Particle Image Velocimetry Measurements of Turbulent Flow Within Outdoor and Indoor Urban Scale Models and Flushing Motions in Urban Canopy Layers

We investigate the spatial characteristics of urban-like canopy flow by applying particle image velocimetry (PIV) to atmospheric turbulence. The study site was a Comprehensive Outdoor Scale MOdel (COSMO) experiment for urban climate in Japan. The PIV system captured the two-dimensional flow field within the canopy layer continuously for an hour with a sampling frequency of 30 Hz, thereby providing reliable outdoor turbulence statistics. PIV measurements in a wind-tunnel facility using similar roughness geometry, but with a lower sampling frequency of 4 Hz, were also done for comparison. The turbulent momentum flux from COSMO, and the wind tunnel showed similar values and distributions when scaled using friction velocity. Some different characteristics between outdoor and indoor flow fields were mainly caused by the larger fluctuations in wind direction for the atmospheric turbulence. The focus of the analysis is on a variety of instantaneous turbulent flow structures. One remarkable flow structure is termed ‘flushing’, that is, a large-scale upward motion prevailing across the whole vertical cross-section of a building gap. This is observed intermittently, whereby tracer particles are flushed vertically out from the canopy layer. Flushing phenomena are also observed in the wind tunnel where there is neither thermal stratification nor outer-layer turbulence. It is suggested that flushing phenomena are correlated with the passing of large-scale low-momentum regions above the canopy.     

Large-Eddy Simulation of Coherent Turbulence Structures Associated with Scalar Ramps Over Plant Canopies

Large-eddy simulations were performed of a neutrally-stratified turbulent flow within and above an ideal, horizontally- and vertically-homogeneous plant canopy. Three simulations were performed for shear-driven flows in small and large computational domains, and a pressure-driven flow in a small domain, to enable the nature of canopy turbulence unaffected by external conditions to be captured. The simulations reproduced quite realistic canopy turbulence characteristics, including typical ramp structures appearing in time traces of the scalar concentration near the canopy top. Then, the spatial structure of the organised turbulence that caused the scalar ramps was examined using conditional sampling of three-dimensional instantaneous fields, triggered by the occurrence of ramp structures. A wavelet transform was used for the detection of ramp structures in the time traces. The ensemble-averaged results illustrate that the scalar ramps are associated with the microfrontal structure in the scalar, the ejection-sweep structure in the streamwise and vertical velocities, a laterally divergent flow just around the ramp-detection point, and a positive, vertically-coherent pressure perturbation. These vertical structures were consistent with previous measurements made in fields or wind tunnels. However, the most striking feature is that the horizontal slice of the same structure revealed a streamwise-elongated region of high-speed streamwise velocity impacting on another elongated region of low-speed velocity. These elongated structures resemble the so-called streak structures that are commonly observed in near-wall shear layers. Since elongated structures of essentially similar spatial scales were observed in all of the runs, these streak structures appear to be inherent in near-canopy turbulence. Presumably, strong wind shear formed just above the canopy is involved in their formation. By synthesis of the ensemble-averaged and instantaneous results, the following processes were inferred for the development of scalar microfronts and their associated flow structures: (1) a distinct scalar microfront develops where a coherent downdraft associated with a high-speed streak penetrates into the region of a low-speed streak; (2) a stagnation in flow between two streaks of different velocities builds up a vertically-coherent high-pressure region there; (3) the pressure gradients around the high-pressure region work to reduce the longitudinal variations in streamwise velocity and to enhance the laterally-divergent flow and lifted updrafts downstream of the microfront; (4) as the coherent mother downdraft impinges on the canopy, canopy-scale eddies are formed near the canopy top in a similar manner as observed in conventional mixing-layer turbulence.     

Measurements and predictions of turbulent recirculating flow over a rectangular depression

Measurements of mean velocity and turbulence intensity components are reported for flow over a two-dimensional rectangular depression; these include measurements in the highly turbulent regions of recirculating flow. Predictions of the mean-flow variables were obtained from three finite-difference models: (1) a vorticity stream-function model using constant effective viscosity, (2) a primitive variable model using constant effective viscosity, and (3) a primitive variable model in which effective viscosity is computed from a turbulence model. The turbulent kinetic energy was also predicted by the last of these models. These predictions were compared with the measurements in order to evaluate what accuracy can be expected when state-of-the-art finite-difference models are applied to complex flow situations in the atmospheric environment. Some areas are noted where improvement of modeling capabilities for complex flows is still needed.     

