An improved anisotropy-resolving subgrid-scale model for flows in laminar–turbulent transition region

Some types of mixed subgrid-scale (SGS) models combining an isotropic eddy-viscosity model and a scale-similarity model can be used to effectively improve the accuracy of large eddy simulation (LES) in predicting wall turbulence. Abe (2013) has recently proposed a stabilized mixed model that maintains its computational stability through a unique procedure that prevents the energy transfer between the grid-scale (GS) and SGS components induced by the scale-similarity term. At the same time, since this model can successfully predict the anisotropy of the SGS stress, the predictive performance, particularly at coarse grid resolutions, is remarkably improved in comparison with other mixed models. However, since the stabilized anisotropy-resolving SGS model includes a transport equation of the SGS turbulence energy, k_SGS, containing a production term proportional to the square root of k_SGS, its applicability to flows with both laminar and turbulent regions is not so high. This is because such a production term causes k_SGS to self-reproduce. Consequently, the laminar–turbulent transition region predicted by this model depends on the inflow or initial condition of k_SGS. To resolve these issues, in the present study, the mixed-timescale (MTS) SGS model proposed by Inagaki et al. (2005) is introduced into the stabilized mixed model as the isotropic eddy-viscosity part and the production term in the k_SGS transport equation. In the MTS model, the SGS turbulence energy, k_es, estimated by filtering the instantaneous flow field is used. Since the k_es approaches zero by itself in the laminar flow region, the self-reproduction property brought about by using the conventional k_SGS transport equation model is eliminated in this modified model. Therefore, this modification is expected to enhance the applicability of the model to flows with both laminar and turbulent regions. The model performance is tested in plane channel flows with different Reynolds numbers and in a backward-facing step flow. The results demonstrate that the proposed model successfully predicts a parabolic velocity profile under laminar flow conditions and reduces the dependence on the grid resolution to the same degree as the unmodified model by Abe (2013) for turbulent flow conditions. Moreover, it is shown that the present model is effective at transitional Reynolds numbers. Furthermore, the present model successfully provides accurate results for the backward-facing step flow with various grid resolutions. Thus, the proposed model is considered to be a refined anisotropy-resolving SGS model applicable to laminar, transitional, and turbulent flows.     

On the existence of a threshold value of the plate bluntness in the interference of an oblique shock with boundary and entropy layers

The heat transfer to sharp and slightly blunted flat plates in the zone of oblique shock incidence has been experimentally investigated. The experiments were performed at the Mach numbers M = 6, 8, and 10 and Reynolds numbers ranging from 0.2 × 10⁶ to 1.3 × 10⁶ corresponding to transitional (laminar-turbulent) flow in the shock-induced separation zone. Emphasis is placed on small values of the bluntness radius r. It is established that there exists a threshold value r _th of the radius that bounds the range of its influence on the heat transfer, namely, an increase in r to r _th leads to a sharp reduction in the maximum heat transfer coefficient in the interference zone, whereas a further increase (beyond r _th) has only a slight effect on the maximum heat transfer coefficient. The dependence of r _th on the main hypersonic flow parameters is analyzed. an explanation of the observable phenomena is given.     

Mixed convection in the presence of horizontal impermeable surfaces in saturated porous media with variable permeability

Boundary layer approximation is applied for mixed convection about a horizontal flat plate in a saturated porous medium with aiding external flows. Similarity solutions are obtained, incorporating the variation of permeabilty, for 1) horizontal flat plate at zero angle of attack with constant heat flux; 2) stagnation point flows about horizontal flat plates with wall temperature varying asT _w ∝x ². The temperature and velocity profiles for different values of Ra/(RePr)^3/2 and the parameters governing the flow are obtained. The heat transfer rate is calculated and its implications in a geothermal application is discussed. Further, the criteria for pure mixed convection about horizontal flat plates in a porous media are established.     

