Flow due to an oscillating sphere and an expression for unsteady drag on the sphere at finite Reynolds number

1994 ◽  
Vol 270 ◽  
pp. 133-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renwei Mei
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Dynamic Equation ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Stream Velocity ◽  
Particle Dynamic ◽  
History Force ◽  
The Time Domain ◽  
Oscillating Sphere

Unsteady flow due to an oscillating sphere with a velocity U0cosωt’, in which U0 and ω are the amplitude and frequency of the oscillation and t’ is time, is investigated at finite Reynolds number. The methods used are: (i) Fourier mode expansion in the frequency domain; (ii) a time-dependent finite difference technique in the time domain; and (iii) a matched asymptotic expansion for high-frequency oscillation. The flow fields of the steady streaming component, the second and third harmonic components are obtained with the fundamental component. The dependence of the unsteady drag on ω is examined at small and finite Reynolds numbers. For large Stokes number, ε = (ωa2/2v)½ [Gt ] 1, in which a is the radius of the sphere and v is the kinematic viscosity, the numerical result for the unsteady drag agrees well with the high-frequency asymptotic solution; and the Stokes (1851) solution is valid for finite Re at ε [Gt ] 1. For small Strouhal number, St = ωa/U0 [Lt ] 1, the imaginary component of the unsteady drag (Scaled by 6πU0pfva, in which Pf is the fluid density) behaves as Dml ∼ (h0Stlog St–h1St), m = 1,3,5… This is in direct contrast to an earlier result obtained for an unsteady flow over a stationary sphere with a small-amplitude oscillation in the free-stream velocity (hereinafter referred to as the SA case) in which D1∼ –h1St (Mei, Lawrence & Adrian 1991). Computations for flow over a sphere with a free-stream velocity U0(1–α1+α1cosωt’) at Re = U02a/v = 0.2 and St [Lt ] 1 show that h0 for the first mode varies from 0 (at α1 = 0) to around 0.5 (at α1 = 1) and that the SA case is a degenerated case in which the logarithmic dependence of the drag in St is suppressed by the strong mean uniform flow.The numerical results for the unsteady drag are used to examine an approximate particle dynamic equation proposed for spherical particles with finite Reynolds number. The equation includes a quasi-steady drag, an added-mass force, and a modified history force. The approximate expression for the history force in the time domain compares very well with the numerical results of the SA case for all frequencies; it compares favourably for the PO case for moderate and high frequencies; it underestimates slightly the history force for the PO case at low frequency. For a solid sphere settling in a stagnant liquid with zero initial velocity, the velocity history is computed using the proposed particle dynamic equation. The results compare very well with experimental data of Moorman (1955) over a large range of Reynolds numbers. The present particle dynamic equation at finite Re performs consistently better than that proposed by Odar & Hamilton (1964) both qualitatively and quantitatively for three different types of spatially uniform unsteady flows.

Unsteady drag on a sphere at finite Reynolds number with small fluctuations in the free-stream velocity

1991 ◽  
Vol 233 ◽  
pp. 613-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renwei Mei ◽  
Christopher J. Lawrence ◽  
Ronald J. Adrian
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Free Stream Velocity ◽  
Creeping Flow ◽  
Stream Velocity ◽  
Velocity Difference ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Time Domain

Unsteady flow over a stationary sphere with small fluctuations in the free-stream velocity is considered at finite Reynolds number using a finite-difference method. The dependence of the unsteady drag on the frequency of the fluctuations is examined at various Reynolds numbers. It is found that the classical Stokes solution of the unsteady Stokes equation does not correctly describe the behaviour of the unsteady drag at low frequency. Numerical results indicate that the force increases linearly with frequency when the frequency is very small instead of increasing linearly with the square root of the frequency as the classical Stokes solution predicts. This implies that the force has a much shorter memory in the time domain. The incorrect behaviour of the Basset force at large times may explain the unphysical results found by Reeks & Mckee (1984) wherein for a particle introduced to a turbulent flow the initial velocity difference between the particle and fluid has a finite contribution to the long-time particle diffusivity. The added mass component of the force at finite Reynolds number is found to be the same as predicted by creeping flow and potential theories. Effects of Reynolds number on the unsteady drag due to the fluctuating free-stream velocity are presented. The implications for particle motion in turbulence are discussed.

