scholarly journals Instability and Transition of a Boundary Layer over a Backward-Facing Step

Fluids ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Ming Teng ◽  
Ugo Piomelli
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Velocity Distribution ◽  
Adverse Pressure Gradient ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Transition To Turbulence ◽  
Recirculation Region ◽  
Backward Facing Step ◽  
Freestream Velocity ◽  
Displacement Thickness

The development of secondary instabilities in a boundary layer over a backward-facing step is investigated numerically. Two step heights are considered, h/δo*=0.5 and 1.0 (where δo* is the displacement thickness at the step location), in addition to a reference flat-plate case. A case with a realistic freestream-velocity distribution is also examined. A controlled K-type transition is initiated using a narrow ribbon upstream of the step, which generates small and monochromatic perturbations by periodic blowing and suction. A well-resolved direct numerical simulation is performed. The step height and the imposed freestream-velocity distribution exert a significant influence on the transition process. The results for the h/δo*=1.0 case exhibit a rapid transition primarily due to the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability downstream of step; non-linear interactions already occur within the recirculation region, and the initial symmetry and periodicity of the flow are lost by the middle stage of transition. In contrast, case h/δo*=0.5 presents a transition road map in which transition occurs far downstream of the step, and the flow remains spatially symmetric and temporally periodic until the late stage of transition. A realistic freestream-velocity distribution (which induces an adverse pressure gradient) advances the onset of transition to turbulence, but does not fundamentally modify the flow features observed in the zero-pressure gradient case. Considering the budgets of the perturbation kinetic energy, both the step and the induced pressure-gradient increase, rather than modify, the energy transfer.

Experimental Investigation of a Turbulent Compressible Boundary Layer

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd Reedy
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Mach Number ◽  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Static Pressure ◽  
Adverse Pressure Gradient ◽  
Velocity Profiles ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Compressible Boundary Layer ◽  
Law Of The Wall ◽  
Displacement Thickness

A turbulent compressible boundary layer in a nominally Mach 4.2 flow was investigated experimentally. Pitot, wall-static pressure, total pressure and temperature measurements were utilized to determine Mach number, temperature, and velocity profiles within the boundary layer. An adverse pressure gradient was observed, resulting in non-uniform flow in the streamwise direction of the test section during development. Alterations were made to the tunnel top and bottom walls to account for the growing boundary layer displacement thickness, resulting in a much improved, uniform Mach number in the freestream and boundary layer. The existence of a slight adverse pressure gradient remained. Flow visualization was conducted via the Schlieren imaging technique. Experimental results were compared against turbulent compressible flow theory and were found to be in excellent agreement, based on an extension of the law-of-the-wall and law-of-the-wake. Velocity profiles and boundary layer thicknesses of the theoretical and experimental results aligned satisfactorily.

Experimental results for the transpired turbulent boundary layer in an adverse pressure gradient

1975 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 353-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. S. Andersen ◽  
W. M. Kays ◽  
R. J. Moffat
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Shear Stress ◽  
Turbulent Boundary Layer ◽  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Boundary Layer Equation ◽  
Adverse Pressure Gradient ◽  
Stream Velocity ◽  
Pressure Gradients ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Displacement Thickness

An experimental investigation of the fluid mechanics of the transpired turbulent boundary layer in zero and adverse pressure gradients was carried out on the Stanford Heat and Mass Transfer Apparatus. Profiles of (a) the mean velocity, (b) the intensities of the three components of the turbulent velocity fluctuations and (c) the Reynolds stress were obtained by hot-wire anemometry. The wall shear stress was measured by using an integrated form of the boundary-layer equation to ‘extrapolate’ the measured shear-stress profiles to the wall.The two experimental adverse pressure gradients corresponded to free-stream velocity distributions of the type u∞ ∞ xm, where m = −0·15 and −0·20, x being the streamwise co-ordinate. Equilibrium boundary layers (i.e. flows with velocity defect profile similarity) were obtained when the transpiration velocity v0 was varied such that the blowing parameter B = pv0u∞/τ0 and the Clauser pressure-gradient parameter $\beta\equiv\delta_1\tau_0^{-1}\,dp/dx $ were held constant. (τ0 is the shear stress at the wall and δ1 is the displacement thickness.)Tabular and graphical results are presented.

