Symmetry-Breaking of Turbulent Flow in Periodic Porous Media at Intermediate Porosities

Fuente: arXiv
Salvato in:
Dettagli Bibliografici
Autori principali: Srikanth, Vishal, Kuznetsov, Andrey V
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
Soggetti:
Accesso online:
Tags: Aggiungi Tag
Nessun Tag, puoi essere il primo ad aggiungerne!!
_version_ 1866913650996936704
author Srikanth, Vishal
Kuznetsov, Andrey V
author_facet Srikanth, Vishal
Kuznetsov, Andrey V
contents This paper presents a novel discovery of a symmetry-breaking effect in porous media with porosity between 0.8-0.9, which we are referring to as the intermediate porosity flow regime. Using large eddy simulation, we studied how heat transfer and turbulent convection occurs within these materials at a microscopic level. We observed symmetry-breaking in porous structures made of regularly spaced circular cylinders, a common design in heat exchangers, immediately following the laminar to turbulent flow transition between Reynolds numbers of 37 and 100. Asymmetric patterns persisted up to Reynolds numbers of 1,000. The initial breakdown of symmetry occurs through a Hopf bifurcation, creating an oscillating flow pattern as shear layers interact around the solid obstacles. When the flow becomes turbulent, random variations in the timing of vortex oscillations (caused by the secondary instability) create asymmetric distributions of fluid velocity and temperature throughout the porous space. This leads to the formation of alternating channels with high and low velocity fluid flow. At the macroscale level, this loss of symmetry creates residual transverse drag force components and asymmetric heat flux distribution on the solid obstacle surfaces. Interestingly, the oscillating flow pattern promotes attached flow on the circular cylinder surfaces, which enhances heat transfer from the cylinders to the fluid. We observe that this secondary flow instability is the primary mechanism of enhanced turbulent heat flux from porous media with circular cylinders compared to those with square cylinders.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_08350
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Symmetry-Breaking of Turbulent Flow in Periodic Porous Media at Intermediate Porosities
Srikanth, Vishal
Kuznetsov, Andrey V
Fluid Dynamics
This paper presents a novel discovery of a symmetry-breaking effect in porous media with porosity between 0.8-0.9, which we are referring to as the intermediate porosity flow regime. Using large eddy simulation, we studied how heat transfer and turbulent convection occurs within these materials at a microscopic level. We observed symmetry-breaking in porous structures made of regularly spaced circular cylinders, a common design in heat exchangers, immediately following the laminar to turbulent flow transition between Reynolds numbers of 37 and 100. Asymmetric patterns persisted up to Reynolds numbers of 1,000. The initial breakdown of symmetry occurs through a Hopf bifurcation, creating an oscillating flow pattern as shear layers interact around the solid obstacles. When the flow becomes turbulent, random variations in the timing of vortex oscillations (caused by the secondary instability) create asymmetric distributions of fluid velocity and temperature throughout the porous space. This leads to the formation of alternating channels with high and low velocity fluid flow. At the macroscale level, this loss of symmetry creates residual transverse drag force components and asymmetric heat flux distribution on the solid obstacle surfaces. Interestingly, the oscillating flow pattern promotes attached flow on the circular cylinder surfaces, which enhances heat transfer from the cylinders to the fluid. We observe that this secondary flow instability is the primary mechanism of enhanced turbulent heat flux from porous media with circular cylinders compared to those with square cylinders.
title Symmetry-Breaking of Turbulent Flow in Periodic Porous Media at Intermediate Porosities
topic Fluid Dynamics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.08350