The effect of a splitter plate on the flow around a finite prism

The effect of a wake-mounted splitter plate on the flow around a surface-mounted finite-height square prism was investigated experimentally in a low-speed wind tunnel. Measurements of the mean drag force and vortex shedding frequency were made at Re=7.4×10⁴ for square prisms of aspect ratios AR=9, 7, 5 and 3. Measurements of the mean wake velocity field were made with a seven-hole pressure probe at Re=3.7×10⁴ for square prisms of AR=9 and 5. The relative thickness of the boundary layer on the ground plane was δ/D=1.5–1.6 (where D is the side length of the prism). The splitter plates were mounted vertically from the ground plane on the wake centreline, with a negligible gap between the leading edge of the plate and rear of the prism. The splitter plate heights were always the same as the heights of prisms, while the splitter plate lengths ranged from L/D=1 to 7. Compared to previously published results for an “infinite” square prism, a splitter plate is less effective at drag reduction, but more effective at vortex shedding suppression, when used with a finite-height square prism. Significant reduction in drag was realized only for short prisms (of AR≤5) when long splitter plates (of L/D≥5) were used. In contrast, a splitter plate of length L/D=3 was sufficient to suppress vortex shedding for all aspect ratios tested. Compared to previous results for finite-height circular cylinders, finite-height square prisms typically need longer splitter plates for vortex shedding suppression. The effect of the splitter plate on the mean wake was to narrow the wake width close to the ground plane, stretch and weaken the streamwise vortex structures, and increase the lateral entrainment of ambient fluid towards the wake centreline. The splitter plate has little effect on the mean downwash. Long splitter plates resulted in the formation of additional streamwise vortex structures in the upper part of the wake.     

Numerical simulation of the turbulent wake behind a normal flat plate

The three-dimensional wake flow behind a flat plate placed normal to the free stream has been investigated by means of direct numerical simulations. The Reynolds number Re based on the homogeneous inflow velocity and the uniform width d of the plate was 750. Coherent vortices were alternately shed from the sides of the plate with a frequency corresponding to a Strouhal number 0.168. The wake was distinctly turbulent downstream of the plate whereas the mean recirculation bubble extended 1.96d downstream. A steady 2D mean flow and the accompanying Reynolds stresses were obtained by averaging in time and along the span of the plate. These Reynolds-averaged statistics exhibited the same qualitative features as corresponding data from cylinder wakes.     

Flow past a plate lattice with developed cavitation

Problems of streamline cavitation flow past a lattice were studied in [1–8] using the Kirchhoff scheme. In this scheme the magnitude of the velocity at the free surface is equal to the stream velocity behind the lattice, and the cavitation number is zero (for a lattice the relative velocity and the cavitation number are defined from the stream velocity behind the lattice). In [4, 7] a solution is given of the problem of flow past a lattice using a scheme with an Efros-Gilbargreturn streamline, which permits considering arbitrary cavitation numbers; however, a unique solution is not given. Some other streamline schemes are mentioned in [8].In the following we consider the cavitational flow of an ideal incompressible inviscid and weightless fluid past an infinite lattice of flat plates, using the streamline wake model previously utilized by Wu [9] in studying cavitational flow past an isolated obstacle. In accordance with this model, the streamlines which separate from the body and bound the cavity behind it pass into two curvilinear infinitely long walls, along which the pressure increases and approaches the pressure in the undisturbed stream.It is further assumed that in the hodograph plane there corresponds to the curvilinear walls a cut along some line and that the complex potential takes the same values at points lying on opposite sides of the cut. In particular, at the points of contact of the streamlines with the curvilinear walls the complex potential is the same. In the Wu scheme the latter condition leads to vanishing of the velocity circulation along the contour CABC₁ (Fig. 1).In conclusion the author wishes to thank N. V. Yurtaeva for the accurately performed numerical work.     

