Numerical study of effects of pulsatile amplitude for transitional turbulent pulsatile flow in pipes with ring‐type constrictions

The effects of pulsatile amplitude on sinusoidal transitional turbulent flows through a rigid pipe in the vicinity of a sharp‐edged mechanical ring‐type constriction have been studied numerically. Pulsatile flows were studied for transitional turbulent flow with Reynolds number (Re) of the order of 10⁴, Womersley number (Nw) of the order of 50 with a corresponding Strouhal number (St) of the order of 0.04. The pulsatile flow considered is a sinusoidal flow with dimensionless amplitudes varying from 0.0 to 1.0. Transitional laminar and turbulent flow characteristics in an alternative manner within the pulsatile flow fields were observed and studied numerically. The flow characteristics were studied through the pulsatile contours of streamlines, vorticity, shear stress and isobars. It was observed that fluid accelerations tend to suppress the development of flow disturbances. All the instantaneous maximum values of turbulent kinetic energy, turbulent viscosity, turbulent shear stress are smaller during the acceleration phase when compared with those during deceleration period. Various parametric equations within a pulsatile cycle have also been formulated through numerical experimentations with different pulsatile amplitudes. In the vicinity of constrictions, the empirical relationships were obtained for the instantaneous flow rate (Q), the pressure gradient (dp/dz), the pressure loss (P_loss), the maximum velocity (V_max), the maximum vorticity (ζ_max), the maximum wall vorticity (ζ_w,max), the maximum shear stress (τ_max) and the maximum wall shear stress (τ_w,max). Elliptic relation was observed between flow rate and pressure gradient. Quadratic relations were observed between flow rate and the pressure loss, the maximum values of shear stress, wall shear stress, turbulent kinematic energy and the turbulent viscosity. Linear relationships exist between the instantaneous flow rate and the maximum values of vorticity, wall vorticity and velocity. The time‐average axial pressure gradient and the time average pressure loss across the constriction were observed to increase linearly with the pulsatile amplitude. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A DPIV study of a starting flow downstream of a backward-facing step

 In this paper an experimental investigation of a starting water flow downstream of a backward-facing step is described. The Reynolds number of the asymptotic steady flow is Re≈4300 based on the step height of s=2 cm and the free stream velocity of U=21.4 cm/s. Velocity measurements were performed with video-based DPIV (Digital Particle Image Velocimetry) at a sampling frequency of 25 Hz. The main purpose of this study is to reveal the temporal development of global structures which could not be analyzed with single-point probes. It was found that at initialization of the flow a regular vorticity street is formed, which collapses at a normalized time t ^* =U t/s≈17 due to vorticity interactions. After this the flow is dominated by complicated vorticity roll-up and shedding dynamics in the recirculation region. The starting phase is terminated for t ^* >40. Prior to the collapse of the vorticity street values of 9 times the steady state asymptotic wall normal stress and of twice the steady state negative wall shear stress were observed. The early increasing slope of the reattachment length is constant over a time of approximately t ^* =8. The collapse of the vorticity street and the vorticity interactions thereafter cause fluctuations both in the velocity in the free shear layer and in the reattachment length. The fully developed flow has a dominant frequency corresponding to a Strouhal number St=fs/U≈0.04. Received: 20 September 1996/Accepted: 1 April 1997     

