Numerical Analysis of Laminar-Turbulent Transition in a Circular Pipe with Periodic Inflow Perturbations

Abstract

Received February 24, 2000 Abstract — The problem of the spatio-temporal evolution of perturbations introduced into the inlet cross-section of a circular pipe is solved numerically. The case of time-periodic inflow perturbations is considered for Re = 4000. It is shown that for relatively small inflow perturbations periodic flow regimes and for greater perturbations chaotic regimes are established. In periodic regimes the flow is a superposition of steady flow and a damped wave propagating downstream. The velocity profile of the steady component differs essentially from both the parabolic Poiseuille and developed turbulent flows and is strongly inhomogeneous in the angular direction. The angular distortion of the velocity profile is caused by longitudinal vortices developing as a result of the nonlinear interaction of inflow perturbations. Chaotic flow regimes develop when the amplitude of the inflow perturbations exceeds a certain threshold level. Stochastic high-frequency pulsations appear after the formation of longitudinal vor- tices in the regions of maximum angular gradient of the axial velocity. In the downstream part of the flow, remote from the transition region, the developed turbulent regime is formed. The distributions of all the statistical moments along the pipe level off and approach the values measured experimentally and calculated numerically for developed turbulent flows.