Spectral methods based on the least dissipative modes for wall bounded MHD flows

We present a new approach for the Spectral Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of Low-Rm wall-bounded magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows. The novelty is that instead of using bases similar to the usual Chebyshev polynomials, which are easy to implement but incur heavy computational costs to resolve the Hartmann boundary layers that arise along the walls, we use a basis made of elements that already incorporate flow structures such as anisotropic vortices and Hartmann layers. We show that such a basis can be obtained from the eigenvalue problem of the linear part of the governing equations with the problem’s boundary conditions. Since this basis is not always orthogonal, we develop a spectral method for non-orthogonal bases. We then demonstrate the efficiency of this method on the simple case of a laminar channel flow with periodic forcing. In particular, we show that this method eliminates the computational costs incurred this Hartmann layer, and this for arbitrary high magnetic fields B. We then discuss the application of our method to nonlinear, turbulent flows for which the number of modes required to resolve the flow completely decreases strongly when B increases, instead of increasing as in the case of currently employed Chebyshev-based methods.     

MHD duct flows under hydrodynamic “slip” condition

Three classic MHD problems are revisited assuming hydrodynamic slip condition at the interface between the electrically conducting fluid and the insulating wall: (1) Hartmann flow; (2) fully developed flow in a rectangular duct; and (3) quasi-two-dimensional (Q2D) turbulent flow. The first two problems have been solved analytically. Additionally to the Hartmann number (Ha), a new dimensionless parameter S, the ratio of the slip length to the thickness of the Hartmann layer, has been identified. One of the most important conclusions of the paper is that the duct flows with the slip still exhibit Hartmann layers, whose thickness scales as 1/Ha, while the thickness of the side layers is a function of both Ha and S. In the case of Q2D flows, a new expression for the Hartmann braking time has been derived showing its increase at Ha >> 1 by factor (1+ S). Numerical simulations performed for a flow with the “M-shaped” velocity profile show that in the presence of the slip, a Q2D flow becomes more irregular as vortical structures experience less Joule and viscous dissipation in the Hartmann layers.     

Turbulent Duct Flow Controlled with Spanwise Wall Oscillations

The spanwise oscillation of channel walls is known to substantially reduce the skin-friction drag in turbulent channel flows. In order to understand the limitations of this flow control approach when applied in ducts, direct numerical simulations of controlled turbulent duct flows with an aspect ratio of A R = 3 are performed. In contrast to channel flows, the spanwise extension of the duct is limited. Therefore, the spanwise wall oscillation either directly interacts with the duct side walls or its spatial extent is limited to a certain region of the duct. The present results show that this spanwise limitation of the oscillating region strongly diminishes the drag reduction potential of the control technique. We propose a simple model that allows estimating the achievable drag reduction rates in duct flows as a function of the width of the duct and the spanwise extent of the controlled region.     

Wall functions for numerical modeling of laminar MHD flows

A general wall function treatment is presented for the numerical modeling of laminar magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows. The wall function expressions are derived analytically from the steady-state momentum and electric potential equations, making use only of local variables of the numerical solution. No assumptions are made regarding the orientation of the magnetic field relative to the wall, nor of the magnitude of the Hartmann number, or the wall conductivity. The wall functions are used for defining implicit boundary conditions for velocity and electric potential, and for computing mass flow and electrical currents in near wall-cells. The wall function treatment was validated in a finite volume formulation, and compared with an analytic solution for a fully developed channel flow in a transverse magnetic field. For the case with insulating walls, a uniform 20×20 grid, and Hartmann numbers Ha={10,30,100}, the accuracy of pressure drop and wall shear stress predictions was {1.1%,1.6%,0.5%}, respectively. Comparable results were obtained also with conducting Hartmann walls. The accuracy of predicted pressure drop and wall shear stress was essentially independent of the resolution of the Hartmann layers. When applied also to the parallel walls, the wall functions reduced the errors by a factor two to three. The wall functions can be implemented in any general flow solver, to allow accurate predictions at reasonable cost even for complex geometries and nonuniform magnetic fields.     