A vorticity stretching diagnostic for turbulent and transitional flows

Vorticity stretching in wall-bounded turbulent and transitional flows has been investigated by means of a new diagnostic measure, denoted by Γ, designed to pick up regions with large amounts of vorticity stretching. It is based on the maximum vorticity stretching component in every spatial point, thus yielding a three-dimensional scalar field. The measure was applied in four different flows with increasing complexity: (a) the near-wall cycle in an asymptotic suction boundary layer (ASBL), (b) K-type transition in a plane channel flow, (c) fully turbulent channel flow at Re _τ = 180 and (d) a complex turbulent three-dimensional separated flow. Instantaneous data show that the coherent structures associated with intense vorticity stretching in all four cases have the shape of flat ‘pancake’ structures in the vicinity of high-speed streaks, here denoted ‘h-type’ events. The other event found is of ‘l-type’, present on top of an unstable low-speed streak. These events (l-type) are further thought to be associated with the exponential growth of streamwise vorticity in the turbulent near-wall cycle. It was found that the largest occurrence of vorticity stretching in the fully turbulent wall-bounded flows is present at a wall-normal distance of y ⁺?=?6.5, i.e. in the transition between the viscous sublayer and buffer layer. The associated structures have a streamwise length of ~200–300 wall units. In K-type transition, the Γ-measure accurately locates the regions of interest, in particular the formation of high-speed streaks near the wall (h-type) and the appearance of the hairpin vortex (l-type). In the turbulent separated flow, the structures containing large amounts of vorticity stretching increase in size and magnitude in the shear layer upstream of the separation bubble but vanish in the backflow region itself. Overall, the measure proved to be useful in showing growing instabilities before they develop into structures, highlighting the mechanisms creating high shear region on a wall and showing turbulence creation associated with instantaneous separations.     

Structure and dynamics of a polymer solution subject to flow-induced phase separation

Experiments combining mechanical rheometry with polarimetry (birefringence and scattering dichroism) have been conducted on a 6% solution of polystyrene (1.86x10⁶ molecular weight) in dioctyl phthalate. Birefringence is used to measure the extent of segmental orientation, whereas the dichroism is sensitive to orientation and deformation of concentration fluctuations associated with the process of flow-induced phase separation. The results indicate that these fluctuations grow predominately along the neutral (or vorticity axis) of a simple shear flow. At higher rates of shear, orientation in the flow direction is favored. The transition in orientation direction is accompanied by time-dependent behavior in the optical properties of the solution during shear and the onset of shear thickening of the viscosity and the first normal stress difference coefficient.     

Rheology of wormlike micelles from non-equilibrium molecular dynamics

In this work, the rheology of complex fluids, i.e., surfactants of varying concentration in a Lennard–Jones fluid, is analyzed with non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. The molecular model considers that the surfactant molecule is composed of a hydrophilic head, affine to solvent, and a hydrophobic tail made of four monomers. The solvent is modeled by a Lennard–Jones fluid, which shows mostly a Newtonian behavior, but at relatively high shear rates, a slight shear-thinning followed by a slight shear thickening are exhibited. The intermolecular potential produces an equilibrium configuration, in which the surfactant molecules self-assemble in a wormlike micelle. With the aim to analyze the system behavior with various stress fields, two flows are simulated under non-equilibrium conditions: (1) simple shear and (2) Poiseuille's flow. In simple shear, by keeping the velocity of the upper plate of the flow cell constant, a monotonic flow curve is predicted within a range of shear rates. At low shear rates, a concentration-dependent Newtonian region of viscosity η₀ corresponds to an isotropic condition in which the wormlike micelle preserves its equilibrium conformation. At intermediate shear rates, the solution exhibits a slight shear thinning, generating bands placed normal to the gradient direction (gradient banding). At high shear rates the solution exhibits shear-thickening, with bands now generated normal to the vorticity direction. These predictions by molecular models explain, to our knowledge for the first time, experiments in shear-thickening wormlike micellar solutions, where shear-thickening appears simultaneously with bands generated perpendicular to the vorticity axis. In Poiseuille's flow, we also find agreement between predictions of the model with theoretical developments and experiments performed by other authors.     

On the correlation between enstrophy and energy dissipation rate in a turbulent wake

All three components of the vorticity fluctuation have been measured simultaneously in a turbulent wake using a new eight-sensor vorticity probe. The vorticity fluctuation spectra agree reasonably well with those from a direct numerical simulation of a turbulent channel flow at high wavenumbers. The similarity between the instantaneous energy dissipation rate ε and the instantaneous enstrophy ω² is examined using spectra and probability density functions. The correlation between ω² and ε is evaluated in some detail. The homogeneous value of ε is strongly correlated with ω². The full value of ε and, more especially its isotropic value, are less well correlated with the enstrophy. Conditional averaging indicates that high enstrophy regions are associated with high energy dissipation rate regions.     

