Numerical investigation on the flowfield of ＂swallowtail＂ cavity for supersonic mixing enhancement

A ＂swallowtail＂ cavity for the supersonic combustor was proposed to serve as an efficient flame holder for scramjets by enhancing the mass exchange between the cavity and the main flow. A numerical study on the ＂swallow- tail＂ cavity was conducted by solving the three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations implemented with a k-e turbulence model in a multi-block mesh. Turbu- lence model and numerical algorithms were validated first, and then test cases were calculated to investigate into the mechanism of cavity flows. Numerical results demonstrated that the certain mass in the supersonic main flow was sucked into the cavity and moved spirally toward the combustor walls. After that, the flow went out of the cavity at its lateral end, and finally was efficiently mixed with the main flow. The comparison between the ＂swallowtail＂ cavity and the conventional one showed that the mass exchanged between the cavity and the main flow was enhanced by the lateral flow that was induced due to the pressure gradient inside the cavity and was driven by the three-dimensional vortex ring generated from the ＂swallowtail＂ cavity structure.     

A Conceptual Study of Cavity Aeroacoustics Control Using Porous Media Inserts

In this study, an integrated flow simulation and aeroacoustics prediction methodology is applied to testing a sound control technique using porous inserts in an open cavity. Large eddy simulation (LES) combined with a three-dimensional Ffowcs Williams–Hawkings (FW–H) acoustic analogy is employed to predict the flow field, the acoustic sources and the sound radiation. The Darcy pressure – velocity law is applied to conceptually mimic the effect of porous media placed on the cavity floor and/or rear wall. Consequently, flow in the cavity could locally move in or out through these porous walls, depending on the local pressure differences. LES with “standard” subgrid-scale models for compressible flow is carried out to simulate the flow field covering the sound source and near fields, and the fully three-dimensional FW–H acoustic analogy is used to predict the sound field. The numerical results show that applying the conceptual porous media on cavity floor and/or rear wall could decrease the pressure fluctuations in the cavity and the sound pressure level in the far field. The amplitudes of the dominant oscillations (Rossiter modes) are suppressed and their frequencies are slightly modified. The dominant sound source is the transverse dipole term, which is significantly reduced due to the porous walls. As a result, the sound pressure in the far field is also suppressed. The preliminary study reveals that using porous-inserts is a promising technology for flow and sound radiation control.     

On forced convection in channels partially filled with porous substrates

 This paper numerically simulates the forced convection flow in the developing region of a parallel-plate channel partially filled with two porous substrates of equal thickness deposited at the inner walls of the channel. The major objective of the present work is to investigate the impact of several operating and design parameters on the thermal performance of the channel under consideration. The physical problem is simulated by using Darcy–Brinkman–Forchheimer model. For a prescribed amount of porous material, the current investigation discusses the comparison between inserting this entire amount at one side of the channel and inserting half of this amount at each side of the channel. Received on 25 May 2000 / Published online: 29 November 2001     

Homotopy Analysis Method to Walter’s B fluid in a vertical channel with porous wall

In this research the steady three-dimensional flow of a Walter’s B fluid in a vertical channel with porous wall, through which the fluid is injected uniformly into the channel through one side of the channel, is studied analytically using Homotopy Analysis Method (HAM). The channel is assumed to be infinite and uniform. The effects of the elasticity of the fluid on the flow and heat transfer on the walls of the channel are discussed.     

Initiation of intense pressure fluctuations when a flow is turned in a duct with a blind-ended cavity

The initiation of narrow-band pressure fluctuations in the duct of a pipeline gas-compression station when the flow is turned near a blind-ended cavity was studied in a wind tunnel. The flow pattern under consideration was estimated from visualization of the flow in a water channel using the hydraulic analogy technique. It is believed that the high-intensity narrow-band pressure fluctuations observed in the flow result from the instability and regular rearrangement of large-scale vortex structures in the blind-ended cavity. Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 2, pp. 104–111, March–April, 1998.     

