Time-Resolved Velocity Measurements in a Matched Refractive Index Facility of Randomly Packed Spheres

Author(s):  
Ethan Kappes ◽  
Mateusz Marciniak ◽  
Andrew Mills ◽  
Robert Muyshondt ◽  
Stephen King ◽  
...  

Complex geometries and randomly connected void spaces within packed beds have hindered efforts to characterize the underlying transport phenomena occurring within. In this communication, we present our experimental studies on a facility of randomly packed spheres that can be a representative of sections within a reactor core in a nuclear power plant. The results of high-fidelity velocity measurements can be seen using Time-Resolved Particle Image Velocimetry (TR-PIV) at the pore scales and near the wall boundary in the Matched Index of Refraction (MIR) facility. The MIR approach allows for a non-invasive analysis of the flow within packed spheres at the microscopic scales with high temporal and spatial resolution. Flow characteristics obtained from the TR-PIV measurements at various Reynolds numbers are presented. The results include the first- and second-order flow statistics, such as mean velocity, root-mean-square fluctuating velocity and Reynolds stresses. Effects of the wall boundary and Reynolds numbers on flow patterns are currently being investigated. Comparisons of the mean velocities, root-mean-square fluctuating velocities, and Reynolds stress components show the increase of flow mixing and turbulent intensities within the gaps between spheres in the packed bed. Sizes of recirculation regions, however, seem to be independent of the increase of Reynolds numbers.

2019 ◽  
Vol 862 ◽  
pp. 781-815 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Kuwata ◽  
Y. Kawaguchi

Lattice Boltzmann direct numerical simulation of turbulent open-channel flows over randomly distributed hemispheres at $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}}=600$ is carried out to reveal the influence of roughness parameters related to a probability density function of rough-surface elevation on turbulence by analysing the spatial and Reynolds- (double-) averaged Navier–Stokes equation. This study specifically concentrates on the influence of the root-mean-square roughness and the skewness, and profiles of turbulence statistics are compared by introducing an effective wall-normal distance defined as a wall-normal integrated plane porosity. The effective distance can completely collapse the total shear stress outside the roughness sublayer, and thus the similarity of the streamwise mean velocity is clearer by introducing the effective distance. In order to examine the influence of the root-mean-square roughness and the skewness on dynamical effects that contribute to an increase in the skin friction coefficient, the triple-integrated double-averaged Navier–Stokes equation is analysed. The main contributors to the skin friction coefficient are found to be turbulence and drag force. The turbulence contribution increases with the root-mean-square roughness and/or the skewness. The drag force contribution, on the other hand, increases in particular with the root-mean-square roughness whereas an increase in the skewness does not increase the drag force contribution because it does not necessarily increase the surface area of the roughness elements. The contribution of the mean velocity dispersion induced by spatial inhomogeneity of the rough surfaces substantially increases with the root-mean-square roughness. A linear correlation is confirmed between the root-mean-square roughness and the equivalent roughness while the equivalent roughness monotonically increases with the skewness. A new correlation function based on the root-mean-square roughness and the skewness is developed with the available experimental and direct numerical simulation data, and it is confirmed that the developed correlation reasonably predicts the equivalent roughness of various types of real rough surfaces.


Author(s):  
M. K. Shah ◽  
M. F. Tachie

The characteristics of an open channel turbulent flow over a forward facing step (FFS) are investigated in the present study. Two step heights, h = 6 and 9 mm, at Reynolds number, Reh, (based on the approach freestream velocity, U0, and step height, h) of 1900 and 2800 respectively were studied. Particle image velocimetry technique (PIV) was used to obtain detailed velocity measurements upstream of the FFS, in the reattachment region (x/h = 0, 1, 2) and in the redevelopment region (x/h = 4, 10, 15 and 50). The boundary layer integral parameters, mean velocity profiles and Reynolds stresses obtained in the reattachment and redevelopment region are used to document some of the salient features of the flow.


Author(s):  
Chandrima Jana Maiti ◽  
Urmila Ghia ◽  
Leonid A. Turkevich

Abstract We perform RANS-VOF simulation of density-stratified, fully developed air-water flow in a 2D channel. The flow is completely specified by the (common) driving pressure gradient down the channel and by the fill factor (relative height of the heavier phase to the total height of the channel). Varying the pressure gradient and fill factor results in different flow combinations: namely, laminar air/laminar water, turbulent air/laminar water, turbulent air/turbulent water, laminar air/turbulent water. The focus of the study is the near-interface interaction when either or both phases are turbulent. The RANS-VOF equations are solved on a 2D channel with periodic inlet/outlet boundary conditions. For a fixed fill factor, the Reynolds numbers of each phase varies monotonically with driving pressure gradient. However, at fixed pressure gradient, the fluid Reynolds numbers are non-monotonic at high fill factor. This Reynolds number phase diagram is important in understanding the laminar and turbulent regimes of each phase. The mean velocity is axial (down the channel) and exhibits a dip below the free surface whenever one of the phases is turbulent. As expected, the diagonal Reynolds stresses <u’u’>, <v’v’>, are strongly coupled between the phases, however coupling in <u’v’> is less pronounced.


