Near-wall Flow Structures Research Articles

Shear stress and noise metric reduction using active vibration

The effects of active vibrational surface on wall shear stress and noise metric have been researched by the computational fluid dynamics method. The skin-friction drag and noise metric can be decreased by the active surface control. A sinusoidal vibration was imposed on the surface of a plate and the vibrational position located on downstream of the plate leading edge. The turbulence boundary layer was fully developed at the vibrational position. The downstream skin-friction drag exhibited a strong dependence on the control parameters (oscillation frequency and amplitude). A reduction in the trailing edge noise was obtained by the increasing of vibrational frequency and the appropriate choosing of amplitude. The maximum reduction in local skin friction drag is 64.3%. The noise metric can be decreased by 37.9 dB. Comparing the near-wall flow structures with and without control, it can be found that the turbulent kinetic energy and characteristic turbulence length scale were changed by the control.

Shear stress and noise metric reduction using active vibration

The effects of active vibrational surface on wall shear stress and noise metric have been researched by the computational fluid dynamics method. The skin-friction drag and noise metric can be decreased by the active surface control. A sinusoidal vibration was imposed on the surface of a plate and the vibrational position located on downstream of the plate leading edge. The turbulence boundary layer was fully developed at the vibrational position. The downstream skin-friction drag exhibited a strong dependence on the control parameters (oscillation frequency and amplitude). A reduction in the trailing edge noise was obtained by the increasing of vibrational frequency and the appropriate choosing of amplitude. The maximum reduction in local skin friction drag is 64.3%. The noise metric can be decreased by 37.9 dB. Comparing the near-wall flow structures with and without control, it can be found that the turbulent kinetic energy and characteristic turbulence length scale were changed by the control.

Endwall heat transfer and aerodynamic performance of bowed outlet guide vanes (OGVs) with on- and off-design conditions

ABSTRACTIn this study, numerical simulations are conducted to investigate the effects of bowed outlet guide vanes (OGVs) on endwall heat transfer and aerodynamic performance. Both on- and off-design conditions are studied. For bowed vanes, the bowed angle varies from 10° to 40° and the normalized bowed height ranges from 0.1 to 0.3. Results are included for Nusselt number distributions on the endwall, the energy losses, the yaw angles, and near-wall flow structures. For the convenience of comparison, the straight vane is also studied as a baseline. It is found that the bowed vanes can effectively reduce the endwall heat transfer. Among the tested parameters, a bowed angle of 40° and a normalized bowed height of 0.3 provide the best-controlled heat transfer for both the on- and off-design conditions. However, the bowed vanes have different effects on the energy losses and the yaw angles depending on the operating conditions. For the on-design condition with the inlet angle of 30° (the incidence angle is 0°) and the off-design condition with the inlet angle of 0°, the bowed vanes do not significantly increase the energy losses and yaw angles, whereas for the off-design condition with the inlet angle of −30°, significant changes are observed.

Performance of Transition-Sensitive Models in Predicting Flow Structures over Delta Wings

Laminar-turbulent transition may have considerable influence on the performance of moderate and high-speed aerodynamic vehicles. The two recently developed transition-sensitive models, SST-TR and , are employed to assess their abilities in resolving the complex underlying flow physics associated with flow structures over delta wings. In particular, their capabilities in capturing the aerodynamic characteristics of three-dimensional flow associated with vortex breakdown, shear-layer instabilities, and boundary-layer transition are assessed. These closures are employed to simulate vortex breakdown and near-wall flow structures over a delta wing planform with a moderate sweep angle of 50 deg at a Reynolds number of , where a combination of laminar, transitional, and turbulent flowfields coexist. Accuracy of these models in predicting boundary-layer transition adjacent to a delta wing surface with a high-sweep angle of 70 deg and Reynolds numbers of and is investigated. Large-eddy simulation with dynamic Smagorinsky subgrid scale model is also employed to assess its capability in predicting transition on delta wing planforms. All numerical simulations are compared with available experimental data found in the literature.

