Flow Measurement

and Instrumentation
Flow Measurement and Instrumentation 19 (2008) 1–7
www.elsevier.com/locate/flowmeasinst

Analytical model of an ultrasonic cross-correlation flow meter, part 1:

Stochastic modeling of turbulence
Peter D. Lysak a,∗ , David M. Jenkins a , Dean E. Capone a , William L. Brown b
a Pennsylvania State University, Applied Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 30, State College, PA 16804, United States
b Westinghouse, LLC, P.O. Box 355, Pittsburgh, PA 15230, United States

Received 13 February 2007; received in revised form 5 June 2007; accepted 7 August 2007

Abstract

An analytical model of an ultrasonic cross-correlation flow meter has been developed to relate the time delay measured by the meter to the mean
velocity profile and statistical properties of turbulent pipe flow. The model expresses the cross-correlation and cross-spectrum of the demodulated
ultrasonic signal in terms of the space–time correlations of the turbulence. In Part 1 of this two-part paper, a stochastic model of the turbulent
velocity fluctuations is developed. The model provides closed-form analytical formulas for the turbulence correlation and spectrum functions in
terms of parameters which can be obtained from empirical data or computational fluid dynamics.
c 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Cross-correlation; Turbulence modeling; Pipe flow

1. Introduction Reynolds number conditions found in industrial applications

This paper and its companion describe an analytical model
that can be used to predict the behaviour of an ultrasonic
cross-correlation flow meter. This type of device uses sensors
clamped on to the outside of a pipe to provide a non-
intrusive method of measuring the flow rate in a turbulent
pipe flow. The meter essentially measures a time delay related
to an averaged convection velocity of the turbulence, and a
calibration factor is required in order to determine the bulk
velocity from the time delay. Although the actual calibration
factor must be determined experimentally, an analytical model
can provide insight into the physics relating the time delay
to the mean velocity profile and the distribution of the
turbulence. Such a model can be useful in understanding
the sensitivity of the calibration factor to parameters such
as the Reynolds number, pipe geometry, wall roughness,
and transducer spacing. In addition, a model may help in
developing a procedure to extrapolate data from relatively
low Reynolds number laboratory conditions to the very high
DOI of companion article: 10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2007.08.005.
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 814 863 3075; fax: +1 814 863 5578.
E-mail address: pdl103@psu.edu (P.D. Lysak).
such as measurement of the feedwater flow rate in a power
plant. Although the model is not restricted to a particular
Reynolds number range, the formulation will be developed with
high Reynolds number applications in mind.
The earliest descriptions of cross-correlation flow meters
(e.g., Coulthard [1], Beck and Plaskowski [2]) focused on the
physical mechanisms producing modulation of the ultrasonic
signal and the signal processing aspects of the device. For a
single-phase flow such as pipe flow with clean water, Worch [3]
and Hans and Skwarek [4] found that phase modulation from
the vortical structure of the turbulence was the dominant
mechanism detected by the ultrasonic receivers. More recently,
attention has been given to the relationship between the cross-
correlation time delay and the bulk velocity. Gurevich et al. [5]
developed a simple model predicting the Reynolds number
dependence of the calibration factor based on the mean velocity
profile and eddy viscosity distribution, while Schneider et al. [6]
formed a model using probability density functions to trace
flow markers as they travel downstream between the beam
paths. Both models predict that the cross-correlation gives a
convection velocity which represents a weighted average of
the mean velocity profile along the beam paths. In the present
papers, a more rigorous fluid dynamics based model for the

c 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

0955-5986/$ - see front matter
doi:10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2007.08.004
2 P.D. Lysak et al. / Flow Measurement and Instrumentation 19 (2008) 1–7

