Large-eddy simulation of a turbulent forced plume

This paper reports on an application of large-eddy simulation (LES) to a spatially-developing round turbulent buoyant jet. The numerical method used is based on a low-Mach-number version of the governing equations for compressible flow which can account for density variations. The second-order centre-difference scheme is used for spatial discretization and an Adams–Bashforth scheme for temporal discretization. Comparisons are made between LES results, experimental measurements and plume theory for the forced plume under moderate Reynolds number and good agreement has been achieved. It is found that the plume spreading and the centerline maximum mean velocity strongly depend on the forcing conditions imposed on the inflow plane. The helical mode of instability leads to a larger spreading rate as compared to an axisymmetric mode. The enhanced entrainment is directly related to the strong turbulent momentum and energy transports between the plume and surrounding fluid induced by vortex dynamics. The entrainment ratio is about 0.09 and falls into the range of experimentally determined values. Budgets of the mean momentum and energy equations are analyzed. It is found that the radial turbulent transport nearly balances the streamwise convection and the buoyancy force in the axial momentum equation. Also, the radial turbulent stress is balanced by the streamwise convection in the energy equation. The energy-spectrum for the axial velocity fluctuations shows a −5/3 power law of the Kolmogorov decay, while the power spectrum for the temperature fluctuations shows both −5/3 and −3 power laws in the inertial-convective and inertial-diffusive ranges, respectively.     

Study of Density Effects in Turbulent Buoyant Jets Using Large-Eddy Simulation

Large-Eddy simulations (LES) of spatially evolving turbulent buoyant round jets have been carried out with two different density ratios. The numerical method used is based on a low-Mach-number version of the Navier–Stokes equations for weakly compressible flow using a second-order centre-difference scheme for spatial discretization in Cartesian coordinates and an Adams–Bashforth scheme for temporal discretization. The simulations reproduce the typical temporal and spatial development of turbulent buoyant jets. The near-field dynamic phenomenon of puffing associated with the formation of large vortex structures near the plume base with a varicose mode of instability and the far-field random motions of small-scale eddies are well captured. The pulsation frequencies of the buoyant plumes compare reasonably well with the experimental results of Cetegen (1997) under different density ratios, and the underlying mechanism of the pulsation instability is analysed by examining the vorticity transport equation where it is found that the baroclinic torque, buoyancy force and volumetric expansion are the dominant terms. The roll-up of the vortices is broken down by a secondary instability mechanism which leads to strong turbulent mixing and a subsequent jet spreading. The transition from laminar to turbulence occurs at around four diameters when random disturbances with a 5% level of forcing are imposed to a top-hat velocity profile at the inflow plane and the transition from jet-like to plume-like behaviour occurs further downstream. The energy-spectrum for the temperature fluctuations show both −5/3 and −3 power laws, characteristic of buoyancy-dominated flows. Comparisons are conducted between LES results and experimental measurements, and good agreement has been achieved for the mean and turbulence quantities. The decay of the centreline mean velocity is proportional to x ^−1/3 in the plume-like region consistent with the experimental observation, but is different from the x ⁻¹ law for a non-buoyant jet, where x is the streamwise location. The distributions of the mean velocity, temperature and their fluctuations in the near-field strongly depend upon the ratio of the ambient density to plume density ρ_a/ρ₀. The increase of ρ_a/ρ₀ under buoyancy forcing causes an increase in the self-similar turbulent intensities and turbulent fluxes and an increase in the spatial growth rate. Budgets of the mean momentum, energy, temperature variance and turbulent kinetic energy are analysed and it is found that the production of turbulence kinetic energy by buoyancy relative to the production by shear is increased with the increase of ρ_a/ρ₀. Received 16 June 2000 and accepted 26 June 2001     

