11 Coherent

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Journal of Turbulence
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Coherent structures in controlled separated flow

over sharp-edged and rounded steps
Jens Neumann & Hans Wengle
a
Institut fr Strmungsmechanik und Aerodynamik , Universitt der Bundeswehr

Mnchen , 85577, Neubiberg, Germany E-mail:
Published online: 24 Jan 2011.
To cite this article: Jens Neumann & Hans Wengle (2004) Coherent structures in controlled separated flow over sharpedged and rounded steps, Journal of Turbulence, 5, N22
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1468-5248/5/1/022
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JOT J OURN A L OF TUR B UL ENC E
Coherent structures in controlled

separated ow over sharp-edged
and rounded steps
Jens Neumann and Hans Wengle
Institut f
ur Str
omungsmechanik und Aerodynamik, Universit
at der Bundeswehr
M
unchen, 85577 Neubiberg, Germany
E-mail: hans.wengle@unibw-muenchen.de
Received 25 November 2003
Published 14 June 2004
doi:10.1088/1468-5248/5/1/022
Abstract. The inuence of a passive (no external energy input) and an

active (via energy input) forcing method on the coherent structures in dierent
separated and reattaching ows is investigated. A (passive) surface-mounted
fence and an (actively) oscillating-blowing/suction jet are utilized for the openloop ow control. To cover a geometry-induced as well as a pressure-gradientinduced separation type, a turbulent (sharp-edged) backward-facing step ow and
a turbulent ow with (a freely evolving) separation along a smoothly contoured
convex surface are selected. The dynamics of the most energetic (coherent)
structures and their impact on the mean ow characteristics are analysed based
on results from large-eddy simulations. This analysis is realized by tracing the
development of the coherent structures from the oncoming turbulent boundary
layer to the separated and reattaching part of the shear layer and further
downstream to the redeveloping turbulent boundary layer. Concerning the
ow control, it is found that the coherent-vortex dynamics and the mean ow
characteristics are altered markedly. Furthermore, signicant dierences between
the particular passive and active forcing methods are observed with respect to
their impact on the separated ow.
PACS numbers: 47.27.Eq, 47.27.Nz, 47.27.Rc, 47.32.Ff, 47.62.+q
c
2004
IOP Publishing Ltd
PII: S1468-5248(04)72549-7
1468-5248/04/000001+24$30.00
JoT 5 (2004) 022
Downloaded by [National Chemical Laboratory] at 03:58 18 April 2015
http://jot.iop.org/
Coherent structures in controlled separated ow
Introduction
Numerical procedure
2.1 Computational approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2 Investigated ow cases and solution strategy . . . . .
2.2.1 Backward-facing step. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.2 Rounded step. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.3 Open-loop control methods. . . . . . . . . . .
2.3 Data analysis using proper orthogonal decomposition
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3.1 Oncoming turbulent boundary layer .
3.2 Separated shear layer and recirculation
3.3 Reattachment region . . . . . . . . . .
3.4 Redeveloping boundary layer . . . . .
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Conclusions
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Acknowledgments
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References
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1. Introduction
In many technological applications, the presence of turbulent separating and reattaching ows
requires considerable eorts to optimize the functionality, to weaken unfavourable behaviour
and to increase the overall performance. More or less sophisticated ow control methods are
often applied. However, a lack of understanding of the complex phenomena associated with the
turbulent ow separation and its control persists in many cases. Often, this hampers further
technological improvements. The present work is therefore designed to gain knowledge about
separated ows under applied ow control. This task is realized here by analysing the organized
(coherent) structures of the uncontrolled and controlled ow. Emphasis is put on the dynamics
of these most energetic structures as well as on their impact on the mean ow.
Owing to its simple geometry and yet complex ow characteristics, a turbulent ow over a
(sharp-edged) backward-facing step was selected as a base case. The separation line for this ow
is xed at the edge of the step. In practice, however, separation is often induced by an adverse
pressure-gradient. For such a case, the separation line evolves freely along a smoothly contoured
(or even at) surface. Therefore, we selected additionally a turbulent ow over a rounded
step with a mild convex curvature to cover this type of separation and to be able to compare
between reattaching ows with geometry-induced and with adverse-pressure-gradient-induced
separation.
Generally, a control method can be passive, requiring no auxiliary power, or active, requiring
energy expenditure [1]. Two simple methods are selected covering both types of ow control: a
surface-mounted fence placed upstream of the (sharp-edged or rounded) step as a passive method
and a periodically oscillating blowing/suction jet aligned across the span as an active method.