Nomenclature
E(κ) energy spectrum
F11 (κ1 ) longitudinal wavenumber spectrum
F22 (κ1 ) transverse wavenumber spectrum
G vv ( f ) frequency spectrum of cross-stream turbulent
velocity
G vv (r2 , f ) spectral correlation function
L 11 longitudinal integral length scale
Ri j (E
r ) spatial correlation tensor
Ri j (E
r , τ ) space–time correlation tensor
U mean velocity
c energy spectrum constant
f frequency
fe characteristic frequency of energy-containing
eddies
f (r ) longitudinal correlation function
g(r ) transverse correlation function
k turbulent kinetic energy
Fig. 1. Schematic of an ultrasonic cross-correlation flow meter.
r separation distance
t time frequency and outputs a low frequency random signal, which
ui turbulent velocity fluctuation serves as a signature of the turbulence that the beam passed
u root mean square velocity through. A cross-correlation is performed on the upstream and
0 Euler Gamma function downstream demodulated signals, and the location of the peak
Φi j (Eκ ) wavenumber spectrum tensor
of the cross-correlation function yields a time delay which is
Λvv ( f ) spectral correlation length
related to the convection velocity of the turbulence.
α energy spectrum constant
In order to develop a mathematical model of this process, the
δi j Kronecker delta function
phase modulation of the ultrasonic signal needs to be related
ε turbulent dissipation rate
to the turbulent velocity fluctuations. Then, in order to predict
κ wavenumber
the cross-correlation, stochastic modeling is introduced. This
κe characteristic wavenumber of energy-containing
leads to an expression which relates the cross-correlation of
eddies
the demodulated signal to a double integral of the space–time
τ time offset
correlation of the turbulence. The integrals account for the
different convection velocities brought about by the mean
convection velocity will be developed based on the space–time velocity profile, and the distribution of the turbulence intensity
correlation and spectral characteristics of turbulent flow. and length scale. This procedure is derived in detail in Part 2.
The main difficultly in modeling the flow meter is
2. Basic description of the flow meter model determining the space–time correlation of the turbulence. In
order to carry out these calculations, simplifications must be
Cross-correlation flow meters work by measuring the time introduced. In the model formulation, it will be assumed that
delay between a signal received by an upstream sensor and the local properties of the turbulence can be approximated by
a signal received by a downstream sensor. The time delay is isotropic, homogeneous turbulence. It is recognized that in pipe
then related to the bulk velocity of the flow by dividing the flow the turbulence is not isotropic because there is mean shear.
distance between the upstream and downstream sensors by the However, previous experience [7] has indicated that correlation
measured time delay, and using a calibration factor which has functions based on the isotropic turbulence model are often a
been determined for the geometry and Reynolds number of the reasonable approximation in complex flows. It should also be
piping system. In an ultrasonic cross-correlation flow meter, pointed out that without this assumption, it may be necessary to
the upstream and downstream signals are generated by sending resort to extremely computationally intensive simulations (such
an ultrasonic beam across the pipe. A schematic of the device as large eddy simulations) in order to determine the correlation
is shown in Fig. 1. The ultrasonic beam is transmitted as a functions. Measurements of the space–time correlation are
pure tone with a frequency of the order of 100 kHz and is another possibility, but an enormous dataset would be required
received by a diametrically opposed receiver. The turbulence to map out all the possible combinations of two-point velocity
in the flow causes slight perturbations in the propagation speed correlations.
of the beam, which results in the receiver reading a randomly Another simplification used in the model is the assumption
phase-modulated version of the transmitted signal. The signal is of frozen convection of the turbulence. This is a widely-
then passed through a demodulator which removes the carrier used approximation to relate spatial correlation functions to
 P.D. Lysak et al. / Flow Measurement and Instrumentation 19 (2008) 1–7
space–time correlations. It should be noted that this assumption
neglects the decay of the turbulence, so it works best for
relatively low turbulence intensities (relative to the mean
velocity) and small axial separation distances. For the one-
diameter transducer spacing typical of cross-correlation meters,
this is expected to be a reasonable approximation.
3. Stochastic modeling of turbulence
When dealing with turbulent flows, there are basically
two different modeling approaches that can be used. One
involves time domain simulations which attempt to capture the
fluctuating velocities over varying degrees of fidelity. Examples
of this approach include computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
