Laminarization of turbulent pipe flow by fluid injection

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Abstract
The effects of fluid injection on the structure of an initially fully developed, low Reynolds number, turbulent pipe flow have been studied by means of a hot-film anemometer. Measurements were made of the axial turbulence intensity field and of the time-mean streamwise velocity distribution, both in the porous-walled pipe and in the solid-walled hydrodynamic development section. Oscilloscope traces showing the timewise pattern of the local velocity fluctuations were also monitored. The Reynolds number of the air flow at the inlet of the porous pipe was varied from 3090 to 6350, and the Reynolds number of the injected air ranged from 60 to 160.Near the tube wall, the initial effect of injection is a significant reduction of the axial turbulence level and an increase in the thickness of the viscous and buffer layers. The degree by which turbulence is reduced in this region is more or less proportional to the ratio of the injection to entrance Reynolds numbers. In the core region of the flow, which is centred about the tube axis, there is also an initial reduction in the magnitude of the axial component of turbulence which is thought to be due to injection-induced acceleration of the flow. There is also an annular region, which separates the wall and core regions, in which the turbulence intensity initially increases. In the downstream portion of the porous tube the entire flow undergoes a re-transition to fully developed turbulence.