Flow visualization of a vortex ring interaction with porous surfaces

Abstract

The interaction of vortex rings of constant Reynolds number with porous surfaces composed of wire meshes of constant open area, i.e., surface porosity, but variable wire diameter is studied using flow visualization. The results indicate that several regimes of flow behavior exist in the parameter space investigated. The vortex ring passes through and immediately reforms downstream of the surface for porous surfaces with small wire mesh diameters. The transmitted vortex ring has the same diameter, but lower convection speed and circulation than the pre-interaction vortex ring. For these cases, secondary vortex rings are formed on the upstream side of the porous surface that convect upstream away from the screen. As the wire diameter of the porous surface is increased, smaller sub-scale vortical structures are formed on the transmitted vortex ring as it passes through the surface. The spatial scale of these structures is dependent on the diameter of the mesh wire. The vortex ring is disrupted but is able to reform downstream when these structures are small compared to the scale of the vortex ring. When these structures are large enough the transmitted vortex ring is disrupted and does not reform. The results indicate that the dynamics governing the vortex ring/mesh surface interaction are dependent not only on the strength of the vortex ring and the porosity of the surface, as previously thought, but also on the length scales (i.e., the diameter and spacing of the wire mesh) of the porous surface.