Characteristics Of Coherent Structures Research Articles

Statistics and evolution of Reynolds shear stress structure in cylinder-wake/boundary-layer interaction

The three-dimensional structures based on the quadrant classification of the tangential Reynolds stress (Qs), are studied in direct numerical simulations of cylinder-wake/boundary-layer interaction with a moderate gap ratio(G/D=1.0) and low or middle Reynolds numbers. In this paper, direct numerical simulations are performed using the immersed boundary lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). A three-dimensional clustering method are used to identify Reynolds shear stress structures (Qs-structures) associated with intense events. The kinematic characteristics of coherent structures are discussed through the statistical properties of Qs-structures. The spatial relationship of between vortex clusters and Qs-structures (mainly Q2-structures as well as Q4-structures) is explained by their evolution characteristics. The spatial distribution of Qs-structures, determined by the volume distribution of the minimum and maximum wall distances (ymin and ymax), are found to be similar to that of vortex clusters in the cylinder/wall interaction. In the near-wall statistical region, the secondary vortex clusters are surrounded by the parallel Q2 and Q4 pairs, and mostly lodged within the Q2. During the evolution process of coherent structures, the Q2-structures and the secondary vortex clusters developed into hairpin-like structures, respectively. The conditional average results demonstrated that the generated hairpin vortex structures are attributed to the momentum transfers.

A Spatial Correlation Identification Model for Coherent Structure Extraction and Three-Dimensional Visualization

Multi-scale coherent structures have been observed in ocean currents, which are induced by the interaction of shear flows with different velocities. Understanding the spatial configuration and scale characteristics of coherent structures will promote the explanation of physical ocean phenomena. Considering the self-similarity, we propose a spatial correlation identification model for coherent structure extraction and three-dimensional visualization based on the wavelet transform and time-dependent intrinsic correlation method. The spatial and scale distributions of coherent structures are related to the dissipation rate variation. Most large-scale coherent structures, with the largest length scale of 13 m, are found to exist in stable fluid, such as the water column below 50 m. However, small-scale structures are found in chaotic fluids, such as the upper layer. Furthermore, we found that coherent structures of different scales coexist simultaneously in the same depth range, indicating a simultaneous multi-scale structure pattern for turbulent flow investigations.

The unsteady wake transition behind a wall-mounted large-depth-ratio prism

The wake of a long rectangular wall-mounted prism is investigated at Reynolds numbers of $Re=250\unicode{x2013}1200$ by directly solving the Navier–Stokes equations. The aim of this study was to examine the unsteady transition mechanism in the wake of a large-depth-ratio (streamwise length to width) prism as well as to characterize the unsteady wake evolution at low Reynolds numbers. The results highlighted that increasing Reynolds number significantly altered the dominance of upwash and downwash flows in the time-averaged flow and changed the characteristics of coherent structures, including their size, dominant frequency and interaction with other structures in the flow. The wake is, therefore, categorized into three regimes within the transition process: steady regime at $Re \leq 625$ , regular unsteady regime at $625 < Re < 750$ and irregular unsteady regime at $Re \geq 750$ . Particularly, the wake started to exhibit unsteady features at $Re=625\unicode{x2013}650$ , which transitioned to an early irregular unsteady wake topology at $Re=750$ . At $Re \geq 675$ , horseshoe vortices transformed to vortex loops. There were hairpin-like structures formed on the upper and side faces of the long prism. The results further indicated that the transition to unsteadiness is attributed to separated leading-edge shear-layer instabilities and interactions of the shear layer with the horseshoe structures. The wake was more complex due to the interactions of multiple coherent structures in the flow, which resulted in a multiple-periodicity wake system. A skeleton model is proposed for a large-depth-ratio prism, to incorporate details of the unsteady flow features and specify various flow coherent structures at low Reynolds numbers.