POD analysis of a finite-length cylinder near wake

The near wake of a wall-mounted finite-length square cylinder with an aspect ratio of 7 is investigated based on the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) of the PIV data measured in three spanwise planes, i.e., z/d = 6, 3.5 and 1.0, near the cylinder free end, mid-span and fixed end (wall), respectively. The Reynolds number based on free-stream velocity (U _∞) and cylinder width (d) is 9,300. A two-dimensional (2D) square cylinder wake is also measured and analyzed at the same Reynolds number for the purpose of comparison. The structures of various POD modes show marked differences between the two flows. While the coefficients, a ₁ and a ₂, of the POD modes 1 and 2 occur within an annular area centered at a ₁ = a ₂ = 0 in the 2D wake, their counterparts are scattered all over the entire circular plane at z/d = 1.0 and 3.5 of the finite-length cylinder wake. Flow at z/d = 6 is dominated by POD mode 1, which corresponds to symmetrical vortex shedding and accounts for 54.0 % of the total turbulent kinetic energy (TKE). On the other hand, the POD modes 1 and 2, corresponding to anti-symmetrical vortex shedding, are predominant, accounting for about 45.0 % of the total TKE, at z/d = 3.5 and 1. It has been found that the flow structure may be qualitatively and quantitatively characterized by the POD coefficients. For example, at z/d = 6, a larger a ₁ corresponds to a smaller length of flow reversal zone and a stronger downwash flow. At z/d = 3.5 and 1, two typical flow modes can be identified from a ₁ and a ₂. While large a ₁ and/or a ₂ correspond to anti-symmetrical vortex shedding, as in a 2D cylinder wake, small a ₁ and a ₂ lead to symmetrical vortex shedding. Any values between the large and small a ₁ and/or a ₂ correspond to the flow structure between these two typical flow modes. As such, the probability of occurrence of a flow structure may be determined from the distribution of the POD coefficients.     

Adaptive Feedback Linearizing Control of Proper Orthogonal Decomposition Nonlinear Flow Models

This paper treats the question of feedback linearizing control oftwo-dimensional incompressible, unsteady wake flow. For definiteness,flow past a circular cylinder is considered, but the design approachpresented here is applicable to other flow control problems. Twofinite-dimensional lower-order models based on Proper OrthogonalDecomposition (POD) of dimension N with N actuators are considered.Models I and II are obtained using control function and penalty functionmethods, respectively. Control action can be achieved by a combinationof suction, injection, and synthetic jets. For the design ofcontrollers, it is assumed that the system matrices of the POD modelsare unknown. Nonlinear adaptive control systems for the two models arederived. For model I, nontrivial zero-error dynamics exists, which playa key role in the stability of the closed-loop system. But for model II,global adaptive trajectory control is achieved. In the closed-loopsystem, the mode amplitudes asymptotically follow the referencetrajectories. Simulation results for a 4-mode POD model obtained usingthe penalty function method are presented. These results show that inthe closed-loop system, unsteadiness in the mode amplitudes can besuppressed in spite of large uncertainties in the flow model.     

Application of the γ-Reθ Transition Model to Simulations of the Flow Past a Circular Cylinder

Based on the finite volume method, the flow past a two-dimensional circular cylinder at a critical Reynolds number (Re = 8.5 × 10⁵) was simulated using the Navier-Stokes equations and the γ-Re_θ transition model coupled with the SST k ? ω turbulence model (hereinafter abbreviated as γ-Re_θ model). Considering the effect of free-stream turbulence intensity decay, the SST k ? ω turbulence model was modified according to the ambient source term method proposed by Spalart and Rumsey, and then the modified SST k ? ω turbulence model is coupled with the γ-Re_θ transition model (hereinafter abbreviated as γ-Re_θ-SR model). The flow past a circular cylinder at different inlet turbulence intensities were simulated by the γ-Re_θ-SR model. At last, the flow past a circular cylinder at subcritical, critical and supercritical Reynolds numbers were each simulated by the γ-Re_θ-SR model, and the three flow states were analyzed. It was found that compared with the SST k ? ω turbulence model, the γ-Re_θ model could simulate the transition of laminar to turbulent, resulting in better consistency with experimental result. Compared with the γ-Re_θ model, for relatively high inlet turbulence intensities, the γ-Re_θ-SR model could better simulate the flow past a circular cylinder; however the improvement almost diminished for relatively low inlet turbulence intensities The γ-Re_θ-SR model could well simulate the flow past a circular cylinder at subcritical, critical and supercritical Reynolds numbers.     

