Plasma Streamwise Vortex Generators for Flow Separation Control on Trucks

An experimental study of the effect of Dielectric Barrier Discharge plasma actuators on the flow separation on the A-pillar of a modern truck under cross-wind conditions has been carried out. The experiments were done in a wind tunnel with a 1:6 scale model of a tractor-trailer combination. The actuators were used as vortex generators positioned on the A-pillar on the leeward side of the tractor and the drag force was measured with a wind-tunnel balance. The results show that the effect at the largest yaw angle (9 degrees) can give a drag reduction of about 20% and that it results in a net power reduction. At lower yaw angles the reduction was smaller. The present results were obtained at a lower Reynolds number and a lower speed than for real driving conditions so it is still not yet confirmed if a similar positive result can be obtained in full scale.     

Experimental Investigation of Three-Dimensional Vortex Structures Downstream of Vortex Generators Over a Backward-Facing Step

An experimental investigation of vortex generators has been carried out in turbulent backward-facing step (BFS) flow. The Reynolds number, based on a freestream velocity U₀ = 10 m/s and a step height h = 30 mm, was Re_h = 2.0 × 10⁴. Low-profile wedge-type vortex generators (VGs) were implemented on the horizontal surface upstream of the step. High-resolution planar particle image velocimetry (2D-2C PIV) was used to measure the separated shear layer, recirculation region and reattachment area downstream of the BFS in a single field of view. Besides, time-resolved tomographic particle image velocimetry (TR-Tomo-PIV) was also employed to measure the flow flied of the turbulent shear layer downstream of the BFS within a three-dimensional volume of 50 × 50 × 10 mm³ at a sampling frequency of 1 kHz. The flow control result shows that time-averaged reattachment length downstream of the BFS is reduced by 29.1 % due to the application of the VGs. Meanwhile, the Reynolds shear stress downstream of the VGs is considerably increased. Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) and Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) have been applied to the 3D velocity vector fields to analyze the complex vortex structures in the spatial and temporal approaches, respectively. A coherent bandwidth of Strouhal number 0.3 < St_h < 0.6 is found in the VG-induced vortices, and moreover, Λ-shaped three-dimensional vortex structures at St_h = 0.37 are revealed in the energy and dynamic approaches complementarily.     

Shock-Induced Borehole Waves and Fracture Effects

We perform wave experiments using a vertical shock tube setup. Shock waves are generated by the rupture of a thin membrane. In the test section the incident pressure waves generate borehole-guided waves along water-saturated samples. The tube is equipped with side wall gages and a mobile pressure probe, so that the attenuation and reflection of the wave can be measured. The computation for a single horizontal fracture intersecting a vertical borehole gives a quantitative prediction of reflection and transmission of borehole-guided waves. Three different fracture apertures are used for the calculation. Fracture aperture significantly affects both reflection and transmission coefficients. Large fractures increase reflectivity and decrease transmissivity. In the experiment, we found that both pressures above and below the fracture are influenced by the fracture aperture indeed, thus indicating the potential for fracture detection by borehole waves.     

Shock-Induced Borehole Waves and Fracture Effects

We perform wave experiments using a vertical shock tube setup. Shock waves are generated by the rupture of a thin membrane. In the test section, the incident pressure waves generate borehole-guided waves along water-saturated samples. The tube is equipped with side wall gages and a mobile pressure probe, so that the attenuation and reflection of the wave can be measured. The computation for a single horizontal fracture intersecting a vertical borehole gives a quantitative prediction of reflection and transmission of borehole-guided waves. Three different fracture apertures are used for the calculation. Fracture aperture significantly affects both reflection and transmission coefficients. Large fractures increase reflectivity and decrease transmissivity. In the experiment, we found that both pressures above and below the fracture are influenced by the fracture aperture indeed, thus indicating the potential for fracture detection by borehole waves.     

Effect of Vortex Generators on the Aerodynamic Performance of High-Speed Trains

Flow, Turbulence and Combustion - A vortex generator (VG) can effectively prevent the airflow from separating prematurely and transfer the energy to the low-energy airflow at the bottom of the...     

