Response of the streaks, the active and passive eddies in an unsteady channel flow

Spanwise space–time correlations of the wall shear stress and the longitudinal velocity fluctuations in the low buffer layer of an unsteady channel flow are reported. The imposed amplitude is 20% of the centerline velocity and the imposed frequency covers a large range going from the quasi-steady limit to the bursting frequency of the corresponding steady flow. The unsteady spanwise correlation coefficient is investigated both through its own modulation characteristics (amplitude and phase shifts) and those of the resulting streak spacing. A good correspondence is found between the modulation of the streak spacing and that of the ejection period. The data is further analyzed by temporal filtering of the wall shear stress and streamwise velocity fluctuations. It is shown that the large outer-layer structures play a “passive” role in the unsteady response of the near wall turbulence. The inner wall eddies, in return, are amply responsible for the unsteady reaction of both the turbulent wall shear stress and the streamwise velocity intensities in the buffer layer.     

Effect of different sized transverse square grooves on a turbulent boundary layer

The effect of three different sized transverse square grooves (5, 10, and 20 mm) on a turbulent boundary layer was investigated at two values of momentum thickness Reynolds numbers (R _θ =1,000 and 3,000) using hot-wire anemometry. The ratios of the groove depth to the boundary layer thickness (d/δ ₀) are approximately 0.07, 0.13, and 0.27. Wall shear stress (τ _w), mean velocity (U), and turbulence intensity downstream of the grooves are compared to those on a corresponding smooth wall The effects of the grooves are more significant at the higher R _θ , with the most pronounced effects caused by the largest size groove. There is an increase in mean velocity (U), streamwise (u′/U ₀), and wall-normal (ν′/U ₀) turbulence intensities in the near-wall region immediately downstream of the grooves. The increase propagates outwards in the layer as the streamwise distance increases downstream of the grooves. The increase in ν′/U ₀ is much more significant than that of u′/U ₀, which is also evident in the spectra of u′ and ν′. There is an increase in τ _w over the smooth wall value immediately downstream of the grooves at R _θ =1,000, with the increase being more pronounced as the groove size increases. The growth of the internal layer downstream of the grooves is found to scale with the groove size, and is more rapid at R _θ =3,000. Published online: 23 November 2002     

Bursting and structure of the turbulence in an internal flow manipulated by riblets

The buffer layer of an internal flow manipulated by riblets is investigated. The distributions of the ejection and bursting frequency from the beginning to the middle part of the buffer layer, together with high moments of the fluctuating streamwise velocity,u, and its time derivative are reported. The profiles of the ejection and bursting frequency are determined and compared using three single point detection schemes. The effect of the riblets on the bursting mechanism is found confined in a localized region in the buffer layer. The multiple ejection bursts are more affected than the single ejection bursts. The skewness and flatness factors of theu signal are larger in the manipulated layer than in the standard boundary layer. That, also holds true for the flatness factor of the time derivative, but the Taylor and Liepman scales are not affected. The spectrum of theu signal is altered at the beginning part of the viscous sublayer.Nomenclature u Friction velocity - Viscosity - l _v ;f _v wall scalesv/u ;u ² /v - y Vertical distance to the wall - z Spanwise extent - (⁺) Variable normalized with wall scales - u Velocity;u=Turbulence intensity - h, s Height and width of the riblets - f _e Ejection frequency - f _b Bursting frequency - f _BME Frequency of the Bursts with Multiple Ejection - f _BSE Frequency of Single Ejection Bursts - S andS _du/dt Skewness factor ofu and its time derivative - F _u andF _du/dt Flatness factor ofu and its time derivative Abbreviations SBL Standard (non-manipulated) Boundary Layer - MBL Manipulated Boundary Layer - BME Bursts with Multiple Ejections - BSE Bursts with Single Ejections - VITA Variable Interval Time Averaging technique - u–l u-level technique - mu Modifiedu-level technique     

