Turbulent flow through a rectangular duct with a partially blocked exit

Abstract

This paper contains data on and insights into the origins of turbulence associated with a partial blockage at the exit of a two-dimensional, laminar, horizontal duct flow. In essence, this is the upstream approach region of the forward-facing step problem. This work was motivated by the need to identify and control unsteady streamwise vortices generated in the headbox (i.e. contraction section) of an industrial paper machine. The duct was 57.2 cm wide × 10.16 cm high, with up to a 50 % blockage. Experiments were scaled to match Reynolds numbers found in paper machines; exit velocities were as large as 200 cm s−1. The goal of the research was to map the flow at the exit and to examine the response of the flat-plate turbulent boundary layer on the opposing wall under the partial blockage. Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) were used to examine flow in three orthogonal planes at various stations upstream of the duct exit. Mean and instantaneous DPIV vector fields clearly show that an unsteady spanwise vortex forms in the corner formed by the top nozzle wall and partial blockage which, in turn, gives rise to turbulent streamwise vortices.A turbulent boundary layer was initiated on the duct wall opposite the blockage, upstream of a two-dimensional contraction. Results show that even though the acceleration parameter, K, exceeded the nominal critical level of 3.0 × 10−6 for relaminarization beneath the blockage, the flow did not reach a quasi-laminar state. In addition, there did not appear to be direct interaction between unsteady vortex formation at the partial blockage on the upper wall and bottom-wall turbulent boundary layer structures.