Self-preserving characteristics in wall-wake flow downstream of an isolated bedform

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - The results of an experimental study on the turbulence characteristics in flow over and downstream of an isolated bedform are presented. The vertical profiles of...     

Turbulence structure and coherent vortices in open-channel flows with wind-induced water waves

When wind-induced water waves appear over the free-surface flows such as natural rivers and artificial channels, large amounts of oxygen gas and heat are transported toward the river bed through the interface between water and wind layers. In contrast, a bed region is a kind of turbulent boundary layer, in which turbulence generation and its transport is promoted by the production of bed shear stress. In particular, coherent hairpin vortices, together with strong ejection events toward the outer part of the layer, promote mass and momentum exchanges between the inner and outer layers. It is inferred that such a near-bed turbulence may be influenced significantly by these air–water interfacial fluctuations accompanied with free-surface velocity shear and wind-induced water waves. However, these wind effects on the wall-turbulence structure are less understood. To address these exciting and challenging topics, we conducted particle imagery velocimetry (PIV) measurements in open-channel flows combined with air flows, and furthermore the present measured data allows us to investigate the effects of air–water interactions on turbulence structure through the whole depth region.     

Turbulence characteristics within sparse and dense canopies

Boundary layer interactions with canopies control various environmental processes. In the case of dense and homogeneous canopies, the so-called mixing layer analogy is most generally used. When the canopy becomes sparser, a transition occurs between the mixing layer and the boundary layer perturbed by interactions between element wakes. This transition has still to be fully understood and characterized. The experimental work presented here deals with the effect of the canopy density on the flow turbulence and involves an artificial canopy placed in a fully developed turbulent boundary layer. One and two-component velocity measurements are performed, both within and above the canopy. The influence of the spacing between canopy elements is studied. Longitudinal velocity statistical moments and Reynolds stresses are calculated and compared to literature data. For spacings greater than the canopy height, evidences of this transition are found in the evolution of the skewness factor, shear length scale and mixing length.     

Turbulence structure and fluid–particle interaction in sediment-laden flows over developing sand dunes

In this study, we conducted the fluid–particle simultaneous measurements in order to reveal the fluid–particle interaction mechanism in the developing stages of sand dunes. We measured the instantaneous velocities over the growing sand dunes by the use of both the discriminator particle-image velocimetory (D-PIV) and the discriminator particle-tracking velocimetory (D-PTV). In this D-PIV&PTV system, fluid tracers and sediment particles are discriminated accurately by their occupied particle sizes, and thus, the particle velocity U _p and fluid velocity U _f can be measured simultaneously. It was found from the present measurements that turbulence intensities in the trough area became larger after the generation of the reverse flow, i.e., U _f < 0. There are two kinds of coherent eddies behind dunes, i.e., one is convected along the shear layer behind dune and the other is lifted up from the reattachment point due to the kolk-boil vortex.     

Phosphorus release potential and pollution characteristics of sediment in downstream Nansi Lake, China

The research aimed to evaluate present and potential phosphorous pollution due to high sedimentary phosphorus load and release from sediment, when external phosphorus was reduced in downstream Nansi Lake. Pollution load of the sediment and overlying water was investigated. Kinetics and isotherms of adsorption/release of sedimentary phosphorus were studied to determine equilibrium phosphate concentration (EPC₀) and release potential. Kinetics of phosphorus adsorption on sediment and release from sediment were well described by both the pseudo-first-order rate equation and the pseudo-second-order rate equation, but more appropriate to the pseudo-second-order rate equation with the adsorption/release capacity more close to the measured values, suggesting that the processes were chemically rate controlled and dependent on adsorption capacity. Soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) sorption isotherms on sediment were best fitted by the modified Langmuir model indicating a monolayer adsorption. By comparing EPC₀ and SRP of water, the status (adsorption, releasing or in equilibrium) of sediment phosphorus could be determined. The sediments at site S1, S3, S4, S5, and S7 where the EPC₀s were greater than the SRPs, had a potential to release phosphorus into the water column. However, those sediments at S9, S10, and S12, where the EPC₀s were approximately equal to the SRPs, were in impermanent equilibrium with overlying water in status of phosphorus, the sediments can be likely to release phosphorus to the water column once the equilibrium was broken. Therefore, sedimentary phosphorus can be a secondary pollution source in downstream Nansi Lake.     

