Swirling-strength based large eddy simulation of turbulent flow around single square cylinder at low Reynolds numbers

In view of the fact that large scale vortices play the substantial role of momentum transport in turbulent flows, large eddy simulation(LES) is considered as a better simulation model. However, the sub-grid scale(SGS) models reported so far have not ascertained under what flow conditions the LES can lapse into the direct numerical simulation. To overcome this discrepancy, this paper develops a swirling strength based the SGS model to properly model the turbulence intermittency, with the primary characteristics that when the local swirling strength is zero, the local sub-grid viscosity will be vanished. In this paper, the model is used to investigate the flow characteristics of zero-incident incompressible turbulent flows around a single square cylinder(SC)at a low Reynolds number range Re ∈ [103, 104]. The flow characteristics investigated include the Reynolds number dependence of lift and drag coefficients, the distributions of time-spanwise averaged variables such as the sub-grid viscosity and the logarithm of Kolmogorov micro-scale to the base of 10 at Re = 2 500 and 104, the contours of spanwise and streamwise vorticity components at t = 170. It is revealed that the peak value of sub-grid viscosity ratio and its root mean square(RMS) values grow with the Reynolds number. The dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy is larger near the SC solid walls.The instantaneous factor of swirling strength intermittency(FSI) exhibits some laminated structure involved with vortex shedding.     

Fluctuating lift on a circular cylinder: review and new measurements

Apart from providing some new experimental data the paper reviews previous investigations concerning fluctuating lift acting on a stationary circular cylinder in cross-flow. In particular, effects of Reynolds number in the nominal case of an infinitely long and nonconfined cylinder in a smooth oncoming flow are discussed. The Reynolds number range covered is from about Re=47 to 2×10⁵, i.e., from the onset of vortex shedding up to the end of the subcritical regime. At the beginning of the subcritical regime (Re≃0.3×10³) a spanwise correlation length of about 30 cylinder diameters is indicated, the correlation function being based on near-cylinder velocity fluctuations in outer parts of the separated shear layer. In between Reynolds numbers 1.6×10³ and 20×10³, an approximate 10-fold increase in the sectional r.m.s. lift coefficient is indicated. This range contains a fundamental change-over from one flow state to another, starting off at Re≃5×10³ and seemingly fully developed at Re≃8×10³.     

Numerical investigations into effects of three-dimensional wake patterns on unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of a circular cylinder at Re=1.3×105

In contrast with a wide range of applications concerning flows around a circular cylinder at upper subcritical Reynolds numbers (Re), there is no systematic understanding about the fundamentals of so-called random flow patterns, and their effects on intermittent modulations in the time history of pressure or force, and the decrease in their spanwise correlations. This paper employed the large-eddy simulation (LES) technique to predict flows past a circular cylinder at Re=1.3×10⁵ and to provide images based on flow visualization that can clarify the physical mechanism responsible for these outcomes. A reasonably sufficient spanwise length was adopted for the numerical model by taking into consideration the effect of aspect ratios (the spanwise length to the diameter). We found that even at such high Res, a three-dimensional pattern of vortical field is present in the wake resulting in total force modulation and weak spanwise correlation, e.g., obvious oblique shedding. The whole development process of the three-dimensional wake is exhibited as a universal. The results revealed that local phase variations in primary vortex shedding are the starting points of three-dimensional wake patterns, which are induced by the “irregular” streamwise vortex. The three-dimensional near wake following local phase variations is associated with a successive evolution composed of certain stages in order. Quantitative analyses based on the time series of sectional lift coefficients show that intermittent increase in primary shedding periods and sectional lift streak divisions are closely related to local phase variations and vortex division in the development process of the three-dimensional pattern. In addition to the phase difference along the span, the three-dimensional pattern also weakens vortex shedding in cross sections perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder, resulting in modulation of the sectional lift coefficient.     

