Secondary instability of a temporally growing mixing layer

1987 ◽  
Vol 184 ◽  
pp. 207-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph W. Metcalfe ◽  
Steven A. Orszag ◽  
Marc E. Brachet ◽  
Suresh Menon ◽  
James J. Riley

The three-dimensional stability of two-dimensional vortical states of planar mixing layers is studied by direct numerical integration of the Navier-Stokes equations. Small-scale instabilities are shown to exist for spanwise scales at which classical linear modes are stable. These modes grow on convective timescales, extract their energy from the mean flow and exist at moderately low Reynolds numbers. Their growth rates are comparable with the most rapidly growing inviscid instability and with the growth rates of two-dimensional subharmonic (pairing) modes. At high amplitudes, they can evolve into pairs of counter-rotating, streamwise vortices, connecting the primary spanwise vortices, which are very similar to the structures observed in laboratory experiments. The three-dimensional modes do not appear to saturate in quasi-steady states as do the purely two-dimensional fundamental and subharmonic modes in the absence of pairing. The subsequent evolution of the flow depends on the relative amplitudes of the pairing modes. Persistent pairings can inhibit three-dimensional instability and, hence, keep the flow predominantly two-dimensional. Conversely, suppression of the pairing process can drive the three-dimensional modes to more chaotic, turbulent-like states. An analysis of high-resolution simulations of fully turbulent mixing layers confirms the existence of rib-like structures and that their coherence depends strongly on the presence of the two-dimensional pairing modes.

1995 ◽  
Vol 291 ◽  
pp. 369-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald D. Joslin

The spatial evolution of three-dimensional disturbances in an attachment-line boundary layer is computed by direct numerical simulation of the unsteady, incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. Disturbances are introduced into the boundary layer by harmonic sources that involve unsteady suction and blowing through the wall. Various harmonic-source generators are implemented on or near the attachment line, and the disturbance evolutions are compared. Previous two-dimensional simulation results and nonparallel theory are compared with the present results. The three-dimensional simulation results for disturbances with quasi-two-dimensional features indicate growth rates of only a few percent larger than pure two-dimensional results; however, the results are close enough to enable the use of the more computationally efficient, two-dimensional approach. However, true three-dimensional disturbances are more likely in practice and are more stable than two-dimensional disturbances. Disturbances generated off (but near) the attachment line spread both away from and toward the attachment line as they evolve. The evolution pattern is comparable to wave packets in flat-plate boundary-layer flows. Suction stabilizes the quasi-two-dimensional attachment-line instabilities, and blowing destabilizes these instabilities; these results qualitatively agree with the theory. Furthermore, suction stabilizes the disturbances that develop off the attachment line. Clearly, disturbances that are generated near the attachment line can supply energy to attachment-line instabilities, but suction can be used to stabilize these instabilities.


2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 901-918 ◽  

<div> <p>Three-dimensional calculations were performed to simulate the flow around a cylindrical vegetation element using the Scale Adaptive Simulation (SAS) model; commonly, this is the first step of the modeling of the flow through multiple vegetation elements. SAS solves the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations in stable flow regions, while in regions with unstable flow it goes unsteady producing a resolved turbulent spectrum after reducing eddy viscosity according to the locally resolved vortex size represented by the von Karman length scale. A finite volume numerical code was used for the spatial discretisation of the rectangular computational domain with stream-wise, cross-flow and vertical dimensions equal to 30D, 11D and 1D, respectively, which was resolved with unstructured grids. Calculations were compared with experiments and Large Eddy Simulations (LES). Predicted overall flow parameters and mean flow velocities exhibited a very satisfactory agreement with experiments and LES, while the agreement of predicted turbulent stresses was satisfactory. Calculations showed that SAS is an efficient and relatively fast turbulence modeling approach, especially in relevant practical problems, in which the very high accuracy that can be achieved by LES at the expense of large computational times is not required.</p> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p>


2014 ◽  
Vol 136 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Younis ◽  
A. Abrishamchi

