Flat plate turbulent boundary layers disturbed by periodic moving wakes have been observed in an experimental rig mounted in a low speed wind tunnel. The wakes are produced periodically by cylinders traversing in front of the leading edge of a flat plate on which the boundary layers are measured. This is to simulate the unsteady flow pattern generated by upstream blades on the downstream blade boundary layer in an axial flow turbomachine. Both the time-averaged and ensemble-averaged data are taken from the free stream and boundary layer at different flow conditions. Free stream steady and unsteady wakes are compared and found to be similar to each other. The wake disturbance in the free stream is a function of time and distance from the cylinder. The periodic disturbance in the inner half of the boundary layer lags behind that in the free stream. This phase lag is due to the lower convection velocity near the solid surface. Similar to a steady wake, the velocity defect of an unsteady wake is higher in boundary layer than in free stream. This results in the maximum velocity defect amplitude in the inner half of the boundary layer. Phase lag and amplitude ratio profiles of the boundary layers are plotted and found to be similar to data obtained from axial flow turbomachines. Phase-averaged velocity and turbulence intensity profiles at different phase angles between two successive wakes are shown in a series of transparencies. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Mechanical Engineering, Department of / Graduate

Turbulent flows are encountered in nearly every case where fluid motion is involved. Turbulent flow in pipes is of great practical interest, and the problem of flow in the entry region is of special importance since the great majority of applications are in the realm of developing flow.

When entering into the subject of turbulent flow, it is essential to understand that the kind of flow with which we deal belongs to a particular class known as shear flow. These types of flow comprise flow fields in which relative velocities have been induced by shear stresses rather than by the action of pressure forces. In pipe flow, when the fluid enters through the well-rounded bell from a reservoir or from the calm open air, a uniform velocity distribution occurs at the pipe entrance. Immediately down stream from the entrance of the pipe, the flow is structured with a boundary layer near the wall, and is of uniform velocity profile in the central part. Due to the action of wall friction, the boundary layer grows thicker and thicker downstream. As the mass flux is constant throughout the pipe,’ the central stream must accelerate to compensate for this retardation of the flow near the wall. Finally, the boundary layer thickness reaches the value of pipe radius. The free stream, therefore, disappears from the central part of the pipe. Furthermore, Barbin and Jones (1)* pointed out that following the disappearance of the free stream, further changes in the velocity profile and turbulence structure occur before a fully developed condition is reached* The flow in the inlet region of a pipe is, therefore, a transition from a boundary layer type flow at the entrance to a fully developed flow downstream. The change of the free stream velocity in the entry region causes a greater reduction of the static pressure than that in the fully developed region.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Meteorology, 1968. / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 109-117. / by Rory Thompson. / Ph.D.

The research on transition in supersonic and hypersonic boundary layers has been reinvigorated in the last decades because of the increased interest in high-speed flight. The receptivity to environmental disturbances of high-speed boundary layers developing over flat plates or curved surfaces is a very important problem because the transition process is directly impacted by it. The main objective of the research is to determine the effect of small steps on laminar high-speed boundary-layers that are excited by freestream disturbances in the form of vorticity and acoustic waves. Both supesonic and hypersonic regimes are analyzed using a high-order compressible Navier-Stokes numerical algorithm. It is found that both the backward and the forward steps are capable of stabilizing the disturbances that propagate inside the boundary layer. This will potentially delay the formation of three-dimensional disturbances that are precursors to transition into turbulence.

