Multi-resolution analysis of the large-scale coherent structure in a turbulent separation bubble affected by an unsteady wake

Multi-resolution analysis (MRA) was applied to the large-scale coherent structure in a turbulent separation bubble affected by an unsteady wake. The unsteady wake was generated using a spoked-wheel type wake generator, which was installed in front of the separation bubble. The wake generator was rotated either clockwise (CW) or counter-clockwise (CCW) with a normalized passing frequency of St_H=0.2. The Reynolds number based on the half-thickness of the blunt body was Re_H=5600. To show the unsteady dynamic flow structures between the ‘cutting’ and ‘wrapping’ regimes, a MRA using the maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform (MODWT) was performed. This method enabled delineation of the coherent structure of the turbulent separation bubble through a scale-resolved analysis. Reconstruction of the flow field in combination with conditional averaging was attempted. Flapping motions as well as sawtooth movements of the unsteady separation bubble were analyzed using the MODWT. The unsteady wakes decayed faster in the system with CCW rotation than in that with CW rotation.     

Influence of unsteady wake on a turbulent separation bubble

 An experimental study was made of turbulent separated and reattaching flow over a blunt body, where unsteady wake was generated by a spoked-wheel type of wake generator with cylindrical rods. The influence of unsteady wake was scrutinized by altering the rotation direction (clockwise and counter-clockwise) and the normalized passing frequency (0 ≤ St _H  ≤ 0.20). The Reynolds number based on the cylindrical rod was Re _d =375. A phase-averaging technique was employed to characterize the unsteady wake. The effect of different rotation directions, which gave a significant reduction of x _R , was examined in detail. The wall pressure fluctuations on the blunt body were analyzed in terms of the spectrum and the coherence. Received: 15 January 2001 / Accepted: 17 July 2001     

Unsteady separated and reattaching turbulent flow over a two-dimensional square rib

The spatio-temporal characteristics of the separated and reattaching turbulent flow over a two-dimensional square rib were studied experimentally. Synchronized measurements of wall-pressure fluctuations and velocity fluctuations were made using a microphone array and a split-fiber film, respectively. Profiles of time-averaged streamwise velocity and wall-pressure fluctuations showed that the shear layer separated from the leading edge of the rib sweeps past the rib and directly reattaches on the bottom wall (x/H=9.75) downstream of the rib. A thin region of reverse flow was formed above the rib. The shedding large-scale vortical structures (fH/U₀=0.03) and the flapping separation bubble (fH/U₀=0.0075) could be discerned in the wall-pressure spectra. A multi-resolution analysis based on the maximum overlap discrete wavelet transform (MODWT) was performed to extract the intermittent events associated with the shedding large-scale vortical structures and the flapping separation bubble. The convective dynamics of the large-scale vortical structures were analyzed in terms of the autocorrelation of the continuous wavelet-transformed wall pressure, cross-correlation of the wall-pressure fluctuations, and the cross-correlation between the wall pressure at the time-averaged reattachment point and the streamwise velocity field. The convection speeds of the large-scale vortical structures before and after the reattachment point were U_c=0.35U₀ and 0.45U₀, respectively. The flapping motion of the separation bubble was analyzed in terms of the conditionally averaged reverse-flow intermittency near the wall region. The instantaneous reattachment point in response to the flapping motion was obtained; these findings established that the reattachment zone was a 1.2H-long region centered at x/H=9.75. The reverse-flow intermittency in one period of the flapping motion demonstrated that the thin reverse flow above the rib is influenced by the flapping motion of the separation bubble behind the rib.     

Turbulent flow past a bubble and an ellipsoid using shadow-image and PIV techniques

An experimental investigation on flow around an oscillating bubble and solid ellipsoid with a flat bottom was conducted. A single air bubble (equivalent diameter D_e=9.12 mm) was attached to a small disk (1 mm) at the end of a needle and suspended across a vertical square channel (100 mm) by wire wherein water flowed downward at a constant flowrate. The solid ellipsoid (D_e9.1 mm) was suspended across the square channel in the same manner. The equivalent diameter-based Reynolds and Eotvos number range, 1950<Re<2250 and 11<Eo<11.5, placed the bubble in the ‘wobbly’ regime while the flow in its wake was turbulent. A constant flowrate and one bubble size was used such that flow in the wake was turbulent. Velocity measurements of the flow field around the bubble or solid were made using a one CCD camera Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV) system enhanced by Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF). The shape of the bubble or solid was simultaneously recorded along with the velocity using a second CCD camera and an Infrared Shadow Technique (IST). In this way both the flow-field and the boundary of the bubble (solid) were measured. The velocity vector plots of flow around and in the wake of a bubble/solid, supplemented by profiles and contours of the average and root-mean-square velocities, vorticity, Reynolds stress and turbulent kinetic energy, revealed differences in the wake flow structure behind a bubble and solid. One of the significant differences was in the inherent, oscillatory motion of the bubble which not only produced vorticity in the near-wake, but as a result of apparent vorticity stretching distributed the turbulent kinetic energy associated with this flow more uniformly on its wake, in contrast to the solid.     