Rayleigh's transformation for thermally buoyant flows

 Rayleigh's classical transformation t=x/U connecting an unsteady parallel boundary flow to the steady plane Blasius-flow is generalized to t=C·x ^c and applied to the case of natural convection in the vicinity of a vertical flat plate. The parameters C and c of this “chronotopic transformation” (CTT) are determined self-consistently. It is shown that the analytic expressions obtained in this way for temperature and for the main component of the steady velocity field reproduce the “numerically exact” patterns to a good accuracy. Surprisingly, the transversal component of the steady flow (which in the unsteady flow is entirely missing) can also be generated by CTT with a remarkable precision. Moreover, the CTT is also able to extrapolate unsteady buoyant flows to steady ones with a good performance, even if these belong to a different set of boundary conditions (e.g. time-dependent vs. coordinate-dependent wall temperatures). Received on 6 May 1999     

Laminarisation and re-transition of a turbulent boundary layer subjected to favourable pressure gradient

 Experimental results are reported for the response of an initially turbulent boundary layer (Re _θ≈1700) to a favourable pressure gradient with a peak value of K≡(−υ/ρU ³ _E ) dp/dx equal to 4.4×10^-6. In the near-wall region of the boundary layer (y/δ<0.1) the turbulence intensity u′ scales roughly with the free-stream velocity U _E until close to the location where K is a maximum whereas in the outer region u′ remains essentially frozen. Once the pressure gradient is relaxed, the turbulence level increases throughout the boundary layer until K falls to zero when the near wall u′ levels show a significant decrease. The intermittency γ is the clearest indicator of a fundamental change in the turbulence structure: once K exceeds 3×10^-6, the value of γ in the immediate vicinity of the wall γ _s falls rapidly from unity, reaches zero at the location where K again falls below 3×10^-6 and then rises back to unity. Although γ is practically zero throughout the boundary layer in the vicinity of γ _s =0, the turbulence level remains high. The explanation for what appears to be a contradiction is that the turbulent frequencies are too low to induce turbulent mixing. The mean velocity profile changes shape abruptly where K exceeds 3×10^-6. Values for the skin friction coefficient, based upon hot-film measurements, peak at the same location as K and fall to a minimum close to the location where K drops back to zero. Received: 28 January 1998/Accepted: 8 April 1998     

Unsteady flow and heat transfer analysis of an impinging synthetic jet

The present paper focuses on the analysis of unsteady flow and heat transfer regarding an axisymmetric impinging synthetic jet on a constant heat flux disc. Synthetic jet is a zero net mass flux jet that provides an unsteady flow without any external source of fluid. Present results are validated against the available experimental data showing that the SST/k − ω turbulence model is more accurate and reliable than the standard and low-Re k − ε models for predicting heat transfer from an impinging synthetic jet. It is found that the time-averaged Nusselt number enhances as the nozzle-to-plate distance is increased. As the oscillation frequency in the range of 16–400 Hz is increased, the heat transfer is enhanced. It is shown that the instantaneous Nu distribution along the wall is influenced mainly by the interaction of produced vortex ring and wall boundary layer. Also, the fluctuation level of Nu decreases as the frequency is raised.     

Time resolved analysis of steady and oscillating flow in the upper human airways

In this experimental study a thorough analysis of the steady and unsteady flow field in a realistic transparent silicone lung model of the first bifurcation of the upper human airways will be presented. To determine the temporal evolution of the flow time-resolved particle-image velocimetry recordings were performed for a Womersley number range 3.3 ≤ α ≤ 5.8 and Reynolds numbers of Re _D = 1,050, 1,400, and 2,100. The results evidence a highly three-dimensional and asymmetric character of the velocity field in the upper human airways, in which the influence of the asymmetric geometry of the realistic lung model plays a significant role for the development of the flow field in the respiratory system. At steady inspiration, the flow shows independent of the Reynolds number a large zone with embedded counter-rotating vortices in the left bronchia ensuring a continuous streamwise transport into the lung. At unsteady flow the critical Reynolds number, which describes the onset of vortices in the first bifurcation, is increased at higher Womersley number and decreased at higher Reynolds number. At expiration the unsteady and steady flows are almost alike.     

