An Experimental Study of the Near-Field Mixing Characteristics of a Swirling Jet

The present experimental investigation is devoted to the mixing characteristics of a passive scalar in the near-field region of a moderately swirling jet issuing from a fully developed axially rotating pipe flow. Instantaneous streamwise and azimuthal velocity components as well as the temperature were simultaneously accessed by means of a combined X-wire and cold-wire probe. The results indicate a modification of the turbulence structures to that effect that the swirling jet spreads, mixes and evolves faster compared to its non-swirling counterpart. The high correlation between streamwise velocity and temperature fluctuations as well as the streamwise passive scalar flux are even more enhanced due to the addition of swirl, which in turn shortens the distance and hence time needed to mix the jet with the ambient air.     

The influence of probe resolution on the measurement of a passive scalar and its derivatives

The influence of probe resolution on the statistical measurement of a passive scalar is reported. A spectral method is employed to simulate degradation of the spatial resolution of a probe on the measured variances of a fluctuating scalar and its streamwise derivative by low-pass filtering a time-series of data at different cutoff frequencies. Direct measurements are also employed by varying probe sensor separation. The far field of a circular jet and the near wake of a circular cylinder are both investigated using air as the working fluid. The use of this low-Schmidt number working fluid and relatively low turbulence Reynolds numbers allows for good resolution of small scales of scalar fluctuations. By comparison, the same level of resolution is much more difficult to achieve when utilising a high-Schmidt number working fluid. A small temperature differential above ambient is used to mark the passive scalar, which is measured using a cold-wire anemometer. Taylor's hypothesis is employed to determine length scales. The present results are in good agreement with previous direct measurements using both optical techniques and cold-wire probes. It is found that the spatial resolution required for accurate measurement of the scalar dissipation rate is well described by the characteristic smallest scale of the scalar fluctuation, i.e. 'the Batchelor scale'. However, an order of magnitude less resolution is required for the scalar variance. The effect of degrading resolution on the variance measurements is more significant in the near wake than the far-field jet, suggesting that these requirements may be flow-dependent.     

The effect of boundary layer fluctuations on the streamwise vortex structure in simulated plane turbulent mixing layers

This paper details the influence of the magnitude of imposed inflow fluctuations on Large Eddy Simulations of a spatially developing turbulent mixing layer originating from laminar boundary layers. The fluctuations are physically-correlated, and produced by an inflow generation technique. The imposed high-speed side boundary layer fluctuation magnitude is varied from a low-level, up to a magnitude sufficiently high that the boundary layer can be considered, in a mean sense, as nominally laminar. Cross-plane flow visualisation shows that each simulation contains streamwise vortices in the laminar and turbulent regions of the mixing layer. Statistical analysis of the secondary shear stress reveals that mixing layers originating from boundary layers with low-level fluctuations contain a spatially stationary streamwise structure. Increasing the high-speed side boundary layer fluctuation magnitude leads to a weakening of this stationary streamwise structure, or its removal from the flow entirely. The mixing layer growth rate reduces with increasing initial fluctuation level. These findings are discussed in terms of the available experimental data on mixing layers, and recommendations for both future experimental and numerical research into the mixing layer are made.     

Frequency response and instantaneous temperature profile of cold-wire sensors for fluid temperature fluctuation measurements

The information of the wire response is necessary for the estimation of corrections and uncertainty of temperature measurements. This paper describes the theoretical response of cold-wire sensors to temperature fluctuations in a fluid flow. Existing transfer functions of cold wires are approximate and implicit functions of frequency. We present the exact solutions of heat conduction equations for a cold wire and stubs taking account of the prong effect. Because the solutions have simple forms of elementary functions, we can easily calculate the frequency response of cold wires. Sample calculations are given under several typical conditions. Also, the instantaneous temperature profiles of a cold wire are obtained for the first time.     

