Experiments on the unsteady nature of vortex breakdown over delta wings

 Vortex breakdown location over delta wings is not steady and exhibits fluctuations along the axis of the vortices. Experiments on the nature and source of these fluctuations were carried out. Spectral analysis and other statistical concepts were used to quantify the unsteady behaviour of vortex breakdown location obtained from flow visualization. The fluctuations consist of quasi-periodic oscillations and high-frequency low amplitude displacements. The quasi-periodic oscillations are due to an interaction between the vortices, which cause the antisymmetric motion of breakdown locations for left and right vortices. The oscillations are larger and more coherent as the time-averaged breakdown locations get closer to each other as angle of attack or sweep angle is varied. The frequency of this organized motion is much smaller than the frequency of any other known instabilities. On the other hand, the most probable frequency for the high-frequency small-amplitude fluctuations of breakdown location is in the same range as the frequency of Kelvin–Helmholtz instability of the separated shear layer. A mechanism for the interaction between the vortices causing the oscillations of breakdown location was proposed. When a splitter plate was placed in the symmetry plane of the wing, the large amplitude quasi-periodic oscillations of breakdown location were suppressed. Received: 10 March 1998 / Accepted: 27 October 1998     

Numerical Analysis of Laminar-Turbulent Transition in a Circular Pipe with Periodic Inflow Perturbations

The problem of the spatio-temporal evolution of perturbations introduced into the inlet cross-section of a circular pipe is solved numerically. The case of time-periodic inflow perturbations is considered for Re = 4000. It is shown that for relatively small inflow perturbations periodic flow regimes and for greater perturbations chaotic regimes are established.Periodic regimes the flow is a superposition of steady flow and a damped wave propagating downstream. The velocity profile of the steady component differs essentially from both the parabolic Poiseuille and developed turbulent flows and is strongly inhomogeneous in the angular direction. The angular distortion of the velocity profile is caused by longitudinal vortices developing as a result of the nonlinear interaction of inflow perturbations.Chaotic flow regimes develop when the amplitude of the inflow perturbations exceeds a certain threshold level. Stochastic high-frequency pulsations appear after the formation of longitudinal vortices in the regions of maximum angular gradient of the axial velocity. In the downstream part of the flow, remote from the transition region, the developed turbulent regime is formed. The distributions of all the statistical moments along the pipe level off and approach the values measured experimentally and calculated numerically for developed turbulent flows.     

A study of the vibration of a horizontal U-bend subjected to an internal upwards flowing air–water mixture

U-bends are a common geometry in heat exchangers. In this paper, a U-bend in the vertical plane connected to horizontal straight pipes is considered. An initially stratified water/air flow moves upwards against gravity. The aim of this research is to investigate the internal flow profile and resulting force when the U-bend is subjected to a stratified air–water flow at the inlet. This is done numerically, i.e. by solving the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations. For low mass flow rates, large gas bubbles are naturally formed at the entrance of the bend. The transient force on the tube allows to determine precisely the time instants of bubble initiation and thus to quantify the bubble frequency. Firstly, the tube is assumed to be rigid and the dependence of force oscillation on the inlet conditions is investigated. Secondly, the influence of the viscosity, wall wetting and the mass flow rate is analyzed. Finally, a fluid–structure interaction calculation is performed in order to quantify the vibration characteristics of the tube.     

Physics of forced unsteady flow for a NACA 0015 airfoil undergoing constant-rate pitch-up motion*

The unsteady Navier-Stokes (NS) analysis of Osswald, Ghia and Ghia in velocity-vorticity variables is modified to study the dynamic stall phenomenon for a NACA 0015 airfoil undergoing constant Ω₀ pitch-up maneuvers at Reynolds number Re =10 000 and 45000. The use of third-order accurate biased upwind differencing for the nonlinear convective terms in the vorticity transport equation removes the spurious oscillations observed in the earlier studies by the authors for these values of Re. The fully implicit and vectorized ADI-BGE method of the authors is used to solve the unsteady NS equations. Instantaneous inertial surface vorticity, which is an invariant of the choice of reference frame selected, is employed to determine the location of separation of the boundary-layer flow on the suction surface; also a separation bubble embedded within the boundary layer is observed for both cases somewhere between the leading edge and the quarter-chord point. Primary, secondary, tertiary and quarternary vortices have been observed before the dynamic-stall vortex evolves and gathers its maximum strength.     

