Velocity measurements of turbulence collapse in a linearly stratified jet

The behavior of a horizontal turbulent round jet␣in a linearly density-stratified fluid is studied and compared to the unstratified case using digital particle-tracking velocimetry (DPTV). Close to the nozzle, the stratified jet grows axisymmetrically at the same rate as an unstratified jet. At a critical distance downstream, the vertical growth is suppressed, while the lateral spreading increases. The self-similar nature of unstratified round jets is not preserved in the stratified case. The velocity field and turbulent stresses are affected by the stratification closer to the jet nozzle than is expected from the flow visualization observations. In particular, the vertical normal stress and shear stress are significantly reduced compared to the unstratified case. Received: 11 September 2000/Accepted: 28 March 2001     

A new cruciform burner and its turbulence measurements for premixed turbulent combustion study

A new turbulent flow system is proposed for the study of premixed turbulent combustion processes. This cruciform burner consists of two cylindrical vessels. The long vertical vessel can provide a stable downward propagating premixed-flame at one atmosphere. The horizontal vessel was equipped with a pair of motor-driven fans and perforated plates at each end. The fans can generate two intense counter-rotating large vortical streams with controllable fan frequency up to 7620 rpm. It was found that an approximately isotropic stationary turbulence with large turbulent intensities (greater than 450 cm/s) located in the core region between two perforated plates can be generated, as verified by extensive LDV measurements. In that mean velocities are nearly zero, turbulent intensities in all three directions are roughly equal, and the energy spectrum has a −5/3 slope, indicating that the turbulence has some properties of isotropic turbulence. Other parameters of interest, such as the autocorrelation, the integral length scale, and the experimental uncertainties are also reported for the first time. The present turbulence generator can be conveniently adopted for many experimental studies, such as gaseous premixed flames propagation and particle settling in nearly isotropic turbulence.     

Pseudo turbulence in PIV breaking-wave measurements

 The particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique was employed to measure the instantaneous velocity distribution under nonbreaking and breaking water waves. The corresponding turbulence intensity was calculated by the ensemble average of repeated measurements. The pseudo turbulence found was large enough to affect the accuracy of the turbulence measurements. We follow Prasad et al.'s (1992) approach to demonstrate that the pseudo turbulence is related to the bias error, which is the discrepancy between the true position of the particle image and the position calculated from the pixel array data with inadequate pixel resolution. To reduce the bias error (or the pseudo turbulence), we first calculate it from a turbulence-free flow with the same experimental set-up as that used for the targeted experiments (i.e., we use the same size of field of view, seeding particles, seeding density, lens aperture, and laser wavelength in both experiments). Then we minimize the bias error from the turbulence measurements in the actual experiments. To demonstrate the procedure, the evolution of a breaking wave is investigated. Received: 30 January 1998/Accepted: 28 October 1999     

Computer simulation of turbulence in internal combustion engines

The paper presents two- and three-dimensional computations of the in-cylinder turbulent flow in a diesel engine. The mathematical formulation is presented first, with emphasis on the modifications made to the standard k-ε model of turbulence, to account for rapid compression/expansion, and on the k-w model also used in the computations. Then, the results of two-and three-dimensional transient calculations are presented and compared with experimental data. It is realized that two-dimensional computations may be of little value to real engines, which would probably require three-dimensional analyses. However, two-dimensional studies are still useful in allowing the testing of new ideas easily and economically. It is concluded that the standard k-ε model may lead to poor predictions when used for internal combustion (IC) engine simulations, and that the modified model leads to more reasonable length-scale distributions, and it improves significantly the overall agreement of velocity predictions with experiment. The effect of the k-ε modification is apparent in both the two- and three-dimensional simulations. It is also demonstrated that the k-w model provides better turbulence predictions than the unmodified k-ε model, for the cases considered, and that a similar modification of the k-w model, to account for rapid compression/expansion, might improve its predictions even further.     

