Amirreza Rouhi

Evaluation of the structure function method to compute turbulent dissipation within boundary layers using numerical simulations

Well-resolved numerical simulations of turbulent open channel flows are analyzed to evaluate the accuracy of the 2nd order structure function method (SFM) in estimating the rate of dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy within boundary layers. The objective is to assess the variation in the 2/3 Kolmogorov constants due to flow anisotropy with distance from the wall. Comparison of the dissipation calculated directly from the numerical data, with that from the SFM shows that usage of the canonical constants, based on the assumption of local isotropy, can result in considerable error (>50%) in the prediction of dissipation when using the vertical or spanwise velocity components. From the numerically calculated dissipation, optimal Kolmogorov 2/3 constants were obtained and empirical relations, which account for near-wall effects, were proposed. Usage of the optimal constants will improve estimation of the dissipation rate when the SFM is applied to compute dissipation in geophysical boundary-layer flows. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Numerical investigation of pulsatile flow in endovascular stents

The flow in a plane channel with two idealized stents (one Λ-shaped, the other X-shaped) is studied numerically. A periodic pressure gradient corresponding to one measured in the left anterior descending coronary artery was used to drive the flow. Two Reynolds numbers were examined, one (Re = 80) corresponding to resting conditions, the other (Re = 200) to exercise. The stents were implemented by an immersed boundary method. The formation and migration of vortices that had been observed experimentally was also seen here. In the previous studies, the compliance mismatch between stent and vessel was conjectured to be the reason for this phenomenon. However, in the present study we demonstrate that the vortices form despite the fact that the walls were rigid. Flow visualization and quantitative analysis lead us to conclude that this process is due to the stent wires that generate small localized recirculation regions that, when they interact with the near-wall flow reversal, result in the formation of these ...