Interaction between longitudinal vortices and flat plate boundary layer

The interaction between longitudinal vortices and flat plate boundary layer has been studied numerically for both laminar and turbulent flow situations. The vortices are assumed to be placed in an otherwise two-dimensional boundary layer flow. The flow is assumed to be incompressible and steady. Considering the fact that the velocity, vorticity and temperature gradients in the transverse directions are much larger than the longitudinal (streamwise) gradients for these flows, the original Navier Stokes equations are parabolized in the streamwise direction. A simple model, based on Boussinesq hypothesis, is used for turbulent flow. The discretized equations are then solved step by step in the streamwise direction, using an iterative procedure at each station. Numerical solutions have been obtained for different parameters, such as the Reynolds number, the circulation and the initial position of the vortices. The computed flow patterns and the skin friction coefficient and Stanton number are found to be qualitatively consistent with available experimental results. It is shown that the interaction between the vortices and the boundary layer may severely disturb the boundary layer flow field and thus considerably increase the local skin friction and heat transfer rate on surface of an aircraft.     

不定原点喷嘴射流中流体物理的实验研究(英文)

为了能够更好地了解不定源喷嘴(indeterminate origin nozzle)射流中的物理过程,本文应用平面激光诱导荧光技术对一个大尺度的水射流进行了实验研究。流场显示的实验结果表明不定源喷嘴在射流的剪切层引入了蘑菇形反向旋转的涡对。这些涡的矢量方向与射流方向相同或相反,被称为流向涡(streamwise vortex)。由于射流中存在开尔文-亥姆霍兹不稳定,每当一个横向涡(spanwise vortex,即涡的矢量方向与射流方向垂直)从喷嘴脱流时会产生瞬时的低压,该瞬时低压促使向内发展的流向涡对在喷嘴的凹槽处生成。这些涡对在向下游流动的过程中会重组并在喷嘴的尖峰面生成向外发展的涡对。这些流向涡极大地影响了射流的发展。流向涡与横向涡的相互作用促使射流更早地发展成为湍流。由于流向涡同时也在射流中引入了径向的剪切流动,因此导致了更多的湍流生成从而增强了射流与周围流体的混合。     

不定原点喷嘴射流中流体物理的实验研究

为了能够更好地了解不定源喷嘴（indeterminate origin nozzle）射流中的物理过程，本文应用平面激光诱导荧光技术对一个大尺度的水射流进行了实验研究。流场显示的实验结果表明不定源喷嘴在射流的剪切层引入了蘑菇形反向旋转的涡对。这些涡的矢量方向与射流方向相同或相反，被称为流向涡（streamwise vortex）。由于射流中存在开尔文一亥姆霍兹不稳定，每当一个横向涡（spanwisevortex，即涡的矢量方向与射流方向垂直）从喷嘴脱流时会产生瞬时的低压，该瞬时低压促使向内发展的流向涡对在喷嘴的凹槽处生成。这些涡对在向下游流动的过程中会重组并在喷嘴的尖峰面生成向外发展的涡对。这些流向涡极大地影响了射流的发展。流向涡与横向涡的相互作用促使射流更早地发展成为湍流。由于流向涡同时也在射流中引入了径向的剪切流动，因此导致了更多的湍流生成从而增强了射流与周围流体的混合。     

Energy redistribution dynamics in coupled Couette–Poiseuille flows using large-Eddy simulation

