Effect of acoustic excitation on flow over a partially grooved circular cylinder

An experimental investigation was carried out on the flow over a partially grooved circular cylinder over a Reynolds number range of 3 × 10⁴ to 1.22 × 10⁵ with and without acoustic excitation. Without excitation the flow over the smooth half of the cylinder was observed to shift to higher subcritical regime. The flow over the groove half, however, is shifted to supercritical or transcritical flow regime. With excitation, on the smooth half it is the separated laminar shear layer which locks in with the excitation frequency, resulting in the shift from subcritical to supercritical or transcritical regimes. On the groove half excitation is not effective for the flow within the transcritical regime. With excitation, the lift is found to reverse its direction while the drag is nearly the same.This study is partly supported by a grant from the Committee of Research and Conference Grants. The University of Hong Kong     

TR-PIV measurement of the wake behind a grooved cylinder at low Reynolds number

A comparative study of the wakes behind cylinders with grooved and smooth surfaces was performed with a view to understand the wake characteristics associated with the adult Saguaro cacti. A low-speed recirculation water channel was established for the experiment; the Reynolds number, based on the free-stream velocity and cylinder diameter (D), was kept at Re_D=1500. State-of-the-art time-resolved particle image velocimetry (TR-PIV) was employed to measure a total of 20 480 realizations of the wake field at a frame rate of 250 Hz, enabling a comprehensive view of the time- and phase-averaged wake pattern. In comparison to the wake behind the smooth cylinder, the length of the recirculation zone behind the grooved cylinder was extended by nearly 18.2%, yet the longitudinal velocity fluctuation intensity was considerably weakened. A global view of the peaked spectrum of the longitudinal velocity component revealed that the intermediate region for the grooved cylinder, which approximately corresponds to the transition region where the shear layer vortices interact, merge and shed before the formation of the Karman-like vortex street, was much wider than that for the smooth one. The unsteady events near St=0.3-0.4 were detected in the intermediate region behind the grooved cylinder, but no such events were found in the smooth cylinder system. Although the formation of the Karman-like vortex street was delayed by about 0.6D downstream for the grooved cylinder, no prominent difference in the vortex street region was found in the far wake for both cylinders. The Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) method was used extensively to decompose the vector and swirling strength fields, which gave a close-up view of the vortices in the near wake. The first two POD modes of the swirling strength clarified the spatio-temporal characteristics of the shear layer vortices behind the grooved cylinder. The small-scale vortices superimposed on the shear layers behind the grooved cylinder were found to be generated and convected downstream in the same phase, which would significantly reduce the fluctuating force on the cylinder surface.     

Time-averaged topological flow patterns and their influence on vortex shedding of a square cylinder in crossflow at incidence

Flow characteristics around the square cylinder and their influence on the wake properties are studied. Time-averaged flow patterns on the surfaces of square cylinder in a cross-stream at incidence are experimentally probed by surface-oil flow technique and analyzed by flow topology for Reynolds numbers between 3.9×10⁴ and 9.4×10⁴ as the incidence angle changes from 0° to 45°. Vortex shedding characteristics are measured by a single-wire hot-wire anemometer for Reynolds numbers between 5×10³ and 1.2×10⁵. The effects of topological flow patterns on the wake properties then are revealed and discussed. Flows around the square cylinder are identified as three categories: the subcritical, supercritical, and wedge flows according to the prominently different features of the topological flow patterns. The Strouhal number of vortex shedding, turbulence in the wake, and wake width present drastically different behaviors in different characteristic flow regimes. A critical incidence angle of 15° separates the subcritical and supercritical regimes. At the critical incidence angle the wake width and shear-layer turbulence present minimum values. The minimum wake width appearing at the critical incidence angle, which leads to the maximum Strouhal number, is due to the reattachment of one of the separated boundary layer to the lateral face of the square cylinder. If the Strouhal numbers are calculated based on the wake width instead of the cross-stream projection width of cylinder, the data in the subcritical and supercritical regimes are well correlated into two groups, which would approach constants at high Reynolds numbers.     