Direct Numerical Simulation of Transitional Noncircular Buoyant Reactive Jets

The near field dynamics of transitional buoyant reactive jets established on noncircular geometries, including a rectangular nozzle with an aspect ratio of 2:1 and a square nozzle with the same cross-sectional area, are investigated by three-dimensional spatial direct numerical simulations. Without applying external perturbations at the inflow boundary, large vortical structures develop naturally in the flow field due to buoyancy effects. Simulation results and analysis describe the details and clarify mechanisms of vortex dynamics of the noncircular buoyant reactive jets. The interaction between density gradients and gravity initiates the flow vorticity. Among the major vorticity transport terms, the gravitational term mainly promotes flow vorticity in the cross-streamwise direction. For the baroclinic torque, it can either create or destroy flow vorticity depending on the local flow structure. The vortex stretching term has different effects on the streamwise and cross-streamwise vorticity. Streamwise vorticity is mainly created by vortex stretching, while this term can either create or destroy cross-streamwise vorticity. Under the coupling effects of buoyancy and noncircular nozzle geometry, three-dimensional vortex interactions lead to the transitional behavior of the reactive jets. Simulations also show that the rectangular jet is more vortical than the square jet. The rectangular jet has a stronger tendency of transition to turbulence at the downstream due to the aspect ratio effect. Mean flow property calculations show that the rectangular buoyant reactive jet has a higher entrainment rate than its square counterpart. Received 13 December 2000 and accepted 24 July 2001     

Spatial Direct Numerical Simulation of the Large Vortical Structures in Forced Plumes

Direct numerical simulation (DNS) of forced plumes arising frominput of both momentum and buoyancy into an ambient fluid is presented.The large vortical structures in the near field of thermal and reactiveplumes are investigated. Boundary conditions associated with the spatialDNS of open-boundary buoyant flows that are compatible with the modernnon-dissipative, high-order, finite-difference schemes have beendeveloped. The governing equations for flow and combustion at the plumecenterline are put into a special form to circumvent the singularity atthe axis associated with the cylindrical coordinates. Mixing is found tobe stronger in the planar thermal plume than in the axisymmetric case.An explanation is provided based on the vorticity budget. Axisymmetricreactive plumes with a one-step reaction governed by the Arrheniuskinetics have also been studied. The unsteady effects of chemical heatrelease and combustion-induced buoyancy on the flow structures areinvestigated. Budgets of the vorticity transport are examined to revealthe mechanisms leading to the formation and evolution of large vorticalstructures in forced plumes. It is found that volumetric expansion dueto chemical heat release tends to destroy vorticity, whilecombustion-induced buoyancy under the gravitational effect generatesvorticity. The gravitational term in the vorticity transport equation isfound to be the main mechanism for the buoyant flow instability and thedevelopment of counter-rotating vortices in reactive plumes.     

Direct numerical simulation of a turbulent Couette-Poiseuille flow,part 2: Large- and very-large-scale motions

A direct numerical simulation dataset of a fully developed turbulent Couette-Poiseuille flow is analyzed to investigate the spatial organization of streamwise velocity-fluctuating u-structures on large and very large scales. Instantaneous and statistical flow fields show that negative-u structures with a small scale on a stationary bottom wall grow throughout the centerline due to the continuous positive mean shear, and they penetrate to the opposite moving wall. The development of an initial vortical structure related to negative-u structures on the bottom wall into a large-scale hairpin vortex packet with new hairpin vortices, which are created upstream and close to the wall, is consistent with the auto-generation process in a Poiseuille flow (Zhou et al., J. Fluid Mech., vol. 387, 1999, pp. 353–396). Although the initial vortical structure associated with positive-u structures on the top wall also grows toward the bottom wall, the spatial development of the structure is less coherent with weak strength due to the reduced mean shear near the top wall, resulting in less turbulent energy on the top wall. The continuous growth of the structures from a wall to the opposite wall explains the enhanced wall-normal transport of the streamwise turbulent kinetic energy near the centerline. Finally, an inspection of the time-evolving instantaneous fields and conditional averaged flow fields for the streamwise growth of a very long structure near the centerline exhibits that a streamwise concatenation of adjacent large-scale u-structures creates a very-large-scale structure near the channel centerline.     

