Thomas Albrecht

Separated Flow Response to Single Pulse Actuation

The response of a separated flow over a two-dimensional wing to short-duration disturbances from a Lorentz force leading-edge actuator is presented. At a chord Reynolds number of Re=104 and an angle of attack of α=16  deg, the flow is initially laminar but undergoes transition within the separated shear layer.The transient flow structures and lift force measurements were obtained with varying actuator pulse duration, pulse amplitude, and direction of actuation. The peak amplitude of the lift is shown to depend on the pulse duration when the pulse duration is less than 0.5 convective times, after which it saturates. Saturation of the lift amplitude also occurs when the effective actuator pulse amplitude exceeds Cμ=0.05%. Detailed flow structures that develop in the separated shear layer were identified using the finite-time Lyapunov exponent method. The direction of the actuator pulse has a significant influence on the initial development of the shear layer, but the larger-scale envelope of the separated f...

Triadic resonances in nonlinear simulations of a fluid flow in a precessing cylinder

We present results from three-dimensional nonlinear hydrodynamic simulations of a precession driven flow in cylindrical geometry. The simulations are motivated by a dynamo experiment currently under development at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf in which the possibility of generating a magnetohydrodynamic dynamo will be investigated in a cylinder filled with liquid sodium and simultaneously rotating around two axes. In this study, we focus on the emergence of non-axisymmetric time-dependent flow structures in terms of inertial waves which—in cylindrical geometry—form so-called Kelvin modes. For a precession ratio (Poincare number) considered by us, the amplitude of the forced Kelvin mode reaches up to one fourth of the rotation velocity of the cylindrical container confirming that precession provides a rather efficient flow driving mechanism even at moderate values of Po. More relevant for dynamo action might be free Kelvin modes with higher azimuthal wave number. These free Kelvin modes are triggered by nonlinear interactions and may constitute a triadic resonance with the fundamental forced mode when the height of the container matches their axial wave lengths. Our simulations reveal triadic resonances at aspect ratios close to those predicted by the linear theory except around the primary resonance of the forced mode. In that regime we still identify various free Kelvin modes, however, all of them exhibit a retrograde drift around the symmetry axis of the cylinder and none of them can be assigned to a triadic resonance. The amplitudes of the free Kelvin modes always remain below the forced mode but may reach up to 6% of the of the containers angular velocity. The properties of the free Kelvin modes, namely their amplitude and their frequency, will be used in future simulations of the magnetic induction equation to investigate their ability to provide for dynamo action.

Magnetic field dynamos and magnetically triggered flow instabilities

The project A2 of the LIMTECH Alliance aimed at a better understanding of those magnetohydrodynamic instabilities that are relevant for the generation and the action of cosmic magnetic fields. These comprise the hydromagnetic dynamo effect and various magnetically triggered flow instabilities, such as the magnetorotational instability and the Tayler instability. The project was intended to support the experimental capabilities to become available in the framework of the DREsden Sodium facility for DYNamo and thermohydraulic studies (DRESDYN). An associated starting grant was focused on the dimensioning of a liquid metal experiment on the newly found magnetic destabilization of rotating flows with positive shear. In this survey paper, the main results of these two projects are summarized.

Comparison of a Separated Flow Response to Localized and Global-type Disturbances

The flow structure and lift response of a separated flow over an airfoil that is subjected to an impulsive type of pitching motion is compared to the response produced by a localized pulse disturbance at the leading edge of an airfoil. Time-resolved PIV data is used to obtain the velocity field on the suction surface of the airfoil. POD analysis shows that the majority of energy is contained within the first four modes. Strong similarities in the shapes of the POD basis functions are found, irrespective of the type of actuation (global or local). The time-varying coefficient of the second POD mode tracks the negative of the lift coefficient in each case. Basis functions from the localized actuation data were projected on the velocity field of the globally actuated flow to obtain a hybrid set of coefficients. The hybrid coefficients matched reasonably well with the coefficients obtained from the original POD analysis for the globally excited flow. Both types of actuation were found to generate very similar Lagrangian flow structures. The results suggest a certain degree of universality in the POD modes/flow structures for the separated flow over an airfoil, irrespective of the type of excitation.

Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Electromagnetic Separation Control Using Different Wave Forms

We investigate the separated flow around an inclined flat plat e at a Reynolds number of 10 4 by Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) and time-resolved Particle Image Velocity (PIV). Flow separation is suppressed using sinusoidally and rectangularly oscillating Lorentz forces in streamwise direction. An rms momentum coefficient of 2.25% increases the time-averaged lift, dedu ced from PIV by a global momentum approach, by 20‐45%. Whereas sinusoidal forcing increases both lift and drag, rectangular waves create no significant additional drag. Analysis of the DNS flow structures reveals different immediate vortex dynamics induced by the actuation.