Effects of sawtooth heat pulses on edge flows and turbulence in a tokamak plasma

Enhancements of edge zonal flows,radial electric fields,and turbulence are observed in electron cyclotron resonance heating-heated plasmas(Zhao et al 2013 Nucl.Fusion 53083011).In this paper,the effects of sawtooth heat pulses on flows and turbulence are presented.These experiments are performed using multiple Langmuir probe arrays in the edge plasmas of the HL-2A tokamak.The edge zonal flows,radial electric fields,and turbulence are all enhanced by sawteeth.Propagation of the zonal flow and turbulence intensities is also observed.The delay time of the maximal intensity of the electric fields,zonal flows,and turbulence with respect to the sawtooth crashes is estimated as~1 ms and comparable to that of the sawtooth-triggered intermediate phases.Not only the zonal flows but also the radial electric fields lag behind the turbulence.Furthermore,the intensities of both the zonal flows and electric fields nearly linearly increase/decrease with the increase/decrease of the turbulence intensity.A double-source predator-prey model analysis suggests that a relatively strong turbulence source may contribute to the dominant zonal flow formation during sawtooth cycles.

Stochastic Analysis and Modeling of Velocity Observations in Turbulent Flows

Highly turbulent water flows,often encountered near human constructions like bridge piers,spillways,and weirs,display intricate dynamics characterized by the formation of eddies and vortices.These formations,varying in sizes and lifespans,significantly influence the distribution of fluid velocities within the flow.Subsequently,the rapid velocity fluctuations in highly turbulent flows lead to elevated shear and normal stress levels.For this reason,to meticulously study these dynamics,more often than not,physical modeling is employed for studying the impact of turbulent flows on the stability and longevity of nearby structures.Despite the effectiveness of physical modeling,various monitoring challenges arise,including flow disruption,the necessity for concurrent gauging at multiple locations,and the duration of measurements.Addressing these challenges,image velocimetry emerges as an ideal method in fluid mechanics,particularly for studying turbulent flows.To account for measurement duration,a probabilistic approach utilizing a probability density function(PDF)is suggested to mitigate uncertainty in estimated average and maximum values.However,it becomes evident that deriving the PDF is not straightforward for all turbulence-induced stresses.In response,this study proposes a novel approach by combining image velocimetry with a stochastic model to provide a generic yet accurate description of flow dynamics in such applications.This integration enables an approach based on the probability of failure,facilitating a more comprehensive analysis of turbulent flows.Such an approach is essential for estimating both short-and long-term stresses on hydraulic constructions under assessment.

Turbulence,aeration and bubble features of air-water flows in macro-and intermediate roughness conditions

Free surface flows aeration potential causing the in macro- and intermediate flow characteristics to vary roughness conditions have a high with slopes and discharges. The underlying mechanism of two-phase flow characteristics in macro- and intermediate roughness conditions were analyzed in an experimental setup assembled at the Laboratory of Hydraulic Protection of the Territory （PITLAB） of the University of Pisa, Italy. Crushed angular rocks and hemispherical boulders were used to intensify the roughness of the bed. Flow rates per unit width ranging between 0.03 m^2/s and 0.09 m^2/s and slopes between 0.26 and 0.46 were tested over different arrangements of a rough bed. Analyses were mainly carried out in the inner flow region, which consists of both bubbly and intermediate flow regions. The findings revealed that the two-phase flow properties over the rough bed were much affected by rough bed arrangements. Turbulence features of two-phase flows over the rough bed were compared with those of the stepped chute data under similar flow conditions. Overall, the results highlight the flow features in the inner layers of the two-phase flow, showing that the maximum turbulence intensity decreases with the relative submergence, while the bubble frequency distribution is affected by the rough bed elements.

On the capability of the curvilinear immersed boundary method in predicting near-wall turbulence of turbulent channel flows

The immersed boundary method has been widely used for simulating flows over complex geometries.However,its accuracy in predicting the statistics of near-wall turbulence has not been fully tested.In this work,we evaluate the capability of the curvilinear immersed boundary(CURVIB)method in predicting near-wall velocity and pressure fluctuations in turbulent channel flows.Simulation results show that quantities including the time-averaged streamwise velocity,the rms(root-mean-square)of velocity fluctuations,the rms of vorticity fluctuations,the shear stresses,and the correlation coefficients of u'and v"computed from the CURVIB simulations are in good agreement with those from the body-fitted simulations.More importantly,it is found that the time-averaged pressure,the rms and wavenumber-frequency spectra of pressure fluctuations computed using the CURVIB method agree well with the body-fitted results.

