Application of a Synthetic Jet to Control Boundary Layer Separation under Ultra-High-Lift Turbine Pressure Distribution

The transition and separation processes of the boundary layer developing on a flat plate under a prescribed adverse pressure gradient typical of Ultra-High-Lift low-pressure turbine profiles have been investigated, with and without the application of a synthetic jet (zero net mass flow rate jet). A mechanical piston has been adopted to produce an intermittent flow with zero net mass flow rate. The capability of the device to suppress or reduce the large laminar separation bubble occurring under steady inflow condition at low Reynolds numbers has been experimentally investigated by means of hot-wire measurements. Wall static pressure measurements complement the hot-wire time-resolved velocity results. The paper reports the investigations performed for both steady and controlled conditions. The active device is able to control the laminar separation bubble induced at low Reynolds number conditions by the strong adverse pressure gradient. An overall view of the time-dependent evolution of the controlled boundary layer is provided by the phase-locked ensemble averaging technique, triggered at the synthetic jet frequency. The separated flow transition process, which is detected for the uncontrolled condition, is modified by the synthetic jet in different ways during the blowing and suction phases. Overall, the phase-locked velocity distributions show a reduced separated flow region for the whole jet cycle as compared to the uncontrolled condition. The phase-locked distributions of the random unsteadiness allow the identification of vortical structures growing along the shear layer mainly during the blowing phase.     

Loss Production Mechanisms in a Laminar Separation Bubble

The present paper reports the results of a detailed experimental study, carried out by means of a two-component Laser Doppler Velocimeter, aimed at investigating the loss generation mechanisms induced by laminar separation bubble and transition process. Measurements have been performed along a flat plate installed within a double contoured test section, designed to produce an adverse pressure gradient typical of Ultra-High-Lift turbine blade profiles, which induces the formation of a laminar separation bubble. Results were detailed enough to allow calculating laminar and turbulent deformation works in the separated flow region. Normal and shear contributions of both viscous and turbulent deformation works have been analyzed and employed to explain the generation of total pressure losses in the separated flow region, where the generation and amplification of Kelvin–Helmholtz instability induces the separated shear layer roll-up, thus the bubble reattachment. Results obtained for different Reynolds number conditions have been employed for the formulation of a loss scaling procedure involving the separated shear layer thickness, which is directly correlated to the dynamics of Kelvin–Helmholtz roll-up vortices.     

Drag and lift reduction of a 3D bluff-body using active vortex generators

In this study, a passive flow control experiment on a 3D bluff-body using vortex generators (VGs) is presented. The bluff-body is a modified Ahmed body (Ahmed in J Fluids Eng 105:429–434 1983) with a curved rear part, instead of a slanted one, so that the location of the flow separation is no longer forced by the geometry. The influence of a line of non-conventional trapezoïdal VGs on the aerodynamic forces (drag and lift) induced on the bluff-body is investigated. The high sensitivity to many geometric (angle between the trapezoïdal element and the wall, spanwise spacing between the VGs, longitudinal location on the curved surface) and physical (freestream velocity) parameters is clearly demonstrated. The maximum drag reduction is ?12%, while the maximum global lift reduction can reach more than ?60%, with a strong dependency on the freestream velocity. For some configurations, the lift on the rear axle of the model can be inverted (?104%). It is also shown that the VGs are still efficient even downstream of the natural separation line. Finally, a dynamic parameter is chosen and a new set-up with motorized vortex generators is proposed. Thanks to this active device. The optimal configurations depending on two parameters are found more easily, and a significant drag and lift reduction (up to ?14% drag reduction) can be reached for different freestream velocities. These results are then analyzed through wall pressure and velocity measurements in the near-wake of the bluff-body with and without control. It appears that the largest drag and lift reduction is clearly associated to a strong increase of the size of the recirculation bubble over the rear slant. Investigation of the velocity field in a cross-section downstream the model reveals that, in the same time, the intensity of the longitudinal trailing vortices is strongly reduced, suggesting that the drag reduction is due to the breakdown of the balance between the separation bubble and the longitudinal vortices. It demonstrates that for low aspect ratio 3D bluff-bodies, like road vehicles, the flow control strategy is much different from the one used on airfoils: an early separation of the boundary layer can lead to a significant drag reduction if the circulation of the trailing vortices is reduced.     

