The Pervasive Effect of the Calmed Region

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. Thomas ◽  
J. P. Gostelow
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Separation Bubble ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Adverse Pressure Gradient ◽  
Laminar Separation Bubble ◽  
Free Shear Layer ◽  
Hot Wire ◽  
Strong Suppression ◽  
Velocity Fluctuations ◽  
Laminar Separation

Experiments have been conducted relating to the interaction of imposed freestream wakes upon a flat plate laminar separation bubble under an adverse pressure gradient. Controlled wakes, representative of those seen in turbomachinery environments, were used to investigate unsteadiness effects upon a separating boundary layer that undergoes natural transition in the free shear layer under steady conditions. Hot-wire anemometry using a single hot-wire has shown leading edge boundary layer disturbances induced under each passing wake, which grow steadily via by-pass and natural transition methods into turbulent strips that convect with the flow. These disturbances are of such strength that the separated region is resisted and effectively swept away by the passing turbulence, momentarily giving rise to a wholly attached laminar boundary layer. Controlling the chord-wise proximity of neighboring wakes allowed for the investigation of the effect and extent of the calmed region behind each induced turbulent strip. Measurements have shown that a strong suppression of velocity fluctuations is seen related to the proximity of the turbulent strips. Turbulence level reductions of up to 40% have been demonstrated as wake spacing is reduced. Even for those cases where systematic wakes are sufficiently close together to prevent the development of a visible calmed region, very strong calming influences are seen in the wake induced turbulent domain that would have normally been occupied by the calmed flow.

scholarly journals Boundary Layer and Navier-Stokes Analysis of a NASA Controlled-Diffusion Compressor Blade

1990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. K. Ho ◽  
G. J. Walker ◽  
P. Stow
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Turbulence Modeling ◽  
Separation Bubble ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Adverse Pressure Gradient ◽  
Compressor Blade ◽  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Laminar Separation ◽  
Controlled Diffusion ◽  
Pressure Distributions

Performance calculations for a NASA controlled-diffusion compressor blade have been carried out with a coupled inviscid-boundary layer code and a time-marching Navier-Stokes solver. Comparisons with experimental test data highlight and explain the strengths and limitations of both these computational methods. The boundary layer code gives good results at and near design conditions. Loss predictions however deteriorated at off-design incidences. This is mainly due to a problem with leading edge laminar separation bubble modelling; coupled with an inability of the calculations to grow the turbulent boundary layer at a correct rate in a strong adverse pressure gradient. Navier-Stokes loss predictions on the other hand are creditable throughout the whole incidence range, except at extreme positive incidence where turbulence modeling problems similar to those of the coupled boundary layer code are observed. The main drawback for the Navier-Stokes code is the slow rate of convergence for these low Mach number cases. Plans are currently under review to address this problem. Both codes give excellent predictions of the blade surface pressure distributions for all the cases considered.

Direct Numerical Simulation and Large Eddy Simulation of Laminar Separation Bubbles at Moderate Reynolds Numbers

2014 ◽  
Vol 136 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francois Cadieux ◽  
Julian A. Domaradzki ◽  
Taraneh Sayadi ◽  
Sanjeeb Bose
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Direct Numerical Simulation ◽  
Separation Bubble ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Transition To Turbulence ◽  
Laminar Separation Bubble ◽  
Laminar Separation ◽  
Large Eddy

Flows over airfoils and blades in rotating machinery for unmanned and microaerial vehicles, wind turbines, and propellers consist of different flow regimes. A laminar boundary layer near the leading edge is often followed by a laminar separation bubble with a shear layer on top of it that experiences transition to turbulence. The separated turbulent flow then reattaches and evolves downstream from a nonequilibrium turbulent boundary layer to an equilibrium one. Typical Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) turbulence modeling methods were shown to be inadequate for such laminar separation bubble flows (Spalart and Strelets, 2000, “Mechanisms of Transition and Heat Transfer in a Separation Bubble,” J. Fluid Mech., 403, pp. 329–349). Direct numerical simulation (DNS) is the most reliable but is also the most computationally expensive alternative. This work assesses the capability of large eddy simulations (LES) to reduce the resolution requirements for such flows. Flow over a flat plate with suitable velocity boundary conditions away from the plate to produce a separation bubble is considered. Benchmark DNS data for this configuration are generated with the resolution of 59 × 106 mesh points; also used is a different DNS database with 15 × 106 points (Spalart and Strelets, 2000, “Mechanisms of Transition and Heat Transfer in a Separation Bubble,” J. Fluid Mech., 403, pp. 329–349). Results confirm that accurate LES are possible using O(1%) of the DNS resolution.

