Upper Wind Shear Research Articles

Review[sbnd]Recent developments on applying acoustic waves for efficiency improvements of different thermofluids systems

This review classified recent works using proper acoustic waves to develop more efficient thermofluids systems for different industrial equipment such as swirl combustor, jet in crossflow, gas flare, different types of heat exchangers, cooling mechanism, aircraft wings, and turbine blades. For the swirl combustor, the range of proper excitation Strouhal number and jet pulsation intensity depends on the type of fuel, geometry of burner, swirl number, and central and annular Reynolds numbers. The combined effects of early jet break up, and centrifugal force induced by proper acoustic waves can lead to higher jet spread rate that can induce higher levels of mixing of the fuel and air in swirl combustor, improving combustion efficiency. For the transverse jet, the range of proper excitation Strouhal number and jet pulsation intensity depends on the type of fuel, geometry, and angle and direction of the burner, and jet and cross flow Reynolds numbers. Proper acoustic excitation can force the transverse jet flow to synchronized shear layer vortices. This phenomenon can cause the new vortices to appear in the upwind shear layer region of the deflected jet; then the spread, penetration, entrainment, and dispersion of the jet significantly increases, improving combustion efficiency. For the aircraft wing, vertical acoustic excitation significantly improves the lift force when the sound frequency is equal to the period of flow fluctuation in the separated boundary layer. For the heat exchanger, the ultrasonic transducer can be installed on the walls of a heat exchanger with direct contact to the fluid, improving the heat transfer coefficient. The physics of fluids behind the efficiency improvements of all mentioned cases were also clarified. Moreover, the acoustically excited impinging jets with higher cooling efficiency applied in different areas are discussed. Proper acoustic forcing can decrease the rate of unstable frequencies of disturbances related to impinging jets over a short distance. This phenomenon can significantly enhance heat transfer and improve cooling efficiency. This review paper provides insight into how acoustic waves could improve the efficiency of thermofluids systems in a variety of applications. Acoustic excitation could have the potential capability to improve the efficiency of new applications such as wind, gas or steam turbines, some types of industrial chemical mixers with parallel plane jets, aircraft wings or those of unmanned aerial vehicles, more efficient combustion chambers, and less polluting gas flares. However, the feasibility of this concept requires further investigation by the community in the future.

Flow and Temperature Characteristics of a 15° Backward-Inclined Jet Flame in Crossflow

The flow and flame characteristics of a 15° backward-inclined jet flame in crossflow were investigated in a wind tunnel. The flow structures, flame behaviors, and temperature fields were measured. The jet-to-crossflow momentum flux ratio was less than 7.0. The flow patterns were investigated using photography and Mie-scattering techniques. Meanwhile, the velocity fields were observed using particle image velocimetry techniques, whereas the flame behaviors were studied using photographic techniques. The flame temperatures were probed using a fine-wire R-type thermocouple. Three flame modes were identified: crossflow dominated flames, which were characterized by a blue flame connected to a down-washed yellow recirculation flame; transitional flames identified by a yellow recirculation flame and an elongated yellow tail flame; and detached jet dominated flames denoted by a blue flame base connected to a yellow tail flame. The effect of the flow characteristics on the combustion performance in different flame regimes is presented and discussed. The upwind shear layer of the bent jet exhibited different coherent structures as the jet-to-crossflow momentum flux ratio increased. The transitional flames and detached jet dominated flames presented a double peak temperature distribution in the symmetry plane at x/d = 60. The time-averaged velocity field of the crossflow dominated flames displayed a standing vortex in the wake region, whereas that of the detached jet dominated flames displayed a jet-wake vortex and a wake region source point.

