In this study, the unsteady behavior of necklace vortices formed in front of a square flat plate was experimentally investigated by flow visualization and PIV analysis by using a water channel. As a result, the necklace vortices started to oscillate when the Reynolds number increased beyond approximately 2000. Then, an amalgamation behavior of the necklace vortices took place when the Reynolds number increased beyond approximately 2650. Furthermore, in the same Reynolds number range, a breakaway behavior appeared when the relative height of the square plate was beyond approximately h/δ = 4.0. The features of the necklace vortices behaviors in the oscillation, amalgamation and breakaway states were explained by observing the time-series image of path lines and by analyzing the frequency of velocity fluctuation.
It is well known that the necklace vortex system is formed around a three-dimensional bluff body. Regarding the steady necklace vortex, a circular cylinder, a rectangular cylinder or a flat plate was mainly selected as a three-dimensional bluff body. The steady necklace vortex around a circular cylinder was experimentally studied by Baker [
In studies on the necklace vortex, various three-dimensional bluff body shapes have been used, as mentioned above. Among them, a thin plate can be regarded as a typical bluff body, because there is no reattachment to itself downstream of the separation on the plate edge. However, there are few reports on unsteady necklace vortices produced by the thin square flat plate, except the reports of Lin et al. Lin et al. did not distinguish between flat plates having different aspect ratios, w/h, in his experiment results. The necklace vortex produced by the thin square flat plate should be researched in more details, because it is thought to be the most basic shape among vertical thin plates.
Therefore, we focused on the unsteady necklace vortices produced in front of the thin square flat plate protrusion perpendicular to the ground wall on which the laminar boundary layer exists. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the influence of the Reynolds number Re and the reference laminar boundary layer thickness δ on the behavior of the unsteady necklace vortices produced by the thin square plate on the ground wall. On this account, flow visualization and PIV analysis were carried out while an unsteady necklace vortex state appeared in the Reynolds numbers between 2000 and 3250.
The unsteady necklace vortices were produced by the protrusion of a thin square plate with a thickness of 1.5 mm standing perpendicularly to the ground
wall on which the laminar boundary layer exists. The sizes h or w of the square plate and the blockage ratio are shown in
In the experimental procedure, fine nylon particles, with an average diameter of 50 μm (specific gravity about 1.03), were mixed in the water channel. The particle-images in the flow field were visualized by a metal-halide light irradiating from a slit of about 2 mm, and were successively taken by a digital camera (1280 × 1024 pixels) at a frame rate of 100 or 200 fps. Each path lines-image was created by mutually superposing 50 particle-images. The resolution of the pixel was set in the range of 0.07 to 0.09 mm/pixel.
The velocity profile upstream of the square plate protrusion was obtained by using a time-series PIV. The uncertainty of velocity measurement by PIV was estimated to be approximately 6.2%, by comparing the Blasius’ boundary layer velocity profile with the velocity profile measured by PIV at 320 mm position downstream from the front edge of the ground wall. On this account, the original boundary layer can be determined by the Blasius’ solution. Therefore, the reference laminar boundary layer thickness δ (=δ99) at the position assumed to stand the square plate was also obtained by the Blasius’ solution. The flow visualization and PIV analysis were carried out by varying the relative plate height h/δ between approximately 2.0 and 5.0, and by varying the Reynolds numbers Re ( = U0∙h/ν) between approximately 2000 and 3250.
When the Reynolds number was larger than approximately 2000, the waveform of velocity fluctuation became wavy and the turbulent intensity also increased in
Square plate (w = h) [mm] | 30 | 31 | 34 | 38 | 55 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blockage ratio [%] | 1.30 | 1.39 | 1.68 | 2.09 | 4.38 |
the vicinity of the necklace vortices. In addition, the dominant frequency appeared in FFT analysis of the velocity fluctuation. However, the necklace vortices were not always completely steady in Re < 2000, because the turbulent intensity in the vortex region increased gradually as the Reynolds number approached 2000. Therefore, the unsteady state in the necklace vortices may be induced by the turbulence inherent in the vortices.
Figures 5(a)-(l) shows the path lines-images in about one period in the
amalgamation behavior of the necklace vortices in the case of Re = 3020 and h/δ = 3.0. Blue, yellow and gray lines indicate the x-positions of each vortex center against the time of t = 0 s. The first vortex V1 clearly moved downstream in the time of t = 2 - 5 s and moved upstream in t = 6 - 8 s. The second vortex V2 lately started to move downstream beyond t = 4 s. After the third vortex V3 amalgamated the fourth vortex V4 in the time of t = 4 - 5 s, V3 lately started to move downstream together with V2. For that reason, V2 was enclosed in the narrow region between V1 and V3 in the time of t = 5.5 - 6.5 s. When V2 closely approached V1, a part of V2 was amalgamated by V1 in the time of t = 5.5 - 6 s. Successively, the remaining part of V2 was amalgamated by V3 in the time of t = 6.5 - 7 s. After V3 amalgamated the remaining part of V2, V3 and V4 moved downstream until the original positions of V2 and V3, respectively. They became newly V2 and V3 at the end time of period.
was fD = 0.11 Hz. The period is T = 9.1 s. The waveform at the positions P2 was distorted due to V2 being periodically amalgamated by V1 and V3, as mentioned above. On this account, the dominant frequency at the position P2 became fD = 0.11 and 0.22 Hz, which was equal with the dominant frequency fD at the position P3. The Strouhal number for these dominant frequencies were St = 0.11 and 0.23.
