arXiv subjects

Mitchell Lozier

Publications and source records attributed to Mitchell Lozier.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Wall-scaled eddies and embedded shear layers in high-Reynolds-number moderate adverse-pressure-gradient boundary layers

This study compares high-Reynolds-number turbulent boundary layers under zero and low-to-moderate adverse pressure gradients, showing similar scaling and energy contributions from the wall-scaled attached-eddy hierarchy and superstructures in both flows. The main differences occur in the outer/wake region, where APG-induced energisation is linked to an outer-scaled, embedded-shear-layer-type organisation that progressively penetrates the logarithmic region as the pressure-gradient strength increases. The analysis uses two complementary datasets for ZPG and APG boundary layers at matched friction Reynolds numbers of approximately 10,000, with minimal upstream pressure-gradient history: a new two-point hot-wire dataset and a previously published two-dimensional particle image velocimetry dataset. In the hot-wire experiment, one probe is fixed near the wall while the second traverses the full boundary layer, allowing estimation of the linear coherence spectrum. The results confirm the geometric self-similarity of the wall-scaled eddy hierarchy that remains coherent with the wall. Using the linear coherence spectrum as a spectral filter shows that most of the additional APG-induced energy is incoherent with the wall and is linearly superimposed on the wall-coherent component of the streamwise variance. This wall-incoherent contribution explains the departure of the variance profile from the inverse logarithmic law observed in canonical high-Reynolds-number boundary layers. Conditional averaging of the particle image velocimetry data identifies the structures responsible for this energy amplification. The results link enhanced outer-region Reynolds stresses, an outer inflection point in the mean velocity profile, and an ejection-sweep organisation of Reynolds shear stress, all characteristic of shear-layer dynamics.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2026

Response of a Turbulent Boundary Layer to a Synthetic Periodic Large-Scale Structure

The dynamic response of a zero-pressure gradient turbulent boundary layer (TBL) to a large-scale perturbation in the outer region was investigated experimentally. The baseline TBL had a moderate Reynolds number such that there was no naturally occurring energetic large-scale structure (LSS) present. An active plasma-based actuator was then placed in the outer region of the TBL to introduce a periodic, spanwise-uniform, synthetic LSS. This novel actuation scheme provides a new tool by which to experimentally examine the `top-down' view of TBL dynamics/interactions. The TBL response to this synthetic structure was investigated using a combination of planar particle imaging velocimetry and spanwise offset hot-wires, over a large streamwise extent downstream of the actuator device. Phase-locked analysis was implemented to isolate and measure the streamwise development of large-scale motions and changes in turbulence amplitude induced by this synthetic LSS. A strong correlation was observed between large-scale motions near the wall, linearly superimposed from the synthetic LSS, and a periodic modulation of turbulence amplitudes. This periodic modulation was found to be linked to phase-dependent changes in both the production and transport of turbulence driven by the induced large-scale motions. The phase speed of these induced large-scale motions, coupled with intermittent changes to spanwise coherence near the wall, revealed an additional, but transient, effect of the synthetic LSS on near-wall cycle dynamics. Overall, these results characterize the influences, and limitations, of top-down interactions on global TBL dynamics.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2026

On the wake region of high-Reynolds-number turbulent boundary layers subject to adverse pressure gradients

The effect of a moderate adverse pressure gradient (APG) on the structure of a high-Reynolds-number turbulent boundary layer (TBL) was investigated experimentally using complementary multi-point measurements. Unlike many previous studies, the present work focuses on the wake region and aims to characterise the turbulent motions that are energised by local APG conditions. Simultaneous two-point hot-wire measurements of the streamwise velocity were used to estimate the linear coherence spectrum (LCS), quantifying the wall-normal coherence between a wake-region reference point and the rest of the TBL. LCS-based decomposition of the spectral energy and variance showed that motions coherent with the wake reference account for a significant part of the APG-induced increase at large time scales, but not all of the enhanced energy. The remaining increase is associated with relatively smaller-scale motions that are not correlated with the selected wake location. High-spatial-resolution snapshot PIV measurements were then used to examine this broader range of energetic motions, which are associated with spanwise vortices in the wake region. Spanwise vorticity statistics were evaluated over 0.2 < z/{\delta} < 0.4, where the largest APG-induced change in spectral energy was observed. Under APG, both the mean and variance of spanwise vorticity increased significantly in this region, while swirling-strength distributions confirmed a relative increase in both the population and magnitude of spanwise vortices. Finally, dynamically significant clockwise rotating spanwise vortices were identified using different swirling-strength thresholds. Higher thresholds produced conditionally averaged velocity fields that best captured the key wake-region dynamics, motivating their use for vortex-based conditional averaging in future analyses.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2026

