Coherent structures in localized and global pipe turbulence

The recent discovery of unstable traveling waves (TWs) in pipe flow has been hailed as a significant breakthrough with the hope that they populate the turbulent attractor. We confirm the existence of coherent states with internal fast and slow streaks commensurate in both structure and energy with known TWs using numerical simulations in a long pipe. These only occur, however, within less energetic regions of (localized) "puff" turbulence at low Reynolds numbers (Re=2000-2400), and not at all in (homogeneous) "slug" turbulence at Re=2800. This strongly suggests that all currently known TWs sit in an intermediate region of phase space between the laminar and turbulent states rather than being embedded within the turbulent attractor itself. New coherent fast streak states with strongly decelerated cores appear to populate the turbulent attractor instead.     

Experimental evidence of a phase transition in a closed turbulent flow

We experimentally study the susceptibility to symmetry breaking of a closed turbulent von Kármán swirling flow from Re=150 to Re?10?. We report a divergence of this susceptibility at an intermediate Reynolds number Re=Re(χ)?90,000 which gives experimental evidence that such a highly space and time fluctuating system can undergo a "phase transition." This transition is furthermore associated with a peak in the amplitude of fluctuations of the instantaneous flow symmetry corresponding to intermittencies between spontaneously symmetry breaking metastable states.     

Turbulence regeneration in pipe flow at moderate Reynolds numbers

We present the results of an experimental investigation into the nature and structure of turbulent pipe flow at moderate Reynolds numbers. A turbulence regeneration mechanism is identified which sustains a symmetric traveling wave within the flow. The periodicity of the mechanism allows comparison to the wavelength of numerically observed exact traveling wave solutions and close agreement is found. The advection speed of the upstream turbulence laminar interface in the experimental flow is observed to form a lower bound on the phase velocities of the exact traveling wave solutions. Overall our observations suggest that the dynamics of the turbulent flow at moderate Reynolds numbers are governed by unstable nonlinear traveling waves.     

激光传输模拟中基于衍射过程FFT算法的参量优化

为实现采用相位屏法正确模拟准直激光束经湍流大气的传输特性,根据湍流特性、抽样定理以及两屏间衍射过程FFT算法本身所决定的相邻两屏网格间距之间的关系,得出相位屏间距和网格间距确定网格数目最优取值的解析表达式,数值模拟高斯光束经自由空间和湍流大气传输的远场分布,网格数目取解析式求得的最优值848时,光束经自由空间传输的模拟结果与ABCD定律求得的解析结果完全一致;网格数目取836或860时,等效于光束通过偶数相位屏时被正透镜或负透镜阵列会聚或发散,削弱或夸大湍流大气对光束的影响,模拟结果出现严重偏差。     

Lock-exchange flows in inclined pipes: the relevance of the Prandtl mixing length model

We examine the applicability of the Prandtl mixing length model to transverse momentum and mass flux in strongly confined, stably stratified turbulent shear flows. These fluxes were measured in the vertical diametral plane of lock-exchange flows in an inclined pipe by the simultaneous use of planar laser-induced fluorescence and particle image velocimetry at local Reynolds numbers ranging from Re = 580 to 1770 and Richardson numbers ranging from Ri = 0.26 and 1.6. Measurements indicate that the eddy diffusivities of mass and momentum are symmetric about the pipe axis, with their maximum at the axis. The corresponding Prandtl mixing lengths decrease with increasing distance from the pipe axis within the central 60% of the pipe cross-section. Within the range of experimental conditions, the mixing lengths at the axis increase linearly with Ri so that the corresponding turbulent Prandtl number Pr_t decreases with Ri. In contrast, Pr_t and the mixing lengths do not display a systematic dependence on Re. Comparison with unbounded and semi-bound shear flows suggests that the strong confinement imposed by the pipe wall may be constraining the integral length scale and Prandtl mixing lengths.     

标量湍流的能量传输特性

应用直接数值模拟数据,从标量湍流传输的三波关系出发,进行湍流及标量湍流传输谱的多尺度分析,研究不同尺度间的能量传输性质,证实标量能量的传输与湍动能传输具有不同性质,大尺度速度脉动对标量传输有较大贡献,尤其是与标量小尺度脉动的相互作用,使标量模拟需要有比速度场更高的网格分辨率;并发现标量湍流的能量传输具有明显的非局部性;另外,定义了能量传输系数,发现在相同的Re数和Pe数条件下,标量湍流的对流惯性较速度脉动的惯性子区宽.     

Critical Reynolds number for a natural transition to turbulence in pipe flows

Experimental results obtained over more than a century have shown that laminar flow in a circular pipe becomes naturally turbulent at a critical Reynolds number of Re approximately 2000. In this Letter a theoretical explanation, based on the minimum energy of an axisymmetric deviation (from the developed pipe flow profile), is suggested for this critical value. It is shown that for Re>1840 the minimum energy of the deviation, associated with the central part of the pipe, becomes a global minimum for triggering secondary instabilities. For Re<1840 the global minimum energy deviation is located next to the pipe wall. Previous experimental observations support this explanation.     