Mean and turbulence measurements in the boundary layer and wake of a symmetric aerofoil

Detailed measurements of two-dimensional profiles of static pressure, mean velocity, turbulence intensity and Reynolds shear stress were carried out with conventional pressure probes and hot wire probes at preselected streamwise stations in the boundary layer and wake of a 12.5% thick, 600 mm chord two-dimensional symmetric aerofoil mounted at zero incidence in a low speed wind tunnel. The chord Reynolds number was one million and the wake measurements extended up to three chord lengths (or nearly 660 trailing edge momentum thicknesses) downstream of the trailing edge. The data indicate rapid interaction of the wall layers immediately behind the trailing edge, leading to significant changes in the flow parameters close to the trailing edge. The relaxation of the wake is preceded by initial ‘overshoot’ in the streamwise profiles of mean-flow parameters and peak values of turbulence components. Further growth of the wake towards similarity/equilibrium is discussed.     

Process of formation of a vortex street in the wake behind a flat plate

The process of the formation of a vortex street in the wake behind a flat plate set parallel to a uniform flow was investigated in a low speed wind tunnel. The vorticity distributions in the wake were calculated from the measured velocities using Taylor's hypothesis.

Just behind the plate, the equi-vorticity lines were nearly parallel to the free stream. At locations somewhat downstream, sinusoidal contour lines appeared near the wake center. Further downstream, some closed contour lines appeared in the figures mapped. The arrangement of the closed lines suggests the existence of a vortex street. The maximum value for vorticity in a wave length of the fundamental velocity fluctuation decreased in the downstream direction; the concentration of vorticity, however, increased in a region the further downstream it was. Meanwhile, the value for circulation obtained by the surface integral of vorticity within the closed contours of a vortex increased until the vortex street was established.     

The effect of a wake-mounted splitter plate on the flow around a surface-mounted finite-height circular cylinder

The influence of a wake-mounted splitter plate on the flow around a surface-mounted circular cylinder of finite height was investigated experimentally using a low-speed wind tunnel. The experiments were conducted at a Reynolds number of Re=7.4×10⁴ for cylinder aspect ratios of AR=9, 7, 5 and 3. The thickness of the boundary layer on the ground plane relative to the cylinder diameter was δ/D=1.5. The splitter plates were mounted on the wake centreline with negligible gap between the base of the cylinder and the leading edge of the plate. The lengths of the splitter plates, relative to the cylinder diameter, ranged from L/D=1 to 7, and the plate height was always equal to the cylinder height. Measurements of the mean drag force coefficient were obtained with a force balance, and measurements of the vortex shedding frequency were obtained with a single-component hot-wire probe situated in the wake of the cylinder–plate combination. Compared to the well-studied case involving an infinite circular cylinder, the splitter plate was found to be a less effective drag-reduction device for finite circular cylinders. Significant reduction in the mean drag coefficient was realized only for the finite circular cylinder of AR=9 with intermediate-length splitter plates of L/D=1–3. The mean drag coefficients of the other cylinders were almost unchanged. In terms of its effect on vortex shedding, a splitter plate of sufficient length was able to suppress Kármán vortex shedding for all of the finite circular cylinders tested. For AR=9, vortex shedding suppression occurred for L/D≥5, which is similar to the case of the infinite circular cylinder. For the smaller-aspect-ratio cylinders, however, the splitter plate was more effective than what occurs for the infinite circular cylinder: for AR=3, vortex shedding suppression occurred for all of the splitter plates tested (L/D≥1); for AR=5 and 7, vortex shedding suppression occurred for L/D≥1.5.     

Direct numerical simulation of turbulent wake behind a surface-mounted square cylinder

In this research, direct numerical simulation has been performed to study the turbulent wake behind a wall-mounted square cylinder with aspect ratio 4 and Reynolds number 12 000 (based on the free-stream velocity and obstacle side length) in a developing boundary layer. Owing to the relatively high Reynolds number and high aspect ratio of the cylinder tested, the wake is wide spread behind the cylinder and exhibits complex and energetic vortex motions. The lateral and tip vortex shedding patterns at different frequencies, coherent structures downstream of the obstacle, the production rate and distribution of turbulent kinetic energy, and the instantaneous pressure distribution in the wake region have been thoroughly investigated. In order to validate the numerical results, the first- and second-order flow statistics obtained from the simulations have been carefully compared against available wind-tunnel measurement data.     