Direct numerical simulation of turbulent flow in a spanwise rotating square duct at high rotation numbers

In this paper, direct numerical simulations have been performed to study the effects of Coriolis force on the turbulent flow field confined within a square duct subjected to spanwise system rotations at high rotation numbers. In response to the system rotation, secondary flows appear as large streamwise counter-rotating vortices, which interact intensely with the four boundary layers and have a significant impact on flow statistics, velocity spectra and coherent structures. It is observed that at sufficiently high rotation numbers, a Taylor–Proudman region appears and complete laminarization is almost reached near the top and side walls. The influence of large organized secondary flows on the production rate and re-distribution of turbulent kinetic energy has been investigated through a spectral analysis. It is observed that the Coriolis force dominates the transport of Reynolds stresses and turbulent kinetic energy, and forces the spectra of streamwise and vertical velocities to synchronize within a wide range of scales.     

Direct simulation of MHD flows in dual-coolant liquid metal fusion blanket using a consistent and conservative scheme

Direct simulation of 3-D MHD (magnetohydrodynamics) flows in liquid metal fusion blanket with flow channel insert (FCI) has been conducted. Two kinds of pressure equilibrium slot (PES) in FCI, which are used to balance the pressure difference between the inside and outside of FCI, are considered with a slot in Hartmann wall or a slot in side wall, respectively. The velocity and pressure distribution of FCI made of SiC/SiC_f are numerically studied to illustrate the 3-D MHD flow effects, which clearly show that the flows in fusion blanket with FCI are typical three-dimensional issues and the assumption of 2-D fully developed flows is not the real physical problem of the MHD flows in dual-coolant liquid metal fusion blanket. The optimum opening location of PES has been analyzed based on the 3-D pressure and velocity distributions.     

倾斜非均匀磁场下导电方管磁流体管流的数值模拟研究

热核聚变反应堆液态金属包层应用中的一个重要问题是液态金属在导电管中流动和强磁场相互作用产生的额外的磁流体动力学压降.这种磁流体动力学压降远远大于普通水力学压降.美国阿贡国家实验室ALEX研究小组,对非均匀磁场下导电管中液态金属磁流体动力学效应进行了实验研究,其实验结果成为液态金属包层数值验证的标准模型之一.液态金属包层在应用中会受到不同方向的磁场作用,本文以ALEX的非均匀磁场下导电方管中液态金属管流实验中的一组参数为基础,保持哈特曼数、雷诺数和壁面电导率不变,采用三维直接数值模拟的方法,研究了外加磁场与侧壁之间的倾角对导电方管内液态金属流动的速度、电流和压降分布的影响.研究结果表明:沿流向相同横截面上的速度、电流以及压力分布均随磁场的倾斜而同向旋转.倾斜磁场均匀段,横截面上的高速区位于平行磁场方向的哈特曼层和平行层交叉位置,压力梯度随磁场倾角的增大先增大后减小.倾斜磁场递减段,在三维磁流体动力学效应作用下,横截面上的高速射流位置向垂直磁场方向偏移.磁场递减段的三维磁流体动力学压降随磁场倾角的增大而增大.随磁场倾斜,截面上的射流峰值逐渐减小,二次流增强,引发层流向湍流的转捩.      