Active control of a turbulent boundary layer based on local surface perturbation

AbstractActive control of a turbulent boundary layer has been experimentally investigated with a view to reducing the skin-friction drag and gaining some insight into the mechanism that leads to drag reduction. A spanwise-aligned array of piezo-ceramic actuators was employed to generate a transverse travelling wave along the wall surface, with a specified phase shift between adjacent actuators. Local skin-friction drag exhibits a strong dependence on control parameters, including the wavelength, amplitude and frequency of the oscillation. A maximum drag reduction of 50 % has been achieved at 17 wall units downstream of the actuators. The near-wall flow structure under control, measured using smoke–wire flow visualization, hot-wire and particle image velocimetry techniques, is compared with that without control. The data have been carefully analysed using techniques such as streak detection, power spectra and conditional averaging based on the variable-interval time-average detection. All the results point to a pronounced change in the organization of the perturbed boundary layer. It is proposed that the actuation-induced wave generates a layer of highly regularized streamwise vortices, which acts as a barrier between the large-scale coherent structures and the wall, thus interfering with the turbulence production cycle and contributing partially to the drag reduction. Associated with the generation of regularized vortices is a significant increase, in the near-wall region, of the mean energy dissipation rate, as inferred from a substantial decrease in the Taylor microscale. This increase also contributes to the drag reduction. The scaling of the drag reduction is also examined empirically, providing valuable insight into the active control of drag reduction.

Effect of the instantaneous turbulent flow structures on the particle distribution near the wall of a channel

We analyzed databases obtained from direct numerical simulations of the turbulent flow in a plane channel at low Reynolds numbers. Particles with different inertia were tracked using the dilute phase approximation. The main objective of this study is the determination of the fluctuations of concentration produced by two types of instantaneous near-wall flow structures. The first type of structure produces extreme negative fluctuations of the wall shear stress (τw′≪0) and the second type of structures are associated with large positive fluctuations (τw′≫0). A conditional sampling technique was used to educe the topologies of these two types of flow structures and the corresponding conditional averaged particle concentration fluctuations. The contribution of each type of flow event to the wall shear stress history is about 10% but their contribution to the particle velocity component perpendicular to the wall, in the near-wall region, is about 50% for the flow structures associated to events with τw′≪0 and about 40% for those with τw′≫0, indicating that the role of these structures is significant in the particle fluxes from and towards the wall. The flow structures consist in two parallel counterrotating streamwise vortices that, in the case of τw′≪0, create a flow ejection from the wall between them and in the case of τw′≫0, produce a sweep towards the wall. These events produce important fluctuations of the particle concentration near the wall, with intensities up to 200% for the flow structure associated with τw′≪0 and for the largest Stokes number considered (St=25).

Experimental investigation on aero-optical aberration of the supersonic flow passing through an optical dome with gas injection

During the flight in the atmosphere, the optical window of an optical dome needs to be cooled, and supersonic film cooling is one of the economic ways. After traversing through the complex flow field above the window, the optical wave would be distorted by fluctuations in the density field due to the expansion wave, shockwave, mixing layer, turbulent boundary layer, etc. The aero-optical aberrations induced by the flow field of an optical dome in the presence and in the absence of the gas injection at Mach 3.8 are investigated experimentally. Based on the nano-tracer planar laser scattering (NPLS) technique, the density field with high spatial-temporal resolution is first obtained by the flow image calibration, and then the optical path difference (OPD)fluctuations of the original 532 nm planar wavefront perpendicular to the window are calculated using Ray-tracing theory. Also the OPD fluctuations caused by the near-wall region flow structures are presented. In the absence of the gas injection, the flow structure is relatively simple with a long recirculation and laminar region, while in the presence of the gas injection, there appear more complex structures such as shear layer, mixing layer and turbulent boundary layer and the flow is converted into turbulence quickly. Clearly, the optical aberration in the presence of the gas injection is degraded more. For example, the values of root-mean-square OPD (OPDrms) in the absence of the gas injection are 0.038 μm and 0.0356 μm, and they are 0.0462 μm, and 0.0485 μm in the presence of the gas injection during the interval 5 μs.

