Three-dimensional Flow Structures Research Articles

A Combined Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation and Linearized Navier–Stokes Equation Study on the Generation and Reduction of Aerodynamic Noises Inside Steam Turbine Control Valve With Acoustic Liner

Abstract This study was aimed at numerically investigating the source, generation mechanism, and strategy for reducing aerodynamic noises inside a steam turbine control valve. A delayed detached eddy simulation was performed to extract the three-dimensional unsteady turbulent flow structures formed within the serpentine flow passage of the turbine valve. Acoustic analogies, spatial Fourier transform, and spectral proper orthogonal decomposition on the delayed detached eddy simulation-simulated flow data were complementarily combined to clarify the generation mechanism of tonal and broadband aerodynamic noises. The results showed that broadband noises were produced by wall-attached jet flow and turbulent mixing flow between the annular wall jets and central reverse flow. High-intensity tonal noises were generated by the excitation of multi-order natural acoustic modes of the bell-shaped valve spindle. The intensive acoustic pressure pulsations concentrated inside the bell jar and propagated along the diffuser to the downstream turbine chamber. A novel ring acoustic liner was designed using the acoustic impedance model to reduce the valve noises without sacrificing the flow performance. The noise reduction effectiveness was evaluated by solving the linearized Navier–Stokes equations in the frequency domain.

In silico model to assess thrombosis risk of TAVR with hemodynamic predictors using fluid structure interaction

Abstract The promising results of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) over the past two decades indicate an expansion of the patient cohort toward patients with intermediate or low surgical risk. Since some complications of TAVR have already been minimized, subclinical leaflet thrombosis (SLT) has gained importance in recent years. SLT is manifested by a thrombotic layer on the prosthetic leaflets that gradually reduces leaflet motion. The resulting decrease in functionality of the TAVR causes a need for re-intervention. The origin of SLT and approaches to prevent SLT are still unexplored. For this reason, we have developed an in silicomodel that can be used during the design development process of TAVR devices to estimate the thrombosis risk of the implant. Based on passive scalar transport, hemodynamic metrics are used to quantify platelet activation and aggregation which are associated with the formation of thrombosis. In conjunction with a numerical simulation model considering the fluid-structure interaction between the blood mimicking fluid and the TAVR implanted in an aortic root, the thrombosis risk can be modeled. The simulation model can be used to calculate the three-dimensional flow structures within the native sinus and neo-sinus and also provides the ability to derive metrics to assess the risk of thrombosis. We demonstrated that this in silicomodel is a time-effective tool to assess thrombosis risk in TAVR product development.

A random 2D walk of a submerged free-floating disc in a convective layer

Free motions of a thermally insulating disc submerged in a liquid layer heated from below are studied experimentally. The disc is fixed at a certain height from the bottom of the convective cell, but can move freely in horizontal directions. Blocking of vertical motion and heat flux leads to the appearance of large-scale vortices, which in turn, drags the disc. The interplay of the large-scale circulation and the disc produces complex two-dimensional disc motions. The disc dynamics is mainly determined by large-scale modes: toroidal vortex with descending fluid in the centre and large-scale vortices along each coordinate, existing on the background of intense, but relatively short-lived small-scale convective cells. The wandering disc forms a cold spot above itself, which affects large-scale circulation but has little effect on cell convection at scales on the order of the layer thickness, which provide the main heat transport and dominate the upper part of the layer. Despite the essentially three-dimensional flow structure, which is fundamentally different from that of the convective flow in an elongated tank with one-dimensional disc motions, the travels along each coordinate look similar to one-dimensional motions.

Control of Cowl Shock/Boundary Layer Interaction in Supersonic Inlet Based on Dynamic Vortex Generator

A shock wave/boundary layer interaction (SWBLI) is a common phenomenon in supersonic inlet flow, which can significantly degrade the aerodynamic performance of the inlet by inducing boundary layer separation. To address this issue, in this paper, we propose the use of a dynamic vortex generator to control the SWBLI in a typical supersonic inlet. The unsteady simulation method based on dynamic grid technology was employed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method of control and investigate its mechanism. The results showed that, in a duct of finite width at the inlet, the SWBLI generated complex three-dimensional (3D) flow structures with remarkable swirling properties. At the same time, vortex pairs were generated close to the side wall as a result of its presence, and this led to the intensification of transverse flow and, in turn, the formation of a complex 3D structure of the flow of the separation bubble. The dynamic vortex generator induced oscillations of variable intensity in the vortex system in the supersonic boundary layer that enhanced the mixing between the boundary layer flow and the mainstream. Meanwhile, the unique effects of “extrusion” and “suction” in the oscillation process continued to charge the airflow, and the distribution of velocity in the boundary layer significantly improved. As the oscillation frequency of the vortex generator increased, its charging effect on low-velocity flow in the boundary layer increased, and its control effect on the flow field of the SWBLI became more pronounced. The proposed method of control reduced the length of the separation bubble by 31.76% and increased the total pressure recovery coefficient at the inlet by 6.4% compared to the values in the absence of control.

