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At least 235 records · Page 13

Numerical solution of three-dimensional free turbulent shear flows

Numerical results are presented for three-dimensional compressible turbulent jet and wake flows. An alternating direction implicit numerical procedure is used to solve the finite-difference form of the parabolic elliptic Navier-Stokes equations. A coordinate transformation maps the boundaries at infinity into a finite computational domain in order to properly specify infinity boundary conditions as well as contain the downstream growth of the viscous flow field in a fixed computational grid. Turbulence closure is achieved through an algebraic mixing length eddy viscosity model. Numerical results for supersonic flow are presented for an axisymmetric jet, an elliptical jet, an elliptical wake, and two interacting rectangular jets. Experimental data were not available for comparison with the numerical results. However, the results compare well with empirical results for free shear flows.

Oh, Y. H.↗

Evidence of imbedded vortices in a three-dimensional shear flow

Vortex phenomena encountered in an investigation of the streamwise development of the three-dimensional wake region behind the tip of a three-dimensional wedge model are reported. Pressure profiles were measured by pitot probes downstream of a tip with a nearly constant surface pressure level and a nearly continuous surface curvature in a blowdown air tunnel operating at Mach 6. Rather than the simple three-dimensional quasi-parallel shear flow expected, the measurements indicated the presence of a flow with large deficits in longitudinal pitot pressure, which are usually associated with the core region of quasi-steady longitudinal vortices. Vapor screen flow visualizations also support the presence of longitudinal vortices located primarily in the tip region and evidently forming in the vicinity of the wake neck. An increase in overall wake thickness by 100% is also observed. The origin of the vortices as quasi-steady Taylor-Gortler vortices generated in the concavely curved shear layer near the wake neck is considered. It is pointed out that the existence of longitudinal vortexes suggests that three-dimensional turbulence modeling may be much more difficult than previously supposed.

Morrisette, E. L.↗

Computation and turbulence closure models for shear flows in rotating curved bodies

This paper is concerned with the effects of rotation and curvature on the turbulence closure model. The k-epsilon model that includes the effects of curvature has been modified to include the anisotropy in turbulence. A space-marching algorithm which solves the parabolized Navier-Stokes equations is coupled with the turbulence closure model to predict the turbulent shear flow over a rotating cylinder and inside a rotating channel. The agreement between the predictions and available data is good. The rotation and curvature effects are predicted well.

Pouagare, M.↗

Nonlinear 3-D evolution of bounded kinetic Alfven waves due to shear flow and collisionless tearing instability

The three-dimensional nonlinear simulation of the evolution of a kinetic Alfven wave is presented for simple boundary conditions that resemble those of a discrete auroral breakup arc. The model used is a variant of the reduced megnetohydrodynamic description that includes, in addition, the important dispersive effect of electron inertia. It is found that with a 'generator' boundary condition corresponding to a current generator and a fully conducting 'load' boundary, the wave evolves three-dimensionally through a combination of shear flow and collisionless tearing mode instability.

Seyler, Charles E., Jr.↗

Application of the method local potential to the analysis of turbulent shear flows

It has been found that, in general, the local potential cannot be employed to obtain approximate solutions for the various correlations of turbulent properties which appear in the time averaged form of the conservation equations. Although the method of local potential is equivalent to the Galerkin method when the self-consistent condition is applied, the local potential can also be applied as an iterative algorithm in place of using the selfconsistent condition. This procedure offers an alternative to the Galerkin method and may be useful in obtaining approximate solutions for the total turbulent velocity. In addition, for certain simple turbulent shear flows the iterative algorithm may permit approximate, but non-empirical, solutions by modeling only the mean velocity and the Reynolds stress.

Reed, T. D.↗

Drag reduction and the Vogel exponent of a flexible beam in transient shear flows

Interactions between a flexible beam and a fluid in a channel are of great relevance to biological hairy surfaces, aquatic vegetation, marine life (e.g., fish gills), and many industrial systems alike. While steady state response of a beam to such flows is fairly well-explored, their behavior in the transient regime is not fully understood. Here, a series of numerical simulations are performed to study the laminar Couette flow of an incompressible viscous fluid past an elastic beam in a two-dimensional channel. The flexible beam is perpendicular to the direction of flow, and its base is fixed to the stationary bottom of the channel. We measure the evolution of the Vogel exponent, drag reduction, and reconfiguration number during the transient and steady-state response of the fluid–structure system for different geometrical and physical properties. Our benchmark shows a good agreement between numerical and experimental observations. Our results show that the system's steady-state response at different bulk-fluid velocities can be reproduced by investigating the shear flow response during the transient regime. We define a new variable that characterizes the evolution of the local velocity profile in the proximity of the free end of the beam and use that to characterize the transient-regime response. The analysis yields insight into the competing effects of elasticity of the beam and non-linear flow response.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Influence of Source Propagation Direction and Shear Flow Profile in Impedance Eduction of Acoustic Liners