Large Eddy Simulations of CH<Subscript>4</Subscript> Fire Plumes

Large eddy simulations of large-scale CH₄ fire plumes (1.59-2.61 MW) with two different CFD packages, FireFOAM and FDS, are presented. It is investigated how the vorticity generation mechanism and puffing behavior of large-scale fire plumes differs from previously studied iso-thermal buoyant plumes of the same scale. In addition, the predictive capabilities of the turbulence and combustion models, currently used by the two CFD codes, to accurately capture the fire dynamics and the buoyancy-generated turbulence associated with large-scale fire plumes are evaluated. Results obtained with the two CFD codes, typically used for numerical simulations of fire safety applications, are also compared with respect to the average and rms velocities and temperatures, puffing frequencies, average flame heights and entrainment rates using experimental data and well-known correlations in literature. Furthermore, the importance of the applied reaction time scale model in combination with the Eddy Dissipation Model is examined. In particular, the influence of the considered mixing time scales in the predicted centerline temperatures is illustrated and used to explain the discrepancies between the two codes.     

Direct numerical simulation of the near field dynamics of a rectangular reactive plume

Spatial direct numerical simulation (DNS) is used to study the near field dynamics of a buoyant diffusion flame established on a rectangular nozzle with an aspect ratio of 2:1. Combustion is represented by a one-step finite-rate Arrhenius chemistry. Without applying external perturbations at the inflow boundary, large vortical structures develop naturally in the flow field, which interact with the flame and temporally create localized holes within the reaction zone in which no chemical reactions take place. The interaction between density gradients and gravity plays a major role in the vorticity generation of the buoyant plume. At the downstream of the reactive plume, a more disorganized flow regime characterized by small scales has been observed, following the breakdown of the large vortical structures due to three-dimensional (3D) vortex interactions. Analysis of energy spectra shows that the spatially developing reactive plume has a tendency of transition to turbulence under the effects of combustion-induced buoyancy. The buoyancy effects are found to be very important to the formation, development, interaction, and breakdown of vortices in reactive plumes. In contrast with the relaminarization effects of chemical exothermicity via viscous damping and volumetric expansion on non-buoyant jet diffusion flames, the tendency towards transition to turbulence in reactive plumes is greatly enhanced by the buoyancy effects.     

Large Eddy Simulations of the Flow in the Near-Field Region of a Turbulent Buoyant Helium Plume

Large eddy simulations are conducted in the near-field region of a large turbulent buoyant helium plume. The CFD package FireFOAM is applied to that purpose. The transient and mean flow dynamics are discussed as a function of grid resolution, with and without the use of the standard Smagorinsky subgrid scale (SGS) model. Small scale structures, formed at the edge of the plume inlet due to baroclinic and gravitational mechanisms and subject to flow instabilities, interact with large scale features of the flow, resulting in a puffing cycle. In general, the LES calculations reproduce the main features of the turbulent plume, with better agreement when the Smagorinsky type SGS model is applied. In particular, the puffing cycle is recovered in the simulations with correct frequency. The mean and rms values of the velocity components are well predicted with use of the SGS model, even on relatively coarse meshes. Agreement for the species mass fraction (mean and rms values) is less satisfactory, but in line with results found in the literature.     

A pseudospectral approach applicable for time integration of linearized N-S operator that removes pole singularity and physically spurious eigenmodes

This paper addresses a modified singularity removal technique for the eigenvalue or optimal mode problems in pipe flow using a pseudospectral method. The current approach results in the linear stability operator to be devoid of any unstable physically spurious modes, and thus, it provides higher numerical stability during time-based integration. The correctness of the numerical operator is established by calculating the known eigenvalues of pipe Poiseuille flow. Subsequently, the optimal modes are determined with Farrell's approach and compared with the existing literature. The usefulness of this approach is further demonstrated in the time-based numerical integration of the linearized Navier-Stokes operator for the adjoint method–based optimal mode determination. The numerical scheme is implemented with the radial velocity-radial vorticity formulation. Even number of Chebyshev-Lobatto grid points are distributed over the domain r∈[−1,1] omitting the centerline, which also efficiently provides higher resolution near the wall boundary. The boundary conditions are imposed with homogeneous wall boundary conditions, whereas the analytic nature of a proper set of base functions enforces correct centerline conditions. The resulting redundancy introduced in the process is eliminated with the proper usage of parity.     