The problem of turbulent Couette flow driven by a statistically steady external wind is studied in the framework of spatially filtered Navier–Stokes equations. The phenomenon of wind-driven flow of water is represented by a layer of air modeled as Poiseuille flow (air sub-domain), coupled to a layer of water modeled as Couette flow (water sub-domain). We focus on changes in the statistics in either the air or the water sub-domain, due to the coupling with the other sub-domain. We also highlight dynamic flow structures forming near the air-water interface. Simulations based on different Reynolds numbers in the air and the water sub-domains are compared to computationally less demanding simulations with equal Reynolds numbers. Results of these simulations indicate strong similarities, i.e., the flow is well approximated by simulating air and water at the same Reynolds numbers. Further analysis shows that the flow in the water domain shares important features with classical Couette flows. The horizontal turbulent mixing renders a thinner boundary layer in the water sub-domain. Moreover, an increased intermittency in the flow velocities is observed, which may be linked to so-called splat events near the air-water interface. These splats characterize the interaction of coherent structures across the interface, being stronger in the water phase. An analysis of the pressure-strain correlation near the air-water interface on the water side shows that such splats are responsible for redistributing energy from the streamwise and spanwise directions, to the vertical direction. This behavior, although qualitatively similar to wall-bounded flows, differ mainly on the fact that most of the energy drained comes from the streamwise direction: in wall-bounded the main contributor is the spanwise direction. The boundary layers near the air-water interface show inclined vortical structures. Unlike in coupled Couette–Couette flow, the peak in the Reynolds stress is displaced from the channel’s center into the buffer region of the water sub-domain.     

The effect of streamwise vortices on the turbulence structure of a separating boundary layer

A high Reynolds number flat plate turbulent boundary layer is investigated in a wind-tunnel experiment. The flow is subjected to an adverse pressure gradient which is strong enough to generate a weak separation bubble. This experimental study attempts to shed some new light on separation control by means of streamwise vortices with emphasize on the change in the boundary layer turbulence structure. In the present case, counter-rotating and initially non-equidistant streamwise vortices become and remain equidistant and confined within the boundary layer, contradictory to the prediction by inviscid theory. The viscous diffusion cause the vortices to grow, the swirling velocity component to decrease and the boundary layer to develop towards a two-dimensional state. At the position of the eliminated separation bubble the following changes in the turbulence structure were observed. The anisotropy state in the near-wall region is unchanged, which indicates that it is determined by the presence of the wall rather than the large scale vortices. However, the turbulence in the outer part of the boundary layer becomes overall more isotropic due to an increased wall-normal mixing and a significantly decreased production of streamwise fluctuations. The turbulent kinetic energy is decreased as a consequence of the latter. Despite the complete change in mean flow, the spatial turbulence structure and the anisotropy state, the process of transfer of turbulent kinetic energy to the spanwise fluctuating component seems to be unchanged. Local regions of anisotropy are strongly connected to maxima in the turbulent production. For example, at spanwise positions in between those of symmetry, the spanwise gradient of the streamwise velocity cause significant production of turbulent fluctuations. Transport of turbulence in the spanwise direction occurs in the same direction as the rotation of the vortices.     

超声速混合层中扰动增强混合实验

以基于纳米技术的平面激光散射(nano-based planar laser scattering, NPLS)流动显示技术定性研究了隔板扰动对超声速混合层($Mc=0.5$)的混合增强效果. 首先通过系列实验优化设计了扰动参数. 实验结果表明,超声速混合层对于从隔板引入的扰动非常敏感. 二维扰动的混合强化机制是提前混合层失稳位置,增厚混合层;而三维扰动的混合强化机制主要是通过诱导流向涡和展向运动,促进流动三维性质的发展. 总体而言,三维扰动的混合强化效果优于二维扰动. 由于是超声速混合层,隔板上的扰动片虽然很薄,但同样会引起激波的产生,是该方法中总压损失的主要原因.      

