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At least 487 records · Page 27
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NASA NTRS1990

Modeling of near-wall turbulence

An improved k-epsilon model and a second order closure model is presented for low Reynolds number turbulence near a wall. For the k-epsilon model, a modified form of the eddy viscosity having correct asymptotic near wall behavior is suggested, and a model for the pressure diffusion term in the turbulent kinetic energy equation is proposed. For the second order closure model, the existing models are modified for the Reynolds stress equations to have proper near wall behavior. A dissipation rate equation for the turbulent kinetic energy is also reformulated. The proposed models satisfy realizability and will not produce unphysical behavior. Fully developed channel flows are used for model testing. The calculations are compared with direct numerical simulations. It is shown that the present models, both the k-epsilon model and the second order closure model, perform well in predicting the behavior of the near wall turbulence. Significant improvements over previous models are obtained.

Shih, T. H.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Secondary instabilities in compressible boundary layers

Secondary instabilities are examined in compressible boundary layers at Mach numbers M(sub infinity) = 0, 0.8, 1.6, and 4.5. It is found that there is a broad-band of highly unstable 3-d secondary disturbances whose growth rates increase with increasing primary wave amplitude. At M(sub infinity) is less than or equal to 1.6, fundamental resonance dominates at relatively high (2-d) primary disturbance amplitude, while subharmonic resonance is characterized by a low (2-d) primary amplitude. At M(sub infinity) = 4.5, the subharmonic instability which arises from the second mode disturbance is the strongest type of secondary instability. The influence of the inclination, theta, of the primary wave with respect to the mean flow direction on secondary instability is investigated at M(sub infinity) = 1.6 for small to moderate values of theta. It is found that the strongest fundamental instability occurs when the primary wave is inclined at 10 deg to the mean flow direction, although a 2-d primary mode yields the most amplified subharmonic. The subharmonic instability at a high value of theta (namely, theta = 45 deg) is also discussed. Finally, a subset of the secondary instability results are compared against direct numerical simulations.

Ng, Lian↗
NASA NTRS1989

The effects of streamwise vortices on transition in the plane channel

The effect of streamwise vorticity on the three-dimensional breakdown of two-dimensional Tollmien-Schlichting waves in a plane-channel flow is studied via direct numerical simulation. Streamwise vortices of the strength inherent to most transition experiments are shown to alter the relative importance of the subharmonic and fundamental modes and to explain discrepancies observed between theory, previous computations, and experiments in both the plane channel and in the flat-plate boundary layer. It is shown that without the inclusion of the vortices, the computations support the theory; with inclusion of the vortices, the computations support the experiments. This work demonstrates the importance of combining theory, experiments, and computations in the study of transition in both internal and external applications.

Singer, Bart A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Local energy transfer and nonlocal interactions in homogeneous, isotropic turbulence

Detailed computations were made of energy transfer among the scales of motion in incompressible turbulent fields at low Reynolds numbers, generated by direct numerical simulations. It was observed that, although the transfer resulted from triad interactions that were nonlocal in k space, the energy always transferred locally. The energy transfer calculated from the eddy-damped quasi-normal Markovian (EDQNM) theory of turbulence at low Reynolds numbers is in excellent agreement with the results of the numerical simulations. At high Reynolds numbers, the EDQNM theory predicts the same transfer mechanism in the inertial range that is observed at low Reynolds numbers.

Domaradzki, J. Andrzej↗
NASA NTRS1990

Two-equation turbulence modeling of oscillatory boundary layers

Three time-dependent turbulent boundary layer problems are treated using a k-epsilon turbulence model. The flows are characterized by large pressure gradients and either reversing or rotating wall shear stress vectors. Two existing and one new near-wall formulations are tested. The computed results are compared with data from Direct Numerical Simulations of the same flows. In one case previously unpublished DNS-data are given. It is found that the k-epsilon model can provide good predictions for the wall shear as well as profiles of velocities, turbulent kinetic energy, and dissipation. The crucial part is the choice of near-wall terms.

Justesen, Peter↗
NASA NTRS1989

The structure of pressure fluctuations in turbulent shear flows

Pressure fluctuations in a turbulent channel and a homogeneous shear flows are investigated by analyzing databases obtained from direct numerical simulations. Detailed statistics associated with the pressure fluctuations in both flows are discussed. Characteristics associated with the rapid (linear) and slow (nonlinear) pressure are examined. The global dependence of the pressure fluctuations and pressure-strain correlations are also examined by evaluating the integral associated with Green's function representations of them.

Kim, John↗
NASA NTRS1989

Asymmetric effects in three-dimensional spatially-developing mixing layers

Three-dimensional structures in spatially developing mixing layers are examined using direct numerical simulations. The growth of streamwise vortices and their interaction with the main two-dimensional rollers as well as the effects of the observed hydrodynamic structures on asymmetric entrainment and mixing are studied. It is found that, at low Reynolds number, the streamwise vortices reduce the entrainment asymmetry of the two-dimensional flow. Passive scalar mixing is quantified by calculating the amount of combustion product produced by a fast chemical reaction. It is shown that the temporally developing case is easier to simulate, but contains an extra symmetry not present in spatially developing flows.