Enhanced Dissipation and Inviscid Damping in the Inviscid Limit of the Navier–Stokes Equations Near the Two Dimensional Couette Flow

In this work we study the long time inviscid limit of the two dimensional Navier–Stokes equations near the periodic Couette flow. In particular, we confirm at the nonlinear level the qualitative behavior predicted by Kelvin’s 1887 linear analysis. At high Reynolds number Re, we prove that the solution behaves qualitatively like two dimensional Euler for times \({{t \lesssim Re^{1/3}}}\), and in particular exhibits inviscid damping (for example the vorticity weakly approaches a shear flow). For times \({{t \gtrsim Re^{1/3}}}\), which is sooner than the natural dissipative time scale O(Re), the viscosity becomes dominant and the streamwise dependence of the vorticity is rapidly eliminated by an enhanced dissipation effect. Afterwards, the remaining shear flow decays on very long time scales \({{t \gtrsim Re}}\) back to the Couette flow. When properly defined, the dissipative length-scale in this setting is \({{\ell_D \sim Re^{-1/3}}}\), larger than the scale \({{\ell_D \sim Re^{-1/2}}}\) predicted in classical Batchelor–Kraichnan two dimensional turbulence theory. The class of initial data we study is the sum of a sufficiently smooth function and a small (with respect to Re^?1) L² function.     

Dependence of the dynamic moduli of heterogeneous nematic polymers on planar anchoring relative to flow direction

We analyze the dynamic moduli of nematic polymers in a parallel plate oscillatory shear experiment from a Doi?CMarrucci?CGreco orientation tensor formulation, paying special attention to the inherent connection between rheological properties and wall anchoring conditions. We assume standard experimental procedures in which the plates have been rubbed to achieve strong nematic anchoring parallel to the rubbing direction. We derive the heterogeneous, harmonic response of the nematic liquid in the weak oscillatory shear regime of linear viscoelasticity. The response function is parameterized by the orientational anchoring condition and, in particular, by the angle of rotation between the rubbing direction and the flow direction. From this analysis, we read off the frequency-dependent storage and loss moduli. The dominant effect is in the storage modulus where for high frequencies rubbing aligned with the vorticity axis can cause G ^?? to be two to three orders of magnitude larger than rubbing in the flow direction. This anchoring dependency shows the significance of the order parameter fluctuations of tensor-based models: the Leslie?CEricksen theory predicts zero storage modulus for vorticity-aligned anchoring. For low frequencies, this effect is reversed with flow-aligned anchoring maximizing G ^?? in a manner similar to the Leslie?CEricksen theory although we predict a nonzero modulus for vorticity-aligned anchoring.     

NUMERICAL STUDIES OF TRANSITIONAL TURBULENT PULSATILE FLOW IN PIPES WITH RING–TYPE CONSTRICTIONS

Pulsatile flows in the vicinity of mechanical ring-type constrictions in pipes were studied for transitional turbulent flow with a Reynolds number (Re) of the order of 10⁴. The Womersley number (Nw) is in the range 30–50, with a corresponding Strouhal number (St) range of 0·0143–0·0398. The pulsatile flows considered are a pure sinusoidal flow, a physiological flow and an experimental pulsatile flow profile for mechanical aortic valve flow simulations. Transitional laminar and turbulent flow characteristics in an alternating manner within the pulsatile flow fields were studied numerically. It was observed that fluid accelerations tend to suppress the development of flow disturbances. All the instantaneous maximum values of turbulent kinetic energy, turbulent viscosity and turbulent shear stress are smaller during the acceleration phase than during the deceleration period. Various parametric equations have been formulated through numerical experimentation to better describe the relationships between the instantaneous flow rate (Q), the pressure loss (ΔP), the maximum velocity (V_max), the maximum vorticity (ζ_max), the maximum wall vorticity (ζ_w,max), the maximum shear stress (τ_max) and the maximum wall shear stress (τ_w,max) for turbulent pulsatile flow in the vicinity of constrictions in the vascular tube. An elliptic relationship has been found to exist between the instantaneous flow rate and the instantaneous pressure gradient. Other linear and quadratic relations between various flow parameters were also obtained.     