The Effects of Non-stationarity on the Clustering Properties of the Boundary-layer Vertical Wind Velocity

Non-stationarity is a common feature in geophysical flows, though it still remains an open question on how the non-stationarity of flow affects its statistical structure. Using the telegraph approximation (TA) method, we quantified how non-stationarity in the measured atmospheric turbulent vertical velocity time series affects its clustering properties—one of the two main components of intermittency in turbulence. We compare different TA results between stationary and non-stationary atmospheric turbulent vertical velocity records, and find that the non-stationary data possess different cluster and intermittency exponents from stationary data. The inter-pulse period of the non-stationary records takes a near power-law distribution while the inter-pulse period of the stationary records exhibits a stretched exponential distribution. These results suggest that non-stationarity of the underlying processes can affect the statistical structure of turbulence, especially the clustering properties.     

Measurements of internal waves and turbulence in two-dimensional stratified shear flows

A turbulent stratified shear flow is generated in a towing tank by towing a grid or a circular cylinder through a tank of stratified salt water. The internal waves and turbulence generated in these flows are visualized with shadowgraphs and measured with quartz-coated hot-film probes (up to four probes for velocity fluctuations) and single-electrode conductivity probes (up to four probes for salinity fluctuations) which are towed at the same speed as the obstacle. The velocity and salinity signals are recorded on magnetic tapes. A portion of these signals is processed directly-on-line with a digital computer. From these shadowgraphs and probe measurements, we observe that

1. Far downstream of the obstacle where the turbulence has already subsided, the stratified fluid always has a layered structure. This layered structure persists for a long time, and is a result of the convection of turbulently mixed layers by the mean flow. These results indicate that in the regions of a stably stratified atmosphere and ocean where the turbulence has subsided, one could often find layered structure.
2. There are spectral peaks and valleys in the measured velocity and salinity autospectra when the stratifications are sufficiently strong. Under certain conditions, these spectral peaks tend to lift up the spectral curves to show substantialf ^?5/3 subranges, although the turbulence Reynolds numbers are too low for the flows to have recognizable inertial subranges. This anomalousf ^?5/3 subrange demonstrates the pitfalls of using spectral measurements in thef ^?5/3 subrange to predict the turbulent energy dissipation rate through the Kolmogorov hypothesis.
3. A diagnostic method is developed for distinguishing internal waves from turbulence, utilizing their phase characteristics. The phase characteristics can be conveniently examined from the cospectra and quadrature spectra measurements of: (a), two vertically separated velocity probes; (b), two vertically separated density probes; and (c), a velocity probe and a density probe. This method is demonstrated to be useful in the laboratory and can be applied directly to atmospheric and oceanic measurements to distinguish internal waves from turbulence.
4. From the coherency measurements, it is found that the entire turbulent stratified wake is actually whipping up and down at a frequency corresponding to the Brunt-Väisälä frequency. This indicates that similar stratified shear flows in the atmosphere and in the ocean, such as the jet streams in the atmosphere and the Cromwell current in the ocean, may oscillate vertically, which in turn can induce horizontal oscillation and meandering.

     

Fluctuations of line integrated concentrations across plume diffusion in grid generated turbulence and in shear flows

The fluctuations of the instantaneous values of line integrated concentrations across plumes from point sources diffusing in turbulent shear flows, and in grid generated turbulence, have been studied experimentally using a fast response system which measured the attenuation of the intensity of an infrared beam crossing the plume. Analysis of the measurements show that the dimensionless statistical properties of the fluctuations at different distances from the source at each flow are approximately similar, in the sense that they depend primarily on the relative off-center location of the line of integration and almost independent of the distance from the source and the nature of the turbulence in the flows, as long as the characteristic length of the mean plume is not large compared to the size of the large eddies. The characteristic time of the fluctuations, on the other hand, was found to grow with the distance from the source and the autocorrelations of the fluctuations, particularly in the case of a plume diffusing in grid generated turbulence, were it found to be proportional to the lateral size of the mean plume. A—5/3 decay law of the power spectrum of the fluctuations was observed in the low frequency range which corresponds to the scale of the large eddies. The decay of the fluctuations caused by smaller eddies was much faster, as expected.     

