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This is an author-deposited version published in: http://oatao.univ-toulouse.fr/
Eprints ID: 6326
To cite this version:
Cathalifaud, Patricia and Godard, Gilles and Braud, Caroline and
Stanislas, Michel The flow structure behind vortex generators embedded
in a decelerating turbulent boundary layer. (2009) J ournal of Turbulence,
vol. 10 (n 42). pp. 1-37. ISSN 1468-5248
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Theowstructurebehindvortexgeneratorsembeddedina
deceleratingturbulentboundarylayer
P. Cathalifaud
a
, G. Godard
b
, C. Braud
c
andM. Stanislas
c
a
Institut deM ecaniquedesFluides(UMR5502), UPS, UniversitePaul Sabatier, 18, routede
Narbonne, 31062ToulouseC edex, France;
b
CORIA(UMR6614), CNRS, SiteUniversitairedu
Madrillet, 6801Saint EtiennedeRouvrayC edex, France;
c
LaboratoiredeM ecaniquedeLille
(UMR8107), EC Lille, CNRS, BoulevardPaul Langevin, Cit eScientique, 59655Villeneuve
dAscqC edex, France
Theobjectiveof thepresentworkistoanalysethebehaviour of aturbulentdecelerating
boundarylayer under theeffect of bothpassiveandactivejetsvortexgenerators(VGs).
ThestereoPIV databaseof GodardandStanislas[1, 2] obtainedinanadversepressure
gradient boundary layer is usedfor this study. After presentingtheeffect onthemean
velocity eld and the turbulent kinetic energy, the line of analysis is extended with
two points spatial correlations and vortex detection in instantaneous velocity elds.
It is shownthat theactuators concentratetheboundary layer turbulenceintheregion
of upwardmotionof theow, andsegregatethenear-wall streamwisevortices of the
boundarylayer basedontheir vorticitysign.
Keywords: owcontrol, vortexgenerators, turbulent boundarylayer, adversepressure
gradient, PIV, coherent structures
1. Introduction
Delayingorpreventingturbulentboundarylayer(TBL)separationinaeronauticapplications
(duringlandingor manoeuvreof anaircraft for example) leadstoenhancethelift todrag
ratioandthustofuel savingandreductionof theemittedpollution. It allowsalsotoextend
theight envelopof anaircraft. For that purposemanyactuator typeswereexploredinthe
last decadesover manyowcongurations(at plates, ramps, bumps, ducts, airfoils, wind
turbines, etc.) [3].
Among theactuators used for that purpose, thevortex generators (VGs) werefound
efcient to reduceand sometimes even suppress theseparated region [4]. Thesedevices
generateastreamwisevortex structurewhich can entrain high-momentumuid towards
the wall, hence energising the TBL, increasing quantities such as wall shear stress, tur-
bulenceintensities, momentumtransfer, etc. anddelayingseparation. Theoptimal device
wouldproducestreamwisevorticesjust strongenoughtoovercometheseparationwithout
persistingwithintheboundary layer oncetheowcontrol objectiveis reached. It canbe
either passiveor active. Theresulting streamwisevortices havebeen subjected to many
studieswhichhelpedtocharacterisetheoptimal actuatorparametersandtheresultingmean
organisation. However, toofewstudieswereperformedontheowre-organisationdueto
thedifcultytoget asufcient spatial resolutionintheTBL.

Correspondingauthor. Email: michel.stanislas@ec-lille.fr

Figure1. Geometryof counter-rotatingandco-rotatingpassivedevices.
1.1. PassiveVGs
For passivedevices, it is nowwell establishedthat thestrengthof thevortex is drivenby
deviceparameterssuchasthegeometry (rectangular or triangular), theheight (h) relative
to the boundary layer, thickness () and the orientation with respect to the free-stream
velocity (
pd
). Whenmorethanonedeviceisused, thespacingbetweenVGdevicesisof
importance. Moreover two types of arrangements (co-rotatingandcounter-rotating) were
foundto havearather different behaviour andthus adifferent control efciency. Figures
1 and 2 give an overview of the VG parameters, L being the distance between devices
of thesamepair for counter-rotating arrangement and thedistancebetween two pairs
for counter-rotatingarrangement or betweendevices intheco-rotatingarrangement. The
signof thevortices producedby co-rotatingandcounter-rotatingVGs canbeseenonthe
meanvelocitymaps(seeFigure7). Theco-rotatingarraytransferslowandhighmomentum
uidtogether betweenthedevices. Thelowmomentumuidbeingdirectedawayfromthe
wall and the high momentumtowards the wall. The counter-rotating systemdissociates
themomentumtransfer fromthewall (upwashmotion) andtowards thewall (downwash
motion). Thehighmomentumistransporteddownwardbetweendevicesof thesamepair
andupwardbetweentwopairs. For counter-rotatingVGs, theboundarylayer isthinnedin
thedownwashareaandthickenedintheupwasharea[57].
Fromthereviewof Lin(2002) [4] shapessuchasrectangularplatesorairfoilsnormal to
thesurfaceareoptimal for theseparationcontrol purpose. A recent parametricexploration
for aTBL over abumpconguration[1] foundthat delta-wings weremoreefcient than
rectangular plates by 20%intermof skinfrictiongainandthus moreefcient toachieve
thecontrol goal.
In the early studies, conventional VGs with a height higher or equal to were rst
introduced[4]. However, theconventional VGswerefoundtoproducetoostrongvortices
which lead to a 3D organisation and additional drag compared to smaller VGs. They
were rapidly replaced by smaller devices. VGs smaller than and even of the order of
0.2 (embeddedintheinner logregiony

< 300) werestill abletoachievethecontrol of

Figure2. Co-rotatingandcounter-rotatingroundjetsvortexgeneratorsconguration.
separatedowswithlessassociateddragthanconventional VGs. Off course, thestreamwise
lifetimeof thecorrespondingvorticesissmaller. Lin(2002) [4] suggeststhatthesedevices
shouldbeappliedclosetotheseparationregionwhenit isrelativelyxed.
Theskewangletothefreestream
pd
determines thevortex strengthandlateral path
[8]. Tilmann et al. (2002) found that increasing
pd
generally increases the circulation
andthus thecontrol goal effectiveness. However, GodardandStanislas (2006) [1] found
by decreasing
pd
from23

to 13

that the vortices can be linearly strengthened up.

Actually, anoptimumangleof attack existswhichisfoundequal to
pb
= 18

byGodard
andStanislas (2006) [1] for abumpconguration. Inaddition, arapiddecay of thepeak
vorticitydownstreamof theVGisobserved, regardlessof
pb
[1, 4, 7, 8].
Foradenedowconguration(TBL overabump, ramp, airfoil, etc.), oncetheoptimal