Turbulence in a skewed three‐dimensional wall‐bounded shear flow: effect of mean vorticity on structure modification

Mean‐flow three‐dimensionalities affect both the turbulence level and the coherent flow structures in wall‐bounded shear flows. A tailor‐made flow configuration was designed to enable a thorough investigation of moderately and severely skewed channel flows. A unidirectional shear‐driven plane Couette flow was skewed by means of an imposed spanwise pressure gradient. Three different cases with 8°, 34°and 52°skewing were simulated numerically and the results compared with data from a purely two‐dimensional plane Couette flow. The resulting three‐dimensional flow field became statistically stationary and homogeneous in the streamwise and spanwise directions while the mean velocity vector V and the mean vorticity vector Ω remained parallel with the walls. Mean flow profiles were presented together with all components of the Reynolds stress tensor. The mean shear rate in the core region gradually increased with increasing skewing whereas the velocity fluctuations were enhanced in the spanwise direction and reduced in the streamwise direction. The Reynolds shear stress is known to be closely related to the coherent flow structures in the near‐wall region. The instantaneous and ensemble‐averaged flow structures were turned by the skewed mean flow. We demonstrated for the medium‐skewed case that the coherent structures should be examined in a coordinate system aligned with V to enable a sound interpretation of 3D effects. The conventional symmetry between Case 1 and Case 2 vortices was broken and Case 1 vortices turned out to be stronger than Case 2. This observation is in conflict with the common understanding on the basis of the spanwise (secondary) mean shear rate. A refined model was proposed to interpret the structure modifications in three‐dimensional wall‐flows. What matters is the orientation of the mean vorticity vector Ω relative to the vortex vorticity vector ω _v, that is, the sign of Ω · ω _v. In the present situation, Ω · ω _v > 0 for the Case 1 vortices causing a strengthening relative to the Case 2 vortices. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Non-linear water waves on shearing flows

This article is devoted to the study of the propagations of the nonlinear water waves on the shear flows. Assuming μ=kh is small andε/μ ²∼O(1), and the base flow is uniformly sheared, the modified Boussinesq equation is obtained. We calculate propagations of the single solitary wave with vorticity Γ=0,>0 and <0. The influences of the vorticity are manifested. At the end examples of the interactions of two solitary waves, moving in opposite and the same directions, are given. Besides the phase shift, there also occur second wavelets after head-on collision. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China     

Performance of a 12-sensor vorticity probe in the near field of a rectangular turbulent jet

The design and operational characteristics of a 12-sensor hot wire probe for three-dimensional velocity–vorticity measurements in turbulent flow fields is described and discussed. The performance of the probe is investigated in comparison with X-sensor probe measurements in the near field of a rectangular turbulent jet with aspect ratio 6. Measurements have been conducted at Reynolds number Re _D = 21,000 at nozzle distances of x/D = 1, 3, 6 and 11, where D is the width of the nozzle. The results obtained with the 12-sensor probe compare well to the results of the X-sensor probe. Distributions of mean and fluctuating velocity–vorticity fields are presented and discussed. Among the results the most prominent is the experimental confirmation of the high levels of fluctuating vorticity in the shear layers.     

