The structure of a shear layer bounding a separation region. Part 2. Effects of free-stream turbulence

1988 ◽  
Vol 192 ◽  
pp. 577-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. P. Castro ◽  
A. Haque
Keyword(s):  
Shear Layer ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Layer Structure ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Flow Region ◽  
Turbulence Structure ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Free Stream Turbulence ◽  
Turbulence Data ◽  
Upstream Flow

Detailed measurements throughout the separated region behind a flat plate placed normal to a turbulent stream are reported. A long, central, downstream splitter plate prevented vortex shedding and led to a relatively extensive reversed flow region. Mean flow and turbulence data are compared with results obtained in the (nominal) absence of free-stream turbulence, and attention is concentrated on the changes in the shear-layer structure resulting from the different nature of the upstream flow.Many aspects of the results confirm those obtained recently by other workers. Free-stream turbulence enhances shear-layer entrainment rates, reduces the distance to reattachment and modifies the relatively low-frequency ‘flapping’ motion of the shear layer. In addition, however, extensive use of pulsed wire anemometry has allowed detailed measurements of the turbulence structure throughout the flow and it is shown that this is also modified significantly by the stream turbulence.

The reduction and elimination of a closed separation region by free-stream turbulence

2001 ◽  
Vol 446 ◽  
pp. 271-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. KALTER ◽  
H. H. FERNHOLZ
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Reverse Flow ◽  
Flow Region ◽  
Adverse Pressure Gradient ◽  
Turbulence Structure ◽  
Hot Wire ◽  
Free Stream Turbulence ◽  
The Mean

This paper is an extension of an experimental investigation by Alving & Fernholz (1996). In the present experiments the effects of free-stream turbulence were investigated on a boundary layer with an adverse pressure gradient and a closed reverse-flow region. By adding free-stream turbulence the mean reverse-flow region was shortened or completely eliminated and this was used to control the size of the separation bubble. The turbulence intensity was varied between 0.2% and 6% using upstream grids while the turbulence length scale was on the order of the boundary layer thickness. Mean and fluctuating velocities as well as spectra were measured by means of hot-wire and laser-Doppler anemometry and wall shear stress by wall pulsed-wire and wall hot-wire probes.Free-stream turbulence had a small effect on the boundary layer in the mild adverse-pressure-gradient region but in the vicinity of separation and along the reverse-flow region mean velocity profiles, skin friction and turbulence structure were strongly affected. Downstream of the mean or instantaneous reverse-flow regions highly disturbed boundary layers developed in a nominally zero pressure gradient and converged to a similar turbulence structure in all three cases at the end of the test section. This state was, however, still very different from that in a canonical boundary layer.

Numerical investigation of laminar–turbulent transition in laminar separation bubbles: the effect of free-stream turbulence

2018 ◽  
Vol 858 ◽  
pp. 714-759 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirzad Hosseinverdi ◽  
Hermann F. Fasel
Keyword(s):  
Shear Layer ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Shear Layer Instability ◽  
Laminar Separation ◽  
Free Stream Turbulence ◽  
Turbulent Transition ◽  
Separated Shear Layer ◽  
Separation Bubbles

The role of free-stream turbulence (FST) in the hydrodynamic instability mechanisms and transition to turbulence in laminar separation bubbles (LSBs) was investigated using direct numerical simulations (DNS). Towards this end, a set of highly resolved DNS have been carried out, where isotropic FST fluctuations with intensities from 0.1 % to 3 % are introduced to investigate the relevant physical mechanisms governing the interaction of separation and transition in LSBs. For disturbance-free simulations, i.e. without FST, laminar–turbulent transition involves a Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability of the separated shear layer. For LSBs subjected to FST, vortical FST fluctuations penetrate the approaching attached laminar boundary layer upstream of the separation location and induce slowly growing low-frequency disturbances, so-called Klebanoff (K) modes, which cause a spanwise modulation with a distinct spanwise wavelength. Simultaneously, the FST enhances the initial levels of instability waves with frequencies in the frequency range of the KH instability, but at much smaller amplitude levels compared to the K-modes. Results from the calculations based on the linearized Navier–Stokes equations and comparison with DNS results reveal that the K-mode exhibits exponential growth in the separated shear layer until it reaches a peak amplitude. At the same time, two-dimensional (2D) disturbance waves are also exponentially amplified, in fact at larger growth rate compared to the K-mode, due to the primary (convective) shear-layer instability mechanism until they saturate downstream of the peak amplitude associated with the K-mode. Therefore, based on detailed spectral analysis and modal decompositions for the separation bubbles investigated, the transition process is the result of two different mechanisms: (i) strong amplification of high-frequency (order of the shedding frequency), essentially 2D or weakly oblique fluctuating disturbances and (ii) low-frequency, three-dimensional K-modes caused by FST. Depending on the intensity of the FST, one of these mechanisms would dominate the transition process, or both mechanisms act together and contribute simultaneously. The net effect of these two events is an acceleration of transition for an increased level of FST intensity, which in turn leads to a reduction of the extent of the separation bubble in streamwise and wall-normal directions. The ‘roll-up’ into spanwise large-scale vortical structures resulting from the shear-layer instability, and the eventual breakdown of these structures, strongly contribute to the reattachment process. The spanwise coherence of these ‘rollers’ deteriorates due to the presence of large-amplitude K-modes, thus effectively weakening their strength for high levels of FST intensities ($Tu>1\,\%$).

