Direct numerical simulations of riblets to constrain the growth of turbulent spots

2011 ◽  
Vol 668 ◽  
pp. 267-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMES S. STRAND ◽  
DAVID B. GOLDSTEIN

A spectral direct numerical simulation (DNS) code was used to study the growth and spreading of turbulent spots in a nominally laminar, zero-pressure-gradient boundary layer. In addition to the flat-plate case, the interaction of these spots with riblets was investigated. The flat plate, riblets and initial spot perturbation were simulated via an immersed boundary method, and a ‘suction wall’ allowed the available channel code to model a boundary layer. In both flat-wall and riblet cases, self-similar arrowhead-shaped spots formed. The λ2 variable of Jeong & Hussain (1995) was used to visualize the vortical structures within a spot, and a spot was seen to consist primarily of a multitude of entwined hairpin vortices. The range of scales of the hairpin vortices was found to increase as the spot matures. Ensemble averaging was used to obtain more accurate results for the spot spreading angle, both for the flat-wall case and the riblet case. The spreading angle for the flat-wall spot was 6.3°, in reasonably good agreement with prior DNS work. The spreading angle for the spot over riblets was 5.4°, a decrease of 14% compared with the flat-wall.

1999 ◽  
Vol 398 ◽  
pp. 109-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
XIAOHUA WU ◽  
ROBERT G. JACOBS ◽  
JULIAN C. R. HUNT ◽  
PAUL A. DURBIN

The interaction between an initially laminar boundary layer developing spatially on a flat plate and wakes traversing the inlet periodically has been simulated numerically. The three-dimensional, time-dependent Navier–Stokes equations were solved with 5.24×107 grid points using a message passing interface on a scalable parallel computer. The flow bears a close resemblance to the transitional boundary layer on turbomachinery blades and was designed following, in outline, the experiments by Liu & Rodi (1991). The momentum thickness Reynolds number evolves from Reθ = 80 to 1120. Mean and second-order statistics downstream of Reθ = 800 are of canonical flat-plate turbulent boundary layers and are in good agreement with Spalart (1988).In many important aspects the mechanism leading to the inception of turbulence is in agreement with previous fundamental studies on boundary layer bypass transition, as summarized in Alfredsson & Matsubara (1996). Inlet wake disturbances inside the boundary layer evolve rapidly into longitudinal puffs during an initial receptivity phase. In the absence of strong forcing from free-stream vortices, these structures exhibit streamwise elongation with gradual decay in amplitude. Selective intensification of the puffs occurs when certain types of turbulent eddies from the free-stream wake interact with the boundary layer flow through a localized instability. Breakdown of the puffs into young turbulent spots is preceded by a wavy motion in the velocity field in the outer part of the boundary layer.Properties and streamwise evolution of the turbulent spots following breakdown, as well as the process of completion of transition to turbulence, are in agreement with previous engineering turbomachinery flow studies. The overall geometrical characteristics of the matured turbulent spot are in good agreement with those observed in the experiments of Zhong et al. (1998). When breakdown occurs in the outer layer, where local convection speed is large, as in the present case, the spots broaden downstream, having the vague appearance of an arrowhead pointing upstream.The flow has also been studied statistically. Phase-averaged velocity fields and skin-friction coefficients in the transitional region show similar features to previous cascade experiments. Selected results from additional thought experiments and simulations are also presented to illustrate the effects of streamwise pressure gradient and free-stream turbulence.


2016 ◽  
Vol 139 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis B. Wonnell ◽  
James Chen

A boundary layer with Re = 106 is simulated numerically on a flat plate using morphing continuum theory. This theory introduces new terms related to microproperties of the fluid. These terms are added to a finite-volume fluid solver with appropriate boundary conditions. The success of capturing the initial disturbances leading to turbulence is shown to be a byproduct of the physical and mathematical rigor underlying the balance laws and constitutive relations introduced by morphing continuum theory (MCT). Dimensionless equations are introduced to produce the parameters driving the formation of disturbances leading to turbulence. Numerical results for the flat plate are compared with the experimental results determined by the European Research Community on Flow, Turbulence, and Combustion (ERCOFTAC) database. Experimental data show good agreement inside the boundary layer and in the bulk flow. Success in predicting conditions necessary for turbulent and transitional (T2) flows without ad hoc closure models demonstrates the theory's inherent advantage over traditional turbulence models.


2005 ◽  
Vol 109 (1100) ◽  
pp. 461-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Zhong ◽  
F. Millet ◽  
N. J. Wood

Abstract Dye flow visualisation of circular synthetic jets was carried out in laminar boundary layers developing over a flat plate at a range of actuator operating conditions and freestream velocities of 0·05 and 0·1ms–1. The purpose of this work was to study the interaction of synthetic jets with the boundary layer and the nature of vortical structures produced as a result of this interaction. The effects of Reynolds number (Re), velocity ratio (VR ) and Strouhal number (St) on the behaviour of synthetic jets were studied. At low Re and VR , the vortical structures produced by synthetic jets appear as highly stretched hairpin vortices attached to the wall. At intermediate Re and VR , these structures roll up into vortex rings which experience a considerable amount of tilting and stretching as they enter the boundary layer. These vortex rings will eventually propagate outside the boundary layer hence the influence of the synthetic jets on the near wall flow will be confined in the near field of the jet exit. At high Re and VR , the vortex rings appear to experience a certain amount of tilting but no obvious stretching. They penetrate the edge of the boundary layer quickly, producing very limited impact on the near wall flow. Hence it is believed that the hairpin vortices produced at low Re and VR are likely to be the desirable structures for effective flow separation control. In this paper, a vortex model was also described to explain the mechanism of vortex tilting.