Linear instability of the supersonic wake behind a flat plate aligned with a uniform stream

In this paper we present a theoretical and numerical study of the growth of linear disturbances in the high Reynolds number laminar compressible wake behind a flat plate which is aligned with a uniform stream. No ad hoc assumptions are made as to the nature of the undisturbed flow (in contrast to previous investigations) but instead the theory is developed rationally by use of proper wake profiles which satisfy the steady equations of motion. The initial growth of near-wake perturbations is governed by the compressible Rayleigh equation which is studied analytically for long and short waves. These solutions emphasize the asymptotic structures involved and provide a rational basis for a nonlinear development. The phenomenon of enhanced stability with increasing Mach number observed in compressible free shear-layers is demonstrated analytically for short- and long-wavelength disturbances. The evolution of arbitrary wavelength perturbations is addressed numerically and spatial stability solutions are presented that account for the relative importance of the different physical mechanisms present, such as three-dimensionality, increasing Mach numbers, and the nonparallel nature of the mean flow. Our findings indicate that for low enough (subsonic) Mach numbers, there exists a region of absolute instability very close to the trailing edge with the majority of the wake being convectively unstable. At higher Mach numbers (but still not large—hypersonic) the absolute instability region seems to disappear and the maximum available growth rates decrease considerably. Three-dimensional perturbations provide the highest spatial growth rates.This work was carried out while the author was a summer visitor at the Institute for Computer Applications in Science and Engineering, NASA Langley Research Center under NASA Contract No. NAS1-18605.     

The structure of subsonic air wakes behind a flat plate

 Acetone vapor planar laser-induced fluorescence has been used to visualize the structure of a subsonic air wake behind a flat plate. Longitudinal and transversal wavelengths have been directly measured from the acquired images. The ratio between them has been calculated to be 2/5. Received: 29 September 1998/Accepted: 15 December 1998     

Mechanical forcing of the wake of a flat plate

We report experimental results of the forced wake of a thin symmetric flat plate, placed parallel to an uniform air stream, in the range of thickness-based Reynolds number 50< Re _e <200. External wake forcing was introduced by small harmonic oscillations of a moving flap, placed at the trailing-edge of the flat plate. When the flap remains in a fixed horizontal position, the mean velocity profiles obtained by hot wire measurements, for different Reynolds numbers, are self similar. In the presence of harmonic forcing, within a certain range of the forcing frequency, the mean velocity profiles change and coherent structures are formed in the wake. Two independent flow-type resonances were observed: (i) when the inverse of the forcing frequency matches the flight time of the fluid particles along the flap. (ii) when the forcing frequency of the flap equals one half of the vortex shedding frequency of the flat plate and flap system. Implications of the two observed resonances on the wake structure are important. The first resonance (i) is associated to a wide but less intense (energy fluctuations) wake flow and the second resonance (ii) generates a thin but intense resultant wake flow.     

Laminar mixed convection on a horizontal plate of finite length in a channel of finite width

The steady two-dimensional laminar mixed-convection flow past a horizontal plate of finite length is analysed for large Péclet numbers, small Prandtl numbers and weak buoyancy effects. The plate is placed in a channel of finite width, with the plane walls of the channel being parallel to the plate. The temperature of the plate is assumed to be constant. The hydrostatic pressure difference across the wake behind the plate is compensated by a perturbation of the inviscid channel flow. This outer flow perturbation affects the temperature distribution in the thermal boundary layer at the plate and the heat transfer rate, respectively. Solutions in closed form are given. The forces acting on the plate due to the potential flow perturbation are also determined.     

The Absolute Instability of Thin Wakes in an Incompressible/Compressible Fluid

RID="ID=" Communicated by P. HallAbstract:The absolute/convective instability of two-dimensional wakes forming behind a flat plate and near the trailing-edge of a thin wedge-shaped aerofoil in an incompressible/compressible fluid is investigated. The mean velocity profiles are obtained by solving numerically the classical compressible boundary-layer equations with a negative pressure gradient for the flat plate case, and the incompressible triple-deck equations for a thin wedge-shaped trailing-edge. In addition for a Joukowski aerofoil the incompressible mean boundary-layer flow in the vicinity of the trailing-edge is also calculated by solving the interactive boundary-layer equations. A linear stability analysis of the boundary-layer profiles shows that a pocket of absolute instability occurs downstream of the trailing-edge with the extent of the instability region increasing with more adverse pressure gradients. The region of absolute instability persists along the near-wake axis, while the majority of the wake is convectively unstable. For a thin wedge-shaped trailing-edge in an incompressible fluid, a similar stability analysis of the velocity profiles obtained via a composite expansion, also shows the occurrence of absolute instability behind the trailing-edge for a wedge angle greater than a critical value. For increasing values of the wedge angle and for thicker aerofoils, separation takes place near the trailing-edge and the extent of absolute instability increases. Calculations also show that for insulated plates compressibility has a stabilizing effect but cooling the wall destabilizes the flow unlike wall heating.} Received 11 May 1998 and accepted 25 February 1999     