The paper reports on the prediction of the turbulent flow field around a three-dimensional, surface mounted, square-sectioned cylinder at Reynolds numbers in the range 104–105. The effects of turbulence are accounted for in two different ways: by performing large-eddy simulations (LES) with a Smagorinsky model for the subgrid-scale motions and by solving the unsteady form of the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations (URANS) together with a turbulence model to determine the resulting Reynolds stresses. The turbulence model used is a two-equation, eddy-viscosity closure that incorporates a term designed to account for the interactions between the organized mean-flow periodicity and the random turbulent motions. Comparisons with experimental data show that the two approaches yield results that are generally comparable and in good accord with the experimental data. The main conclusion of this work is that the URANS approach, which is considerably less demanding in terms of computer resources than LES, can reliably be used for the prediction of unsteady separated flows provided that the effects of organized mean-flow unsteadiness on the turbulence are properly accounted for in the turbulence model.


2006 ◽  
Vol 128 (6) ◽  
pp. 1394-1399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donghyun You ◽  
Meng Wang ◽  
Rajat Mittal ◽  
Parviz Moin

A novel structured grid approach which provides an efficient way of treating a class of complex geometries is proposed. The incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are formulated in a two-dimensional, generalized curvilinear coordinate system complemented by a third quasi-curvilinear coordinate. By keeping all two-dimensional planes defined by constant third coordinate values parallel to one another, the proposed approach significantly reduces the memory requirement in fully three-dimensional geometries, and makes the computation more cost effective. The formulation can be easily adapted to an existing flow solver based on a two-dimensional generalized coordinate system coupled with a Cartesian third direction, with only a small increase in computational cost. The feasibility and efficiency of the present method have been assessed in a simulation of flow over a tapered cylinder.


2011 ◽  
Vol 666 ◽  
pp. 506-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. DOMENICHINI

The vortex formation behind an orifice is a widely investigated phenomenon, which has been recently studied in several problems of biological relevance. In the case of a circular opening, several works in the literature have shown the existence of a limiting process for vortex ring formation that leads to the concept of critical formation time. In the different geometric arrangement of a planar flow, which corresponds to an opening with straight edges, it has been recently outlined that such a concept does not apply. This discrepancy opens the question about the presence of limiting conditions when apertures with irregular shape are considered. In this paper, the three-dimensional vortex formation due to the impulsively started flow through slender openings is studied with the numerical solution of the Navier–Stokes equations, at values of the Reynolds number that allow the comparison with previous two-dimensional findings. The analysis of the three-dimensional results reveals the two-dimensional nature of the early vortex formation phase. During an intermediate phase, the flow evolution appears to be driven by the local curvature of the orifice edge, and the time scale of the phenomena exhibits a surprisingly good agreement with those found in axisymmetric problems with the same curvature. The long-time evolution shows the complete development of the three-dimensional vorticity dynamics, which does not allow the definition of further unifying concepts.


Author(s):  
S M Fraser ◽  
Y Zhang

Three-dimensional turbulent flow through the impeller passage of a model mixed-flow pump has been simulated by solving the Navier-Stokes equations with an improved κ-ɛ model. The standard κ-ɛ model was found to be unsatisfactory for solving the off-design impeller flow and a converged solution could not be obtained at 49 per cent design flowrate. After careful analysis, it was decided to modify the standard κ-ɛ model by including the extra rates of strain due to the acceleration of impeller rotation and geometrical curvature and removing the mathematical ill-posedness between the mean flow turbulence modelling and the logarithmic wall function.


2008 ◽  
Vol 599 ◽  
pp. 309-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
GUILLAUME A. BRÈS ◽  
TIM COLONIUS