based on direct numerical simulation, in which all the turbulent
scales are resolved, and large eddy simulation, in which
only the large scales are resolved and the smaller scales are
represented by an eddy viscosity model. In these simulations,
the calculations are carried out for a time duration long enough
to obtain statistics of the flow in a post-processing operation.
The difficulty in using this approach is the tremendous amount
of computation required to resolve the spatial and temporal
velocity fluctuations in the turbulence. At the present time,
these methods are not practical for high Reynolds numbers
flows.
The other approach is to use a stochastic model to represent
the properties of the turbulence. In order to make quantitative
predictions, statistics of the velocity fluctuations, such as the
root mean square (rms) velocity and the integral length scale,
are used as parameters in models of velocity correlation and
spectrum functions. The statistics could be obtained from
a variety of methods, including Laser Doppler Velocimetry
measurements, empirical formulas for canonical flow cases
such as boundary layers and pipe flows, or Reynolds-Averaged
Navier–Stokes (RANS) computational fluid dynamics. When
using RANS, the statistics must be derived from the properties
of the turbulence model used in the solution, such as the
turbulence kinetic energy and dissipation rate.
In the remainder of Part 1, a stochastic model of the
turbulent velocity fluctuations will be developed based on
the idealized properties of isotropic, homogeneous turbulence.
The stochastic model provides closed-form analytical formulas
to calculate the correlation and spectrum functions, which
describe the statistical relationships between the fluctuations at
different points in space and time.
4. Statistical description of turbulent flow
First, the statistical quantities that are used in characterizing
turbulent flow are briefly summarized. Further details can
found in general texts on turbulence, such as Tennekes
and Lumley [8], Hinze [9], and Libby [10]. Statistical
characterization of turbulence is simplified considerably when
the turbulence is isotropic and homogeneous. With these
assumptions, only two scalar parameters, the turbulence
intensity and integral length scale, are needed to specify the
turbulence. Additionally, it will be assumed throughout this
3
section that the flow is in a steady-state in which the statistical
quantities do not change over time (i.e., the statistics are
stationary).
4.1. Turbulence intensity
At each point in space in a turbulent flow, the instantaneous
velocity can be considered a stochastic variable. The mean
velocity Ui (E
x ), where the subscript i refers to a component
of the velocity vector, is defined simply as the time-averaged
value of the instantaneous velocity. The instantaneous velocity
can then be decomposed into mean and fluctuating (u i ) parts.
The degree of unsteadiness in the flow is quantified statistically
by the rms value of the fluctuating velocity. In general, each
of the three velocity components has its own distinct rms
value. However, if the turbulence is isotropic, then all three
components are equal, and the fluctuations can be characterized
by a scalar rms velocity u. Note that the lack of a subscript
on u distinguishes the rms velocity from the instantaneous
fluctuating velocity vector. The rms velocity is often called the
turbulence intensity, usually expressed as a percentage of the
mean velocity.
Even when the turbulence is not isotropic, it is often useful to
characterize the intensity of the fluctuations by a scalar quantity
such as the turbulent kinetic energy (per unit mass)
1 2 
k= u 1 + u 22 + u 23 . (1)
2
In this equation, the overbars refer to time averaging of the
square of the velocity fluctuations. The turbulent kinetic energy
is widely used in turbulence modeling for CFD. Assuming
isotropic turbulence, the rms velocity is related to k by
u = (2/3)k.
p
(2)
4.2. Spatial correlation and integral length scale
In addition to the intensity of the fluctuations, it is
important to characterize the relationship between the velocity
fluctuations at two different points in space. The spatial
correlation function describes the average relationship between
the instantaneous velocities at point xE and some other point
xE + rE,
Ri j (E
r ) = u i (E
x )u j (E
x + rE). (3)
Assuming that the spatial dependence on xE is much weaker
than the dependence on rE, the turbulence can be treated as
being locally homogeneous. Furthermore, if the turbulence is
isotropic, then the correlation tensor can be expressed in the
special form (Ref. [8–10])
hr r
i j
 ri r j  i
Ri j (E
r ) = u2 f (r ) + δij − g(r ) (4)
r2 r2
where ri is the projection of rE in the i direction, r is the
magnitude of rE, and δi j is the Kronecker delta function. The
two scalar correlation functions are the longitudinal correlation
function f (r ) and the transverse correlation function g(r ).
4 P.D. Lysak et al. / Flow Measurement and Instrumentation 19 (2008) 1–7
Fig. 2. Longitudinal and transverse correlation functions.
