Response of the streaks, the active and passive eddies in an unsteady channel flow

Spanwise space–time correlations of the wall shear stress and the longitudinal velocity fluctuations in the low buffer layer of an unsteady channel flow are reported. The imposed amplitude is 20% of the centerline velocity and the imposed frequency covers a large range going from the quasi-steady limit to the bursting frequency of the corresponding steady flow. The unsteady spanwise correlation coefficient is investigated both through its own modulation characteristics (amplitude and phase shifts) and those of the resulting streak spacing. A good correspondence is found between the modulation of the streak spacing and that of the ejection period. The data is further analyzed by temporal filtering of the wall shear stress and streamwise velocity fluctuations. It is shown that the large outer-layer structures play a “passive” role in the unsteady response of the near wall turbulence. The inner wall eddies, in return, are amply responsible for the unsteady reaction of both the turbulent wall shear stress and the streamwise velocity intensities in the buffer layer.     

A study of properties of vortex stretching and enstrophy generation in numerical and laboratory turbulence

Dynamically relevant alignments are used in order to show that regions with weak vorticity are not structureless, non-Gaussian and dynamically not passive. for example, the structure of vorticity in quasi-homogeneous/isotropic turbulent flows is associated with strong alignment between vorticity ω and the eigenvectors of the rate of strain tensor λ_i (especially — but not only — between ω and λ₂) rather than with intense vorticity only. Consequently, much larger regions of turbulent flow than just those with intense vorticity are spatially structured. The whole flow field — even with the weakest measurable enstrophy — is strongly non-Gaussian, which among other things is manifested in strong alignment between vorticity and the vortex stretching vector W_i ≡ ω_jS_ij. It is shown that the quasi-two-dimensional regions corresponding to large cos(ω, λ₂) are qualitatively different from purely two-dimensional ones, e.g. in that they possess essentially nonvanishing enstrophy generation, which is larger than its mean for the whole field.     

Simulations of dispersed turbulent multiphase flow

Direct numerical simulations of homogeneous isotropic turbulence are used to investigate the effects of turbulence on the transport of particles in gas flows or bubbles in liquid flows. The inertia associated with the bubbles or the particles leads to locally strong concentrations of these in regions of instantaneously strong vorticity for bubbles or strain-rate for particles. This alters the average settling rates and other processes. If the mass-loading of the dispersed phase is significant a random “turbulent” flow is generated by the particle settling. A simple demonstration of this is given, showing the statistically axisymmetric character of this flow and how it can modify an ambient turbulent flow.     

Hierarchical structures in a turbulent pipe flow

A hierarchical structure (HS) analysis (β-test and γ-test) is applied to a fully developed turbulent pipe flow. Velocity signals are measured at two cross sections in the pipe and at a series of radial locations from the pipe wall. Particular attention is paid to the variation of turbulent statistics at wall units 10<y⁺<3000. It is shown that at all locations the velocity fluctuations satisfy the She–Leveque hierarchical symmetry (Phys. Rev. Lett. 72 (1994) 336). The measured HS parameters, β and γ, are interpreted in terms of the variation of fluid structures. Intense anisotropic fluid structures generated near the wall appear to be more singular than the most intermittent structures in isotropic turbulence and appear to be more outstanding compared to the background fluctuations; this yields a more intermittent velocity signal with smaller γ and β. As turbulence migrates into the logarithmic region, small-scale motions are generated by an energy cascade and large-scale organized structures emerge which are also less singular than the most intermittent structures of isotropic turbulence. At the center, turbulence is nearly isotropic, and β and γ are close to the 1994 She–Leveque predictions. A transition is observed from the logarithmic region to the center in which γ drops and the large-scale organized structures break down. We speculate that it is due to the growing eddy viscosity effects of widely spread turbulent fluctuations in a similar way as in the breakdown of the Taylor vortices in a turbulent Couette–Taylor flow at high Reynolds numbers.     

