2D thermal/isothermal incompressible viscous flows

2D thermal and isothermal time‐dependent incompressible viscous flows are presented in rectangular domains governed by the Boussinesq approximation and Navier–Stokes equations in the stream function–vorticity formulation. The results are obtained with a simple numerical scheme based on a fixed point iterative process applied to the non‐linear elliptic systems that result after a second‐order time discretization. The iterative process leads to the solution of uncoupled, well‐conditioned, symmetric linear elliptic problems. Thermal and isothermal examples are associated with the unregularized, driven cavity problem and correspond to several aspect ratios of the cavity. Some results are presented as validation examples and others, to the best of our knowledge, are reported for the first time. The parameters involved in the numerical experiments are the Reynolds number Re, the Grashof number Gr and the aspect ratio. All the results shown correspond to steady state flows obtained from the unsteady problem. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solution to transient Navier–Stokes equations by the coupling of differential quadrature time integration scheme with dual reciprocity boundary element method

The two‐dimensional time‐dependent Navier–Stokes equations in terms of the vorticity and the stream function are solved numerically by using the coupling of the dual reciprocity boundary element method (DRBEM) in space with the differential quadrature method (DQM) in time. In DRBEM application, the convective and the time derivative terms in the vorticity transport equation are considered as the nonhomogeneity in the equation and are approximated by radial basis functions. The solution to the Poisson equation, which links stream function and vorticity with an initial vorticity guess, produces velocity components in turn for the solution to vorticity transport equation. The DRBEM formulation of the vorticity transport equation results in an initial value problem represented by a system of first‐order ordinary differential equations in time. When the DQM discretizes this system in time direction, we obtain a system of linear algebraic equations, which gives the solution vector for vorticity at any required time level. The procedure outlined here is also applied to solve the problem of two‐dimensional natural convection in a cavity by utilizing an iteration among the stream function, the vorticity transport and the energy equations as well. The test problems include two‐dimensional flow in a cavity when a force is present, the lid‐driven cavity and the natural convection in a square cavity. The numerical results are visualized in terms of stream function, vorticity and temperature contours for several values of Reynolds (Re) and Rayleigh (Ra) numbers. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Streamwise evolution of an inclined cylinder wake

The streamwise evolution of an inclined circular cylinder wake was investigated by measuring all three velocity and vorticity components using an eight-hotwire vorticity probe in a wind tunnel at a Reynolds number Re_d of 7,200 based on free stream velocity (U _∞) and cylinder diameter (d). The measurements were conducted at four different inclination angles (α), namely 0°, 15°, 30°, and 45° and at three downstream locations, i.e., x/d = 10, 20, and 40 from the cylinder. At x/d = 10, the effects of α on the three coherent vorticity components are negligibly small for α ≤ 15°. When α increases further to 45°, the maximum of coherent spanwise vorticity reduces by about 50%, while that of the streamwise vorticity increases by about 70%. Similar results are found at x/d = 20, indicating the impaired spanwise vortices and the enhancement of the three-dimensionality of the wake with increasing α. The streamwise decay rate of the coherent spanwise vorticity is smaller for a larger α. This is because the streamwise spacing between the spanwise vortices is bigger for a larger α, resulting in a weak interaction between the vortices and hence slower decaying rate in the streamwise direction. For all tested α, the coherent contribution to [`(v<sup>2</sup>)] \overline{{v^{2}}} is remarkable at x/d = 10 and 20 and significantly larger than that to [`(u²)] \overline{{u^{2}}} and [`(w<sup>2</sup>)]. \overline{{w^{2}}}. This contribution to all three Reynolds normal stresses becomes negligibly small at x/d = 40. The coherent contribution to [`(u²)] \overline{{u^{2}}} and [`(v²)] \overline{{v^{2}}} decays slower as moving downstream for a larger α, consistent with the slow decay of the coherent spanwise vorticity for a larger α.     