Three-dimensional flow structures and scalar mixing of a sand dune-inspired jet in crossflow

This paper performed particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements and delayed detached-eddy simulations (DDES) to comprehensively investigate the flow and mixing behaviors of a sand dune(SD)-inspired JICF (jet in crossflow). PIV measurements were conducted in planes parallel to the mid-plane (Z/D = 0, 0.5, and 1), and three velocity ratios (VR = 0.4, 0.8, and 1.2) were studied. The time-averaged and turbulent flow features behind the sand dune-inspired JICF is strongly three-dimensional: the jet tends to move from the mid-plane to the outer planes and can stay attached well to the wall even at Z/D = 1. Then DDES method was applied to reveal detailed three-dimensional flow structures and mixing characteristics of the SD-inspired JICF, and a cylindrical JICF was also simulated as a benchmark for comparison. The horseshoe vortex, arch-shaped shear layer vortices, and streamwise rollers are mainly responsible for the formation of the anti-counter rotating vortex pair (anti-CRVP) observed in the mean flow field of SD configuration. Analysis of concentration distributions indicates that scalar mixing between the jet and the mainstream is highly correlated to the flow features and vortex structures, and the mixing strength of the sand dune-inspired JICF is generally weaker than that of the cylindrical JICF.

Comparison of Separation Control Mechanisms for Synthetic Jet and Plasma Actuators

This study numerically investigated the mechanisms of separation control using a synthetic jet (SJ) and plasma actuator (PA) around an NACA0015 airfoil at the chord Reynolds number of 63,000. Both SJ and PA were installed on the leading edge with the same order of input momentum (Cμ=O(10−3–10−5)) and the same actuation frequencies in F+=1.0–30. The momentum coefficient Cμ is defined as the normalized momentum introduced from the SJ or the PA, and F+ stands for the actuation frequency normalized by the chord length and uniform velocity. A number of large-eddy simulations (LES) were conducted for the SJ and the PA, and the mechanisms were clarified in terms of the exchange of chordwise momentum with Reynolds shear stress and coherent vortex structures. First, four main differences in the induced flows of the SJ and the PA were clarified as follows: (A) wall-tangential velocity; (B) three-dimensional flow structures; (C) spatial locality; and (D) temporal fluctuation. Then, a common feature of flow control by the SJ and the PA was revealed: a lift-to-drag ratio was found to be better recovered in F+=6.0–20 than in other frequencies. Although there were differences in the induced flows, the phase decomposition of the flow fields identified common mechanisms that the turbulent component of the Reynolds shear stress mainly contributes to the exchange of the chordwise (streamwise) momentum; and the turbulent vortices are convected over the airfoil surface by the coherent spanwise vortices in the frequency of F+.

Attenuation of the unsteady loading on a high-rise building using top-surface open-loop control

With the severity and frequency of significant weather events increasing, methods for alleviating unsteady wind loading for high-rise buildings are gaining interest. This study numerically investigates the three-dimensional flow structures around a canonical high-rise building immersed in an atmospheric boundary layer at different oncoming wind angles, using wall-resolved large eddy simulations. A synthetic jet located on the top surface is used as open-loop active actuation with the aim of suppressing the building's side-force fluctuations when exposed to oncoming wind variations. Three different frequencies of jet forcing are considered, all half an order of magnitude larger than the vortex shedding frequency. The behaviour of the synthetic jet and its effect on the building's unsteady side force, time-averaged flow fields and unsteady flow structures are investigated numerically. The synthetic jet actuation is found to reduce the side-force fluctuation of the building, enhance the downwash flow and successfully attenuate the antisymmetric vortex shedding. This was achieved to different extents across the range of oncoming wind angles considered and may motivate future attempts to explore experimental active control strategies for attenuation of unsteady wind loading.