Objective tensorial representation of the pressure–strain correlations of turbulence

An explicit algebraic model for the fluctuating pressure–strain rate correlations of turbulence is developed by the use of representation theorems for tensor-valued isotropic tensors, and by invoking the principle of objectivity. The resulting model differs from others by the absence of the vorticity tensor from its formulation. The new model is calibrated by reference to data from homogeneous shear flows, and its potential as a practical tool for the analysis of turbulent flows is demonstrated by numerical simulations of a benchmark two-dimensional shear layer.     

Receptivity of the Flat-Plate Boundary Layer to Free-Stream Turbulence

The linear problem of generation of perturbations of a flat-plate boundary layer by external turbulence is solved. The turbulence is represented in the form of a set of space- and time-periodic vortex modes. It is shown that the boundary layer is most receptive to low-frequency longitudinal vorticity modes. The mean-square velocity fluctuations in the boundary layer and their spectrum are found for isotropic turbulence with a spectrum satisfying the Kolmogorov-Obukhov law.     

Coherent vorticity dynamics and dissipation in a utility-scale wind turbine wake with uniform inflow

The vorticity dynamics and its relationship to dissipation in the wake of a utility-scale wind turbine are investigated through large-eddy simulation. The vorticity dynamics is assessed through the enstrophy, which is related to the turbulent dissipation. The averaged enstrophy and turbulent dissipation are shown to be quantitatively similar in the wake. Using temporal phase averaging, the vorticity fluctuations are decomposed into coherent and random fluctuations with respect to the frequency of the tip vortices. The enstrophy in the tip vortices is dominated by coherent fluctuations, while the coherent fluctuations of root vortices are immediately saturated by the random vorticity fluctuations of the unstable hub vortex. The coherent strain rate has significant differences compared to the coherent enstrophy within one diameter downwind of blade tip, but the random enstrophy and strain rate are relatively similar. Differences in coherent enstrophy and strain rate decrease further from the rotor.     

Interaction and “apparent” reconnection of 3D vortex tubes via direct numerical simulations

We present evidence of: “binding” of anti-parallel vortex tube segments; strong noncircular core development; evolution of new secondary finger-like vortex structures: and finally “apparent” vortex reconnections due to entanglement. The latter three processes are not present in Biot-Savart filament simulations.     

INFLUENCE OF SEPARATION ON SOUND GENERATED BY VORTEX-STEP INTERACTION

An analysis of the sound produced when a line vortex interacts at low Mach number with forward or backward facing steps is made. The radiation is dominated by an aeroacoustic dipole whose strength is equal to the unsteady drag on the step. The drag is determined by the vorticity distribution, and a correct estimate of the sound must therefore include contributions from vorticity in the separated flow induced by the vortex. The separation is modelled by assuming that the shed vorticity rolls up into a concentrated core, fed by a connecting sheet from the edge of the step of negligible circulation. The motion everywhere is irrotational except at the impinging vortex and the separation core, and the trajectory of the core is governed by an emended Brown & Michael equation. For large steps it is found that estimates of the generated sound that neglect separation are typically an order of magnitude too large. The sound levels predicted for small steps with and without separation are of comparable magnitudes, although the respectivephasesare different.Turbulentflow over a step frequently involves separation and large surface pressure fluctuations at reattachment zones. The results of this paper suggest that numerical schemes for determining the noise generated by turbulent flow over a step must take proper account of “forcing” of the separation region by the impinging turbulence and of vorticity production via the no-slip condition.     