pb
isfound, thereexit anoptimal number of devicesinthespanwisedirectiondepending
onthespanwisearrangement of theVGs andtheavailabletransversespace. Godardand
Stanislas[1], bymeasuringthedownstreamwall shear stressbetweendevicesof thesame
pair and between two pairs of counter-rotating VGs, could performa parametric study.
They found two effects when increasing the height of the device and thus the vortex
circulation. In between a pair of counter-rotating VGs, the gain in termof skin friction
saturates over h = 0.2, whereas it still increases over h = 0.4 between devices of the
samepair. Actually, thedistancebetweendevices, for bothco-rotatingor counter-rotating
arrangement,isof majorimportance[1,4,5,7].Forcounter-rotatingarrangements,contrary
to theco-rotatingones, decreasingthetransversedistancebetweendevices was foundto
blow-up thevortices. On thecontrary, increasing too much thespacing between devices
decreasestheeffectivenesslocally[1, 5]. Departingfromanon-equidistantstate(/L = 4)
Angeleetal. (2005) [5] recentlyfound, fromextensiveSPIV measurements, thatthecentres
of thevorticesmovedownstreamtowardsanequidistantstateandremainsubmergedinthe
TBL, contrary to thenon-viscous theory. Therefore, theoptimal spacingshouldbeclose
totheequidistant stateandthepositionof theVGs shouldbefar enoughupstreamof the
separation lineinorder for thevortices to becomeequidistant and to avoid back-owin
betweenactuators[5]. Moreover, it shouldbecloseenoughtotheseparationlinetoavoid
additional drag fromthedownstreamtravelling of thestreamwisevortices. Theoptimal
streamwise distance between the vortex generators line and the minimumskin friction
station(or theseparationline) X
vg
isexperiencedtobeX
vg
/h < 100, but depending
ontheowconguration(bump, ramp, airfoil, duct, etc.) [1, 4].
Notethat most of thestudiesdidnot performparametricinvestigationswhicharetime
consuming. Themost investigatedparameter istheheight h of thedevice.
Manyfundamental studieswereperformedtoanalysetheorganisationof thestreamwise
vortices produced by VGs embedded in a zero-pressure gradient (ZPG) TBL (among
others [7, 913]). Recent studies are addressing more realistic congurations which are
streamwise vortices embedded in an APG-TBL with or without separation ([1, 5, 14]
amongothers). IndeedtheowinwhichtheVG is embeddedinuences thedynamics of
theproducevortices. Viscous diffusioncauses thevortices to grow, theswirlingvelocity
component todecreaseandtheBL todeveloptowardsa2Dstate[5]. Theadversepressure
gradient is found to promoteinteractions between vortices hencedecreasing thecontrol
effectiveness[4]. Therefore, dependingontheowconguration(atplatewithinanAPG,
ramp, bump, etc.) the optimal parameters vary. The main ow inuence is still under
investigation.
Logdberget al. (2009) [7] haverecentlyanalysedthemeanvortexpathof longitudinal
vorticesproducedbyrectangularplatesdevices(orvanetypes)withinaZPG-TBL bymeans
of owvisualisationandhot-wiremeasurements. This meanpathis determinedfromthe
maximumpositivevalueof themeanvelocitygradient tensor secondinvariant at different
streamwisepositions. For acounter-rotatingarraycongurationof VGs, thevorticesfrom
thesamepair rstmoveawayfromeachothers. Thus, theymovecloser totheneighbouring
vortexpair andeventuallyformanewcounter-rotatingpair withacommonow. Thenthe
vorticesmoveawayfromthewall. Fromtheauthors, thisisduetotheinducedvelocityinthe
upwashmotionthat tendstolift thevortices. Finally, they moveagaintowardseachother,
closer totheequidistant-state. Theauthors attributethis last peculiar hook-likemotionto
thevortexgrowthandthelimitedspaceinsidetheboundarylayer duetotheneighbouring
vortices. Themaximummeanvortex radiusisestimatedtobe/4whichimpliesthat the
meanvortexcentrepathiswithinacircledenedasfollowed: y/h = 2.08; z/ = 0.25.
Angele et al. [5] and Logdberg [14] also provide a useful rough evaluation of the
vortexcirculation, = 2khU
vg
/, wherek isacoefcientthatdependsonthedeviceused
(k = 0.6for vane-typeVGinaZPGconguration), andU
vg
isthestreamwisevelocity at
thetipof thedevice. However, thisdoesnotincludetheinuenceof theskewangleandthe
cross-oworganisation.
Thedevelopment of SPIV measurementsledtofurther understandingof theVGs/TBL
interaction. Angeleet al. (2005) [5] haverecentlyanalysedtheVGs/APG-TBL interaction
intermsof turbulentproperties. InthatstudytheAPGinduceasmall separationarea. They
foundthat most of theturbulenceproductionis locally governedby oneof thegradients
dU/dy or dU/dz fromtheS-shapeproleof thestreamwisevelocityinthex-yplaneand
themushroomshapeof thestreamwisevelocityinthey-zplane. Inspan, betweenvortices,
thespanwisegradientinvolvessignicantlevelsof turbulenceproduction, howevertheow
isoverall moreisotropic.
1.2. ActiveVGs
Passivedevices wererapidly replaced by activeones which can beturned off when not
necessary in order to avoid additional drag (i.e. during cruise ight of an aircraft for
instance). Many active device types were then developed for which, depending on the
control sourceused, thecontrol isof different nature(acousticactuators, plasmaactuators,
uidic actuators, etc.). Moreover, within uidic actuators, one can distinguish synthetic
jets devices also called Zero-Net Mass Flux [1517] and pulsed-jet actuators [18, 19].
Indeed, for synthetic jets, contrary to pulsed-jets, thereexists asuctionphase. Moreover,
different jet oriceshapes, orientations andoperatingparameters (jet orientednormal to
thewall, highor lowpulsatingfrequency, lowor highvelocity ratios VR betweenthejet
exit velocityandthelocal freestreamvelocity, etc.) areused, whichleadtodifferent types
of control. For instance, Greenblatt and Wygnansky [20] talk about coherent structures
enhancement also called hydrodynamic control. For this control type, a low VR and a
pulsatingfrequency adaptedto thenatural sheddingfrequency of thecoherent structures
isthought tobeefcient. Ontheother hand, Ramanet al. [21] aredealingwiththesmall
turbulent structures; actingonethesescales is thought to allowto modify thelargescale
organisationmoreefciently thanthehydrodynamic control (no development of another
dominant harmonic).
Thepresent work isfocusedoncontrol studiesusinguidicactuatorswithadditionof
masstogeneratestreamwisevortices(alsocalledpulsed-jetsactuatorsor pneumaticvortex
generators).
Incontinuousmodeof theactuator, thestreamwiseevolutionof theproducedvortices
byasingleactivedevicehasbeenextensivelyanalysedinZPGcongurations([8, 22, 23]
among others). The circulation and the associated strength of the vortex is modied by
parameterssuchastheratiobetweenthejet exit velocityandthelocal freestreamvelocity
VR, theactuatorpitch andskew anglesandtheoriceshape(seeFigure2fornotations).
Contrarytopassivedevices, thearrangement mayinuencesignicantlytheproducedjet,
leadingtoadditional parametersdependency. Indeed, ashighlightedinPeterson et al. [24]
and Warsop et al. [25], aseparation occurs within thetube(or hole) dueto thesupply
channel owshear at theleading or trailing edgeof thehole. Warsop et al. [25] found
thisphenomenaresponsibleof pressurelossesupto40%at theexit, whereasPeterson and
Plesniak[24] showthatforlowaspectratioof theoriceexit(lessthanunity), thetrajectory
and thespanwisespreading of theexit jet can bemodied depending on thesign of the
supplychannel-inholeow.
PetersonandPlesniak[24] performedanextensivePIV analysisof streamwisevortices
embeddedinaTBL (at plateconguration) for roundjet actuatorsplacedperpendicular
to the wall. Measurements where taken in the plenumchamber and the exit hole and
immediatelydownstreamthehole. Evenif theexit holewasperpendicular tothewall, this
givesinsight inthevortexformationmechanism. A singlejet perpendicular toawall gives
risetoapair of counter-rotatingstreamwisevortices, whereastwoinclinedjetsareneeded
to get aqualitatively equivalent vortex pair. Theoriginof theremainingcounter-rotating
vortex pair fromthejet/freestreaminteractionisexplainedby thehighshear fromthejet
edgeswhichinducesaroll-upof theboundarylayerow. Theshearismoreimportantatthe
trailingedgeof theholeduetobendingof thejet. Behindthejet, atruewakeregiondoes
not develop, but rather theactionof thecounter-rotatingvortex pair draws theuidaway
fromthewall whichcreatesarecirculationregionof lowvelocityimmediatelydownstream
of thejet along thex-axis. When theblowing ratio increases, thejet lifts fromthewall
andtherecirculatingregionissignicantlyreduced. Additionally, largeseparationsoccurs
withintheexit holeof thejet whichaffectsthefollowingdevelopment of thetwocounter-
rotatingvortices immediately downstreamthehole, whentheaspect ratioof theexit hole
isshort (lower than1). For instance, for aowinthesupply channel pointinginthesame
directionasthemainow, thecounter-rotatingvorticesfromthejet/freestreaminteraction
areenhanced, upto35%comparedtosupplychannel pointingintheoppositedirectionto
themainow, andthuspenetratesfurther intotheTBL. Moreover, thespanwisespreading
slightly decreases, whencomparedtosupply channel pointinginthedirectionoppositeto
themainow.
Whenthejet has anangleto thewall (pitchand/or skewangle), two counter-rotating
vortices areinitially created just downstreamof thedevicewhich evolves rapidly into a
singlecoherent vortex of onesignaccompaniedby amuchsmaller andweaker regionof
circulationof theoppositesignnearthewall [8].TheperformancesincreasewithVRandthe
effect ispersistent far downstreamfromtheinjection(X
vg
/ = 200or X
vg
/ = 40).
For passiveVGs, theprimaryvortexcontinuestomovelaterallyinthedirectionof thevane
skew, whileforactiveVGsthepathof theprimaryvortexisdrivenbyVR. Consequently, too
highjetexitvelocity(VR) canblowthevorticesoutof theTBL, whereitisoverwhelmedby
thefree-streammomentumandquicklydissipates, hencereducingthecontrol effectiveness
[8]. For singleVGsembeddedintheTBL, thevorticesaresimilar (at least qualitatively) to
theonesfrompassiveVGs[8, 22].
Different VGsarrangementswerealsoinvestigated[2]. Thesignof theproducedvor-
ticesfromco-rotating(CO) andcounter-rotating(CT) arrangementsisfoundsimilar tothe
passiveones. TheCT activeVGsarefoundtoproducesimilar vorticesaspassiveonesin
thesamearrangement. Onthecontrary, CO-activeVGs mergemorerapidly thanpassive
onesandthustheydissipatemorerapidly. Theoptimal distancebetweendeviceswasfound
10-timessmallerthanforpassivedevicesbutwithahigherachievableskinfrictiongain. For
CT actuators, theskinfrictiongainisproportional toVR withlittleskinfrictiongainover
VR =3.1for aTBL over abumpcongurationwithout separation[2]. Hence, anoptimal
VR existsover whichthevorticesmaybebleedout of theTBL whichwasnt observedby
theauthors. Logdberg[14] foundthat thenecessary VR toachievethecontrol goal varies
littlewithAPG. Withtheassumptionthatfor thesameeffectivenesscriteria, thecirculation
isidentical for bothactiveandpassivedevices, aroughevaluationof thecirculation for
activedevices was performed. Also, = 1.0 to 1.5 was found enough to overcomethe
small separationinall threeAPGtested. Theseauthorsalsosuggest that anincreaseof the
number of jetsshouldbepreferredtoimprovefurther thecontrol effectivenessrather than
anincreaseof VR (inthelimit of theoptimal spacing). For lowVR (<4.7) anddepending
on the main ow conguration, the optimal skew angle is found between 45

and 90

[2, 26, 23].

