Showing papers in "Experiments in Fluids in 1991"

Digital Particle Image Velocimetry

Abstract: Digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) is the digital counterpart of conventional laser speckle velocitmetry (LSV) and particle image velocimetry (PIV) techniques. In this novel, two-dimensional technique, digitally recorded video images are analyzed computationally, removing both the photographic and opto-mechanical processing steps inherent to PIV and LSV. The directional ambiguity generally associated with PIV and LSV is resolved by implementing local spatial cross-correlations between two sequential single-exposed particle images. The images are recorded at video rate (30 Hz or slower) which currently limits the application of the technique to low speed flows until digital, high resolution video systems with higher framing rates become more economically feasible. Sequential imaging makes it possible to study unsteady phenomena like the temporal evolution of a vortex ring described in this paper. The spatial velocity measurements are compared with data obtained by direct measurement of the separation of individual particle pairs. Recovered velocity data are used to compute the spatial and temporal vorticity distribution and the circulation of the vortex ring.

A planar Mie scattering technique for visualizing supersonic mixing flows

Abstract: A planar Mie scattering technique is described which allows for the direct visualization of fluid mixing in supersonic flows. The mixed fluid is visualized by laser light sheet scattering from small alcohol droplets which condense as a result of the mixing of a vapor laden subsonic stream with a cold supersonic stream. Issues related to the formation, growth and size of the droplets are addressed. The technique reveals details of the turbulent structure which are masked by the spatial integration of schlieren and shadowgraph methods. Comparative visualizations using the vapor screen method to uniformly mark the high-speed fluid are also shown.

Digital particle image thermometry: The method and implementation

Abstract: A computerized flow visualization technique capable of automatically quantifying the temperature field in a two-dimensional cross section of a flow field is described The temperature sensors used are fast-response temperature-sensitive micro-encapsulated liquid crystal particles Illuminating the flow by a thin sheet of white light, the reflected colors from the liquid-crystal particles were captured through a 3-chip video color camera and stored onto a videotape for subsequent data processing The temperature field was obtained through an automatic color-temperature calibration scheme in HSI rather than RGB space, thus allowing for data processing of approximately one-third the time of RGB processing The technique is finally applied to the study of a heated vortex-ring and some preliminary results are discussed

Effects of global density ratio on the centerline mixing behavior of axisymmetric turbulent jets

Abstract: Measurements, utilizing Rayleigh light scattering, of timeaveraged concentration and unmixedness have been made along the centerlines of axisymmetric turbulent jets formed from six pairs of jet and ambient gases. Jet to ambient density ratios range from 0.14 to 5.11. Findings are compared with predictions of an approx. similarity analysis and with extensive previous literature measurements. It is shown that virtual origins for plots of inverse time-averaged concentration are strongly dependent on global density ratio. Unmixedness values first grow with increasing distance from the jet source and then achieve an asymptote. The flow distance required to reach this asymptote is a strong function of density ratio.

High resolution measurement of turbulent structure in a channel with particle image velocimetry

Abstract: High resolution particle image velocimetry is used to measure the turbulent velocity field for fully developed flow (Re = 2,872) in an enclosed channel. Photographs of particle displacement are obtained in a plane that is parallel to the flow and perpendicular to the walls. These are analyzed to give simultaneous measurements of two components of the velocity at more than 10,000 points. Maps of velocity vectors, spanwise vorticity and Reynolds stress reveal structural aspects of the turbulence. In particular, internal shear layers are observed, in agreement with predictions of direct numerical simulation. Ensemble-averaging of a number of photographs yields statistical properties of the velocity in good agreement with laser-Doppler velocimeter measurements, and with direct numerical simulations.

Full-field bubbly flow velocity measurements using a multiframe particle tracking technique

Abstract: The study is an examination of two-phase dispersed air bubble flow about a cylindrical conductor emitting a constant heat flux. The technique of Particle Image Velocimetry is utilized in order to obtain a full-field non-invasive measurement of the resulting bubbly flow velocity field. The employed approach utilizes a flow visualization technique in which the instantaneous velocity profile of a given flow field is determined by digitally recording particle or bubble images within the flow over multiple successive video frames and then conducting a completely computational analysis of the data. The use of particle tracking algorithms which perform a point-by-point matching of seed images from one frame to the next allows construction of particle or bubble pathlines and instantaneous velocity field. Results were initially obtained for a synthetically created flow field and a single phase liquid convective field seeded with flow-following tracer particles. The method was additionally extended to measurements within a gas/liquid system in which bubble rise velocities over a substantial two-dimensional flow area were determined in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed digital data acquisition and analysis methodology.