Unsteady flow structure and vorticity convection over the airfoil oscillating at high reduced frequency

Unsteady vortex structures and vorticity convection over the airfoil (NACA 0012), oscillating in the uniform inflow, are studied by flow visualization and velocity measurements. The airfoil, pivoting at one-third of the chord, oscillates periodically near the static stalling angle of attack (AOA) at high reduced-frequency. The phase-triggering and modified phase-averaged techniques are employed to reconstruct the pseudo instantaneous velocity field over the airfoil. During the down stroke cycle, the leading-edge separation vortex is growing and the vortex near the trailing edge begins to shed into the wake. During the upstroke cycle, the leading-edge separation vortex is matured and moves downstream, and the counter clockwise vortex is forming near the trailing edge. Convection speeds and wavelength of the unsteady vortex structure over the airfoil equal to that of the counter clockwise vortex shed into the wake. This kind of vortex structure is termed as “synchronized shedding” type. The wavelength of unsteady vortex structure over the airfoil is significantly different from that at low reduced-frequency. Consistent convection speeds of the leading-edge separation vortex are acquired from the spatial-temporal variations of local circulation and local surface vorticity generation, and equals that predicted from flow visualization. Spatial-temporal variations of the local surface vorticity generation clearly reveal the formation and passage of the leading-edge separation vortex only in the region where the flow does not separate completely from the surface. Significant amounts of the surface vorticity are generated within the leading-edge region of the airfoil during the upstroke cycle. Only negligible amount of surface vorticity is produced within the region of complete flow separation. During the down stroke cycle, the surface vorticity generation is mild along the airfoil surface, except the leading-edge region where a small scale leading-edge separation vortex is forming and growing.     

The effect of air-water interface on the vortex shedding from a vertical circular cylinder

The flow past an interface piercing circular cylinder at the Reynolds number Re=2.7×10⁴ and the Froude numbers Fr=0.2 and 0.8 is investigated using large-eddy simulation. A Lagrangian dynamic subgrid-scale model and a level set based sharp interface method are used for the spatially filtered turbulence closure and the air-water interface treatment, respectively. The mean interface elevation and the rms of interface fluctuations from the simulation are in excellent agreement with the available experimental data. The organized periodic vortex shedding observed in the deep flow is attenuated and replaced by small-scale vortices at the interface. The streamwise vorticity and the outward transverse velocity generated near the edge of the separated region, which enforces the separated shear layers to deviate from each other and restrains their interaction, are primarily responsible for the devitalization of the periodic vortex shedding at the interface. The lateral gradient of the difference between the vertical and transverse Reynolds normal stresses, increasing with the Froude number, is the main source of the streamwise vorticity and the outward transverse velocity at the interface.     

Some features of a turbulent wing–body junction vortical flow

Laser-Doppler velocimeter measurements of a wing/body junction flow field made within a plane to the side of the wing/wall junction and perpendicular both to a 3:2 elliptical nose—NACA 0020 tail wing, and a flat wall are presented. Reynolds number of the approach boundary layer was, Re_θ = 5940, and free-stream air velocity was, U_ref = 27.5 m/s. A large vortical structure residing in the outer region redirects the low-turbulence free-stream flow to the vicinity of the wing/wall junction, resulting in thin boundary layers with velocity magnitudes higher than free-stream flow. Lateral pressure gradients result in a three-dimensional separation on the uplifting side of the vortex. Additionally, a high vorticity vortical structure with opposite sense to the outer-layer vortex forms beneath the outer-layer vortex. Normal and shear stresses increase to attain values an order of magnitude larger compared to values measured in a three-dimensional boundary layer just outside the junction vortex. Bimodal histograms of the w fluctuating velocity occur under the outer-layer vortex near the wall due to the time-dependent nature of the horseshoe vortex. In such a flow the shear-stress angle (SSA) highly lags the flow-gradient angle (FGA), and the turbulence diffusion is highly altered due to presence of vortical structures.     

