On the self-induced motion of vortex sheets

An accurate numerical scheme has been devised to study the self-induced motion of an infinitely thin, free vortex sheet of finite span in an unbounded, inviscid, incompressible fluid. The new numerical scheme has been tested against two vortex sheet problems for which exact solutions have also been obtained. The agreement between the numerical and exact solutions is excellent. The scheme has been further tested against two more examples for which analytical solutions for small times were available. Here too the agreement is excellent.     

Numerical simulation of unsteady interaction of centrifugal impeller with its diffuser using Lagrangian discrete vortex method

In this study, an advanced Lagrangian vortex- boundary element method is applied to simulate the unsteady impeller-diffuser interactions in a diffuser pump not only for design but also for off-design considerations. In velocity calculations based on the Biot-Savart law we do not have to grid large portions of the flow field and the calculation points are concentrated in the regions where vorticity is present. Lagrangian representation of the evolving vorticity field is well suited to moving boundaries. An integral pressure equation shows that the pressure distribution can be estimated directly from the instantaneous velocity and vorticity field. The numerical results are compared with the experimental data and the comparisons show that the method used in this study can provide us insight into the complicated unsteady impeller-diffuser interaction phenomena in a diffuser pump.     

Numerical simulation and control of horseshoe vortex around an appendage-body junction

The horseshoe vortex generated around the appendage-body junction of submarines strongly influences the non-uniformity of submarine wakes at the propeller discs. The flow characteristics around the appended submarine body are numerically simulated and analyzed, and a new method on the vortex control baffle is presented. Then, the influence of the vortex control baffle on the horseshoe vortex generated at the sail-body junction is numerically studied, and the flow phenomena caused by the vortex control baffle with different transverse positions is investigated further. Results show that the vortex control baffle can induce a kind of attached vortex in a rotational direction opposite to the horseshoe vortex; these two kinds of vortices undermine each other. Furthermore, when the transverse position of the vortex control baffle is close to the horseshoe vortex, the state of the horseshoe vortex is directly affected, and the flow structure becomes even more complex. We adapt the vortex control baffle for the horseshoe vortex generated at the stern foil-body junction. Results from the numerical simulation of the flow around the fully appended submarine model indicate that the effect of the vortex control baffle greatly improves the performance of the submarine wake. The circumferential non-uniformity of the axial, tangential, and radial velocity components are decreased markedly. The engineering applicability of the vortex control baffle has been well presented.     

Numerical simulation of vortex ring formation in the presence of background flow with implications for squid propulsion

Numerical simulations are used to study laminar vortex ring formation under the influence of background flow. The numerical setup includes a round-headed axisymmetric body with an opening at the posterior end from which a column of fluid is pushed out by a piston. The piston motion is explicitly included into the simulations by using a deforming mesh. A well-developed wake flow behind the body together with a finite-thickness boundary layer outside the opening is taken as the initial flow condition. As the jet is initiated, different vortex evolution behavior is observed depending on the combination of background flow velocity to mean piston velocity () ratio and piston stroke to opening diameter () ratio. For low background flow () with a short jet (), a leading vortex ring pinches off from the generating jet, with an increased formation number. For intermediate background flow () with a short jet (), a leading vortex ring also pinches off but with a reduced formation number. For intermediate background flow () with a long jet (), no vortex ring pinch-off is observed. For high background flow () with both a short () and a long () jet, the leading vortex structure is highly deformed with no single central axis of fluid rotation (when viewed in cross-section) as would be expected for a roll-up vortex ring. For , the vortex structure becomes isolated as the trailing jet is destroyed by the opposite-signed vorticity of the background flow. For , the vortex structure never pinches off from the trailing jet. The underlying mechanism is the interaction between the vorticity layer of the jet and the opposite-signed vorticity layer from the initial wake. This interaction depends on both and . A comparison is also made between the thrust generated by long, continuous jets and jet events constructed from a periodic series of short pulses having the same total mass flux. Force calculations suggest that long, continuous jets maximize thrust generation for a given amount of energy expended in creating the jet flow. The implications of the numerical results are discussed as they pertain to adult squid propulsion, which have been observed to generate long jets without a prominent leading vortex ring. PACS 02.60.Cb, 47.32.cf, 47.32.cb, 47.20.Ft, 47.63.M-     

On the hysteresis of vortex shedding in a periodically-varying flow

Efforts are made to explore the hysteresis characteristics of vortex shedding in a pipe flow, whose velocity varies periodically in time. Results obtained show that during acceleration of the flow, the vortex strength tends to be stronger, whereas during deceleration of the flow, the situation is reversed. As reconstructed from the velocity signals measured at a point in the flow field, the shed vortex arrays appear to possess uneven vortex strengths in response to periodically-varying incoming flows. Furthermore, in the hysteresis range, the streamwise spacings between the vortices appear to be unequal.     