Numerical investigation of convective motion in a closed cavity

The investigation of thermal convection in a closed cavity is of considerable interest in connection with the problem of heat transfer. The problem may be solved comparatively simply in the case of small characteristic temperature difference with heating from the side, when equilibrium is not possible and when slow movement is initiated for an arbitrarily small horizontal temperature gradient. In this case the motion may be studied using the small parameter method, based on expanding the velocity, temperature, and pressure in series in powers of the Grashof number—the dimensionless parameter which characterizes the intensity of the convection [1–4]. In the problems considered it has been possible to find only two or three terms of these series. The solutions obtained in this approximation describe only weak nonlinear effects and the region of their applicability is limited, naturally, to small values of the Grashof number (no larger than 10³).With increase of the temperature difference the nature of the motion gradually changes—at the boundaries of the cavity a convective boundary layer is formed, in which the primary temperature and velocity gradients are concentrated; the remaining portion of the liquid forms the flow core. On the basis of an analysis of the equations of motion for the plane case, Batchelor [4] suggested that the core is isothermal and rotates with constant and uniform vorticity. The value of the vorticity in the core must be determined as the eigenvalue of the problem of a closed boundary layer. A closed convective boundary layer in a horizontal cylinder and in a plane vertical stratum was considered in [5, 6] using the Batchelor scheme. The boundary layer parameters and the vorticity in the core were determined with the aid of an integral method. An attempt to solve the boundary layer equations analytically for a horizontal cylinder using the Oseen linearization method was made in [7].However, the results of experiments in which a study was made of the structure of the convective motion of various liquids and gases in closed cavities of different shapes [8–13] definitely contradict the Batchelor hypothesis. The measurements show that the core is not isothermal; on the contrary, there is a constant vertical temperature gradient directed upward in the core. Further, the core is practically motionless. In the core there are found retrograde motions with velocities much smaller than the velocities in the boundary layer.The use of numerical methods may be of assistance in clarifying the laws governing the convective motion in a closed cavity with large temperature differences. In [14] the two-dimensional problem of steady air convection in a square cavity was solved by expansion in orthogonal polynomials. The author was able to progress in the calculation only to a value of the Grashof numberG=10⁴. At these values of the Grashof numberG the formation of the boundary layer and the core has really only started, therefore the author's conclusion on the agreement of the numerical results with the Batchelor hypothesis is not justified. In addition, the bifurcation of the central isotherm (Fig. 3 of [14]), on the basis of which the conclusion was drawn concerning the formation of the isothermal core, is apparently the result of a misunderstanding, since an isotherm of this form obviously contradicts the symmetry of the solution.In [5] the method of finite differences is used to obtain the solution of the problem of strong convection of a gas in a horizontal cylinder whose lateral sides have different temperatures. According to the results of the calculation and in accordance with the experimental data [9], in the cavity there is a practically stationary core. However, since the authors started from the convection equations in the boundary layer approximation they did not obtain any detailed information on the core structure, in particular on the distribution of the temperature in the core.In the following we present the results of a finite difference solution of the complete nonlinear problem of plane convective motion in a square cavity. The vertical boundaries of the cavity are held at constant temperatures; the temperature varies linearly on the horizontal boundaries. The velocity and temperature distributions are obtained for values of the Grashof number in the range 0<G4·10⁵ and for a value of the Prandtl number P=1. The results of the calculation permit following the formation of the closed boundary layer and the very slowly moving core with a constant vertical temperature gradient. The heat flux through the cavity is found as a function of the Grashof number.     

Viscous-inviscid interacting flow theory

In this paper a viscous-inviscid interacting flow theory (IFT) is developed for an incompressible, two—dimensional laminar flow. IFT's main points are as follows. (1) By introducing a concept of interaction layer where the normal momentum exchange is dominating, a new three-layer structure is established. (2) Through the conventional manipulations and by introducing an interaction model, both the streamwise and normal length scales are proved to be functions of a single parameterm, which is related to the streamwise pressure gradient and Reynolds number. (3) The approximate equations governing the flow of each layer as well as the whole interaction flow are derived. The present IFT is applicable to both attached and attached-separation bubble—reattached flows. The classical boundary layer theory^[1] and Triple-deck theory^[2] are shown to be two special cases of the present theory underm=0 and 1/4, respectively. Furthermore IFT provides new distinctions of both the normal and streamwise length scales for flow-field numerical computation and also gives a new approach to developing the simplified Navier-Stokes (SNS) equations. The project is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

A fluid solver based on vorticity–helical density equations with application to a natural convection in a cubic cavity

We study numerically a recently introduced formulation of incompressible Newtonian fluid equations in vorticity–helical density and velocity–Bernoulli pressure variables. Unlike most numerical methods based on vorticity equations, the current approach provides discrete solutions with mass conservation, divergence‐free vorticity, and accurate kinetic energy balance in a simple and natural way. The method is applied to compute buoyancy‐driven flows in a differentially heated cubic enclosure in the Boussinesq approximation for Ra ∈ {10⁴,10⁵,10⁶}. The numerical solutions on a finer grid are of benchmark quality. The computed helical density allows quantification of the three‐dimensional nature of the flow. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermal effects of the micropolar fluid parameters on the laminar free convection in spherical annuli with mixed boundary conditions