Direct numerical simulations are performed to investigate the three-dimensional stability of compressible flow over open cavities. A linear stability analysis is conducted to search for three-dimensional global instabilities of the two-dimensional mean flow for cavities that are homogeneous in the spanwise direction. The presence of such instabilities is reported for a range of flow conditions and cavity aspect ratios. For cavities of aspect ratio (length to depth) of 2 and 4, the three-dimensional mode has a spanwise wavelength of approximately one cavity depth and oscillates with a frequency about one order of magnitude lower than two-dimensional Rossiter (flow/acoustics) instabilities. A steady mode of smaller spanwise wavelength is also identified for square cavities. The linear results indicate that the instability is hydrodynamic (rather than acoustic) in nature and arises from a generic centrifugal instability mechanism associated with the mean recirculating vortical flow in the downstream part of the cavity. These three-dimensional instabilities are related to centrifugal instabilities previously reported in flows over backward-facing steps, lid-driven cavity flows and Couette flows. Results from three-dimensional simulations of the nonlinear compressible Navier–Stokes equations are also reported. The formation of oscillating (and, in some cases, steady) spanwise structures is observed inside the cavity. The spanwise wavelength and oscillation frequency of these structures agree with the linear analysis predictions. When present, the shear-layer (Rossiter) oscillations experience a low-frequency modulation that arises from nonlinear interactions with the three-dimensional mode. The results are consistent with observations of low-frequency modulations and spanwise structures in previous experimental and numerical studies on open cavity flows.


2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 2001-2045
Author(s):  
A. Wirth

Abstract. The small scale dynamics of a weakly turbulent oceanic gravity current is determined. The gravity current considered is initially at rest and adjusts by performing inertial oscillations to a geostrophic mean flow. The dynamics is explored with a hierarchy of mathematical models. The most involved are the fully 3-D Navier-Stokes equations subject to the Boussinesq approximation. A 1-D and 0-D mathematical model of the same gravity current dynamics are systematically derived. Using this hierarchy and the numerical solutions of the mathematical models, the turbulent dynamics at the bottom and the interface is explored and their interaction investigated. Three different regimes of the small scale dynamics of the gravity current are identified, they are characterised by laminar flow, coherent roll vortices and turbulent dynamics with coherent streaks and bursts. The problem of the rectification of the turbulent fluxes, that is how to average out the fluctuations and calculate their average influence on the flow is considered. It is shown that two different regimes of friction are superposed, an Ekman friction applies to the average geostrophic flow and a linear friction, not influenced by rotation, to the inertial oscillations. The combination of the two makes the bulk friction non-local in time for the 0-D model. The implications of the results for parametrisations of the Ekman dynamics and the small scale turbulent fluxes in the planetary boundary layer are discussed.


2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (33) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Andrea Ruju ◽  
Pablo Higuera ◽  
Javier L. Lara ◽  
Inigo J. Losada ◽  
Giovanni Coco

This work presents the numerical study of rip current circulation on a barred beach. The numerical simulations have been carried out with the IH-FOAM model which is based on the three dimensional Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations. The new boundary conditions implemented in IH-FOAM have been used, including three dimensional wave generation as well as active wave absorption at the boundary. Applying the specific wave generation boundary conditions, the model is validated to simulate rip circulation on a barred beach. Moreover, this study addresses the identification of the forcing mechanisms and the three dimensional structure of the mean flow.


2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald P. Rizzetta ◽  
Miguel R. Visbal

Numerical calculations were carried out to investigate control of transition on a flat plate by means of local dynamic surface deformation. The configuration and flow conditions are similar to a previous computation which simulated transition mitigation. Physically, the surface modification may be produced by piezoelectrically driven actuators located below a compliant aerodynamic surface, which have been employed experimentally. One actuator is located in the upstream plate region and oscillated at the most unstable frequency of 250 Hz to develop disturbances representing Tollmien–Schlichting instabilities. A controlling actuator is placed downstream and oscillated at the same frequency, but with an appropriate phase shift and modified amplitude to decrease disturbance growth and delay transition. While the downstream controlling actuator is two-dimensional (spanwise invariant), several forms of upstream disturbances were considered. These included disturbances which were strictly two-dimensional, those which were modulated in amplitude and those which had a spanwise variation of the temporal phase shift. Direct numerical simulations were obtained by solution of the three-dimensional compressible Navier–Stokes equations, utilizing a high-fidelity computational scheme and an implicit time-marching approach. A previously devised empirical process was applied for determining the optimal parameters of the controlling actuator. Results of the simulations are described, features of the flowfields elucidated, and comparisons made between solutions of the uncontrolled and controlled cases for the respective incoming disturbances. It is found that the disturbance growth is mitigated and the transition is delayed for all forms of the upstream perturbations, substantially reducing the skin friction.


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