Numerical prediction of incompressible separation bubbles

1975 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 631-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Roger Briley ◽  
Henry Mcdonald
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Shear Layer ◽  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Navier Stokes Equations ◽  
Free Stream Turbulence ◽  
Separation Bubbles

A method is presented for performing detailed computations of thin incompressible separation bubbles on smooth surfaces. The analysis consists of finite-difference solutions to the time-dependent boundary-layer or Navier-Stokes equations for the flow in the immediate vicinity of the bubble. The method employs the McDonald-Fish turbulence model, to predict the development of the time-mean flow field, as influenced by the free-stream turbulence level. It also employs a viscous-inviscid interaction model, which accounts for the elliptic interaction between the shear layer and inviscid free stream. The numerical method is based on an alternating-direction implicit scheme for the vorticity equation. It employs transformations, to allow the free-stream boundary to change in time with the shape of the computed shear layer, and to ensure an adequate resolution of the sublayer region. Numerical solutions are presented for transitional bubbles on an NACA 663-018 airfoil at zero angle of incidence with chordal Reynolds numbers of 2·0 × 106 and 1·7 × 106. These have a qualitative behaviour similar to that observed in numerous experiments; they are also in reasonable quantitative agreement with available experimental data. Little difference is found between steady solutions of the boundary-layer and Navier-Stokes equations for these flow conditions. Numerical studies based on mesh refinement suggest that the well-known singularity at separation, which is present in conventional solutions of the steady boundary-layer equations when the free-stream velocity is specified, is effectively removed when viscous-inviscid interaction is allowed to influence the imposed velocity distribution.

scholarly journals Low-frequency unsteadiness in the wake of a normal flat plate

1998 ◽  
Vol 370 ◽  
pp. 101-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. M. NAJJAR ◽  
S. BALACHANDAR
Keyword(s):  
Shear Layer ◽  
Flat Plate ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Separated Flow ◽  
Phase Mismatch ◽  
Streamwise Vortices ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Drag And Lift ◽  
High Degree

The separated flow past a zero-thickness flat plate held normal to a free stream at Re=250 has been investigated through numerical experiments. The long-time signatures of the drag and lift coefficients clearly capture a low-frequency unsteadiness with a period of approximately 10 times the primary shedding period. The amplitude and frequency of drag and lift variations during the shedding process are strongly modulated by the low frequency. A physical interpretation of the low-frequency behaviour is that the flow gradually varies between two different regimes: a regime H of high mean drag and a regime L of low mean drag. It is observed that in regime H the shear layer rolls up closer to the plate to form coherent spanwise vortices, while in regime L the shear layer extends farther downstream and the rolled-up Kármán vortices are less coherent. In the high-drag regime three-dimensionality is characterized by coherent Kármán vortices and reasonably well-organized streamwise vortices connecting the Kármán vortices. With a non-dimensional spanwise wavelength of about 1.2, the three-dimensionality in this regime is reminiscent of mode-B three-dimensionality. It is observed that the high degree of spanwise coherence that exists in regime H breaks down in regime L. Based on detailed numerical flow visualization we conjecture that the formation of streamwise and spanwise vortices is not in perfect synchronization and that the low-frequency unsteadiness is the result of this imbalance (or phase mismatch).

scholarly journals Numerical Analysis of an Instrumented Turbine Blade Cascade

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryn N. Ubald ◽  
Jiahuan Cui ◽  
Rob Watson ◽  
Paul G. Tucker ◽  
Shahrokh Shahpar
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Analysis ◽  
Measurement Accuracy ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Separation Bubble ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Pressure Probe ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Trailing Edge ◽  
Free Stream Turbulence ◽  
Jet Trajectory