Theuseof activeVGs in thepulsed modeenables to decreasefurther themass ow
consumptionof theactuator. Indeed, inthepulsedmodethepulsatingfrequency andthe
Duty Cycle(DC) canbetunedso that successivestreamwisevortex segments canmerge
downstream, producingquasi-continuousstreamwisevorticeswithlessmassowratethan
the steady case [8, 19]. Also, depending on the main ow conguration (i.e. attached
or separated TBL over a ramp, bump, etc.) and the actuator-jet strength (VR), the jet
penetrationmay bemodiedby thepulsatingfrequency. Moreover, Tilmann[8] observed
that pulsating the jet always generates a stronger primary vortex independently to the
width of theDC. Morerecently, Ortmann and Kaehler, and Kostas et al. [18, 19] found
asignicant improvement of thecontrol effectiveness during therst millisecond of the
activation/deactivationof theactuator whichwasrelatedtounsteadyoscillationsof thejet
exit duringthesephasesandsubsequent modulationof theprimaryvortexstrength. These
oscillationswerelater foundtoberelatedtoawavepropagationphenomenainthefeeding
tubeof theactuator [27]. Theexit jet fromtheuidVGwasanalysedindetailedby [28].
However, thisisbeyondthescopeof thispaper whichtreatsonly thecontinuousmodeof
operationof activeVGs.
Thesestudies allowto concludeontheeffectiveness of theactuator andonthemean
organisationof theresultingTBL/VGsinteraction. However, toolittleattentionwaspaidto
theTBL reorganisationbehindVGsactuators. Thisismainly duetothedifculty toget a
goodspatial resolutioninsidetheTBL. Inthepresent facility, theTBL is10-timesscaled-
upcomparedtotypical experimental facilitieswhichenablestoperformedamoredetailed
analysisof theinteractionbetweentheAPG-TBL andpassiveor activeVGs. Thisisdone
usingstereoPIV indifferent planes normal totheow, downstreamof theactuators. The
meanowandturbulent kinetic energy distributionsarerst characterised. Thenavortex
detectionanalysisisperformedontheinstantaneousstereoPIV measurements(seeTables
1and2). Thisgivesabetter insight intothereorganisationof themainowturbulencein
thepresenceof streamwisevortices.
Parametric studiesof different kindsof vortex generatorswereperformedby Bernard
et al. [29], GodardandStanislas[1] andGodardandStanislas[2] aspart of twoEuropean
projectscalledAEROMEMSandAEROMEMSII.Theobjectivesweretooptimisedifferent
actuator systems in order to control separation on an airfoil or awind ap using Micro
Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology. Since such systems have very small
scales, anenlargementof thescaleof thephenomenonwasdecidedtoovercometheproblem
of spatial resolution. A stereoscopic PIV experiment was also performedby Godardand
Stanislas[1] andGodardet al [32, 33].
InSection2, theexperimentsperformedtoobtainthepresentdatabasearedescribed. In
Section3, onepoint statistical analysisarepresented(meanvelocity andturbulent kinetic
Figure3. Front viewof theTBL windtunnel.
energy). InSection4, thespatial correlationisanalysed. InSection5, thevortexdetection
methodandthecorrespondingresultsareshown. Finally, ageneral conclusionisprovided.
2. Descriptionof thedatabase
ThefacilityusedtoacquirethedatabasehastheparticularitytoenableaTBL with upto
300mm, fullydevelopedinthetest sectionandcharacterisedintheat plateconguration
by[30]. Someyearsago, abumpwasaddedwithinthisTBL. Thiscongurationrepresents
thenon-actuated case. A detailed analysis of this bump owwas performed by Bernard
et al. [31]. Later, Godardet al. [1, 2, 32] analysedtheeffectivenessof different VGdevices
froman extensive parametric study. Gain in terms of shear stress measurements were
compared and led to optimal congurations. SPIV measurements were then performed
on these congurations and briey described [33]. The same SPIV database is used in
the present analysis with optimal parameters of the devices. To help the reader, some
informationconcerningthedatabaseisrecalledinthissection.
2.1. Thewindtunnel
Figure3is afront viewof theboundary layer windtunnel used. It is 20mlong. Thelast
5maretransparent onall sidestoallowtheuseof optical methods, andthetest sectionis
12m
2
. Thefreestreamvelocity for thepresent databasewas set at 10m/s. Thewind
tunnel was used in closed loop to allow the use of smoke. The wind tunnel velocity is
computer controlledby aPC within 0.01%). Theboundary layer under study develops
onthelower wall. It istrippedat theentranceof thetunnel byagridlaidontheoor. The
originof thecoordinatesystemisplacedinthemiddleof thelower wall at theentranceof
thetunnel. Thex-axisisparallel tothewall andtotheow, they-axisisnormal tothewall,
thereferenceframeisdirect. Atthebeginningof thebump, x =15.5m, theboundarylayer
thicknessis = 300mm.
2.2. Thebump
Theobjectiveof theAEROMEMS projet was to designabumpwithapressuregradient
representativeof what happensonthesuctionsideof anairfoil at moderateangleof attack
andtoapproachseparationwithout reachingit inorder toprevent theowtobecome3D.
Thecoordinatesof thebumpcanbefoundinBernardet al. [31]. Theowintherst half
of thebumpstronglyaccelerateswitharapidvariationof thepressuregradient magnitude.
At x =17 m, thesign of thepressuregradient changes and its variation becomes more
Figure4. Distributionof thepressurecoefcient over thebump.
progressiveinorder toavoidseparation(seeFigures4and5). Theskinfrictiondecreases
rapidlyandreachesaminimumaroundx
cf min
=18.58m.
2.3. Theactuators
Thedeviceparametersweretakenfromtheoptimal congurationfoundby[1] and[2] for
thesamebaseow. If theoptimal streamwiselocation of thepassivedevicewas found,
it was not possible, dueto mechanical constraints, to placejets VGs at thesamestation.
ActiveVGswereplaced0.45mdownstreamof thebest passivedevicelocation. However,
inordertocomparetheactiveandpassiveactuation, measurementswerealsoperformedfor
apassivevortexgeneratorsarray(PAb) atthesamelocationastheroundjetsX
d
=17.55m.
TheVGsusedare:
r
Passivedeviceinthecounter-rotatingarrangement:
(1) a spanwise row of counter-rotating VGs at X
d
=17.10 m(optimal streamwise
location) (PA)
(2) aspanwiserowof counter-rotatingVGsat X
d
=17.55m(PAb)
Figure5. Distributionof thepressuregradient over thebump.
Table1. Parametersfor thepassivevortexgenerator actuators(PA) inthecounter-
rotatingarrangement (h = 26mm).
Type (mm) X
d
(m) h/ l/h L/h /h
pd
X
VG
/h N
j
PA 70 17.10 0.37 2 2.5 6 18 57 22
PAb 165 17.55 0.158 2 2.5 6 18 57 22
r
Activedevicesat X
d
=17.55m(onlyinthecontinuousmode):
(1) auniquepair of counter-rotatingVGs(CT)
(2) aspanwiserowof co-rotatingVGs(CO)
Theparameters of theVG usedaresummarisedinTables 1and2: is theboundary
thicknesswithout actuationat thedevicelocation, X
d
isthepositionof thedevicesinthe
streamwise direction (see Figures 1 and 2), h is the height of the passive devices, l/h
is theaspect ratio, is thetransversespacing between two devices (of thesamepair in
counter-rotatingcongurations), L isthetransversespacingbetweentwocounter-rotating
pairs,
pd
is theorientationrelativeto thefree-streamvelocity, X
VG
= X
cf min
X
d
is
thedistancebetweenthelocationof theminimumfrictioncoefcient (without actuation)
andthepositionof thedevicesinthestreamwisedirection, N
j
isthenumber of individual
devicesandVR theratiobetweenthejet velocity andthelocal freestreamvelocity of the
baseow. Theuidicactuatorsarefedfromareservoir withatubelengthof 200mmand
theyareoperatingat constant pressure.
2.4. SPI V measurements
A standardstereoPIV set-upwasusedinthecongurationshowninFigure6. It basically
consists of two Nd:Yag laser cavities, each of themproducing about 250 mJ per pulse
at 12.5 Hz (nominal pulsefrequency). Thepulseduration is 5 ns. Thelight sheet optics
consist of two lenses: onespherical to adjust thelight sheet thickness (about 1mm) and
onecylindrical lenstoxthelight sheet width(about 400mm). Asthemainowisgoing
throughthelight sheet, asmall separation, of theorder of 0.5mm, isset betweentherst
andthesecondlight sheetstoallowalarger dynamicrange.
Torecordtheimages, twoPCOsensicamcamerasfromlavisionwereset onbothsides
of thewindtunnel inaSheimpugconguration. Theyprovide1280 1024pixelsimage
pairswith12bitsdynamicrange. For thepresentexperiments, Nikonlensesof focal length
f = 100 mmwereused. Themagnication was around M = 0.14. With an apertureof
4, thediffractionspot sizewas of theorder of 20m. TheDavis softwareandhardware
fromLavisionwereusedforrecording. Thecalibrationwasperformedbyrecordingimages
of a plane target at three different positions around the light sheet. Measurements were
Table2. Parameters for theactivevortex generator actuators in thecounter-rotating
(CT) andintheco-rotating(CO) ( = 6mm).
Type (mm) X
d
(m) /
l
L/ / - X
VG
/
l
N
j
VR
CT 165 17.55 0.036 15 45-45 7.2 2 3.1
CO 165 17.55 0.036 6 45-45 7.2 5 4.7
Figure6. Schemeof thestereoPIV set-upused.
performed at threelocations along thebump, X
piv
= 17.67 m, 18.09 m, 18.57 m. The
relativedistanceX
d
= X
piv
X
d
isgiveninTable3. Themeasurementplanesarelocated
between thelocation of theactuators and theminimumof skin friction for VGs in their
optimal conguration [1] and [2]. In other words, the VGs are still efcient in the last
measurement plane, whichis nearly at theminimumskinfrictionposition. Fromnowon
thesethreestations will berespectively referredto as plane1, plane2andplane3. Note
that for thePAbcongurationonly two downstreamlocations wererecorded(X
d
/h =
21andX
d
/h = 40).
Theimages frombothcameras wereprocessedwithastandardmulti-gridalgorithm,
withdiscretewindowshiftingandGaussianpeak tting. Thenal interrogation window
sizewas 3232pixels with 50%of overlap. TheSoloff method withthreecalibrations
planeswasusedtoreconstruct thethreevelocitycomponentsintheplaneof measurement.
Thiswasdoneusingahome-madesoftware.
At eachstation, 200instantaneousvelocitymapswererecorded, correspondingto800
imagesof 12801024pixels
2
. Inthecaseof thecounter-rotatingarrangement(bothpassive
andactive), theimageswerecentredsuccessivelyonthedownwashregion(PAD, PADband
CTDcongurations) or theupwashone(PAUandCTUcongurations). Wecall downwash
aregionwheretheowisdirectedtowardsthewall, andupwasharegionwheretheowis
ejectedfromthewall.
Table 3. Location of the SPIV plane measurements relative to the location of the different
devices (PA, PAb, CT and CO) with h = 26 mm, = 6 mmand as the boundary layer
thicknessat eachlocationof themeasurement plane.
PA PAb CT/CO
Plane X
piv
(m) (mm) X
d
/ X
d
/h X
d
/ X
d
/h X
d
/ X
d
/
1 17.67 198 2.94 22 0.63 20
2 18.09 315 3.92 38 2.17 21 2.17 90
3 18.57 450 3.26 57 2.27 40 2.27 170
3. Onepointstatistical analysis
3.1. Meanvelocity
3.1.1. Meanvelocitymaps
Figures7to9givethemeanvelocitymapsobtainedatthethreestreamwisestations(plane
1, plane2andplane3) forthethreetypesof device: passiveactuatorsPA (orPAb) andactive
counter-rotating(CT) andco-rotating(CO) devices(seeTable3). Thein-planevelocityis
describedbythein-planevector components, whilethecolour codinggivesthe(main)out
of planecomponent.
Plane1
At the rst streamwise location (Figure 7), which was selected to characterise the
vorticiesjust after development, theowwithout actuation(WACcase) is2Danduniform
in the spanwise direction. The strong gradient region near the wall, which is still quite
thinat this station, is clearly visiblefromtherapidcolour variationat thebottompart of
themap. For theactuatedcases, at thisstationwhichisvery near tothejetsactuators, the
vorticesareclearlydetectablefor all thedevicestested.
For thepassivedevicesinacounter-rotatingarrangement(PADcase), theowresulting