A longitudinal correlation occurs when the direction of the
velocity vectors are oriented in the same direction as the
separation vector, while a transverse correlation occurs for
cases where the velocity vectors are perpendicular to the
separation vector. The two correlation functions are related by
the conservation of mass, so only one scalar function is needed
to fully characterize the isotropic correlation tensor. Plots of
the spatial correlation functions are shown in Fig. 2. Both
decay with increasing separation distance, and the transverse
correlation becomes slightly negative for large separations.
The integral length scale is the parameter which controls the
decay rate of the spatial correlation function. In general terms,
it is a measure of the spatial extent over which the fluctuations
are correlated, for which the turbulence is related to the size
of the largest eddies. Two integral length scales can be defined
from the longitudinal and transverse correlation functions, but
because f (r ) and g(r ) are related, only one integral length scale
is required to characterize the spatial decay of the turbulence.
The longitudinal integral length scale is given by
Z ∞ Z ∞
1 which includes the wavenumbers near the peak of E(κ) and
L 11 = 2 R11 (rEı 1 )dr = f (r )dr. (5)
u 0 0 below, the eddy sizes are of the order of the mean flow
4.3. Wavenumber spectral density
Additional physical insight into the spatial structure of
the velocity fluctuations can be gained by the transformation
from the spatial domain to the wavenumber domain. The
wavenumber spectral density functions are defined as the
Fourier transforms of the spatial correlation functions. For
example, the longitudinal component of the correlation tensor,
R11 (rEı 1 ), can be transformed into a longitudinal spectral
density F11 (κ1 ) by
1
Z ∞
F11 (κ1 ) = R11 (rEı 1 ) exp(−iκ1r )dr (6)
2π −∞
where κ1 is the wavenumber in the x1 direction. A one-
dimensional spectral density such as F11 represents the
contribution from each length scale present in the turbulence
to the mean square value of the fluctuations. This implies
that the integral of the spectral density over all positive and
negative wavenumbers equals the mean square velocity. Also,
comparison of Eqs. (5) and (6) with κ1 = 0 shows that F11 (0) =
u 2 L 11 /π .
In the more general case, taking the three-dimensional
Fourier transform of the spatial correlation tensor yields the
wavevector spectral density tensor Φi j . The three-dimensional
spectrum tensor is important because all other spectral
quantities can be derived from it. For example, F11 can be
obtained from Φ11 by integrating over all wavenumbers in the
κ2 –κ3 plane. Another important scalar spectrum, the energy
spectrum E(κ), can be obtained by integrating one-half of
the sum of the diagonal components of Φi j over a sphere of
radius κ. The energy spectrum provides the most direct physical
insight into the distribution of length scales in the turbulent
flow, and a model of E(κ) can be used to derive the complete
three-dimensional spectrum tensor for isotropic turbulence.
5. Turbulence spectrum modeling
Next, formulas will be developed to calculate the correlation
and spectrum functions defined above. The approach is to
start with the classical model of the turbulence energy
spectrum developed by von Kármán, and derive the spectra
and correlation functions using the relations of isotropic,
homogeneous turbulence. Then, the parameters of the model
will be related to the turbulent kinetic energy and dissipation
rate, which can be obtained using CFD.
5.1. Energy spectrum model
Modeling of the turbulence spectrum using only a few
parameters is possible because the form of the energy spectrum
is reasonably independent of the class of flow (i.e., boundary
layer, wake, jet, channel, etc.). In general, the spectrum can
be divided into a large-scale range, inertial subrange, and
dissipation range as shown in Fig. 3. In the large-scale range,
features, and the turbulence receives energy from the velocity
gradients of the mean flow. Through the inviscid stretching
and distortion of the large eddies, this energy is cascaded
through the higher wavenumbers (smaller scales) of the inertial
subrange. The wavenumber extent of the inertial subrange
depends on the Reynolds number, with higher Reynolds
number flows containing a larger inertial subrange. Above the
inertial subrange, the highest wavenumbers will be affected by
viscosity, which dissipates the energy.
An indication of the universal nature of the energy spectrum
is provided by Kolmogorov’s hypothesis (Ref. [8–10]). This
states that the inertial subrange can depend only on the
dissipation rate (ε) and the wavenumber (κ) because all the
energy is supplied by the smaller wavenumbers of the large-
scale range and dissipated by the larger wavenumbers of
the dissipation range. Based on this hypothesis, and using
dimensional analysis, the functional form of the energy
spectrum in the inertial subrange becomes
E(κ) = cε 2/3 κ −5/3 . (7)
 P.D. Lysak et al. / Flow Measurement and Instrumentation 19 (2008) 1–7 5