A dual-scale turbulence model for gas–liquid bubbly flows

A dual-scale turbulence model is applied to simulate cocurrent upward gas-liquid bubbly flows and validated with available experimental data. In the model, liquid phase turbulence is split into shear-induced and bubble- induced turbulence. Single-phase standard k-e model is used to compute shear-induced turbulence and another transport equation is added to model bubble-induced turbulence. In the latter transport equation, energy loss due to interface drag is the production term, and the characteristic length of bubble-induced turbulence, simply the bubble diameter in this work, is introduced to model the dissipation term. The simulated results agree well with experimental data of the test cases and it is demonstrated that the proposed dual-scale turbulence model outperforms other models. Analysis of the predicted turbulence shows that the main part of turbulent kinetic en- ergy is the bubble-induced one while the shear-induced turbulent viscosity predominates within turbulent vis- cosity, especially at the pipe center. The underlying reason is the apparently different scales for the two kinds of turbulence production mechanisms： the shear-induced turbulence is on the scale of the whole pipe while the bubble-induced turbulence is on the scale of bubble diameter. Therefore, the model reflects the multi-scale phe- nomenon involved in gas-liquid bubbly flows.

Direct numerical simulation of compressible turbulent flows

This paper reviews the authors＇ recent studies on compressible turbulence by using direct numerical simulation （DNS）,including DNS of isotropic（decaying） turbulence, turbulent mixing-layer,turbulent boundary-layer and shock/boundary-layer interaction.Turbulence statistics, compressibility effects,turbulent kinetic energy budget and coherent structures are studied based on the DNS data.The mechanism of sound source in turbulent flows is also analyzed. It shows that DNS is a powerful tool for the mechanistic study of compressible turbulence.

An improved large eddy simulation of two-phase flows in a pump impeller

An improved large eddy simulation using a dynamic second-order sub-grid-scale （SGS） stress model has been developed to model the governing equations of dense turbulent particle-liquid two-phase flows in a rotating coordinate system, and continuity is conserved by a mass-weighted method to solve the filtered governing equations. In the cur- rent second-order SGS model, the SGS stress is a function of both the resolved strain-rate and rotation-rate tensors, and the model parameters are obtained from the dimensional consistency and the invariants of the strain-rate and the rotation-rate tensors. In the numerical calculation, the finite volume method is used to discretize the governing equations with a staggered grid system. The SIMPLEC algorithm is applied for the solution of the discretized governing equations. Body- fitted coordinates are used to simulate the two-phase flows in complex geometries. Finally the second-order dynamic SGS model is successfully applied to simulate the dense turbu-lent particle-liquid two-phase flows in a centrifugal impeller. The predicted pressure and velocity distributions are in good agreement with experimental results.

Numerical simulation of a combined oxidation ditch flow using 3D k-ε turbulence model

The standard three dimensional（3D） k-ε turbulence model was applied to simulate the flow field of a small scale combined oxidation ditch. The moving mesh approach was used to model the rotor of the ditch. Comparison of the computed and the measured data is acceptable. A vertical reverse flow zone in the ditch was found, and it played a very important role in the ditch flow behavior. The flow pattern in the ditch is discussed in detail, and approaches are suggested to improve the hydrodynamic performance in the ditch.

Advances in Studies on Turbulent Dispersed Multiphase Flows

Dispersed multiphase flows,including gas-particle(gas-solid),gas-spray,liquid-particle(liquid-solid) ,liquid-bubble,and bubble-liquid-particle flows,are widely encountered in power,chemical and metallurgical,aeronautical and astronautical,transportation,hydraulic and nuclear engineering. In this paper,advances and re-search needs in fundamental studies of dispersed multiphase flows,including the particle/droplet/bubble dynamics,particle-particle,droplet-droplet and bubble-bubble interactions,gas-particle and bubble-liquid turbulence interac-tions,particle-wall interaction,numerical simulation of dispersed multiphase flows,including Reynolds-averaged modeling(RANS modeling),large-eddy simulation(LES) and direct numerical simulation(DNS) are reviewed. The research results obtained by the present author are also included in this review.

