Mean Flow Measurements in Turbulent Boundary Layers along Mildly Curved Surfaces

An experimental investigation of the mean flow characteristics of two-dimensional turbulent boundary layers over surfaces of mild longitudinal curvature is reported. The study covered both convex and concave walls of \d/Rw I « 0.013 (d being the boundary-layer thickness and Rw being the wall radius). It was found that, whereas the region close to the wall was not affected significantly by wall curvature, the outer region was very sensitive to even mild wall curvature. A detailed study of the wake region using present and other available data suggests a systematic effect of b/Rw on the wake structure. The paper also discusses in detail the effect of mild wall curvature on the boundary-layer development with particular emphasis on the difference in behavior of the boundary layer at short and long distances from the leading edge of the curved wall, an aspect which has not received sufficient attention in previous experimental investigations. An attempt has been made to explain this behavior from a consideration of the structure of turbulence in boundary layers over curved surfaces taken into account.

Laminar hypersonic boundary-layer flow at a three-dimensional stagnation point with slip and mass transfer

Abstract is not available.

The effect of suction on boundary layer for rotating flows with or without magnetic field

The effect of suction on the steady laminar incompressible boundarylayer flow for a stationary infinite disc with or without magnetic field, when the fluid at a large distance from the surface of the disc undergoes a solid body rotation, has been studied. The governing coupled nonlinear equations have been solved numerically using the shooting method with least square convergence criterion. It has been found that suction tends to reduce the velocity overshoot and damp the oscillation.

Evolution of Grain-Boundary Microstructure and Texture in Interstitial-Free Steel Processed by Equal-Channel Angular Extrusion

The equal-channel angular extrusion (ECAE) of Ti-bearing interstitial-free (IF) steel was performed following two different routes, up to four passes, at a temperature of 300 degrees C. The ECAE led to a grain refinement to submicron size. After the second pass, the grain size attained saturation thereafter. The microstructural analysis indicated the presence of coincident-site lattice (CSL) boundaries in significant fraction, in addition to a high volume fraction of high-angle random boundaries and some low-angle boundaries after the deformation. Among the special boundaries, Sigma 3 and Sigma 13 were the most prominent ones and their fraction depended on the processing route followed. A deviation in the misorientation angle distribution from the Mackenzie distribution was noticed. The crystallographic texture after the first pass resembled that of simple shear, with the {112}, {110}, and {123} aligned to the macroscopic shear plane.

Regional variation in the composition and structure of mixed-species bird flocks in the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka

Mixed-species bird flocks are attractive models for the investigation of geographical variation in animal communities, as they represent a subset of the avifauna in most forested regions of the world. Yet studies of the regional variation in flock size and the composition of flocks are few, due to the predominance of studies carried out at single study site. Here, we review nine studies of mixed-species flocks conducted at 16 sites along the Western Ghats in India and in Sri Lanka. We find that flock size varies as much within this region as it does globally, with observation time being a confounding variable. Flock composition, however, is predictably related to elevation. Flocks at high elevations (>1200 m) in the Western Ghats strongly resemble flocks at high elevations in the mountain ranges of Sri Lanka in their composition, especially at the family level. We compare these flocks to flocks of other regions and make recommendations on study methodology that can facilitate comparisons across studies.