Both methods are adopted from experiments [2, 3], and applied as an open-loop (predetermined)
control strategy.
Journal of Turbulence 5 (2004) 022 (http://jot.iop.org/)
JoT 5 (2004) 022
Contents
The control objective is to enhance the mixing capability and the entrainment rate of the
(separated) shear layer bounding the separated ow region. Consequently, the mean size of this
region is reduced. The streamwise distance between mean separation and mean reattachment
location can then be used as an easily obtainable quantity to measure the mean size of the
separated ow region. This corresponds to our measure of the control success. A proper choice
of several control parameters, e.g. the streamwise position of the fence or the forcing frequency
of the jet, plays a decisive role for the amount of success. However, due to limited scope of this
paper, this issue is addressed only occasionally and the critical parameters for the presented
controlled ow cases can be regarded as optimized (if not stated explicitly).
The ow structure of an actively excited turbulent ow over a backward-facing step
was visualized by Roos and Kegelman [4] and Yoshioka et al [5] using laser light sheets. An
organizing inuence of the excitation on the large-scale structures downstream of the step
was observed [4]. It was also found that a pair of counter-rotating vortices is generated by
a locally applied blowing/suction jet operating at optimized frequency [5]. The subsequent
amalgamation process and the increased entrainment rate of the separated shear layer (compared
with uncontrolled or less eectively controlled cases) was visualized by Chun and Sung [6] for
the step ow with laminar separation. For passively/actively excited backward-facing step ows,
Miau et al [3] showed that a strongly altered ow structure upstream of the step generated by a
non-oscillating/oscillating fence can also lead to signicant reductions of the mean reattachment
length. The presence of inclined vortical structures and their interaction provoked by a spanwise
varying (suboptimal control) method was shown in the simulations of Kang and Choi [7]. For the
turbulent ow over a surface-mounted fence, Siller [8] and Orellano and Wengle [9, 10] visualized
coherent structures under active (locally applied) control. A visualization of coherent structures
of actively controlled turbulent (axial and planar) diusor ows can be found in Coller et al [11]
and Brunn and Nitsche [12]. This short literature survey on related controlled turbulent ows
already shows that numerical investigations based on a time-accurate ow simulation can provide
a valuable insight into the dynamics of the ow.
In the present study, large-eddy simulations (LES) are performed to provide threedimensional and time-dependent results for the controlled (and uncontrolled) ows to be able
to present views of
instantaneous states of the ows (snapshots),
the time-dependent behaviour of the ows (animations), and
averaged states of the ows (selected statistics).
LES are validated in comparison to results from additional direct numerical simulations (DNS)
for the uncontrolled backward-facing step case and in comparison to an experimental database
from Song [13] for the rounded-step case. In the discussion of the results, emphasis is put on
the dynamics of the large-scale (coherent) structures and on the dierences between the two
dierently controlled (passive and active) ows, as well as in comparison to the uncontrolled
reference cases. In addition to case-specic results presented in [14, 15], we are now able to
compare ows with dierent separation types, i.e. between geometry-induced and pressuregradient-induced separation.
This paper is organized as follows: section 2, the numerical approach used for all our
simulations is outlined. In addition to issues like discretization, grid and boundary conditions
for the dierent ow cases, some results of the LES validation are shown. For the presentation
of the results in section 3, the ow domain was subdivided into the oncoming boundary layer
(section 3.1), the separated shear layer and recirculation region (section 3.2), the reattachment
region (section 3.3) and the redeveloping boundary layer (section 3.4). Finally, conclusions are
drawn in section 4.
JoT 5 (2004) 022
Lz
inflow
profile +
vorticity
generators
h=1
Lf
Y
X
Ly
Lxu
Figure 1. Schematic view of the ow over a backward-facing step at Reh = 3000.
2. Numerical procedure
2.1. Computational approach
The incompressible NavierStokes equations are solved using nite-volume formulation based on
a staggered non-equidistant Cartesian grid. An explicit second-order time step (leap-frog with
time-lagged diusion) is used for the time advancement of the momentum equation. The solution
of the Poisson equation for the pressure is based on an iterative pressure-velocity correction [16].
In the DNS used for the validation of the backward-facing step LES, all relevant spatial and
temporal scales of the turbulent ow eld are resolved. For all performed LES, the dynamic
sub-grid scale model of Germano et al [17] is used to model the eects of the non-resolved scales.
The model coecient, CS , is averaged in the homogeneous spanwise direction.
