Parviz Moin

Bio: Parviz Moin is an academic researcher from Stanford University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Turbulence & Large eddy simulation. The author has an hindex of 116, co-authored 473 publications receiving 60521 citations. Previous affiliations of Parviz Moin include Center for Turbulence Research & Ames Research Center.

Direct Computation of Mach Wave Radiation in an Axisymmetric Supersonic Jet

Abstract: The intense Mach waves radiated by the growth and decay of linear instability waves in the shear layer of a perfectly expanded, axisymmetric jet with an initial centerline Mach number of Mj = 2.0 are directly computed by solution of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations on a computational domain that includes both the near and far fields. The directly computed far-field sound is compared to predictions obtained using an analysis based on linear stability theory, Lighthill's equation, and the Kirchhoff surface method. All of the predictions are in good agreement with the direct computations. Using Lighthill's equation, we demonstrate that it is essential to properly address the acoustical noncompactness of the sources. It is also shown that linear stability theory can be used to specify the source terms in Lighthill's equation; the resulting predictions are also in good agreement with the computations.

Computational study of optical distortions by separated shear layers and turbulent wakes

Abstract: The flow over a circular cylinder at Re D = 3900 and 10 000 and M = 0.4 is considered a platform to study the aero-optical distortions by separated shear layers and turbulent wakes. The flow solution is obtained by large eddy simulation (LES) and validated against previous experimental and numerical results. The fluctuating refractive index obtained from LES is used in a ray-tracing calculation to determine wavefront distortions after the beam passes through the turbulent region. Free-space propagation to the far field is computed using Fourier optics. The optical statistics are analysed for different conditions in terms of optical wavelength, aperture size and the beam position. It is found that there exists an optimal wavelength which maximizes the far-field peak intensity. Optical results at both Reynolds numbers are compared. The optical distortion by the downstream turbulent wake is found to be Reynolds number insensitive. However, due to their different transition mechanisms, distortions by the near wake regions are different in the two flows. The aero-optical effects of different flow scales are examined using filtering and grid refinement. Through a grid convergence study it is confirmed that an adequately resolved LES can capture the aero-optics of highly aberrating flows without requiring additional subgrid scale model for the optics.

Direct numerical simulation of curved turbulent channel flow

Abstract: Low Reynolds number, mildly curved, turbulent channel flow has been simulated numerically without subgrid scale models. A new spectral numerical method developed for this problem was used, and the computations were performed with 2 million degrees of freedom. A variety of statistical and structural information has been extracted from the computed flow fields. These include mean velocity, turbulence stresses, velocity skewness, and flatness factors, space time correlations and spectra, all the terms in the Reynolds stress balance equations, and contour and vector plots of instantaneous velocity fields. The effects of curvature on this flow were determined by comparing the concave and convex sides of the channel. The observed effects are consistent with experimental observations for mild curvature. The most significant difference in the turbulence statistics between the concave and convex sides was in the Reynolds shear stress. This was accompanied by significant differences in the terms of the Reynolds shear stress balance equations. In addition, it was found that stationary Taylor-Gortler vortices were present and that they had a significant effect on the flow by contributing to the mean Reynolds shear stress, and by affecting the underlying turbulence.

Compressibility effects in a turbulent annular mixing layer. Part 2. Mixing of a passive scalar

Abstract: The mixing of fuel and oxidizer in a mixing layer between high-speed streams is important in many applications, especially air-breathing propulsion systems. The details of this process in a turbulent annular mixing layer are studied with direct numerical simulation. Convective Mach numbers of the simulations range from M c = 0.1 to M c = 1.8. Visualizations of the scalar field show that at low Mach numbers large intrusions of nearly pure ambient or core fluid span the mixing region, whereas at higher Mach numbers these intrusions are suppressed. Increasing the Mach number is found to change the mixture fraction probability density function from non-marching to marching and the mixing efficiency from 0.5 at M c = 0.1 to 0.67 at M c = 1.5. Scalar concentration fluctuations and the axial velocity fluctuations become highly correlated as the Mach number increases and a suppressed role of pressure in the axial momentum equation is found to be responsible for this. Anisotropy of scalar flux increases with M c , and is explained via the suppression of transverse turbulence lengthscale

A dynamic subgrid‐scale eddy viscosity model

Abstract: One major drawback of the eddy viscosity subgrid‐scale stress models used in large‐eddy simulations is their inability to represent correctly with a single universal constant different turbulent fields in rotating or sheared flows, near solid walls, or in transitional regimes. In the present work a new eddy viscosity model is presented which alleviates many of these drawbacks. The model coefficient is computed dynamically as the calculation progresses rather than input a priori. The model is based on an algebraic identity between the subgrid‐scale stresses at two different filtered levels and the resolved turbulent stresses. The subgrid‐scale stresses obtained using the proposed model vanish in laminar flow and at a solid boundary, and have the correct asymptotic behavior in the near‐wall region of a turbulent boundary layer. The results of large‐eddy simulations of transitional and turbulent channel flow that use the proposed model are in good agreement with the direct simulation data.

Lattice boltzmann method for fluid flows

Abstract: We present an overview of the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), a parallel and efficient algorithm for simulating single-phase and multiphase fluid flows and for incorporating additional physical complexities. The LBM is especially useful for modeling complicated boundary conditions and multiphase interfaces. Recent extensions of this method are described, including simulations of fluid turbulence, suspension flows, and reaction diffusion systems.

On the identification of a vortex

Abstract: Considerable confusion surrounds the longstanding question of what constitutes a vortex, especially in a turbulent flow. This question, frequently misunderstood as academic, has recently acquired particular significance since coherent structures (CS) in turbulent flows are now commonly regarded as vortices. An objective definition of a vortex should permit the use of vortex dynamics concepts to educe CS, to explain formation and evolutionary dynamics of CS, to explore the role of CS in turbulence phenomena, and to develop viable turbulence models and control strategies for turbulence phenomena. We propose a definition of a vortex in an incompressible flow in terms of the eigenvalues of the symmetric tensor ${\bm {\cal S}}^2 + {\bm \Omega}^2$ are respectively the symmetric and antisymmetric parts of the velocity gradient tensor ${\bm \Delta}{\bm u}$. This definition captures the pressure minimum in a plane perpendicular to the vortex axis at high Reynolds numbers, and also accurately defines vortex cores at low Reynolds numbers, unlike a pressure-minimum criterion. We compare our definition with prior schemes/definitions using exact and numerical solutions of the Euler and Navier–Stokes equations for a variety of laminar and turbulent flows. In contrast to definitions based on the positive second invariant of ${\bm \Delta}{\bm u}$ or the complex eigenvalues of ${\bm \Delta}{\bm u}$, our definition accurately identifies the vortex core in flows where the vortex geometry is intuitively clear.