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Kinematical studies of the flows around free or surface-mounted obstacles; applying topology to flow visualization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2006

J. C. R. Hunt ,
C. J. Abell ,
J. A. Peterka  and
H. Woo
J. C. R. Hunt
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, and Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge
C. J. Abell
Affiliation:
Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge Present address: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of South Australia, Adelaide.
J. A. Peterka
Affiliation:
Fluid Mechanics Program, Department of Civil Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
H. Woo
Affiliation:
Fluid Mechanics Program, Department of Civil Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
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Abstract

In flows around three-dimensional surface obstacles in laminar or turbulent streamsthere are a number of points where the shear stress or where two or more component,s of the mean velocity are zero. In the first part of this paper we summarize and extend the kinematical theory for the flow near these points, particularly by emphasizing the topological classification of these points as nodes or saddles. We show that the zero-shear-stress points on the surface and on the obstacle must be such that the sum of the nodes ΣN and the sum of the saddles Σs satisfy\[\Sigma_N -\Sigma_S = 0.\]If the obstacle has a hole through it, such as a passageway under a building,\[\Sigma_N -\Sigma_S =-2.\]If the surface is a junction between two pipes,\[\Sigma_N -\Sigma_S =-1.\]We also consider, in two-dimensional plane sections of the flow, the points where the components of the mean velocity parallel to the planes are zero, both in the flow and near surfaces cutting the sections. The latter points are half-nodes N′ or half-saddles S′. We find that\[(\Sigma_N +{\textstyle\frac{1}{2}}\Sigma_{N^{\prime}}-(\Sigma_{S^{\prime}}+{\textstyle\frac{1}{2}}\Sigma_{S^{\prime}}) = 1-n,\]where n is the connectivity of the section of the flow considered.

In the second part new flow-visualization studies of laminar and turbulent flows around cuboids and axisymmetric humps (i.e. model hills) are reported. A new method of obtaining a high resolution of the surface shear-stress lines was used. These studies show how enumerating the nodes and saddle points acts as a check on the inferred flow pattern.

Two specific conclusions drawn from these studies are that:

  1. for all the flows we observed, there are no closed surfaces of mean streamlines around the separated flows behind three-dimensional surface obstacles, which con-tradicts most of the previous suggestions for such flows (e.g. Halitsky 1968);

  2. the separation streamline on the centre-line of a three-dimensional bluff obstacle does not, in general, reattach to the surface.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 86 , Issue 1 , 15 May 1978 , pp. 179 - 200
Copyright
© 1978 Cambridge University Press

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