ALBERT

Description: This work extends the study of the structure of wall-bounded flows using the topological properties of eddying motions as developed by Chong et al. (1990), Soria et al. (1992, 1994), and as recently extended by Blackburn et al. (1996) and Chacin et al. (1996). In these works, regions of flow which are focal in nature are identified by being enclosed by an isosurface of a positive small value of the discriminant of the velocity gradient tensor. These regions resemble the attached vortex loops suggested first by Theodorsen (1955). Such loops are incorporated in the attached-eddy model versions of Perry & Chong (1982), Perry et al. (1986), and Perry & Marusic (1995), which are extensions of a model first formulated by Townsend (1976). The direct numerical simulation (DNS) data of wall-bounded flows studied here are from the zero-pressure-gradient flow of Spalart (1988) and the boundary layer with separation and reattachment of Na & Moin (1996). The flow structures are examined from the viewpoint of the attached eddy hypothesis.

Description: The formation of compound vortices from a 'shielded' vortex monopole embedded in a two-dimensional background straining flow is studied numerically. The computations are performed in plane polar coordinates using an infinite radial domain Navier-Stokes solver. The straining flow excites an azimuthal instability, leading to vortex tripole formation in the case of small strain rates. For larger strain rates, tripole formation proceeds briefly before the structure is destroyed by the dominant background straining flow.

Description: Temperature-sensitive constant-current wires operating at very low resistance ratios have been tested for temperature fluctuation response. A significant step in the response was found to occur with a centre-frequency of typically 1/6 Hz. The step size was observed to be as large as 30% and grew from zero to its maximum value in about a decade. Analysis shows that this phenomenon is associated with axial conduction of heat to and from the prongs. If it is recognized that prongs have finite thermal inertia then a modification of the boundary conditions to the equations of Betchov (1948) predicts this step, in agreement with the simple asymptotic analysis of Maye (1970). Experiments indicate that a similar phenomenon occurs with velocity-sensitive wires. Axial conduction appears to be the most likely cause. Aeroelastic deflexions and non-uniform cooling caused by bowing of the wire make precise predictions impossible. Here the differences in step size between wires were observed to be as large as 10% (or 20% in mean-square energy), the centre-frequency was usually beyond 10 Hz for the wires tested and the step extended over a much broader frequency range than in the temperature-sensitive case. The effect occurred at all velocities, resistance ratios and wire geometries. An analysis based on non-uniform cooling of the wire filament predicts the correct frequency range and shows that steps of 10% in frequency response are quite plausible. © 1979, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.

Description: This paper contains the details of an experimental study of the vortex formed in front of a piston as it moves through a cylinder. The mechanism for the formation of this vortex is the removal of the boundary layer forming on the cylinder wall in front of the advancing piston. The trajectory of the vortex core and the vorticity distribution on the developing vortex have been measured for a range of piston velocities. Velocity field measurements indicate that the vortex is essentially an inviscid structure at the Reynolds numbers considered, with viscous effects limited to the immediate corner region. Inviscid flow is defined in this paper as being a region of the flow where inertial forces are significantly larger than viscous forces. Flow visualization and vorticity measurements show that the vortex is composed mainly of material from the boundary layer forming over the cylinder wall. The characteristic dimension of the vortex appears to scale in a self-similar fashion, while it is small in relation to the apparatus length scale. This scaling rate of t0.85+0.7m, where the piston speed is described as a power law Atm, is somewhat faster than the t(3/4) scaling predicted by Tabaczynski et al. (1970) and considerably faster than a viscous scaling rate of t( 1/2 ). The reason for the structure scaling more rapidly than predicted is the self-induced effect of the secondary vorticity that is generated on the piston face. The vorticity distribution shows a distinct spiral structure that is smoothed by the action of viscosity. The strength of the separated vortex also appears to scale in a self-similar fashion as t2m+1. This rate is the same as suggested from a simple model of the flow that approximates the vorticity being ejected from the corner as being equivalent to the flux of vorticity over a flat plate started from rest. However, the strength of the vorticity on the separated structure is 25% of that suggested by this model, sometimes referred to as the 'slug' model. Results show that significant secondary vorticity is generated on the piston face, forming in response to the separating primary vortex. This secondary vorticity grows at the same rate as the primary vorticity and is wrapped around the outside of the primary structure and causes it to advect away from the piston surface.

