return wind tunnels and similar flow facilities.

Design of the Madison Dynamo Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kendrick, R. D.; Forest, C. B.; O'Connell, R.; Nornberg, M. D.; Spence, E. J.

2004-11-01

A spherical dynamo experiment has been constructed at the University of Wisconsin's liquid-sodium facility. The goals of the experiment are to observe and understand magnetic instabilities driven by flow shear in MHD systems, investigate MHD turbulence for magnetic Reynolds numbers of 100, and understand the role of fluid turbulence in current generation. Magnetic field generation is possible for only specific flow geometries. The experiment consists of a 1 m diameter, spherical stainless steel vessel filled with liquid sodium at 110 Celsius. The temperature of the vessel is maintained through an actively-heated-and-cooled oil heat-exchange system. Two 100 Hp motors with impellers drive flows in the liquid sodium with flow velocities near 15 m/s. Each shaft is sealed with an oil-buffered dual mechanical cartridge seal. The experiment is automated for remote operation and data logging. The melting and transfer of one metric ton of sodium to a storage vessel is discussed. Operating parameters and performance of the experiment are presented.

Large-Eddy Simulation of Internal Flow through Human Vocal Folds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lasota, Martin; Šidlof, Petr

2018-06-01

The phonatory process occurs when air is expelled from the lungs through the glottis and the pressure drop causes flow-induced oscillations of the vocal folds. The flow fields created in phonation are highly unsteady and the coherent vortex structures are also generated. For accuracy it is essential to compute on humanlike computational domain and appropriate mathematical model. The work deals with numerical simulation of air flow within the space between plicae vocales and plicae vestibulares. In addition to the dynamic width of the rima glottidis, where the sound is generated, there are lateral ventriculus laryngis and sacculus laryngis included in the computational domain as well. The paper presents the results from OpenFOAM which are obtained with a large-eddy simulation using second-order finite volume discretization of incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. Large-eddy simulations with different subgrid scale models are executed on structured mesh. In these cases are used only the subgrid scale models which model turbulence via turbulent viscosity and Boussinesq approximation in subglottal and supraglottal area in larynx.

Turbulence and sheared flow dynamics during q95 and density scans across the L-H transition on DIII-D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Zheng; McKee, George; Gohil, Punit; Schmitz, Lothar; Eldon, David; Grierson, Brian; Kriete, Matt; Rhodes, Terry; Petty, Craig

2017-10-01

Measurements of long wavelength density fluctuation characteristics have been obtained in the edge of Deuterium (D) plasmas across the L-H transition on DIII-D during density and q95 scans. The relative density fluctuation amplitude measured by Beam Emission Spectroscopy (BES) increases with higher q95. The power threshold is found to increase with plasma current (i.e., lower q95) but with complex density dependence: the largest increase of PLH is seen at ne 3.2e19 m-3. Interestingly, a dual counter-propagating mode is observed for cases when PLH is low. The existence of the dual mode is correlated with increasing flow shear. Estimation of the turbulence kinetic energy transfer from turbulence to the flow increases prior to the transition. The complex behaviors of the turbulence characteristics and dual frequency modes interactions impact the flow shear generation, the transition process and the power threshold scaling. Work supported by the US Department of Energy under DE-FG02-08ER54999, DE-AC02-09CH11466, DE-FC02-04ER54698, and DE-AC52-07NA27344.

A Simulation Model for Drift Resistive Ballooning Turbulence Examining the Influence of Self-consistent Zonal Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, Bruce; Umansky, Maxim; Joseph, Ilon

2015-11-01

Progress is reported on including self-consistent zonal flows in simulations of drift-resistive ballooning turbulence using the BOUT + + framework. Previous published work addressed the simulation of L-mode edge turbulence in realistic single-null tokamak geometry using the BOUT three-dimensional fluid code that solves Braginskii-based fluid equations. The effects of imposed sheared ExB poloidal rotation were included, with a static radial electric field fitted to experimental data. In new work our goal is to include the self-consistent effects on the radial electric field driven by the microturbulence, which contributes to the sheared ExB poloidal rotation (zonal flow generation). We describe a model for including self-consistent zonal flows and an algorithm for maintaining underlying plasma profiles to enable the simulation of steady-state turbulence. We examine the role of Braginskii viscous forces in providing necessary dissipation when including axisymmetric perturbations. We also report on some of the numerical difficulties associated with including the axisymmetric component of the fluctuating fields. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL-ABS-674950).