An Experimental Study of the Laminar Flow Separation on a Low-Reynolds-Number Airfoil

2008 ◽  
Vol 130 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Hu ◽  
Zifeng Yang
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Laminar Boundary Layer ◽  
Flow Separation ◽  
Separation Bubble ◽  
Adverse Pressure Gradient ◽  
Laminar Separation Bubble ◽  
Airfoil Surface ◽  
Laminar Separation ◽  
Turbulence Transition

An experimental study was conducted to characterize the transient behavior of laminar flow separation on a NASA low-speed GA (W)-1 airfoil at the chord Reynolds number of 70,000. In addition to measuring the surface pressure distribution around the airfoil, a high-resolution particle image velocimetry (PIV) system was used to make detailed flow field measurements to quantify the evolution of unsteady flow structures around the airfoil at various angles of attack (AOAs). The surface pressure and PIV measurements clearly revealed that the laminar boundary layer would separate from the airfoil surface, as the adverse pressure gradient over the airfoil upper surface became severe at AOA≥8.0deg. The separated laminar boundary layer was found to rapidly transit to turbulence by generating unsteady Kelvin–Helmholtz vortex structures. After turbulence transition, the separated boundary layer was found to reattach to the airfoil surface as a turbulent boundary layer when the adverse pressure gradient was adequate at AOA<12.0deg, resulting in the formation of a laminar separation bubble on the airfoil. The turbulence transition process of the separated laminar boundary layer was found to be accompanied by a significant increase of Reynolds stress in the flow field. The reattached turbulent boundary layer was much more energetic, thus more capable of advancing against an adverse pressure gradient without flow separation, compared to the laminar boundary layer upstream of the laminar separation bubble. The laminar separation bubble formed on the airfoil upper surface was found to move upstream, approaching the airfoil leading edge as the AOA increased. While the total length of the laminar separation bubble was found to be almost unchanged (∼20% of the airfoil chord length), the laminar portion of the separation bubble was found to be slightly stretched, and the turbulent portion became slightly shorter with the increasing AOA. After the formation of the separation bubble on the airfoil, the increase rate of the airfoil lift coefficient was found to considerably degrade, and the airfoil drag coefficient increased much faster with increasing AOA. The separation bubble was found to burst suddenly, causing airfoil stall, when the adverse pressure gradient became too significant at AOA>12.0deg.

On the origin of the inflectional instability of a laminar separation bubble

2009 ◽  
Vol 629 ◽  
pp. 263-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
SOURABH S. DIWAN ◽  
O. N. RAMESH
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Shear Layer ◽  
Separation Bubble ◽  
Adverse Pressure Gradient ◽  
Maximum Height ◽  
Laminar Separation Bubble ◽  
Laminar Separation ◽  
Separated Shear Layer ◽  
The Mean