Studies on two-phase cross flow. Part I: Flow characteristics around a cylinder

A two-phase flow around a body has scarcely been studied until now, though the flow is used in many industrial components. The cross flows around a spacer in a fuel assembly of light water reactors (LWR) and tube supports in a steam generator are closely related to the long-term reliability and the safety. The present study has been planned to clarify the two-phase flow and heat transfer characteristics around a body including the unknown complicated flow behavior. In the first report, the flow characteristics near and behind a cylinder which was located in a vertical upward air-water bubbly flow were investigated. From the observation of the flow patterns and the measurements of the distributions of void fraction, liquid velocity and static pressure, it is revealed that the vortex flow and the change of the static pressure and liquid velocity distribution around the cylinder resulted in the large distortion of the void fraction distribution around the cylinder. The most noticeable phenomena in the wake were that the peaks of the local void fraction appeared in the vicinity of the cylinder surface near the separation point and in the wake behind the cylinder.     

Measurements of the flow over a low-aspect-ratio cylinder mounted on a ground plane

The flow over a finite-height cylinder of aspect ratio 1, with one end mounted on a ground plane and the other end free, has been studied by means of surface flow visualisation, particle image velocimetry (PIV) and surface pressure measurements. The diameter-based Reynolds number was 200,000. The mean flow topology has been identified in three areas: the horseshoe vortex system, the separated flow over the free-end and the wake region. Evidence is shown for the existence of a three-horseshoe vortex system, while the mean flow over the free-end consists of an arch vortex with its bases on the forward half of the free-end. There are two tip vortices coming off the free-end. The wake region is found to be highly unsteady, with considerable variation from the mean flow.     

On the role of thickness ratio and location of axis of rotation in the flat plate motions

Wind tunnel experiments were performed to characterize the flow-induced rotations and pitching of various flat plates as a function of the thickness ratio and the location of the axis of rotation. High-resolution telemetry, laser tachometer, and hotwire were used to get time series of the plates motions and the signature of the wake flow at a specific location. Results show that small axis offset can induce high-order modes in the plate rotation due to torque unbalance, and can trigger self-initiated pitching. The spectral decomposition of the flow velocity in the plate wake reveals the existence of a dominating high-frequency mode that corresponds to a static-like vortex shedding occurring at the maximum plate pitch. The associated characteristic length scale is the projected width at maximum pitching angle. The increase of the plate thickness ratio implies lower angular velocity in rotation cases. A simple model based on aerodynamic forces is used to explain the linear relation between pitching frequency and wind speed, the pitching frequency increase with axis offset, and the onset of pitching.     

Wake formation when shock wave is shed from the edge of a plate

The formation of a laminar wake in the flow behind a shock wave when the latter is shed from the trailing edge of a semi-infinite plate is investigated in this paper. It is shown that the flow on the plate and in the wake turns out to be self-similar, dependent on two dimensionless combinations of variables, and the flow on the plate, including the trailing edge, remains steady in a coordinate system coupled to the shock wave (the fact of the flow self-similarity in the wake was first noted in [1]). An analytic solution of the problem of the wake in the neighborhood of the trailing edge is obtained, from which it follows that, in contrast to [2], there is no line of singularities in the nonstationary boundary-layer equations in the flow domain. This fact is also verified by the analysis of the flow in the neighborhood of a line of tagged particles leaving the trailing edge simultaneously with the shock wave. Hence the problem under consideration is solved by the traditional numerical methods using conditions in the initial section (which is taken to be the section in the neighborhood of the trailing edge), on the wake axis, and at an infinite distance away. Approximate formulas are obtained for the longitudinal velocity profiles in the whole range of shock-wave intensities.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 59–66, July–August, 1978.     