Transverse velocity and temperature derivative measurements in grid turbulence

The same probe, comprising two parallel wires, is used to measure either velocity or temperature derivatives in shearless grid turbulence at a Taylor microscale Reynolds number of about 40. The aerodynamic interference of the probe affects the mean velocity when the transverse separation jy between the wires is smaller than about 3m, where m (ۂ.4 mm for the present experiments) is the Kolmogorov length scale, but not the mean temperature. Spectra and corresponding moments of transverse velocity and temperature derivatives are significantly but similarly affected when jyh3m, thus suggesting that this effect is more likely to be caused by electronic noise than aerodynamic interference. Indeed, after noise corrections are applied, the resulting derivative variances are brought into alignment with values inferred from two-point correlations with respect to y. Transverse derivative variances and their corresponding spectra satisfy isotropy closely but second-order structure functions satisfy it only when the separation is less than about 10m, i.e. the dissipative range scales.     

High-intensity turbulence measurements in a Taylor-Couette flow reactor

Turbulence-intensity measurements were made in a Taylor-Couette flow reactor consisting of two counter-rotating concentric cylinders designed for the purpose of studying turbulent premixed-flame propagation. In the annulus separating the two cylinders, a nearly homogeneous turbulent flow is generated. The intensities of turbulent velocity fluctuations in the annulus in both axial and circumferential directions were measured by using laser-Doppler velocimetry for a wide range of cylinder rotation rates, corresponding to low through high (120 cm/s) intensities relative to typical laminar flame speeds for lean methane-air mixtures. The experimental measurements indicate a linear relation between turbulence intensities and average cylinder surface speed and demonstrate the usefulness of the Taylor-Couette apparatus for studies of premixed-flame propagation in high-intensity turbulent flow.     

Velocity derivative skewness in isotropic turbulence and its measurement with hot wires

We investigate the effect of the hot wire resolution on the measurement of the velocity derivative skewness in homogeneous isotropic turbulence. Single- and cross-wire configurations (with different lengths and separations of the wires, and temporal sampling resolution) are considered. Predictions of the attenuation on the basis of a model for the energy spectrum are compared to experimental and numerical data in grid and box turbulence, respectively. It is shown that the model-based correction is accurate for the single wire but not for the cross-wire. In the latter case, the effect of the separation between the wires is opposite to that found in the experiments and simulations. Moreover, the attenuation predicted by the numerical data is in good agreement with that observed in the experiment. For both probe configurations, the sampling resolution has a sizeable attenuation effect, but, for the X-probe, the impact of the separation between the wires is more important. In both cases, the length of the wires has only a minor effect, in the non-dimensional range of wire length investigated. Finally, the present experimental data support the conclusion that the skewness is constant with the Reynolds number, in agreement with Kolmogorov’s 41 theory.

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Velocity measurements in a two-phase turbulent jet

The motion of oil droplets in a round turbulent air jet is investigated experimentally. Direct information on the droplets' average velocity is obtained by means of a Laser Doppler velocimeter. Average velocity profiles of the droplets are measured along the axis of the jet and transverse to it. The results are compared to the free jet expansion.The jet Reynolds number is in the range 10⁴–10⁵, the droplets' diameters are 50 μm and below and the volume concentration of the oil in the air is 10^?6.At the jet exit, the air velocity is higher than the droplets' velocity, at the developed region of the jet the droplets' velocity is found to be higher than the free air jet velocity at the same location. In the radial direction, the velocity profiles of the droplets are self similar and the droplets' velocity is lower than the free air jet velocity at the same location. The droplets' velocity decay along the axis of the jet is slower than the air velocity in the free jet and the two-phase jet is narrower than the submerged free air jet at the same exit velocity.     

Velocity and concentration measurements in a model diesel engine

Laser Doppler anemometry and Rayleigh scattering have been used to quantify the velocity and concentration fields after the start of injection in a model diesel engine motored at 200 rpm in the absence of compression. Fuel injection was simulated by a transient jet of vapour Freon-12 initiated at 40 degrees before top-dead-centre through a nozzle incorporated into the centre of a permanently open intake valve. Swirl was induced by means of 60 degree vanes located in the inlet, port. The piston configurations comprised a flat and a re-entrant piston-bowl.The results indicate that for the two nozzle geometries investigated the mass flux decays faster than momentum with nearly constant decay rates along the centreline. The nozzle with the larger exit diameter and wider jet angle gave rise to slower decay of both mass and momentum with associated lower velocity and concentration fluctuations.List of symbols D ₀ nozzle diameter - r radial coordinate - mean axial velocity - mean axial velocity at the centreline - ₀ mean axial velocity at the nozzle exit - rms of axial velocity fluctuations - mean concentration (mole fraction) - mean concentration at the nozzle exit - rms of concentration fluctuations - x axial coordinate A version of this paper was presented at the ASME Winter Annual Meeting of 1984 and printed in AMD, Vol. 66     