Characteristics of backward-inclined non-premixed jet flames in crossflow

The characteristics of backward-inclined non-premixed jet flames in a uniform crossflow were studied in a wind tunnel. Time-averaged photography techniques were used to study flame behavior. The flow field was captured by short exposure photography and Mie-scattering techniques. Flame temperatures were probed with a fine-wire R-type thermocouple. In the domain of jet-to-crossflow momentum flux ratio R and backward-inclination angle θ, the flames were categorized into three characteristic modes. The first mode consisted of crossflow dominated flames characterized by a down-wash recirculation flame in the wake of the burner tube. The second mode consisted of transitional flames characterized by a yellowish recirculation flame and a tail flame. The third mode consisted of jet dominated flames characterized by a blue flame base and an absence of the down-wash flame. The down-wash recirculation flames were observed for a backward inclination angle of θ < 40°. The ability of the flames to resist blow off when increasing the jet-to-crossflow momentum flux ratio decreased as θ increased. Coherent vortices were observed on the seeded fuel jet, whose type was dependent on R and θ. In the upstream region, the fuel appeared above the flame. However, in the downstream region, the fuel became engulfed within the flame. For a fixed θ, the Strouhal number of the upwind shear layer vortices on the fuel jet was observed to decrease asymptotically as R increased. In the near-field at x/d ≈ 5, the crossflow dominated flames presented temperature profiles characterized by a broad dual-hump peak profile in the symmetry plane, while in the near-field at x/d ≈ 5, the jet dominated flames presented a single peak profile in the symmetry plane.

Flow and Dispersion Characteristics of a Stack-Issued Backward Inclined Jet in Crossflow

AbstractThe effects of backward inclination angle on flow characteristics and jet dispersion properties of a stack-issued jet in crossflow were studied by means of instantaneous and long-exposure photography, particle image velocimetry (PIV), and tracer-gas concentration detections at a Reynolds number of 2,400, a jet-to-crossflow momentum flux ratio of 1.0, and the backward inclination angles θ = 0° - 60°. Three characteristic flow patterns featured by different near-wake flow structures were found within the surveyed span of the backward inclination angle: low (θ ≤ 25°), mediate (25° &lt; θ &lt; 50°), and high (θ ≥ 50°). In the range of low backward inclination angle, mushroom vortices appeared in the upwind shear layer. Jet fluids were entrained into the jet- and tube-wakes because the near wake region was characterized by a jet-wake vortex and a downwash flow. In the range of mediate backward inclination angle, forward-rolling vortices were formed in the upwind shear layer. Jet fluids were entrained into the jet wake but not appearing in the tube wake because the near wake was characterized by an isolated tube wake and up-going flows. In the range of high backward inclination angle, small-sized forward-rolling vortices were observed in the upwind shear layer. Jet fluids were not observed in both the jet- and tube-wakes because all flows went forward without reversal or vortex, which was similar to that in a jet in co-flow. Large turbulence intensities occurred around the jet-wake vortex and along sides of the tube wake bifurcation line, therefore the mixing at the low backward inclination angles presented better properties than those at mediate and high backward inclination angles owing to the featured flow structures and turbulence intensities.

Flow and mixing characteristics of an elevated pulsating transverse jet

Flow-evolution processes as well as the penetration, spread, and dispersion characteristics of elevated pulsating transverse jets were studied experimentally in a wind tunnel. Jet pulsations were induced by means of acoustic excitation. Streak pictures of the smoke-flow patterns, illuminated by a laser-light sheet in the median plane, were recorded by a high-speed digital camera. A hot-wire anemometer was used to digitize instantaneous velocities of instabilities in the flow. Penetration height and spread width were obtained through a binary edge identification technique. Tracer-gas concentrations were measured to provide information on jet dispersions and trajectories. Three characteristic flow modes (synchronized flapping jet, transition, and synchronized shear-layer vortices) were identified in the domain of the jet-to-crossflow momentum-flux ratio and the excitation Strouhal number. At low excitation Strouhal numbers, the jet column near the tube exit flapped back-and-forth periodically at the excitation frequency and induced large up-down motions of the deflected jet. The penetration, spread, and dispersion of the jet increased drastically compared with the non-excited jet because the up-down oscillating motions of the deflected jet transformed the axial momentum into oscillating lateral momentum. Forcing the jet into the transition and synchronized shear-layer vortices regimes caused the vortices to appear along the upwind shear layer of the deflected jet. Under these conditions, the penetration, spread, and dispersion of the jet presented insignificant increases because the entrainment effect induced by the shear-layer vortices was not as large as that produced by the jet oscillating motions in the synchronized flapping jet regime.