Boundary-layer transition on a cylinder with and without separation bubbles

Boundary layer transition with and without transitional separation bubbles was investigated on a cylinder in cross flow. Measurements of the pressure distribution and hot-wire measurements within the boundary layer were carried out at two free-stream velocities and with different flow disturbances. The separation bubble reacts very sensitively to changes in inlet turbulence. Tollmien-Schlichting waves were observed in the separated shear layer just before transition, and their frequencies were in good agreement with stability theory. However, correlations concerning bubble length which were fitted using airfoil data are apparently not suitable for describing separation bubbles on cylinders. Finally, measurements in periodically disturbed flow show how the bubble reacts to this type of disturbance.     

PIV measurements in a weakly separating and reattaching turbulent boundary layer

A high Reynolds number flat plate turbulent boundary layer was studied in a wind-tunnel experiment using particle image velocimetry (PIV). The flow is subjected to an adverse pressure gradient (APG) which is designed such that the boundary layer separates and reattaches, forming a weak separation bubble. With PIV we are able to get a more complete picture of this complex flow phenomenon. The view of a separation bubble being composed of large scale coherent regions of instantaneous backflow occurring randomly in a three-dimensional manner in space and time is verified by the present PIV measurements. The PIV database was used to test the applicability of various velocity scalings around the separation bubble. We found that the mean velocity profiles in the outer part of the boundary layer, and to some extent also the Reynolds shear-stress, are self-similar when using a velocity scale based on the local pressure gradient. The same can be said for the so called Perry–Schofield scaling, which suggests that the two velocity scales are connected. This can also be interpreted as an experimental evidence of the claimed relation between the latter velocity scale and the maximum Reynolds shear-stress.     

Experimental Study on the Behaviour of Local Laminar Separation Bubble at a Rectangular Wing Section

This paper identifies laminar separation bubbles at the root or span-wise midsection of a rectangular wing using direct surface pressure measurements in the wind tunnel and analyses their behavior at different Reynolds numbers and angles of attack. The separation, transition, and reattachment locations are determined as functions of the angles of attack and the Reynolds number. The transition structure and turbulence characteristics in the separated shear layer are studied using laser Doppler velocimetry. Surface pressure data and simultaneously acquired velocity signals are correlated to show the pattern of growing disturbances in the shear layer. Surface oil flow visualizations clarified the wingtip and separation bubble’s interactions near the leading edge of the wing at the higher angles of attack. Turbulence statistics are also calculated from the streamwise velocity distributions, and an apparent deviation is observed for the skewness and flatness values from the normal distributions in the near-wall region. The separation bubble effect on aerodynamic coefficients of a 3D rectangular wing root section is studied and reported.

     

Numerical simulation of an axisymmetric separated and reattached flow over a longitudinal blunt circular cylinder

This article presents a numerical investigation of turbulent flow in an axisymmetric separated and reattached flow over a longitudinal blunt circular cylinder. The governing equations were discretized by the finite-volume method and SIMPLER method was applied to solve the equations on a staggered grid. The turbulent flow was numerically simulated using the standard k–ε, Abe–Kondoh–Nagano (AKN) and Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence models. The comparisons made between numerical results and experimental measurements showed that the SST model is superior to other models in the present calculation.Computations were performed for three different Reynolds numbers of 6000, 10 000 and 20 000 based on the cylinder diameter. To our knowledge, this study represents the first numerical investigation of the present flow configuration. The computational results were validated with the available experimental data of reattachment length, mean velocity distribution and wall static pressure coefficient in the turbulent blunt circular cylinder flows. Further, other characteristics of the flow, such as turbulent kinetic energy, pressure, streamlines, and the velocity vectors are discussed.The results show that the main characteristics of the turbulence flow in the separation region, such as reattachment length or velocity profiles, are nearly independent of the Reynolds number. The obtained results showed that a secondary separation bubble may appear in the main separation bubble near the leading edge. Furthermore, it was found that the turbulent kinetic energy has a large effect on the formation of the secondary bubble.     