Turbulent flow past a transverse cavity with inclined side walls. 1. Flow structure

The process of vortex formation in a cavity with inclined walls, which has a moderate aspect ratio, is experimentally studied, and the distribution of pressure coefficients is measured. The angle of inclination of the side walls ϕ is varied from 30 to 90°. It is found that the flow in the cavity becomes unstable in the range of inclination angles ϕ = 60–70°. Flow reconstruction occurs, which substantially alters the surface-temperature and static-pressure distributions. Large changes in these characteristics and their nonuniform distributions for these angles are observed across the cavity on its frontal wall and on the bottom. For small angles (ϕ = 30 and 45°), the pressure on the rear wall drastically increases, which leads to a small increase in pressure averaged over the entire cavity surface. __________ Translated from PrikladnayaMekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 47, No. 5, pp. 68–76, September–October, 2006.     

Absolute and Convective Instabilities in the Compressible Boundary Layer on a Rotating Disk

A numerical study has been undertaken to investigate the nature of inviscid instability of the three-dimensional compressible boundary layer flow due to a rotating disk. The compressible Rayleigh equation is integrated using a spectral Chebyshev-collocation method together with a fourth-order Runge–Kutta integrator. In the context of spatio-temporal stability analysis, the singularities of the resulting dispersion relation are determined and the ones that satisfy the Briggs–Bers pinching criterion have been selected. In certain finite parameter regions of eigenvalues (wave numbers and wave angles, for instance) it is found that by varying the Mach number, absolute instability occurs in the compressible boundary layer on a rotating disk. The range corresponding to the incompressible flow case given in Lingwood (1995) (ε between 14.615° and 38.114°) is verified. The results of Cole (1995) are also verified. The overall effect of compressibility is to reduce the extent of absolute instability at higher Mach numbers. The effect of heating the wall is to enhance the absolute instability properties, however, cooling the wall is found to decrease greatly the region of absolute instability regime for the range of Mach numbers studied. It is also shown in this study that for non-insulated walls a direct spatial resonance of the eigenmodes is possible and this raises the possibility of large local algebraic growth of perturbations being important in some instances. Received 15 October 1999 and accepted 10 December 1999     

Convective and absolute instabilities in non-Boussinesq mixed convection

The problem of non-Boussinesq mixed convection in a vertical channel formed by two differentially heated infinite plates is investigated and the complete convective/absolute instability boundary is computed for a wide range of physical parameters. A physical insight into the mechanisms causing instabilities is given. In particular, it is shown that the appearance of absolute instability is always dictated by a flow reversal within a channel; however, existence of the flow reversal does not exclude the possibility of convective instability. It is also shown that fluid’s non-linear transport property variations have a dramatic effect on the structure and complexity of spatio-temporal instabilities of the co-existing buoyancy and shear modes as the temperature difference across the channel increases. The validity of the stability results obtained using the procedure described in Suslov (J Comp Phys 212, 188–217, 2006) is assessed using the method of steepest descent. This work was partially supported by a computing grant from the Australian Partnership for Advanced Computing, 2000–2003.     

Mixed Convection in a Vertical Porous Channel

A numerical study of mixed convection in a vertical channel filled with a porous medium including the effect of inertial forces is studied by taking into account the effect of viscous and Darcy dissipations. The flow is modeled using the Brinkman–Forchheimer-extended Darcy equations. The two boundaries are considered as isothermal–isothermal, isoflux–isothermal and isothermal–isoflux for the left and right walls of the channel and kept either at equal or at different temperatures. The governing equations are solved numerically by finite difference method with Southwell–Over–Relaxation technique for extended Darcy model and analytically using perturbation series method for Darcian model. The velocity and temperature fields are obtained for various porous parameter, inertia effect, product of Brinkman number and Grashof number and the ratio of Grashof number and Reynolds number for equal and different wall temperatures. Nusselt number at the walls is also determined for three types of thermal boundary conditions. The viscous dissipation enhances the flow reversal in the case of downward flow while it counters the flow in the case of upward flow. The Darcy and inertial drag terms suppress the flow. It is found that analytical and numerical solutions agree very well for the Darcian model. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Convection regime flow in a vertical slot: continuum of solutions from capped to open ends

In a recent publication Bühler (Heat Mass Transfer 39:631–638, 2003) reported new results for conduction regime flow between vertical differentially-heated walls that provide a continuum of solutions between capped and open ends. In this paper we extend Bühler’s work to realize a continuum of solutions of convection regime flow using empirical results for the vertical temperature gradient that develops in tall aspect ratio geometries. The mass flux is determined analytically for this three-parameter family of solutions. Identical viscous and thermal boundary layers exist at the opposing walls when the cavity is capped. However, as the flow evolves to one with open ends, there is an intensification (attenuation) of the boundary layers near the hot (cold) walls. In the limit corresponding to an open-ended cavity, the boundary layer at the cold wall vanishes altogether.     