Description: This paper describes an exploration of the behaviour and properties of swirling flow through a constant-diameter pipe. The experiments reveal a complicated transition process as the swirl intensity Ω is increased at fixed pipe Reynolds number Re ≈ 4900. For Ω ≤ 1.09, the vortex was steady, laminar, axisymmetric, and developed slowly with streamwise distance. The upstream velocity profiles were similar to those commonly appearing in the literature in similar apparatus. Spiral vortex breakdown appeared in the test section for 1.09 ≤ Ω ≤ 1.31 and was associated with a localized transition from jet-like to wake-like mean axial velocity profiles. Further increase in Ω caused the breakdown to move upstream of the test section. Downstream, the core of the post-breakdown flow was unsteady and recovered toward jet-like profiles with streamwise distance. At Ω = 2.68, a global transition occurred in which the mean axial velocity profiles suddenly developed an annular axial velocity deficit. At the same time, disturbances began to appear in the outer flow. Further increase in Ω eventually led to an annulus of reversed axial flow and a completely unsteady vortex.

Description: In recent years there has been significant progress made towards understanding the large-scale structure of wall-bounded shear flows. Most of this work has been conducted with turbulent boundary layers, leaving scope for further work in pipes and channels. In this article the structure of fully developed turbulent pipe and channel flow has been studied using custom-made arrays of hot-wire probes. Results reveal long meandering structures of length up to 25 pipe radii or channel half-heights. These appear to be qualitatively similar to those reported in the log region of a turbulent boundary layer. However, for the channel case, large-scale coherence persists further from the wall than in boundary layers. This is expected since these large-scale features are a property of the logarithmic region of the mean velocity profile in boundary layers and it is well-known that the mean velocity in a channel remains very close to the log law much further from the wall. Further comparison of the three turbulent flows shows that the characteristic structure width in the logarithmic region of a boundary layer is at least 1.6 times smaller than that in a pipe or channel. © 2007 Cambridge University Press.

Description: Using the method pioneered by Gurzhienko (1934), the crossflow separation produced by a body of revolution in a steady turn is examined using a stationary deformed body placed in a wind tunnel. The body of revolution was deformed about a radius equal to three times the body's length. Surface pressure and skin-friction measurements revealed regions of separated flow occurring over the rear of the model. Extensive surface flow visualization showed the presence of separated flow bounded by a separation and reattachment line. This region of separated flow began just beyond the midpoint of the length of the body, which was consistent with the skin-friction data. Extensive turbulence measurements were performed at four cross-sections through the wake including two stations located beyond the length of the model. These measurements revealed the location of the off-body vortex, the levels of turbulent kinetic energy within the shear layer producing the off-body vorticity and the large values of 〈uw〉 stress within the wake. Velocity spectra measurements taken at several points in the wake show evidence of the inertial sublayer. Finally, surface flow topologies and outer-flow topologies are suggested based on the results of the surface flow visualization. © 2007 Cambridge University Press.