2.2. Investigated ow cases and solution strategy
In our notation, X is the main ow direction, Y the spanwise and Z the vertical direction.
The velocity components in these directions are U , V and W , respectively. All variables
are normalized using the free-stream velocity, U , and the step height, h (in order to ease
comparisons between sharp-edged and rounded step). More details and a more systematic
presentation of statistics can be found in [18].
2.2.1. Backward-facing step. A turbulent ow over a backward-facing step at a relatively low
Reynolds number Reh = h U / = 3000 (based on the step height, h, and the freestream
velocity, U ) is simulated (see [14] for more details). The thickness, , of the oncoming turbulent
boundary layer is selected suciently small to introduce a strong disturbance by the control
devices (not too much aected by the boundary layer properties). Therefore, /h is chosen as
small as possible, i.e. /h = 0.8, which is smaller than the value /h = 1.2 used in the wellknown experiments of Jovic and Driver [19], the DNS of Le et al [20] and the LES of Akselvoll
and Moin [21]. Furthermore, this choice enables a validation of the uncontrolled boundary-layer
inow (Re = 285) with the DNS (Re = 300) of Spalart [22].
The computational domain for the DNS and LES extends over (Lx , Ly , Lz ) = (38, 5, 6) with
the inow plane located at X = Lxu = 18 (see gure 1). For the spatial discretization of
the convective and diusive terms, a fourth-order compact (Hermitian) scheme formulated for
a non-equidistant staggered grid [23] was used. The DNS grid consists of (Nx Ny Nz ) =
(976 160 304) 47.5 million grid cells. The results derived from this grid are intended to
JoT 5 (2004) 022
Lx
Xb
inflow
profile +
rescaled
fluctuations
Xr
h=1.0
Xf
Lf
Y
X
Lr
Ly
Lresc
Lxu
Lxd
Figure 2. Schematic view of the ow over a rounded step at Reh = 9100.

provide a set of reference solutions. Using a posteriori estimations of the local dissipation rate
with its maximum at the location (X, Y ) = (4.0, 1.0), it can be shown that for this grid the
smallest resolved scales are in the order of the Kolmogorov micro-length scale, k . Measured in
units of k , the grid resolution is (X, Y, Z) = (4k , 4k , k ). LES were performed on a much
coarser grid in order to allow parameter variations and to assess the eects of dierent control
strategies. Consequently, for the LES grid with (Nx Ny Nz ) = (404 80 110) 3.6 million
grid cells, the total number of cells is reduced by a factor of about 13. Only in the homogeneous
direction, Y , the (DNS and LES) grid spacing is equidistant, with Y (DN S) = 0.5Y (LES).
No-slip boundary conditions are used along the lower walls (including the step and the
control fence), and a slip condition (W = 0, U/Z = V /Z = 0) is used along the upper
boundary of the computational domain. Periodic boundary conditions are used in the spanwise
(homogeneous) direction and the gradients of variables normal to the outow cross-section are set
to zero. The (rectangular-shaped) bodies, e.g. the step or the passive control fence, are blocked
out within the Cartesian grid. For the active blowing/suction jet, time-dependent velocity
boundary conditions are applied locally.
To create a fully developed turbulent boundary layer, a series of vorticity generators
(modelled as blocked-out surface-mounted thin vertical ns) is arranged on a spanwise line
close to the inlet cross-section. Thickness, height, lateral distance of these generators and the
distance between the vorticity generators and the reference position (X = 4) are chosen such
that the desired properties of the boundary layer are obtained at the reference position.
Concerning the validation of the LES using the DNS data, it is found that the velocity
uctuations predicted by the LES are generally (i.e. throughout the entire surrounding of the
step) somewhat higher than those from the DNS (for more details see [14]). This also might
explain some dierences in the reattachment lengths found between DNS and LES. For the
uncontrolled and the passively controlled LES, the contribution of the sub-grid scale energy to
the total turbulent kinetic energy does not exceed 10%.
2.2.2. Rounded step. In gure 2, the turbulent ow over a rounded step is sketched
schematically. Flow separation occurs along the smoothly contoured surface at Xs and the
ow reattaches further downstream on the bottom plate, Z = 0.0, at Xr . The Reynolds number
selected from the experimental data of Song and Eaton [13, 24] is Reh = 9100. The step surface
is circularly shaped with a radius of 6.05h resulting in an eective ramp length of Lr = 3.33.