Superiority of PANS compared to LES in predicting a rudimentary landing gear flow with affordable meshes

Results of simulations of the flow around a rudimentary landing gear are presented in the paper. A newly proposed improved Partially-Averaged Navier–Stokes (PANS) method using k−ε−ζ−f turbulence model is used for prediction of the flow. The results are compared with the experimental data but also with the results of two LES simulations performed using the PANS computational grids. PANS simulations predicted the flow in good agreement with the experimental data. LES predicted a non-physical creation of separation over the front wheels that does not exist in the PANS prediction and was not observed in the experimental oil film. PANS simulations showed low sensitivity to the grid refinement. They show clear advantage compared with the LES simulations when the computational grid is inadequate for resolution of the near-wall flow structures.

Direct numerical simulation of convective heat transfer in a zero-pressure- gradient boundary layer with supercritical water

Experimental research has long shown that forced-convective heat transfer in wall-bounded turbulent flows of fluids in the supercritical thermodynamic state is not accurately predicted by correlations that have been developed for single-phase fluids in the subcritical thermodynamic state. In the present computational study, the statistical properties of turbulent flow as well as the development of coherent flow structures in a zero-pressure-gradient flat-plate boundary layer are investigated in the absence of body forces, where the working fluid is in the supercritical thermodynamic state. The simulated boundary layers are developed to a friction Reynolds number of 250 for two heat-flux to mass-flux ratios corresponding to cases where normal heat transfer and improved heat transfer are observed. In the case where improved heat transfer is observed, spanwise spacing of the near-wall coherent flow structures is reduced due to a relatively less stable flow environment resulting from the lower magnitudes of the wall-normal viscosity-gradient profile.

Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Flow and Heat Transfer in an Anti- Gravity Blind Duct with Tangential Entry Jet

This numerical study investigates the flow and heat transfer characteristics in a vertical square blind duct with the coolant fed by a tangential entry jet. The detailed Nusselt number (Nu) distributions over the five constituent walls of the blind duct are calculated at duct (jet) Reynolds numbers Re(Rej) of 5000(20000), 7000(28000) and 10000(40000) us- ing the commercial CFD Star CD code. As an attempt to explore the buoyancy effect on heat transfer performances, three different heat fluxes, which vary the gravitational Grashof numbers (Grg) at the fixed Re, are imposed on each duct wall to vary the buoyancy levels. The jet-induced flow phenomena in the blind duct exhibit various heat transfer impacts on the five duct walls over which the different near-wall flow structures are generated. This is demonstrated by cross-examining the detailed Nu distributions and the area-averaged Nusselt number ( Nu ) over the five duct walls at the tested Re and Grg. The cross-plane swirls induced by the tangential entry jet together with the impinging jet flows considerably elevate the Heat Transfer Enhancement (HTE) performances in the blind duct. Within the parametric conditions simulated, the ratios of Nu to the Dittus-Boelter levels (Nu� ) over the jet wall, back wall, impingement wall, side wall and end wall are re- spectively raised to 3-5.7, 2.8-5.6, 3-5.8, 2.7-4.8 and 3.1-6.1; while the HTE ratios ( Nu /Nu� ) over these duct walls con- sistently decrease as Re increases.