Outer-layer coherent structures from the turbulent/non-turbulent interface perspective at moderate Reynolds number

This study reports the observation of outer-layer coherent structures in turbulent boundary layer from the turbulent/non-turbulent interface perspective at moderate Reynolds number. The observation relies on time-resolved particle image velocimetry measurements with a large field-of-view. The local turbulent kinetic energy is used to detect the turbulent/non-turbulent interface. In the reference frame of turbulent/non-turbulent interface, raw velocity is decomposed into three components: time average of raw velocity, conditionally averaging components and turbulent fluctuations. The triple velocity decomposition eliminates the bias of Reynolds decomposition fluctuations in the intermittent region. The conditional statistics based on the turbulent/non-turbulent interface is considered to discuss the turbulence characteristics. The basic statistics of mean raw velocity, Reynolds stresses, and swirling strength are observed in conditional statistics. And the results are compared with the results based on the traditional wall surface reference frame. Quadrant analysis is introduced to extract ejections & sweeps and reflect the statistical characteristics of the outer-layer structure. The contribution of ejections and sweeps to the Reynolds shear stresses exhibits significantly different characteristics. Then, the configuration of the turbulent fluctuations and instantaneous structures is presented relied on the uniform momentum zones in the instantaneous frames. The spatial characteristics of coherent structures are reflected by two-point correlation of the streamwise turbulent fluctuations. In addition, the spatial scale of the outer-layer structures is revealed from the turbulent/non-turbulent interface perspective.

A Ship-Based Characterization of Coherent Boundary-Layer Structures Over the Lifecycle of a Marine Cold-Air Outbreak

Convective coherent structures shape the atmospheric boundary layer over the lifecycle of marine cold-air outbreaks (CAOs). Aircraft measurements have been used to characterize such structures in past CAOs. Yet, aircraft case studies are limited to snapshots of a few hours and do not capture how coherent structures, and the associated boundary-layer characteristics, change over the CAO time scale, which can be on the order of several days. We present a novel ship-based approach to determine the evolution of the coherent-structure characteristics, based on profiling lidar observations. Over the lifecycle of a multi-day CAO we show how these structures interact with boundary-layer characteristics, simultaneously obtained by a multi-sensor set-up. Observations are taken during the Iceland Greenland Seas Project’s wintertime cruise in February and March 2018. For the evaluated CAO event, we successfully identify cellular coherent structures of varying size in the order of 4 times 10^2 m to 10^4 m and velocity amplitudes of up to 0.5 m hbox {s}^{-1} in the vertical and 1 m hbox {s}^{-1} in the horizontal. The structures’ characteristics are sensitive to the near-surface stability and the Richardson number. We observe the largest coherent structures most frequently for conditions when turbulence generation is weakly buoyancy dominated. Structures of increasing size contribute efficiently to the overturning of the boundary layer and are linked to the growth of the convective boundary-layer depth. The new approach provides robust statistics for organized convection, which would be easy to extend by additional observations during convective events from vessels of opportunity operating in relevant areas.

Coherent structure characteristics of the swirling flow during turbulent mixing in a multi-inlet vortex reactor

Improving the efficiency of the production of uniformly sized functional nanoparticles for pharmaceutical and agricultural applications has been a problem of great interest. The macroscale multi-inlet vortex Reactor (macro-MIVR) could potentially be used for this purpose due to its ability to achieve the rapid mixing necessary for the flash nanoprecipitation nanoparticle fabrication technique. In the presented work, the coherent structures, a key contributor to the turbulent mixing, were investigated for the turbulent swirling flow within the MIVR. The two-point spatial correlations of velocity and concentration fluctuations at various basepoints were measured from instantaneous velocity and concentration fields obtained using simultaneous stereoscopic particle image velocimetry and planar laser-induced fluorescence. The basepoint locations were chosen as the middle and at the edge of the partially mixed concentration spiral arms. The correlations were found to be elliptical in shape, inclined, and peaked at the basepoints. A region near the basepoint was positively correlated and was surrounded by negatively correlated regions. Autocorrelations of concentration were also elliptical and curved toward the center of the reactor. The linear stochastic estimation was used to interpret the coherent structure features that would result in the observed spatial correlations. The linear stochastic estimates of the velocity fields were computed directly from the cross correlations of the tangential velocity fluctuations with the concentration fluctuations. The estimated conditional velocity fields revealed obliquely oriented counter-rotating vortical structures that stir the fluid from high-concentration regions to low-concentration regions, and the orientation of these vortical structures depended on the local concentration gradient.