The Effects of Thermal Stratification on Clustering Properties of Canopy Turbulence

The intermittent structure of turbulence within the canopy sublayer (CSL) is sensitive to the presence of foliage and to the atmospheric stability regime. How much of this intermittency originates from amplitude variability or clustering properties remains a vexing research problem for CSL flows. Using a five-level set of measurements collected within a dense hardwood canopy, the clustering properties of CSL turbulence and their dependence on atmospheric stability are explored using the telegraphic approximation (TA). The binary structure of the TA removes any amplitude variability from turbulent excursions but retains their zero-crossing behaviour, and thereby isolating the role of clustering in intermittency. A relationship between the spectral exponents of the actual and the TA series is derived across a wide range of atmospheric stability regimes and for several flow variables. This relationship is shown to be consistent with a relationship derived for long-memory and monofractal processes such as fractional Brownian motion (fBm). Moreover, it is demonstrated that for the longitudinal and vertical velocity components, the vegetation does not appreciably alter fine-scale clustering but atmospheric stability does. Stable atmospheric stability conditions is characterized by more fine scale clustering when compared to other atmospheric stability regimes. For scalars, fine-scale clustering above the canopy is similar to its velocity counterpart but is significantly increased inside the canopy, especially under stable stratification. Using simplified scaling analysis, it is demonstrated that clustering is much more connected to space than to time within the CSL. When comparing intermittency for flow variables and their TA series, it is shown that for velocity, amplitude variations modulate intermittency for all stability regimes. However, amplitude variations play only a minor role in scalar intermittency. Within the crown region of the canopy, a ‘double regime’ emerges in the inter-pulse duration probability distributions not observed in classical turbulence studies away from boundaries. The double regime is characterized by a power-law distribution for shorter inter-pulse periods and a log-normal distribution for large inter-pulse periods. The co-existence of these two regimes is shown to be consistent with near-field/far-field scaling arguments. In the near-field, short inter-pulse periods are controlled by the source strength, while in the far-field long inter-pulse periods are less affected by the precise source strength details and more affected by the transport properties of the background turbulence.     

Effects of Thermal Stability and Incoming Boundary-Layer Flow Characteristics on Wind-Turbine Wakes: A Wind-Tunnel Study

Wind-tunnel experiments were carried out to study turbulence statistics in the wake of a model wind turbine placed in a boundary-layer flow under both neutral and stably stratified conditions. High-resolution velocity and temperature measurements, obtained using a customized triple wire (cross-wire and cold wire) anemometer, were used to characterize the mean velocity, turbulence intensity, turbulent fluxes, and spectra at different locations in the wake. The effect of the wake on the turbulence statistics is found to extend as far as 20 rotor diameters downwind of the turbine. The velocity deficit has a nearly axisymmetric shape, which can be approximated by a Gaussian distribution and a power-law decay with distance. This decay in the near-wake region is found to be faster in the stable case. Turbulence intensity distribution is clearly non-axisymmetric due to the non-uniform distribution of the incoming velocity in the boundary layer. In the neutral case, the maximum turbulence intensity is located above the hub height, around the rotor tip location and at a distance of about 4–5.5 rotor diameters, which are common separations between wind turbines in wind farms. The enhancement of turbulence intensity is associated with strong shear and turbulent kinetic energy production in that region. In the stable case, the stronger shear in the incoming flow leads to a slightly stronger and larger region of enhanced turbulence intensity, which extends between 3 and 6 rotor diameters downwind of the turbine location. Power spectra of the streamwise and vertical velocities show a strong signature of the turbine blade tip vortices at the top tip height up to a distance of about 1–2 rotor diameters. This spectral signature is stronger in the vertical velocity component. At longer downwind distances, tip vortices are not evident and the von Kármán formulation agrees well with the measured velocity spectra.     