A ne grid with (Nx Ny Nz ) = (1008 160 303) 48.9 million grid cells is employed
for a highly resolved LES of the uncontrolled ow. To assess the eects of control (with fewer
JoT 5 (2004) 022
Lz
Xs
(a)
(b)
10
wrms +
urms +
20
+
(c)
3
2
1
0
0
10
101
10
+
10
0
0
1
Z/
Z/
Figure 3. (a) Mean streamwise velocity U , (b) streamwise (urms ) and (c)
vertical (wrms ) velocity uctuations of the rounded step ow at X = 6.67: ne
grid LES (, wall-nearest cell centre at +), coarse grid LES ( , wallnearest cell centre at ), experiments of Song [13] (), DNS of Spalart [22] at
Re = 1400 ().
computational requirements), LES with passive or active control are performed on a coarse(r)
grid with (Nx Ny Nz ) = (544 80 125) 5.4 million grid cells. Both grids extend over
the same domain (Lxu + Lxd , Ly , Lz ) = (42.0, 5.0, 7.2). The inow boundary is placed at
X = Lxu = 18.0 upstream of the origin of the coordinate system which is located at the
beginning of the circular curvature of the rounded step. For spatial discretization, a secondorder central dierence scheme is applied.
To represent arbitrarily shaped bodies (e.g. the rounded step) within the Cartesian grid,
an immersed boundary condition [25] is applied. For the generation of the oncoming turbulent
boundary layer, rescaled uctuations from a downstream position X = 6.7 are superimposed on
a mean boundary layer prole back at the inow plane [26]. Based on the momentum thickness,
, the Reynolds number of the boundary layer at X = 6.7 is Re 1100. Apart from these
dierent treatments, the same set of boundary conditions as for the backward-facing step ow
described above is used.
For the uncontrolled ow, only moderate deviations between the experiments and the LES
on both grids can be observed from gure 3 for the oncoming turbulent boundary layer (see also
in [15]). Some freestream turbulence (urms , wrms ) becomes visible which is apparent only in the
experiments. Furthermore, the reduced experimental rms-values in the region Z/ [0.2; 0.6]
are explained by Song [13] as a (downstream) remnant of an upstream convex curvature [27]
of the experimental apparatus. This interpretation is supported by comparisons with the DNS
of Spalart [22] at Re = 1400 (see gure 3) and with the experiments of DeGraa and Eaton
[28] (see [13]). The dierence between the ne grid LES result and the DNS data of Spalart is
mainly caused by the grid (which is still not ne enough) and possibly by the rescaling method
(insucient recovery length and choice of initial boundary-layer thickness).
From the proles of the mean streamwise velocity, U , and its uctuations, urms , in gure 4,
it can be seen that throughout the entire domain the agreement between the LES and the
experiment [13] is quite satisfactory. In the region of the separated and reattaching shear
layer (within X = [1.33; 6.67]), the urms -proles of the LES exhibit higher maximum values
at slightly larger distances from the (bottom) wall. Despite increasing the total number of grid
points (from coarse to ne resolution) by a factor of more than 8, these deviations from the
experiment decrease only slightly. The time-averaged streamwise positions of separation, Xs ,
and reattachment, Xr , are 1.3 and 4.5 in the experiment versus 1.2 (1.4) and 4.7 (4.9) for
the ne (coarse) grid LES, respectively. Compared with the experimental data, the resulting
JoT 5 (2004) 022
23
.3
3
13
.3
3
6.
67
4.
53
4.
17
3.
33
2.
57
1.
33
0.
83
0.
00
6
.6
7

0.0
1.0
urms
0
0.0
0.15
Figure 4. Mean streamwise velocity component, U , and uctuations, urms of

the rounded step ow: , ne-grid LES; , coarse-grid LES; , experiments
of [13].
deviations of +9% (+9%) of the mean backow length, Xr Xs , for the ne (coarse) grid
LES are somewhat higher than those for the LES of Wasistho and Squires [29].
2.2.3. Open-loop control methods. All presented results of the passively and actively controlled
cases are derived from open-loop control simulations. Details of parameter variations can be
found in [14] for the backward-facing step and in [15] for the rounded step. Here, the passive
control fence with a height of hf = 0.33h was placed at Xf = 4.0 upstream of the sharp edge
of the backward-facing step (to match the static version of the experiments of Miau et al [3]).
This position is close to the optimum position for a maximum reduction (14%) of the mean
reattachment length. For the rounded step (using the same height and location of the fence),
a reduction of 71% could be achieved. Lowering the fence height to hf = 0.20h at Xf = 4.0
decreased the control success to 57%. Changing the fence position to Xf = 2.0 (the nearly
optimum location for the new fence height) again increased the control success up to 66%.
