Inviscid vortex structures in the shock layers of conical flows around V wings

The applicability of the criteria of existence of inviscid vortex structures (vortex Ferri singularities) is studied in the case in which a contact discontinuity of the corresponding intensity proceeds from the branching point of the λ shock wave configuration accompanying turbulent boundary layer separation under the action of an inner shock incident on the leeward wing panel. The calculated and experimental data are analyzed, in particular, those obtained using the special shadow technique developed for visualizing supersonic conical streams in nonsymmetric, Mach number 3 flow around a wing with zero sweep of the leading edges and the vee angle of 2π /3. The applicability of the criteria of existence of inviscid vortex structures is established for contact discontinuities generated by the λ shock wave configuration accompanying turbulent boundary layer separation realized under the action of a shock wave incident on the leeward wing panel. Thus, it is established that the formation of the vortex Ferri singularities in a shock layer is independent of the reason for the existence of the contact discontinuity and depends only on its intensity.     

Simulation of Receptivity and Induced Transition From Discrete Roughness Elements

Simulations have been carried out to predict the receptivity and growth of crossflow vortices created by Discrete Roughness Elements (DREs) The final transition to turbulence has also been examined, including the effect of DRE spacing and freestream turbulence. Measurements by Hunt and Saric (2011) of perturbation mode shape at various locations were used to validate the code in particular for the receptivity region. The WALE sub-grid stress (SGS) model was adopted for application to transitional flows, since it allows the SGS viscosity to vanish in laminar regions and in the innermost region of the boundary layer when transition begins. Simulations were carried out for two spanwise wavelengths: λ= 12mm (critical) and λ= 6mm (control) and for roughness heights (k) from 12 μm to 42 μm. The base flow considered was an ASU (67)-0315 aerofoil with 45 ⁰ sweep at -2.9 ⁰ incidence and with onset flow at a chord-based Reynolds number Re _c= 2.4x10 ⁶. For λ= 12mm results showed, in accord with the experimental data, that the disturbance amplitude growth rate was linear for k = 12 μm and 24 μm, but the growth rate was decreased for k = 36 μm Receptivity to λ= 6mm roughness showed equally good agreement with experiments, indicating that this mode disappeared after a short distance to be replaced by a critical wavelength mode. Analysis of the development of modal disturbance amplitudes with downstream distance showed regions of linear, non-linear, saturation, and secondary instability behaviour. Examination of breakdown to turbulence revealed two possible routes: the first was 2D-like transition (probably Tollmien-Schlichting waves even in the presence of crossflow vortices) when transition occurred beyond the pressure minimum; the second was a classical crossflow vortex secondary instability, leading to the formation of a turbulent wedge.     

Kovasznay Mode Decomposition of Velocity-Temperature Correlation in Canonical Shock-Turbulence Interaction

The correlation coefficient R_uT between the streamwise velocity and temperature is investigated for the case of canonical shock-turbulence interaction, motivated by the fact that this correlation is an important component in compressible turbulence models. The variation of R_uT with the Mach number, the turbulent Mach number, and the Reynolds number is predicted using linear inviscid theory and compared to data from DNS. The contributions from the individual Kovasznay modes are quantified. At low Mach numbers, the peak post-shock R_uT is determined by the acoustic mode, which is correctly predicted by the linear theory. At high Mach numbers, it is determined primarily by the vorticity and entropy modes, which are strongly affected by nonlinear and viscous effects, and thus less well predicted by the linear theory.     

Mach waves produced in the supersonic jet mixing layer by shock/vortex interaction

The noise emission of free jets has been extensively investigated for many decades. At subsonic jet velocities, coherent structures of the mixing layer move at subsonic speed and emit sound waves. Free jets blowing at supersonic speeds, however, can emit weak shock waves, called Mach waves. At supersonic speeds, two cases must be distinguished: the structures move either subsonically or supersonically relative to the inside and/or outside speed of sound. In the case of supersonic movement, the Mach waves exist inside as well as outside the jet. At subsonic speeds, no Mach waves appear. Although numerous theories have been established to find the origin of the Mach waves, to the authors’ best knowledge, the mechanism of the Mach wave formation has not yet been clearly explained. Recently another theory of Mach waves in supersonic jets was developed, as described herein, which outlines the causes for the Mach wave production and stability as well as their dynamics. The theory’s principle is that the Mach waves are initiated by vortices which move downstream at three speeds w, \({w}'\) and \({w}''\) inside of the mixing layer. These three types of vortices and Mach waves are described in a comprehensive manner by the theory and are called the “w-, \({w}'\)- and \({w}''\)-vortices” and “w-, \({w}'\)- and \({w}''\)-Mach waves,” respectively.     