Effects of acoustic excitation at resonance Strouhal numbers on characteristics of an elevated transverse jet

The effects of acoustic excitation on the flow behavior, penetration, and spread of the stack-issued and wall-issued transverse jets were studied experimentally. The jet flow was periodically excited by a loudspeaker that was driven with a square wave at resonance Strouhal numbers. The pulsed transverse jet was characterized by jet Reynolds number 2000. Streak pictures of the smoke flow patterns illuminated by the laser-light sheet in the median plane were recorded with a high-speed digital camera to illustrate the evolution process of the characteristic flow behavior within one excitation cycle. The binary edge-detection technique was used to determine penetration height and spread width. The tracer-gas concentration measurement provided jet dispersion information. The evolution processes of both the stack-issued and wall-issued transverse jets were characterized by a leading vortex ring and swing motion of the jet column near the jet exit as the jets were forced at resonance Strouhal numbers. A leading vortex ring appeared near the jet exit during the leading phase of excitation cycle and evolved subsequently to puffs of jet fluids in the upwind shear layer of the deflected jet. The swinging motion of the near-tube tip jet column induced up/down oscillation of the deflected jet. The excited stack-issued transverse jet exhibited significantly larger penetration height and spread width than the excited wall-issued transverse jet. The tracer-gas detection experiment results showed that the excited transverse jet disperses significantly faster and wider than the non-excited transverse jet. Pulsating the transverse jet at low resonance Strouhal numbers produced higher mixing and dispersion effects than pulsating the transverse jet at high resonance Strouhal numbers.

The role of streamline curvature in sand dune dynamics: evidence from field and wind tunnel measurements

Field measurements on an unvegetated, 10 m high barchan dune in Oman are compared with measurements over a 1:200 scale fixed model in a wind tunnel. Both the field and wind tunnel data demonstrate similar patterns of wind and shear velocity over the dune, confirming significant flow deceleration upwind of and at the toe of the dune, acceleration of flow up the windward slope, and deceleration between the crest and brink. This pattern, including the widely reported upwind reduction in shear velocity, reflects observations of previous studies. Such a reduction in shear velocity upwind of the dune should result in a reduction in sand transport and subsequent sand deposition. This is not observed in the field. Wind tunnel modelling using a near-surface pulse-wire probe suggests that the field method of shear velocity derivation is inadequate. The wind tunnel results exhibit no reduction in shear velocity upwind of or at the toe of the dune. Evidence provided by Reynolds stress profiles and turbulence intensities measured in the wind tunnel suggest that this maintenance of upwind shear stress may be a result of concave (unstable) streamline curvature. These additional surface stresses are not recorded by the techniques used in the field measurements. Using the occurrence of streamline curvature as a starting point, a new 2-D model of dune dynamics is deduced. This model relies on the establishment of an equilibrium between windward slope morphology, surface stresses induced by streamline curvature, and streamwise acceleration. Adopting the criteria that concave streamline curvature and streamwise acceleration both increase surface shear stress, whereas convex streamline curvature and deceleration have the opposite effect, the relationships between form and process are investigated in each of three morphologically distinct zones: the upwind interdune and concave toe region of the dune, the convex portion of the windward slope, and the crest-brink region. The applicability of the model is supported by measurements of the rate of sand transport and the change of the dune surface in the field.

Turbulent shear flows over low hills

A general analysis is developed for turbulent shear flows over two- and three-dimensional hills with low-slopes which allows for a wide range of upwind velocity profiles, such as those caused by wakes of upwind hills, roughness changes, or changes in stratification. In this paper the atmosphere is assumed to be neutrally stable and the half-lengths of the hills, L, are large compared with their heights, H, which are very large compared with the roughness length zo. The general structure of the solution is defined by dividing the flow into two regions, each of which is divided into two sublayers: an inviscid outer region composed of an upper layer in which there is potential flow when the atmosphere is neutrally stable, and a middle layer in which the wind shear dominates; and an inner region of thickness l ≤ L in which the effects of perturbation shear stresses are confined. The latter region is divided into two: a shear stress layer where the shear stresses, although weak, determine that the maximum of the perturbation velocity is located in this layer; and an inner surface layer of thickness ls where the shear stress gradient varies rapidly and the perturbation velocity tends to zero. The details of the middle layer are given here for different kinds of upwind profiles, including logarithmic, ‘power law’ and linear profiles. It is shown that the analysis can be extended to allow for nonlinear inertial effects in the middle layer. Analytical solutions are derived for the inner region as asymptotic expansions in δ = [ln(l/zo)]−1, which is assumed to be small, and this shows that ls ∼ zo(l/zo)1/2. The results of the analytical model are compared with our own and with previously published numerical computations of the full equations (applying the same assumptions used for calculating the turbulent shear stresses as used in the analytical work), which have largely been validated against full-scale measurements. These results confirm that the relative increase of surface stress is significantly greater than the increase of wind speed near the surface except when there is no upwind shear (as for example in a logarithmic boundary layer when the roughness length tends to zero). Finally, the paper shows that the outer regions of laminar (or constant eddy viscosity) and of turbulent flows over hills are broadly similar, but that the effects of the flow in the inner region on the outer regions are much smaller in the latter case.