Analysis of the Complex Three-Dimensional Flow Structure in the Circulation Pump of the Flow-Making System Based on Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation

As the core component of the flow-making system, the circulating pump has differences in its internal flow structure under different operating conditions, which affects the flow quality of the environmental simulation test area and the authenticity of marine environmental simulation. To explore the internal flow characteristics and outlet evolution characteristics of the circulating pump, this paper uses the DDES (delayed detached eddy simulation) method for numerical simulation. This paper combines BVF (boundary vorticity flow) diagnosis and the limit streamline method to analyze the evolution characteristics of the unstable flow area on the blade surface; it uses the Q criterion to identify the vortex structure inside the pump and analyze its evolution and development laws. Additionally, a quantitative analysis of the flow state of the circulating pump using flow uniformity indexes is performed. The results show that the surface of impeller blades is uniform under 1.0 QN. At 0.7 QN, the evolution process of the blade suction surface BVF is periodic, with a corresponding period of about 2/9 T (0.02 s). At 1.0 QN, the strength and scale of the separated vortices inside the guide vanes are minimized compared to other flow rates, and the scale and strength of the vortices show a decreasing trend along the outer normal direction. The evolution period of the separation vortex on the pressure surface of the guide vane is about 1/3 T (0.033 s) under 1.1 QN and the evolution period of the suction surface of the guide vane is about 2/3 T (0.067 s) under 0.7 QN. The flow uniformity indexes value downstream of the pump outlet under 1.0 QN are very close to the ideal value; with a corresponding value of Ϛi = 0.023, θ¯ = 89.94°, γ = 0.95, λ = 97.9%, the outflow can be approximately regarded as axial uniform flow. The research results can provide theoretical support for the further optimization design of circulating pumps and lay the foundation for the implementation of real systems.

Experimental study on flow and turbulence characteristics of jet impinging on cylinder using three-dimensional Lagrangian particle tracking velocimetry

When a round jet impinges on a convex cylindrical surface, complex three-dimensional (3D) flow structures occur, accompanied by the Coanda effect. To characterize the flow and turbulence properties of the general system, ensemble averages of 3D Lagrangian particle tracking velocimetry measurements were taken. The radial bin-averaging method was used in post-processing the tracked particles and corresponding instantaneous velocity vectors to generate appropriate ensemble-averaged statistics. Two impinging angles were selected, and at a fixed Reynolds number, the ensemble-averaged volumetric velocity field and turbulent stress tensor components were measured. The flow and turbulence characteristics of the impinging jet on the cylinder were notably different based on the impinging angle, especially in the downstream region. Surprisingly, the attached wall jet with a half-elliptic shape was abruptly thickened in the wall-normal direction, similar to the axis switching phenomenon observed in elliptic jets in the case of oblique impingement. In the jet-impinging region, the flow spread in all directions with high mean vorticity values. With the development of a 3D curved wall jet, both the Coanda effect and centrifugal force played a significant role in the flow behavior. A notable feature of the self-preserving region was the similarity of mean velocity profiles with scaling by the maximum velocity and the jet half-width for both impinging angle cases. Local isotropy of turbulent normal stresses was observed in this region, supporting the existence of self-preservation in the 3D curved wall jet. The volumetric ensemble-averaged Reynolds stress tensor revealed strong inhomogeneous turbulence in the boundary layer region and the curvature effect on the Reynolds shear stress in the free shear layer.

Quantitative analysis on influence of secondary flow for centrifugal impeller internal flow

A comprehensive quantitative analysis of a high-loading transonic centrifugal compressor is performed under the design point. The reason for secondary flow within the impeller is examined under the approximation of boundary layer theory. Comparing the amplitudes of different terms of the Navier–Stokes (N–S) equations reveals that the acceleration that creates secondary flow within the shear layer is caused primarily by the Coriolis force difference, which has often been neglected in previous research. Migration flow on the wall surface further leads to the formation of three-dimensional secondary flow structures that occupy the entire blade passage. The vortex structure inside the impeller is visualized, and the contribution of the different vortices to the wake is clarified. The wake is ultimately composed of high-loss fluid that includes migration flow from the hub to the tip on the blade suction surface, leakage flow, and recirculating flow at the impeller outlet. By decomposing the N–S equations, it is clarified that the pressure distribution in the blade passage is mostly determined by the acceleration caused by the three-dimensional secondary flow structure, especially the momentum convection term. Therefore, the relationship between the secondary flow and the impeller loading is established. Furthermore, the natural frequency of the unsteady fluctuation of the secondary flow inside the impeller is discovered by unsteady numerical simulation, revealing the evolution of vortex structures.

