The Effect of wake Turbulence Intensity on Transition in a Compressor Cascade

Direct numerical simulations of separating flow along a section at midspan of a low-pressure V103 compressor cascade with periodically incoming wakes were performed. By varying the strength of the wake, its influence on both boundary layer separation and bypass transition were examined. Due to the presence of small-scale three-dimensional fluctuations in the wakes, the flow along the pressure surface undergoes bypass transition. Only in the weak-wake case, the boundary layer reaches a nearly-separated state between impinging wakes. In all simulations, the flow along the suction surface was found to separate. In the simulation with the strong wakes, separation is intermittently suppressed as the periodically passing wakes managed to trigger turbulent spots upstream of the location of separation. As these turbulent spots convect downstream, they locally suppress separation.     

An experimental investigation of unsteady turbulent-wake/boundary-layer interaction

An experimental investigation of unsteady-wake/boundary-layer interaction, similar to that occurring in turbomachinery, has been conducted in a specially modified wind tunnel. Unsteadiness in a turbomachine is periodic in nature, due to the relative motion of rotor and stator blades, resulting in travelling-wave disturbances that affect the blade boundary layers. In the experimental rig, travelling-wave disturbances were generated by a moving airfoil apparatus installed upstream of a flat plate to provide a two-dimensional model of a turbomachine stage. The boundary layer on the flat plate was tripped near the leading edge to generate a turbulent flow prior to interaction with the wakes, and measurements of velocity throughout the boundary layer were taken with a hot-wire probe. The Reynolds number, based on distance along the plate, ranged from 0.144×10⁵ to 1.44×10⁵, and all data were reduced through a process of ensemble averaging. Due to the nonlinear interactions with the boundary layer, the travelling discrete frequency wakes were found to decrease the shape factor of the velocity profile and to increase the level of turbulent fluctuations. Unlike the phase advance found with stationary-wave external disturbances, velocity profiles subject to the travelling wake fluctuations exhibited increasingly negative phase shifts from the free-stream towards the wall.     

Turbulence measurements in the inlet plane of a centrifugal compressor vaneless diffuser

Detailed flow measurements at the inlet of a centrifugal compressor vaneless diffuser are presented. The mean 3-d velocities and six Reynolds stress components tensor are used to determine the turbulence production terms which lead to total pressure loss. High levels of turbulence kinetic energy were observed in both the blade and passage wakes, but these were only associated with high Reynolds stresses in the blade wakes. For this reason the blade wakes mixed out rapidly, whereas the passage wake maintained its size, but was redistributed across the full length of the shroud wall. Peak levels of Reynolds stress occurred in regions of high velocity shear and streamline curvature which would tend to destabilize the shear gradient. Four regions in the flow are identified as potential sources of loss - the blade wake, the shear layers between passage wake and jet, the thickened hub boundary layer and the interaction region between the secondary flow within the blade wake and the passage vortex. The blade wakes generate most turbulence, with smaller contributions from the hub boundary layer and secondary flows, but no significant contribution is apparent from the passage wake shear layers.     

Experimental investigation on the wake interference among wind turbines sited in atmospheric boundary layer winds

We examined experimentally the effects of incom-ing surface wind on the turbine wake and the wake interfer-ence among upstream and downstream wind turbines sited in atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) winds. The experi-ment was conducted in a large-scale ABL wind tunnel with scaled wind turbine models mounted in different incom-ing surface winds simulating the ABL winds over typical offshore/onshore wind farms. Power outputs and dynamic loadings acting on the turbine models and the wake flow char-acteristics behind the turbine models were quantified. The results revealed that the incoming surface winds significantly affect the turbine wake characteristics and wake interference between the upstream and downstream turbines. The velocity deficits in the turbine wakes recover faster in the incoming surface winds with relatively high turbulence levels. Varia-tions of the power outputs and dynamic wind loadings acting on the downstream turbines sited in the wakes of upstream turbines are correlated well with the turbine wakes charac-teristics. At the same downstream locations, the downstream turbines have higher power outputs and experience greater static and fatigue loadings in the inflow with relatively high turbulence level, suggesting a smaller effect of wake inter-ference for the turbines sited in onshore wind farms.     