Planar velocity measurements of a two-dimensional compressible wake

The present study describes the application of particle image velocimetry (PIV) to investigate the compressible flow in the wake of a two-dimensional blunt base at a freestream Mach number M_X=2. The first part of the study addresses specific issues related to the application of PIV to supersonic wind tunnel flows, such as the seeding particle flow-tracing fidelity and the measurement spatial resolution. The seeding particle response is assessed through a planar oblique shock wave experiment. The measurement spatial resolution is enhanced by means of an advanced image-interrogation algorithm. In the second part, the experimental results are presented. The PIV measurements yield the spatial distribution of mean velocity and turbulence. The mean velocity distribution clearly reveals the main flow features such as expansion fans, separated shear layers, flow recirculation, reattachment, recompression and wake development. The turbulence distribution shows the growth of turbulent fluctuations in the separated shear layers up to the reattachment location. Increased velocity fluctuations are also present downstream of reattachment outside of the wake due to unsteady flow reattachment and recompression. The instantaneous velocity field is analyzed seeking coherent flow structures in the redeveloping wake. The instantaneous planar velocity and vorticity measurements return evidence of large-scale turbulent structures detected as spatially coherent vorticity fluctuations. The velocity pattern consistently shows large masses of fluid in vortical motion. The overall instantaneous wake flow is organized as a double row of counter-rotating structures. The single structures show vorticity contours of roughly elliptical shape in agreement with previous studies based on spatial correlation of planar light scattering. Peak vorticity is found to be five times higher than the mean vorticity value, suggesting that wake turbulence is dominated by the activity of large-scale structures. The unsteady behavior of the reattachment phenomenon is studied. Based on the instantaneous flow topology, the reattachment is observed to fluctuate mostly in the streamwise direction suggesting that the unsteady separation is dominated by a pumping-like motion.     

Investigation of the vortex induced unsteadiness of a separation bubble via time-resolved and scanning PIV measurements

A transitional separation bubble on the suction side of an SD7003 airfoil is considered. The transition process that forces the separated shear layer to reattach seems to be governed by Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities. Large scale vortices are formed due to this mechanism at the downstream end of the bubble. These vortices possess a three-dimensional structure and detach from the recirculation region, while other vortices are formed within the bubble. This separation of the vortex is a highly unsteady process, which leads to a bubble flapping. The structure of these vortices and the flapping of the separation bubble due to these vortices are temporally and spatially analyzed at angles of attack from 4° to 8° and chord-length based Reynolds numbers Re _c = 20,000–60,000 using time-resolved PIV measurements in a 2D and a 3D set-up, i.e., stereo-scanning PIV measurements are done in the latter case. These measurements complete former studies at a Reynolds number of Re _c = 20,000. The results of the time-resolved PIV measurements in a single light-sheet show the influence of the angle of attack and the Reynolds number. The characteristic parameters of the separation bubble are analyzed focusing on the unsteadiness of the separation bubble, e.g., the varying size of the main recirculation region, which characterizes the bubble flapping, and the corresponding Strouhal number are investigated. Furthermore, the impact of the freestream turbulence is investigated by juxtaposing the current and former results. The stereo-scanning PIV measurements at Reynolds numbers up to 60,000 elucidate the three-dimensional character of the vortical structures, which evolve at the downstream end of the separation bubble. It is shown that the same typical structures are formed, e.g., the c-shape vortex and the screwdriver vortex at each Reynolds number and angle of attack investigated and the occurrence of these patterns in relation to Λ-structures is discussed. To evidence the impact of the freestream turbulence, these results are compared with findings of former measurements.     