Measurements in the near flow field of an isosceles triangular turbulent free jet

The near field mean flow and turbulence characteristics of a turbulent jet of air issuing from a sharp-edged isosceles triangular orifice into still air surroundings have been examined experimentally using hot-wire anemometry and a pitot-static tube. For comparison, some measurements were made in an equilateral triangular free jet and in a round free air jet, both of which also issued from sharp-edged orifices. The Reynolds number, based on the orifice equivalent diameter, was 1.84×10⁵ in each jet. The three components of the mean velocity vector, the Reynolds normal and primary shear stresses, the one-dimensional energy spectra of the streamwise fluctuating velocity signals and the mean static pressure were measured. The mean streamwise vorticity, the half-velocity widths, the turbulence kinetic energy and the local shear in the mean streamwise velocity were obtained from the measured data. It was found that near field mixing in the equilateral triangular jet is faster than in the isosceles triangular and round jets. The mean streamwise vorticity field was found to be dominated by counter-rotating pairs of vortices, which influenced mixing and entrainment in the isosceles triangular jet. The one-dimensional energy spectra results indicated the presence of coherent structures in the near field of all three jets and that the equilateral triangular jet was more energetic than the isosceles triangular and round jets.     

Second mode unstable disturbance measurement of hypersonic boundary layer on cone by wavelet transform

Experimental investigation of hypersonic boundary layer instability on a cone is performed at Mach number 6 in a hypersonic wind tunnel.Time series signals of instantaneous fluctuating surface-thermal-flux are measured by Pt-thin-film thermocouple temperature sensors mounted at 28 stations on the cone surface in the streamwise direction to investigate the development of the unstable disturbance.Wavelet transform is employed as a mathematical tool to obtain the multi-scale characteristics of fluctuating surfacethermal-flux both in the temporal and spectrum space.The conditional sampling algorithm using wavelet coefficient as an index is put forward to extract the unstable disturbanceThe generic waveform for the second mode unstable disturbance is obtained by a phase-averaging technique.The development of the unstable disturbance in the streamwise direction is assessed both in the temporal and spectrum space.Our study shows that the local unstable disturbance detection method based on wavelet transformation offers an alternative powerful tool in studying the hypersonic unstable mode of laminar-turbulent transition.It is demonstrated that,at hypersonic speeds,the dominant flow instability is the second mode,which governs the course of laminar-turbulent transition of sharp cone boundary layer.     

Flow characteristics of rectangular open channels with compound vegetation roughness

An idealized parallel flow caused by a lateral bed roughness difference due to the partial vegetation across a channel is investigated. Similar to the flow in a compound channel, there are mixing layers adjacent to the interface between the vegetation and the non-vegetation lanes, and a lateral momentum exchange occurs between the slow-moving water in the former lane and the fast-moving water in the latter lane. Under a uniform flow condition, the three-dimensional (3D) instantaneous velocities of two cases with different discharges and water depths are measured with a 16MHz acoustic Doppler velocimeter (micro ADV). The longitudinal variation of the streamwise velocity and the vertical variation of the Reynolds stress are analyzed. A quadrant analysis is carried out to investigate the outward and inward interaction, ejection, and sweep phenomenon caused by the vegetation variation across the channel. The results show that the flow characteristics in the vegetation lane are similar to those in an open channel fully covered with submerged vegetation, and the flow characteristics in the smooth non-vegetation lane are similar to those in a free open channel. For the cases studied here, the width of the mixing region is about 10% of the channel width, and the mixing region is mainly on the non-vegetation half.     

Developing and fully developed turbulent flow in ribbed channels

Wall-mounted roughness features, such as ribs, are often placed along the walls of a channel to increase the convective surface area and to augment heat transfer and mixing by increasing turbulence. Depending on the relative roughness size and orientation, the ribs also have varying degrees of increased pressure losses. Designs that use ribs to promote heat transfer encompass the full range of having only a few streamwise ribs, which do not allow fully developed flow conditions, to multiple streamwise ribs, which do allow the flow to become fully developed. The majority of previous studies have focused on perturbing the geometry of the rib with little attention to the spatially and temporally varying flow characteristics and their dependence on the Reynolds number. A staggered rib-roughened channel study was performed using time-resolved digital particle image velocimetry (TRDPIV). Both the developing (entry region) and a fully developed region were interrogated for three Reynolds numbers of 2,500, 10,000, and 20,000. The results indicate that the flow was more sensitive to Reynolds number at the inlet than within the fully developed region. Despite having a similar mean-averaged flowfield structure over the full Reynolds number range investigated, the population and distribution of coherent structures and turbulent dissipation within the fully developed region were also found to be Reynolds number dependent. Exploring the time-accurate flow characteristics revealed that in addition to vortices shed from the rib shear layer, the region of the rib wake was governed by a periodic process of bursting of the wake vortices resulting in the intermittent ejection of the inter-rib recirculation region into the core flow. This periodic process was the driving mechanism resulting in mixing and heat transfer augmentation. A quadrant-splitting burst analysis was also performed to determine the characteristic frequency and duration of inter-rib bursting as well as the wake shedding frequency, both of which were determined to be Reynolds number dependent.     

