Similarity scaling and vorticity structure in high-Reynolds-number stably stratified turbulent wakes

2011 ◽  
Vol 671 ◽  
pp. 52-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER J. DIAMESSIS ◽  
GEOFFREY R. SPEDDING ◽  
J. ANDRZEJ DOMARADZKI
Keyword(s):  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Buoyancy Frequency ◽  
Stratified Turbulence ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Kolmogorov Scale ◽  
High Reynolds ◽  
Similarity Scaling ◽  
Vorticity Structure

The mean velocity profile scaling and the vorticity structure of a stably stratified, initially turbulent wake of a towed sphere are studied numerically using a high-accuracy spectral multi-domain penalty method model. A detailed initialization procedure allows a smooth, minimum-transient transition into the non-equilibrium (NEQ) regime of wake evolution. A broad range of Reynolds numbers,Re= UD/ν ∈ [5 × 103, 105] and internal Froude numbers,Fr= 2U/(ND) ∈ [4, 64] (U,Dare characteristic velocity and length scales, andNis the buoyancy frequency) is examined. The maximum value ofReand the range ofFrvalues considered allow extrapolation of the results to geophysical and naval applications.At higherRe, the NEQ regime, where three-dimensional turbulence adjusts towards a quasi-two-dimensional, buoyancy-dominated flow, lasts significantly longer than at lowerRe. AtRe= 5 × 103, vertical fluid motions are rapidly suppressed, but atRe= 105, secondary Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities and ensuing turbulence are clearly observed up toNt≈ 100. The secondary motions intensify with increasing stratification strength and have significant vertical kinetic energy.These results agree with existing scaling of buoyancy-driven shear onRe/Fr2and suggest that, in the field, the NEQ regime may last up toNt≈ 1000. At a given highRevalue, during the NEQ regime, the scale separation between Ozmidov and Kolmogorov scale is independent ofFr. This first systematic numerical investigation of stratified turbulence (as defined by Lilly,J. Atmos. Sci.vol. 40, 1983, p. 749), in a controlled localized flow with turbulent initial conditions suggests that a reconsideration of the commonly perceived life cycle of a stratified turbulent event may be in order for the correct turbulence parametrizations of such flows in both geophysical and operational contexts.

Turbulent flow between counter-rotating concentric cylinders: a direct numerical simulation study

2008 ◽  
Vol 615 ◽  
pp. 371-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. DONG
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Flow ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Outer Cylinder ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Taylor Vortex ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Concentric Cylinders ◽  
High Reynolds

We report three-dimensional direct numerical simulations of the turbulent flow between counter-rotating concentric cylinders with a radius ratio 0.5. The inner- and outer-cylinder Reynolds numbers have the same magnitude, which ranges from 500 to 4000 in the simulations. We show that with the increase of Reynolds number, the prevailing structures in the flow are azimuthal vortices with scales much smaller than the cylinder gap. At high Reynolds numbers, while the instantaneous small-scale vortices permeate the entire domain, the large-scale Taylor vortex motions manifested by the time-averaged field do not penetrate a layer of fluid near the outer cylinder. Comparisons between the standard Taylor–Couette system (rotating inner cylinder, fixed outer cylinder) and the counter-rotating system demonstrate the profound effects of the Coriolis force on the mean flow and other statistical quantities. The dynamical and statistical features of the flow have been investigated in detail.

Entrainment and growth of vortical disturbances in the channel-entrance region

2021 ◽  
Vol 927 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Ricco ◽  
Claudia Alvarenga
Keyword(s):  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Analytical Description ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Boundary Region ◽  
Shear Layers ◽  
Base Flow ◽  
Open Boundary ◽  
Classical Stability

