DOI: 10.1615/ICHMT.2012.ProcSevIntSympTurbHeatTransfPal
ISBN Print: 978-1-56700-302-4
ISSN: 2377-2816
Turbulence, instabilities and heat transfer in rotating channel flow simulations
RESUMO
Direct numerical simulations of fully developed turbulent channel flow rotating about the spanwise direction are performed over a wide range of Reynolds numbers and rotation speeds. A scalar is also included to examine rotation effects on heat transfer. The Reynolds number based on the bulk mean velocity is up to 30 000, which is higher than in previous studies of rotating channel flow. The flow partly or completely relaminarizes on the stable channel side at sufficiently high rotation speeds, leading to distinct turbulent-laminar patterns in certain cases. Strong cyclic bursts of turbulence are observed at higher rotation speeds and sufficiently high Reynolds numbers. Further analysis showed that the burst are caused by plane spanwise waves with a rapidly growing amplitude, which become unstable after some time and break down into intense turbulence. Rotation strongly affects the direction of the turbulent scalar flux and significantly reduces the turbulent Prandtl number.