Dipolar eddies in a decaying stratified turbulent flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voropayev, S. I.; Fernando, H. J. S.; Morrison, R.

2008-02-01

Laboratory experiments on the evolution of dipolar (momentum) eddies in a stratified fluid in the presence of random background motions are described. A turbulent jet puff was used to generate the momentum eddies, and a decaying field of ambient random vortical motions was generated by a towed grid. Data on vorticity/velocity fields of momentum eddies, those of background motions, and their interactions were collected in the presence and absence of the other, and the main characteristics thereof were parametrized. Similarity arguments predict that dipolar eddies in stratified fluids may preserve their identity in decaying grid-generated stratified turbulence, which was verified experimentally. Possible applications of the results include mushroomlike currents and other naturally/artificially generated large dipolar eddies in strongly stratified layers of the ocean, the longevity of which is expected to be determined by the characteristics of the eddies and random background motions.

Comparison of Noise Source Localization Data with Flow Field Data Obtained in Cold Supersonic Jets and Implications Regarding Broadband Shock Noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Podboy, Gary; Wernet, Mark; Clem, Michelle; Fagan, Amy

2013-01-01

Phased array noise source localization have been compared with 2 types of flow field data (BOS and PIV). The data show that: 1) the higher frequency noise in a BBSN hump is generated further downstream than the lower frequency noise. This is due to a) the shock spacing decreasing and b) the turbulent structure size increasing with distance downstream. 2) BBSN can be created by very weak shocks. 3) BBSN is not created by the strong shocks just downstream of the nozzle because the turbulent structures have not grown large enough to match the shock spacing. 4) The point in the flow where the shock spacing equals the average size of the turbulent structures is a hot spot for shock noise. 5) Some of the shocks responsible for producing the first hump also produce the second hump.

A self-sustaining process model of inertial layer dynamics in high Reynolds number turbulent wall flows.

PubMed

Chini, G P; Montemuro, B; White, C M; Klewicki, J

2017-03-13

Field observations and laboratory experiments suggest that at high Reynolds numbers Re the outer region of turbulent boundary layers self-organizes into quasi-uniform momentum zones (UMZs) separated by internal shear layers termed 'vortical fissures' (VFs). Motivated by this emergent structure, a conceptual model is proposed with dynamical components that collectively have the potential to generate a self-sustaining interaction between a single VF and adjacent UMZs. A large-Re asymptotic analysis of the governing incompressible Navier-Stokes equation is performed to derive reduced equation sets for the streamwise-averaged and streamwise-fluctuating flow within the VF and UMZs. The simplified equations reveal the dominant physics within-and isolate possible coupling mechanisms among-these different regions of the flow.This article is part of the themed issue 'Toward the development of high-fidelity models of wall turbulence at large Reynolds number'. © 2017 The Author(s).

A self-sustaining process model of inertial layer dynamics in high Reynolds number turbulent wall flows

PubMed Central

Montemuro, B.; White, C. M.; Klewicki, J.