Nanoscale Poiseuille flow and effects of modified Lennard–Jones potential function

Numerical simulation of Poiseuille flow of liquid Argon in a nanochannel using the non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation (NEMD) is performed. The nanochannel is a three-dimensional rectangular prism geometry where the concerned numbers of Argon atoms are 2,700, 2,550 and 2,400 at 102, 108 and 120 K. Poiseuille flow is simulated by embedding the fluid particles in a uniform force field. An external driving force, ranging from 1 to 11 PN (Pico Newton), is applied along the flow direction to inlet fluid particles during the simulation. To obtain a more uniform temperature distribution across the channel, local thermostating near the wall are used. Also, the effect of other mixing rules (Lorenthz–Berthelot and Waldman–Kugler rules) on the interface structure are examined by comparing the density profiles near the liquid/solid interfaces for wall temperatures 108 and 133 K for an external force of 7 PN. Using Kong and Waldman–Kugler rules, the molecules near the solid walls were more randomly distributed compared to Lorenthz–Berthelot rule. These mean that the attraction between solid–fluid atoms was weakened by using Kong rule and Waldman–Kugler rule rather than the Lorenthz–Berthelot rule. Also, results show that the mean axial velocity has symmetrical distribution near the channel centerline and an increase in external driving force can increase maximum and average velocity values of fluid. Furthermore, the slip length and slip velocity are functions of the driving forces and they show an arising trend with an increase in inlet driving force and no slip boundary condition is satisfied at very low external force (<1 PN).     

Three-dimensional flow in a lid-driven cavity with width-to-height ratio of 1.6

The flow in a lid-driven cavity with width-to-height ratio of 1.6 is investigated numerically and experimentally. Experimental investigation use an apparatus with a spanwise length-to-height ratio of $\Uplambda = 10.85.$ Λ = 10.85 . Increasing the Reynolds number, we experimentally find a gradual change from the quasi-two-dimensional basic flow to a three-dimensional flow pattern. The three-dimensional flow has a significant amplitude at considerably low Reynolds numbers. Streak-line photographs and PIV vector maps are presented to illustrate the structure of the finite-amplitude flow pattern. The smooth transition is in contrast to the linear instability predicted by a linear-stability analysis for a cavity with infinite span. LDV measurements confirm the absence of a distinct threshold Reynolds number and indicate an imperfect bifurcation. The deviations between experimental observations and numerical critical Reynolds number for infinite span are explained by conducting three-dimensional simulations for a finite-span geometry. A good agreement between experimental and numerical simulation is obtained. The numerical and experimental data lead to the conjecture of a premature onset of the three-dimensional flow caused by strong secondary flows which are induced by the cavity end walls. Nevertheless, the flow structure in the finite-span cavity carries the same characteristic signatures as the nonlinear flow in the corresponding infinite-length cavity. We conclude that the observed flow can be identified as the continuation of the normal mode C _e ⁴ earlier identified in a linear-stability analysis.     