Numerical Simulation of the Flow in the Carotid Bifurcation

Pulsatile flow through the three-dimensional carotid artery bifurcation has been studied using the artificial-compressibility method. The part of the flow with large inertia bifurcates and creates a very steep velocity gradient on the divider walls. The flow near the nondivider walls slows down because of dilation of the cross section and strong adverse pressure gradient. The secondary flow in the bifurcation region, which is similar to the Dean vortex in a curved pipe, is strong and very complex. The region of separation is not closed for the cases of steady and pulsatile flow. The extent of this region is small and the streamlines are smooth except in the decelerating phase of systole. The change of common-internal bifurcation angle (25°± 15°) for fixed internal–external bifurcation angle of 50° has more effect on the shear on the bifurcation-internal carotid wall and less effect on the shear on the common-internal carotid wall. The mean wall shears are not sensitive to the input flow-rate waveform for constant mean flow, but the maximum wall shears are. Received 3 January 1997 and accepted 11 April 1997     

Flow development upstream of a fence

The effect of Reynolds number on the flow development upstream of a rigid, non-porous, static fence is investigated experimentally. The flow field is measured using time-resolved, two-component particle image velocimetry at Reynolds numbers based on fence height of 18000, 36000, and 54000. The results show that a laminar separation bubble forms upstream of the junction vortex at the base of the fence. The mean extent of the bubble decreases with increasing Reynolds number, with mean separation moving downstream and mean reattachment moving upstream. In the aft portion of the bubble, shear layer vortices form and are shed at scaled frequencies and wavelengths that are comparable to laminar separation bubble shedding in low Reynolds number airfoils and flat plates with an imposed adverse pressure gradient. The strong periodicity of the associated coherent structures and the proximity of shear layer roll-up relative to the fence should be taken into consideration in the relevant designs due to potential implications to structural loading. A simple flow separation prediction model combining inviscid fence flow solution with Thwaites’ method is introduced and shows good agreement with the experimental results for the Reynolds number range considered.     

DNS of a Laminar Separation Bubble in the Presence of Oscillating External Flow

A three-dimensional Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of a laminar separation bubble in the presence of oscillating flow is performed. The oscillating flow induces a streamwise pressure gradient varying in time. The special shape of the upper boundary of the computational domain, together with the oscillating pressure gradient causes the boundary layer flow to alternately separate and re-attach. When the inflow decelerates, the shear layer starts to separate and rolls up. Simultaneously the flow becomes 3D. After a transient period, the phase-averaged reverse flow inside the separation bubble reaches speeds ranging from 20 up to 150% of the free-stream velocity. During these phases, the flow is absolutely unstable and self-sustained turbulence can exist. When the inflow starts to accelerate, a spanwise roll of turbulent flow is shed from the shear layer. Shortly after this, the remainder of the separation bubble moves downstream and rejoins with the shed turbulent roll. During the flow-acceleration phase, a patch of laminar boundary layer flow is obtained. Along the flat plate, a series of turbulent patches of flow travelling downstream, separated by laminar flow can be observed, reminiscent of boundary layer flow in a turbine cascade with periodically appearing free-stream disturbances.     

Fence probe measurement of flow reversal in separating turbulent boundary layers

A small fence probe was evaluated for measurements in the time-dependent flow reversal region of the transition from boundary layer to separated flow. For moderate and high Reynolds numbers, the fence probe is demonstrated to be a usable tool for the measurement of the reverse flow associated with separation. Although the present probe pressure transducer system was limited to approximately 200?Hz, pulses of positive and negative shear stress were readily detected. At or near the location of zero surface shear stress, the measurements were limited by the signal-to-noise ratio. For the separated flow investigated, a marked reduction in the pressure gradient occurred when the fence probe indicated approximately 20?% reversal for the higher Reynolds numbers. The reversal increased to 24?% for the lower Reynolds numbers. The measurements indicate that flow reversal alone may not be adequate to identify the degree of separation. Upstream of turbulent boundary layer (intermittent) separation, the duration of the reversed shear stress was found to be very short (0.002?C0.007?s), suggesting a local, small-scale, impulse-type separation. At and beyond the location of intermittent separation, the shear stress reversal duration was an order of magnitude longer. Estimates of the maximum and minimum surface shear stress in the separation region were also obtained with the fence probe.     