Scrutinizing URANS in Shedding Flows: The Case of Cylinder in Cross-Flow in the Subcritical Regime

To unravel the widespread perception that the RANS (Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes) concept is unreliable in predicting the dynamics of separated flows, we assessed the performance of two RANS closure levels, the linear eddy-viscosity (LEVM) and the second-moment (Reynolds stress, RSM) approaches in a massively separated generic flow over a bluff body. Considered is the canonical, zero-turbulence, cross-flow over an infinite cylinder with reference to our LES and the available DNS and experiments at two Reynolds numbers, Re = 3.9 × 10³ and 1.4 × 10⁵, both within the sub-critical regime with laminar separation. Both models capture successfully the vortex shedding frequency, but the low frequency modulations are detected only by the RSM. At high Reynolds numbers the RSM is markedly superior to the LEVM showing very good agreement with the LES and experimental data. The RSM, accounting naturally for the stress anisotropy and phase lag between the stress and strain eigenvectors, is especially successful in reproducing the growth rate of the turbulent kinetic energy in the initial shear layer which proved to be crucial for accurate prediction of the separation-induced transition. A scrutiny of the unsteady RANS (URANS) stress terms based on the conditional phase-averaged LES data shows a remarkable similarity of the normalized coherent and stochastic (modeled) stress components for the two Reynolds numbers considered. The mixed (cross) correlations, while non-negligible at the low Re number, diminish fast relative to the stochastic ones with increasing Reynolds number and, in the whole, are not significant to undermine the URANS concept and its applicability to high Re flows of industrial relevance.     

Simulation of the flow past a circular cylinder in the supercritical regime by blending RANS and variational-multiscale LES models

A strategy which blends a variational multiscale large eddy simulation (VMS-LES) model and a RANS model in a hybrid approach is investigated. A smooth blending function, which is based on the value of a blending parameter, is used for switching from VMS-LES to RANS. Different definitions of the blending parameter are investigated. The capabilities of the novel hybrid approach are appraised in the simulation of the flow around a circular cylinder at a Reynolds number 1.4×10⁵, based on the freestream velocity and on the cylinder diameter, in the presence of turbulent boundary-layer due to turbulent inflow conditions. A second study at Reynolds numbers from Re=6.7×10⁵ to 1.25×10⁶ is also presented. The effect of using the VMS-LES approach in the hybrid model is evaluated. Results are compared to those of other RANS, LES and hybrid simulations in the literature and with experimental data     

LES and RANS for Turbulent Flow over Arrays of Wall-Mounted Obstacles

Large-eddy simulation (LES) has been applied to calculate the turbulent flow over staggered wall-mounted cubes and staggered random arrays of obstacles with area density 25%, at Reynolds numbers between 5 × 10³ and 5 10⁶, based on the free stream velocity and the obstacle height. Re = 5 × 10³ data were intensively validated against direct numerical simulation (DNS) results at the same Re and experimental data obtained in a boundary layer developing over an identical roughness and at a rather higher Re. The results collectively confirm that Reynolds number dependency is very weak, principally because the surface drag is predominantly form drag and the turbulence production process is at scales comparable to the roughness element sizes. LES is thus able to simulate turbulent flow over the urban-like obstacles at high Re with grids that would be far too coarse for adequate computation of corresponding smooth-wall flows. Comparison between LES and steady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) results are included, emphasising that the latter are inadequate, especially within the canopy region.     

Detached Eddy Simulation of Flow around A-Airfoil

In this study the flow around the Aérospatiale A-airfoil at maximum lift (α = 13.3°) and Re = 2 × 10⁶ is investigated by RANS and DES to quantify the influence of transient flow patterns on the quality of the flow prediction. This flow features a highly unsteady pressure-induced trailing-edge separation. The fairly high Reynolds number makes LES rather unattractive from a practical point of view as the numerical costs scale with ≈ Re^1.95 [9] and lead to an unreasonable effort to carry out these simulations. Like LES, DES is designed to capture the unsteady flow features and consequently is supposed to give results superior to RANS. The RANS solution captures the separation, but is notable to predict transient vortex shedding. The application of DES to a 2D domain leads to results comparable to those obtained by 2D-RANS. Only the 3D-DES is capable of predicting both the unsteady flow features and the development of the boundary layer on the airfoil. As expected, the spanwise resolution has a strong impact on the vortex shedding and on the size of the separation bubble. Attention must be paid to both accommodating the full extent of the flow structures and providing the adequate spatial resolution in order to accomplish satisfactory results – that compare favourably with LES – at only a fraction of computational cost.     

