Engineering PapersSearch

Engineering topics

Orszag, S. A.

Publications and source records attributed to Orszag, S. A..

At least 19 records

Asymptotic behavior of solutions of the renormalization group K-epsilon turbulence model

Presently, the only efficient way to calculate turbulent flows in complex geometries of engineering interest is to use Reynolds-average Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. As compared to the original Navier-Stokes problem, these RANS equations posses much more complicated nonlinear structure and may exhibit far more complex nonlinear behavior. In certain cases, the asymptotic behavior of such models can be studied analytically which, aside from being an interesting fundamental problem, is important for better understanding of the internal structure of the models as well as to improve their performances. The renormalization group (RNG) K-epsilon turbulence model, derived directly from the incompresible Navier-Stokes equations, is analyzed. It has already been used to calculate a variety of turbulent and transitional flows in complex geometries. For large values of the RNG viscosity parameter, the model may exhibit singular behavior. In the form of the RNG K-epsilon model that avoids the use of explicit wall functions, a = 1, so the RNG viscosity parameter must be smaller than 23.62 to avoid singularities.

Yakhot, A.

Development of turbulence models for shear flows by a double expansion technique

Turbulence models are developed by supplementing the renormalization group (RNG) approach of Yakhot and Orszag with scale expansions for the Reynolds stress and production of dissipation terms. The additional expansion parameter (eta) is the ratio of the turbulent to mean strain time scale. While low-order expansions appear to provide an adequate description of the Reynolds stress, no finite truncation of the expansion for the production of dissipation term in powers of eta suffices - terms of all orders must be retained. Based on these ideas, a new two-equation model and Reynolds stress transport model are developed for turbulent shear flows. The models are tested for homogeneous shear flow and flow over a backward facing step. Comparisons between the model predictions and experimental data are excellent.

Yakhot, V.

Development of turbulence models for shear flows by a double expansion technique

Turbulence models are developed by supplementing the renormalization group (RNG) approach of Yakhot and Orszag with scale expansions for the Reynolds stress and production of dissipation terms. The additional expansion parameter (eta) is the ratio of the turbulent to mean strain time scale. While low-order expansions appear to provide an adequate description of the Reynolds stress, no finite truncation of the expansion for the production of dissipation term in powers of eta suffices - terms of all orders must be retained. Based on these ideas, a new two-equation model and Reynolds stress transport model are developed for turbulent shear flows. The models are tested for homogeneous shear flow and flow over a backward facing step. Comparisons between the model predictions and experimental data are excellent.

Yakhot, V.

Time-dependent jet flow and noise computations

Methods for computing jet turbulence noise based on the time-dependent solution of Lighthill's (1952) differential equation are demonstrated. A key element in this approach is a flow code for solving the time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations at relatively high Reynolds numbers. Jet flow results at Re = 10,000 are presented here. This code combines a computationally efficient spectral element technique and a new self-consistent turbulence subgrid model to supply values for Lighthill's turbulence noise source tensor.

Berman, C. H.

Numerical investigation of the spreading of self-excited stratified jets

The structure and evolution of self-excited subsonic periodic arrays of jets of constant and variable density are studied using spectral-element direct numerical simulations. The governing equation of motion is presented, and a method based on spectral element discretizations appropriate for simulating arbitrarily complex geometry jets and large density variations for subsonic flows is developed. Variable density fields are found to be more unstable than the corresponding uniform density fields with much higher rms values; as a result, their spreading is also considerably larger. There is a dramatic increase in spreading after a few pairings occur. Findings presented for low and high side-momentum flux reveal a shifting of the origin of instability from the near-field to the far-field, respectively, and suggest possible routes of stabilization.

Batcho, P. F.

Large-scale turbulence simulation on the Navier-Stokes Computer

Analytical techniques for turbulent air or water flow over vehicles and for the development of active control methods are described, with a focus on simulations being implemented on the Navier-Stokes Computer (NSC) at Princeton University. Consideration is given to the general NSC architecture (the central control, memory, and processing units; the switching network; and the prototype NSC), the algorithm for large-scale MHD turbulence (Orszag and Tang, 1979), and the pipeline configurations. Extensive diagrams and flow charts are provided.

Hayder, M. E.

Direct numerical simulations of chemically reacting turbulent mixing layers

The results of direct numerical simulations of chemically reacting, turbulent mixing layers are presented. The reaction considered is a binary, irreversible reaction with no heat release, so that only the effect of the turbulence on the chemical reaction is investigated. The simulation results are shown to be consistent with similarity theory, and are found to be in approximate agreement with laboratory data, even though there are no adjustable parameters in the method.

Riley, J. J.

Renormalization group formulation of large eddy simulation

Renormalization group (RNG) methods are applied to eliminate small scales and construct a subgrid scale (SSM) transport eddy model for transition phenomena. The RNG and SSM procedures are shown to provide a more accurate description of viscosity near the wall than does the Smagorinski approach and also generate farfield turbulence viscosity values which agree well with those of previous researchers. The elimination of small scales causes the simultaneous appearance of a random force and eddy viscosity. The RNG method permits taking these into account, along with other phenomena (such as rotation) for large-eddy simulations.

Yakhot, V.

Spectral General Circulation Model Development

A spectral general circulation model was developed to run on the Cyber 205 computer system installed at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. This model should enhance the utility of satellite-based observation systems for accurate long-range weather prediction.

Orszag, S. A.