Near-wall turbulence statistics and flow structures over three-dimensional roughness in a turbulent channel flow

Utilizing an optically index-matched facility and high-resolution particle image velocimetry measurements, this paper examines flow structure and turbulence in a rough-wall channel flow forReτin the 3520–5360 range. The scales of pyramidal roughness elements satisfy the ‘well-characterized’ flow conditions, withh/k≈ 50 andk+= 60 ~ 100, wherehis half height of the channel andkis the roughness height. The near-wall turbulence measurements are sensitive to spatial resolution, and vary with Reynolds number. Spatial variations in the mean flow, Reynolds stresses, as well as the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) production and dissipation rates are confined toy< 2k. All the Reynolds stress components have local maxima at slightly higher elevations, but the streamwise-normal component increases rapidly aty<k, peaking at the top of the pyramids. The TKE production and dissipation rates along with turbulence transport also peak near the wall. The spatial energy and shear spectra show an increasing contribution of large-scale motions and a diminishing role of small motions with increasing distance from the wall. As the spectra steepen at low wavenumbers, they flatten and develop bumps in wavenumbers corresponding tok− 3k, which fall in the dissipation range. Instantaneous realizations show that roughness-scale eddies are generated near the wall, and lifted up rapidly by large-scale structures that populate the outer layer. A linear stochastic estimation-based analysis shows that the latter share common features with hairpin packets. This process floods the outer layer with roughness-scale eddies, in addition to those generated by the energy-cascading process. Consequently, although the imprints of roughness diminish in the outer-layer Reynolds stresses, consistent with the wall similarity hypothesis, the small-scale turbulence contains a clear roughness signature across the entire channel.

Near-wall turbulent characteristics along very long thin circular cylinders

Understanding the salient physics within the turbulent boundary layer of towed thin cylinders is paramount to the Navy sonar array communities. However, the required long array length to achieve wide acoustic aperture creates unique and consistent flow characteristics that suggest simplified tangential forcing expressions suitable for design purposes. One well-known fact is that the majority of the array surface experiences very thick turbulent boundary layers (TBL) and large Reynolds numbers. The resultant statistics are most commonly dependent on the inner and outer length scales. Herein, we resolve the near-wall TBL structure under those flow conditions by large-eddy simulation. The turbulent mean-flow statistics showed near-wall consistency using only inner scaling. But both inner and outer variables were found necessary to properly scale the turbulent fluctuations. An expression for the tangential wall-friction coefficient ( C t ) indicates two distinct flow regimes as characterized by the near-wall turbulent flow structure. The respective parameters appear independent of the outer length scale. Thickening (or thinning) the cylinder near their common threshold (defined by a radius-based Reynolds number) transitioned the turbulent character between the two regimes.

Drag reduction by microbubbles in a turbulent boundary layer

An experimental characterization of the turbulent boundary layer over a flat plate in the presence of small amounts of microbubbles is performed. The average diameter of the injected bubbles is comparable with the local Kolmogorov lengthscale, and the bulk void fraction C¯ is approximately 0.1%. The velocity field of the liquid phase, as well as the bubble characteristics, is acquired by optical techniques. Even at the small void fraction typical of this investigation, the interaction between microbubbles and turbulence leads to significant modifications of the underlying flow field. In accordance with previous investigations, the main global effect consists in a reduction of the magnitude of the viscous drag. This has been checked with preliminary tests conducted in a towing tank, as well as by inferring the wall stress from the boundary layer velocity profile measured in a laboratory facility at the same conditions. Here, the local wall stress is found to drop by approximately 25%. An analysis of the turbulent statistics shows that the reduction in drag is accompanied by a substantial reduction of the momentum flux throughout most of the inner region and by a decrease of the characteristic dimension of the turbulent scales involved in the production of kinetic energy. The distribution of turbulent kinetic energy among different scales is found to be substantially altered in the two flows. In particular, an enhancement of the energy content at smaller scales is observed in the bubbly case. These effects are discussed in relation with the decrease of the coherence of near-wall flow structures induced by the bubble forcing.

