scholarly journals The theory of axisymmetric turbulence

This paper discusses a type of turbulence in a uniform stream which is next to isotropic turbulence in order of simplicity. Instead of spherical symmetry, or isotropy, axially symmetical turbulence possesses symmetry about an axis which in practice is usually the direction of mean flow. The analysis is developed with the aid of invariant theory, as suggested by a previous paper by Robertson. The form of the fundamental velocity correlation is obtained, and scales of axisymmetric turbulence are defined. The results of greatest practical interest concern the time rates of change of the mean squares of the lateral and longitudinal velocity components. The rates of change involve two terms, the first representing viscous dissipation, and the second representing a transfer of energy from one component to the other due to the finite correlation between the velocity and pressure at neighbouring points. The effect of the velocity-pressure correlation is to bring the two velocity components towards equality, while the effect of the viscous dissipation will only be towards equality if an inequality between the curvatures at the origin of two particular velocity correlation coefficient curves, both of which are measurable, is obeyed. The rates of change of the mean squares of the vorticity components are also obtained.

1999 ◽  
Vol 390 ◽  
pp. 325-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. NAZARENKO ◽  
N. K.-R. KEVLAHAN ◽  
B. DUBRULLE

A WKB method is used to extend RDT (rapid distortion theory) to initially inhomogeneous turbulence and unsteady mean flows. The WKB equations describe turbulence wavepackets which are transported by the mean velocity and have wavenumbers which evolve due to the mean strain. The turbulence also modifies the mean flow and generates large-scale vorticity via the averaged Reynolds stress tensor. The theory is applied to Taylor's four-roller flow in order to explain the experimentally observed reduction in the mean strain. The strain reduction occurs due to the formation of a large-scale vortex quadrupole structure from the turbulent spot confined by the four rollers. Both turbulence inhomogeneity and three-dimensionality are shown to be important for this effect. If the initially isotropic turbulence is either homogeneous in space or two-dimensional, it has no effect on the large-scale strain. Furthermore, the turbulent kinetic energy is conserved in the two-dimensional case, which has important consequences for the theory of two-dimensional turbulence. The analytical and numerical results presented here are in good qualitative agreement with experiment.


1994 ◽  
Vol 266 ◽  
pp. 175-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard S. Littell ◽  
John K. Eaton

Measurements of the boundary layer on an effectively infinite rotating disk in a quiescent environment are described for Reynolds numbers up to Reδ2 = 6000. The mean flow properties were found to resemble a ‘typical’ three-dimensional crossflow, while some aspects of the turbulence measurements were significantly different from two-dimensional boundary layers that are turned. Notably, the ratio of the shear stress vector magnitude to the turbulent kinetic energy was found to be at a maximum near the wall, instead of being locally depressed as in a turned two-dimensional boundary layer. Also, the shear stress and the mean strain rate vectors were found to be more closely aligned than would be expected in a flow with this degree of crossflow. Two-point velocity correlation measurements exhibited strong asymmetries which are impossible in a two-dimensional boundary layer. Using conditional sampling, the velocity field surrounding strong Reynolds stress events was partially mapped. These data were studied in the light of the structural model of Robinson (1991), and a hypothesis describing the effect of cross-stream shear on Reynolds stress events is developed.


In this problem a mean turbulent shear layer originally exists, homogeneous in the streamwise direction, formed perhaps by previous instabilities, but in equilibrium with the fine-grained turbulence. At a given time, a large eddy of a fixed horizontal wavenumber is initiated. We study the subsequent time development of the non-equilibrium interactions between the three components of flow as they adjust towards ultimate simultaneous equilibrium, using the integrated energy-balance conservation equations to derive the amplitude equations. This necessarily involves the usual averaging procedure and a conditional or phase-averaging procedure by which the large structure motion is educed from the total fluctuations. In general, the mean flow growth is due to the energy transfer to both fluctuating components, the large eddy gains energy from the mean motion and exchanges energy with the fine-grained turbulence, while the fine-grained turbulence gains energy from the mean flow and exchanges with the large eddy and converts its energy to heat through viscous dissipation of the smallest scales. The closure problem is obtained via the shape assumptions which enter into the interaction integrals. The situation in which the fine-grained turbulent kinetic energy production and viscous dissipation are in local balance is considered, the displacement from equilibrium being due only to the energy transfer from the large eddy. The large eddy shape is taken to be two-dimensional, instability-wavelike, with its vorticity axis perpendicular to the direction of the mean outer stream. Prior to averaging, detailed but approximate calculations of the wave-induced turbulent Reynolds stresses are obtained; the product of these stresses with the appropriate large-eddy rates of strain give the energy transfer mechanism between the two disparate scales of fluctuations. Coupled, nonlinear amplitude or energy density equations for the three components of motion are obtained, the coefficients of which are the interaction integrals guided by the shape assumptions. It is found that for the special case of parallel flow, the energy of the large eddy first undergoes a hydrodynamic-instability type of amplification but eventually decays due to the energy transfer to the fine-grained turbulence, while the turbulent kinetic energy is displaced from an original level of equilibrium to a new one because of the ability of the large eddy to negotiate an indirect energy transfer from the mean flow. For the growing shear layer, approximate considerations show that if the mechanism of energy transfer from the large to the small scale is eventually weakened by the shear layer growth compared to the large-eddy production mechanism so that the amplification and decay process repeats, ‘bursts’ of the remnant of the same large eddy will occur repeatedly until an ultimate equilibrium is reached among the three interacting components of motion. However, for the large eddy whose wavenumber corresponds to that of the initially most amplified case, the ‘bursting’ phenomenon is much less pronounced and equilibrium is very nearly reached at the end of the very first ‘burst’.


