On the flow of a viscous fluid driven along a channel by suction at porous walls

This paper is a theoretical treatment of the flow of a viscous incompressible fluid driven along a channel by steady uniform suction through porous parallel rigid walls. Many authors have found such flows when they are symmetric, steady and two-dimensional, by assuming a similarity form of solution due to Berman in order to reduce the Navier-Stokes equations to a nonlinear ordinary differential equation. We generalise their work by considering asymmetric flows, unsteady flows and three-dimensional perturbations. By use of numerical calculations, matched asymptotic expansions for large values of the Reynolds number, and the theory of dynamical systems, we find many more exact solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations, examine their stability, and interpret them. In particular, we show that most previously found steady solutions are unstable to antisymmetric two-dimensional disturbances. This leads to a pitchfork bifurcation, stable asymmetric steady solutions, a Hopf bifurcation, stable time-periodic solutions, stable quasi-periodic solutions, phase locking and chaos in succession as the Reynolds number increases.     

Experiments on the linear instability of flow in a wavy channel

The effects of wall corrugation on the stability of wall-bounded shear flows have been examined experimentally in plane channel flows. One of the channel walls has been modified by introduction of the wavy wall model with the amplitude of 4% of the channel half height and the wave number of 1.02. The experiment is focused on the two-dimensional travelling wave instability and the results are compared with the theory [J.M. Floryan, Two-dimensional instability of flow in a rough channel, Phys. Fluids 17 (2005) 044101 (also: Rept. ESFD-1/2003, Dept. of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, 2003)]. It is shown that the flow is destabilized by the wall corrugation at subcritical Reynolds numbers below 5772, as predicted by the theory. For the present corrugation geometry, the critical Reynolds number is decreased down to about 4000. The spatial growth rates, the disturbance wave numbers and the distribution of disturbance amplitude measured over such wavy wall also agree well with the theoretical results.     

Fluid flow and heat transfer in a two-dimensional wavy channel

A numerical study is presented for the laminar fully developed flow and heat transfer in a two-dimensional wavy channel. The effects of the geometry, Reynolds and Prandtl number on the flow field and heat transfer are investigated. The channel is characterized by a wavy wall, heated at uniform heat flux, and an opposite wall, being plane and adiabatic. The extent of the wall waviness and the distance between the channel walls are found to significantly affect the streamlines contours as well as the heat transfer coefficients. Comparisons with the straight channel, in the same flow rate and heat transfer conditions, have been performed. Pressure drop of the wavy channel is found to be always larger than the value characteristic of a straight channel, while heat transfer performance decreases or increases depending on the values of the parameters (geometry, Reynolds and Prandtl numbers).     

Side‐wall effects on the bifurcation of the flow through a sudden expansion

Three‐dimensional computations have been performed to study the flow through a symmetric sudden expansion with an expansion ratio of 3 at low Reynolds numbers. The aspect ratio of the flow channel is allowed to vary within a wide range to examine its influence on the flow which bifurcates from a symmetric state to an asymmetric state. The results reveal that the critical Reynolds number of the symmetry‐breaking bifurcation increases while the aspect ratio is reduced. The flow behaviour near the side walls is illustrated by using limiting streamlines. The origin of the singular points identifiable on the side wall can be traced back to the recirculating flows and the relevant reattachment/separation points in the core of the channel. It is seen that the determination of the exact critical Reynolds number is not trivial because it depends on how to define asymmetric flow. Computations have also been conducted to show that a slight asymmetry in the channel geometry causes a smooth transition from symmetric to non‐symmetric states. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Turbulent Channel Flow with an Artificial Two-Dimensional Wall Layer

