Reynolds Number Effects on the Coherent Dynamics of the Turbulent Horseshoe Vortex System

The adverse pressure gradient induced by a surface-mounted obstacle in a turbulent boundary layer causes the approaching flow to separate and form a dynamically rich horseshoe vortex system (HSV) in the junction of the obstacle with the wall. The Reynolds number of the flow (Re) is one of the important parameters that control the rich coherent dynamics of the vortex, which are known to give rise to low-frequency, bimodal fluctuations of the velocity field (Devenport and Simpson, J Fluid Mech 210:23–55, 1990; Paik et al., Phys Fluids 19:045107, 2007). We carry out detached eddy simulations (DES) of the flow past a circular cylinder mounted on a rectangular channel for Re = 2.0 × 10⁴ and 3.9 × 10⁴ (Dargahi, Exp Fluids 8:1–12, 1989) in order to systematically investigate the effect of the Reynolds number on the HSV dynamics. The computed results are compared with each other and with previous experimental and computational results for a related junction flow at a much higher Reynolds number (Re = 1.15 × 10⁵) (Devenport and Simpson, J Fluid Mech 210:23–55, 1990; Paik et al., Phys Fluids 19:045107, 2007). The computed results reveal significant variations with Re in terms of the mean-flow quantities, turbulence statistics, and the coherent dynamics of the turbulent HSV. For Re = 2.0 × 10⁴ the HSV system consists of a large number of necklace-type vortices that are shed periodically at higher frequencies than those observed in the Re = 3.9 × 10⁴ case. For this latter case the number of large-scale vortical structures that comprise the instantaneous HSV system is reduced significantly and the flow dynamics becomes quasi-periodic. For both cases, we show that the instantaneous flowfields are dominated by eruptions of wall-generated vorticity associated with the growth of hairpin vortices that wrap around and disorganize the primary HSV system. The intensity and frequency of these eruptions, however, appears to diminish rapidly with decreasing Re. In the high Re case the HSV system consists of a single, highly energetic, large-scale necklace vortex that is aperiodically disorganized by the growth of the hairpin mode. Regardless of the Re, we find pockets in the junction region within which the histograms of velocity fluctuations are bimodal as has also been observed in several previous experimental studies.     

Transient mixed convection in an enclosure driven by a sliding lid

Transient convection of an incompressible viscous fluid in a square cavity is investigated. The temperature at the top lid is higher than that at the bottom wall, producing a stably stratified overall configuration. The vertical sidewalls are insulated. Flow is initiated by an impulsive start of the sliding motion of the top lid. The transient features of the mixed convection are delineated by procuring numerical solutions in a wide range of parameters, i.e., 400≤Re≤4,000, 1.6×10⁵≤Gr≤1.6×10⁷. Flows and heat transfer characteristics are described both in the interior core and boundary-layer regions. In the large-time limit, the steady state features are depicted. Parallel experimental efforts are made by employing the particle image velocimetry (PIV) to visualize the steady state flow and thermal fields, together with thermocouple measurements.     

Control of separated flows by time periodic Lorentz forces

Electromagnetic, i.e. Lorentz forces, may be used to influence the flow of electrically conducting fluids. The present paper investigates the application of time periodic Lorentz forces to the control of the suction side flow on a NACA 0015 hydrofoil. Experimental results, consisting of flow visualizations and force measurements, characterizing the control effect in the low Reynolds number range of 10⁴Re10⁵, are presented. A comparison of the forcing effect with stationary Lorentz forces on one hand and conventional oscillatory blowing on the other hand is given as well.     

The buoyancy effects on the boundary layers induced by continuous surfaces stretched with rapidly decreasing velocities

Heat and mass transfer characteristics of the self-similar boundary layer flows induced by continuous surfaces stretched with rapidly decreasing power law velocities U_w x^m, m < –1 are considered for mixed convection flow. The effect of various governing parameters, such as Prandtl number Pr, temperature exponent n, dimensionless injection/suction velocity f_w, and the mixed convection parameter = s Gr/Re² are studied. These parameters have great effects on velocity and temperature profiles, heat transfer coefficient, and skin friction coefficient at the moving surface. Results show that similarity solutions exist only when the condition n = 2m – 1 is satisfied. Critical values of , Nu/Re^0.5 and C_f Re^0.5 are obtained for predominate natural convection for different Prandtl numbers at m = –2, –6 and n = –5, and –13 respectively. Results also show that the effect of buoyancy is more significant for weak than for strong suction. Furthermore, critical Prandtl numbers where f_w profiles have minimums are obtained for m = –2 and –6. Finally, critical values of , C_f Re^0.5 are also obtained for predominate natural convection for both m = –2 and –6.     

