Turbulent pipe flow at extreme Reynolds numbers

Both the inherent intractability and complex beauty of turbulence reside in its large range of physical and temporal scales. This range of scales is captured by the Reynolds number, which in nature and in many engineering applications can be as large as 10(5)-10(6). Here, we report turbulence measurements over an unprecedented range of Reynolds numbers using a unique combination of a high-pressure air facility and a new nanoscale anemometry probe. The results reveal previously unknown universal scaling behavior for the turbulent velocity fluctuations, which is remarkably similar to the well-known scaling behavior of the mean velocity distribution.     

Viscous near-wall flow in a wake of circular cylinder at moderate Reynolds numbers

Here we present the results of experimental investigation of a cross flow around a circular cylinder mounted near the wall of a channel with rectangular cross section. The experiments were carried out in the range of Reynolds numbers corresponding to the transition to turbulence in a wake of the cylinder. Flow visualization and SIV-measurements of instantaneous velocity fields were carried out. Evolution of the flow pattern behind the cylinder and formation of the regular vortex structures were analyzed. It is shown that in the case of flow around the cylinder, there is no spiral motion of fluid from the side walls of the channel towards its symmetry plane, typical of the flow around a spanwise rib located on the channel wall. The laminar-turbulent transition in the wake of the cylinder is caused by the shear layer instability.     

Mixing in a T-shaped micromixer at moderate Reynolds numbers

In the present work, the regimes of the flow and mixing of fluids in a T-shaped micromixer in the range of the Reynolds numbers from 1 to 1000 are investigated systematically with the aid of numerical modeling. The flow and mixing regimes are shown to alter substantially with increasing Reynolds numbers. Five different flow regimes have been identified in the total. The dependencies of the friction coefficient and mixing efficiency on the Reynolds number are obtained. A sharp increase in the mixing efficiency at a flow transition from the symmetric to asymmetric steady regime is shown. On the other hand, the mixing efficiency slightly drops in the laminar-turbulent transition region. A substantial influence of the slip presence on walls on flow structure in the channel and mixing efficiency has been revealed.     

Microfluidic valves for flow control at low Reynolds numbers

Fluidics is a technology of generating and controlling fluid flows — preferably without the action of mechanical moving components. Microfluidics perform these tasks in small, typically micronsized structures. Essential part of almost all microfluidic systems are flow control valves. The basic problem is the low Reynolds numberRe: inertial effects used in large-scale fluidics are too small relative to viscous dissipation. New approaches, such as pressure or electrokinetic driving are required. In the subdynamic, viscosity dominated flow regime, Re ceases to be of importance and for pressure-driven valves a new characterisation number was to be introduced. An example of a diverter valve, developed by the author, is described and the meaning of the new dimensionless parameter is demonstrated.     

Insulation room for aero-acoustic experiments at moderate Reynolds and low Mach numbers

A non-expensive insulation box for aero-acoustic experiments at moderate Reynolds numbers Re < 2 × 10⁴ and low Mach numbers M < 0.2 is presented. Its performance is evaluated with particular attention to unwanted noise sources inherent to the flow facility. Objective acoustic parameters of the insulation box are assessed.     

A microfluidic rectifier: anisotropic flow resistance at low Reynolds numbers

It is one of the basic concepts of Newtonian fluid dynamics that at low Reynolds number (Re) the Navier-Stokes equation is linear and flows are reversible. In microfluidic devices, where Re is essentially always low, this implies that flow resistance in microchannels is isotropic. Here we present a microfluidic rectifier: a microscopic channel of a special shape whose flow resistance is strongly anisotropic, differing by up to a factor of 2 for opposite flow directions. Its nonlinear operation at arbitrary small Re is due to non-Newtonian elastic properties of the working fluid, which is a 0.01% aqueous solution of a high molecular weight polymer. The rectifier works as a dynamic valve and may find applications in microfluidic pumps and other integrated devices.     

