Identification of flow structures in fully developed canonical and wavy channels by means of modal decomposition techniques

Abstract

A Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) of Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of fully developed channel flows is undertaken in order to study the main differences in flow features between a plane-channel flow and a passively “controlled” flow wherein the mean friction was reduced relative to the baseline by modifying the geometry in order to generate a streamwise-periodic spanwise pressure gradient, as is the case for an oblique wavy wall. The present analysis reports POD and DMD modes for the plane channel, jointly with the application of a sparsity-promoting method, as well as a reconstruction of the Reynolds shear stress with the dynamic modes. Additionally, a dynamic link between the streamwise velocity fluctuations and the friction on the wall is sought by means of a composite approach both in the plane and wavy cases. One of the DMD modes associated with the wavy-wall friction exhibits a meandering motion which was hardly identifiable on the instantaneous friction fluctuations.