An experimental study of the dynamic characteristics in boundary layer in the flow past a two-dimensional circular cylinder at subcritical reynolds numbers

An experimental study of the dynamic characteristics of flow past a two-dimensional circular cylinder is described. The fluctuationsoof wall shear stress, surface-pressure and velocity of the flow are measured with hot-film, hot-wire and pressure transducer. The frequency feature of fluctuations of wall shear stress is given. The cross-correlation functions of these fluctuations at any two points are calculated. The experimental results reveal that there is an overall syncronous fluctuation, at the shedding frequency, in boundary layer in the flow past a two-dimensional circular cylinder at subcritical Reynolds number.     

Flow around a cylinder at the beginning of the critical region

Results of experiments with a turbulent flow around a transversely aligned circular cylinder located at identical distances from the walls of a rectangular channel are reported. Data on averaged velocity fields around the cylinder are obtained by means of particle image velocimetry (PIV). Based on these fields, the near wake behind the cylinder is studied, and the kinematic characteristics for flow regimes with and without cavitation are compared. Based on the vector fields of averaged velocity, the angles of separation of the boundary layer from the cylinder surface in the considered flow regimes are determined. The drag coefficients of the cylinder for different flow regimes are calculated. It is demonstrated that the vortex region behind the cylinder and the drag coefficient of the cylinder increase in the case with cavitation. It is also shown that vortex shedding from the cylinder may be irregular, despite the fact that this process is quasi-periodic for most of the time.     

LES-based Study of the Roughness Effects on the Wake of a Circular Cylinder from Subcritical to Transcritical Reynolds Numbers

This paper investigates the effects of surface roughness on the flow past a circular cylinder at subcritical to transcritical Reynolds numbers. Large eddy simulations of the flow for sand grain roughness of size k/D = 0.02 are performed (D is the cylinder diameter). Results show that surface roughness triggers the transition to turbulence in the boundary layer at all Reynolds numbers, thus leading to an early separation caused by the increased momentum deficit, especially at transcritical Reynolds numbers. Even at subcritical Reynolds numbers, boundary layer instabilities are triggered in the roughness sublayer and eventually lead to the transition to turbulence. The early separation at transcritical Reynolds numbers leads to a wake topology similar to that of the subcritical regime, resulting in an increased drag coefficient and lower Strouhal number. Turbulent statistics in the wake are also affected by roughness; the Reynolds stresses are larger due to the increased turbulent kinetic energy production in the boundary layer and separated shear layers close to the cylinder shoulders.     

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.     

Resonance in flow past oscillating cylinder under subcritical conditions

Flow around an oscillating cylinder in a subcritical region are numerically studied with a lattice Boltzmann method(LBM). The effects of the Reynolds number,oscillation amplitude and frequency on the vortex wake modes and hydrodynamics forces on the cylinder surface are systematically investigated. Special attention is paid to the phenomenon of resonance induced by the cylinder oscillation. The results demonstrate that vortex shedding can be excited extensively under subcritical conditions, and the response region of vibration frequency broadens with increasing Reynolds number and oscillation amplitude. Two distinct types of vortex shedding regimes are observed. The first type of vortex shedding regime(VSR I) is excited at low frequencies close to the intrinsic frequency of flow, and the second type of vortex shedding regime(VSR II)occurs at high frequencies with the Reynolds number close to the critical value. In the VSR I, a pair of alternately rotating vortices are shed in the wake per oscillation cycle,and lock-in/synchronization occurs, while in the VSR II, two alternately rotating vortices are shed for several oscillation cycles, and the vortex shedding frequency is close to that of a stationary cylinder under the critical condition. The excitation mechanisms of the two types of vortex shedding modes are analyzed separately.     