Numerical study of the effects of constitutive models on plastic buckling of plate elements

Compared with experiments, the J₂ deformation theory of plasticity is known to predict plastic buckling with better accuracy than the more accepted incremental J₂ flow theory. This paradox is commonly known as the ‘plastic buckling paradox’. In an attempt to analyse this discrepancy, the two mentioned constitutive models were implemented in a non-linear finite element code, along with a third non-associative J₂ flow theory. The latter model incorporates a vertex-type plastic flow rule. Using these three constitutive models, the buckling behaviour of plate outstand elements was investigated. Comparisons between the buckling strengths derived are presented. The non-linear static buckling simulations show that the instability introduced by the alternative flow rule of the non-associative model has substantial influence on the buckling behaviour. The acceptance of only small departures from normality was shown to reduce the predicted ultimate capacity of the plates. Furthermore, for plates with small plate slendernesses it was found that the imperfection sensitivity was significantly reduced when using the non-associative flow rule.     

Influence of incident vortex street on separated flow around a finite blunt plate: PIV measurement and POD analysis

This study investigated the influence of incident vortex street on the spatial characteristics of separated shear layers around finite blunt plates through use of planar particle image velocimetry. Three systems with different chord-to-thickness ratios (c/t) were chosen for the comparative study (i.e., c/t=3.0, 6.0 and 9.0). The Reynolds number, based on the plates׳ thickness (t), was Re_t=1000. The incident vortex street was generated by placing a circular cylinder (D=t) far upstream of the plate. For the systems without incident vortex street, the separated shear layers around the shortest (c/t=3.0), the median-length plate (c/t=6.0) and the longest (c/t=9.0) plates had no re-attachment, periodic re-attachment and faithful re-attachment on the plate׳s surface, respectively. However, the separated shear layers subjected to incident vortex street were restrained at the leading edges by the upstream vortical structures, which were less influenced by increases in chord-to-thickness ratio. Contour plots of the spatial v–v correlation coefficient revealed that the wakes behind plates longer than c/t=6.0 were not severely influenced by incident vortex street. Distributions of the spatial v–v correlations and the POD eigenmodes revealed that the incident vortical structures were split by the leading edges of the plates in all systems, resulting in two vortices with the same rotating direction. Subsequently, a further phase-averaged analysis convincingly demonstrated the splitting process of the incident vortical structures by the leading edges.     

Structural response of stiffened plates in similitude under a turbulent boundary layer excitation

In structural dynamics, similitude laws usually deal with simple configurations as thin flat plates with point forces. Only recently, few papers have analyzed stiffened shells or stochastic pressure loads.This research activity extends the applicability of some similitude laws, developed for thin flat plates under a turbulent boundary layer load, to ribbed plates forced by the same wall pressure fluctuations.The work addresses the problem of designing a scaled experimental test-article and, successively, of re-modulating the measured data in order to get the structural response of an original (unscaled) configuration.Due to the complexity of the structural domain, the design of a scaled configuration leads to a distorted similitude. Then, a simple approach, to circumvent the distortion effects, is proposed.     

Drag reducing outer-layer devices in rough wall turbulent boundary layers

The ability of outer-layer devices to reduce wall shear stress over a substantial streamwise distance in rough-wall turbulent boundary layers has been studied experimentally. The devices examined are a pair of thin flat ribbons placed in tandem as well as those having symmetric airfoil sections. The wall conditions examined are smooth, d- and k-type transverse-groove and sandgrain roughnesses. The wall drag is found to be reduced from the respective normal levels in all rough walls. All k-type rough walls exhibit a similar level of relative wall drag reduction which is also smaller than that in a smooth-wall. The d-type rough walls exhibit a transitional behaviour — the relative wall drag reduction drops from the smooth wall level to that of the k-type roughness with increasing roughness Reynolds number. However, the absolute reductions in the local wall shear stress are similar in both the rough and smooth walls. On the other hand, the relative reductions are lower in the rough walls because of a higher reference drag which is caused by the unique presence of a pressure component on which the devices are not as effective.     

