Turbulence Intensity and Turbulent Kinetic Energy Parameters over a Heterogeneous Terrain of Loess Plateau

A deep understanding of turbulence structure is important for investigating the characteristics of the atmospheric boundary layer,especially over heterogeneous terrain.In the present study,turbulence intensity and turbulent kinetic energy（TKE）parameters are analyzed for different conditions with respect to stability,wind direction and wind speed over a valley region of the Loess Plateau of China during December 2003 and January 2004.The purpose of the study is to examine whether the observed turbulence intensity and TKE parameters satisfy Monin–Obukhov similarity theory（MOST）,and analyze the wind shear effect on,and thermal buoyancy function of,the TKE,despite the terrain heterogeneity.The results demonstrate that the normalized intensity of turbulence follows MOST for all stability in the horizontal and vertical directions,as well as the normalized TKE in the horizontal direction.The shear effect of the wind speed in the Loess Plateau region is strong in winter and could enhance turbulence for all stability conditions.During daytime,the buoyancy and shear effect together constitute the generation of TKE under unstable conditions.At night,the contribution of buoyancy to TKE is relatively small,and mechanical shearing is the main production form of turbulence.

Large eddy simulation of the rotation effect on the ocean turbulence kinetic energy budget in the surface mixed layer

A non-hydrostatic, Boussinesq, and three-dimensional large eddy simulation(LES) model was used to study the impact of the Earth's rotation on turbulence and the redistribution of energy in turbulence kinetic energy(TKE) budget. A set of numerical simulations was conducted,(1) with and without rotation,(2) at different latitudes(10°N, 30°N, 45°N, 60°N, and 80°N),(3) with wave breaking and with Langmuir circulation, and(4) under different wind speeds(5, 10, 20, and 30 m/s). The results show that eddy viscosity decreases when rotation is included, indicating that rotation weakens the turbulence strength. The TKE budget become tight with rotation and the effects of rotation grow with latitude. However, rotation become less important under Langmuir circulation since the transport term is strong in the vertical direction. Finally, simulations were conducted based on field data from the Boundary Layer and Air-Sea Transfer Low Wind(CBLAST-Low) experiment. The results, although more complex, are consistent with the results obtained from earlier simulations using ideal numerical conditions.

C haracteristics of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate and turbidity near the coast of East China Sea

The East China Sea(ECS) has a high suspended-sediment concentration because of the influence of the Changjiang River,indicated by high turbidity in the water.Considering the islands off the coast and the complex topography,and the strong influence of tides and wind,the coast off the ECS is a typical region with strong oceanic mixing processes.The changes in the dynamic processes near the bottom play an important role in the control of water turbidity.The turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate(ε) is a parameter that shows the strength of ocean mixing.This is estimated based on a structure method using current velocity that is measured by a high-frequency Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler(ADCP) from a seafloor observatory in the ECS.The results indicate strong ocean mixing processes with a mean e value of 5.7×10^(-5) W/kg and distinct tidal variations in the dissipation rate.Conversely,the variation of the water turbidity leads to changes in the water dynamical structure near the bottom.Comparing the dissipation rate with the turbidity near the bottom boundary layer,we find that the high turbidity mimics strong ocean mixing.

Estimation of Turbulent Kinetic Energy Dissipation Rate in the Bottom Boundary Layer of the Pearl River Estuary

A structure function approach is applied to estimate the turbulent kinetic energy （TKE） dissipation rate in the bottom boundary layer of the Pearl River Estuary （PRE）. Simultaneous measurements with an acoustic Doppler velocimeter （ADV） supplied independent data for the verification of the structure function method. The results show that, 1） the structure function approach is reliable and successfully applied method to estimate the TKE dissipation rate. The observed dissipation rates range between 8.3 ×10^-4 W/kg and 4.9× 10^-6 W/kg in YM01 and between 3.4×10^-4 W/kg and 4.8×10^-7 W/kg in YM03, respectively, while exhibiting a strong quarter-diurnal variation. 2） The balance between the shear production and viscous dissipation is better achieved in the straight river. This first-order balance is significantly broken in the estuary by non-shear production/dissipation due to wave-induced fluctuations.