This is an experimental and theoretical study of a laminar separation bubble and the associated linear stability mechanisms. Experiments were performed over a flat plate kept in a wind tunnel, with an imposed pressure gradient typical of an aerofoil that would involve a laminar separation bubble. The separation bubble was characterized by measurement of surface-pressure distribution and streamwise velocity using hot-wire anemometry. Single component hot-wire anemometry was also used for a detailed study of the transition dynamics. It was found that the so-called dead-air region in the front portion of the bubble corresponded to a region of small disturbance amplitudes, with the amplitude reaching a maximum value close to the reattachment point. An exponential growth rate of the disturbance was seen in the region upstream of the mean maximum height of the bubble, and this was indicative of a linear instability mechanism at work. An infinitesimal disturbance was impulsively introduced into the boundary layer upstream of separation location, and the wave packet was tracked (in an ensemble-averaged sense) while it was getting advected downstream. The disturbance was found to be convective in nature. Linear stability analyses (both the Orr–Sommerfeld and Rayleigh calculations) were performed for mean velocity profiles, starting from an attached adverse-pressure-gradient boundary layer all the way up to the front portion of the separation-bubble region (i.e. up to the end of the dead-air region in which linear evolution of the disturbance could be expected). The conclusion from the present work is that the primary instability mechanism in a separation bubble is inflectional in nature, and its origin can be traced back to upstream of the separation location. In other words, the inviscid inflectional instability of the separated shear layer should be logically seen as an extension of the instability of the upstream attached adverse-pressure-gradient boundary layer. This modifies the traditional view that pegs the origin of the instability in a separation bubble to the detached shear layer outside the bubble, with its associated Kelvin–Helmholtz mechanism. We contend that only when the separated shear layer has moved considerably away from the wall (and this happens near the maximum-height location of the mean bubble), a description by the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability paradigm, with its associated scaling principles, could become relevant. We also propose a new scaling for the most amplified frequency for a wall-bounded shear layer in terms of the inflection-point height and the vorticity thickness and show it to be universal.

Response of a Laminar Separation Bubble to an Impinging Wake

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Gostelow ◽  
R. L. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Separation Bubble ◽  
Side Wall ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Good Representation ◽  
Laminar Separation Bubble ◽  
Rotating Disc ◽  
Laminar Separation ◽  
Section Data ◽  
Layer Velocity

Laminar separation and transition phenomena were investigated experimentally in the wake-disturbed flow over a 2.4 m long flat plate. A controlled diffusion pressure distribution, representative of that on a compressor blade, was imposed but with sufficiently strong loading to cause laminar separation. Boundary layer velocity traverses were performed at several longitudinal stations. Wakes were generated upstream by a single rod, parallel to the leading edge, attached to a rotating disc mounted flush in the side-wall of the working section. Data are presented in the form of velocity traces, and contours of velocity and turbulent intermittency. The results highlight the interaction between the incoming wake and the natural boundary layer, which features a long and thin laminar separation bubble; they demonstrate that wind tunnel experiments provide a good representation of boundary layer behavior under wake disturbances on turbomachinery blading. The calmed region behind the disturbance is a feature that is even stronger behind a wake interaction than behind a triggered turbulent spot. Intermittency values for the undisturbed flow in the separation bubble reattachment region are well-represented by Narasimha’s universal intermittency distribution, lending support to the use of intermittency-based predictive routines in calculations of blade boundary layers.

Response of a Laminar Separation Bubble to an Impinging Wake

2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Gostelow ◽  
R. L. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Separation Bubble ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Rotating Disk ◽  
Good Representation ◽  
Laminar Separation Bubble ◽  
Laminar Separation ◽  
Section Data ◽  
Controlled Diffusion ◽  
Layer Velocity

Laminar separation and transition phenomena were investigated experimentally in the wake-disturbed flow over a 2.4 m long flat plate. A controlled diffusion pressure distribution, representative of that on a compressor blade, was imposed but with sufficiently strong loading to cause laminar separation. Boundary layer velocity traverses were performed at several longitudinal stations. Wakes were generated upstream by a single rod, parallel to the leading edge, attached to a rotating disk mounted flush in the sidewall of the working section. Data are presented in the form of velocity traces and contours of velocity and turbulent intermittency. The results highlight the interaction between the incoming wake and the natural boundary layer, which features a long and thin laminar separation bubble; they demonstrate that wind tunnel experiments provide a good representation of boundary layer behavior under wake disturbances on turbomachinery blading. The calmed region behind the disturbance is a feature that is even stronger behind a wake interaction than behind a triggered turbulent spot. Intermittency values for the undisturbed flow in the separation bubble reattachment region are well represented by Narasimha’s universal intermittency distribution, lending support to the use of intermittency-based predictive routines in calculations of blade boundary layers.