Numerical observations of turbulence structure modification in channel flow over 2D and 3D rough walls

The effects of wall roughness on turbulence structure modifications were explored by numerical experiments, carried out using Large Eddy Simulation techniques. The wall geometry was made using an archetypal artificial method, thus to achieve irregular two- and three-dimensional shapes. The proposed roughness shapes are highly irregular and are characterised by high and small peaks, thus it can be considered a practical realistic roughness. Their effects are analysed comparing the turbulence quantities over smooth, 2D and 3D rough walls of fully developed channel flow at relatively low friction Reynolds number ${\mathit{Re}}_{\tau }=395$. Both transitional and fully rough regimes have been investigated. The two rough surfaces were built in such a way that the same mean roughness height and averaged mean deviation is obtained. Despite of this, very different quantitative and qualitative results are generated. The analysis of the mean quantitative statistics and turbulence fluctuations shows that deviations are mainly concentrated in the inner layer. These results support the Townsend’s similarity hypothesis. Among the geometrical parameters, which characterise the wall geometries, roughness slope correlates well with the roughness function $\mathrm{\Delta }{U}^{+}$. Specifically, a logarithmic law is proposed to predict the downward shift of the velocity profile for the transitional regime. Instantaneous view of turbulent organised structures display differences in small-scale structures. The flow field over rough surfaces is populated with coherent structures shorter than those observed over flat planes. The comparative analysis of both streaks and wall-normal vortical structures shows that 2D and 3D irregularities have quite different effects. The results highlight that 3D rough wall are representative of a more realistic surface compared to idealised 2D roughness.     

Effect of the turbulent viscosity relaxation time on the modeling of nozzle and jet flows

Certain modifications of three-equation turbulence models are proposed. They are intended for increasing the accuracy of the calculations of turbulent flows in nozzles with boundary layer separation and in supersonic jets with complicated shock wave structures. Basing on the idea of the inclusion of flow prehistory in terms of an additional relaxation equation for nonequilibrium turbulent viscosity we propose three modifications of the k-ω-µ _t model based on the k-ω model and a version of the k- ?-µ _t turbulence model. In these modifications we introduce an additional dependence of the nonequilibrium turbulent viscosity relaxation time on different physical parameters which can be important near the point of boundary layer separation from the nozzle wall, such as viscous effects and effects of large gradients of the mean velocity and the kinetic energy of turbulence (turbulent pressure). The comparison of the results of the calculations with the experimental data shows that all the proposed versions of the three-equation models make it possible to improve the accuracy of the calculations of turbulent flows in nozzles and jets.     

Numerical study of oscillating boundary layer flow over a flat plate using k–kL–ω turbulence model

Oscillating boundary layer flow over an infinite flat plate at rest was simulated using the k–k_L–ω turbulence model for a Reynolds number range of 32 ⩽ Re_δ ⩽ 10,000 ranging from fully laminar flow to fully turbulent flow. The k–k_L–ω model was validated by comparing the predictions with LES results and experimental results for intermittently turbulent and fully turbulent flow regimes. The good agreement obtained between the k–k_L–ω model prediction with the experimental and LES results indicate that the k–k_L–ω model is able to accurately simulate transient intermittently turbulent flow and as well as accurately predict the onset of turbulence for such oscillatory flows.     

