Large-scale Vortical Structures Research Articles

Triglobal resolvent-analysis-based control of separated flows around low-aspect-ratio wings

We perform direct numerical simulations of actively controlled laminar separated wakes around low-aspect-ratio wings with two primary goals: (i) reducing the size of the separation bubble and (ii) attenuating the wing tip vortex. Instead of preventing separation, we modify the three-dimensional (3-D) dynamics to exploit wake vortices for aerodynamic enhancements. A direct wake modification is considered using optimal harmonic forcing modes from triglobal resolvent analysis. For this study, we consider wings at angles of attack of $14^\circ$ and $22^\circ$ , taper ratios $0.27$ and $1$ , and leading edge sweep angles of $0^\circ$ and $30^\circ$ , at a mean-chord-based Reynolds number of $600$ . The wakes behind these wings exhibit 3-D reversed-flow bubble and large-scale vortical structures. For tapered swept wings, the diversity of wake vortices increases substantially, posing a challenge for flow control. To achieve the first control objective for an untapered unswept wing, root-based actuation at the shedding frequency is introduced to reduce the reversed-flow bubble size by taking advantage of the wake vortices to significantly enhance the aerodynamic performance of the wing. For both untapered and tapered swept wings, root-based actuation modifies the stalled flow, reduces the reversed-flow region and enhances aerodynamic performance by increasing the root contribution to lift. For the goal of controlling the tip vortex, we demonstrate the effectiveness of actuation with high-frequency perturbations near the tip. This study shows how insights from resolvent analysis for unsteady actuation can enable global modification of 3-D separated wakes and achieve improved aerodynamics of wings.

The characteristics of flows past a circular cylinder with heat transfer in the proximity to the wall at different gap ratios

In this study, two-dimensional laminar flows past a circular cylinder under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions over a flat-plate were investigated numerically at Re = 200. The gap ratio G / D ranges from 0.5 to 3.0, with G representing the distance between the lower surface of the cylinder and the wall. The effects of G / D on the flow dynamics were explored. For G / D = 0.5 , the vortex shedding of the lower cylinder surface is suppressed and there is a large recirculation region on the wall. For G / D = 1.0 , the recirculation region is small and the lower vortex begins to shed. For G / D ⩾ 1.5 , the flow exhibits similarities to that of an unbounded cylinder. The heat transfer characteristics was evaluated. When the cylinder temperature T c is higher than the air temperature T a , the mean drag coefficient C D ¯ is reduced and the root-mean-square lift coefficient C L ′ is increased. The temperature field is reconstructed using the proper orthogonal decomposition method, which is influenced by the large-scale vortical structures.

Numerical prediction of mean flow and acoustic field of a supersonic impinging jet

The three-dimensional turbulent mean flow and acoustic field of a supersonic jet impinging on a solid plate is studied computationally using the general purpose CFD code Ansys Fluent. A pressure-based coupled solver formulation with the second order weighted central-upwind spatial discretization is applied to compute transient solutions. Cold and hot jet thermal conditions are considered. Mean flow characteristics are investigated by a steady-state modeling approach. Acoustic radiation of impingement tones is simulated using a transient time-domain formulation. The effects of turbulence in steady-state are modeled by the SST k-ω turbulence model. The Wall-Modeled Large-Eddy Simulation (WMLES) model is applied to compute transient solutions. The near-wall mesh on the impingement plate is fine enough to resolve the viscosity-affected near-wall region all the way to the laminar sublayer. Nozzle-to-plate distance is parameterized in the model for automatic re-generation of the mesh and results. Steady-state predictions of hover lift loss and mean jet velocity distributions are compared with experimental data, and favorable agreement is reported. The transient solution reproduces the mechanism of impingement tone generation by the interaction of large scale vortical structures with the impingement plate. The acoustic near-field is directly resolved by Computational Aeroacoustics (CAA) to accurately propagate impingement tone waves to near-field microphone locations. Calculated impingement tone frequencies and sound pressure levels agree with experimental values.