Flow structure and turbulence characteristics downstream of a spanwise suspended linear array

Laboratory experiments are conducted to quantify the mean flow structure and turbulence properties downstream of a spanwise suspended linear array in a uniform ambient water flow using Particle Tracking Velocimetry. Eighteen experimental scenarios, with four depth ratios (array depth to water column depth) of 0.35, 0.52, 0.78, and 0.95 and bulk Reynolds number (length scale is the array depth) from 11,600 to 68,170, are investigated. Three sub-layers form downstream of the array: (1) an internal wake zone, where the time-averaged velocity decreases with increasing distance downstream, (2) a shear layer which increases in vertical extent with increasing distance downstream of the array, and the rate of the increase is independent of the bulk Reynolds number or the depth ratio, and (3) an external wake layer with enhanced velocity under the array. The location of the shear layer is dependent on the depth ratio. The spatially averaged and normalized TKE of the wake has a short production region, followed by a decay region which is comparable to grid turbulence decay and is dependent on the depth ratio. The results suggest that the shear layer increases the transfer of horizontal momentum into the internal wake zone from the fluid outside of the array and that the turbulence in the internal wake zone can be modeled similarly to that of grid turbulence.     

Turbulence characteristics of a round offset jet with different offset ratios in a counterflow

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - A round jet entering a counterflow with different jet-to-current velocity ratios and different offset ratios was experimentally investigated using particle image...     

Hydrodynamic characteristics and related mass-transfer properties in open-channel flows with rectangular embayment zone

Consecutive groynes and embayments form dead water zones, where sedimentation and high concentrations of pollutants are often observed. It is thus very important to understand the mass and momentum exchange between the main channel and side cavities in rivers and hydraulic engineering structures. The spanwise gradient of the streamwise velocity near the junction produces small-scale turbulent vortices because of shear instability. Furthermore, large-scale horizontal circulation is also generated in the cavity zone. These coherent turbulent structures play a significant role in mass and sediment transfer at the boundary between the mainstream and embayment. However, the relation between turbulence and mass transfer is poorly understood. In this study, we performed particle image velocity and laser-induced fluorescence experiments using a laboratory flume, laser light sheets and a high-speed CMOS camera. We examined the exchange properties of a dye as a function of bed configuration and sedimentation effect. Both primary and secondary gyres were observed in the flat bed and downward-sloping bed, whereas the primary gyre was prevalent in the upward-sloping bed. Moreover, the horizontal circulation strongly affected the mass-transfer properties between the mainstream and side cavity.     

Turbulence closure models and their application in RAMS

Turbulence closures are fundamental for modelling the atmospheric diffusion in numerical codes and the resulting eddy diffusivities are key parameters in describing the transport and dispersion in the boundary layer. In this work, four turbulence closure schemes have been applied for reproducing a neutral flow over schematic complex terrain using the meteorological model RAMS. Two of the closures, a one-equation (E-l) and a two-equations (E-) model, have been implemented in RAMS in alternative to the ones originally available. In these cases, an analytical method based on the similarity theory for the atmospheric surface layer and boundary layer is adopted to calculate the empirical constants of the turbulence closures. Some examples of numerical studies performed to simulate the flow and turbulence over a 3-D hill in wind-tunnel experiment in neutral stratification are presented and discussed. An intercomparison of simulations related to different closures is considered by analysing the main features of the flow over the hill and by comparing calculated vertical profiles of turbulent kinetic energy with measured ones.     

Turbulence and turbulent flux events in a small estuary

Relatively little systematic research has been conducted on the turbulence characteristics of small estuaries. In the present study, detailed measurements were conducted in a small subtropical estuary with a focus on turbulent flux events. Acoustic Doppler velocimeters were installed in the mid-estuary at fixed locations and sampled simultaneously and continuously for 50 h. A turbulent flux event analysis was performed for the entire data sets extending the technique of Narasimha et al. (Phil Trans R Soc Ser A 365:841–858, 2007) to the unsteady open channel flow motion and to turbulent sub-events. Turbulent bursting events were defined in terms of the instantaneous turbulent flux. The data showed close results for all ADV units. The very-large majority of turbulent events lasted between 0.04 and 0.3 s with an average of 1 to 4 turbulent events observed per second. A number of turbulent bursting events consisted of consecutive turbulent sub-events, with between 1 and 3 sub-events per main event on average. For all ADV systems, the number of events, event duration and event amplitude showed some tidal trends, with basic differences between high- and low-water periods. A comparison between the present estuary data and the atmospheric boundary layer results of Narasimha et al. (Phil Trans R Soc Ser A 365:841–858, 2007) showed a number of similarities and demonstrated the significance of turbulent events in environmental flows. A burstiness index of 0.85 was found for the present data.     