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.     

Performance of a three-component vorticity probe in a turbulent far-wake

  A new four X-wire vorticity probe has been developed to measure all three components of the vorticity fluctuation vector simultaneously. The performance of this probe is tested in a turbulent far-wake. The measured Reynolds stresses agree with those obtained previously from simpler hot wire configurations. The variances of the lateral vorticity components agree within ±15% with those measured with a one-component vorticity probe. The variances of the streamwise vorticity component are also in reasonable agreement with those inferred from two X-wires. At high wavenumbers, the measured vorticity spectra agree with those obtained by direct numerical simulation (DNS) in the central region of a turbulent channel flow. The comparison of measured high-order moments of vorticity on the wake centerline with local isotropy also suggests the probe performs satisfactorily. Received: 31 December 1997/Accepted: 6 January 1999     

Laminar axisymmetric pure and saline water plumes

 In most studies concerning round laminar plumes in a uniform environment a linear relationship between fluid density and temperature has been used. However it is known that the density-temperature relationship for water is non-linear at low temperatures. In this study the problem of round laminar plume of pure and saline water has been investigated in the temperature range between 20 °C and 0 °C taking into account the nonlinearity between density and temperature. The results are obtained with the numerical solution of the boundary layer equations. It was found that the plume behavior is dependent on ambient temperature and the centerline axial velocity at maximum density temperature is approximately 10% lower than the corresponding value based on linear relation between density and temperature. Received on 22 November 1999     

Analysis of a turbulent buoyant confined jet modeled using realizable k–ɛ model

Through this paper, analyses of components of the unheated/heated turbulent confined jet are introduced and some models to describe them are developed. Turbulence realizable k–? model is used to model the turbulence of this problem. Numerical simulations of 2D axisymmetric vertical hot water confined jet into a cylindrical tank have been done. Solutions are obtained for unsteady flow while velocity, pressure, temperature and turbulence distributions inside the water tank are analyzed. For seeking verification, an experiment was conducted for measuring of the temperature of the same system, and comparison between the measured and simulated temperature shows a good agreement. Using the simulated results, some models are developed to describe axial velocity, centerline velocity, radial velocity, dynamic pressure, mass flux, momentum flux and buoyancy flux for both unheated (non-buoyant) and heated (buoyant) jet. Finally, the dynamics of the heated jet in terms of the plume function which is a universal quantity and the source parameter are studied and therefore the maximum velocity can be predicted theoretically.     

Impact of buoyancy on vortex ring development in the near field

The development of a buoyant vortex ring in the near field was examined experimentally, and the findings were compared with those of a non-buoyant ring with a similar Reynolds number. The experiments were performed in a water tank, and the vortices were produced by a cylindrical tube of aspect ratio 2. Laser sheet flow visualization and PIV measurements were carried out. In the near field, the initial column of the buoyant fluid breaks down due to the presence of Rayleigh–Taylor instability at the buoyant fluid interface. Subsequently, a large diameter vortex ring with a large spreading rate, compared with the non-buoyant ring, emerges. The celerity of buoyant vortex continued to decrease throughout the range examined, in contrast to the constant celerity of the non-buoyant ring. The vorticity in the core of buoyant and non-buoyant vortex rings is symmetric and has a Gaussian distribution. However, the buoyant vortex ring evolves into a thin core ring, whereas the non-buoyant ring becomes a thick core ring shortly after the ring formation. This difference is brought on by the rapid entrainment and the significant growth of the buoyant ring following the breakup of the initial formation.     