Flow past a sphere with an oscillation in the free-stream velocity and unsteady drag at finite Reynolds number

1992 ◽  
Vol 237 ◽  
pp. 323-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renwei Mei ◽  
Ronald J. Adrian
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Finite Difference ◽  
Unsteady Flow ◽  
Large Time ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Stream Velocity ◽  
Small Reynolds Number ◽  
Dependent Part ◽  
History Force

Unsteady flow over a stationary sphere with a small fluctuation in the free-stream velocity is considered at small Reynolds number, Re. A matched asymptotic solution is obtained for the frequency-dependent (or the acceleration-dependent) part of the unsteady flow at very small frequency, ω, under the restriction St [Lt ] Re [Lt ] 1, where St is the Strouhal number. The acceleration-dependent part of the unsteady drag is found to be proportional to St ∼ ω instead of the ω½ dependence predicted by Stokes’ solution. Consequently, the expression for the Basset history force is incorrect for large time even for very small Reynolds numbers. Present results compare well with the previous numerical results of Mei, Lawrence & Adrian (1991) using a finite-difference method for the same unsteady flow at small Reynolds number. Using the principle of causality, the present analytical results at small Re, the numerical results at finite Re for low frequency, and Stokes’ results for high frequency, a modified expression for the history force is proposed in the time domain. It is confirmed by comparing with the finite-difference results at arbitrary frequency through Fourier transformation. The modified history force has an integration kernel that decays as t−2, instead of t½, at large time for both small and finite Reynolds numbers.

CFD Study of the Pressure Distribution on the Back of a 3-D Bluff Body (CUBE) of Air Flow in Different Reynolds Numbers

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Javad Izadi ◽  
Pegah Asghari ◽  
Malihe Kamkar Delakeh
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Bluff Body ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Fluid Flows ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
The Body ◽  
Stream Velocity ◽  
Bluff Bodies ◽  
Unsteady Forces ◽  
Flow Round

The study of flow around bluff bodies is important, and has many applications in industry. Up to now, a few numerical studies have been done in this field. In this research a turbulent unsteady flow round a cube is simulated numerically. The LES method is used to simulate the turbulent flow around the cube since this method is more accurate to model time-depended flows than other numerical methods. When the air as an ideal fluid flows over the cube, flow separate from the back of the body and unsteady vortices appears, causing a large wake behind the cube. The Near-Wake (wake close to the body) plays an important role in determining the steady and unsteady forces on the body. In this study, to see the effect of the free stream velocity on the surface pressure behind the body, the Reynolds number is varied from one to four million and the pressure on the back of the cube is calculated numerically. From the results of this study, it can be seen that as the velocity or the Reynolds number increased, the pressure on the surface behind the cube decreased, but the rate of this decrease, increased as the free stream flow velocity increased. For high free stream velocities the base pressure did not change as much and therefore the base drag coefficient stayed constant (around 1.0).

Vortex Shedding From a Bluff Body Adjacent to a Plane Sliding Wall

1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 384-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Arnal ◽  
D. J. Goering ◽  
J. A. C. Humphrey
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Vortex Shedding ◽  
Bluff Body ◽  
Solid Wall ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Recirculation Region ◽  
Stream Velocity ◽  
Flow Past ◽  
Lower Reynolds Number