On the stability of the decelerating laminar boundary layer

The stability of a decelerating boundary-layer flow is investigated experimentally and numerically. Experimentally, a flat plate having a Blasius boundary layer is decelerated in an 18 m towing tank. The boundary layer becomes unstable to two-dimensional waves, which break down into three-dimensional patterns, hairpin vortices, and finally turbulent bursts when the vortices lift off the wall. The unsteady boundary-layer equations are solved numerically to generate instantaneous velocity profiles for a range of boundary and initial conditions. A quasi-steady approximation is invoked and the stability of local velocity profiles is determined by solving the Orr-Sommerfeld equation using Chebyshev matrix methods. Comparisons are made between the numerical predictions and the experimentally observed instabilities.

Gad-El-hak, M.

Secondary instability of wall-bounded shear flows

The present analysis of a secondary instability in a wide class of wall-bounded parallel shear flows indicates that two-dimensional, finite amplitude waves are exponentially unstable to infinitessimal three-dimensional disturbances. The instability appears to be the prototype of transitional instability in such flows as Poiseuille flow, Couette flow, and flat plate boundary layers, in that it has the convective time scales observed in the typical transitions. The energetics and vorticity dynamics of the instability are discussed, and it is shown that the two-dimensional perturbation without directly providing energy to the disturbance. The three-dimensional instability requires that a threshold two-dimensional amplitude be achieved. It is found possible to identify experimental features of transitional spot structure with aspects of the nonlinear two-dimensional/linear three-dimensional instability.

Orszag, S. A.

Numerical studies of laminar and turbulent drag reduction, part 2

The flow over wave shaped surfaces is studied using a Navier Stokes solver. Detailed comparisons with theoretical results are presented, including the stability of a laminar flow over wavy surfaces. Drag characteristics of nonplanar surfaces are predicted using the Navier-Stokes solver. The secondary instabilities of wall bounded and free shear flows are also discussed.

Balasubramanian, R.

Spectral methods for flows in complex geometries

Three methods for the application of spectral methods to flows in complex geometries are discussed. They are the spectral iteration method, the spectral embedding method, and the spectral element method. Applications are given to the flow over wavy walls, past a large-eddy breakup device (LEBU), and to flow over a step.

Orszag, S. A.

Navier-Stokes solution on the CYBER-203 by a pseudospectral technique

A three-level, time-split, mixed spectral/finite difference method for the numerical solution of the three-dimensional, compressible Navier-Stokes equations has been developed and implemented on the Control Data Corporation (CDC) CYBER-203. This method uses a spectral representation for the flow variables in the streamwise and spanwise coordinates, and central differences in the normal direction. The five dependent variables are interleaved one horizontal plane at a time and the array of their values at the grid points of each horizontal plane is a typical vector in the computation. The code is organized so as to require, per time step, a single forward-backward pass through the entire data base. The one-and two-dimensional Fast Fourier Transforms are performed using software especially developed for the CYBER-203.

Lambiotte, J. J.

Numerical studies of laminar and turbulent drag reduction

Two-dimensional incompressible flow over wavy surfaces is studied numerically by spectral methods. Turbulence effects are modeled. Results for symmetric and asymmetric wave forms are presented. Effect of propagating surface waves on drag reduction is studied. Comparisons between computer simulations and experimental results are made.

Balasubramanian, R.

Stability of pseudospectral and finite-difference methods for variable coefficient problems

It is shown that pseudospectral approximation to a special class of variable coefficient one-dimensional wave equations is stable and convergent even though the wave speed changes sign within the domain. Computer experiments indicate similar results are valid for more general problems. Similarly, computer results indicate that the leapfrog finite-difference scheme is stable even though the wave speed changes sign within the domain. However, both schemes can be asymptotically unstable in time when a fixed spatial mesh is used.

Gottlieb, D.

Instability and transition in rotating disk flow

The stability of three-dimensional rotating disk flow is investigated, including the effects of Coriolis forces and streamline curvature. The numerical results show that the critical Reynolds number for establishment of stationary vortex flow is 287. These vortices spiral outward at an angle of about 11.2 deg, and transition to turbulence occurs when their total amplification is about e to the 11th. New experimental results are also reported on the spatial growth rates of the stationary vortices. It is shown that the analysis gives growth rates that compare much better with the experimental results than do results obtained using the Orr-Sommerfeld equation. The experimental results tend to support the numerical prediction that the number of stationary vortices varies directly with the Reynolds number. The calculations also indicate the existence of weakly unstable propagating (type II) modes at low Reynolds numbers (Critical Reynolds Number being approximately equal to 49).

Malik, M. R.

Efficient computation of the stability of three-dimensional compressible boundary layers

Methods for the computer analysis of the stability of three-dimensional compressible boundary layers are discussed and the user-oriented Compressible Stability Analysis (COSAL) computer code is described. The COSAL code uses a matrix finite-difference method for local eigenvalue solution when a good guess for the eigenvalue is available and is significantly more computationally efficient than the commonly used initial-value approach. The local eigenvalue search procedure also results in eigenfunctions and, at little extra work, group velocities. A globally convergent eigenvalue procedure is also developed which may be used when no guess for the eigenvalue is available. The global problem is formulated in such a way that no unstable spurious modes appear so that the method is suitable for use in a black-box stability code. Sample stability calculations are presented for the boundary layer profiles of an LFC swept wing.

Malik, M. R.