On a Generalized Nonlinear K–ε Model and the Use of Extended Thermodynamics in Turbulence

A resent extension of the nonlinear K–ε model is critically discussed from a basic theoretical standpoint. While it was said in the paper that this model was formulated to incorporate relaxation effects, it will be shown that the model is incapable of describing one of the most basic such turbulent flows as is obvious but is described for clarity. It will be shown in detail that this generalized nonlinear K–ε model yields erroneous results for the Reynolds stress tensor when the mean strains are set to zero in a turbulent flow – the return-to-isotropy problem which is one of the most elementary relaxational turbulent flows. It is clear that K–ε type models cannot describe relaxation effects. While their general formalism can describe relaxation effects, the nonlinear K–ε model – which the paper is centered on – cannot. The deviatoric part of the Reynolds stress tensor is predicted to be zero when it actually only gradually relaxes to zero. Since this model was formulated by using the extended thermodynamics, it too will be critically assessed. It will be argued that there is an unsubstantial physical basis for the use of extended thermodynamics in turbulence. The role of Material Frame-Indifference and the implications for future research in turbulence modeling are also discussed. Received 19 February 1998 and accepted 23 October 1998     

Temperature dependence of the interfacial tension of PS/PMMA, PS/PE, and PMMA/PE blends

The effect of temperature on the interfacial tension for PS/PMMA, PS/PE, and PMMA/PE was measured using the imbedded fiber retraction method. Interfacial tensions for PS/PMMA, PS/PE, and PMMA/PE were measured over temperature ranges of 160–250 °C, 140–220 °C, and 140–220 °C, respectively. The interfacial tension was found to follow a dependence of 3.6–0.013 T dyn/cm, 7.6–0.051 T dyn/cm and 11.8–0.017 T dyn/cm for PS/PMMA, PS/PE, and PMMA/PE, respectively. Comparison of the data with the mean field theory of Helfand and Sapse were made; however, a simple linear fit to the data described the temperature dependence in the experimental window as well as the predictions of the mean field theory. Received: 6 July 1999 Accepted: 23 March 2000     

The propagation mechanism of high speed turbulent deflagrations

The propagation regimes of combustion waves in a 30 cm by 30 cm square cross–sectioned tube with an obstacle array of staggered vertical cylindrical rods (with BR=0.41 and BR=0.19) are investigated. Mixtures of hydrogen, ethylene, propane, and methane with air at ambient conditions over a range of equivalence ratios are used. In contrast to the previous results obtained in circular cross–sectioned tubes, it is found that only the quasi–detonation regime and the slow turbulent deflagration regimes are observed for ethylene–air and for propane–air. The transition from the quasi–detonation regime to the slow turbulent deflagration regime occurs at (where D is the tube “diameter” and is the detonation cell size). When , the quasi–detonation velocities that are observed are similar to those in unobstructed smooth tubes. For hydrogen–air mixtures, it is found that there is a gradual transition from the quasi–detonation regime to the high speed turbulent deflagration regime. The high speed turbulent deflagration regime is also observed for methane–air mixtures near stoichiometric composition. This regime was previously interpreted as the “choking” regime in circular tubes with orifice plate obstacles. Presently, it is proposed that the propagation mechanism of these high speed turbulent deflagrations is similar to that of Chapman–Jouguet detonations and quasi-detonations. As well, it is observed that there exists unstable flame propagation at the lean limit where . The local velocity fluctuates significantly about an averaged velocity for hydrogen–air, ethylene–air, and propane–air mixtures. Unstable flame propagation is also observed for the entire range of high speed turbulent deflagrations in methane–air mixtures. It is proposed that these fluctuations are due to quenching of the combustion front due to turbulent mixing. Quenched pockets of unburned reactants are swept downstream, and the subsequent explosion serves to overdrive the combustion front. The present study indicates that the dependence on the propagation mechanisms on obstacle geometry can be exploited to elucidate the different complex mechanisms of supersonic combustion waves. Received 5 November 2001 / Accepted 12 June 2002 / Published online 4 November 2002 Correspondence to: J. Chao (e-mail: jenny.chao@mail.mcgill.ca) An abridged version of this paper was presented at the 18th Int. Colloquium on the Dynamics of Explosions and Reactive Systems at Seattle, USA, from July 29 to August 3, 2001.     