2015 ◽  
Vol 780 ◽  
pp. 649-686 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. S. Srinivas ◽  
V. Kumaran

In comparison to the flow in a rigid channel, there is a multifold reduction in the transition Reynolds number for the flow in a microchannel when one of the walls is made sufficiently soft, due to a dynamical instability induced by the fluid–wall coupling, as shown by Verma & Kumaran (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 727, 2013, pp. 407–455). The flow after transition is characterised using particle image velocimetry in the $x{-}y$ plane, where $x$ is the streamwise direction and $y$ is the cross-stream coordinate along the small dimension of the channel of height 0.2–0.3 mm. The flow after transition is characterised by a mean velocity profile that is flatter at the centre and steeper at the walls in comparison to that for a laminar flow. The root mean square of the streamwise fluctuating velocity shows a characteristic sharp increase away from the wall and a maximum close to the wall, as observed in turbulent flows in rigid-walled channels. However, the profile is asymmetric, with a significantly higher maximum close to the soft wall in comparison to that close to the hard wall, and the Reynolds stress is found to be non-zero at the soft wall, indicating that there is a stress exerted by fluid velocity fluctuations on the wall. The maximum of the root mean square of the velocity fluctuations and the Reynolds stress (divided by the fluid density) in the soft-walled microchannel for Reynolds numbers in the range 250–400, when scaled by suitable powers of the maximum velocity, are comparable to those in a rigid channel at Reynolds numbers in the range 5000–20 000. The near-wall velocity profile shows no evidence of a viscous sublayer for $(yv_{\ast }/{\it\nu})$ as low as two, but there is a logarithmic layer for $(yv_{\ast }/{\it\nu})$ up to approximately 30, where the von Karman constants are very different from those for a rigid-walled channel. Here, $v_{\ast }$ is the friction velocity, ${\it\nu}$ is the kinematic viscosity and $y$ is the distance from the soft surface. The surface of the soft wall in contact with the fluid is marked with dye spots to monitor the deformation and motion along the fluid–wall interface. Low-frequency oscillations in the displacement of the surface are observed after transition in both the streamwise and spanwise directions, indicating that the velocity fluctuations are dynamically coupled to motion in the solid.


2000 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiang Zhe ◽  
Vijay Modi

The velocity field in the vicinity of a target surface with a turbulent slot jet impinging normally on it is examined. The impingement region is confined by means of a confinement plate that is flush with the slot and parallel to the impingement plate. The distance H of the impingement wall from the slot is varied from 2 to 9.2 slot widths. Jet Reynolds numbers (based on slot width B) of 10,000–30,000 are considered. Mean velocity and root mean square velocity measurements are carried out using hot-wire anemometry. A boundary layer probe is utilized in order to obtain measurements at a wall distance as close as 110 microns 0.0028B. This corresponds to a distance of approximately y+∼2-4 in wall units and is found to be adequate in order to permit an estimate of wall shear under most conditions. The problems of hot wire interference with the wall and calibration at low velocities are solved by calibrating the probe in a known Blasius flow. With the exception of the stagnation region where shear could not be evaluated, it is found that velocity profiles follow a linear behavior in the viscous sublayer everywhere along the wall. Results indicate that the peak in normal stress occurs at y/B∼0.025 to 0.04 at a distance six to eight jet widths away from the jet-axis.


Author(s):  
Vishal A. Patil ◽  
James A. Liburdy

An experimental study on the turbulent flow characteristics in a randomly packed porous bed is presented and discussed. Time resolved PIV measurements, taken in specific pore spaces are used to evaluate transitional and developed turbulent flow statistics for pore Reynolds numbers from 54 to 3964. Three different regimes of steady laminar, transitional and turbulent flow are presented. Small scale coherent vortical structures are examined, using large eddy scale (LES) decomposition, for pore Reynolds number of greater than 1000. Integral length scales were found to reach asymptotic values of approximately 0.1 times the hydraulic diameter of the bed. The integral Eulerian time scales are found to reach an asymptotic value of approximately 0.3 times the convective time scale in the bed. Mean velocity vector maps show flattening of the velocity distribution due to increased momentum mixing. Turbulent stresses show increasing level of homogeneity at higher pore Reynolds numbers.


