Experimental Characterization of the Unsteady Flow Over the Rear Slant of an Ahmed Body

Author(s):  
Adrien Thacker ◽  
Sandrine Aubrun ◽  
Annie Leroy ◽  
Philippe Devinant

This study presents results of an experimental analysis of the unsteady features of the flow around the rear part of an Ahmed body with a rear slant angle of 25°. This analysis focuses on the half elliptic separation bubble that developps on the rear slanted surface and brings new information, improving the understanding of the flow unsteadiness. Flow investigations are carried out using hot wire probe measurements for velocity fluctuations in the plane of symmetry above the rear slanted surface and five unsteady flush mounted pressure taps (Kulite transducers) simultaneously acquiring static pressure fluctuations along the middle line of the slanted surface. Spectral analysis and Proper Orthogonal Decomposition of the output signal show the emergence of a low frequency unsteadiness and high frequency activities which, in accordance with bibliography about separated and reattaching flow configurations, is related to a global flapping of the separated shear layer and a large scale vortices shedding. Characteristic frequencies of both instabilities is given and physical effects of the low frequency unsteadiness is related with the flapping motion of the separated shear layer.

1984 ◽  
Vol 144 ◽  
pp. 13-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. J. Cherry ◽  
R. Hillier ◽  
M. E. M. P. Latour

Measurements of fluctuating pressure and velocity, together with instantaneous smoke-flow visualizations, are presented in order to reveal the unsteady structure of a separated and reattaching flow. It is shown that throughout the separation bubble a low-frequency motion can be detected which appears to be similar to that found in other studies of separation. This effect is most significant close to separation, where it leads to a weak flapping of the shear layer. Lateral correlation scales of this low-frequency motion are less than the reattachment length, however; it appears that its timescale is about equal to the characteristic timescale for the shear layer and bubble to change between various shedding phases. These phases were defined by the following observations: shedding of pseudoperiodic trains of vortical structures from the reattachment zone, with a characteristic spacing between structures of typically 60% to 80% of the bubble length; a large-scale but irregular shedding of vorticity; and a relatively quiescent phase with the absence of any large-scale shedding structures and a significant ‘necking’ of the shear layer downstream of reattachment.Spanwise correlations of velocity in the shear layer show on average an almost linear growth of spanwise scale up to reattachment. It appears that the shear layer reaches a fully three-dimensional state soon after separation. The reattachment process does not itself appear to impose an immediate extra three-dimensionalizing effect upon the large-scale structures.


2016 ◽  
Vol 799 ◽  
pp. 383-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdelouahab Mohammed-Taifour ◽  
Julien Weiss

The unsteady behaviour of a massively separated, pressure-induced turbulent separation bubble (TSB) is investigated experimentally using high-speed particle image velocimetry (PIV) and piezo-resistive pressure sensors. The TSB is generated on a flat test surface by a combination of adverse and favourable pressure gradients. The Reynolds number based on the momentum thickness of the incoming boundary layer is 5000 and the free stream velocity is$25~\text{m}~\text{s}^{-1}$. The proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) is used to separate the different unsteady modes in the flow. The first POD mode contains approximately 30 % of the total kinetic energy and is shown to describe a low-frequency contraction and expansion, called ‘breathing’, of the TSB. This breathing is responsible for a variation in TSB size of approximately 90 % of its average length. It also generates low-frequency wall-pressure fluctuations that are mainly felt upstream of the mean detachment and downstream of the mean reattachment. A medium-frequency unsteadiness, which is linked to the convection of large-scale vortices in the shear layer bounding the recirculation zone and their shedding downstream of the TSB, is also observed. When scaled with the vorticity thickness of the shear layer and the convection velocity of the structures, this medium frequency is very close to the characteristic frequency of vortices convected in turbulent mixing layers. The streamwise position of maximum vertical turbulence intensity generated by the convected structures is located downstream of the mean reattachment line and corresponds to the position of maximum wall-pressure fluctuations.