Characteristics of water free-surface with different momentum ratio at 45° confluence

Confluences play a key node role in the river network because they affect flow, sediment transport, water quality, and ecological patterns. Hydrodynamic features of the confluence hydrodynamic zone are complicated due to their three-dimensional (3D) flow structure. The present research goal is to investigate the effects of discharge ratio and momentum ratio on depths and free surface profiles at a 45° confluence. Laboratory experiments and numerical simulations were carried out to investigate the water surface characteristics at confluences under different discharge and momentum ratios. The spatial variation, backwater degree, umbilication degree, and horizontal and longitudinal free-surface slope ratio of the water depth at the confluence were examined in detail. The relationship between the water surface characteristics and the normalized momentum ratios (M*) are constructed via regression analysis. We conclude that (i) the water surface characteristics at the confluence can be grouped into the Backwater zone, Separation zone, Contractile zone and Recovery zone. (ii) The momentum ratio has a more appropriate correlation with the area ratio (the area of low water depth in the separation zone to the area of downstream channel, AL) than the discharge ratio. (iii) The backwater may be closely related to the amount of incoming flow rate. (iv) The logarithmic regression model between M* and area ratio (AL) was established, and it is found that AL increases as (M*) increases. This study provides a broader understanding of controls on spatial gradients of the water depth and provides guidance for the study of mass transport of pollutants at the confluence.

Three-dimensional flow and turbulence structure around Sea Cucumber Apostichopus japonicus

The sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (A. japonicus) is a benthic invertebrate with a quasi-cylindrical body and several rows of papillae (conical prominence) on its body wall. As nutrient recyclers, A. japonicus plays a fundamental role in marine ecosystems and is one of the most important commercial aquaculture species in eastern Asia. Despite its ecological and economical importance, little is known concerning the flow characteristics surrounding A. japonicus on the organism scale. Research on the detailed flow structure at such a scale may serve as a significant step toward understanding the transport of sediment and nutrients in the vicinity of A. japonicus. This study sets up the D3Q27 multiple-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann method to obtain the three-dimensional flow structure around an individual A. japonicus placed at the bottom of a flat-bed channel. The numerical model is validated by a water flume experiment. The flow patterns exhibit distinctive features at three different angles of attack (0°, 45°, 90°). The increasing inflow velocity (0.1m/s, 0.25m/s, 0.4m/s) brings no fundamental change to the structure of flow fields but induces more small-scale vortices and larger velocity fluctuations. This study investigates the complex turbulent flow fields around the A. japonicus and provides new insight for future studies on the interaction between water flow and A. japonicus.

Three-dimensional dust stirring by a giant planet embedded in a protoplanetary disc

ABSTRACT The motion of solid particles embedded in gaseous protoplanetary discs is influenced by turbulent fluctuations. Consequently, the dynamics of moderately to weakly coupled solids can be distinctly different from the dynamics of the gas. Additionally, gravitational perturbations from an embedded planet can further impact the dynamics of solids. In this work, we investigate the combined effects of turbulent fluctuations and planetary dust stirring in a protoplanetary disc on three-dimensional dust morphology and on synthetic ALMA continuum observations. We carry out 3D radiative two-fluid (gas + 1-mm-dust) hydrodynamic simulations in which we explicitly model the gravitational perturbation of a Jupiter-mass planet. We derived a new momentum-conserving turbulent diffusion model that introduces a turbulent pressure to the pressureless dust fluid to capture the turbulent transport of dust. The model implicitly captures the effects of orbital oscillations and reproduces the theoretically predicted vertical settling-diffusion equilibrium. We find a Jupiter-mass planet to produce distinct and large-scale three-dimensional flow structures in the mm-sized dust, which vary strongly in space. We quantify these effects by locally measuring an effective vertical diffusivity (equivalent alpha) and find azimuthally averaged values in a range δeff ∼ 5 × 10−3–2 × 10−2 and local peaks at values of up to δeff ∼ 3 × 10−1. In synthetic ALMA continuum observations of inclined discs, we find effects of turbulent diffusion to be observable, especially at disc edges, and effects of planetary dust stirring in edge-on observations.