Analysis of flow behavior and fluid forces in large cylinder bundles by numerical simulations

This paper presents a numerical investigation of the three-dimensional flow around an in-line cylinder arrangement with up to twenty-five cylinders under confinement, with a subcritical Reynolds number, in the context of flow-induced vibrations. Flow characteristics and patterns, as well as the force coefficients of the cylinders and Strouhal numbers were evaluated numerically with the large eddy simulation approach and validated against previously published experimental data. Two values for both the transversal (T/D = 1.5 and 3) and longitudinal (L/D = 2 and 4) spacing ratios were considered and combined to generate four different arrangements. The velocity distributions obtained in the simulations were in good agreement with the experimental data. Fluctuations in the force coefficients were characterized for each arrangement and found to be directly proportional to the turbulence kinetic energy upstream of each cylinder. Depending on the flow pattern, certain rows are subjected to greater flow force fluctuations. The dominant frequency, expressed by the Strouhal number, was also mapped throughout the arrangements and its distribution was characterized according to the observed flow patterns. Although the spacing ratios have a combined effect, their separate influence on the general behavior and distribution of fluid forces could be identified, as these are linked to the flow regimes. This knowledge allowed for the contribution to an already existing in-line tube bundle classification, which is useful in the diagnosis of flow-induced vibrations and the design of heat exchangers and other industrial equipment.     

Transonic crossflow of condensing wet steam past a cylinder

The shadow and interferometric methods and the laser probe method are used to investigate crossflow past a cylinder on the free-stream Mach number interval M _a =0.5–1.2 for subcritical Reynolds numbers Re _d and various initial steam states. Detailed pressure distributions are obtained and the pressure fluctuations on the cylinder surface are measured. The dependence of the Strouhal number on the velocity and thermodynamic parameters of the flow are determined. In single-phase steam flow past a cylinder the greatest fluctuations occur in the separation zone in regimes corresponding to transonic drag crisis. It is shown that spontaneous condensation in the turbulent wake and local supersonic zones may cause an increase in the periodic pressure fluctuations in the separation zone, the maximum increase in the fluctuations being noted when the critical pressure ratio is reached at the rear of the cylinder. The initial wetness of the steam has the greatest effect on the periodic separation characteristics at subsonic flow velocities, and in the case of supersonic flow leads to a substantial increase in the level of the low-frequency pressure fluctuations at the front of the cylinder.(deceased)Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 118–138, November–December, 1994.     

Nonlinear evolution analysis and stability for convection in a mushy layer with permeable interface

We consider the problem of two- and three-dimensional nonlinear buoyant flows in horizontal mushy layers during the solidification of binary alloys. We study the nonlinear evolution of such flow based on a recently developed realistic model for the mushy layer with permeable interface. The evolution approach is based on a Landau type equation for the amplitude of the secondary nonlinear solution, which can be in the form of rolls, squares, rectangles or hexagons. Using both analytical and computational methods, we calculate the solutions to the evolution equation near the onset of motion for both subcritical and supercritical regimes and determine the stable solutions. We find, in particular, that for several investigated cases with different parameter regimes, secondary solution in the form of subcritical down-hexagons or supercritical up-hexagons can be stable. However, the preferred solution for smallest values of the Rayleigh number and the amplitude of motion is in the form of subcritical down-hexagons. This result appears to agree with the experimental observation on the form of the convective flow near the onset of motion.     

Numerical Investigation of the Flow Past a Rotating Golf Ball and Its Comparison with a Rotating Smooth Sphere

Large-eddy simulations are conducted for a rotating golf ball and a rotating smooth sphere at a constant rotational speed at the subcritical, critical and supercritical Reynolds numbers. A negative lift force is generated in the critical regime for both models, whereas positive lift forces are generated in the subcritical and supercritical regimes. Detailed analysis on the flow separations on different sides of the models reveals the mechanism of the negative Magnus effect. Further investigation of the unsteady aerodynamics reveals the effect of rotating motion on the development of lateral forces and wake flow structures. It is found that the rotating motion helps to stabilize the resultant lateral forces for both models especially in the supercritical regime.     