Distributed Roughness Effects on Transitional and Turbulent Boundary Layers

A numerical investigation is carried out to study the transition of a subsonic boundary layer on a flat plate with roughness elements distributed over the entire surface. Post-transition, the effect of surface roughness on a spatially developing turbulent boundary layer (TBL) is explored. In the transitional regime, the onset of flow transition predicted by the current simulations is in agreement with the experimentally based correlations proposed in the literature. Transition mechanisms are shown to change significantly with the increasing roughness height. Roughness elements that are inside the boundary layer create an elevated shear layer and alternating high and low speed streaks near the wall. Secondary sinuous instabilities on the streaks destabilize the shear layer promoting transition to turbulence. For the roughness topology considered, it is observed that the instability wavelengths are governed by the streamwise and spanwise spacing between the roughness elements. In contrast, the roughness elements that are higher than the boundary layer create turbulent wakes in their lee. The scale of instability is much shorter and transition occurs due to the shedding from the obstacles. Post-transition, in the spatially developing TBL, the velocity defect profiles for both the smooth and rough walls collapsed when non dimensionalized in the outer units. However, when compared to the smooth wall, deviation in the Reynolds stresses are observable in the outer layer; the deviation being higher for the larger roughness elements.     

Velocity measurements of wake-induced unsteady flow in a linear turbine cascade

Extensive velocity measurements have been taken in a linear turbine cascade with unsteady oncoming wakes. The unsteady wakes were generated by moving cylinders on a squirrel cage device. The Reynolds number was 1.1 × 10⁵, and the Strouhal number varied from o to 7.36. The blade-to-blade flow and the boundary layers on the suction side were measured with a hot-wire anemometer. The results were obtained in ensemble-averaged form so that periodic unsteady processes can be studied. Of particular interest was the transition of the boundary layer. The boundary layer remained laminar in the case without wakes. The passing wakes caused transition, and the beginning of transition moves forward as the wake-passing frequency increases. Unlike in the flat plate study of Liu and Rodi (1991a) the boundary layer state hardly changed with time, although the turbulence level in the boundary layer showed clear periodic response to the passing wakes. The work reported here was sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Technology through program TURBOTHERM under contract no. 0326501D. The authors should like to thank Mr. D. Bierwirth for his excellent technician work on this project, Dr. N. H. Cho for his help with the preparation of the plots and Mrs. R. Zschernitz for her expert typing of the text.     

Large eddy simulations in low-pressure turbines: Effect of wakes at elevated free-stream turbulence

The transition of a separated shear layer over a flat plate, in the presence of periodic wakes and elevated free-stream turbulence (FST), is numerically investigated using Large Eddy Simulation (LES). The upper wall of the test section is inviscid and specifically contoured to impose a streamwise pressure distribution over the flat plate to simulate the suction surface of a low-pressure turbine (LPT) blade. Two different distributions representative of a ‘high-lift’ and an ‘ultra high-lift’ turbine blade are examined. Results obtained from the current LES compare favourably with the extensive experimental data previously obtained for these configurations. The LES results are then used to further investigate the flow physics involved in the transition process.In line with experimental experience, the benefit of wakes and FST obtained by suppressing the separation bubble, is more pronounced in ‘ultra high-lift’ design when compared to the ‘high-lift’ design. Stronger ‘Klebanoff streaks’ are formed in the presence of wakes when compared to the streaks due to FST alone. These streaks promoted much early transition. The weak Klebanoff streaks due to FST continued to trigger transition in between the wake passing cycles.The experimental inference regarding the origin of Klebanoff streaks at the leading edge has been confirmed by the current simulations. While the wake convects at local free-stream velocity, its impression in the boundary layer in the form of streaks convects much slowly. The ‘part-span’ Kelvin–Helmholtz structures, which were observed in the experiments when the wake passes over the separation bubble, are also captured. The non-phase averaged space-time plots manifest that reattachment is a localized process across the span unlike the impression of global reattachment portrayed by phase averaging.     