Hybrid LES-RANS study of an effusion cooling array with circular holes

A multi-row effusion cooling configuration with scaled gas turbine combustor conditions is studied numerically, using a novel wall-proximity-based hybrid LES-RANS approach. The distribution of the coolant film is examined by surface adiabatic cooling effectiveness (ACE). Simulation results have shown that the accuracy of cooling effectiveness prediction is closely related to the resolution of turbulent flow structures involved in hot-cold flow mixing, especially those close to the plate surface. The formation of the coolant film in the streamwise direction is investigated. It is shown that the plate surface directly downstream the coolant holes are covered well by the coolant jets, while surface regions in between the two columns of the coolant holes could not be protected until the coolant film is developed sufficiently in the spanwise direction in the downstream region. More detailed study has also been carried out to study the time-averaged and time-dependent flow fields. The relation between the turbulent flow structures and coolant film distribution are also examined. The Kelvin–Helmholtz instability in the upper and lower coolant jet shear layer, is found to have the same frequency of around 8000 Hz, and is independent of the coolant hole position. Additionally, it is suggested by the spectral coherence analysis that those unsteady flow structures from the lower shear layer are closely related to the near wall flow temperature, and such effect is also independent of the coolant hole position.     

Vortex-enhanced mixing through active and passive flow control methods

This study aims to understand the underlying physics of vortex-enhanced mixing through active and passive flow control methods. To find a best flow control method that enhances turbulent mixing through the generation of streamwise vortices, an experimental investigation was carried out to compare active and passive flow control methods of an incompressible axisymmetric jet. For active flow control, the lip of the circular jet was equipped with a single small flap deflected away from the jet stream at an angle of 30° to the jet axis. The flap incorporated a flow control slot through which steady and oscillatory suction were implemented. The active flow control methods require power input to the suction devices. For passive flow control, the lip of the circular jet was equipped with a single small delta tab deflected into the jet stream at an angle of 30° to the jet axis. The chord lengths of the flap and delta tab were one-sixth of the jet diameter. The momentum of jet increased in the case of active flow control by entraining the ambient fluid, whereas momentum decreased in the case of passive flow control. The effect of steady suction saturated for volumetric suction coefficient values greater than 0.82 %. The strength of streamwise vortices generated by the flap were greater than those generated by the delta tab. Steady suction produced positive pressures just downstream of the flow control slot in the central portion of the flap and negative pressures at the flap edges. Oscillatory suction was highly dependent on dimensionless frequency (F ⁺) based on the distance from the flow control slot to the flap trailing edge; the pressures on the central portion of the flap increased for F ⁺ ≤ 0.11 and then decreased for greater F ⁺; finally attained negative pressures at F ⁺ = 0.44. The increase in jet momentum and turbulence intensity, combined with the induced streamwise vorticity, makes steady suction a potential concept for increasing propulsion efficiency through vortex-enhanced mixing. The flow control methods modify the jet flow, which in turn would alter the jet noise spectra.     