Response of a turbulent boundary layer to a step change in surface heat flux

Measurements of both the velocity and the temperature field have been made in the thermal layer that grows inside a turbulent boundary layer which is subjected to a small step change in surface heat flux. Upstream of the step, the wall heat flux is zero and the velocity boundary layer is nearly self-preserving. The thermal-layer measurements are discussed in the context of a self-preserving analysis for the temperature disturbance which grows underneath a thick external turbulent boundary layer. A logarithmic mean temperature profile is established downstream of the step but the budget for the mean-square temperature fluctuations shows that, in the inner region of the thermal layer, the production and dissipation of temperature fluctuations are not quite equal at the furthest downstream measurement station. The measurements for both the mean and the fluctuating temperature field indicate that the relaxation distance for the thermal layer is quite large, of the order of 1000θ0, where θ0 is the momentum thickness of the boundary layer at the step. Statistics of the thermal-layer interface and conditionally sampled measurements with respect to this interface are presented. Measurements of the temperature intermittency factor indicate that the interface is normally distributed with respect to its mean position. Near the step, the passive heat contaminant acts as an effective marker of the organized turbulence structure that has been observed in the wall region of a boundary layer. Accordingly, conditional averages of Reynolds stresses and heat fluxes measured in the heated part of the flow are considerably larger than the conventional averages when the temperature intermittency factor is small.

Nonsimilar laminar incompressible boundary layers with vectored mass transfer

The effect of vectored mass transfer on the flow and heat transfer of the steady laminar incompressible nonsimilar boundary layer with viscous dissipation for two-dimensional and axisymmetric porous bodies with pressure gradient has been studied. The partial differential equations governing the flow have been solved numerically using an implicit finite-difference scheme. The computations have been carried out for a cylinder and a sphere. The skin friction is strongly influenced by the vectored mass transfer, and the heat transfer both by the vectored mass transfer and dissipation parameter. It is observed that the vectored suction tends to delay the separation whereas the effect of the vectored injection is just the reverse. Our results agree with those of the local nonsimilarity, difference-differential and asymptotic methods but not with those of the local similarity method.

Compressible magnetohydrodynamic boundary layer swirling nozzle and diffuser flows with a magnetic field

The flow, heat and mass transfer problem for boundary layer swirling flow of a laminar steady compressible electrically conducting gas with variable properties through a conical nozzle and a diffuser with an applied magnetic field has been studied. The partial differential equations governing the flow have been solved numerically using an implicit finite-difference scheme after they have been transformed into dimensionless form using the modified Lees transformation. The results indicate that the skin friction and heat transfer strongly depend on the magnetic field, mass transfer and variation of the density-viscosity product across the boundary layer. However, the effect of the variation of the density-viscosity product is more pronounced in the case of a nozzle than in the case of a diffuser. It has been found that large swirl is required to produce strong effect on the skin friction and heat transfer. Separationless flow along the entire length of the diffuser can be obtained by applying appropriate amount of suction. The results are found to be in good agreement with those of the local nonsimilarity method, but they differ quite significantly from those of the local similarity method.

Unsteady Incompressible Three-Dimensional Asymmetric Stagnation-Point Boundary Layers

The unsteady laminar incompressible boundary-layer flow near the three-dimensional asymmetric stagnation point has been studied under the assumptions that the free-stream velocity, wall temperature, and surface mass transfer vary arbitrarily with time. The partial differential equations governing the flow have been solved numerically using an implicit finite-difference scheme. It is found that in contrast with the symmetric flow, the maximum heat transfer occurs away from the stagnation point due to the decrease in the boundary-layer thickness. The effect of the variation of the wall temperature with time on heat transfer is strong. The skin friction and heat transfer due to asymmetric flow only are comparatively less affected by the mass transfer as compared to those of symmetric flow.

Road kills of amphibians in different land use areas from Sharavathi river basin, central Western Ghats, India

A survey of amphibian mortality on roads was carried out in the Sharavathi river basin in the central Western Ghats. Road kills in three different land use areas: agricultural fields, water bodies and forests were recorded for four days along three 100m stretches in each type of area. One-hundred-and-forty-four individuals belonging to two orders, eight families, 11 genera and 13 species were recorded in the survey. Kills/km observed were: in forest 55, agricultural fields 38 and water bodies 27, for an overall average of 40 kills/km. Kill species compositions varied significantly between land use areas, but not overall kill rates.