Turbulent shear flows over low hills

AbstractA general analysis is developed for turbulent shear flows over two‐ and three‐dimensional hills with low‐slopes which allows for a wide range of upwind velocity profiles, such as those caused by wakes of upwind hills, roughness changes, or changes in stratification. In this paper the atmosphere is assumed to be neutrally stable and the half‐lengths of the hills, L, are large compared with their heights, H, which are very large compared with the roughness length zo. The general structure of the solution is defined by dividing the flow into two regions, each of which is divided into two sublayers: an inviscid outer region composed of an upper layer in which there is potential flow when the atmosphere is neutrally stable, and a middle layer in which the wind shear dominates; and an inner region of thickness l ≤ L in which the effects of perturbation shear stresses are confined. The latter region is divided into two: a shear stress layer where the shear stresses, although weak, determine that the maximum of the perturbation velocity is located in this layer; and an inner surface layer of thickness ls where the shear stress gradient varies rapidly and the perturbation velocity tends to zero. The details of the middle layer are given here for different kinds of upwind profiles, including logarithmic, ‘power law’ and linear profiles. It is shown that the analysis can be extended to allow for nonlinear inertial effects in the middle layer. Analytical solutions are derived for the inner region as asymptotic expansions in δ = [ln(l/zo)]−1, which is assumed to be small, and this shows that ls ∼ zo(l/zo)1/2.The results of the analytical model are compared with our own and with previously published numerical computations of the full equations (applying the same assumptions used for calculating the turbulent shear stresses as used in the analytical work), which have largely been validated against full‐scale measurements. These results confirm that the relative increase of surface stress is significantly greater than the increase of wind speed near the surface except when there is no upwind shear (as for example in a logarithmic boundary layer when the roughness length tends to zero).Finally, the paper shows that the outer regions of laminar (or constant eddy viscosity) and of turbulent flows over hills are broadly similar, but that the effects of the flow in the inner region on the outer regions are much smaller in the latter case.

The structure of strongly stratified flow over hills: dividing-streamline concept

In stably stratified flow over a three-dimensional hill, we can define a dividing streamline that separates those streamlines that pass around the hill from those that pass over the hill. The height Hs of this dividing streamline can be estimated by Sheppard's simple energy argument; fluid parcels originating far upstream of a hill at an elevation above Hs have sufficient kinetic energy to rise over the top, whereas those below Hs must pass around the sides. This prediction provides the basis for analysing an extensive range of laboratory observations and measurements of stably stratified flow over a variety of shapes and orientations of hills and with different upwind density and velocity profiles. For symmetric hills and small upwind shear, Sheppard's expression provides a good estimate for Hs. For highly asymmetric flow and/or in the presence of strong upwind shear, the expression provides a lower limit for Hs. As the hills become more nearly two-dimensional, these experiments become less well defined because steady-state conditions take progressively longer to be established. The results of new studies are presented here of the development of the unsteady flow upwind of two-dimensional hills in a finite-length towing tank. These measurements suggest that a very long tank would be required for steady-state conditions to be established upstream of long ridges with or without small gaps and cast doubt upon the validity of previous laboratory studies.

Assessment of the separate effects of baroclinicity and thermal stability in the atmospheric boundary layer over the sea

Pibal soundings taken during the period 1929 to 1936 were analysed to augment our knowledge of boundary layer climatology. Use of the geostrophic departure method enables computation of surface stress and the cross-isobar angle as functions of stability and baroclinicity, the latter being assessed from the upper wind shear. The comparative effects of both terms are discussed and the importance of the often-neglected baroclinicity in explaining the scatter of the computed parameters is stressed. Use of similarity theory enables us to achieve some further order in the data and eventually to estimate the universal functions A and B freed from baroclinic effects. DOI: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1982.tb01845.x