The measurement accuracy of the temperature/pressure probe mounted at the leading edge of a turbine/compressor blade is crucial for estimating the fuel consumption of a turbo-fan engine. Apart from the measurement error itself, the probe also introduces extra losses. This again would compromise the measurement accuracy of the overall engine efficiency. This paper utilizes high-fidelity numerical analysis to understand the complex flow around the probe and quantify the loss sources due to the interaction between the blade and its instrumentation. With the inclusion of leading edge probes, three dimensional flow phenomena develop, with some flow features acting in a similar manner to a jet in cross flow. The separated flow formed at the leading edge of the probe blocks a large area of the probe bleed-hole, which is one of the reasons why the probe accuracy can be sensitive to Mach and Reynolds numbers. The addition of 4% free stream turbulence is shown to have a marginal impact on the jet trajectory originated from the probe bleedhole. However, a slight reduction is observed in the size of the separation bubble formed at the leading edge of the probe, preceding the two bleedhole exits. The free stream turbulence also has a significant impact on the size of the separation bubble near the trailing edge of the blade. With the addition of the free stream turbulence, the loss observed within the trailing edge wake is reduced. More than 50% of the losses at the cascade exit are generated by the leading edge probe. A breakdown of the dissipation terms from the mean flow kinetic energy equation demonstrates that the Reynolds stresses are the key terms in dissipating the counter rotating vortex pairs with the viscous stresses responsible for the boundary layer.

Boundary Layer Transition Under High Free-Stream Turbulence and Strong Acceleration Conditions: Part 1—Mean Flow Results

1997 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 420-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Volino ◽  
T. W. Simon
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Skin Friction ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Boundary Layer Transition ◽  
Temperature Profiles ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Layer Transition ◽  
Free Stream Turbulence

Measurements from heated boundary layers along a concave-curved test wall subject to high (initially 8 percent) free-stream turbulence intensity and strong (K = (ν/U∞2) dU∞/dx) as high as 9 × 10−6) acceleration are presented and discussed. Conditions for the experiments were chosen to roughly simulate those present on the downstream half of the pressure side of a gas turbine airfoil. Mean velocity and temperature profiles as well as skin friction and heat transfer coefficients are presented. The transition zone is of extended length in spite of the high free-stream turbulence level. Transitional values of skin friction coefficients and Stanton numbers drop below flat-plate, low-free-stream-turbulence, turbulent flow correlations, but remain well above laminar flow values. The mean velocity and temperature profiles exhibit clear changes in shape as the flow passes through transition. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first detailed documentation of a high-free-stream-turbulence boundary layer flow in such a strong acceleration field.

Effects of Weak Free Stream Nonuniformity on Boundary Layer Transition (Keynote Paper)

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan H. Watmuff
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Boundary Layer Transition ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Layer Transition ◽  
Free Stream Turbulence ◽  
Tollmien Schlichting ◽  
Distorted Waves ◽  
Thickness Variations

Experiments are described in which well-defined FSN (Free Stream Nonuniformity) distributions are introduced by placing fine wires upstream of the leading edge of a flat plate. Large amplitude spanwise thickness variations are present in the downstream boundary layer resulting from the interaction of the laminar wakes with the leading edge. Regions of elevated background unsteadiness appear on either side of the peak layer thickness, which share many of the characteristics of Klebanoff modes, observed at elevated Free Stream Turbulence (FST) levels. However, for the low background disturbance level of the free stream, the layer remains laminar to the end of the test section (Rx ≈ l.4×106) and there is no evidence of bursting or other phenomena associated with breakdown to turbulence. A vibrating ribbon apparatus is used to demonstrate that the deformation of the mean flow is responsible for substantial phase and amplitude distortion of Tollmien-Schlichting (TS) waves. Pseudo-flow visualization of hot-wire data shows that the breakdown of the distorted waves is more complex and occurs at a lower Reynolds number than the breakdown of the K-type secondary instability observed when the FSN is not present.

Effects of Weak Free Stream Nonuniformity on Boundary Layer Transition

2005 ◽  
Vol 128 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan H. Watmuff
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Layer Thickness ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Boundary Layer Transition ◽  
Bypass Transition ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Low Speed ◽  
Free Stream Turbulence ◽  
Thickness Variations