An experimental investigation of moderate reynolds number flow in a T-Channel

An experimental investigation of water flow in a T-shaped channel with rectangular cross section (20 × 20 mm inlet ID and 20 × 40 mm outlet ID) has been conducted for a Reynolds number Re range of 56–422, based on inlet diameter. Dynamical conditions and the T-channel geometry of the current study are applicable to the microscale. 2-D planar particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) were used in multiple locations of the T-channel to investigate local dynamical behaviors. Steady symmetric and asymmetric flow regimes predicted in the literature, which is largely numerical, are experimentally verified. Unsteady flow regimes, which are numerically predicted to occur at higher Re but have not yet been experimentally characterized, are also examined, and real-time LIF results illuminate the evolution of unsteady structure. Experimental data of the present resolution and scope are not presently available for unsteady flow regimes. Time scales are presented for unsteady flow regimes, which are found to exhibit periodic behavior and to occur for Re  ≥ 195. An unsteady symmetrical regime is identified for Re ≥ 350 that is detrimental to mixing. Momentum fields and dynamical behaviors of all flow regimes are characterized in detail, such that published mixing trends may be better understood. Results of all experimental trials were used to construct a regime map. A symmetric topology is found to be dominant for Re from 56 to 116, when flow is steady, and 350 to 422, when flow is characterized by unsteady stagnation-point oscillation in the T-channel junction. Asymmetric flow, which is positively indicated for mixing, is dominant for Re between 142 and 298, and the fluid interface exhibits both steady (two standing vortices) and unsteady (shear-layer type roll-up) behaviors. This result is based on multiple experiments and suggests a practical operating range of 142  ≤ Re ≤ 298 where asymmetric flow is highly likely to experimentally occur. The identification of an upper limit on Re,  beyond which mixing appears negatively impacted by a more symmetrical momentum field, is practically important as pressure drops on the microscale are significant.     

Parametric study of unsteady laminar flows

Results of a parametric study of unsteady laminar flows are analyzed. Three-dimensional unsteady equations of hydromechanics for a compressible medium are solved. The range of the characteristic Reynolds number Re = 400–900 is considered. It is demonstrated that the laminar flow in a plane channel ceases to be steady at Re = 415. As the Reynolds number increases, the unsteady processes become more intense, disturbances penetrate inward the channel, and separation zones lose their stability. In the vicinity of the channel exit, however, the flow tends to stabilize, though it remains unsteady. No transition to a turbulent flow occurs in the examined range of Reynolds numbers.     

Combined heat and mass transfer along a vertical moving cylinder with a free stream

The mixed convection flow over a continuous moving vertical slender cylinder under the combined buoyancy effect of thermal and mass diffusion has been studied. Both uniform wall temperature (concentration) and uniform heat (mass) flux cases are included in the analysis. The problem is formulated in such a manner that when the ratio λ(= u _w/(u _w + u _∞), where u _w and u _∞ are the wall and free stream velocities, is zero, the problem reduces to the flow over a stationary cylinder, and when λ = 1 it reduces to the flow over a moving cylinder in an ambient fluid. The partial differential equations governing the flow have been solved numerically using an implicit finite-difference scheme. We have also obtained the solution using a perturbation technique with Shanks transformation. This transformation has been used to increase the range of the validity of the solution. For some particular cases closed form solutions are obtained. The surface skin friction, heat transfer and mass transfer increase with the buoyancy forces. The buoyancy forces cause considerable overshoot in the velocity profiles. The Prandtl number and the Schmidt number strongly affect the surface heat transfer and the mass transfer, respectively. The surface skin friction decreases as the relative velocity between the surface and free stream decreases. Received on 17 May 1999     

A low‐dimensional spectral approach for transient axisymmetric free‐surface flow inside thin cavities of arbitrary shape

A low‐dimensional spectral method is used to solve the transient axisymmetric free surface flow inside thin cavities of arbitrary shape. The flow field is obtained on the basis of the lubrication equations, which are expanded in terms of orthonormal functions over the cavity gap. The formulation accounts for nonlinearities stemming from inertia and front location. The work is of close relevance to the filling stage during die casting, and injection molding, or the flow inside annular (extrusion) dies. Both flows under an imposed flow rate, and an imposed pressure at the cavity entrance are examined. The influence of inertia, aspect ratio, gravity, and wall geometry on the evolution of the front, flow rate, and pressure is assessed particularly in the early stage of flow, when a temporal behavior of the ‘boundary‐layer’ type develops. The multiple‐scale method is applied to obtain an approximate solution at small Reynolds number, Re. Comparison with the exact (numerical) solution indicates a wide range of validity for the multiple‐scale approach, including the moderately small Re range. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Unsteady free convection on a vertical cylinder with variable heat and mass flux