Multifractal Characteristics of Intermittent Turbulence in the Urban Canopy Layer

The multifractality of energy and thermal dissipation of fully developed intermittent turbulence is investigated in the urban canopy layer under unstable conditions by the singularity spectrum for the fractal dimensions of sets of singularities characterizing multifractals. In order to obtain high-order moment properties of smallscale turbulent dissipation in the inertial range, an ultrasonic anemometer with a high sampling frequency of 100 Hz was used. The authors found that the turbulent signal could be singular everywhere. Moreover, the singular exponents of energy and thermal dissipation rates are most frequently encountered at around 0.2, which is significantly smaller than the singular exponents for a wind tunnel at a moderate Reynolds number. The evidence indicates a higher intermittency of turbulence in the urban canopy layer at a high Reynolds number, which is demonstrated by the data with high temporal resolution. Furthermore, the temperature field is more intermittent than the velocity field. In addition, a large amount of samples could be used for verification of the results.     

Direct Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Katabatic Slope Flows with an Immersed-Boundary Method

We investigate a Cartesian-mesh immersed-boundary formulation within an incompressible flow solver to simulate laminar and turbulent katabatic slope flows. As a proof-of-concept study, we consider four different immersed-boundary reconstruction schemes for imposing a Neumann-type boundary condition on the buoyancy field. Prandtl’s laminar solution is used to demonstrate the second-order accuracy of the numerical solutions globally. Direct numerical simulation of a turbulent katabatic flow is then performed to investigate the applicability of the proposed schemes in the turbulent regime by analyzing both first- and second-order statistics of turbulence. First-order statistics show that turbulent katabatic flow simulations are noticeably sensitive to the specifics of the immersed-boundary formulation. We find that reconstruction schemes that work well in the laminar regime may not perform as well when applied to a turbulent regime. Our proposed immersed-boundary reconstruction scheme agrees closely with the terrain-fitted reference solutions in both flow regimes.     

A Numerically Efficient Parametrization of Turbulent Wind-Turbine Flows for Different Thermal Stratifications

The wake characteristics of a wind turbine in a turbulent atmospheric boundary layer under different thermal stratifications are investigated by means of large-eddy simulation with the geophysical flow solver EULAG. The turbulent inflow is based on a method that imposes the spectral energy distribution of a neutral boundary-layer precursor simulation, the turbulence-preserving method. This method is extended herein to make it applicable for different thermal stratification regimes (convective, stable, neutral) by including suitable turbulence assumptions, which are deduced from velocity fields of a diurnal-cycle precursor simulation. The wind-turbine-wake characteristics derived from simulations that include the parametrization result in good agreement with diurnal-cycle-driven wind-turbine simulations. Furthermore, different levels of accuracy are tested in the parametrization assumptions, representing the thermal stratification. These range from three-dimensional matrices of the precursor-simulation wind field to individual values. The resulting wake characteristics are similar, even for the simplest parametrization set-up, making the diurnal-cycle precursor simulation non-essential for the wind-turbine simulations. Therefore, the proposed parametrization results in a computationally fast, simple, and efficient tool for analyzing the effects of different thermal stratifications on wind-turbine wakes by means of large-eddy simulation.     

高风速相干结构对通量输送影响的实验研究

切变湍流的相干结构是湍流研究中的重大发现,它表明湍流运动并非完全随机,其中具有可检测的有序结构.本文通过处理南京浦口地区大气边界层观测数据,来分析不稳定层结中高风速相干结构特征.本次观测项目包括对场地中央的气象铁塔上2 m和40 m高度上超声风速仪的脉动速度、温度测量以及风廓线雷达对边界层风速廓线的测量.对超声水平风速时间序列数据进行小波变换 (时间尺度400 s),通过阈值来识别这种高风速相干结构.与多普勒风廓线雷达测量结果对比后发现,这种方法确定的相干结构符合常规的认识,具有较长的时间尺度和较大的垂直尺度 (接近边界层厚度).分析三天相干结构特性得到无量纲空间间隔约为6,即每隔6个边界层厚度的水平位置出现一个高速相干结构.通过与垂直风速小波系数的比较,发现高风速相干结构与向下垂直风速之间有较好相关,这与湍流中 “阵风” 现象的研究结论相似.使用四象限分析方法分类得到两种动量通量输送为负的运动:较小水平风速的上扬 (ejection) 运动 (简称为上扬运动) 和较大水平风速的下扫 (sweep) 运动 (简称为下扫运动),这两种运动在整个湍流活动中处于主导地位.高风速相干结构通过促进下扫运动和抑制上扬运动来影响动量通量的输送.     

