13 research outputs found
Generation of Large-Scale Vorticity in a Homogeneous Turbulence with a Mean Velocity Shear
An effect of a mean velocity shear on a turbulence and on the effective force
which is determined by the gradient of Reynolds stresses is studied. Generation
of a mean vorticity in a homogeneous incompressible turbulent flow with an
imposed mean velocity shear due to an excitation of a large-scale instability
is found. The instability is caused by a combined effect of the large-scale
shear motions (''skew-induced" deflection of equilibrium mean vorticity) and
''Reynolds stress-induced" generation of perturbations of mean vorticity.
Spatial characteristics, such as the minimum size of the growing perturbations
and the size of perturbations with the maximum growth rate, are determined.
This instability and the dynamics of the mean vorticity are associated with the
Prandtl's turbulent secondary flows. This instability is similar to the
mean-field magnetic dynamo instability. Astrophysical applications of the
obtained results are discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, REVTEX4, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Bottleneck effect in three-dimensional turbulence simulations
At numerical resolutions around and above, three-dimensional energy
spectra from turbulence simulations begin to show noticeably shallower spectra
than near the dissipation wavenumber (`bottleneck effect'). This
effect is shown to be significantly weaker in one-dimensional spectra such as
those obtained in wind tunnel turbulence. The difference can be understood in
terms of the transformation between one-dimensional and three-dimensional
energy spectra under the assumption that the turbulent velocity field is
isotropic. Transversal and longitudinal energy spectra are similar and can both
accurately be computed from the full three-dimensional spectra. Second-order
structure functions are less susceptible to the bottleneck effect and may be
better suited for inferring the scaling exponent from numerical simulation
data.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
Anomalous scaling of a passive scalar in the presence of strong anisotropy
Field theoretic renormalization group and the operator product expansion are
applied to a model of a passive scalar field, advected by the Gaussian strongly
anisotropic velocity field. Inertial-range anomalous scaling behavior is
established, and explicit asymptotic expressions for the n-th order structure
functions of scalar field are obtained; they are represented by superpositions
of power laws with nonuniversal (dependent on the anisotropy parameters)
anomalous exponents. In the limit of vanishing anisotropy, the exponents are
associated with tensor composite operators built of the scalar gradients, and
exhibit a kind of hierarchy related to the degree of anisotropy: the less is
the rank, the less is the dimension and, consequently, the more important is
the contribution to the inertial-range behavior. The leading terms of the even
(odd) structure functions are given by the scalar (vector) operators. For the
finite anisotropy, the exponents cannot be associated with individual operators
(which are essentially ``mixed'' in renormalization), but the aforementioned
hierarchy survives for all the cases studied. The second-order structure
function is studied in more detail using the renormalization group and
zero-mode techniques.Comment: REVTEX file with EPS figure
Formation of Large-Scale Semi-Organized Structures in Turbulent Convection
A new mean-field theory of turbulent convection is developed. This theory
predicts the convective wind instability in a shear-free turbulent convection
which causes formation of large-scale semi-organized fluid motions in the form
of cells or rolls. Spatial characteristics of these motions, such as the
minimum size of the growing perturbations and the size of perturbations with
the maximum growth rate, are determined. This study predicts also the existence
of the convective shear instability in a sheared turbulent convection which
results in generation of convective shear waves with a nonzero hydrodynamic
helicity. Increase of shear promotes excitation of the convective shear
instability. Applications of the obtained results to the atmospheric turbulent
convection and the laboratory experiments on turbulent convection are
discussed. This theory can be applied also for the describing a mesogranular
turbulent convection in astrophysics.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, REVTEX4, PHYSICAL REVIEW E, v. 67, in press
(2003
New System for the Acceleration of the Airflow in Wind Turbines
Background: This patent is based on the wind industry technology called Diffuser Augmented Wind Turbines (DAWTs). This technology consists of a horizontal axis wind turbine, which is housed inside a duct with diverging section in the direction of the free air stream. In this paper, a review of preceding patents related to this technology is carried out.
Objective: This paper presents an innovative patent to improve the performance of horizontal axis wind turbines. In particular, this system is aimed at improving the performance of those turbines that otherwise might not be installed due to the low wind resource existing at certain locations.
Methods: The most innovative elements of this patent are: (1) the semi-spherical grooves, which are mechanized on the surface of the two diffusers in order to guarantee a more energetic boundary layer; (2) the coaxial diffuser, which is located downwind following the first diffuser in order to increase the suction effect on the air mass close to the inlet; (3) the coaxial rings located around the first diffuser outlet, which are used to deflect the external airflow toward the turbine wake; and (4), the selforientating system to orientate the system by the prevailing wind direction.
Results: An application of the patent for increasing the power generated by a horizontal axis wind turbine with three blades is presented. The patent is designed and its performance is evaluated by using a Computational Fluid Dynamics code. The numerical results show that this system rises the airflow going through the rotor of the turbine.
Conclusion: The patented device is an original contribution aimed at enabling a more profitable installation of wind turbines in places where the wind resource is insufficient because of the wind shear caused both by the proximity of the earth and the obstacles on the earth surface.This work was supported by the OASIS Research Project that was cofinanced by CDTI (Spanish Science and Innovation Ministry) and developed with the Spanish companies: Iridium, OHL Concesiones, Abertis, Sice, Indra, Dragados, OHL, Geocisa, GMV, Asfaltos Augusta, Hidrofersa, Eipsa, PyG, CPS, AEC and Torre de Comares Arquitectos S.L and 16 research centres. The authors also acknowledge the partial funding with FEDER funds under the Research Project FC-15-GRUPIN14-004. Finally, we also thank Swanson Analysis Inc. for the use of ANSYS University Research programs as well as the Workbench simulation environment