Wolfgang Rodi

A laser-Doppler velocimetry study of ensemble-averaged characteristics of the turbulent near wake of a square cylinder

Ensemble-averaged statistics at constant phase of the turbulent near-wake flow (Reynolds number ≈ 21400 around a square cylinder have been obtained from two-component laser-Doppler measurements. Phase was defined with reference to a signal taken from a pressure sensor located at the midpoint of a cylinder sidewall. The distinction is drawn between the near wake where the shed vortices are ‘mature’ and distinct and a base region where the vortices grow to maturity and are then shed. Differences in length and velocity scales and vortex celerities between the flow around a square cylinder and the more frequently studied flow around a circular cylinder are discussed. Scaling arguments based on the circulation discharged into the near wake are proposed to explain the differences. The relationship between flow topology and turbulence is also considered with vorticity saddles and streamline saddles being distinguished. While general agreement with previous studies of flow around a circular cylinder is found with regard to essential flow features in the near wake, some previously overlooked details are highlighted, e.g. the possibility of high Reynolds shear stresses in regions of peak vorticity, or asymmetries near the streamline saddle. The base region is examined in more detail than in previous studies, and vorticity saddles, zero-vorticity points, and streamline saddles are observed to differ in importance at different stages of the shedding process.

Experimental investigation of jets in a crossflow

The paper reports on measurements in the flow generated by a jet issuing from a circular outlet in a wall into a cross-stream along this wall. For the jet-to-crossflow velocity ratios R of 0.5, 1 and 2, the mean and fluctuating velocity components were measured with a three-sensor hot-wire probe. The hot-wire signals were evaluated to yield the three mean-velocity components, the turbulent kinetic energy, the three turbulent shear stresses and, in the case of R = 0.5, the terms in the turbulent-kinetic-energy equation. The results give a quantitative picture of the complex three-dimensional mean flow and turbulence field, and the various phenomena as well as their dependence on the velocity ratio R are discussed in detail.

Comparison of LES and RANS calculations of the flow around bluff bodies

The paper compares LES and RANS calculations of vortex-shedding flow past a square cylinder at Re = 22.000 and of the 3D flow past a surface-mounted cube at Re = 40.000. Results from the authors group are included as well as results submitted to an LES workshop for which both flows were test cases. The RANS calculations were obtained with various versions of the k—e; model and in the square-cylinder case also with Reynold-stress models. The various calculation results are compared with detailed experimental data and an assessment is given of the performance, the cost and the potential of the various methods.

Calculation of turbulence-driven secondary motion in non-circular ducts

Experiments on and calculation methods for flow in straight non-circular ducts involving turbulence-driven secondary motion are reviewed. The origin of the secondary motion and the shortcomings of existing calculation methods are discussed. A more refined model is introduced, in which algebraic expressions are derived for the Reynolds stresses in the momentum equations for the secondary motion by simplifying the modelled Reynolds-stress equations of Launder, Reece & Rodi (1975), while a simple eddy-viscosity model is used for the shear stresses in the axial momentum equation. The kinetic energy k and the dissipation rate e of the turbulent motion which appear in the algebraic and the eddy-viscosity expressions are determined from transport equations. The resulting set of equations is solved with a forward-marching numerical procedure for three-dimensional shear layers. The model, as well as a version proposed by Naot & Rodi (1982), is tested by application to developing flow in a square duct and to developed flow in a partially roughened rectangular duct investigated experimentally by Hinze (1973). In both cases, the main features of the mean-flow and the turbulence quantities are simulated realistically by both models, but the present model underpredicts the secondary velocity while the Naot-Rodi model tends to overpredict it.

Highly resolved large-eddy simulation of separated flow in a channel with streamwise periodic constrictions

High-resolution large-eddy simulation is used to investigate the mean and turbulence properties of a separated flow in a channel constricted by periodically distributed hill-shaped protrusions on one wall that obstruct the channel by 33% of its height and are arranged 9 hill heights apart. The geometry is a modification of an experimental configuration, the adaptation providing an extended region of post-reattachment recovery and allowing high-quality simulations to be performed at acceptable computing costs. The Reynolds number, based on the hill height and the bulk velocity above the crest is 10595. The simulated domain is streamwise as well as spanwise periodic, extending from one hill crest to the next in the streamwise direction and over 4.5 hill heights in the spanwise direction. This arrangement minimizes uncertainties associated with boundary conditions and makes the flow an especially attractive generic test case for validating turbulence closures for statistically two-dimensional separation. The emphasis of the study is on elucidating the turbulence mechanisms associated with separation, recirculation reattachment, acceleration and wall proximity. Hence, careful attention has been paid to resolution, and a body-fitted, low-aspect-ratio, nearly orthogonal numerical grid of close to 5 million nodes has been used. Unusually, the results of two entirely independent simulations with different codes for identical flow and numerical conditions are compared and shown to agree closely. Results are included for mean velocity, Reynolds stresses, anisotropy measures, spectra and budgets for the Reynolds stresses. Moreover, an analysis of structural characteristics is undertaken on the basis of instantaneous realizations, and links to features observed in the statistical results are identified and interpreted. Among a number of interesting features, a distinct ‘splatting’ of eddies on the windward hill side following reattachment is observed, which generates strong spanwise fluctuations that are reflected, statistically, by the spanwise normal stress near the wall exceeding that of the streamwise stress by a substantial margin, despite the absence of spanwise strain.