Characterizing the Unsteady Flow Field in Low-Flow Turbine Operation

Abstract Current operational considerations require steam turbines to operate in a more flexible way, with more frequent and faster start-up and an increasing part-load operation. For very low mass flowrates, the interaction of highly separated flow with the high-speed rotor blades causes windage flow. This type of flow is characterized by increased temperature and highly unsteady flow, which forms vortex structures that rotate at a fraction of the rotor speed. If their magnitude is sufficiently high and the frequency is close to the blade eigenfrequency, non-synchronous vibration (NSV) can be induced. In this paper, low-flow turbine operation is investigated using a three-stage turbine rig that features an instrumentation concept focused on capturing aerodynamic and aeroelastic phenomena. Extensive steady probe, unsteady pressure, and tip-timing measurements are utilized. The experimental scope covers a wide range of operating points in terms of rotational speed and mass flowrates. Low-flow regimes are detected by a reversal in torque and increase in temperature. Unsteady measurements during transient operation identified large-scale vortical flow structures rotating along the circumference, so-called rotating instabilities (RIs). The onset, growth, and breakdown regimes of RI are characterized for different low-flow conditions. The quantitative characteristics of RI with regard to nodal diameter and rotational speed are derived by a cross-correlation of multiple unsteady sensors. The blade vibration measurements show a moderate structural response from unsteady aerodynamic excitation, indicating no significant NSV occurring in the present experimental setup. Later in the study, an acoustic excitation system has been applied to trigger a locked-in NSV without interrupting the coherent flow structures. From that, significant blade response has been observed, revealing a high degree of mistuning and damping of the rotor blading.

Turbulent flow around submerged foundation arrays for ocean energy

Submerged ocean energy foundations experience dynamic loading due to the non-uniform approach velocity and wake propagation behind them. This paper investigates the unsteady turbulent flow dynamics and propagation of large-scale vortical structures around submerged foundations using a large eddy simulation. The computational domain constituted an array of eight foundations arranged in an inline configuration of two columns. Two streamwise spacing, x = 6D and 8D, are investigated at an approach Reynolds number, based on the channel hydraulic diameter, of 8.5 × 104. The parametric study reveals the expected changes in wake recovery and their impact on the downstream foundations. The narrow spacing promotes intense wake interactions, while larger inline spacing causes the entrainment of ambient flow, thereby limiting the wake interaction with the downstream foundations. A two-point correlation analysis reveals larger integral turbulent timescales for the 6D spacing compared to the 8D spacing. The separated flow around the foundations is characterized by eddies shed at varying frequencies. Multiple spectra peaks dominate at low frequencies, signifying dominant energy-containing large-scale vortices coupled with periodic excitation of the vortices as energy is transferred from the large-to small-scale turbulent structures.

Mechanisms for improving fin heat dissipation through the oscillatory airflow induced by vibrating blades

The vibrating fan is one of the promising candidates to alleviate the thermal failure of electronic devices, while its coupling mechanism in actual applications is not clear yet. In this work, the heat dissipation of vibrating fans was experimentally examined, and its inherent mechanism was demonstrated through the comparison between steady and pulsating flows based on numerical simulation. Firstly, the flow fields induced by the vibrating blades exhibit pulsating features, but the localized velocity magnitude is much higher than the pulsating flow. Besides, the large-scale vortical structures are first formed at the blade tip and then squeezed by the fins into various small-scale vortices flowing into the channels. Thus, the heat dissipation is significantly improved. Secondly, the impacts of different blade structures are identified. The trapezoidal structure can drive more airflow due to its large swept area, and the grooved structure can benefit the formation of small-scale vortices. Then, the trapezoidal-folding blade is developed as a combination of trapezoidal and grooved structures. It is found that the trapezoidal-folding blade can decrease the maximum temperature of the heat source by 7.5 °C compared to the traditional steady flow condition, which can effectively alleviate the high-temperature failure crisis.