PIV–LES analysis of channel flow rotating about the streamwise axis

The flow field of a channel rotating about the streamwise axis is analyzed experimentally and numerically. The current investigations were carried out at a bulk velocity based Reynolds number of Re_m = 2850 and a friction velocity based Reynolds number of Re_τ = 180, respectively. Particle-image velocimetry (PIV) measurements are compared with large-eddy simulation data to show earlier direct numerical simulation findings to generate too large a reverse flow region in the center region of the spanwise flow. The development of the mean spanwise velocity distribution and the influence of the rotation on the turbulent properties, i.e., the Reynolds stresses and the two-point correlations of the flow, are confirmed in both investigations. The rotation primarily influences those components of the Reynolds shear stresses, which contain the spanwise velocity component. The size of the correlation areas and thus the length scales of the flow generally grow in all three coordinate directions leading to longer structures. Furthermore, experimental results of the same channel flow at a significantly lower bulk Reynolds number of Re_{m, l} = 665, i.e., a laminar flow in a non-rotating channel, are introduced. The experiments show the low Reynolds number flow to become turbulent under rotation and to develop the same characteristics as the high Reynolds number flow.     

Direct numerical simulation of turbulent flow and heat transfer in a square duct with natural convection

In this paper, a direct numerical simulation of a fully developed turbulent flow and heat transfer are studied in a square duct with an imposed temperature difference between the vertical walls and the perfectly insulated horizontal walls. The natural convection is considered on the cross section in the duct. The numerical scheme employs a time-splitting method to integrate the three dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes equation. The unsteady flow field was simulated at a Reynolds number of 400 based on the Mean friction velocity and the hydraulic diameter (Re _m = 6200), while the Prandtl number (Pr) is assumed 0.71. Four different Grashof numbers (Gr = 10⁴, 10⁵, 10⁶ and 10⁷) are considered. The results show that the secondary flow and turbulent characteristics are not affected obviously at lower Grashof number (Gr ≤ 10⁵) cases, while for the higher Grashof number cases, natural convection has an important effect, but the mean flow and mean temperature at the cross section are also affected strongly by Reynolds stresses. Compared with the laminar heat transfer at the same Grashof number, the intensity of the combined heat transfer is somewhat decreased.     

Forced convection of turbulent flow in triangular ducts with different angles and surface roughnesses

The experimental investigations were consisting of two parts. The first part was carried out to study the effect of corner geometry on the steady-state forced convection inside horizontal isosceles triangular ducts with sharp corners. The electrically-heated triangular duct was used to simulate the triangular passage of a plate-fin compact heat exchanger. The isosceles triangular ducts were manufactured with duralumin, and fabricated with the same length of 2.4 m and hydraulic diameter of 0.44 m, but five different apex angles (i.e. θ _a =15^∘,30^∘, 40^∘,60^∘, and 90^∘) respectively. The investigation was performed under turbulent flow condition covering a wide range of Reynolds number (i.e. 7000≤Re _D ≤20000). It was found that the best thermal performance is achieved with the apex angle of 60^∘. The second part was performed to investigate the effect of surface roughness on the forced convection of the same system. Horizontal equilateral triangular ducts with an apex angle of 60^∘ were fabricated with the same length and hydraulic diameter, but different average surface roughnesses of 1.2 m,3.0 m and 11.5 m respectively. It was concluded that the duct with a higher surface roughness will have a better heat transfer performance. Non-dimensional expressions for the determination of the heat transfer coefficient of the triangular ducts with different apex angles and surface roughnesses were also developed. Received on 15 December 1997     

Effect of natural ventilation on the boundary layer separation and near-wake vortex shedding characteristics of a sphere

