Wall-resolved large-eddy simulation of turbulent channel flows with rough walls

Turbulent flows over rough surfaces widely exist in nature and industry. Investigating its mechanism is of theoretical and practical significance. In this work we simulate the turbulent channel flow with rough walls using large-eddy simulation with rough elements resolved using the curvilinear immersed boundary method and compare the results obtained in this work with those in the paper by Yuan and Piomelli( J. Fluid Mech., vol. 760, pp. R1, 2014), where the volume of fluid method was employed for modeling rough elements. The mean streamwise velocity profiles predicted by the two methods agree well with each other. Differences in Reynolds stresses and dispersive stresses are observed, which are attributed to the different approaches in dealing with the complex geometry of the rough surface.     

Parallel spectral-element—Fourier simulation of turbulent flow over riblet-mounted surfaces

The flow in a channel with its lower wall mounted with streamwise V-shaped riblets is simulated using a highly efficient spectral-element—Fourier method. The range of Reynolds numbers investigated is 500 to 4000, which corresponds to laminar, transitional, and turbulent flow states. Our results suggest that in the laminar regime there is no drag reduction, while in the transitional and turbulent regimes drag reduction up to 10% exists for the riblet-mounted wall in comparison with the smooth wall of the channel. For the first time, we present detailed turbulent statistics in a complex geometry. These results are in good agreement with available experimental data and provide a quantitative picture of the drag-reduction mechanism of the riblets.This work was supported by National Science Foundation Grants CTS-8906432, CTS-8906911, and CTS-8914422, AFOSR Grant No. AFOSR-90-0124, and DARPA Grant No. N00014-86-K-0759. The computations were performed on the Cray Y/MP's of NAS at NASA Ames and the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, and on the Intel 32-node iPSC/860 hypercube at Princeton University.     

Implicit large-eddy simulation applied to turbulent channel flow with periodic constrictions

The subgrid-scale (SGS) model in a large-eddy simulation (LES) operates on a range of scales which is marginally resolved by discretization schemes. Accordingly, the discretization scheme and the subgrid-scale model are linked. One can exploit this link by developing discretization methods from subgrid-scale models, or the converse. Approaches where SGS models and numerical discretizations are fully merged are called implicit LES (ILES). Recently, we have proposed a systematic framework for the design, analysis, and optimization of nonlinear discretization schemes for implicit LES. In this framework parameters inherent to the discretization scheme are determined in such a way that the numerical truncation error acts as a physically motivated SGS model. The resulting so-called adaptive local deconvolution method (ALDM) for implicit LES allows for reliable predictions of isotropic forced and decaying turbulence and of unbounded transitional flows for a wide range of Reynolds numbers. In the present paper, ALDM is evaluated for the separated flow through a channel with streamwise-periodic constrictions at two Reynolds numbers Re = 2,808 and Re = 10,595. We demonstrate that, although model parameters of ALDM have been determined for isotropic turbulence at infinite Reynolds number, it successfully predicts mean flow and turbulence statistics in the considered physically complex, anisotropic, and inhomogeneous flow regime. It is shown that the implicit model performs at least as well as an established explicit model.      

Two-layer turbulent flow over a rough rotating surface

A model of turbulent incompressible fluid flow over a rough surface under the action of the Coriolis force with a turbulent transfer coefficient corresponding to the Prandtl mixing length is proposed. A solution of the problem, asymptotic in the small Coriolis parameter, is presented for horizontally uniform steady-state flow. It is shown that for a small Coriolis parameter the velocity profile and the turbulent transfer coefficient can differ substantially from the limiting expressions known from Prandtl theory. The smaller the roughness coefficient, the greater the difference.Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 61–67, July–August, 1995.     