Energy transfer and vortex structures: visualizing the incompressible turbulent energy cascade

The transfer of kinetic energy from large to small scales is a hallmark of turbulent flows. Yet, a precise mechanistic description of this transfer, which is expected to occur via an energy cascade, is still missing. Several conceptually simple configurations with vortex tubes have been proposed as a testing ground to understand the energy cascade. Here, we focus on incompressible flows and compare the energy transfer occurring in a statistically steady homogeneous isotropic turbulent (HIT) flow with the generation of fine-scale motions in configurations involving vortex tubes. We start by filtering the velocity field in bands of wavenumbers distributed logarithmically, which allows us to study energy transfer in Fourier space and also visualize the energy cascade in real space. In the case of a statistically steady HIT flow at a moderate Reynolds number, our numerical results do not reveal any significant correlation between regions of intense energy transfers and vorticity or strain, filtered in corresponding wavenumber bands, nor any simple self-similar process. In comparison, in the transient turbulent flow obtained from the interaction between two antiparallel vortex tubes, we observe a qualitatively simpler organization of the intense structures, as well as of the energy transfer. However, the correlations between energy transfer and strain are small, and point to complicated dynamics of energy transfer. By imposing a structure at large scales consisting of antiparallel vortex tubes in a statistically steady flow, we observed a picture qualitatively similar to what was observed for the transient flow, but the energy transfer statistics do not reproduce the type of triadic interactions seen in HIT. These results indicate that the specific properties of the large-scale vortical structures affect the way energy is transferred, and may not be fully representative of HIT.

Direct numerical simulations of turbulent flow over the converging and diverging riblets

Different from conventional streamwise-aligned riblets, converging and diverging (C–D) riblets are arranged obliquely along the main-flow direction, intending to induce a large-scale secondary flow that modulates or controls the existing large-scale vortical structures in wall turbulence. In this study, we perform direct numerical simulations of turbulent flow over the C–D riblets at a low Reynolds number and investigate the impacts of the C–D riblets on aerodynamic forces, turbulence statistics, and coherent structures. The results show that the C–D riblets can reduce the skin-friction drag, but at the expense of a significantly increased pressure drag in the diverging region, which leads to an increase in the total drag. We present detailed mean and statistical flow-fields to assess the flow characteristics in the presence of the C–D riblets, including modifications on the distributions of velocities, pressure, Reynolds stresses, and turbulence kinetic energy. Moreover, the re-arrangement of turbulence structures over the C–D riblets is examined in terms of instantaneous flow-fields and two-point correlations. The findings provide more insight into the physics of flow over C–D riblets and may contribute to the further development of this flow control strategy.

Experimental investigation on effects of herringbone riblets on shock wave/boundary layer interactions of a compression ramp at Mach 3

In this paper, the effects of herringbone riblets (HRs) on a turbulent boundary layer and the shock wave/boundary layer interactions (SWBLIs) are experimentally investigated at the Mach number of 3. An array of three varied lengths of HRs strips are applied upstream of the separation zone of SWBLIs on a compression ramp model. High-speed schlieren, oil-flow visualization, and the planar laser scattering technique are used to examine the shock pattern and boundary layer developing over the surface of the model. The snapshot proper orthogonal decomposition technique and the Fast Fourier Transform method are applied to study the impact of HRs on the interaction between the shock wave and the boundary layer. The experiments provide convincing evidence that HRs make the separation line wavy and shrink the separation zone by about −39.54% for the longest HRs in the present experiments. Furthermore, it is also revealed that these microscale HRs induce large-scale streamwise vortical structures within the boundary layer as found in incompressible flows. It is believed that these vortices promote momentum transfer within the boundary layer hence providing the dominant mechanism for suppressing flow separation.

A direct numerical simulation study for confined non-isothermal jet impingement at moderate nozzle-to-plate distances: Capturing jet-to-ambient density effects

A direct numerical simulation (DNS) campaign is deployed for a series of confined downward oriented, non-isothermal turbulent impinging jet configurations. A baseline Reynolds number of 9960 is obtained through a precursor DNS pipe flow simulation (Reτ=505). Three jet temperature configurations (confinement height to nozzle diameter of three) enter a cylindrical domain that share ambient and impingement plate temperatures (298.15K). The range of jet temperatures are crafted such that the ratio of inlet to ambient density varies from unity to 0.52, showcasing the effect of density disparity on flow characteristics such as core collapse, radial mixing of momentum and energy, near-wall stagnation behavior, wall-jet profiles, and large-scale vortical structures. Surface quantities provided include mean radial heat flux and wall-shear stress profiles, and heat flux histograms at select radial stations. Results showcase increased radial normal stresses for higher temperature jets that support increased mixing, resulting in large-scale recirculation structures that are smaller, while retaining similar normalized radial wall profiles for shear stress, heat flux and pressure. Radial plots for wall shear stress and Nusselt number showcase strong radial decay as compared to previous configurations that share similar jet and ambient temperatures. For the 373.15 K case, a Gaussian-like histogram for heat fluxes at the impingement plate transitions to a log-normal profile as radial distances increase. In contrast, the 573.15 K configuration displays a bi-modal heat flux characteristic at the impingement plate, and in similar manner to the moderate temperature counterpart, transitions to a log-normal profile at larger radial distances.