Turbulent flow of an incompressible fluid in a plane channel with parallel walls is considered. The three-dimensional time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations are solved numerically using the spectral finite-difference method. An artificial force which completely suppresses lateral oscillations of the velocity is introduced in the near-wall zone (10 % of the channel half-width in the neighborhood of each wall). Thus, the three-dimensional flow zone, in which turbulent oscillations can develop, is separated from the wall by a fluid layer. It is found that the elimination of three-dimensionality in the neighborhood of the walls leads to a significant reduction in the drag. However, complete laminarization does not occur. The flow in the stream core remains turbulent and can be interpreted as a turbulent flow in a channel with walls located on the boundary of the two-dimensional layer and traveling at the local mean-flow velocity. The oscillations developing inside the two-dimensional layer, which have significant amplitude, distort the flow only in the adjacent zone. Beyond this zone the distributions of the mean characteristics and the structure of instantaneous fields completely correspond to ordinary turbulent flow in a channel with rigid walls. The results obtained confirm the hypothesis of the unimportance of the no-slip boundary conditions for the fluctuating velocity component in the mechanism of onset and self-maintenance of turbulence in wall flows.     

Algorithm for transient growth of perturbations in channel Poiseuille flow

This study develops a direct optimal growth algorithm for three-dimensional transient growth analysis of perturbations in channel flows which are globally stable but locally unstable. Different from traditional non-modal methods based on the OrrSommerfeld and Squire(OSS) equations that assume simple base flows, this algorithm can be applied to arbitrarily complex base flows. In the proposed algorithm, a reorthogonalization Arnoldi method is used to improve orthogonality of the orthogonal basis of the Krylov subspace generated by solving the linearized forward and adjoint Navier-Stokes(N-S) equations. The linearized adjoint N-S equations with the specific boundary conditions for the channel are derived, and a new convergence criterion is proposed. The algorithm is then applied to a one-dimensional base flow(the plane Poiseuille flow) and a two-dimensional base flow(the plane Poiseuille flow with a low-speed streak)in a channel. For one-dimensional cases, the effects of the spanwise width of the channel and the Reynolds number on the transient growth of perturbations are studied. For two-dimensional cases, the effect of strength of initial low-speed streak is discussed. The presence of the streak in the plane Poiseuille flow leads to a larger and quicker growth of the perturbations than that in the one-dimensional case. For both cases, the results show that an optimal flow field leading to the largest growth of perturbations is characterized by high-and low-speed streaks and the corresponding streamwise vortical structures.The lift-up mechanism that induces the transient growth of perturbations is discussed.The performance of the re-orthogonalization Arnoldi technique in the algorithm for both one-and two-dimensional base flows is demonstrated, and the algorithm is validated by comparing the results with those obtained from the OSS equations method and the crosscheck method.     

Hydrodynamic flows and heat transfer in slightly noncylindrical channels

Viscous incompressible laminar flow and heat transfer in channels with a small arbitrary deviation from a cylindrical surface are examined. A linear system of equations and boundary conditions for the disturbed dynamic and thermal fields, obtained by linearizing the complete system of Navier-Stokes equations with respect to the solution for developed flows in cylindrical tubes of arbitrary cross section, is presented. In the important practical case in which the perturbations of the channel surface are concentrated on an interval of finite length it is shown that the integral dynamic and thermal characteristics of the channel can be found without solving the three-dimensional equations by going over to effective two-dimensional boundary-value problems which are fundamentally no more difficult to solve than those for developed flows. Extensions of the theory to flows with low-efficiency power sources are given. Applications to plane channels and circular tubes with deformed surfaces are considered. Among the numerous applications requiring information about the integral characteristics of flows in channels whose initially cylindrical surface is slighty deformed, we note the problem of heat transfer intensification by slightly deforming the tube surface with careful estimation of the accompanying increase in resistance [1] and the calculation of the resistance of capillaries and biological transport systems in the form of tubes and channels when the walls are deformed [2]. Below we consider laminar flow in channels with deformed walls. Whereas for the first problem this class of flows is only one of those possible (in general it is necessary to analyze the transition, turbulence and flow separation effects), in the second case, which is characterized by low Reynolds numbers, the laminar flow model is perfectly adequate.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 2, pp. 21–30, March–April, 1990.The authors are grateful to A. Yu. Klimenko for useful discussions.     

