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NASA NTRS1991

Pioneer Venus Orbiter search for Venusian lightning

The results are reported of a search during 1988 and 1990 for optical pulses from lightning on the Venus nightside using the star sensor aboard the Pioneer Venus Orbiter. No optical evidence for lightning activity is found. These searches covered a much larger latitude range than any previous search. The results show that the Beta and Phoebe Regio areas previously identified by Russell et al. (1988) as areas with high rates of lightning activity were not active during the two seasons of the present observations. The results imply that the global flash rate and energy dissipation rate derived by Krasnopol'sky (1983) from observations of a single storm are too high. Experimental measurements performed to determine the amount of scattering occurring in the star scanner optics indicate that a previously determined upper bound to lightning activity is too low.

Borucki, William J.↗

NASA NTRS1991

The use of direct numerical simulation data in turbulence modeling

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of turbulent flows provide a complete data base to develop and to test turbulence models. In this article, the progress made in developing models for the dissipation rate equation is reviewed. New scaling arguments for the various terms in the dissipation rate equation were tested using data from DNS of homogeneous shear flows. Modifications to the epsilon-equation model that take into account near-wall effects were developed using DNS of turbulent channel flows. Testing of new models for flows under mean compression was carried out using data from DNS of isotropically compressed turbulence. In all of these studies the data from the simulations was essential in guiding the model development. The next generation of DNS will be at higher Reynolds numbers, and will undoubtedly lead to improved models for computations of flows of practical interest.

Mansour, N. N.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Length scales and dissipation of fine eddies in a mixing layer

It has been shown that small scale turbulence is produced by the interactions of the merging spanwise structures (rollers) and the streamwise vortices (ribs). In this study, we examine the dissipation rate of the three dimensional kinetic energy and length scales associated with the dissipation rate in a temporally evolving mixing layer.

Zohar, Y.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Thermodynamic Structure of Collision-Dominated Expanding Plasma: Heating of Interplanetary Coronal Mass Injections

We investigate the thermodynamic structure of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) using combined surveys of the ejecta between 0.3 and 20 AU. ICMEs are shown to have a moderate expansion in the solar wind compared with theoretical predictions. The expansion seems to be governed by a polytrope with gamma approx. 1.3 in this distance range. We find that Coulomb collisions are important contributors to the ion-ion equilibration process in the ICME plasma. The alpha-proton differential speed quickly drops to below 10 km/s due to strong Coulomb collisions. However, the two species of particles are far from thermal equilibrium with a temperature ratio T(sub alpha/T(sub p) = 4-6, suggestive of a preferential heating of alpha particles. The plasma heating rate as a function of heliocentric &stance required for the temperature profile is deduced by taking into account the expansion and energy transfer between protons and alphas via Coulomb collisions. The turbulence dissipation rate is also inferred from the inertial range power spectrum of magnetic fluctuations within ICMEs. Comparison of the turbulence dissipation rate with the required heating rate shows that turbulence dissipation seems sufficient to explain the ICME heating. Sources powering the turbulence are also investigated by examining the instabilities induced by temperature anisotropies and energy deposition by pickup ions.

Liu, Y.↗

NASA NTRS1990

A critical evaluation of two-equation models for near wall turbulence

A basic theoretical and computational study of two-equation models for near-wall turbulent flows was conducted. Two major problems established for the K-epsilon model are discussed, the lack of natural boundary conditions for the dissipation rate and the appearance of higher-order correlations in the balance of terms for the dissipation rate at the wall. The K-omega equation is shown to have two problems also: an exact viscous term is missing, and the destruction of the dissipation term is not properly damped near the wall. A new K-tau model (where tau = 1/omega is the turbulent time scale) was developed by inclusion of the exact viscous term, and by introduction of new wall damping functions with improved asymptotic behavior. A preliminary test of the new model yields improved predictions for the flat-plate turbulent boundary layer.

Speziale, Charles G.↗

NASA NTRS1977

A comparison of estimated and directly measured turbulent heat fluxes in the lower stratosphere

The contribution of small-scale motions to the vertical heat flux in the lower stratosphere is determined from wind and temperature fluctuation statistics obtained during the High Altitude Clear Air Turbulence investigation. Analysis of the cospectra suggests a horizontal wavelength of 3 km as the appropriate long-wave cutoff of small-scale motion. With this scale restriction, the measured vertical heat fluxes are in good agreement with the values of heat flux estimated by Lilly et al. (1974) from the kinetic energy dissipation rate. Hence, the hypothesis of Lilly et al. for estimating heat flux from the dissipation rate is considered to be reliable. It follows that, in the lower stratosphere, subsynoptic vertical transport is small compared to large-scale transport.

