Two-point Velocity Correlation Research Articles

Characteristics of Turbulent Three-Dimensional Wall Jets

Three-dimensional turbulent wall jet was investigated using a particle image velocimetry technique. Three Reynolds numbers based on the jet exit velocity and diameter of 5000, 10,000, and 20,000 were studied. Profiles of the mean velocities, turbulence intensities, and Reynolds shear stresses as well as two-point velocity correlations and proper orthogonal decomposition analyses were used to document the salient features of the wall jets. The decay and spread rates are independent of Reynolds numbers in the self-similar region. The estimated values of 1.15, 0.054, and 0.255 for the decay rate, wall-normal spread rate, and lateral spread rate, respectively, are within the range of values reported in the literature. The two-point correlation analysis showed that the inclination of the streamwise velocity correlation contours in the inner layer is 11±3 deg in the wall region, which is similar to those of canonical turbulent boundary layers. The results from the proper orthogonal decomposition indicate that low-order modes contribute more to the turbulence statistics in the self-similar region than in the developing region. The Reynolds shear stresses are the biggest benefactors of the low-order mode contribution while the wall-normal turbulence intensities are the least.

The Statistical Evaluation of the Flapping Motion in a Two-Dimensional Turbulent Jet

The flapping motion in a two-dimensional turbulent jet is analyzed statistically. The analysis is done by applying a continuous wavelet transform with Gabor mother wavelet to the experimental result of hot-wire anemometer. The analysis results show that the flapping motion is clearly recognized by the present new method. The flapping motion occurs at random, and the average time interval of flapping motion is about 6.1 times the flapping periods (0.24 sec). The average duration time of the flapping motion is about 1.7 times the flapping period (0.07 sec) and the one that continues over 3.0 times the flapping period is very few. The negative value of the two-point spatial velocity correlation substantially depends on whether the flapping motion arises or not. From these results, it is found that the flapping motion in a two-dimensional turbulent jet has a very important role to the properties of the jet though the flapping motion is a rare phenomenon.

Comprehensive evaluation and assessment of trailing edge noise prediction based on dedicated measurements

An extensive assessment and step by step validation of turbulent boundary-layer trailing-edge interaction (TBL-TE) prediction was conducted based on the boundary layer properties calculated by three different aerodynamics methods, XFOIL, Wilcox EDDYBL and the RANS solver FLOWer. For this purpose detailed measurements of turbulent boundary-layer properties like two-point turbulent velocity correlations, the spectrum of the associated wall pressure fluctuations (WPFs) and the emitted trailing-edge noise have been performed in the Laminar Wind Tunnel (LWT). The measurements were performed for the NACA 0012 airfoil. Most of the investigated cases show that the numerical WPF and far-field radiated noise models capture the measured peak amplitude level as well as the peak position remarkably well, if the turbulence noise source parameters are estimated properly including turbulence anisotropy effects.

GEOMETRIC REALIZATION OF THE TWO-POINT VELOCITY CORRELATION TENSOR FOR ISOTROPIC TURBULENCE

A new geometric view of homogeneous isotropic turbulence is contemplated employing the two-point velocity correlation tensor of the velocity fluctuations. We show that this correlation tensor generates a family of pseudo-Riemannian metrics. This enables us to specify the geometry of a singled out Eulerian fluid volume in a statistical sense. We expose the relationship of some geometric constructions with statistical quantities arising in turbulence.

Asymptotic analysis of homogeneous isotropic decaying turbulence with unknown initial conditions