Large eddy simulation of droplet dispersion for inhomogeneous turbulent wall flow

A large eddy simulation (LES) coupled with a Lagrangian stochastic model has been applied to the study of droplet dispersion in a turbulent boundary layer. Droplets are tracked in a Lagrangian way. The velocity of the fluid particle along the droplet trajectory is considered to have a large-scale part and a small-scale part given by a modified three-dimensional Langevin model using the filtered subgrid scale (SGS) statistics. An appropriate Lagrangian correlation timescale is considered in order to include the influences of gravity and inertia. Two-way coupling is also taken into account. The inter-droplet collision has been introduced as the main mechanism of secondary breakup. A stochastic model for breakup has been generalized for coalescence simulation, thereby two phenomena, coalescence and breakup are simulated in the framework of a single stochastic model. The parameters of this model, selectively for coalescence and for breakup, are computed dynamically by relating them to the local resolved properties of the dispersed phase compared to the main fluid. The model is validated by comparison with an agglomeration model and with experimental results on secondary breakup. The LES coupled with Lagrangian particle tracking and the model for droplet coalescence and breakup is applied to the study of the atmospheric dispersion of wet cooling tower plumes. The simulations are done for different droplet size distributions and volume fractions. We focused on the influence of these parameters on mean concentration, concentration variance and mass flux profiles.     

Temporal large-eddy simulation of unstratified and stably stratified turbulent channel flows

Recently, Pruett et al. [Pruett, C.D., Gatski, T.B., Grosch, C.E., Thacker, W.D., 2003. The temporally filtered Navier–Stokes equations: properties of the residual stress. Phys. Fluids 15, 2127–2140] proposed an approach to large-eddy simulation (LES) based on time-domain filtering; their approach was termed temporal large-eddy simulation or TLES. In a continuation of their work, Pruett and collaborators tested their methodology by successfully performing TLES of unstratified turbulent channel flow up to Reynolds number of 590 (based on channel half-height and friction velocity) [Pruett, C.D., Thomas, B.C., Grosch, C.E., Gatski, T.B., 2006. A temporal approximate deconvolution model for LES. Phys. Fluids 18, 028104, 4p]. Here, we carefully analyze the TLES methodology in order to understand the role of its key components and in the process compare TLES to more traditional approaches of spatial LES. Furthermore, we extend the methodology to stably stratified turbulent channel flow.     

Two-point statistics of coherent structures in turbulent flow over riblet-mounted surfaces

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of turbulent flow over a drag-reducing and a drag-increasing riblet configuration are performed. Three-dimensional two-point statistics are presented for the first time to quantify the interaction of the riblet surfaces with the coherent, energy-bearing eddy structures in the near-wall region. Results provide statistical evidence that the averaged organization of the streamwise vortices in the drag-reducing case is lifted above the riblet tip, while in the drag-increasing case the streamwise vortices are embedded further into the riblet cove. In the spanwise direction, the cores of the streamwise vortices over the riblet surfaces are shown to be closer to each other than those for flow over the smooth wall, and wider riblet spacing leads to more reduction on their spanwise distances. In the cases with riblets the streamwise vortices have longer streamwise lengths, but their inclination angles do not change much.     

The magnetic field in inhomogeneous turbulent flow

We consider a particular model of magnetohydrodynamic turbulents. The most fundamental assumption we make is that the velocity correlation time is negligible. By using a selective summation of the perturbation theory series an exact equation for the magnetic field is obtained when the mean square value of the velocity depends on coordinates, i.e., when the turbulence isinhomogeneous. The result makes it possible to obtain the macroscopic Maxwell's equations, i.e., the equations for the large-scale components of the electromagnetic field.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 1, pp. 12–18, January–February, 1971.In conclusion, the author thanks R. Z. Sagdeev and V. E. Zakharov for a discussion of the results.     

