Asymmetry in transitional pipe flow of drag-reducing polymer solutions

New experimental data are presented and discussed for fully developed pipe flow of shear-thinning, viscoelastic polymer solutions in the transitional regime between laminar and turbulent flow. The data confirm that such transitional flows exhibit significant departures from axisymmetry in contrast to the fully developed pipe flow of Newtonian fluids or both laminar and turbulent flows of such drag-reducing liquids. The azimuthal structure of the asymmetry is investigated together with its axial development and also the velocity fluctuation levels. These data do not lead to an explanation for the asymmetry but do suggest that the influence of the flow geometry both upstream and downstream can be ruled out.     

Experimental study on the forced convective flow in a channel with heated blocks in tandem

This study experimentally examines the forced convective flow over two sequentially heated blocks mounted on one principal wall of a channel. The experiments, involving mass transfer, were carried out via the naphthalene sublimation technique (NST). By virtue of the analogy between heat and mass transfer, the results can then be converted to determine the heat transfer. In the experiments, the block spacings were set at 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, and 22 and the Reynolds numbers were set at 1300 and 10⁴ which correspond to the laminar and the turbulent convective flow cases, respectively. Results show that the Sherwood number increases or decreases monotonically along the block surfaces in the laminar convection cases; while the hump and sharp increase in the Sherwood number can be found in the turbulent convection cases. This is attributed to the reattachment of the separating bubble and the flow impingement, respectively. Comparison between the experimental and numerical results is made and the effect of the block spacing on heat transfer is discussed.     

Reynolds number effects on the behavior of a non-buoyant round jet

The behavior of a non-buoyant circular water jet discharged from a contraction nozzle was experimentally investigated. In this experiment, the Reynolds number of the jet, based on the mean velocity results obtained by particle image velocimetry (PIV), ranged from 177 to 5,142. From the experimental results, we found that the cross-sectional profile of the axial velocity for a laminar flow near the nozzle did not show a top-hat distribution, whereas the profiles with Reynolds number higher than 437 were almost top-hat. The length of the zone of flow establishment (ZFE) was found to decrease with increasing Reynolds number. The measured centerline velocity decayed more rapidly and, consequently, approached the theoretical equation earlier near the nozzle as the Reynolds number increased. The decay constant for the centerline velocity of the turbulent cases was relatively lower than that discovered in theory. It is assumed that this probably resulted from the use of the contraction nozzle. Verifying the similarity of the lateral velocity profiles demonstrated that the Gaussian curve was properly approximated only for the turbulent jets and not for the laminar or transitional flows. The jet half width seldom grew for the laminar or transitional flows, whereas it grew with increasing axial distance for the turbulent flows. The spreading rates for the turbulent flows gradually decreased with increasing Reynolds number. The normalized turbulence intensity along the jet centerline increased more rapidly with the axial distance as the Reynolds number increased, and tended to the constant values proposed by previous investigators. The Reynolds shear stress levels were also found to increase as the Reynolds number increased for the turbulent jets.     

Critical Reynolds number in plasma flows on a stabilized plasmatron section

A technique for determining the criterion of transition from the laminar to the turbulent flow regime on a stabilized plasmatron channel section is proposed. The technique uses experimental data and the methods of numerical simulation of plasma flows. A criterial generalization of the experimental data which for the first time makes it possible to establish the boundary of transition from the laminar to the turbulent flow regime on a stabilized plasmatron channel section is proposed. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical dependences derived in the study. A curve (analog of the neutral curve) separating the domains of existence of laminar and turbulent plasma flows in a cylindrical channel is constructed in the space of the plasmatron working parameters.Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Academii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, 2004, pp. 49–61. Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by Sinkevich and Chikunov.     

Flows through plane sudden‐expansions

A calculation method has been developed and used to represent flows downstream of plane symmetric expansions with dimensions and velocities encompassing laminar and turbulent flows. Except for very low Reynolds numbers, the flows are time‐dependent and asymmetric and the calculated results are appraised first in relation to published measurements of laminar flows and then to new measurements obtained at a Reynolds number of 26 500. The time‐dependent laminar simulations indicate that the critical Reynolds numbers are predicted with excellent accuracy for different expansion ratios and the details of the asymmetric velocity profiles are in good agreement with experimental measurements. The laminar flow calculations also show that increasing the thickness of the separating boundary layer leads to longer regions of separation and no dominant frequency for Reynolds numbers up to those at which the third separation region was observed. The turbulent flow simulations made use of the k–ε turbulence model and provided a satisfactory representation of measurements, except in regions close to the wall and within the recirculation regions. Also, the longer reattachment length was underestimated. Limitations are discussed in relation to these and higher‐order assumptions. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Boundary Layer for the Navier-Stokes-alpha Model of Fluid Turbulence