Three-dimensional flow structures and associated turbulence in the tip region of a waterjet pump rotor blade

Stereo particle image velocimetry measurements focus on the flow structure and turbulence within the tip leakage vortex (TLV) of an axial waterjet pump rotor. Unobstructed optical access to the sample area is achieved by matching the optical refractive index of the transparent pump with that of the fluid. Data obtained in closely spaced planes enable us to reconstruct the 3D TLV structure, including all components of the mean vorticity and strain-rate tensor along with the Reynolds stresses and associated turbulence production rates. The flow in the tip region is highly three-dimensional, and the characteristics of the TLV and leakage flow vary significantly along the blade tip chordwise direction. The TLV starts to roll up along the suction side tip corner of the blade, and it propagates within the passage toward the pressure side of the neighboring blade. A shear layer with increasing length connects the TLV to the blade tip and initially feeds vorticity into it. During initial rollup, the TLV involves entrainment of a few vortex filaments with predominantly circumferential vorticity from the blade tip. Being shed from the blade, these filaments also have high circumferential velocity and appear as swirling jets. The circumferential velocity in the TLV core is also substantially higher than that in the surrounding passage flow, but the velocity peak does not coincide with the point of maximum vorticity. When entrainment of filaments stops in the aft part of the passage, newly forming filaments wrap around the core in helical trajectories. In ensemble-averaged data, these filaments generate a vortical region that surrounds the TLV with vorticity that is perpendicular to that in the vortex core. Turbulence within the TLV is highly anisotropic and spatially non-uniform. Trends can be traced to high turbulent kinetic energy and turbulent shear stresses, e.g., in the shear layer containing the vortex filaments and the contraction region situated along the line where the leakage backflow meets the throughflow, causing separation of the boundary layer at the pump casing. Upon exposure to adverse pressure gradients in the aft part of the passage, at 0.65–0.7 chord fraction in the present conditions, the TLV bursts into a broad turbulent array of widely distributed vortex filaments.     

On the correlation between enstrophy and energy dissipation rate in a turbulent wake

All three components of the vorticity fluctuation have been measured simultaneously in a turbulent wake using a new eight-sensor vorticity probe. The vorticity fluctuation spectra agree reasonably well with those from a direct numerical simulation of a turbulent channel flow at high wavenumbers. The similarity between the instantaneous energy dissipation rate ε and the instantaneous enstrophy ω² is examined using spectra and probability density functions. The correlation between ω² and ε is evaluated in some detail. The homogeneous value of ε is strongly correlated with ω². The full value of ε and, more especially its isotropic value, are less well correlated with the enstrophy. Conditional averaging indicates that high enstrophy regions are associated with high energy dissipation rate regions.     

Vortices,Complex Flows and Inertial Particles

The properties of vortical structures at high Reynolds number in uniform flows and near rigid boundaries are reviewed. New properties are derived by analysing the dynamics of the main flow features and the related integral constraints, including the relations between mean swirl and bulk speed, the relative level of internal fluctuations to bulk properties, and connections between the steadiness and topology of the structures. A crucial property that determines energy dissipation and the transport of inertial particles (with finite fall speed) is the variation across the structure of the ratio of the mean strain rate (Σ) to the mean vorticity (Ω). It is shown how, once such particles are entrained into the vortical regions of a coherent structure, they can be transported over significant distances even as the vortices grow and their internal structure is distorted by internal turbulence, swirling motions and the presence of rigid boundaries. However if the vortex is strongly distorted by a straining motion so that Σ is greater than Ω, the entrained particles are ejected quite rapidly. These mechanisms are consistent with previous studies of entrained and sedimenting particles in disperse two phase flows over flat surfaces, and over bluff obstacles and dunes. They are also tested in more detail here through laboratory observations and measurements of 50–200-μm particles entrained into circular and non-circular vortices moving first into still air and then onto rigid surfaces placed parallel and perpendicular to the direction of motion of the vortices.     

