Study of Density Effects in Turbulent Buoyant Jets Using Large-Eddy Simulation

Large-Eddy simulations (LES) of spatially evolving turbulent buoyant round jets have been carried out with two different density ratios. The numerical method used is based on a low-Mach-number version of the Navier–Stokes equations for weakly compressible flow using a second-order centre-difference scheme for spatial discretization in Cartesian coordinates and an Adams–Bashforth scheme for temporal discretization. The simulations reproduce the typical temporal and spatial development of turbulent buoyant jets. The near-field dynamic phenomenon of puffing associated with the formation of large vortex structures near the plume base with a varicose mode of instability and the far-field random motions of small-scale eddies are well captured. The pulsation frequencies of the buoyant plumes compare reasonably well with the experimental results of Cetegen (1997) under different density ratios, and the underlying mechanism of the pulsation instability is analysed by examining the vorticity transport equation where it is found that the baroclinic torque, buoyancy force and volumetric expansion are the dominant terms. The roll-up of the vortices is broken down by a secondary instability mechanism which leads to strong turbulent mixing and a subsequent jet spreading. The transition from laminar to turbulence occurs at around four diameters when random disturbances with a 5% level of forcing are imposed to a top-hat velocity profile at the inflow plane and the transition from jet-like to plume-like behaviour occurs further downstream. The energy-spectrum for the temperature fluctuations show both −5/3 and −3 power laws, characteristic of buoyancy-dominated flows. Comparisons are conducted between LES results and experimental measurements, and good agreement has been achieved for the mean and turbulence quantities. The decay of the centreline mean velocity is proportional to x ^−1/3 in the plume-like region consistent with the experimental observation, but is different from the x ⁻¹ law for a non-buoyant jet, where x is the streamwise location. The distributions of the mean velocity, temperature and their fluctuations in the near-field strongly depend upon the ratio of the ambient density to plume density ρ_a/ρ₀. The increase of ρ_a/ρ₀ under buoyancy forcing causes an increase in the self-similar turbulent intensities and turbulent fluxes and an increase in the spatial growth rate. Budgets of the mean momentum, energy, temperature variance and turbulent kinetic energy are analysed and it is found that the production of turbulence kinetic energy by buoyancy relative to the production by shear is increased with the increase of ρ_a/ρ₀. Received 16 June 2000 and accepted 26 June 2001     

Mass flow-rate control unit to calibrate hot-wire sensors

Hot-wire anemometry is a measuring technique that is widely employed in fluid mechanics research to study the velocity fields of gas flows. It is general practice to calibrate hot-wire sensors against velocity. Calibrations are usually carried out under atmospheric pressure conditions and these suggest that the wire is sensitive to the instantaneous local volume flow rate. It is pointed out, however, that hot wires are sensitive to the instantaneous local mass flow rate and, of course, also to the gas heat conductivity. To calibrate hot wires with respect to mass flow rates per unit area, i.e., with respect to (ρU), requires special calibration test rigs. Such a device is described and its application is summarized within the (ρU) range 0.1–25 kg/m² s. Calibrations are shown to yield the same hot-wire response curves for density variations in the range 1–7 kg/m³. The application of the calibrated wires to measure pulsating mass flows is demonstrated, and suggestions are made for carrying out extensive calibrations to yield the (ρU) wire response as a basis for advanced fluid mechanics research on (ρU) data in density-varying flows.     

Mixed convection from a cylinder oscillating vertically in a quiescent fluid

 The problem of heat convection from a vertically oscillating cylinder in a quiescent fluid is investigated. The governing equations of motion and energy are solved numerically in a non-inertial frame of references to determine the flow field and heat transfer characteristics under different conditions. The main dominating parameters are Keulegan–Carpenter number, KC, frequency parameter, β, Grashof number, Gr and Prandtl number, Pr. The ranges considered for these parameters are KC ≤ 10, β≤40 and Gr ≤ 10⁵ while Prandtl number is kept constant. The study revealed that the effect of amplitude and frequency of oscillation on heat transfer is strongly influenced by the Grashof number range. In the forced convection regime (Gr = 0), the increase of KC creates extensive vortex motion at all cylinder positions that leads to a significant increase in heat transfer. A similar trend, but with a lesser extent, is also observed for the increase of β. However, at high Grashof numbers, the effect of oscillation on heat convection is only significant at large values of KC. Received on 5 June 2000 / Published online: 29 November 2001     

Characterization of shock accelerometers using Davies bar and laser interferometer