Experiments were conducted in water and wind tunnels on spheres in the Reynolds number range 6 × 10³ to 6.5 × 10⁵ to study the effect of natural ventilation on the boundary layer separation and near-wake vortex shedding characteristics. In the subcritical range of Re (<2 × 10⁵), ventilation caused a marginal downstream shift in the location of laminar boundary layer separation; there was only a small change in the vortex shedding frequency. In the supercritical range (Re > 4 × 10⁵), ventilation caused a downstream shift in the mean locations of boundary layer separation and reattachment; these lines showed significant axisymmetry in the presence of venting. No distinct vortex shedding frequency was found. Instead, a dramatic reduction occurred in the wake unsteadiness at all frequencies. The reduction of wake unsteadiness is consistent with the reduction in total drag already reported. Based on the present results and those reported earlier, the effects of natural ventilation on the flow past a sphere can be categorized in two broad regimes, viz., weak and strong interaction regimes. In the weak interaction regime (subcritical Re), the broad features of the basic sphere are largely unaltered despite the large addition of mass in the near wake. Strong interaction is promoted by the closer proximity of the inner and outer shear layers at supercritical Re. This results in a modified and steady near-wake flow, characterized by reduced unsteadiness and small drag. Received: 8 September 1998 / Accepted: 1 January 2000     

Simulations of Turbulent Flow in a Plane Asymmetric Diffuser

Large-eddy simulations (LES) of a planar, asymmetric diffuser flow have been performed. The diverging angle of the inclined wall of the diffuser is chosen as 8.5°, a case for which recent experimental data are available. Reasonable agreement between the LES and the experiments is obtained. The numerical method is further validated for diffuser flow with the diffuser wall inclined at a diverging angle of 10°, which has served as a test case for a number of experimental as well as numerical studies in the literature (LES, RANS). For the present results, the subgrid-scale stresses have been closed using the dynamic Smagorinsky model. A resolution study has been performed, highlighting the disparity of the relevant temporal and spatial scales and thus the sensitivity of the simulation results to the specific numerical grids used. The effect of different Reynolds numbers of the inflowing, fully turbulent channel flow has been studied, in particular, Re _b  = 4,500, Re _b  = 9,000 and Re _b  = 20,000 with Re _b being the Reynolds number based on the bulk velocity and channel half width. The results consistently show that by increasing the Reynolds number a clear trend towards a larger separated region is evident; at least for the studied, comparably low Reynolds-number regime. It is further shown that the small separated region occurring at the diffuser throat shows the opposite behaviour as the main separation region, i.e. the flow is separating less with higher Re _b . Moreover, the influence of the Reynolds number on the internal layer occurring at the non-inclined wall described in a recent study has also been assessed. It can be concluded that this region close to the upper, straight wall, is more distinct for larger Re _b . Additionally, the influence of temporal correlations arising from the commonly used periodic turbulent channel flow as inflow condition (similar to a precursor simulation) for the diffuser is assessed.     

Large-scale flow structures and heat transport of turbulent forced and mixed convection in a closed rectangular cavity

Results of an experimental study of flow structure formation and heat transport in turbulent forced and mixed convection are presented. The experiments were conducted in a rectangular cavity with a square cross section, which has an aspect ratio between length and height of Γ_xz = 5. Air at atmospheric pressure was used as working fluid. The air inflow was supplied through a slot below the ceiling, while exhausting was provided by another slot, which is located directly above the floor. Both vents extend over the whole length of the cell. In order to induce thermal convection the bottom of the cell is heated while the ceiling is maintained at a constant temperature. This configuration allows to generate and study mixed convection under well defined conditions. Results of forced convection at Re = 1.07 × 10⁴ as well as mixed convection at 1.01 × 10⁴ ? Re ? 3.4 × 10⁴ and Ra = 2.4 × 10⁸ (3.3 ? Ar ? 0.3), which were obtained by means of Particle Image Velocimetry and local temperature measurements, are presented. For purely forced convection a 2D mean wind, which can be approximated by a solid body rotation, is found. With increasing Archimedes number this structure becomes unstable, leading to a transition of the solid body rotation into additional smaller convection rolls. Proper orthogonal decomposition of the instantaneous velocity fields has been performed for further analysis of these coherent large-scale structures. Their fingerprint is found in the spatial temperature distribution of the out flowing air at the end of the outlet channel, which reveals a temporally stable profile with two maxima over the length of the outlet. Moreover a maximum in the global enthalpy transport by the fluid is found at Ar ≈ 0.6.     

