A Turbulent Atmosphere

Hamed, Ali

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/74898 Copy

Description

Title

A Turbulent Atmosphere

Author(s)

Hamed, Ali

Issue Date

2015-04

Keyword(s)

Mechanical Engineering

Abstract

The averaged Navier-Stokes equations that describe turbulent flows are not fully closed which makes computer simulations of high speed and fully turbulent flows very difficult. Experiments remain the gold standard for characterizing and understanding turbulent and complex flows such as the atmospheric boundary layer. The wind blows over complex natural and urban terrains complicating the flow dynamics even further. Quantifying the flow behavior over complex topography is of extreme importance in environmental engineering and energy applications. Though the topology of common terrains is very complex, it could be viewed as a combination of numerous superimposed spatial waves. Motivated by this view, I experimentally study the turbulence in geophysical flows over simplified and complex terrains. By methodologically increasing the terrain complexity, my experiments aim at extracting the effect of terrain complexity on the turbulence. Shown here is the signature of turbulence in a flow over a geophysical-scale terrain of staggered hills and valleys. The contours of the streamwise velocity are convoluted and non-parallel while the velocity vectors close to the topography reveal the rich flow dynamics.

Type of Resource

• text
• image

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Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2015 Ali Hamed

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