The Vortical Structures in the Rear Separation and Wake Produced by a Supersonic Micro-Ramp

The vortical structures in the rear separation and wake region produced by a micro-ramp that immersed in a supersonic turbulent boundary layer are investigated. The small scale separation close to the trailing edge was revealed and this confirms the previous experimental observation. Between the reverse region and surrounding fast moving flow, a three-dimensional shear layer was formed, and vortices are generated. By using vortex line method, the spiral points were illustrated as the cross-sections of the Ω-shaped vortices that follow the shape of the separation. The vortical structure was analogous to that in the wake region, where similar Ω-shaped vortex which follows the deficit region caused by the micro-ramp can be observed. Finally, the revealed flow topology was conceived new and beneficial to the studying of wall bounded turbulence which involves similar vortical structures but in a smaller scale, compared with the vortical pattern in the current micro-ramp wake.     

PIV analysis of near-wake behind a sphere at a subcritical Reynolds number

The vortical structure of near-wake behind a sphere is investigated using a PIV technique in a circulating water channel at Re = 11,000. The measured velocity fields show a detailed vortical structure in the recirculation region such as recirculation vortices, reversed velocity zone, and out-of-plane vorticity distribution. The vorticity distribution of the sphere wake shows waviness in cross-sectional planes. The time-averaged turbulent structures are consistent with the visualized flow showing the onset of shear layer instability. The spatial distributions of turbulent intensities provide turbulent statistics for validating numerical predictions.     

The wake of falling disks at low Reynolds numbers

We visualized the wake structure of circular disks falling vertically in quiescent water.The evolution of the wake was shown to be similar to the flow patterns behind a fixed disk.The Reynolds number,Re = Ud/ν,is in the range of 40 200.With the ascension of Reynolds numbers,a regular bifurcation occurred at the first critical Reynolds number Re c 1,leading to a transition from an axisymmetric wake structure to a plane symmetric one;A Hopf bifurcation took place at the second critical Reynolds number Re c 2,as the wake structure became unsteady.Plane symmetry of the wake structure was first lost as periodic vortex shedding appeared,but recovered at higher Reynolds number.The difference between the two critical Reynolds numbers was found to be shape-dependent,as we compared our results for thin discs with those for other falling bodies,such as spheres and cones.This observation could be understood in terms of the instability mechanism of the vortical structure.     

Stochastic estimation of multipoint conditional averages and their spatio-temporal evolution

A novel application of the stochastic estimation procedure is used to examine the three-dimensional structure of the turbulent wake of a cylinder atx/d=100 and Re _D =5000. The basis for this method is the measurements of the full 3-D correlation tensor for all components across the width of the wake. Using this large data base, events contributing most to the Reynolds stress are identified and the most likely ensemble-averaged structures corresponding to these events are reconstructed using the stochastic estimation procedure. This powerful technique offers the distinct advantage that multi-point conditional averages can readily be estimated. An extension of this multi-point conditional average estimation is presented in this paper in the form of a pseudo-dynamic reconstruction of the flow field. To that effect, measured time sequences of conditions at several points in the wake are used to estimate the three-dimensional structures most likely associated with these events, hence providing a useful tool to reconstruct the evolution of the large-scale flow structures.Supported by Office of Naval Research under Grant N00014-90-J-1499.Supported by The OAI Space Grant Consortium.     

Turbulent flow past a bubble and an ellipsoid using shadow-image and PIV techniques

An experimental investigation on flow around an oscillating bubble and solid ellipsoid with a flat bottom was conducted. A single air bubble (equivalent diameter D_e=9.12 mm) was attached to a small disk (∼1 mm) at the end of a needle and suspended across a vertical square channel (100 mm) by wire wherein water flowed downward at a constant flowrate. The solid ellipsoid (D_e∼9.1 mm) was suspended across the square channel in the same manner. The equivalent diameter-based Reynolds and Eotvos number range, 1950<Re<2250 and 11<Eo<11.5, placed the bubble in the ‘wobbly’ regime while the flow in its wake was turbulent. A constant flowrate and one bubble size was used such that flow in the wake was turbulent. Velocity measurements of the flow field around the bubble or solid were made using a one CCD camera Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV) system enhanced by Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF). The shape of the bubble or solid was simultaneously recorded along with the velocity using a second CCD camera and an Infrared Shadow Technique (IST). In this way both the flow-field and the boundary of the bubble (solid) were measured. The velocity vector plots of flow around and in the wake of a bubble/solid, supplemented by profiles and contours of the average and root-mean-square velocities, vorticity, Reynolds stress and turbulent kinetic energy, revealed differences in the wake flow structure behind a bubble and solid. One of the significant differences was in the inherent, oscillatory motion of the bubble which not only produced vorticity in the near-wake, but as a result of apparent vorticity stretching distributed the turbulent kinetic energy associated with this flow more uniformly on its wake, in contrast to the solid.     