The effect of air-water interface on the vortex shedding from a vertical circular cylinder

The flow past an interface piercing circular cylinder at the Reynolds number Re=2.7×10⁴ and the Froude numbers Fr=0.2 and 0.8 is investigated using large-eddy simulation. A Lagrangian dynamic subgrid-scale model and a level set based sharp interface method are used for the spatially filtered turbulence closure and the air-water interface treatment, respectively. The mean interface elevation and the rms of interface fluctuations from the simulation are in excellent agreement with the available experimental data. The organized periodic vortex shedding observed in the deep flow is attenuated and replaced by small-scale vortices at the interface. The streamwise vorticity and the outward transverse velocity generated near the edge of the separated region, which enforces the separated shear layers to deviate from each other and restrains their interaction, are primarily responsible for the devitalization of the periodic vortex shedding at the interface. The lateral gradient of the difference between the vertical and transverse Reynolds normal stresses, increasing with the Froude number, is the main source of the streamwise vorticity and the outward transverse velocity at the interface.     

Moderately Strong Vorticity in a Bathtub-Type Flow

Theoretical and numerical analysis is performed for an inviscid axisymmetric vortical bathtub-type flow. The level of vorticity is kept high so that the image of the flow on the radial–axial plane (r–z plane)is not potential. The most significant findings are: (1) the region of validity of the strong vortex approximation is separated from the drain by a buffer region, (2) the power-law asymptote of the stream function, specified by Δψ∼r ^4/3Δz, appears near the axis when vorticity in the flow is sufficiently strong and (3) the local Rossby number in the region of the power-law is not very sensitive to the changes of the initial vorticity level in the flow and the global Rossby number. Received 3 April 2000 and accepted 29 September 2000     

Unstable capillary flow of reinforced polymer melts

The injection capillary flow of various unfilled and glass fibre or calcium carbonate filled polypropylene and nylon 6.6 melts is studied using either a single capillary of five capillaries in series, separated by small reservoirs. Only unfilled nylon 6.6 yields instability during flow through a single capillary due to mechanochemical degradation in the capillary at extremely high shear rates above 5 × 10⁵ s^?1. It is found that only short glass fibre reinforced polypropylene yields high frequency oscillations in the reservoir pressure and extrudate diameter and has discontinuity in the flow curve when the apparent shear rate is above 4 × 10⁵ s^?1 and the flow is through multiple capillaries. Further increase in the shear rate restores the stable flow. The intensity of the oscillations and the range of shear rate during which unstable flow occurs are increased with increasing melt temperature. The mechanism of this unstable flow is investigated by studying fibre orientation at the capillary entrance and exit using mouldings simulating capillary entry-exit flows.     

Hyperbolicity and change of type in the flow of viscoelastic fluids through channels

We consider steady flow of an upper convected Maxwell fluid through a channel with wavy walls. The vorticity of this flow will change type when the velocity in the center of the channel is larger than a critical value defined by the propagation of shear waves. There is then a central region of the channel in which the vorticity equation is hyperbolic and a low speed region near the walls where the vorticity equation is elliptic. We linearize the problem for small amplitude waviness and the linearized problem is solved in detail. The characterstic nets depend on the viscoelastic “Mach” number which is the ratio (M = U/c) of the unperturbed maximum velocity U to the speed of shear waves c into the fluid at rest and the elasticity number E. There is a supercritical (hyperbolic) region around the center of the channel when M > 1. When M ? 1, the thickness of this hyperbolic region is small when E is large, and large when E is small. Regions of positive and negative vorticity are swept out along forward facing characteristics in the hyperbolic region. There is rapid damping of vorticity in the hyperbolic region away from the boundary when M ? 1 and the Weissenberg number

. (The Weissenberg number is proportional to the relaxation time of the fluid.)The rate of damping of vorticity decreases as W is increased. Flows with high M appear to be more “elastic” when W is large in the sense that the damping is suppressed as the relaxation time of the fluid is increased.     

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.     