Aspect-ratio dependence of transient Taylor vortices close to threshold

We perform a detailed numerical study of transient Taylor vortices arising from the instability of cylindrical Couette flow with the exterior cylinder at rest for radius ratio η = 0.5 and variable aspect ratio Γ. The result of Abshagen et al. (J Fluid Mech 476:335–343, 2003) that onset transients apparently evolve on a much smaller time–scale than decay transients is recovered. It is shown to be an artefact of time scale estimations based on the Stuart–Landau amplitude equation which assumes frozen space dependence while full space–time dependence embedded in the Ginzburg–Landau formalism needs to be taken into account to understand transients already at moderate aspect ratio. Sub-critical pattern induction is shown to explain the apparently anomalous behaviour of the system at onset while decay follows the Stuart–Landau prediction more closely. The dependence of time scales on boundary effects is studied for a wide range of aspect ratios, including non-integer ones, showing general agreement with the Ginzburg–Landau picture able to account for solutions modulated by Ekman pumping at the disks bounding the cylinders.      

Turbulence kinetic energy budget in bubbly flows in a vertical duct

Understanding turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) budget in gas–liquid two-phase bubbly flows is indispensable to develop and improve turbulence models for the bubbly flows. In this study, a molecular tagging velocimetry based on photobleaching reaction was applied to turbulent bubbly flows with sub-millimeter bubbles in a vertical square duct to examine the applicability of the k–ε models to the bubbly flows. Effects of bubbles on TKE budget are discussed and a priori tests of the standard and low Reynolds number k–ε models are carried out to examine the applicability of these models to the bubbly flows. The conclusions obtained are as follows: (1) The photobleaching molecular tagging velocimetry is of use for validating turbulence models. (2) The bubbles increase the liquid velocity gradient in the near wall region, and therefore, enhance the production and dissipation rates of TKE. (3) The k–ε models can reasonably evaluate the production rate of TKE in the bubbly flows. (4) The modulations of diffusion due to the bubbles have different characteristics from the diffusion enhancement due to shear-induced turbulence. Hence, the k–ε models fail in evaluating the diffusion rate in the near wall region in the bubbly flows. (5) The k–ε models represent the trends of the production, dissipation, and diffusion rates of ε in the bubbly flow, although more accurate experimental data are required for quantitative validation of the ε equation.     

Onset of Buoyancy-driven Instability in Porous Media Melted from Below

When a nonhomogeneous solid is melting from below, convection may be induced in a thermally–unstable melt layer. In this study, the onset of buoyancy-driven convection during time-dependent melting is investigated by using similarly transformed disturbance equations. The critical Darcy–Rayleigh numbers based on the melt-layer thickness, Ra _H,c, are found numerically for various conditions. For small superheats, the present predictions show that Ra _H,c is located between 27.1 and 4π ² and it approaches the well-known results of the original Horton–Rogers–Lapwood problem. However, for high superheats, it is dependent on the phase change rate λ and the relation of Ra _H,c λ = 25.89 is shown.     

Gas-dynamic spraying. An experimental study of the spraying process

We present results of an experimental study of the specific features of the gas-dynamic formation of coatings from metallic powders (d_p<50 μm) on substrates of various materials depending on the particle velocity (200–1200m/sec), the jet temperature (300–700K), and other parameters. Results of a prospecting study of the implementation of the methods of particle acceleration in supersonic (M=2.0–3.0) rectangular nozzles are described. The rate of bond formation in a cold particle-cold substrate contact occurring in gas-dynamic spraying is estimated within the framework of the concepts applied in analysis of gas-dynamic spraying. Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 182–188, March–Apil, 1998.     

Prediction of separation flows around a 6：1 prolate spheroid using RANS/LES hybrid approaches

This paper presents hybrid Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) and large-eddy-simulation (LES) methods for the separated flows at high angles of attack around a 6:1 prolate spheroid. The RANS/LES hybrid methods studied in this work include the detached eddy simulation (DES) based on Spalart–Allmaras (S–A), Menter’s k–ω shear-stress-transport (SST) and k–ω with weakly nonlinear eddy viscosity formulation (Wilcox–Durbin+, WD+) models and the zonal-RANS/LES methods based on the SST and WD+ models. The switch from RANS near the wall to LES in the core flow region is smooth through the implementation of a flow-dependent blending function for the zonal hybrid method. All the hybrid methods are designed to have a RANS mode for the attached flows and have a LES behavior for the separated flows. The main objective of this paper is to apply the hybrid methods for the high Reynolds number separated flows around prolate spheroid at high-incidences. A fourth-order central scheme with fourth-order artificial viscosity is applied for spatial differencing. The fully implicit lower–upper symmetric-Gauss–Seidel with pseudo time sub-iteration is taken as the temporal differentiation. Comparisons with available measurements are carried out for pressure distribution, skin friction, and profiles of velocity, etc. Reasonable agreement with the experiments, accounting for the effect on grids and fundamental turbulence models, is obtained for the separation flows. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10502030 and 90505005).     