In this paper, we propose a novel method for evaluating the frequency response of shock accelerometers using Davies bar and interferometry. The method adopts elastic wave pulses propagating in a thin circular bar for the generation of high accelerations. The accelerometer to be examined is attached to one end of the bar and experiences high accelerations of the order of 10³∼10⁵ m/s². A laser interferometer system is newly designed for the absolute measurement of the bar end motion. It can measure the motion of a diffuse surface specimen at a speed of 10⁻³ ∼10⁰ m/s. Uncertainty of the velocity measurement is estimated to be±6×10⁻⁴ m/s, proving a high potential for use in the primary calibration of shock accelerometers. Frequency characteristics of the accelerometer are determined by comparing the accelerometer's output with velocity data of the interferometry in the frequency domain. Two piezoelectric-type accelerometers are tested in the experiment, and their frequency characteristics are obtained over a wide frequency range up to several ten kilohertz. It is also shown that the results obtained using strain gages are consistent with those by this new method. Paper was presented at the 1992 SEM Spring Conference on Experimental Mechanics held in Las Vegas, NV on June 8–11.     

The wedge subjected to general tractions: A paradox resolved

A wedge subjected to tractions in proportion tor ⁿ (n≥0), is considered. The stresses in the solutions of the classical theory of elasticity become infinite when the angle of the wedge is ρ or 2ρ. The paradox has been resolved by Dempsey^[4] and T.C.T. Ting^[5] whenn=0. The purpose of this paper is to resolve the paradox whenn>0.     

Isentropic Approximation¶of the Compressible Euler System¶in One Space Dimension

Using the stability results of Bressan & Colombo [BC] for strictly hyperbolic 2 × 2 systems in one space dimension, we prove that the solutions of isentropic and non-isentropic Euler equations in one space dimension with the respective initial data (ρ₀, u ₀) and (ρ₀, u ₀, &\theta;₀=ρ₀ ^{γ− 1}) remain close as soon as the total variation of (ρ₀, u ₀) is sufficiently small. Accepted April 25, 2000?Published online November 24, 2000     

On Spherically Symmetric Motions Of a Viscous Compressible Barotropic and Selfgravitating Gas

We consider the Cauchy problem for the equations of spherically symmetric motions in \mathbb R³{\mathbb {R}^3}, of a selfgravitating barotropic gas, with possibly non monotone pressure law, in two different situations: in the first one we suppose that the viscosities μ(ρ), and λ(ρ) are density-dependent and satisfy the Bresch–Desjardins condition, in the second one we consider constant densities. In the two cases, we prove that the problem admits a global weak solution, provided that the polytropic index γ satisfy γ > 1.     

Investigation of liquid–liquid drop coalescence using tomographic PIV

High-speed tomographic PIV was used to investigate the coalescence of drops placed on a liquid/liquid interface; the coalescence of a single drop and of a drop in the presence of an adjacent drop (side-by-side drops) was investigated. The viscosity ratio between the drop and surrounding fluids was 0.14, the Ohnesorge number (Oh = μ_d/(ρ_dσD)^1/2) was 0.011, and Bond numbers (Bo = (ρ _d  − ρ _s )gD ²/σ) were 3.1–7.5. Evolving volumetric velocity fields of the full coalescence process allowed for quantification of the velocity scales occurring over different time scales. For both single and side-by-side drops, the coalescence initiates with an off-axis film rupture and film retraction speeds an order of magnitude larger than the collapse speed of the drop fluid. This is followed by the formation and propagation of an outward surface wave along the coalescing interface with wavelength of approximately 2D. For side-by-side drops, the collapse of the first drop is asymmetric due to the presence of the second drop and associated interface deformation. Overall, tomographic PIV provides insight into the flow physics and inherent three-dimensionalities in the coalescence process that would not be achievable with flow visualization or planar PIV only.     

Global Behavior of Compressible Navier-Stokes Equations with a Degenerate Viscosity Coefficient

In this paper, we study a free boundary problem for compressible Navier-Stokes equations with density-dependent viscosity. Precisely, the viscosity coefficient μ is proportional to ρ ^θ with , where ρ is the density, and γ > 1 is the physical constant of polytropic gas. Under certain assumptions imposed on the initial data, we obtain the global existence and uniqueness of the weak solution, give the uniform bounds (with respect to time) of the solution and show that it converges to a stationary one as time tends to infinity. Moreover, we estimate the stabilization rate in L ^∞ norm, (weighted) L ² norm and weighted H ¹ norm of the solution as time tends to infinity.     