The acoustic impedance of liners is a key parameter for their design, and depends on the flow conditions, i.e., the sound pressure level and the presence of a grazing flow. The surface impedance of a locally reacting liner is defined as a local intrinsic property relating the acoustic pressure to the normal acoustic particle velocity at the liner surface. Impedance eduction techniques are now widely used to retrieve the impedance of liners in aeroacoustic facilities in the presence of a shear grazing flow. While surface impedance is intrinsic by definition, the educed impedance has recently been shown to depend on the direction of the incident waves relative to the mean flow. Different studies have investigated this issue by considering different acoustic propagation models used in the education process in the hope of matching the educed values. The purpose of the present work is to continue the previous investigations by evaluating the influence of the shear flow profile on the educed impedance, while considering a Bayesian inference process in order to evaluate the uncertainty on the educed values. The identified uncertainties were not able to totally account for the observed discrepancies between educed impedances.

Roncen, R.↗

Guiding center and gyrokinetic orbit theory for large electric field gradients and strong shear flows

The guiding center and gyrokinetic theory of magnetized particle motion is extended to the regime of large electric field gradients perpendicular to the magnetic field. A gradient in the electric field directly modifies the oscillation frequency and causes the Larmor orbits to deform from circular to elliptical trajectories. In order to retain a good adiabatic invariant, there can only be strong dependence on a single coordinate at lowest order, so that resonances do not generate chaotic motion that destroys the invariant. When the gradient across magnetic flux surfaces is dominant, the guiding center drift velocity becomes anisotropic in response to external forces and additional curvature drifts must be included. The electric polarization density remains gyrotropic, but both the polarization and magnetization are modified by the change in gyrofrequency. The theory can be applied to shear flows that are even stronger than those observed in the edge transport barrier of a high-performance tokamak (H-mode) pedestal, even if the toroidal field is as small as or even smaller than the poloidal field. Yet, the theory retains a mathematical form that is similar to the standard case and can readily be implemented within existing simulation tools.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Probing local electron temperature and density inside a sheared flow stabilized Z-pinch using portable optical Thomson scattering

We report the first optical Thomson scattering measurements inside a high electron temperature (≳1 keV) and moderate electron density (mid 10 16 cm –3 ) plasma. This diagnostic has been built to provide critical plasma parameters, such as electron temperature and density, for Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy-supported fusion-energy concepts. It uses an 8 J laser at 532 nm in 1.5 ns to measure the high frequency feature of the Thomson scattering profile at 17 locations along the probe axis. It is able to measure electron density from 5 × 10 17 cm –3 to several 10 19 cm –3 and electron temperatures from tens of eV to several keV. Here, in this paper, we describe the design, deployment, and analysis on the sheared flow stabilized Z-pinch machine at Zap Energy named FuZE. The probe beam is aimed at an axial distance of 20 cm from the central electrode and is timed within the temporal envelope of neutron emission. The high temperature and moderate density plasmas generated on FuZE lie in an unconventional regime for Thomson scattering as they are between tokamaks and laser-produced plasmas. We described the analysis considerations in this regime, show that the electron density was below 5 × 10 16 cm –3 at all times during these measurements, and present a sample shot where the inferred electron temperature varied from 167 ± 16 eV to 700 ± 85 eV over 1.6 cm.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Finite element computation of a viscous compressible free shear flow governed by the time dependent Navier-Stokes equations

A finite element algorithm for solution of fluid flow problems characterized by the two-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes equations was developed. The program is intended for viscous compressible high speed flow; hence, primitive variables are utilized. The physical solution was approximated by trial functions which at a fixed time are piecewise cubic on triangular elements. The Galerkin technique was employed to determine the finite-element model equations. A leapfrog time integration is used for marching asymptotically from initial to steady state, with iterated integrals evaluated by numerical quadratures. The nonsymmetric linear systems of equations governing time transition from step-to-step are solved using a rather economical block iterative triangular decomposition scheme. The concept was applied to the numerical computation of a free shear flow. Numerical results of the finite-element method are in excellent agreement with those obtained from a finite difference solution of the same problem.

Cooke, C. H.↗

Turbulence Modeling for the Simulation of Transition in Wall Shear Flows

Our research involves study of the behavior of k-epsilon turbulence models for simulation of bypass-level transition over flat surfaces and turbine blades. One facet of the research has been to assess the performance of a multitude of k-epsilon models in what we call "natural transition", i.e. no modifications to the k-e models. The study has been to ascertain what features in the dynamics of the model affect the start and end of the transition. Some of the findings are in keeping with those reported by others (e.g. ERCOFTAC). A second facet of the research has been to develop and benchmark a new multi-time scale k-epsilon model (MTS) for use in simulating bypass-level transition. This model has certain features of the published MTS models by Hanjalic, Launder, and Schiestel, and by Kim and his coworkers. The major new feature of our MTS model is that it can be used to compute wall shear flows as a low-turbulence Reynolds number type of model, i.e. there is no required partition with patching a one-equation k model in the near-wall region to a two-equation k-epsilon model in the outer part of the flow. Our MTS model has been studied extensively to understand its dynamics in predicting the onset of transition and the end-stage of the transition. Results to date indicate that it far superior to the standard unmodified k-epsilon models. The effects of protracted pressure gradients on the model behavior are currently being investigated.