A dynamic global-coefficient mixed subgrid-scale model for large-eddy simulation of turbulent flows

A dynamic global-coefficient mixed subgrid-scale eddy-viscosity model for large-eddy simulation of turbulent flows in complex geometries is developed. In the present model, the subgrid-scale stress is decomposed into the modified Leonard stress, cross stress, and subgrid-scale Reynolds stress. The modified Leonard stress is explicitly computed assuming a scale similarity, while the cross stress and the subgrid-scale Reynolds stress are modeled using the global-coefficient eddy-viscosity model. The model coefficient is determined by a dynamic procedure based on the global-equilibrium between the subgrid-scale dissipation and the viscous dissipation. The new model relieves some of the difficulties associated with an eddy-viscosity closure, such as the nonalignment of the principal axes of the subgrid-scale stress tensor and the strain rate tensor and the anisotropy of turbulent flow fields, while, like other dynamic global-coefficient models, it does not require averaging or clipping of the model coefficient for numerical stabilization. The combination of the global-coefficient eddy-viscosity model and a scale-similarity model is demonstrated to produce improved predictions in a number of turbulent flow simulations.     

Adverse pressure gradient turbulent flows over rough walls

An experimental study of a fully developed turbulent channel flow and an adverse pressure gradient (APG) turbulent channel flow over smooth and rough walls has been performed using a particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. The rough walls comprised two-dimensional square ribs of nominal height, k = 3 mm and pitch, p = 2k, 4k and 8k. It was observed that rib roughness enhanced the drag characteristics, and the degree of enhancement increased with increasing pitch. Similarly, rib roughness significantly increased the level of turbulence production, Reynolds stresses and wall-normal transport of turbulence kinetic energy and Reynolds shear stress well beyond the roughness sublayer. On the contrary, the distributions of the eddy viscosity, mixing length and streamwise transport of turbulence kinetic energy and Reynolds shear stress were reduced by wall roughness, especially in the outer layer. Adverse pressure gradient produced a further reduction in the mean velocity (in comparison to the results obtained in the parallel section) but increased the wall-normal extent across which the mean flow above the ribs is spatially inhomogeneous in the streamwise direction. APG also reinforced wall roughness in augmenting the equivalent sand grain roughness height. The combination of wall roughness and APG significantly increased turbulence production and Reynolds stresses except in the immediate vicinity of the rough walls. The transport velocities of the turbulence kinetic energy and Reynolds shear stress were also augmented by APG across most part of the rough-wall boundary layer. Further, APG enhanced the distributions of the eddy viscosity across most of the boundary layer but reduced the mixing length outside the roughness sublayer.     

A turbulent boundary layer over a two-dimensional rough wall

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements and planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) visualizations have been made in a turbulent boundary layer over a rough wall. The wall roughness consisted of square bars placed transversely to the flow at a pitch to height ratio of λ/k = 11 for the PLIF experiments and λ/k = 8 and 16 for the PIV measurements. The ratio between the boundary layer thickness and the roughness height k/δ was about 20 for the PLIF and 38 for the PIV. Both the PLIF and PIV data showed that the near-wall region of the flow was populated by unstable quasi-coherent structures which could be associated to shear layers originating at the trailing edge of the roughness elements. The streamwise mean velocity profile presented a downward shift which varied marginally between the two cases of λ/k, in agreement with previous measurements and DNS results. The data indicated that the Reynolds stresses normalized by the wall units are higher for the case λ/k = 16 than those for λ/k = 8 in the outer region of the flow, suggesting that the roughness density effects could be felt well beyond the near-wall region of the flow. As expected the roughness disturbed dramatically the sublayer which in turn altered the turbulence production mechanism. The turbulence production is maximum at a distance of about 0.5k above the roughness elements. When normalized by the wall units, the turbulence production is found to be smaller than that of a smooth wall. It is argued that the production of turbulence is correlated with the form drag.     