expressions for F11 (0), and using Eq. (2), give

 
√ 0 5
π 6 0.75
κe =  ≈ . (12)
L 11 0 1 L 11
3

5.2. Correlation functions

The longitudinal and transverse correlation functions can

be obtained from their corresponding spectra using the inverse
Fourier transform. The results, using Ref. [13], are
f (r ) = D1/3 (κe r ) (13)

Fig. 3. Energy spectrum schematic. The dashed line shows the von Kármán
and
model, which extends the inertial subrange to infinity. 4 1
g(r ) = D1/3 (κe r ) − D4/3 (κe r ) (14)
3 3
Experiments have shown (e.g., Saddoughi and Veeravalli [11]) where D(x) is a decaying function making use of the modified
that the constant c ≈ 1.5 for a wide range of flows. Bessel function K ν ,
An approximation for the energy spectrum valid for the
21−ν ν
large-scale range and inertial subrange was developed by Dν (x) = x K ν (x). (15)
von Kármán [12]. This model asymptotically reaches a κ −5/3 0(ν)
dependence for large wavenumbers, and follows von Kármán’s These functions were used to generate the plots in Fig. 2.
proposed κ 4 dependence for small wavenumbers. In between,
the two functions are blended by the formula 5.3. Use of computational fluid dynamics
4 " 2 #−17/6 Although CFD is typically used to predict the mean
κ κ
 
k
E(κ) = α 1+ (8) flow field, with some additional assumptions it can also be
κe κe κe
used to predict the turbulence spectrum [7]. Currently, most
where κe is the characteristic wavenumber associated with the CFD methods for high Reynolds number flows are based on
energy-containing eddies, which will be related to L 11 below. the Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations. To
The constant α can be determined exactly because the integral close the system of equations, a turbulence model is used which
relates the Reynolds stresses to the turbulent kinetic energy (k)
of E(κ) over all positive wavenumbers equals k, which results
and dissipation rate (ε). The two quantities k and ε can be
in
obtained from the CFD solution and are used as parameters in
a model of the turbulent energy spectrum.
 