Symmetry breaking and preliminary results about a Hopf bifurcation for incompressible viscous flow in an expansion channel

This computational study shows, for the first time, a clear transition to two-dimensional Hopf bifurcation for laminar incompressible flows in symmetric plane expansion channels. Due to the well-known extreme sensitivity of this study on computational mesh, the critical Reynolds numbers for both the known symmetry-breaking (pitchfork) bifurcation and Hopf bifurcation were investigated for several layers of mesh refinement. It is found that under-refined meshes lead to an overestimation of the critical Reynolds number for the symmetry breaking and an underestimation of the critical Reynolds number for the Hopf bifurcation.     

Heat transfer enhancement in grooved channels due to flow bifurcations

The flow bifurcation scenario and heat transfer characteristics in grooved channels, are investigated by direct numerical simulations of the mass, momentum and energy equations, using the spectral element methods for increasing Reynolds numbers in the laminar and transitional regimes. The Eulerian flow characteristics show a transition scenario of two Hopf bifurcations when the flow evolves from a laminar to a time-dependent periodic and then to a quasi-periodic flow. The first Hopf bifurcation occurs to a critical Reynolds number Rec₁ that is significantly lower than the critical Reynolds number for a plane-channel flow. The periodic and quasi-periodic flows are characterized by fundamental frequencies ω₁ and m· ω₁+n·ω₂, respectively, with m and n integers. Friction factor and pumping power evaluations demonstrate that these parameters are much higher than the plane channel values. The time-average mean Nusselt number remains mostly constant in the laminar regime and continuously increases in the transitional regime. The rate of increase of this Nusselt number is higher for a quasi-periodic than for a periodic flow regime. This higher rate originates because better flow mixing develops in quasi-periodic flow regimes. The flow bifurcation scenario occurring in grooved channels is similar to the Ruelle-Takens-Newhouse transition scenario of Eulerian chaos, observed in symmetric and asymmetric wavy channels.     

Numerical investigation of particle lateral migration in straight channel flows using a direct-forcing immersed boundary method

Inertia-induced cross-stream migration has been recently exploited for precise position of particles in confined channel flows. In this work, a three-dimensional finite volume based immersed boundary method has been developed to study the lateral migration and hydrodynamic self-assembly of neutrally-buoyant particles in pressure-driven flows. Simulation results show that, in 2D channel flows, the equilibrium position for a circular particle is closer to the centreline for larger particle Reynolds number due to the increasing flow rate, while in 3D square duct flow, the equilibrium position for a spherical particle is near a face centre and is closer to the wall for larger particle Reynolds number. Self-assembly of a pair of particles is observed in 3D square duct flows but not in 2D channel flows. Mechanisms for the self-assembly are discussed.     

Super-stable parallel flows of multiple visco-plastic fluids

We consider the stability of a multi-layer plane Poiseuille flow of two Bingham fluids. It is shown that this two-fluid flow is frequently more stable than the equivalent flow of either fluid alone. This phenomenon of super-stability results only when the yield stress of the fluid next to the channel wall is larger than that of the fluid in the centre of the channel, which need not have a yield stress. Our result is in direct contrast to the stability of analogous flows of purely viscous generalised Newtonian fluids, for which short wavelength interfacial instabilities can be found at relatively low Reynolds numbers. The results imply the existence of parameter regimes where visco-plastic lubrication is possible, permitting transport of an inelastic generalised Newtonian fluid in the centre of a channel, lubricated at the walls by a visco-plastic fluid, travelling in a stable laminar flow at higher flow rates than would be possible for the single fluid alone.     

Self-sustained oscillations of a confined impinging jet

The present paper investigates the dynamics of a laminar plane jet impinging on a flat plate in a channel. An experimental parametric study is carried out to determine the flow regimes at different levels of confinement and Reynolds numbers. For very confined jets, the flow is steady whatever the Reynolds number. The overall structure of the flow is symmetric with respect to the jet axis and is characterized by the presence of recirculation zones at the channel walls. The dynamics is radically different for less confined jets. Above a critical Reynolds number, the flow bifurcates in the form of an oscillating flapping mode of the impinging jet. Analyses of the experimental results provide with a quantitative characterization of this regime in terms of amplitude, wavelength and frequency. This self-oscillating bifurcated flow induces strong sweepings of the target plate by the jet and intense vortex dipole ejections from the impacted wall. Such a regime is expected to be particularly useful in the enhancement of the local heat transfer at relatively low cost in terms of flow rate.     

