Experimental Measurements of the Wake of a Sphere at Subcritical Reynolds Numbers

2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Muyshondt ◽  
Thien Nguyen ◽  
Y. A. Hassan ◽  
N. K. Anand

Abstract This work experimentally investigated the flow phenomena and vortex structures in the wake of a sphere located in a water loop at Reynolds numbers of Re = 850, 1,250, and 1,700. Velocity fields in the wake region were obtained by applying the time-resolved stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (TR-SPIV) technique. From the acquired TR-SPIV velocity vector fields, the statistical values of mean and fluctuating velocities were computed. Spectral analysis, two-point velocity–velocity cross-correlation, proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and vortex identification analyses were also performed. The velocity fields show a recirculation region that decreases in length with an increase of Reynolds numbers. The power spectra from the spectral analysis had peaks corresponding to a Strouhal number of St = 0.2, which is a value commonly found in the literature studies of flow over a sphere. The two-point cross-correlation analysis revealed elliptical structures in the wake, with estimated integral length scales ranging between 12% and 63% of the sphere diameter. The POD analysis revealed the statistically dominant flow structures that captured the most flow kinetic energy. It is seen that the flow kinetic energy captured in the smaller scale flow structures increased as Reynolds number increased. The POD modes contained smaller structure as the Reynolds number increased and as mode order increased. In addition, spectral analysis performed on the POD temporal coefficients revealed peaks corresponding to St = 0.2, similar to the spectral analysis on the fluctuating velocity. The ability of POD to produce low-order reconstructions of the flow was also utilized to facilitate vortex identification analysis, which identified average vortex sizes of 0.41D for Re1, 0.33D for Re2, and 0.32D for Re3.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2119 (1) ◽  
pp. 012011
Author(s):  
K G Dobroselsky

Abstract Vortex flow structures in a turbulent wake behind a circular Teflon cylinder immersed in an incoming flow with a change in pressure for the Reynolds number Re = 2.2×105 have been experimentally studied using a two-dimensional image (2D-PIV) of particles in a closed-circuit water tunnel. The obtained results are presented in the form of time-averaged velocity fields, Reynolds stresses, and distributions of turbulent kinetic energy. The flow data showed that the size of the wake flow region, Reynolds stresses and turbulent kinetic energy change depending on the pressure in the flow. As a result of a 20% reduction in pressure, the size of the vortex zone in the wake increases by about 20%.


Author(s):  
Barton L. Smith ◽  
Jack J. Stepan ◽  
Donald M. McEligot

The results of flow experiments performed in a cylinder array designed to mimic a VHTR Nuclear Plant lower plenum design are presented. Pressure drop and velocity field measurements were made. Based on these measurements, five regimes of behavior are identified that are found to depend on Reynolds number. It is found that the recirculation region behind the cylinders is shorter than that of half cylinders placed on the wall representing the symmetry plane. Unlike a single cylinder, the separation point is found to always be on the rear of the cylinders, even at very low Reynolds number. Boundary layer transition is found to occur at much lower Reynolds numbers than previously reported.


1981 ◽  
Vol 104 ◽  
pp. 419-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Léorat ◽  
A. Pouquet ◽  
U. Frisch

Liquid-sodium-cooled breeder reactors may soon be operating at magnetic Reynolds numbers RM where magnetic fields can be self-excited by a dynamo mechanism (as first suggested by Bevir 1973). Such flows have kinetic Reynolds numbers RV of the order of 107 and are therefore highly turbulent.This leads us to investigate the behaviour of MHD turbulence with high RV and low magnetic Prandtl numbers. We use the eddy-damped quasi-normal Markovian closure applied to the MHD equations. For simplicity we restrict ourselves to homogeneous and isotropic turbulence, but we do include helicity.We obtain a critical magnetic Reynolds number RMc of the order of a few tens (non-helical case) above which magnetic energy is present. RMc is practically independent of RV (in the range 40 to 106). RMc can be considerably decreased by the presence of helicity: when the overall size of the flow L is much larger than the integral scale l0, RMc can drop below unity as suggested by an α-effect argument. When L ≈ l0 the drop can still be substantial (factor of 6) when helicity is a maximum. We examine how the turbulence is modified when RM crosses RMc: presence of magnetic energy, decreased kinetic energy, steepening of kinetic-energy spectrum, etc.We make no attempt to obtain quantitative estimates for a breeder reactor, but discuss some of the possible consequences of exceeding RMc, such as decreased turbulent heat transport. More precise information may be obtained from numerical simulations and experiments (including some in the subcritical regime).