We study boundary-layer turbulence using the Navier-Stokes-alpha model obtaining an extension of the Prandtl equations for the averaged flow in a turbulent boundary layer. In the case of a zero pressure gradient flow along a flat plate, we derive a nonlinear fifth-order ordinary differential equation, which is an extension of the Blasius equation. We study it analytically and prove the existence of a two-parameter family of solutions satisfying physical boundary conditions. Matching these parameters with the skin-friction coefficient and the Reynolds number based on momentum thickness, we get an agreement of the solutions with experimental data in the laminar and transitional boundary layers, as well as in the turbulent boundary layer for moderately large Reynolds numbers.     

Parallel spectral-element—Fourier simulation of turbulent flow over riblet-mounted surfaces

The flow in a channel with its lower wall mounted with streamwise V-shaped riblets is simulated using a highly efficient spectral-element—Fourier method. The range of Reynolds numbers investigated is 500 to 4000, which corresponds to laminar, transitional, and turbulent flow states. Our results suggest that in the laminar regime there is no drag reduction, while in the transitional and turbulent regimes drag reduction up to 10% exists for the riblet-mounted wall in comparison with the smooth wall of the channel. For the first time, we present detailed turbulent statistics in a complex geometry. These results are in good agreement with available experimental data and provide a quantitative picture of the drag-reduction mechanism of the riblets.This work was supported by National Science Foundation Grants CTS-8906432, CTS-8906911, and CTS-8914422, AFOSR Grant No. AFOSR-90-0124, and DARPA Grant No. N00014-86-K-0759. The computations were performed on the Cray Y/MP's of NAS at NASA Ames and the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, and on the Intel 32-node iPSC/860 hypercube at Princeton University.     

An experimental study on the efficiency of transpiration cooling in laminar and turbulent hypersonic flows

An experimental study on the efficiency of transpiration cooling in hypersonic laminar and turbulent flow regimes is carried out in the Hypersonic Windtunnel Cologne with a focus on the aerothermal problems downstream of the cooled model part. The model is made of a material of low thermal conductivity (PEEK) with an integrated probe of a porous material. The experimental setup allows the direct comparison of the thermal behavior of transpiration cooling to a well-defined and radiatively cooled reference surface. Experiments are performed at Mach number of 6 and two different Reynolds numbers. Air, argon and helium are used as coolants at various flow rates, in order to identify the influence of coolant medium on cooling efficiency. The cooling efficiency of air and argon is comparable. Helium provides significantly higher cooling efficiency at the same blowing ratio, i.e. same coolant mass flow rate. The experimental data shows that the efficiency of the transpiration cooling in turbulent flows is much lower than in laminar flow.     

Analysis of fluid flow in constricted tubes and ducts using body-fitted non-staggered grids

A finite volume method for the calculation of laminar and turbulent fluid flows inside constricted tubes and ducts is described. The selected finite volume method is based on curvilinear non-orthogonal co-ordinates (body-fitted co-ordinates) and a non-staggered grid arrangement. The grids are either generated by transfinite interpolation or an elliptic grid generator. The method is employed for calculation of laminar flows through a tube, a converging-diverging duct and different constricted tubes by both a two- and a three-dimensional computer program. In addition, turbulent flow through an axisymmetric constricted tube is calculated. Both the power law scheme and the second-order upwind scheme are used. The calculated results are compared with the experimental data and with other numerical solutions.     

Investigation of transitional and turbulent heat and momentum transport in a rotating cavity

The paper gives the results of the DNS/LES which was performed to investigate the transitional and turbulent non-isothermal flows within a rotor/stator cavity. Computations were performed for the cavity of aspect ratio L = 2–35, Rm = 1.8 and for rotational Reynolds numbers up to 290000. The main purpose of the investigations was to analyze the influence of aspect ratio and Reynolds number on the flow structure and heat transfer. The numerical solution is based on a pseudo-spectral Chebyshev–Fourier–Galerkin collocation approximation. The time scheme is semi-implicit second-order accurate, which combines an implicit treatment of the diffusive terms and an explicit Adams–Bashforth extrapolation for the non-linear convective terms. In the paper we analyze distributions of the Reynolds stress tensor components, the turbulent heat flux tensor components, Nusselt number distributions and the turbulent Prandtl number and other structural parameters, which can be useful for modeling purposes. Selected results are compared with the experimental data obtained for single heated rotating disk by Elkins and Eaton (2000).     