Design and Testing of a Turbulence Probe for Harsh Flows

The force of wind on the ground created by turbulent eddies is commonly used to describe the horizontal flux of material during wind erosion. Here we present the Murdoch Turbulence Probe, an instrument for use in both clean and eroding flows which uses pressure differences to measure the three components of wind velocity. Correlation techniques calculate the forces near the ground and turbulence statistics in nearly real time, including turbulent velocity fluctuations from less than 0.1 Hz to 200 Hz, mean flow velocities, Reynolds stresses as well as the integral length and time scales. In the portable wind-tunnel used by Agriculture Western Australia, turbulence statistics were recorded over stable surfaces and in blowing sand from the initiation of erosion up to the time the sand supply was exhausted. Estimates of the friction velocity derived from the turbulence probe were compared with estimates obtained from the wind speed profile measured with a rake of pitot and static tubes. The Murdoch Turbulence Probe appears to work well in sandblasting conditions. Relative turbulence intensities ranged from 0.11 to 0.2 and are in close agreement with values in the literature. The ratio of the turbulence to the friction velocity (3 to 3.2) is at the high end of the reported range. The Reynolds stress measurements agree closely with predictions of the threshold friction velocities of the sand and estimates from the wind speed profile with a von Kármán constant of about 0.3, lower than the commonly accepted value of 0.4. We suggest that the wind-tunnel profile represents the `outer layer' of the boundary-layer that may best be described by a `Wake Law' or `Defect Law'. At about 54 mm above the surface, the friction velocity decreases from 0.64 m/s to 0.39 m/s and the mean velocity increases from 9.6 m/s to 11.6 m/s as the supply of sand is depleted. In addition to the friction velocity, other scales may be necessary to characterise the overriding effect of the wind and in extending wind-tunnel results to the field.     

Instabilities in non-rotating and rotating shallow shear flows

Numerical simulations for the wave radiation effect on the linear and nonlinear instabilities of rotating and non-rotating shallow flows are conducted using shallow-water equations. At a low convective Froude number, the results of the instabilities is a string of eddies. The coalescence between the neighbouring eddies decides the transverse mixing of the shallow shear flow. At a higher convective Froude number, the development of the shear flow is characterized by wave radiation and the production of shocklets. The radiation of waves in the non-rotating shallow flow is a phenomenon analogous to the radiation of sound in gas dynamics. In the rotating flow on the other hand, the shallow-flow instabilities are intensified due to rotational interference within a window of instability over a narrow range of Rossby numbers.     

Near-boundary velocity and turbulence in depth-varying stream flows

This research examined the temporal distribution of turbulent structure near a streambank toe through the progression of a flood wave in West Run (Morgantown, WV, USA). Three-dimensional velocities and water depths were measured through a 17-h flood event. Turbulence characteristics were examined: Reynolds stresses, turbulent kinetic energy, and turbulence intensities. On average, near-boundary velocity during the rising stage was less than the falling stage, likely due to the measurement location and local roughness. The velocity vectors shifted from towards bed before the flood wave to toward the streambank during progression of the flood wave. Turbulent kinetic energy increased with increasing water depth during the rising stage. Reynolds stress, τ_xz, increased with increasing water depth during the rising stage, but the majority of the stresses were negative through the storm event. Reynolds stress, τ_xy, was positive throughout the event and did not vary with depth. This work is among the first to evaluate turbulence during depth-varying flows in the field.     