High-Reynolds-number turbulent boundary layers under adverse pressure gradients. Part 2. A composite mean velocity profile

A robust composite mean velocity profile is developed for turbulent boundary layers (TBLs) subjected to adverse pressure gradients (APGs), extending the composite formulation for generic pressure-gradient TBLs proposed by \citeauthor{nickels} (\textit{J.\ Fluid Mech.}, vol.\ 521, 2004). Several modifications are introduced to capture key features of APG flows. A new parameter accounts for pressure-gradient history effects in the wake region, a velocity-overshoot function is incorporated in the inner region, and the wake function is reformulated using an independent, physically motivated definition of boundary-layer thickness. A compilation of APG TBL datasets from the literature, including the new dataset presented in Part~1, is used to assess and refine the formulation. The resulting composite profile contains three physically meaningful parameters that capture pressure-gradient effects on the mean velocity profile, determined through nonlinear curve fitting. These parameters provide a framework for identifying `well-behaved' APG TBLs and quantifying the strength of pressure-gradient history effects. The profile also enables reliable estimation of the friction velocity and boundary-layer thickness in well-behaved APG TBLs, providing a practical tool for scaling analyses when these quantities are not directly measurable. Its analytical form yields improved estimates of mean velocity gradients, facilitating evaluation of the indicator function and identification of inflection points. Finally, the formulation predicts both the coefficients and spatial extent of the logarithmic region of the mean streamwise velocity profile, enabling assessment of its universality in high-Reynolds-number APG TBLs. This shows that the von K'arm'an coefficient approaches an invariant value of $\kappa \approx 0.39$ at sufficiently high Reynolds numbers, independent of pressure-gradient effects.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2025

High-Reynolds-number turbulent boundary layers under adverse pressure gradients. Part 1. Decoupling local and upstream pressure gradient effects

This study presents a controlled examination of the universality of the von Karman and additive coefficients in the logarithmic law of the mean streamwise velocity profile for high-Reynolds-number turbulent boundary layers under low-to-moderate adverse pressure gradients. The experiments use a method for prescribing pressure gradients along Melbourne's high-Reynolds-number boundary layer wind tunnel, combined with direct friction velocity measurements from oil-film interferometry. This allows systematic variation of upstream pressure-gradient history while maintaining locally matched Reynolds number and Clauser parameter at the measurement location. The configuration therefore separates the effects of Reynolds number, local adverse pressure gradient, and pressure-gradient history on turbulence statistics and energy spectra across the boundary layer. Owing to the high Reynolds number and moderate pressure-gradient conditions, the overlap region is sufficiently extended to assess the logarithmic law. The von Karman coefficient remains invariant within experimental uncertainty, whereas the additive coefficient varies systematically with both local pressure gradient and pressure-gradient history. Local adverse pressure gradients energize both large- and small-scale motions in the wake region around 0.4 delta, while pressure-gradient history also affects large-scale motions down to about 0.25 delta, just above the overlap region. In contrast to lower-Reynolds-number studies, neither effect extends into the inner region. These measurements provide a high-fidelity dataset for improving physical understanding and developing composite mean velocity profile formulations for adverse-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layers.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2025

Defining the mean turbulent boundary layer thickness based on streamwise velocity skewness