Turbulent free convection in a vertical converging channel

This paper presents the results of experimental and numerical investigations of the problem of turbulent natural convection in a converging-plate vertical channel. The channel has two isothermally heated inclined walls and two adiabatic vertical side walls. The parameters involved in this study are the channel geometry represented by the channel width at exit, the inclination of the heated walls and the temperature difference between the heated walls and the ambient. The investigation covered modified Rayleigh numbers up to 10⁸ in the computational study and up to 9.3 × 10⁶ in the experimental work. The experimental measurements focused on the velocity field and were carried out using a PIV system and included measurements of the mean velocity profiles as well as the root-mean-square velocity and shear stress profiles. The experiments were conducted for an inclination angle of 30°, a gap width of 10 mm and two temperature differences (∆T=25.4°C and 49.8°C). The velocity profiles in the lower part of the channel indicated the presence of two distinct layers. The first layer is adjacent to the heated plate and driven by buoyancy forces while the second layer extends from the point of maximum velocity to the channel center plane and driven mainly by shear forces. The velocity profile at the upper portion of the channel has shown the merging of the two boundary layers growing over the two heated walls. The measured values of the Reynolds shear stress and root mean square of the horizontal and vertical velocity fluctuation components have reached their maximum near the wall while having smaller values in the core region. The computational results have shown that the average Nusselt number increases approximately linearly with the increase of the modified Rayleigh number when plotted on log–log scale. The variation of the local Nusselt number indicated infinite values at the channel inlet (leading edge effect) and high values at the channel exit (trailing edge effect). For a fixed value of the top channel opening, the increase of the inclination angle tended to reduce flow velocity at the inlet section while changing the flow structure near the heated plates in such a way to create boundary-layer type flow. The maximum value of the average Nusselt number occurs when θ = 0 and decreases with the increase of the inclination angle. On the other hand, the increase of the channel width at exit for the same inclination angle caused a monotonic increase in the flow velocity at the channel inlet.     

Single Fiber Transport in a Fracture Slit: Influence of the Wall Roughness and of the Fiber Flexibility

The transport of fibers by a fluid flow is investigated in transparent channels modeling rock fractures: the experiments use flexible polyester thread (mean diameter 280 μm) and water or a water–polymer solution. For a channel with smooth parallel walls and a mean aperture ā = 0.65 mm, both fiber segments of length ℓ = 20–150 mm and “continuous” fibers longer than the channel length have been used: in both the cases, the velocity of the fibers and its variation with distance could be accounted for while neglecting friction with the walls. For rough self-affine walls and a continuous gradient of the local mean aperture transverse to the flow, transport of the fibers by a water flow is only possible in the region of larger aperture (ā ≲ 1.1 mm) and is of “stop and go” type at low velocities. With the polymer solution, the fibers move faster and more continuously in high aperture regions and their interaction with the walls is reduced; fiber transport becomes also possible in narrower regions where irreversible pinning occurred for water. In a third rough model with parallel walls and a low mean aperture ā = 0.65 mm, fiber transport is only possible with the water–polymer solution. The dynamics of fiber deformations and entanglement during pinning–depinning events and permanent pinning is analyzed.     

Poisson–Nernst–Planck Systems for Narrow Tubular-Like Membrane Channels

We study global asymptotic behavior of Poisson–Nernst–Planck (PNP) systems for flow of two ion species through a narrow tubular-like membrane channel. As the radius of the cross-section of the three-dimensional tubular-like membrane channel approaches zero, a one-dimensional limiting PNP system is derived. This one-dimensional limiting system differs from previously studied one-dimensional PNP systems in that it encodes the defining geometry of the three-dimensional membrane channel. To justify this limiting process, we show that the global attractors of the three-dimensional PNP systems are upper semi-continuous as the radius of the channel tends to zero.     

On the formation of Taylor–G?rtler vortices in RMF-driven spin-up flows

This paper is concerned with a liquid metal flow driven by a rotating magnetic field inside a stationary cylinder. We consider especially the secondary meridional flow during the time when the fluid spins up from rest. The developing flow is investigated experimentally and by direct numerical simulations. The vertical profiles of the axial velocity are measured by means of the ultrasound Doppler velocimetry. Evolving instabilities in the form of Taylor–G?rtler vortices have been observed just above the instability threshold (Ta ≥ 1.5· Ta ^cr). The rotational symmetry may survive over a distinct time even if a first Taylor–G?rtler vortex pair has been formed as closed rings along the cylinder perimeter. The transition to a three-dimensional flow in the side layers results from the advection or a precession and splitting of the Taylor–G?rtler vortex rings. The predictable behaviour of the Taylor–G?rtler vortices disappears with increasing magnetic field strength. The numerical simulations agree very well with the flow measurements.     