Turbulent Kinetic Energy of Flow during Inhale and Exhale to Characterize the Severity of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patient

This paper aims to investigate and present the numerical investigation of airflow characteristics using Turbulent Kinetic Energy(TKE)to characterize the upper airway with obstructive sleep apnea(OSA)under inhale and exhale breathing conditions.The importance of TKE under both breathing conditions is that it showan accuratemethod in expressing the severity of flow in sleep disorder.Computational fluid dynamics simulate the upper airway’s airflow via steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes(RANS)with k–ωshear stress transport(SST)turbulencemodel.The three-dimensional(3D)airway model is created based on the CT scan images of an actual patient,meshed with 1.29 million elements using Materialise Interactive Medical Image Control System(MIMICS)and ANSYS software,respectively.High TKE were noticed around the region after the necking(smaller cross-sectional area)during the inhale and exhale breathing.The turbulent kinetic energy could be used as a valuablemeasure to identify the severity of OSA.This study is expected to provide a better understanding and clear visualization of the airflow characteristics during the inhale and exhale breathing in the upper airway of patients for medical practitioners in the OSA research field.

Wavelet spectrum analysis on energy transfer of multi-scale structures in wall turbulence

The streamwise velocity components at different vertical heights in wall turbulence were measured. Wavelet transform was used to study the turbulent energy spectra, indicating that the global spectrum results from the weighted average of Fourier spectrum based on wavelet scales. W＇avelet transform with more vanishing moments can express the declining of turbulent spectrum. The local wavelet spectrum shows that the physical phenomena such as deformation position in the boundary layer, and the or breakup of eddies are related to the vertical energy-containing eddies exist in a multi-scale form. Moreover, the size of these eddies increases with the measured points moving out of the wall. In the buffer region, the small scale energy-containing eddies with higher frequency are excited. In the outer region, the maximal energy is concentrated in the low-frequency large-scale eddies, and the frequency domain of energy-containing eddies becomes narrower.

Wave Attenuation and Turbulence Driven by Submerged Vegetation Under Current-Wave Flow

A set of laboratory experiments are carried out to investigate the effect of following/opposing currents on wave attenuation.Rigid vegetation canopies with aligned and staggered configurations were tested under the condition of various regular wave heights and current velocities,with the constant water depth being 0.60 m to create the desired submerged scenarios.Results show that the vegetation-induced wave dissipation is enhanced with the increasing incident wave height.A larger velocity magnititude leads to a greater wave height attenuation for both following and opposing current conditions.Moreover,there is a strong positive linear correlation between the damping coefficientβand the relative wave height H_(0)/h,especially for pure wave conditions.For the velocity profile,the distributions of U_(min)and U_(max)show different patterns under combined wave and current.The time-averaged turbulent kinetic energy(TKE)vary little under pure wave and U_(c)=±0.05 m/s conditions.With the increase of flow velocity amplitude,the time-averaged TKE shows a particularly pronounced increase trend at the top of the canopy.The vegetation drag coefficients are obtained by a calibration approach.The empirical relations of drag coefficient with Reynolds and Keulegane-Carpenter numbers are proposed to further understand the wave-current-vegetation interaction mechanism.

Analysis on the Interaction between Turbulence and Secondary Circulation of the Surface Layer at Jinta Oasis in Summer

The kinetic energy variations of mean flow and turbulence at three levels in the surface layer were calculated by using eddy covariance data from observations at Jinta oasis in 2005 summer. It is found that when the mean horizontal flow was stronger, the turbulent kinetic energy was increased at all levels, as well as the downward mean wind at the middle level. Since the mean vertical flow on the top and bottom were both negligible at that time, there was a secondary circulation with convergence in the upper half and divergence in the lower half of the column. After consideration of energy conversion, it was found that the interaction between turbulence and the secondary circulation caused the intensification of each other. The interaction reflected positive feedback between turbulence and the vertical shear of the mean flow. Turbulent sensible and latent heat flux anomaly were also analyzed. The results show that in both daytime and at night, when the surface layer turbulence was intensified as a result of strengthened mean flow, the sensible heat flux was decreased while the latent heat flux was increased. Both anomalous fluxes contributed to the cold island effect and the moisture island effect of the oasis.