The energy transfer mechanism of a perturbed solid-body rotation flow in a rotating pipe

Three-dimensional direct numerical simulations of a solid-body rotation superposed on a uniform axial flow entering a rotating constant-area pipe of finite length are presented. Steady in time profiles of the radial, axial, and circumferential velocities are imposed at the pipe inlet. Convective boundary conditions are imposed at the pipe outlet.The Wang and Rusak(Phys. Fluids 8:1007–1016, 1996.doi:10.1063/1.86882) axisymmetric instability mechanism is retrieved at certain operational conditions in terms of incoming flow swirl levels and the Reynolds number. However, at other operational conditions there exists a dominant,three-dimensional spiral type of instability mode that is consistent with the linear stability theory of Wang et al.(J. Fluid Mech. 797: 284–321, 2016). The growth of this mode leads to a spiral type of flow roll-up that subsequently nonlinearly saturates on a large amplitude rotating spiral wave. The energy transfer mechanism between the bulk of the flow and the perturbations is studied by the Reynolds-Orr equation. The production or loss of the perturbation kinetic energy is combined of three components: the viscous loss, the convective loss at the pipe outlet, and the gain of energy at the outlet through the work done by the pressure perturbation. Theenergy transfer in the nonlinear stage is shown to be a natural extension of the linear stage with a nonlinear saturated process.     

Numerical simulation of shear effect on vortex shedding behind a square cylinder

This paper is concerned with the numerical simulation of the flow structure around a square cylinder in a uniform shear flow. The calculations were conducted by solving the unsteady 2D Navier–Stokes equations with a finite difference method. The effect of the shear parameter K of the approaching flow on the vortex-shedding Strouhal number and the force coefficients acting on the square cylinder is investigated in the range K=0·0–0·25 at various Reynolds numbers from 500 to 1500. The computational results are compared with some existing experimental data and previous studies. The effect of shear rate on the Strouhal number and the force acting on the cylinder has a tendency to reduce the oscillation. The Strouhal number, mean drag and amplitude of the fluctuating force tend to decrease as the shear rate increases, but show no significant change at low shear rate. Increasing the Reynolds number decreases the Strouhal number and increases the force acting on the cylinder. At high shear rate the shedding frequencies of the fluctuating drag and lift coefficients are identical. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical simulation of flow in a circular duct fitted with air‐jet vortex generators

Most of the fundamental studies of the use of air‐jet vortex generators (AJVGs) have concentrated on their potential ability to inhibit boundary layer separation on aerofoils. However, AJVGs may be of use in controlling or enhancing certain features of internal duct flows. For example, they may be of use in controlling the boundary layer at the entrance to engine air intakes, or as a means of increasing mixing and heat transfer. The objective of this paper is to analyse the flow field in the proximity of an air‐jet vortex generator array in a duct by using two local numerical models, i.e. a simple flat plate model and a more geometrically faithful sector model. The sector model mirrors the circular nature of the duct's cross‐section and the centre line conditions on the upper boundary. The flow was assumed fully turbulent and was solved using the finite volume, Navier–Stokes Code CFX 4 (CFDS, AEA Technology, Harwell) on a non‐orthogonal, body‐fitted, grid using the k–ε turbulence model and standard wall functions. Streamwise, vertical and cross‐stream velocity profiles, circulation and peak vorticity decay, peak vorticity paths in cross‐stream and streamwise direction, cross‐stream vorticity profiles and cross‐stream wall shear stress distributions were predicted. Negligible difference in results was observed between the flat plate and the sector model, since the produced vortices were small relative to the duct diameter and close to the surface. The flow field was most enhanced, i.e. maximum thinning of the boundary layer, with a configuration of 30° pitch and 75° skew angle. No significant difference in results could be observed between co‐ and counter‐rotating vortex arrays. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An experimental investigation on vortex induced vibration of a flexible inclined cable under a shear flow

In the present study, an experimental investigation was performed to characterize the vortex induced vibration (VIV) of a flexible cable in an oncoming shear flow. The VIV tests were conducted in a wind tunnel with a flexible cable model. It was found that, under different oncoming velocity profiles, the cable model behaved in single-mode and multi-mode VIVs. The displacement amplitudes of the single mode VIVs were found to be larger than those of multi-mode VIVs, and the cross-flow (CF) response was larger than that of in-line (IL) direction for either the single mode or multi-mode VIVs. For a single mode vibration, the largest CF response occurs in the 1st mode VIV, and the motion trajectory of the 1st mode VIV was found to be an inclined figure of eight shape, while other single mode VIVs behaved in ellipse or straight line trajectories. For multi-mode VIVs, no stable vibration trajectories were found to exist since the vibration frequency bands covered two or more vibration modes. The vortex-shedding frequencies in the wake behind the inclined cable were also characterized in the present study. The shedding frequencies of the wake vortices were found to coincide well with the vibration modes: for a single mode VIV, they were close to the dominant vibration mode; for a multi-mode VIV, they could also cover the appearing vibration modes.     

