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Spectral analysis of turbulence energy transport in a channel mounted with circular-arc ribs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2025

Wei-Jian Xiong ,
Jinglei Xu ,
Taylor C. Opperman  and
Bing-Chen Wang Open the ORCID record for Bing-Chen Wang [Opens in a new window]
Wei-Jian Xiong
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Aeronautics and Astronautics Structures, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 29th Yudao Street, Nanjing, PR China
Jinglei Xu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Aeronautics and Astronautics Structures, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 29th Yudao Street, Nanjing, PR China
Taylor C. Opperman
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Manitoba , Winnipeg, MB R3T 5V6, Canada
Bing-Chen Wang*
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Manitoba , Winnipeg, MB R3T 5V6, Canada
*
Corresponding author: Bing-Chen Wang, bingchen.wang@umanitoba.ca
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Abstract

Spectral analysis of the transport process of turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) in a channel roughened with spanwise-aligned circular-arc ribs is conducted based on direct numerical simulations (DNS). Test cases of varying pitch-to-height ratios ($P/H=3.0$, 5.0 and 7.5) and bulk Reynolds numbers (${\textit{Re}}_b=5600$ and 14 600) are compared. It is observed that the characteristic spanwise wavelength of the energy-containing eddies in the internal shear layer (ISL) increases as the value of $P/H$ increases, but decreases as the Reynolds number increases. In the ISL, the energy transport processes are dominated by turbulent production as the lead source term, but by turbulent diffusion and dissipation as the lead sink terms. It is found that regions with high production and dissipation rates of TKE in the ISL are associated with moderate and small wavelengths, respectively. The TKE production for sustaining moderate- and large-scale motions enhances gradually with an increasing value of $P/H$, while that for sustaining small-scale motions augments as the Reynolds number increases. It is interesting to observe that the interscale-transport term plays a critical role in draining TKE at moderate wavelengths as a sink and carries the drained TKE to small-scale eddies as a source. It is discovered that a higher pitch-to-height ratio leads to shortening of the characteristic spanwise wavelength of the dissipation process but prolongation of those of the production, interscale-transport and turbulent-diffusion processes in the ISL. By contrast, a higher Reynolds number results in reductions in the characteristic spanwise wavelengths of all spectral transport terms.

JFM classification

Turbulent Flows: Turbulent boundary layers Turbulent Flows: Turbulence simulation

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JFM Papers
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Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 1025 , 25 December 2025 , A33
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© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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