Analysis of Turbulence Structure in the Stirred Tank with a Deep Hollow Blade Disc Turbine by Time-resolved PIV

The turbulence structure in the stirred tank with a deep hollow blade(semi-ellispe) disc turbine(HEDT) was investigated by using time-resolved particle image velocimetry(TRPIV) and traditional PIV.In the stirred tank,the turbulence generated by blade passage includes the periodic components and the random turbulent ones.Traditional PIV with angle-resolved measurement and TRPIV with wavelet analysis were both used to obtain the random turbulent kinetic energy as a comparison.The wavelet analysis method was successfully used in this work to separate the random turbulent kinetic energy.The distributions of the periodic kinetic energy and the random turbulent kinetic energy were obtained.In the impeller region,the averaged random turbulent kinetic energy was about 2.6 times of the averaged periodic one.The kinetic energies at different wavelet scales from a6 to d1 were also calculated and compared.TRPIV was used to record the sequence of instantaneous velocity in the impeller stream.The evolution of the impeller stream was observed clearly and the sequence of the vorticity field was also obtained for the identification of vortices.The slope of the energy spectrum was approximately-5/3 in high frequency representing the existence of inertial subrange and some isotropic properties in stirred tank.From the power spectral density(PSD) ,one peak existed evidently,which was located at f0(blade passage frequency) generated by the blade passage.

Rainfall effect on wind waves and the turbulence beneath air-sea interface

Rainfall effects on wind waves and turbulence are investigated through the laboratory experiments in a large wind-wave tank. It is found that the wind waves are damped as a whole at low wind speeds, but are enhanced at high wind speeds. This dual effect of rain on the wind waves increases with the increase of rain rate, while the influence of rainfall-area length is not observable. At the low wind speed, the corresponding turbulence in terms of the turbulent kinetic energy （TKE） dissipation rate is significantly enhanced by rain- fall as the waves are damped severely. At the high wind speed, the augment of the TKE dissipation rate is suppressed while the wind waves are enhanced simultaneously. In the field, however, rainfall usually hin- ders the development of waves. In order to explain this contradiction of rainfall effect on waves, a possibility about energy transfer from turbulence to waves in case of the spectral peak of waves overlapping the inertial subrange of turbulence is assumed. It can be applied to interpret the damping phenomenon of gas trans- fer velocity in the laboratory experiments, and the variation of the TKE dissipation rates near sea surface compared with the law of wall.

BURST EVENT DETECTION IN WALL TURBULENCE BY WVITA METHOD

Wavelet Variable Interval Time Average (WVITA) is introduced as a method incorporating burst event detection in wall turbulence. Wavelet transform is performed to unfold the longitudinal fluctuating velocity time series measured in the near wall region of a turbulent boundary layer using hot-film anemometer. This unfolding is both in time and in space simultaneously. The splitted kinetic of the longitudinal fluctuating velocity time series among different scales is obtained by integrating the square of wavelet coefficient modulus over temporal space. The time scale that related to burst events in wall turbulence passing through the fixed probe is ascertained by maximum criterion of the kinetic energy evolution across scales. Wavelet transformed localized variance of the fluctuating velocity time series at the maximum kinetic scale is put forward instead of localized short time average variance in Variable Interval Time Average (VITA) scheme. The burst event detection result shows that WVITA scheme can avoid erroneous judgement and solve the grouping problem more effectively which is caused by VITA scheme itself and can not be avoided by adjusting the threshold level or changing the short time average interval.

A new approach to quantifying vehicle induced turbulence for complex traffic scenarios

Traffic-related pollutants adversely affect air quality, especially in regions near major roadways. The vehicleinduced turbulence(VIT) is a significant factor that controls the initial dilution, dispersion, and ultimately the chemical and physical fate of pollutants by altering the conditions in the microenvironment. This study used a computational fluid dynamics(CFD) software FLUENT to model the vehicle-induced turbulence(VIT) generated on roadways, with a focus on impact of vehicle-vehicle interactions, traffic density and vehicle composition on turbulent kinetic energy(TKE). We show, for the first time, that the overall TKE from multiple vehicles traveling in series can be estimated by superimposing the TKE of each vehicle, without considering the distance between them while the distance is greater than one vehicle length. This finding is particularly significant since it enables a new approach to VIT simulations where the overall TKE is calculated as a function of number of vehicles. We found that the interactions between vehicles traveling next to each other in adjacent lanes are insignificant,regardless the directions of the traffic flow. Consequently, simulations of different traffic scenarios can be substantially simplified by treating two-way traffic as one-way traffic, with less than 5% difference in the overall volume-averaged TKE. We also developed equations that allow the estimation of the overall volume-averaged TKE as a function of the number and the type of vehicles.