全附体潜艇粘性流场的RANS模拟及场量和涡量的校验分析

采用相同拓扑结构和相近网格质量的4套网格和5种湍流模型,对全附体Suboff潜艇粘性流场进行RANS模拟,分析了网格密度、节点空间分布规律和湍流模型对计算精度的影响,详细校验了其力积分量、速度场量和涡量特征。结果表明:网格密度最大的G4网格(140万)计算精度最高,总阻力较实验值误差为0.723%,其采用SST湍流模型时最优。计算得到的压力系数和剪切应力系数分布均与实验值吻合很好;桨盘面速度等值线分布计算精度与文献相当,轴向相对速度0.9以上的计算半径稍大于实验值,其余半径与实验吻合较好;桨盘面上0.25倍半径处速度分量沿周向分布计算精度较文献高,轴向分量与实验值吻合较好,径向分量峰值稍小于实验值,但峰值所处周向位置与实验值一致。成功捕捉到了附体端面绕流诱导对旋涡、附体叶根截面下游处项链形涡对、尾翼端面尾缘上方附着涡蹄、附体马蹄涡系、尾翼截面通道流体挤压作用诱导涡以及桨盘面涡量汇集的潜艇涡量场特征,且围壳端面绕流诱导对旋涡沿流动方向持续稳定,不影响桨盘面涡量场,均与文献中由大涡模拟模拟得到的定性结论一致。研究表明,在网格密度较大、节点分布合理、网格质量较高、湍流模型选取适当和壁面函数使用有效的条件下,RANS模拟潜艇粘性流场的场量和涡量特征同样具有很高的计算精度,能够在工程应用中有力支撑新型艇型设计与性能分析。     

A spectral solver for the Navier–Stokes equations in the velocity–vorticity formulation

A numerical algorithm intended for the study of flows in a cylindrical container under laminar flow conditions is proposed. High resolution of the flow field, governed by the Navier–Stokes equations in velocity–vorticity formulation relative to a cylindrical frame of reference, is achieved through spatial discretisation by means of the spectral method. This method is based on a Fourier expansion in the azimuthal direction and an expansion in Chebyshev polynomials in the (nonperiodic) radial and axial directions. Several regularity constraints are used to take care of the coordinate singularity. These constraints are implemented, together with the boundary conditions at the top, bottom and mantle of the cylinder, via the tau method. The a priori unknown boundary values of the vorticity are evaluated by means of the influence-matrix technique. The compatibility between the mathematical and numerical formulation of the Navier–Stokes equations is established through a tau-correction procedure. The resolved flow field exhibits high-precision satisfaction of the incompressibility constraints for velocity and vorticity and the definition of the vorticity. The performance of the solver is illustrated by resolution of several configurations representative of generic three-dimensional laminar flows.     

Numerical simulation of a flow around an impulsively started radially deforming circular cylinder

The development of a two‐dimensional viscous incompressible flow generated by a deformable circular cylinder impulsively started into rectilinear motion is studied numerically for the Reynolds numbers equal to 550 and 3000. The vorticity transport equation is solved by a second‐order finite difference method in both directions of the domains. The Poisson equation for the streamfunction is solved by a Fourier–Galerkin method in the direction of the flow that is assumed to remain symmetrical and a second‐order finite difference for the radial direction. The advance in time is achieved by a second‐order Adams–Bashforth scheme. The computed results are compared qualitatively with experimental and numerical results done before in the particular non‐deformable case. The comparison is found to be satisfactory. The influence of the deformation of the cylinder on the flow structure and the drag coefficient is then analyzed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of shear thinning on migration of neutrally buoyant particles in pressure driven flow of Newtonian and viscoelastic fluids

The pattern of cross stream migration of neutrally buoyant particles in a pressure driven flow depends strongly on the properties of the suspending fluid. These migration effects have been studied by direct numerical simulation in planar flow. Shear thinning has a large effect when the inertia or elasticity is large, but only a small effect when they are small. At moderate Reynolds numbers, shear thinning causes particles to migrate away from the centerline, creating a particle-free zone in the core of the channel, which increases with the amount of shear thinning. In a viscoelastic fluid with shear thinning, particles migrate either toward the centerline or toward the walls, creating an annular particle-free zone at intermediate radii. The simulations also give rise to precise determination of slip velocity distributions in the various cases studied.