The entrainment of free-stream unsteady three-dimensional vortical disturbances in the entry region of a channel is studied via matched asymptotic expansions and by numerical means. The interest is in flows at Reynolds numbers where experimental studies have documented the occurrence of intense transient growth, despite the flow being stable according to classical stability analysis. The analytical description of the vortical perturbations at the channel mouth reveals how the oncoming disturbances penetrate into the wall-attached shear layers and amplify downstream. The effects of the channel confinement, the streamwise pressure gradient and the viscous/inviscid interplay between the oncoming disturbances and the boundary-layer perturbations are discussed. The composite perturbation velocity profiles are employed as initial conditions for the unsteady boundary-region perturbation equations. At a short distance from the channel mouth, the disturbance flow is mostly confined within the shear layers and assumes the form of streamwise-elongated streaks, while farther downstream the viscous disturbances permeate the whole channel although the base flow is still mostly inviscid in the core. Symmetrical disturbances exhibit a more significant growth than anti-symmetrical disturbances, the latter maintaining a nearly constant amplitude for several channel heights downstream before growing transiently, a unique feature not reported in open boundary layers. The disturbances are more intense as the frequency decreases or the bulk Reynolds number increases. We compute the spanwise wavelengths that cause the most intense downstream growth and the threshold wall-normal wavelengths below which the perturbations are damped through viscous dissipation.

scholarly journals Natural logarithms

2013 ◽  
Vol 718 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. McKeon
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Flows ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Streamwise Velocity ◽  
Wall Turbulence ◽  
Significant Advance ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Velocity Fluctuations ◽  
Logarithmic Scaling ◽  
The Mean ◽  
High Reynolds

AbstractMarusic et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 716, 2013, R3) show the first clear evidence of universal logarithmic scaling emerging naturally (and simultaneously) in the mean velocity and the intensity of the streamwise velocity fluctuations about that mean in canonical turbulent flows near walls. These observations represent a significant advance in understanding of the behaviour of wall turbulence at high Reynolds number, but perhaps the most exciting implication of the experimental results lies in the agreement with the predictions of such scaling from a model introduced by Townsend (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 11, 1961, pp. 97–120), commonly termed the attached eddy hypothesis. The elegantly simple, yet powerful, study by Marusic et al. should spark further investigation of the behaviour of all fluctuating velocity components at high Reynolds numbers and the outstanding predictions of the attached eddy hypothesis.

Coherent structures in coflowing jets and wakes

1978 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. Perry ◽  
T. T. Lim
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Glass Tube ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Reynolds Number Flow ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Number Flow ◽  
High Reynolds ◽  
Scale Motion

By applying small lateral oscillations to a glass tube from which smoke was issuing, perfectly periodic coflowing jets and wake structures were produced at Reynolds numbers of order 300-1000. These structures remained coherent over long streamwise distances and appeared to be perfectly frozen when viewed under stroboscopic light which was synchronized with the disturbing oscillation. By the use of strobing laser beams, longitudinal sections of the structures were photographed and an account of the geometry of these structures is reported.When the tube was unforced, similar structures occurred but they modulated in scale and frequency, and their orientation was random.A classification of structures is presented and examples are demonstrated in naturally occurring situations such as smoke from a cigarette, the wake behind a three-dimensional blunt body, and the high Reynolds number flow in a plume from a chimney. It is suggested that an examination of these structures may give some insight into the large-scale motion in fully turbulent flow.

Entry Length Requirements for Two- and Three-Dimensional Laminar Couette–Poiseuille Flows

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bayode E. Owolabi ◽  
David J. C. Dennis ◽  
Robert J. Poole
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Channel Height ◽  
Development Length ◽  
Square Duct ◽  
Entry Length ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
High Reynolds ◽  
Pressure Driven Flow ◽  
Poiseuille Flows

In this study, we examine the development length requirements for laminar Couette–Poiseuille flows in a two-dimensional (2D) channel as well as in the three-dimensional (3D) case of flow through a square duct, using a combination of numerical and experimental approaches. The parameter space investigated covers wall to bulk velocity ratios, r, spanning from 0 (purely pressure-driven flow) to 2 (purely wall driven-flow; 4 in the case of a square duct) and a wide range of Reynolds numbers (Re). The results indicate an increase in the development length (L) with r. Consistent with the findings of Durst et al. (2005, “The Development Lengths of Laminar Pipe and Channel Flows,” ASME J. Fluids Eng., 127(6), pp. 1154–1160), L was observed to be of the order of the channel height in the limit as Re→0, irrespective of the condition at the inlet. This, however, changes at high Reynolds numbers, with L increasing linearly with Re. In all the cases considered, a uniform velocity profile at the inlet was found to result in longer entry lengths than in a flow developing from a parabolic inlet profile. We show that this inlet effect becomes less important as the limit of purely wall-driven flow is approached. Finally, we develop correlations for predicting L in these flows and, for the first time, also present laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) measurements of the developing as well as fully-developed velocity profiles, and observe good agreement between experiment, analytical solution, and numerical simulation results in the 3D case.