Effects of aspect ratio on the drag of a wall-mounted finite-length cylinder in subcritical and critical regimes

The effect of cylinder aspect ratio (??H/d, where H is the cylinder height or length, and d is the cylinder diameter) on the drag of a wall-mounted finite-length circular cylinder in both subcritical and critical regimes is experimentally investigated. Two cases are considered: a smooth cylinder submerged in a turbulent boundary layer and a roughened cylinder immersed in a laminar uniform flow. In the former case, the Reynolds number Re _d (??U _?? d/??, with U _?? being the free-stream velocity and ?? the fluid viscosity) was varied from 2.61?×?10⁴ to 2.87?×?10⁵, and two values of H/d (2.65 and 5) were examined; in the latter case, Re _d ?=?1.24?×?10⁴?C1.73?×?10⁵ and H/d?=?3, 5 and 7. In the subcritical regime, both the drag coefficient C _D and the Strouhal number St are smaller than their counterparts for a two-dimensional cylinder and reduce monotonously with decreasing H/d. The presence of a turbulent boundary layer causes an early transition from the subcritical to critical regime and considerably enlarges the Re _d range of the critical regime. No laminar separation bubble occurs on the finite-length cylinder immersed in the turbulent boundary layer, and consequently, the discontinuity is not observed in the C _D?CRe _d and St?CRe _d curves. In the roughened cylinder case, the Re _d range of the critical regime grows gradually with decreasing H/d, while the C _D crisis becomes less obvious. In both cases, H/d has a negligible effect on the critical value of Re _d at which transition occurs from the subcritical to critical regime.     

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.     

Interference between a blunt edge shock layer and an impinging inclined shock at low Reynolds numbers

The interference between the shock layer on a cylinder modeling the leading edge of an air intake and an impinging plane inclined shock is investigated experimentally and numerically for a Reynolds number Re₀=32. The low-pressure wind tunnel experiments made it possible to visualize the flow and determine the local heat transfer in the presence of interference. The corresponding flow regimes were calculated numerically within the framework of the system of Navier-Stokes equations by the through-calculation method. The principal properties of the distribution of the flow characteristics for a low value of the Reynolds number were obtained for various types of interference and the differences with respect to the previously investigated interference regimes for high Reynolds numbers were examined.Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 166–171, January–February, 1993.     

Early stages of an impulsively started unsteady laminar flow past tapered trapezoidal cylinders

Characteristics of the developing recirculation region behind a tapered trapezoidal cylinder and its interaction with the separating shear layer from the leading edges were studied numerically for an impulsively started laminar flow. An unsteady stream function–vorticity formulation was used. The Reynolds numbers considered range from 25 to 1000. Pressure contours, surface pressure coefficient, wake length and drag coefficient were studied through the streamline flow field. Main flow and subflow regimes were identified by an analysis of the evolution of the flow characteristics. It was found that typically, for a given trapezoidal cylinder, flow starts with no separation. As time advances, the symmetrical standing zone of recirculation develops aft of the trapezoidal cylinder. The rate of growth in width, length and structure of the aft end eddies depends on the Reynolds number. In time, separated flow from the leading edges of the trapezoidal cylinder also develops and forms growing separation bubbles on the upper and lower inclined surfaces of the trapezoidal cylinder. As time advances, the separation bubbles on the upper and lower inclined surfaces of the cylinder grow towards the downstream regions and eventually merge with the swelling symmetrical eddies aft of the cylinder. This merging of the flows creates a complex flow regime with a disturbed tertiary flow zone near the merging junction. Eventually, depending on the Reynolds number and the tapered angle of the trapezoidal cylinder, the flow develops into a specific category of symmetrical standing recirculatory flow with its own distinct characteristics. Comparisons with the available results of other investigators showed very good agreement. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental investigation of cavitating structures in the near wake of a cylinder

