Large eddy simulations and parameterisation of roughness element orientation and flow direction effects in rough wall boundary layers

We conduct a series of large eddy simulations (LES) of turbulent boundary layers over arrays of cuboidal roughness elements at arbitrary orientation angles (non-frontal orientations with the incident flow). Flow response to changing roughness orientation is systematically studied at two ground coverage densities, λ_p = 0.06 and 0.11. As expected, the effective roughness heights z_o measured from LES are higher for λ_p = 0.11 than for λ_p = 0.06, although appreciable changes both in z_o and wall shear stress (friction velocity) are observed at both ground coverage densities as the roughness orientation angle changes. This suggests the necessity of accounting for detailed rough wall topology (including more information than just λ_p, λ_f) when relating rough wall morphology to its aerodynamic properties. To this end, a recently developed analytical rough wall parameterisation is used to predict the aerodynamic properties of the simulated rough surfaces. In this rough wall model, wake interactions among roughness elements are explicitly modelled using the concept of sheltering height and exponential attenuation coefficient. As a result, the parameterisation is responsive to detailed ground roughness arrangements and flow conditions, including roughness height variations, element orientation, incident flow direction, transverse displacements, etc. Model-predicted effective roughness heights, wall stress, mean velocity at the height of the roughness, and in some cases displacement height, are compared against the LES measurements from this study as well as numerical/experiment measurements from other authors. The predictions from the model are found to agree well with the measurements both in trends and in absolute values, thus extending the applicability of the analytical rough wall model to more general surfaces than those previously tested.     

The scaling of the wall pressure fluctuations in polymer-modified turbulent boundary layer flow

Wall pressure fluctuations and integrated skin friction were measured beneath a turbulent boundary layer that was modified by adding drag-reducing polymer to the pure water flow. The measurements were performed on an axisymmetric model, equipped with an isolated cylindrical drag balance section, and placed in the test section of the 0.3048-m-diam water tunnel at ARL Penn State. Data were acquired at a free-stream velocity of 10.7 m/s with pure water and with polymer added to the water at concentrations of 1, 5, 10, and 20 weight parts per million. Nondimensionalization of the wall pressure fluctuation frequency spectra with traditional outer, inner, and mixed flow variables failed to adequately collapse the data. The mean square wall pressure fluctuations were found to scale linearly with the wall shear stress. Polymer addition had little effect on the characteristic time scale of the flow. These properties were used to develop a novel form of the nondimensional wall pressure fluctuation spectrum that provided the best collapse of the measured data.     

Turbulent plane wall jets over smooth and rough surfaces

Large-eddy simulations were carried out to study the effects of surface roughness on a plane wall-jet using the Lagrangian dynamic eddy-viscosity subgrid-scale model, at Re = 7500 (based on the jet bulk velocity and height). Results over both smooth and rough surfaces were validated by experimental data at the same Reynolds number. As the jet is injected into the still environment, large-scale rollers are generated in the shear layer between the high-momentum fluid of the jet and the surrounding and are convected downstream with the flow. To understand the extent to which the outer-layer structures modify the flow in the inner layer and the extent to which the effect of roughness spreads away from the wall, both instantaneous and mean flow fields were investigated. The results revealed that, for the Reynolds number and roughness height considered in this study, the effect of roughness is mostly confined to the near-wall region of the wall jet. There is no structural difference between the outer layer of the wall jet over the smooth and rough surfaces. Roughness does not affect the size of the outer-layer structures or the scaling of the profiles of Reynolds stresses in the outer layer. However, in the inner layer, roughness redistributes stresses from streamwise to wall-normal and spanwise directions toward isotropy. Contours of joint probability-density function of the streamwise and wall-normal velocity fluctuations at the bottom of the logarithmic region match those of the turbulent boundary layer at the same height; while the traces of the outer-layer structure were detected at the top of the logarithmic region, indicating that they do not affect the flow very close to the wall, but still modify a major portion of the inner layer. This modification must be taken into consideration when the inner layer of a wall jet is compared with the conventional turbulent boundary layer.     

Noise of a turbulent boundary layer flow over smooth and rough plates at low mach numbers

The spectral levels of the quadrupole noise generated by a boundary layer flow over a smooth surface are calculated. Explicit dependences of the noise levels on the Reynolds number are obtained for the low-frequency and high-frequency ranges. It is shown that the logarithmic zone of the velocity profile is responsible for the region of the quadrupole noise spectrum with a hyperbolic dependence on frequency. A method of calculating the dipole noise of a boundary layer flow over a rough surface is developed. The method is based on the use of the combined probability density for the turbulent velocity fluctuations and the random dimensions of protuberances of the rough surface. The two constants involved in this theory are determined from a special experiment. It is shown that the surface roughness noticeably increases the radiation levels of a boundary layer flow in a certain frequency range.     

