Flow in turbomachines is generally highly turbulent. Nonetheless, boundary layers may exhibit laminar-to-turbulent transition, and relaminarization of the turbulent flow may also occur. The state of flow of the boundary layer is important since it influences transport phenomena like skin friction and heat transfer. In this paper, relaminarization in accelerated flat-plate boundary-layer flows is experimentally investigated, measuring flow velocities with laser Doppler anemometry (LDA). Besides the mean values, statistical properties of the velocity fluctuations are discussed in order to understand the processes in relaminarization. It is shown that strong acceleration leads to a suppression of turbulence production. The velocity fluctuations in the accelerated boundary layer flow “freeze,” while the mean velocity increases, thus reducing the turbulence intensity. This leads to a laminar-like velocity profile close to the wall, resulting in a decrease of the local skin friction coefficient. Downstream from the section with enforced relaminarization, a rapid retransition to turbulent flow is observed. The findings of this work also describe the mechanism of retransition.
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August 2018
Research-Article
Experimental Investigation of Boundary Layer Relaminarization in Accelerated Flow
Pascal Bader,
Pascal Bader
Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
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Manuel Pschernig,
Manuel Pschernig
Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
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Wolfgang Sanz,
Wolfgang Sanz
Professor
Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
e-mail: wolfgang.sanz@tugraz.at
Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
e-mail: wolfgang.sanz@tugraz.at
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Jakob Woisetschläger,
Jakob Woisetschläger
Professor
Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
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Franz Heitmeir,
Franz Heitmeir
Professor
Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
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Walter Meile,
Walter Meile
Professor
Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
e-mail: walter.meile@tugraz.at
Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
e-mail: walter.meile@tugraz.at
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Günter Brenn
Günter Brenn
Professor
Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
e-mail: guenter.brenn@tugraz.at
Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
e-mail: guenter.brenn@tugraz.at
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Pascal Bader
Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
Manuel Pschernig
Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
Wolfgang Sanz
Professor
Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
e-mail: wolfgang.sanz@tugraz.at
Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
e-mail: wolfgang.sanz@tugraz.at
Jakob Woisetschläger
Professor
Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
Franz Heitmeir
Professor
Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and
Machine Dynamics,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
Walter Meile
Professor
Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
e-mail: walter.meile@tugraz.at
Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
e-mail: walter.meile@tugraz.at
Günter Brenn
Professor
Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
e-mail: guenter.brenn@tugraz.at
Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer,
Graz University of Technology,
Graz 8010, Austria
e-mail: guenter.brenn@tugraz.at
Contributed by the Fluids Engineering Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF FLUIDS ENGINEERING. Manuscript received June 27, 2017; final manuscript received December 11, 2017; published online March 29, 2018. Assoc. Editor: Daniel Maynes.
J. Fluids Eng. Aug 2018, 140(8): 081201 (15 pages)
Published Online: March 29, 2018
Article history
Received:
June 27, 2017
Revised:
December 11, 2017
Citation
Bader, P., Pschernig, M., Sanz, W., Woisetschläger, J., Heitmeir, F., Meile, W., and Brenn, G. (March 29, 2018). "Experimental Investigation of Boundary Layer Relaminarization in Accelerated Flow." ASME. J. Fluids Eng. August 2018; 140(8): 081201. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4039257
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