Deposition of inertial particles from turbulent flow in channels at high Reynolds numbers

On the basis of the previously developed asymptotic theory of turbulent particle-laden flow with particle deposition in channels coupled with the transport model for the particle Reynolds stress, an asymptotic solution to the problem on the deposition of particles in the limit of high Reynolds numbers was obtained. The numerical calculations confirmed the presence, in the region of the transition from the diffusion-impaction regime of particle sedimentation to the inertia-moderated regime, bifurcation phenomenon of a solution found previously in earlier studies. Features of particle accumulation in the viscous sublayer are analyzed. On the basis of the numerical solution, correlations for particle deposition velocity were obtained. Boundary conditions of the wall-function type for particle concentration whose use allows widening the applicability limits of the equilibrium Eulerian models in terms of particle inertia are proposed.     

Optimal swimming at low Reynolds numbers

Efficient swimming at low Reynolds numbers is a major concern of microbots. To compare the efficiencies of different swimmers we introduce the notion of "a swimming drag coefficient" which allows for the ranking of swimmers. We find the optimal swimmer within a certain class of two-dimensional swimmers using conformal mapping techniques.     

Axisymmetric bubble pinch-off at high Reynolds numbers

Analytical considerations and potential-flow numerical simulations of the pinch-off of bubbles at high Reynolds numbers reveal that the bubble minimum radius, rn, decreases as tau proportional to r2n sqrt[1lnr2n], where tau is the time to break up, when the local shape of the bubble near the singularity is symmetric. However, if the gas convective terms in the momentum equation become of the order of those of the liquid, the bubble shape is no longer symmetric and the evolution of the neck changes to a rn proportional to tau1/3 power law. These findings are verified experimentally.     

Turbulence transition and the edge of chaos in pipe flow

The linear stability of pipe flow implies that only perturbations of sufficient strength will trigger the transition to turbulence. In order to determine this threshold in perturbation amplitude we study the edge of chaos which separates perturbations that decay towards the laminar profile and perturbations that trigger turbulence. Using the lifetime as an indicator and methods developed in Skufca et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 174101 (2006), we show that superimposed on an overall 1/Re scaling predicted and studied previously there are small, nonmonotonic variations reflecting folds in the edge of chaos. By tracing the motion in the edge we find that it is formed by the stable manifold of a unique flow field that is dominated by a pair of downstream vortices, asymmetrically placed towards the wall. The flow field that generates the edge of chaos shows intrinsic chaotic dynamics.     

Reynolds number dependence of streamwise velocity spectra in turbulent pipe flow

Spectra of the streamwise velocity component in fully developed turbulent pipe flow are presented for Reynolds numbers up to 5.7x10(6). Even at the highest Reynolds number, streamwise velocity spectra exhibit incomplete similarity only: while spectra collapse with both classical inner and outer scaling for limited ranges of wave number, these ranges do not overlap. Thus similarity may not be described as complete, and a region varying with the inverse of the streamwise wave number, k(1), is not expected, and any apparent k(-1)(1) range does not attract any special significance and does not involve a universal constant. Reasons for this are suggested.     

Characteristics of a hyperboloid-flare configuration at high Reynolds numbers

Results on a hyperboloid-flare model tested in a new hypersonic wind tunnel with adiabatic compression AT-303 based at ITAM SB RAS at M_∞ = 10 and 15 and in a wide range of Reynolds numbers are presented. Pressure and heat-flux distributions along the model are compared with data obtained previously in various European hypersonic wind tunnels (Longshot — Belgium, HEG — Germany) and with results of numerical computations. Pressure and heat-flux coefficients measured in the attached flow region are demonstrated to be in good qualitative agreement. Reasons for the differences in results measured in regions of flow separation and reattachment are discussed. Significant viscous effects on characteristics of the flow around the model are demonstrated; a particularly strong effect is exerted on the heat-flux distribution. This fact confirms that it is important to model real Reynolds numbers in wind-tunnel testing of aerospace plane models.     

Experimental investigation of the resistance laws for gas flow in a low-porosity medium at high Reynolds numbers

The interphase interaction force at low porosity was studied experimentally. Two methods are proposed for calculating the specific surface area of pores and for obtaining approximation relations for the resistance force and the Cozeni-Carman constant which are valid in a wide range of values of the parameters of the flow and porous layer.Scientific-Research Institute of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics at Tomsk State University. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 4, pp. 101–109, April, 1993.     

