Effect of a moving wall on a fully developed, equilibrium turbulent boundary layer

Experiments were conducted in a wind tunnel to assess the effect of a moving wall on a fully developed, equilibrium turbulent boundary layer. Pitot-static and total head probes were used in conjunction with both single- and two-component hot-wire anemometer probes to quantify the effect of wall motion on the boundary layer velocity statistics. A variable speed, seamless belt formed the wind tunnel test section wall. When stationary, the belt was found to possess a fully developed, equilibrium turbulent boundary layer in excellent agreement with archival data. With the tunnel wall moving at the free-stream speed, and at a sufficient distance above the wall, the velocity statistics in the moving-wall boundary layer were found to collapse well when scaled as a self-preserving turbulent wake. The near-wall mean velocity profile of the moving wall was found to exhibit an extended region of linearity compared to canonical turbulent boundary layer and internal flows. This can be attributed to the reduced shear resulting from wall motion and the subsequent reduction in Reynolds stress. Received: 2 June 1999/Accepted: 8 August 2000     

Wall pressure fluctuation spectra due to boundary-layer transition

Boundary-layer transition has been expected to be an important contributor to sensor flow-induced self-noise. The pressure fluctuations caused by this spatially bounded, and intermittent, phenomenon encompass a very wide range of wavenumbers and temporal frequencies. Here, we analyze the wavevector–frequency spectrum of the wall pressure fluctuations due to subsonic boundary-layer transition as it occurs on a flat plate under zero-pressure gradient conditions. Based on previous measurements of the statistics of the boundary-layer intermittency, it is found that transition induces higher low-streamwise wavenumber wall pressure levels than does a fully developed turbulent boundary layer that might superficially exist at the same location and at the same Reynolds number. The transition zone spanwise wavenumber pressure components are virtually unchanged from the fully developed turbulent boundary-layer case. The results suggest that transition may be more effective than the fully developed turbulent boundary layer in forcing structural excitation at low Mach numbers, and it may have a more intense radiated noise contribution. This may help explain increases in measured sensor self-noise when the sensors are placed near the transition zone. We believe, based on the presented analytical calculation and numerical simulation, that the rapid growth and subsequent decay of turbulent spots in the intermittent transition zone causes the higher low-(streamwise) wavenumber spectra.     

Laminar flow performance of a heated body in particle-laden water

The effects of small uniformly sized spherical particles seeded into the freestream flow of a water tunnel on the delayed transition of a heated laminar flow control body is examined experimentally. In separate trials, four different mean diameter particle seedings were added to the flow and the approach flow velocity was cycled from subcritical to supercritical conditions at three different body heating conditions. The transition Reynolds number based on the body arc length and the approach flow velocity decreases monotonically with increasing d/ ^*, where d is the particle diameter and ^* is the displacement thickness at a critical location. The location of initial turbulent spot formation defines the critical location, and, within the range of experimental conditions reported here, is independent of particle size, heating condition and the approach velocity. For the high unit Reynolds numbers considered (Re ^u 1.88 × 10⁷ per metre), there is no observed critical particle diameterbased Reynolds number threshold; all sizes of particles considered in the experiments (d = 37 to 218 m) have some effect on transition. In a second set of experiments, particles were injected into the laminar boundary layer from a small orifice located at the forward stagnation point. These injected particles have no observable effect on the laminar layer or transition, which suggests that the injected particles fail to produce wakes or vorticity within the laminar layer that may lead to turbulent spot production.Also with the Graduate Program in Acoustics, Penn State UniversityThis work has been supported by the Applied Research Laboratory of The Pennsylvania State University under contracts with the Office of Naval Research and the Naval Sea Systems Command. The authors are particularly indebted to Professor Ron Blackwelder and his colleagues for sharing their yet unpublished findings from particle-induced transition experiments being conducted at the University of Southern California.     

Tunable infrared generation in KTA and applications

Noncollinear difference frequency mixing of dye laser and Nd:YAG second harmonic (fundamental) radiation from a commercial laser system is employed for the generation of 2.7–5.3 μm (1.6–1.7 μm) radiations in a flux-grown KTiOAsO₁ crystal. The generated radiation is used to scan the methane absorption in the fundamental (v ₃) and its first overtone (2v ₃) band at pressure 90 torr in a laboratory made single pass gas cell of length 33 cm.     

Working group report: Heavy-ion physics and quark-gluon plasma

This is the report of Heavy Ion Physics and Quark-Gluon Plasma at WHEPP-09 which was part of Working Group-4. Discussion and work on some aspects of quark-gluon plasma believed to have created in heavy-ion collisions and in early Universe are reported.     

Development of an accelerometer-based underwater acoustic intensity sensor

An underwater acoustic intensity sensor is described. This sensor derives acoustic intensity from simultaneous, co-located measurement of the acoustic pressure and one component of the acoustic particle acceleration vector. The sensor consists of a pressure transducer in the form of a hollow piezoceramic cylinder and a pair of miniature accelerometers mounted inside the cylinder. Since this sensor derives acoustic intensity from measurement of acoustic pressure and acoustic particle acceleration, it is called a p-a intensity probe. The sensor is ballasted to be nearly neutrally buoyant. It is desirable for the accelerometers to measure only the rigid body motion of the assembled probe and for the effective centers of the pressure sensor and accelerometer to be coincident. This is achieved by symmetric disposition of a pair of accelerometers inside the ceramic cylinder. The response of the intensity probe is determined by comparison with a reference hydrophone in a predominantly reactive acoustic field.     

Bi-static sonar applications of intensity processing

Acoustic intensity processing of signals from directional sonobuoy acoustic subsystems is used to enhance the detection of submerged bodies in bi-static sonar applications. In some directions, the scattered signals may be completely dominated by the incident blast from the source, depending upon the geometry, making the object undetectable by traditional pressure measurements. Previous theoretical derivations suggest that acoustic vector intensity sensors, and the associated intensity processing, are a potential solution to this problem. Deep water experiments conducted at Lake Pend Oreille in northern Idaho are described. A large, hollow cylindrical body is located between a source and a number of SSQ-53D sonobuoys positioned from 5 to 30 body lengths away from the scattering body. Measurements show changes in the acoustic pressure of less than 0.5 dB when the scattering body is inserted in the field. However, the phase of the acoustic intensity component formed between the acoustic pressure and particle velocity component orthogonal to the direction of incident wave propagation varies by as much as 55 degrees. This metric is shown to be a repeatable and strong indicator of the presence of the scattering body.