fromthe device/BL interaction leads, as expected, to two streamwise counter-rotating
vortices. The centres of the vortices are located around [y/ = 0.125; z/ = 0.25] or
[y/h = 1.9; z/ = 0.32] whichisinverygoodagreementwiththelocationof thecentres
givenby Logdberg[7]. Inthemiddleof theeld, astrongdownwashregion, inducedby
thetwocounter-rotatingvorticesisobserved, associatedwithastrongstreamwisevelocity
near thewall. At theedgesof thePIV eldof view, betweenthecounter-rotatingpairs, an
upwashmotionisobservedcoupledwithalowstreamwisevelocity near thewall. Angele
andMuhammad-Klingmann[5] haveobservedasimilar inectionpoint congurationin
themean proles, which is at theorigin of acomplex turbulent production process. As
Figure7. Plane1: WAC, PAD, COandCTD. Theblack triangular inthePAD caserepresents the
passivedevices projected on they-z plain. TheBlack arrows represents thejet direction fromthe
activedevices.
expected, thevortices produced by thePA actuators, which arelocated further upstream
(X
d
=17.10minsteadof X
d
= 17.55m, seeTable3), arebigger insizethanthosedueto
theactivedevices, forwhichtheperturbedregionistwo-timessmaller(beneathy/ = 0.2).
For counter-rotating jets, aqualitativeagreement is found with passivedevices. The
samesignsof counter-rotatingvorticesarefoundwiththecentrecloser tothewall [y/ =
0.065; z/ = 0.25] or [y/h = 0.5; z/ = 0.25]. However, somedifferencesarefound.
Themushroom-likeshapeis atter thanwithpassivedevices whichleads to aspreading
of thestructureinthetransversedirection. Also, inbetweendevices of thesamepair, the
streamwisevelocityisweaker. ThiscanbeexplainedatrstbythefactthatintheCT case,
thevorticesarejust developinginplane1whilefor thePA casetheyarefullyestablished.
Alsoonlyonepair of counter-rotatingdevicesisusedfor theCT casewhereas11pairsare
usedfor thePA case. Thesecondexplanationismoreplausiblebecausethesedifferences
areretrievedinplane2wheretheactuatorsarethistimeat thesamestreamwiselocation.
For theco-rotating jets conguration, theowshows aclear periodicity z/ . 0.2
of co-rotating vortices which corresponds to the periodicity of the device arrangement
/ . 0.2. A lowstreamwisevelocityisfoundoneachsideof thejet shear area(near the
wall andnear thecentreof thestreamwisevortices).
Plane2
Thenextstation(X
piv
= 18.09m), ispresentedinFigure8. Thesmoothwall boundary
layer hasclearlyincreasedinthickness, whilekeepingits2Dnature. For theactuatedcases,
thestreamwisevortices arestill identiablefor thecounter-rotatingactuators, whilethey
havedisappearedfor theco-rotatingjets. Thetwocounter-rotatingdevicesshowthesame
overall behaviour, with this timeequivalent scaleand intensity (as thePAb actuators are
nowatthesamestreamwiselocationastheCT ones). Asexpected, vorticesgrewinsizeand
decreasedinintensitywiththegrowingboundarylayer [4, 8, 7]. Thepositionof thecentre
Figure8. Plane2: WAC, PADb, COandCTD. Theblack triangular inthePADcaserepresentsthe
passivedevicesprojectedonthey-zplan. TheBlackarrowsrepresentthejetdirectionfromtheactive
devices.
of vortices is approximately (y/ = 0.065; z/ = 0.15] or [y/h = 0.79; z/ = 0.30)
for bothcounter rotatingdevices, whichindicates that no signicant lateral movement of
thestreamwisevorticesisobserved(z/ = 0.3for therst twoPIV planelocations). On
thecontrary, thevortices havemovedaway fromthewall inthesameratio as thegrowth
of theTBL without actuation (y/ = 0.065 for therst two PIV plane locations). This
indicatesthatthewall normal scalingfor themeanvortexpathisrather thanh contraryto
Logdberget al. [7]. Asat thepreviousstation, themushroom-likeshapeisatter for active
devices withaweaker streamwisevelocity inthevery near wall region. Also, inbetween
devicesof thesamepair, thestreamwisevelocityisweaker for thejet VGs.
For co-rotatingdevices, averydifferent behaviour isfound, evenif theeldof viewis
obviouslytoosmall forthiscase, thewakeof theVGshasturnedintoaregionof momentum
downwashtowardsthewall, regionwhichhasmovedtotheright of thegure, duetoself
inductionof theco-rotatingvortical motionnear thewall. Nevertheless, theBL momentum
isimprovedinthewholeregionof observation.
Plane3
AtthelaststreamwisestationX
piv
=18.57m(Figure9), whichisnearlytheminimum
skin friction station, the smooth wall BL has again increased in thickness. The slight
transverseasymmetryshouldbeattributedtothePIV accuracywhichwasabit lessinthis
conguration, duetosomedifcultiestoadjusttheset-up. Theeldof viewisobviouslytoo
small for theco-rotatingjets. Althoughsomesignicant momentumdownwashisvisible,
it wouldbeinterestingtoassesstheowonbothsidesof theeldof view. For thecounter-
rotatingpassivedevices, theresultsshowanhomogenisation, withastreamwisevelocityin
therangeof 0.5to0.7Ue, all downtothewall. Thevorticestrace, althoughfairlyweak, is
still detectable. Thecounter-rotatingjetsshowstill fairlycoherent vortices. Thedatagives
Figure9. Plane3: WAC, PADb, CO and CTD. Theblack triangular in thePADb caserepresents
thepassivedevicesprojectedonthey-zplan. TheBlack arrowsrepresentsthejet directionfromthe
activedevices.
anevidenceof alternationsof lowandhighmomentumregionsnear thewall, but withan
increaseeverywhere, ascomparedtothesmoothwall.
Summary
For an equivalent efciency, around 200%of shear stress gain compared to thenon-
actuated case (see Godard and Stanislas [2]), the PIV results in the three planes of ob-
servationevidencelittledifferencesbetweenPA andCT andhighdifferencesbetweenCT
andCO devices. Theevolutionfor thestreamwisevortices producedby counter-rotating
vortices areoverall similar to theliterature. Thelongitudinal evolution fromco-rotating
congurationissubject totoofewstudiestobecompared, althoughLin[4] reportsit tobe
moreefcient in3Dcross-owcongurationsthanin2Dcongurations. Inthisstudy, the
initial individual vortices areobservedto mergeinto alargesinglevortical regionwhich
hastheabilitytogloballyincreasethemomentumnear thewall.
3.1.2. Meanproles: comparisonof actuator types
Inadditiontotheaboveanalysisonthemeaneld, inorder tobetter assesstheVGeffecton
themeanow, somemeanprolesareplottedinFigure10alongthetransversedirectionz.
Inplane1(X
piv
= 17.67m), themeanlongitudinal andnormal velocityprolesaregivenat
y/ = 0.08fortheWAC, COR, CTDandCTUcongurations. Inplane2(X
piv
= 18.09m)
andplane3(X
piv
= 18.57m)meanstreamwiseandnormal prolesaregivenatrespectively
y/ = 0.10andy/ = 0.22.
Theactuationproduces anoticeabletransversevariationof thesemeanvelocity com-
ponents, with a different pattern depending on the type of actuation. For the PAD and
CTD conguration, themean ow exhibits an excess of streamwisevelocity (compared
to theWAC conguration) at thecentreof theeld, this excess is still clearly visibleat
X
piv
= 18.57m. It appearsat theleft andright sidesof theeldintheCTU conguration.
FortheCORconguration, thisprole, whichoriginallyexhibits5peaksinplane1, evolves
0.25 -0.25
0.25 0
-0.1 0.1
0.1 0 -0.1
0
1
0
0
0
z/
z/
z/ z/ z/
-0.25
z/
Plane2,y/ =0.065 Plane1,y/ =0.08 Plane3, y/ =0.1
V/U
e
V/U
e
-0.1 -0.2 0.2 0.1 2 . 0 2 . 0 -
0.2 -0.2
-0.1 0.1 0.2 -0.2
0.1
0.05
-0.05
0.2
0.1
-0.1
0.9
0.5
0.5
0.9
0.05
-0.05
V/U
e
U/U
e
U/U
e
U/U
e
0.75
1.1
1.3
0 0 0
Figure10. Prolesof themeanU (top) andmeanV (bottom) inthethreeplaneof investigation, for
onewall distanceandas afunctionof thetransversecoordinatez; WAC (black), COR (red), CTD
(green), CTU (blue) andPAD(magenta) congurations.
downstreamsuchasaglobal increaseof thestreamwisevelocityisnoticeableinplanes2and
3withamaximumaroundz/ =0.25. Inall theactuatedcases, aglobal accelerationof the
owisobserved. Itcanalsobenoticedthatamaximumof streamwisevelocitycorresponds
to anegativeminimumof thenormal component andaminimumof streamwisevelocity
corresponds to apositivemaximumof V (except for theCOR conguration in plane3,
wherenoextremais clearly noticeableonthenormal velocity prole). Actually, negative
normal velocitycorrespondstoatransportof high-speeduidfromthefree-stream. Onthe
contrary, positivenormal velocitycorrespondstoatransport of low-speeduidoutsidethe
boundary layer. A clear differenceinbehaviour betweenco- andcounter-rotatingdevices
can benoticed. For theCOR, in plane1 and at thechosen altitude, amomentumdecit
appearsonaveragecomparedtotheWAC case. Thisisduetothefact that thevorticesare
compactly staggerednear thewall andleavelittleroombetweenthemfor downwash. In
planes 2and3, theindividual vortices of plane1havemergedtogether. Themomentum
benetisclearlyvisibleandthewakeof theactuatingdevicehasmovedtransverselybyself
induction. For thedifferent counter-rotatingcongurations, thelifetimeof theindividual
vorticesismuchlonger andthemomentumtransfer isinevident agreement withthesign
andlocationof thedifferent vortices. Onesolutiontoavoidthemergingintheco-rotating
casewould beto increasethetransversespacing, but it has been shown by Godard and
Stanislas[1, 2] that thisreducestheoverall efciencyof thedevice.
3.2. Turbulent kineticenergy
Besides themean velocity, it is of interest to plot an indicator of theturbulenceactivity
in the ow: the turbulent kinetic energy k. As the measurement were performed with
stereo PIV, this quantity, which is half thetraceof theReynolds stress tensor is directly
accessible. Figure11showsthisquantityintherstmeasurementplaneandforthedifferent
congurationstested. Withoutactuation(WAC)theturbulentactivityislocated, asexpected,
verynear thewall at y < 0.1 . Inall theactuatedcases, k isenhancedsignicantlybythe
actuationandlocatedmainly inthewakeof theactuators. This indicates that thevortices
Figure11. Turbulent kineticenergy fromtopleft tobottomright: WAC, CTD, CTU, COR, PAD,
PAU congurations(plane1).
Figure12. Turbulent kineticenergy(plane2).
are probably slightly uctuating in position, due to their interaction with the oncoming
turbulence. In plane2 (Figure12), thesituation has evolved signicantly. First, without
actuation, k has increased signicantly, and thepeak has moved away fromthewall (in
agreement withtheprevious HWA measurements of Bernardet al. [31]). Intheactuated
cases, thelevel of k iscomparabletotheWAC caseandit seemsthat theturbulent activity
has beengatheredinsomepreferableareas of theow. This is mainly theupwashregion
for thecounter rotatingcongurations andtheleft part of theeld, whereturbulencehas
Figure13. Turbulent kineticenergy(plane3).
been spread as compared to theWAC case, for theco-rotating conguration. In plane3
(Figure 13), which is far downstream(in the region of minimumwall shear stress) the
turbulencepeakisstill intense. IntheWACcase, itiswider andfurther awayfromthewall,
in agreement with previous hot wire measurements [31]. The counter-rotating actuators
clearlyredistributek at thetopof theupwashregions. For theco-rotatingcase, theresults
aredifcult tointerpret.
Asaconclusion, theactuatorsseemtogenerateturbulenceinplane1. Thisapparent
turbulence is probably due to the uctuation in position of the vortices, as it becomes
rapidly comparableinintensity to thenatural one(planes 2and3). Theactuation seems
toredistributespatiallythisturbulence. Thisisparticularlyevident for thecounter-rotating
actuators.
4. Spatial correlations
Spatial correlation is classically used to reveal the underlying organisation of turbulent
ows. Inthepresentcase, inorder toassestheorganisingabilityof thestreamwisevortices,
wehavecomputedthetwo points spatial correlationof thevelocity elds. Thetwo point
spatial correlation co-efcients aredened as thetemporal mean valueof thefollowing
relation:
R
ij
( x,

