Velocity statistics along the stagnation line of an axi- symmetric stagnating turbulent flow

 Velocity statistics along the stagnation line of an axi-symmetric wall stagnating turbulent flow are studied experimentally. A low turbulence, uniform air flow from a nozzle type air supply with an exit diameter of 50 mm stagnates at a wall located 50 mm downstream. A flow velocity is set to 3 m/s, 10 mm downstream from the exit of the air supply. Instantaneous values of streamwise and radial velocities are measured by laser-Doppler velocimetry. The turbulence level in the air flow is changed by use of turbulence generator. When the turbulence generator is not installed in the air supply, the mean velocity profile in the streamwise direction fits well with that of a laminar viscous flow with the rms value of velocity fluctuations low near the wall. With the turbulence generator installed, a significant turbulence structure appears near the wall. When the wall is approached, the rms value of velocity fluctuations in the streamwise direction decreases monotonically while the profile of the rms value in the radial direction reaches a maximum near the wall. The increase in the rms value of velocity fluctuations in the radial direction near the wall is attributed to the bi-modal histogram of the fluctuating velocity in the radial direction. Near the wall, the instantaneous stagnation streamline fluctuates and the probability of the mean location of the stagnation point reaches a maximum not at the stagnation line but on a circle around the stagnation line, resulting in the bi-modal histogram. Turbulence statistics, the rms value of velocity fluctuation and the turbulent kinetic energy, can be normalized successfully by similarity parameters based on the strain rate and the reference turbulent kinetic energy introduced by Champion and Libby. Received: 7 April 1995/Accepted: 27 September 1996     

On the Discretization of Distributed-Parameter Systems with Quadratic and Cubic Nonlinearities

Approximate methods for analyzing the vibrations of an Euler--Bernoulli beam resting on a nonlinear elastic foundation are discussed. The cases of primary resonance (Hgr" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0"> Hgr" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0"> _n ) and subharmonic resonance of order one-half (Hgr" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0"> 2 Hgr" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0"> _n ), where Hgr" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0"> is the excitation frequency and Hgr" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0"> _n is the natural frequency of the nth mode of the beam, are investigated. Approximate solutions based on discretization via the Galerkin method are contrasted with direct application of the method of multiple scales to the governing partial-differential equation and boundary conditions. The amplitude and phase modulation equations show that single-mode discretization leads to erroneous qualitative as well as quantitative predictions. Regions of softening (hardening) behavior of the system, the spatial dependence of the response drift, and frequency-response curves are numerically evaluated and compared using both approaches.     

Velocity and Strain-Rate Characteristics of Opposed Isothermal Flows

Velocity measurements in the isothermal flows created by an opposed nozzle configuration are reported with emphasis on the axis, stagnation plane and the distributions of mean and instantaneous strain rates. The instrumentation comprised particle image velocimetry (PIV) with silicon oil droplets added to the flows upstream of both nozzles with the laser sheet passing through the axis between the nozzles. The results identify the regions of high strain rates and quantify the development of the mean and turbulent components of the flow from the nozzle exits as a function of bulk velocities from 3 to 8.2 m/s and nozzle separations from 0.4 to 1.0 diameters. Results show, for example, the rise in the values of axial and radial normal stress towards the stagnation plane with values increasing by up to 300% and 160% respectively. The maximum mean strain rate occurred just over one nozzle radius from the axis at the smallest separation and with values that increased from 450 to 950 s⁻¹ with decreasing separation at a bulk velocity of 3.0 m/s. Probability density functions were near Gaussian and hence much larger instantaneous strain rates were observed. The PIV image size had the advantage that it allowed the entire flow field to be viewed in terms of velocity vectors and derived quantities include mean strain rates. Small asymmetry of the flow and the higher strain rates at finite distances from the nominal impingement plane were observed. The experimental results permitted the domain of applicability of different modelling approaches to be defined more accurately and calculations were performed with different turbulence models. The results showed that two-equation turbulence models did not represent turbulence intensities close to impingement and that Reynolds stress closures produce superior agreement. It was further shown that ad hoc modifications to the dissipation equation, such as those based on the ratio of the turbulent to mean strain time scale, can improve results at the expense of generality. It is also shown that mean flows are well reproduced by a Reynolds stress closure for all nozzle separations. Comments are included on the implications of the results for investigations of reacting flows and extinction.     