An improved anisotropy-resolving subgrid-scale model for flows in laminar–turbulent transition region

Some types of mixed subgrid-scale (SGS) models combining an isotropic eddy-viscosity model and a scale-similarity model can be used to effectively improve the accuracy of large eddy simulation (LES) in predicting wall turbulence. Abe (2013) has recently proposed a stabilized mixed model that maintains its computational stability through a unique procedure that prevents the energy transfer between the grid-scale (GS) and SGS components induced by the scale-similarity term. At the same time, since this model can successfully predict the anisotropy of the SGS stress, the predictive performance, particularly at coarse grid resolutions, is remarkably improved in comparison with other mixed models. However, since the stabilized anisotropy-resolving SGS model includes a transport equation of the SGS turbulence energy, k_SGS, containing a production term proportional to the square root of k_SGS, its applicability to flows with both laminar and turbulent regions is not so high. This is because such a production term causes k_SGS to self-reproduce. Consequently, the laminar–turbulent transition region predicted by this model depends on the inflow or initial condition of k_SGS. To resolve these issues, in the present study, the mixed-timescale (MTS) SGS model proposed by Inagaki et al. (2005) is introduced into the stabilized mixed model as the isotropic eddy-viscosity part and the production term in the k_SGS transport equation. In the MTS model, the SGS turbulence energy, k_es, estimated by filtering the instantaneous flow field is used. Since the k_es approaches zero by itself in the laminar flow region, the self-reproduction property brought about by using the conventional k_SGS transport equation model is eliminated in this modified model. Therefore, this modification is expected to enhance the applicability of the model to flows with both laminar and turbulent regions. The model performance is tested in plane channel flows with different Reynolds numbers and in a backward-facing step flow. The results demonstrate that the proposed model successfully predicts a parabolic velocity profile under laminar flow conditions and reduces the dependence on the grid resolution to the same degree as the unmodified model by Abe (2013) for turbulent flow conditions. Moreover, it is shown that the present model is effective at transitional Reynolds numbers. Furthermore, the present model successfully provides accurate results for the backward-facing step flow with various grid resolutions. Thus, the proposed model is considered to be a refined anisotropy-resolving SGS model applicable to laminar, transitional, and turbulent flows.     

Prediction of periodic boundary layers

A relatively simple, yet efficient and accurate finite difference method is developed for the solution of the unsteady boundary layer equations for both laminar and turbulent flows. The numerical procedure is subjected to rigorous validation tests in the laminar case, comparing its predictions with exact analytical solutions, asymptotic solutions, and/or experimental results. Calculations of periodic laminar boundary layers are performed from low to very high oscillation frequencies, for small and large amplitudes, for zero as well as adverse time-mean pressure gradients, and even in the presence of significant flow reversal. The numerical method is then applied to predict a relatively simple experimental periodic turbulent boundary layer, using two well-known quasi-steady closure models. The predictions are shown to be in good agreement with the measurements, thereby demonstrating the suitability of the present numerical scheme for handling periodic turbulent boundary layers. The method is thus a useful tool for the further development of turbulence models for more complex unsteady flows.     

Pressure drop for flow in channels subjected to strong system rotation

A disc stack centrifuge is an industrial example of a fluid machine in which all the internal flow takes place in a rapidly rotating frame. The present report gives a survey of the experimental and theoretical work performed at Alfa-Laval in order to estimate the pressure drops in the different internal passages in the centrifuge, including both laminar and turbulent flow.For the laminar flow between the discs, a theory has been developed using the concept of a rotating Hele Shaw cell and conformal mapping. The theory is valid in the limit of very small Rossby numbers. For moderately large Rossby numbers, this model overestimates the pressure drop. The linear theory was extended by introducing advecting vortices in a computer model. The vortices cause vertical fluid transport between the Ekman and geostrophic layers by Ekman pumping, an effect which decreases the pressure drop in the disc stack. The linear model and the enhanced model have both been confirmed by experiments.The flow is turbulent in most parts of the centrifuge, except in the disc stack. The theoretical or numerical modelling for rotating turbulent flows is very difficult and no reliable models exist so far. We therefore have to rely on measurements, which show that the pressure is significantly influenced by rotation for Rossby numbers below unity.     