Scalar transport from a point source in flows over wavy walls

Simultaneous measurements of the velocity and concentration field in fully developed turbulent flows over a wavy wall are described. The concentration field originates from a low-momentum plume of a passive tracer. PLIF and digital particle image velocimetry are used to make spatially resolved measurements of the structure of the scalar distribution and the velocity. The measurements are performed at three different Reynolds numbers of Re _b = 5,600, Re _b = 11,200 and Re _b = 22,400, respectively, based on the bulk velocity u _b and the total channel height 2h. The velocity field and the scalar field are investigated in a water channel with an aspect ratio of 12:1, where the bottom wall of the test section consists of a train of sinusoidal waves. The wavy wall is characterized by the amplitude to wavelength ratio α = 0.05 and the ratio β between the wave amplitude and the half channel height where β = 0.1. The scalar is released from a point source at the wave crest. For the concentration measurements, Rhodamine B is used as tracer dye. At low to moderate Reynolds number, the flow field is characterized through a recirculation zone which develops after the wave crest. The recirculation zone induces high intensities of the fluctuations of the streamwise velocity and wall-normal velocity. Furthermore, large-scale structures are apparent in the flow field. In previous investigations it has been shown that these large-scale structures meander laterally in flows over wavy bottom walls. The investigations show a strong effect of the wavy bottom wall on the scalar mixing. In the vicinity of the source, the scalar is transported by packets of fluid with a high scalar concentration. As they move downstream, these packets disintegrate into filament-like structures which are subject to strong gradients between the filaments and the surrounding fluid. The lateral scale of the turbulent plume is smaller than the lateral scale of the large-scale structures in the flow field and the plume dispersion is dominated by the structures in the flow field. Due to the lateral meandering of the large-scale structures of the flow field, also the scalar plume meanders laterally. Compared to turbulent plumes in plane channel flows, the wavy bottom wall enhances the mixing effect of the turbulent flow and the spreading rate of the scalar plume is increased.     

Large eddy simulation of boundary layer flow under cnoidal waves

Water waves in coastal areas are generally nonlinear, exhibiting asymmetric velocity profiles with different amplitudes of crest and trough. The behaviors of the boundary layer under asymmetric waves are of great significance for sediment transport in natural circumstances. While previous studies have mainly focused on linear or symmetric waves, asymmetric wave-induced flows remain unclear, particularly in the flow regime with high Reynolds numbers.Taking cnoidal wave as a typical example of asymmetric waves, we propose to use an infinite immersed plate oscillating cnoidally in its own plane in quiescent water to simulate asymmetric wave boundary layer. A large eddy simulation approach with Smagorinsky subgrid model is adopted to investigate the flow characteristics of the boundary layer. It is verified that the model well reproduces experimental and theoretical results. Then a series of numerical experiments are carried out to study the boundary layer beneath cnoidal waves from laminar to fully developed turbulent regimes at high Reynolds numbers, larger than ever studied before.Results of velocity profile, wall shear stress, friction coefficient, phase lead between velocity and wall shear stress, and the boundary layer thickness are obtained. The dependencies of these boundary layer properties on the asymmetric degree and Reynolds number are discussed in detail.     

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.     

Flow stability in a channel with porous walls

We study the stability of the flow which forms in a plane channel with influx of an incompressible viscous fluid through its porous parallel walls. Under certain assumptions the study of the stability reduces to the solution of modified Orr-Sommerfeld equation accounting for the transverse component of the main-flow velocity. As a result of numerical integration of this equation we find the dependence of the local critical Reynolds number on the blowing Reynolds number R₀, which may be defined by two factors: the variation of the longitudinal velocity profile with R₀ and the presence of the transverse velocity component. A qualitative comparison is made of the computational results with experimental data on transition from laminar to turbulent flow regimes in channels with porous walls, which confirms that it is necessary to take into account the effect of the transverse component of the main-flow velocity on the main-flow stability in the problem in question.Flows in channels with porous walls are of interest for hydrodynamic stability theory in view of the fact that they can be described by the exact solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations by analogy with the known Poiseuille and Couette flows. However, in contrast with the latter, the flows in channels with porous walls (studies in [1], for example) will be nonparallel.The theory of hydrodynamic stability of parallel flows has frequently been applied to nonparallel flows (in the boundary layer, for example). In so doing the nonparallel nature of the flow has been taken into account only by varying the longitudinal velocity component profiles. A study was made in [2, 3] of the effect of the transverse component of the main flow on its stability. In the case of the boundary layer in a compressible gas, a considerable influence of the transverse velocity component on the critical Reynolds number was found in [2] and confirmed experimentally. A strong influence of the transverse velocity component on the instability region was also found in [3] in a study of the flow stability in a boundary layer with suction for an incompressible fluid.     