Numerical Study of Natural Convection Heat Transfer in an Inclined Porous Cavity with Time-Periodic Boundary Conditions

Kalabin et al. (Numer. Heat Transfer A 47, 621-631, 2005) studied the unsteady natural convection for the sinusoidal oscillating wall temperature on one side wall and constant average temperature on the opposing side wall. The present article is on the unsteady natural convective heat transfer in an inclined porous cavity with similar temperature boundary conditions as those of Kalabin et al. The inclined angle of the cavity is varied from 0° to 80°. The flow field is modeled with the Brinkman-extended Darcy model. The combined effects of inclination angle of the enclosure and oscillation frequency of wall temperature are studied for Ra* = 10³, Da = 10⁻³, , and Pr=1. Some results are also obtained with the Darcy–Brinkman–Forchheimer model and Darcy’s law and are compared with the present Brinkman-extended Darcy model. The maximal heat transfer rate is attained at the oscillating frequency f = 46.7π and the inclined angle .     

Laminar mixed convection from a continuously moving vertical surface with suction or injection

The boundary layer flow over a uniformly moving vertical surface with suction or injection is studied when the buoyancy forces assist or oppose the flow. Similarity solutions are obtained for the boundary layer equations subject to power law temperature and velocity boundary conditions. The effect is of various governing parameters, such as Prandtl number Pr, temperature exponent n, injection parameter d, and the mixed convection parameter λ=Gr/Re², which determine the velocity and temperature distributions and the heat transfer coefficient, are studied. The heat transfer coefficient increases as λ assisting the flow for all d at Pr=0.72 however, for n=−1 it decreases sharply with λ. On the other hand, increasing λ has no effect on heat transfer coefficient for Pr=10 at n=0, and 1 for almost all values of d studied. However, for n=−1 it has similar effect as for Pr=0.72. It is also found that Nusselt number increases as n increases for fixed λ and d. Received on 26 March 1997     

Prediction of CHF in concentric-tube open thermosiphon using artificial neural network and genetic algorithm

In this paper, an artificial neural network (ANN) for predicting critical heat flux (CHF) of concentric-tube open thermosiphon has been trained successfully based on the experimental data from the literature. The dimensionless input parameters of the ANN are density ratio, ρ _l/ρ _v; the ratio of the heated tube length to the inner diameter of the outer tube, L/D _i; the ratio of frictional area, d _i/(D _i + d _o); and the ratio of equivalent heated diameter to characteristic bubble size, D _he/[σ/g(ρ _l−ρ _v)]^0.5, the output is Kutateladze number, Ku. The predicted values of ANN are found to be in reasonable agreement with the actual values from the experiments with a mean relative error (MRE) of 8.46%. New correlations for predicting CHF were also proposed by using genetic algorithm (GA) and succeeded to correlate the existing CHF data with better accuracy than the existing empirical correlations.     

Critical heat flux in forced convective boiling with a plane jet (Revised correlation for saturated condition)

 Critical heat flux (CHF) has been measured in saturated forced convective boiling with a wall jet on a rectangular heated surface of 40 and 80 mm in length and 20 mm in width. The jet velocity is varied from 3 to 15  m/s, and the system pressure is 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 MPa for R113. It is found that the existing correlation for saturation condition can be applied to the CHF at high and low ρ_l/ρ_g values (e.g. water and R22), but hardly to the CHF at medium ρ_l/ρ_g values (e.g. R113 at 0.2 and 0.4 MPa). A revised correlation is proposed to predict most of the CHF data within an accuracy of ±25%. Received on 26 April 1999     

A Beale–Kato–Majda Criterion for Three Dimensional Compressible Viscous Heat-Conductive Flows

We prove a blow-up criterion in terms of the upper bound of (ρ, ρ ⁻¹, θ) for a strong solution to three dimensional compressible viscous heat-conductive flows. The main ingredient of the proof is an a priori estimate for a quantity independently introduced in Haspot (Regularity of weak solutions of the compressible isentropic Navier–Stokes equation, arXiv:1001.1581, 2010) and Sun et al. (J Math Pure Appl 95:36–47, 2011), whose divergence can be viewed as the effective viscous flux.     

Stability of an Initially, Stably Stratified Fluid Subjected to a Step Change in Temperature

The onset of convective instability in an initially quiescent, stably stratified fluid layer between two horizontal plates is analyzed with linear theory. The bottom boundary is heated suddenly from below, subjected to a step change in surface temperature. The critical time t _c to mark the onset of Rayleigh-Bénard convection is predicted by propagation theory. This theory uses the length scaled by , where α denotes thermal diffusivity. Under the normal mode analysis the dimensionless disturbance equations are obtained as a function of τ(=αt/d ²) and ζ(=Z/), where d is the fluid layer depth and Z is the vertical distance. The resulting equations are transformed to self-similar ones by using scaling and finally fixing τ as τ_c under the frame of coordinates τ and ζ. For a given γ, Pr and τ_c, the minimum value of Ra is obtained from the marginal stability curve. Here γ denotes the temperature ratio to represent the degree of stabilizing effect, Pr is the Prandtl number and Ra is the Rayleigh number. With γ=0, the minimum Ra value approaches the well-known value of 1708 as τ_c increases. However, it is inversely proportional to τ_c ^3/2 as τ_c decreases. With increasing γ, the system becomes more stable. It is interesting that in the present system, propagation theory produces the stability criteria to bound the available experimental data over the whole domain of time. Received 5 November 2001 and accepted 29 March 2002 Published online: 2 October 2002 RID="*" ID="*" This work has been supported by both SK Chemicals Co. Ltd. and LG Chemical Ltd., Seoul under the Brain Korea 21 Project of the Ministry of Education. Communicated by H.J.S. Fernando     

