On the hysteresis of vortex shedding in a periodically-varying flow

Efforts are made to explore the hysteresis characteristics of vortex shedding in a pipe flow, whose velocity varies periodically in time. Results obtained show that during acceleration of the flow, the vortex strength tends to be stronger, whereas during deceleration of the flow, the situation is reversed. As reconstructed from the velocity signals measured at a point in the flow field, the shed vortex arrays appear to possess uneven vortex strengths in response to periodically-varying incoming flows. Furthermore, in the hysteresis range, the streamwise spacings between the vortices appear to be unequal.     

On vortex shedding behind a circular disk

Abtract  Experiments were performed for individual realizations of the vortex shedding process behind a circular disk at Reynolds numbers of 10³–10⁵, at which periodic vortex shedding prevails in the wake. The phase differences regarding the individual vortex shedding structures detected at multiple circumferential locations in the wake were obtained by analyzing the hot-wire signals with a conditional-sampling scheme. The phase differences of vortex shedding detected at circumferential positions 90° apart show a wide scatter, but the anti-phase character is largely preserved in the individual vortex shedding process as detected at circumferential locations 180° apart. The randomness of phase differences involved in the vortex shedding process is noted to be essential in order to satisfy the axisymmetric property of the global flow. Received: 4 April 19969/Accepted: 29 January 1997     

Flopping phenomenon of flow behind two plates placed side-by-side normal to the flow direction

Experiments were made for the flow over two side-by-side normal plates for which the gap ratios are in the range 1.4–2.1 and the Teynolds numbers are at 6.6 × 10³ and 1.8 × 10⁴. At low gap ratios, i.e., 1.4–1.6. the gap flow appears always to be biased and flip-flops to the preferred side non-periodically with respect to time. As the gap ratio becomes larger, the percentage of time occupied by the gap flow in the biased state decreases and the non-biased state of the gap flow becomes prevalent. A comparison of the experimental results obtained under five free stream turbulence conditions further shows that the addition of artificial disturbance into the free stream promotes gap flow flopping at low gap ratios.     

Flow structures behind a vertically oscillating fence immersed in a flat-plate turbulent boundary layer

A phase-averaging technique was employed to study the evolution of flow behind an oscillating bluff plate immersed in a flat-plate turbulent boundary layer. The experiments were performed for a reduced frequency of 0.0044. The large-scale disturbance generated by the plate developed to an organized form over 20 maximum plate height and then diffused rapidly, as quantified by the ratio of Reynolds stress of the phase-averaged fluctuation to that of the total fluctuation. The small-scale fluctuations embedded in the large-scale disturbance were almost removed by phase averaging. However, their contributions in Reynolds stress and kinetic energy were pronounced along the path of the core of the large-scale structure.A version of this paper was presented at the 11^th Symposium on Turbulence, University of Missouri-Rolla, Sept. 1988     

Experiment on smooth,circular cylinders in cross-flow in the critical Reynolds number regime

Experiments were conducted for 2D circular cylinders at Reynolds numbers in the range of 1.73 × 10⁵–5.86 × 10⁵. In the experiment, two circular cylinder models made of acrylic and stainless steel, respectively, were employed, which have similar dimensions but different surface roughness. Particular attention was paid to the unsteady flow behaviors inferred by the signals obtained from the pressure taps on the cylinder models and by a hot-wire probe in the near-wake region. At Reynolds numbers pertaining to the initial transition from the subcritical to the critical regimes, pronounced pressure fluctuations were measured on the surfaces of both cylinder models, which were attributed to the excursion of unsteady flow separation over a large circumferential region. At the Reynolds numbers almost reaching the one-bubble state, it was noted that the development of separation bubble might switch from one side to the other with time. Wavelet analysis of the pressure signals measured simultaneously at θ = ±90° further revealed that when no separation bubble was developed, the instantaneous vortex-shedding frequencies could be clearly resolved, about 0.2, in terms of the Strouhal number. The results of oil-film flow visualization on the stainless steel cylinder of the one-bubble and two-bubble states showed that the flow reattachment region downstream of a separation bubble appeared not uniform along the span of the model. Thus, the three dimensionality was quite evident.     

On the aerodynamic flow around a cyclist model at the hoods position

Journal of Visualization - Aerodynamic flow around an 1/5 scale cyclist model was studied experimentally and numerically. First, measurements of drag force were performed for the model in a...     

