scholarly journals Scaling analysis and simulation of strongly stratified turbulent flows

2007 ◽  
Vol 585 ◽  
pp. 343-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. BRETHOUWER ◽  
P. BILLANT ◽  
E. LINDBORG ◽  
J.-M. CHOMAZ
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Scaling Laws ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Direct Numerical Simulations ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Scaling Analysis ◽  
Length Scale ◽  
Stratified Turbulence

Direct numerical simulations of stably and strongly stratified turbulent flows with Reynolds number Re ≫ 1 and horizontal Froude number Fh ≪ 1 are presented. The results are interpreted on the basis of a scaling analysis of the governing equations. The analysis suggests that there are two different strongly stratified regimes according to the parameter $\mathcal{R} \,{=}\, \hbox{\it Re} F^2_h$. When $\mathcal{R} \,{\gg}\, 1$, viscous forces are unimportant and lv scales as lv ∼ U/N (U is a characteristic horizontal velocity and N is the Brunt–Väisälä frequency) so that the dynamics of the flow is inherently three-dimensional but strongly anisotropic. When $\mathcal{R} \,{\ll}\, 1$, vertical viscous shearing is important so that $l_v \,{\sim}\, l_h/\hbox{\it Re}^{1/2}$ (lh is a characteristic horizontal length scale). The parameter $\cal R$ is further shown to be related to the buoyancy Reynolds number and proportional to (lO/η)4/3, where lO is the Ozmidov length scale and η the Kolmogorov length scale. This implies that there are simultaneously two distinct ranges in strongly stratified turbulence when $\mathcal{R} \,{\gg}\, 1$: the scales larger than lO are strongly influenced by the stratification while those between lO and η are weakly affected by stratification. The direct numerical simulations with forced large-scale horizontal two-dimensional motions and uniform stratification cover a wide Re and Fh range and support the main parameter controlling strongly stratified turbulence being $\cal R$. The numerical results are in good agreement with the scaling laws for the vertical length scale. Thin horizontal layers are observed independently of the value of $\cal R$ but they tend to be smooth for $\cal R$< 1, while for $\cal R$ > 1 small-scale three-dimensional turbulent disturbances are increasingly superimposed. The dissipation of kinetic energy is mostly due to vertical shearing for $\cal R$ < 1 but tends to isotropy as $\cal R$ increases above unity. When $\mathcal{R}$ < 1, the horizontal and vertical energy spectra are very steep while, when $\cal R$ > 1, the horizontal spectra of kinetic and potential energy exhibit an approximate k−5/3h-power-law range and a clear forward energy cascade is observed.

scholarly journals Waves and vortices in the inverse cascade regime of stratified turbulence with or without rotation

2016 ◽  
Vol 806 ◽  
pp. 165-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corentin Herbert ◽  
Raffaele Marino ◽  
Duane Rosenberg ◽  
Annick Pouquet
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Direct Numerical Simulations ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Energy Spectra ◽  
Stratified Turbulence ◽  
Viscous Effects ◽  
Inverse Cascade ◽  
Main Effects ◽  
The Waves

We study the partition of energy between waves and vortices in stratified turbulence, with or without rotation, for a variety of parameters, focusing on the behaviour of the waves and vortices in the inverse cascade of energy towards the large scales. To this end, we use direct numerical simulations in a cubic box at a Reynolds number $Re\approx 1000$, with the ratio between the Brunt–Väisälä frequency $N$ and the inertial frequency $f$ varying from $1/4$ to 20, together with a purely stratified run. The Froude number, measuring the strength of the stratification, varies within the range $0.02\leqslant Fr\leqslant 0.32$. We find that the inverse cascade is dominated by the slow quasi-geostrophic modes. Their energy spectra and fluxes exhibit characteristics of an inverse cascade, even though their energy is not conserved. Surprisingly, the slow vortices still dominate when the ratio $N/f$ increases, also in the stratified case, although less and less so. However, when $N/f$ increases, the inverse cascade of the slow modes becomes weaker and weaker, and it vanishes in the purely stratified case. We discuss how the disappearance of the inverse cascade of energy with increasing $N/f$ can be interpreted in terms of the waves and vortices, and identify the main effects that can explain this transition based on both inviscid invariants arguments and viscous effects due to vertical shear.