2008 ◽  
Vol 613 ◽  
pp. 205-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
SERGIO PIROZZOLI ◽  
MATTEO BERNARDINI ◽  
FRANCESCO GRASSO

A spatially developing supersonic boundary layer at Mach 2 is analysed by means of direct numerical simulation of the compressible Navier--Stokes equations, with the objective of quantitatively characterizing the coherent vortical structures. The study shows structural similarities with the incompressible case. In particular, the inner layer is mainly populated by quasi-streamwise vortices, while in the outer layer we observe a large variety of structures, including hairpin vortices and hairpin packets. The characteristic properties of the educed structures are found to be nearly uniform throughout the outer layer, and to be weakly affected by the local vortex orientation. In the outer layer, typical core radii vary in the range of 5–6 dissipative length scales, and the associated circulation is approximately constant, and of the order of 180 wall units. The statistical properties of the vortical structures in the outer layer are similar to those of an ensemble of non-interacting closed-loop vortices with a nearly planar head inclined at an angle of approximately 20° with respect to the wall, and with an overall size of approximately 30 dissipative length scales.


2009 ◽  
Vol 626 ◽  
pp. 241-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
MEHRAN PARSHEH ◽  
ANDERS A. DAHLKILD

Evolution of flat-plate wakes in sink flow has been studied both analytically and experimentally. For such wakes, a similarity solution is derived which considers simultaneous presence of both laminar and turbulent stresses inside the wake. This solution utilizes an additional Reynolds-stress term which represents the fluctuations similar to those in wall-bounded flows, accounting for the fluctuations originating from the plate boundary layer. In this solution, it is shown that the total stress, the sum of laminar and Reynolds shear stresses, becomes self-similar. To investigate the accuracy of the analytical results, the wake of a flat plate located at the centreline of a planar contraction is studied using hot-wire anemometry. Wakes of both tapered and blunt edges are considered. The length of the plates and the flow acceleration number K = 6.25 × 10−6 are chosen such that the boundary-layer profiles at the plate edge approach the self-similar laminar solution of Pohlhausen (Z. Angew. Math. Mech., vol. 1, 1921, p. 252). A short plate in which the boundary layer at the edge does not fully relaminarize is also considered. The development of the turbulent diffusivity used in the analysis is determined empirically for each experimental case. We have shown that the obtained similarity solutions, accounting also for the initial conditions in each case, generally agree well with the experimental results even in the near field. The results also show that the mean velocity of the transitional wake behind a tapered edge becomes self-similar almost immediately downstream of the edge.


1999 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Funazaki ◽  
E. Koyabu

This paper deals with the investigation of wake-disturbed boundary layer on a flat-plate model with an elliptic leading edge. The wakes are generated by the transversely moving bars in front of the test model. The main focus of this paper is how the wake passage affects the transitional behavior of the boundary layer under the influence of favorable and adverse pressure gradients over the test surface. Detailed measurements of the boundary layer are conducted by the use of hot-wire anemometry. An ensemble-averaging technique is also employed in order to extract the periodic events associated with the wake passage from the acquired data. The previously observed dependence of wake-induced transition on the movement of the wake generating bar is confirmed. It is also found that the wake passage induces a significant change in the flow structure downstream of the flow acceleration region.


2008 ◽  
Vol 603 ◽  
pp. 367-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHONG PAN ◽  
JIN JUN WANG ◽  
PAN FENG ZHANG ◽  
LI HAO FENG

Flat-plate boundary layer transition induced by the wake vortex of a two-dimensional circular cylinder is experimentally investigated. Combined visualization and velocity measurements show a different transition route from the Klebanoff mode in free-stream turbulence-induced transition. This transition scenario is mainly characterized as: (i) generation of secondary transverse vortical structures near the flat plate surface in response to the von Kármán vortex street of the cylinder; (ii) formation of hairpin vortices due to the secondary instability of secondary vortical structures; (iii) growth of hairpins which is accelerated by wake-vortex induction; (iv) formation of hairpin packets and the associated streaky structures. Detailed investigation shows that during transition the evolution dynamics and self-sustaining mechanisms of hairpins, hairpin packets and streaks are consistent with those in a turbulent boundary layer. The wake vortex mainly plays the role of generating and destabilizing secondary transverse vortices. After that, the internal mechanisms become dominant and lead to the setting up of a self-sustained turbulent boundary layer.


2018 ◽  
Vol 168 ◽  
pp. 05003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Procházka ◽  
Václav Uruba ◽  
Vladislav Skála

2D3C TR-PIV technique was utilized to investigate streamwise-oriented vortical structures behind an inclined flat plate. The angle of attack was set to 7 deg, several fields of view in the wake were investigated. The instantaneous velocity vector fields were captured, dynamics of the flow was studied using POD method. The streamwise structures are determined by vorticity and low- and high-velocity streaks are defined. The acquired results are in a good agreement with the new hypothesis of a principle of flight.


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