Large-eddy structures of turbulent swirling flows and methane-air swirling diffusion combustion

Turbulent swirling flows and methane-air swirling diffusion combustion are studied by large-eddy simulation (LES) using a Smagorinsky-Lilly subgrid scale turbulence model and a second-order moment (SOM) SGS combustion model, and also by RANS modeling using the Reynolds Stress equation model with the IPCM+wall and IPCM pressure-strain models and SOM combustion model. The LES statistical results for swirling flows give good agreement with the experimental results, indicating that the adopted subgrid-scale turbulence model is suitable for swirling flows. The LES instantaneous results show the complex vortex shedding pattern in swirling flows. The initially formed large vortex structures soon break up in swirling flows. The LES statistical results of combustion modeling are near the experimental results and are as good as the RANS-SOM modeling results. The LES results show that the size and range of large vortex structures in swirling combustion are different from those of isothermal swirling flows, and the chemical reaction is intensified by the large-eddy vortex structures. The project supported by the Special Funds for Major State Basic Research (G-1999-0222-07). The English text was polished by Keren Wang.     

High-fidelity simulations of moving and flexible airfoils at low Reynolds numbers

The present paper highlights results derived from the application of a high-fidelity simulation technique to the analysis of low-Reynolds-number transitional flows over moving and flexible canonical configurations motivated by small natural and man-made flyers. This effort addresses three separate fluid dynamic phenomena relevant to small fliers, including: laminar separation and transition over a stationary airfoil, transition effects on the dynamic stall vortex generated by a plunging airfoil, and the effect of flexibility on the flow structure above a membrane airfoil. The specific cases were also selected to permit comparison with available experimental measurements. First, the process of transition on a stationary SD7003 airfoil section over a range of Reynolds numbers and angles of attack is considered. Prior to stall, the flow exhibits a separated shear layer which rolls up into spanwise vortices. These vortices subsequently undergo spanwise instabilities, and ultimately breakdown into fine-scale turbulent structures as the boundary layer reattaches to the airfoil surface. In a time-averaged sense, the flow displays a closed laminar separation bubble which moves upstream and contracts in size with increasing angle of attack for a fixed Reynolds number. For a fixed angle of attack, as the Reynolds number decreases, the laminar separation bubble grows in vertical extent producing a significant increase in drag. For the lowest Reynolds number considered (Re _c  = 10⁴), transition does not occur over the airfoil at moderate angles of attack prior to stall. Next, the impact of a prescribed high-frequency small-amplitude plunging motion on the transitional flow over the SD7003 airfoil is investigated. The motion-induced high angle of attack results in unsteady separation in the leading edge and in the formation of dynamic-stall-like vortices which convect downstream close to the airfoil. At the lowest value of Reynolds number (Re _c  = 10⁴), transition effects are observed to be minor and the dynamic stall vortex system remains fairly coherent. For Re _c  = 4 × 10⁴, the dynamic-stall vortex system is laminar at is inception, however shortly afterwards, it experiences an abrupt breakdown associated with the onset of spanwise instability effects. The computed phased-averaged structures for both values of Reynolds number are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data. Finally, the effect of structural compliance on the unsteady flow past a membrane airfoil is investigated. The membrane deformation results in mean camber and large fluctuations which improve aerodynamic performance. Larger values of lift and a delay in stall are achieved relative to a rigid airfoil configuration. For Re _c = 4.85 × 10⁴, it is shown that correct prediction of the transitional process is critical to capturing the proper membrane structural response.     