LES prediction of space-time correlations in turbulent shear flows

We compare the space-time correlations calculated from direct numerical simulation （DNS） and large-eddy simulation （LES） of turbulent channel flows. It is found from the comparisons that the LES with an eddy-viscosity subgrid scale （SGS） model over-predicts the space-time corre- lations than the DNS. The overpredictions are further quantified by the integral scales of directional correlations and convection velocities. A physical argument for the overpre- diction is provided that the eddy-viscosity SGS model alone does not includes the backscatter effects although it correctly represents the energy dissipations of SGS motions. This argument is confirmed by the recently developed elliptic model for space-time correlations in turbulent shear flows. It suggests that enstrophy is crucial to the LES prediction of spacetime correlations. The random forcing models and stochastic SGS models are proposed to overcome the overpredictions on space-time correlations.

Experimental investigation of turbulent flows around high-rise structure foundations and implications on scour

Many studies have been undertaken to predict local scour around offshore high-rise structure foundations(HRSFs),which have been used in constructing the Donghai Wind Farm in China.However,there have been few works on the turbulent flow that drives the scour process.In this study,the characteristics of the turbulent flow fields around an HRSF were investigated using the particle image velocimetry technique.The mean flow,vorticity,and turbulence intensity were analyzed in detail.The relationship between the flow feature and scour development around an HRSF was elaborated.The results showed that the flow velocity increased to its maximum value near the third row of the pile group.The shear layer and wake vortices could not be fully developed downstream of the last row of the piles at small Reynolds numbers.The strong flow and turbulent fluctuation near the third piles explained the existence of a longtail scour pattern starting from the HRSF shoulders and a trapezoidal deposition region directly downstream of HRSF.This laboratory experiment gains insight into the mechanism of the turbulent flow around HRSFs and provides a rare dataset for numerical model verifications.

IMPROVED SUBGRID SCALE MODEL FOR DENSE TURBULENT SOLID-LIQUID TWO-PHASE FLOWS

The dense solid-phase governing equations for two-phase flows are obtained by using the kinetic theory of gas molecules.Assuming that the solid-phase velocity distributions obey the Maxwell equations,the collision term for particles under dense two-phase flow conditions is also derived. In comparison with the governing equations of a dilute two-phase flow,the solid-particle's governing equations are developed for a dense turbulent solid-liquid flow by adopting some relevant terms from the dilute two-phase governing equations.Based on Cauchy-Helmholtz theorem and Smagorinsky model, a second-order dynamic sub-grid-scale(SGS)model,in which the sub-grid-scale stress is a function of both the strain-rate tensor and the rotation-rate tensor,is proposed to model the two-phase governing equations by applying dimension analyses.Applying the SIMPLEC algorithm and staggering grid system to the two-phase discretized governing equations and employing the slip boundary conditions on the walls,the velocity and pressure fields,and the volumetric concentration are calculated.The simulation results are in a fairly good agreement with experimental data in two operating cases in a conduit with a rectangular cross-section and these comparisons imply that these models are practical.

ON BASIC EQUATIONS OF TURBULENT SWIRLING GAS-SOLID FLOWS AND THEIR APPLICATION IN CYCLONES

The basic equations of turbulent gas-solid flows are derived by using the pseudo-fluid model of particle phase with a refined two-phase turbulence model.These equations are then applied to swirling gas-particle flows for analyzing the collection efficiency in cyclone separators.

Basic Laws in Mechanics of Turbulent Flows

Turbulent flow is a basic form of fluid motion widely observed in nature. In hydraulic engineering, especially in the study of sediment movement, turbulence is a key problem. In this paper, based on the stochastic theory of wall turbulence developed by the author and the results by other investigators, fluc-tuation and mean structures and drag coefficient for Newtonian and drag reduction flows in all states (laminar, transitional, turbulent) and in all regions (smooth, transitional, rough) are theoretically discussed in detail. General laws for laminar and turbulent flows obtained by the author are verified by the experimental results obtained by others, and there is good agreement between them.

Numerical simulation of three-dimensional combustion flows

A finite-rate method is used to simulate the three-dimensional combustion process in a plasma generator with CH4 as the fuel. The simulation was run with RNG k-ε model to simulate turbulence, with eddy-dissipation-concept (EDC) model to simulate the combustion and with discrete ordinates model to simulate radiation. The numerical results show that the flow field characteristics and the parameter distributions are under the condition of rich fuels, and these results provide valuable information when optimizing the plasma generator design and organizing its flow fields.