Plane acoustic wave propagation through a composite of elastic and Kelvin–Voigt viscoelastic material layers

The problem of plane wave propagation through a plane composite layer of thickness h is considered. The composite consists of periodically repeated elastic and Kelvin–Voigt viscoelastic material layers, and all layers are either parallel or perpendicular to the incident wave front. Moreover, it is assumed that the thickness of each separate layer of the composite is much less than the acoustic wave length and the thickness h of the entire composite. We study the problem by using a homogenized model of the composite, which allows us to find the reflection and transmission factors and the variation in the sound intensity level as it propagates though the composite layer of thickness h.     

Improvement for expansion of parabolized stability equation method in boundary layer stability analysis

An improved expansion of the parabolized stability equation(iEPSE) method is proposed for the accurate linear instability prediction in boundary layers. It is a local eigenvalue problem, and the streamwise wavenumber α and its streamwise gradient dα/dx are unknown variables. This eigenvalue problem is solved for the eigenvalue dα/dx with an initial α, and the correction of α is performed with the conservation relation used in the PSE. The i EPSE is validated in several compressible and incompressible boundary layers. The computational results show that the prediction accuracy of the i EPSE is significantly higher than that of the ESPE, and it is in excellent agreement with the PSE which is regarded as the baseline for comparison. In addition, the unphysical multiple eigenmode problem in the EPSE is solved by using the i EPSE. As a local non-parallel stability analysis tool, the i EPSE has great potential application in the eNtransition prediction in general three-dimensional boundary layers.     

Effect of incomplete thermal accommodation on intensive subsonic gas condensation

The direct Monte Carlo simulation method is used for investigating the effect of the thermal accommodation coefficient α _E on the relation for the Knudsen layer in the presence of intensive subsonic condensation. It is shown that the deviation of α _E from unity may significantly affect the flow parameters, in particular, M_lim, the Mach number value limiting for subsonic condensation. It is shown that a decrease in α _E leads to an increase in M_lim (M_lim < 1) if the relative flow temperature (ratio of the outer Knudsen layer boundary to the surface temperature) T < 1 and to a decrease in M_lim if T > 1. It is shown that for mirror reflection of molecules from the surface this effect may intensify.     

Perspectives on the Phenomenology and Modeling of Boundary Layer Transition

The characteristics of the coherent structures in a strongly decelerated large-velocity-defect boundary layer are analysed by direct numerical simulation. The simulated boundary layer starts as a zero-pressure-gradient boundary layer, decelerates under a strong adverse pressure gradient, and separates near the end of the domain, in the form of a very thin separation bubble. The Reynolds number at separation is R e _?? =3912 and the shape factor H=3.43. The three-dimensional spatial correlations of (u, u) and (u, v) are investigated and compared to those of a zero-pressure-gradient boundary layer and another strongly decelerated boundary layer. These velocity pairs lose coherence in the streamwise and spanwise directions as the velocity defect increases. In the outer region, the shape of the correlations suggest that large-scale u structures are less streamwise elongated and more inclined with respect to the wall in large-defect boundary layers. The three-dimensional properties of sweeps and ejections are characterized for the first time in both the zero-pressure-gradient and adverse-pressure-gradient boundary layers, following the method of Lozano-Durán et al. (J. Fluid Mech. 694, 100–130, [2012]). Although longer sweeps and ejections are found in the zero-pressure-gradient boundary layer, with ejections reaching streamwise lengths of 5 boundary layer thicknesses, the sweeps and ejections tend to be bigger in the adverse-pressure-gradient boundary layer. Moreover, small near-wall sweeps and ejections are much less numerous in the large-defect boundary layer. Large sweeps and ejections that reach the wall region (wall-attached) are also less numerous, less streamwise elongated and they occupy less space than in the zero-pressure-gradient boundary layer.     

