scholarly journals Direct numerical simulation of salt sheets and turbulence in a double-diffusive shear layer

2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (21) ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Kimura ◽  
William Smyth
1998 ◽  
Vol 374 ◽  
pp. 379-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. NA ◽  
P. MOIN

A separated turbulent boundary layer over a flat plate was investigated by direct numerical simulation of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. A suction-blowing velocity distribution was prescribed along the upper boundary of the computational domain to create an adverse-to-favourable pressure gradient that produces a closed separation bubble. The Reynolds number based on inlet free-stream velocity and momentum thickness is 300. Neither instantaneous detachment nor reattachment points are fixed in space but fluctuate significantly. The mean detachment and reattachment locations determined by three different definitions, i.e. (i) location of 50% forward flow fraction, (ii) mean dividing streamline (ψ=0), (iii) location of zero wall-shear stress (τw=0), are in good agreement. Instantaneous vorticity contours show that the turbulent structures emanating upstream of separation move upwards into the shear layer in the detachment region and then turn around the bubble. The locations of the maximum turbulence intensities as well as Reynolds shear stress occur in the middle of the shear layer. In the detached flow region, Reynolds shear stresses and their gradients are large away from the wall and thus the largest pressure fluctuations are in the middle of the shear layer. Iso-surfaces of negative pressure fluctuations which correspond to the core region of the vortices show that large-scale structures grow in the shear layer and agglomerate. They then impinge on the wall and subsequently convect downstream. The characteristic Strouhal number St=fδ*in/U0 associated with this motion ranges from 0.0025 to 0.01. The kinetic energy budget in the detachment region is very similar to that of a plane mixing layer.


2011 ◽  
Vol 679 ◽  
pp. 263-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
IVETTE RODRIGUEZ ◽  
RICARD BORELL ◽  
ORIOL LEHMKUHL ◽  
CARLOS D. PEREZ SEGARRA ◽  
ASSENSI OLIVA

The direct numerical simulation of the flow over a sphere is performed. The computations are carried out in the sub-critical regime at Re = 3700 (based on the free-stream velocity and the sphere diameter). A parallel unstructured symmetry-preserving formulation is used for simulating the flow. At this Reynolds number, flow separates laminarly near the equator of the sphere and transition to turbulence occurs in the separated shear layer. The vortices formed are shed at a large-scale frequency, St = 0.215, and at random azimuthal locations in the shear layer, giving a helical-like appearance to the wake. The main features of the flow including the power spectra of a set of selected monitoring probes at different positions in the wake of the sphere are described and discussed in detail. In addition, a large number of turbulence statistics are computed and compared with previous experimental and numerical data at comparable Reynolds numbers. Particular attention is devoted to assessing the prediction of the mean flow parameters, such as wall-pressure distribution, skin friction, drag coefficient, among others, in order to provide reliable data for testing and developing statistical turbulence models. In addition to the presented results, the capability of the methodology used on unstructured grids for accurately solving flows in complex geometries is also pointed out.


2018 ◽  
Vol 845 ◽  
pp. 581-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Georgiou ◽  
M. V. Papalexandris

In this paper we report on a direct numerical simulation (DNS) of turbulent heat transfer in a T-junction. In particular, we study the interaction between two liquid streams, a hot horizontal cross-flow and a cold vertical liquid jet coming from above, in a T-junction of rectangular cross-section. We discuss in detail the instantaneous flow structures and present results for the first- and second-order statistics of the flow quantities, and for the budget of the turbulent kinetic energy. Further, we present results of the power spectral density of the velocity and temperature signals at selected locations of the flow field. Our analysis elucidates the properties of the important features of the flow such as the large recirculation bubble and the secondary separation zones that are formed in the vicinity of the entry of the jet. According to our simulations, thermal mixing is mainly driven by the shear layer between the two streams and, to a lesser extent, by the shear layer between the incoming jet and the large recirculation bubble. Thermal mixing is further enhanced by turbulence generation in the regions of adverse pressure gradients downstream of the large recirculation bubble. Within the framework of our study, we have also conducted a wall-resolved large-eddy simulation (LES) of the flow of interest so as to assess its predictive capacity. Overall, the LES predictions agree satisfactorily with our DNS data; the most noticeable discrepancy is that the LES produces mildly diffused profiles for the second-order statistics in the regions of intense turbulence production.


2017 ◽  
Vol 826 ◽  
pp. 5-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anikesh Pal ◽  
Sutanu Sarkar ◽  
Antonio Posa ◽  
Elias Balaras

Direct numerical simulation of flow past a sphere in a stratified fluid is carried out at a subcritical Reynolds number of 3700 and $Fr=U_{\infty }/ND=1,2$ and 3 to understand the dynamics of moderately stratified flows with $Fr=O(1)$. Here, $U_{\infty }$ is the free stream velocity, $N$ is the background buoyancy frequency and $D$ is the sphere diameter. The unstratified flow past the sphere consists of a separated shear layer that transitions to turbulence, a recirculation zone and a wake with a mean centreline deficit velocity, $U_{0}$, that decreases with downstream distance as a power law. With increasing stratification, the separated shear layer plunges inward vertically and its roll up is inhibited, the recirculation zone is shortened and the mean wake decays at a slower rate of $U_{0}\propto (x_{1}/D)^{-0.25}$ in the non-equilibrium (NEQ) region. The transition from the near wake where $U_{0}$ has a decay rate similar to the unstratified case to the NEQ regime occurs as an oscillatory modulation by a steady lee wave pattern with a period of $t=2\unicode[STIX]{x03C0}/N$ that leads to accelerated $U_{0}$ between $Nt=\unicode[STIX]{x03C0}$ and approximately $Nt=2\unicode[STIX]{x03C0}$. Far downstream, the wake is dominated by coherent horizontal motions. The acceleration of $U_{0}$ by the lee wave and the lower turbulence production in the NEQ regime, thereby less loss to turbulence, prolongs the lifetime of the wake relative to its unstratified counterpart. The intensity, temporal spectra and structure of turbulent fluctuations in the wake are assessed. Buoyancy induces significant anisotropy among the velocity components and between their vertical and horizontal profiles. Consequently, the near wake ($x_{1}/D<10$) exhibits significant differences in turbulence profiles relative to its unstratified counterpart. Spectra of vertical velocity show a discrete peak in the near wake that is maintained further downstream. The turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) balance is computed and contributions from pressure transport and buoyancy are found to become increasingly important as stratification increases. The findings of this investigation will be helpful in designing accurate initial conditions for the temporally evolving model of stratified wakes.


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