2019 ◽  
Vol 866 ◽  
pp. 897-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Orlandi

Data available in the literature from direct numerical simulations of two-dimensional turbulent channels by Lee & Moser (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 774, 2015, pp. 395–415), Bernardini et al. (J. Fluid Mech., 742, 2014, pp. 171–191), Yamamoto & Tsuji (Phys. Rev. Fluids, vol. 3, 2018, 012062) and Orlandi et al. (J. Fluid Mech., 770, 2015, pp. 424–441) in a large range of Reynolds number have been used to find that $S^{\ast }$ the ratio between the eddy turnover time ($q^{2}/\unicode[STIX]{x1D716}$, with $q^{2}$ being twice the turbulent kinetic energy and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D716}$ the isotropic rate of dissipation) and the time scale of the mean deformation ($1/S$), scales very well with the Reynolds number in the wall region. The good scaling is due to the eddy turnover time, although the turbulent kinetic energy and the rate of isotropic dissipation show a Reynolds dependence near the wall; $S^{\ast }$, as well as $-\langle Q\rangle =\langle s_{ij}s_{ji}\rangle -\langle \unicode[STIX]{x1D714}_{i}\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}_{i}/2\rangle$ are linked to the flow structures, and also the latter quantity presents a good scaling near the wall. It has been found that the maximum of turbulent kinetic energy production $P_{k}$ occurs in the layer with $-\langle Q\rangle \approx 0$, that is, where the unstable sheet-like structures roll-up to become rods. The decomposition of $P_{k}$ in the contribution of elongational and compressive strain demonstrates that the two contributions present a good scaling. However, the good scaling holds when the wall and the outer structures are separated. The same statistics have been evaluated by direct simulations of turbulent flows in the presence of different types of corrugations on both walls. The flow physics in the layer near the plane of the crests is strongly linked to the shape of the surface and it has been demonstrated that the $u_{2}$ (normal to the wall) fluctuations are responsible for the modification of the flow structures, for the increase of the resistance and of the turbulent kinetic energy production.


1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 384-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Arnal ◽  
D. J. Goering ◽  
J. A. C. Humphrey

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.


2011 ◽  
Vol 681 ◽  
pp. 411-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
HEMANT K. CHAURASIA ◽  
MARK C. THOMPSON

A detailed numerical study of the separating and reattaching flow over a square leading-edge plate is presented, examining the instability modes governing transition from two- to three-dimensional flow. Under the influence of background noise, experiments show that the transition scenario typically is incompletely described by either global stability analysis or the transient growth of dominant optimal perturbation modes. Instead two-dimensional transition effectively can be triggered by the convective Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) shear-layer instability; although it may be possible that this could be described alternatively in terms of higher-order optimal perturbation modes. At least in some experiments, observed transition occurs by either: (i) KH vortices shedding downstream directly and then almost immediately undergoing three-dimensional transition or (ii) at higher Reynolds numbers, larger vortical structures are shed that are also three-dimensionally unstable. These two paths lead to distinctly different three-dimensional arrangements of vortical flow structures. This paper focuses on the mechanisms underlying these three-dimensional transitions. Floquet analysis of weakly periodically forced flow, mimicking the observed two-dimensional quasi-periodic base flow, indicates that the two-dimensional vortex rollers shed from the recirculation region become globally three-dimensionally unstable at a Reynolds number of approximately 380. This transition Reynolds number and the predicted wavelength and flow symmetries match well with those of the experiments. The instability appears to be elliptical in nature with the perturbation field mainly restricted to the cores of the shed rollers and showing the spatial vorticity distribution expected for that instability type. Indeed an estimate of the theoretical predicted wavelength is also a good match to the prediction from Floquet analysis and theoretical estimates indicate the growth rate is positive. Fully three-dimensional simulations are also undertaken to explore the nonlinear development of the three-dimensional instability. These show the development of the characteristic upright hairpins observed in the experimental dye visualisations. The three-dimensional instability that manifests at lower Reynolds numbers is shown to be consistent with an elliptic instability of the KH shear-layer vortices in both symmetry and spanwise wavelength.