The effects of micro-rotation and vortex viscosity in micropolar fluids have been investigated numerically to determine heat transfer by natural convection between concentric and vertically eccentric spheres with specified mixed boundary conditions. Calculations were carried out systematically for several different eccentricities and a range of modified Rayleigh numbers to determine the average Nusslet numbers which are affected by the micropolar parameters (F) of the flow and temperature fields. The skin friction stress on the walls has also been studied and discussed. The governing equations, in terms of vorticity, stream function, temperature and angular momentum are expressed in a spherical polar coordinate system. Results were obtained for steady heat-transfer in spherical annuli at a Prandtl number of 0.7, with the modified Rayleigh number ranging from 10³ to 5 × 10⁵, for a radius ratio of 2.0 and eccentricities varying from −0.625 to +0.625. Comparisons are attempted between the Newtonian fluid and micropolar fluid.     

Mixed Convection in a Horizontal Channel with Local Heating from Below

Mixed convection induced in the entrance region of a horizontal plane channel by a bottom heat source of finite dimensions is considered. The calculations were performed for the Prandtl number Pr = 1, Grashof numbers ranging from 4 · 10³ to 3.2 · 10⁴, and Reynolds numbers varying from 0 to 10. The dimensions of the heat source and its location were also varied. The results were obtained from a numerical solution of the 2D unsteady Navier-Stokes equations in the Boussinesq approximation, written in vorticity – stream function – temperature variables. The solution was found by the Galerkin finite element method.     

New way for simulation of transient natural convection heat transfer

A method for improving numerical solution of transient natural convection heat transfer in enclosures is proposed, where temperature, a stream function, and vorticity are decomposed into Fourier components of a body-fitted curvilinear coordinate. Using addition formulas of trigonometric functions, the equations of motion, energy, and continuity can also be separated into Fourier series. This reduces the number of variables by one and leads to reduction of the numerical computation time.As an example, given is a seven-terms numerical solution for a Grashof number of 19,600 in case of air in a circular cylinder.     

An experimental study of a turbulent wing-body junction and wake flow

Extensive measurements were conducted in an incompressible turbulent flow around the wing-body junction formed by a 3∶2 semi-elliptic nose/NACA 0020 tail section and a flat plate. Mean and fluctuating velocity measurements were performed adjacent to the wing and up to 11.56 chord lengths downstream. The appendage far wake region was subjected to an adverse pressure gradient. The authors' results show that the characteristic horseshoe vortex flow structure is elliptically shaped, with ? (W)/?Y forming the primary component of the streamwise vorticity. The streamwise development of the flow distortions and vorticity distributions is highly dependent on the geometry-induced pressure gradients and resulting flow skewing directions. The primary goal of this research was to determine the effects of the approach boundary layer characteristics on the junction flow. To accomplish this goal, the authors' results were compared to several other junction flow data sets obtained using the same body shape. The trailing vortex leg flow structure was found to scale on T. A parameter known as the momentum deficit factor (MDF = (Re _T)² (θ/T)) was found to correlate the observed trends in mean flow distortion magnitudes and vorticity distribution. Changes in δ/T were seen to affect the distribution of u′, with lower ratios producing well defined local turbulence maxima. Increased thinning of the boundary layer near the appendage was also observed for small values of δ/T.     

Numerical study of vortex shedding from a rotating cylinder immersed in a uniform flow field

A numerical study is made of the unsteady two‐dimensional, incompressible flow past an impulsively started translating and rotating circular cylinder. The Reynolds number (Re) and the rotating‐to‐translating speed ratio (α) are two controlled parameters, and the influence of their different combinations on vortex shedding from the cylinder is investigated by the numerical scheme sketched below. Associated with the streamfunction (ψ)–vorticity (ω) formulation of the Navier–Stokes equations, the Poisson equation for ψ is solved by a Fourier/finite‐analytic, separation of variable approach. This approach allows one to attenuate the artificial far‐field boundary, and also yields a global conditioning on the wall vorticity in response to the no‐slip condition. As for the vorticity transport equation, spatial discretization is done by means of finite difference in which the convection terms are handled with the aid of an ENO (essentially non‐oscillatory)‐like data reconstruction process. Finally, the interior vorticity is updated by an explicit, second‐order Runge–Kutta method. Present computations fall into two categories. One with Re=10³ and α≤3; the other with Re=10⁴ and α≤2. Comparisons with other numerical or physical experiments are included. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous effect of rotation and natural convection on the flow about a liquid sphere

The problem of mixed convection around a liquid sphere that experiences a rotation about its axis parallel to the free stream is studied numerically using a finite- difference technique. The coupled boundary-layer energy and momentum equations are numerically solved over a wide range of Grashof number that represents the cases of aiding and opposing free convection and for wide range of the spin parameter Ta/Re². The surface of the sphere also rotates as a result of the shear stress exerted from the external flow of air. The effect of both parameters on the velocity components as well as the temperature within the thermal boundary-layer is presented. Results show that increasing the aiding free convection and the spin parameter cause increases in the shear stress and the local heat transfer coefficient.     