Large eddy simulation (2D) using diffusion–velocity method and vortex‐in‐cell

A large eddy Simulation based on the diffusion‐velocity method and the discrete vortex method is presented. The vorticity‐based and eddy viscosity type subgrid scale model simulating the enstrophy transfer between the large and small scale appears as a convective term in the diffusion‐velocity formulation. The methodology has been tested on a spatially growing mixing layer using the two‐dimensional vortex‐in‐cell method and the Smagorinsky subgrid scale model. The effects on the vorticity contours, momemtum thickness, mean streamwise velocity profiles, root‐mean‐square velocity and vorticity fluctuations and negative cross‐stream correlation are discussed. Comparison is made with experiment and numerical work where diffusion is simulated using random walk. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coherent vortical and straining structures in the finite wall-mounted square cylinder wake

Topological aspects of the turbulent wake of a finite, surface-mounted, square-cross-section cylinder of h/d = 4 are addressed by decomposing the velocity field into a quasi-periodic coherent part and the unresolved incoherent fluctuations. The three-dimensional large scale structure is educed through a reconstruction of planar phase-averaged PIV measurements using the simultaneously sampled surface pressure difference on opposing sides of the obstacle as a phase reference. A topological model for the vortex structure is educed and mean streamwise wake vorticity is explained in terms of the connections between initially vertical structures shed alternately from either side of the obstacle, rather than previously proposed ‘tip’ vortex structures generated at the obstacle free-end. The coherent structure educed accounts for a significant portion of the fluctuating energy in the wake. The turbulent field is further analyzed by finding Lagrangian straining structures that form by induction of the coherent vorticity field, and these structures are related to the energy transfer from the base phase-averaged flow since they act to stretch incoherent vorticity fluctuations in their neighbourhood.     

Reconstruction of a quasi-instantaneous image of coherent structures from hotwire signals obtained by a multi-point simultaneous measurement system

The turbulent velocity components (u, v) at 11 points in a reciprocating oscillatory turbulent flow have been measured simultaneously by a set of eleven X-type hotwire probes located in a plane perpendicular to the mean flow. Using a conditional sampling technique and a new method of data analysis for the inverse estimation of flow fields called the “virtual plate/load and MASCON model”, a quasi-instantaneous three-dimensional image of coherent structures of turbulence was first reconstructed directly from the experimental velocity data. The quasi-instantaneous image was expressed in terms of the velocity components u, v, w and the vorticity components ω_x ω_y, ω_z and we found that the large-scale coherent structure was composed of a pair of counter-rotating fluid motions with asymmetry which was quite different from that of the ensemble-averaged one. Flow patterns induced by the large-scale structure have been clarified by perspective representations visualized by computer simulations that produce timelines and streaklines of fluid particle traces. Results showed that the new experimental method was applicable for investigating the three-dimensional feature of coherent structures including asymmetry.     

Simulating air entrainment and vortex dynamics in a hydraulic jump

The air entrainment characteristics of three separate Froude number hydraulic jumps are investigated numerically using an unsteady RANS, realizable k–ε turbulence model, with a Volume of Fluid treatment for the free surface. Mean velocity profiles, average void fraction, and Sauter mean diameter compare favorably with experimental data reported in literature. In all simulations, time-averaged void fraction profiles show good agreement with experimental values in the turbulent shear layer and an accurate representation of interfacial aeration at the free surface. Sauter mean diameter is well represented in the shear layer, and free surface entrainment results indicate bubble size remains relatively unchanged throughout the depth of the jump. Several different grid resolutions are tested in the simulations. Significant improvements in void fraction and bubble size comparison are seen when the diameter to grid size ratio of the largest bubbles in the shear layer surpasses eight. A three-dimensional simulation is carried out for one Froude number jump, showing an improvement in the prediction of entrained air and bubble size compared with two-dimensional results at a substantial increase in computation time. An analysis of three-dimensional vorticity shows a complex interaction between spanwise and streamwise vortical structures and entrained air bubbles. The jump is similar to a turbulent mixing layer, constrained by the free surface, with vortex pairing and subsequent fluctuations in free surface elevation. Downstream fluctuations of the toe are associated with a roll up of the primary spanwise vortex, fluctuations of the free surface, and counter-rotating streamwise vortex pairs. The action of these flow structures is likely responsible for the improvement in three-dimensional results.