A model of the dynamic physical processes that occur in the near-wall region of a turbulent flow at high Reynolds numbers is described The hairpin vortex is postulated to be the basic flow structure of the turbulent boundary layer It is argued that the central features of the near-wall flow can be explained in terms of how asymmetric hairpin vortices interact with the background shear flow, with each other, and with the surface layer near the wall The physical process that leads to the regeneration of new hairpin vortices near the surface is described, as well as the processes of evolution of such vortices to larger-scale motions farther from the surface The model is supported by recent important developments in the theory of unsteady surface-layer separation and a number of `kernel' experiments which serve to elucidate the basic fluid mechanics phenomena believed to be relevant to the turbulent boundary layer Explanations for the kinematical behaviour observed in direct numerical simulations of low Reynolds number boundary-layer and channel flows are given An important aspect of the model is that it has been formulated to be consistent with accepted rational mechanics concepts that are known to provide a proper mathematical description of high Reynolds number flow

On the dynamics of near-wall turbulence

A differential method is proposed to simulate bypass transition. The intermittency in the transition zone is taken into account by conditioned averages. These are averages taken during the fraction of time the flow is turbulent or laminar respectively. Starting from the Navier-Stokes equations, conditioned continuity, momentum and energy equations are derived for the larninar and turbulent parts of the intermittent flow. The turbulence is described by a classical k-e model. The supplementary parameter, the intermittency factor, is determined by a transport equation applicable for zero, favourable and adverse pressure gradients. Results for these pressure gradients are given.

Modelling of bypass transition with conditioned Navier-Stokes equations coupled to an intermittency transport equation

Current models for transition in turbomachinery boundary layer flows are reviewed. The basic physical mechanisms of transition processes and the way these processes are expressed by model ingredients are discussed. The fundamentals of models are described as far as possible, with a common structure of the equations and with emphasis on the similarities between the models. Tests of models reported in the literature are summarized and our own test is added. A conclusion on the performance of models is formulated.

https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8518042/file/8518043.pdf

Transition Models for Turbomachinery Boundary Layer Flows: A Review

Predicting transition in two- and three-dimensional separated flows

This report presents the results of an experimental study of transition from laminar to turbulent flow in boundary layers or in shear layers over separation zones on a convex-curved surface which simulates the suction surface of a low-pressure turbine airfoil. Flows with various free-stream turbulence intensity (FSTI) values (0.5%, 2.5% and 10%), and various Reynolds numbers (50,000, 100,000 200,000 and 300,000) are investigated. Reynold numbers in the present study are based on suction surface length and passage exit mean velocity. Flow separation followed by transition within the separated flow region is observed for the lower-Re cases at each of the FSTI levels. At the highest Reynolds numbers and at elevated FSn, transition of the attached boundary layer begins before separation, and the separation zone is small. Transition proceeds in the shear layer over the separation bubble. For both the transitional boundary layer and the transitional shear layer, mean velocity, turbulence intensity and intermittency (the fraction of the time the flow is turbulent) distributions are presented. The present data are compared to published distribution models for bypass transition, intermittency distribution through transition, transition start position, and transition length. A model developed for transition of separated flows is shown to adequately predict the location of the beginning of transition, for these cases, and a model developed for transitional boundary layer flows seems to adequately predict the path of intermittency through transition when the transition start and end are known. These results are useful for the design of low-pressure turbine stages which are known to operate under conditions replicated by these tests.

Measurements in a Transitional Boundary Layer Under Low-Pressure Turbine Airfoil Conditions

Hot-wire anemometry was employed to examine the laminar-to-turbulent transition of low-speed, two-dimensional boundary layers for two (moderate) levels of flow acceleration and various levels of grid-generated freestream turbulence. Flows with an adiabatic wall and with uniform-flux heat transfer were explored. Conditional discrimination techniques were employed to examine the zones of flow within the transitional region

M. F. Blair

Papers

Boundary-Layer Transition in Accelerating Flows With Intense Freestream Turbulence: Part 2—The Zone of Intermittent Turbulence