Experimental study of turbulent coherent structures using particle image velocimetry and hydrogen bubble visualisation techniques

The characteristics of coherent structures in turbulent boundary layers were investigated experimentally using PIV and hydrogen bubble visualisation techniques. Turbulent boundary layers were generated and tested in two flumes with different scale, for two Reynolds numbers: $$\hbox {Re}=32{,}000$$ and 71,200, both over a smooth bed. Measurements from the PIV technique and hydrogen bubble visualisation lead to the same research findings, suggesting a linear relationship between the instantaneous integral spatial scale and the instantaneous spacing between turbulent streaks. This new approach to determining the streak spacing provides some guidance for experimentalists in terms of experimental methodology. Results of hydrogen bubble visualisations provide additional evidence that streamwise vortices reside near low-speed streaks. Detailed statistical analysis further demonstrates the better performance of Burr distribution for the probability density function of streak spacing. Combining the measurements of flow field in the horizontal and vertical plane, streamwise vortices are observed to be tilted $$\pm ~8^\circ $$ in the (x, z) plane and shear layers are inclined to the wall at $$30^\circ $$ in the (x, y) plane.

Wind Tunnel Study on Wake Instability of Twin H-Rotor Vertical-Axis Turbines

In recent years, the H-rotor vertical-axis turbine has attracted considerable attention in the field of wind and tidal power generation. After a series of complex spatiotemporal evolutions, the vortex shed from turbine blades forms a turbulent wake with a multi-scale coherent structure. An analysis of the wake characteristics of twin turbines forms the basis of array optimisation. This study aimed to examine the instability characteristics of a twin-turbine wake with two rotational configurations. The dynamic evolution characteristics of coherent structures with different scales in the wake were analysed via wavelet analysis. The results show that an inverse energy cascade process occurs after the high-frequency small-scale coherent structures induced by rotation lose their coherence. This self-organising characteristic is more apparent in the quasi two-dimensional wake of a forward-moving counter-rotating turbine (Array 1) than in that of a backward-moving counter-rotating turbine (Array 2). With greater organisation and coherence, the wake of Array 1 exhibits low-frequency instability characteristics dominated by a large-scale coherent structure. In addition, the signals reconstructed using wavelet transform show that asymmetric modes exist between low-frequency large-scale coherent structures. The experimental results provide a new perspective on the instability mechanism of twin-turbine wakes, as well as important data for numerical modelling.

Experimental study of flow structures in a large range downstream the spacer grid in a 5 × 5 rod bundle using TR-PIV

In this paper, the time-resolved particle image velocimetry (TR-PIV) and match index refractive (MIR) techniques were used to study the flow field in a large range (0 – 22 Dh) downstream a spacer grid (SG) in a 5 × 5 rod bundle channel at different Reynolds number. The sodium chloride solution (1%) is used as the working fluid to reduce the refractive index error of fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) and water. The proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) background removal technique was used to minimize the FEP reflection. These methods greatly reduced the interference of background noise and improved the accuracy of cross-correlation calculation. For TR-PIV velocity fields downstream of the mixing vanes, time-averaged, statistical, spectral, and cross-correlation analysis were performed for the instantaneous full-field experimental data. The transport characteristics of coherent structures in different subchannels of rod bundles are calculated and discussed. The results show that the SG caused a relatively large transverse velocity and reduces the axial velocity. With the increase of the Reynolds number, the SG promotes the generation of transverse flow and has a great resistance to the axial flow. There is relatively large turbulence intensity downstream of the SG due to the mixing effect. The attenuation of transverse turbulence intensity component is slower than the axial component. Moreover, spectrum analysis shows that cross-arranged mixing vanes will generate periodic vortices but single mixing vane will not. These periodic vortices gradually propagate downstream along the inner subchannel and dissipate in the gap subchannel due to the effect of viscosity. The cross-correlation analysis shows that the mixing effect of the SG will reduce the scale of the coherent structure, and increase the convection velocity. The results of current research are helpful for understanding the strong anisotropic turbulence in the rod bundle channel with SG. Finally, the experimental results can be utilized to benchmark the applicability of turbulence models under different Reynolds number and the performance of partially averaged Naiver–Stokes or multiple RANS algorithms downstream of the SG.