The steady streaming generated by a vibrating plate parallel to a fixed plate in a dusty fluid

A viscous dusty fluid between two parallel plates, when the top plate is performing both normal and lateral small translatory oscillations, is considered. The unsteady Navier-Stokes equations are solved using the perturbation method. It is observed that nonlinear Reynolds stress introduces a secondary steady streaming. Normal oscillations induce a steady lift while the interaction between normal and lateral oscillations causes a directional net flux. The system thus is seen to be operating as a valveness pump with rigid walls. The presence of dust particles has accelerated the rate of increase of the lift forces. Net pumping is computed for both the fluid and the dust, and certain significant conclusions are drawn for the case Re = 1.     

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.     

On swirl development in a square cross-sectioned, S-shaped duct

The flow in a uniform square cross-sectioned, S-shaped duct was investigated experimentally, at Reynolds number (Re) = 4.73 × 10⁴ and 1.47 × 10⁵, using three S-ducts of different curvature and turning angle. The hydraulic diameter (D) for each S-duct is 150 mm. Besides studying the square cross-sectioned S-duct flow at moderately higher Re than current literature, the S-ducts’ geometry used in this study also have larger curvatures and higher turning angles than those reported in the literature. With surface pressure measurement and smoke wire flow visualization, flow separation at the inside wall of the first bend was detected. Using surface oil flow visualization on the bottom wall of the S-duct and cross-wires measurement at the duct exit, it is shown here that the swirl developed in the first bend was partly attenuated in the second bend due to the formation of swirl of opposite direction. The swirl of an opposite sign results in the formation of a clear dividing or separation line on the bottom wall (and top wall) of the duct. Additional flow features include the formation of streamwise vortices on the outer-wall of the second bend. These streamwise vortices can either be a pair of counter-rotating vortices or a single vortex. The formation mechanism of these streamwise vortices is explained using the Squire and Winter [J Aeronaut Sci 18(4):271–277, 1951] formula and it is shown that the said mechanism is applicable to both Re in the present study.     

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.     

圆柱绕流流场结构的大涡模拟研究

为进一步揭示绕流现象的形成机理,本文分别对处于层流稳态区、尾流过渡区、剪切层转换区Re分别为26、200、1.4×105的三种典型流态下的单圆柱绕流进行了二维数值模拟研究。Re为26时应用层流模型直接求解N-S方程,而Re分别为200、1.4×105时使用大涡模拟的方法进行计算。数值模拟很好地再现了稳定的涡旋结构、周期性交替脱落的卡门涡街结构、不规则的涡旋结构,在此基础上分析了尾流结构的基本特征及其压强分布规律、平均的流场特性、积分参数(如升力系数、阻力系数、斯特劳哈尔等),并与有关研究成果进行了对比。研究发现,采用不同流动介质时流场特性有所差异,空气为介质时的计算结果更符合实验的成果,而水为介质时计算结果偏差较大,这主要是由尾流涡旋产生的不合理负压造成的。     

Steady Flows in an Oscillating Spheroidal Cavity with Elastic Wall

The steady flow arising in a spheroidal cavity with periodically-deformed elastic wall is studied experimentally. It is found that average flows whose intensities and structures depend on the wall oscillation frequency and amplitude can develop in the fluid. The average flow is generated in the Stokes boundary layer whose relative thickness is characterized by the dimensionless frequency of the vibrational action. Flow in the form of a pair of toroidal vortices which occupy the entire cavity volume can be observed over the range of low dimensionless frequencies when the boundary layer thickness is comparable with the characteristic cavity dimension. Increase in the dimensionless frequency (decrease in the relative thickness of the Stokes layers) leads to a displacement of the primary vortices towards the cavity boundary. In this case secondary vortices with opposite swirling are formed in the central part of the cavity above the primary vortices. The further increase in the dimensionless frequency leads to development of the secondary vortices and growth of the flow intensity. The large-scale secondary vortices occupy almost the entire cavity volume over the range of high dimensionless frequencies. The dependences of the regimes of average flows and their intensities on the control dimensionless parameters, the oscillation amplitude and frequency, are found on the basis of the results of the investigation.     