Buell, Jeffrey C.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Correlation of optical phase distortion with turbulent structure in a homogeneous shear flow

The relative importance of small-scale and large-scale turbulent structure to phase distortion in propagation through the homogeneous shear flow is the focus of this study. The importance of large-scale vortical structure and the associated scalar distribution to optical distortion induced by propagation through a turbulent shear flow has been established (Truman and Lee 1989). Phase errors induced in a coherent optical beam by these turbulent fluctuations are computed. This scalar field shows elongated regions of intense fluctuations which have an inclination with respect to the mean flow similar to that of the characteristic hairpin eddies. Long-term plans include an examination of the effects of inhomogeneity through consideration of direct numerical simulations of the channel flow, boundary layer or mixing layer.

Truman, C. Randall↗
NASA NTRS1990

Application of a Reynolds stress turbulence model to the compressible shear layer

Theoretically based turbulence models have had success in predicting many features of incompressible, free shear layers. However, attempts to extend these models to the high-speed, compressible shear layer have been less effective. In the present work, the compressible shear layer was studied with a second-order turbulence closure, which initially used only variable density extensions of incompressible models for the Reynolds stress transport equation and the dissipation rate transport equation. The quasi-incompressible closure was unsuccessful; the predicted effect of the convective Mach number on the shear layer growth rate was significantly smaller than that observed in experiments. Having thus confirmed that compressibility effects have to be explicitly considered, a new model for the compressible dissipation was introduced into the closure. This model is based on a low Mach number, asymptotic analysis of the Navier-Stokes equations, and on direct numerical simulation of compressible, isotropic turbulence. The use of the new model for the compressible dissipation led to good agreement of the computed growth rates with the experimental data. Both the computations and the experiments indicate a dramatic reduction in the growth rate when the convective Mach number is increased. Experimental data on the normalized maximum turbulence intensities and shear stress also show a reduction with increasing Mach number.

Sarkar, S.↗
NASA NTRS1990

On the space-time characteristics of wall-pressure fluctuations

A database obtained by direct numerical simulation of turbulent channel flow was used to compute the three-dimensional frequency/wave-number spectrum of wall-pressure fluctuations. The spectrum was used to deduce scaling laws for pressure fluctuations and to evaluate the similarity form for the power spectrum. The convection velocity as a function of frequency, wave number, and spatial and temporal separations was calculated and compared with the experimental data. The problem of artificial 'acoustics' in numerical simulation of incompressible flows is discussed.

Choi, Haecheon↗
NASA NTRS1991

Mixing and non-equilibrium chemical reaction in a compressible mixing layer

The effects of compressibility, chemical reaction exothermicity, and non-equilibrium chemical modeling in a reacting plane mixing layer were investigated by means of two dimensional direct numerical simulations. The chemical reaction was irreversible and second order of the type A + B yields Products + Heat. The general governing fluid equations of a compressible reacting flow field were solved by means of high order finite difference methods. Physical effects were then determined by examining the response of the mixing layer to variation of the relevant non-dimensionalized parameters. The simulations show that increased compressibility generally results in a suppressed mixing, and consequently a reduced chemical reaction conversion rate. Reaction heat release was found to enhance mixing at the initial stages of the layer growth, but had a stabilizing effect at later times. The increased stability manifested itself in the suppression or delay of the formation of large coherent structures within the flow. Calculations were performed for a constant rate chemical kinetics model and an Arrhenius type kinetic prototype. The choice of the model was shown to have an effect on the development of the flow. The Arrhenius model caused a greater temperature increase due to reaction than the constant kinetic model. This had the same effect as increasing the exothermicity of the reaction. Localized flame quenching was also observed when the Zeldovich number was relatively large.

Steinberger, Craig J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Advances in modeling the pressure correlation terms in the second moment equations

In developing turbulence models, various model constraints were proposed in an attempt to make the model equations more general (or universal). The most recent of these are the realizability principle, the linearity principle, the rapid distortion theory, and the material indifference principle. Several issues are discussed concerning these principles and special attention is payed to the realizability principle. Realizability (defined as the requirement of non-negative energy and Schwarz' inequality between any fluctuating quantities) is the basic physical and mathematical principle that any modeled equation should obey. Hence, it is the most universal, important and also the minimal requirement for a model equation to prevent it from producing unphysical results. The principle of realizability is described in detail, the realizability conditions are derived for various turbulence models, and the model forms are proposed for the pressure correlation terms in the second moment equations. Detailed comparisons of various turbulence models with experiments and direct numerical simulations are presented. As a special case of turbulence, the two dimensional two-component turbulence modeling is also discussed.