The Influence of Periodic Excitation on a Turbulent Separation Bubble

Turbulent separation limits the performance in many engineering applications, for example creating pressure losses in diffuser like flows or stall on aircraft wings. In the present study the turbulent boundary layer flow over a flat plate separating due to an adverse pressure gradient is studied as a model problem and the effect of periodic excitation in both time and space is investigated through direct numerical simulations. Linear stability analysis is used to analyse the sensitivity of the flow with respect to time-periodic excitations. The dependence on position, amplitude and frequency of the forcing is investigated. For a certain frequency range at sufficiently high amplitudes, it is possible to eliminate the separated region. Furthermore, three-dimensional effects are studied by applying a steady spanwise forcing as well as a both time-dependent and spanwise varying forcing. A forcing varying in spanwise direction is shown to be the most effective in eliminating the separated region, whereas two-dimensional time-periodic excitation was not as efficient as it was expected.     

Open and closed-loop control of transonic buffet on 3D turbulent wings using fluidic devices

This paper presents an overview of the work performed recently at ONERA on the control of the buffet phenomenon. This aerodynamic instability induces strong wall pressure fluctuations and as such limits aircraft envelope; consequently, it is interesting to try to delay its onset, in order to enlarge aircraft flight envelop, but also to provide more flexibility during the design phase. Several types of flow control have been investigated, either passive (mechanical vortex generators) or active (fluidic VGs, fluidic trailing-edge device (TED)). It is shown than mechanical and fluidic VGs are able to delay buffet onset in the angle-of-attack domain by suppressing the separation downstream of the shock. The effect of the fluidic TED is different, the separation is not suppressed, but the rear wing loading is increased and consequently the buffet onset is not delayed to higher angles of attack, but only to higher lift coefficient. Then, a closed loop control methodology based on a quasi-static approach is defined and several architectures are tested for various parameters such as the input signal, the objective function or, the tuning of the feedback gain. All closed loop methods are implemented on a dSPACE device calculating in real time the fluidic actuators command from the unsteady pressure sensors data.     

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.     

Direct Numerical Simulation of a Fully Developed Turbulent Flow over a Wavy Wall

Turbulent flow over a sinusoidal solid wavy surface was investigated by a direct numerical simulation using a spectral element technique. The train of waves has an amplitude to wavelength ratio of 0.05. For the flow conditions (Re=hU _b/2ν= 3460) considered, adverse pressure gradients were large enough to cause flow separation. Numerical results compare favorably with those of Hudson's (1993) measurements. Instantaneous flow fields show a large variation of the flow pattern in the spanwise direction in the separated bubble at a given time. A surprising result is the discovery of occasional velocity bursts which originate in the separated region and extend over large distances away from the wavy wall. Turbulence in this region is very different from that near a flat wall in that it is associated with a shear layer which is formed by flow separation. Received 17 April 1996 and accepted 19 November 1997     

低雷诺数翼型蒙皮主动振动气动特性及流场结构数值研究

针对低雷诺数(Re)翼型气动性能差的特点,文章通过对翼型柔性蒙皮施加主动振动的方法,提高翼型低Re下的气动特性,改善其流场结构.采用带预处理技术的Roe方法求解非定常可压缩Navier-Stokes方程,对NACA4415翼型低Re流动展开数值模拟.通过时均化和非定常方法对比柔性蒙皮固定和振动两种状态下的升阻力气动特性和层流分离流动结构.初步研究工作表明在低Re下柔性蒙皮采用合适的振幅和频率,时均化升阻力特性显著提高,分离泡结构由后缘层流分离泡转变为近似的经典长层流分离泡,分离点后移,分离区缩小.在此基础上,文章更加细致研究了柔性蒙皮两种状态下单周期内的层流分离结构及壁面压力系数分布非定常特性和演化规律.蒙皮固定状态下分离区前部流场结构和压力分布基本保持稳定,表现为近似定常分离,仅在后缘位置出现类似于卡门涡街的非定常流动现象.柔性蒙皮振动时从分离点附近开始便产生分离涡,并不断向下游移动、脱落,表现为非定常分离并出现大范围的压力脉动.蒙皮振动使流体更加靠近壁面运动,大尺度的层流分离现象得到有效抑制.      

