Forcing frequency effects on turbulence dynamics in pulsatile pipe flow

Abstract

The turbulence dynamics of pulsatile pipe flow are investigated using direct numerical simulation (DNS) at a mean friction Reynolds number of 180. Results are presented for a range of forcing frequencies at a fixed amplitude, which, based on existing classifications, corresponds to the current-dominated regime. This work directs attention towards the phase-variations of single and two-point turbulence statistics, with a particular emphasis on the response of the Reynolds shear stress to systematic changes in the applied forcing frequency. The study has yielded two key outcomes. (i) A new frequency classification procedure for pulsatile turbulent flows (at low-to-moderate friction Reynolds numbers), informed by the Reynolds shear stress frequency co-spectra and the value of the applied forcing frequency. (ii) A detailed account of single- and two-point Reynolds shear stress statistics, in response to high, very-high and ultra-high forcing frequencies in order to study turbulence dynamics in the physical and Fourier domains. Furthermore, the oscillatory velocity field obtained from the DNS data is compared against the laminar Womersley solution in order to assess the interaction (or lack thereof) between the oscillatory velocity field and phase-averaged Reynolds shear stress fluctuations. For the higher frequencies considered in this work, single- and two-point Reynolds shear statistics all enter the so-called “frozen” regime — which occurs as the forcing time-scale becomes smaller than that of the highest-frequency, energy-containing motions in the Reynolds shear stress co-spectra.