Structure of the Scalar Dissipation Field in a Turbulent Channel Flow

Author(s):  
H. Kawamura ◽  
H. Abe ◽  
R. A. Antonia
2009 ◽  
Vol 627 ◽  
pp. 1-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
HIROYUKI ABE ◽  
ROBERT ANTHONY ANTONIA ◽  
HIROSHI KAWAMURA

Direct numerical simulations of a turbulent channel flow with passive scalar transport are used to examine the relationship between small-scale velocity and scalar fields. The Reynolds number based on the friction velocity and the channel half-width is equal to 180, 395 and 640, and the molecular Prandtl number is 0.71. The focus is on the interrelationship between the components of the vorticity vector and those of the scalar derivative vector. Near the wall, there is close similarity between different components of the two vectors due to the almost perfect correspondence between the momentum and thermal streaks. With increasing distance from the wall, the magnitudes of the correlations become smaller but remain non-negligible everywhere in the channel owing to the presence of internal shear and scalar layers in the inner region and the backs of the large-scale motions in the outer region. The topology of the scalar dissipation rate, which is important for small-scale scalar mixing, is shown to be associated with the organized structures. The most preferential orientation of the scalar dissipation rate is the direction of the mean strain rate near the wall and that of the fluctuating compressive strain rate in the outer region. The latter region has many characteristics in common with several turbulent flows; viz. the dominant structures are sheetlike in form and better correlated with the energy dissipation rate than the enstrophy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 830 ◽  
pp. 300-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Abe ◽  
Robert Anthony Antonia

Integration across a fully developed turbulent channel flow of the transport equations for the mean and turbulent parts of the scalar dissipation rate yields relatively simple relations for the bulk mean scalar and wall heat transfer coefficient. These relations are tested using direct numerical simulation datasets obtained with two isothermal boundary conditions (constant heat flux and constant heating source) and a molecular Prandtl number Pr of 0.71. A logarithmic dependence on the Kármán number $h^{+}$ is established for the integrated mean scalar in the range $h^{+}\geqslant 400$ where the mean part of the total scalar dissipation exhibits near constancy, whilst the integral of the turbulent scalar dissipation rate $\overline{\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D703}}}$ increases logarithmically with $h^{+}$. This logarithmic dependence is similar to that established in a previous paper (Abe & Antonia, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 798, 2016, pp. 140–164) for the bulk mean velocity. However, the slope (2.18) for the integrated mean scalar is smaller than that (2.54) for the bulk mean velocity. The ratio of these two slopes is 0.85, which can be identified with the value of the turbulent Prandtl number in the overlap region. It is shown that the logarithmic $h^{+}$ increase of the integrated mean scalar is intrinsically associated with the overlap region of $\overline{\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D703}}}$, established for $h^{+}$ (${\geqslant}400$). The resulting heat transfer law also holds at a smaller $h^{+}$ (${\geqslant}200$) than that derived by assuming a log law for the mean temperature.


2009 ◽  
Vol 628 ◽  
pp. 241-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBERT ANTHONY ANTONIA ◽  
HIROYUKI ABE ◽  
HIROSHI KAWAMURA

The relationship between the fluctuating velocity vector and the temperature fluctuation has been examined using direct numerical simulation databases of a turbulent channel flow with passive scalar transport using a constant time-averaged heat flux at each wall for h+ = 180, 395, 640 and 1020 (where h is the channel half-width with the superscript denoting normalization by wall variables) at Prandtl number Pr=0.71. The analogy between spectra corresponding to the kinetic energy and scalar variance is reasonable in both inner and outer regions irrespective of whether the spectra are plotted in terms of kx or kz, the wavenumbers in the streamwise and spanwise directions respectively. Whereas all three velocity fluctuations contribute to the energy spectrum when kx is used, the longitudinal velocity fluctuation is the major contributor when kz is used. The quality of the analogy in the spectral domain is confirmed by visualizations in physical space and reflects differences between spatial organizations in the velocity and scalar fields. The similarity between the spectra corresponding to the enstrophy and scalar dissipation rate is not as good as that between the kinetic energy and scalar variance, emphasizing the prominence of the scalar sheets as the centre of the channel is approached. The ratio R between the characteristic time scales of the velocity and scalar fluctuations is approximately constant over a major part of the channel and independent of h+, when the latter is sufficiently large. This constancy, which is not observed in quantities such as the turbulent Prandtl number, follows from the spectral similarities discussed in this paper and has implications for turbulent heat transport models.


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