Influence of weak wall undulations on the structure of turbulent pipe flow: an experimental and numerical study

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Abstract
The influence of weak periodic wall undulations on the structure of turbulent pipe flow has been studied in three ways: measurements in air flow using pressure probes and hot-wire techniques, visualizations in water flow and numerical predictions based on a turbulence (k-ε) model. The flows at Reynolds numbers of 30000 and 115000 have been particularly investigated. The flow characteristics proved to be very different from those observed in a straight pipe. Calculations and experiments agree well for the mean- and turbulent-energy fields; however the detailed behaviour of some local quantities such as anisotropy of the Reynolds stress is not well predicted particularly in the crest region. So the performances and the limitations of classical closure have been appraised. The existence of an unsteady reverse-flow region downstream of every crest suggested by measurements and calculations has been clearly confirmed by visualizations in water flow.
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