History effects and near equilibrium in adverse-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layers

2017 ◽  
Vol 820 ◽  
pp. 667-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bobke ◽  
R. Vinuesa ◽  
R. Örlü ◽  
P. Schlatter
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Boundary Layers ◽  
Adverse Pressure Gradient ◽  
Turbulent Boundary Layers ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
History Effects ◽  
Displacement Thickness ◽  
Gradient Parameter

Turbulent boundary layers under adverse pressure gradients are studied using well-resolved large-eddy simulations (LES) with the goal of assessing the influence of the streamwise pressure-gradient development. Near-equilibrium boundary layers were characterized through the Clauser pressure-gradient parameter $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$. In order to fulfil the near-equilibrium conditions, the free stream velocity was prescribed such that it followed a power-law distribution. The turbulence statistics pertaining to cases with a constant value of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ (extending up to approximately 40 boundary-layer thicknesses) were compared with cases with non-constant $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ distributions at matched values of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ and friction Reynolds number $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}}$. An additional case at matched Reynolds number based on displacement thickness $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}^{\ast }}$ was also considered. It was noticed that non-constant $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ cases appear to approach the conditions of equivalent constant $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ cases after long streamwise distances (approximately 7 boundary-layer thicknesses). The relevance of the constant $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ cases lies in the fact that they define a ‘canonical’ state of the boundary layer, uniquely characterized by $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ and $Re$. The investigations on the flat plate were extended to the flow around a wing section overlapping in terms of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ and $Re$. Comparisons with the flat-plate cases at matched values of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ and $Re$ revealed that the different development history of the turbulent boundary layer on the wing section leads to a less pronounced wake in the mean velocity as well as a weaker second peak in the Reynolds stresses. This is due to the weaker accumulated effect of the $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ history. Furthermore, a scaling law suggested by Kitsios et al. (Intl J. Heat Fluid Flow, vol. 61, 2016, pp. 129–136), proposing the edge velocity and the displacement thickness as scaling parameters, was tested on two constant-pressure-gradient parameter cases. The mean velocity and Reynolds-stress profiles were found to be dependent on the downstream development. The present work is the first step towards assessing history effects in adverse-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layers and highlights the fact that the values of the Clauser pressure-gradient parameter and the Reynolds number are not sufficient to characterize the state of the boundary layer.

scholarly journals Some Observations of the Behaviour of an Adverse Pressure Gradient Laminar Boundary Layer under Wake Impingement

Fluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 199
Author(s):  
Vasudevan Kanjirakkad ◽  
Thomas Irps
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Shear Layer ◽  
Laminar Boundary Layer ◽  
Adverse Pressure Gradient ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Transition Mechanism ◽  
Separated Shear Layer ◽  
Tollmien Schlichting ◽  
The Time Domain

The problem of laminar to turbulent transition in a boundary layer flow subjected to an adverse pressure gradient is relevant to many engineering applications. Under such conditions, the initially laminar flow within the boundary layer can undergo separation and then become turbulent upon reattachment, as transition is triggered by instabilities within the separated shear layer. In turbomachinery blades with high loading, the transition mechanism is further complicated by the presence of periodic wake disturbances shed by blades that move relatively in the upstream flow. The paper reports an experimental study of the effect of wake disturbances generated upstream on the development of a laminar boundary layer over a flat plate imposed with an adverse pressure gradient that is typical of a highly loaded front-stage compressor blade. Detailed velocity measurements using a hotwire are performed along the plate and the results are analysed both in the time domain and the frequency domain. Description of the major features identified is provided and the leading mechanisms that trigger the transition process are identified to be a possible combination of amplified Tollmien–Schlichting waves and the roll-up of vortices due to the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability of the separated shear layer.