NUMERICAL CALCULATION OF LAMINAR VORTEX-SHEDDING FLOW PAST CYLINDERS

The paper presents numerical calculations of laminar vortex-shedding flows past circular and square cylinders for Re less than or equal to 5000 in the former and Re less than or equal 300 in the latter case. The calculations were performed by solving the unsteady 2D Navier-Stokes equations with a finite volume method incorporating the third-order-accurate discretisation scheme QUICK. The resulting Reynolds number dependence of the Strouhal number and of the drag coefficient is compared with experiments and with previous numerical results, showing good agreement for the lower Reynolds numbers at which fully laminar flow can be expected (Re less than 1000). For higher Reynolds numbers the calculations deviate from the measurements, and this is blamed on the beginning influence of stochastic fluctuations. For the circular cylinder the time development of the flow towards periodic vortex shedding is illustrated by a series of streamline pictures, and for both geometries the time development of a number of important flow parameters is also presented and discussed.

The flapping shear layer formed by flow separation from the forward corner of a square cylinder

The turbulent shear layer and the associated recirculation region on the sidewall formed in flow separation from the forward corner of a square cylinder have been studied with one-component laser-Doppler velocimetry. Because of vortex shedding, the flow is approximately periodic, and is treated as a separated flow undergoing largeamplitude forcing at the shedding frequency. Phase (ensemble)-averaged velocities and turbulence intensities were obtained, and a close relationship in phase and amplitude between phase-averaged turbulence intensities and gradients of phase-averaged velocity is found in much of the flow region. The similarity behaviour of the phase-averaged profiles in the shear layer as well as the streamwise growth of the shear layer are investigated. While phase-averaged velocity profiles collapse well in similarity coordinates, normalized turbulence intensities exhibit systematic deviations from similarity. Shear-layer growth also departs markedly from the linear growth law of unforced plane mixing layers. The effect of the recirculation is suggested as a possible explanation for some of these deviations. Similarities to and differences from steady and forced mixing layers, steady separated flows with recirculation, and unsteady boundary layers are discussed.

Low Reynolds number k-e modelling with the aid of direct simulation data

The constant C(sub mu) and the near-wall damping function f(sub mu) in the eddy-viscosity relation of the kappa-epsilon model are evaluated from direct numerical simulation (DNS) data for developed channel and boundary layer flow at two Reynolds numbers each. Various existing f(sub mu) model functions are compared with the DNS data, and a new function is fitted to the high-Reynolds-number channel flow data. The epsilon-budget is computed for the fully developed channel flow. The relative magnitude of the terms in the epsilon-equation is analyzed with the aid of scaling arguments, and the parameter governing this magnitude is established. Models for the sum of all source and sink terms in the epsilon-equation are tested against the DNS data, and an improved model is proposed.

SIMULATION OF VORTEX SHEDDING PAST A SQUARE CYLINDER WITH DIFFERENT TURBULENCE MODELS

SUMMARY This paper presents the results of numerical simulations of vortex shedding past a free-standing square cylinder at ReD22000, obtained with different turbulence models. Using wall functions, the standard k‐o model is compared with a modification suggested by Kato and Launder (Proc. 9th Symp. Turbulent Shear Flows, Kyoto, 10-4-1 (1993)). In addition, both versions are used in a two-layer approach, in which the flow close to the cylinder is computed with a locally more suitable one-equation turbulence model and only outside the viscous near-wall layer with the two mentioned high-Re model versions. To allow a comparison, the simulations are performed first using the same computational domain and boundary conditions as in previous investigations. Then results are presented that were obtained on a computational domain and with boundary conditions more suitable for a comparison with the experiments.

A depth-averaged mathematical model for the near field of side discharges into open-channel flow

A two-dimensional mathematical model is described for the calculation of the depth-averaged velocity and temperature or concentration distribution in open-channel flows, an essential feature of the model being its ability to handle recirculation zones. The model employs the depth-averaged continuity, momentum and temperature/concentration equations, which are solved by an efficient finite-difference procedure. The ‘rigid lid’ approximation is used to treat the free surface. The turbulent stresses and heat or concentration fluxes are determined from a depth-averaged version of the so-called k , e turbulence model which characterizes the local state of turbulence by the turbulence kinetic energy k and the rate of its dissipation e. Differential transport equations are solved for k and e to determine these two quantities. The bottom shear stress and turbulence production are accounted for by source/sink terms in the relevant equations. The model is applied to the problem of a side discharge into open-channel flow, where a recirculation zone develops downstream of the discharge. Predicted size of the recirculation zone, jet trajectories, dilution, and isotherms are compared with experiments for a wide range of discharge to channel velocity ratios; the agreement is generally good. An assessment of the numerical accuracy shows that the predictions are not influenced significantly by numerical diffusion.