Velocity and surface pressure measurements in an open cavity

Subsonic flow of approximately Mach 0.2 over cavities with L/D ratios of 5.16 and 1.49 were studied experimentally using particle image velocimetry (PIV), surface pressure measurements, and hot-wire measurements. The incoming boundary layer was turbulent in both cases. The PIV data was analyzed to yield mean flow characteristics, vorticity field information, and two-point statistics for the velocity field. The hot-wire data was combined with surface pressure measurements to detail the correlations between velocity and pressure fluctuations. An analysis of the correlation between surface pressure measurements shows contrasting characteristics for the two cavity aspect ratios. The PIV data was combined with surface pressure measurements through the application of quadratic stochastic estimation to predict the time-dependent behavior of the velocity field. An examination of the results supports the existence of different cavity flow modes, as has been suggested in much of the literature.     

Noncircular jets in combustion systems

Combustion dynamics of burners with corners were studied using Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) imaging. The effect of sharp corners on the air flow dynamics, shown earlier in cold flow tests, was also found in the reacting flow of a flame. The sharp corners interrupted the coherent structures generated in an axisymmetric shear flow. The combustion at the flat sections of the flame occurred in periodic, coherent large scale structures but was continuous and homogeneous in the vertices sections. The azimuthal structure of the noncircular flame changed in a pattern similar to that found in nonreacting flows. Combined regions of small- and large-scale mixing in the same flow, a unique feature of burners having sharp corners, is beneficial for combustion applications.     

Hot-wire spatial resolution effects in measurements of grid-generated turbulence

We use grid-generated turbulence as a benchmark flow to test the effects of spatial resolution on turbulence measurements with hot wires. To quantify the spatial filtering, measurements of the turbulence statistics and spectra downstream of the grid were made using hot wires of varying length and compared to the results from a new nanoscale thermal anemometry probe, which has a sensing length of the order of, or smaller than, the Kolmogorov scale. In order to separate the effects of temporal and spatial filtering, a study was performed to ensure that the data were free of the artifacts of temporal filtering so that differences in the measurements could be wholly attributed to spatial filtering. An empirical correlation for the attenuation of the streamwise Reynolds stress due to spatial filtering is constructed, and it is shown that these grid turbulence results relate directly to the near-wall region of wall-bounded flows, where the effects of spatial filtering are most acutely felt. The effect of spatial filtering on the streamwise spectrum function is observed to extend to almost all wavenumbers, even those significantly lower than the length of the hot wire itself. It is also shown that estimates of the Kolmogorov scale are affected by spatial filtering when wires longer than the Kolmogorov length are used.     

Velocity field measurements of cavitating flows

A particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system has been developed to study the microfluid mechanics of cavitating flows. Planar PIV was used to examine the non-cavitating flow in the thin boundary layer near a hydrofoil surface for the cases of a naturally developing boundary layer and a boundary layer stimulated to turbulence by roughness near the foil leading edge. PIV was also used to examine the flow near the surface of individual cavitation bubbles and incipient attached cavitation. A system was devised to create a single nucleus in the flow upstream of a hydrofoil, and planar PIV was used to study the flow around the resulting traveling cavitation bubble. Velocity vectors were determined close to the solid surfaces and the gas/liquid interfaces of the bubbles. Seeding of the flow with particles did not result in the addition of active cavitation nuclei.     

Electromagnetic methods of turbulence measurements — shortcomings and advantage

Two major electromagnetic methods of turbulence measurements are discussed. Both methods are based on the measurement of the electrical field induced by the fluid motion in the presence of a magnetic field. In the first method a multielectrode potential difference probe (PDP) is used in the presence of an external magnetic field, while in the second one the source of the magnetic field is incorporated in the probe itself and the magnetic field is strongly localized around the probe. Shortcomings and advantages of both methods are discussed along with recent developments.This paper was presented at the 10th Symposium on Turbulence, University of Missouri-Rolla, Sept. 22–24, 1986.