Detecting Near-Surface Coherent Structure Characteristics Using Wavelet Transform with Different Meteorological Elements

In the present study, three wavelet basis functions, i.e., Mexican-hat, Morlet, and Wave, were used to analyze the atmospheric turbulence data obtained from an eddy covariance system in order to determine the effect of six meteorological elements including three-dimensional wind speed, temperature, and CO2 and H2O concentrations on the time scale of coherent structures. First, we used the degree of correlation between original and reconstructed waveforms to test the three wavelets'performance when determining the time scale of coherent structures. The Wave wavelet's reconstructed coherent structure signal best matched the original signal; thus, it was used to further analyze the time scale, number, and time cover of the meteorological elements. We found similar results for all elements, though there was some internal variation, suggesting that coherent structures are not inherently dependent on these elements. Our results provide a basis for proper coherent structure detection in atmospheric turbulence and improve the understanding of similarities and differences between coherent structure characteristics of different meteorological elements, which is helpful for further research into atmospheric turbulence and boundary layers.

Application of computer vision and neural network analysis to study the structure and dynamics of turbulent jets

In this paper we solved the problem of detecting and detailed analysis of the characteristics of coherent structures in non-swirling and swirling turbulent jets from the 3D PIV experiment and DNS modelling database. To solve the problem intellectual approaches of computer vision based on deep neural networks were applied. It is shown that with the use of a generative competitive neural network, it is possible to reconstruct the structure and dynamics of a turbulent flow with an increased spatial resolution, which is important for analysis and interpretation. The approach is based on a modification of the loss function, which minimizes the residual part of the hydrodynamic equations (the continuity equations and the Poisson equation) for the reconstructed data. It is shown that generative models are more effective in the reconstruction of high moments of turbulent flow than conventional methods POD and DMD. Using a fully convolutional neural network, an automatic segmentation of the turbulent jet flow region and the external environment based on instantaneous velocity and pressure fields was carried out. For a swirling jet, the area of reversed flow is identified. It is shown that the complex of the developed machine learning algorithms successfully copes with the localization of coherent structures, the detection of their trajectory, characteristic size and phase propagation velocity. The obtained new fundamental information is important for a deeper understanding of the role of vortex structures in mixing processes in a jet flow. The developed complex of algorithms for the identification and analysis of characteristics of coherent structures can be applied to a database of measurements and numerical simulation of a wide class of hydrodynamic flows.

Wavelet analysis of coherent structures and intermittency in forced homogeneous isotropic turbulence with polymer additives

Large eddy simulation was performed for forced homogeneous isotropic turbulence with/without polymer additives. Wavelet transform in one dimension and two dimensions were performed to investigate the multi-resolution features of coherent structures and intermittency in forced homogeneous isotropic turbulence based on large eddy simulation database. Using wavelet decomposition in one dimension and two dimension, it is found that polymer additives behave inhibitive effect on the intermittent pulse and the amount of coherent structures in forced homogeneous isotropic turbulence. The reconstructions of velocity waveform for coherent structures with strongest intermittence were surveyed at the scale a=26 obtained by maximum energy criterion, showing that the quasi-periodicity and intermittence for coherent structures in polymer solutions are not as distinct as that in the Newtonian fluid. To detect intermittency, the flatness factor and local intermittency measure for velocity fluctuation signals were calculat...