PIV experiment and large eddy simulation of turbulence characteristics in a confined impinging jet reactor

Confined impinging jet reactor(CIJR) is a typical process intensification device used in the chemical industry.In this study, two dimensional Particle Image Velocimetry(PIV) and Large Eddy Simulation(LES) method were used to investigate the flow field in a CIJR with jets of diameter 3 mm under highly turbulent condition.The results showed LES can predict the velocity and Turbulence Kinetic Energy(TKE) distributions in the reactor well by comparing with the PIV results.In the CIJR, the stagnation point fluctuates with the turbulence, and its instantaneous position accords with the normal distribution.Three methods, including s–t representation, Lumley–Newman triangle and A–G representation, were used to compare the turbulence anisotropy in the mixing chamber.It was found that the anisotropy in the impinging area and at the edge of impinging jet was strong and the maximum deviation was up to 40%.The results from 2 DPIV would lead to an overestimation of the turbulent kinetic energy as much as 20% to 30% than the results from the three dimensional numerical simulation.

Research on blade tip clearance cavitation and turbulent kinetic energy characteristics of axial flow pump based on the partially-averaged Navier-Stokes model

To reveal the cavitation forms of tip leakage vortex(TLV)of the axial flow pump and the flow mechanism of the flow field,this research adopts the partially-averaged Navier-Stokes(PANS)model to simulate the cavitation values of an axial flow pump,followed by experimental validation.The experimental result shows that compared with the shear stress transport(SST)k-ωmodel,the PANS model significantly reduces the eddy viscosity of the flow field to make the vortex structure clearer and allow the turbulence scale to be more robustly analyzed.The cavitation area within the axial flow pump mainly comprises of TLV cavitation,clearance cavitation and tip leakage flows combined effect of triangular cloud cavitation formed.The formation and development of cavitation are accompanied by the formation and evolution of vortex,and variations in vortex structure also generate and promote the development of cavitation.In addition,an in-depth analysis of the relationship between the turbulent kinetic energy(TKE)transport equation and cavitation patterns was also conducted,finding that the regions with relatively high TKE are mainly distributed around gas/liquid boundaries with serious cavitation and evident gas-liquid change.This phenomenon is mainly attributed to the combined effect of the pressure action term,stress diffusion term and TKE production term.

Experimental Studies on Turbulence Kinetic Energy in Confined Vortex Flows

Turbulence kinetic energies in confined vortex flows have been studied. The studies were based on the experiments performed in a vortex chamber. In the experiments, a Laser Doppler Anemometry (LDA) was used to perform flow measurements inside the vortex chamber, which provided the data for the kinetic energy analysis. The studies concentrated on the influences of the contraction ratio and the inlet air flow rate on the kinetic energy, and analyzed the characteristics of the kinetic energy in the confined vortex flows, including the distributions of the tangential component, radial component and total turbulence kinetic energy. In the paper, both the experimental techniques and the experimental results were presented. Based on a similarity analysis and the experimental data, an empirical scaling formula was proposed so that the tangential component of the turbulence kinetic energy was dependent only on the parameter of the contraction ratio.

Flow patterns and dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy in near-wall turbulence

It is disclosed the flow patterns of turbulent flows in near wall region by means of topological analysis. It has found that there exists a close relationship between the topological characteristics and the spikes which are dominated by the strong normal velocity fluctuations near the wall. It is also shown that the dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy is closely related to the spike events.