Identification of near-wall flow structures producing large wall transfer rates in turbulent mixed convection channel flow

In this paper, we analyze the influence of aiding and opposing buoyancy on the statistics of the wall transfer rates in a mixed convection turbulent flow at low Reynolds numbers in a vertical plane channel. The analysis is carried out using a database obtained from direct numerical simulations performed with a second-order finite volume code. The aiding/opposing buoyancy produces an overall decrease/increase of the intensities of the fluctuations of the wall shear stresses in comparison with the forced convection flow. The near wall structures responsible for the positive extreme values of the fluctuations of the wall shear stress, educed by a conditional sampling technique, consist in two quasi-parallel counterrotating streamwise vortices that convect high momentum fluid towards the wall in the region between them. Buoyancy produces an overall increase of the Reynolds stresses near the cold wall in comparison with the hot wall. This affects the streamwise length, the orientation, the velocity and the intensity of these flow structures near the two walls of the channel. It is found that the flow structures near the cold wall are shorter and produce more intense fluctuations than those near the hot wall.

Generalized lattice Boltzmann equation with forcing term for computation of wall-bounded turbulent flows

In this paper, we present a framework based on the generalized lattice Boltzmann equation (GLBE) using multiple relaxation times with forcing term for eddy capturing simulation of wall-bounded turbulent flows. Due to its flexibility in using disparate relaxation times, the GLBE is well suited to maintaining numerical stability on coarser grids and in obtaining improved solution fidelity of near-wall turbulent fluctuations. The subgrid scale (SGS) turbulence effects are represented by the standard Smagorinsky eddy viscosity model, which is modified by using the van Driest wall-damping function to account for reduction of turbulent length scales near walls. In order to be able to simulate a wider class of problems, we introduce forcing terms, which can represent the effects of general nonuniform forms of forces, in the natural moment space of the GLBE. Expressions for the strain rate tensor used in the SGS model are derived in terms of the nonequilibrium moments of the GLBE to include such forcing terms, which comprise a generalization of those presented in a recent work [Yu, Comput. Fluids 35, 957 (2006)]. Variable resolutions are introduced into this extended GLBE framework through a conservative multiblock approach. The approach, whose optimized implementation is also discussed, is assessed for two canonical flow problems bounded by walls, viz., fully developed turbulent channel flow at a shear or friction Reynolds number (Re) of 183.6 based on the channel half-width and three-dimensional (3D) shear-driven flows in a cubical cavity at a Re of 12 000 based on the side length of the cavity. Comparisons of detailed computed near-wall turbulent flow structure, given in terms of various turbulence statistics, with available data, including those from direct numerical simulations (DNS) and experiments showed good agreement. The GLBE approach also exhibited markedly better stability characteristics and avoided spurious near-wall turbulent fluctuations on coarser grids when compared with the single-relaxation-time (SRT)-based approach. Moreover, its implementation showed excellent parallel scalability on a large parallel cluster with over a thousand processors.

Shock-induced Near-wall Two-phase Flow Structure Over a Micron-sized Particles Bed

The present paper studies numerical modelling of near-wall two-phase flows induced by a normal shock wave moving at a constant speed, over a micron-sized particles bed. In this two-fluid model, the possibility of particle trajectory intersection is considered and a full Lagrangian formulation of the dispersed phase is introduced. The finiteness of the Reynolds and Mach numbers of the flow around a particle as well as the fineness of the particle sizes are taken into account in describing the interactions between the carrier- and dispersed-phases. For the small mass-loading ratio case, the numerical simulation of flow structure of the two phases is implemented and the profiles of the particle number density are obtained under the constant-flux condition on the wall. The effects of the shock Mach number and the particle size and material density on particle entrainment motion are discussed in detail. The obtained results indicate that interphase non-equilibrium in the velocity and temperature is a common feature for this type of flows and a local particle accumulation zone may form near the envelope of the particle trajectory family.

Effect of Conjugate Heat Transfer on MEMS-Based Thermal Shear Stress Sensor

ABSTRACT The effect of conjugate heat transfer resulting from a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based thermal shear stress is investigated. Due to the length-scale disparity and large solid–fluid thermal conductivity ratio, a two-level computation is used to examine the relevant physical mechanisms and their influences on wall shear stress. The substantial variations in transport properties between the fluid and solid phases and their interplay with regard to heat transfer and near-wall fluid flow structures are investigated. It is demonstrated that for state-of-the-art sensor design, the buoyancy effect can noticeably affect the accuracy of the shear stress measurement.