Direct Numerical Simulations of Transitional Separation–Bubble Development in Swept–Blade Flow Conditions

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua R. Brinkerhoff ◽  
Metin I. Yaras
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Shear Layer ◽  
Pressure Field ◽  
Separation Bubble ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Direct Numerical Simulations ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
Crossflow Instability

This paper describes numerical simulations of the instability mechanisms in a separation bubble subjected to a three-dimensional freestream pressure distribution. Two direct numerical simulations are performed of a separation bubble with laminar separation and turbulent reattachment under low freestream turbulence at flow Reynolds numbers and streamwise pressure distributions that approximate the conditions encountered on the suction side of typical low-pressure gas-turbine blades with blade sweep angles of 0° and 45°. The three-dimensional pressure field in the swept configuration produces a crossflow-velocity component in the laminar boundary layer upstream of the separation point that is unstable to a crossflow instability mode. The simulation results show that crossflow instability does not play a role in the development of the boundary layer upstream of separation. An increase in the amplification rate and most amplified disturbance frequency is observed in the separated-flow region of the swept configuration, and is attributed to boundary-layer conditions at the point of separation that are modified by the spanwise pressure gradient. This results in a slight upstream movement of the location where the shear layer breaks down to small-scale turbulence and modifies the turbulent mixing of the separated shear layer to yield a downstream shift in the time-averaged reattachment location. The results demonstrate that although crossflow instability does not appear to have a noticeable effect on the development of the transitional separation bubble, the 3D pressure field does indirectly alter the separation-bubble development by modifying the flow conditions at separation.

scholarly journals Developments in turbulence research: a review based on the 1999 Programme of the Isaac Newton Institute, Cambridge

2001 ◽  
Vol 436 ◽  
pp. 353-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. R. HUNT ◽  
N. D. SANDHAM ◽  
J. C. VASSILICOS ◽  
B. E. LAUNDER ◽  
P. A. MONKEWITZ ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Large Eddy Simulation ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Isaac Newton ◽  
Eddy Simulation ◽  
Isaac Newton Institute ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
Eddy Structures

Recent research is making progress in framing more precisely the basic dynamical and statistical questions about turbulence and in answering them. It is helping both to define the likely limits to current methods for modelling industrial and environmental turbulent flows, and to suggest new approaches to overcome these limitations. Our selective review is based on the themes and new results that emerged from more than 300 presentations during the Programme held in 1999 at the Isaac Newton Institute, Cambridge, UK, and on research reported elsewhere. A general conclusion is that, although turbulence is not a universal state of nature, there are certain statistical measures and kinematic features of the small-scale flow field that occur in most turbulent flows, while the large-scale eddy motions have qualitative similarities within particular types of turbulence defined by the mean flow, initial or boundary conditions, and in some cases, the range of Reynolds numbers involved. The forced transition to turbulence of laminar flows caused by strong external disturbances was shown to be highly dependent on their amplitude, location, and the type of flow. Global and elliptical instabilities explain much of the three-dimensional and sudden nature of the transition phenomena. A review of experimental results shows how the structure of turbulence, especially in shear flows, continues to change as the Reynolds number of the turbulence increases well above about 104 in ways that current numerical simulations cannot reproduce. Studies of the dynamics of small eddy structures and their mutual interactions indicate that there is a set of characteristic mechanisms in which vortices develop (vortex stretching, roll-up of instability sheets, formation of vortex tubes) and another set in which they break up (through instabilities and self- destructive interactions). Numerical simulations and theoretical arguments suggest that these often occur sequentially in randomly occurring cycles. The factors that determine the overall spectrum of turbulence were reviewed. For a narrow distribution of eddy scales, the form of the spectrum can be defined by characteristic forms of individual eddies. However, if the distribution covers a wide range of scales (as in elongated eddies in the ‘wall’ layer of turbulent boundary layers), they collectively determine the spectra (as assumed in classical theory). Mathematical analyses of the Navier–Stokes and Euler equations applied to eddy structures lead to certain limits being defined regarding the tendencies of the vorticity field to become infinitely large locally. Approximate solutions for eigen modes and Fourier components reveal striking features of the temporal, near-wall structure such as bursting, and of the very elongated, spatial spectra of sheared inhomogeneous turbulence; but other kinds of eddy concepts are needed in less structured parts of the turbulence. Renormalized perturbation methods can now calculate consistently, and in good agreement with experiment, the evolution of second- and third-order spectra of homogeneous and isotropic turbulence. The fact that these calculations do not explicitly include high-order moments and extreme events, suggests that they may play a minor role in the basic dynamics. New methods of approximate numerical simulations of the larger scales of turbulence or ‘very large eddy simulation’ (VLES) based on using statistical models for the smaller scales (as is common in meteorological modelling) enable some turbulent flows with a non-local and non-equilibrium structure, such as impinging or convective flows, to be calculated more efficiently than by using large eddy simulation (LES), and more accurately than by using ‘engineering’ models for statistics at a single point. Generally it is shown that where the turbulence in a fluid volume is changing rapidly and is very inhomogeneous there are flows where even the most complex ‘engineering’ Reynolds stress transport models are only satisfactory with some special adaptation; this may entail the use of transport equations for the third moments or non-universal modelling methods designed explicitly for particular types of flow. LES methods may also need flow-specific corrections for accurate modelling of different types of very high Reynolds number turbulent flow including those near rigid surfaces.This paper is dedicated to the memory of George Batchelor who was the inspiration of so much research in turbulence and who died on 30th March 2000. These results were presented at the last fluid mechanics seminar in DAMTP Cambridge that he attended in November 1999.