Mean momentum balance analysis of rough-wall turbulent boundary layers

Mean momentum balances (MMB) are carried out for zero pressure gradient rough-wall turbulent boundary layer flows. The balance characterizes the mean dynamical mechanisms and reveals dominant terms in the governing equation, which constitutes a necessary step in the derivation of scaling behaviors. The Reynolds stress profiles in rough-wall boundary layers are, however, quite scattered and the uncertainty in the data poses challenges for educing the MMB. The present study employs a method that invokes theoretical constraints to more reliably reveal Reynolds stress gradient behaviors in the presence of data scatter.Properties of the rough-wall mean momentum balances are compared to those of the smooth-wall case. Important qualitative features of the layer structure that exists for the smooth-wall are shown to also exist for rough-wall boundary layers. Specifically, the present analysis reveals the existence of a stress gradient balance layer, and thus the importance of the viscous force term well above the roughness crests. The smooth-wall Reynolds stress peak position scales in proportion with the geometric mean of inner-outer characteristic lengths. Roughness, however, imposes new dynamical length scales and evidence is provided to indicate that the scale separations between the inner length, roughness length, peak Reynolds stress length and outer length are important. The failure of the rough-wall Reynolds stress profiles to merge under smooth-wall meso-scalings clearly reveals the additional richness of the problem.Although more data are required to gain a complete characterization, the present results provide evidence that the combined roughness-Reynolds number problem exhibits significantly greater complexity than captured by the prevalent scheme for characterizing and classifying roughness regimes.     

High-order generalisation of the diagnostic scaling for turbulent boundary layers

The diagnostic scaling concept, introduced for the streamwise turbulence intensity in wall-bounded turbulent flows (Alfredsson, Segalini and Örlü, Phys. Fluids 2011;23:041702), is here extended and generalised not only for the higher even-order central statistical moments, but also for the odd moments and thereby the probability density distribution of the streamwise velocity fluctuations. Turbulent boundary layer data up to a friction Reynolds number of 60,000 are employed and demonstrate the feasibility of the diagnostic scaling for the data throughout the logarithmic and wake regions. A comparison with the generalised logarithmic law for even-order moments by Meneveau and Marusic (J. Fluid Mech. 2013;719:R1) based on the attached-eddy hypothesis, is reported. The diagnostic plot provides an apparent Reynolds-number-independent scaling of the data, and is exploited to reveal the functional dependencies of the constants needed in the attached-eddy-based model. In particular, the invariance of the lowest order diagnostic scaling poses an intriguing incompatibility with the asymptotic constancy of the Townsend–Perry constant.     

Heat transfer for boundary layers with cross flow

An analysis is presented to study the dual nature of solutions for the forced convective boundary layer flow and heat transfer in a cross flow with viscous dissipation terms in the energy equation. The governing equations are transformed into a set of three self-similar ordinary differential equations by similarity transformations. These equations are solved numerically using the very efficient shooting method. This study reveals that the dual solutions of the transformed similarity equations for velocity and temperature distributions exist for certain values of the moving parameter, Prandtl number, and Eckert numbers. The reverse heat flux is observed for larger Eckert numbers; that is, heat absorption at the wall occurs.     

MHD laminar thin-film flow along a vertcal wall

An accelerating magnetohydrodynamic laminar flow of an electrically conducting fluid under the influence of gravity and in presence of transverse magnetic field is investigated in the paper. Using a cubic polynomial for the velocity profile inside the boundary layer, the momentum integral equation is solved numerically by Runge-Kutta method to determine the boundary layer thickness and the corresponding film thickness is then calculated for the entrance region. The effect of magnetic field on these solutions is shown in graphical form.List of symbols u, v local velocity components - p pressure - density - kinematic viscosity - viscosity= - electrical conductivity - g acceleration due to gravity - U _s (x) inviscid core velocity - h(x) film thicknes - (x) boundary layer thickness - M Hartmann number - B ₀ external magnetic field The authors remain thankful to the referee for some helpful criticisms.     

Fluctuating boundary layers in combined convection flows along a vertical surface

The effect of buoyancy force on laminar boundary layer in two dimensional flow and heat transfer along a semi-infinite vertical surface, when the velocity of the on-coming stream oscillates in magnitude about a steady mean, is analysed. Two separate solutions valid for low and high frequency ranges are developed. It is found that for low frequency oscillations the phase angles of oscillatory components of skin friction and the rate of heat transfer increase as the Grashof number increases. For very high frequencies, the velocity field is of shear-wave type unaffected by the mean flow; the phase lead in the skin friction is, then, /4 and the rate of heat transfer fluctuation indicates a phase lag of /2 over that of the free stream oscillations.The authors are thankful to referee for many useful suggestions.     

