Abstract
The turbulence characteristics of both decelerating and accelerating flows under a gradually varying flume are investigated by using a three-dimensional down-looking acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV). The time-averaged velocity profiles are flatened except for the central parts, and fairly fit into logarithmic laws and those in the plane circulation under the gradual expansion are more likely to be negative. The complex secondary currents are identified under the present gradual transition attributed to the combination of driving forces induced by both the boundary configuration variation and the unbalanced turbulence: a circulation on each side of the expansion and a pair of circulations on each side of the contraction. One sees an anisotropy in the turbulence intensities, the turbulence intensities increase or level out with the flow depth except those under expansion, and the V component of the turbulence intensity typically outweighs that in the streamwise direction. Apart from the above results, the respective particular distributions of the primary Reynolds shear stresses (τ xy and τ xz) under the gradual expansion and contraction can account for the patterns of the secondary currents in this investigation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
KIRONOTO B. A., GRAF W. H. Turbulence characteristics in rough non-uniform open-channel flow[J]. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Water Marit Energy, 1995, 112 (4): 336–348.
SONG T., CHIEW Y. M. Turbulence measurement in nonuniform open-channel flow using acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV)[J]. Journal of Engineering Mechanics, 2001, 127(3): 219–231.
AFZALIMEHR H., ANCTIL F. O. Velocity distribution and shear velocity behavior of decelerating flows over a gravel bed[J]. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 1999, 26(4): 468–475.
AFZALIMEHR H., ANCTIL F. O. Accelerating shear velocity in gravel-bed channels[J]. Hydrological Scie-nces Journal-Des Sciences Hydrologiques, 2000, 45(1): 113–124.
DEY S., LAMBERT M. F. Reynolds stress and bed shear in nonuniform unsteady open-channel flow[J]. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, 2005, 131(7): 610–614.
YANG S., CHOW A. T. Turbulence structures in non-uniform flows[J]. Advances in Water Resources, 2008, 31(10): 1344–1351.
AFZALIMEHR H. Effect of non-uniformity of flow on velocity and turbulence intensities over a cobble-bed[J]. Hydrological Pprocesses, 2010, 24(3): 331–341.
EMADZADEH A., CHIEW Y. M. and AFZALIMEHR H. Effect of accelerating and decelerating flows on incipient motion in sand bed streams[J]. Advances in Water Resources, 2010, 33(9): 1094–1104.
PAPANICOLAOU A. N., HILLDALE R. Turbulence characteristics in gradual channel transition[J]. Journal of Engineering Mechanics, 2002, 128(9): 949–960.
HOAN N. T., BOOIJ R. and STIVE M. J. F. et al. Decelerating open-channel flow in a gradual expension[C]. Asian and Pacific Coasts Conference. Nanjing, China 2007, 902–915.
ALAUDDIN M., BASAK B. C. Development of an ex-pansion transition in open channel sub critical flow[J]. Journal of the Civil Engineering Division, 2006, 34(2): 91–101.
LADOPOULOS E. G. Singular integral equations in potential flows of open-channel transitions[J]. Computers and Fluids, 2010, 39(9): 1451–1455.
RAHMAN M., CHAUDHRY M. H. Computation of flow in open-channel transitions[J]. Journal of Hydraulic Research, 1997, 35(2): 243–256.
SCHULTZ M. P., FLACK K. A. Outer layer similarity in fully rough turbulent boundary layers[J]. Experiments in Fluids, 2005, 38(3): 328–340.
MANES C., POGGI D. and RIDOLFI L. Turbulent boundary layers over permeable walls: scaling and near-wall structure[J]. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2011, 687: 141–170.
NEZU I., NAKAGAWA H. Turbulence in open channel flows[M]. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: A. A. Balkema, 1993.
BALACHANDAR R., HAGEL K. and BLAKELY D. Velocity distribution in decelerating flow over rough surfaces[J]. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 2002, 29(2): 211–221.
WANG X., YANG Q. and LU W. et al. Experimental study of near-wall turbulent characteristics in an open-channel with gravel bed using an acoustic Doppler velocimeter[J]. Experiments in Fluids, 2011, 52(1): 85–94.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41171016), the Sichuan Province Science and Technology Support Program (Grant No. 2014SZ0163).
Biography: WANG Xie-kang (1970-), Male, Ph. D., Professor
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, Xk., Yi, Zj., Yan, Xf. et al. Experimental study of the flow structure of decelerating and accelerating flows under a gradually varying flume. J Hydrodyn 27, 340–349 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/S1001-6058(15)60491-7
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1001-6058(15)60491-7