A critical layer dominated by non-parallel effects in a rotating barotropic flow

The critical layer of perturbations to slowly modulating strong rectified currents induced by vorticity sources in a quasi-geostrophic barotrophic flow is investigated. For r ≫ Re -3/2 and r ≫ δ 2 which correspond to realistic geophysical conditions, the critical layer is dominated by the advection of the perturbation’s vorticity by the weak transverse velocity of the basic state and not by the traditional viscous or nonlinear balance. The Ekman, Rossby and Reynolds numbers of the flow are E , Ro and Re respectively and r = E ½ / Ro , while δ is the parameter of nonlinearity. The width of the critical layer is O ( r 1/6 ) which can be quite thick for relevant flow conditions. This suggests that non-parallel effects play an important role in the dynamics of large scale geophysical flows.

1986 ◽  
Vol 164 ◽  
pp. 217-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Cloitre ◽  
E. Guyon

In this article, we describe an optical set-up designed to measure directly velocity gradients (strophometry). This strophometer is based on the analysis of the distortions of a fringe pattern ‘written’ instantaneously in a flow field. We apply it to study the transverse velocity-gradient component ∂u/∂y in a plane Poiseuille flow at moderate Reynolds numbers. Mean values and different moments of the fluctuating gradient distribution related to viscous dissipation, vorticity dynamics and intermittency are obtained. These results are interpreted in terms of the large-scale structures which are present in the flow.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian E. Floyd ◽  
Alejandro Sanchez ◽  
Stanford Gibson ◽  
Gaurav Savant

Abstract. Wildfires increase flow and sediment load through removal of vegetation, alteration of soils, decreasing infiltration, and production of ash commonly generating a wide variety of geophysical flows (i.e., hyperconcentrated flows, mudflows, debris flows, etc.). Numerical modellers have developed a variety of Non-Newtonian algorithms to simulate each of these processes, and therefore, it can be difficult to understand the assumptions and limitations in any given model or replicate work. This diversity in the processes and approach to non-Newtonian simulations makes a modular computation library approach advantageous. A computational library consolidates the algorithms for each process and discriminates between these processes and algorithms with quantitative non-dimensional thresholds. This work presents a flexible numerical library framework (DebrisLib) to simulate large-scale, post-wildfire, non-Newtonian geophysical flows using both kinematic wave and shallow-water models. DebrisLib is derived from a variety of non-Newtonian closure approaches that predict a range of non-Newtonian flow conditions. It is a modular code designed to operate with any Newtonian, shallow-water parent code architecture. This paper presents the non-Newtonian model framework and demonstrates its effectiveness by calling it from two very different modelling frameworks developed by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), specifically, within the one-dimensional and two-dimensional Hydrologic Engineering Centre River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) and two-dimensional Adaptive Hydraulics (AdH) numerical models. The development and linkage-architecture were verified and validated using two non-Newtonian flume experiments selected to represent a range of non-Newtonian flow conditions (i.e., hyperconcentrated flow, mudflow, debris flow) commonly associated with post-wildfire flooding.


2008 ◽  
Vol 615 ◽  
pp. 371-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. DONG

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.


2014 ◽  
Vol 758 ◽  
pp. 407-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Céline Guervilly ◽  
David W. Hughes ◽  
Chris A. Jones

AbstractUsing numerical simulations of rapidly rotating Boussinesq convection in a Cartesian box, we study the formation of long-lived, large-scale, depth-invariant coherent structures. These structures, which consist of concentrated cyclones, grow to the horizontal scale of the box, with velocities significantly larger than the convective motions. We vary the rotation rate, the thermal driving and the aspect ratio in order to determine the domain of existence of these large-scale vortices (LSV). We find that two conditions are required for their formation. First, the Rayleigh number, a measure of the thermal driving, must be several times its value at the linear onset of convection; this corresponds to Reynolds numbers, based on the convective velocity and the box depth, $\def \xmlpi #1{}\def \mathsfbi #1{\boldsymbol {\mathsf {#1}}}\let \le =\leqslant \let \leq =\leqslant \let \ge =\geqslant \let \geq =\geqslant \def \Pr {\mathit {Pr}}\def \Fr {\mathit {Fr}}\def \Rey {\mathit {Re}}{\gtrsim }100$. Second, the rotational constraint on the convective structures must be strong. This requires that the local Rossby number, based on the convective velocity and the horizontal convective scale, ${\lesssim }0.15$. Simulations in which certain wavenumbers are artificially suppressed in spectral space suggest that the LSV are produced by the interactions of small-scale, depth-dependent convective motions. The presence of LSV significantly reduces the efficiency of the convective heat transport.


