Study of adverse pressure gradient effects in turbulent boundary layers

• Grant number: 23/01657-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: November 01, 2023
• End date: March 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Aerospace Engineering - Aerodynamics
• Principal Investigator: William Roberto Wolf
• Grantee: Leandro Júnio de Oliveira Silva
• Supervisor: Ricardo Vinuesa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica (FEM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/00256-4 - Statistics of turbulent boundary layers developing under different pressure gradients, BP.MS

Abstract

Turbulent boundary layers occur in most industrial flows and in nature, and they often develop under pressure gradients which impact their stability and turbulence properties. For example, boundary layers developing on aircraft wings, industrial rotors, and wind and gas turbines are subject to regions of favorable and adverse pressure gradients, the latter being more susceptible to separation. In this research proposal, we will analyze the statistics of turbulent boundary layers obtained from high-fidelity numerical simulations. The effects of adverse pressure gradients will be investigated for different flow configurations with aeronautical applications. The role of the pressure gradient will be assessed in terms of budgets of turbulent kinetic energy and flow anisotropy. Flow modal decomposition will also be employed to analyze how coherent turbulent structures are affected by spatially varying pressure gradients. (AU)