13 November

2018

Smoke Flow Visualization:

Circular Cylinder and Airfoil

Submitted To
Professor Sandeep Saha
Aerodynamics Laboratory II [AE39001]
Aditya R. Prajapati
[16AE10033], Group V
aditya12398@iitkgp.ac.in
Abstract
Flow visualization over two cylinders and an airfoil in a low subsonic wind tunnel using smoke flow
visualisation technique.

Apparatus
 Wind Tunnel
 Given Airfoil, Cylinders
 Smoke Generator
 Smoke Injector

Theory
The Starting Vortex

Joukowski's 'stagnation hypothesis' tells us that a clockwise circulation is required, but not how it is
generated. In an ideal fluid there is no process by which circulation can be generated-nor, for that matter,
any process by which circulation, once established, can be changed. Frederick W. Lanchester (1878-
1946) and Ludwig Prandtl (1875-1953) first explained the production of circulation round an aerofoil
as follows. The initial separation of a real fluid at the trailing edge causes fluid on the upper surface to
move from the stagnation point S2 towards the edge. This flow is in the opposite direction to that of the
ideal fluid, and consequently an eddy, known as the starting vortex, is formed. This starting vortex is
rapidly washed away from the edge but, in leaving the aerofoil, it generates an equal and opposite
circulation round the aerofoil. In this way, the net circulation round the dotted curve in Fig. 10.32
remains zero. This must be so to satisfy a theorem by William Thomson, later Lord Kelvin, (1824-
1907): in a frictionless fluid the circulation, around a closed curve that moves with the fluid so as always
to enclose the same particles, does not change with time. The circulation round the aerofoil, produced
as a reaction to the starting vortex, brings S2 nearer to the trailing edge. Similar starting vortices produce
increased circulation round the aerofoil until S2 reaches the stable position at the edge (Fig.l0.32c). The
condition for the circulation in ideal flow to bring S2 to the trailing edge is known as the Kutta-
Joukowski condition.
Experimental observations have amply confirmed the existence of starting. Whenever conditions are
changed, either by an alteration in upstream velocity or in the angle of attack, fresh vortices are formed,
and the circulation round the aerofoil takes on a new value. Once they have left the aerofoil, the starting
vortices have no further effect on the flow round it, and they are ultimately dissipated by viscous action.

Von Karmann Vortices

Restricting the discussion to two-dimensional flow, we may consider as an example the flow past an
infinite1y long, circular cylinder of diameter d, with its axis perpendicular to the flow. We suppose
other solid surfaces to be far enough from the cylinder not to affect the flow near it. For very low values
of Re = u∞d/ν (say Re < 0·5) the inertia forces are negligible, and the streamlines come together behind
the cylinder as indicated in Fig. 8.10a. If Re is increased to the range 2-30 the boundary layer separates
symmetrically from the two sides at the positions S, S (Fig. 8.l0b) and two eddies are formed which
rotate in opposite directions. At these Reynolds numbers the eddies remain unchanged in position, their
energy being maintained by the flow from the separated boundary layer. Behind the eddies, however,
the main streamlines come together, and the length of the wake is limited. With increase of Re the
eddies elongate as shown in (c) but the arrangement is unstable and at Re ~ 40-70 (for a circular
cylinder) a periodic oscillation of the wake is observed. Then, at a certain limiting value of Re (usually
about 90 for a circular cylinder in unconfined flow), the eddies break off from each side of the cylinder
alternately and are washed downstream. This limiting value of Re depends on the turbulence of the
oncoming flow, on the shape of the cylinder (which, in general, may not be circular) and on the nearness
of other solid surfaces. In a certain range of Re above the limiting value, eddies are continuously shed
alternately from the two sides of the cylinder and, as a result, they form two rows of vortices in its wake,
the centre of a vortex in one row being opposite the point midway between the centres of consecutive
vortices in the other row. This arrangement of vortices is known as a vortex street or vortex trail. The
energy of the vortices is, of course, ultimately consumed by viscosity, and beyond a certain distance
from the cylinder the regular pattern disappears.

Procedure
1. A smoke generator was connected to a smoke injector and was kept upstream of the test section.
2. A cylinder was mounted in the test section and the flow was observed and recorded
3. The cylinder was rotated and the shift of the stagnation point and shedding of vortices was observed.
4. Cylinder was replaced with another one of a greater radius and aforementioned steps were repeated.
5. An airfoil was then mounted inside the test section and starting vortex was additionally observed.

Observation
On the right side of the cylinder, in the figure below, we can observe the wave like pattern of ring like
structures. These are vortices that are alternetely shed. Their frequency depends on the diameter and the
Reynolds number.