非对称槽道中涡旋波的特性研究

利用PIV流场显示技术，对振荡流体在非对称槽道中涡旋波的产生、发展和消失的规律进 行了实验研究和分析，测得了涡旋波流场的速度矢量图，阐明了涡旋波流场周期性变化的特 点. 结合涡动力学方程，深入分析并揭示了做周期性运动的流体能在槽道中产生波的特性这 一规律，从中发现：流体周期变化的非定常性和不对称的槽道结构是形成涡旋波流动的主要 因素. 本文对涡旋波流场中各个旋涡的速度分布和涡量进行了测量和计算，分析了涡旋波 强化传质的机理，并研究了Re数对涡旋波流动的影响     

Thermal Instability in a Horizontal Porous Channel with Horizontal Through Flow and Symmetric Wall Heat Fluxes

The linear thermoconvective instability of the basic parallel flow in a plane and horizontal porous channel is investigated. The boundary walls are assumed to be impermeable and subject to symmetric and uniform heat fluxes. The wall heat fluxes produce either a net heating or a net cooling of the fluid saturated porous medium. A horizontal mass flow rate is externally impressed leading to a stationary basic state with a temperature gradient inclined to the vertical. A region of possibly unstable thermal stratification exists either in the lower half-channel (boundary heating), or in the upper half-channel (boundary cooling). The convective instability of the basic flow is governed by the Rayleigh number and by the Péclet number. In the case of boundary heating, the thermal instability arises when the Rayleigh number exceeds its critical value, that depends on the Péclet number. The change of the critical Rayleigh number as a function of the Péclet number is determined numerically for arbitrary normal modes oblique to the basic flow direction. The most dangerous modes are the longitudinal rolls, with a wave vector perpendicular to the basic velocity. There exists a minimum value of the Péclet number, 19.1971, below which no linear instability is detected.     

Mass transfer enhancement in a sinusoidal wavy channel for pulsatile flow

We report experimental work on mass transfer enhancement through pulsatile flow in an asymmetric channel under the laminar flow condition. Mass transfer experiments were carried out by the electrochemical method. The vortices dynamics were visualized both experimentally and numerically. The present results were compared with previous ones in the case of a symmetric channel with the same sinusoidal wavy walls. The mass transport enhancement factor for the asymmetric channel is found to be larger than that for the symmetric channel, for a wide range of flow parameters. This is a consequence of the specific fluid mixing induced by vortices dynamics. It is also confirmed that the Sherwood number for pulsatile flow can be expressed in terms of the Sherwood numbers for steady and oscillatory flows at large amplitude of fluid oscillation, for both channels.     

Inner-outer decomposition of wall shear stress fluctuations in turbulent channels

Fluctuating wall shear stress in turbulent channel flows is decomposed into small-scale and large-scale components. The large-scale fluctuating wall shear stress is computed as the footprints of the outer turbulent motions, and the small-scale one is obtained by subtracting the large-scale one from the total, which fully remove the outer influences. We show that the statistics of the small-scale fluctuating wall shear stress is Reynolds number independent at the friction Reynolds number larger than 1000, while which is Reynolds number dependent or the low-Reynolds-number effect exists at the friction Reynolds number smaller than 1000. Therefore, a critical Reynolds number that defines the emergence of universal small-scale fluctuating wall shear stress is proposed to be 1000. The total and large-scale fluctuating wall shear stress intensities approximately follow logarithmic-linear relationships with Reynolds number, and empirical fitting expressions are given in this work.