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Coherent vortices are generated in flow fields due to flow interaction with sharp solid surfaces. Such vortices generate significant disturbances in the flow and affect its further development. In this dissertation attention is focused on the interaction of vortices with solid or free liquid/air surfaces. We examine vortices with their axis parallel or normal to the surface. Three main cases were examined: the interaction of a vortex pair propagating towards a solid boundary, the interaction of spanwise vortices in a turbulent boundary layer, and finally the interaction of spanwise vortices with a flat-plate wake and a free liquid surface. These problems hold significance in several engineering applications, including investigations into trailing wing tip vortices and their interaction with the ground, vortical effects on the development of turbulent boundary layers and free surface signatures and their detection in ship/submarine wakes. Data are acquired with a laser Doppler velocimetry system (LDV) and with Particle-Image Velocimetry (PIV), using a high-speed digital video camera. The LDV system measures two components of velocity along appropriately chosen planes. Grids of data were acquired for different pitch rates of a disturbing flap that generates vortices. Phase-averaged vorticity and turbulence level contours are estimated and presented. It is found that vortices with diameter the order of the boundary layer quickly diffuse and disappear while their turbulent kinetic energy spreads uniformly across the entire boundary layer. Larger vortices have a considerably longer life span and in turn feed more vorticity into the boundary layer. Trailing edge vortices are generated in a water tunnel by sharp hinged motions of a flap. These vortices are allowed to reconnect with the free surface and mix with a turbulent free shear layer. The flow is conditionally sampled via frame grabbing of free surface shadowgraphs. It is found that the vortex core bends away from the plane of the shear layer. Moreover, contrary to earlier findings, organized velocity fluctuations decrease as the free surface is approached. / Ph. D.

The subharmonic instability in two-dimensional boundary layer on a flat plate is analyzed using the parametric instability model and the resonant triad model. The problems arising from both models are solved numerically using the shooting technique and results are presented. It is found that in the presence of a strong interaction (e.g., large amplitude of the two-dimensional wave), results from the resonant triad model are inaccurate as compared with the experimental data and the t results from the parametric instability model. This is mainly because the resonant triad model is a weakly nonlinear model, and it does not account for the modification of the eigenfunctions of the interacting waves which really takes place as we find out from the experiments. The parametric instability model is a powerful model, despite all the assumptions included. The model, however, does not introduce a clear understanding of how the subharmonic mode originates from the three-dimensional Tollmien-Schlichting modes. For a weak interaction results from the resonant triad model and the parametric instability model get close to each other. / Master of Science

The Reynolds stresses in a three-dimensional turbulent boundary layer were examined using octant analysis. The representative flow was a pressure driven, three-dimensional turbulent boundary layer on the leeside (x/L=0.76-0.78, φ=105°-130°) of a 6:1 prolate spheroid at 10° angle of attack. The Reynolds number for the flow was Re_L=4.2x10⁺⁶. The LDV data of Chesnakas, Simpson, and Madden (1994) were the basis of examination. This data set employed a post-processing technique for refining the radial location of the measurements. A least-squares fit of the Spalding wall law was used to both correct the measurement locations and estimate the wall shear stress. This paper presents a previously unpublished assessment of the technique. Octant analysis was performed on the corrected data under free-stream and wall-collateral coordinates. (The wall-collateral coordinate system is aligned with the mean tangential velocity in the buffer-layer.) The octant analysis led to the development of a structural model that extends the sweep/ejection process to three dimensions. Ejections and sweeps produce w' through the same mechanism that produces u'; they transport fluid across a spanwise velocity gradient. The model's results remain consistent with coordinate rotation. The model also describes the asymmetries that evolve between ejections and sweeps with spanwise fluctuations (w') of opposite sign. These asymmetries cause non-zero u'w' and v'w' in the buffer layer. Comparison of the two coordinate systems reveals that wall-collateral coordinates provides a simpler foundation for octant analysis. The sweep and ejection octants maintain a nearly equal distribution of velocity events throughout the buffer and lower log layers. Also, the spanwise velocity profile monotonically decreases to a constant value at the boundary layer edge, simplifying application of the sweep/ejection model to spanwise fluctuations. Comparison with other 3DTBL experiments suggests that the wall-collateral coordinates are more closely aligned with the quasi-streamwise vortex structures than free-stream coordinates. The octant analysis also reveals structural behavior consistent with the four mechanisms revealed by the direct numerical simulation of Sendstad and Moin (1992). / Master of Science