The unsteady natural convection boundary layer flow over a semi-infinite vertical cylinder is considered with combined buoyancy force effects, for the situation in which the surface temperature T ^′ _w(x) and C ^′ _w(x) are subjected to the power-law surface heat and mass flux as K(T ^′/r) = −ax ⁿ and D(C ^′/r) = −bx ^m . The governing equations are solved by an implicit finite difference scheme of Crank-Nicolson method. Numerical results are obtained for different values of Prandtl number, Schmidt number ‘n’ and ‘m’. The velocity, temperature and concentration profiles, local and average skin-friction, Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are shown graphically. The local Nusselt and Sherwood number of the present study are compared with the available result and a good agreement is found to exist. Received on 7 July 1998     

Finite difference analysis of laminar free convection flow past a non isothermal vertical cone

A finite-difference analysis for the transient free convection flow of an incompressible viscous fluid past a vertical cone with variable wall surface temperature T _w^′ (x) = T _∞^′ + a x ⁿ varying as power function of distance from the apex (x = 0) is presented here. The dimensionless governing equations of the flow that are unsteady, coupled and non-linear partial differential equations are solved by an efficient, accurate and unconditionally stable finite difference scheme of Crank-Nicolson type. The velocity and temperature fields have been studied for various parameters such as Prandtl number and n (exponent in power law variation in surface temperature). The local as well as average skin-friction and Nusselt number are also presented and analyzed graphically. The present results are compared with available results in literature and are found to be in good agreement.     

Turbulence reduction in the mixing layer of a plane jet using small cylinders

 The influence of small diameter cylinders placed at the nozzle exit plane on the development of a plane jet mixing layer is investigated using a single hot wire at a jet Reynolds number of about 23000. There is a reduction in both the growth rate and the momentum thickness of the jet as well as a 20% reduction in the maximum value of u′, the rms longitudinal velocity fluctuation u. The jet virtual origin is shifted downstream and distributions of the normalized mean velocity, u′, skewness and flatness factors of u exhibit much better similarity than in the absence of the cylinder. Spectral measurements indicate that downstream of the cylinder, the peak amplitude at the roll-up or instability frequency is greatly reduced or even suppressed. Two different diameter cylinders, placed independently at several locations in the shear layer yielded similar results. A model based on an interaction between the organized motion in the mixing layer and the vortical structures shed by the cylinder is consistent with our observations. Received: 23 June 1997 / Accepted: 8 December 1997     

Development of a turbulent boundary layer after a step from smooth to rough surface

The flow developing downstream of a step change from smooth to rough surface condition is studied in the light of Townsend’s wall similarity hypothesis. Previous studies seem to support the hypothesis for channel and pipe flows, but there are considerable controversies about its application to boundary layers and in particular to surface roughness formed by spanwise bars. It has been suggested that this controversy arises from insufficient separation of scales between the boundary layer thickness and the roughness length scale. An experimental investigation has therefore been undertaken where the flow evolves from a fully developed smooth wall boundary layer at high Reynolds numbers over a step in surface roughness (Re _θ = 13,400 at the step). The flow is mapped through the development of the internal layer until the flow is fully developed over the rough wall. The internal layer is found to grow as δ ∼ X ^0.73, and after about 15 boundary layer thicknesses at the step, the internal layer has reached the outer edge of the incoming layer. At the last rough wall measurement station, the Reynolds number has grown to Re _θ ≈ 32,600 and the ratio of boundary layer to roughness length scales is δ/k ≈ 140. The outer layer differences between the smooth and the rough wall data were found to be sufficiently small to conclude that for this setup the Townsend’s wall similarity hypothesis appears to hold.     

