Direct numerical simulation of a spatially developing compressible plane mixing layer: flow structures and mean flow properties

2012 ◽  
Vol 711 ◽  
pp. 437-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Zhou ◽  
Feng He ◽  
M. Y. Shen

AbstractThe spatially developing compressible plane mixing layer with a convective Mach number of 0.7 is investigated by direct numerical simulation. A pair of equal and opposite oblique instability waves is introduced to perturb the mixing layer at the inlet. The full evolution process of instability, including formation of $ \mrm{\Lambda} $-vortices and hairpin vortices, breakdown of large structures and establishment of self-similar turbulence, is presented clearly in the simulation. In the transition process, the flow fields are populated sequentially by $ \mrm{\Lambda} $-vortices, hairpin vortices and ‘flower’ structures. This is the first direct evidence showing the dominance of these structures in the spatially developing mixing layer. Hairpin vortices are found to play an important role in the breakdown of the flow. The legs of hairpin vortices first evolve into sheaths with intense vorticity then break up into small slender vortices. The later flower structures are produced by the instability of the heads of the hairpin vortices. They prevail for a long distance in the mixing layer until the flow starts to settle down into its self-similar state. The preponderance of slender inclined streamwise vortices is observed in the transversal middle zone of the transition region after the breakup of the hairpin legs. This predominance of streamwise vortices also persists in the self-similar turbulent region, though the vortices there are found to be relatively very weak. The evolution of both the mean streamwise velocity profile and the Reynolds stresses is found to have close connection to the behaviour of the large vortex structures. High growth rates of the momentum and vorticity thicknesses are observed in the transition region of the flow. The growth rates in the self-similar turbulence region decay to a value that agrees well with previous experimental and numerical studies. Shocklets occur in the simulation, and their formation mechanisms are elaborated and categorized. This is the first three-dimensional simulation that captures shocklets at this low convective Mach number.

2019 ◽  
Vol 880 ◽  
pp. 239-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Wenzel ◽  
Tobias Gibis ◽  
Markus Kloker ◽  
Ulrich Rist

A direct numerical simulation study of self-similar compressible flat-plate turbulent boundary layers (TBLs) with pressure gradients (PGs) has been performed for inflow Mach numbers of 0.5 and 2.0. All cases are computed with smooth PGs for both favourable and adverse PG distributions (FPG, APG) and thus are akin to experiments using a reflected-wave set-up. The equilibrium character allows for a systematic comparison between sub- and supersonic cases, enabling the isolation of pure PG effects from Mach-number effects and thus an investigation of the validity of common compressibility transformations for compressible PG TBLs. It turned out that the kinematic Rotta–Clauser parameter $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}_{K}$ calculated using the incompressible form of the boundary-layer displacement thickness as length scale is the appropriate similarity parameter to compare both sub- and supersonic cases. Whereas the subsonic APG cases show trends known from incompressible flow, the interpretation of the supersonic PG cases is intricate. Both sub- and supersonic regions exist in the boundary layer, which counteract in their spatial evolution. The boundary-layer thickness $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{99}$ and the skin-friction coefficient $c_{f}$, for instance, are therefore in a comparable range for all compressible APG cases. The evaluation of local non-dimensionalized total and turbulent shear stresses shows an almost identical behaviour for both sub- and supersonic cases characterized by similar $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}_{K}$, which indicates the (approximate) validity of Morkovin’s scaling/hypothesis also for compressible PG TBLs. Likewise, the local non-dimensionalized distributions of the mean-flow pressure and the pressure fluctuations are virtually invariant to the local Mach number for same $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}_{K}$-cases. In the inner layer, the van Driest transformation collapses compressible mean-flow data of the streamwise velocity component well into their nearly incompressible counterparts with the same $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}_{K}$. However, noticeable differences can be observed in the wake region of the velocity profiles, depending on the strength of the PG. For both sub- and supersonic cases the recovery factor was found to be significantly decreased by APGs and increased by FPGs, but also to remain virtually constant in regions of approximated equilibrium.


2012 ◽  
Vol 710 ◽  
pp. 482-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elad Rind ◽  
Ian P. Castro

AbstractDirect numerical simulation has been used to study the effects of external turbulence on axisymmetric wakes. In the absence of such turbulence, the time-developing axially homogeneous wake is found to have the self-similar properties expected whereas, in the absence of the wake, the turbulence fields had properties similar to Saffman-type turbulence. Merging of the two flows was undertaken for three different levels of external turbulence (relative to the wake strength) and it is shown that the presence of the external turbulence enhances the decay rate of the wake, with the new decay rates increasing with the relative strength of the initial external turbulence. The external turbulence is found to destroy any possibility of self-similarity within the developing wake, causing a significant transformation in the latter as it gradually evolves towards the former.