110 0 5
6
α= √  ≈ 0.97 (9) The von Kármán energy spectrum model given in Eq. (8) is
27 π 0 1 characterized by the parameters k and κe . In order to find κe ,

3
first note that the high wavenumber asymptote of the model is
where 0 is the Euler Gamma function. given by
Assuming isotropic turbulence, the entire velocity spectrum k

κ
−5/3
tensor can be defined in terms of the energy spectrum E(κ → ∞) = α . (16)
κe κe
(Ref. [8–10])
Comparing this result to the functional form of the inertial
E(κ)  κi κ j  subrange based on Kolmogorov’s hypothesis, Eq. (7), yields
Φi j (E
κ) = δij − . (10)
4π κ 2 κ2  c 3/2 ε ε
κe = ≈ 1.9 3/2 (17)
Substituting Eq. (8) into this result, and integrating the tensor α k 3/2 k
component Φ11 over the entire κ2 –κ3 plane gives an equation
where the empirical constant c ≈ 1.5 has been used. In
for the longitudinal spectrum
addition, it follows from Eq. (12) that L 11 ≈ 0.39(k 3/2 /ε).
"  2 #−5/6 Therefore, based on the assumptions of isotropic turbulence
9α k κ1 and the von Kármán energy spectrum model, k and ε provide
F11 (κ1 ) = 1+ . (11)
55 κe κe the parameters needed to characterize the turbulence spectra
and correlation functions. It should be noted that the isotropic
However, as noted above, it follows from the spectrum assumption will tend to be more valid for the smaller scales
definition that F11 (0) = u 2 L 11 /π . Equating the two of the inertial subrange, which are not directly related to the
6 P.D. Lysak et al. / Flow Measurement and Instrumentation 19 (2008) 1–7

mean flow, than for the large-scale range. Ref. [7] shows that spatial separation vector rE gives the definition of the space–time
spectra predicted using this method for a turbulent boundary correlation
layer, where the turbulence is not isotropic, agree well with
Ri j (E
r , τ ) = u i (E
x , t)u j (E
x + rE, t + τ ). (21)
measured values in the inertial subrange. In the large-scale
range, the measured longitudinal and transverse spectra have Using the frozen convection model, the space–time correlation
a greater spread than that would be predicted by an isotropic can be derived from the spatial correlation function by simply
model, but the predicted values are a good representation of the replacing the second point xE + rE at time t + τ with an effective
average of the two components. point xE + rE − UE τ at time t. The effective point represents the
upstream position containing the turbulent velocity perturbation
6. Space–time description that will arrive at point xE + rE after a time delay of τ .
In the stochastic model of the cross-correlation flow meter,
The spatial correlation functions and wavenumber spectra the space–time correlation must be integrated along the beam
discussed so far have been based on statistics describing the path in order to obtain the net effect of the velocity fluctuations.
relationship between the instantaneous velocity fluctuations It is easiest to carry out these integrations in the frequency
at two points at the same time. Next, the statistics of the domain by defining a spectral correlation function. This can
velocity fluctuations as a function of time will be considered. be found by taking the Fourier transform of the space–time
It will be assumed that the mean velocity is much larger than correlation with respect to τ , which shows that the spectral
the fluctuating velocity, so that Taylor’s hypothesis of frozen correlation function represents the correlation of the frequency
convection can be applied. spectrum between the two points xE and xE +E r . However, because
of the complicated dependence on τ brought about by the
6.1. Point frequency spectrum effective separation distance, it is easier to derive the spectral
correlation by starting with the wavenumber spectrum tensor.
In the frozen convection model, the self-distortion of the Considering the cross-stream velocity fluctuations u 2 , which
turbulent velocity field occurs at a much slower rate than the are important for the flow meter, the spectral correlation along
rate at which the mean velocity carries the eddies past a fixed beam direction r2 can be obtained by integrating Φ22 over all
point. This implies that the velocity fluctuations as a function of κ3 , using the frozen convection model to let κ1 = 2π f /U , and
time at a fixed point are directly related to the spatial variation by taking the inverse Fourier transform with respect to κ2 . This
in the velocity. Letting the mean velocity be equal to U , the results in
characteristic frequency associated with the passing of energy- " !
containing eddies becomes f e2 + f 2
G vv (r2 , f ) = D5/6 (a|r2 |)
  f e2 + 83 f 2
1 0 6 U
5
U κe
! #
U 5 f2
fe = = √ ≈ 0.12 . (18) + D11/6 (a|r2 |) G vv ( f )
2 π 0 1 L 11
 