Concerning the active control, the results for the backward-facing step ow are derived
from a setup with a (45 inclined) jet oscillating at a (preliminary optimized [14]) frequency
of Stb = fb h/U = 0.1 with an amplitude of Ab = 0.2U . This method is adapted from
the experiments of Chun and Sung [2]. For the rounded step ow, many open-loop control
simulations were performed to determine the inuence of dierent control parameters on the
control success [15]. For the presentation in this paper, we selected a case with a frequency of
Stb = 0.2, an amplitude of Ab = 0.2U and a streamwise position of Xb = 1.3 of the control jet
applied perpendicularly to the surface. The mean backow length was reduced by more than
40% for these values. It is worth mentioning that at a higher amplitude of Ab = 0.5U , the
time-averaged backow was found to be entirely suppressed [15].
JoT 5 (2004) 022
2.3. Data analysis using proper orthogonal decomposition (POD)

POD, also called the Karhunen-Lo`eve decomposition was originally proposed by Lumley [30]
for the denition and identication of organized large-scale structures in turbulent ows. The
extracted separate (i.e. orthogonal) eigenmodes can be considered to be coherent structures of
the ow containing a mode specic fraction of the kinetic energy of the ow. Then, it is possible
to investigate the spatial and temporal behaviour of a selected mode (or of a group of modes)
separately.
In our case, the total velocity eld of the backward-facing step ow is decomposed as
an (t)n (x)
(1)
n=1
using a database of NT = 8777 snapshots of a subdomain (X, Y, Z) = (6 . . . 10, 0 . . . 5, 0 . . . 2)

containing (Nx , Ny , Nz ) = (123, 40, 36) data points (with ltered values at every second grid
point of the LES grid). The snapshot method [31] is applied for the solution of the related
eigenvalue problem. The resulting eigenvalues, n , are proportional to the energy content of the
corresponding mode, n, and were sorted in descending order such that the rst modes capture
the largest energy fraction. For each single mode, n, the spatiotemporal dynamics is determined
by the temporal coecient, an (t), and by the spatial eigenfunction, n (x). To analyse the
dynamics of the dominating large-scale structures, the velocity eld can be reconstructed using
a limited number of eigenmodes n, i.e. the summation in equation (1) is carried out over a subset
of all eigenmodes (see section 3.2). Then, for example the complexity of a ow (in comparison
to other similar ows within a selected ow domain) can be measured by comparing the energy
captured by the same subset of eigenmodes.
3. Results
3.1. Oncoming turbulent boundary layer
As shown in the previous section for the sharp-edged and rounded step ow, an equilibrium
turbulent boundary-layer ow is established for the uncontrolled case in the (oncoming) ow
region upstream of separation. The reproduction of the time-averaged ow properties is
satisfactory (either by using the method with vorticity generators or with the rescaling method).
In the animation of gure 5(a), the characteristic pattern of the dominant coherent structures is
visualized using the 2 -criterion proposed by Jeong and Hussain [32], i.e. dening a vortex core
to be the region of negative 2 . Here, 2 is the second largest eigenvalue of S 2 + 2 , with S and
being the symmetric and anti-symmetric part of the velocity gradient tensor, respectively.
It can be seen that elongated structures dominate. The downstream lifted parts of these
structures are often connected via arch-like spanwise heads forming characteristic hairpin
vortices [33] or asymmetric hairpins (i.e. hook- or cane-like structures with only one
leg [34]).
For the passively controlled ow, it can be seen in the animation of gure 5(b) that the
coherent structures are aligned in spanwise direction at the top of the fence. Here, the (negative)
2 -threshold is signicantly increased (compared with the uncontrolled boundary layer ow) in
order to highlight the dynamics associated with the fence. Of course, similar structures as
described above would be visible in the boundary-layer region upstream of the fence at a lower
2 -threshold. Downstream of the fence, the roller-like structures at the fence roof early begin to
interact with the structures of the oncoming boundary layer and develop three-dimensionality.
This interaction process was also veried by Orellano and Wengle [10] for the turbulent ow over
a surface-mounted fence. As the fence height covers only about 40% of the local boundary layer
JoT 5 (2004) 022
u(x, t) =
NT
(b)
Figure 5. Isosurfaces of the instantaneous 2 -eigenvalues: (a) animation for

the uncontrolled case (2 = 0.3) and (b) animation for the passively controlled
case (2 = 5.0).
thickness, , it can be expected that the oncoming structures of the upstream boundary layer
play an important role for the interaction and for the early development of three-dimensional
structures downstream of the fence.
