Experimental Investigation of Stability of a Hypersonic Boundary Layer on a Cone–Flare Model

Stability of a hypersonic flow in the regions of laminar separation of the boundary layer on a cone–flare model is experimentally studied for a Mach number M = 5.92. Development of natural disturbances and artificial wave packets in the boundary layer and separation region is examined. It is shown that highfrequency disturbances are predominantly amplified in the separation region; the most unstable waves are those propagating with an angle close to 60° to the freestream direction. It is found that separation and reattachment lines are generators of twodimensional disturbances.     

Leray-α Regularization of the Smagorinsky-Closed Filtered Equations for Turbulent Jets at High Reynolds Numbers

The article reports on blending of the Leray-α regularization with the conventional Smagorinsky subgrid-scale closure as an option for large-eddy-simulation of turbulent flows at very high Reynolds number on coarse meshes. The model has been tested in the self-similar far-field region of a jet at a range of Reynolds numbers spanning over two decades (4×10³, 4×10⁴ and 4×10⁵) on two very coarse meshes of 2×10⁵ and 3×10⁴ mesh cells. The results are compared with the well-resolved DNS for $Re_D=4\times 10^3$ on 15 million cells and experimental data for higher Re numbers. While the pure Leray-α can fail badly at high Re numbers on very coarse meshes, a blending of the two strategies by adding a small amount of extra-dissipation performs well even at a huge jet Reynolds number of $Re_D=4\times 10^5$ on a very coarse mesh (2×10⁵ cells), despite the ratio of the typical mesh spacing to the Kolmogorov length exceeding 300. It is found that the main prerequisite for successful LES, both for the classic Smagorinsky and the blended Leray-α/Smagorinsky model, is to resolve the shear-length $L_s=\sqrt{\varepsilon/{\cal S}^3}$ (where ${\cal S}$ is the shear-rate modulus), defined by the constraint Δ/L _s ?<?1, where Δ is the typical mesh-cell size. For the mixed Leray-α/Smagorinsky model the regularization parameter should also be related to the shear-length rather than the local mesh size or Reynolds number, for which we propose a guide criterion α?=?0.15÷0.3 L _s .     

Experiments on the Flow Field and Acoustic Properties of a Mach number 0·75 Turbulent Air Jet at a Low Reynolds Number

In this paper we present the experimental results of a detailed investigation of the flow and acoustic properties of a turbulent jet with Mach number 0·75 and Reynolds number 3·5 10³. We describe the methods and experimental procedures followed during the measurements, and subsequently present the flow field and acoustic field. The experiment presented here is designed to provide accurate and reliable data for validation of Direct Numerical Simulations of the same flow. Mean Mach number surveys provide detailed information on the centreline mean Mach number distribution, radial development of the mean Mach number and the evolution of the jet mixing layer thickness both downstream and in the early stages of jet development. Exit conditions are documented by measuring the mean Mach number profile immediately above the nozzle exit. The fluctuating flow field is characterised by means of a hot-wire, which produced radial profiles of axial turbulence at several stations along the jet axis and the development of flow fluctuations through the jet mixing layer. The axial growth rate of the jet instabilities are determined as function of Strouhal number, and the axial development of several spectral components is documented. The directivity of the overall sound pressure level and several spectral components were investigated. The spectral content of the acoustic far field is shown to be compatible with findings of hot-wire experiments in the mixing layer of the jet. In addition, the measured acoustic spectra agree with Tam’s large-scale similarity and fine-scale similarity spectra (Tam et al., AIAA Pap 96, 1996).     