Laminar natural convection of pure and saline water along a vertical isothermal cylinder

 In most studies concerning laminar natural convection along a vertical isothermal cylinder a linear relationship between fluid density and temperature has been used and kinematic viscosity and thermal diffusivity have been considered constant calculated at ambient temperature. However, it is known that the density–temperature relationship for water is non-linear at low temperatures and kinematic viscosity and thermal diffusivity are functions of temperature. In this study the problem of laminar natural convection of pure and saline water along a vertical isothermal cylinder has been investigated in the temperature range between 20 and 0 ^∘C taking into account the temperature dependence of ν, α and ρ. The results are obtained with the numerical solution of the boundary layer equations. The variation of ν, α and ρ with temperature has a strong influence on free convection characteristics. Received on 17 May 1999     

The extended Graetz problem at low Peclet numbers

The temperature profile in a circular tube of infinite extent through which a fluid is moving under conditions of small Péclet numbersε is determined by means of an asymptotic analysis inε. The walls of the tube are heated forx>0 and are insulated whenx<0. It is shown that the heated region extends anO(ε ⁻¹) distance — relative to the radius of the tube — upstream of the pointx=0, and that convective effects remain important even whenε→0. These results apply to a wider class of problems in which the Péclet number is small.     

Improvement of cold-wire response for measurement of temperature dissipation

This work aimed at improving fine-scale measurements using cold-wire anemometry. The dissipation ɛ _θ of the temperature variance was measured on the axis of a heated turbulent round jet. The measurements were performed with a constant current anemometer (CCA) operating fine Pt–10%Rh wires at very low overheat. The CCA developed for this purpose allowed the use of the current injection method in order to estimate the time constant of the wire. In the first part of the paper, it is shown that the time constants obtained for two wire diameters −d=1.2 and d=0.58 μm – compare well with those measured at the same time using two other methods (laser excitation and pulsed wire). Moreover, for these two wires, the estimated time constants were in good agreement with those obtained from a semi-empirical relation. In the second part of the paper, a compensation procedure – post-processing filtering – was developed in order to improved the frequency response of the cold-wire probes. The measurements carried out on the axis of the jet (Re _D =16 500, Re _λ  ≃ 167) showed that the frequency response of the 1.2 μm wire was significantly improved. In fact, the spectral characteristics of the compensated signal obtained with the 1.2 μm wire compared fairly well with those from the 0.58 μm wire. Moreover, the results indicated that the compensation procedure must be applied when the cut-off frequency of the cold-wire f _c is lower than two times the Kolmogorov frequency f _K. In the case where f _c ≃ 0.6f _K, the compensation procedure can reduce the error in the estimate of ɛ _θ by more than 20%. When f _c ≃ 2f _K, the effect of the compensation is reduced to about 5%. Received: 3 November 2000/Accepted: 23 March 2001     

Dependence of the wake on inclination of a stationary cylinder

Three-dimensional vorticity in the wake of an inclined stationary circular cylinder was measured simultaneously using a multi-hot wire vorticity probe over a streamwise range of x/d = 10–40. The study aimed to examine the dependence of the wake characteristics on cylinder inclination angle α (=0°–45°). The validity of the independence principle (IP) for vortex shedding was also examined. It was found that the spanwise mean velocity which represents the three-dimensionality of the wake flow, increases monotonically with α. The root-mean-square (rms) values of the streamwise (u) and spanwise (w) velocities and the three vorticity components decrease significantly with the increase of α, whereas the transverse velocity (v) does not follow the same trend. The vortex shedding frequency decreases with the increase of α. The Strouhal number (St _N), obtained by using the velocity component normal to the cylinder axis, remains approximately a constant within the experimental uncertainty (±8%) when α is smaller than about 40°. The autocorrelation coefficients ρ _u and ρ _v of the u and v velocity signals show apparent periodicity for all inclination angles. With increasing α, ρ _u and ρ _v decrease and approach zero quickly. In contrast, the autocorrelation coefficient ρ _w of w increases with α in the near wake, implying an enhanced three-dimensionality of the wake.