2017-01-01

Field observations and laboratory experiments suggest that at high Reynolds numbers Re the outer region of turbulent boundary layers self-organizes into quasi-uniform momentum zones (UMZs) separated by internal shear layers termed ‘vortical fissures’ (VFs). Motivated by this emergent structure, a conceptual model is proposed with dynamical components that collectively have the potential to generate a self-sustaining interaction between a single VF and adjacent UMZs. A large-Re asymptotic analysis of the governing incompressible Navier–Stokes equation is performed to derive reduced equation sets for the streamwise-averaged and streamwise-fluctuating flow within the VF and UMZs. The simplified equations reveal the dominant physics within—and isolate possible coupling mechanisms among—these different regions of the flow. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Toward the development of high-fidelity models of wall turbulence at large Reynolds number’. PMID:28167583

Use of DNS Data for the Evaluation of Closure Models for Rotating Turbulent Channel Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsieh, Alan; Biringen, Sedat; Kucala, Alec

2013-11-01

A direct numerical simulation (DNS) of a turbulent channel flow rotating about the spanwise axis was conducted at a Reynolds number (based on the centerline velocity and channel half height) 8000, Prandtl number 0.71, and Rossby number 26. Several Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) based turbulence models for rotating flows were analyzed and tested. It was shown that the closure approximations in the pressure-strain correlation term proposed by the Speziale, Sarkar, and Gatski (SSG) RSM model were more accurate than the Girimaji EARSM model. The Reynolds stresses, primarily the shear stresses, produced by the Girimaji model were compared to the DNS data and revealed an evident discontinuity in the modeled Reynolds stress profiles; consequently, a smoothing function was generated and applied as a correction so that there is significantly better agreement between the Reynolds shear stress profiles produced by the DNS data and the modified Girimaji model.

Zonal Flows and Long-lived Axisymmetric Pressure Bumps in Magnetorotational Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johansen, A.; Youdin, A.; Klahr, H.

2009-06-01

We study the behavior of magnetorotational turbulence in shearing box simulations with a radial and azimuthal extent up to 10 scale heights. Maxwell and Reynolds stresses are found to increase by more than a factor of 2 when increasing the box size beyond two scale heights in the radial direction. Further increase of the box size has little or no effect on the statistical properties of the turbulence. An inverse cascade excites magnetic field structures at the largest scales of the box. The corresponding 10% variation in the Maxwell stress launches a zonal flow of alternating sub- and super-Keplerian velocity. This, in turn, generates a banded density structure in geostrophic balance between pressure and Coriolis forces. We present a simplified model for the appearance of zonal flows, in which stochastic forcing by the magnetic tension on short timescales creates zonal flow structures with lifetimes of several tens of orbits. We experiment with various improved shearing box algorithms to reduce the numerical diffusivity introduced by the supersonic shear flow. While a standard finite difference advection scheme shows signs of a suppression of turbulent activity near the edges of the box, this problem is eliminated by a new method where the Keplerian shear advection is advanced in time by interpolation in Fourier space.

Simulations of Turbulence in Tokamak Edge and Effects of Self-Consistent Zonal Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, Bruce; Umansky, Maxim

2013-10-01

Progress is reported on simulations of electromagnetic drift-resistive ballooning turbulence in the tokamak edge. This extends previous work to include self-consistent zonal flows and their effects. The previous work addressed simulation of L-mode tokamak edge turbulence using the turbulence code BOUT that solves Braginskii-based plasma fluid equations in tokamak edge domain. The calculations use realistic single-null geometry and plasma parameters of the DIII-D tokamak and produce fluctuation amplitudes, fluctuation spectra, and particle and thermal fluxes that compare favorably to experimental data. In the effect of sheared ExB poloidal rotation is included with an imposed static radial electric field fitted to experimental data. In the new work here we include the radial electric field self-consistently driven by the microturbulence, which contributes to the sheared ExB poloidal rotation (zonal flow generation). We present simulations with/without zonal flows for both cylindrical geometry, as in the UCLA Large Plasma Device, and for the DIII-D tokamak L-mode cases in to quantify the influence of self-consistent zonal flows on the microturbulence and the concomitant transport. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Simulations of Tokamak Edge Turbulence Including Self-Consistent Zonal Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, Bruce; Umansky, Maxim