Heck, W.↗

NASA NTRS1994

A New K-epsilon Eddy Viscosity Model for High Reynolds Number Turbulent Flows: Model Development and Validation

A new k-epsilon eddy viscosity model, which consists of a new model dissipation rate equation and a new realizable eddy viscosity formulation, is proposed. The new model dissipation rate equation is based on the dynamic equation of the mean-square vorticity fluctuation at large turbulent Reynolds number. The new eddy viscosity formulation is based on the realizability constraints: the positivity of normal Reynolds stresses and Schwarz' inequality for turbulent shear stresses. We find that the present model with a set of unified model coefficients can perform well for a variety of flows. The flows that are examined include: (1) rotating homogeneous shear flows; (2) boundary-free shear flows including a mixing layer, planar and round jets; (3) a channel flow, and flat plate boundary layers with and without a pressure gradient; and (4) backward facing step separated flows. The model predictions are compared with available experimental data. The results from the standard k-epsilon eddy viscosity model are also included for comparison. It is shown that the present model is a significant improvement over the standard k-epsilon eddy viscosity model.

Shih, T.-H.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Modeling the rapid spherical compression of isotropic turbulence

Rapid distortion analysis is used to modify the form of the closure model for the dissipation rate of the turbulent kinetic energy. The modification is such that the evolution of the dissipation rate during a rapid compression is predicted exactly; good agreement between the model prediction and direct simulation data is obtained. Previous closure proposals fail to properly predict the rapid compression case. The reason for the difference between the present and previous models is traced to the fact that previous workers neglected variations of kinematic viscosity.

Coleman, Gary N.↗

NASA NTRS1999

The Effect of Cathode Composition on the Thermal Characteristics of Lithium-Ion Cells

The specific thermal capacity and heat dissipation rate for lithium ion cells containing LiNiO2 and mixed oxide (75%LiCoO2+ 25%LiNiO2) as cathode materials are compared. The experimental measurements were made using a radiative calorimeter consisting of a copper chamber maintained at -168 C by circulating liquid nitrogen and enclosed in a vacuum bell jar. The specific thermal capacity was determined based on warm-up and cool-down transients. The heat dissipation rate was calculated from the values measured for heat radiated and stored, and the resulting values were corrected for conductive heat dissipation through the leads. The specific heat was 1.117 J/ C-g for the LiNiO2 cell and 0.946 J/ C-g for the 75%LiCoO2,25%LiNiO2 cell. Endothermic cooling at the beginning of charge was very apparent for the cell containing 75%LiCoO2,25%LiNiO2 as the cathode. Exothermic heating began at a higher state of charge for the cell with the 75%LiCoO2,25%LiNiO2 cathode compared to the LiNiO2 cathode cell. During discharge, the rate of heat dissipation increased with increase in the discharge current for both types of cells. The maximum heat dissipated at C/5 discharge was 0.065 W and 0.04 W for the LiNiO2 and 75%LiCoO2,25%LiNiO2 cells, respectively, The thermoneutral potential showed variability toward the end of discharge. The plateau region of the curves was used to calculate average thermoneutral potentials of 3.698 V and 3.837 V for the LiNiO2 cell and the 75%LiCoO2,25%LiNiO2 cell, respectively.

Vaidyanathan, Hari↗

NASA NTRS1986

Vortical dissipation in two-dimensional shear flows

An exact expression is derived for the viscous dissipation function of a real homogeneous and isotropic fluid, which has terms associated with the square of vorticity, wave radiation, and dilatation. The implications of the principle of maximal dissipation rate, are explored by means of this equation for a parallel channel flow and a cylindrical vortex flow. The consequences of a condition of maximum dissipation rate on the growth of disturbances in an unsteady, laminar shear layer are apparently consistent with predictions and observations of maximum growth rate of vortical disturbances. Finally, estimates of the magnitudes of several dissipative components of an unsteady vortex flow are obtained from measurements of a periodic wall jet.