NUMERICAL STUDY OF TURBULENT FLOWS OVER WAVY BOUNDARIES

The fully developed túrbulent flows over wavy boundaries are investigated by means of the k-ε model.Predicted flow characteristics over rigid wavy walls are in good agreement with the availa- ble experimental data.Moreover drag reduction has been found in a 2-dimensional channel with periodi- cal wavy walls.The energy input from turbulent wind to regular waves is also studied in the paper by the same turbulence model with carefully posed boundary conditions at wind-wave interface.Better agreement has been obtained in the prediction of the growth rates of wind waves as compared with the previous theoretical and numerical results.

Rotational dynamics of bottom-heavy rods in turbulence from experiments and numerical simulations

We successfully perform the three-dimensional tracking in a turbulent fluid flow of small axisymmetrical particles that are neutrally-buoyant and bottom-heavy,i.e.,they have a non-homogeneous mass distribu-tion along their symmetry axis.We experimentally show how a tiny mass inhomogeneity can affect the particle orientation along the preferred vertical direction and modify its tumbling rate.The experiment is complemented by a series of simulations based on realistic Navier-Stokes turbulence and on a point-like particle model that is capable to explore the full range of parameter space characterized by the gravi-tational torque stability number and by the particle aspect ratio.We propose a theoretical perturbative prediction valid in the high bottom-heaviness regime that agrees well with the observed preferential ori-entation and tumbling rate of the particles.We also show that the heavy-tail shape of the probability distribution function of the tumbling rate is weakly affected by the bottom-heaviness of the particles.

Direct numerical simulation study of the interaction between the polymer effect and velocity gradient tensor in decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence

Direct numerical simulation of decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence （DHIT） of a polymer solution is performed. In order to understand the polymer effect on turbulence or additive-turbulence interaction, we directly investigate the influence of polymers on velocity gradient tensor including vorticity and strain. By visualizing vortex tubes and sheets, we observe a remarkable inhibition of vortex structures in an intermediate-scale field and a small-scale field but not for a large scale field in DHIT with polymers. The geometric study indicates a strong relevance among the vorticity vector, rate-of-strain tensor, and polymer conformation tensor. Joint probability density functions show that the polymer effect can increase ＂strain generation resistance＂ and ＂vorticity generation resistance＂, i.e., inhibit the generation of vortex sheets and tubes, ultimately leading to turbulence inhibition effects.

Lattice Boltzmann simulations of high-order statistics in isotropic turbulent flows

The lattice Boltzmann method （LBM） is coupled with the multiple-relaxation- time （MRT） collision model and the three-dimensional 19-discrete-velocity （D3Q19） model to resolve intermittent behaviors on small scales in isotropic turbulent flows. The high- order scaling exponents of the velocity structure functions, the probability distribution functions of Lagrangian accelerations, and the local energy dissipation rates are investi- gated. The self-similarity of the space-time velocity structure functions is explored using the extended self-similarity （ESS） method, which was originally developed for velocity spatial structure functions. The scaling exponents of spatial structure functions at up to ten orders are consistent with the experimental measurements and theoretical results, implying that the LBM can accurately resolve the intermittent behaviors. This valida~ tion provides a solid basis for using the LBM to study more complex processes that are sensitive to small scales in turbulent flows, such as the relative dispersion of pollutants and mesoscale structures of preferential concentration of heavy particles suspended in turbulent flows.

Turbulence modulation model for gas–particle flow based on probability density function approach

he paper focuses on the turbulence modulation problem in gas–particle flow with the use of probability density function（PDF） approach. By means of the PDF method, a general statistical moment turbulence modulation model without considering the trajectory difference between two phases is derived from the Navier–Stokes equations. A new turbulence production term induced by the dispersed-phase is analyzed and considered. Furthermore, the trajectory difference between two media is taken into account. Subsequently, a new k–ε turbulence modulation model in dilute particle-laden flow is successfully set up. Then, the changes to several terms, including the turbulence production, dissipation, and diffusion terms, are well described consequently. The promoted model provides a more probable explanation for the modification of particles on the turbulence. Finally, we applied the model to simulate a gas–particle turbulence flow case in a wall jet, and found that the simulation results agree well with the experimental data.