A simple and efficient procedure for the numerical simulation of wind fields in complex terrain

In spite of recent progress in the prognostic numerical simulation of the atmospheric boundary layer, the explicit simulation of turbulent flows in actual complex terrain is generally still very complicated and time consuming for many environmental applications. In an attempt to develop simpler and more efficient application oriented techniques, although less refined, we propose a multi-step procedure for simulating wind fields. Once obtained the necessary meteorological input, the mass-consistent modelling technique is used to perform high-resolution mean wind flow simulations taking into account recent developments in the atmospheric boundary-layer theory. Besides, a procedure based on a generalisation of the local logarithmic law-of-the-wall over complex terrain is used to estimate the effective parameters characterising the simulated wind profiles. Turbulence intensities and spectral properties are then calculated through the estimated effective parameters, in particular through the effective friction velocity parameter. Finally, time series of the instantaneous velocity field are simulated by the Monte Carlo technique. Two applications of the proposed approach are discussed briefly: the first one is related to a coastal area in southern Italy (the Messina Straits), where the construction of the world’s longest central span bridge is being planned; the second one corresponds to the flow in a mountainous area in northern Italy (the Albenga Airport).     

广州市近地层大气的湍流微结构和谱特征

本文利用UVW脉动风速仪资料分析了广州市区近地层大气的湍流强度、相关系数、尺度和速度谱,并获得了不同稳定度条件下的速度谱模式.结果表明,城市近地层大气湍流在惯性副区接近局地各向同性、速度谱符合Kolmogorov相似理论;气流方向上下垫面粗糙度的增加,使沿海城市近地层大气湍流能量(特别是铅直方向)比平坦、均匀下垫面上的增加.     

Sonic Anemometer as a Small Acoustic Tomography Array

The spatial resolution of a sonic anemometer is limited by the distance between its transducers, and for studies of small-scale turbulence and theories of turbulence, it is desirable to increase this spatial resolution. We here consider resolution improvements obtainable by treating the sonic anemometer as a small tomography array, with application of appropriate inverse algorithms for the reconstruction of temperature and velocity. A particular modification of the sonic anemometer is considered when the number of its transducers is doubled and the time-dependent stochastic inversion algorithm is used for reconstruction. Numerical simulations of the sonic anemometer and its suggested modification are implemented with the temperature and velocity fields modelled as discrete eddies moving through the sonic’s volume. The tomographic approach is shown to provide better reconstructions of the temperature and velocity fields, with spatial resolution increased by as much as a factor of ten. The spatial resolution depends on the inverse algorithm and also improves by increasing the number of transducers.     

Turbulence Structure Within and Above a Canopy of Bluff Elements

Measurements of turbulence structure in a wind-tunnel model canopy of bluff elements show many of the features associated with vegetation canopies and roughness sublayers but also display features more characteristic of the inertial sublayer (ISL). Points of similarity include the existence of an inflexion point in the space-time averaged streamwise velocity at the canopy top, the variation with height of turbulent second moments and the departure of the turbulent kinetic energy budget from local equilibrium in and just above the canopy. Quadrant analysis shows characteristic dominance of sweep over ejection events within the canopy although sweeps are more frequent than usually seen in vegetation canopies. Points of difference are a u′, w′ correlation coefficient that is closer to the ISL value than to most canopy data, and a turbulent Prandtl number midway between canopy and ISL values. Within the canopy there is distinct spatial partitioning into two flow regimes, the wake and non-wake regions. Both time-mean and conditional statistics take different values in these different regions of the canopy flow. We explain many of these features by appealing to a modified version of the mixing-layer hypothesis that links the dominant turbulent eddies to the instability of the inflexion point at canopy top. However, it is evident that these eddies are perturbed by the quasi-coherent wakes of the bluff canopy elements. Based upon an equation for the instantaneous velocity perturbation, we propose a criterion for deciding when the eddies linked to the inflexion point will dominate flow structure and when that structure will be replaced by an array of superimposed element wakes. In particular, we show that the resemblance of some features of the flow to the ISL does not mean that ISL dynamics operate within bluff-body canopies in any sense.     