Horne, W. Clifton↗

NASA NTRS1995

Multifractal scaling of the kinetic energy flux in solar wind turbulence

The geometrical and scaling properties of the energy flux of the turbulent kinetic energy in the solar wind have been studied. By present experimental technology in solar wind measurements, we cannot directly measure the real volumetric dissipation rate, epsilon(t), but are constrained to represent it by surrogating the energy flux near the dissipation range at the proton gyro scales. There is evidence for the multifractal nature of the so defined dissipation field epsilon(t), a result derived from the scaling exponents of its statistical q-th order moments. The related generalized dimension D(q) has been determined and reveals that the dissipation field has a multifractal structure. which is not compatible with a scale-invariant cascade. The associated multifractal spectrum f(alpha) has been estimated for the first time for MHD turbulence in the solar wind. Its features resemble those obtained for turbulent fluids and other nonlinear multifractal systems. The generalized dimension D(q) can, for turbulence in high-speed streams, be fitted well by the functional dependence of the p-model with a comparatively large parameter, p = 0.87. indicating a strongly intermittent multifractal energy cascade. The experimental value for D(p)/3, if used in the scaling exponent s(p) of the velocity structure function, gives an exponent that can describe some of the observations. The scaling exponent mu of the auto correlation function of epsilon(t) has also been directly evaluated. It has the value of 0.37. Finally. the mean dissipation rate was determined, which could be used in solar wind heating models.

Marsch, E.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Decay of Isotropic Turbulence at Low Reynolds Number

Decay of isotropic turbulence is computed using direct numerical simulations. Comparisons with experimental spectra at moderate and low Reynolds numbers (R(sub lambda) less than 70) show good agreement. At moderate to high Reynolds numbers (R(sub lambda) greater 50), the spectra are found to collapse with Kolmogorov scaling at high wave numbers. However, at low Reynolds numbers (R(sub lambda) less than 50) the shape of the spectra at the Kolmogorov length scales is Reynolds number dependent. Direct simulation data from flowfields of decaying isotropic turbulence are used to compute the terms in the equation for the dissipation rate of the turbulent kinetic energy. The development of the skewness and the net destruction of the turbulence dissipation rate in the limit of low Reynolds numbers are presented. The nonlinear terms are found to remain active at surprisingly low Reynolds numbers.

Mansour, N. N.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Near-wall reconstruction of higher order moments and length scales using the POD

An analysis of the near-wall behavior of the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) eigenfunctions derived from direct numerical simulation (DNS) of channel flow is performed. Consistent with previous studies, a low order multi-mode reconstruction of the kinetic energy and Reynolds shear stress suffices. A similar reconstruction of the isotropic dissipation rate is shown to be insufficient, however. An analysis is performed of the multi-mode composition of the dissipation rate in the near-wall region, and it is shown that a significant number of higher-order modes are required to achieve the correct asymptotic consistency in the near-wall region. In an attempt to avoid this problem, a length scale definition is proposed in terms of an integration of the correlation tensor which factors in the presence of the wall. The wall is accounted for by only integrating out to 2y(+) and not over the entire domain. Viscous and inviscid estimates for the dissipation were used in the near-wall and core regions respectively, in conjunction with this length scale representation to obtain an estimate of the dissipation throughout the domain. The resulting dissipation exhibits the proper behavior near the wall and in the inertial layer. A 1 POD mode estimate of the length scale is computed and found to agree quite well with the length scale obtained when the entire correlation tensor is used.

Glauser, Mark N.↗

NASA NTRS1997

The Use of DNS in Turbulence Modeling

The use of Direct numerical simulations (DNS) data in developing and testing turbulence models is reviewed. The data is used to test turbulence models at all levels: algebraic, one-equation, two-equation and full Reynolds stress models were tested. Particular examples on the development of models for the dissipation rate equation are presented. Homogeneous flows are used to test new scaling arguments for the various terms in the dissipation rate equation. The channel flow data is used to develop modifications to the equation model that take into account near-wall effects. DNS of compressible flows under mean compression are used in testing new compressible modifications to the two-equation models.