Coherent Structures and Pressure Fluctuations over an Airfoil Using Time-Resolved Measurements

This study focused on the unsteady behaviors of large-scale vortical structures and wall pressure fluctuations and their coupling mechanism on a low-Reynolds-number airfoil. Three incidence angles were chosen for comparison: , and (representing two flow regimes, namely, the separation bubble formation and separation without subsequent reattachment). Simultaneous measurements of velocity fields and wall-pressure fluctuations were performed using a high-resolution time-resolved particle image velocimetry operating at 2 kHz and an array of flush-mounted microphones sampled at 10 kHz. The results provided a detailed description of the shear layer transition and the coherent structures development on the airfoil. The roll-up process, pairing process, spatial-temporal growth of the vortical structure, and vortex break-up were clarified through a long-period analysis. Spectral analysis demonstrated that vortical structures at the fundamental frequency were spatially and temporally localized and that their subharmonics were significantly enhanced. Frequency–wavenumber spectra revealed that the energy was dominantly concentrated along the convective ridge. With increasing incidence angle, the energy level of the inclined ridge increased, with a lower extension in the frequency domain and a higher dispersion in the wavenumber domain. The conditional averaging and quadrant analysis results demonstrated that strong events in the near-wall region were dominated by the sweep motion and ejection motion, which enhanced the interaction between the inner and outer layers. This also indicated the existence of a strong relationship between the wall-pressure peaks and turbulence production mechanisms.

Generation of negative peak pressures under a separation bubble

This paper investigates the generation mechanism of negative peak pressures on a blunt plate under a separation bubble with Large Eddy Simulation (LES). Synchronized sampling of the wind pressures on and velocity fields around the plate is adopted to explore the relation between pressure fluctuations and vortex dynamics. The ordinary pressure fluctuation is found to be induced by high-frequency vortex convection. Formation of a negative peak pressure starts from the vortex head arriving at an observation point and ends up at the vortex tail leaving that location. A negative peak pressure occurs when the vortex core is right beneath/above the observation point. Spectral analysis of the wind pressures and Dynamic Modal Decomposition (DMD) for the velocity fields are combined to detect and visualize the low-frequency motion responsible for extreme pressure fluctuations. A counterpart of the low-frequency dominating component of the wind pressures is found in the velocity modal analysis, which is related to the shedding of an extreme large-scale vortical structure and demonstrates a flapping motion of the shear layer. The present study provides insights to the generation of negative peak pressures and the relation between vortex behaviors and the shear layer movement.

Large-Eddy Simulation of Compound Channels with Staged Floodplains: Flow Interactions and Turbulent Structures

Numerous sources of overtopping and flood events suggest different cross-sectional land characteristics of the river and urban river water systems. Multiple stages of floodplains in compound channels are viable in urban areas to facilitate bank slope stability and a higher discharge capacity for different flow rates. The complexity of the contiguous floodplains’ compound channel flows manifold with the interactive geometry and roughness of the surrounding floodplains. In the present study, a large-eddy simulation study is undertaken to investigate the turbulent structure of open channels with multiple-stage floodplains. The validation uses experimental data collected at individual contiguous multiple-stage floodplains for three depth ratios from shallow to deep flow regimes. The wall-modelled large eddy simulations were validated with the depth-averaged velocity, primary velocity and secondary currents. Furthermore, the impact of the multiple-stage floodplains on the instantaneous flow fields and large-scale vortical structures is predicted herein. It was found that vortical structures affect the distribution of the momentum exchange over multiple-stage floodplains.