Three-dimensional numerical simulation of drops suspended in simple shear flow at finite Reynolds numbers

A three-dimensional study of suspension of drops in simple shear flow has been performed at finite Reynolds numbers. Results are obtained using a finite difference/front tracking method in a periodic domain. The effects of the Reynolds number and the Capillary number are addressed at two volume fractions: 0.195 and 0.34. It is observed that suspensions of deformable drops exhibit a shear-thinning behavior. Similar to the motion of a single drop, drops migrate away from the walls. The effective viscosity, the first and the second normal stress differences oscillate around a mean value in all cases. The first normal stress difference increases with the Capillary number, the Reynolds number and the volume fraction. Results show that drops deform more and orient more in the flow direction as the Capillary number or the volume fraction is increased. Also, the average size of clusters is smaller than for suspension of rigid particles. The radial dependence of the pair distribution function across the channel has been studied. This dependency shows that the tendency to form clusters is reduced as the Capillary number increases or the volume fraction decreases.     

Fast numerical evaluation of flow fields with vortex cells

A vortex cell (in this paper) is an aerodynamically shaped cavity in the surface of a body, for example a wing, designed specially to trap the separated vortex within it, thus preventing large-scale unsteady vortex shedding from the wing. Vortex stabilisation can be achieved either by the special geometry, as has already been done experimentally, or by a system of active control. In realistic conditions the boundary and mixing layers in the vortex cell are always turbulent. In the present study a model for calculating the flow in a vortex cell was obtained by replacing the laminar viscosity with the turbulent viscosity in the known high-Reynolds-number asymptotic theory of steady laminar flows in vortex cells. The model was implemented numerically and was shown to be faster than solving the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations. An experimental facility with a vortex cell was built and experiments performed. Comparisons of the experimental results with the predictions of the model are reasonably satisfactory. The results also indicate that at least for flows in near-circular vortex cells it is sufficient to have accurate turbulence models only in thin viscous layers, while outside the viscosity should only be small enough to make the flow effectively inviscid.     

Vortex-induced vibration and mode transition of a curved flexible free-hanging cylinder in exponential shear flows

This paper presents an experimental study of vortex-induced-vibration (VIV) of a curved flexible free-hanging cylinder in exponential shear flows. The emphasis is on previously unexplained phenomena in our early research and in some cases offers insights on the mode transition of nonlinear vibration behavior of long flexible cylinders. The experimental results illustrate that the cylinder undergoes multi-frequency response and the dominant frequency varies spatially. The IL and CF response and transition are out-of-sync. In the second (2nd) mode response, the spanwise response exhibits a mixed pattern with standing wave and traveling wave. The contribution of traveling wave becomes greater as the reduced velocity increases. Only two distinct branches of response, namely the initial and lower branches, are observed in each mode. The lower branches of the first (1st) and 2nd modes present the same normalized frequency. A phase jump around 180°occurs at the transition between initial branches and lower branches, accompanying with a switch between 2S $\leftrightarrow$ 2P or P+S vortex shedding modes.     

Numerical investigations of the vortex interactions for a flow over a pitching foil at different stages

The fluid–structure interaction is investigated numerically for a two-dimensional flow (Re=2.5·10⁶) over a sinusoid-pitching foil by the SST (Shear Stress Transport) k–ω model. Although discrepancies in the downstroke phase, which are also documented in other numerical studies, are observed by comparing with experimental results, our current numerical results are sufficient to predict the mean features and qualitative tendencies of the dynamic stall phenomenon. These discrepancies are evaluated carefully from the numerical and experimental viewpoints.In this study, we have utilized Λ, which is the normalized second invariant of the velocity gradient tensor, to present the evolution of the Leading Edge Vortex (LEV) and Trailing Edge Vortex (TEV). The convective, pressure, and diffusion terms during the dynamic stall process are discussed based on the transport equation of Λ. It is found that the pressure term dominates the rate of the change of the rotation strength inside the LEV. This trend can hardly be observed directly by using the vorticity transport equation due to the zero baroclinic term for the incompressible flow.The mechanisms to delay the stall are categorized based on the formation of the LEV. At the first stage before the formation of the LEV in the upper surface, the pitching foil provides extra momentum into the fluid flows to resist the flow separation, and hence the stall is delayed. At the second stage, a low-pressure area travels with the evolution of the LEV such that the lift still can be maintained. Three short periods at the second stage corresponds to different flow patterns during the dynamic stall, and these short periods can be distinguished according to the trend of the pressure variation inside the LEV. The lift stall occurs when a reverse flow from the lower surface is triggered during the shedding of the LEV. For a reduced frequency k_f=0.15, the formation of the TEV happens right after the lift stall, and the lift can drop dramatically. With a faster reduced frequency k_f=0.25, the shedding of the LEV is postponed into the downstroke, and the interaction between the LEV and TEV becomes weaker correspondingly. Thus, the lift drops more gently after the stall. In order to acquire more reliable numerical results within the downstroke phase, the Large Eddy Simulation (LES), which is capable of better predictions for the laminar-to-turbulent transition and flow reattachment process, will be considered as the future work.     