Aerodynamics of re-entry vehicles at real values of Reynolds numbers

Results of an experimental study of aerodynamic characteristics of models of two hypersonic re-entry vehicles (ARES-H aerospace demonstrator proposed by EADS-ST and EXPERT re-entry capsule proposed by ESA ESTEC) are presented. The experiments were performed in a new wind tunnel AT-303 at ITAM SB RAS in the range of free-stream Mach numbers M = 10–18 at real values of Reynolds numbers. The test results and specific features of wind-tunnel tests in conical nozzles are discussed.     

Stationary shapes of deformable particles moving at low Reynolds numbers

We introduce an iterative solution scheme in order to calculate stationary shapes of deformable elastic capsules which are steadily moving through a viscous fluid at low Reynolds numbers. The iterative solution scheme couples hydrodynamic boundary integral methods and elastic shape equations to find the stationary axisymmetric shape and the velocity of an elastic capsule moving in a viscous fluid governed by the Stokes equation. We use this approach to systematically study dynamical shape transitions of capsules with Hookean stretching and bending energies and spherical resting shape sedimenting under the influence of gravity or centrifugal forces. We find three types of possible axisymmetric stationary shapes for sedimenting capsules with fixed volume: a pseudospherical state, a pear-shaped state, and buckled shapes. Capsule shapes are controlled by two dimensionless parameters, the Föppl-von-Kármán number characterizing the elastic properties and a Bond number characterizing the driving force. For increasing gravitational force the spherical shape transforms into a pear shape. For very large bending rigidity (very small Föppl-von-Kármán number) this transition is discontinuous with shape hysteresis. The corresponding transition line terminates, however, in a critical point, such that the discontinuous transition is not present at typical Föppl-von-Kármán numbers of synthetic capsules. In an additional bifurcation, buckled shapes occur upon increasing the gravitational force.     

Wake-boundary layer interaction behind an elliptic cylinder at different Reynolds numbers

In this paper, hot-wire anemometry (HWA) is used to experimentally investigate interactions between a fully developed turbulent boundary layer and wake of an elliptic cylinder where axis ratio (AR) of the cylinder is 2. The elliptic cylinder was located inside and outside a turbulent boundary layer with a thickness (δ) of 0.38B. Furthermore, experiments were conducted at different Reynolds numbers (13,250 and 26,500) based upon the smallest cylinder diameter (B). Mean velocity, turbulence intensity and higher-order central moments of velocity signals (i.e. skewness and flatness) measurements were performed using HWA upon wake-boundary layer interactions on a flat plate. Results showed that profiles of stream-wise mean velocity and turbulence intensity were greatly dependent on gap ratio (G/B) and Reynolds number (Re) in near-wake region. It was also observed that, except for G/B = 0.1, the wake-boundary layer interactions were faster at Reynolds number of 26,500 rather than 13,250. The interactions occurred earlier upon fluctuating the velocity rather than the case where a fixed mean velocity was considered. The results further show that an increase in the gap ratio increases Strouhal number almost independent of δ/B. Behind the cylinder, relatively smaller wake region was obtained at Re = 26,500 rather than Re = 13,250, where the velocity profiles quickly converged to the flat plate boundary layer velocity profiles.     

Double-deck structure of the boundary layer in the problem of flow in an axially symmetric pipe with small irregularities on the wall for large Reynolds numbers

The problem of flow of a viscous incompressible fluid in an axially symmetric pipe with small irregularities on the wall is considered. An asymptotic solution of the problem with the double-deck structure of the boundary layer and the unperturbed flow in the environment (the “core flow”) is obtained. The results of flow numerical simulation in the thin and “thick” boundary layers are given.     

Scattering of sound in a moving viscous microinhomogeneous medium at large Reynolds numbers

A generalization of the Rayleigh law of a low-frequency sound attenuation in a microinhomogeneous medium to the case of scattering particles moving in a viscous liquid at a large Reynolds numbers is proposed. It is shown that, under these conditions, the attenuation may be independent of the scattering by the moving particles themselves but be only determined by the flow caused by these particles, the maximum attenuation being observed in the direction across the particle motion. The corresponding corrections proportional to the first power of the hydrodynamic Mach number are compared with the corrections lying at the basis of the modified Rayleigh law, which was proposed earlier for the potential flow of an ideal liquid around inhomogeneities, and also with the laws of scattering in a moving viscous microinhomogeneous medium at a small Reynolds numbers. As an example of the operation of the generalized law, characteristics of the sound scattering by rain are refined.