Rotation effect on near-wall turbulence statistics and flow structures

Large eddy simulation (LES) of turbulent flow through an axially rotating pipe, coupled with nonlinear dynamic subgrid-scale (SGS) model, is carried out to investigate rotation effect on the near-wall turbulence characteristics and flow structures. In the rotating turbulent pipe flow, it is found that the tendency towards a relaminarized flow appears and the axial velocity fluctuation is suppressed; however, the azimuthal fluctuation is enhanced due to the presence of the pipe wall rotation. The joint probability density function (joint PDF) of the velocity fluctuations and the probability density function (PDF) of the helicity fluctuation are analyzed in detail. It is revealed that the resolved Reynolds stress and helicity fluctuation in the wall region are closely related to the correlation between the velocity and vorticity fluctuations and affected significantly by the rotation-induced azimuthal mean flow. Further, the budgets of resolved Reynolds stresses indicate that the rotation effect is responsible for the more active turbulent energy redistribution and the production of the azimuthal turbulence fluctuation. The near-wall inclined streaky structures with respect to the axial direction are ascribed to the spiral motion of the fluid induced by the rotating pipe. The turbulence characteristics revealed in this study are of great help for the understanding of physical fundamentals in the rotating turbulent flows and for the development of reliable turbulence model.

Effects of combustor-level high inlet turbulence on the endwall flow and heat/mass transfer of a high-turning turbine rotor cascade

Experimental data are presented which describe the effects of a combustor-level high free-stream turbulence on the near-wall flow structure and heat/mass transfer on the endwall of a linear high-turning turbine rotor cascade. The endwall flow structure is visualized by employing the partial- and total-coverage oil-film technique, and heat/mass transfer rate is measured by the naphthalene sublimation method. A turbulence generator is designed to provide a highly-turbulent flow which has free-stream turbulence intensity and integral length scale of 14.7% and 80mm, respectively, at the cascade entrance. The surface flow visualizations show that the high free-stream turbulence has little effect on the attachment line, but alters the separation line noticeably. Under high free-stream turbulence, the incoming near-wall flow upstream of the adjacent separation lines collides more obliquely with the suction surface. A weaker lift-up force arising from this more oblique collision results in the narrower suction-side corner vortex area in the high turbulence case. The high free-stream turbulence enhances the heat/mass transfer in the central area of the turbine passage, but only a slight augmentation is found in the endwall regions adjacent to the leading and trailing edges. Therefore, the high free-stream turbulence makes the endwall heat load more uniform. It is also observed that the heat/mass transfers along the locus of the pressure-side leg of the leading-edge horseshoe vortex and along the suctionside corner are influenced most strongly by the high free-stream turbulence. In this study, the endwall surface is classified into seven different regions based on the local heat/mass transfer distribution, and the effects of the high free-stream turbulence on the local heat/mass transfer in each region are discussed in detail.

슬릿을 통한 주기적 국소 가진이 난류경계층에 미치는 영향 (II) - 분사 주파수의 효과 -

A direct numerical simulation is performed to analyze the effects of a localized time-periodic blowing on a turbulent boundary layer flow at Re ??=300. Main emphasis is placed on the blowing frequency effect on near-wall turbulent flow structures at downstream. Wall-normal velocity on a spanwise slot is varied periodically at different frequencies (0.004≤ f^+≤ 0.080). The amplitude of periodic blowing is A^+=0.5 in wall unit, which corresponds to the value of Vrms at y^+=15 without blowing. The frequency responses are scrutinized by examining the phase or time-averaged turbulent statistics. The optimal frequency (f^+=0.03) is observed, where maximum increase in Reynolds shear stress, streamwise vorticity fluctuations and energy redistribution occurs. The phase-averaged stretching and tilting term are investigated to analyze the increase of streamwise vorticity fluctuations which are closely related to turbulent coherent structures. It is found that the difference between PB and SB at a high blowing frequencies is negligible.