Effect of span length and temperature on the 3-D confined flow around a vortex promoter

This article presents a numerical study on the influence of span length and wall temperature on the 3-D flow pattern around a square section vortex promoter located inside a micro-channel in the low Reynolds number regime. The first objective of the work is to quantify the critical Reynolds number that defines the onset of vortex shedding and to identify the different regimes that appear as a function of the channel aspect ratio (span to height ratio). We found that the critical Reynolds number for the onset of the Karman street regime increases as the aspect ratio decreases. In particular, for the aspect ratio of 1/2 the critical Reynolds number is nearly six times the critical Reynolds number of the 2-D problem. An intermediate oscillating regime between the steady and the Karman street solutions was also found to exist within a rather wide range of Reynolds numbers for small channel aspect ratios. The second objective was to investigate the influence of the vortex promoter wall temperature on both vortex shedding and flow pattern. This has practical engineering implications because the working fluid considered in the article is water that has a viscosity that depends significantly on temperature and promotes a strong coupling between the momentum and energy equations that influences the system behaviour. Results indicate that high surface temperature on the prism promotes the onset of the Karman street, suggesting design guidelines for micro-channel based heat sinks that make use of vortex promoters.     

Numerical simulation of fully non-linear steady free surface flow

The fully non-linear free surface potential flow past a 2D non-lifting body is computed. The numerical method is based on the simple layer integral formulation; the non-linear solution is obtained by means of an iterative procedure. Under some hypotheses, viscosity effects at the free surface are considered. All the numerical results obtained have been tested against analytical solutions and experimental results.     

Numerical simulation of jet-forced flow in a circular reservoir using discrete and random vortex methods

This paper describes a Biot–Savart discrete vortex model for simulating the flow patterns which occur when a single high-velocity inflow jet is used to stir the fluid within a circular container. The first stage of the model consists of conformally mapping the circular perimeter of the container onto a rectangle by means of a Schwarz–Christoffel transformation. A potential flow solution is then obtained for the flow inside the rectangle and this is transformed to give the potential flow inside the circle. In the second stage of the simulation, discrete vortices are added at the inlet of the physical system in order to model the inflow shear layers. Velocity components resulting from the discrete vortices and their images in the walls of the cylinder are superimposed on the uniform potential flow solution. The positions of the vortices are updated using a Lagrangian tracking procedure. Viscous effects are incorporated through the use of random walks. From the results it is shown that the discrete vortex method does predict qualitatively the important features of jet-forced reservoir flow.     

Numerical computation of a three-dimensional vortex sheet in a swirl flow

We consider an incompressible and inviscid fluid flow, called “swirl flow” that rotates around a certain axis in three-dimensional space. We investigate numerically the dynamics of a three-dimensional vortex sheet which is defined as a surface across which the velocity field of the swirl flow changes discontinuously. The vortex method and a fast summation method are implemented on a parallel computer. These numerical methods make it possible to compute the evolution of the vortex sheet for a long time and to describe the complex dynamics of the sheet.     

Numerical simulation of viscous flow interaction with an elastic membrane

A numerical fluid–structure interaction model is developed for the analysis of viscous flow over elastic membrane structures. The Navier–Stokes equations are discretized on a moving body‐fitted unstructured triangular grid using the finite volume method, taking into account grid non‐orthogonality, and implementing the SIMPLE algorithm for pressure solution, power law implicit differencing and Rhie–Chow explicit mass flux interpolations. The membrane is discretized as a set of links that coincide with a subset of the fluid mesh edges. A new model is introduced to distribute local and global elastic effects to aid stability of the structure model and damping effects are also included. A pseudo‐structural approach using a balance of mesh edge spring tensions and cell internal pressures controls the motion of fluid mesh nodes based on the displacements of the membrane. Following initial validation, the model is applied to the case of a two‐dimensional membrane pinned at both ends at an angle of attack of 4° to the oncoming flow, at a Reynolds number based on the chord length of 4 × 10³. A series of tests on membranes of different elastic stiffness investigates their unsteady movements over time. The membranes of higher elastic stiffness adopt a stable equilibrium shape, while the membrane of lowest elastic stiffness demonstrates unstable interactions between its inflated shape and the resulting unsteady wake. These unstable effects are shown to be significantly magnified by the flexible nature of the membrane compared with a rigid surface of the same average shape. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.