In decaying grid turbulence there is a transition from the initial state immediately behind the grid to the state of fully developed turbulence downstream, which is believed to be self-similar. This state is characterized by a power law decay of the turbulent kinetic energy with a time-independent decay exponent n. The value of this exponent, however, depends on the initial distribution of the velocity, about which we have only general information at the very best. For homogeneous isotropic decaying turbulence, the evolution of the two-point velocity correlation is described by the von Kármán–Howarth equation. In the non-dimensionalized form of this equation a decay exponent dependent term occurs, whose coefficient will be called δ. We exploit the fact that δ vanishes for n→2, which is shown to correspond to the limit d→∞, where d denotes the dimensionality of space to formulate a singular perturbation problem. It is shown that a distinguished limit exists for d→∞ and δ→0. We obtain in the limit of infinitely large Reynolds numbers an outer layer of limited, but a priori unknown extension, as well as an inner layer of the thickness of the order , where the Kolmogorov scaling is valid. To leading order, we obtain an algebraic balance in the outer layer between the two-point correlation and the third-order structure function. In the inner layer the analysis yields the emergence of higher order terms to the classical K41 scaling. All leading order solutions are shown to be subject to a band of uncertainty of the order , which is argued to be due to intrinsically unknown initial conditions.

Similarity of the streamwise velocity component in very-rough-wall channel flow

The streamwise velocity component is studied in fully developed turbulent channel flow for two very rough surfaces and a smooth surface at comparable Reynolds numbers. One rough surface comprises sparse and isotropic grit with a highly non-Gaussian distribution. The other is a uniform mesh consisting of twisted rectangular elements which form a diamond pattern. The mean roughness heights (±) the standard deviation) are, respectively, about 76(±42) and 145(±150) wall units. The flow is shown to be two-dimensional and fully developed up to the fourth-order moment of velocity. The mean velocity profile over the grit surface exhibits self-similarity (in the form of a logarithmic law) within the limited range of 0.04≤y/h≤0.06, but the profile over the mesh surface does not, even though the mean velocity deficit and higher moments (up to the fourth order) all exhibit outer scaling over both surfaces. The distinction between self-similarity and outer similarity is clarified and the importance of the former is explained. The wake strength is shown to increase slightly over the grit surface but decrease over the mesh surface. The latter result is contrary to recent measurements in rough-wall boundary layers. Single- and two-point velocity correlations reveal the presence of large-scale streamwise structures with circulation in the plane orthogonal to the mean velocity. Spanwise correlation length scales are significantly larger than corresponding ones for both internal and external smooth-wall flows.

On the decay of low-magnetic-Reynolds-number turbulence in an imposed magnetic field

We examine the integral properties of freely decaying homogeneous magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence subject to an imposed magnetic field B0 at low-magnetic Reynolds number. We confirm that, like conventional isotropic turbulence, the fully developed state possesses a Loitsyansky-like integral invariant, in this case I// = − ∫ r⊥2 〈 u⊥·u′⊥〉 dr, where 〈u(x) ·u(x + rc)〉 = 〈u·u′〉 is the usual two-point velocity correlation and the subscript ⊥ indicates components perpendicular to the imposed field. The conservation of I// for fully developed turbulence places a fundamental restriction on the way in which the integral scales can develop, i.e. it implies u⊥2 ℓ⊥4 ℓ// ≈ constant where u⊥, ℓ⊥ and ℓ// are integral scales. This constraint can be used to estimate the evolution of u⊥(t; B0), ℓ⊥(t; B0) and ℓ//(t; B0), and these theoretical decay laws are shown to be in good agreement with numerical simulations.

Intermittent Bursting of a Laminar Separation Bubble on an Airfoil

Large eddy simulation of flow around a NACA-0012 airfoil at a Reynolds number of 50,000 has been used to study the behavior of a laminar separation bubble near stall. The effects of the subgrid-scale model and explicit filtering were studied for a test case in which direct numerical simulation results were available. It was found that a method incorporating a mixed-time-scale model in addition to explicit filtering gave improved results compared with a method with filtering alone. Statistical results as well as snapshots of the flow below stall exhibit good agreement with the direct numerical simulations. For a configuration near still, the effect of the spanwise domain width was investigated by increasing the spanwise length from 20 to 50% chord. Two-point velocity correlations showed a significant improvement for the wider computational domain, in which the simulation was able to capture a low-frequency flow oscillation, in which intermittent bursting of the bubble was observed. The bubble bursting observed here is more irregular than in experiments at higher Reynolds number. The amplitude and frequency are compared with experimental results and with an unsteady viscous-inviscid interaction method which is shown to be capable of capturing unsteady behavior during stall.