Analysis of unstable vortical structure in a propeller wake affected by a simulated hull wake

A two-frame PIV (particle image velocimetry) technique was used to investigate the flow characteristics of a complicated propeller wake influenced by a hull wake. As the propeller is significantly affected by the hull wake of a marine vessel, measurements of the propeller wake under the hull wake are certainly needed for more reliable validation of numerical predictions. Velocity field measurements were conducted in a cavitation tunnel with a simulated hull wake. Generally, the hull wake generated by the hull of a marine ship may cause different loading distributions on the propeller blade in both the upper and the lower propeller planes. The unstable propeller wake caused by the ship’s hull was interpreted in terms of turbulent kinetic energy (T _KE) to obtain useful information for flow modeling. The unstable or unsteady phenomenon in the upper propeller wake was identified by using the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) method to characterize the coherent flow structure with turbulent kinetic energy. Strong unsteadiness appeared in the second and higher modes, largely affecting the downstream flow characteristics. The first eigenmode can be used to appropriately identify the tip vortex positions even in the unstable downstream region, which are helpful for establishing reliable wake modeling.     

Self-sustained oscillations of turbulent flows over an open cavity

The mechanism of self-sustained oscillations in laminar cavity flows has been well characterized; however, the occurrence of self-sustained oscillations in turbulent cavity flows has only previously been characterized by direct observation of flows. Here, the quantitative characteristics of vortical structures in turbulent flows over an open cavity were determined, and then statistical properties were examined for evidence of self-sustained oscillations. Specifically, instantaneous velocity fields were measured using PIV and wall pressure fluctuations were determined from microphone data. Cavity geometries of L/D = 1 and 2, where L and D are the length and depth of the cavity, respectively, were used under conditions where the incoming boundary layer was turbulent at Re _θ  = 830. Statistical analyses were applied based on the instantaneous velocity fields of PIV data. The spatial distributions of vertical velocity correlations (v–v) showed alternating patterns that reflect the organized nature of the large-scale vortical structures corresponding to the modes of N = 2 for L/D = 1 and N = 3 for L/D = 2. These values were consistent with the numbers of vortical structures obtained from a modified version of Rossiter’s equation. Furthermore the numbers of vortical structures determined in the statistical analyses were consistently observed in instantaneous distributions of the swirling strength (λ _ci). The incoming turbulent boundary layer can give rise to the formation of large-scale vortical structures responsible for self-sustained oscillations.     

PIV study of the influence of large-scale streamwise vortices on a turbulent boundary layer

Vortex generator jets were used to generate large-scale longitudinal vortices embedded in a flat-plate turbulent boundary layer. The investigation was performed in a water tunnel, measuring instantaneous flow fields in planes parallel and normal to the flat plate, using particle image velocimetry. The objective of the research was to observe the response of near-wall turbulence to the imposed perturbing flow. It was shown that a small-amplitude forcing vortical flow had significant influence on the mean and fluctuating velocity profiles. Moreover, particle image velocimetry permitted speculation upon the behaviour of the wall velocity streaks under the action of the perturbing forcing vortical flow.     

激波与转捩边界层干扰非定常特性数值分析

激波与边界层干扰的非定常问题是高速飞行器气动设计中基础研究内容之一.以往研究主要针对层流和湍流干扰,在分离激波低频振荡及其内在机理方面存在着上游机制和下游机制两类截然不同的理论解释.分析激波与转捩边界层干扰下非定常运动现象有助于进一步加深理解边界层状态以及分离泡结构对低频振荡特性的影响规律,为揭示其产生机理指出新的方向.采用直接数值模拟方法对来流马赫数2.9,24?压缩拐角内激波与转捩边界层干扰下激波的非定常运动特性进行了数值分析.通过在拐角上游平板特定的流向位置添加吹吸扰动激发流动转捩,使得进入拐角的边界层处于转捩初期阶段.在验证了计算程序可靠性的基础上,详细分析了转捩干扰下激波运动的间歇性和振荡特征,着重研究了分离泡展向三维结构对激波振荡特性的影响规律,最后还初步探索了转捩干扰下激波低频振荡产生的物理机制.研究结果表明:分离激波的非定常运动仍存在强间歇性和低频振荡特征,其时间尺度约为上游无干扰区内脉动信号特征尺度的10倍量级;分离泡展向三维结构不会对分离激波的低频振荡特征产生实质影响.依据瞬态脉动流场的低通滤波结果,转捩干扰下激波低频振荡的诱因来源于拐角干扰区下游,与流场中分离泡的收缩/膨胀运动存在一定的关联.     