Counter jet stagnation flows

Abstract: The present paper concerns the stagnation flow produced by counter flowing air jets. Little experimental information exists on such flows in spite of their extensive employment in the theoretical treatment of diffusion flames. To remedy this situation, laser-Doppler measurements were performed to quantify the entire flow field. The experiments are described and the results of the velocity measurements presented. Differences between the investigated flow field and the ideal flow field, employed in theoretical studies, are pointed out.

The control of vortex shedding behind heated circular cylinders at low Reynolds numbers

Abstract: We report some experiments undertaken to investigate the control of vortex shedding behind electrically heated cylinders at low Reynolds numbers owing to the heat input brought to the cylinder. In airflow, depending on the Reynolds number value, complete suppression or modification of the vortex shedding phenomenon can be achieved with increase of heat input. Experimental results suggest that this control could result of a slight change of the separation point location due to the increase of the dynamic viscosity of the fluid.

Reynolds number effects on the mixing behavior of axisymmetric turbulent jets

Abstract: Measurements of time-averaged jet fluid mass fraction and unmixedness are reported along the centerlines of axisymmetric jets having Reynolds numbers (Re) covering a range of 3,950–11,880. Jet gases investigated are propane, carbon tetrafluoride, and sulfur hexafluoride. The slopes for the fall off of inverse centerline mass fraction with distance are found to be independent of Re for moderate downstream distances, but virtual origins for the data are shown to move downstream with increasing Re. Unmixedness measurements show that flows with higher Re require longer flow distances to achieve asymptotic behavior. Results of other investigations reported in the literature are discussed which support the conclusions of this work. The relationship between the centerline mixing and entrainment behaviors of these flows is explored.

Plane-Couette flow between smooth and rough walls

Abstract: A novel approach is utilized to acquire new experimental information on plane-Couette flow. To this end a rigid plate, functioning as the moving wall, is propelled through air by the carriage of a towing channel, and the fixed wall is a stationary bench. It is shown that, irrespective of the state of the walls, the critical Reynolds number, expressed in terms of relative wall velocity and wall spacing, is about 1,200. Findings support the notion of universality of turbulent flow structure in the wall region, but shed doubt on the conjecture of homogeneous shear-flow turbulence in the core.

A cross-correlation technique for velocity field extraction from particulate visualization

Abstract: A rapid time series of photographs of the horizontal cross-sections of several y+ locations were taken of a turbulent open-channel water flow with Red = 3,900. A pair of photographic images were obtained with a time difference of 1.3 v/uτ2at each y+ locations. The pictures were digitized into 8 bit data with a spatial resolution of 2.5 viscous scales. Instead of identifying discrete particles, a variable interval spatial correlation technique was used to extract the velocity components. With this technique, two-dimensional spatial cross-correlations of the illumination intensities were taken between a pair of picture images. The correlations were taken over small areas and the peak of the correlation coefficients were used to obtain the convection velocity yielding the u and w components of velocity. Some statistical properties were calculated and are shown to be comparable with previous data. Spatial correlations of the velocity components revealed some unique characteristics related to the structure of turbulence.

Internal waves generated by a moving sphere and its wake in a stratified fluid

Abstract: The internal gravity waves and the turbulent wake of a sphere moving through stratified fluid were studied by the fluorescent dye technique. The Reynolds number Re=U·2a/v was kept nearly constant at about 3 · 103 and the Froude number F;U/a N ranged from 0.5 to 12.5. It is observed that waves generated by the body are dominant only when F 4.

Effect of velocity ratio on plane mixing layer development: Influence of the splitter plate wake

Abstract: An experimental study has been conducted to investigate the effect of velocity ratio on the approach of a plane mixing layer to self-similarity. Plane mixing layers with five different velocity ratios (0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8 and 0.9) were generated in a newly designed mixing layer wind tunnel with both initial boundary layers tripped. For each velocity ratio, mean flow and turbulence measurements were obtained at eight streamwise locations with a single cross-wire probe. The results indicate that the splitter plate wake plays a very dominant and, in some cases, a lasting role in the development of the mixing layer. For velocity ratios between 0.5 and 0.7, self-similarity of the mixing layer was observed with the asymptotic states comparable. Mixing layers with the higher velocity ratios failed to achieve a self-similar state within the measurement domain, although a slow approach to it was apparent. The development distance decreased with increasing velocity ratio up to 0.7, after which it appeared to increase. Almost all of the observed effects may be attributed to the presence of the splitter plate wake and its complex interaction with the mixing layer.