Flow structure on a three-dimensional wing subjected to small amplitude perturbations

Small amplitude angular perturbations, of the order of one-half degree, can substantially modify the flow structure along a three-dimensional wing configuration, which is quantitatively characterized using a technique of high-image-density particle image velocimetry. Excitation at either the fundamental or the first subharmonic of the spanwise-averaged instability frequency of the separating shear layer from the stationary wing nearly eliminates the large-scale separation zone along the wing at high angle of attack. The physics of the flow is interpreted in terms of time-mean streamlines, vorticity and Reynolds stress, in conjunction with phase-averaged patterns of instantaneous vorticity. Distinctive vorticity patterns occur along the leading edge when the time-averaged separation zone is minimized.     

Three-dimensional flow structures and associated turbulence in the tip region of a waterjet pump rotor blade

Stereo particle image velocimetry measurements focus on the flow structure and turbulence within the tip leakage vortex (TLV) of an axial waterjet pump rotor. Unobstructed optical access to the sample area is achieved by matching the optical refractive index of the transparent pump with that of the fluid. Data obtained in closely spaced planes enable us to reconstruct the 3D TLV structure, including all components of the mean vorticity and strain-rate tensor along with the Reynolds stresses and associated turbulence production rates. The flow in the tip region is highly three-dimensional, and the characteristics of the TLV and leakage flow vary significantly along the blade tip chordwise direction. The TLV starts to roll up along the suction side tip corner of the blade, and it propagates within the passage toward the pressure side of the neighboring blade. A shear layer with increasing length connects the TLV to the blade tip and initially feeds vorticity into it. During initial rollup, the TLV involves entrainment of a few vortex filaments with predominantly circumferential vorticity from the blade tip. Being shed from the blade, these filaments also have high circumferential velocity and appear as swirling jets. The circumferential velocity in the TLV core is also substantially higher than that in the surrounding passage flow, but the velocity peak does not coincide with the point of maximum vorticity. When entrainment of filaments stops in the aft part of the passage, newly forming filaments wrap around the core in helical trajectories. In ensemble-averaged data, these filaments generate a vortical region that surrounds the TLV with vorticity that is perpendicular to that in the vortex core. Turbulence within the TLV is highly anisotropic and spatially non-uniform. Trends can be traced to high turbulent kinetic energy and turbulent shear stresses, e.g., in the shear layer containing the vortex filaments and the contraction region situated along the line where the leakage backflow meets the throughflow, causing separation of the boundary layer at the pump casing. Upon exposure to adverse pressure gradients in the aft part of the passage, at 0.65–0.7 chord fraction in the present conditions, the TLV bursts into a broad turbulent array of widely distributed vortex filaments.     

Investigation of turbulence structures in a drag-reduced turbulent channel flow with surfactant additive by stereoscopic particle image velocimetry

In the present study, we employed stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (PIV) to investigate the characteristics of turbulence structures in a drag-reduced turbulent channel flow with addition of surfactant. The tested drag-reducing fluid was a CTAC/NaSal/Water (CTAC: cetyltrimethyl ammonium chloride; NaSal: sodium salicylate) system at 25°C. The weight concentration of CTAC was 30 ppm. Stereoscopic PIV measurement was performed for a water flow (Re=1.1×10⁴) and a CTAC solution flow (Re=1.5×10⁴ with 54% drag reduction) in both the streamwise–spanwise and wall-normal-spanwise planes, respectively. The three-dimensionality of hairpin vortex structures in the near-wall region for wall-bounded turbulent flow was reproduced by conditionally averaging the stereoscopic two-dimensional-three-component velocity fields. A series of wall-normal vortex cores were found to align with the near-wall low-speed streaks with opposite vorticity signals at both sides of the streaks and with the vorticity decreased on average by about one order of magnitude in CTAC solution flow compared with water flow; the spanwise spacing between the near-wall low-speed streaks in the solution flow is increased by about 46%. The streamwise vorticity of the vortex cores appearing in the wall-normal-spanwise plane was also decreased by the use of drag-reducing surfactant additives.