Self-sustained localized structures in a boundary-layer flow

When a boundary layer starts to develop spatially over a flat plate, only disturbances of sufficiently large amplitude survive and trigger turbulence subcritically. Direct numerical simulation of the Blasius boundary-layer flow is carried out to track the dynamics in the region of phase space separating transitional from relaminarizing trajectories. In this intermediate regime, the corresponding disturbance is fully localized and spreads slowly in space. This structure is dominated by a robust pair of low-speed streaks, whose convective instabilities spawn hairpin vortices evolving downstream into transient disturbances. A quasicyclic mechanism for the generation of offspring is unfolded using dynamical rescaling with the local boundary-layer thickness.     

Velocity Fluctuations and Transport in the JET Boundary Region

A new approach for turbulent fluxes and _E×B measurements in the bulk plasma is proposed. It is based in the measurement of fluctuations in the phase velocity of fluctuations. The structure of turbulence has been investigated in the JET plasma boundary region with a fast reciprocating Langmuir probe system. Fluctuations in the radial and poloidal phase velocity have been computed from floating potential and ion saturation current measurements. The correlation between density fluctuations and fluctuations in the radial velocity of fluctuations signals show a good agreement with the turbulent transport computed from the correlation between density and poloidal electric field fluctuations. These results suggest that turbulent transport might be computed in the plasma core from measurement of density fluctuations. E×B sheared flows, both constant and varying in time, are close to the critical value to trigger the transition to improve confinement regimes below the power threshold to trigger the formation of transport barriers.     

Experimental verification of the early crisis of drag using a single sphere

The recently discovered phenomenon of drag anomaly (early crisis) observed for droplets in a two-phase turbulent flow at transition Reynolds numbers (Re = 10–100) is experimentally supported in the case of a gas flow about a single hard sphere as well. Using a specially designed torsion balance, the drag force of a foam plastic sphere 3 mm in diameter placed in a blower-produced turbulent jet is measured. It is found that the turbulence of the flow about the sphere must be high for the drag anomaly to arise.     

Investigation of Turbulent Transition in Plane Couette Flows Using Energy Gradient Method

The energy gradient method has been proposed with the aim of better understanding the mechanism of flow transition from laminar flow to turbulent flow. In this method, it is demonstrated that the transition to turbulence depends on the relative magnitudes of the transverse gradient of the total mechanical energy which amplifies the disturbance and the energy loss from viscous friction which damps the disturbance, for given imposed disturbance. For a given flow geometry and fluid properties, when the maximum of the function $K$ (a function standing for the ratio of the gradient of total mechanical energy in the transverse direction to the rate of energy loss due to viscous friction in the streamwise direction) in the flow field is larger than a certain critical value, it is expected that instability would occur for some initial disturbances. In this paper, using the energy gradient analysis, the equation for calculating the energy gradient function $K$ for plane Couette flow is derived. The result indicates that $K$ reaches the maximum at the moving walls. Thus, the fluid layer near the moving wall is the most dangerous position to generate initial oscillation at sufficient high $\operatorname{Re}$ for given same level of normalized perturbation in the domain. The critical value of $K$ at turbulent transition, which is observed from experiments, is about 370 for plane Couette flow when two walls move in opposite directions (anti-symmetry). This value is about the same as that for plane Poiseuille flow and pipe Poiseuille flow (385-389). Therefore, it is concluded that the critical value of $K$ at turbulent transition is about 370-389 for wall-bounded parallel shear flows which include both pressure (symmetrical case) and shear driven flows (anti-symmetrical case).     

DNS of compressible turbulent boundary layer around a sharp cone

Direct numerical simulation of the turbulent boundary layer over a sharp cone with 20° cone angle (or 10° half-cone angle) is performed by using the mixed seventh-order up-wind biased finite difference scheme and sixth-order central difference scheme. The free stream Mach number is 0.7 and free stream unit Reynolds number is 250000/inch. The characteristics of transition and turbulence of the sharp cone boundary layer are compared with those of the flat plate boundary layer. Statistics of fully developed turbulent flow agree well with the experimental and theoretical data for the turbulent flat-plate boundary layer flow. The near wall streak-like structure is shown and the average space between streaks (normalized by the local wall unit) keeps approximately invariable at different streamwise locations. The turbulent energy equation in the cylindrical coordinate is given and turbulent energy budget is studied. The computed results show that the effect of circumferential curvature on turbulence characteristics is not obvious.     

Calculations of the flow resistance and heat emission of a sphere in the laminar and high-turbulent gas flows

An early drag crisis can occur at high turbulence of incoming gas flow to a sphere. To study the influence of a crisis on heat transfer from a sphere to gas, a numerical experiment was carried out in which the free gas flow around a sphere with a temperature lower than the sphere temperature was simulated for two cases. The flow was laminar in the first case and highly turbulent in the second case. To take into account turbulence, the kinematic coefficient of turbulent viscosity with a value, which is much higher (up to 2000 times) than that for physical viscosity, was introduced. The results of calculations show that the early drag crisis occurs at Reynolds numbers of about 100 and results in considerable (by four to seven times) decrease in the hydrodynamic force and sphere drag coefficient C _d . The early drag crisis is also accompanied by the crisis of heat transfer from a sphere to gas with a decrease in Nusselt numbers Nu by three to six times.     