The Flow Structure Produced by Pulsed-jet Vortex Generators in a Turbulent Boundary Layer in an Adverse Pressure Gradient

The effect of pulsed jet vortex generators on the structure of an adverse pressure gradient turbulent boundary layer flow was investigated. Two geometrically optimised vortex generator configurations were used, co-rotating and counter-rotating. The duty cycle and pulse frequency were both varied and measurements of the skin friction (using hot films) and flow structure (using stereo PIV) were performed downstream of the actuators. The augmentation of the mean wall shear stress was found to be dependent on the net mass flow injected by the actuators. A quasi steady flow structure was found to develop far downstream of the injection location for the highest pulse frequency tested. The actuator near field flow structure was observed to respond very quickly to variations in the jet exit velocity.     

微型射流涡流器对湍流边界层控制的数值研究

运用数值方法,模拟出展向分布的同向倾斜微型射流列与平板湍流边界层相互作用形成流向涡列的流场结构,验证了利用其来对湍流边界层进行控制的可能性.随射流间距减小,流向涡列控制作用流向渗透能力增强,但作用区域减小;随射流速度提高,流向涡列控制作用增强,但过大的射流速度反而会导致流向涡列在局部区域内控制作用的下降;随射流俯仰角减小、倾斜角增大,流向涡列初始控制作用增强,但过小的俯仰角、过大的倾斜角会导致流向涡列流向控制区域明显缩小.要保证流向涡列具有较强的湍流边界层控制作用,必须通过合理配置射流列各主要参数,在保证各流向涡具有一定强度的同时,还要确保各流向涡在形成时部分嵌入边界层内部.     

Optimal Control of a Vortex Trapped by an Airfoil with a Cavity

An airfoil with a cavity traps a vortex; the lift increases but the vortex shows great receptivity to upstream disturbances. A simple potential flow model confirms that the vortex stability basin is of a reduced extent. In this paper we present a control technique stabilizing the vortex position based on a potential flow model. The actuators are sources/sinks at the wall and the suction/blowing law is obtained by the adjoint optimization method. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Steady Vortex Ring with Isochronous Flow in the Vortex Core

Steady-state solutions to the problem of a thin vortex ring in an inviscid incompressible fluid in infinite space are investigated. The Fraenkel procedure is used to construct the steady-state solutions. In this procedure a given vorticity distribution in plane flow with circular streamlines is transformed into a steady vortex ring using an expansion in the ring thinness parameter. For example, a two-dimensional vortex of constant vorticity is transformed into a steady vortex ring with the uniform distribution in which the absolute value of vorticity is proportional to the distance from the axis of symmetry. The principal aim of our study is to construct the algorithm of finding the flow for an isochronous vortex ring in which the periods of revolution are the same for all the liquid particles in the vortex core. The problem is that the two-dimensional distribution which goes over in the isochronous ring in accordance with the Fraenkel procedure is unknown in advance. In particular, the ring with the uniform distribution is not isochronous despite the isochronism of the initial two-dimensional flow. In this connection the Fraenkel procedure is significantly modified so that the initial two-dimensional vorticity distribution is determined in each of the steps of the iteration procedure. The solution for the vortex ring with the uniform distribution obtained in the present study is significantly used to construct the isochronous solution. The necessary corrections to the former solution are calculated in each step. Obtaining of the isochronous flow is the key step for the investigation of stability of three-dimensional oscillations of the vortex ring since the oscillation spectrum of this flow is discrete.     

多障碍物通道中激波诱导气相爆轰的数值研究

应用数值模拟方法,研究了直通道中激波经过多块矩形障碍物时诱导 H2/O2混合气体起爆的物理机制. 研究表明：在前导激波强度不足以诱导波后气 体直接起爆的条件下,经过激波压缩的可燃气体也可能在远离激波的障碍物之间的凹槽部位 起爆;障碍物表面产生的压缩波、膨胀波和气流滑移面对可燃气体的起爆、爆轰波的形成和 传播过程有重要的影响;添加不同稀释比的氮气可以影响爆轰波后流场的温度分布;增加障 碍物的间距可以改变可燃气起爆位置.     