Steady flow of a liquid metal in a rectangular MHD channel

The known experimental studies of steady flows of a liquid metal in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) channels of rectangular section [1–4] were performed only for a few values of the Reynolds number, which does not permit a clear delineation of the fundamental governing laws of the flow in the zone of transition from laminar to turbulent flow. In addition, the study of turbulent MHD flows has been limited to two-dimensional channels.Below we present some results of experimental studies of the effect of a transverse magnetic field on the resistance coefficient for mercury flow in an MHD channel with side ratio 1 to 2.5. The choice of a channel with this side ratio was dictated by the need for studies of the intermediate case between flows in two-dimensional and square channels, which differ significantly from one another because of the different effect of the walls parallel to the magnetic field. In our studies, for each value of the Hartmann number the investigations were made for 30–50 values of the Reynolds number.Notation B₀ flux density of the applied magnetic field - M Hartmann number - R Reynolds number - _tm resistance factor of turbulent MHD flow - _* critical value of the resistance factor - geometric parameter of channel - the component of resistance factor in ordinary hydrodynamics due to pulsations - normed function - electric conductivity of metal - viscosity of metal - R₀ shydraulic radius - N smagnetic field parameter     

Structures of Density Fluctuations at a Low-Mach-Number Turbulent Boundary Layer by DNS

We performed a direct numerical simulation of a low-Mach-number turbulent boundary layer using fundamental equations of compressible flow to investigate the relation between vortex structures and the density distribution. A fully developed turbulent boundary layer of compressible flow was reproduced in the simulation. From the turbulence statistics and instantaneous structures of the density fluctuation, we identified different features in the three regions of a near-wall field, far field and flow field outside the turbulent boundary layer. Structures of the density fluctuation could correspond to sound sources in a turbulent boundary layer. We then observed fine-scale structures of the density fluctuation that were strongly related to turbulent vortices in the vicinity of the wall. In addition, there were large-scale density structures in the upper boundary layer. The large-scale structures seem to correlate with the fine-scale structures close to the wall, with there being a non-steady larger-scale density fluctuation profile in the outer region of the boundary layer.     

An extensive numerical benchmark of the various magnetohydrodynamic flows

There is a continuous need for an updated series of numerical benchmarks dealing with various aspects of the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) phenomena (i.e. interactions of the flow of an electrically conducting fluid and an externally imposed magnetic field). The focus of the present study is numerical magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) where we have performed an extensive series of simulations for generic configurations, including: (i) a laminar conjugate MHD flow in a duct with varied electrical conductivity of the walls, (ii) a back-step flow, (iii) a multiphase cavity flow, (iv) a rising bubble in liquid metal and (v) a turbulent conjugate MHD flow in a duct with varied electrical conductivity of surrounding walls. All considered benchmark situations are for the one-way coupled MHD approach, where the induced magnetic field is negligible. The governing equations describing the one-way coupled MHD phenomena are numerically implemented in the open-source code OpenFOAM. The novel elements of the numerical algorithm include fully-conservative forms of the discretized Lorentz force in the momentum equation and divergence-free current density, the conjugate MHD (coupling of the wall/fluid domains), the multi-phase MHD, and, finally, the MHD turbulence. The multi-phase phenomena are simulated with the Volume of Fluid (VOF) approach, whereas the MHD turbulence is simulated with the dynamic Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) method. For all considered benchmark cases, a very good agreement is obtained with available analytical solutions and other numerical results in the literature. The presented extensive numerical benchmarks are expected to be potentially useful for developers of the numerical codes used to simulate various types of the complex MHD phenomena.     

Time‐domain BEM solution of convection–diffusion‐type MHD equations

The two‐dimensional convection–diffusion‐type equations are solved by using the boundary element method (BEM) based on the time‐dependent fundamental solution. The emphasis is given on the solution of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) duct flow problems with arbitrary wall conductivity. The boundary and time integrals in the BEM formulation are computed numerically assuming constant variations of the unknowns on both the boundary elements and the time intervals. Then, the solution is advanced to the steady‐state iteratively. Thus, it is possible to use quite large time increments and stability problems are not encountered. The time‐domain BEM solution procedure is tested on some convection–diffusion problems and the MHD duct flow problem with insulated walls to establish the validity of the approach. The numerical results for these sample problems compare very well to analytical results. Then, the BEM formulation of the MHD duct flow problem with arbitrary wall conductivity is obtained for the first time in such a way that the equations are solved together with the coupled boundary conditions. The use of time‐dependent fundamental solution enables us to obtain numerical solutions for this problem for the Hartmann number values up to 300 and for several values of conductivity parameter. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical analysis of turbulent flow in a rotating U-bend with roughened walls

