Vortex Dynamics in the Turbulent Wake of a Single Step Cylinder

The turbulent wake development of a circular cylinder with a single stepwise discontinuity in diameter was investigated experimentally using flow visualization and two-component Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV). A single step cylinder is comprised of two cylinders of different diameters (D and d). Experiments were performed at a Reynolds number (ReD) of 1050 and a diameter ratio (D/d) of two. A combination of hydrogen bubble and laser induced fluorescence techniques allowed visualization of complex vortex dynamics in the near wake. The results show that turbulent vortex shedding from a single step cylinder occurs in three distinct cells of constant shedding frequency. The differences in frequency and strengths between vortices in the cells lead to complex vortex interactions at the cell boundaries. The results demonstrate that vortex splitting, half-loop vortex connections, and direct cross-boundary vortex connections occur near the cell boundaries. A comparative analysis of flow visualizations and velocity measurements is used to characterize the main vortex cells and the attendant vortex interactions, producing a simplified model of vortex dynamics in the step cylinder wake for ReD = 1050 and D/d = 2.

Flow and Noise Characteristics of Airfoils With Application to Turbomachinery

The flow-fields around airfoils in a uniform flow under the generation of noise were numerically studied and compared with experimental data. The numerical simulation was carried out by a large-eddy simulation that employs a deductive dynamic model as a subgrid-scale model. The result for a symmetrical airfoil at small angle of attack α = 3°–6° indicates that the discrete or narrow-banded frequency noise is generated when the separated laminar flow reattaches near the trailing edge of the pressure side and a strong instability thereafter affects positive vortices shed near the trailing edge. This type of forced transition or late transition instabilities near the trailing edge of the pressure side, interacting with convected vortices in an attached T.B.L. on the suction side, can be found in many practical airfoils of impellers rotating at moderate speeds under design conditions. The sound spectra derived from the aero-acoustic computations of airfoils indicate a dipole nature of sound having a narrow-banded or discrete peak by laminar instability and turbulent vortex shedding from their trailing edges of finite thickness at a Strouhal frequency, a quadrupole sound by turbulent broadband boundary-layer noise, or a mixed mode depending on flow conditions near the T.E.

Application of the Turbulent Potential Model to Unsteady Flows and Three-Dimensional Boundary Layers

The turbulent potential model is a Reynolds-averaged (RANS) turbulence model that is theoretically capable of capturing nonequilibrium turbulent flows at a computational cost and complexity comparable to two-equation models. The ability of the turbulent potential model to predict nonequilibrium turbulent flows accurately is evaluated in this work. The flow in a spanwise-driven channel flow and over a swept bump are used to evaluate the turbulent potential model's ability to predict complex three-dimensional boundary layers. Results of turbulent vortex shedding behind a triangular and a square cylinder are also presented in order to evaluate the model's ability to predict unsteady flows. Early indications suggest that models of this type may be capable of significantly enhancing current numerical predictions of turbomachinery components at little extra computational cost or additional code complexity.

Numerical Prediction of Turbulent Wakes Behind a Square Cylinder

ABSTRACTThis paper presents a numerical study on turbulent vortex shedding flows past a square cylinder. The 2D unsteady periodic shedding motion was resolved in the calculation and the superimposed turbulent fluctuations were simulated with a second-order Reynolds-stress closure model. The calculations were carried out by solving numerically the fully elliptic ensemble-averaged Navier-Stokes equations coupled with the turbulence model equations together with the two-layer approach in the treatment of the near-wall region. The performance of the computations was evaluated by comparing the numerical results with data from available experiments. Results indicate that the present study gives good agreement in the shedding frequency and mean drag as well as in some phase profiles of the mean velocity.