Unsteady mixed convection on the stagnation-point flow adjacent to a vertical plate with a magnetic field

An analysis is performed to study the unsteady combined forced and free convection flow (mixed convection flow) of a viscous incompressible electrically conducting fluid in the vicinity of an axisymmetric stagnation point adjacent to a heated vertical surface. The unsteadiness in the flow and temperature fields is due to the free stream velocity, which varies arbitrarily with time. Both constant wall temperature and constant heat flux conditions are considered in this analysis. By using suitable transformations, the Navier–Stokes and energy equations with four independent variables (x, y, z, t) are reduced to a system of partial differential equations with two independent variables (, ). These transformations also uncouple the momentum and energy equations resulting in a primary axisymmetric flow, in an energy equation dependent on the primary flow and in a buoyancy-induced secondary flow dependent on both primary flow and energy. The resulting system of partial differential equations has been solved numerically by using both implicit finite-difference scheme and differential-difference method. An interesting result is that for a decelerating free stream velocity, flow reversal occurs in the primary flow after certain instant of time and the magnetic field delays or prevents the flow reversal. The surface heat transfer and the surface shear stress in the primary flow increase with the magnetic field, but the surface shear stress in the buoyancy-induced secondary flow decreases. Further the heat transfer increases with the Prandtl number, but the surface shear stress in the secondary flow decreases.     

Disk-shaped compact tension test for asphalt concrete fracture

A disk-shaped compact tension (DC(T)) test has been developed as a practical method for obtaining the fracture energy of asphalt concrete. The main purpose of the development of this specimen geometry is the ability to test cylindrical cores obtained from in-place asphalt concrete pavements or gyratory-compacted specimens fabricated during the mixture design process. A suitable specimen geometry was developed using the ASTM E399 standard for compact tension testing of metals as a starting point. After finalizing the specimen geometry, a typical asphalt concrete surface mixture was tested at various temperatures and loading rates to evaluate the proposed DC(T) configuration. The variability of the fracture energy obtained from the DC(T) geometry was found to be comparable with the variability associated with other fracture tests for asphalt concrete. The ability of the test to detect changes in the fracture energy with the various testing conditions (temperature and loading rate) was the benchmark for determining the potential of using the DC(T) geometry. The test has the capability to capture the transition of asphalt concrete from a brittle material at low temperatures to a more ductile material at higher temperatures. Because testing was conducted on ungrooved specimens, special care was taken to quantify deviations of the crack path from the pure mode I crack path. An analysis of variance of test data revealed that the prototype DC(T) can detect statistical differences in fracture energy resulting for tests conducted across a useful range of test temperatures and loading rates. This specific analysis also indicated that fracture energy is not correlated to crack deviation angle. This paper also provides an overview of ongoing work integrating experimental results and observations with numerical analysis by means of a cohesive zone model tailored for asphalt concrete fracture behavior.     

Laser-generated rayleigh waves in graphite/epoxy composites

This study explores the potential for application of laser-induced surface or Rayleigh waves on graphite/epoxy composites. Rayleigh waves were generated by a Q-switched ruby laser in the ablation regime and detected by a pinducer which permitted accurate phase-velocity measurements. The Rayleigh wave velocity was measured in various directions relative to the fiber direction. Experimental results agreed closely with numerical predictions in the thick plate, but showed some increase of phase velocity in the thin plate. Laser-generated Rayleigh waves, particularly along the fiber direction, showed good potential for applications in NDT.     

Dynamic frictional indentation of an elastic half-plane by a rigid punch

Dynamic rigid indentation of a linearly elastic half-plane in the presence of Coulomb friction is studied in this paper. A rigid punch, which is either wedge- or parabolic-shaped, is rapidly driven into the deformable body so that stress waves are generated. The contact region is assumed to extend at a constant sub-Rayleigh speed (this situation can be achieved by conveniently specifying the kinetic and geometric characteristics of indentor), whereas, due to symmetry, friction acts in opposing directions on opposite sides of the indentor. As the present exact analysis shows, this sign reversal of the tangential traction along the half-plane surface creates an extra stress-singularity at the changeover point of the boundary conditions (due to symmetry, this point here coincides with the point where the indentor apex makes contact with the half-plane surface). The study exploits the problem's self-similarity by utilizing homogeneous-function techniques previously used by L.M. Brock, along with the Riemann-Hilbert problem analysis. Representative numerical results are given for the wedge indentation case.     

Characterization of particle-laden, confined swirling flows by phase-doppler anemometry and numerical calculation

The particle dispersion characteristics in a confined swirling flow with a swirl number of approx. 0.5 were studied in detail by performing measurements using phase-Doppler anemometry (PDA) and numerical predictions. A mixture of gas and particles was injected without swirl into the test section, while the swirling airstream was provided through a co-flowing annular inlet. Two cases with different primary jet exit velocities were considered. For these flow conditions, a closed central recirculation bubble was established just downstream of the inlet.