Effect of Local DBD Plasma Actuation on Transition in a Laminar Separation Bubble

This work examines the effect of local active flow control on stability and transition in a laminar separation bubble. Experiments are performed in a wind tunnel facility on a NACA 0012 airfoil at a chord Reynolds number of 130 000 and an angle of attack of 2 degrees. Controlled disturbances are introduced upstream of a laminar separation bubble forming on the suction side of the airfoil using a surface-mounted Dielectric Barrier Discharge plasma actuator. Time-resolved two-component Particle Image Velocimetry is used to characterise the flow field. The effect of frequency and amplitude of plasma excitation on flow development is examined. The introduction of artificial harmonic disturbances leads to significant changes in separation bubble topology and the characteristics of coherent structures formed in the aft portion of the bubble. The development of the bubble demonstrates strong dependence on the actuation frequency and amplitude, revealing the dominant role of incoming disturbances in the transition scenario. Statistical, topological and linear stability theory analysis demonstrate that significant mean flow deformation produced by controlled disturbances leads to notable changes in stability characteristics compared to those in the unforced baseline case. The findings provide a new outlook on the role of controlled disturbances in separated shear layer transition and instruct the development of effective flow control strategies.

Direct numerical simulation of supersonic turbulent flows around a tandem expansion-compression corner

The M = 2.9 supersonic turbulent flows over a tandem expansion-compression corner configuration with a sharp deflection angle of 25° at three Reynolds numbers Reδ = 20 000, 40 000, and 80 000 were studied by using direct numerical simulation. The flow statistics were validated against available experimental measurements and other numerical predictions. The flow structures and turbulence statistics were detailed visualized and analysed for the Reδ = 40 000 case, especially in the interaction region where flow separation and reattachment occurred. It was found that during the expansion process, the boundary layer exhibited a characteristic two-layer structure also discovered in previous experimental studies, and the turbulence evolved differently within these two layers. In the outer layer, the turbulence was consistently suppressed along the ramp to a large extent, while in the inner layer, it was suppressed only in a small region around the expansion corner, and the near-wall quasi-streamwise vortices were well preserved. Flow patterns near the reattachment line have shown the existence of the Görtler-type vortices, which would largely amplify turbulence fluctuations in the near-wall region, thus promoting the regeneration of wall turbulence that in turn contributed to the redevelopment of a downstream turbulent boundary layer. The Reynolds number effects and the characteristics of coherent structures were also discussed. With the increase of the Reynolds number, the separation bubble size decreased, but the pattern and the characteristic size of wall streamlines near the reattachment line were preserved.

Analysis of coherent structures in Rayleigh–Bénard convection

Using direct numerical simulation, we investigate characteristics of coherent structures in Rayleigh–Bénard convection in a soft turbulence regime. The role of thermal plumes, essential structures in Rayleigh–Bénard convection, is studied by splitting flow regimes into thermal plume and background by investigating joint probability density function (PDF) of invariants of velocity gradient tensor. The contribution to thermal dissipation rate by these two regions is analysed separately. Through the joint PDF of invariants, we also examine the thermal effect on velocity structures.

The characteristics of coherent structures in low Reynolds number mixed convection flows

Turbulent coherent structures generated in a channel flow at low Reynolds numbers during mixed convection have been experimentally studied using the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. The measurements are conducted in the channel cross-plane, the streamwise mid-vertical plane and two horizontal planes close to the bottom heated wall to capture the three-dimensional aspect. In the present study, Gr/Re2 ranged between 9 and 206, implying that the natural convection was dominant over forced convection. An algorithm based on the velocity tensor second invariant (Q) is used to detect coherent structures. The location of each detected coherent structure is recorded, and vorticity and kinetic energy associated with each coherent structure are computed. The number and strength of the coherent structures are found to increase with an increase in the bottom wall temperature in all measurement planes. The strength and number of coherent structures show partial dependency on the flow rate. The number of coherent structures is found to be largest in the channel’s lower half, where strong interactions between rising plumes, falling sheets and mean shear flow occur. However, on average, the most energetic coherent structures are present in the channel’s upper region.