The characteristics of the flow around a bluff body of square cross-section in contact with a solid-wall boundary are investigated numerically using a finite difference procedure. Previous studies (Taneda, 1965; Kamemoto et al., 1984) have shown qualitatively the strong influence of solid-wall boundaries on the vortex-shedding process and the formation of the vortex street downstream. In the present study three cases are investigated which correspond to flow past a square rib in a freestream, flow past a rib on a fixed wall and flow past a rib on a sliding wall. Values of the Reynolds number studied ranged from 100 to 2000, where the Reynolds number is based on the rib height, H, and bulk stream velocity, Ub. Comparisons between the sliding-wall and fixed-wall cases show that the sliding wall has a significant destabilizing effect on the recirculation region behind the rib. Results show the onset of unsteadiness at a lower Reynolds number for the sliding-wall case (50 ≤ Recrit ≤100) than for the fixed-wall case (Recrit≥100). A careful examination of the vortex-shedding process reveals similarities between the sliding-wall case and both the freestream and fixed-wall cases. At moderate Reynolds numbers (Re≥250) the sliding-wall results show that the rib periodically sheds vortices of alternating circulation in much the same manner as the rib in a freestream; as in, for example, Davis and Moore [1982]. The vortices are distributed asymmetrically downstream of the rib and are not of equal strength as in the freestream case. However, the sliding-wall case shows no tendency to develop cycle-to-cycle variations at higher Reynolds numbers, as observed in the freestream and fixed-wall cases. Thus, while the moving wall causes the flow past the rib to become unsteady at a lower Reynolds number than in the fixed-wall case, it also acts to stabilize or “lock-in” the vortex-shedding frequency. This is attributed to the additional source of positive vorticity immediately downstream of the rib on the sliding wall.

Reynolds Number Effects on the Freewheeling Behavior of a High Solidity Vertical River Kinetic Turbine

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Hossein Birjandi ◽  
Eric Bibeau
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Speed Ratio ◽  
Stream Velocity ◽  
Blade Profile ◽  
Low Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Tip Speed Ratio ◽  
Reynolds Number Effects ◽  
High Reynolds ◽  
The University

A four-bladed, squirrel-cage, and scaled vertical kinetic turbine was designed, instrumented and tested in the water tunnel facilities at the University of Manitoba. With a solidity of 1.3 and NACA0021 blade profile, the turbine is classified as a high solidity model. Results were obtained for conditions during freewheeling at various Reynolds numbers. In this study, the freewheeling tip speed ratio, which relates the ratio of maximum blade speed to the free stream velocity at no load, was divided into three regions based on the Reynolds number. At low Reynolds numbers, the tip speed ratio was lower than unity and blades were in a stall condition. At the end of the first region, there was a sharp increase of the tip speed ratio so the second region has a tip speed ratio significantly higher than unity. In this region, the tip speed ratio increases almost linearly with Reynolds number. At high Reynolds numbers, the tip speed ratio is almost independent of Reynolds number in the third region. It should be noted that the transition between these three regions is a function of the blade profile and solidity. However, the three-region behavior is applicable to turbines with different profiles and solidities.

Active Control Methods for Drag Reduction in Flow Over Bluff Bodies (Keynote)

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haecheon Choi
Keyword(s):  
Circular Cylinder ◽  
Drag Reduction ◽  
Active Control ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Free Stream Velocity ◽  
Stream Velocity ◽  
Control Methods ◽  
Periodic Forcing ◽  
Time Periodic

In this paper, we present two successful results from active controls of flows over a circular cylinder and a sphere for drag reduction. The Reynolds number range considered for the flow over a circular cylinder is 40∼3900 based on the free-stream velocity and cylinder diameter, whereas for the flow over a sphere it is 105 based on the free-stream velocity and sphere diameter. The successful active control methods are a distributed (spatially periodic) forcing and a high-frequency (time periodic) forcing. With these control methods, the mean drag and lift fluctuations decrease and vortical structures are significantly modified. For example, the time-periodic forcing with a high frequency (larger than 20 times the vortex shedding frequency) produces 50% drag reduction for the flow over a sphere at Re = 105. The distributed forcing applied to the flow over a circular cylinder results in a significant drag reduction at all the Reynolds numbers investigated.

