Vortex shedding

About: Vortex shedding is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 10354 publications have been published within this topic receiving 251027 citations.

Numerical study and physical analysis of the pressure and velocity fields in the near wake of a circular cylinder

Abstract: The dynamic characteristics of the pressure and velocity fields of the unsteady incompressible laminar wake behind a circular cylinder are investigated numerically and analysed physically. The governing equations, written in a velocity—pressure formulation and in conservative form, are solved by a predictor—corrector pressure method, a finite-volume second-order-accurate scheme and an alternating-direction-implicit (ADI) procedure. The initiation mechanism for vortex shedding and the evaluation of the unsteady body forces are presented for Reynolds-number values of 100, 200 and 1000.The vortex shedding is generated by a physical perturbation imposed numerically for a short time. The flow transition becomes periodic after a transient time interval. The frequency of the drag and lift oscillations agree well with the experimental data.The study of the interactions of the unsteady pressure and velocity fields shows the phase relations between the pressure and velocity, and the influence of different factors: the strongly rotational viscous region, the convection of the eddies and the almost inviscid flow.The interactions among the different scales of structures in the near wake are also studied, and in particular the time-dependent evolution of the secondary eddies in relation to the fully developed primary ones is analysed.

Modes of vortex formation and frequency response of a freely vibrating cylinder

Abstract: In this paper, we study the transverse vortex-induced vibrations of an elastically mounted rigid cylinder in a fluid flow. We use simultaneous force, displacement and vorticity measurements (using DPIV) for the first time in free vibrations. There exist two distinct types of response in such systems, depending on whether one has a high or low combined mass–damping parameter (m*ζ). In the classical high-(m*ζ) case, an ‘initial’ and ‘lower’ amplitude branch are separated by a discontinuous mode transition, whereas in the case of low (m*ζ), a further higher-amplitude ‘upper’ branch of response appears, and there exist two mode transitions.To understand the existence of more than one mode transition for low (m*ζ), we employ two distinct formulations of the equation of motion, one of which uses the ‘total force’, while the other uses the ‘vortex force’, which is related only to the dynamics of vorticity. The first mode transition involves a jump in ‘vortex phase’ (between vortex force and displacement), ϕvortex, at which point the frequency of oscillation (f) passes through the natural frequency of the system in the fluid, f ∼ fNwater. This transition is associated with a jump between 2S [harr ] 2P vortex wake modes, and a corresponding switch in vortex shedding timing. Across the second mode transition, there is a jump in ‘total phase’, phis;total , at which point f ∼ fNvacuum. In this case, there is no jump in ϕvortex, since both branches are associated with the 2P mode, and there is therefore no switch in timing of shedding, contrary to previous assumptions. Interestingly, for the high-(m*ζ) case, the vibration frequency jumps across both fNwater and fNvacuum, corresponding to the simultaneous jumps in ϕvortex and ϕtotal. This causes a switch in the timing of shedding, coincident with the ‘total phase’ jump, in agreement with previous assumptions.For large mass ratios, m* = O(100), the vibration frequency for synchronization lies close to the natural frequency (f* = f/fN ≈ 1.0), but as mass is reduced to m* = O(1), f* can reach remarkably large values. We deduce an expression for the frequency of the lower-branch vibration, as follows:formula herewhich agrees very well with a wide set of experimental data. This frequency equation uncovers the existence of a critical mass ratio, where the frequency f* becomes large: m*crit = 0.54. When m* < m*crit, the lower branch can never be reached and it ceases to exist. The upper-branch large-amplitude vibrations persist for all velocities, no matter how high, and the frequency increases indefinitely with flow velocity. Experiments at m* < m*crit show that the upper-branch vibrations continue to the limits (in flow speed) of our facility.

Contributions to the theory of aerodynamic sound, with application to excess jet noise and the theory of the flute

Abstract: This paper describes a reformulation of the Lighthill (1952) theory of aerodynamic sound. A revised approach to the subject is necessary in order to unify the various ad hoc procedures which have been developed for dealing with aerodynamic noise problems since the original appearance of Lighthill's work. First, Powell's (1961 a) concept of vortex sound is difficult to justify convincingly on the basis of Lighthill's acoustic analogy, although it is consistent with model problems which have been treated by the method of matched asymptotic expansions. Second, Candel (1972), Marble (1973) and Morfey (1973) have demonstrated the importance of entropy inhomogeneities, which generate sound when accelerated in a mean flow pressure gradient. This is arguably a more significant source of acoustic radiation in hot subsonic jets than pure jet noise. Third, the analysis of Ffowcs Williams & Howe (1975) of model problems involving the convection of an entropy ‘slug’ in an engine nozzle indicates that the whole question of excess jet noise may be intimately related to the convection of flow inhomogeneities through mean flow pressure gradients. Such problems are difficult to formulate precisely in terms of Lighthill's theory because of the presence of an extensive, non-acoustic, non-uniform mean flow. The convected-entropy source mechanism is actually absent from the alternative Phillips (1960) formulation of the aerodynamic sound problem.In this paper the form of the acoustic propagation operator is established for a non-uniform mean flow in the absence of vortical or entropy-gradient source terms. The natural thermodynamic variable for dealing with such problems is the stagnation enthalpy. This provides a basis for a new acoustic analogy, and it is deduced that the corresponding acoustic source terms are associated solely with regions of the flow where the vorticity vector and entropy-gradient vector are non-vanishing. The theory is illustrated by detailed applications to problems which, in the appropriate limit, justify Powell's theory of vortex sound, and to the important question of noise generation during the unsteady convection of flow inhomogeneities in ducts and past rigid bodies in free space. At low Mach numbers wave propagation is described by a convected wave equation, for which powerful analytical techniques, discussed in the appendix, are available and are exploited.Fluctuating heat sources are examined: a model problem is considered and provides a positive comparison with an alternative analysis undertaken elsewhere. The difficult question of the scattering of a plane sound wave by a cylindrical vortex filament is also discussed, the effect of dissipation at the vortex core being taken into account.Finally an approximate aerodynamic theory of the operation of musical instruments characterized by the flute is described. This involves an investigation of the properties of a vortex shedding mechanism which is coupled in a nonlinear manner to the acoustic oscillations within the instrument. The theory furnishes results which are consistent with the playing technique of the flautist and with simple acoustic measurements undertaken by the author.

Spanwise flow and the attachment of the leading-edge vortex on insect wings

Abstract: The flow structure that is largely responsible for the good performance of insect wings has recently been identified as a leading-edge vortex. But because such vortices become detached from a wing in two-dimensional flow, an unknown mechanism must keep them attached to (three-dimensional) flapping wings. The current explanation, analogous to a mechanism operating on delta-wing aircraft, is that spanwise flow through a spiral vortex drains energy from the vortex core. We have tested this hypothesis by systematically mapping the flow generated by a dynamically scaled model insect while simultaneously measuring the resulting aerodynamic forces. Here we report that, at the Reynolds numbers matching the flows relevant for most insects, flapping wings do not generate a spiral vortex akin to that produced by delta-wing aircraft. We also find that limiting spanwise flow with fences and edge baffles does not cause detachment of the leading-edge vortex. The data support an alternative hypothesis-that downward flow induced by tip vortices limits the growth of the leading-edge vortex.