Relationship between coherent Reynolds shear stress and large-scale vortical structures

An equation that relates the principal derivative of the Reynolds shear stress and large-scale vorticity fluxes is developed and validated using experimental data in a cylinder near wake. When large-scale vortices prevail, the Reynolds shear stress associated with the coherent motion is a good approximation to the conventional Reynolds shear stress. The latter is essentially determined by the imbalance between the dynamic pressure arising from the streamwise non-homogeneity caused by large-scale vortical structures and the lateral coherent vorticity flux.

Three-dimensional wake structures over a short cylinder having a fore angled hole

The complex three-dimensional (3D) flows around a short cylinder on the wall, acted by a flow exiting from a fore angled hole (FAH) that penetrates the cylinder from the fore to the top end, were experimentally investigated. The 3D instantaneous velocity distributions were measured based on tomographic particle image velocimetry (Tomo-PIV). The 3D flow structures behind the FAH and no-hole cylinders are compared in terms of the measured 3D velocity and vorticity distributions, Q-criterion, and tip vortices. A 3D W-type arch vortex, which shows a larger peak or convexity on the horizontal part center than for the no-hole cylinder, is found around the FAH short cylinder. The exiting flow from the FAH increases the separation zone, and FAH height effectively controls the eddy structures. The instantaneous 3D velocity data obtained from Tomo-PIV are decomposed using 3D wavelet multiresolution analysis and proper orthogonal decomposition. With the FAH cylinder, the large-scale streamwise wake vortices are smaller than with the no-hole cylinder, and this exhibits more evident as increasing the FAH height. The time-mean 3D large-scale arch vortical structures, however, become stronger. Proper orthogonal decomposition indicates that the energetic flow structures of the FAH cylinders are stronger than those of the no-hole cylinder.

Unsteady flow behaviors and noise generation mechanisms of tandem orifices in a circular duct

Turbulent flow through tandem orifices in a circular duct is numerically modeled through dynamic delayed detached-eddy simulations to clarify the unsteady flow behaviors and noise generation mechanism. The characteristics of four configurations with different separation distances L/D = 0 (single orifice), 1, 2, and 4 are compared at a Reynolds number of 10 000. The acoustic sources and their noise-propagation behaviors are analyzed using Lighthill's acoustic analogy. The coherent flow structures (wavepackets) are determined through spectral proper orthogonal decomposition to clarify the resulting flow noise mechanism. The dominant noise sources are acoustic dipoles that are alternately energetic on the orifice's leading and trailing faces subjected to intermittent interaction with the unsteady flow. The total sound pressure level (SPL) for a single orifice is alternately dominated by the shedding and flapping behaviors of the large-scale vortical structures in the low-frequency range and Kelvin–Helmholtz (K–H) type wavepackets at high frequencies. For the tandem orifice configuration with L/D = 1, the total SPL is dominated by the contribution of the trailing face, attributable to the interactions between the K–H-type double-wavepacket structures. Both the upstream and downstream wavepackets start to split and generate four-wavepacket structures in the high-frequency range. In the cases of L/D = 2 and 4, the total SPL is dominated by the dipole sources at the downstream leading face that subjected to the intermittent interaction with the upstream separated shear layers. The dominant flow structures are independent wavepackets through each orifice at low frequencies, while at high frequencies the four-wavepacket structures break into two independent double-wavepacket structures close to each orifice.

Investigation of flow separation control over airfoil using nanosecond pulsed plasma actuator

A detailed investigation of flow separation control over a stalled NACA 0015 airfoil model using pulsed nanosecond dielectric barrier discharge (NS-DBD) plasma actuator is conducted through combined large eddy simulation (LES), dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) and experimental particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurement possibly for the first time. Airfoil flow at chord-based Reynolds number (Re) of Re = 6.3 × 104 is considered. It is found that the interplay of the residual heat due to the nanosecond plasma discharge with external flow causes the generation of vortices through the baroclinic and vortex dilation mechanisms and finally promotes the formation of large-scale vortical structures that dominate the early-stage evolution of the flow control process. One of the most important findings of this work is that the flow control mechanisms are not universal but depend on the forcing frequencies of plasma actuation, and are categorized into three different types. Meanwhile, three-dimensional DMD analysis of LES datasets is performed and the output of modal analysis helps provide more physical insights into flow control and determine the optimum forcing frequency. Depending on the value of forcing frequency, the global or local resonance of the forced flow with the periodic plasma actuation occurs. The plasma forcing at any frequencies in the range 1≤F+≤20 produces pronounced flow control authority except for that at F+=20. Moreover, the optimum forcing frequency is identified and its relationship with the inherent characteristic frequencies of the baseline flow is established based on DMD analysis. It is found that the most favorable control effect is achieved when the plasma excitation frequency is high and very close to the characteristic frequency of the separated shear layer in the unforced baseline flow.