The creation of additional turbulent intensity by the passive control fence in the oncoming
boundary layer becomes visible in gure 6. For both, sharp-edged and rounded step cases, uid
with high vorticity magnitudes, |y |, is lifted by the impact of the fence into ambient regions
away from the wall (Z > 1.5). Furthermore, increased vorticity magnitudes of frequently varying
algebraic signs can be observed close to the wall (1.0 < Z 1.5) due to the highly energetic
reattachment process of the small recirculation zone downstream of the fence. In gure 6, the
inuence of the Reynolds number on the ow structures is also visible. Clearly, the size of the
turbulent structures rendered by coherent areas of identical |y | is smaller for the rounded-step
ow (Reh = 9100) than for the sharp-edged-step ow (Reh = 3000). Note that snapshots from
only highly resolved simulations are shown here.
3.2. Separated shear layer and recirculation zone
The distinction between geometry-induced and adverse-pressure-gradient (APG)-induced types
of ow separation [35] has physical consequences for the evolution of the separated shear layer
(among other consequences). As the height of the separation zone is typically larger than the
thickness of the separating shear layer for the geometry-induced separation type, the resulting
shear layer grows initially, independent of the bottom wall. For the uncontrolled ow, this
dierence in the APG-induced separation type can be nicely seen from the curvature of the
distinct tongues of high vorticity magnitudes, |y |, in gure 6. The at separated shear layer for
the sharp-edged step ow needs approximately 23 step heights to roll-up and to eject structures
which are large enough to interact with the lower wall. This delayed interaction provides space
for the secondary recirculation zone close to the foot of the step containing uid with very low
|y | (see gure 6(a)). The dynamics within this secondary recirculation zone are investigated
in [36].1
1
Two alternating stages, an inactive and an active stage, were observed within the secondary recirculation zone.
In the active stage, a mechanism proposed by Spazzini et al [37] is supported by the ndings: a detached backow
jet originating from the bottom wall at the underside of the (primary) recirculation zone seems to impinge at the
backface of the step; its (subsequently emerging) lower part lls the region close to the step foot with convected
(relatively) highly turbulent uid under the presence of a counter-rotating vortex; afterwards the intensity of this
process is weakened again.
JoT 5 (2004) 022
(a)
(a)
2
1
0
(b)
10
10
10
10
1
0
(c)
0
X
2
1
0
(d)
2
1
0
0
X
Figure 6. Instantaneous spanwise vorticity, y , for the backward-facing step

(Reh = 3000): (a) uncontrolled case, (b) passively controlled case, for the rounded
step (Reh = 9100), (c) uncontrolled case and (d) passively controlled case.
For the uncontrolled APG-induced separation, the aforementioned tongue seems to be
inected along the rounded wall due to the interaction of the shear layer roll-up with the wall
(see gure 6(c)). Because of the downstream shifted detachment and the small separation angle
of the separated shear layer, the spatial size of the resulting recirculation zone is much smaller
than for the backward-facing step ow. The distribution of the mean skin friction, Cf , along
the wall in gure 7(a) shows that there is no secondary recirculation zone within the primary
zone (with negative Cf -values). However, the characteristic Cf -peak at the intersection of the
rounded part with the bottom plate at X = 3.3 suggests that for a case with an earlier separation
or with a steeper drop of the geometry of the rounded step part, a secondary recirculation zone
would emerge.
The animation shown in gure 7(c) suggests that the (uncontrolled APG-induced)
separation process is dominated by the properties of the oncoming boundary layer. The
10
JoT 5 (2004) 022
(b)
(a)
Cf * 10
(d)
4
Figure 7. Skin friction coecient Cf along the bottom wall of the rounded
step: mean Cf (), instantaneous Cf averaged in spanwise direction ( ),
experiment of Song [13] () for (a) uncontrolled case and (b) passively controlled
case; instantaneous local Cf : (c) animation for the uncontrolled case and (d)
animation for the passively controlled case.
elongated (zig-zag-like) structures in the instantaneous local skin friction (Cf ) distribution
close to separation are quite probably footprints of boundary layer streaks as their spanwise
spacing (Y 0.2) is similar to that characteristic for streaks (Y + 100). The relatively
slow variation of their spanwise position (apparent in the animation) can be attributed to the
relatively large streamwise size of the streaks (X + 1000, [38]) and to their long persistence
times. Another indication for the predominance of boundary layer structures in the separation
process is the noticeable non-occurrence of any important (i.e. large-scale) uctuations in the
instantaneous and spanwise averaged Cf -distribution upstream of X = 2.0 in gure 7(a).
