Side Of Wake Research Articles

Topological growth of multi-deck vortex structures above an elevated cross jet

The present numerical study provides a detailed topology-based understanding of the three-dimensional vortical flow interaction process for an elevated square cross jet of low-to-moderate velocity ratio (0.25 ≤R≤ 4.0). For R≤ 0.5, a steady inner-vortex (Iv) formed in the jet pipe owing to the leading-edge jet shear layer roll up as a spiral node. The kinematics of the limiting streamlines and separation-attachment patterns along the jet shear layer confirm the presence of the Iv. For 0.5 < R≤ 1.2, the Iv partly escapes, as its front side remains attached to the pipe hole and the azimuthally extended lee side moved out in a tilted fashion. Moreover, the continuous vortex shedding from the stack created a dominant von Karman-like street that grew along the lower side of the jet wake. Distinctly for R = 4, the intruded convective crossflow pulled up the spiral front node/Iv out of the pipe, which also shifted the onset of the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability upward. Significantly, the pulled-up node/Iv facilitated the above-orifice anti-kidney vortical evolution of the issuing jet shear layer. For the first time, the study displays the triple-deck growth of the kidney and anti-kidney vortices above an elevated square cross jet for 2.5 ≤ R ≤ 4.0 and 1000 ≤ Re ≤ 2000. For 0.5 ≤ R ≤ 1.2, the double-decked kidney vortices involving the primary and the secondary pairs grew above the central jet column. However, the stronger primary pair fast entrained the secondary one close to the orifice edge. With R ≥ 2.5, the lateral jet shear layer experienced an unexpected windward concave warping and restructured to evolve as the anti-kidney third-deck situated above the mid-deck primary kidney vortices. The topological shear layer folding and created kidney/anti-kidney vortices above the elevated square cross jet, for 0.25 ≤R≤ 4.0, appear consistent with the past measurements for a high aspect ratio elliptic flush jet. The anti-kidney vortical growth though was not detected above a square flush jet. The dominating above-orifice topological node in the high-pressure area ensured the anti-kidney vortical growth via the generated local pressure-gradient induced flow acceleration.

Vortex dynamics of supercritical carbon dioxide flow past a heated circular cylinder at low Reynolds numbers

The vortex dynamics in the steady regime and laminar vortex shedding regime with Reynolds number (Re) ranging from 15 to 150 are systematically investigated for supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO2) through a high-resolution numerical method in this paper. Numerical results of constant-property air are validated with the available experimental and numerical data from various angles. Excellent agreements are found between the present work and the previous studies. By comparing one vortex shedding process between SCO2 and conventional air, it is found that for SCO2 the period from the initial growth state of one vortex to its dominant state of inducing a new counter-rotating vortex on the other side of the body wake is accelerated, which contributes to the higher Strouhal frequency of SCO2 to a certain extent. By analyzing the development of lift coefficient history and the instantaneous vorticity near the onset of vortex shedding, transition from the steady separated flow to the primary wake instability for SCO2 is found between Re of 28 and 29, exactly 28.2 predicted by the intersection of the fitting curves of the base suction, much lower than the classical value (∼ 47). The wake bubble in the steady regime enlarges in size as Re increases, while in the laminar shedding regime the mean recirculation region decreases with Re. The distributions of local quantities, such as pressure coefficient, friction coefficient, and Nusselt number along the circumference, are presented to understand the development of the flow. The two dimensionality of the wake is confirmed at Re of 150 by comparing with the three-dimensional calculation. A new three-term correlation is proposed to represent the Strouhal–Reynolds number relation for SCO2 in parallel shedding mode.

An eddy, a wake and a plume: controls on bathyal foraminifera around Tobago, western tropical Atlantic Ocean

Oceanic islands in the paths of currents induce the development of wakes and stationary eddies. The situation to the lee of Tobago, western tropical Atlantic Ocean, is further complicated by the occurrence of the seasonally variable, hypopycnal Orinoco plume. Here we investigate the impact of the combined plume, wake and eddy on bathyal benthic foraminifera to the NW of Tobago. Three surface sediment samples were recovered from around each of five well-sites to the NW of Tobago, three of the sites (Warap-A, Cassra-A and Cassra-CC) being at upper bathyal depths and two (Bene-1, Sancoche-1) at middle bathyal depths. Warap-A, Cassra-A, Cassra-CC and Bene-1 form a transect along the northern side of the leeward wake, while the other two sites are in the vicinity of the stationary eddy. The samples obtained around Sancoche-1 were taken north of the wake. These were supplemented by samples from four 80-cm piston cores from upper bathyal and outer neritic depths sampled at ~ 10 cm intervals. Benthic foraminifera reveal different biofacies at upper (Warap-A, Cassra-A, Cassra-CC) and middle (Bene-1, Sancoche-1) bathyal depths. The upper bathyal biofacies is dominated by Cassidulina curvata and the middle bathyal biofacies contains abundant Uvigerina hispidocostata, both of which are indicative of a high nutrient flux. The presence of Martinottiella communis and M. pallida at Warap-A indicate that pore waters are low in dissolved oxygen in the immediate lee of the island. Percentages of the fauna as serial tests indicated decreasing current velocities with increasing depth, as confirmed by the high abundance of Cibicides ex gr. aknerianus in the shallowest water core. Upper bathyal bottom-current strength was at its lowest in the immediate lee of the island. Species indicative of a perennial nutrient flux were more abundant to the NW, where the interaction of the plume and eddy appears to concentrate nutrients. The short cores, each from a different biofacies, indicate that these environmental conditions have been in place for at least the later Holocene. The most northerly, upper bathyal core presented a stable community structure with low assemblage turnover, while two cores taken farther south (upper bathyal and outer neritic) had an expansive structure with high assemblage turnover. These data raise the possibility of using benthic foraminifera to track the positions of the plume, core and eddy throughout the later Neogene.