Characterization of fluid flow patterns and heat transfer in horizontal channel mixed convection

Two mechanisms of roll initiation are highlighted in a horizontal channel flow, uniformly heated from below, at constant heat flux (Γ = 10, Pr = 7, 50 ≤ Re ≤ 100, 0 ≤ Ra ≤ 10⁶). The first mechanism is the classical one, it occurs for low Rayleigh numbers and is initiated by the lateral wall effect. The second occurs for higher Rayleigh numbers and combines the previous effect with a supercritical vertical temperature gradient in the lower boundary layer, which simultaneously triggers pairs of rolls in the whole zone in between the two lateral rolls. We have found that in the present configuration, the transition between the two roll initiation mechanisms occurs for Ra/Re ² ≈ 18. Consequently, the heat transfer is significantly enhanced compared to the pure forced convection case owing to the flow pattern responsible of the continuous flooding the heated wall with cold fluid.     

Effects of corrugation angle on developing laminar forced convection and entropy generation in a wavy channel

This paper investigates the effects of corrugation angle (β) on the developing laminar forced convection and entropy generation in a wavy channel with numerical methods. The studied cases cover β = 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-, 30- and 35°, whilst Reynolds number (Re) is varied as 100, 200 and 400. The analyzed flow characteristics include recirculating flows, secondary vortices, temperature distributions, and friction factor as well as Nusselt number. In particular, the effects of corrugation angle on the distributions and magnitudes of local entropy generation resulted from frictional irreversibility (S _P ^′′′) and heat transfer irreversibility (S _T ^′′′) are separately discussed in detail in the present paper. Based on the minimal entropy generation principle, the optimal corrugation angle and favorable Re are reported.     

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

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

Finite element analysis of vortex shedding using equal order interpolations

An operator splitting and element‐by‐element conjugated gradient solver, and equal order interpolations are applied for solving time dependent Navier–Stokes (NS) equations to simulate flow induced vortex shedding in the present study. In addition, the convection term is corrected by balanced tensor diffusivity, which can stabilize the numerical simulation and overcome the numerical oscillations. The evolution of the interested flowing properties with time is analyzed by using spectral analysis. The developed code has been validated by the application of two examples: a driven cavity flow and a flow induced vortex vibration. Results from the first example for Reynolds number Re=10³ and Re=10⁴ are compared with other numerical simulations. Results from the second example, uniform flow past a square rod over a wide range of high Reynolds numbers from Re=10³～10⁵, are compared with experimental data and other numerical studies. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rotating Brinkman–Lapwood Convection with Modulation

The purpose of this article is to analyze, theoretically, the effect of modulation on rotating Brinkman–Lapwood convection, i.e., buoyancy-driven convection in a sparse porous medium subjected to rotation. Darcy–Brinkman momentum equation with Coriolis term has been used to describe the flow. The system is considered rotating about an axis with non-uniform rotation speed. In particular, we assume that the rotation speed is varying sinusoidally with time. A linear stability analysis has been performed to find the critical Rayleigh number in modulated case. The effect of modulated rotation speed is found to have a stabilizing effect on the onset of convection for different values of modulation frequency and the other physical parameters involved.     

Dissolved gas effects on thermocapillary convection during boiling in reduced gravity environments

The mechanisms by which thermocapillary convection arises during boiling of nominally pure fluids in low-g environments are currently not known. It has recently been suggested that small amounts of dissolved gas within the bulk liquid can accumulate within the vapor bubble, forming localized concentration gradients that results in a temperature gradient to form along the liquid–vapor interface that drives thermocapillary convection. This hypothesis was tested by boiling > 99.3% pure n-perfluorohexane with and without noncondensible gas in a low-g environment using a 7.0 × 7.0 mm² microheater array to measure time and space resolved heat transfer at various wall superheats. The thermocapillary convection around the primary bubble that formed in the gassy fluid was found to be much weaker than in the degassed fluid, and the primary bubble diameter was much larger in the gassy fluid due to the accumulation of noncondensible gas within the bubble. The results suggest that the accumulation of noncondensible gas in the bubble can result in temperature variations along the interface but due to the increased vapor/gas bubble size, the driving thermocapillary temperature gradient along the interface is significantly reduced and result in much weaker thermocapillary flow. The highest CHF values in a reduced gravity environment (19 W/cm²) occurred when the fluid was highly subcooled and degassed.     