Effects of boundary layer on flame propagation generated by forced ignition behind an incident shock wave

To study the effects of the boundary layer on the deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) process, the mixture behind an incident shock wave was ignited using laser breakdown. Ignition timing was controlled so that the interaction of the resulting flame with a laminar or turbulent boundary layer could be examined. In the case of the interaction with a laminar boundary layer, wrinkling of the flame was observed after the flame reached the corner of the channel. On the other hand, interaction with the turbulent boundary layer distorted the flame front and increased the spreading rate of the flame followed by prompt DDT. The inner structure of the turbulent boundary layer plays an important role in the DDT process. The region that distorted the flame within the turbulent boundary layer was found to be the intermediate region \(0.01< y/\delta < 0.4\), where y is the distance from the wall and \(\delta \) is the boundary layer thickness. The flame disturbance by the turbulent motions is followed by the flame interaction with the inner layer near the wall, which in turn generates a secondary-ignition kernel that produced a spherical accelerating flame, which ultimately led to the onset of detonation. After the flame reached the intermediate region, the time required for DDT was independent of the ignition position. The effect of the boundary layer on the propagating flame, thus, became relatively small after the accelerating flame was generated.     

Conservation relation of generalized growth rate in boundary layers

The elementary task is to calculate the growth rates of disturbances when the e^N method in transition prediction is performed. However, there is no unified knowledge to determine the growth rates of disturbances in three-dimensional (3D) flows. In this paper, we study the relation among the wave parameters of the disturbance in boundary layers in which the imaginary parts of wave parameters are far smaller than the real parts. The generalized growth rate (GGR) in the direction of group velocity is introduced, and the conservation relation of GGR is strictly deduced in theory. This conservation relation manifests that the GGR only depends on the real parts of wave parameters instead of the imaginary parts. Numerical validations for GGR conservation are also provided in the cases of first/second modes and crossflow modes. The application of GGR to the e^N method in 3D flows is discussed, and the puzzle of determining growth rates in 3D flows is clarified. A convenient method is also proposed to calculate growth rates of disturbances in 3D flows. Good agreement between this convenient method and existing methods is found except the condition that the angle between the group velocity direction and the x-direction is close to 90° which can be easily avoided in practical application.     

Pre-Chamber Ignition Mechanism: Simulations of Transient Autoignition in a Mixing Layer Between Reactants and Partially-Burnt Products

The structure of autoignition in a mixing layer between fully-burnt or partially-burnt combustion products from a methane-air flame at ? = 0.85 and a methane-air mixture of a leaner equivalence ratio has been studied with transient diffusion flamelet calculations. This configuration is relevant to scavenged pre-chamber natural-gas engines, where the turbulent jet ejected from the pre-chamber may be quenched or may be composed of fully-burnt products. The degree of reaction in the jet fluid is described by a progress variable c (c = taking values 0.5, 0.8, and 1.0) and the mixing by a mixture fraction ξ (ξ = 1 in the jet fluid and 0 in the CH₄-air mixture to be ignited). At high scalar dissipation rates, N₀, ignition does not occur and a chemically-frozen steady-state condition emerges at long times. At scalar dissipation rates below a critical value, ignition occurs at a time that increases with N₀. The flame reaches the ξ = 0 boundary at a finite time that decreases with N₀. The results help identify overall timescales of the jet-ignition problem and suggest a methodology by which estimates of ignition times in real engines may be made.     

Dynamic Transitions of Generalized Burgers Equation

In this article, we study the dynamic transition for the one dimensional generalized Burgers equation with periodic boundary condition. The types of transition are dictated by the sign of an explicitly given parameter b, which is derived using the dynamic transition theory developed by Ma and Wang (Phase transition dynamics. Springer, New York, 2014). The rigorous result demonstrates clearly the types of dynamics transition in terms of length scale l, dispersive parameter δ and viscosity ν.     

Interaction between an Inclined Shock and Boundary and High-Entropy Layers on a Flat Plate

The flow structure and heat exchange in the zone of interference between an inclined shock and the surface of a flat plate are investigated experimentally and theoretically as functions of many parameters, the interference being studied in both the presence and the absence of bluntness of the leading edge. The experiments were carried out at Mach numbers M = 6, 8, and 10 and the Reynolds numbers Re _L , calculated using the plate length L = 120 mm and the free-stream parameters, varied over the range from 0.24 ? 10⁶ to 1.31 ? 10⁶. The bluntness radius of the leading edge of the plate, the intensity of the impinging shock, and its location with respect to the leading edge were varied. The numerical simulation was carried out by solving the complete two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations and averaged Reynolds equations using the q-ω turbulence model. The laminar boundary layer became turbulent inside the separation zone induced by the shock. It is shown that the plate bluntness significantly reduces the heat exchange intensity in the interference zone, this effect intensifying with increase in the Mach number.     

