arXiv subjects

Yi Hui Tee

Publications and source records attributed to Yi Hui Tee.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Experimental investigation relating free-surface features to sub-surface turbulence

Turbulent flows beneath a free surface play a central role in the Earth system, yet their coupling to observable surface features remains incompletely understood. Recent studies using Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) have reported strong correlation between observable surface features and surface divergence as well as velocity statistics directly beneath, but were limited to Reynolds numbers ($Re$) far below those typical of natural flows, and do not carry the inherent challenges of measurement and flow fidelity that real flows present. We present a laboratory study in which free-surface topology and sub-surface turbulent velocity are measured simultaneously in a jet-stirred tank, extending these numerical results to the physical domain. Using a novel combination of particle-image velocimetry (PIV) and free-surface profilometry, we access $Re$ up to two orders of magnitude higher than in the DNS. A computer vision method developed for identifying turbulent imprints on the free surface is successfully applied to experimental data, enabling direct comparison with the DNS. The correlation between time series of mean-square surface divergence and surface features is found to persist as strongly at higher Reynolds numbers, despite the increased disparity of turbulent scales. Beyond the thin viscous layer, all surface-to-bulk correlations scale with the integral length scale across both experimental and numerical cases. The normalized cross-correlation between mean-square horizontal velocity divergence and surface area covered by structures decreases linearly with depth and remains significant even two integral scales beneath the surface, unlike point-to-point correlations which decay fast, illustrating how correlations are near-instantaneous but spatially non-local. These results demonstrate that visible surface features provide considerable... [truncated due to arXiv length constraint]

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2020

Motion of finite-size spheres released in a turbulent boundary layer

Individual magnetic wax spheres with specific gravities of 1.006, 1.054 and 1.152 were released from rest on a smooth wall in water at friction Reynolds numbers, Re_τ=680 and 1320 (d^+ = 58 and 122 viscous units, respectively). Three-dimensional tracking was conducted to understand the effect of turbulence and wall friction on sphere motions. Spheres subjected to sufficient mean shear initially lifted off of the wall before descending back towards it. These lifting spheres translated with the fluid above the wall, undergoing saltation or resuspension, with minimal rotation about any axis. By contrast, spheres that did not lift off upon release mainly slid along the wall. These denser spheres lagged the fluid more significantly due to greater wall friction. As they slid downstream, they began to roll forward after which small repeated lift-off events occurred. These spheres also rotated about both the streamwise and wall-normal axes. In all cases, the sphere trajectories were limited to the buffer and logarithmic regions, and all wall collisions were completely inelastic. Sphere streamwise velocities fluctuated up to 20% from the mean value even after the sphere had attained an approximate terminal velocity. In the plane parallel to the wall, the spheres migrated in the spanwise direction about 12% of the streamwise distance traveled suggesting that spanwise forces are important. The variations in sphere kinematics were likely induced by high and low momentum zones in the boundary layer, vortex shedding in the sphere wakes, and wall friction. The repeated lift-offs of the forward rolling denser sphere were attributed to a Magnus lift.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2019

Three-dimensional tracking of finite-size spheres in a turbulent boundary layer

The motion of individual magnetic wax spheres with specific gravities of 1.003, 1.050 and 1.150 was investigated in turbulent boundary layers with $Re_{τ}=700$ and 1300 ($d^+ = 60$ and 120). The spheres were marked with dots all over the surface to monitor their translation and rotation via high-speed stereoscopic imaging. Upon release from rest on a smooth wall, each sphere typically accelerated strongly over a streamwise distance of one boundary layer thickness before approaching an approximate terminal velocity. Spheres with sufficient net upward force lifted off of the wall once released before descending back towards the wall. These spheres mostly translated with the fluid above the wall, undergoing saltation or resuspension, with minimal rotation about all axes. By contrast, spheres that did not lift off after release mainly slid along the wall. As they propagated downstream, they began to roll forward with occasional lift-off events of smaller magnitude. All of the lift-off activities observed were limited to the buffer and logarithmic layers. Both translation and rotation of the spheres were significantly affected by the wall turbulence.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2019

Translation and rotation of a spherical particle in a turbulent boundary layer

Three-dimensional particle tracking experiments were conducted in a turbulent boundary layer with friction Reynolds number $Re_τ$ of 700 and 1300. Two finite size spheres with specific gravities of 1.003 (P1) and 1.050 (P2) and diameters of 60 and 120 wall units were released individually from rest on a smooth wall. The spheres were marked with dots all over the surface to monitor their translation and rotation via high-speed stereoscopic imaging. The spheres accelerated strongly after release over streamwise distances of one boundary layer thickness before approaching an approximate terminal velocity. Initially, sphere P1, which had Reynolds numbers $Re_p$ of 800 and 1900, always lifts off from the wall. Similar behavior was observed occasionally for sphere P2 with initial $Re_p$ of 1900. The spheres that lifted off reached an initial peak in height before descending towards the wall. The sphere trajectories exhibited multiple behaviors including saltation, resuspension and sliding motion with small random bouncing depending on both $Re_τ$ and specific gravity. The lighter sphere at $Re_τ=1300$, which remained suspended above the wall during most of its trajectory, propagated with the fastest streamwise velocity. By contrast, the denser sphere at $Re_τ=700$, which mostly slid along the wall, propagated with the slowest streamwise velocity. After the spheres approached an approximate terminal velocity, many experienced additional lift-off events that were hypothesized to be driven by hairpins or coherent flow structures. Spheres were observed to rotate about all three coordinate axes. While the mean shear may induce a rotation about the spanwise axis, near-wall coherent structures and the sphere's wake might drive the streamwise and wall-normal rotations. In all cases where the sphere propagates along the wall, sliding motion, rather than forward rolling motion, is dominant.

physics.flu-dyn↗