Expansion ratio effects on the separated shear layer and reattachment downstream of a backward-facing step

Abstract: Experiments were carried out to study the behavior of the incompressible turbulent separated shear layer and subsequent reattachment, downstream of a backward-facing step in a channel. The main objective of the study was to determine the effect of the expansion ratio on the development of the mean velocity and turbulence intensity in the shear layer and on the evolution of wall static pressure downstream of the step. The step height-to-upstream channel height ratio was varied between 0.5 and 2.13 while all inlet conditions were kept constant. Both hot-wire anemometry and frequency shifted laser Doppler anemometry were used for the velocity measurements. The Reynolds number based on free stream velocity and channel height upstream of the step was 16,600. The expansion ratio was found to have a particularly strong influence in the development of the turbulent, separated shear layer. Larger step height-to-inlet channel height ratios lead to higher turbulence intensities and faster growth of the unstable shear layer. As a result of this, shorter normalized reattachment lengths occurred with lager expansion ratios. For all the expansion ratios studied, the mean reattachment lenght was uniform along the spanwise direction except very near the side walls.

Velocity characteristics of the flow around a square cross section cylinder placed near a channel wall

Abstract: Laser-Doppler measurements are reported of the flow around a square cross section cylinder placed at various heights (Y 0) above a plane channel wall for a Reynolds number Re H = 1.36 × 104.The thickness of the turbulent boundary layer on the channel wall at the obstacle position, but with it removed from the water tunnel, was equal to 0.8 H, being H the square obstacle height and the free stream turbulence intensity was 6%. The periodic character of the flow in the near wake was characterized by measurements of turbulence spectra in the range 0≤ Y 0/H ≤3.3 and the results revealed that regular vortex shedding was suppressed for a gap height less than 0.35 H. Detailed results of time averaged mean flow properties, turbulence intensities and Reynolds stresses revealed the structural differences of the near wakes with and without vortex shedding for Y O = 0.5 and Y O = 0.25 respectively.

Base drag reduction by control of the three-dimensional unsteady vortical structures

Abstract: The present paper deals with the wake of a 2D body equipped with a drag reduction device. The device is a 3D trailing edge consisting of alternate segments of blunt base and spanwise cavity. The aerodynamic mechanisms acting on the near wake are studied in a water tunnel from schlieren observations by thermally marking large scale structures. The results show that the efficiency of the device is directly related to the presence of longitudinal vortices. An optimization of the shapes in subsonic compressible flow had led to a decrease of more than 40% of the total drag of the profile.

Interaction of a vortex couple with a free surface

Abstract: The characteristics of three-dimensional flow structures (scars and striations) resulting from the interaction between a heterostrophic vortex pair in vertical ascent and a clean free surface are described. The flow features at the scar-striation interface (a constellation of whirls or coherent vortical structures) are investigated through the use of flow visualization, a motion analysis system, and the vortex-element method. The results suggest that the striations are a consequence of the short wavelength instability of the vortex pair and the helical instability of the tightly spiralled regions of vorticity. The whirls result from the interaction of striations with the surface vorticity. The whirl-merging is responsible for the reverse energy cascade leading to the formation and longevity of larger vortical structures amidst a rapidly decaying turbulent field.

A note on the cause of rebound in the head-on collision of a vortex ring with a wall

Abstract: It is well documented that a trailing vortex pair approaching the ground, and a vortex ring colliding head-on with a rigid plane, experience a reversal in axial velocity which is commonly referred to as “rebound”. One explanation of this phenomenon suggests that it is essentially an inviscid process due to the effect of the finite core-size, whereas another and more widely accepted explanation attributes it to the influence of a secondary vortex which is generated at the surface by viscous effects. The aim of this paper is to assess experimentally the validity of these competing explanations. To achieve this, flow visualization studies of the collision of a vortex ring with a wall are compared with those of the head-on collision of two identical rings. The head-on collision is designed to mimic the inviscid, free-slip case of a ring/wall interaction. This paper describes the experimental findings.