Consequences of the Translation Invariance on the Darcy Free Convection Flow Past a Vertical Surface

It is shown that the governing equation for the stream function of the Darcy free convection boundary layer flows past a vertical surface is invariant under arbitrary translations of the transverse coordinate y. The consequences of this basic symmetry property on the solutions corresponding to a prescribed surface temperature distribution T _w (x) are investigated. It is found that starting with a “primary solution” which describes the temperature boundary layer on an impermeable surface, infinitely many “translated solutions” can be generated which form a continuous group, the “translation group” of the given primary solution. The elements of this group describe free convection boundary layer flows from permeable counterparts of the original surface with a transformed temperature distribution \({\tilde {T}_w \left( x \right)}\), when simultaneously a suitable lateral suction/injection of the fluid is applied. It turns out in this way that several exact solutions discovered during the latter few decades are in fact not basically new solutions, but translated counterparts of some formerly reported primary solutions. A few specific examples are discussed in detail.     

LES-based Study of the Roughness Effects on the Wake of a Circular Cylinder from Subcritical to Transcritical Reynolds Numbers

This paper investigates the effects of surface roughness on the flow past a circular cylinder at subcritical to transcritical Reynolds numbers. Large eddy simulations of the flow for sand grain roughness of size k/D = 0.02 are performed (D is the cylinder diameter). Results show that surface roughness triggers the transition to turbulence in the boundary layer at all Reynolds numbers, thus leading to an early separation caused by the increased momentum deficit, especially at transcritical Reynolds numbers. Even at subcritical Reynolds numbers, boundary layer instabilities are triggered in the roughness sublayer and eventually lead to the transition to turbulence. The early separation at transcritical Reynolds numbers leads to a wake topology similar to that of the subcritical regime, resulting in an increased drag coefficient and lower Strouhal number. Turbulent statistics in the wake are also affected by roughness; the Reynolds stresses are larger due to the increased turbulent kinetic energy production in the boundary layer and separated shear layers close to the cylinder shoulders.     

Visualization of Supersonic Low-Noise Flow Over Surface-Mounted Two-Dimensional Prisms

An experimental study of supersonic flow over two-dimensional surface-mounted prisms is carried out in a Mach 3 low-noise wind tunnel. The noise level of this supersonic wind tunnel, defined as the root mean-square Pitot pressure fluctuation normalized by the mean Pitot pressure, can be reduced to about 0.37%. The nanotracer planar laser scattering (NPLS) technique is used to analyze the influence of the prism geometry and the oncoming flow conditions on the typical flow structures including separation and reattachment shocks. With increase in the prism height the induced shocks move upstream. At a constant streamwise length L of a prism the timeaveraged NPLS images show that the length of the downstream recirculation region increases from 0.8L to 1.2L, when the prism height H changes from 3 to 5 mm. As compared with the flow structures occurring downstream of the prisms, the upstream flow structures are more susceptible to the oncoming boundary layer and are considerably different in laminar and turbulent flows. The separation shock wave is clearly visible in turbulent flow even for the 1-mm prism, whereas in the case of laminar flow there is no a distinct shock wave upstream of this prism. At the same time, the location of the flow reattachment and the angle of the reattachment shock wave in the downstream flow remain almost the same in both two flow regimes.     

Effect of tube diameter and capillary number on platelet margination and near-wall dynamics

I investigate the effect of tube diameter D and red blood cell capillary number Ca (i.e. the ratio of viscous to elastic forces) on platelet margination in blood flow at ≈37 % tube haematocrit. The system is modelled as three-dimensional suspension of deformable red blood cells and nearly rigid platelets using a combination of the lattice-Boltzmann, immersed boundary and finite element methods. Results of simulations during the dynamics before the steady state has been reached show that a non-diffusive radial platelet transport facilitates margination. This non-diffusive effect is important near the edge of the cell-free layer, but only for Ca > 0.2, when red blood cells are tank-treading. I also show that platelet trapping in the cell-free layer is reversible for Ca ≤ 0.2. Margination is essentially independent of Ca only for the smallest investigated tube diameter (D = 10 μm). Once platelets have reached the cell-free layer, they tend to slide rather than tumble. The tumbling rate is essentially independent of Ca but increases with D. Strong confinement suppresses tumbling due to the relatively small cell-free layer thickness at ≈ 37 % tube haematocrit.     