Determination of two-dimensional space–time correlations in jet flows using simultaneous PIV and LDV measurements

The two-dimensional space–time turbulence statistics of free shear jet flows in the form of the two-point velocity correlation tensor are important for aeroacoustic noise source modelling based on the acoustic analogy approach. This paper presents a direct application of the Point-Referenced Global Correlation (PRGC) technique to measure the components of this correlation tensor for a sector of the flow field in two jet configurations. The PRGC approach combines single point and global measurement techniques and enables two-point space–time correlations over a region of the flow to be obtained. The technique is applied to a single stream jet and a co-axial coplanar jet at a Mach number of 0.24 using commercial Laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) and low-speed particle image velocimetry (PIV) systems. Results for the one-dimensional correlations are shown to compare well with two-point measurements. The results for the two-dimensional space–time correlations are presented and the characteristics for both configurations discussed.

Near-field measurements and development of a new boundary layer over a flat plate with localized suction

Suction on a turbulent boundary layer is applied through a narrow strip in order to understand the effects suction can have on the boundary layer development and turbulent structures in the flow. Detailed two-component laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) based measurements have been undertaken in regions close to the suction strip and further downstream. The region close to the strip involves a flow reversal accompanied by a change in sign for the Reynolds shear stress and strong gradients in the flow variables. The mean streamwise velocity after suction remains larger than its corresponding no-suction value. Relative to the no-suction case, the velocity fluctuations first decrease with suction followed by a slow recovery which may involve a slight overshoot. LIF visualizations indicate that compared to the no-suction case, the low-speeds streaks stay closer to the wall and exhibit a smaller amount of spanwise and wall-normal oscillations with suction. The visualization results are consistent with two-point velocity correlation measurements. The streamwise and spanwise correlation measurements indicate that the structures are disrupted or removed from the boundary layer due to suction suggesting that the original boundary layer has been strongly influenced by suction. The results are explained by the development of a new inner layer that forms downstream of the suction strip.

On one-eighth law in unforced two-dimensional turbulence

We critically revisit the various attempts to prove one-eighth law in two-dimensional (2D) turbulence and reconcile them. Herein, the one-eighth law has been proved for unforced 2D incompressible high Reynolds number turbulence. An exact expression of the time derivative of two-point second order velocity correlation function is also derived for the enstrophy cascade dominated regime.

Representing anisotropy of two-point second-order turbulence velocity correlations using structure tensors

A locally homogeneous representation for the two-point, second-order turbulent velocity fluctuation Rij(x,r)=⟨ui′(x)uj′(x+r)⟩ is formulated in terms of three linearly independent structure tensors [Kassinos et al., J. Fluid Mech. 428, 213 (2001)]: Reynolds stress Bij, dimensionality Dij, and stropholysis Qijk∗. These structure tensors are single-point moments of the derivatives of vector stream functions that contain information about the directional and componential anisotropies of the correlation. The representation is a sum of several rotationally invariant component tensors. Each component tensor scales like a power law in r, while its variation in r/r depends linearly on the structure tensors. Continuity and self-consistency constraints reduce the number of degrees of freedom in the model to 17. A finite Re correction is introduced to the representation for separations of the order of Kolmogorov’s length scale. To evaluate our representation, we construct a model correlation by fitting the representation to correlations calculated from direct numerical simulation (DNS) of homogeneous turbulence and channel flow. Comparison of the model correlation to the DNS data shows that the representation can capture the character of the anisotropy of two-point second-order velocity correlation tensors.

Incomplete molecular chaos within dense-fluid shock waves

Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations of an M(s) = 4.3 shock in dense argon (rho = 532 kg m(3), T = 300 K) and an M(s) = 3.6 shock in dense nitrogen (rho = 371 kg m(3), T = 300 K) have been performed. The two-point molecular velocity correlation function is calculated within slices in plane with the shock wave. Long-range (approximately ten molecular radii) positive correlations (correlation coefficient 0.05) are observed for the shock-normal velocity component, the in-plane velocity component, and the rotation rates. No correlations are found upstream or downstream of the shock, indicating that this is a nonequilibrium effect. These correlations violate one of the assumptions underlying the Boltzmann equation.