Experimental Investigations of Laminar Separation Bubble for a Flow Past an Airfoil

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepakkumar M. Sharma ◽  
Kamal Poddar
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Flow Separation ◽  
Separation Bubble ◽  
Angle Of Attack ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Boundary Layer Separation ◽  
Experimental Investigations ◽  
Stream Velocity ◽  
Laminar Separation Bubble ◽  
Laminar Separation

Wind tunnel experiments were carried out on NACA 0015 airfoil model to investigate the formation of laminar separation bubble on the upper surface of the airfoil by varying angle of attack from −5° to 25° with respect to the free stream velocity at constant Reynolds number varying from 0.2E06 to 0.6E06. Pressure signals were acquired from the pressure ports selected at the mid-span of the airfoil model along the chord. Static stall characteristics were obtained from the surface pressure distribution. The flow separation was found to be a trailing edge turbulent boundary layer separation preceded with a laminar separation bubble. Flow Visualizations were done by using Surface Oil flow Technique for qualitative analysis of the transition zone formed due to the presence of laminar separation bubble As the angle of attack is increased the separation bubble moves towards the leading edge of the airfoil and finally gets shredded or burst at a particular angle of attack resulting in leading edge turbulent flow separation which induces the static stall condition. The flow separation process is critically analyzed and the existence of laminar separation bubble is visualized and quantified with the increase in angle of attack and Re. Effect of Re and angle of attack on the various boundary layer and Separation bubble parameters are obtained and analyzed.

scholarly journals Turbulence Amplification with Incidence at the Leading Edge of a Compressor Cascade

1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garth V. Hobson ◽  
Bryce E. Wakefield ◽  
William B. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Separation Bubble ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Laser Doppler Velocimeter ◽  
Free Shear Layer ◽  
Compressor Cascade ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Flow Angle ◽  
Laminar Separation ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
High Turbulence

Detailed measurements, with a two-component laser-Doppler velocimeter and a thermal anemometer were made near the suction surface leading edge of controlled-diffusion airfoils in cascade. The Reynolds number was near 700,000, Mach number equal to 0.25, and freestream turbulence was at 1.5% ahead of the cascade.It was found that there was a localized region of high turbulence near the suction surface leading edge at high incidence. This turbulence amplification is thought to be due to the interaction of the free-shear layer with the freestream inlet turbulence. The presence of the local high turbulence affects the development of the short laminar separation bubble that forms very near the suction side leading edge of these blades. Calculations indicate that the local high levels of turbulence can cause rapid transition in the laminar bubble allowing it to reattach as a short “non-burst” type.The high turbulence, which can reach point values greater than 25% at high incidence, is the reason that leading edge laminar separation bubbles can reattach in the high pressure gradient regions near the leading edge. Two variations for inlet turbulence intensity were measured for this cascade. The first is the variation ofmaximum inlet turbulence with respect to inlet-flow angle; and the second is the variation of leading edge turbulence with respect to upstream distance from the leading edge of the blades.

Interactions Between Propagating Wakes and Flow Instabilities in the Presence of a Laminar Separation Bubble

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Gostelow ◽  
R. L. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Shear Layer ◽  
Separation Bubble ◽  
Adverse Pressure Gradient ◽  
Time Averaging ◽  
Laminar Separation Bubble ◽  
Turbulent Layer ◽  
Laminar Separation ◽  
Flow Features ◽  
Tollmien Schlichting ◽  
Dependent Flow

Laminar separation was investigated experimentally on a flat plate under a strongly diffusing self-similar pressure distribution. This gave a long and thin laminar separation bubble. Boundary layer velocity traverses were performed at numerous longitudinal stations. Using a single hot wire a combination of individual traces, phase averaging and time averaging was used. To supplement this, an array of microphones was installed to give instantaneous contours of pressure perturbation and to investigate the time dependent flow features. Microphone data were consistent with the strong amplification, under the adverse pressure gradient, of instabilities predicted far upstream of the separation point. Driven at the Tollmien-Schlichting (T-S) frequency, these instabilities grew into turbulent spots developing in the shear layer of the separation bubble. Reattachment of the bubble was caused by transition of the separated shear layer. The waves were strongest in the later stages of transition. Once the coherence was lost, in a turbulent layer, the amplitude became diminished. Wake disturbances were injected into the flow and traced through the flow field. The wake interaction resulted in turbulent patches which penetrated to the wall. Following the patches was the calmed region, detectable as a region of reduced wave activity in the transition region following each turbulent strip. For a short time at the end of the calmed region the viscous instability waves continued to propagate for a considerable distance downstream, in concert with the calmed region, in an otherwise turbulent zone.

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