Incomplete similarity of a plane turbulent wall jet on smooth and transitionally rough surfaces

This study assesses the hypothesis of incomplete similarity for a plane turbulent wall jet on smooth and transitionally rough surfaces. Typically, a wall jet is considered to consist of two regions: an inner layer and an outer layer. The degree to which these two regions reach equilibrium with each other and interact to produce the property of self-similarity remains an open question. In this study, the analysis of the outer and inner regions indicates that each region is characterised by a half-width which exhibits its own distinct dependence on the streamwise distance x from the slot, and a single self-similar structure for both regions does not exist. More specifically, the inner and outer layers of the wall jet exhibit different scaling laws, which results in two self-similar mean velocity profiles, both of which retain a dependence on the slot height H. As such, incomplete similarity of the wall jet on smooth and transitionally rough surfaces is confirmed by this study. In addition, comparison of the experimental results for the transitionally rough surface with the smooth wall case indicates that the surface roughness modifies the development of the mean velocity profile in both the inner and outer regions, although the effect on the outer region is relatively small and close to the experimental uncertainty.     

Recycling inflow method for simulations of spatially evolving turbulent boundary layers over rough surfaces

The technique by Lund et al. to generate turbulent inflow for simulations of developing boundary layers over smooth flat plates is extended to the case of surfaces with roughness elements. In the Lund et al. method, turbulent velocities on a sampling plane are rescaled and recycled back to the inlet as inflow boundary condition. To rescale mean and fluctuating velocities, appropriate length scales need be identified and for smooth surfaces, the viscous scale l_ν = ν/u_τ (where ν is the kinematic viscosity and u_τ is the friction velocity) is employed for the inner layer. Different from smooth surfaces, in rough wall boundary layers the length scale of the inner layer, i.e. the roughness sub-layer scale l_d, must be determined by the geometric details of the surface roughness elements and the flow around them. In the proposed approach, it is determined by diagnosing dispersive stresses that quantify the spatial inhomogeneity caused by the roughness elements in the flow. The scale l_d is used for rescaling in the inner layer, and the boundary layer thickness δ is used in the outer region. Both parts are then combined for recycling using a blending function. Unlike the blending function proposed by Lund et al. which transitions from the inner layer to the outer layer at approximately 0.2δ, here the location of blending is shifted upwards to enable simulations of very rough surfaces in which the roughness length may exceed the height of 0.2δ assumed in the traditional method. The extended rescaling–recycling method is tested in large eddy simulation of flow over surfaces with various types of roughness element shapes.     

纳米通道粗糙内壁对流体流动行为的影响

纳米流动系统具有高效、经济等优势,在众多领域具有广泛的应用前景.因该类系统具有极高的表面积体积比,致使界面滑移效应对流动具有显著影响.本文采用分子动力学方法以两无限大平行非对称壁面组成的Poiseuille流动为对象,分析了壁面粗糙度与润湿性变化对通道内流体流动的影响.对于不同结构类型的壁面,需要通过水动力位置来确定固液界面位置,准确计算固液界面位置有助于更好地分析界面滑移效应.研究结果表明,上下壁面不对称会引起通道内流场参数分布的不对称,壁面粗糙度及润湿性的变化会影响近壁面附近流体原子的流动特性,由于壁面凹槽的存在,粗糙壁面附近的数密度分布低于光滑壁面一侧.壁面粗糙度及润湿性的变化会影响固液界面位置,肋高变化及壁面润湿性对通道中速度分布影响较大,界面滑移速度及滑移长度随肋高和润湿性的增大而减小;肋间距变化对通道内流体流动影响较小,界面滑移速度和滑移长度基本保持恒定.     

Kolmogorov scaling of turbulent flow in the vicinity of the wall

How to scale even the simplest of turbulent flows continues to be a cause for considerable controversy. In the present research, a data base compiling results from channel flow direct numerical simulations and turbulent boundary layer experiments is employed to investigate the properties of shear and normal Reynolds stresses very close to the wall. Two types of scaling based on Kolmogorov length and velocity scales are analyzed. It is shown that it is highly likely that large length scales of the order of the channel half-width or the boundary layer thickness play an important role even in the innermost regions of wall-bounded turbulent flows, which hints at the persistence of Reynolds number effects in even high Reynolds number flows.     

