Intermittency Transport Modeling of Separated Flow Transition

2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (3) ◽  
pp. 424-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Vicedo ◽  
S. Vilmin ◽  
W. N. Dawes ◽  
A. M. Savill

An intermittency transport model is proposed for modeling separated-flow transition. The model is based on earlier work on prediction of attached flow bypass transition and is applied for the first time to model transition in a separation bubble at various degrees of freestream turbulence. The model has been developed so that it takes into account the entrainment of the surrounding fluid. Experimental investigations suggest that it is this phenomena which ultimately determines the extent of the separation bubble. Transition onset is determined via a boundary layer correlation based on momentum thickness at the point of separation. The intermittent flow characteristic of the transition process is modeled via an intermittency transport equation. This accounts for both normal and streamwise variation of intermittency and hence models the entrainment of surrounding flow in a more accurate manner than alternative prescribed intermittency models. The model has been validated against the well-established T3L semicircular leading edge flat plate test case for three different degrees of freestream turbulence characteristic of turbomachinery blade applications.

Author(s):  
J. Vicedo ◽  
S. Vilmin ◽  
W. N. Dawes ◽  
A. M. Savill

An intermittency transport model is proposed for modeling separated-flow transition. The model is based on earlier work on prediction of attached flow bypass transition and is applied for the first time to model transition in a separation bubble at various degrees of free-stream turbulence. The model has been developed so that it takes into account the entrainment of the surrounding fluid. Experimental investigations suggest that it is this phenomena which ultimately determines the extent of the separation bubble. Transition onset is determined via a boundary layer correlation based on momentum thickness at the point of separation. The intermittent flow characteristic of the transition process is modeled via an intermittency transport equation. This accounts for both normal and streamwise variation of intermittency and hence models the entrainment of surrounding flow in a more accurate manner than alternative prescribed intermittency models. The model has been validated against the well established T3L semicircular leading edge flat plate test case for three different degrees of free-stream turbulence characteristic of turbomachinery blade applications.


2004 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 497-501
Author(s):  
John A. Redford ◽  
Mark W. Johnson

This paper describes the modifications made to a successful attached flow transition model to produce a model capable of predicting both attached and separated flow transition. This transition model is used in combination with the Fluent CFD software, which is used to compute the flow around the blade assuming that it remains entirely laminar. The transition model then determines the start of transition location and the development of the intermittency. These intermittency values weight the laminar and turbulent boundary layer profiles to obtain the resulting transitional boundary layer parameters. The ERCOFTAC T3L test cases are used to validate the predictions. The T3L blade is a flat plate with a semi-circular leading edge, which results in the formation of a separation bubble the length of which is strongly dependent on the transition process. Predictions were performed for five T3L test cases for differing free-stream turbulence levels and Reynolds numbers. For the majority of these test cases the measurements were accurately predicted.


Author(s):  
John A. Redford ◽  
Mark W. Johnson

This paper describes the modifications made to a successful attached flow transition model to produce a model capable of predicting both attached and separated flow transition. This transition model is used in combination with the Fluent CFD software, which is used to compute the flow around the blade assuming that it remains entirely laminar. The transition model then determines the start of transition location and the development of the intermittency. These intermittency values weight the laminar and turbulent boundary layer profiles to obtain the resulting transitional boundary layer parameters. The ERCOFTAC T3L test cases are used to validate the predictions. The T3L blade is a flat plate with a semi-circular leading edge, which results in the formation of a separation bubble the length of which is strongly dependent on the transition process. Predictions were performed for five T3L test cases for differing freestream turbulence levels and Reynolds numbers. For the majority of these test cases the measurements were accurately predicted.


Author(s):  
T. J. Praisner ◽  
J. P. Clark

Here we report on an effort to include an empirically based transition modeling capability in a RANS solver. Testing of well-known empirical models from literature for both attached- and separated-flow transition against cascade data revealed that the models did not provide enough fidelity for implementation in an airfoil design system. Consequently, a program was launched to develop models that would provide sufficient accuracy for use in an airfoil design system. As a first step in the effort, accurate modeling of freestream turbulence development was identified as a need for any form of transition modeling capability. Additionally, capturing the effects of freestream turbulence on pre-transitional boundary layers was found to have a significant effect on the accuracy of transition modeling. A CFD-supplemented database of experimental cascade cases (57 with attached-flow transition and 47 with separation and turbulent reattachment) was constructed to explore the development of new correlations. Dimensional analyses were performed to guide the work and appropriate non-dimensional parameters were then extracted from CFD predictions of the laminar boundary layers existing on the airfoil surfaces prior to either transition onset or incipient separation. For attached-flow transition, exploration of the database revealed a distinct correlation between local levels of freestream turbulence intensity, turbulence length scale, and momentum-thickness Reynolds number at transition onset. It was found that the correlation could be recast as a ratio of the boundary-layer diffusion time to a time-scale associated with the energy-bearing turbulent eddies. In the case of separated-flow transition, it was found that the length of a separation bubble prior to turbulent re-attachment was a simple function of the local momentum thickness at separation and the overall surface length traversed by a fluid element prior to separation. Both the attached- and separated-flow transition models were implemented into the design system as point-like trips.