Experiments are described in which well-defined weak Free Stream Nonuniformity (FSN) is introduced by placing fine wires upstream of the leading edge of a flat plate. Large amplitude spanwise thickness variations form in the boundary layer as a result of the interaction between the steady laminar wakes from the wires and the leading edge. The centerline of a region of elevated layer thickness is aligned with the centerline of the wake in the freestream and the response is shown to be remarkably sensitive to the spanwise length-scale of the wakes. The region of elevated thickness is equivalent to a long narrow low speed streak in the layer. Elevated Free Stream Turbulence (FST) levels are known to produce randomly forming arrays of long narrow low speed streaks in laminar boundary layers. Therefore the characteristics of the streaks resulting from the FSN are studied in detail in an effort to gain some insight into bypass transition that occurs at elevated FST levels. The shape factors of the profiles in the vicinity of the streak appear to be unaltered from the Blasius value, even though the magnitude of the local thickness variations are as large as 60% of that of the undisturbed layer. Regions of elevated background unsteadiness appear on either side of the streak and it is shown that they are most likely the result of small amplitude spanwise modulation of the layer thickness. The background unsteadiness shares many of the characteristics of Klebanoff modes observed at elevated FST levels. However, the layer remains laminar to the end of the test section (Rx≈1.4×106) and there is no evidence of bursting or other phenomena associated with breakdown to turbulence. A vibrating ribbon apparatus is used to examine interactions between the streak and Tollmien-Schlichting (TS) waves. The deformation of the mean flow introduced by the streak is responsible for substantial phase and amplitude distortion of the waves and the breakdown of the distorted waves is more complex and it occurs at a lower Reynolds number than the breakdown of the K-type secondary instability that is observed when the FSN is not present.

Boundary layer development after a separated region

1998 ◽  
Vol 374 ◽  
pp. 91-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
IAN P. CASTRO ◽  
ELEANORA EPIK
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Boundary Layers ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Turbulence Models ◽  
Separated Flow ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Turbulence Structure ◽  
Outer Flow ◽  
Free Stream Turbulence ◽  
Layer Region

Measurements obtained in boundary layers developing downstream of the highly turbulent, separated flow generated at the leading edge of a blunt flat plate are presented. Two cases are considered: first, when there is only very low (wind tunnel) turbulence present in the free-stream flow and, second, when roughly isotropic, homogeneous turbulence is introduced. With conditions adjusted to ensure that the separated region was of the same length in both cases, the flow around reattachment was significantly different and subsequent differences in the development rate of the two boundary layers are identified. The paper complements, but is much more extensive than, the earlier presentation of some of the basic data (Castro & Epik 1996), confirming not only that the development process is very slow, but also that it is non-monotonic. Turbulence stress levels fall below those typical of zero-pressure-gradient boundary layers and, in many ways, the boundary layer has features similar to those found in standard boundary layers perturbed by free-stream turbulence. It is argued that, at least as far as the turbulence structure is concerned, the inner layer region develops no more quickly than does the outer flow and it is the latter which essentially determines the overall rate of development of the whole flow. Some numerical computations are used to assess the extent to which current turbulence models are adequate for such flows.

Numerical investigation of the role of free-stream turbulence in boundary-layer separation

2016 ◽  
Vol 801 ◽  
pp. 289-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Balzer ◽  
H. F. Fasel
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Shear Layer ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Hydrodynamic Instability ◽  
Low Reynolds Number ◽  
Transition To Turbulence ◽  
Laminar Separation ◽  
Free Stream Turbulence ◽  
Low Reynolds

The aerodynamic performance of lifting surfaces operating at low Reynolds number conditions is impaired by laminar separation. In most cases, transition to turbulence occurs in the separated shear layer as a result of a series of strong hydrodynamic instability mechanisms. Although the understanding of these mechanisms has been significantly advanced over the past decades, key questions remain unanswered about the influence of external factors such as free-stream turbulence (FST) and others on transition and separation. The present study is driven by the need for more accurate predictions of separation and transition phenomena in ‘real world’ applications, where elevated levels of FST can play a significant role (e.g. turbomachinery). Numerical investigations have become an integral part in the effort to enhance our understanding of the intricate interactions between separation and transition. Due to the development of advanced numerical methods and the increase in the performance of supercomputers with parallel architecture, it has become feasible for low Reynolds number application ($O(10^{5})$) to carry out direct numerical simulations (DNS) such that all relevant spatial and temporal scales are resolved without the use of turbulence modelling. Because the employed high-order accurate DNS are characterized by very low levels of background noise, they lend themselves to transition research where the amplification of small disturbances, sometimes even growing from numerical round-off, can be examined in great detail. When comparing results from DNS and experiment, however, it is beneficial, if not necessary, to increase the background disturbance levels in the DNS to levels that are typical for the experiment. For the current work, a numerical model that emulates a realistic free-stream turbulent environment was adapted and implemented into an existing Navier–Stokes code based on a vorticity–velocity formulation. The role FST plays in the transition process was then investigated for a laminar separation bubble forming on a flat plate. FST was shown to cause the formation of the well-known Klebanoff mode that is represented by streamwise-elongated streaks inside the boundary layer. Increasing the FST levels led to accelerated transition, a reduction in bubble size and better agreement with the experiments. Moreover, the stage of linear disturbance growth due to the inviscid shear-layer instability was found to not be ‘bypassed’.

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