Experimental study on the wake behind tapered circular cylinders

The flow around tapered cylinders can act as basic models for numerous bluff body flows with a spanwise variation of either the body shape or the inflow conditions. The well-known vortex street is influenced by strong three-dimensional effects from the spanwise variation of the shedding frequency, namely oblique vortex shedding and vortex dislocations. Stereo-PIV was chosen to study these phenomena, since it allows analyzing planes with the full three-component, instantaneous velocity fields and local, time-dependent variations in the same setting. Hence, detailed aspects of the vortex dislocation phenomenon are presented. Single vortex dislocation events are presented through the local variation of the three measured velocity components u, v and w. Longer time-series reveal both period and location of these dislocation events, as well as quantity and sizes of the cells of constant shedding velocity in between them. The influence of the Reynolds number and the cylinder aspect ratio on the vortex cells could be shown. The analysis of the vortex shedding behavior shows good agreement with previously published results. At the same time, the applied PIV technique provides more spatial information than point-based measurements and offers insight into a Reynolds number range that is currently out of reach of Direct Numerical Simulations.     

High-order Large Eddy Simulations of Confined Rotor-Stator Flows

In many engineering and industrial applications, the investigation of rotating turbulent flow is of great interest. In rotor-stator cavities, the centrifugal and Coriolis forces have a strong influence on the turbulence by producing a secondary flow in the meridian plane composed of two thin boundary layers along the disks separated by a non-viscous geostrophic core. Most numerical simulations have been performed using RANS and URANS modelling, and very few investigations have been performed using LES. This paper reports on quantitative comparisons of two high-order LES methods to predict a turbulent rotor-stator flow at the rotational Reynolds number Re(=?Ωb ²/ν)?=4 × 10⁵. The classical dynamic Smagorinsky model for the subgrid-scale stress (Germano et al., Phys Fluids A 3(7):1760–1765, 1991) is compared to a spectral vanishing viscosity technique (Séverac & Serre, J Comp Phys 226(2):1234–1255, 2007). Numerical results include both instantaneous data and post-processed statistics. The results show that both LES methods are able to accurately describe the unsteady flow structures and to satisfactorily predict mean velocities as well as Reynolds stress tensor components. A slight advantage is given to the spectral SVV approach in terms of accuracy and CPU cost. The strong improvements obtained in the present results with respect to RANS results confirm that LES is the appropriate level of modelling for flows in which fully turbulent and transition regimes are involved.     

A parametric study of LES on laminar-turbulent transitional flows past an airfoil

Low-Reynolds-number aerodynamic performance of small-sized air vehicles is an area of increasing interest. In this study, low-Reynolds-number flows past an SD7003 airfoil are investigated to understand important viscous features of laminar separation and transitional flow followed by the complicated behavior of the flow reattachment process. In order to satisfy the three-dimensional (3D) requirement of the code, a simple “3D wing” is constructed from a two-dimensional (2D) airfoil. A parametric study of large eddy simulation (LES) on the airfoil flows at Re = 60,000 is performed. Effects of grid resolution and sub-grid scale (SGS) models are investigated. Although 3D effects cannot be accurately captured owing to the limitation of the grid resolution in the spanwise direction, the preliminary LES calculations do reveal some important flow characteristics such as leading-edge laminar separation and vortex shedding from the primary laminar separation bubble on the low-Reynolds-number airfoil.     