Near-surface particle image velocimetry measurements in a transitionally rough-wall atmospheric boundary layer

The Reynolds number dependence of the structure and statistics of wall-layer turbulence remains an open topic of research. This issue is considered in the present work using two-component planar particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements acquired at the Surface Layer Turbulence and Environmental Science Test (SLTEST) facility in western Utah. The Reynolds number (δuτ/ν) was of the order 106. The surface was flat with an equivalent sand grain roughness k+ = 18. The domain of the measurements was 500 < yuτ/ν < 3000 in viscous units, 0.00081 < y/δ < 0.005 in outer units, with a streamwise extent of 6000ν/uτ. The mean velocity was fitted by a logarithmic equation with a von Kármán constant of 0.41. The profile of u′v′ indicated that the entire measurement domain was within a region of essentially constant stress, from which the wall shear velocity was estimated. The stochastic measurements discussed include mean and RMS profiles as well as two-point velocity correlations. Examination of the instantaneous vector maps indicated that approximately 60% of the realizations could be characterized as having a nearly uniform velocity. The remaining 40% of the images indicated two regions of nearly uniform momentum separated by a thin region of high shear. This shear layer was typically found to be inclined to the mean flow, with an average positive angle of 14.9°.

Two-point similarity in the round jet

The governing equations for the two-point velocity correlations in the far field of the axisymmetric jet are examined and it is shown that these equations can have equilibrium similarity solutions for jets with finite Reynolds number that retain a dependence on the growth rate of the jet. The two-point velocity correlation can be written as the product of a scale that depends on the downstream position of the two points and a function that only depends on the similarity variables. Physically, this result implies that the turbulent processes producing and dissipating energy at the different scales of motion, as well as transferring energy between the different scales of motion, are in equilibrium as the flow evolves downstream. A particularly interesting prediction from the analysis is that the two-point similarity solutions depend only on the separation distance between the points in the streamwise similarity coordinate (i.e. υ = ξ′ − ξ), that is, the logarithm of the streamwise coordinate itself (i.e. ξ = lnx1, wherex1is measured from a virtual origin). Thus, the measures of the turbulence are homogeneous in the streamwise similarity coordinate.The predictions from the similarity analysis for the streamwise two-point velocity correlation were compared with combined hot-wire and LDA measurements on the centreline of a round jet at a Reynolds number of 33000, and with two-point velocity correlations computed from PIV measurements in a round jet at a Reynolds number of 2000 performed by Fukushimaet al. In both cases, the measured two-point velocity correlations in the streamwise direction collapsed when they were scaled in the manner predicted by the similarity analysis. The results provide further evidence that the equilibrium similarity hypothesis does describe the development of the flow in fully developed turbulent round jets and that the two-point correlations are statistically homogeneous in the streamwise similarity coordinate.

Two-point similarity in temporally evolving plane wakes

The governing equations for the two-point correlations of the turbulent fluctuating velocity in the temporally evolving wake were analysed to determine whether they could have equilibrium similarity solutions. It was found that these equations could have such solutions for a finite-Reynolds-number wake, where the two-point velocity correlations could be written as a product of a time-dependent scale and a function dependent only on similarity variables. It is therefore possible to collapse the two-point measures of all the scales of motions in the temporally evolving wake using a single set of similarity variables. As in an earlier single-point analysis, it was found that the governing equations for the equilibrium similarity solutions could not be reduced to a form that was independent of a growth-rate dependent parameter. Thus, there is not a single ‘universal’ solution that describes the state of the large-scale structures, so that the large-scale structures in the far field may depend on how the flow is generated.The predictions of the similarity analysis were compared to the data from two direct numerical simulations of the temporally evolving wakes examined previously. It was found that the two-point velocity spectra of these temporally evolving wakes collapsed reasonably well over the entire range of scales when they were scaled in the manner deduced from the equilibrium similarity analysis. Thus, actual flows do seem to evolve in a manner consistent with the equilibrium similarity solutions.