Dynamics of Turbulence in Low-Speed Oscillating Bottom-Boundary Layers of Stratified Basins

This paper focuses on the impact of an oscillating low-speed current on the structure and dynamics of the bottom-boundary layer (BBL) in a small stratified basin. A set of high-resolution current profile measurements in combination with temperature-microstructure measurements were collected during a complete cycle of the internal oscillation (`seiching') in the BBL of Lake Alpnach, Switzerland. It was found that even a relatively long seiching period of 24 hours significantly changed the form of the near-bottom current profiles as well as the dynamics of the turbulent dissipation rate compared to the steady-state law-of-the-wall. A logarithmic fit to the measured current profiles starting at a distance of 0.5 m above the sediment led to inconsistent estimates of both friction velocity and roughness length. Moreover, a phase lag between the current and the turbulent dissipation of 1.5 hours and a persistent maximum in the current profile at a height of 2.5 to 3 m above the sediment were observed. The experimental findings were compared to the results of a k- turbulence model and showed good agreement in general. Specifically, the inconsistent logarithmic fitting results and the observed phase lag were reproduced well by the model.     

Preliminary Measurements of Turbulence and Environmental Parameters in a Sub-Tropical Estuary of Eastern Australia

In natural systems, mixing is driven by turbulence, but current knowledge is limited in estuarine zones where predictions of contaminant dispersion are often inaccurate. A series of detailed field studies was conducted in a small sub-tropical creek in eastern Australia. Hydrodynamic, physio-chemical and ecological measurements were conducted simultaneously to assess the complexity of the estuarine zone, notably the interactions between turbulence and environment. The measurements were typically performed at high frequency over a tidal cycle. The results provide an original data set to complement long-term monitoring and a basis for a more detailed study of mixing in sub-tropical systems. Unlike many long-term observations, velocity and water quality scalars were measured herein with sufficient spatial and temporal resolutions to determine quantities of interest in the study of turbulence, while ecological indicators were sampled systematically and simultaneously. In particular the results yielded contrasted outcomes, and the finding impacts on the selection process for key water quality indicators.     

Turbulence investigation in the roughness sub-layer of a near wall flow

The turbulence behaviour along a wall roughened by pyramidal elements was analysed in the region extending from the apex of the roughness elements up to the external limit of the roughness sub-layer. The data used for the analysis were obtained by particle image velocimetry technique. The rough wall turbulent boundary layer flow is characterized by a relatively low Reynolds number. All the results on the rough wall were compared with data referring to the canonical flow on a smooth wall turbulent boundary layer. Mean values and turbulence quantities for the two flows collapse when approaching the external limit of the roughness sublayer. The quadrant analysis of the Reynolds shear stress, in the region near the surface, shows that the contribution of the sweep motions is about equivalent for the two flows (except for wall distances lower than 40 viscous units). The contribution of the ejection motions appears to be more important over the smooth wall than over the rough wall with increasing differences approaching the wall. The probability density functions of the streamwise fluctuating velocity field for the rough wall case appear to be positively skewed in the zone very close to the pyramid apex, in contrast with the behavior observed for the smooth wall case at corresponding distances from the wall. The integral and Taylor scales for the rough wall case appear to be strongly reduced by the presence of the roughness, while the Kolmogorov microscale shows higher values.     

Turbulence and aeration in hydraulic jumps: free-surface fluctuation and integral turbulent scale measurements

In an open channel, a change from a supercritical to subcritical flow is a strong dissipative process called a hydraulic jump. Herein some new measurements of free-surface fluctuations of the impingement perimeter and integral turbulent time and length scales in the roller are presented with a focus on turbulence in hydraulic jumps with a marked roller. The observations highlighted the fluctuating nature of the impingement perimeter in terms of both longitudinal and transverse locations. The results showed further the close link between the production and detachment of large eddies in jump shear layer, and the longitudinal fluctuations of the jump toe. They highlighted the importance of the impingement perimeter as the origin of the developing shear layer and a source of vorticity. The air–water flow measurements emphasised the intense flow aeration. The turbulent velocity distributions presented a shape similar to a wall jet solution with a marked shear layer downstream of the impingement point. The integral turbulent length scale distributions exhibited a monotonic increase with increasing vertical elevation within 0.2 < L_z/d₁ < 0.8 in the shear layer, where L_z is the integral turbulent length scale and d₁ the inflow depth, while the integral turbulent time scales were about two orders of magnitude smaller than the period of impingement position longitudinal oscillations.     

Numerical and experimental studies of turbulence in vegetated open-channel flows

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - A numerical model based on the double-averaged (spatial and ensemble averaged) method has been developed to simulate vegetated free surface flows. The classical $$k...