Experimental study on the effect of unsteadiness on boundary layer development on a linear turbine cascade

 The results from an experimental investigation of unsteady boundary layer behavior on a linear turbine cascade are presented in this paper. To perform a detailed study on unsteady cascade aerodynamics and heat transfer, a new large-scale, high-subsonic research facility for simulating the periodic unsteady flow has been developed. It is capable of sequentially generating up to four different unsteady inlet flow conditions that lead to four different passing frequencies, wake structures, and freestream turbulence intensities. For a given Reynolds number, two different unsteady wake formations are utilized. Detailed unsteady boundary layer velocity. turbulence intensity, and pressure measurements are performed along the suction and pressure surfaces of one blade. The results display the transition and development of the boundary layer, ensemble-averaged velocity, and turbulence intensity. Received: 23 September 1996/Accepted: 19 February 1997     

A bypass wake induced laminar/turbulent transition

The process of laminar to turbulent transition induced by a von Karman vortex street wake, was studied for the case of a flat plate boundary layer. The boundary layer developed under zero pressure gradient conditions. The vortex street was generated by a cylinder positioned in the free stream. An X-type hot-wire probe located in the boundary layer, measured the streamwise and normal to the wall velocity components. The measurements covered two areas; the region of transition onset and development and the region where the wake and the boundary layer merged producing a turbulent flow. The evolution of Reynolds stresses and rms-values of velocity fluctuations along the transition region are presented and discussed. From the profiles of the Reynolds stress and the mean velocity profile, a ‘negative' energy production region along the transition region, was identified. A quadrant splitting analysis was applied to the instantaneous Reynolds stress signals. The contributions of the elementary coherent structures to the total Reynolds stress were evaluated, for several x-positions of the near wall region. Distinct regions in the streamwise and normal to the wall directions were identified during the transition.     

Large Eddy Simulation of boundary layer transition over an isolated ramp-type micro roughness element

Boundary layer transition over an isolated surface roughness element is investigated by means of numerical simulation. Large Eddy Simulation (LES) flow-modeling approach is employed to study flow characteristics and transition phenomenon past a roughness element immersed within an incoming developing boundary layer, at a height-based Reynolds number of 1170. LES numerical results are compared to experimental data from literature showing the time-averaged velocity distribution, the velocity fluctuation statistics and the instantaneous flow topology.Despite slight difference in the intensity of streamwise velocity fluctuations, the present LES results and experimental data show very good agreement. The mean flow visualization shows streamwise counter-rotating vortices pairs formation downstream of the obstacle. The primary pair induces an upwash motion and a momentum deficit that creates a Kelvin-Helmholtz type flow instability. The instantaneous flow topology reveals the formation of coherent K-H vortices downstream that produce turbulent fluctuations in the wake of the roughness element. These vortices are streched and lifted up when moving downstream. The velocity fluctuations results show that the onset of the turbulence is dominated by the energy transfer of large-scale vortices.     

Measurement of tonal-noise characteristics and periodic flow structure around NACA0018 airfoil

The characteristics of tonal noise and the variations of flow structure around NACA0018 airfoil in a uniform flow are studied by means of simultaneous measurement of noise and velocity field by particle-image velocimetry to understand the generation mechanism of tonal noise. Measurements are made on the noise characteristics, the phase-averaged velocity field with respect to the noise signal, and the cross-correlation contour of velocity fluctuations and noise signal. These experimental results indicate that the tonal noise is generated from the periodic vortex structure on the pressure surface of the airfoil near the trailing edge of the airfoil. It is found that the vortex structure is highly correlated with the noise signal, which indicates the presence of noise-source distribution on the pressure surface. The vorticity distribution on the pressure surface breaks down near the trailing edge of the airfoil and forms a staggered vortex street in the wake of the airfoil.     