Figure: Vortex Shedding from a cylinder (Contrast +40%)

In the image below, we can see that the size of the vortices is larger and they are spaced further away.
Also, we can see that they are no longer just behind the cylinder but slightly lower than the centreline.
This is because the cylinder was being rotated and the stagnation point behind the cylinder moved
downwards. With the stagnation point, the centreline of the vortices moved downwards too and the
pattern was obtained.
 Figure: Vortex shedding from a rotating (larger) cylinder (Contrast +40%)
The circular structure visible below is the starting vortex generated by sudden pitching down of the
airfoil. We can see the vortex is rotating clockwise, i.e. opposite to the direction of pitching as discussed
in the theory above.

Figure: Shed starting vortex after sudden change of angle of attack (Contrast +40%)
The image below was captured around a second after the airfoil was suddenly pitched up. It can be seen
that a vortex is forming even after the initial vortex was formed. This is because at times the flow does
not get stable and the necessary circulation fails to establish by a single vortex. In such a scenario,
multiple vortices are shed off of the airfoil so that the desired circulation is reached and the flow around
the airfoil gets stable.
 Figure: Repeated shedding of starting vortex to establish a stable circulation (Contrast +40%)
What we see below is a large separation region due to a high angle of attack of the airfoil. This
phenomenon causes the flow to separate away from the body causing formation of large recirculation
regions. They cause significant loss of lift and can stall the aircraft beyond recovery.

Figure: Separation region at high angle of attack (Contrast +40%)

Discussion
In this experiment of smoke flow visualisation, we have observed the streaklines. They coincide with
the streamlines in a steady flow. Streamlines are a theoretical concept which are very difficult to observe
practically if the flow is not steady. Since the flow is unsteady and streamlines are not observed, hence
Bernoulli’s equation cannot be applied. There are two cases in which Bernoulli’s theorem can be
applied. First, any two points in the flow if the flow is irrotational, second, any two points along a
streamline even if the flow is rotational. Our experiment does not fall in any of these categories.
The shedding frequency and the diameter of the cylinder are inversely related for a subcritical flow. A
flow with a laminar boundary i.e. Reynolds number less than 105 is known as a subcritical flow. The
𝑺𝑼
equation for the shedding frequency for a subcritical flow is: 𝒇𝒔 = 𝑫
;𝑺 =
̃ 𝟎. 𝟐

There are several ways of visualizing flow. Some of them will be discussed below.
Surface flow visualization reveals the flow streamlines in the limit as a solid surface is approached.
Coloured oil applied to the surface of a wind tunnel model provides one example (the oil responds to
the surface shear stress and forms a pattern).
Particle tracer methods: Particles, such as smoke or microspheres, can be added to a flow to trace the
fluid motion. We can illuminate the particles with a sheet of laser light in order to visualize a slice of a
complicated fluid flow pattern. Assuming that the particles faithfully follow the streamlines of the flow,
we can not only visualize the flow but also measure its velocity using the particle image velocimetry or
particle tracking velocimetry methods. Particles with densities that match that of the fluid flow will
exhibit the most accurate visualization.
Optical methods: Some flows reveal their patterns by way of changes in their optical refractive index.
These are visualized by optical methods known as the shadowgraph, schlieren photography, and
interferometry. More directly, dyes can be added to (usually liquid) flows to measure concentrations;
typically employing the light attenuation or laser-induced fluorescence techniques.
Smoke flow visualisation is easy and is a very effective method to observe changes in the flow as the
attitude of the model is changed. However, it has a lot of disadvantages. It is affected by gravity and we
have to be really fast in capturing media. Since it is an intrusive technique, choice of particles and
quantity of seeding can have adverse effects at times.

References
1. John D. Anderson, “Fundamentals of Aerodynamics,” 5th ed. Tata McGraw-Hill Education
2. B. S. Massey – “Mechanics of Fluids”; Springer US (1989)
3. https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/tunvsmoke.html

Group Member Marks

1. Shilpa Sajeev [16AE10022] 5/5
2. Priyam Dalmia [16AE10013] 5/5
3. Suraj K [16AE10028] 4/5
4. Swapnil Agarwal [16AE10030] 5/5
5. Lokesh Gohil [16AE30007] 3/5

Question and Answers

1. What kind of vortices were generated for the flow over cylinder and airfoil? Discuss
separately.
Answer: Behind the cylinder vortex sheets were observed that were shed at a particular frequency
governed by Reynolds number and diameter of the cylinder. A similar kind of shedding was observed
behind the airfoil but at a higher frequency at moderate angle of attacks. Another kind of vortex was
observed in the airfoil when the orientation was changed. It is termed as the starting vortex and it is
generated to change the circulation around the airfoil because of change in the orientation.