Figures 7(a)-(e) shows the path lines-images in about one period in the breakaway behavior of the necklace vortices in the case of Re = 3250 and h/δ = 5.0. Blue and yellow lines indicate the x-positions of each vortex center against the time of t = 11 s. The feature of breakaway behavior is that the second vortex V2 in the upstream position of the first vortex moves downstream with growing and amalgamates with the first vortex V1, as mentioned by Lin et al. The time-series path lines-images in
first vortex V1 was pushed downstream by the second vortex V2 coming downstream at first, and was amalgamated in the time of t = 13 s. Soon after that, the coming vortex V2 became a new first vortex V1 in approximately a time of t = 14 s in the upstream position of P1 line.
because the dominant frequency at the positions P1 and P2 were fD = 0.27 Hz (St = 0.29). The period is T = 3.7 s.
When the Reynolds number was smaller than 2000, the velocity measured in a slightly upper position on the first vortex V1 did not provide such wavy waveform and dominant frequency as shown in
In the Reynolds number investigated in this experiment, the unsteady necklace vortex was classified to the oscillation state, the amalgamation state and the breakaway state.
The amalgamation behavior started beyond Re = 2650. The transition boundary from the oscillation state to the amalgamation state depended on only the Reynolds number. In addition, the breakaway state appeared in about Re ≥ 3200 and h/δ ≥ 4.0. Therefore, only the breakaway state is dependent on the Reynolds number and the relative plate height.
The Strouhal number was calculated from the dominant frequency of the velocity waveform measured in a slightly upper position on the first vortex V1 against the various cases of Re and h/δ.
frequencies appeared in the amalgamation state, as mentioned in Session 3.2. The Strouhal number in the oscillation state was almost constant with each h/δ. Then, the Strouhal number was approximately St = 0.15 in the case of h/δ = 2.0, and approximately St = 0.19 in h/δ = 3.0. The first Strouhal number in the amalgamation state gradually increased from St = 0.15 with increasing the Reynolds number. The second Strouhal number was approximately half of the first Strouhal number. The Strouhal number in the breakaway state was larger than that in the amalgamation state.
In this study, the unsteady behavior of necklace vortices formed in front of a square flat plate protrusion was clarified based on the time-series image of path lines and the frequency analysis of velocity fluctuation. The following results were gained:
1) There exist three kinds of unsteady necklace vortices in the range of 2000 ≤ Re ≤ 3250, those are the oscillation state, the amalgamation state, and the breakaway state.
2) In the oscillation state, four clockwise necklace vortices (V1, V2, V3 and V4 vortices) periodically move downstream and upstream. The Strouhal number is almost constant against the Reynolds number with each h/δ. It is approximately St = 0.15 in the case of h/δ = 2.0.
3) In the amalgamation state, each vortex periodically moves, and amalgamates when adjacent vortices closely approach each other. Therefore, there are two kinds of dominant frequencies which correspond with the oscillation and amalgamation phenomena. The first Strouhal number gradually increases from St = 0.15. The second Strouhal number is approximately half of the first Strouhal number.
4) In the breakaway state, all vortices in the upstream position of the first vortex moves downstream with growing. Successively, the second vortex V2 amalgamates the first vortex V1, and replaces V1 as a new V1. The Strouhal number of the breakaway process would be larger than that of the amalgamation state.
5) The necklace vortex starts to oscillate when the Reynolds number increases beyond approximately 2000. Then, an amalgamation behavior takes place when the Reynolds number increases beyond approximately 2650. Furthermore, in the same Reynolds number range, a breakaway behavior appears when the relative height of the square plate is beyond approximately h/δ = 4.0.
Toda, K., Haraoka, T., Sadahiro, T. and Yamada, H. (2018) Unsteady Behavior of Necklace Vortex Produced by a Square Plate Protrusion. Open Journal of Fluid Dynamics, 8, 59-72. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojfd.2018.81005
(x, y, z): Cartesian coordinate system
h: Height of square flat plate [m]
δ: Reference laminar boundary layer thickness (=δ99) [m]
U0: Free stream velocity [m/s]
u: x-direction velocity component [m/s]
v: y-direction velocity component [m/s]
t: time [s]
T: One period in unsteady necklace vortex behavior
h/δ: Relative height of square plate
Re: Experimental Reynolds number
ν: Kinematic viscosity [m2/s]
St: Strouhal number (=f∙h/U0)
f: Frequency of velocity fluctuation [Hz]
fD: Dominant frequency [Hz]