Multiphase Thermohaline Convection in the Earth’s Crust: II. Benchmarking and Application of a Finite Element – Finite Volume Solution Technique with a NaCl–H2O Equation of State

We present the benchmarking of a new finite element – finite volume (FEFV) solution technique capable of modeling transient multiphase thermohaline convection for geological realistic p-T-X conditions. The algorithm embeds a new and accurate equation of state for the NaCl–H₂O system. Benchmarks are carried out to compare the numerical results for the various component-processes of multiphase thermohaline convection. They include simulations of (i) convection driven by temperature and/or concentration gradients in a single-phase fluid (i.e., the Elder problem, thermal convection at different Rayleigh numbers, and a free thermohaline convection example), (ii) multiphase flow (i.e., the Buckley–Leverett problem), and (iii) energy transport in a pure H₂O fluid at liquid, vapor, supercritical, and two-phase conditions (i.e., comparison to the U.S. Geological Survey Code HYDROTHERM). The results produced with the new FEFV technique are in good agreement with the reference solutions. We further present the application of the FEFV technique to the simulation of thermohaline convection of a 400°C hot and 10 wt.% saline fluid rising from 4 km depth. During the buoyant rise, the fluid boils and separates into a high-density, high-salinity liquid phase and a low-density, low-salinity vapor phase.     

The ultra-low Reynolds number airfoil wake

Lift force and the near wake of an NACA 0012 airfoil were measured over the angle (α) of attack of 0°–90° and the chord Reynolds number (Re _c ), 5.3 × 10³–5.1 × 10⁴, with a view to understand thoroughly the near wake of the airfoil at low- to ultra-low Re _c . While the lift force is measured using a load cell, the detailed flow structure is captured using laser-Doppler anemometry, particle image velocimetry, and laser-induced fluorescence flow visualization. It has been found that the stall of an airfoil, characterized by a drop in the lift force, occurs at Re _c  ≥ 1.05 × 10⁴ but is absent at Re _c  = 5.3 × 10³. The observation is connected to the presence of the separation bubble at high Re _c but absence of the bubble at ultra-low Re _c , as evidenced in our wake measurements. The near-wake characteristics are examined and discussed in detail, including the vortex formation length, wake width, spanwise vorticity, wake bubble size, wavelength of K–H vortices, Strouhal numbers, and their dependence on α and Re _c .     

Effect of self-issuing jets along the span on the near-wake of a square cylinder

The study herein focuses on the vortex shedding characteristics and near-wake vorticity patterns of a square cylinder having self-issuing jets through holes along its span. Three different values of spacing between the consecutive holes λ with respect to the cylinder diameter D, i.e., λ/D = 1.5, 3 and 4 are studied experimentally via Digital Particle Image Velocimetry for the Reynolds number range extending from 200 to 1,000. It has been observed that the three-dimensionality of the wake flow depends on the spacing between the holes and Re number. For sufficiently low Reynolds numbers, the jet flows issuing from the holes yield a non-uniform distribution of mean flow characteristics like the shedding frequency and the formation length of vortices along the span of the cylinder when the spacing between jets along centerline is close to wavelength of the naturally existing three-dimensional wake instability. Additionally, for Re number up to 500, the self-issuing jets emanating from the holes show an indirect interaction with shear layers originating from upper and lower separation lines of the cylinder. However, for higher Re numbers of 750 and 1,000, they directly interact with and modify the vortices forming from the cylinder.     

Laminar-turbulent transition in the boundary layer on cones in a hypersonic flow at high Reynolds numbers per meter

The laminar-turbulent transition is experimentally studied in boundary-layer flows on cones with a rectangular axisymmetric step in the base part of the cone and without the step. The experiments are performed in an A-1 two-step piston-driven gas-dynamic facility with adiabatic compression of the working gas with Mach numbers at the nozzle exit M _∞ = 12–14 and pressures in the settling chamber P₀ = 60–600 MPa. These values of parameters allow obtaining Reynolds numbers per meter near the cone surface equal to Re _1e = (53–200) · 10⁶ m ⁻¹. The transition occurs at Reynolds numbers Re _tr = (2.3–5.7) · 10⁶. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 76–83, May–June, 2007.