二维斜面粗糙边界附近颗粒流量密度分布

以往的实验研究中，已经知道粗糙边界条件下，二维颗粒流的颗粒流量是以通道中心横向对称分布的，颗粒流横向分布既受通道宽度的影响，同时也受通道斜面倾斜角的影响，而且颗粒在通道两侧的分布明显少于通道中间. 主要研究粗糙边界附近颗粒分布随通道宽度以及通道斜面倾斜角的变化规律. 在稀疏流状态以及保持边界墙体的粗糙度不变的条件下，对应不同通道宽度，粗糙边界附近10d范围内的颗粒流量密度(ξ=ρv)随斜面倾斜角的增大而减小，颗粒流量密度随通道宽度的变化存在一临界宽度Wc；在通道宽度小于Wc时，粗糙墙体附近10d范围内颗粒流量密度ξ随sinθ呈指数衰减，通道宽度大于Wc时，颗粒流量密度ξ_sinθ曲线随θ增大几乎呈线性减小. 关键词： 二维颗粒流 颗粒物质 颗粒流量密度     

Influence of roughness and dilatancy for dense granular flow along an inclined wall

In a previous work [#!ref1!#], the flow velocity of a steady two-dimensional granular flow along an inclined wall was investigated. The scaling law for the velocity field was found in good agreement with recent experimental results. The purpose of the present paper is to reformulate in more systematic manner and in a somewhat more general context the equations of mass and momentum conservation for dense granular flow, and also to present some new results with particular emphasis on roughness influence and dynamic dilatancy. Theoretical results are found in good agreement with experiments. Received 19 July 1999 and Received in final form 14 October 1999     

Instabilities and transition in boundary layers

Some recent developments in boundary layer instabilities and transition are reviewed. Background disturbance levels determine the instability mechanism that ultimately leads to turbulence. At low noise levels, the traditional Tollmien-Schlichting route is followed, while at high levels, a ‘by-pass’ route is more likely. Our recent work shows that spot birth is related to the pattern of secondary instability in either route.     

Quasi-radial wall jets as a new concept in boundary layer flow control

This work aims to introduce a novel concept of wall jets wherein the flow is radially injected into a medium through a sector of a cylinder, called quasi-radial (QR) wall jets. The results revealed that fluid dynamics of the QR wall jet flow differs from that of conventional wall jets. Indeed, lateral and normal propagations of a conventional three-dimensional wall jet are via shear stresses. While, lateral propagation of a QR wall jet is due to mean lateral component of the velocity field. Moreover, discharged Arrays of conventional three-dimensional wall jets in quiescent air lead to formation of a combined wall jet at large distant from the nozzles, while QR wall jet immediately spread in lateral direction, meet each other and merge together very quickly in a short distance downstream of the jet nozzles. Furthermore, in discharging the conventional jets into an external flow, there is no strong interaction between them as they are moving parallel. While, in QR wall jets the lateral components of the velocity field strongly interact with boundary layer of the external flow and create strong helical vortices acting as vortex generators.     

Anomalous interaction of a plasma flow with the boundary layers of a geomagnetic trap

Using the data from the Interball-1, GEOTAIL, THEMIS and CLUSTER satellites, we propose a mechanism of anomalous magnetosheath dynamics. This mechanism yields that plasma boundaries can be locally deformed over distances comparable to its thickness. In particular, the magnetospheric boundary, the magnetopause, is deformed over distances up to a few Earth radii (R _E) under the pressure of supermagnetosonic plasma streams (SPSs), instead of reacting to plasma pressure decreases, as it was previously thought. Supermagnetosonic plasma streams having a kinetic pressure a few times larger than the solar wind pressure and the magnetic pressure behind the magnetopause, can crush the magnetopause and even push it outside the mean bow shock position, as determined through the average pressures balance. Anomalous magnetosheath dynamics is initiated by plasma flow anomalies (FAs), triggered by rotational discontinuities, by jumps in the solar wind pressure and by interplanetary shocks, which all interact with the bow shock. We show that the generation mechanism for SPSs, adjacent to the FA, is connected with the compensation of the FA flow reduction by the SPS enhanced flow, which is produced by polarization electric fields at the FA edges. Statistically, SPSs are extreme events, relayed with intermittency and multifractality inside the boundary layers of the geomagnetic trap. In this way, SPSs provide “long-range” interactions between global and microscales. A similar role may be played by fast concentrated flows in the geomagnetic tail, in fusion devices, in astrophysical plasmas and in hydrodynamics.     

Velocity,temperature, and Reynolds-stress scaling in the wall region of turbulent boundary layer on a permeable surface

A finite total number of flow parameters in the wall region of a turbulent boundary layer points to universal behavior of turbulent shear stress as a function of mean-velocity gradient and turbulent heat flux as a function of both mean-velocity and mean-temperature gradients. Combined with dimensional arguments, this fact is used to reduce the momentum and heat equations to first-order ordinary differential equations for temperature and velocity profiles amenable to general analysis. Scaling laws for velocity and temperature in boundary layer flows with transpiration are obtained as generalizations of well-known logarithmic laws. Scaling relations are also established for shear stress and rms transverse velocity fluctuation. The proposed method has substantial advantages as compared to the classical approach (which does not rely on fluid-dynamics equations [1–3]). It can be applied to establish scaling laws for a broader class of near-wall turbulence problems without invoking closure hypotheses.