Vortex-enhanced mixing through active and passive flow control methods

This study aims to understand the underlying physics of vortex-enhanced mixing through active and passive flow control methods. To find a best flow control method that enhances turbulent mixing through the generation of streamwise vortices, an experimental investigation was carried out to compare active and passive flow control methods of an incompressible axisymmetric jet. For active flow control, the lip of the circular jet was equipped with a single small flap deflected away from the jet stream at an angle of 30° to the jet axis. The flap incorporated a flow control slot through which steady and oscillatory suction were implemented. The active flow control methods require power input to the suction devices. For passive flow control, the lip of the circular jet was equipped with a single small delta tab deflected into the jet stream at an angle of 30° to the jet axis. The chord lengths of the flap and delta tab were one-sixth of the jet diameter. The momentum of jet increased in the case of active flow control by entraining the ambient fluid, whereas momentum decreased in the case of passive flow control. The effect of steady suction saturated for volumetric suction coefficient values greater than 0.82 %. The strength of streamwise vortices generated by the flap were greater than those generated by the delta tab. Steady suction produced positive pressures just downstream of the flow control slot in the central portion of the flap and negative pressures at the flap edges. Oscillatory suction was highly dependent on dimensionless frequency (F ⁺) based on the distance from the flow control slot to the flap trailing edge; the pressures on the central portion of the flap increased for F ⁺ ≤ 0.11 and then decreased for greater F ⁺; finally attained negative pressures at F ⁺ = 0.44. The increase in jet momentum and turbulence intensity, combined with the induced streamwise vorticity, makes steady suction a potential concept for increasing propulsion efficiency through vortex-enhanced mixing. The flow control methods modify the jet flow, which in turn would alter the jet noise spectra.     

Numerical simulation of vortical ideal fluid flow through curved channel

A numerical algorithm to study the boundary‐value problem in which the governing equations are the steady Euler equations and the vorticity is given on the inflow parts of the domain boundary is developed. The Euler equations are implemented in terms of the stream function and vorticity. An irregular physical domain is transformed into a rectangle in the computational domain and the Euler equations are rewritten with respect to a curvilinear co‐ordinate system. The convergence of the finite‐difference equations to the exact solution is shown experimentally for the test problems by comparing the computational results with the exact solutions on the sequence of grids. To find the pressure from the known vorticity and stream function, the Euler equations are utilized in the Gromeka–Lamb form. The numerical algorithm is illustrated with several examples of steady flow through a two‐dimensional channel with curved walls. The analysis of calculations shows strong dependence of the pressure field on the vorticity given at the inflow parts of the boundary. Plots of the flow structure and isobars, for different geometries of channel and for different values of vorticity on entrance, are also presented. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Existence of Vortex Sheets with¶Reflection Symmetry in Two Space Dimensions

The main purpose of this work is to establish the existence of a weak solution to the incompressible 2D Euler equations with initial vorticity consisting of a Radon measure with distinguished sign in H ^{? 1}, compactly supported in the closed right half-plane, superimposed on its odd reflection in the left half-plane. We make use of a new a priori estimate to control the interaction between positive and negative vorticity at the symmetry axis. We prove that a weak limit of a sequence of approximations obtained by either regularizing the initial data or by using the vanishing viscosity method is a weak solution of the incompressible 2D Euler equations. We also establish the equivalence at the level of weak solutions between mirror symmetric flows in the full plane and flows in the half-plane. Finally, we extend our existence result to odd L ¹ perturbations, without distinguished sign, of our original initial vorticity.     