Periodic and quasiperiodic galloping of a wind-excited tower under external excitation

The galloping of tall structures excited by steady and unsteady wind may be periodic or quasiperiodic (QP) with amplitudes having the same order of magnitude. While the onset of periodic and QP galloping was studied, their control on the other hand has received less attention. In this paper, we conduct analytical study on the effect of a fast harmonic excitation on the onset of periodic and QP galloping in the presence of steady and unsteady wind. We consider the cases where the unsteady wind activates either external excitation, parametric one or both. A perturbation analysis is performed to obtain close expressions of QP solution and the corresponding modulation envelopes. We show that at various loading situations, the periodic and QP galloping onset is significantly influenced by the amplitude of the fast external excitation. In the case where the unsteady wind activates parametric excitation, the QP galloping occurs with higher frequency modulation compared to the case where the unsteady wind activates external excitation. In the case where external and parametric excitations are activated simultaneously, fast harmonic excitation eliminates bistability in the amplitude response and gives rise to a new small QP modulation envelope.     

Control of Combustion Oscillations Close to Stoichiometry

The oscillations that occur in ducted plane and round sudden-expansions with combustion of premixed air and methane have been examined for flow conditions which gave rise to large amplitudes corresponding to half-waves. They were present above a minimum flow rate and in a range of equivalence ratios that increased slightly with flow rate and centred around stoichiometry. The periodic roll-up, growth and collapse of combusting vortices downstream of the plane expansion was examined in terms of chemiluminescence images and velocity and temperature measurements synchronised with the pressure oscillation. The periodic heat release and pressure fluctuations were shown to be in phase close to the geometric axis, with the oscillations driven in this region, so that local perturbations were likely to have greatest effect when introduced there. The pressure signals in both ducts were similar so that the flow in the round duct was expected to behave in the same way and, a stream of pulsed methane was thus best able to modify the oscillations when introduced on the axis and close to the expansion plane. Low-frequency oscillations tended to modulate the half-wave with effects that increased with flow rate and, therefore, heat release rate, and stemmed from a combination of the bulk-mode resonance of the upstream cavity and high strain rate in the vicinity of the expansion. The amplitudes of the oscillations in the round duct were controlled by imposing oscillations on the pressure field and heat release at a phase or frequency different from that of the combustion oscillations. Both approaches led to substantial reduction in the amplitude of oscillations at low flow rates, when the modulations were small, but the effectiveness of control deteriorated sharply at the higher flow rates. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Unsteady phenomena of an oscillating turbulent jet flow inside a cavity: Effect of aspect ratio

Self-sustained oscillatory phenomena in confined flow may occur when a turbulent plane jet is discharging into a rectangular cavity. An experimental set-up was developed and the flow analysis has been made using mainly hot-wire measurements, which were complemented by visualisation data. Previous studies confirmed that periodic oscillations may occur, depending on the location of the jet exit nozzle inside the cavity, and also the distance between the side-walls. The present study deals with the symmetrical interaction between a turbulent plane jet and a rectangular cavity and the influence of the geometrical characteristics of the cavity on the oscillatory motion. The size and aspect ratio of the cavity were varied together with the jet width compared to that of the cavity. The study is carried out both numerically and experimentally. The numerical method solves the unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes equations (URANS) together with the continuity equation for an incompressible fluid. The closure of the flow equations system is achieved using a two-scale energy-flux model at high Reynolds number in the core flow coupled with a wall function treatment in the vicinity of the wall boundaries. The fundamental frequency of the oscillatory flow was found to be practically independent of the cavity length. Moreover, the oscillations are attenuated as the cavity width increases, until they disappear for a critical value of the cavity width. Contour maps of the instantaneous flow field are drawn to show the flow pattern evolution at the main phases of oscillation. They are given for several aspect ratios of the cavity, keeping constant values for the cavity width and the jet thickness. The proposed approach may help to investigate further the oscillation mechanisms and the entrainment process occurring in pressure driven jet–cavity interactions.     

On the mechanism of turbulence suppression by spanwise surface oscillations

The attenuation of turbulent pulsations in near-wall flows by means of spanwise periodic surface oscillation is examined. A direct numerical simulation of the flow in a circular pipe with imposed rotational oscillations has shown that for Re=4000 and the optimal oscillation frequency, the degree of turbulence attenuation increases with increase in the oscillation amplitude until the flow relaminarizes. The estimated optimal frequency ω⁺=0.06. The results of applying the theory of the development of near-wall coherent structures agree qualitatively with those of numerical simulation. It is concluded that the intensity of the pulsations is reduced because the spanwise movements weaken the longitudinal vortices which cause turbulent bursts in near-wall flows. Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 2, pp. 37–44, March–April, 2000. The research was carried out with financial support from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project No. 99-01-01095).     