Experimental investigation of the flow behavior of an isothermal impinging jet in a closed cabin

The impinging jet concept has been proposed as a new ventilation strategy for use in office and industrial buildings. To improve the performance of impinging jet ventilation system to create a better thermal comfort environment, quantifying the detailed information of the flow behavior of impinging jet should be an essential prerequisite. This study reports an experimental study of an isothermal turbulent jet impinging normally on a flat surface in a closed cabin. The air jet issued from a round pipe with an inner diameter D. The distance between the pipe exit and the flat impingement plate was 9D. The Reynolds number, based on the jet centerline velocity at pipe exit and the pipe inner diameter, was 10,338. Measurements were performed in the free- and wall-jets using cross hot-wire anemometry, mean velocity, turbulence intensity, and power spectrum results being presented. In addition, a multi-scale analysis technique based on empirical mode decomposition was used to analyze and gain deeper insight into the multi-scale characteristics of coherent structures of the jet impingement on flat surface.

Topological Characteristics of Coherent Structures in the Turbulent Boundary Layer Measured by Tomo-PIV

Database of time series of the instantaneous three-dimensional three-component (3D-3C) velocity vector field, measured by tomographic time-resolved PIV(Tomo-PIV) in a water tunnel, was analyzed to investigate spatial topologies of coherent structures in the turbulent boundary layer (TBL). A new concept of spatial locally averaged velocity structure function of turbulence is put forward to describe the spatial dilation or compression of the multi-scale coherent structures in the TBL. According to the physical mechanism of dilation or compression of multi-scale coherent vortex structures in the turbulent flow, a new conditional sampling method was proposed as well to extract the spatial topological characteristics of physical quantities of coherent structures, such as fluctuating velocities, velocity gradients, velocity strain rates and vorticity during the bursting process in the Tomo-PIV database. Furthermore, the anti-symmetric structures are the typical spatial topologies characteristics for the velocity gradients and vorticity during coherent structures burst.

Extraction and verification of coherent structures in near-wall turbulence

According to the characteristics of coherent structures in near-wall turbulence, an accurate extraction and verification method is developed based on wavelet transform (WT) and correlation analysis in this paper. At first, the fluid field of a turbulent boundary layer is measured precisely in a gravitational low-speed water tunnel. On the basis of the distribution of the coherent structures, velocity data of three test points are selected and analyzed, whose dimensionless heights are 20.8, 33.5, and 42.6. According to the frequency range of power spectrum density (PSD), coherent and incoherent structures are both extracted from the original signals using continuous and orthogonal wavelet transforms. To confirm the validity of the extracted signals, the probability density function (PDF) of each extracted signal is calculated. The result demonstrates that the incoherent structures obey the Gaussian distribution, while the coherent structures deviate from the Gaussian distribution. The PDFs of the coherent structures and the original signals are similar, which shows that the coherent structures make most contributions to the turbulence. For further verification, a correlation parameter between coherent and incoherent structures is defined, which evidently proves the validity of the extraction method in this paper.

A Raman lidar to measure water vapor in the atmospheric boundary layer

A new multi-telescope scanning Raman lidar designed to measure the water vapor mixing ratio in the atmospheric boundary layer for a complete diurnal cycle with high resolution spatial (1.25m) and temporal (1s) resolutions is presented. The high resolution allows detailed measurements of the lower atmosphere and offers new opportunities for evaporation and boundary layer research, atmospheric profiling and visualization. This lidar utilizes a multi-telescope design that provides for an operational range with a nearly constant signal-to-noise ratio, which allows for statistical investigations of atmospheric turbulence. This new generation ground-based water vapor Raman lidar is described, and first observations from the Turbulent Atmospheric Boundary Layer Experiment (TABLE) are presented. Direct comparison with in-situ point measurements obtained during the field campaign demonstrate the ability of the lidar to reliably measure the water vapor mixing ratio. Horizontal measurements taken with time are used to determine the geometric characteristics of coherent structures. Vertical scans are used to visualize nocturnal jet features, layered structures within a stably stratified atmosphere and the internal boundary layer structure over a lake.