1997 ◽  
Vol 345 ◽  
pp. 307-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
SHIGEO KIDA ◽  
SUSUMU GOTO

A set of integro-differential equations in the Lagrangian renormalized approximation (Kaneda 1981) is rederived by applying a perturbation method developed by Kraichnan (1959), which is based upon an extraction of direct interactions among Fourier modes of a velocity field and was applied to the Eulerian velocity correlation and response functions, to the Lagrangian ones for homogeneous isotropic turbulence. The resultant set of integro-differential equations for these functions has no adjustable free parameters. The shape of the energy spectrum function is determined numerically in the universal range for stationary turbulence, and in the whole wavenumber range in a similarly evolving form for the freely decaying case. The energy spectrum in the universal range takes the same shape in both cases, which also agrees excellently with many measurements of various kinds of real turbulence as well as numerical results obtained by Gotoh et al. (1988) for a decaying case as an initial value problem. The skewness factor of the longitudinal velocity derivative is calculated to be −0.66 for stationary turbulence. The wavenumber dependence of the eddy viscosity is also determined.


2010 ◽  
Vol 654 ◽  
pp. 387-416
Author(s):  
SHANKAR GHOSH ◽  
KRISHNAN MAHESH

The interaction of a laser-induced plasma with isotropic turbulence is studied using numerical simulations. The simulations use air as the working fluid and assume local thermodynamic equilibrium. The numerical method is fully spectral and uses a shock-capturing scheme in a corrector step. A model problem involving the effect of energy deposition on an isolated vortex is studied as a first step towards plasma/turbulence interaction. Turbulent Reynolds number Reλ = 30 and fluctuation Mach numbers Mt = 0.001 and 0.3 are considered. A tear-drop-shaped shock wave is observed to propagate into the background, and progressively become spherical in time. The turbulence experiences strong compression due to the shock wave and strong expansion in the core. This behaviour is spatially inhomogeneous and non-stationary in time. Statistics are computed as functions of radial distance from the plasma axis and angular distance across the surface of the shock wave. For Mt = 0.001, the shock wave propagates on a much faster time scale compared to the turbulence evolution. At Mt of 0.3, the time scale of the shock wave is comparable to that of the background. For both cases the mean flow is classified into shock formation, shock propagation and subsequent collapse of the plasma core, and the effect of turbulence on each of these phases is studied in detail. The effect of mean vorticity production on the turbulent vorticity field is also discussed. Turbulent kinetic energy budgets are presented to explain the mechanism underlying the transfer of energy between the mean flow and background turbulence.


1964 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Fisher ◽  
P. O. A. L. Davies

The properties of a turbulent flow are often described in terms of velocity correlations in space, in time, and in space-time. In this paper the interpretation of velocity correlation measurements which are made in a region of highintensity turbulence is considered in some detail. Under these conditions it is shown that some account must be taken of the effects of both mean and fluctuating shear stresses which are continuously modifying the turbulent structure. For an almost frozen pattern, for example, in the turbulence behind a grid, the turbulent convection velocity is amost equal to the mean flow velocity, while the space correlation and auto-correlation of the velocity fluctuations are simply related through this velocity. In contrast to this, when the intensity is high, the convection velocity may differ considerably from the mean velocity, while it is shown that different turbulent spectral components appear to travel at different speeds. This means that the turbulent spectrum and the turbulent space scales are no longer simply related. For example, the high-frequency spectral components may be ascribed to both the high-velocity eddies and the small wave-number components acting together.Experimental results are presented which indicate the conditions under which the assumption of a frozen pattern leads to uncertainties in the subsequent interpretation of the measurements. The measurements also show that the observed difference between the mean and the convection velocity may be qualitatively explained in terms of the skewness of the velocity signals.