An experimental investigation of cavitating structures in the near-wake region of a cylinder is presented. From high-speed imaging of this subcritical flow (Reynolds number of 64,000), it is found that inception of cavities occurs in the shear layer. At the developed cavitation condition, the cavities in the separated zone and the free shear layer merge. A distinct spanwise variation in cavitation activity is observed. The non-dimensionalized correlation length at inception varies from close to a non-cavitating value of about 3.5 to about 1 at developed cavitation. The non-dimensionalized length of formation, characterized by crossover of the free shear layer and the wake axis, increases from 1 to 1.8 as the cavitation number is reduced from 85% to 50% of the inception value. A frequency analysis of the cavity dynamics indicates that although the vortex shedding frequency is dominant in the shear layer, there are peaks corresponding to other frequencies in other flow regions. The presence of a sharp peak at 125 Hz, corresponding to a Strouhal number of 0.2, along with a range of frequencies, is also verified independently through measurement of fluctuating pressure at the cylinder surface.     

Prediction of unsteady,separated boundary layer over a blunt body for laminar,turbulent, and transitional flow

The focus of this paper is to study the ability of unsteady RANS‐based CFD to predict separation over a blunt body for a wide range of Reynolds numbers particularly the ability to capture laminar‐to‐turbulent transition. A perfect test case to demonstrate this point is the cylinder‐in‐crossflow for which a comparison between experimental results from the open literature and a series of unsteady simulations is made. Reynolds number based on cylinder diameter is varied from 10⁴ to 10⁷ (subcritical through supercritical flow). Two methods are used to account for the turbulence in the simulations: currently available eddy–viscosity models, including standard and realizable forms of the k–ε model; and a newly developed eddy–viscosity model capable of resolving boundary layer transition, which is absolutely necessary for the type and range of flow under consideration. The new model does not require user input or ‘empirical’ fixes to force transition. For the first time in the open literature, three distinct flow regimes and the drag crisis due to the downstream shift of the separation point are predicted using an eddy–viscosity based model with transition effects. Discrepancies between experimental and computational results are discussed, and difficulties for CFD prediction are highlighted. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fluid flow and heat transfer around circular cylinder – flat and curved plates combinations

Experimental studies were carried out to investigate the fluid flow and heat transfer around a heated circular cylinder which was placed at various distances of a wall boundary with different geometries (flat or curved plate) with subcritical Reynolds number ranging from 3.5×10³ to 10⁴. The effects of plate geometry (aspect ratio: W|H=1.0,1.5 and 2.0, and rim angle, φ=0°,60°,90°, and 120°) and gap ratio, (G|D=0.0,0.86,2.0,7.0,10.0) on the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics (static pressure around cylinder surface, wake width, base pressure, pressure drag coefficients, velocity distribution, and both local and mean Nusselt numbers) were presented. Also flow visualization was carried out to illustrate the flow patterns around the cylinder at various gap ratios (G|D). It was found that the heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics are dependent on the plate geometry at all tested gap ratios, except for G|D=7.0 and 10.0, they are independent of the plate geometry.     

Thermographic flow visualization by means of non-negative matrix factorization

In order to investigate the areas of different flow regimes in the boundary layer of an airfoil, thermography is a powerful flow visualization tool. However, the distinguishability between boundary layer flow regimes such as laminar or turbulent is limited due to systematic and random inhomogeneity in the measured temperature field, hindering a clear separation of the flow regimes. In order to increase the distinguishability of different flow regimes, a time series of thermographic images is evaluated by means of a non-negative matrix factorization. As a result, the non-negative matrix factorization creates images that contain the dominant features of the measured images, while reducing systematic temperature gradients within the flow regimes by up to a factor of five. This way an increase of the distinguishability between every pair of consecutive flow regimes can be achieved on the surface of a non-heated cylinder in cross-flow condition. As a further application example of the non-negative matrix factorization, the distinguishability between the flow and the laminar-turbulent transition zone on a heated helicopter airfoil is also increased by a factor of five. Hence, non-negative matrix factorization is capable of enhancing thermographic flow visualization for increasing the distinguishability of different flow phenomena.