Flow past a plate lattice with developed cavitation

Problems of streamline cavitation flow past a lattice were studied in [1–8] using the Kirchhoff scheme. In this scheme the magnitude of the velocity at the free surface is equal to the stream velocity behind the lattice, and the cavitation number is zero (for a lattice the relative velocity and the cavitation number are defined from the stream velocity behind the lattice). In [4, 7] a solution is given of the problem of flow past a lattice using a scheme with an Efros-Gilbargreturn streamline, which permits considering arbitrary cavitation numbers; however, a unique solution is not given. Some other streamline schemes are mentioned in [8].In the following we consider the cavitational flow of an ideal incompressible inviscid and weightless fluid past an infinite lattice of flat plates, using the streamline wake model previously utilized by Wu [9] in studying cavitational flow past an isolated obstacle. In accordance with this model, the streamlines which separate from the body and bound the cavity behind it pass into two curvilinear infinitely long walls, along which the pressure increases and approaches the pressure in the undisturbed stream.It is further assumed that in the hodograph plane there corresponds to the curvilinear walls a cut along some line and that the complex potential takes the same values at points lying on opposite sides of the cut. In particular, at the points of contact of the streamlines with the curvilinear walls the complex potential is the same. In the Wu scheme the latter condition leads to vanishing of the velocity circulation along the contour CABC₁ (Fig. 1).In conclusion the author wishes to thank N. V. Yurtaeva for the accurately performed numerical work.     

Correlations for modeling transitional boundary layers under influences of freestream turbulence and pressure gradient

This paper presents mathematical expressions for two significant parameters which control the onset location and length of transition in the γ–Re_θ transition model of Menter et al. [Menter, F.R., Langtry, R.B., Volker, S., Huang, P.G., 2005. Transition modelling for general purpose CFD codes. In: ERCOFTAC International Symposium on Engineering Turbulence Modelling and Measurements]. The expressions are formulated and calibrated by means of numerical experiments for predicting transitional boundary layers under the influences of freestream turbulence and pressure gradient. It was also found that the correlation for transition momentum thickness Reynolds number needs only to be expressed in terms of local turbulence intensity, so that the more complex form that includes pressure gradient effects is unnecessary. Transitional boundary layers on a flat plate both with and without pressure gradients are employed to assess the performance of these two expressions for predicting the transition. The results show that the proposed expressions can work well with the model of Menter et al. (2005).     

An exact solution for a model of pressure-dependent plasticity in an un-steady plane strain process

An incompressible material obeying a pressure-dependent yield condition is confined between two planar plates which are inclined at an angle 2α. The plates intersect in a hinged line and the angle α slowly decreases from an initial value. An initial/boundary value problem for the flow of the material is formulated and solved for the stress and the velocity fields, the solution being in closed form. The material is assumed to obey a special case of the double slip and rotation model, which generalises the classical plastic potential model and is also a variant of the double shearing model. The solution for the velocity field may exhibit sliding or sticking at the plates. Solutions which exhibit sticking may have a rigidly rotating zone in the region adjacent to the plates. It is shown that sliding occurs when the value of α is less than a certain critical value α_c ; that sticking occurs without a rigid zone if α exceeds or equals α_c but is less than a second critical value α₀; and that sticking with a rigid zone adjacent to the plates occurs if α exceeds α₀. The values of α_c and α₀ coincide for a certain range of model parameters. Solutions which exhibit sliding are singular. Qualitative features of the solution found are compared with those of the solution for the classical plastic potential model.     

Aerodynamic characteristics of a thin airfoil cascade in an ideal incompressible flow with separation from the leading edges

A new method of solving the problem of separation flow past a cascade of thin airfoils is proposed. The method is based on the model of separated flow past a single airfoil in which vortex wakes shed from the airfoil edges are modeled by vortex layers with time-averaged intensities. Under the assumption of a small deviation of the freestream angle α from the “impactless entry” angle α ₀ the singular integral equation governing the flow kinematics is closed by a dynamic equation. It is shown that the separation effect on the time-averaged aerodynamic characteristics of the cascade is associated with the total pressure loss due to the flow energy expenditure on the vortex wake formation. The aerodynamic characteristics of the cascade calculated with and without account for flow separation differ by the second-order quantity ? = α ? α ₀.     