2013-10-01

Progress on simulations of electromagnetic drift-resistive ballooning turbulence in the tokamak edge is summarized in this mini-conference talk. A more detailed report on this work is presented in a poster at this conference. This work extends our previous work to include self-consistent zonal flows and their effects. The previous work addressed the simulation of L-mode tokamak edge turbulence using the turbulence code BOUT. The calculations used realistic single-null geometry and plasma parameters of the DIII-D tokamak and produced fluctuation amplitudes, fluctuation spectra, and particle and thermal fluxes that compare favorably to experimental data. In the effect of sheared ExB poloidal rotation is included with an imposed static radial electric field fitted to experimental data. In the new work here we include the radial electric field self-consistently driven by the microturbulence, which contributes to the sheared ExB poloidal rotation (zonal flow generation). We present simulations with/without zonal flows for both cylindrical geometry, as in the UCLA Large Plasma Device, and for the DIII-D tokamak L-mode cases in to quantify the influence of self-consistent zonal flows on the microturbulence and the concomitant transport. This work was performed under the auspices of the US Department of Energy under contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Quasi-symmetry and the nature of radial turbulent transport in quasi-poloidal stellarators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alcuson, J. A.; Reynolds-Barredo, J. M.; Bustos, A.; Sanchez, R.; Tribaldos, V.; Xanthopoulos, P.; Goerler, T.; Newman, D. E.

2016-10-01

Quasi-symmetric configurations have a better neoclassical confinement compared to that of standard stellarators. The reduction of the neoclassical viscosity along the direction of quasi-symmetry should facilitate the self-generation of zonal flows and, consequently, the mitigation of turbulent fluctuations and the ensuing radial transport. Therefore, it is expected that quasi-symmetries should also result in better confinement properties regarding radial turbulent transport. In this paper we show that, at least for quasi-poloidal configurations, the influence of quasi-symmetry on radial transport exceeds the expected reduction of fluctuation levels and associated effective transport coefficients, and that the intimate nature of transport itself is affected. In particular, radial turbulent transport becomes increasingly subdiffusive as the degree of quasi-symmetry becomes larger. This behavior is somewhat reminiscent of what has been previously reported in tokamaks with strong radially sheared zonal flows.

The Bottom Boundary Layer.

PubMed

Trowbridge, John H; Lentz, Steven J

2018-01-03

The oceanic bottom boundary layer extracts energy and momentum from the overlying flow, mediates the fate of near-bottom substances, and generates bedforms that retard the flow and affect benthic processes. The bottom boundary layer is forced by winds, waves, tides, and buoyancy and is influenced by surface waves, internal waves, and stratification by heat, salt, and suspended sediments. This review focuses on the coastal ocean. The main points are that (a) classical turbulence concepts and modern turbulence parameterizations provide accurate representations of the structure and turbulent fluxes under conditions in which the underlying assumptions hold, (b) modern sensors and analyses enable high-quality direct or near-direct measurements of the turbulent fluxes and dissipation rates, and (c) the remaining challenges include the interaction of waves and currents with the erodible seabed, the impact of layer-scale two- and three-dimensional instabilities, and the role of the bottom boundary layer in shelf-slope exchange.

The Bottom Boundary Layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trowbridge, John H.; Lentz, Steven J.

2018-01-01

The oceanic bottom boundary layer extracts energy and momentum from the overlying flow, mediates the fate of near-bottom substances, and generates bedforms that retard the flow and affect benthic processes. The bottom boundary layer is forced by winds, waves, tides, and buoyancy and is influenced by surface waves, internal waves, and stratification by heat, salt, and suspended sediments. This review focuses on the coastal ocean. The main points are that (a) classical turbulence concepts and modern turbulence parameterizations provide accurate representations of the structure and turbulent fluxes under conditions in which the underlying assumptions hold, (b) modern sensors and analyses enable high-quality direct or near-direct measurements of the turbulent fluxes and dissipation rates, and (c) the remaining challenges include the interaction of waves and currents with the erodible seabed, the impact of layer-scale two- and three-dimensional instabilities, and the role of the bottom boundary layer in shelf-slope exchange.

