Comparison of very-large-scale motions of turbulent pipe and boundary layer simulations

Abstract

A direct numerical simulation of a fully developed turbulent pipe flow was performed to investigate the similarities and differences of very-large-scale motions (VLSMs) to those of turbulent boundary layer (TBL) flows. The Reynolds number was set to ReD = 35 000, and the computational domain was 30 pipe radii in length. Inspection of instantaneous fields, streamwise two-point correlations, and population trends of the momentum regions showed that the streamwise length of the structures in the pipe flow grew continuously beyond the log layer (y/δ < 0.3-0.4) with a large population of long structures (>3δ), and the maximum length of the VLSMs increased up to ~30δ. Such differences between the TBL and pipe flows arose due to the entrainment of large plumes of the intermittent potential flow in the TBL, creating break-down of the streamwise coherence of the structures above the log layer with the strong swirling strength and Reynolds shear stress. The average streamwise length scale of the pipe flow was approximately 1.5-3.0 times larger than that of the TBL through the log and wake regions. The maximum contribution of the structures to the Reynolds shear stress was observed at approximately 6δ in length, whereas that of the TBL was at 1δ-2δ, indicating a higher contribution of the VLSMs to the Reynolds shear stress in the pipe flow than in the TBL flow.