Studies on boundary lubrication properties of oxidised coconut and soy bean oils

Vegetable oils are a potential source of base oils for biodegradable lubricants, with limited oxidative stability. This study focuses on the effect of long-term ageing and the influence of oxidation products on the boundary lubrication performance of coconut and soy bean oils, by subjecting them to accelerated ageing in a dark oven at elevated temperature. The samples were collected at regular intervals and analysed for the changes in viscosity, percentage of free fatty acid and peroxide number compared to fresh oil samples. The boundary lubrication properties of these samples were evaluated using a four-ball tester. Increased wear observed with aged oil samples was linked to the destruction of triglyceride structure and formation of peroxides. The difference in the wear properties of soy bean oil to coconut oil was accounted by its high content of unsaturated fatty acids and its susceptibility to undergo oxidation. It was concluded that the coconut oil can perform as a better lubricant and has got a better storage life compared to soy bean oil.

Determination of skin friction in strong pressure-gradient equilibrium and near-equilibrium turbulent boundary layers

The conventional Clauser-chart method for determination of local skin friction in zero or weak pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layer flows fails entirely in strong pressure-gradient situations. This failure occurs due to the large departure of the mean velocity profile from the universal logarithmic law upon which the conventional Clauser-chart method is based. It is possible to extend this method,even for strong pressure-gradient situations involving equilibrium or near-equilibrium turbulent boundary layers by making use of the so-called non-universal logarithmic laws. These non-universal log laws depend on the local strength of the pressure gradient and may be regarded as perturbations of the universal log law.The present paper shows that the modified Clauser-chart method, so developed, yields quit satisfactory results in terms of estimation of local skin friction in strongly accelerated or retarded equilibrium and near-equilibrium turbulent boundary layers that are not very close to relaminarization or separation.

Rainfall changes over tropical montane cloud forests of southern Western Ghats, India

The southern Western Ghats tropical montane cloud forest sites (Gavi, Periyar, High wavys and Venniyar), which are characterized by frequent or seasonal cloud cover at the vegetation level, are considered one of the most threatened ecosystems in India and the world. Three out of four montane cloud forest sites studied in the southern Western Ghats had experienced diminishing trends of seasonal average and total rainfall, especially during summer monsoon season. The highest level of reduction for summer monsoon season was observed at Gavi rainforest station (>20 mm/14 years) in Kerala followed by Venniyar (>20 mm/20 years) site in Tamil Nadu. Average annual and total precipitation increased during the study period irrespective of the seasons over Periyar area, and the greatest values were recorded for season 2 (>25 mm/28 years). Positive trends for winter monsoon rainfall has been observed for three stations (Periyar, High wavys and Venniyar) except Gavi, and the trend was positive and significant (90%) for Periyar and High wavys. Increase in summer monsoon rainfall was observed for Periyar site and the trend was found to be significant (95%).

The effect of closed boundary conditions on a stationary dynamo

One of two boundary conditions generally assumed in solutions of the dynamo equation is related to the disappearance of the azimuthal field at the boundary. Parker (1984) points out that for the realization of this condition the field must escape freely through the surface. Escape requires that the field be detached from the gas in which it is embedded. In the case of the sun, this can be accomplished only through reconnection in the tenuous gas above the visible surface. Parker concludes that the observed magnetic activity on the solar surface permits at most three percent of the emerging flux to escape. He arrives at the conclusion that, instead of B(phi) = 0, the partial derivative of B(phi) to r is equal to zero. The present investigation is concerned with the effect of changing the boundary condition according to Parker's conclusion. Implications for the solar convection zone are discussed.

Practising Western Science Outside the West: Personal Observations on the Indian Scene

Modern science, which was an indigenous product of Western culture, is now being practised in many non-Western countries. This paper discusses the peculiar social, cultural and intellectual problems which scientists of these non-Western countries face in adopting Western science in their situations, with special reference to India. It is pointed out that, in addition to money and communication, it is necessary to have a proper psychological gestalt to practise science satisfactorily. The author analyzes his experience as a physics student in India and in the United States to clarify the nature of this psychological gestalt, and to explain what makes it difficult for non-Western scientists to acquire it.