Author(s):  
K Anand ◽  
KT Ganesh

The effect of pressure gradient on a separated boundary layer past the leading edge of an airfoil model is studied experimentally using electronically scanned pressure (ESP) and particle image velocimetry (PIV) for a Reynolds number ( Re) of 25,000, based on leading-edge diameter ( D). The features of the boundary layer in the region of separation and its development past the reattachment location are examined for three cases of β (−30°, 0°, and +30°). The bubble parameters such as the onset of separation and transition and the reattachment location are identified from the averaged data obtained from pressure and velocity measurements. Surface pressure measurements obtained from ESP show a surge in wall static pressure for β = −30° (flap deflected up), while it goes down for β = +30° (flap deflected down) compared to the fundamental case, β = 0°. Particle image velocimetry results show that the roll up of the shear layer past the onset of separation is early for β = +30°, owing to higher amplification of background disturbances compared to β = 0° and −30°. Downstream to transition location, the instantaneous field measurements reveal a stretched, disoriented, and at instances bigger vortices for β = +30°, whereas a regular, periodically shed vortices, keeping their identity past the reattachment location, is observed for β = 0° and −30°. Above all, this study presents a new insight on the features of a separation bubble receiving a disturbance from the downstream end of the model, and these results may serve as a bench mark for future studies over an airfoil under similar environment.


2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven König ◽  
Bernd Stoffel ◽  
M. Taher Schobeiri

Comprehensive experimental investigations were conducted to get deeper insight into the physics of stator clocking in turbomachines. Different measurement techniques were used to investigate the influence of varying clocking positions on the highly unsteady flow field in a 1.5-stage axial low-pressure (LP) turbine. A Reynolds number typical for LP turbines as well as a two-dimensional blade design were chosen. Stator 2 was developed as a high-lift profile with a separation bubble on the suction side. This paper presents the results that were obtained by means of unsteady x-wire measurements upstream and downstream of Stator 2 and surface mounted hot-film measurements on the Stator 2 suction side. It was found that for the case when the Stator 1 wakes impinge close to the leading edge of Stator 2 the interaction between the Stator 1 and the rotor vortical structures takes place in proximity of the Stator 2 boundary layer, which leads to a shift of the transition point in the upstream direction. The major loss parameter concerning the Stator 2 aerodynamic performance could be attributed to the strength of the periodic fluctuations within the Stator 2 suction side boundary layer. A phase shift in the quasiwall shear stress signal in the front region of the Stator 2 vane was observed for different clocking positions.


Author(s):  
Birinchi K. Hazarika ◽  
Charles Hirsch

The variation of intermittency factors in the transition region of a C4 leading edge flat plate is measured at three incidence angles in a low turbulence free-stream. During the determination of intermittency factor the threshold value of the detector function and the validity of conditional averaging are verified by a method based on the direct application of PDF of the hot-wire output. As the angle of incidence is increased, the transition progressively moves through all the three modes on the suction surface : at zero incidence the bypass transition, at 2° incidence the natural transition and at 4° incidence the separated-flow transition occur respectively. All the three modes of transition exhibited the chord-wise intermittency factor variation in accordance with Narasimha’s universal intermittency distribution, thus the method based on spot production rate is applicable to all the three modes of transition. In the transition zone of the attached boundary layers, the conditionally averaged inter-turbulent profiles are fuller than the Blasius profile while the conditionally averaged turbulent profiles follow a logarithmic profile with a variable additive parameter.


Author(s):  
Elias L. Papanicolaou ◽  
Wolfgang Rodi

A model for predicting transition in flows with separation is presented in this study. The two-layer model of turbulence is employed, along with a suitably defined intermittency function, which takes appropriate values in the laminar-, transitional- and turbulent-flow regions. Correlations derived from measurements are used for this purpose. Two test cases were selected: the flow over a long horizontal body with semi-circular leading edge and the flow over the backward-facing step of small height (expansion ratio of 1:1.01). In the former, oncoming flows with a freestream turbulence level encountered in practical applications was considered (0.2%–5.6%), whereas in the latter the corresponding level was much lower. The Reynolds numbers, based on the diameter in the first case and on the step height in the second, lie in the range of 1600–6600, in which limited numerical investigations were previously available and where bubbles with laminar separation and turbulent reattachment are expected. The predictions were found to compare well with the corresponding measurements, both in terms of the lengths of the separation and the transition regions and of velocity and turbulence intensity profiles at various stream wise locations. The results show that, for the transition criterion chosen, in all cases transition is completed downstream of the reattachment point and that the rate at which it is completed increases with the freestream turbulence level.


Author(s):  
S. K. Roberts ◽  
M. I. Yaras

This paper presents measurements of the combined effects of free-stream turbulence and periodic streamwise velocity variations on separation-bubble transition. The measurements were performed on a flat plate at two values of flow Reynolds number, with a streamwise pressure distribution similar to those encountered on the suction side of axial turbine blades. The experiment was designed to facilitate independent control of turbulence and periodic velocity fluctuations in the free-stream. The free-stream turbulence intensity was varied from 0.4% to 4.5%, and the periodic unsteadiness corresponded to Strouhal numbers of 0.0, 2.4 and 4.0. Based on the results, the relative importance of free-stream turbulence and periodic unsteadiness on the streamwise locations of separation, transition and reattachment points are quantified. Existing mathematical models for predicting separated-flow transition and reattachment are then evaluated in this context.


1997 ◽  
Vol 333 ◽  
pp. 403-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. W. H. YEUNG ◽  
G. V. PARKINSON

An inviscid analytic model is proposed for the steady separated flow around an inclined flat plate. With the plate normal to the stream, the model reduces to the wake-source model of Parkinson & Jandali originally developed for flow external to a symmetrical two-dimensional bluff body and its wake. At any other inclination, the Kutta condition is satisfied at both leading and trailing edges of the plate, and, in the limit that the angle of attack approaches zero, classical airfoil theory is recovered. A boundary condition is formulated based on some experimental results of Abernathy, but no additional empirical information is required. The predicted pressure distributions on the wetted surface for a wide range of angle attack are found to be in good agreement with experimental data, especially at smaller angles of attack. An extension to include a leading-edge separation bubble is explored and results are satisfactory.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document