Stratified turbulence forced with columnar dipoles: numerical study

2015 ◽  
Vol 769 ◽  
pp. 403-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Augier ◽  
Paul Billant ◽  
Jean-Marc Chomaz
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Energy Spectrum ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Stationary Flow ◽  
Length Scale ◽  
Computational Domain ◽  
Stratified Turbulence ◽  
Kinetic Energy Spectrum

This paper builds upon the investigation of Augier et al. (Phys. Fluids, vol. 26 (4), 2014) in which a strongly stratified turbulent-like flow was forced by 12 generators of vertical columnar dipoles. In experiments, measurements start to provide evidence of the existence of a strongly stratified inertial range that has been predicted for large turbulent buoyancy Reynolds numbers $\mathscr{R}_{t}={\it\varepsilon}_{\!K}/({\it\nu}N^{2})$, where ${\it\varepsilon}_{\!K}$ is the mean dissipation rate of kinetic energy, ${\it\nu}$ the viscosity and $N$ the Brunt–Väisälä frequency. However, because of experimental constraints, the buoyancy Reynolds number could not be increased to sufficiently large values so that the inertial strongly stratified turbulent range is only incipient. In order to extend the experimental results toward higher buoyancy Reynolds number, we have performed numerical simulations of forced stratified flows. To reproduce the experimental vortex generators, columnar dipoles are periodically produced in spatial space using impulsive horizontal body force at the peripheries of the computational domain. For moderate buoyancy Reynolds number, these numerical simulations are able to reproduce the results obtained in the experiments, validating this particular forcing. For higher buoyancy Reynolds number, the simulations show that the flow becomes turbulent as observed in Brethouwer et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 585, 2007, pp. 343–368). However, the statistically stationary flow is horizontally inhomogeneous because the dipoles are destabilized quite rapidly after their generation. In order to produce horizontally homogeneous turbulence, high-resolution simulations at high buoyancy Reynolds number have been carried out with a slightly modified forcing in which dipoles are forced at random locations in the computational domain. The unidimensional horizontal spectra of kinetic and potential energies scale like $C_{1}{\it\varepsilon}_{\!K}^{2/3}k_{h}^{-5/3}$ and $C_{2}{\it\varepsilon}_{\!K}^{2/3}k_{h}^{-5/3}({\it\varepsilon}_{\!P}/{\it\varepsilon}_{\!K})$, respectively, with $C_{1}=C_{2}\simeq 0.5$ as obtained by Lindborg (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 550, 2006, pp. 207–242). However, there is a depletion in the horizontal kinetic energy spectrum for scales between the integral length scale and the buoyancy length scale and an anomalous energy excess around the buoyancy length scale probably due to direct transfers from large horizontal scale to small scales resulting from the shear and gravitational instabilities. The horizontal buoyancy flux co-spectrum increases abruptly at the buoyancy scale corroborating the presence of overturnings. Remarkably, the vertical kinetic energy spectrum exhibits a transition at the Ozmidov length scale from a steep spectrum scaling like $N^{2}k_{z}^{-3}$ at large scales to a spectrum scaling like $C_{K}{\it\varepsilon}_{\!K}^{2/3}k_{z}^{-5/3}$, with $C_{K}=1$, the classical Kolmogorov constant.