2013 ◽  
Vol 136 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Bernardini ◽  
Stuart I. Benton ◽  
Jen-Ping Chen ◽  
Jeffrey P. Bons

The mechanism of separation control by sound excitation is investigated on the aft-loaded low-pressure turbine (LPT) blade profile, the L1A, which experiences a large boundary layer separation at low Reynolds numbers. Previous work by the authors has shown that on a laminar separation bubble such as that experienced by the front-loaded L2F profile, sound excitation control has its best performance at the most unstable frequency of the shear layer due to the exploitation of the linear instability mechanism. The different loading distribution on the L1A increases the distance of the separated shear layer from the wall and the exploitation of the same linear mechanism is no longer effective in these conditions. However, significant control authority is found in the range of the first subharmonic of the natural unstable frequency. The amplitude of forced excitation required for significant wake loss reduction is higher than that needed when exploiting linear instability, but unlike the latter case, no threshold amplitude is found. The fluid-dynamics mechanisms under these conditions are investigated by particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements. Phase-locked PIV data gives insight into the growth and development of structures as they are shed from the shear layer and merge to lock into the excited frequency. Unlike near-wall laminar separation sound control, it is found that when such large separated shear layers occur, sound excitation at subharmonics of the fundamental frequency is still effective with high-Tu levels.


Author(s):  
A. Samson ◽  
S. Sarkar

The dynamics of separation bubble under the influence of continuous jets ejected near the semi-circular leading edge of a flat plate is presented. Two different streamwise injection angles 30° and 60° and velocity ratios 0.5 and 1 for Re = 25000 and 55000 (based on the leading-edge diameter) are considered here. The flow visualizations illustrating jet and separated layer interactions have been carried out with PIV. The objective of this study is to understand the mutual interactions of separation bubble and the injected jets. It is observed that flow separates at the blending point of semi-circular arc and flat plate. The separated shear layer is laminar up to 20% of separation length after which perturbations are amplified and grows in the second-half of the bubble leading to breakdown and reattachment. Blowing has significantly affected the bubble length and thus, turbulence generation. Instantaneous flow visualizations supports the unsteadiness and development of three-dimensional motions leading to formation of Kelvin-Helmholtz rolls and shedding of large-scale vortices due to jet and bubble interactions. In turn, it has been seen that both the spanwise and streamwise dilution of injected air is highly influenced by the separation bubble.


2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Geiser ◽  
Jens Wellner ◽  
Edmund Kügeler ◽  
Anton Weber ◽  
Anselm Moors

A nonlinear full-wheel time-domain simulation of a two-stage low pressure turbine is presented, analyzed, and compared with the available experimental data. Recent improvements to the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver TRACE that lead to significantly reduced wall-clock times for such large scale simulations are described in brief. Since the configuration is characterized by significant unsteady turbulence and transition effects, it is well suited for the validation and benchmarking of frequency-domain methods. Transition, flow separation and wall pressure fluctuations on the stator blades of the second stage are analyzed in detail. A strong azimuthal π-periodicity is observed, manifesting in a significantly varying stability of the midspan trailing edge flow with a quasi-steady closed separation bubble on certain blades and highly dynamic partially open separation bubbles with recurring transition and turbulent reattachment on other blades. The energy spectrum of fluctuating wall quantities in that regime shows a high bandwidth and considerable disharmonic content, which is challenging for frequency-domain-based simulation methods.