dx, t ) =
u
i
( x, t ). u
j
( x

dx, t ))
u
i
( x, t ). u
i
( x, t )) u
j
( x

dx, t ). u
j
( x

dx, t ))
. (1)
Thevector x isatwo-componentvector intheplane(y, z), anditrepresentsthecoordinates
of axedpoint,

dx represents thecoordinates of themovingpoint, andt is thetime. In

thepresent case, an ergodicity hypothesis is used: theaverage is not computed on time
but as anensembleaverageonthenumber of PIV maps whicharesupposedcompletely
uncorrelated(thisistrueasthetimeseparationbetweentwomapsismuchlarger thanthe
timescaleof theTaylor macroscalesof theow).
In all the results presented below, the direction normal to the wall is considered as
the non-homogeneous direction. The transverse direction will sometimes be considered
homogeneous. Inthiscase, thecorrelationcoefcientsareaveragedalongthez direction,
andthexedpoint isthendenedbyitssinglewall normal coordinatey.
4.1. Without actuation
First, the different spatial correlation coefcients in planes 2 and 3 in the conguration
withoutactuation(referredtoasWAC)werecomputed. Inthisparticularcase, thetransverse
directionz isconsideredashomogeneous. Figures14and15showthesecoefcients. The
altitude of the xed point is y/ = 0.065 for plane 2 and y/ = 0.010 for the plane 3.
Thesealtitudes correspondmoreor less to thecentreof thevortices, whentheactuators
areinoperation. As canbeseen, thenormal coefcients R
22
andR
33
arefairly localised,
withanincreaseof thescaleswhengoingdownstream. Thewall normal velocitygradient
is detectablein plane2 on R
22
as thecorrelation is computed hereon theinstantaneous
velocitiesandnot ontheuctuations. ThecrosscorrelationcoefcientsR
23
andR
32
show
ashapewhich has already been observed by Bernard et al. [31] and which is typical of
vorticesnormal tothePIV plane. Again, thesizeof thesevorticesincreasesdownstream.
Figure14. Spatial correlationcoefcientsfor thecongurationwithout actuation(WAC); plane2;
xedpoint at y/ = 0.065.
4.2. Plane1
In this plane, only theco-rotating (COR) conguration was analysed. Thexed point is
chosenat thealtitudeof thecentreof thevortices(that is y/ = 0.077). Nohomogeneity
hypothesis is taken in the z direction. To check the transverse effect, three transverse
locationsof thexedpoint weretested: z/ = 0.4, z/ = 0andz = 0.4. Theselocations
areshowninFigure16. Theycorrespondapproximatelytoananalogouspositioncompared
to therst, thirdandfthvortices. TheR
23
andR
32
coefcients werecomputed, as they
Figure15. Spatial correlationcoefcientsinfor thecongurationwithout actuation(WAC); plane
3; xedpoint at y/ = 0.010.
Figure16. Meanvelocity eld; plane1; COR conguration; locationof thethreexedpointsa, b
andc.
indicatethelinksbetweenthenormal andtransversecomponentsof thevelocity. Theresults
areshownintheFigure17. Thetwocoefcientsshowafairlydifferentshape. Lookingrst
atR
23
closetothexedpoint, itshowsastructurewhichlooksliketherighthalf of thesame
gureintheWAC case. This canbeexplainedby thefact that thevortex is nowlocated
onaverageontheright sideof thexedpoint, whileintheWAC case, streamwisevortices
arerandomlydistributed. Thesizeof thehalf butteryshapeisnowscaledbytheactuating
vortices. This half buttery is repeated periodically at each vortex location, indicating a
strongtransversecorrelationbetweenthevortices of thearray. TheR
32
coefcient shows
alsoahalf butteryshapenear thexedpoint, but thistimeit isthelower twolobeswhich
arekept andwhichrepeat themselves transversely. Curiously, theperiodicity is less clear
Figure 17. R
23
(top) and R
32
(bottom) for the three xed point (a), (b) and (c); plane 1; COR
conguration.
at point b, but this shouldbeattributedto alack of convergenceas only 200samples are
availabletocomputethecorrelationcoefcientswhennohomogeneityhypothesisisused.
In fact a slightly better convergence could be achieved by averaging the three maps of
Figure17.
4.3. Plane2
Inthisplane, thexedpoint altitudewaschosentocorrespondtothecentreof thevortices
generated by the counter-rotating jets conguration, that is y/ = 0.065. First, the R
23
coefcient was computed in the CTD, CTU and PADb congurations. The transverse
directionisagainconsideredasnon-homogeneous, andthexedpointislocatedatz/ = 0.
Figure 18 shows the mean velocity eld with the location of the xed point, and the
correspondingiso-contoursof theR
23
coefcient inthesethreecongurations. IntheCTD
andPADbcongurations, at thexedpoint, themeandynamic of theowindicates that
high-speed uid is directed towards the wall (i.e. high negative normal component of
the velocity at this point), and in the CTU conguration the mean dynamic of the ow
indicates that low-speed uid is ejected fromthewall towards thefree-stream(i.e. high
positivenormal component of thevelocity at this point). Thebuttery shapeof theR
23
coefcient, observedintheWAC conguration(Figures 14and15) is clearly observable
hereagainbutwithtwoimportantdifferences.First,inthepresentsituation,counter-rotating
streamwisevortices areexistingonaverageonbothsides of thexedpoint, whileinthe
WAC conguration singlestreamwisevortices of both signs arerandomly distributed in
theeld. Secondly, thecorrelationpatternscalesobviouslyhereonthesizeof theactuating
vortices which, by comparingFigures 18and14, appear about two-times larger thanthe
natural streamwisestructuresof theTBL atthislocation. Itmustberecalledatthisstagethat
theseactuatingcongurationshavebeenfoundoptimumbytheparametricstudyof Godard
andStanislas[1, 2]. Onefurther point whichshouldbenotedisthefact that inthepassive
(PADb) conguration, theorder of magnitudeof thewall extremais approximately two-
timeshigher thanintheCTDconguration. Thisisassociatedwithalessnoisycorrelation
Figure18. Meanvelocityeld(top) andiso-contoursof R
23
(bottom) intheCTD, CTU andPADb
congurations; xedpoint locatedat y/ = 0.065andz/ = 0; plane2.
Figure19. Meanvelocityeldwiththelocationof thetwoxedpointsPF1andPF2andiso-contours
of R
23
andR
32
; COR conguration; plane2.
ascomparedtothetwoother cases, indicatingthat theBL turbulenceislessaffectingthe
actuatingowinthispassivedevicecaseat thislocation.
Inasecondstep, theR
23
coefcient was computedintheCOR congurationfor two
xedpoints: oneat y/ = 0.065andz/ = 0as previously (PF1), andthesecondoneat
y/ = 0.065cmandz/ = 0.25(PF2). Figure19shows themeanvelocity eldwiththe
two xedpoints andtheiso-contours of theR
23
andR
32
coefcients for thesetwo cases.
Theshapeof R
23
looks at arst glancefairly different fromthecounter-rotatingcase. A
closelook leadstointerpret it asasinglehalf-buttery patternsimilar totheperiodic one
observedinplane1(Figure17) butsymmetricof it. Thisinterpretationiscoherentwiththe
existenceof alargeandatclockwisevortical motionontheleftpartof theeld(inFigure
17thevortexwasontheright sideof thexedpoint). Thislargecoherent areawasalready
interpretedbyGodardandStanislas[2] asthemergingof theindividual vorticesidentied
inplane1. Thecorrelationis muchstronger at point PF2whichis at theright border of
theactuatedareathanat point PF1whichisintheactuatedareaandat thealtitudewhere
thetransversevelocity component changessign. Anyway, asinplane1, theactuatedow
showsastrongtransversecorrelation. Asfar astheR
32
coefcientisconcerned, inboththe
PF1andPF2cases, afairly wideandsignicant positivepeak is observedat theright of
thexedpoint. Thiscanbeexplainedbyadownwashmotioninducedbythelargevortical
regionlocatedontheleft of theeld. Thewidetransversecorrelationis moredifcult to
interpret.
Finally, the R
23
and R
32
coefcients were computed in the WAC, CTD, PADb and
CORcongurations, withz beingconsideredasanhomogeneousdirection. Theresultsare
shownintheFigures20and21. Apartfor theco-rotatingcase, astronganalogyinshapeis
observablefor bothcoefcient betweentheactuatedandnon-actuatedcases. Thesizeand
strengthvary signicantly betweentheWAC andtheactuatedcasesandalsobetweenthe
twotypesof actuation. Thetwocorrelationcoefcientsarefairlysimilar insize, shapeand
strengthintheWACcase, whileR
23
showsamuchstrongercorrelationthanR
32
forthetwo
counter-rotatingactuators. Theactuatingstructuresappear herethreetofour-timesbigger
thanthenatural streamwisevorticesof theBL. Thepassivedevices(PADb) induceamuch
Figure20. R
23
iso-contours; xedpoint altitudey/ = 0.065, z homogeneous; plane2.
stronger correlation than thejets system(CTD). In theco-rotating conguration (COR),
thetwo correlationcoefcients arestrongtoo but showafairly different shape, whichis
coherentwiththeresultsof Figure19. Theseresultsclearlyindicatethatthecounter-rotating
actuationinduces amechanismwhichis similar to thenatural one, but stronger andwith
larger structures whiletheco-rotatingactuationchanges signicantly theboundary layer
owstructure.
Figure21. R
32
iso-contours; xedpoint altitudey/ = 0.065, z homogeneous; plane2.
Figure22. R
23
iso-contours; xedpoint altitudey/ = 0.010, z homogeneous; plane3.
4.4. Plane3
As previously, thexedpoint altitudecorresponds to thecentreof thevortices generated
by thecounter-rotatingjets conguration. This is nowy/ = 0.065. Inthis plane, dueto
thelimitednumber of samples, correlationscomputedwithouthomogeneityhypothesisare
verynoisy. ThetransversedirectionwasthusconsideredhomogeneoustocomputeR
23
and
R
32
. ThesecoefcientsareshownintheFigures22and23, for theWAC, CTD, PADband
Figure23. R
32
iso-contours; xedpoint altitudey/ = 0.010, z homogeneous; plane3.
CORcongurations. Theycanbecomparedtothesamedatainplane2showninFigures20
and21. Obviously, evenwiththehomogeneityhypothesis, alargernumberof sampleswould
beof worth. As far as theshapeof thecorrelations areconcerned, thesameconclusions
asinplane2canbedrawnfor thecounter-rotatingactuators. Themaindifferenceisinthe
comparisonof thesizeandstrengthbetweentheactuatedandnon-actuatedow. Theyare
nowfairly comparablefor theWAC andtheCTD. ThePADbbeingslightly stronger near
thewall. Twoexplanationscanbegiventotheseresults: either theactuatingvorticeshave
disappearedandthenatural owstructures havereorganisedthemselves or theactuating
vorticeswhich, bycomparingFigures22and23withFigures20and21, appeartostaymore
or lessconstant insize, becomeinplane3of thesamesizeasthelocal natural structures
without actuation. Lookingat theinstantaneousvelocitymaps, therealityissomewherein
between: theactuatingvorticesarestill presentbuttheyaremixedintheturbulentstructures
comingfromupstreamandmoredifcult toindividualise.
5. Vortexdetectionandcharacterisationmethod
5.1. Detectionfunction
Finding areliablemathematical criterion to deneavortex is asubject which has been
thoroughly addressed and which will not bediscussed in detail here. Different detection
functionsareproposed, whicharereviewedforexamplebyJ eongandHussain[34]. Theyall
originatefromthevelocitygradienttensor u whichshowsthreemaininvariants: P = u
i,i
,
Q =
1
2
u
i,j
u
j,i
andR = Det(u
i,j
). Thecorrespondingdetectionfunctionsare:
r
Theenstrophy[[
2
= [
1
2
(u
i,j
u
j,i
)[
2
; itsvalueisrelatedtotheintensityof vortices.
r
Thevelocity discriminant = (
1
3
Q)
3
(
1
2
R)
2
, whichindicates avortex whentaking
positivevalues.
r
Thesecond velocity invariant Q, which also indicates thepresenceof avortex when
takingpositivevalues.
r
Thesecond eigenvalue
2
of S
2

2
(whereS and arerespectively thestrain and
rotationratetensors), whichtakesnegativesvaluesinavortex.
Inthefollowing, Qwill beusedasdetectionfunction.
All thedetectionfunctionspreviouslydenedneedtheuseof aderivationlter. Some
derivationschemesprovidetoonoisydata, whereasother schemeshaveastrongsmoothing
effect. After testingvariouslters, wefoundthat the2ndorder least squarelter, whichis
denedas:
u
x
(x
i
) =
1
17
[u(x
i

x
) u(x
i

x
)]
4
17
[u(x
i
4
x
) u(x
i
4
x
)],
whichisthebest compromise, andwill beusedinthefollowing.
5.2. I ndicativefunction
Havingdenedadetectionfunction, asecondstepistoconstructfromitanindicativefunc-
tion. Usually, thisisdoneby thresholdingthedetectionfunction. Thisindicativefunction
isthenbinarywithavalueof 1at thepointswheretheobject isdetected.
Thedifculty hereistochoosetheright thresholdfor thedetectionfunction. Wehave
rst scaledthedetectionfunctionas an8bits image, i.e. withvalues from0to 255. This
Figure24. VortexdetectionintheCTDcongurationfor eldsnumber 20, 40, 100and150; plane
2; (a) detectionfunctionscaledbetween0andits maximum; (b) detectionfunctionscaledbetween
0andQ

mean
Q

mean
; (c) indicativefunction; (d) indicativefunctionafter lteringwithadisc of
radius1.
was necessary to useavailablemathematical morphology tools. Wedid it in such away
thatall thenegativevaluesof Qare0(black), andthemaximumpositivevalueof Qis255
(white). Thus, for all thepositivevaluesof Qthegreylevel goesfromblacktowhite. This
isillustratedinFigure24(a) for theinstantaneouseldnumber 20, 40, 100and150inthe
CTDcongurationinplane2. Ascanbeseen, theimagesobtainedarequitedark. Thisis
dueto thefact that, most often, sometiny bright peaks appear ontheborder of theeld.
Wethusdecidedtoscalethedetectionfunctiondifferently:
r
For Q < 0thepixelsareclippedat 0.
r
For Q > Q

mean
Q

mean
thepixels areclipped at 255, whereQ

mean
represents the
meanvalueof thepositivepart of Q, andQ

mean
isthecorrespondingstandarddevia-
tion.
Theresult of this scalingis showninFigure24(b). As canbeseen, thevortical elements
areclearlyevidencebythisscaling.
Thenextstepistoselectthevalueof thethreshold. Lookingatasampleof eldslarger
thantheoneshowninFigure24, it appears that athresholdTh8%of Q

