ALBERT

Description: A semi-analytical numerical study was performed to simulate the development of a vortex ring in a stratified and/or shearing environment. Practical applications of results of this study can be found in turbulence modelling and in studies of plumes and wakes. The objective is to follow exactly the evolution of a vortex ring so that the three-dimensional vortex-stretching mechanisms due to stratification and the shear effects, respectively, can be understood.The basic formulation consists of the solution of the vorticity equation in a stratified medium. The approach adopted is unique in that discrete vortex elements are used and arbitrary nonlinear interactions are allowed (therefore three-dimensional effects) among various vorticity generators. One of the two fundamental assumptions in this approach is that the vorticity is allowed to be generated only along the density discontinuity. The second assumption is that, while the vorticity carried by the vortex ring is modelled by vortex elements tangential to the vortex loop (which was a vortex ring initially), the vorticity generated by stratification effects is modelled by long vortex lines parallel to the axis of the vortex ring. This limits the validity of the present calculation to high Froude number flow.Numerical stability is guaranteed by the finite core radius for each discrete vortex element and uniform spacing between them; the former is determined by consideration of the momentum integral over the vortex-ring plane. The latter is determined by a cubic spline interpolation method which conserves the circulation and centroids of the vorticity. The velocity of each vortex element is determined by the discretized Biot-Savart law, and motion of the vortex loop is calculated by a predicator-corrector time integration method.Calculations were carried out for both momentum-carrying and momentumless vortex rings. A particular two-dimensional case gives good agreement with Kármán's theory. The evolution of the vortex loop reveals a process in which only the vorticity normal to the stratification is conserved; the remaining vorticity is dissipated through a simulated viscous dissipation. Evolution of a vortex loop on a shear layer reveals a vortex-loop rotation rate equal to the velocity shear, and a twisting motion due to the Magnus force which can lead to the turbulence energy cascade phenomenon. Numerical results demonstrate effects of each individual vorticity source and observed phenomena can be explained.

Description: A class of nonlinear hydrodynamic problems is studied. Physical problems such as shear flow, flow with a sharp interface separating two fluids of different density and flow in a porous medium all belong to this class. Owing to the density difference across the interface, vorticity is generated along it by the interaction between the gravitational pressure gradient and the density gradient, and the motion consists of essentially two processes: the creation of a vortex sheet and the subsequent mutual induction of different portions of this sheet.Two numerical methods are investigated. One is based upon the well-known Green's function method, which is a Lagrangian method using the Biot-Savart law, while the other is the vortex-in-cell (VIC) method, which is a Lagrangian-Eulerian method. Both methods treat the interface as sharp and represent it by a distribution of point vortices. The VIC method applies the FFT (fast Fourier transform) to solve the stream-function/vorticity equation on an Eulerian grid, and computational efficiency is further improved by using the reality properties of the physical variables.Four specific problems are investigated numerically in this paper. They are: the Rayleigh-Taylor instability, the Saffman-Taylor instability, transport of aircraft trailing vortices in a wind shear, and the gravity current. All four problems are solved using the VIC method and the results agree well with results obtained by previous investigators. The first two problems, the Rayleigh-Taylor instability and the Saffman-Taylor instability, are also solved by the Green's function method. Comparisons of results obtained by the two methods show good agreement, but, owing to its computational economy, the VIC method is concluded to be the better method for treating the class of hydrodynamic problems considered here.

Description: A data analysis program constructed to assess LDV system performance, to validate the simulation model, and to test various vortex location algorithms is presented. Real or simulated Doppler spectra versus range and elevation is used and the spatial distributions of various spectral moments or other spectral characteristics are calculated and displayed. Each of the real or simulated scans can be processed by one of three different procedures: simple frequency or wavenumber filtering, matched filtering, and deconvolution filtering. The final output is displayed as contour plots in an x-y coordinate system, as well as in the form of vortex tracks deduced from the maxima of the processed data. A detailed analysis of run number 1023 and run number 2023 is presented to demonstrate the data analysis procedure. Vortex tracks and system range resolutions are compared with theoretical predictions.

Description: The laminar base flow field of a two-dimensional reentry body has been studied by Telenin's method. The flow domain was divided into strips along the x-axis, and the flow variations were represented by Lagrange interpolation polynomials in the transformed vertical coordinate. The complete Navier-Stokes equations were used in the near wake region, and the boundary layer equations were applied elsewhere. The boundary conditions consisted of the flat plate thermal boundary layer in the forebody region and the near wake profile in the downstream region. The resulting two-point boundary value problem of 33 ordinary differential equations was then solved by the multiple shooting method. The detailed flow field and thermal environment in the base region are presented in the form of temperature contours, Mach number contours, velocity vectors, pressure distributions, and heat transfer coefficients on the base surface. The maximum heating rate was found on the centerline, and the two-dimensional stagnation point flow solution was adquate to estimate the maximum heating rate so long as the local Reynolds number could be obtained.

Description: The method of integral relations is applied to calculate the characteristics of laminar wakes in supersonic flow past a wedge with a flat base. An earlier analysis of the flow in the critical recompression region is extended so that the flow near the base can be determined. Results are worked out for flow past a wedge of 10-deg semiangle at Mach number 6 and two values of Reynolds number. The pressure distribution along the axis is calculated, together with velocity profiles at various stations and streamline patterns in the recirculation region. Good agreement with experiment is found.

Description: A possible measurement program designed to obtain the information requisite to determining the feasibility of airborne and/or satellite-borne LDV (Laser Doppler Velocimeter) systems is discussed. Measurements made from the ground are favored over an airborne measurement as far as for the purpose of determining feasibility is concerned. The expected signal strengths for scattering at various altitude and elevation angles are examined; it appears that both molecular absorption and ambient turbulence degrade the signal at low elevation angles and effectively constrain the ground based measurement of elevation angles exceeding a critical value. The nature of the wind shear and turbulence to be expected are treated from a linear hydrodynamic model - a mountain lee wave model. The spatial and temporal correlation distances establish requirements on the range resolution, the maximum detectable range and the allowable integration time.

Description: A hydrodynamic model of aircraft vortex wakes in an irregular wind shear field near the ground is developed and used as a basis for modeling the characteristics of a laser Doppler detection and vortex location system. The trailing vortex sheet and the wind shear are represented by discrete free vortices distributed over a two-dimensional grid. The time dependent hydrodynamic equations are solved by direct numerical integration in the Boussinesq approximation. The ground boundary is simulated by images, and fast Fourier Transform techniques are used to evaluate the vorticity stream function. The atmospheric turbulence was simulated by constructing specific realizations at time equal to zero, assuming that Kolmogoroff's law applies, and that the dissipation rate is constant throughout the flow field. The response of a simulated laser Doppler velocimeter is analyzed by simulating the signal return from the flow field as sensed by a simulation of the optical/electronic system.

Description: A model that simulates the interaction of a laser-Doppler velocimeter with an aircraft wake flowfield is described. A hydrodynamic model is developed which represents the trailing vortex sheet and wind shear as discrete free vortices distributed over a two-dimensional grid. A sensor model is formulated for scanning both in range and in angle to produce a fan beam configuration without frequency translation. Output of this model is a frequency spectrum vs both range and angle. Once the spectrum is evaluated, simulations of the data analysis procedure are carried out. Patterns of various features of the signature are presented in range-elevation angle plots. The problem of locating the vortex centers is discussed as a pattern recognition problem and as a point target problem.