Structures of convection and turbulent kinetic energy in boundary layer over the southeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau

Based on a comprehensive analysis on Sonic Anemometer and gradient data, wind profile radar(WPR) and GPS sounding data of March–August 2008 from the boundary layer(BL) tower observation system at Dali on the southeastern edge of Tibetan Plateau(TP), it is found that the strengths of turbulent kinetic energy(TKE), buoyancy term and shear term depend on vegetation cover in association with local stability and thermodynamic condition. Strong kinetic turbulence appears when near surface layer in neutral condition with the large contribution from shear term. In an unstable condition within near surface layer, the atmospheric turbulent motion is mainly thermal turbulence, as buoyancy term is obviously larger than shear term. Under a stable condition the intermittent turbulence is accompanied by weak shear and buoyancy term, and TKE is significantly less than neutral or instable condition. The study also presents that the buoyancy term contribution at Nyingchi station in the southern slopes of the TP large topography in spring is significantly larger than that at Dali over the southeastern TP edge, reflecting that the thermal turbulence makes an important contribution to convection activity in the southern slopes of TP. Dali station is located in complex terrain with mountain and valley leading to larger kinetic turbulence. From the perspective of interaction of turbulence-convection in different scales, the study revealed that the height of convective boundary layer(CBL) could reach up to 1500–2000 m. TKE, shear term, and buoyancy term in near surface layer have the notable correlations with BL height and local vertical motion. The daytime thermodynamic turbulence effect of heat flux and buoyancy term has an obvious impact on the height of CBL, whereas mechanical turbulence only exerts a less impact. Mechanical turbulence in near surface layer has a significant impact on vertical motion especially in the forenoon with impacting height of 2500–3000 m. The peaks in diurnal variations of shear term and buoyancy term correspond to the high instable periods, especially in summer forenoon. Our observation analysis characterized the convection activity triggered by TKE source and their interaction in the southeastern TP edge.

Spatial and spectral investigation of turbulent kinetic energy in cavitating flow generated by Clark-Y hydrofoil

In the present paper,the turbulent cavitating flow generated by a Clark-Y hydrofoil is investigated by large eddy simulation(LES)combined with Zwart-Gerber-Belamri(ZGB)cavitation model.In order to shed light on the influence of cavitation on turbulent energy distribution among scales,energy spectrum obtained from the three-dimensional velocity field is firstly applied to turbulent cavitating flow.Spatial and spectral distributions of turbulent kinetic energy are studied for both non-cavitating flow and cavitating flow.Cavitation is found to have a significant effect on the original turbulent flow by inducing more large-scale turbulent structures.The energy spectrum of cloud cavitating flow also experiences a periodic evolution as cavitation develops,and a large amount of turbulent kinetic energy is found to generate as the first shedding,cutoff and second shedding of cavities happen.

The cruise observation of turbulent mixing in the upwelling region east of Hainan Island in the summer of 2012

The turbulent mixing in the upwelling region east of Hainan Island in the South China Sea is analyzed based on in situ microstructure observations made in July 2012. During the observation, strong upwelling appears in the coastal waters, which are 3℃ cooler than the offshore waters and have a salinity 1.0 greater than that of the offshore waters. The magnitude of the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy ε in the upwelling region is O（10–9 W/kg）, which is comparable to the general oceanic dissipation. The inferred eddy diffusivity Kρ is O（10–6 m2/s）, which is one order of magnitude lower than that in the open ocean. The values are elevated to Kρ≈O（10–4 m2/s） near the boundaries. Weak mixing in the upwelling region is consistent with weak instability as a result of moderate shears versus strong stratifications by the joint influence of surface heating and upwelling of cold water.The validity of two fine-scale structure mixing parameterization models are tested by comparison with the observed dissipation rates. The results indicate that the model developed by Mac Kinnon and Gregg in 2003 provides relatively better estimates with magnitudes close to the observations. Mixing parameterization models need to be further improved in the coastal upwelling region.

Shear Flows in the Near-Turbulent Wake Region of High Speed Trains

Two flow cases for scaled high speed train models with different length are numerically analyzed in the framework of the improved delayed detachededdy simulation model.Specific attention is paid to the shear flows and related mechanisms in the near turbulent wake created by these moving models.In particular,a comparative analysis is made on the distributions of turbulent kinetic energy(TKE)and turbulence production(TP)in planes perpendicular to the streamwise direction.The numerical results suggest that,in the wake region very close to the tail,significant TKE and TP can be ascribed to the dynamic interaction between powerful eddies and strong shear,which explain why these quantities are sensitive to the shear strength.The shear flows are essentially governed by the boundary layers developing along the streamwise direction on the train surfaces,especially from the under-body region and the side walls.For other positions located in the downstream direction away from the tail,the interaction of vortices with the non-slip ground serves as a mechanism to promote transfer of energy from weak eddies to turbulence through the shear present in planes parallel to the ground.