Description: Recently there has been remarkable progress made in the direct numerical simulation (DNS) of wall-bounded turbulence, particularly of turbulent channel flow, with numerical data now available above Reτ ≈ 2000 (Hoyas & Jiménez, Phys. Fluids, vol. 18, 2006, p. 011702; Iwamoto et al., Proceedings of the Sixth Symposium Smart Control of Turbulence, 2005). Much knowledge has been gained from these results, particularly in the areas of flow structure and dynamics. Yet, while the value of such simulations is undoubted, only very limited comparisons with experimental data have been documented. Although the physics of the flow are captured correctly in an ideal DNS, as with any real numerical or physical experiment, there are opportunities for misrepresentation of the characteristics of turbulence. As such, this article seeks to make a comparison between a well-documented high Reynolds number (Reτ = 934), large box size (8πh × 2h × 3πh) DNS from del Álamo et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 500, 2004, p. 135) and laboratory channel flow data measured by the authors. Results show that there is excellent agreement between the streamwise velocity statistics of the two data sets. The spectra are also very similar, however, throughout the logarithmic region the secondary peak in energy is clearly reduced in the DNS results. Although the source of the difference is not certain, the wavelengths concerned are close to the DNS box length, leading to the recommendation that longer box lengths should be investigated. Another large-scale spectral discrepancy near the wall results from the incorrect assumption of a constant convection velocity used to infer spatial information from the temporal. A near-wall convection velocity modification function is tentatively proposed. While the modification gives good agreement between the data sets, higher Reynolds number comparisons are required to better understand the intricate convection velocity issue. © 2009 Cambridge University Press.

Description: The extent or existence of similarities between fully developed turbulent pipes and channels, and in zero-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layers has come into question in recent years. This is in contrast to the traditionally accepted view that, upon appropriate normalization, all three flows can be regarded as the same in the near-wall region. In this paper, the authors aim to provide clarification of this issue through streamwise velocity measurements in these three flows with carefully matched Reynolds number and measurement resolution. Results show that mean statistics in the near-wall region collapse well. However, the premultiplied energy spectra of streamwise velocity fluctuations show marked structural differences that cannot be explained by scaling arguments. It is concluded that, while similarities exist at these Reynolds numbers, one should exercise caution when drawing comparisons between the three shear flows, even near the wall. © 2009 Cambridge University Press.

Description: Since the availability of data from direct numeriacal simulation (DNS) of turbulance, researchers have utilized the joint PDFs of invariants of the velocity gradient tensor to study the geometry of small-scale motions of turbulance. However, the joint PDFs only give an instantaneous static representation of the properties of fluid particles and dynamical Lagrangian information cannot be extracted. IN this paper, the Lagrangian evolution of the invariants of the velocity gradient tensor is studied using conditional mean trajectories (CMT). These CMT are derived using the concept of the conditional mean time rate of change of invariants calculated from a numerical simulation of isotropic turbulance. The study of the CMT in the invariant space (RA, QA) of the velocity-gradient tensor, invariant space (RS, QS) of the rate-of-strain tensor, and invariant space (RW,QW) of the rate-of-rotation tensor show that the mean evolution in the (E, QW) phase plane, where E in the vortex stretching, is cyclic with a characteristic period similar to that found bny Martin et al. (1998) in the cyclic mean evolution of the CMT in the (RA,QA) phase plane. Conditional mean trajectories in the (E,QW) phase palne suggest that the inintial reduction of QW in regions of high QW is due to viscous diffusion and that vorticity contraction only plays a secondary role subsequent to this initial decay. It is also found that in regions of the flow with small values of QW, the local values of QW do not begin to increase, even in the presence of self-stretching, until a certain self-stretching rate threshold is reached, i.e. when E=0.25 (QW) 1/2. This study also shows that in regions where the kinematic vorticity number (as defined by Truesdell 1954) is low, the local value of dissipation tends to increase in the mean as observed from a Lagrangian frame of reference. However, in regions where the kinematic vorticity number is high, the local value of dissipation tends to increase in the mean as observed from a Lagrangian frame of reference. However, in regions where the kinematic vorticity number is high, the local value of enstrophy tends to decrease. From the CMT in the (-QS,RS) phase plane, it is also deduced that for large values of dissipation, there is a tendency for fluid particles to evolve towards a positive local value of the intermediate principal rate of strain.