A numerical analysis has been performed for a developing turbulent flow in a rotating U-bend of strong curvature with rib-roughened walls using an anisotropic turbulent model. In this calculation, an algebraic Reynolds stress model is used to precisely predict Reynolds stresses, and a boundary-fitted coordinate system is introduced as a method of coordinate transformation to set the exact boundary conditions along the complicated shape of U-bend with rib-roughened walls. Calculated results for mean velocity and Reynolds stresses are compared to the experimental data in order to validate the proposed numerical method and the algebraic Reynolds stress model. Although agreement is certainly not perfect in all details, the present method can predict characteristic velocity profiles and reproduce the separated flow generated near the outer wall, which is located just downstream of the curved duct. The Reynolds stresses predicted by the proposed turbulent model agree well with the experimental data, except in regions of flow separation.     

Combined influence of wall conductance,pressure work,viscous dissipation and joule heating on MHD channel flow heat transfer

To investigate the combined influence of viscous dissipation, pressure work, Joule heating, arbitrary voltage ratio, unequal wall conductances and wall heat fluxes on the fully developed laminar MHD channel flow heat transfer, the exact solution of the energy equations for fluid and channel walls are derived assuming the Hartmann velocity profile. It is concluded that there can be a substantial difference, depending upon Hartmann number, electric field and Brinkman number, between the Nusselt number considering the wall conductance and that neglecting it. Representative results are presented in diagrams.     

Streamwise vortices generated by impinging flows in a confined duct

Particle-tracer technique was employed for visualizing flow structures in a side-inlet square duct. The results obtained indicate that the streamwise vortices developed in the stagnation region of impinging flows are irregularly distributed. As the vortices convect downstream they are first stretched and merged, then squashed due to the non-zero pressure gradient effects caused by the flow separation regions existed along the side walls. The mechanism responsible for generating streamwise vortices in the stagnation region is suggested due to the hydrodynamic instability effect, similar to that previously found for three-dimensional disturbances growing in a two-dimensional stagnation flow.     

Effects of Compressibility and Shock-Wave Interactions on Turbulent Shear Flows

Compressibility effects are present in many practical turbulent flows, ranging from shock-wave/boundary-layer interactions on the wings of aircraft operating in the transonic flight regime to supersonic and hypersonic engine intake flows. Besides shock wave interactions, compressible flows have additional dilatational effects and, due to the finite sound speed, pressure fluctuations are localized and modified relative to incompressible turbulent flows. Such changes can be highly significant, for example the growth rates of mixing layers and turbulent spots are reduced by factors of more than three at high Mach number. The present contribution contains a combination of review and original material. We first review some of the basic effects of compressibility on canonical turbulent flows and attempt to rationalise the differing effects of Mach number in different flows using a flow instability concept. We then turn our attention to shock-wave/boundary-layer interactions, reviewing recent progress for cases where strong interactions lead to separated flow zones and where a simplified spanwise-homogeneous problem is amenable to numerical simulation. This has led to improved understanding, in particular of the origin of low-frequency behaviour of the shock wave and shown how this is coupled to the separation bubble. Finally, we consider a class of problems including side walls that is becoming amenable to simulation. Direct effects of shock waves, due to their penetration into the outer part of the boundary layer, are observed, as well as indirect effects due to the high convective Mach number of the shock-induced separation zone. It is noted in particular how shock-induced turning of the detached shear layer results in strong localized damping of turbulence kinetic energy.     