Specific features of microparticle deformation upon impact on a rigid barrier

Based on experimental data and numerical modeling, it is shown that a lamina of melted metal of thickness of order0.01 d, in which the temperature is close to the melting point of the particle material, can be formed upon high-speed impact (v ₀≈500–1200 m/sec) of a fine metal particle (d=1–50 μm) on a rigid undeformable barrier near the contact surface. Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 204–209, January–February, 2000.     

Laminar-turbulent transition in the boundary layer on cones in a hypersonic flow at high Reynolds numbers per meter

The laminar-turbulent transition is experimentally studied in boundary-layer flows on cones with a rectangular axisymmetric step in the base part of the cone and without the step. The experiments are performed in an A-1 two-step piston-driven gas-dynamic facility with adiabatic compression of the working gas with Mach numbers at the nozzle exit M _∞ = 12–14 and pressures in the settling chamber P₀ = 60–600 MPa. These values of parameters allow obtaining Reynolds numbers per meter near the cone surface equal to Re _1e = (53–200) · 10⁶ m ⁻¹. The transition occurs at Reynolds numbers Re _tr = (2.3–5.7) · 10⁶. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 76–83, May–June, 2007.     

Reducibility Results for Quasiperiodic Cocycles With Liouvillean Frequency

We study the reducibility problems for quasiperiodic cocycles in linear Lie groups with one frequency, irrespective of any Diophantine condition on the base dynamics. Under a non-degeneracy condition, a positive measure diagonalizable result is obtained for quasiperiodic GL(d,\mathbb R){GL(d,\mathbb R)} cocycles which are close to constants. It generalizes previous works by Avila–Fayad–Krikorian and Hou–You, and our approach is based on periodic approximation and KAM schemes.     

Multibody Formulation with Large Bending Finite Elements (LBFE)

The goal of this paper is to present a flexible multibody formulation for Euler-Bernoulli beams involving large displacements. This method is based on a discretisation of internal and kinetic energies. The beam is represented by its line of centroids and each section is oriented by a frame defined by three Euler angles. We apply a finite element formulation to describe the evolution of these angles along the neutral fibre and describe the internal energy. The kinetic energy is approximated as the one of two rigid bars tangent to the neutral fibre at the ends of the beam. We derive the equations of motion from a Lagrange formulation. These equations are solved using the Newmark method or/and the Newton-Raphson technique. We solve some very classic problems taken from the literature as the curved beam presented by Simo [Simo, J. C., ‘A three-dimensional finite-strain rod model. the three-dimensional dynamic problem. Part I’, Comput. Meths. Appl. Mech. Engrg. 49, 1985, 55–70; Simo, J. C. and Vu-Quoc, L., ‘A three-dimensional finite-strain rod model, Part II: Computationals aspects’, Comput. Meths. Appl. Mech. Engrg. 58, 1988, 79–116] and Lee [Lee, Kisu, ‘Analysis of large displacements and large rotations of three-dimensional beams by using small strains and unit vectors’, Commun. Numer. Meth. Engrg. 13, 1997, 987–997] or the rotational rod presented by Avello [Avello, A., Garcia de Jalon, J., and Bayo, E., ‘Dynamics of flexible multibody systems using cartesian co-ordinates and large displacement theory’, Int. J. Num. Methods in Engineering 32, 1991, 1543–1563] and Simo [Simo, J. C. and Vu-Quoc, L., ‘On the dynamics of flexible beams under large overall motions – the planar case. Part I’ Jour. of Appl. Mech. 53, 1986, 849–854; Simo, J. C. and Vu-Quoc, L., ‘On the dynamics of flexible beams under large overall motions – the planar case. Part II’, Jour. of Appl. Mech. 53, 1986, 855–863].     

Aluminum Particles–air Detonation at Elevated Pressures

The effect of initial pressure on aluminum particles–air detonation was experimentally investigated in a 13 m long, 80 mm diameter tube for 100 nm and 2 μm spherical particles. While the 100 nm Al–air detonation propagates at 1 atm initial pressure in the tube, transition to the 2 μm aluminum–air detonation occurs only when the initial pressure is increased to 2.5 atm. The detonation wave manifests itself in a spinning wave structure. An increase in initial pressure increases the detonation sensitivity and reduces the detonation transition distance. Global analysis suggests that the tube diameter for single-head spinning detonation or characteristic detonation cell size would be proportional to (d ₀: aluminum particle size, p ₀: initial pressure). Its application to the experimental data results in m ~ O(1) and n ~ O(1) for 1 to 2 μm aluminum–air detonation, thus indicating a strong dependence on initial pressure and gas-phase kinetics for the aluminum reaction mechanism in detonation. Hence, combustion models based on the fuel droplet diffusion theory may not be adequate in describing micrometric aluminum–air detonation initiation, transition and propagation. For 2 μm aluminum–air mixtures at 2 atm initial pressure and below, experiments show a transition to a “dust quasi-detonation” that propagates quasi-steadily with a shock velocity deficit nearly 40% with respect to the theoretical C–J detonation value. The dust quasi- detonation wave can propagate in a tube with a diameter less than 0.4–0.5 times the diameter required for a spinning detonation wave.     