Spectral entropy as a flow state indicator

In many practical applications, the flow state (laminar, transitional, turbulent) might vary in space and/or in time for a given configuration. The aim of the current study is to show that the spectral entropy S_d, obtained from solving the eigenvalue problem for the temporal autocorrelation function, can be used in order to uniquely quantify the flow state and differentiate between laminar, transitional, or turbulent regimes; as such, it delivers a direct measure of turbulence level. Therefore, this quantity might support hybrid numerical simulations by determining the local flow state, identifying in this way the most suitable computational model and switching, e.g., from RANS to LES. The first test of the suggested approach relies on Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) for decaying Homogeneous Isotropic Turbulence (HIT) performed for ten different Taylor Reynolds numbers. Results obtained by analyzing DNS indicate that S_d is an excellent candidate to quantify turbulence level and transition. To check the robustness of the corresponding analysis, the impact of different resolutions has been investigated, revealing that a correct state estimate is still obtained with a coarser spatial or temporal resolution. Finally, to check the generality of the approach, the entropy thresholds obtained from the DNS analysis have been used with the same algorithm to analyze 1) DNS results obtained for the Taylor-Green vortex benchmark at Re=1600 as well as 2) results obtained through Large Eddy Simulations in a blood nozzle, revealing in both cases a perfect agreement with a traditional, user-based analysis of the flow conditions. Hence, S_d appears to be an excellent quantitative indicator of laminar, transitional, or turbulent flow, allowing an automatic, user-independent analysis of the flow state for a variety of conditions. In principle, it could be used without modification to analyze experimental measurements as well.     

Performance of conical entrance orifice plates at low Reynolds numbers

Results are presented of an experimental investigation into the performance of conical entrance orifice plates manufactured according to BS 1042. Three plates, with diameter ratios of 0.247, 0.360 and 0.448, were tested in the region 100 < Re_D ? 1000 and in both the concentric and the fully eccentric position. The discharge coefficient, C_z, of the orifice was found to agree with that specified in BS 1042 for a diameter ratio of 0.247. For other diameter ratios, the discharge coefficient increased with the diameter ratio, as observed by other workers for the Kent plates. The eccentricity has no appreciable effect on the discharge coefficient, probably due to the effect of viscous action on the flow being more or less the same for the concentric and eccentric position of the orifice at low Reynolds numbers     

The near wake of sinusoidal wavy cylinders: Three-dimensional POD analyses

Three-dimensional (3D) proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) analyses are conducted to investigate the near wake of sinusoidal wavy cylinders. For a wave amplitude a/D_m = 0.152, three typical spanwise wavelengths (λ_z) of the wavy cylinder are taken into account, i.e., λ_z/D_m = 1.89, 3.79 and 6.06, where D_m is the mean diameter of the wavy cylinder, among which λ_z/D_m = 1.89 and 6.06 are the optimum wavelengths corresponding to the largest reduction/suppression of fluid forces acting on the wavy cylinder. Time- and space-resolved three-component velocities of the near wake flow, obtained from large eddy simulation (LES) at a subcritical Reynolds number Re = 3 × 10³, are used in the 3D POD analyses. Comparison is made among the wavy cylinders of the three λ_z/D_m values as well as between them and a smooth cylinder, in terms of POD modes, mode energy, mode coefficients, as well as reconstructed flow structures by lower modes. For the optimum λ_z/D_m = 1.89 and 6.06, energy associated with the first two POD modes is significantly reduced compared with that for λ_z/D_m = 3.79 and the smooth cylinder. Distinct characteristics are observed on the lower POD modes for the wavy cylinders. It is found that the first two POD modes for λ_z/D_m = 1.89 and 6.06 are linked to large-scale streamwise vortices that are additionally introduced into the near wake due to the wavy geometry. Meanwhile, POD mode 3 suggests that the wavy cylinder with the larger optimum λ_z/D_m (= 6.06) generates dominant hairpin-like and spanwise coherent structures (CSs) shedding from the saddle at a different frequency from those shedding from the node. Evolutionary development of these CSs is discussed based on reconstructed flows.