5D Tempest simulations of kinetic edge turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, X. Q.; Xiong, Z.; Cohen, B. I.; Cohen, R. H.; Dorr, M. R.; Hittinger, J. A.; Kerbel, G. D.; Nevins, W. M.; Rognlien, T. D.; Umansky, M. V.; Qin, H.

2006-10-01

Results are presented from the development and application of TEMPEST, a nonlinear five dimensional (3d2v) gyrokinetic continuum code. The simulation results and theoretical analysis include studies of H-mode edge plasma neoclassical transport and turbulence in real divertor geometry and its relationship to plasma flow generation with zero external momentum input, including the important orbit-squeezing effect due to the large electric field flow-shear in the edge. In order to extend the code to 5D, we have formulated a set of fully nonlinear electrostatic gyrokinetic equations and a fully nonlinear gyrokinetic Poisson's equation which is valid for both neoclassical and turbulence simulations. Our 5D gyrokinetic code is built on 4D version of Tempest neoclassical code with extension to a fifth dimension in binormal direction. The code is able to simulate either a full torus or a toroidal segment. Progress on performing 5D turbulence simulations will be reported.

Trapped electron mode turbulence driven intrinsic rotation in Tokamak plasmas.

PubMed

Wang, W X; Hahm, T S; Ethier, S; Zakharov, L E; Diamond, P H

2011-02-25

Progress from global gyrokinetic simulations in understanding the origin of intrinsic rotation in toroidal plasmas is reported. The turbulence-driven intrinsic torque associated with nonlinear residual stress generation due to zonal flow shear induced asymmetry in the parallel wave number spectrum is shown to scale close to linearly with plasma gradients and the inverse of the plasma current, qualitatively reproducing experimental empirical scalings of intrinsic rotation. The origin of current scaling is found to be enhanced k(∥) symmetry breaking induced by the increased radial variation of the safety factor as the current decreases. The intrinsic torque is proportional to the pressure gradient because both turbulence intensity and zonal flow shear, which are two key ingredients for driving residual stress, increase with turbulence drive, which is R/L(T(e)) and R/L(n(e)) for the trapped electron mode. © 2011 American Physical Society

Spatiotemporal evolution of hairpin eddies, Reynolds stress, and polymer torque in polymer drag-reduced turbulent channel flows.

PubMed

Kim, Kyoungyoun; Sureshkumar, Radhakrishna

2013-06-01

To study the influence of dynamic interactions between turbulent vortical structures and polymer stress on turbulent friction drag reduction, a series of simulations of channel flow is performed. We obtain self-consistent evolution of an initial eddy in the presence of polymer stresses by utilizing the finitely extensible nonlinear elastic-Peterlin (FENE-P) model. The initial eddy is extracted by the conditional averages for the second quadrant event from fully turbulent Newtonian flow, and the initial polymer conformation fields are given by the solutions of the FENE-P model equations corresponding to the mean shear flow in the Newtonian case. At a relatively low Weissenberg number We(τ) (=50), defined as the ratio of the polymer relaxation time to the wall time scale, the generation of new vortices is inhibited by polymer-induced countertorques. Thus fewer vortices are generated in the buffer layer. However, the head of the primary hairpin is unaffected by the polymer stress. At larger We(τ) values (≥100), the hairpin head becomes weaker and vortex autogeneration and Reynolds stress growth are almost entirely suppressed. The temporal evolution of the vortex strength and polymer torque magnitude reveals that polymer extension by the vortical motion results in a polymer torque that increases in magnitude with time until a maximum value is reached over a time scale comparable to the polymer relaxation time. The polymer torque retards the vortical motion and Reynolds stress production, which in turn weakens flow-induced chain extension and torque itself. An analysis of the vortex time scales reveals that with increasing We(τ), vortical motions associated with a broader range of time scales are affected by the polymer stress. This is qualitatively consistent with Lumley's time criterion for the onset of drag reduction.