1991 ◽  
Vol 226 ◽  
pp. 475-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. T. Pinho ◽  
J. H. Whitelaw

Measurements of wall pressure, and mean and r.m.s. velocities of the confined flow about a disk of 50 % area blockage have been carried out for two Newtonian fluids and four concentrations of a shear-thinning weakly elastic polymer in aqueous solution encompassing a Reynolds-number range from 220 to 138000. The flows of Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids were found to be increasingly dependent on Reynolds numbers below 50000, with a decrease in the length of the recirculation region and dampening of the normal Reynolds stresses. At Reynolds numbers less than 25000, the recirculation bubble lengthened and all turbulence components were suppressed with increased polymer concentration so that, at a Reynolds number of 8000, the maximum values of turbulent kinetic energy were 35 and 45% lower than that for water, with 0.2% and 0.4% solutions of the polymer. Non-Newtonian effects were found to be important in regions of low local strain rates in low-Reynolds-number flows, especially inside the recirculation bubble and close to the shear layer, and are represented by both an increase in viscous diffusion and a decrease in turbulent diffusion to, respectively, 6% and 18% of the largest term of the momentum balance with a 0.4 % polymer solution at a Reynolds number of 7700. The asymmetry and unsteadiness of the flow at Reynolds numbers between 400 and 6000 is shown to be an aerodynamic effect which increases in range and amplitude with the more concentrated polymer solutions.


Author(s):  
Iman Ashtiani Abdi ◽  
Morteza Khashehchi ◽  
Kamel Hooman

Flow structures downstream of a finned-tube are compared to those of an identical pipe; with the same diameter and length, covered with a foam layer. The standard case of cross-flow over a bare tube, i.e. no surface extension, is also tested as a benchmark. Experiments are conducted in a wind tunnel at Reynolds numbers of 4000 and 16000. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) was used for flow visualization on two different perpendicular planes. To characterize the size of the flow structures downstream of the tube, for each of the aforementioned case, two-point correlation, as a statistical analysis tool, has been used. It has been observed that by decreasing the Reynolds number, the flow structures are further stretched in streamwise direction for both bare and finned-tube cases. This is, however, more pronounced with the former. Interestingly, with a foam-wrapped tube the sizes of the flow structures are found to be independent of the Reynolds number. Finally, the structure sizes are smaller in the case of the foam-wrapped tube compared to those of finned-tube.


1997 ◽  
Vol 351 ◽  
pp. 167-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. BALACHANDAR ◽  
R. MITTAL ◽  
F. M. NAJJAR

The properties of the time- and span-averaged mean wake recirculation region are investigated in separated flows over several different two-dimensional bluff bodies. Ten different cases are considered and they divide into two groups: cylindrical geometries of circular, elliptic and square cross-sections and the normal plate. A wide Reynolds number range from 250 to 140000 is considered, but in all the cases the attached portion of the boundary layer remains laminar until separation. The lower Reynolds number data are from direct numerical simulations, while the data at the higher Reynolds number are obtained from large-eddy simulation and the experimental work of Cantwell & Coles (1983), Krothapalli (1996, personal communication), Leder (1991) and Lyn et al. (1995). Unlike supersonic and subsonic separations with a splitter plate in the wake, in all the cases considered here there is strong interaction between the shear layers resulting in Kármán vortex shedding. The impact of this fundamental difference on the distribution of Reynolds stress components and pressure in relation to the mean wake recirculation region (wake bubble) is considered. It is observed that in all cases the contribution from Reynolds normal stress to the force balance of the wake bubble is significant. In fact, in the cylinder geometries this contribution can outweigh the net force from the shear stress, so that the net pressure force tends to push the bubble away from the body. In contrast, in the case of normal plate, owing to the longer wake, the net contribution from shear stress outweighs that from the normal stress. At higher Reynolds numbers, separation of the Reynolds stress components into incoherent contributions provides more insight. The behaviour of the coherent contribution, arising from the dominant vortex shedding, is similar to that at lower Reynolds numbers. The incoherent contribution to Reynolds stress, arising from small-scale activity, is compared with that of a canonical free shear layer. Based on these observations a simple extension of the wake model (Sychev 1982; Roshko 1993a, b) is proposed.


2010 ◽  
Vol 133 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bi-Li Deng ◽  
Xin-Rong Zhang ◽  
Hiroshi Yamaguchi

This study presents a computational investigation of forced convection of supercritical CO2 flow in plane symmetric sudden expansion duct at an expansion ratio of 2 in flow asymmetric regime. Computations were conducted at various Reynolds numbers in flow asymmetric regime and low wall heat fluxes below 500 W/m2 to examine the Reynolds number and thermal effects on the flow and heat transfer of the bifurcated flow. General flow features and temperature distributions are presented. The transitional Reynolds numbers above, which a third recirculation region will appear at different wall heat flux are presented, and thus thermal effects on the flow stability are discussed. Reynolds number and thermal effects on distributions of wall skin friction, pressure coefficient, and Nusselt number are presented and discussed.


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