2017 ◽  
Vol 826 ◽  
pp. 851-887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Stella ◽  
Nicolas Mazellier ◽  
Azeddine Kourta

We report an experimental investigation of the separating/reattaching flow over a descending ramp with a $25^{\circ }$ expansion angle. Emphasis is given to mass entrainment through the boundaries of the separated shear layer emanating from the upper edge of the ramp. For this purpose, the turbulent/non-turbulent interface and the separation line inferred from image-based analysis are used respectively to mark the upper and lower bounds of the separated shear layer. The main objective of this study is to identify the physical parameters that scale the development of the separated shear layer, by giving a specific emphasis to the investigation of mass entrainment. Our results emphasise the multiscale nature of mass entrainment through the separated shear layer. The recirculation length $L_{R}$, step height $h$ and free-stream velocity $U_{\infty }$ are the dominant scales that organise the separated flow (and related large-scale quantities as pressure distribution or shear layer growth rate) and set mean mass fluxes. However, local viscous mechanisms seem to be responsible for most of local mass entrainment. Furthermore, it is shown that large-scale mass entrainment is driven by incoming boundary layer properties, since $L_{R}$ scales with $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D703}}$, and in particular by its turbulent state. Surprisingly, the relationships evidenced in this study suggest that these dependencies are established over a large distance upstream of separation and that they might also extend to small scales, at which viscous entrainment is dominant. If confirmed by additional studies, our findings would open new perspectives for designing effective separation control systems.


2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Shehab Uddin ◽  
Fazlur Rashid

Abstract The slant angle plays a crucial role in the flow property of hatchback ground vehicles. An optimum slant angle is obligatory for better handling the ground vehicles when fitted with a rear wing. In this regard, the variation of time-averaged flow properties around a wing-attached hatchback ground vehicle (Ahmed body) due to a variable slant angle is accessed by this paper. The design includes a scaled Ahmed body as a reference ground vehicle and a rear wing with NACA 0018 profile. The computational studies are executed with Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes based k-epsilon turbulence model with nonequilibrium wall function. The vehicle's model is scaled to 75% of the actual model, and analyses are conducted with Reynolds number 2.7 × 106. After the study, it is observed that a 15 deg slant angle is the critical angle for the wing attached state in which the drag coefficient is maximum. After this angle, a sudden reduction of coefficients is observed, where 25 deg is critical for without wing condition. Besides this, the two counter-rotating horseshoe vortices in the separation bubble and side edge c-pillar vortices also behave differently due to the wing's presence. The turbulent kinetic energy variation and the variation in coefficients of surface pressure are also affected by the rear wing attachment. This paper will assist in finding the optimum slant angle for hatchback ground vehicles in the presence of a rear wing. Thus the study will help in increasing stability and control for hatchback ground vehicles.


2017 ◽  
Vol 833 ◽  
pp. 563-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Abe

Direct numerical simulations are used to examine the behaviour of wall-pressure fluctuations $p_{w}$ in a flat-plate turbulent boundary layer with large adverse and favourable pressure gradients, involving separation and reattachment. The Reynolds number $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D703}}$ based on momentum thickness is equal to 300, 600 and 900. Particular attention is given to effects of Reynolds number on root-mean-square (r.m.s.) values, frequency/power spectra and instantaneous fields. The possible scaling laws are also examined as compared with the existing direct numerical simulation and experimental data. The r.m.s. value of $p_{w}$ normalized by the local maximum Reynolds shear stress $-\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}\overline{uv}_{max}$ (Simpson et al. J. Fluid Mech. vol. 177, 1987, pp. 167–186; Na & Moin J. Fluid Mech. vol. 377, 1998b, pp. 347–373) leads to near plateau (i.e. $p_{w\,rms}/-\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}\overline{uv}_{max}=2.5\sim 3$) in the adverse pressure gradient and separated regions in which the frequency spectra exhibit good collapse at low frequencies. The magnitude of $p_{w\,rms}/-\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}\overline{uv}_{max}$ is however reduced down to 1.8 near reattachment where good collapse is also obtained with normalization by the local maximum wall-normal Reynolds stress $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}\overline{vv}_{max}$. Near reattachment, $p_{w\,rms}/-\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}\overline{vv}_{max}=1.2$ is attained unambiguously independently of the Reynolds number and pressure gradient. The present magnitude (1.2) is smaller than (1.35) obtained for step-induced separation by Ji & Wang (J. Fluid Mech. vol. 712, 2012, pp. 471–504). The reason for this difference is intrinsically associated with convective nature of a pressure-induced separation bubble near reattachment where the magnitude of $p_{w\,rms}$ depends essentially on the favourable pressure gradient. The resulting mean flow acceleration leads to delay of the r.m.s. peak after reattachment. Attention is also given to structures of $p_{w}$. It is shown that large-scale spanwise rollers of low pressure fluctuations are formed above the bubble, whilst changing to large-scale streamwise elongated structures after reattachment. These large-scale structures become more prominent with increasing $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D703}}$ and affect $p_{w}$ significantly.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1909-1921
Author(s):  
Seyed Nasrollah Mousavi ◽  
Davood Farsadizadeh ◽  
Farzin Salmasi ◽  
Ali Hosseinzadeh Dalir ◽  
Daniele Bocchiola