Direct numerical simulation of turbulent pipe flow by large-scale control using buoyancy force

Skin-friction drag reduction control for a fully developed turbulent pipe flow is performed using direct numerical simulations. Heating and cooling of pipe wall is homogeneous in the streamwise direction and varies in the azimuthal direction and buoyancy force induces the flow to decrease the skin-friction drag. The control parameters are the amplitude of buoyancy force and wavenumber of heating and cooling in the azimuthal direction. There are two different mechanisms of skin-friction drag reduction: stable stratification and large-scale vortical structure. In the former, the buoyancy force attenuates the turbulence directly. In the latter, the buoyancy force creates wall jets along the pipe wall, and a large-scale streamwise vortex is formed. The vortex increases the coherent contribution to the skin-friction coefficient, but it reduces the random contribution indirectly.

Particle dispersion in turbulent mixing layer at supercritical pressure

The heterogeneous structures of particles are generated due to the significant temperature changes when cold particles-dilute jet injects into a supercritical water fluidized bed, which is unfavorable for the reaction of coal particles. We expect to promote the particle dispersion by entrainment mechanism of large-scale vortical structures. The Eulerian-Lagrangian point-source method is used to numerically investigate the dynamics of dilute particles in mixing layer sustained by supercritical water with different temperatures. The effects of density ratio and velocity ratio between two streams are analyzed. In addition to the smaller particle numbers at high-density side, the particle clustering in the vortex core regions is found due to the inhibition of vortical structures by increasing density ratio. With increasing velocity ratio, however, the enhanced vortex stretching promotes the entrainment of particles. As a result, the increase in particle number density at high-density side is up to 26% compared with the constant-property flow. • Study on variable-density effect on dynamics of particle-laden mixing layer. • Enhancement of vortical structure by increasing velocity ratio between two streams. • Particle acceleration decrease with increasing density ratio between two streams. • Improvement of particle dispersion due to the entrainment of vortical structures.

Perforation effects on the wake dynamics of normal flat plates

The effect of perforation on the wake of a thin flat plate placed normal to the free stream at Reynolds number ( $Re$ ) 250 (based on plate width $d$ , and inflow velocity $U_o$ ) is studied by means of direct numerical simulation. The perforated plate of length $6d$ consist of six equidistant square holes of varying sizes corresponding to porosity $\beta$ (ratio of open area to total plate area) of 0 %, 4 %, 9 %, 12.25 %, 16 %, 20.25 % and 25 %. It is observed that the bleed or jet flow through perforations pushes the shear layer interaction farther downstream with increasing $\beta$ . This causes a monotonic decrease in the drag coefficient with increasing porosity, and a sharp fall seeming to begin at $\beta \approx 4\,\%$ . On the other hand, the Strouhal number increases with $\beta$ up to 16 % (at $\beta =16\,\%$ , loss of flow three-dimensionality leads to a ‘quasi-laminar’ state of flow). This is followed by a sharp fall in the Strouhal number at $\beta \approx 20\,\%$ . The behaviour of the large-scale vortical structures in the far wake is influenced by the near-wake behaviour of the bleed flow, where the local $Re$ based on the perforation hole size determines the overall flow three-dimensionality. It is also observed that the jet or bleed flow undergoes meandering instability when pitch separation is equivalent to the hole size (at $\beta =25\,\%$ ). The low- $Re$ turbulent flow for a non-perforated plate is altered to a transitional state by the presence of perforation. The streamwise vortex pairs (secondary instabilities) become fairly organized as $\beta$ is increased from 0 % to 16 %. The secondary instability at $\beta =16\,\%$ appears similar to mode-B with wavelength ${\approx }1d$ . On the contrary, the secondary instability at $\beta =25\,\%$ appears similar to mode-A with a wavelength of ${\approx }2d$ .