Large Eddy Simulation of an isolated vertical axis wind turbine

A computational study is presented on the wake features of a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT), with a particular focus on the way stall phenomena lead to the formation of large coherent structures. In our earlier work (Int. J. Heat Fluid Flow 61: 75–84, 2016) numerical results were compared with experiments carried out in similar conditions. The operation of VAWTs is characterized by the generation of large vortices, especially at low Tip Speed Ratios (TSRs), corresponding to larger angles of attack. In the present study the use of a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) approach, coupled with an immersed-boundary (IB) formulation, allowed the solution of such coherent structures, which were found to affect substantially the flow within the rotor and downstream of the turbine. Two values of TSR are investigated here, in order to discuss its influence on the wake structure. Lower TSRs are associated to boundary layer separation closer to the leading edge of the blades and larger rollers, during both upwind and downwind stall. Upwind stall affects more substantially wake properties, producing larger structures populating the leeward side of the overall wake.

Coupled Model Simulation of Wind Stress Effect on Far Wakes of Ships in SAR Images

A high-resolution 3-D hydrodynamic model capable of simulating far wakes of ships has been implemented using computational fluid dynamics software. We feed the surface velocity field produced by the hydrodynamic model into a numerical radar imaging model to simulate synthetic aperture radar (SAR) signatures of the wake. Potential capabilities of this modeling method are demonstrated for an example of wind stress effects on the centerline (turbulent) ship wake. The numerical simulations show that an interaction of the wind-induced surface current with circulations in the ship wake results in a convergence zone on the upwind side of the centerline wake and a divergence zone on the downwind side. In the simulated radar image, the convergence zone appears to be bright because of enhanced surface roughness and radar backscattering. The divergence zone looks dark due to an attenuation of short gravity capillary waves and a corresponding reduction of the backscattered power. This combined hydrodynamic and radar imaging model predicts an asymmetry of the centerline wake with respect to the wind direction, which is consistent with observed ship wake signatures in high-resolution satellite SAR images. The approach developed in this work could be also useful for simulations of other natural and artificial fine-scale features on the sea surface (sharp frontal interfaces, freshwater plumes, etc.) and their interpretation in high-resolution SAR imagery.

Ship waves in the presence of uniform vorticity

AbstractLord Kelvin’s result that waves behind a ship lie within a half-angle $\phi _{\mathit{K}}\approx 19^{\circ }28'$ is perhaps the most famous and striking result in the field of surface waves. We solve the linear ship wave problem in the presence of a shear current of constant vorticity $S$, and show that the Kelvin angles (one each side of wake) as well as other aspects of the wake depend closely on the ‘shear Froude number’ $\mathit{Fr}_{\mathit{s}}=VS/g$ (based on length $g/S^2$ and the ship’s speed $V$), and on the angle between current and the ship’s line of motion. In all directions except exactly along the shear flow there exists a critical value of $\mathit{Fr}_{\mathit{s}}$ beyond which no transverse waves are produced, and where the full wake angle reaches $180^\circ $. Such critical behaviour is previously known from waves at finite depth. For side-on shear, one Kelvin angle can exceed $90^\circ $. On the other hand, the angle of maximum wave amplitude scales as $\mathit{Fr}^{-1}$ ($\mathit{Fr}$ based on size of ship) when $\mathit{Fr}\gg 1$, a scaling virtually unaffected by the shear flow.