Masers as probes of supersonic turbulence

AbstractA possible intimate connection between astrophysical masers in regions of star formation and turbulence has been a subject of increasing interest during the last two decades. Evidence for the presence of a residual turbulent component in the observed expansion and rotation of clusters of water masers was shown by multi-epoch VLBI maps. The water maser hot spots demonstrate self-similar (fractal) spatial clustering and a power-law two-point velocity correlation function similar to that of incompressible turbulence – with the power index close to “Kolmogorov's” 1/3. The possibility of using maser sources for studying supersonic turbulence critically depends on whether the observed hot spots are an integral effect of radiative transfer over a large distance, comparable to the size of the whole maser source, or whether they are compact local physical objects, such as small random shocks, in which the mechanical energy of turbulence dissipates. If the latter hypothesis is correct, the compact and bright maser hot spots may be excellent local probes of the spatial and kinematic structure of supersonic turbulence. Observational and theoretical arguments for and against these hypotheses are discussed and the first quantitative results about supersonic turbulence obtained by statistical analysis of maser sources are presented in this review.

Broadband slat noise prediction based on CAA and stochastic sound sources from a fast random particle-mesh (RPM) method

The application of a low-cost computational aeroacoustics (CAA) approach to a slat noise problem is studied. A fast and efficient stochastic method is introduced to model the unsteady turbulent sound sources in the slat-cove of a high-lift airfoil. It is based on the spatial convolution of spatiotemporal white-noise and can reproduce target distributions of turbulence kinetic energy and length scales, such as that provided by a RANS computation of the time-averaged turbulent flow problem. The computational method yields a perfectly solenoidal velocity field. For homogeneous isotropic turbulence, the complete second-order two-point velocity correlation tensor is realized exactly. Two RANS turbulence models are applied to the slat noise problem to study how sensitive the aeroacoustics predictions depend on turbulence kinetic energy predictions. Results for the sound generation at the slat are given for a Menter SST turbulence model with and without Kato–Launder modification. The aeroacoustic simulations yield a characteristic narrow band spectrum that compares very well with the experimental data. The directivities found point toward an edge noise mechanism at the slat as the main cause for slat noise sound generation.

On fully self-preserving solutions in homogeneous turbulence

Mathematical attributes of full self-preserving solutions (‘full’ meaning self-similar at all scales with non-zero viscosity) for isotropic decay as well as for homogeneous shear flow turbulence are examined from a fundamental theoretical standpoint. Fully self-preserving solutions are those wherein the two-point double and triple velocity correlations are self-similar at all scales. It is shown that the full self-preserving solutions for isotropic decay corresponds to a t −1 asymptotic power law decay, consistent with earlier studies. Fully self-preserving solutions for homogeneous shear flow correspond to a production-equals-dissipation equilibrium, with bounded turbulent kinetic energy and dissipation. It is then shown that the fully self-preserving solutions of isotropic decay and of homogeneous shear flow both require severe constraints on the behavior of the low-wavenumber energy spectra. These constraints render the full self-preserving solutions as mathematical consistent but having no physical relevance. The implications of the dependence of the full self-preserving solutions on the low-wavenumber spectra for one-point (engineering) turbulence models is discussed. Invited speaker, Santa Fe CNLS-LANL Workshop on Turbulence and Cascade.

Velocity correlations in dense gravity-driven granular chute flow

We report numerical results for velocity correlations in dense, gravity-driven granular flow down an inclined plane. For the grains on the surface layer, our results are consistent with experimental measurements reported by Pouliquen. We show that the correlation structure within planes parallel to the surface persists in the bulk. The two-point velocity correlation function exhibits exponential decay for small to intermediate values of the separation between spheres. The correlation lengths identified by exponential fits to the data show nontrivial dependence on the averaging time Deltat used to determine grain velocities. We discuss the correlation length dependence on averaging time, incline angle, pile height, depth of the layer, system size, and grain stiffness and relate the results to other length scales associated with the rheology of the system. We find that correlation lengths are typically quite small, of the order of a particle diameter, and increase approximately logarithmically with a minimum pile height for which flow is possible, hstop, contrary to the theoretical expectation of a proportional relationship between the two length scales.