Three-component velocity field measurements of propeller wake using a stereoscopic PIV technique

A stereoscopic PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) technique was used to measure the three-dimensional flow structure of the turbulent wake behind a marine propeller with five blades. The out-of-plane velocity component was determined using two CCD cameras with an angular displacement configuration. Four hundred instantaneous velocity fields were measured for each of four different blade phases, and ensemble averaged in order to find the spatial evolution of the propeller wake in the region from the trailing edge up to one propeller diameter (D) downstream. The influence of propeller loading conditions on the wake structure was also investigated by measuring the velocity fields at three advance ratios (J=0.59, 0.72 and 0.88). The phase-averaged velocity fields revealed that a viscous wake formed by the boundary layers developed along the blade surfaces. Tip vortices were generated periodically and the slipstream contracted in the near-wake region. The out-of-plane velocity component and strain rate had large values at the locations of the tip and trailing vortices. As the flow moved downstream, the turbulence intensity, the strength of the tip vortices, and the magnitude of the out-of-plane velocity component at trailing vortices all decreased due to effects such as viscous dissipation, turbulence diffusion, and blade-to-blade interaction.     

Analysis of DNS and LES of Flow in a Low Pressure Turbine Cascade with Incoming Wakes and Comparison with Experiments

The flow around a low-pressure turbine rotor blade with incoming periodic wakes is computed by means of DNS and LES. The latter adopts a dynamic sub-grid-scale model. The computed results are compared with time-averaged and instantaneous measured quantities. The simulation sreveal the presence of elongated flow structures, stemming from the incoming wake vorticity, which interact with the pressure side boundary layer. As the wake approaches the upstream half of the suction side, its vortical structures are stretched and align with the main flow, resulting in an impingement at virtually zero angle of attack. Periodically, in the absence of impinging wakes, the laminar suction side boundary layer separates in the adverse pressure gradient region. Flow in the laminar separation bubble is found to undergo transition via a Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. Subsequent impingement of the wake inhibits separation and thus promotes boundary layer reattachment. LES provides a fair reproduction of the DNS results both in terms of instantaneous, phase-averaged, and time-averaged flow fields with a considerable reduction in computational effort. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Downstream evolution of junction flow three-component velocity fluctuations through the lens of the diagnostic plot

Experimental measurements of the streamwise and transverse velocity components have been acquired in three spanwise/wall-normal planes in the wakes of both a streamlined ‘wing’ and a bluff ‘wing’ junction. The ‘extended’ diagnostic plot introduced by Alfredsson et al. (2011) (see figure 3 therein) is used as a benchmark to locally evaluate the departure of turbulent wing-body junction flow wakes from ‘equilibrium’ boundary layers. Both obstacles produce a secondary flow of Prandtl’s first kind, which disrupts the equilibrium implied by the universality of the extended diagnostic plot. The plane wake of the obstacle itself (away from the junction) also disrupts this equilibrium. It is found that with downstream development the boundary layer eventually recovers to the base zero-pressure-gradient ‘equilibrium’, and that this recovery process emanates from the near-wall region. The transverse velocity components are also examined in “extended diagnostic” form, revealing that the wall-normal fluctuations recover to the zero-pressure-gradient case near the wall more rapidly than the wall-parallel components.     