2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 563-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal N. Glinka ◽  
Kim P. Cheema ◽  
Stephen N. Robinovitch ◽  
Andrew C. Laing

Safety floors (also known ascompliant floors) may reduce the risk of fall-related injuries by attenuating impact force during falls, but are only practical if they do not negatively affect balance and mobility. In this study, we evaluated seven safety surfaces based on their ability to attenuate peak femoral neck force during simulated hip impacts, and their influence on center of pressure (COP) sway during quiet and tandem stance. Overall, we found that some safety floors can attenuate up to 33.7% of the peak femoral impact force without influencing balance. More specifically, during simulated hip impacts, force attenuation for the safety floors ranged from 18.4 (SD 4.3)% to 47.2 (3.1)%, with each floor significantly reducing peak force compared with a rigid surface. For quiet stance, only COP root mean square was affected by flooring (and increased for only two safety floors). During tandem stance, COP root mean square and mean velocity increased in the medial-lateral direction for three of the seven floors. Based on the substantial force attenuation with no concomitant effects on balance for some floors, these results support the development of clinical trials to assess the effectiveness of safety floors at reducing fall-related injuries in high-risk settings.


2001 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Becker ◽  
C. M. Stoots ◽  
K. G. Condie ◽  
F. Durst ◽  
D. M. McEligot

New fundamental measurements are presented for the transition process in flat plate boundary layers downstream of two-dimensional square ribs. By use of laser Doppler anemometry (LDA) and a large Matched-Index-of-Refraction (MIR) flow system, data for wall-normal fluctuations and Reynolds stresses were obtained in the near wall region to y+<0.1 in addition to the usual mean streamwise velocity component and its fluctuation. By varying velocity and rib height, the experiment investigated the following range of conditions: k+=5.5 to 21, 0.3<k/δ1<1,180<Rek<740,6×104<Rex,k<1.5×105,ReΘ660,−125<x−xk/k<580. Consequently, results covered boundary layers which retained their laminar characteristics through those where a turbulent boundary layer was established shortly after reattachment beyond the forcing rib. For “large” elements, evolution of turbulent statistics of the viscous layer for a turbulent boundary layer y+<∼30 was rapid even in flows where the mean velocity profile still showed laminar behavior.


2015 ◽  
Vol 774 ◽  
pp. 416-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Ashok ◽  
T. Van Buren ◽  
A. J. Smits

Detailed velocity measurements in the wake of a body of revolution are reported for pitch angles up to $12^{\circ }$, over an unprecedented range of Reynolds numbers ($2.4\times 10^{6}\leqslant \mathit{Re}_{L}\leqslant 30\times 10^{6}$). The body of revolution, an idealized submarine shape (DARPA SUBOFF), is mounted using a support that mimics a semi-infinite sail. The wake measurements at all pitch angles and Reynolds numbers reveal the presence of a pair of streamwise vortices of unequal strengths which tend to rotate around each other as they evolve downstream. Various attempts to perturb the upstream conditions on the body had no significant impact on the relative strength of the vortices. In addition, two different models, tested in two different wind tunnels, show similar asymmetries, and we propose that wake asymmetry appears to be a robust feature of this flow, a result previously only seen for sharp-nosed bodies at high angles of attack. It is also shown that the wake behaviour for $x/D>5$, in terms of the streamwise mean velocity and turbulence intensity distributions, appears to become invariant with Reynolds number for $\mathit{Re}_{L}>4.8\times 10^{6}$.


Author(s):  
Deepu Dilip ◽  
Danesh Tafti

Large Eddy Simulations (LES) of wall-bounded flows at high Reynolds numbers demand an extremely fine mesh resolution in the wall proximal inner layer. Accurate modeling of near wall turbulence is therefore crucial in reducing the computational cost of LES at practical Reynolds numbers. One approach is the implementation of a two-layer model that solves for a reduced one-dimensional boundary layer equation in the inner wall layer. A wall modeled LES thus allows for a coarser grid resolution than a wall resolved LES. This work evaluated the performance of a wall modeled LES against a wall resolved LES as well as experimental data for the flow over a wall mounted hump at Reynolds number 9.36×105. Results from the wall modeled LES were in good agreement with both wall resolved LES and experimental data in parameters such as surface pressure coefficient, skin friction, mean velocity profiles, Reynolds stresses and flow reattachment. It was observed that the wall modeled LES required only a fifth of the computational resources required for the wall resolved LES.


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