Abstract Knowledge of extreme pressures and fluctuations within stilling basins is of the utmost importance, as they may cause potential severe damages. It is complicated to measure the fluctuating pressures of hydraulic jumps in real-scale structures. Therefore, little information is available about the pressure fluctuations in the literature. In this paper, minimal and maximal pressures were analyzed on the flat bed of a stilling basin downstream of an Ogee spillway. Attention has been focused on dimensionless pressures related to the low and high cumulative probabilities of occurrence (P*0.1% and P*99.9%), respectively. The results were presented based on the laboratory-scale experiments. These parameters for the relatively high Froude numbers have not been investigated. The total standard uncertainty for the dimensionless mean pressures (P*m) was obtained around 1.87%. Spectral density analysis showed that the dominant frequency in the classical hydraulic jumps was about 4 HZ. Low-frequency of pressure fluctuations indicated the existence of large-scale vortices. In the zone near the spillway toe, P*0.1% reached negative values of around −0.3. The maximum values of pressure coefficients, namely |CP0.1%|max and CP99.9%max, were achieved around 0.19 and 0.24, respectively. New original expressions were proposed for P*0.1% and P*99.9%, which are useful for estimating extreme pressures.


2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian R. McAuliffe ◽  
Metin I. Yaras

Through experiments using two-dimensional particle-image velocimetry (PIV), this paper examines the nature of transition in a separation bubble and manipulations of the resultant breakdown to turbulence through passive means of control. An airfoil was used that provides minimal variation in the separation location over a wide operating range, with various two-dimensional modifications made to the surface for the purpose of manipulating the transition process. The study was conducted under low-freestream-turbulence conditions over a flow Reynolds number range of 28,000–101,000 based on airfoil chord. The spatial nature of the measurements has allowed identification of the dominant flow structures associated with transition in the separated shear layer and the manipulations introduced by the surface modifications. The Kelvin–Helmholtz (K-H) instability is identified as the dominant transition mechanism in the separated shear layer, leading to the roll-up of spanwise vorticity and subsequent breakdown into small-scale turbulence. Similarities with planar free-shear layers are noted, including the frequency of maximum amplification rate for the K-H instability and the vortex-pairing phenomenon initiated by a subharmonic instability. In some cases, secondary pairing events are observed and result in a laminar intervortex region consisting of freestream fluid entrained toward the surface due to the strong circulation of the large-scale vortices. Results of the surface-modification study show that different physical mechanisms can be manipulated to affect the separation, transition, and reattachment processes over the airfoil. These manipulations are also shown to affect the boundary-layer losses observed downstream of reattachment, with all surface-indentation configurations providing decreased losses at the three lowest Reynolds numbers and three of the five configurations providing decreased losses at the highest Reynolds number. The primary mechanisms that provide these manipulations include: suppression of the vortex-pairing phenomenon, which reduces both the shear-layer thickness and the levels of small-scale turbulence; the promotion of smaller-scale turbulence, resulting from the disturbances generated upstream of separation, which provides quicker transition and shorter separation bubbles; the elimination of the separation bubble with transition occurring in an attached boundary layer; and physical disturbance, downstream of separation, of the growing instability waves to manipulate the vortical structures and cause quicker reattachment.


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