Large-Eddy and Direct Numerical Simulations of the Bachalo-Johnson Flow with Shock-Induced Separation

The Bachalo-Johnson experiment on an axisymmetric bump has been a primary validation case for turbulence models in shock-boundary-layer interactions since the 1980’s. In the present work, Wall-Modelled Large-Eddy Simulations (WMLES) of this flow were conducted using Improved Delayed Detached-Eddy Simulation (IDDES) as the sub-grid-scale (SGS) and wall model, with a synthetic turbulence generator, expecting close enough agreement with experiment. However, the WMLES results are disappointing, even in terms of the shock position, even though the results from two grids with 4.7 × 10⁸ and 1.6 × 10⁹ cells respectively agree well with each other. This failure of grid refinement to warn of an inaccurate simulation is of great concern, and the reasons for it are explored. We then conducted a Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) embedded in the LES over a reduced domain, with 8 × 10⁹ grid cells. The DNS has a far more accurate shock position and overall pressure distribution. The skin friction in the favourable pressure gradient is also much higher than in the LES; thus, wide differences appear upstream of the shock wave, most probably caused by the rapid acceleration which leads to atypical shear-stress profiles. Other SGS models were tried, and performed worse than IDDES. The DNS essentially fulfils the initial expectations although in a reduced domain and provides data for turbulence-modelling studies, for instance by extracting an effective eddy viscosity from it. The most noticeable remaining disagreement with experiment is over the Reynolds shear stress.     

Passive Control of the Vortex Wake Past a Flat Plate at Incidence

A passive control, based on wall suction acting at the leading edge, is proposed to stabilize the vortex shedding from a flat plate at incidence. The correct suction amount is determined by a potential flow model where the large-scale vortical structures formed near the plate edges are represented by point vortices of variable intensity, and the wall suction by an adequately placed sink. We concentrate on the case of a plate that is broadside to the flow and show that the stabilization of the vortex wake can be obtained by simple passive backside suction. In such a case geometric shaping and passive suction have similar effects on the vortex Hamiltonian. The model predictions compare well with the results obtained by blob-vortex simulations, thus confirming the stabilization of the unsteady wake past the plate. Received 5 April 2002 and accepted 6 August 2002 Published online 3 December 2002 Communicated by M.Y. Hussaini     

Vortex structures in geophysical convection

An intriguing variety of vortex structures arise during buoyant convection, especially in the presence of background stratification and rotation. These vortices play an important role in environmental fluid motions, bearing upon small-scale turbulence to planetary-scale circulation. A brief review of vortex motions associated with buoyant convection is presented in this paper, emphasizing the sources of vorticity, evolution of vortex structures and their role in oceanic and atmospheric dynamics. The genesis of a variety of vortices, for example, mushroom vortices, geostrophic and ageostrophic vortices, dipolar structures and hetons in buoyant convection flows is described, and parameterizations to represent their properties are discussed. New laboratory and numerical simulation results on vortex-related phenomena in stratified and rotating fluids and their implications in geophysical convective flows are also presented.     

Vortex structures in shear flows

Large-scale vortex structures in shear flows are investigated. An effective method of describing these objects, which makes it possible to go beyond the framework of weak nonlinearity, is proposed. This is especially important in investigating spatially isolated structures. Evolution-type equations describing the shape of the vortex structures are obtained and their steady-state solutions are examined. A detailed classification of the structures in two-dimensional and cylindrical channels is given. Attention is drawn to the qualitative similarity of some of these structures to the well-known structures in real turbulent flows (wall eddies, turbulent slugs). It is established that isolated vortex structures in a pipe whose radius is fairly large as compared with their transverse dimension have kinematic characteristics similar to those of Hill vortices. The prospects of the method are discussed.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 2, pp. 65–75, March–April, 1989.The author wishes to thank G. S. Golitsyn for his interest and G. I. Barenblatt and V. M. Gryanik for discussing the results and offering useful advice.     

Reynolds Number Effects on the Coherent Dynamics of the Turbulent Horseshoe Vortex System