Simultaneous velocity and concentration field measurements of passive-scalar mixing in a confined rectangular jet

Simultaneous velocity and concentration fields in a confined liquid-phase rectangular jet with a Reynolds number based on the hydraulic diameter of 50,000 (or 10,000 based on the velocity difference between streams and the jet exit dimension) and a Schmidt number of 1,250 were obtained by means of a combined particle image velocimetry (PIV) and planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) system. Data were collected at the jet exit and six further downstream locations. The velocity and concentration field data were analyzed for flow statistics such as turbulent fluxes, turbulent viscosity and diffusivity, and turbulent Schmidt number (Sc _T ). The streamwise turbulent flux was found to be larger than the transverse turbulent flux, and the mean concentration gradient was not aligned with the turbulent flux vector. The average Sc _T was found to vary both in streamwise and in cross stream directions and had a mean value around 0.8, a value consistent with the literature. Spatial correlation fields of turbulent fluxes and concentration were then determined. The R _u′ϕ′ correlation was elliptical in shape with a major axis tilted downward with respect to the streamwise axis, whereas the R _v′ϕ′ correlation was an ellipse with a major axis aligned with the cross-stream direction. Negative regions of R _u′ϕ′ were observed in the outer streams, and these negatively correlated regions decayed with downstream distance and finally disappeared altogether. The R _ϕ′ϕ′ correlation field was found to be an ellipse with the major axis inclined at about 45° with respect to the streamwise direction. Linear stochastic estimation was used to interpret spatial correlation data and to determine conditional flow structures. It is believed that a vortex street formed near the splitter plate is responsible for the negatively correlated region observed in the R _u′ϕ′ spatial correlations of turbulent fluxes. A positive concentration fluctuation event was observed to correspond to a finger of nearly uniform concentration fluid reaching out into the outer stream, whereas a negative event corresponds to a pocket of nearly uniform fluid being entrained from the outer stream into the center jet region. Large-scale vortical structures were observed in the conditional velocity fields with an elliptical shape and a streamwise major axis. The growth of the structure size increased linearly initially but then grew more slowly as the flow transitioned toward channel flow. Support of this work was provided by the National Science Foundation through grants CTS-9985678 and CTS-0336435 and by the Dow Chemical Company. The author greatly acknowledge Charles Lipp at Dow Chemical and Ken Junk at Emerson Fisher for their valuable assistance in the design and construction of the flow system.     

Boundary Regularity of Shear Thickening Flows

This article is concerned with the global regularity of weak solutions to systems describing the flow of shear thickening fluids under the homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition. The extra stress tensor is given by a power law ansatz with shear exponent p≥ 2. We show that, if the data of the problem are smooth enough, the solution u of the steady generalized Stokes problem belongs to W^{1,(np+2-p)/(n-2)}(W){W^{1,(np+2-p)/(n-2)}(\Omega)} . We use the method of tangential translations and reconstruct the regularity in the normal direction from the system, together with anisotropic embedding theorem. Corresponding results for the steady and unsteady generalized Navier–Stokes problem are also formulated.     

Quantitative analysis of flow visualizations in an unsteady channel flow

Quantitative results concerning the modulation of the ejection and bursting frequency in an unsteady channel flow obtained by flow visualizations are presented and compared with probe measurements. The frequency of the imposed velocity oscillations f covers a large range going from the quasi steady limit to the time mean bursting frequency in the corresponding steady flow. The imposed amplitudes of the velocity oscillations are 13% and 20% of the centerline velocity. The bursting process is identified by the intermittent lift up of the dye injected at the wall. Qualitative analysis of the flow visualizations show that the ejection activity at a given phase of the oscillation cycle is repetitive from one cycle to the other. The modulation amplitude of the ejection frequency f _e is sensitive to the imposed frequency. At low imposed frequency f _e is modulated as the wall shear stress, but the inner scaling does not hold when f ⁺ is high. Here, (+) corresponds to the quantities normalized with the inner variables, i.e. the friction velocity u and the viscosity . The grouping of the ejections into bursts show the coexistence of two categories of events which react differently to the forcing. The groups of ejections (Multiple Ejection Bursts) are governed by the modulation of the wall shear stress in the whole imposed frequency range. The solitary ejections (or the Single Ejection Bursts) have modulation amplitudes and phases which differ significantly from those of in the intermediate and high imposed frequency range. There is a good agreement between the flow visualization data and the probe measurements.