Numerical investigation of transition in a boundary layer subjected to favourable and adverse streamwise pressure gradients and elevated free stream turbulence

2015 ◽  
Vol 781 ◽  
pp. 52-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua R. Brinkerhoff ◽  
Metin I. Yaras
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Free Stream ◽  
Large Strain ◽  
Adverse Pressure Gradient ◽  
Secondary Instability ◽  
Transition To Turbulence ◽  
Pressure Gradients ◽  
Turbulent Spot ◽  
Free Stream Turbulence

Laminar-to-turbulent transition of a boundary layer subjected to streamwise pressure gradients and elevated free stream turbulence is computed through direct numerical simulation. The streamwise pressure distribution and elevated free stream turbulence levels mimic the conditions present on the suction side of highly-cambered airfoils. Longitudinal streamwise streaks form in the laminar boundary layer through the selective inclusion of low-frequency disturbances from the free stream turbulence. The spanwise spacing normalized by local inner variables indicates stabilization of the streaks occurs by the favourable pressure gradient and prevents the development of secondary streak instability modes until downstream of the suction peak. Two distinct processes are found to trigger transition to turbulence in the adverse pressure gradient region of the flow. One involves the development of varicose secondary instability of individual low-speed streaks that results in their breakdown and the formation and growth of discrete turbulent spots. The other involves a rapid amplification of free stream disturbances in the inflectional boundary layer in the adverse pressure gradient region that results in a largely homogeneous breakdown to turbulence across the span. The effect of high-frequency free stream disturbances on the streak secondary instability and on the nonlinear processes within the growing turbulent spot are analysed through the inviscid transport of instantaneous vorticity. The results suggest that free stream turbulence contributes to the growth of the turbulent spot by generating large strain rates that activate vortex-stretching and tilting processes within the spot.

Transition of streamwise streaks in zero-pressure-gradient boundary layers

2002 ◽  
Vol 472 ◽  
pp. 229-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
LUCA BRANDT ◽  
DAN S. HENNINGSON
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Free Stream Turbulence ◽  
Tollmien Schlichting ◽  
Streamwise Streaks ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Optimal Disturbances

A transition scenario initiated by streamwise low- and high-speed streaks in a flat-plate boundary layer is studied. In many shear flows, the perturbations that show the highest potential for transient energy amplification consist of streamwise-aligned vortices. Due to the lift-up mechanism these optimal disturbances lead to elongated streamwise streaks downstream, with significant spanwise modulation. In a previous investigation (Andersson et al. 2001), the stability of these streaks in a zero-pressure-gradient boundary layer was studied by means of Floquet theory and numerical simulations. The sinuous instability mode was found to be the most dangerous disturbance. We present here the first simulation of the breakdown to turbulence originating from the sinuous instability of streamwise streaks. The main structures observed during the transition process consist of elongated quasi-streamwise vortices located on the flanks of the low-speed streak. Vortices of alternating sign are overlapping in the streamwise direction in a staggered pattern. The present scenario is compared with transition initiated by Tollmien–Schlichting waves and their secondary instability and by-pass transition initiated by a pair of oblique waves. The relevance of this scenario to transition induced by free-stream turbulence is also discussed.

Boundary Layer Flashback Model for Hydrogen Flames in Confined Geometries Including the Effect of Adverse Pressure Gradient

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ólafur H. Björnsson ◽  
Sikke A. Klein ◽  
Joeri Tober
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Flow Separation ◽  
Gradient Flow ◽  
Lewis Number ◽  
Adverse Pressure Gradient ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Diffuser Flow ◽  
Combustion Properties ◽  
Quenching Distance

Abstract The combustion properties of hydrogen make premixed hydrogen-air flames very prone to boundary layer flashback. This paper describes the improvement and extension of a boundary layer flashback model from Hoferichter [1] for flames confined in burner ducts. The original model did not perform well at higher preheat temperatures and overpredicted the backpressure of the flame at flashback by 4–5x. By simplifying the Lewis number dependent flame speed computation and by applying a generalized version of Stratford’s flow separation criterion [2], the prediction accuracy is improved significantly. The effect of adverse pressure gradient flow on the flashback limits in 2° and 4° diffusers is also captured adequately by coupling the model to flow simulations and taking into account the increased flow separation tendency in diffuser flow. Future research will focus on further experimental validation and direct numerical simulations to gain better insight into the role of the quenching distance and turbulence statistics.

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