Effect of cube spacings on the three-dimensional flow structure over an array of wall-mounted cube

The turbulent flow over an array of cubes mounted on one of the walls of a channel has been investigated using direct numerical simulation for cube spacing that ranges between 2.0 and 4.0. The Reynolds number based on the cube size and the average streamwise velocity is chosen to be 4000. The Navier–Stokes equations have been discretized using second-order spatial and temporal discretization schemes. The present investigation focuses on the flow structures and comprehensive characterization of the separated zones surrounding the cubes, as well as the associated wall-shear stress. A vortex shedding has been observed for the cube spacings of 3.0 and 4.0 without any evidence of vortex shedding for the lowest pitch of 2.0. For the two cases having pitches of 3.0 and 4.0, the presence of the unsteady separation bubbles at the cube's top and side surfaces results in a decrease in wall-shear stress. The quadrant analysis for the region close to the top surface of the cube is performed with the help of the joint probability density function, which reveals dual peaks within the recirculation bubble at the top surface of the cube for higher cube spacings. By conducting an invariant analysis of the Reynolds stress tensor for different cube spacings, we have explored the characteristic of Reynolds stress anisotropy due to the total fluctuations. The production of negative turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) is observed in different regions within the flow domain, among which the horseshoe vortex region for each cube spacing reveals its dominant presence. The physical mechanism responsible for the production of the negative TKE has also been attempted by decomposing the production term into two parts, namely, normal and shear components.

Experimental and numerical study on the flow characteristics around spur dikes at different length-to-depth ratios

A spur dike is an in-stream structure, one end of which is situated on the bank of a channel, while the other extends into the current. Its primary functions include protecting stream banks and enhancing aquatic habitats. The motivation of this study stems from the hypothesis that a wake parameter, defined as the product of the length-to-depth ratio of spur dikes and the bottom friction factor, serves as the key parameter in characterizing the flow pattern around these structures. The objectives of this study are two-fold: (1) to determine the critical value of a wake parameter for the transition from three- to two-dimensional flow fields around spur dikes, and (2) to examine the bed shear stress distributions around spur dikes with varying length-to-depth ratios. Flow visualization experiments and large-eddy simulations (LESs) were conducted with length-to-depth ratios ranging from 1 to 7.5, corresponding to wake parameter values between 0.005 and 0.075. The experimental and numerical results revealed various flow structures around and in the wake of the spur dike. When the length-to-depth ratio was close to 1, the two- and three-dimensional flow patterns coexisted around the spur dike. However, as the length-to-depth ratio increased, the three-dimensional flow structures diminished and the two-dimensional flow structures became more pronounced. For an length-to-depth ratio of 7.5, the flow pattern showed fully two-dimensional structures featured by an upstream and a pair of downstream recirculation regions with negligible secondary flows, a horseshoe vortex, and a free-surface vortex. A horseshoe vortex system contributed to a significant increase in both mean and root mean square bed shear stresses near the tip of spur dikes, especially when the wake parameter values were low. The upstream recirculation zone was associated with very low bed shear stress at high values of the wake parameter. The results of this study corroborated that the flow around the spur dikes becomes fully two-dimensional when a wake parameter exceeds a critical value of approximately 0.04.

Reconstruction of three-dimensional turbulent flow structures using surface measurements for free-surface flows based on a convolutional neural network

A model based on a convolutional neural network (CNN) is designed to reconstruct the three-dimensional turbulent flows beneath a free surface using surface measurements, including the surface elevation and surface velocity. Trained on datasets obtained from the direct numerical simulation of turbulent open-channel flows with a deformable free surface, the proposed model can accurately reconstruct the near-surface flow field and capture the characteristic large-scale flow structures away from the surface. The reconstruction performance of the model, measured by metrics such as the normalised mean squared reconstruction errors and scale-specific errors, is considerably better than that of the traditional linear stochastic estimation (LSE) method. We further analyse the saliency maps of the CNN model and the kernels of the LSE model and obtain insights into how the two models utilise surface features to reconstruct subsurface flows. The importance of different surface variables is analysed based on the saliency map of the CNN, which reveals knowledge about the surface–subsurface relations. The CNN is also shown to have a good generalisation capability with respect to the Froude number if a model trained for a flow with a high Froude number is applied to predict flows with lower Froude numbers. The results presented in this work indicate that the CNN is effective regarding the detection of subsurface flow structures and by interpreting the surface–subsurface relations underlying the reconstruction model, the CNN can be a promising tool for assisting with the physical understanding of free-surface turbulence.