Two-dimensional interaction between an incident shock and a turbulent boundary layer in the presence of an entropy layer

The results of an experimental and numerical investigation of flow and heat transfer in the region of the interaction between an incident oblique shock and turbulent boundary layers on sharp and blunt plates are presented for the Mach numbers M_∞ = 5 and 6 and the Reynolds numbers Re_∞L = 27×10⁶ and 14×10⁶. The plate bluntness and the incident shock position were varied. It is shown that the maximum Stanton number St _m in the shock incidence zone decreases with increase in the plate bluntness radius r to a certain value and then varies only slightly with further increase in r. In the case of a turbulent undisturbed boundary layer heat transfer is diminished with increase in r more slowly than in the case of a laminar undisturbed flow. In the presence of an incident shock the bluntness of the leading edge of the flat plate results in a greater decrease in the Stanton number than in the absence of the shock. With increase in the bluntness of the leading edge of the plate the separation zone first sharply lengthens and then decreases in size or remains constant.     

A Simple Approach for Specifying Velocity Inflow Boundary Conditions in Simulations of Turbulent Opposed-Jet Flows

A new methodology is developed to specify inflow boundary conditions for the velocity field at the nozzle exit planes in turbulent counterflow simulations. The turbulent counterflow configuration consists of two coaxial opposed nozzles which emit highly-turbulent streams of varying species compositions depending on the mode considered. The specification of velocity inflow boundary conditions at the nozzle exits in the counterflow configuration is non-trivial because of the unique turbulence field generated by the turbulence generating plates (TGPs) upstream of the nozzle exits. In the method presented here, a single large-eddy simulation (LES) is performed in a large domain that spans the region between the TGPs of the nozzles, and the time series of the velocity fields at the nozzle exit planes are recorded. To provide inflow boundary conditions at the nozzle exit planes for simulations under other conditions (e.g., different stream compositions, bulk velocity, TGP location), transformations are performed on the recorded time series: the mean and r.m.s. (root-mean-square) quantities of velocity, as well as the longitudinal integral length scale on the centerline, at the nozzle exits in simulations are matched to those observed in experiments, thereby matching the turbulent Reynolds number R e _t . The method is assessed by implementing it in coupled large-eddy simulation/probability density function (LES/PDF) simulations on a small cylindrical domain between the nozzle exit planes for three different modes of the counterflow configuration: N ₂ vs. N ₂; N ₂ vs. hot combustion products; and C H ₄/N ₂ vs. O ₂. The inflow method is found to be successful as the first and second moments of velocity from the LES/PDF simulations agree well with the experimental data on the centerline for all three modes. This simple yet effective inflow strategy can be applied to eliminate the computational cost required to simulate the flow field upstream of the nozzle exits. It is also emphasized that, in addition to the predicted time series data, the availability of experimental data close to the nozzle exit planes plays a key role in the success of this method.     

Flow visualization of supersonic laminar flow over a backward-facing step via NPLS

An experimental study on a supersonic laminar flow over a backward-facing step of 5 mm height was undertaken in a low-noise indraft wind tunnel. To investigate the fine structures of Ma = 3.0 and 3.8 laminar flow over a backward-facing step, nanotracer planar laser scattering was adopted for flow visualization. Flow structures, including supersonic laminar boundary layer, separation, reattachment, redeveloping turbulent boundary layer, expansion wave fan and reattachment shock, were revealed in the transient flow fields. In the Ma = 3.0 BFS (backward-facing step) flow, by measuring four typical regions, it could be found that the emergence of weak shock waves was related to the K–H (Kelvin–Helmholtz) vortex which appeared in the free shear layer and that the convergence of these waves into a reattachment shock was distinct. Based on large numbers of measurements, the structure of time-averaging flow field could be gained. Reattachment occurred at the location downstream from the step, about 7–7.5 h distance. After reattachment, the recovery boundary layer developed into turbulence quickly and its thickness increased at an angle of 4.6°. At the location of X = 14h, the redeveloping boundary layer was about ten times thicker than its original thickness, but it still had not changed into fully developed turbulence. However, in the Ma = 3.8 flow, the emergence of weak shock waves could be seen seldom, due to the decrease of expansion. The reattachment point was thought to be near X = 15h according to the averaging result. The reattachment shock was not legible, which meant the expansion and compression effects were not intensive.