Influence of Upstream and Downstream Compressor Stators on Rotor Exit Flow Field

Measurements acquired at the rotor exit plane illuminate the interaction of the rotor with the upstream vane row and the downstream vane row. The relative phase of the upstream and downstream vane rows is adjusted using vane clocking so that the effect of the upstream propagating potential field from the downstream stator can be distinguished from the effects associated with the wakes shed from the upstream stator. Unsteady absolute flow angle information shows that the downstream potential field causes the absolute flow angle to increase in the vicinity of the downstream stator leading edge. The presence of Stator 1 wake is also detected at this measurement plane using unsteady total pressure data. The rotor wakes are measured at different circumferential locations across the vane passage, and the influence of Stator 1 wake on the suction side of the rotor wake is evident. Also, the influence of the downstream stator is detected on the pressure side of the rotor wake for a particular clocking configuration. Understanding the role of the surrounding vane rows on rotor wake development will lead to improved comparison between experimental data and results from computational models.

Numerical Simulation of the Wind-Stress Effect on SAR Imagery of Far Wakes of Ships

Centerline wakes of ships in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images were modeled in 2-D with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software Fluent and a radar-imaging algorithm. We initialized the model with a pair of vortices generated by a ship hull and applied wind stress perpendicular to the ship wake. Results of the CFD simulation using a nonhydrostatic model have demonstrated ship-wake asymmetry with respect to the wind-stress direction relative to the ship course. Due to the wind stress, flow convergence increased on the upwind side of the centerline wake and reduced on the downwind side of the wake. The radar-imaging algorithm processed with the surface velocity field produced by the CFD model revealed ship-wake asymmetry relative to the wind direction. These results are qualitatively consistent with SAR images from the TerraSAR-X satellite and representative statistics of photographic images of the ship wake collected from a volunteer observing ship.

GROUND EFFECT OF FLOW AROUND AN ELLIPTIC CYLINDER IN A TURBULENT BOUNDARY LAYER

The flow characteristics around an elliptic cylinder with an axis ratio of AR=2 located near a flat plate were investigated experimentally. The elliptic cylinder was embedded in a turbulent boundary layer whose thickness is larger than the cylinder height. For comparison, the same experiment was carried out for a circular cylinder having the same vertical height. The Reynolds number based on the height of the cylinder cross-section was 14000. The pressure distributions on the cylinder surface and on the flat plate were measured for various gap distances between the cylinder and the plate. The wake velocity profiles behind the cylinder were measured using hot-wire anemometry. In the near-wake region, the vortices are shed regularly only when the gap ratio is greater than the critical value of G/B=0·4. The critical gap ratio is larger than that of a circular cylinder. The variation of surface pressure distributions on the elliptic cylinder with respect to the gap ratio is much smaller than that on the circular cylinder. This trend is more evident on the upper surface than the lower one. The surface pressures on the flat plate recover faster than those for the case of the circular cylinder at downstream locations. As the gap ratio increases, the drag coefficient of the cylinder itself increases, but the lift coefficient decreases. For all gap ratios tested in this study, the drag coefficient of the elliptic cylinder is about half that of the circular cylinder. The ground effect of the cylinder at small gap ratio constrains the flow passing through the gap, and restricts the vortex shedding from the cylinder, especially in the lower side of the cylinder wake. This constraint effect is more severe for the elliptic cylinder, compared to the circular cylinder. The wake region behind the elliptic cylinder is relatively small and the velocity profiles tend to approach rapidly to those of a flat plate boundary layer

Mystery ship detected in SAR image

Ships and their wakes can often be detected in the high‐resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery provided by satellites. Image processing techniques can be used to enhance extremely weak ship wake patterns, but occasionally, the ship in the SAR image remains invisible. In the SAR image below (Figure 1), two trailing, dark, turbulent wakes are seen. In addition to the dark, turbulent wakes, one side of a ship's Kelvin wake can sometimes be seen as a bright line. One of the ships is seen as a bright spot caused by backscattering at the end of the trail above A in Figure 1. The other ship remains hidden, however.

Synthetic aperture radar imaging of ship wakes in the Gulf of Alaska

The Gulf of Alaska SAR experiment was conducted during March 9–14, 1984 to investigate SAR imaging of narrow‐V wakes in a deep mixed layer environment so that surface manifestations of ship‐generated internal waves would be made small. Five SAR flights were executed over large ships of opportunity in deep water where the mixed layer depth exceeded 100 m in all cases. SAR images were obtained in sea states 1–4. Range and azimuthally traveling ships were imaged. The incidence angles of azimuthally traveling ships ranged from 24° to 53°. The following results are reported: (1) The half angles associated with narrow‐V wakes are consistent with first‐order Bragg surface wave theory described by Case et al. (1984). (2) The decay rate along the bright arms of the narrow‐V wake is consistent with the combined viscous and radiation decay of short surface waves with first‐order Bragg wavelengths. (3) Narrow‐V wakes are observed in sea states 1–3 at incidence angles less than 45°, with the longest narrow‐V wakes bright‐arm observed being 3.3 km. (4) Turbulent wakes (dark band between the bright arms) are observed in sea states 1–4 at incidence angles less than 53°, with the longest turbulent wake length observed being 41 km. (5) Bright boundaries along one side of the turbulent wake are observed.