Unsteady flow over a rough bottom

The unsteady motion of an ideal incompressible fluid with a free surface, developing from a state of rest, is considered. The flow is assumed to be irrotational, continuous and two-dimensional; it may be the result either of an initial disturbance of the free boundary or of a given boundary pressure distribution. The rigid boundaries of the flow region are fixed, and the free surface does not cross them at any time during the motion. The fluid is located in a uniform gravity force field and there is no surface tension. A method which in the case of localized roughness of the bottom makes it possible to find the shape of the free surface at any moment of time with predetermined accuracy is proposed. The method involves reducing the initial linear problem to a Volterra integral equation of the second kind, the kernel of this equation being a nonlocal operator. This operator has a smoothing effect, which makes it possible to reduce the solution of the initial problem to the solution of an infinite, perfect lyregular system of Volterra integral equations for a denumerable set of auxiliary functions.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 111–119, November–December, 1989.The author is grateful to I. V. Sturova and B. E. Protopopov for useful discussions and criticism.     

Squeeze flow of soft solids between rough surfaces

Newtonian liquids and non-Newtonian soft solids were squeezed between parallel glass plates by a constant force F applied at time t=0. The plate separation h(t) and the squeeze-rate were measured for different amplitudes of plate roughness in the range 0.3–31 m. Newtonian liquids obeyed the relation Vh ³ of Stephan (1874) for large plate separations. Departures from this relation that occurred when h approached the roughness amplitude were attributed to radial liquid permeation through the rough region. Most non-Newtonian materials showed boundary-slip that varied with roughness amplitude. Some showed slip that varied strongly during the squeezing process. Perfect slip (zero boundary shear stress) was not approached by any material, even when squeezed by optically-polished plates. If the plates had sufficient roughness amplitude (e.g. about 30 m), boundary slip was practically absent, and the dependence of V on h was close to that predicted by no-slip theory of a Herschel-Bulkley fluid in squeeze flow (Covey and Stanmore 1981, Adams et al. 1994).     

A spatiotemporal decomposition of a fully inhomogeneous turbulent flow field

The three-dimensional orthogonal spatial modes and their temporal counterparts have been extracted from a large-eddy simulation of turbulent flow over a surface-mounted cube, using a space-time symmetric version of proper orthogonal decomposition (POD), proposed by Aubry et al. (1991). A relatively small domain of interest, located immediately above the top face of the flow obstacle, has been selected for the application of POD. Within that volume of interest, time records of the velocity field have been sampled at 6000 locations simultaneously. The space-time duality of POD can be demonstrated by deriving two alternative eigenvalue problems for either the orthogonal spatial modes or the orthogonal temporal modes. For a particular case, the choice between the two alternatives can be done on the basis of computational convenience and of data-storage requirements. The results show that the first spatiotemporal mode can be identified with the mean flow. The second spatiotemporal mode is dominated by the alternating vortex shedding from the side edges of the flow obstacle. A Fourier analysis of the second temporal mode leads to a Strouhal number of S=0.125 which corresponds to the measured Strouhal number for the vortex shedding (Martinuzzi, 1992). The third and the fourth spatiotemporal modes are connected with the rolls created at the horizontal leading edge of the cube. For the flow field investigated, the dual space-time point of view of POD is rather realistic in the sense that the first four spatiotemporal modes can actually be observed in the flow.This work is currently supported by the German Research Society (DFG), Priority Research Program, Project No. We 705/3 (Wengle /Römer). We also gratefully acknowledge the support by the Universität der Bundeswehr München (UniBwM) and by the Leibniz Computing Center of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences (LRZ).     

Experimental simulation of capillary effect on rough flat surfaces

The movement of the liquid column inside the slit was utilized to experimentally simulate the character-istics of the capillary force per unit length for differ...     

搅拌槽流场特性的大涡模拟研究

采用大涡模型结合气液两相流时均方程,对六直叶圆盘涡轮搅拌槽内的流场特性进行了数值模拟。自由水面的捕捉用VOF(Volume of Fluid)法,用Simplec方法求解控制方程。通过模拟得到了搅拌槽内复杂的双涡旋流场结构、转轮叶端尾涡的发展变化情况以及轴向流速的分布规律。通过对比大涡模拟与RNGκ-ε的计算结果,得知大涡模型能模拟出流场内瞬时旋涡的发展变化过程,反映出挡板的存在破坏了圆形搅拌槽的流通模式,提高了叶片附近的混合效率;桨叶区域湍流呈现明显的各向异性,时均流速存在明显的波动性。从而证明了用大涡模拟探讨搅拌槽内湍流现象及流场结构的可靠性。     