The effects of wall roughness on the separated flow over a smoothly contoured ramp

Experimental measurements address the effects on a turbulent boundary layer of wall roughness on a flat plate and a ramp that produces a separation bubble over the ramp trailing edge. A fully rough flow condition is achieved on the upstream flat plate. The main effect of the wall roughness on the outer layer turbulence on a flat plate is to change the friction velocity. The separation region is substantially larger for the rough-wall case. The rough-wall boundary layer turbulence is less sensitive to the onset of an adverse pressure gradient over the ramp, producing substantially smaller Reynolds stress peaks in upstream flat-plate, wall-unit coordinates.     

Aerodynamics and heat transfer in a separated flow in an axisymmetric diffuser with sudden expansion

Results of a numerical study of the influence of a positive pressure gradient in an axisymmetric diffuser with sudden expansion of a circular tube on aerodynamics and turbulent heat transfer in regions of flow separation, reattachment, and relaxation are reported. The air flow prior to separation is assumed to be fully turbulent and to have a constant Reynolds number Re _D1 = 2.75 · 10⁴. The tube expansion degree is 1.78, and the apex half-angle of the diffuser is varied from 0 to 5°. It is found that an increase in the pressure gradient leads to a decrease in the heat transfer intensity in the separation region, and the maximum heat release point moves away from the flow separation point. The calculated results are compared with experimental data. It is shown that the behavior of the separated flow behind the step becomes significantly different as the streamwise pressure gradient changes.     

Parametric study of separation and transition characteristics over an airfoil at low Reynolds numbers

Time-resolved surface pressure measurements are used to experimentally investigate characteristics of separation and transition over a NACA 0018 airfoil for the relatively wide range of chord Reynolds numbers from 50,000 to 250,000 and angles of attack from 0° to 21°. The results provide a comprehensive data set of characteristic parameters for separated shear layer development and reveal important dependencies of these quantities on flow conditions. Mean surface pressure measurements are used to explore the variation in separation bubble position, edge velocity in the separated shear layer, and lift coefficients with angle of attack and Reynolds number. Consistent with previous studies, the separation bubble is found to move upstream and decrease in length as the Reynolds number and angle of attack increase. Above a certain angle of attack, the proximity of the separation bubble to the location of the suction peak results in a reduced lift slope compared to that observed at lower angles. Simultaneous measurements of the time-varying component of surface pressure at various spatial locations on the model are used to estimate the frequency of shear layer instability, maximum root-mean-square (RMS) surface pressure, spatial amplification rates of RMS surface pressure, and convection speeds of the pressure fluctuations in the separation bubble. A power-law correlation between the shear layer instability frequency and Reynolds number is shown to provide an order of magnitude estimate of the central frequency of disturbance amplification for various airfoil geometries at low Reynolds numbers. Maximum RMS surface pressures are found to agree with values measured in separation bubbles over geometries other than airfoils, when normalized by the dynamic pressure based on edge velocity. Spatial amplification rates in the separation bubble increase with both Reynolds number and angle of attack, causing the accompanying decrease in separation bubble length. Values of the convection speed of pressure fluctuations in the separated shear layer are measured to be between 35 and 50% of the edge velocity, consistent with predictions of linear stability theory for separated shear layers.     

Separation control by tangential blowing inside the bubble

 Experiments have been carried out investigating the effectiveness of steady tangential blowing (inside the separation bubble) to control an axisymmetric separated flow at low speeds. Turbulent boundary separation was induced on a contoured afterbody and the separated shear layer reattached on a narrow cylindrical sting. Measurements made consisted of model surface pressures, mean velocity, turbulent shear stress and kinetic energy profiles using a 2-component LDV system. The results explicitly demonstrate that blowing downstream of the separation location, but within the bubble, can be an effective means of separation control, considering both wall and wake flow reversals. Received: 16 October 1998/Accepted: 27 September 1999