Experimental investigation of the fluid–structure interaction in an elastic 180° curved vessel at laminar oscillating flow

Fluid–structure interaction phenomena are extremely important when laminar flows through elastic vessels such as in biomedical flow problems are considered. In general, such elastic vessels are curved which is why an elastic 180° bend at a curvature ratio \(\delta = D/D_{\rm C} = 0.\bar{2}\) defines the reference geometry in this study. It is the purpose of this study to compare the results with the steady flow through a 180° rigid pipe bend and to quantify the impact of the fluid–structure interaction on the overall flow pattern and the vessel deformation at oscillating fully developed entrance flow. The findings comprise velocity, pressure, and structure deformation measurements. The vessel dilatation amplitude was varied between 3.75 % and 7 % of the vessel diameter at Dean De and Womersley number Wo ranges of \(327\,\le\,De\,\le\,350\) and \(7\,\le\,Wo\,\le\,8.\) The flow is investigated by time-resolved stereoscopic particle-image velocimetry in five radial cross sections located in the elastic 180° bend and in the inlet pipes. The unsteady static vessel pressure is measured synchronously at these cross sections. The comparison of the steady with the unsteady flow field shows a strong change in the axial and secondary velocity distributions at periods of transition between the centrifugal forces and the unsteady inertia forces dominated regimes. These changes are characterized by asymmetric fluctuations of the centers of the counter-rotating vortex pair. The investigation of the impact of the structure deformation amplitude on these fluctuations reveals a significant attenuation at high deformation amplitudes. The spatial motion of the elastic vessel due to the forces applied by the flow exhibits amplitudes up to 15 % of the vessel diameter. Considering the fluid–structure interaction, an amplification of the volume flux amplitude by a factor of 2.1 at the vessel outlet and phase lags up to 30° occur. The static pressure distribution is characterized by a pronounced asymmetry between forward and backward flow with a 40 % higher peak magnitude at backward flow and phase lags of 35°. The results evidence that a strong distortion of the velocity distribution in the bend, which is caused by the oscillating nature of the flow, is reduced as a result of the fluid–structure interaction.     

Note on the “Scaling Transformations for Boundary Layer Flow near the Stagnation-Point on a Heated Permeable Stretching Surface in a Porous Medium Saturated with a Nanofluid and Heat Generation/Absorption Effects”

In a recent paper by Hamad and Pop (Transp Porous Med 2010) a comprehensive numerical study of the title problem has been reported. The goal of the present note is (i) to give exact analytical solutions of this model for some special cases of physical interest, and (ii) to point out that within the model considered by Hamad and Pop no essential distinguishing features between the convective heat transfer in nanofluids and in usual viscous fluids occur.     

Shear Instability at the “Explosion Product–Metal” Interface for Sliding Detonation of an Explosive Charge

Periodic perturbations at the explosion product–metal interface were studied experimentally. Experiments were performed for both spherical and plane geometry. Critical conditions of wave formation (detonation velocity of an explosive charge D 6.9 mm/sec) are determined, and an explanation of this effect is given. It is found experimentally that a dynamic pulse causes intense plastic strains at the explosion products–metal interface, leading to thermal softening of the steel boundary layer. In this layer, Kelvin–Helmholtz instability occurs. Calculationanalytical estimates of the critical boundary unstable wavelength agree satisfactorily with experimental results.     

Use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging as a Tool for the Study of Foamy Oil Behavior for an Extra‐Heavy Crude Oil. T2 /Viscosity Correlation with Respect to Pressure

The purpose of this work is to present the results of the phase behavior study for a live heavy oil during a pressure depletion process using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a tool to characterize foamy oil phenomena. The experiments were carried out in the pressure range of 13.1 to 1.4MPa. Signal intensity images were obtained at each pressure and with respect to time, that is, approximately for a total time of 3h after each pressure change. It is possible to see a variation in intensity across the sample. These changes can be associated with changes in mobility as well as segregation of the oil. It was also possible to observe that what we trust is the formation of gas channels at the last two pressure values, as it comes out of solution. A correlation between the transverse relaxation time T2 and temperature was established with the aim of producing one between T2 and viscosity. In this way viscosity maps for the live oil were obtained as a function of pressure and time. It was observed that above the bubble point, the viscosity maps varied from low to high to low with respect to time for the same pressure. Below the bubble point the situation is reverse. The viscosity map changes from high to low to high with respect to time for the same pressure. The study shows the potential use of MRI to follow viscosity changes during pressure depletion test in a PVT MRI cell.