Targeting specific azimuthal modes using wall changes in turbulent pipe flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Buren, Tyler; Hellström, Leo; Marusic, Ivan; Smits, Alexander

2017-11-01

We experimentally study turbulent pipe flow at Re =3486 using stereoscopic particle image velocimetry. Using pipe inserts with non-circular geometry to perturb the flow upstream of the measurement location, we excite specific naturally occurring energetic modes. We consider inserts that directly manipulate the flow momentum (vortex generators), and/or induce secondary flows through Reynolds stresses (sinusoidally varying wall shape). These inserts substantially change the mean flow, and produce distinct regions of low and high momentum corresponding to the mode being excited. The inserts add energy in the targeted modes while simultaneously reducing the energy in the non-excited azimuthal modes. In addition, inserts designed to excite two modes simultaneously exhibit non-linear interactions. Supported under ONR Grant N00014-15-1-2402, Program Manager/Director Thomas Fu and the Australian Research Council.

The effect of a jet stream on the generation of mountain wave-induced mean flows and turbulence near the tropopause

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dörnbrack, Andreas; Sharman, Robert

2015-04-01

Observational evidence indicates a higher incidence of turbulence near the tropopause, especially over mountainous terrain. Previous work by McHugh and Sharman (2013) indicate this may be due to nonlinear amplification of topographically-induced gravity waves as they impinge on the tropopause. However, that study did not consider nonlinear topography amplification effects, nor did it consider the more realistic case of a jet stream in the vicinity of the tropopause. This study extends the McHugh and Sharman study by considering these effects using fully nonlinear simulations with the jet modeled as a sech**2 profile. Sensitivity studies are performed to study such effects as the location of the nose of the jet relative to the tropopause height, the jet width, the height of the tropopause, and the size and shape of the obstacle. Momentum and energy flux profiles are used to deduce those configurations most conducive to gravity wave amplification, breakdown and turbulence near the tropopause. McHugh J., Sharman R., 2013: Generation of mountain wave-induced mean flows and turbulence near the tropopause. Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. 139: 1632-1642. DOI:10.1002/qj.2035

Active turbulence in a gas of self-assembled spinners

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kokot, Gasper; Das, Shibananda; Winkler, Roland G.

Colloidal particles subject to an external periodic forcing exhibit complex collective behavior and self-assembled patterns. A dispersion of magnetic microparticles confined at the air-liquid interface and energized by a uniform uniaxial alternating magnetic field exhibits dynamic arrays of self-assembled spinners rotating in either direction. Here, we report on experimental and simulation studies of active turbulence and transport in a gas of self-assembled spinners. We show that the spinners, emerging as a result of spontaneous symmetry breaking of clock/counterclockwise rotation of self-assembled particle chains, generate vigorous vortical flows at the interface. An ensemble of spinners exhibits chaotic dynamics due to self-generatedmore » advection flows. The same-chirality spinners (clockwise or counterclock-wise) show a tendency to aggregate and form dynamic clusters. Emergent self-induced interface currents promote active diffusion that could be tuned by the parameters of the external excitation field. Furthermore, the erratic motion of spinners at the interface generates chaotic fluid flow reminiscent of 2D turbulence. As a result, our work provides insight into fundamental aspects of collective transport in active spinner materials and yields rules for particle manipulation at the microscale.« less

Active turbulence in a gas of self-assembled spinners

DOE PAGES

Kokot, Gasper; Das, Shibananda; Winkler, Roland G.; ...