Data-driven methods for low-dimensional representation and state identification for the spatiotemporal structure of cavitation flow fields

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) generates high-dimensional spatiotemporal data. The data-driven method approach to extracting physical information from CFD has attracted widespread concern in fluid mechanics. While good results have been obtained for some benchmark problems, the performance on complex flow field problems has not been extensively studied. In this paper, we use a dimensionality reduction approach to preserve the main features of the flow field. Based on this, we perform unsupervised identification of flow field states using a clustering approach that applies data-driven analysis to the spatiotemporal structure of complex three-dimensional unsteady cavitation flows. The result shows that the data-driven method can effectively represent the changes in the spatial structure of the unsteady flow field over time and to visualize changes in the quasi-periodic state of the flow. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the combination of principal component analysis and Toeplitz inverse covariance-based clustering can identify different states of the cavitated flow field with high accuracy. This suggests that the method has great potential for application in complex flow phenomena.

Experimental investigation of three-dimensional effects in cavitating flows with time-resolved stereo particle image velocimetry

The present paper is devoted to characterizing the three-dimensional effects in a cavitating flow generated in a venturi-type profile. Experimental measurements based on 2D3C (two-dimensional-three-component) stereoscopic particle image velocimetry are conducted to obtain the three components of the velocity field in multiple vertical planes aligned with the main flow direction, from the center of the channel to the side walls. Time-resolved acquisitions are conducted, so not only time-averaged quantities but also velocity fluctuations can be discussed. The attention was focused on configurations of cloud cavitation, where the attached cavity experiences large-scale periodical oscillations and shedding of clouds of vapor. Although the water channel is purely two-dimensional, some significant flow velocities in the third direction (depth of the test section) were measured. Some of those velocities were found to be related to small differences between the boundary conditions on the two sides, such as minor gaps between the sides and the bottom wall, while others reflect intrinsic three-dimensional mechanisms inside the cavitation area, such as side jets that contribute to the periodical instability process. These mechanisms are discussed, and a possible 3D (three-dimensional) structure of the cavitating flow is proposed.

Development of a Large-Scale High-Speed Linear Cascade Rig for Turbine Blade Tip Heat Transfer Study

The high-speed Over-Tip-Leakage (OTL) flow has a significant impact on the aerodynamic performance of the High-Pressure Turbine (HPT) passage and generates high thermal load for the blade tip. Different tip sealing and cooling design strategies are applied to reduce the OTL loss and help turbine survive in a high temperature environment. High-speed linear cascade experimental rigs play an important role in understanding the flow physics and evaluating their performance. Multiple blades and passages are often required to maintain a reasonable flow periodicity. To match the engine representative Reynolds number and Mach number, a high-speed multi-passage cascade design inevitably demands more compressed air supply. A very large amount of heating power is also required if the engine condition wall-to-gas temperature ratio needs to be matched. In this study, a simplified 2-Passage linear cascade rig for high-speed tip heat transfer research was developed. Both the design method and the rig performance are presented. Different from existing design method to match two-dimensional blade loading, this study shows there are other design flexibilities, such as assist blade tip gap, tailboard adjustment, and profiling adjustment, to match the periodic three-dimensional OTL flow structures. The design method was validated by experimental effort. High resolution tip heat transfer coefficient distribution at stationary and rotating conditions (Rotating Mach number = 0.35) are reported. The enlarged test model can offer much more improved resolution of optical measurement near the tip region.

Special Section on Data-Driven Mechanics and Digital Twins for Ocean Engineering

Abstract This special issue focuses on the topic of Data-Driven Mechanics and Digital Twins for Ocean Engineering. Two categories of papers are included in this issue; they deal with: (i) reduced-order modeling and data analytics; and (ii) data-driven computing and digital twins. In the first category, Yin et al. present the modal analysis of hydrodynamic forces in flow-induced vibrations using dynamic mode decomposition (DMD). Using snapshots of the flow field, spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of the wake patterns are analyzed. The dominant DMD modes with their corresponding frequencies are identified and used to reconstruct the flow fields. In another paper in this category, Janocha et al. presented a 3D large-eddy simulation and data-driven analysis of the flow around a flexibly mounted cylinder via proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) analysis. The POD-based modal extractions are performed on slices in the wake to identify the coherent structure in the flow. Vortex shedding modes are analyzed and classified by examining three-dimensional wake flow structures. Such a body of work is useful for building reduced-order (surrogate) models that can be considered for multi-query analysis, design optimization, and feedback control. However, these POD/DMD studies are restricted to linear physics as well as to idealized canonical geometries. There is a need for further extension to large-scale marine and offshore structures (e.g., offshore wind turbines, marine risers and pipelines). Moreover, projection-based POD/DMD techniques generally face difficulties to scale for highly nonlinear turbulent flow. Nonlinear model reduction and deep neural networks (e.g., convolutional autoencoders) are possible alternatives to be explored for advanced reduced-order modeling.