Aspect ratio effect on flow-induced forces on circular cylinders in a cross-flow

Abstract: Finite-span circular cylinders with two different aspect ratios, placed in a cross-flow, are investigated experimentally at a cylinder Reynolds number of 46,000. Simultaneous measurements of the flow-induced unsteady forces on the cylinders and the stream velocity in the wake are carried out. These results together with mean drag measurements along the span and available literature data are used to evaluate the flow mechanisms responsible for the induced unsteady forces and the effect of aspect ratio on these forces. The coherence of vortex shedding along the span of the cylinder is partially destroyed by the separated flow emanating from the top and by the recirculating flow behind the cylinder. As a result, the fluctuating lift decreases drastically. Based on the data collected, it is conjectured that the fluctuating recirculating flow behind the cylinder is the flow mechanism responsible for the unsteady drag and causes it to increase beyond the fluctuating lift. The fluctuating recirculating flow is a direct consequence of the unsteady separated flow. The unsteady forces vary along the span, with lift increasing and drag decreasing towards the cylinder base. When the cylinder span is large compared to the wall boundary layer thickness, a submerged two-dimensional region exists near the base. As the span decreases, the submerged two-dimensional region becomes smaller and eventually vanishes. Altogether, these results show that fluctuating drag is the dominant unsteady force in finite-span cylinders placed in a cross-flow. Its characteristic frequency is larger than that of the vortex shedding frequency.

Experimental testing of Taylor's hypothesis by L.D.A. in highly turbulent flow

Abstract: A new configuration for the transmitting optics of a laser Doppler anemometer has been developed in order to measure the velocity at two different points at the same time. From the simultaneous measurements at two points along the mean flow direction it is possible to evaluate the spatial correlations and to compare them with the temporal correlation to verify the validity limits of Taylor's hypothesis also known as the frozen turbulence hypothesis. The transfer function between the velocity signals at two different points has been introduced to better explain the differences between Taylor's hypothesis and non frozen flow. The analysis is carried out in a flow with high turbulence levels.

Study of the intake tumble motion by flow visualization and particle tracking velocimetry

Abstract: The purpose of this work is to characterize the in-cylinder tumbling flow generated by an engine head during the induction process using flow visualization and particle tracking velocimetry (PTV). The study was carried out for a 4-valve engine head with shrouded intake valves in a special single cylinder transient water analog. This shrouded intake valve configuration was used to obtain a prototypical “pure tumble” flow suitable for fundamental combustion studies. The results revealed that the shrouded intake valves generate a strong, well-behaved tumble vortex on the axial plane between the cylinder head and the piston face. This vortex dominates the entire flow field and seems to be highly repeatable from cycle to cycle. The effect of engine speed on this tumbling flow was studied. An equivalent “tumble ratio” was defined and evaluated using the measured velocity fields at BDC (bottom dead center).

A crossed hot-wire technique for complex turbulent flows

Abstract: This paper describes a crossed hot-wire technique for the measurement of all components of mean velocity, Reynolds stresses, and triple products in a complex turbulent flow. The accuracy of various assumptions usually implicit in the use of crossed hot-wire anemometers is examined. It is shown that significant errors can result in flow with gradients in mean velocity or Reynolds stress, but that a first-order correction for these errors can be made using available data. It is also shown how corrections can be made for high turbulence levels using available data.

Effect of rounding side-corners on aerodynamic forces and turbulent wake of a cube placed on a ground plane

Abstract: This paper describes the experimental study of a flow past a cube with rounded side-corners placed in a ground plane under the condition of δ/D < 1, where δ is the thickness of the upstream boundary layer. The experiment was carried out in an N.P.L. type wind-tunnel having a working section of 500 mm×500 mm × 2,000 mm at a Reynolds number 4.74×104. The suface-pressure distribution on the cube was measured, and the drag coefficient was determined from the surface-pressure distribution. Furthermore, two kinds of vortices generated around the cube were observed. The distribution of velocities and turbulent intensities in the turbulent wake behind the cube with rounded side corners were measured, and compared with those of a two-dimensional cylinder. As a result, it was found that the drag coefficient decreases rapidly in the range of 0 ≦ 2R/D ≦ 0.3, and the Strouhal number for the arch-vortex shedding increases as the radius of the corner increases.

Measurement of turbulent wall velocity gradients using cylindrical waves of laser light

Abstract: A new optical instrument has been developed for direct measurement of instantaneous velocity gradients at the bounding wall. Light emerging from two tiny optical slits in the surface is used to form a “fan of fringes” in the region very near the wall. Doppler frequency of the light scattered by the seed particles is directly proportional to the velocity gradient. The system has been used to measure the statistics of the streamwise and spanwise velocity gradients in a turbulent boundary layer. The streamwise and spanwise rms fluctuations were found to be 38% and 11% of the mean streamwise value respectively. The latter result is subject to a large uncertainty.