1970 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. A. Sleath

Measurements of the velocity distribution close to the bed have been made under laminar flow conditions in a wave tank. The classical solution for the velocity distribution was found to be valid when the bed was smooth, but considerable deviations between theory and experiment were observed with beds of sand. It is suggested that these deviations were caused by vortex formation around the grains of sand. The similarity between the velocity profiles obtained in these tests and those reported by other writers under supposedly turbulent conditions suggests that even at high Reynolds numbers vortex formation may continue to be the dominant effect in oscillatory boundary layers of this sort.


Author(s):  
S C M Yu ◽  
J B Zhao

Flow characteristics in straight tubes with an asymmetric bulge have been investigated using particle image velocimetry (PIV) over a range of Reynolds numbers from 600 to 1200 and at a Womersley number of 22. A mixture of glycerine and water (approximately 40:60 by volume) was used as the working fluid. The study was carried out because of their relevance in some aspects of physiological flows, such as arterial flow through a sidewall aneurysm. Results for both steady and pulsatile flow conditions were obtained. It was found that at a steady flow condition, a weak recirculating vortex formed inside the bulge. The recirculation became stronger at higher Reynolds numbers but weaker at larger bulge sizes. The centre of the vortex was located close to the distal neck. At pulsatile flow conditions, the vortex appeared and disappeared at different phases of the cycle, and the sequence was only punctuated by strong forward flow behaviour (near the peak flow condition). In particular, strong flow interactions between the parent tube and the bulge were observed during the deceleration phase. Stents and springs were used to dampen the flow movement inside the bulge. It was found that the recirculation vortex could be eliminated completely in steady flow conditions using both devices. However, under pulsatile flow conditions, flow velocities inside the bulge could not be suppressed completely by both devices, but could be reduced by more than 80 per cent.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaston Latessa ◽  
Angela Busse ◽  
Manousos Valyrakis

<p>The prediction of particle motion in a fluid flow environment presents several challenges from the quantification of the forces exerted by the fluid onto the solids -normally with fluctuating behaviour due to turbulence- and the definition of the potential particle entrainment from these actions. An accurate description of these phenomena has many practical applications in local scour definition and to the design of protection measures.</p><p>In the present work, the actions of different flow conditions on sediment particles is investigated with the aim to translate these effects into particle entrainment identification through analytical solid dynamic equations.</p><p>Large Eddy Simulations (LES) are an increasingly practical tool that provide an accurate representation of both the mean flow field and the large-scale turbulent fluctuations. For the present case, the forces exerted by the flow are integrated over the surface of a stationary particle in the streamwise (drag) and vertical (lift) directions, together with the torques around the particle’s centre of mass. These forces are validated against experimental data under the same bed and flow conditions.</p><p>The forces are then compared against threshold values, obtained through theoretical equations of simple motions such as rolling without sliding. Thus, the frequency of entrainment is related to the different flow conditions in good agreement with results from experimental sediment entrainment research.</p><p>A thorough monitoring of the velocity flow field on several locations is carried out to determine the relationships between velocity time series at several locations around the particle and the forces acting on its surface. These results a relevant to determine ideal locations for flow investigation both in numerical and physical experiments.</p><p>Through numerical experiments, a large number of flow conditions were simulated obtaining a full set of actions over a fixed particle sitting on a smooth bed. These actions were translated into potential particle entrainment events and validated against experimental data. Future work will present the coupling of these LES models with Discrete Element Method (DEM) models to verify the entrainment phenomena entirely from a numerical perspective.</p>


Author(s):  
J. A. Walsh ◽  
D. G. Gregory-Smith

This paper presents results of an experimental investigation into the effects of inlet skew on the flowfield of a large scale axial flow turbine cascade. The results are presented in terms of the development of the streamwise vorticity since, in classical terms, the streamwise vorticity generates the transverse velocity components that cause the generation of the secondary losses. Inlet skew is shown to have a profound effect on the distribution and magnitude of the generated losses. A number of correlations for the secondary losses are compared with the measured values and it is shown that the correlations are not adequate for accurate loss prediction purposes.


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