Mansour, Nagi N.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Modeling and simulation of a turbulent far wake

Work continued on two projects which had been started during previous years. Both projects involve calculations of the subsonic, turbulent far wake of a two-dimensional object at a Reynolds number of 1000 (based on wake momentum thickness). This flow was used as a test case for direct comparison of various turbulence models and a direct numerical simulations (DNS) of this flow were undertaken. In the turbulence model comparison studies, for any particular model tested, a unique self-similar solution was obtained far enough downstream, regardless of inlet conditions. Furthermore, different turbulence models led to different far-wake equilibrium solutions. No turbulence model could correctly predict all features of the turbulent far wake. For example, the spreading rate and turbulent shear stresses were underpredicted by all the standard models (both two-equation and full Reynolds stress models). In cases where a more correct spreading rate was achieved, it was at the expense of the turbulent kinetic energy, which was overpredicted. In general, the Algebraic Dissipation Rate Model of Gatski and Speziale, 1992, when added to any of the standard models, improved the results dramatically. Also, full Reynolds stress closure models did a much better job at predicting the shapes of both the mean and turbulence profiles, but the spreading rate was not significantly improved over that predicted by the simpler two-equation models. There are two main conclusions from these studies: First, in a comparison such as this, it is not enough to compare just one parameter, like the spreading rate. A good prediction for one parameter does not necessarily imply good predictions for all parameters in a flow. Second, since no turbulence model could correctly predict the turbulent far wake, much of the important physics of turbulent free shear flows is apparently lost by the assumptions inherent in today's methods of turbulence modeling; turbulence models must be improved. Direct simulations of this flow were begun last year in order to provide a data base through which some of the deficiencies of the existing turbulence models could be identified. Quantities such as the pressure-strain correlation, turbulent diffusion, and the dissipation rate tensor can be easily calculated from the DNS results, whereas these quantities are nearly impossible to measure experimentally. Improvements to existing turbulence models (and development of new models) require knowledge about flow quantities such as these. During this summer, diagnostics codes were written which will calculate the parameters mentioned above, along with other single-point and multi-point statistics. The DNS calculations are still in progress at the time of this writing. When these calculations are complete, the diagnostics codes will be applied so that the results can aid turbulence modelers. In addition, the results will show whether or not there exists a universal equilibrium turbulent far wake, independent of initial conditions.

Cimbala, John M.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Bounded energy states in homogeneous turbulent shear flow - An alternative view

The equilibrium structure of homogeneous turbulent shear flow is investigated from a theoretical standpoint. Existing turbulence models, in apparent agreement with physical and numerical experiments, predict an unbounded exponential time growth of the turbulent kinetic energy and dissipation rate; only the anisotropy tensor and turbulent time scale reach a structural equilibrium. It is shown that if a residual vortex stretching term is maintained in the dissipation rate transport equation, then there can exist equilibrium solutions, with bounded energy states, where the turbulence production is balanced by its dissipation. Illustrative calculations are presented for a k-epsilon model modified to account for net vortex stretching.

Bernard, P. S.↗

NASA NTRS1991

A review of near-wall Reynolds-stress

The advances made in second-order near-wall turbulence closures are summarized. All closures examined are based on some form of high Reynolds number models for the Reynolds stress and the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate equations. Consequently, most near-wall closures proposed to data attempt to modify the high Reynolds number models for the dissipation rate equation so that the resultant models are applicable all the way to the wall. The near-wall closures are examined for their asymptotic behavior so that they can be compared with the proper near-wall behavior of the exact equations. A comparison of the closure's performance in the calculation of a low Reynolds number plane channel flow is carried out. In addition, the closures are evaluated for their ability to predict the turbulence statistics and the limiting behavior of the structure parameters compared to direct simulation data.

So, R. M. C.↗

NASA NTRS1985

On the energetics of the solar supergranulation

Thermodynamic arguments demonstrate that kinetic energy dissipation must occur in the convection zone. The dissipation rate depends on the temperature gradient, which is at a minimum in the hydrogen ionization zone. As a result, the kinetic energy dissipation rate per density scale height shows a maximum just below the photosphere and another maximum beneath the ionization zone. It is proposed that intensified convection at these two levels is the explanation for the two distinct phenomena of granulation and supergranulation. The values of the scale heights at these maxima are consistent with the length scales of the granulation and the supergranulation. A moderate amount of a radial diffusion of kinetic energy does not alter this result.

Gierasch, P. J.↗