Stability for the 3D Navier–Stokes Equations with Nonzero far Field Velocity on Exterior Domains

Concerning to the non-stationary Navier–Stokes flow with a nonzero constant velocity at infinity, just a few results have been obtained, while most of the results are for the flow with the zero velocity at infinity. The temporal stability of stationary solutions for the Navier–Stokes flow with a nonzero constant velocity at infinity has been studied by Enomoto and Shibata (J Math Fluid Mech 7:339–367, 2005), in L ^p spaces for p ≥ 3. In this article, we first extend their result to the case \frac32 < p{\frac{3}{2} < p} by modifying the method in Bae and Jin (J Math Fluid Mech 10:423–433, 2008) that was used to obtain weighted estimates for the Navier–Stokes flow with the zero velocity at infinity. Then, by using our generalized temporal estimates we obtain the weighted stability of stationary solutions for the Navier–Stokes flow with a nonzero velocity at infinity.     

A Numerical Study Promoting Algebraic Models for the Lewis Number Effect in Atmospheric Turbulent Premixed Bunsen Flames

This numerical investigation carried out on turbulent lean premixed flames accounts for two algebraic – the Lindstedt–Vaos (LV) and the classic Bray–Moss–Libby (BML) – reaction rate models. Computed data from these two models is compared with the experimental data of Kobayashi et al. on 40 different methane, ethylene and propane Bunsen flames at 1 bar, where the mean flame cone angle is used for comparison. Both models gave reasonable qualitative trend for the whole set of data, in overall. In order to characterize quantitatively, firstly, corrections are made by tuning the model parameters fitting to the experimental methane–air (of Le = 1.0) flame data. In case of the LV model, results obtained by adjusting the pre-constant, i.e., reaction rate parameter, C_R, from its original value 2.6 to 4.0, has proven to be in good agreement with the experiments. Similarly, for the BML model, with the tuning of the exponent n, in the wrinkling length scale, L_y = C_l⋅ l_x(s_L/u′)ⁿ from value unity to 1.2, the outcome is in accordance with the measured data. The deviation between the measured and calculated data sharply rises from methane to propane, i.e., with increasing Lewis number. It is deduced from the trends that the effect of Lewis number (for ethylene–air mixtures of Le = 1.2 and propane–air mixtures of Le = 1.62) is missing in both the models. The Lewis number of the fuel–air mixture is related to the laminar flame instabilities. Second, in order to quantify for its influence, the Lewis number effect is induced into both the models. It is found that by setting global reaction rate inversely proportional to the Lewis number in both the cases leads to a much better numerical prediction to this set of experimental flame data. Thus, by imparting an important phenomenon (the Lewis number effect) into the reaction rates, the generality of the two models is enhanced. However, functionality of the two models differs in predicting flame brush thickness, giving scope for further analysis.     

The Onset of Darcy–Brinkman Electroconvection in a Dielectric Fluid Saturated Porous Layer

The combined effect of a vertical AC electric field and the boundaries on the onset of Darcy–Brinkman convection in a dielectric fluid saturated porous layer heated either from below or above is investigated using linear stability theory. The isothermal bounding surfaces of the porous layer are considered to be either rigid or free. It is established that the principle of exchange of stability is valid irrespective of the nature of velocity boundary conditions. The eigenvalue problem is solved exactly for free–free (F/F) boundaries and numerically using the Galerkin technique for rigid–rigid (R/R) and lower-rigid and upper-free (F/R) boundaries. It is observed that all the boundaries exhibit qualitatively similar results. The presence of electric field is emphasized on the stability of the system and it is shown that increasing the AC electric Rayleigh number R _ea is to facilitate the transfer of heat more effectively and to hasten the onset of Darcy–Brinkman convection. Whereas, increase in the ratio of viscosities Λ and the inverse Darcy number Da ⁻¹ is to delay the onset of Darcy–Brinkman electroconvection. Besides, increasing R _ea and Da ⁻¹ as well as decreasing Λ are to reduce the size of convection cells.     