The DRBEM solution of incompressible MHD flow equations

This paper presents a dual reciprocity boundary element method (DRBEM) formulation coupled with an implicit backward difference time integration scheme for the solution of the incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow equations. The governing equations are the coupled system of Navier‐Stokes equations and Maxwell's equations of electromagnetics through Ohm's law. We are concerned with a stream function‐vorticity‐magnetic induction‐current density formulation of the full MHD equations in 2D. The stream function and magnetic induction equations which are poisson‐type, are solved by using DRBEM with the fundamental solution of Laplace equation. In the DRBEM solution of the time‐dependent vorticity and current density equations all the terms apart from the Laplace term are treated as nonhomogeneities. The time derivatives are approximated by an implicit backward difference whereas the convective terms are approximated by radial basis functions. The applications are given for the MHD flow, in a square cavity and in a backward‐facing step. The numerical results for the square cavity problem in the presence of a magnetic field are visualized for several values of Reynolds, Hartmann and magnetic Reynolds numbers. The effect of each parameter is analyzed with the graphs presented in terms of stream function, vorticity, current density and magnetic induction contours. Then, we provide the solution of the step flow problem in terms of velocity field, vorticity, current density and magnetic field for increasing values of Hartmann number. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the solution for steady state and time dependent flows in certain channels with small wall curvature

An asymptotic scheme is presented for the solution of the steady state and time dependent stream functions for flows in symmetric curved walled channels. In this scheme a class of non-linear Jeffery-Hamel solutions appear at O(1), and thus provide the first approximation to the steady state stream function. This class of Jeffery-Hamel solutions are evaluated by using a simple perturbation about Poiseuille flow. The classic Orr-Sommerfeld eigenproblem appears at O(1) in the asymptotic development of the time dependent stream function, but here there is a slow streamwise dependence. This eigenvalue problem, for a complex wave number, is solved using an algorithm which automatically provides an initial guess which is then used to iterate to the correct eigenvalue. Higher order terms in the asymptotic development, for both the steady state and time dependent stream functions, are evaluated to provide a solution for the total stream function.     

A Remark on the Existence of 2-D Steady Navier–Stokes Flow in Bounded Symmetric Domain Under General Outflow Condition

Let Ω be a 2-dimensional bounded domain, symmetric with respect to the x₂-axis. The boundary has several connected components, intersecting the x₂-axis. The boundary value is symmetric with respect to the x₂-axis satisfying the general outflow condition. The existence of the symmetric solution to the steady Navier–Stokes equations was established by Amick [2] and Fujita [4]. Fujita [4] proved a key lemma concerning the solenoidal extension of the boundary value by virtual drain method. In this note, we give a different proof via elementary approach by means of the stream function.     

Investigation of turbulence structures in a drag-reduced turbulent channel flow with surfactant additive by stereoscopic particle image velocimetry

In the present study, we employed stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (PIV) to investigate the characteristics of turbulence structures in a drag-reduced turbulent channel flow with addition of surfactant. The tested drag-reducing fluid was a CTAC/NaSal/Water (CTAC: cetyltrimethyl ammonium chloride; NaSal: sodium salicylate) system at 25°C. The weight concentration of CTAC was 30 ppm. Stereoscopic PIV measurement was performed for a water flow (Re=1.1×10⁴) and a CTAC solution flow (Re=1.5×10⁴ with 54% drag reduction) in both the streamwise–spanwise and wall-normal-spanwise planes, respectively. The three-dimensionality of hairpin vortex structures in the near-wall region for wall-bounded turbulent flow was reproduced by conditionally averaging the stereoscopic two-dimensional-three-component velocity fields. A series of wall-normal vortex cores were found to align with the near-wall low-speed streaks with opposite vorticity signals at both sides of the streaks and with the vorticity decreased on average by about one order of magnitude in CTAC solution flow compared with water flow; the spanwise spacing between the near-wall low-speed streaks in the solution flow is increased by about 46%. The streamwise vorticity of the vortex cores appearing in the wall-normal-spanwise plane was also decreased by the use of drag-reducing surfactant additives.     

Axisymmetric stagnation flow obliquely impinging on a moving circular cylinder with uniform transpiration

Laminar stagnation flow, axisymmetrically yet obliquely impinging on a moving circular cylinder, is formulated as an exact solution of the Navier–Stokes equations. Axial velocity is time‐dependent, whereas the surface transpiration is uniform and steady. The impinging free stream is steady with a strain rate k?. The governing parameters are the stagnation‐flow Reynolds number Re=k?a²/2ν, and the dimensionless transpiration S=U₀/k?a. An exact solution is obtained by reducing the Navier–Stokes equations to a system of differential equations governed by Reynolds number and the dimensionless wall transpiration rate, S. The system of Boundary Value Problems is then solved by the shooting method and by deploying a finite difference scheme as a semi‐similar solution. The results are presented for velocity similarity functions, axial shear stress and stream functions for a variety of cases. Shear stresses in all cases increase with the increase in Reynolds number and suction rate. The effect of different parameters on the deflection of viscous stagnation circle is also determined. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.