Suppression of Low-frequency Variations in Vortex Shedding by a Splitter Plate Behind a Bluff Body

Measurements of instantaneous pressure fluctuations on a trapezoidal cross-section cylinder indicate that the low-frequency variations embedded in the vortex-shedding process can be successfully suppressed by insertion of a splitter plate whose length is twice the maximum width of the trapezoidal cylinder. The experiments were performed at Reynolds numbers in a range of 5 × 10³ to 4·5 × 10⁴. Spanwise correlation of the pressure fluctuations measured on the cylinder further indicates that the suppression of low-frequency variations improves the degree of two-dimensionality of vortex shedding. These findings are attributed to the presence of the splitter plate having an effect on stabilizing the vortex formation length which is comparable to the length of the splitter plate, thus eliminating the low-frequency variations embedded in the base pressure.     

Swirling flows in circular-to-rectangular transition ducts

Miniature axisymmetric supersonic nozzles were produced with exit Mach numbers ranging from 1.0 to 2.8 by forming Pyrex^® capillary tubing of 0.6 and 1.2 mm inside diameter into converging-diverging channels. The nozzle contours were measured and were found to compare favorably to ideal solutions given by the axisymmetric method of characteristics. In addition, the surfaces of these nozzles were quite smooth, providing featureless flows at perfect expansion. Schlieren visualization and pitot pressure measurements of the resulting microjets were compared to the literature available for jets produced by larger-scale nozzles. A postponed transition to turbulence is noted in these microjets due to their low Reynolds number. The pitot pressure on centerline is nearly uniform at perfect expansion over core lengths up to 12 nozzle exit diameters. Supersonic microjet nozzles thus provide a more effective small-scale high-pressure gas delivery device than do sonic nozzles of comparable scale at equivalent mass flow rates. Supersonic microjets may therefore have several industrial applications.List of symbols ^* boundary layer displacement thickness, mm - d diameter of nozzle exit, mm - L length of nozzle diverging section, mm - L _c inviscid core length, mm - L _s supersonic region length, mm - M _c convective Mach number - M _e exit Mach number - P _b backpressure at nozzle exit, (equal to ambient pressure in this experiment) - P _e exit pressure of the supersonic jet - P _be exit pressure ratio (P _b /P _e ) - P _p impingement pressure (pitot pressure) - P ₀ stagnation pressure supplied to nozzle - P _n overall pressure ratio (P ₀/P _b ,) - r radial dimension (cylindrical coordinate system), mm - r ₀ radius of throat, mm - Re _d Reynolds number, based on nozzle exit diameter - V _e exit velocity, m/s - x axial dimension (cylindrical coordinate system), mm This research was sponsored by National Science Foundation Grant DMI 9400119, as part of a study of the assist-gas dynamics of laser cutting.     

Laser-sheet flow visualization of the confined wake behind a ring

The flow over a ring model situated axisymmetrically in a circular pipe has been studied by the laser-sheet flow visualization technique. Over 25 rings of different sizes are investigated. The flow characteristics are observed and summarized into six regimes, in terms of the two geometrical parameters G/W and . Here, W is the width of the ring, is the mean diameter of the ring, and G is the gap width between the pipe wall and the outer edge of the ring. It is interesting to point out that vortex-shedding structures produced by a ring model can persist over a considerable distance downstream in three of the six regimes which correspond to different physical processes of shedding.     

A new fabrication process for a flexible skin with temperature sensor array and its applications

This paper reports a novel technique for fabrication of a flexible skin with a temperature sensor array (40×1 sensors). A simplified MEMS technology using platinum resistors as sensing materials, which are sandwiched between two polyimide layers as flexible substrates is developed. The two polyimide layers are deposited on top of a thin aluminum layer, which serves as a sacrificial layer such that the flexible skin can be released by metal etching and peeled off easily. The flexible skin with a temperature sensor array has a high mechanical flexibility and can be handily attached on a highly curved surface to detect tiny temperature distribution inside a small area. The sensor array shows a linear output and has a sensitivity of 7.5mV/℃ (prior to amplifiers) at a drive current of 1 mA. To demonstrate its applications, two examples have been demonstrated, including measurement of temperature distribution around a micro heater of a micro PCR (polymerase chain reaction) chip for DNA amplification and detection of separation point for flow over a circular cylinder. The development of the flexible skin with a temperature sensor array may be crucial for measuring temperature distribution on any curved surface in the fields of aerodynamics, space exploration, auto making and biomedical applications etc.