Three-dimensional wake structure measurement using a modified PIV technique

Three-dimensional vortical structures have been measured in a circular-cylinder wake using particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) for the Reynolds number range of 2×10³ to 1×10⁴. The PIV was modified, compared with the conventional one, in terms of its light sheet arrangement to capture reliably streamwise vortices. While in agreement with previous reports, the presently measured spanwise structures complement the data in the literature in the streamwise evolution of the near-wake spanwise vortex in size, strength, streamwise and lateral convection velocities, shedding new light upon vigorous interactions between oppositely signed spanwise structures. The longitudinal vortices display mushroom patterns in the (x, z)-plane in the immediate proximity to the cylinder. Their most likely inclination in the (x, y)-plane is inferred from the measurements in different (x, z)-planes. The longitudinal vortices in the (y, z)-plane show alternate change in sign, though not discernible at x/d > 15. They decay in the maximum vorticity and circulation rapidly from x/d = 5 to 10 and slowly for x/d > 10, and are further compared with the spanwise vortices in size, strength and rate of decay.     

Dynamic Mode Decomposition of a Wing-Body Junction Flow

Junction flows are subject to an intense adverse pressure gradient and three-dimensional separation when encountering a wall-mounted obstacle. A dynamically rich horseshoe vortex system is formed in this region. In this study the junction flow at the interaction of a wing and a flat plate is investigated. The numerical modelling is carried out using the three-dimensional large eddy simulation (LES) approach at the Reynolds number Re = 1.15×10⁵ based on the wing’s maximum thickness T and the free stream velocity U_ref. The comparison with the experimental results shows that the numerical simulations fairly accurately reproduce the phenomenon under study. The dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) of the resolved flow field is employed to obtain the coherent dynamics of the flow. To clearly demonstrate the oscillation characteristics and the horseshoe vortex structures of junction flow the velocity field in the plane of symmetry is decomposed with eduction of two dominant DMDmodes. These two DMDmodes are reconstituted and developed, together with the mean flow mode to explain the latent dynamics. Mode 1 reveals the merging of the horseshoe vortices and mode 2 is responsible for the process of fission and stretching.     

Simulation of Three-Dimensional Bluff-Body Flows Using the Vortex Particle and Boundary Element Methods

Recent contributions to the 3-D vortex method for bluff-body flows are presented. The numerical method--a vortex method combined with a boundary element method--is briefy reviewed. It is applied to direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the flow past a sphere (Re= 300, 500 and 1000). The on-going work to extend the method towards vortex-based large-eddy simulation (LES) for high Reynolds number flows is also presented. Preliminary results for the flow past a hemisphere are discussed.     

Reynolds-number-effects in flow around a rectangular cylinder with aspect ratio 1:5

The paper reports on experiments carried out over a wide range of Reynolds numbers in a high pressure wind tunnel. The model was a sharp-edged rectangular cylinder with aspect ratio height/width 1:5 (width/span ratio 1:10.8), which was investigated in both basic orientations, lengthwise (4×10³<Re<4×10⁵) and perpendicular to the flow (2.7×10⁴<Re<6.4×10⁵). The Reynolds number is based on the height of the model normal to the flow. Steady and unsteady forces were measured with a piezoelectric balance. Thus along with steady (i.e. time averaged values) including the base pressure coefficient, also power spectra and probability density functions were measured yielding for example Strouhal numbers, higher statistical moments, etc. A response diagram for the vortex resonance phenomenon was taken for the natural bending motion of the slender model. If lift coefficient for constant angle of attack is plotted against Reynolds number, a significant Reynolds number effect is seen. For α=4°, the curve shows an inflection point and the lift varies between 0.3 and 0.6. For α=6° and 2° there are similar variations shifted to lower and higher values of Re, respectively. Probably the shapes of separation bubbles that depend on the Reynolds number are responsible for these effects. No Reynolds number effects were observed when the long side was normal to the flow, an orientation where reattachment at the side walls is not possible. Comparing both basic cases (α=0° and 90°), the interpretation of the probability distributions of lift force leads to the conclusion that the possibility of reattachment (α=0°) seems to enhance the degree of order in the vortex shedding process.     