The PDA measurements allowed the correlation between particle size and velocity to be obtained and also the spatial change in the particle size distribution throughout the flow field. For these results, the behaviour of different size classes in the entire particle size spectrum, ranging from about 15 to 80 μm, could be studied, and the response of the particles to the mean flow and the gas turbulence could be characterized. Due to the response characteristics of particles with different diameters to the mean flow and the flow turbulence, a considerable separation of the particles was observed which resulted in a streamwise increase in the particle mean number diameter in the core region of the central recirculation bubble. For the lower particle inlet velocity (i.e. low primary jet exit velocity), this effect is more pronounced, since here the particles have more time to respond to the flow reversal and the swirl velocity component. This also gave a higher mass of recirculating particle material.

The numerical predictions of the gas flow were performed by solving the time-averaged Navier-Stokes equations in connection with the well known kε turbulence model. Although this turbulence model is based on the assumption of isotropic turbulence, the agreement of the calculated mean velocity profiles compared to the measured gas velocities is very good. The gas-phase turbulent kinetic energy, however, is considerably underpredicted in the initial mixing region. The particle dispersion characteristics were calculated by using the Lagrangian approach, where the influence of the particulate phase on the gas flow could be neglected, since only very low mass loadings were considered. The calculated results for the particle mean velocity and the mass flux are also in good agreement with the experiments. Furthermore, the change in the particle mean diameter throughout the flow field was predicted approximately, which shows that the applied simple stochastic dispersion model also gives good results for such very complex flows. The variation of the gas and particle velocity in the primary inlet had a considerable impact on the particle dispersion behaviour in the swirling flow and the particle residence time in the central recirculation bubble, which could be determined from the numerical calculations. For the lower particle inlet velocity, the maximum particle size-dependence residence time within the recirculation region was considerably shifted towards larger particles.     

A failure of a class of K-BKZ equations based on principal stretches

The invariants in the K-BKZ constitutive equation for an incompressible viscoelastic fluid are usually taken to be the trace of the Finger strain tensor and its inverse. The basis for this choice of invariants is not derived from the K-BKZ theory, but rather is due to the perception that this is the most natural choice. Research into using other sets of invariants in the K-BKZ equation, such as the principal stretches or the eigenvalues of the Finger strain tensor (i.e., the squares of the principal stretches) is relatively new. We attempt here to derive a K-BKZ equation based on the squares of the principal stretches that models the behavior of a low-density polyethylene melt in simple shear and uniaxial elongational deformation. In doing so, two assumptions are made as to the form of the strain-dependent energy function: first, that there is a function f(q) such that the energy function can be written as the sum of f(q _i ),i = 1, 2, 3, where the q _i 'sare the squares of the principal stretches, and second that f is a power law. We find that the K-BKZ equation resulting from these two assumptions is inadequate to describe both the shear and elongational behavior of our material and we conclude that the second of the above assumptions is not valid. Further investigation, including predictions of the second normal stress difference and some finite element calculations reveals that the first assumption is also invalid for our material.     

On the stiffness of materials containing a disordered array of microscopic holes or hard inclusions

We study the macroscopic mechanical behavior of materials with microscopic holes or hard inclusions. Specifically, we deal with the effective elastic moduli of composites whose microgeometry consists of either soft or hard isolated inclusions surrounded by an elastic matrix. We approach this problem by taking the stiffness of the inclusion phase to be a complex variable, which we eventually evaluate at the soft or hard limits. Our main result states that there is a certain class of non-physical, negative-definite values of the elastic moduli of the inclusion phase for which the effective tensor does not have infinities or become otherwise singular.We present applications of this result to the estimation of effective moduli and to homogenization theorems. The first application involves using complexanalytic methods to obtain rigorous and accurate bounds on the effective moduli of the high-contrast composites under consideration. We also discuss the variational estimates of Rubenfeld & Keller, which yield a complementary set of bounds on these moduli. The best bounds are given by a combination of the analytical and variational results. As a second application, we show that certain known theorems of homogenization for materials with holes are simple consequences of our main result, and in this connection we establish corresponding new theorems for materials with hard inclusions. While our rederivation of the homogenization theorems for materials with holes can be closely related to other known constructions, it appears that certain elements provided by our main result are essential in the proof of homogenization for the hard-inclusion case.