A study of boundary layer–wake interaction in shallow open channel flows

This paper describes an experimental investigation of the interaction between the boundary layer on a horizontal floor of a shallow open channel flow and the wake of a thin flat plate mounted vertically on the floor of the channel. The nominal thickness of the flat plate was limited to 2 mm in order to minimize the effect of the flume side walls on the generated wake. Two flat plate chord to thickness ratios (10 and 25) and two depths of flow (50 and 80 mm) were considered. The boundary layer thickness of the approaching flow was comparable with the depth of flow. The recovery of the boundary layer is then studied by observing the characteristics of the velocity profile downstream of the flat plate along the wake axis. The results indicate that the recovery process is slow, and that it is clearly non-monotonic. When compared with the approaching flow, the streamwise turbulence intensity values increase in the near-wake region followed by a gradual but slow decrease with increasing axial distance. Neither mean nor higher-order moments indicate a complete recovery even at large distances from the wake generator. The present results also indicate that the inner region appears to develop more quickly than the outer flow. Since the development of the quasi-two-dimensional wake is also of interest, velocity measurements are also presented along the wake cross-section. These velocity profiles indicate that the wake effects are still prevalent at 200 plate widths downstream of the wake generator. Through a proper choice of scaling variables, the mean velocity profiles across the wake can be collapsed onto a single curve, indicating a sense of similarity. Received: 23 September 1999/Accepted: 30 August 2000     

Measurements of mean and turbulence quantities in the curved wake of an airfoil

Measurements of mean and turbulence quantities are presented for a curved wake of an airfoil. The wake is generated by placing a NACA 0012 airfoil of 0.150 m chord length at one chord length upstream of a 90° bend. The bend has a square cross-section of 0.457 m × 0.457 m, a mean radius-to-height ratio of R/H=1.17, and concave and convex radii of curvature 0.764 and 0.307 m, respectively. In addition to streamwise curvature, the wake is subjected to varying streamwise and radial pressure. The measurements were carried out at mainstream air velocities of 10, 15 and 20 m/s. The results are presented for the mean streamwise velocity, five components of turbulence stresses, the calculated wake half-width and the maximum velocity defect. The results showed the formation of an asymmetric wake about the wake centreline, with a larger wake half-width on the inner side. The wake half-width on both inner side and outer side of the wake decrease with mainstream velocity, whereas the maximum velocity defect, turbulence stresses increase with mainstream velocity. The turbulence stresses are enhanced on the inner side but suppressed on the outer side.     

激波/湍流边界层干扰压力脉动特性数值研究

激波/湍流边界层干扰问题广泛存在于高速飞行器内外流动中, 激波干扰会导致局部流场出现强压力脉动, 严重影响飞行器气动性能和飞行安全. 为了考察干扰区内脉动压力的统计特性, 对来流马赫数2.25, 激波角33.2°的入射激波与平板湍流边界层相互作用问题进行了直接数值模拟研究. 在对计算结果进行细致验证的基础上, 分析比较了干扰区外层和物面脉动压力的典型统计特征, 如脉动强度、功率谱密度、两点相关和时空关联特性等, 着重探讨了两者的差异及其原因. 研究发现, 激波干扰对外层和物面压力脉动的影响差异显著. 分离区内脉动以低频特征为主, 随后再附区外层压力脉动的峰值频率往高频区偏移, 而物面压力脉动的低频能量仍相对较高. 两点相关结果表明, 外层和物面脉动压力的展向关联性均明显强于其流向, 前者积分尺度过激波急剧增长随后缓慢衰减, 而后者积分尺度整体上呈现逐步增大趋势. 此外, 时空关联分析结果指出, 脉动压力关联系数等值线仍符合经典的椭圆形分布, 干扰区下游压力脉动对流速度将减小, 外层对流速度仍明显高于物面.      

Statistical laws of the pressure fluctuations in a hypersonic turbulent boundary layer

The results of measuring the pressure fluctuations on the wall of the nozzle of a hypersonic wind tunnel beneath a developed turbulent boundary layer are presented for the Mach number M_∞ = 7.5. On the basis of a statistical analysis, it is shown that the action of the turbulent flow is dynamically similar to the propagation of a random sequence of wave packets with continuously distributed temporal and spatial scales. Low-frequency disturbances are associated with large-scale structures of long duration that propagate at a mean-statistical velocity similar in value to the outer flow velocity. The continuous generation of weakly-correlated small-scale disturbances ensuring the maintenance and development of turbulence occurs chiefly in the inner region of the boundary layer. Spectral estimates of the power generated by the turbulent flow in the wall region of the boundary layer are presented.