Leray-α Regularization of the Smagorinsky-Closed Filtered Equations for Turbulent Jets at High Reynolds Numbers

The article reports on blending of the Leray-α regularization with the conventional Smagorinsky subgrid-scale closure as an option for large-eddy-simulation of turbulent flows at very high Reynolds number on coarse meshes. The model has been tested in the self-similar far-field region of a jet at a range of Reynolds numbers spanning over two decades (4×10³, 4×10⁴ and 4×10⁵) on two very coarse meshes of 2×10⁵ and 3×10⁴ mesh cells. The results are compared with the well-resolved DNS for $Re_D=4\times 10^3$ on 15 million cells and experimental data for higher Re numbers. While the pure Leray-α can fail badly at high Re numbers on very coarse meshes, a blending of the two strategies by adding a small amount of extra-dissipation performs well even at a huge jet Reynolds number of $Re_D=4\times 10^5$ on a very coarse mesh (2×10⁵ cells), despite the ratio of the typical mesh spacing to the Kolmogorov length exceeding 300. It is found that the main prerequisite for successful LES, both for the classic Smagorinsky and the blended Leray-α/Smagorinsky model, is to resolve the shear-length $L_s=\sqrt{\varepsilon/{\cal S}^3}$ (where ${\cal S}$ is the shear-rate modulus), defined by the constraint Δ/L _s ?<?1, where Δ is the typical mesh-cell size. For the mixed Leray-α/Smagorinsky model the regularization parameter should also be related to the shear-length rather than the local mesh size or Reynolds number, for which we propose a guide criterion α?=?0.15÷0.3 L _s .     

Vortex-induced oscillations at low Reynolds numbers: Hysteresis and vortex-shedding modes

Results are presented for the numerical simulation of vortex-induced vibrations (VIVs) of a cylinder at low Reynolds numbers (Re). A stabilized space–time finite-element formulation is utilized to solve the incompressible flow equations in primitive variables. The cylinder, of low nondimensional mass (m^*=10), is free to vibrate in, both, the transverse and in-line directions. To investigate the effect of Re and reduced natural frequency, F_n, two sets of computations are carried out. In the first set of computations the Reynolds number is fixed (=100) and the reduced velocity (U^*=1/F_n) is varied. Hysteresis, in the response of the cylinder, is observed at the low- as well as high-end of the range of reduced velocity for synchronization/lock-in. In the second set of computations, the effect of Reynolds number (50Re500) is investigated for a fixed reduced velocity (U^*=4.92). The effect of the Reynolds number is found to be very significant for VIVs. While the vortex-shedding mode at low Re is 2S (two single vortices shed per cycle), at Re300 and larger, the P+S mode of vortex shedding (a single vortex and one pair of counter-rotating vortices are released in each cycle of shedding) is observed. This is the first time that the P+S mode has been observed for a cylinder undergoing free vibrations. This change of vortex-shedding mode is hysteretic in nature and results in a very large increase in the amplitude of in-line oscillations. Since the flow ceases to remain two-dimensional beyond Re200, it remains to be seen whether the P+S mode of shedding can actually be observed in reality for free vibrations.     

Experiments on the flow past long circular cylinders in a shear flow

This paper describes an experimental investigation of the flow past circular cylinders, with the mean flow perpendicular to the cylinder axis, at conditions that yield a strong three-dimensional behaviour. The experiments were carried out in the subcritical regime. Long cylinders with end plates were subjected to shear flow with a linear velocity profile in the spanwise direction generated by means of a curved gauze. It was concluded that spanwise cellular structures of vortex shedding emerged in the wake, more clearly for some boundary conditions than others. These structures are characterised by a portion of spanwise length, a cell, having constant shedding frequency over a time average, which implies that there were no vortex dislocations inside that cell during that time. These features were studied using flow visualisation and hot-film anemometry. Spectra of the local shedding frequency are shown, revealing the effect of the shear parameter (=0.02 and 0.04) and aspect ratio L/D (=20.6 and 8) on the stability and geometry of the cells at several Reynolds numbers in the range of 3.13×10³Re_m1.25×10⁴.