A new statistical definition for the mean turbulent boundary layer thickness is introduced, based on identification of the point where the streamwise velocity skewness changes sign, from negative to positive, in the outermost region of the boundary layer. Importantly, this definition is independent of arbitrary thresholds, and broadly applicable, including to past single-point measurements. Further, this definition is motivated by the phenomenology of streamwise velocity fluctuations near the turbulent/non-turbulent interface, whose local characteristics are shown to be universal for turbulent boundary layers under low freestream turbulence conditions (i.e., with or without pressure gradients, surface roughness, etc.) through large-scale experiments, simulations and coherent structure-based modelling. The new approach yields a turbulent boundary layer thickness that is consistent with previous definitions, such as those based on Reynolds shear stress or `composite' mean velocity profiles, and which can be used practically e.g., to calculate integral thicknesses. Two methods are proposed for estimating the turbulent boundary layer thickness using this definition: one based on simple linear interpolation and the other on fitting a generalised Fourier model to the outer skewness profile. The robustness and limitations of these methods are demonstrated through analysis of several published experimental and numerical datasets, which cover a range of canonical and non-canonical turbulent boundary layers. These datasets also vary in key characteristics such as wall-normal resolution and measurement noise, particularly in the critical turbulent/non-turbulent interface region.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2024

Turbulent/non-turbulent interface in high Reynolds number pressure gradient boundary layers

We report two-dimensional particle image velocimetry experiments in high Reynolds number turbulent boundary layers imposed with a moderately strong streamwise pressure gradient. The unique aspect of these data are the highly resolved measurements across the outer region of a physically thick boundary layer, enabling accurate detection of turbulent/non-turbulent interfaces (TNTI). The present dataset is used to detect the TNTI of an adverse pressure gradient turbulent boundary layer and compare its characteristics with that for a zero-pressure gradient boundary layer, at a nominally similar friction Reynolds number. It is found that the TNTI exists across a broader range of wall-normal distance in presence of an adverse pressure gradient, as compared to the zero-pressure gradient case. Implications on conditionally averaged turbulence statistics are discussed based on detection of the TNTI.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2024

A note on the amplitude modulation phenomenon in non-canonical wall-bounded flows

The amplitude modulation phenomena, defined originally by Mathis et al. (J. Fluid Mech., 628, 311-337; 2009), corresponds to a unique non-linear interaction between Reynolds number ($Re_{\tau}$) dependent large-scale motions and $Re_{\tau}$-invariant inner-scale motions observed in canonical wall-bounded flows. While similar non-linear interactions have been quantified previously in non-canonical wall-bounded flows, linking them solely to amplitude modulation is questionable due to the fact that each non-canonical effect is associated with distinct variations in the energies of both the large and inner scaled motions. This study revisits analysis of non-linear triadic interactions, with consideration to various non-canonical effects, by analyzing published hot-wire datasets acquired in the large Melbourne wind tunnel. It is found that triadic interactions, across the entire turbulence scale hierarchy, may become statistically significant with increasing intensity of non-canonical effects such as wall roughness, pressure gradients, and spanwise or wall-normal forcing (when compared relative to their respective canonical baseline cases at matched $Re_{\tau}$). This stands in contrast to previous observations made in canonical flows, where only the interaction between inner scales and inertia-dominated large scales was considered dynamically significant for increasing $Re_{\tau}$. The implications of these findings are discussed for near-wall flow prediction models in non-canonical flows, which should take into account \emph{all} non-linear interactions coexisting in wall-bounded flows.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2022

Spatial input-output analysis of large-scale structures in actuated turbulent boundary layers

This paper develops a spatial input-output approach to investigate the dynamics of a turbulent boundary layer subject to a localized single frequency excitation. This method uses one-way spatial integration to reformulate the problem in terms of spatial evolution equations. The technique is used to examine the effect of localized periodic actuation at a given temporal frequency, based on an experimental set-up in which an active large-scale is introduced into the outer layer of a turbulent boundary layer. First, the large-scale structures associated with the phase-locked modal velocity field obtained from spatial input-output analysis are shown to closely match those computed based on hot-wire measurements. The approach is then used to further investigate the response of the boundary layer to the synthetically generated large-scale. A quadrant trajectory analysis indicates that the spatial input-output response produces shear stress distributions consistent with those in canonical wall-bounded turbulent flows in terms of both the order and types of events observed. The expected correspondence between the dominance of different quadrant behavior and actuation frequency is also observed. These results highlight the promise of a spatial input-output framework for analyzing the formation and streamwise evolution of structures in actuated wall-bounded turbulent flows.

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