On streamwise vortices in Large Eddy Simulations of initially laminar plane mixing layers

This paper details the influence of the nature of imposed inflow fluctuations on Large Eddy Simulations of a spatially developing turbulent mixing layer originating from laminar boundary layers. A simulation with imposed white-noise random fluctuations, commonly used in numerical simulations, produces mean-flow statistics that agree well with reference experimental data. Whilst flow visualisation images show evidence for streamwise vorticity in this simulation, quantitative statistics do not reveal the presence of statistically stationary streamwise vortices. A further simulation that uses physically-correlated inflow fluctuations also produces good mean-flow statistical agreement with reference data. From secondary shear stress contours it can be inferred that this simulation does, however, predict the presence of statistically stationary streamwise vortices. The properties of the streamwise vortices are in good agreement with experimental data. The data presented here indicate that, even for initially laminar conditions, plane mixing layer simulations require accurate physically correlated inflow conditions in order to reproduce the flow features found experimentally.     

An experimental study of influence of hot water consumption rate on the thermal stratification inside a horizontal mantle storage tank

In this study the thermal characteristics of horizontal mantle heat exchangers are investigated for application in active solar water heaters. Some important parameters such as flow rate, thermal short circuit, average temperature, and convection heat transfer coefficient and inlet velocity have been investigated too. The results show that the thermal efficiency of the storage tank is critically impaired by the effect of short circuit phenomenon and mixing caused by turbulence.     

Turbulent flow structure at concordant and discordant open-channel confluences

Models of flow at river-channel confluences that consist of two concordant confluent channels with avalanche faces dipping into a scour zone are limited because this morphology may be the exception rather than the rule in nature. In this paper the mean and turbulent flow structure in the streamwise and vertical directions at both concordant and discordant laboratory confluences were examined in order to determine the effect of bed discordance on the flow field, and to assess its influence on sediment transport. Instantaneous velocities were measured with a laser Doppler anemometer using a dense spatial sampling grid. The spatial distribution of normal stress varies with bed geometry as bed discordance generates a distortion of the mixing layer between the confluent streams. Turbulent shear stress is larger in the discordant bed case and its peak is associated with the position of the mixing layer whereas for concordant beds the zone of mixing is characterised by a decrease in the Reynolds shear stress. Quadrant analysis also revealed differential dominating quadrants between the two bed geometries which will influence sediment transport routing and, consequently, the resulting bed morphology. These results highlight the need for significant modifications to current models of confluence flow dynamics in order to account for the bed configuration.We would like to thank Phil Fields of the Earth Sciences workshop at Leeds for his skillful construction of the confluence model and continued help during the course of this research. The LDA facility has been funded through grants from the UFC, NERC and University of Leeds. PB thanks NSERC for financial support and the Fonds FCAR for funding an eight month study-visit held at the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds. AGR acknowledges the financial support of NSERC whilst JLB is grateful for the award of a Nuffield Science Foundation Fellowship which facilitated the preparation of this paper. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive criticisms that helped clarifying the paper.     

Experimental 3D Analysis of the Large Scale Behaviour of a Plane Turbulent Mixing Layer

A new structure education method is proposed for representing the three dimensional large scale structures from hot wires measurement data. Due to the limited number of hot wire probes that can be used simultaneously, we firstly have to optimise the spatial location of sensors in order to detect large scale coherent structures. For such a purpose a detailed analysis of the 3D space-time flow organisation is given with particular emphasis on the full two point correlation tensor of the velocity field. Secondly, several procedures are developed in order to reconstruct instantaneous 3D velocity field on any finer and larger mesh than the experimental one from the limited available experimental information. The particular case of a spatially developing turbulent plane mixing layer is investigated. We then show that Stochastic Estimation and Proper Orthogonal Decomposition lead to a satisfactory reconstruction preserving the 3D coherent character of the flow. Finally, this reconstructed velocity field provides a 3D space-time representation of the large scale structures in a streamwise section of the flow and can then be used as realistic turbulent inflow condition for Large Eddy Simulations.