泡状流运动的湍流模型及液相速度和湍动能的分布预测

１前言在核能、航天等技术领域和能源、动力、石油化工等工业过程都存在泡状流现象,其中绝大多数的泡状流流动状态为湍流,因此对湍流泡状流进行深入研究极为必要。近年来Ｌｅｅ［１］、Ｌｏｐｅｚ　ｄｅ　Ｂｅｒｔｏｄａｎｏ［２,３］等提出了一些多维的湍流输运的双流...     

Asymmetric, helical, and mirror-symmetric traveling waves in pipe flow

New families of three-dimensional nonlinear traveling waves are discovered in pipe flow. In contrast with known waves [H. Faisst and B. Eckhardt, Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 224502 (2003); H. Wedin and R. R. Kerswell, J. Fluid Mech. 508, 333 (2004), they possess no discrete rotational symmetry and exist at a significantly lower Reynolds numbers (Re). First to appear is a mirror-symmetric traveling wave which is born in a saddle node bifurcation at Re=773. As Re increases, "asymmetric" modes arise through a symmetry-breaking bifurcation. These look to be a minimal coherent unit consisting of one slow streak sandwiched between two fast streaks located preferentially to one side of the pipe. Helical and nonhelical rotating waves are also found, emphasizing the richness of phase space even at these very low Reynolds numbers.     

Homoclinic tangle on the edge of shear turbulence

Experiments and simulations lend mounting evidence for the edge state hypothesis on subcritical transition to turbulence, which asserts that simple states of fluid motion mediate between laminar and turbulent shear flow as their stable manifolds separate the two in state space. In this Letter we describe flows homoclinic to a time-periodic edge state that display the essential properties of turbulent bursting. During a burst, vortical structures and the associated energy dissipation are highly localized near the wall, in contrast with the familiar regeneration cycle.     

水平管液塞区相分布特征研究

设计建造了研究段塞流中液塞卷吸气体的实验装置,采用双头电导探针测量了水平管内固定液塞区域的局部相分布。液塞区含气率的径向分布存在峰值,表明液塞区存在湍流剪切层。随着进入液塞距离增大,含气率峰值减小,峰值对应的径向位置升高。这说明湍流剪切层内的湍流程度减弱,剪切层厚度变大。提出了计算水平管液塞截面平均含气率的方法,发现随着进入液塞距离的增大,截面平均含气率首先迅速减小,然后逐渐趋于稳定。     

Role of turbulence on edge momentum redistribution in the TJ-II stellarator

Radial profiles of the parallel-radial Reynolds stress component, proportional to the cross correlation between parallel and radial fluctuating velocities, have been measured in the plasma boundary region of the TJ-II stellarator. Experimental results show the existence of significant parallel turbulent forces at plasma densities above the threshold value to trigger perpendicular sheared flows. This finding provides the first experimental evidence of the role of parallel turbulence forces on edge momentum redistribution in fusion devices.     

Ultimate turbulent Taylor-Couette flow

The flow structure of strongly turbulent Taylor-Couette flow with Reynolds numbers up to Re(i)=2×10(6) of the inner cylinder is experimentally examined with high-speed particle image velocimetry (PIV). The wind Reynolds numbers Re(w) of the turbulent Taylor-vortex flow is found to scale as Re(w)∝Ta(1/2), exactly as predicted by Grossmann and Lohse [Phys. Fluids 23, 045108 (2011).] for the ultimate turbulence regime, in which the boundary layers are turbulent. The dimensionless angular velocity flux has an effective scaling of Nu(ω)∝Ta(0.38), also in correspondence with turbulence in the ultimate regime. The scaling of Nu(ω) is confirmed by local angular velocity flux measurements extracted from high-speed PIV measurements: though the flux shows huge fluctuations, its spatial and temporal average nicely agrees with the result from the global torque measurements.     

Sound-wave coherence in atmospheric turbulence with intrinsic and global intermittency

The coherence function of sound waves propagating through an intermittently turbulent atmosphere is calculated theoretically. Intermittency mechanisms due to both the turbulent energy cascade (intrinsic intermittency) and spatially uneven production (global intermittency) are modeled using ensembles of quasiwavelets (QWs), which are analogous to turbulent eddies. The intrinsic intermittency is associated with decreasing spatial density (packing fraction) of the QWs with decreasing size. Global intermittency is introduced by allowing the local strength of the turbulence, as manifested by the amplitudes of the QWs, to vary in space according to superimposed Markov processes. The resulting turbulence spectrum is then used to evaluate the coherence function of a plane sound wave undergoing line-of-sight propagation. Predictions are made by a general simulation method and by an analytical derivation valid in the limit of Gaussian fluctuations in signal phase. It is shown that the average coherence function increases as a result of both intrinsic and global intermittency. When global intermittency is very strong, signal phase fluctuations become highly non-Gaussian and the average coherence is dominated by episodes with weak turbulence.