The simulation of turbulent particle‐laden channel flow by the Lattice Boltzmann method

We perform direct numerical simulation of three‐dimensional turbulent flows in a rectangular channel, with a lattice Boltzmann method, efficiently implemented on heavily parallel general purpose graphical processor units. After validating the method for a single fluid, for standard boundary layer problems, we study changes in mean and turbulent properties of particle‐laden flows, as a function of particle size and concentration. The problem of physical interest for this application is the effect of water droplets on the turbulent properties of a high‐speed air flow, near a solid surface. To do so, we use a Lagrangian tracking approach for a large number of rigid spherical point particles, whose motion is forced by drag forces caused by the fluid flow; particle effects on the latter are in turn represented by distributed volume forces in the lattice Boltzmann method. Results suggest that, while mean flow properties are only slightly affected, unless a very large concentration of particles is used, the turbulent vortices present near the boundary are significantly damped and broken down by the turbulent motion of the heavy particles, and both turbulent Reynolds stresses and the production of turbulent kinetic energy are decreased because of the particle effects. We also find that the streamwise component of turbulent velocity fluctuations is increased, while the spanwise and wall‐normal components are decreased, as compared with the single fluid channel case. Additionally, the streamwise velocity of the carrier (air) phase is slightly reduced in the logarithmic boundary layer near the solid walls. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Direct numerical simulation of low Reynolds number flows in an open‐channel with sidewalls

A direct numerical simulation of low Reynolds number turbulent flows in an open‐channel with sidewalls is presented. Mean flow and turbulence structures are described and compared with both simulated and measured data available from the literature. The simulation results show that secondary flows are generated near the walls and free surface. In particular, at the upper corner of the channel, a small vortex called inner secondary flows is simulated. The results show that the inner secondary flows, counter‐rotating to outer secondary flows away from the sidewall, increase the shear velocity near the free surface. The secondary flows observed in turbulent open‐channel flows are related to the production of Reynolds shear stress. A quadrant analysis shows that sweeps and ejections are dominant in the regions where secondary flows rush in toward the wall and eject from the wall, respectively. A conditional quadrant analysis also reveals that the production of Reynolds shear stress and the secondary flow patterns are determined by the directional tendency of the dominant coherent structures. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamical characteristics of coherent structure in the outer region of turbulence boundary layer

In the present paper the coherent structures in the outer region of turbulent boundary layer were investigated experimentally and analytically. From the observation of the flow field over smooth wall, rough wall and sand wave wall, it was found that the direct effect of wall on the flow structure can reachy ⁺¹≈100, and both lateral and vertical vortices exist in the outer region, but the coherent structures in the outer region are mainly the formation, development and decay of the large-scale lateral vortices. By experimental and dynamical analysis, some influence factors and their relations associated with the dynamical process of lateral vortices were deduced. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China     

Numerical investigation of fully developed turbulent fluid flow and heat transfer in a square duct

Three-dimensional fully developed turbulent fluid flow and heat transfer in a square duct are numerically investigated with the author's anisotropic low-Reynolds-number k-ε turbulence model. Special attenton has been given to the regions close to the wall and the corner, which are known to influence the characteristics of secondary flow a great deal. Hence, instead of the common wall function approach, the no-slip boundary condition at the wall is directly used. Velocity and temperature profiles are predicted for fully developed turbulent flows with constant wall temperature. The predicted variations of both local wall shear stress and local wall heat flux are shown to be in close agreement with available experimental data. The present paper also presents the budget of turbulent kinetic energy equation and the systematic evaluation for existing wall function forms. The commonly adopted wall function forms that are valid for two-dimensional flows are found to be inadequate for three-dimensional turbulent flows in a square duct.     

Patterned turbulence in spatially evolving magnetohydrodynamic duct and pipe flows

Laminar-turbulent transition in spatially evolving magnetohydrodynamic pipe and duct flows is investigated numerically. The results are in good agreement with the classical 1937 experiments of J. Hartmann and F. Lazarus. It is found that the recently discovered flow regimes with turbulent spots near sidewalls are realized in spatially developing flows and must be detectable in experiments.