Modeling the flow past an oscillating airfoil by the method of viscous vortex domains

The Lagrangian vortex method for solving the Navier-Stokes equations is applied for numerically modeling the unsteady flow past a wing airfoil executing angular oscillations in a viscous incompressible flow. Formulas relating the unsteady forces on the airfoil and the vorticity field are derived. The calculated results are compared with the experimental data for the NACA-0012 airfoil executing harmonic oscillations in an air flow at the Reynolds number Re = 4.4 × 10⁴.     

外部激励Stuart-Landau模型的数值研究

将非线性常微分方程组周期解的求解看作一个边值问题 ,运用Newton迭代构造求解这组方程的数值方法。利用上述方法求得了激励Stuart Landau方程的周期解 ,研究了圆柱振动对圆柱后Karman涡街的抑制现象 ,和振动的频率锁定现象 ,证明了激励Stuart Landau方程描写钝体尾迹动力系统的有效性     

URANS vs. experiments of flow induced motions of multiple circular cylinders with passive turbulence control

Two-dimensional Unsteady Reynolds-Average Navier–Stokes equations with the Spalart–Allmaras turbulence model are used to simulate the flow induced motions of multiple circular cylinders with passive turbulence control (PTC) in steady uniform flow. Four configurations with 1, 2, 3, and 4 cylinders in tandem are simulated and studied at a series of Reynolds numbers in the range of 30 000<Re<120 000. Simulation results are verified by experimental data measured in the Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory. Good agreement was observed between the values of vorticity, amplitude ratio, and frequency ratio predicted by numerical simulations and experimental measurements. The amplitude and frequency response show the initial and upper branches in vortex induced vibration (VIV), transition from VIV to galloping, and galloping branch for all PTC-cylinders. The maximum amplitude of 2.9 diameters for the first cylinder is achieved at Re=104 356 in the numerical results. Compared with the first cylinder, the VIV initial branch starts at higher Re for the downstream cylinders due to the presence of the upstream cylinder(s). 2P and 2P+2S vortex patterns are observed at Re=62 049 and Re=90 254 for the single PTC-cylinder. Furthermore, the shed vortices of the downstream cylinders are strongly disrupted and modified by the vortices shed from the upstream one in the cases of multiple PTC-cylinders.     

Unsteady Simulation of a Jet-in-crossflow

The present work represents the first attempt at studying the unsteadiness of jet-in-crossflows using the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. In the past, numerical studies of jet-in-crossflows, with the exception of the few attempts of DNS and LES. are always carried out under the assumption that the flowfield is steady and symmetric about the jet center plane. Growing experimental evidence suggests that this flow is unsteady and periodic. The present work verified the existence of periodicity in jet-in-crossflows numerically. The numerically predicted Slrouhal number is in good agreement with experimental observations. In addition, the present simulation of the jet-in-crossflow were able to resolve the details of flow structures such as the oscillating wake structures, the jet shear-layer vortices, and the counter-rotating vortex pairs.     

Dynamic Effects Accompanying the Flow Past Oscillating Bodies Mounted with a Narrow Clearance in Pipes

The unsteady and steady flow past a sphere mounted with a very narrow clearance in a cylindrical pipe is experimentally investigated. The unsteady flow is studied for the case of regular transverse self-oscillations of the sphere accompanied by its impact interaction with the pipe wall. In the steady flow regime the center of the sphere is fixed on the pipe axis. The dependence of the local resistance due to the presence of the sphere and of the body drag coefficient on the relevant dimensionless parameters is determined. The dynamic characteristics for the steady and unsteady regimes are compared.     

The effect of the slip condition on Stokes and Couette flows due to an oscillating wall: exact solutions

Stokes and Couette flows produced by an oscillatory motion of a wall are analyzed under conditions where the no-slip assumption between the wall and the fluid is no longer valid. The motion of the wall is assumed to have a generic sinusoidal behavior. The exact solutions include both steady periodic and transient velocity profiles. It is found that slip conditions between the wall and the fluid produces lower amplitudes of oscillations in the flow near the oscillating wall than when no-slip assumption is utilized. Further, the relative velocity between the fluid layer at the wall and the speed of the wall is found to overshoot at a specific oscillating slip parameter or vibrational Reynolds number at certain times. In addition, it is found that wall slip reduces the transient velocity for Stokes flow while minimum transient effects for Couette flow is achieved only for large and small values of the wall slip coefficient and the gap thickness, respectively. The time needed to reach to steady periodic Stokes flow due to sine oscillations is greater than that for cosine oscillations with both wall slip and no-slip conditions.