Crawford, Michael E.↗

An integral turbulent kinetic energy analysis of free shear flows

Mixing of coaxial streams is analyzed by application of integral techniques. An integrated turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) equation is solved simultaneously with the integral equations for the mean flow. Normalized TKE profile shapes are obtained from incompressible jet and shear layer experiments and are assumed to be applicable to all free turbulent flows. The shear stress at the midpoint of the mixing zone is assumed to be directly proportional to the local TKE, and dissipation is treated with a generalization of the model developed for isotropic turbulence. Although the analysis was developed for ducted flows, constant-pressure flows were approximated with the duct much larger than the jet. The axisymmetric flows under consideration were predicted with reasonable accuracy. Fairly good results were also obtained for the fully developed two-dimensional shear layers, which were computed as thin layers at the boundary of a large circular jet.

Peters, C. E.↗

Characterization of acoustic disturbances in linearly sheared flows

The equation describing the plane wave propagation, the stability, or the rectangular duct mode characteristics in a compressible inviscid linearly sheared parallel, but otherwise homogeneous flow, is shown to be reducible to Whittaker's equation. The resulting solutions, which are real, viewed as functions of two variables, depend on a parameter and an argument, the values of which have precise physical meanings depending on the problem. The exact solutions in terms of Whittaker functions are used to obtain a number of known results of plane wave propagation and stability in linearly sheared flows as limiting cases in which the speed of sound goes to infinity (incompressible limit) or the shear layer thickness, or wave number, goes to zero (vortex sheet limit). The usefulness of the exact solutions is then discussed in connection with the problems of plane wave propagation and the stability of a finite thickness layer with a linear velocity profile.

Koutsoyannis, S. P.↗

Spinning mode sound propagation in ducts with acoustic treatment and sheared flow

The propagation of spinning mode sound was considered for a cylindrical duct with sheared steady flow. Calculations concentrated on the determination of the wall optimum acoustic impedance and the maximum possible attenuation. Both the least attenuated and higher radial modes for spinning lobe patterns were considered. A parametric study was conducted over a wide range of Mach numbers, spinning lobe numbers, sound frequency, and boundary layer thickness. A correlation equation was developed from theoretical considerations starting with the thin boundary layer approximation of Eversman. This correlation agrees well with the more exact calculations for inlets and provides a single boundary layer refraction parameter which determines the change in optimum wall impedance due to refraction effects.

Rice, E. J.↗

Spinning mode sound propagation in ducts with acoustic treatment and sheared flow

The propagation of spinning mode sound was considered for a cylindrical duct with sheared steady flow. The calculations concentrated on the determination of the wall optimum acoustic impedance and the maximum possible attenuation. Both the least attenuated and higher radial modes for spinning lobe patterns were considered. A parametric study was conducted over a wide range of Mach numbers, spinning lobe numbers, sound frequency, and boundary layer thickness. A correlation equation was developed from theoretical considerations starting with the thin boundary layer approximation of Eversman. This correlation agrees well with the more exact calculations for inlets and provides a single boundary layer refraction parameter which determines the change in optimum wall impedance due to refraction effects.

Rice, E. J.↗

Turbulance boundary conditions for shear flow analysis, using the DTNS flow solver

The effects of different turbulence boundary conditions were examined for two classical flows: a turbulent plane free shear layer and a flat plate turbulent boundary layer with zero pressure gradient. The flow solver used was DTNS, an incompressible Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes solver with k-epsilon turbulence modeling, developed at the U.S. Navy David Taylor Research Center. Six different combinations of turbulence boundary conditions at the inflow boundary were investigated: In case 1, 'exact' k and epsilon profiles were used; in case 2, the 'exact' k profile was used, and epsilon was extrapolated upstream; in case 3, both k and epsilon were extrapolated; in case 4, the turbulence intensity (I) was 1 percent, and the turbulent viscosity (mu(sub t)) was equal to the laminar viscosity; in case 5, the 'exact' k profile was used and mu(sub t) was equal to the laminar viscosity; in case 6, the I was 1 percent, and epsilon was extrapolated. Comparisons were made with experimental data, direct numerical simulation results, or theoretical predictions as applicable. Results obtained with DTNS showed that turbulence boundary conditions can have significant impacts on the solutions, especially for the free shear layer.

Mizukami, M.↗

Traction of elastohydrodynamic contacts with thermal shearing flow

The formulation and solution for the shear stress and temperature in heavily loaded sliding elastohydrodynamic contacts is presented. The solutions are presented in dimensionless design charts. Integration over the contact area will yield the traction. Accuracy is expected to be very good over the nearly flat part of the contact area where the majority of the sliding traction is generated. The procedure presented is not appropriate for thick film lubrication, for the inlet region, or for the rolling friction of elastohydrodynamic contacts.

Jakobsen, J.↗