2014 ◽  
Vol 755 ◽  
pp. 603-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuji Hattori ◽  
Mohd Syafiq bin Marzuki

AbstractThe time evolution of localized disturbances in an elliptical flow confined in an elliptical cylinder is studied by direct numerical simulation (DNS). The base flow is subject to the elliptic instability. The unstable growth of localized disturbances predicted by the short-wavelength stability analysis is captured. The time evolution can be divided into four stages: linear, weakly nonlinear, nonlinear and turbulent. In the linear stage a single wavepacket grows exponentially without changing its shape. The exponential growth is accompanied by large oscillations which have time period half that of the fluid particles in the elliptical flow. An averaged wavepacket, which is a train of bending waves that has a finite spatial extent, also grows exponentially, while the oscillations of the growth rate are small. The averaged growth rate increases as the kinematic viscosity decreases; the inviscid limit is close to the value predicted by the short-wavelength stability analysis. In the weakly nonlinear stage the energy stops growing. The vortical structure of the initial disturbances is deformed into wavy patterns. The energy spectrum loses the peak at the initial wavenumber, developing a broad spectrum, and the flow goes into the next stage. In the nonlinear stage weak vorticity is scattered in the whole domain although strong vorticity is still localized. The probability density functions (p.d.f.) of a velocity component and its longitudinal derivative are similar to those of isotropic turbulence; however, the energy spectrum does not have an inertial range showing the Kolmogorov spectrum. Finally in the turbulent stage fine-scale structures appear in the vorticity field. The p.d.f. of the longitudinal derivative of velocity shows the strong intermittency known for isotropic turbulence. The energy spectrum attains an inertial range showing the Kolmogorov spectrum. The turbulence is not symmetric because of rotation and strain; the component of vorticity in the compressing direction is smaller than the other two components. The energy of the mean flow as well as the total energy decreases. The ratio of the lost energy to the initial energy of the mean flow is large in the core region.


2008 ◽  
Vol 130 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Tremmel ◽  
Dale B. Taulbee

Radial fans of the squirrel-cage type are used in various industrial applications. The analysis of such fans via computational fluid mechanics can provide the overall fan performance coefficients, as well as give insights into the detailed flow field. However, a transient simulation of a 3D machine using a sliding grid for the rotating blades still requires prohibitively large computational resources, with CPU run times in the order of months. To avoid such long simulation times, a faster method is developed in this paper. Instead of solving the transient Navier–Stokes equations, they are first averaged over one impeller rotation, and then solved for the mean flow since only this flow is of practical interest. Due to the averaging process, the blades disappear as solid boundaries, but additional equation terms arise, which represent the blade forces on the fluid. An innovative closure model for these terms is developed by calculating forces in 2D blade rows with the same blade geometry as the 3D machine for a range of flow parameters. These forces are then applied in the 3D machine, and the resulting 3D time-averaged flow field and performance coefficients are calculated. The 3D flow field showed several characteristic features of squirrel-cage blowers, such as a cross-flow pattern through the fan at low flow coefficients, and a vortexlike flow pattern at the fan outlet. The 3D fan performance coefficients showed an excellent agreement with experimental data. Since the 3D simulation solves for the mean flow, it can be run as a steady-state problem with a comparatively coarse grid in the blade region, reducing CPU times by a factor of about 10 when compared to a transient simulation with a sliding grid. It is hoped that these savings in computational cost will encourage other researchers and industrial companies to adopt the new method presented here.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola de Divitiis

The present work analyzes the statistics of finite scale local Lyapunov exponents of pairs of fluid particles trajectories in fully developed incompressible homogeneous isotropic turbulence. According to the hypothesis of fully developed chaos, this statistics is here analyzed assuming that the entropy associated with the fluid kinematic state is maximum. The distribution of the local Lyapunov exponents results in an unsymmetrical uniform function in a proper interval of variation. From this PDF, we determine the relationship between average and maximum Lyapunov exponents and the longitudinal velocity correlation function. This link, which in turn leads to the closure of von Kármán–Howarth and Corrsin equations, agrees with results of previous works, supporting the proposed PDF calculation, at least for the purposes of the energy cascade main effect estimation. Furthermore, through the property that the Lyapunov vectors tend to align the direction of the maximum growth rate of trajectories distance, we obtain the link between maximum and average Lyapunov exponents in line with the previous results. To validate the proposed theoretical results, we present different numerical simulations whose results justify the hypotheses of the present analysis.


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