mean
Q

mean
(that isagreylevel of 20inthepresent case) isagoodcompromisebetweentheamount of
noiseandtherelevantvortical structuresdetected.Figure24(c)showstheindicativefunction
obtainedfromthedetectionfunctionsof Figure24(b) withthisvalueof thethreshold.
5.3. Structureextraction
The last step is the extraction of the information we want (the vortices) based on the
indicative function. The binary image representation of this indicative function usually
Figure25. Exampleof thedilatationanderosionoperations.
needstobeltered, whichmaybeperformedusingmathematical morphological functions.
Moreinformationabout mathematical morphologymaybefoundinSerra[35].
AsevidencedbyFigure24(c), after thresholding, noiseexistsinthebinaryimages(the
indicativefunctions) suchassmall structures, small holesinsidestructure, etc.
Inorder tolter thisnoise, morphological lterswereapplied. Theprocedureusedwas
thefollowing: anopening(erosion+dilatation) operator followedby aclosing(dilatation
+erosion) operator. Theopening operation smooths thecontours of thestructures, cuts
thenarrowisthmuses andsuppresses thesmall islands andthesharpcapes. Ontheother
hand, theclosingoperationblocksupthenarrowchannels, thesmall lakesandthelongthin
gulfs. Thesetwo operations arethecombination of two fundamentals operators: erosion
anddilatation. Let usconsider adigital imageinwhichthereisastructureX (set of pixels
equals to 1), andalso consider astructuringelement B. Theprincipleof theerosionand
dilation operations arebriey illustratedwithanexampleof X andB inFigure25. The
dilatationof X by B istheunionof theblack andshadedredpixels, andtheerodedof X
byB istheremainingblackpixels.
Inthepresent case, different structuringelement weretried. Theonewhichseemedthe
most convenient wasadiscof radius1, i.e. astructuringelement of thefollowingform:
0 1 0
1 1 1
0 1 0
.
Figure24(d) showsthelteredimage, obtainedfromtheindicativefunctionsof Figure
24(c), using theabovedescribed procedure. In order to distinguish between thepositive
andnegativevortices, thebinary images obtainedwerenally multipliedby thevorticity
sign.
Figure26. WAC conguration, plane1; (a) loci of thevortexcentres; (b) and(c) histogramsof the
number of vortexdetectedasafunctionof, respectively, z andy.
5.4. Structurecharacterisation
Thestructures which remain after all theoperations previously described arelabelled in
order toperformstatistical operationsonthem. It isthenpossibletocomputetheaverage
numberof structures(positiveandnegative), theaverageperimeter, surface, radius, altitude,
etc. Thehistogramsof thenumber of structures, structuresaltitudeandtransversepositions
canalsobeplotted. Theresultsarepresentedinthenext section.
5.5. Results
5.5.1. Plane1
In order to show the inuence of jets actuation on the vortices organisation inside the
boundary layer, avortex detectionwasrst performedfor theWAC conguration. Figure
26(a) shows theloci of thevortices centres obtainedby analysingthe200velocity elds
available. Theredstars correspondto positive(clockwise) vortices, andthebluestars to
negative(counter-clockwise) vortices. Figures26(b) and26(c) showthehistogramsof the
number of vortices as afunction of, respectively, thetransverseand normal coordinates.
Thevorticesarehomogeneouslydistributedinthetransversedirection, andpreferablynear
thewall wheretheconcentrationincreases strongly. Approximately four vortices of each
sign were detected on the instantaneous elds, showing that the two kinds are equally
probable. Theaveragecharacteristics of thesevortices aresummarisedinTable4. These
aretheradius R andtheintensity . Theintensity is hereavorticity. Themaximum(or
minimum) valueof thestreamwisevorticitycomponent isretainedfor eachstructure. This
valueis averagedover all thedetectedstructures. Thesmall differences betweenthetwo
typesof structuresshouldbeattributedtoalackof convergence. Atthisstation, thefriction
velocityisu