scholarly journals Spectral analysis of the transition to turbulence from a dipole in stratified fluid

2012 ◽  
Vol 713 ◽  
pp. 86-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Augier ◽  
Jean-Marc Chomaz ◽  
Paul Billant
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Spectral Analysis ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Scaling Laws ◽  
Stratified Fluid ◽  
Shear Instability ◽  
Transition To Turbulence ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractWe investigate the spectral properties of the turbulence generated during the nonlinear evolution of a Lamb–Chaplygin dipole in a stratified fluid for a high Reynolds number $Re= 28\hspace{0.167em} 000$ and a wide range of horizontal Froude number ${F}_{h} \in [0. 0225~0. 135] $ and buoyancy Reynolds number $\mathscr{R}= Re{{F}_{h} }^{2} \in [14~510] $. The numerical simulations use a weak hyperviscosity and are therefore almost direct numerical simulations (DNS). After the nonlinear development of the zigzag instability, both shear and gravitational instabilities develop and lead to a transition to small scales. A spectral analysis shows that this transition is dominated by two kinds of transfer: first, the shear instability induces a direct non-local transfer toward horizontal wavelengths of the order of the buoyancy scale ${L}_{b} = U/ N$, where $U$ is the characteristic horizontal velocity of the dipole and $N$ the Brunt–Väisälä frequency; second, the destabilization of the Kelvin–Helmholtz billows and the gravitational instability lead to small-scale weakly stratified turbulence. The horizontal spectrum of kinetic energy exhibits a ${{\varepsilon }_{K} }^{2/ 3} { k}_{h}^{\ensuremath{-} 5/ 3} $ power law (where ${k}_{h} $ is the horizontal wavenumber and ${\varepsilon }_{K} $ is the dissipation rate of kinetic energy) from ${k}_{b} = 2\lrm{\pi} / {L}_{b} $ to the dissipative scales, with an energy deficit between the integral scale and ${k}_{b} $ and an excess around ${k}_{b} $. The vertical spectrum of kinetic energy can be expressed as $E({k}_{z} )= {C}_{N} {N}^{2} { k}_{z}^{\ensuremath{-} 3} + C{{\varepsilon }_{K} }^{2/ 3} { k}_{z}^{\ensuremath{-} 5/ 3} $ where ${C}_{N} $ and $C$ are two constants of order unity and ${k}_{z} $ is the vertical wavenumber. It is therefore very steep near the buoyancy scale with an ${N}^{2} { k}_{z}^{\ensuremath{-} 3} $ shape and approaches the ${{\varepsilon }_{K} }^{2/ 3} { k}_{z}^{\ensuremath{-} 5/ 3} $ spectrum for ${k}_{z} \gt {k}_{o} $, ${k}_{o} $ being the Ozmidov wavenumber, which is the cross-over between the two scaling laws. A decomposition of the vertical spectra depending on the horizontal wavenumber value shows that the ${N}^{2} { k}_{z}^{\ensuremath{-} 3} $ spectrum is associated with large horizontal scales $\vert {\mathbi{k}}_{h} \vert \lt {k}_{b} $ and the ${{\varepsilon }_{K} }^{2/ 3} { k}_{z}^{\ensuremath{-} 5/ 3} $ spectrum with the scales $\vert {\mathbi{k}}_{h} \vert \gt {k}_{b} $.

