Streamwise Resolution Research Articles

Schlieren and BOS velocimetry of a round turbulent helium jet in air

Seedless velocimetry is gaining interest in many industrial and research applications. We report on a comparative study of time-resolved optical velocimetry using traditional, mirror-type knife-edge schlieren optics versus Background-Oriented Schlieren (BOS) of subsonic round turbulent helium jets in air at Red = 5890 and 11,300. Digital images with 1024 pixels streamwise resolution (0 ≤ x/d ≤ 200) were captured at 6000 frames/s in large ensembles. Velocimetry was performed on these results by digital image correlation (DIC) using OpenPIV software, and by streak-schlieren analysis of x-t diagrams (Kymography). Limited PIV data were also collected for verification of the schlieren velocimetry results. Both BOS and traditional schlieren show partial success in measuring the mean-flow helium jet self-similarity in terms of the 1/x decay of centerline velocity, Gaussian-shaped radial velocity profiles, and linear spreading rate of the jet. Visualized turbulent eddies, used as tracers in schlieren velocimetry, are observed to last longer than is necessary for this purpose in the present helium jets. Also, the measured convective velocity appears to be sufficiently robust to sum to the jet mean velocity in some of the results. Kymography yields better overall results than DIC, which we attribute to Kymography's spatiotemporal “spectrum” of jet velocities, enabling the discrimination of fast eddies near the jet centerline from slower ones near the jet periphery. DIC and other analysis methods suffer from a path-averaging bias which negatively affects the results. The reduction of kymographic data for velocimetry was done manually and also by a Fourier-transform image-feature-orientation code, both yielding equivalent results.

Three-dimensional vortex wake structure of a flapping-wing micro aerial vehicle in forward flight configuration

This paper investigates the formation and evolution of the unsteady three-dimensional wake structures generated by the flapping wings of the DelFly II micro aerial vehicle in forward flight configuration. Time-resolved stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (Stereo-PIV) measurements were carried out at several spanwise-aligned planes in the wake, so as to allow a reconstruction of the temporal development of the wake of the flapping wings throughout the complete flapping cycle. Simultaneous thrust-force measurements were performed to explore the relation between the wake formation and the aerodynamic force generation mechanisms. The three-dimensional wake configuration was subsequently reconstructed from the planar PIV measurements by two different approaches: (1) a spatiotemporal wake reconstruction obtained by convecting the time-resolved, three-component velocity field data of a single measurement plane with the free-stream velocity; (2) for selected phases in the flapping cycle a direct three-dimensional spatial wake reconstruction is interpolated from the data of the different measurement planes, using a Kriging regression technique. Comparing the results derived from both methods in terms of the behavior of the wake formations, their phase and orientation indicate that the spatiotemporal reconstruction method allows to characterize the general three-dimensional structure of the wake, but that the spatial reconstruction method can reveal more details due to higher streamwise resolution. Comparison of the wake reconstructions for different values of the reduced frequency allows assessing the impact of the flapping frequency on the formation and interaction characteristics of the vortical structures. For low values of the reduced frequency, it is observed that the vortex structure formation of instroke and outstroke is relatively independent of each other, but that increasing interaction occurs at higher reduced frequencies. It is further shown that there is a phase lag in the appearance of the structures for increasing flapping frequency, which is in correlation with the generation of the forces. Comparison of thrust generated during the instroke and the outstroke phases of the flapping motion in conjunction with the development of the wake structures indicates that wing–wing interaction at the start of outstroke (peel motion) becomes a dominant feature for reduced frequencies greater than 0.62.

Investigation of wall-function approximations and subgrid-scale models in large eddy simulation of separated flow in a channel with streamwise periodic constrictions

Large eddy simulations are presented for the flow in a periodic channel segment, which is laterally constricted by hill-shaped obstructions on one wall, having a height of 33% of the unconstricted channel. The Reynolds number, based on channel height, is 21,560. Massive separation thus arises on the hills’ leeward sides, the length of which is about 50% of that of the periodic segment. After reattachment, the flow is allowed to recover over about 30% of the segment length before being strongly accelerated over the windward side of the next hill. The principal challenge of this flow arises from the separation on the curved hill surface and the fact that the reattachment point, and hence the whole flow, are highly sensitive to the separation process. Simulations were performed with three grids, six subgrid-scale models and eight practices of approximating the near-wall region in simulations on the two coarser grids. These were supported by wall-resolved and wall-function simulations for fully-developed channel flow. The principal objective is to identify the sensitivity of the predictive accuracy to resolution and modelling issues. Coarse-grid simulations are judged by reference to data derived from two independent highly-resolved simulations obtained over identical meshes of close to 5 million nodes. Similarly, coarser-grid simulations were also performed with the two codes to enhance confidence in the results. The principal message emerging from the simulations is that grid resolution, especially in the streamwise direction around the mean separation position, has a very strong influence on the reattachment behaviour and hence the whole flow. This has serious implications for even more challenging high-Reynolds-number cases in which separation occurs from gently curved surfaces. The near-wall treatment, including the details of the numerical implementation of the wall laws, is also shown to be influential, most prominently on the coarsest grid. The application of the no-slip conditions at the wall at which separation occurs is found to cause substantial errors, especially in conjunction with poor streamwise resolution, even if the wall-nearest grid nodes are within the semi-viscous sublayer, in the range 5≲ y +≲15. The sensitivity to subgrid-scale modelling is shown to be more modest, with those models returning relatively low subgrid-scale viscosity giving the closest accord with the highly-resolved simulation.

Periodic Streamwise Variations of Heat Transfer Coefficients for Inline and Staggered Arrays of Circular Jets with Crossflow of Spent Air

Heat transfer characteristics were measured for inline and staggered arrays of circular jets impinging on a surface parallel to the jet orifice plate. The impinging flow was constrained to exit in a single direction along the channel formed by the jet plate and the heat transfer surface. In this configuration the air discharged from upstream transverse rows of jet holes imposes a crossflow of increasing magnitude on the succeeding downstream jet rows. Streamwise heat transfer coefficient profiles were determined for a streamwise resolution of one-third the streamwise hole spacing, utilizing a specially constructed test surface. These profiles are characterized by significant periodic variations. The downstream amplitudes are diminished by the increasing crossflow magnitude, but can persist for at least ten rows of holes. Results were obtained for streamwise hole spacings of 5, 10, and 15 hole diameters; transverse hole spacings of 4, 6, and 8 diameters; and channel heights of 1, 2, and 3 diameters. The number of transverse hole rows was fixed at ten for all configurations. The characteristics of the periodic variations are presented and discussed as a function of the geometric parameters, including the effect of hole pattern.