= 0.365, whichgivesR

= Ru

/ 73and

= u
2

/ 2.10
4
.
Theleftpartof Figure27showsthemeanvelocitymaps, whiletherightpartshowsthe
loci of thecentresof thevorticesdetectedrespectivelyintheCORandCTDconguration.
We rst notice that the pattern of the vortices locations is analogous to the pattern we
could anticipatefromthemean velocity eld (left part of Figure27), which means that
thevortices generatedby thejets actuationdevices (whicharelocatedjust upstreamthis
plane 1) are relatively steady. For the COR conguration, around 77% of the vortices
detectedarepositive, andthenegativevorticesarelocatedbetweenthepositiveonesnear
thewall asshowninFigure27. Figure28(a) showsthehistogramof thenumber of vortices
detectedasafunctionof thetransversecoordinate. Thishistogramexhibitsvepredominant
transverselocationsfor thepositivevortex, andit alsoconrmsthat negativevorticesare
Figure 27. Mean velocity eld and loci of the centres of the positive (red) and negative (blue)
vortices; (top) COR, (bottom) CTD; plane1.
dominantbetweenthesevelocations. Figure28(b) representsthehistogramof thenumber
of vorticesdetectedasafunctionof thenormal coordinate. Thepositivevortexaredominant
aroundy/ = 0.05, whilethenegativeonesshowatwopeakshistogram: verynear thewall
(y/ 0) andjust abovethepositivevortices(y/ 0.13). Theaveragecharacteristicsof
thesevortices aresummarised in theTable4. Thepositivevortices havearadius almost
two-timeslargerthanthenegativesones, andtheirintensityis67%higher. Bothvorticesare
stronger thanthenatural ones(Table4). Thepositiveonesare56%larger andthenegative
Figure28. Histograms of thenumber of vortices detected(red: positive, blue: negative); (a) with
respect toz; (b) withrespect toy intheCOR conguration; (c) withrespect toz; (d) withrespect to
y intheCTDconguration; plane1.
Table4. Averagecharacteristicsof thevorticesdetectedinplane1.
Cong Features R(mm) (rad/s)
WAC Positivevortices 2.97 1.72
Negativevortices 3.09 1.59
COR Positivevortices 4.66 3.83
Negativevortices 2.39 2.56
CTD Positivevortices 4.14 2.44
Negativevortices 4.16 2.73
ones 25%smaller. Thecomparisonof thetoptwoimages of Figure27, together withthe
valueof themeanradiusof thepositivevorticesinthiscase(R 4.7mm) indicatesthat
theaveragevelocitymapof Figure27isinfacttheresultof theunsteadymotionof vortices
whicharemuchsmaller thanwhat this meanmapindicates. Thenegativevortices put in
evidencebythedetectionprocedureintheright mapof Figures27arenot at all visiblein
theaveragedvelocitymap. Theyareslightlysmaller thanthevorticesdetectedintheWAC
case(Table4). They can beeither secondary vortices generated in theinteraction of the
actuatorsjetswiththemeanowor negativestreamwisestructuresfromtheboundarylayer
segregatedandstretchedby theactuatingow. Thepositiveones wouldthenbeingested
bythemainactuatingvortices, whichwouldexplainpartlytheir unsteadinesssonear from
theactuators.
FortheCTDconguration(Figure27bottom), inadditiontothetwolocationswecould
anticipatefromthemean velocity eld (two counter-rotating vortices), wealso noticea
high density of negativevortices at theleft of thepositivevortex, and ahigh density of
positivevorticesattherightof thenegativevortex. Thespatial spreadingof thesesecondary
vortices is signicantly higher thanthat of themainones. Thehistogramof Figure28(c)
conrms the existence of these two domains of vortex population close to the left and
rightedgesof theimageandaroundz/ = 0.24andz/ = 0.24. Thealtitudeof boththe
negativevorticesisaroundy/ = 0.05andabitfurtherforthepositivevorticesy/ = 0.06
as shownintheFigure28(d). As muchpositiveas negativevortices weredetected(three
of eachkindonaverage). Table4summarisestheir meancharacteristics. Wecannoticethe
similarity betweenthepositiveandnegativevorticesintermsof sizeandintensity, which
constitutesthemaindifferencecomparedtotheCORconguration. Here, bothvorticesare
stronger thanintheWAC case.
5.5.2. Plane2
Figure29(a)showstheloci of thecentresof thedetectedvorticesfortheWACconguration,
whileFigure30gives thesamedatafor theCOR, CTD, CTU andPADbcongurations.
Figures29(b), 29(c), 31and32givethecorrespondinghistograms.
IntheWACcase,thedistributionisstill equiprobableandhomogeneousinz,butthewall
region, wherethepopulationis high, has extendedsignicantly away fromthewall. This
isclearlyseenbothinFigures29(b) and29(c). Table5givesthemeancharacteristics. The
radiushasincreasedbyabout20%andtheintensityhasdiminishedbythesamepercentage
ascomparedtoplane1. A higher concentrationof positivevorticesisobservedintheCOR
congurationcomparedtotheWAC case. Thesepositivevorticesareespeciallydominant
ontheleftpartof theeld(z/ < 0.16). Thehistogramsof Figure31(a)32(a) conrmthe
dominanceof thesepositivevortices intheregionwherethelargescalemotionhas been
Figure29. (a) Loci of thecentresof vorticesdetectedintheWACconguration; (b) histogramwith
respect toz; (c) histogramwithrespect toy; plane2.
Figure30. Loci of thecentresof vorticesdetected(red: positive, blue: negative); (a) COR, (b) CTD,
(c) CTU, (d) PADb; plane2.
Figure31. Histogramswithrespect toz of vorticesdetected; (a) COR, (b) CTD(c) PADb; plane2.
Figure32. Histogramswithrespecttoy of vorticesdetected; (a) COR, (b) CTD, (c) PADb; plane2.
previouslyidentied(Figure19). IntheCORconguration, wedetected75%morepositive
thannegativevortices(about7positivesand4negativesoneachinstantaneouseld). Table
5givesthemeancharacteristicsof thesevortices. Theirintensityhassignicantlydecreased
as comparedtoplane1andis nowcomparable, for bothsigns, totheWAC caseinplane
2. The positive vortices have decreased in size, while the negative ones have increased,
comparedtoplane1, but adifferencestill existsinplane2betweenbothsigns.
In theCTD conguration (Figure30(b)), aconcentration of positivevortices can be
distinguishedaroundz/ = 0.18, andof negativevorticesaroundz/ = 0.18(seeFigure
30(b) and Figures 31(b)32(b)). A decit of vortices is observed at the centre of the
image, which corresponds to the downwash zone. Vortices of opposite sign gather near
thewall and on each sideof theorigin and to aless extent, outsideand abovethemain
vortex (z/ = 0.24, y/ = 0.16). In theCTU conguration, theoppositebehaviour is
obtained, withaconcentrationof vorticesatthecentreof theeld(positivevorticesaround
z/ = 0.13andnegativevortices aroundz/ = 0.13), whichis anupwashzone, anda
decit of vortices at theleft andright edges (downwashzones). Themeancharacteristics
aregiveninTable5for theCTDandfor theCTU. First, theagreement appearsfairlygood
betweenthetwocongurations whichcorrespondtothesameowat different transverse
location. The vortices are slightly smaller than in plane 1 (about 10% on the radius)
and comparable to the positive vortices of the COR case. Their intensity has decreased
signicantly(byabout 50%) andisnowcomparabletothat of theWACandCORvortices.
ThePADbcongurationisquitesimilar totheCTDone(seeFigures30(d) and31(c)
32(c)). However, it can be noticed that the transverse location of the positive vortices
concentration is around z/ = 0.16 and around z/ = 0.16 for the negative vortices.
Consequently, thedownwashzonebetweenthesetwoconcentrationsisnarrower thaninthe
Table5. Averagecharacteristicsof thevorticesdetectedinplane2.
Cong Features R(mm) (rad/s)
WAC Positivevortices 3.55 1.35
Negativevortices 3.54 1.39
COR Positivevortices 3.90 1.32
Negativevortices 3.247 1.32
CTD Positivevortices 3.79 1.48
Negativevortices 3.82 1.45
CTU Positivevortices 3.84 1.33
Negativevortices 3.83 1.33
PADb Positivevortices 4.048 1.47
Negativevortices 4.22 1.60
Figure33. Loci of thecentresof vorticesdetected(red: positive, blue: negative); (a) WAC, (b) COR,
(c) CTD, (d) PADb; plane3.
CTD conguration andthesecondary counter-rotatingvortices closeto thewall areless
numerous. Thesecondareaof secondarycounter-rotatingstructures(aroundz/ = 0.24,
y/ = 0.16) isalsovisible.
Asasummary, it canbesaidthat althoughtheactuatingvorticesstill drivetheglobal
structureof theow, thedetectedvorticesinthisplanehaveevolvedtoasizeandintensity