A Hierarchy of Energy- and Flux-Budget (EFB) Turbulence Closure Models for Stably-Stratified Geophysical Flows

Here we advance the physical background of the energy- and flux-budget turbulence closures based on the budget equations for the turbulent kinetic and potential energies and turbulent fluxes of momentum and buoyancy, and a new relaxation equation for the turbulent dissipation time scale. The closure is designed for stratified geophysical flows from neutral to very stable and accounts for the Earth’s rotation. In accordance with modern experimental evidence, the closure implies the maintaining of turbulence by the velocity shear at any gradient Richardson number Ri, and distinguishes between the two principally different regimes: “strong turbulence” at ${Ri \ll 1}$ typical of boundary-layer flows and characterized by the practically constant turbulent Prandtl number Pr _T; and “weak turbulence” at Ri > 1 typical of the free atmosphere or deep ocean, where Pr _T asymptotically linearly increases with increasing Ri (which implies very strong suppression of the heat transfer compared to the momentum transfer). For use in different applications, the closure is formulated at different levels of complexity, from the local algebraic model relevant to the steady-state regime of turbulence to a hierarchy of non-local closures including simpler down-gradient models, presented in terms of the eddy viscosity and eddy conductivity, and a general non-gradient model based on prognostic equations for all the basic parameters of turbulence including turbulent fluxes.     

Observations and Modelling of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Over Sea-Ice in a Svalbard Fjord

Sonic anemometer and profile mast measurements made in Wahlenbergfjorden, Svalbard Arctic archipelago, in May 2006 and April 2007 were employed to study the atmospheric boundary layer over sea-ice. The turbulent surface fluxes of momentum and sensible heat were calculated using eddy correlation and gradient methods. The results showed that the literature-based universal functions underestimated turbulent mixing in strongly stable conditions. The validity of the Monin-Obukhov similarity theory was questionable for cross-fjord flow directions and in the presence of mesoscale variability or topographic effects. The aerodynamic roughness length showed a dependence on the wind direction. The mean roughness length for along-fjord wind directions was (2.4 ± 2.6) × 10⁻⁴ m, whereas that for cross-fjord directions was (5.4 ± 2.8) × 10⁻³ m. The thermal stratification and turbulent fluxes were affected by the synoptic situation with large differences between the 2 years. Channelling effects and drainage flows occurred especially during a weak large-scale flow. The study periods were simulated applying the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with 1-km horizontal resolution in the finest domain. The results for the 2-m air temperature and friction velocity were good, but the model failed to reproduce the spatial variability in wind direction between measurement sites 3 km apart. The model suggested that wind shear above the stable boundary layer provided a non-local source for the turbulence observed.     

On the influence of non-Gaussianity on turbulent transport

Non-Gaussianity effects, first of all the influence of the third and fourth moments of the velocity probability density function, have to be assessed for higher-order closure models of turbulence and Lagrangian modelling of turbulent dispersion in complex flows. Whereas the role and the effects of the third moments are relatively well understood as essential for the explanation of specific observed features of the fully developed convective boundary layer, there are indications that the fourth moments may also be important, but little is known about these moments. Therefore, the effects of non-Gaussianity are considered for the turbulent motion of particles in non-neutral flows without fully developed convection, where the influence of the fourth moments may be expected to be particularly essential. The transport properties of these flows can be characterized by a diffusion coefficient which reflects these effects. It is shown, for different vertical velocity distributions, that the intensity of turbulent transport may be enhanced remarkably by non-Gaussianity. The diffusion coefficient is given as a modification of the Gaussian diffusivity, and this modifying factor is found to be determined to a very good approximation by the normalized fourth moment of the vertical velocity distribution function. This provides better insight into the effect of fourth moments and explains the varying importance of third and fourth moments in different flows.