Large-Eddy Simulation of Flow in a Low-Pressure Turbine Cascade

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gorazd Medic ◽  
Om Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Turbulence Intensity ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Subgrid Scale ◽  
Low Pressure Turbine ◽  
Eddy Simulation ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
Subgrid Scale Model

Flow over three low-pressure turbine airfoils presented in [1] is analyzed for a range of Reynolds numbers (30,000 to 150,000) by means of large-eddy simulation. Baseline computational grid for these 2D linear cascade configurations consisted of 35 millions cells, and additional finer grids of 70 millions cells were used for grid sensitivity studies. For these low Reynolds number flows, this represents a quasi-DNS resolution which minimizes the role of the subgrid-scale model — however, WALE subgrid-scale model [7] was still employed. The configurations were analyzed for low free-stream turbulence intensity, as well as for 4% turbulence intensity at free-stream. Laminar separation exists on the suction side, and, depending on the Reynolds number, the flow at the outer edge of the separation either transitions, and the separation closes before the trailing edge, or not. Detailed comparisons to measurements are presented for computed surface pressure and total pressure losses over the range of Reynolds numbers for all three airfoils; these show that LES analyses are able to capture the main trends across all three geometries.

Experimental Study on the Effect of Reynolds Number Variation on Drag Force for Various Cut Angle on D-Type Cylinders

2014 ◽  
Vol 493 ◽  
pp. 140-144
Author(s):  
Astu Pudjanarsa ◽  
Ardian Ardawalika
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Drag Force ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Force Balance ◽  
Stream Velocity ◽  
Turning Angle ◽  
Subsonic Wind Tunnel ◽  
Minimum Drag ◽  
Number Variation

Experimental study on the effect of Reynolds number variation on drag force for various cut angles on D-type cylinders was performed. Five different cut angles on different cylinders were applied including: 35o, 45o, 53o, 60o, and 65o. The free stream velocity was varied so the Reynolds number also varied.The experiment was carried out at a subsonic wind tunnel. Drag force for a cut D-type cylinder (for example 35o) was measured using a force balance and wind speed was varied so that corresponding Reynolds number of 2.4×104÷5.3×104 were achieved. Wind turning angle was kept at 0o (without turning angle). This experiment repeated for other D-type cylinders.Experiment results show that, for all D-type cylinders, drag force decreased as the Reynolds number increased, then it was increased after attain minimum drag force. For all D-type cylinders and all variations of Reynolds number the drag minimum is attained at cut angle of 53o. This value is appropriate with previous experiment results.

An experimental investigation of the flow around a circular cylinder: influence of aspect ratio

1994 ◽  
Vol 258 ◽  
pp. 287-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Norberg
Keyword(s):  
Aspect Ratio ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Infinite Cylinder ◽  
Stream Velocity ◽  
Subcritical Regime ◽  
End Plate ◽  
Aspect Ratios ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Stable Flow

The investigation is concentrated on two important quantities – the Strouhal number and the mean base suction coefficient, both measured at the mid-span position. Reynolds numbers from about 50 to 4 × 104 were investigated. Different aspect ratios, at low blockage ratios, were achieved by varying the distance between circular end plates (end plate diameter ratios between 10 and 30). It was not possible, by using these end plates in uniform flow and at very large aspect ratios, to produce parallel shedding all over the laminar shedding regime. However, parallel shedding at around mid-span was observed throughout this regime in cases when there was a slight but symmetrical increase in the free-stream velocity towards both ends of the cylinder. At higher Re, the results at different aspect ratios were compared with those of a ‘quasi-infinite cylinder’ and the required aspect ratio to reach conditions independent of this parameter, within the experimental uncertainties, are given. For instance, aspect ratios as large as L/D = 60–70 were needed in the range Re ≈ 4 × 103–104. With the smallest relative end plate diameter and for aspect ratios smaller than 7, a bi-stable flow switching between regular vortex shedding and ‘irregular flow’ was found at intermediate Reynolds number ranges in the subcritical regime (Re ≈ 2 × 103).

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