Effect of the pattern of initial perturbations on the steady pipe flow regime

The influence of the inlet flow formation mode on the steady flow regime in a circular pipe has been investigated experimentally. For a given inlet flow formation mode the Reynolds number Re* at which the transition from laminar to turbulent steady flow occurred was determined. With decrease in the Reynolds number the difference between the resistance coefficients for laminar and turbulent flows decreases. At a Reynolds number approximately equal to 1000 the resistance coefficients calculated from the Hagen-Poiseuille formula for laminar steady flow and from the Prandtl formula for turbulent steady flow are equal. Therefore, we may assume that at Re > 1000 steady pipe flow can only be laminar and in this case it is meaningless to speak of a transition from one steady pipe flow regime to the other. The previously published results [1–9] show that the Reynolds number at which laminar goes over into turbulent steady flow decreases with increase in the intensity of the inlet pulsations. However, at the highest inlet pulsation intensities realized experimentally, turbulent flow was observed only at Reynolds numbers higher than a certain value, which in different experiments varied over the range 1900–2320 [10]. In spite of this scatter, it has been assumed that in the experiments a so-called lower critical Reynolds number was determined, such that at higher Reynolds numbers turbulent flow can be observed and at lower Reynolds numbers for any inlet perturbations only steady laminar flow can be realized. In contrast to the lower critical Reynolds number, the Re* values obtained in the present study, were determined for given (not arbitrary) inlet flow formation modes. In this study, it is experimentally shown that the Re* values depend not only on the pipe inlet pulsation intensity but also on the pulsation flow pattern. This result suggests that in the previous experiments the Re* values were determined and that their scatter is related with the different pulsation flow patterns at the pipe inlet. The experimental data so far obtained are insufficient either to determine the lower critical Reynolds number or even to assert that this number exists for a pipe at all.     

Back to the Future? A Re-examination of the Aerodynamics of Flettner-Thom Rotors for Maritime Propulsion

The paper examines, by way of a 3-dimensional, unsteady-RANS analysis, the high-Reynolds-number turbulent flow normal to a cylinder rotating about its axis, thus continuing the re-evaluation of this flow configuration as a potential means of providing low-cost ship propulsion. Comparisons are made between the available experimental and LES data both for the bare cylinder, as employed in Flettner’s notable Atlantic crossing, and the variant advocated by Thom in which close-packed discs are distributed along the cylinder. Our results display close agreement with available experimental and LES data other than the results of Thom (1934). We conclude that the addition of discs by the latter led, at the relatively low Reynolds numbers of his experiments, to the boundary layer on the cylinder being thinned to a point at which the boundary layers became laminar or transitional, thus leading to higher lift coefficients than pertain in turbulent flow.     

Rotating disk heat transfer in a fluid swirling as a forced vortex

The paper represents results of an exact solution of a laminar heat transfer problem for a rotating disk in a fluid co-rotating with the disk as a solid body. The angular speed of the fluid is less than the angular speed of the disk. Disks surface temperature varies radially accordingly to a power law. Results for the laminar regime are compared with computations for turbulent heat transfer obtained using an integral method developed earlier. On the basis of the exact solution for laminar flow and basic ideas of the integral methods solution for turbulent flow, an integral method for laminar regime is designed and an approximate analytical solution of the considered problem is derived. Inaccuracies of the laminar approximate solution over the main range of variation of the influencing parameters and Prandtl numbers from 0.71 to 1 do not exceed 2.5%. It is shown that the dependence of the Nusselt number on the ratio of the angular speeds of disk and fluid varying from 0 to 0.3 is weak and has a point of maximum within this region for laminar flow. The obtained results are important in predictions of fluid flow and heat transfer in different types of rotating machinery.     

Turbulence measurements in a rectangular mesoscale confined impinging jets reactor

Mesoscale chemical reactors capable of operating in the turbulent flow regime, such as confined impinging jets reactors (CIJR), offer many advantages for rapid chemical processing at the microscale. One application where these reactors are used is flash nanoprecipitation, a method for producing functional nanoparticles. Because these reactors often operate in a flow regime just beyond transition to turbulence, modeling flows in these reactors can be problematic. Moreover, validation of computational fluid dynamics models requires detailed and accurate experimental data, the availability of which has been very limited for turbulent microscale flows. In this work, microscopic particle image velocimetry (microPIV) was performed in a mesoscale CIJR at inlet jet Reynolds numbers of 200, 1,000, and 1,500. Pointwise and spacial turbulence statistics were calculated from the microPIV data. The flow was observed to be laminar and steady in the entire reactor at a Reynolds number of 200. However, at jets Reynolds numbers of 1,000 and 1,500, instabilities as a result of the jets impinging along the centerline of the reactor lead to a highly turbulent impingement region. The peak magnitude of the normalized Reynolds normal and shear stresses within this region were approximately the same for the Reynolds numbers of 1,000 and 1,500. The Reynolds shear stress was found to exhibit a butterfly shape, consistent with a flow field dominated by an oblique rocking of the impingement zone about the center of the reactor. Finally, the spatial auto- and cross-correlations velocity fluctuations were calculated and analyzed to obtain an understanding of size of the coherent structures.     