Scanning PIV investigation of the laminar separation bubble on a SD7003 airfoil

A laminar separation bubble occurs on the suction side of the SD7003 airfoil at an angle of attack α =  4–8° and a low Reynolds number less than 100,000, which brings about a significant adverse aerodynamic effect. The spatial and temporal structure of the laminar separation bubble was studied using the scanning PIV method at α =  4° and Re = 60,000 and 20,000. Of particular interest are the dynamic vortex behavior in transition process and the subsequent vortex evolution in the turbulent boundary layer. The flow was continuously sampled in a stack of parallel illuminated planes from two orthogonal views with a frequency of hundreds Hz, and PIV cross-correlation was performed to obtain the 2D velocity field in each plane. Results of both the single-sliced and the volumetric presentations of the laminar separation bubble reveal vortex shedding in transition near the reattachment region at Re = 60,000. In a relatively long distance vortices characterized by paired wall-normal vorticity packets retain their identities in the reattached turbulent boundary layer, though vortices interact through tearing, stretching and tilting. Compared with the restricted LSB at Re = 60,000, the flow at Re = 20,000 presents an earlier separation and a significantly increased reversed flow region followed by “huge” vortical structures.     

Transonic Rotor/Stator Interaction Using a 3-D Linearised Unsteady Viscous Flow Model

The paper first summarizes the forced response problem in turbomachinery and reviews various numerical methods for the simulation of unsteady flows. A particular technique, based on the linearisation of the unsteady Favre-averaged Navier-Stokes equations on three-dimensional mixed-element grids of tetrahedra, hexahedra and wedges, is described in some detail. The methodology was applied to a NGV/rotor interaction benchmark case for which detailed steady and unsteady flow measurements are available. The steady-state flow, calculated using a non-linear viscous representation, was described in detail with emphasis on features such as separation, horseshoe and passage vortices, tip leakage and shock structure since these are likely to influence the unsteady flow. The sources of unsteadiness on the rotor passage were evaluated from the steady-state solution at the NGV outlet. The disturbances were split into vortical, entropic and potential waves, the Fourier components of which were considered separately. The summation of the vortical and entropic waves was used as a rotor inlet boundary condition in order to assess the wake/rotor unsteady interaction. Similarly, potential waves were used to study the potential/rotor interaction. The results obtained from these two types of unsteady interactions were superimposed and compared with experimental data. Good qualitative and, in most cases, quantitative agreement was obtained, a finding which suggests that the unsteady flowfield generated by the relative blade motion can be considered to be a quasi-linear phenomenon for the particular HP turbine studied. Finally, the mechanisms of wake/rotor and potential/rotor interactions were studied in some detail and it was concluded that the former was strong in the crown of the blade while the latter was dominant in the leading edge region.     

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.     

Unsteady free surface wave-induced separation: Vortical structures and instabilities

Vortical structures and instability mechanisms of the unsteady free surface wave-induced separation around a surface-piercing NACA0024 foil at a Froude number of 0.37 and a Reynolds number of 1.52×10⁶ are studied using an unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) code with a blended k?ε/k?ω turbulence model and a free surface tracking method. At the free surface, the separated flow reattaches to the foil surface resulting in a wall-bounded separation bubble. The mean and instantaneous flow topologies in the separation region are similar to the owl-face pattern. The initial shear-layer instability, the Karman-like instability, and the flapping instability are identified, and their scaling and physical mechanisms are studied. Validation with experimental fluid dynamics (EFD) and comparison with complementary detached-eddy simulation (DES) indicate that URANS resolves part of the organized oscillations due to the large-scale unsteady vortical structures and instabilities, thereby capturing the gross features of the unsteady separation. The URANS solutions show an initial amplitude defect of 30% for the free surface oscillations where the shear layer separates, and the defect progressively increases downstream as URANS rapidly dissipates the rolled up vortices.