whichisnot far fromthecasewithout actuation. Thedifferent casesarethusdistinguished
mainlybythespatial distributionof thevorticesof bothsign, whichareevenlydistributedin
spanintheWACcaseandaresegregatedmoreor lessdifferentlybythedifferentactuators.
5.5.3. Plane3
Figure33showstheloci of thecentresof thedetectedvorticesintheWAC, COR, CTDand
PADbcongurations. Their averagecharacteristics aregiveninTable6. Figure34shows
Table6. Averagecharacteristicsof thevorticesdetectedinplane3.
Cong Features R(mm) (rad/s)
WAC Positivevortices 5.01 1.61
Negativevortices 4.94 1.44
COR Positivevortices 4.79 1.37
Negativevortices 4.41 1.28
CTD Positivevortices 4.84 1.69
Negativevortices 4.59 1.40
PADb Positivevortices 5.12 1.55
Negativevortices 5.00 1.40
Figure34. Histogramswithrespecttoz of vorticesdetected; (a) WAC, (b) COR, (c) CTD, (d) PADb;
plane3.
Figure 35. Histograms with respect to y of vortices detected; (a) WAC, (b) COR, (c) CTD, (d)
PADb; plane3.
thehistogramsof thenumber of vorticesdetectedasafunctionof thetransversecoordinate
in the same congurations and Figure 35 the histograms in the wall normal direction.
Thedifferencesbetweenall four congurationsaremuchlessevident thanintherst two
planes. At thisstation, turbulent diffusionhasstronglyactedtodistributethevorticesover
thewholeeldof view. TheWAC caseisstill homogeneousalongz. Theslight excessof
positivevortices near thewall shouldbeattributedtoalack of convergence. Thevortical
regionismuchwider thanintheupstreamplanes. It extendsnowtoy/ 0.25. Thetwo
concentrations of positive and negative vortices can still be clearly distinguished in the
PADbconguration(seethecorrespondinghistograminFigure34). Theyarelessevident
intheCTDcase. TheCOR congurationstill exhibitsanexcessof positivevorticesonthe
leftpartof theimage. Inall theactuatedcases, ahigher concentrationof positivevorticesis
observednear thewall, especially intheCOR conguration(seethehistogramsinFigure
34). Actually, for the COR conguration, 58%more positive than negative vortices are
detected.
Likeinplane2, thesizeandintensityof thevorticesintheactuatedcasesarecomparable
to theWAC conguration. Theintensity of thenegativevortices is slightly smaller than
that of thepositiveonesinall cases, includingWAC. Thisresult shouldthusbetakenwith
cautionandattributed, for themoment, toalackof convergence. Comparedtoplane2, the
sizeof thevortices has slightly increased, whichis not surprising, but their intensity has
increasedtoo, whichismoredifcult toexplain.
To summarise, in this plane, which is far downstreamof the actuators (Xd/h =
57, Xd/ = 170), thevortical actuatingowhasstronglymixedwiththeboundarylayer
turbulenceanditbecomesdifculttodistinguishtheactuatingvorticesintheinstantaneous
velocitymaps. Nevertheless, aswasshownbyGodardandStanislas[1, 2], theactuationis
still fairlyefcient onaveragewhenlookingat thewall friction.
5.6. Discussionandconclusion
As was shown by the above results, the analysis of the vortical structure of the ow in
planesnormal tothewall andtothemeanowarequiteinstructiveontheactuatingow
organisation. Thestreamwisevorticesgeneratedbythedifferentactuatorsareinitiallyfairly
localisedinspaceandhaveasizeandintensitydifferentfromtheboundarylayerturbulence.
When developing downstream, they strongly reorganisethenear-wall vorticity, but they
seemtofairlyrapidlyadapt themselvesinsizeandintensitytothesurroundingturbulence.
Twoexplanationscanbegiventothisobservation: inarstscenario, theactuatingvortices
observedclearlyinplane1reduceinsizeandinintensitytomixthemselveswiththeexisting
turbulent streamwiseeddies. Inasecondscenario, theactuatingvortices growrapidly in
sizesothat theycannot beindividualisedintheturbulent background. But, theyarestrong
Figure36. Meanindicativefunction; CTDconguration; (a) plane1, (b) plane2, (c) plane3.
Figure37. Meanindicativefunction; (a) PADbconguration, plane2; (b) PADbconguration, plane
3; (c) WAC conguration, plane3.
enoughtoorganiseandsegregategloballythenear-wall streamwisevorticesof thenatural
boundarylayer. ThissecondscenarioissomewhatsupportedbytheresultsshowninFigures
36and37. Thesegures showthemeanvalueof theindicativefunctions, averagedover
the number of samples for the different congurations and in the different planes. This
parameter is, insomeway, aspatial probabilityof detectingavortex. AsshownbyFigure
36(a), inplane1fortheCTDconguration, thisfunctioniswell localisedattheplacewhere
themeanactuatingvortexappearsonthemeanvelocitymap. Figures36(b) and37(a) show
thesameparameter inplane2for theCTDandPADbcongurations. Obviously, thesizeof
themost probableareasismuchlarger thanthesizeof theindividual vorticesdetectedand
comparabletothesizeof theaveragevortexevidencedinFigure18for example. Thevalue
of thefunction in themost probablearea has also decreased signicantly, in agreement
withthespreadingof thevorticeslocationobservedabove. Comparableconclusioncanbe
drawnby lookingat Figures 36(c) and37(b). Thecomparisonof Figures 37(b) and37(c)
clearly showsthat inplane3, apart for thesizeof thevortical region, it becomes difcult
todistinguishbetweenthePADbandWAC cases.
6. General conclusion
Theaimof thepresent study wastopushfurther theanalysisof thePIV datarecordedby
GodardandStanislas [1, 2] ondifferent actuatingowsituations inorder to try to better
understandthephysicsof theow. Measurementswereavailableinthreeplanesnormal to
theow, downstreamof theactuatorsandfor smoothwall, passiveandroundjetsactuators.
GodardandStanislas[1, 2] didplot onlymeanvelocitymapsout of their PIV data. Inthe
present contribution, somemeanvelocityproleswereplottedtocomplement thesemaps.
Theseprolesemphasisethedifferencebetweentheco- andcounter-rotatingcongurations
andclearlyshowthat theactuationeffect ismostlyduetoadownwashof highmomentum
uidtowardsthewall.
To go into more details, the turbulent kinetic energy maps were plotted, then some
relevant double spatial correlation coefcients maps and, nally, the individual vortices
weredetectedandcharacterisedineachPIV instantaneousmap. Theanalysisof thesedata
conrmthe difference between the co- and counter-rotating cases. With the co-rotating
roundjets, theactuatingvortices, whichareindividuallyvisibleinplane1, justdownstream
of the actuators, merge rapidly to forma large vortical region, which shows a global
coherenceonthecorrelationmaps, whichmovestransverselybyself-induction. Thislarge
vortical regionconcentratesasignicantamountof turbulentkineticenergyandpreferably
vorticesof thesamesign. Itshowsalsoaglobal excessof streamwisevelocitywithrespect
to the non-actuated case, indicative of its efciency. This efciency was evidenced by
GodardandStanislas[1, 2] withwall shear stressmeasurements.
Thecounter-rotating actuators (both passiveand round jets) generatestablecounter-
rotatingstreamwisevorticeswhichstaycoherentandindividualisedfar downstream. These
vortices are much stronger than the natural boundary layer vortices in plane 1 but they
appear to progressively grow in size, reduce in intensity and mix themselves in the BL
turbulence. They appear tosegregatespatially thisturbulence, concentratingtheturbulent
kinetic energy in the upwash regions. They also segregate the BL streamwise vortices,
basedontheir sign, gatheringthemindifferent regionsinspace.
Fromtheevolutionobservedinthethreemeasurement planes, it canbeexpectedthat
theseactuatingvorticesprogressivelydisappear downstream, butthismaytakeafairlylong
distance.
Acknowledgements
Theresearchreportedherewasundertakenaspart of theAEROMEMS II project (AdvancedAero-
dynamic Flow Control Using MEMS, Contract No G4RD-CT-2002-00748). TheAEROMEMS II
project wasacollaborationbetweenBAE SYSTEMS, Dassault, AirbusDeutschlandGmbH, EADS-
Military, Snecma, ONERA, DLR, LPMO, Manchester University, LML, Warwick University, TUB,
CraneldUniversity, NTUA, andAuxitrol. Theproject was fundedby theEuropeanUnionandthe
project partners. Part of theworkwasalsoperformedintheframeof CISIT.
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