Flow past a sphere in density-stratified fluid

Stratified flow past a three-dimensional obstacle such as a sphere has been a long-lasting subject of geophysical, environmental and engineering fluid dynamics. In order to investigate the effect of the stratification on the near wake, in particular, the unsteady vortex formation behind a sphere, numerical simulations of stratified flows past a sphere are conducted. The time-dependent Navier–Stokes equations are solved using a three-dimensional finite element method and a modified explicit time integration scheme. Laminar flow regime is considered, and linear stratification of density is assumed under Boussinesq approximation. The effects of stratification is implemented by density transport without diffusion. The computed results include the characteristics of the near wake as well as the effects of stratification on the separation angle. Under increased stratification, the separation on the sphere is suppressed and the wake structure behind the sphere becomes planar, resembling that behind a vertical cylinder. With further increase in stratification, the wake becomes unsteady, and consists of planar vortex shedding similar to von Karman vortex streets.     

Coherent structure in the turbulent wake behind a circular cylinder

A wake behind a circular cylinder at Reynolds number 850–1700 was visualized by the smoke-wire method. The observations of the How together with the results of quantitative measurements, such as various velocity correlation coefficients, illustrated the formation process of spoon-shaped large eddies in the region 90 ⩽x/d⩽ 230 attained through the deformation and rearrangement of the regular Karman vortices. A spoon vortex was likely to pair with the counterpart on the opposite side of the wake. The large-scale bulges of the turbulent and non-turbulent interface of the wake were shown to correspond to these spoon vortices.These results indicate that some coherent structures are organized by rearrangement and deformation of initially regular vortices in turbulent flow.     

Fluid-structure-acoustic coupling for a flat plate

The present work deals with the aeroacoustic sound radiated by a forward–backward facing step in combination with a flexible wall behind the step. A numerical flow computation with coupled aeroacoustic and vibroacoustic simulation was carried out. The structural deformations of the oscillating plate like structure in the wake of the forward–backward facing step were considered to be small and therefore not affecting the flow field. The presented approach enables a separate consideration for the aeroacoustic as well as the structural borne noise. The influence of the interactions of the acoustic medium with the flexible structure on the vibroacoustic sound radiation is investigated. One-sided and two-sided coupling approaches for the vibroacoustic analysis are introduced. The two-sided vibroacoustic computation allows for considering the damping influence of the ambient fluid on the flexible plate vibration and therefore on the sound radiation. Additional to the simulations, aeroacoustic measurements in an acoustic wind tunnel were performed for validation purposes.     

Interaction between a cantilevered-free flexible plate and ideal flow

We develop a new computational model of the linear fluid–structure interaction of a cantilevered flexible plate with an ideal flow in a channel. The system equation is solved via numerical simulations that capture transients and allow the spatial variation of the flow–structure interaction on the plate to be studied in detail. Alternatively, but neglecting wake effects, we are able to extract directly the system eigenvalues to make global predictions of the system behaviour in the infinite-time limit. We use these complementary approaches to conduct a detailed study of the fluid–structure system. When the channel walls are effectively absent, predictions of the critical velocity show good agreement with those of other published work. We elucidate the single-mode flutter mechanism that dominates the response of short plates and show that the principal region of irreversible energy transfer from fluid to structure occurs over the middle portion of the plate. A different mechanism, modal-coalescence flutter, is shown to cause the destabilisation of long plates with its energy transfer occurring closer to the trailing edge of the plate. This mechanism is shown to allow a continuous change to higher-order modes of instability as the plate length is increased. We then show how the system response is modified by the inclusion of channel walls placed symmetrically above and below the flexible plate, the effect of unsteady vorticity shed at the trailing edge of the plate, and the effect of a rigid surface placed upstream of the flexible plate. Finally, we apply the modelling techniques in a brief study of upper-airway dynamics wherein soft-palate flutter is considered to be the source of snoring noises. In doing so, we show how a time-varying mean flow influences the type of instability observed as flow speed is increased and demonstrate how localised stiffening can be used to control instability of the flexible plate.