The adverse pressure gradient induced by a surface-mounted obstacle in a turbulent boundary layer causes the approaching flow to separate and form a dynamically rich horseshoe vortex system (HSV) in the junction of the obstacle with the wall. The Reynolds number of the flow (Re) is one of the important parameters that control the rich coherent dynamics of the vortex, which are known to give rise to low-frequency, bimodal fluctuations of the velocity field (Devenport and Simpson, J Fluid Mech 210:23–55, 1990; Paik et al., Phys Fluids 19:045107, 2007). We carry out detached eddy simulations (DES) of the flow past a circular cylinder mounted on a rectangular channel for Re = 2.0 × 10⁴ and 3.9 × 10⁴ (Dargahi, Exp Fluids 8:1–12, 1989) in order to systematically investigate the effect of the Reynolds number on the HSV dynamics. The computed results are compared with each other and with previous experimental and computational results for a related junction flow at a much higher Reynolds number (Re = 1.15 × 10⁵) (Devenport and Simpson, J Fluid Mech 210:23–55, 1990; Paik et al., Phys Fluids 19:045107, 2007). The computed results reveal significant variations with Re in terms of the mean-flow quantities, turbulence statistics, and the coherent dynamics of the turbulent HSV. For Re = 2.0 × 10⁴ the HSV system consists of a large number of necklace-type vortices that are shed periodically at higher frequencies than those observed in the Re = 3.9 × 10⁴ case. For this latter case the number of large-scale vortical structures that comprise the instantaneous HSV system is reduced significantly and the flow dynamics becomes quasi-periodic. For both cases, we show that the instantaneous flowfields are dominated by eruptions of wall-generated vorticity associated with the growth of hairpin vortices that wrap around and disorganize the primary HSV system. The intensity and frequency of these eruptions, however, appears to diminish rapidly with decreasing Re. In the high Re case the HSV system consists of a single, highly energetic, large-scale necklace vortex that is aperiodically disorganized by the growth of the hairpin mode. Regardless of the Re, we find pockets in the junction region within which the histograms of velocity fluctuations are bimodal as has also been observed in several previous experimental studies.     

Vortex flows in open cylindrical-section cavities

Flow within a large-aspect-ratio cylindrical vortex cell has been explored experimentally. The flow was driven by a shear layer above an opening in the cylinder circumference. Reynolds numbers, based on the length of the opening and the velocity just outside it, exceed 50,000. It is shown that the expected solid body rotation within the cell, with a constant velocity gradient across most of the core, is qualitatively present, but is significantly distorted by three-dimensional effects. Nonetheless, turbulence levels within the core are very low, only rising to levels similar to those in regular turbulent shear flows within the driving mixing layer itself and the cell-wall boundary layers.

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Vortex motions in stratified wake flows

The vortex wakes of obstacles (circular cylinder and sphere) moving through a linearly stratified fluid have been investigated, by means of flow visualization, at Reynolds numbers smaller than 800 and non-dimensional buoyancy frequencies smaller than 6. Vortex shedding from a horizontally suspended circular cylinder is suppressed when the fluid is stratified. The wake of a sphere is affected by lee waves when the Reynolds number exceeds about 200.     

Vortex rings in radially confined domains

The dynamics of vortex rings generated within confined domains are relevant to important hydrodynamic processes such as flow past heart valves or severe arterial constrictions. However, despite their importance, these flows have not received much attention to date. This study examines the development and evolution of radially confined vortex rings. Time-resolved digital particle image velocimetry was used to investigate two levels of radial confinement and a range of vortex ring strengths. We found that for severely confined vortex rings, the formation time and peak circulation values were unaffected for L/D ₀?<?4 cases and slightly affected for larger L/D ₀ cases. After pinch-off, circulation decay was observed with an approximately constant normalized circulation decay rate. We found that with increasing circulation strength, the nondimensional time delay between the pinch-off and the onset of circulation decay reduced due to an increased vortex ring diameter within the confinement domain and a reduction in the necessary time for the surface induced and core vorticity regions to interact. This study uncovers the dynamics of radially confined vortex rings and show that the nondimensional rate of circulation decay is dependent on the vortex ring confinement ratio (ratio of the vortex ring orifice diameter to the diameter of the outer cylinder), and the time delay between the vortex pinch-off and the onset of circulation is dependent on the vortex ring circulation strength.     

The Fascination of Vortex Rings

We present inviscid and viscous models for the formation and propagation of single, and co-axial pairs of, vortex rings. Inviscid flows are based on both thin rings, and thick rings treated by a contour dynamics approach, whilst viscous flows are determined from numerical solutions of the Navier–Stokes equations. A kaleidoscope of different flow behaviours for these axisymmetric flows is presented.     

Vortex motions of liquid in a narrow channel

Quasi-linear integrodifferential equations that describe vortex flows of an ideal incomparessible liquid in a narrow curved channel in the Eulerian-Lagrangian coordinate system are considered. The necessary and sufficient conditions for hyperbolicity of the system of equations of motion are obtained for flows with a monotonic velocity depth profile. The propagation velocities of the characteristics and the characteristic form of the system are calculated. A particular solution is given in which the system of integrodifferential equations changes type with time. The solution of the Cauchy problem is given for linearized equations. An example of initial data for which the Cauchy problem is ill-posed is constructed. Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 39, No. 4, pp. 38–49, July–August, 1998.