Experimental validation of a two equation RANS transitional turbulence model for compressible microflows

Laminar-to-turbulent flow transition in microchannels can be useful to enhance mixing and heat transfer in microsystems. Typically, the small characteristic dimensions of these devices hinder in attaining higher Reynolds numbers to limit the total pressure drop. This is true especially in the presence of a liquid as a working medium. On the contrary, due to lower density, Reynolds number larger than 2000 can be easily reached for gas microflows with an acceptable pressure drop. Since microchannels are used as elementary building blocks of micro heat exchangers and micro heat-sinks, it is essential to predict under which conditions, the laminar-to-turbulent flow transition inside such geometries can be expected. In this paper, experimental validation of a two equations transitional turbulence model, capable of predicting the laminar-to-turbulent flow transition for internal flows as proposed by Abraham etal. (2008), is presented for the first time for microchannels. This is done by employing microchannels in which Nitrogen gas is used as a working fluid. Two different cross-sections namely circular and rectangular are utilized for numerical and experimental investigations. The inlet mass flow rate of the gas is varied to cover all the flow regimes from laminar to fully turbulent flow. Pressure loss experiments are performed for both cross-sectional geometries and friction factor results from experiments and numerical simulations are compared. From the analysis of the friction factor as a function of the Reynolds number, the critical value of the Reynolds number linked to the laminar-to-turbulent transition has been determined. The experimental and numerical critical Reynolds number for all the tested microchannels showed a maximum deviation of less than 12%. These results demonstrate that the transitional turbulence model proposed by Abraham etal. (2008) for internal flows can be extended to microchannels and proficiently employed for the design of micro heat exchangers in presence of gas flows.     

Laser-Doppler measurements of laminar and turbulent flow in a pipe bend

Laser-Doppler measurements are reported for laminar and turbulent flow through a 90° bend of circular cross-section with mean radius of curvature equal to 2.8 times the diameter. The measurements were made in cross-stream planes 0.58 diameters upstream of the bend inlet plane, in 30, 60 and 75° planes in the bend and in planes one and six diameters downstream of the exit plane. Three sets of data were obtained: for laminar flow at Reynolds numbers of 500 and 1093 and for turbulent flow at the maximum obtainable Reynolds number of 43 000. The results show the development of strong pressure-driven secondary flows in the form of a pair of counter-rotating vortices in the streamwise direction. The strength and character of the secondary flows were found to depend on the thickness and nature of the inlet boundary layers, inlet conditions which could not be varied independently of Reynolds number. The quantitative anemometer measurements are supported by flow visualization studies. Refractive index matching at the fluid-wall interface was not used; the measurements consist, therefore, of streamwise components of mean and fluctuating velocities only, supplemented by wall pressure measurements for the turbulent flow. The displacement of the laser measurement volume due to refraction is allowed for in simple geometrical calculations. The results are intenden for use as benchmark data for calibrating flow calculation methods.     

Thermal and dynamic optimization of the convective flow in Trombe Wall shaped channels by numerical investigation

Two-dimensional, laminar, transitional and turbulent simulations were obtained by solving the fully-elliptic governing equations of the motion established by natural convection in channels, with Trombe Wall configuration, for different geometrical parameters and symmetrical heating. In transitional and turbulent cases, the low-Re k−ω turbulence model has been employed. To validate the numerical results, some comparisons with experimental results taken from literature have been carried out. Numerical results for the average Nusselt number and the non-dimensional induced mass-flow rate have been obtained for a wide and not yet covered range of the Rayleigh number varying from 10⁵ to 10¹². Correlations for the thermal and the mass-flow optimum wall-to-wall spacing have been presented. Finally, additional configurations including discrete heat sources have been studied, in order to obtain thermal and dynamic improvements. These intermediate devices were tested as turbulence generators, in the transitional range of Rayleigh numbers.