2π L 11 3 f e2 + 83 f 2
3
(22)
The frequency spectral densities G( f ) will be defined to be
one-sided spectra, so they include only positive frequencies, where D is the decay function from Eq. (15) and the frequency-
unlike the wavenumber spectra which include both positive and dependent decay rate is given by
negative wavenumbers. The frequency spectrum of the cross- q
stream velocity fluctuations v, which are important for the flow a( f ) = κe 1 + ( f / f e )2 . (23)
meter, can be obtained directly from the transverse wavenumber
spectrum using The spectral correlation function G vv (r2 , f ) can than be
used to define a frequency-dependent correlation length of the
G vv ( f ) = (4π/U )F22 (2π f /U ). (19) spectrum G vv ( f ),
The factor of 4π is included so that the integral of G vv over all Z ∞
1
frequencies 0 ≤ f ≤ ∞ returns the mean square value of v. Λvv ( f ) = G vv (r2 , f )dr2 . (24)
G vv ( f ) 0
For the von Kármán model, the frequency spectrum becomes
Using Eq. (22), this reduces to
" #"  2 #−5/6
u 2 L 11 f e2 + 83 f 2 f    2 "
G vv ( f ) = 2 1+ . (20) L 11  0 3 
1  2 #−1/2
#"
U f e2 + f 2 fe f e2 + 11 f2 f
Λvv ( f ) =   3
1+ .
3 2 + 8 f2 f
0 5
6
f e 3 e
6.2. Spectral correlation length (25)
Finally, the most general case involving the correlation of the The spectral correlation length Λvv ( f ) represents the effective
velocity fluctuations between two different points in space at distance along the r2 direction over which the u 2 velocity
two different times will be considered. Generalizing the spatial fluctuations at a given frequency are correlated. By introducing
correlation of Eq. (3) to include a time offset τ in addition to the this definition and developing a model for Λvv ( f ) in closed
 P.D. Lysak et al. / Flow Measurement and Instrumentation 19 (2008) 1–7
Fig. 4. Predicted and measured two-point correlation functions in a complex pipe flow.
form, it is easy to determine the net effect of the fluctuations
as a function of frequency.
7. Example
In order to demonstrate the use of the stochastic
model described above, examples for space–time correlation
calculations are shown in Fig. 4. The results are compared
to Laser Doppler Velocimeter measurements made in a pipe
flow approximately seven diameters downstream of a 90◦
elbow [14]. The correlation of the axial velocity component
is shown between a fixed probe located on the pipe centerline
and a variable probe at the same axial position but displaced
radially toward the outer wall of the bend. The displacements
ranged from 1.5 mm to 56 mm, with the inner radius of the pipe
being 148 mm. The model calculations were made using the
measured values of the mean axial velocity, rms velocity, and
integral length scale on the centerline as parameters.
Comparison between the model calculations and the
measurements shows good agreement. As the variable probe
displacement increases, the peak value of the correlation
drops and the correlation function becomes smoother. Even
though the turbulence is not strictly isotropic or homogeneous,
the model approximations appear to be reasonable and the
features of the space–time correlation are represented well.
Only for the largest separation is the measured correlation
slightly asymmetric, which is not captured using isotropic,
homogeneous turbulence. The other difference between the
model and measurements occurs for large time offsets, where
the measured correlations are held up by a noise floor. However,
this is due to low frequency flow pulsation in the facility and is
not related to the turbulence.
8. Conclusion
A stochastic model has been developed to predict the
correlation and spectrum functions of the fluctuating velocity
in a turbulent flow. The model is based on the properties of
7
isotropic, homogeneous turbulence, and uses the mean velocity,
rms velocity, and integral length scale as parameters. These
parameters can be obtained using either empirical data or
computational fluid dynamics. In Part 2, the turbulence model
will be used in formulating a model of an ultrasonic cross-
correlation flow meter. The demodulated signal output by the
meter will be related to the properties of the flow using the
stochastic model of the turbulence.
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