Direct numerical simulation of turbulent pipe flow

Fully developed turbulent pipe flow at low Re-number is studied by means of direct numerical simulation (DNS). In contrast to many previous DNS's of turbulent flows in rectangular geometries, the present DNS code, developed for a cylindrical geometry, is based on the finite volume technique rather than being based on a spectral method. The statistical results are compared with experimental data obtained with two different experimental techniques. The agreement between numerical and experimental results is found to be good which indicates that the present DNS code is suited for this kind of numerical simulations.     

Turbulent flow over a rough backward-facing step

This work characterizes the impacts of the realistic roughness due to deposition of foreign materials on the turbulent flows at surface transition from elevated rough-wall to smooth-wall. High resolution PIV measurements were performed in the streamwise-wall-normal (x–y) planes at two different spanwise positions in both smooth and rough backward-facing step flows. The experiment conditions were set at a Reynolds number of 3450 based on the free stream velocity U_∞ and the mean step height h, expansion ratio of 1.01, and the ratio of incoming boundary layer thickness to the step height, δ/h, of 8. The mean flow structures are observed to be modified by the roughness and they illustrate three-dimensional features in rough backward-facing step flows. The mean reattachment length X_r is significantly reduced by the roughness at one PIV measurement position while is slightly increased by the different roughness topography at the other measurement position. The mean velocity profiles at the reattachment point indicate that the studied roughness weakens the perturbation of the step to the incoming turbulent flow. Comparisons of Reynolds normal and shear stresses, productions of normal stresses, quadrant analysis of the instantaneous shear-stress contributing events, and mean spanwise vorticity reveal that the turbulence in the separated shear layer is reduced by the studied roughness. The results also indicate an earlier separation of the turbulent boundary layer over the current rough step, probably due to the adverse pressure gradient produced by the roughness topography even before the step.     

Outer flow scaling of smooth and rough wall turbulent boundary layers

Mean velocity profiles in a zero pressure gradient turbulent boundary layer were measured on a hydraulically smooth surface and three different rough surfaces created from sand paper, perforated plate, and woven wire mesh. The physical size and geometry of the roughness elements were chosen to encompass both transitionally and fully rough flow regimes. The mean velocity profiles were measured using a Pitot tube in a subsonic wind tunnel, for Reynolds numbers (based on momentum thickness) ranging from 3,730 to 12,260. Three different outer velocity scales were used to analyze the defect profile. The results show that application of a so called mixed outer scale causes the velocity profile in the outer region to collapse onto the same curve for different Reynolds numbers and roughness conditions. Although the mixed scale collapses defect profiles on different surfaces, the effect of surface roughness is still observed in the outer region.     

Open channel turbulent flow over hemispherical ribs

This paper reports an experimental investigation of open channel turbulent flow over hemispherical ribs. A row of ribs consists of hemispheres closely placed to one another in the spanwise direction and cover the entire span of the channel. The pitch-to-height ratio is varied to achieve the so-called d-type, intermediate and k-type roughness. The Reynolds numbers based on water depth, h, and momentum thickness, θ, of the approach flow are respectively, Re_h = 28,100 and Re_θ = 1800. A particle image velocimetry is used to obtain detailed velocity measurements in and above the cavity. Streamlines, mean velocity and time-averaged turbulent statistics are used to study the effects of pitch-to-height ratio on the flow characteristics and also to document similarities and differences between the present work and prior studies over two-dimensional transverse rods. It was observed that interaction between the outer flow and the shear layers generated by ribs is strongest for k-type and least for d-type ribs. The results also show that hemispherical ribs are less effective in augmenting flow resistance compared to two-dimensional transverse ribs. The levels of the Reynolds stresses and budget terms increase with increasing pitch-to-height ratio inside the roughness sublayer.