Shih, Tsan-Hsing↗
NASA NTRS1991

The Kinematics of Turbulent Boundary Layer Structure

The long history of research into the internal structure of turbulent boundary layers has not provided a unified picture of the physics responsible for turbulence production and dissipation. The goals of the present research are to: (1) define the current state of boundary layer structure knowledge; and (2) utilize direct numerical simulation results to help close the unresolved issues identified in part A and to unify the fragmented knowledge of various coherent motions into a consistent kinematic model of boundary layer structure. The results of the current study show that all classes of coherent motion in the low Reynolds number turbulent boundary layer may be related to vortical structures, but that no single form of vortex is representative of the wide variety of vortical structures observed. In particular, ejection and sweep motions, as well as entrainment from the free-streem are shown to have strong spatial and temporal relationships with vortical structures. Disturbances of vortex size, location, and intensity show that quasi-streamwise vortices dominate the buffer region, while transverse vortices and vortical arches dominate the wake region. Both types of vortical structure are common in the log region. The interrelationships between the various structures and the population distributions of vortices are combined into a conceptual kinematic model for the boundary layer. Aspects of vortical structure dynamics are also postulated, based on time-sequence animations of the numerically simulated flow.

Robinson, Stephen Kern↗
NASA NTRS1991

A k-epsilon modeling of near wall turbulence

A k-epsilon model is proposed for turbulent bounded flows. In this model, the turbulent velocity scale and turbulent time scale are used to define the eddy viscosity. The time scale is shown to be bounded from below by the Kolmogorov time scale. The dissipation equation is reformulated using the time scale, removing the need to introduce the pseudo-dissipation. A damping function is chosen such that the shear stress satisfies the near wall asymptotic behavior. The model constants used are the same as the model constants in the commonly used high turbulent Reynolds number k-epsilon model. Fully developed turbulent channel flows and turbulent boundary layer flows over a flat plate at various Reynolds numbers are used to validate the model. The model predictions were found to be in good agreement with the direct numerical simulation data.

Yang, Z.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Boundary layer transition in hypersonic flows

This paper summarizes some of the recent progress made at NASA Langley Research Center in the understanding, prediction and modeling of high speed boundary-layer transition. Linear and nonlinear theories together with large-eddy and direct numerical simulations have been used to understand various aspects of the transition problem while low disturbance 'quiet' tunnels provide means for validating the theoretical results.

Malik, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Transition to hard turbulence in thermal convection at infinite Prandtl number

Direct numerical simulations of two-dimensional high Rayleigh (Ra) number, base-heated thermal convection in large aspect-ratio boxes are presented for infinite Prandtl number fluids, as applied to the earth's mantle. A transition is characaterized in the flow structures in the neighborhood of Ra between 10 to the 7th and 10 to the 8th. These high Ra flows consist of large-scale cells with strong intermittent, boundary-layer instabilities. For Ra exceeding 10 to the 7th it is found that the heat-transfer mechanism changes from one characterized by mushroom-like plumes to one consisting of disconnected ascending instabilities, which do not carry with them all the thermal anomaly from the bottom boundary layer. Plume-plume collisions become much more prominent in high Ra situations and have a tendency of generating a pulse-like behavior in the fixed plume. This type of instability represents a distinct mode of heat transfer in the hard turbulent regime. Predictions of this model can be used to address certain issues concerning the mode of time-dependent convection in the earth's mantle.

Hansen, Ulrich↗
NASA NTRS1991

The structure of a passive scalar field with a uniform mean gradient in rapidly sheared homogeneous turbulent flow

The effect of an arbitrarily oriented mean passive scalar gradient on one-point passive scalar statistics is studied in homogeneous turbulent shear flow in the limit of rapid shearing. By neglecting the nonlinear inertial transfer to small scales an analytical solution for individual Fourier modes is obtained for the case of unity Prandtl number. This solution is used to compute the development of one-point statistics for the velocity and scalar fields in the inviscid limit. Comparisons to direct numerical simulations of the full nonlinear equations for the same flow show that, in addition to describing the early time response to the imposed shear, the linear solution gives reasonable estimates of several correlation coefficients for the developed shear flow.

Rogers, Michael M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Scaling of spanwise length scales in a turbulent boundary layer

The results from an experimental investigation at IIT were combined with Spalart's (1988) Direct Numerical Simulation data base to investigate the scaling of the spanwise length scales of the dominant structures in the near-wall region of a turbulent boundary layer. To achieve this goal, the scaling of the spanwise correlation coefficient between the wall-shear stress and the streamwise velocity, at various heights in the boundary layer, was studied over the Reynolds number range, 670 to 5961. In addition, the scaling of the conditional velocity field associated with high and low wall-shear stress events was examined. The results indicate that the spanwise correlation coefficient scales with inner variables for 'small' spanwise offsets.

Wark, C. E.↗