Direct numerical simulations of bubbly flows Part 2. Moderate Reynolds number arrays

1999 ◽  
Vol 385 ◽  
pp. 325-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
ASGHAR ESMAEELI ◽  
GRÉTAR TRYGGVASON
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Direct Numerical Simulations ◽  
Dimensional System ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Reynolds Stresses ◽  
Bubble Distribution ◽  
Moderate Reynolds Number

Direct numerical simulations of the motion of two- and three-dimensional finite Reynolds number buoyant bubbles in a periodic domain are presented. The full Navier–Stokes equations are solved by a finite difference/front tracking method that allows a fully deformable interface between the bubbles and the ambient fluid and the inclusion of surface tension. The rise Reynolds numbers are around 20–30 for the lowest volume fraction, but decrease as the volume fraction is increased. The rise of a regular array of bubbles, where the relative positions of the bubbles are fixed, is compared with the evolution of a freely evolving array. Generally, the freely evolving array rises slower than the regular one, in contrast to what has been found earlier for low Reynolds number arrays. The structure of the bubble distribution is examined and it is found that while the three-dimensional bubbles show a tendency to line up horizontally, the two-dimensional bubbles are nearly randomly distributed. The effect of the number of bubbles in each period is examined for the two-dimensional system and it is found that although the rise Reynolds number is nearly independent of the number of bubbles, the velocity fluctuations in the liquid (the Reynolds stresses) increase with the size of the system. While some aspects of the fully three-dimensional flows, such as the reduction in the rise velocity, are predicted by results for two-dimensional bubbles, the structure of the bubble distribution is not. The magnitude of the Reynolds stresses is also greatly over-predicted by the two-dimensional results.

Direct numerical simulations of bubbly flows. Part 1. Low Reynolds number arrays

1998 ◽  
Vol 377 ◽  
pp. 313-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
ASGHAR ESMAEELI ◽  
GRÉTAR TRYGGVASON
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Stokes Flow ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Direct Numerical Simulations ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Rise Velocity ◽  
Regular Array ◽  
Average Rise

Direct numerical simulations of the motion of two- and three-dimensional buoyant bubbles in periodic domains are presented. The full Navier–Stokes equations are solved by a finite difference/front tracking method that allows a fully deformable interface between the bubbles and the ambient fluid and the inclusion of surface tension. The governing parameters are selected such that the average rise Reynolds number is O(1) and deformations of the bubbles are small. The rise velocity of a regular array of three-dimensional bubbles at different volume fractions agrees relatively well with the prediction of Sangani (1988) for Stokes flow. A regular array of two- and three-dimensional bubbles, however, is an unstable configuration and the breakup, and the subsequent bubble–bubble interactions take place by ‘drafting, kissing, and tumbling’. A comparison between a finite Reynolds number two-dimensional simulation with sixteen bubbles and a Stokes flow simulation shows that the finite Reynolds number array breaks up much faster. It is found that a freely evolving array of two-dimensional bubbles rises faster than a regular array and simulations with different numbers of two-dimensional bubbles (1–49) show that the rise velocity increases slowly with the size of the system. Computations of four and eight three-dimensional bubbles per period also show a slight increase in the average rise velocity compared to a regular array. The difference between two- and three-dimensional bubbles is discussed.

Direct Numerical Simulations of Magnetic Field Effects on Turbulent Duct Flows

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Chaudhary ◽  
S. P. Vanka ◽  
B. G. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Transient Flow ◽  
Cast Steel ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Numerical Procedure ◽  
Direct Numerical Simulations ◽  
Mhd Equations ◽  
Square Duct

Magnetic fields are crucial in controlling flow in various physical processes of significance. One of these processes, which has significant application of a magnetic field, is continuous casting of steel, where different magnetic field configurations are used to control the turbulent steel flow in the mold to minimize defects in the cast steel. This study has been undertaken to analyze the effect of magnetic field on mean velocities and turbulence parameters in the molten metal flows through a square duct. Direct Numerical Simulations without using a sub-grid scale (SGS) model have been used to characterize the three-dimensional transient flow. The coupled Navier-Stokes-MHD equations have been solved with a three-dimensional fractional-step numerical procedure. Because liquid metals have low magnetic Reynolds number, the induced magnetic field has been neglected and the electric potential method for magnetic field-flow coupling has been implemented. Initially, laminar simulations in a square duct have been performed and results generated were compared with previous series solutions. Next, simulations of a non-MHD flow in a square duct at low Reynolds number were performed and satisfactorily compared with results of a previous DNS study. Subsequently, different levels of a magnetic field were applied to study its effect on the turbulence until the flow completely laminarized. Time-dependent and time-averaged flows have been studied through mean velocities and fluctuations, and power spectrums of instantaneous velocities.

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