2017-11-20

Colloidal particles subject to an external periodic forcing exhibit complex collective behavior and self-assembled patterns. A dispersion of magnetic microparticles confined at the air-liquid interface and energized by a uniform uniaxial alternating magnetic field exhibits dynamic arrays of self-assembled spinners rotating in either direction. Here, we report on experimental and simulation studies of active turbulence and transport in a gas of self-assembled spinners. We show that the spinners, emerging as a result of spontaneous symmetry breaking of clock/counterclockwise rotation of self-assembled particle chains, generate vigorous vortical flows at the interface. An ensemble of spinners exhibits chaotic dynamics due to self-generatedmore » advection flows. The same-chirality spinners (clockwise or counterclock-wise) show a tendency to aggregate and form dynamic clusters. Emergent self-induced interface currents promote active diffusion that could be tuned by the parameters of the external excitation field. Furthermore, the erratic motion of spinners at the interface generates chaotic fluid flow reminiscent of 2D turbulence. As a result, our work provides insight into fundamental aspects of collective transport in active spinner materials and yields rules for particle manipulation at the microscale.« less

Phase-relationships between scales in the perturbed turbulent boundary layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobi, I.; McKeon, B. J.

2017-12-01

The phase-relationship between large-scale motions and small-scale fluctuations in a non-equilibrium turbulent boundary layer was investigated. A zero-pressure-gradient flat plate turbulent boundary layer was perturbed by a short array of two-dimensional roughness elements, both statically, and under dynamic actuation. Within the compound, dynamic perturbation, the forcing generated a synthetic very-large-scale motion (VLSM) within the flow. The flow was decomposed by phase-locking the flow measurements to the roughness forcing, and the phase-relationship between the synthetic VLSM and remaining fluctuating scales was explored by correlation techniques. The general relationship between large- and small-scale motions in the perturbed flow, without phase-locking, was also examined. The synthetic large scale cohered with smaller scales in the flow via a phase-relationship that is similar to that of natural large scales in an unperturbed flow, but with a much stronger organizing effect. Cospectral techniques were employed to describe the physical implications of the perturbation on the relative orientation of large- and small-scale structures in the flow. The correlation and cospectral techniques provide tools for designing more efficient control strategies that can indirectly control small-scale motions via the large scales.

Studies in turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gatski, Thomas B. (Editor); Sarkar, Sutanu (Editor); Speziale, Charles G. (Editor)

1992-01-01

Various papers on turbulence are presented. Individual topics addressed include: modeling the dissipation rate in rotating turbulent flows, mapping closures for turbulent mixing and reaction, understanding turbulence in vortex dynamics, models for the structure and dynamics of near-wall turbulence, complexity of turbulence near a wall, proper orthogonal decomposition, propagating structures in wall-bounded turbulence flows. Also discussed are: constitutive relation in compressible turbulence, compressible turbulence and shock waves, direct simulation of compressible turbulence in a shear flow, structural genesis in wall-bounded turbulence flows, vortex lattice structure of turbulent shear slows, etiology of shear layer vortices, trilinear coordinates in fluid mechanics.

Eulerian and Lagrangian approaches to multidimensional condensation and collection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiang-Yu; Brandenburg, A.; Haugen, N. E. L.; Svensson, G.

2017-06-01

Turbulence is argued to play a crucial role in cloud droplet growth. The combined problem of turbulence and cloud droplet growth is numerically challenging. Here an Eulerian scheme based on the Smoluchowski equation is compared with two Lagrangian superparticle (or superdroplet) schemes in the presence of condensation and collection. The growth processes are studied either separately or in combination using either two-dimensional turbulence, a steady flow or just gravitational acceleration without gas flow. Good agreement between the different schemes for the time evolution of the size spectra is observed in the presence of gravity or turbulence. The Lagrangian superparticle schemes are found to be superior over the Eulerian one in terms of computational performance. However, it is shown that the use of interpolation schemes such as the cloud-in-cell algorithm is detrimental in connection with superparticle or superdroplet approaches. Furthermore, the use of symmetric over asymmetric collection schemes is shown to reduce the amount of scatter in the results. For the Eulerian scheme, gravitational collection is rather sensitive to the mass bin resolution, but not so in the case with turbulence.