Drop size measurements for annular two-phase flow in a 20 mm diameter vertical tube

Abstract: As part of a study on the effect of tube diameter on the mean drop size and liquid film flow rate in annular two-phase flow, data was obtained for the vertical upflow of an air-water system in a 20 mm internal diameter tube, held at a pressure of 1.5 bar and ambient temperature. This complements data taken in earlier experiments on 10 and 32 mm tubes. Increases in the superficial gas velocity caused reductions in the mean drop size whilst increasing the liquid mass flux in all but the lowest gas velocity case, caused the drop size to rise. Comparisons were made between the current drop size data and that from a 10 mm and 32 mm internal diameter tube, for similar conditions of temperature and pressure. The current drop size measurements, which fall between those from earlier work, confirm the dependence of drop size on tube diameter. The performance of several drop size correlations have been tested. Because the correlations do not account for the influence of tube diameter, they fail to predict the drop size data accurately. The influence of gas and liquid flow rate on the measured film flow rate show trends similar to those seen in data from the 10 mm and 32 mm diameter tubes. Models, to calculate the entrained liquid mass flux were tested; good predictions were given.

Downstream boundary effects on the spectral characteristics of a swirling flowfield

Abstract: The spectral characteristics and the structural response of a swirling flowfield are investigated subject to a non-axisymmetric disturbance and a contraction imposed downstream. Two natural frequencies are noted in different regions of the undisturbed swirling flowfield, one is due to a precessing vortex core and the other to the most amplified downstream azimuthal instability. The downstream contraction usually causes compression of the central recirculation zone into two side-lobes, increases the dominant frequencies and forms a straight central vortex core with a high axial velocity. The dominant downstream instability frequency depends linearly on the inlet Reynolds number and on the mode of the breakdown. For the downstream non-axisymmetric disturbance, such as the passing of the turbine blades, the fundamental frequency is not altered by the disturbance and the oscillation strength of the downstream instability is greatly reduced as the excitation frequency remains unmatched with the dominant downstream natural frequency. Downstream azimuthal instability promotes the breakdown recirculation.

Measurements in the flow around a marine propeller at the stern of an axisymmetric body

Abstract: An experimental study of the flow around and behind an axisymmetric body driven by a marine propeller is reported. Experiments were performed in a wind tunnel to document this complex, unsteady, three-dimensional, turbulent shear flow. Measurements were made in the boundary layer and wake of the bare body with a fixed dummy hub for the propeller, with the dummy hub rotating, and finally, with the propeller in operation. A five-hole yaw probe was employed for the mean-flow measurements, and two- and threesensor hotwires were used to obtained the mean and turbulent velocity fields. Part 1 of this two-part paper describes the experimental arrangement and circumferentially-averaged results which clarify certain overall aspects of the flow when it is viewed as a rotationally-symmetric flow. These are of special interest in marine hydrodynamics. In Part 2, the triple-sensor hotwire data are analyzed using phase-averaging techniques to reconstruct the instantaneous velocity and Reynolds-stress fields downstream of the propeller to show the evolution of the wakes of individual blades, blade-tip vortices, and the complex flow associated with vortices generated at hub-blade junctions.

Experiments characterizing the interaction between two sprays of electrically charged liquid droplets

Abstract: Experiments were conducted to characterize the interaction between two sprays of electrically charged ethanol droplets. The micrometer-size droplet sprays were generated electrohydrodynamically by applying a high positive voltage to two adjacent parallel needles that were located above a distant, electrically grounded funnel. The resultant droplet axial and lateral velocity components and diameter were measured as a function of needle spacing and applied voltage using a Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer. Data were acquired at two axial positions below the needles' tips, for two needle spacings, four applied voltages and at a single flow rate.

Oscillating convection modes in the surroundings of an air bubble under a horizontal heated wall

Abstract: The development of different oscillatory modes and their transition into a non-periodic state of convection, initiated by the thermal Marangoni-effect in the vicinity of an air bubble under a horizontal, heated wall, was investigated. In the further surroundings of the air bubble a stably stratified thermal field was maintained. The flow phenomena in the vicinity of the bubble were studied using light sheet and shearing interferometer flow visualization techniques. The observed modes are described with regard to their kinematics. The influence of the Marangoni number and of the bubble geometry on the mode selection is discussed. The boundaries of the different modes and of the non-periodic state are indicated.