Construction of three-dimensional flow structure out of two-dimensional steady flow field velocity measurements

 Two-dimensional particle image velocimetry (PIV) is used to obtain a set of parallel vector maps in spanwise direction over the delta wing configuration ELAC. The out-of-plane velocity component is then constructed by application of continuity equation. This yields the whole three-dimensional separated flow field over the leeward side of the model. The spatial resolution of the measurements enables a detailed examination of the three-dimensional flow structure. The growth and the helical structure of primary vortex as well as smaller flow structures caused by secondary separation can be observed. Accuracy of the constructed velocity component is estimated with help of a numerically obtained three-dimensional dataset of the flow field around this configuration. The reconstruction procedure was applied to this data set taking the experimental uncertainty and the grid spacing of the PIV measurements into consideration. A comparison of reconstructed out-of-plane component and data of the numerical solution of Navier–Stokes equations results in a promising low error. A statistical analysis of different procedures allows interpretation of reconstruction capabilities. Received: 15 April 1998 / Accepted: 15 September 1998     

Three-dimensional instability of two counter-rotating vortices in a rectangular cavity driven by parallel wall motion

The linear stability of two counter-rotating vortices driven by the parallel motion of two facing walls in a rectangular cavity is investigated by a finite volume method. Critical Reynolds and wave numbers are calculated for aspect ratios ranging from 0.1 to 5. This range is sufficient to find the asymptotic behavior of the critical parameters when the aspect ratio tends to zero and infinity, respectively. The critical curve is smooth for all aspect ratios and, hence, the character of the instability changes continuously. When the moving walls are far apart the mechanism is centrifugal, as in the classical lid-driven cavity. For aspect ratios near unity a combined mechanism, also involving strain near the vortex cores, leads to the instability which tends to asymmetrically displace the vortex cores, very similar to the cooperative short-wave instability of a free counter-rotating vortex pair. In the limit when plane Poiseuille flow is approached in the bulk, the three-dimensional perturbations are strongly localized near both downstream ends of the moving walls.     

Optimal disturbances of a dusty-gas plane-channel flow with a nonuniform distribution of particles

The classical stability theory for multiphase flows, based on an analysis of one (most unstable) mode, is generalized. A method for studying an algebraic (non-modal) instability of a disperse medium, which consists in examining the energy of linear combinations of three-dimensional modes with given wave vectors, is proposed. An algebraic instability of a dusty-gas flow in a plane channel with a nonuniform particle distribution in the form of two layers arranged symmetrically with respect to the flow axis is investigated. For all possible values of governing parameters, the optimal disturbances of the disperse flow have zero wavenumber in the flow direction, which indicates their banded structure (“streaks”). The presence of dispersed particles in the flow increases the algebraic instability, since the energy of optimal disturbances in the disperse medium exceeds that for the pure-fluid flow. It is found that for a homogeneous particle distribution the increase in the energy of optimal perturbations is proportional to the square of the sum of unity and the particle mass concentration and is almost independent of particle inertia. For a non-uniform distribution of the dispersed phase, the largest increase in the initial energy of disturbances is achieved in the case when the dust layers are located in the middle between the center line of the flow and the walls.     

Fully Developed Mixed Convection Flow in a Vertical Channel Containing Porous and Fluid Layer with Isothermal or Isoflux Boundaries

An analysis of fully developed combined free and forced convective flow in a fluid saturated porous medium channel bounded by two vertical parallel plates is presented. The flow is modeled using Brinkman equation model. The viscous and Darcy dissipation terms are also included in the energy equation. Three types of thermal boundary conditions such as isothermal–isothermal, isoflux–isothermal, and isothermal–isoflux for the left–right walls of the channel are considered. Analytical solutions for the governing ordinary differential equations are obtained by perturbation series method. In addition, closed form expressions for the Nusselt number at both the left and right channel walls are derived. Results have been presented for a wide range of governing parameters such as porous parameter, ratio of Grashof number and Reynolds number, viscosity ratio, width ratio, and conductivity ratio on velocity, and temperature fields. It is found that the presence of porous matrix in one of the region reduces the velocity and temperature.