Due to the passive control applied upstream of separation, the turbulent ow structures at
the separation location appear to be less elongated (i.e. less tongue-like) and signicantly more
complex (see gures 6(b) and (d)). As a consequence thereof, an increased amount of vertical
uid motion (among the generally increased turbulent activity) can be observed within the
(passively controlled) separated shear layer downstream of separation. This, in turn, leads to an
increased momentum exchange between the ambient uid and the uid inside the recirculation
zone, to an increased entrainment and to an increased mixing rate of the separated shear layer
and, subsequently, to a reduction of the mean reattachment length, Xr . Furthermore, the size
of the small secondary recirculation zone is signicantly reduced [14].
For the passively controlled APG-induced separation, the increased turbulence activity of
the oncoming turbulent boundary layer leads to a separation delay. A streamwise shift of
the mean separation location, Xs , of more than 1h is observed for dierent passive control
parameters (i.e. with dierent fence heights, hf , and with dierent fence positions, Xf [15]).
The associated ow dynamics can be seen in the animation of gure 7(d). Instead of the
aforementioned streaky structures of the uncontrolled case, a more complex ow pattern with
11
JoT 5 (2004) 022
(c)
(a)
(c)
(b)
(e)
mode 2...100
mode 2...100
(f)
(g)
mode 2...3
mode 4...100
Figure 8. Isosurfaces of the instantaneous vertical velocity uctuations w =

0.05 (green, red): (a) animation for the uncontrolled case, (b) animation for
the passively controlled case, (c) animation for the actively controlled case;
reconstruction of the original velocity eld using POD modes, (d) for the
uncontrolled case using modes 2, . . . , 100, (e) for the actively controlled case using
modes 2, . . . , 100, (f) for the actively controlled case using modes 2 and 3, (g) for
the actively controlled case using modes 4, . . . , 100.
enhanced streamwise and spanwise activity becomes visible from the instantaneous local skin
friction (Cf ) distribution along the wall close to the (downstream shifted) separation. It is
interesting to notice that events of backow (i.e. red and blue patches of negative Cf ) occur
already upstream of Xs = 2.7 indicating (slowly decaying) vortical structures ejected from
the small separation zone downstream of the control fence. In contrast to the uncontrolled
ow, uctuations of the instantaneous, spanwise averaged Cf -value occur throughout the entire
observation domain as shown for the instant plotted in gure 7(b).
To visualize the three-dimensional ow dynamics, isosurfaces (of two thresholds) of the
vertical velocity uctuations, w = 0.05, are presented in gure 8. The animations of the
uncontrolled, passively controlled and actively controlled backward-facing step ow in gures
8(a)(c) reveal signicant changes of the spatiotemporal ow characteristics due to the control
impact. Again, the complex ow pattern created by the passive control fence upstream of the
step seems to fully impact the separated ow (downstream of the step) beginning directly at the
step edge. In contrast, a slight spatial delay (of the order of h) of the creation of large velocity
uctuations can be observed for the uncontrolled ow.
12
JoT 5 (2004) 022
(d)
mode
Figure 9. Eigenvalues, n , of POD mode n for the uncontrolled case (),
passively controlled case ( ) and actively controlled case ( ).
For the actively controlled case, this slight delay is also visible (see gure 8(c)). Downstream
of X 1.0, large-scale 2D-rollers emerge which are aligned in spanwise direction. These rollers
interact with oncoming structures from the upstream boundary layer. However, this interaction
is merely an embedding of the smaller oncoming structures into the stronger and larger 2D-rollers.
Therefore, this process is dierent from the interaction of the oncoming turbulent boundary layer
structures with the passive control fence (described in section 3.1) in which the 2D-structures
at the fence roof developed early into complex 3D-structures.