2011 ◽  
Vol 347-353 ◽  
pp. 922-926
Author(s):  
Jin Liang Gu ◽  
Huan Hao Zhang ◽  
Zhi Hua Chen ◽  
Xiao Hai Jiang

Large eddy simulation (LES) has been used to simulate both non-reacting and reacting supersonic planar mixing layers at convective Mach number Mc=0.3. The different eddy characteristics of two cases have been visualized and discussed based on our calculated results, and the differences of mixing layer structures have also been shown, which can provide some important guide for future relative engineering design.


2017 ◽  
Vol 830 ◽  
pp. 569-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Almagro ◽  
Manuel García-Villalba ◽  
Oscar Flores

Direct numerical simulations of a temporally developing, low-speed, variable-density, turbulent, plane mixing layer are performed. The Navier–Stokes equations in the low-Mach-number approximation are solved using a novel algorithm based on an extended version of the velocity–vorticity formulation used by Kim et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol 177, 1987, 133–166) for incompressible flows. Four cases with density ratios $s=1,2,4$ and 8 are considered. The simulations are run with a Prandtl number of 0.7, and achieve a $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}}$ up to 150 during the self-similar evolution of the mixing layer. It is found that the growth rate of the mixing layer decreases with increasing density ratio, in agreement with theoretical models of this phenomenon. Comparison with high-speed data shows that the reduction of the growth rates with increasing density ratio has a weak dependence with the Mach number. In addition, the shifting of the mixing layer to the low-density stream has been characterized by analysing one-point statistics within the self-similar interval. This shifting has been quantified, and related to the growth rate of the mixing layer under the assumption that the shape of the mean velocity and density profiles do not change with the density ratio. This leads to a predictive model for the reduction of the growth rate of the momentum thickness, which agrees reasonably well with the available data. Finally, the effect of the density ratio on the turbulent structure has been analysed using flow visualizations and spectra. It is found that with increasing density ratio the longest scales in the high-density side are gradually inhibited. A gradual reduction of the energy in small scales with increasing density ratio is also observed.


1995 ◽  
Vol 284 ◽  
pp. 171-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. T. Clemens ◽  
M. G. Mungal

Experiments were conducted in a two-stream planar mixing layer at convective Mach numbers,Mc, of 0.28, 0.42, 0.50, 0.62 and 0.79. Planar laser Mie scattering (PLMS) from a condensed alcohol fog and planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) of nitric oxide were used for flow visualization in the side, plan and end views. The PLIF signals were also used to characterize the turbulent mixture fraction fluctuations.Visualizations using PLMS indicate a transition in the turbulent structure from quasi-two-dimensionality at low convective Mach number, to more random three-dimensionality for$M_c\geqslant 0.62$. A transition is also observed in the core and braid regions of the spanwise rollers as the convective Mach number increases from 0.28 to 0.62. A change in the entrainment mechanism with increasing compressibility is also indicated by signal intensity profiles and perspective views of the PLMS and PLIF images. These show that atMc= 0.28 the instantaneous mixture fraction field typically exhibits a gradient in the streamwise direction, but is more uniform in the cross-stream direction. AtMc= 0.62 and 0.79, however, the mixture fraction field is more streamwise uniform and with a gradient in the cross-stream direction. This change in the composition of the structures is indicative of different entrainment motions at the different compressibility conditions. The statistical results are consistent with the qualitative observations and suggest that compressibility acts to reduce the magnitude of the mixture fraction fluctuations, particularly on the high-speed edge of the layer.


2018 ◽  
Vol 857 ◽  
pp. 878-906 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Nagata ◽  
T. Nonomura ◽  
S. Takahashi ◽  
Y. Mizuno ◽  
K. Fukuda

In this study, direct numerical simulation of the flow around a rotating sphere at high Mach and low Reynolds numbers is conducted to investigate the effects of rotation rate and Mach number upon aerodynamic force coefficients and wake structures. The simulation is carried out by solving the three-dimensional compressible Navier–Stokes equations. A free-stream Reynolds number (based on the free-stream velocity, density and viscosity coefficient and the diameter of the sphere) is set to be between 100 and 300, the free-stream Mach number is set to be between 0.2 and 2.0, and the dimensionless rotation rate defined by the ratio of the free-stream and surface velocities above the equator is set between 0.0 and 1.0. Thus, we have clarified the following points: (1) as free-stream Mach number increased, the increment of the lift coefficient due to rotation was reduced; (2) under subsonic conditions, the drag coefficient increased with increase of the rotation rate, whereas under supersonic conditions, the increment of the drag coefficient was reduced with increasing Mach number; and (3) the mode of the wake structure becomes low-Reynolds-number-like as the Mach number is increased.


2005 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 843-866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takenobu Michioka ◽  
Ryoichi Kurose ◽  
Kouichi Sada ◽  
Hisao Makino

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