Asymptotic scaling in turbulent pipe flow

2007 ◽  
Vol 365 (1852) ◽  
pp. 771-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.J McKeon ◽  
J.F Morrison
Keyword(s):  
Asymptotic Behaviour ◽  
Pipe Flow ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Streamwise Velocity ◽  
Turbulent Pipe Flow ◽  
Inertial Subrange ◽  
Velocity Spectrum ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
High Reynolds

The streamwise velocity component in turbulent pipe flow is assessed to determine whether it exhibits asymptotic behaviour that is indicative of high Reynolds numbers. The asymptotic behaviour of both the mean velocity (in the form of the log law) and that of the second moment of the streamwise component of velocity in the outer and overlap regions is consistent with the development of spectral regions which indicate inertial scaling. It is shown that an ‘inertial sublayer’ in physical space may be considered as a spatial analogue of the inertial subrange in the velocity spectrum and such behaviour only appears for Reynolds numbers R + >5×10 3 , approximately, much higher than was generally thought.

Ice ripple formation at large Reynolds numbers

2012 ◽  
Vol 694 ◽  
pp. 225-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Camporeale ◽  
Luca Ridolfi
Keyword(s):  
Free Surface ◽  
Complete Solution ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Thermal Boundary Conditions ◽  
Ripple Formation ◽  
High Reynolds ◽  
Lower Temperature ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Stefan Condition

AbstractA free-surface-induced morphological instability is studied in the laminar regime at large Reynolds numbers ($\mathit{Re}= 1\text{{\ndash}} 1{0}^{3} $) and on sub-horizontal walls ($\vartheta \lt 3{0}^{\ensuremath{\circ} } $). We analytically and numerically develop the stability analysis of an inclined melting–freezing interface bounding a free-surface laminar flow. The complete solution of both the linearized flow field and the heat conservation equations allows the exact derivation of the upper and lower temperature gradients at the interface, as required by the Stefan condition, from which the dispersion relationship is obtained. The eigenstructure is obtained and discussed. Free-surface dynamics appears to be crucial for the triggering of upstream propagating ice ripples, which grow at the liquid–solid interface. The kinematic and the dynamic conditions play a key role in controlling the formation of the free-surface fluctuations; these latter induce a streamline distortion with an increment of the wall-normal velocities and a destabilizing phase shift in the net heat transfer to the interface. Three-dimensional effects appear to be crucial at high Reynolds numbers. The role of inertia forces, vorticity, and thermal boundary conditions are also discussed.

A Study on Turbulent Boundary Layers on a Smooth Flat Plate in an Open Channel

2001 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 394-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ram Balachandar ◽  
D. Blakely ◽  
M. Tachie ◽  
G. Putz
Keyword(s):  
Flat Plate ◽  
Froude Number ◽  
Boundary Layers ◽  
Open Channel ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Turbulent Boundary Layers ◽  
Wall Region ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Number Range ◽  
High Reynolds

An experimental study was undertaken to investigate the characteristics of turbulent boundary layers developing on smooth flat plate in an open channel flow at moderately high Froude numbers (0.25<Fr<1.1) and low momentum thickness Reynolds numbers 800<Reθ<2900. The low range of Reynolds numbers and the high Froude number range make the study important, as most other studies of this type have been conducted at high Reynolds numbers and lower Froude numbers (∼0.1). Velocity measurements were carried out using a laser-Doppler anemometer equipped with a beam expansion device to enable measurements close to the wall region. The shear velocities were computed using the near-wall measurements in the viscous subregion. The variables of interest include the longitudinal mean velocity, the turbulence intensity, and the velocity skewness and flatness distributions across the boundary layer. The applicability of a constant Coles’ wake parameter (Π=0.55) to open channel flows has been discounted. The effect of the Froude number on the above parameters was also examined.

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