Testing of Model Equations for the Mean Dissipation using Kolmogorov Flows

Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of Kolmogorov flows are performed at three different Reynolds numbers Re _λ between 110 and 190 by imposing a mean velocity profile in y-direction of the form U(y) = F sin(y) in a periodic box of volume (2π)³. After a few integral times the turbulent flow turns out to be statistically steady. Profiles of mean quantities are then obtained by averaging over planes at constant y. Based on these profiles two different model equations for the mean dissipation ε in the context of two-equation RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes) modelling of turbulence are compared to each other. The high Reynolds number version of the k-ε-model (Jones and Launder, Int J Heat Mass Transfer 15:301–314, 1972), to be called the standard model and a new model by Menter et al. (2006), to be called the Menter–Egorov model, are tested against the DNS results. Both models are solved numerically and it is found that the standard model does not provide a steady solution for the present case, while the Menter–Egorov model does. In addition a fairly good quantitative agreement of the model solution and the DNS data is found for the averaged profiles of the kinetic energy k and the dissipation ε. Furthermore, an analysis based on flow-inherent geometries, called dissipation elements (Wang and Peters, J Fluid Mech 608:113–138, 2008), is used to examine the Menter–Egorov ε model equation. An expression for the evolution of ε is derived by taking appropriate moments of the equation for the evolution of the probability density function (pdf) of the length of dissipation elements. A term-by-term comparison with the model equation allows a prediction of the constants, which with increasing Reynolds number approach the empirical values.     

Heat transfer by laminar flow in a vertical and horizontal pipe with twisted-tape inserts

 This article presents the results of laboratory research on heat exchange while heating water in horizontal and vertical tubes with twisted-tape inserts. The scope of the research: 70 ≤ Re ≤ 4000 3.6 ≤ Pr ≤ 5.9 8.6 ≤ Gz ≤ 540 The research was held for three cases: – horizontal experimental tube – vertical experimental tube, the direction of flow according to the free convection vector – vertical experimental tube, the direction of flow not in accordance with the free convection vector For such cases the correlation equation was defined Nu_T=f(Gz; y), Nu = f(Gz) and the proportion Nu_T/Nu was analysed. Received on 30 March 2000     

A numerical simulation of external heat transfer around turbine blades

External heat transfer prediction is performed in two-dimensional turbine blade cascades using the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations. For this purpose, six different turbulence models including the algebraic Baldwin–Lomax (AIAA paper 78-257, 1978), three low-Re k−ɛ models (Chien in AIAA J 20:33–38, 1982; Launder and Sharma in Lett Heat Mass Transf 1(2):131–138, 1974; Biswas and Fukuyama in J Turbomach 116:765–773, 1994), and two k−ω models (Wilcox in AIAA J 32(2):247–255, 1994) are taken into account. The computer code developed employs a finite volume method to solve governing equations based on an explicit time marching approach with capability to simulate subsonic, transonic and supersonic flows. The Roe method is used to decompose the inviscid fluxes and the gradient theorem to decompose viscous fluxes. The performance of different turbulence models in prediction of heat transfer is examined. To do so, the effect of Reynolds and Mach numbers along with the turbulent intensity are taken into account, and the numerical results obtained are compared with the experimental data available.     

Fokker–Planck Equations for a Free Energy Functional or Markov Process on a Graph

The classical Fokker–Planck equation is a linear parabolic equation which describes the time evolution of the probability distribution of a stochastic process defined on a Euclidean space. Corresponding to a stochastic process, there often exists a free energy functional which is defined on the space of probability distributions and is a linear combination of a potential and an entropy. In recent years, it has been shown that the Fokker–Planck equation is the gradient flow of the free energy functional defined on the Riemannian manifold of probability distributions whose inner product is generated by a 2-Wasserstein distance. In this paper, we consider analogous matters for a free energy functional or Markov process defined on a graph with a finite number of vertices and edges. If N ≧ 2 is the number of vertices of the graph, we show that the corresponding Fokker–Planck equation is a system of N nonlinear ordinary differential equations defined on a Riemannian manifold of probability distributions. However, in contrast to stochastic processes defined on Euclidean spaces, the situation is more subtle for discrete spaces. We have different choices for inner products on the space of probability distributions resulting in different Fokker–Planck equations for the same process. It is shown that there is a strong connection but there are also substantial discrepancies between the systems of ordinary differential equations and the classical Fokker–Planck equation on Euclidean spaces. Furthermore, both systems of ordinary differential equations are gradient flows for the same free energy functional defined on the Riemannian manifolds of probability distributions with different metrics. Some examples are also discussed.