Additional insight into the characteristics of the passively and actively controlled ow eld
is provided by the POD analysis. Generally, it can be seen from the eigenvalue spectra, n , of the
POD modes in gure 9 that all uctuating modes (n 2) of the passively controlled ow contain
increased energy levels in comparison to the uncontrolled ow. For the actively controlled case,
only approximately the rst 10 uctuating modes have an increased energy content. Note that
mode n = 1 represents the mean ow because the three PODs were performed by decomposing
the total velocity eld, and not the velocity uctuations. The uctuating POD modes 2 and 3 of
the actively controlled case represent the primary eects of the applied control: a reconstruction
of the velocity eld using only this pair of POD modes yields essentially a downstream travelling
2D-structure (see gure 8(f)). The downstream travelling motion results from an appropriate
phase shift in both, time (an ) and space (n ) between modes 2 and 3.
It is very interesting to notice that the (truncated) reconstruction of the uctuating
modes n = 4, . . . , 100 of the actively controlled ow (see gure 8(g)) bears resemblance to
the reconstructed uctuating velocity eld (n = 2, . . . , 100) of the uncontrolled ow (see gure
8(d)). In other words, the actively controlled ow can be thought of as a superposition of the
natural ow eld of the backward-facing step with an articial highly energetic structure (the
pair of POD modes 2 and 3) created by the active control. This articial structure is also
responsible for the alteration of the mean ow eld, e.g. for the shrinkage of the mean size of the
separation zone.
The truncation of the reconstructed elds at mode n = 100 (see gures 8(d) and (e)) acts as
a large-scale lter suppressing the small scales. Quantitatively, only 51, 47 and 61% of the total
13
JoT 5 (2004) 022
=0
=3/2
Figure 10. Phase-averaged velocity eld for the actively controlled backwardfacing step ow.
kinetic energy of the uctuating POD modes are captured by the truncated set, n = 2, . . . , 100, of
POD modes for the uncontrolled case, the passively and the actively controlled case, respectively.
These numbers suggest that (within the same observation domain) the passively controlled ow
exhibits a slightly increased complexity (compared with the uncontrolled ow), whereas the
complexity of the structure dynamics for the actively controlled ow is reduced. For all three
cases, however, the truncated small scale part would quite probably be not negligible in a
low-order model consisting of (already) 100 POD modes.
The vector plots of the phase-averaged velocity eld of the actively controlled backwardfacing step ow in gure 10 give another impression of the spatiotemporal evolution of the
large-scale structures. All phase-lags are determined based on the frequency of the oscillating
jet which operates sinusoidally, i.e. with the maximum injection at = /2 and with the
maximum suction at = 3/2. Similar to the observations made by Yoshioka et al [5] for a
dierent ow conguration and at a higher forcing frequency, the rst vortex roll-up is found
at = 0 (switching from suction to injection). The clockwise rotating vortical structure is
convected downstream and remains visible up to the reattachment region (X 5.0). Due to the
lower forcing frequency (Stb = 0.10 versus 0.19), the distance between two passing structures
is larger than in [5]. A tracking of the vortex centres (visualized by the dot-dashed line in
gure 10) reveals an increase in the convection velocity between the roll-up region (X < 2.0)
where the vortices grow and the regions further downstream. Note that these observations
mainly concern the dynamics of the aforementioned articial ow structure (the pair of POD
modes 2 and 3) as most of the small-scale inuence is suppressed by the phase-averaging
procedure.
The convection velocity of large-scale structures can be estimated using the instantaneous
wall pressure uctuations [39]. Negative peaks are associated with the convection of successive
vortex cores whereas positive peaks are a consequence of a wall-directed rush of uid between
14
JoT 5 (2004) 022
=/2
(b)
(c)
60
60
60
40
40
40
20
20
20
10
10
10
Figure 11.
Spacetime contour plots of the spanwise-averaged pressure
uctuations, p , at Z = 0.03 for (a) uncontrolled, (b) passively controlled and
(c) actively controlled backward-facing step ow (10 contour levels from white to
black colour within p = [0.05; 0.05]).
two vortical structures [40]. In gure 11, the instantaneous and spanwise-averaged pressure
uctuations, p , close to the bottom wall are displayed along the streamwise coordinate (similar
to [39]). For all three cases, a convective behaviour can be observed after a certain distance from
the foot (X = 0.0) of the step indicated by the equally inclined contour pattern. A convection
velocity of approximately 0.6U can be estimated which corresponds to the estimation of
[39]. The shape of the peak pressure uctuations suggests that for the uncontrolled and
passively controlled ow a lot of structures with nite spatial and temporal extent convect
downstream. Only some, spontaneously occurring ridges indicate the passage of very large-scale
structures. In contrast, for the actively controlled ow, a clear identication of each convecting
vortical structure throughout the entire domain is possible. Only marginal signs of disorder
(i.e. of the natural backward-facing step ow) are observable (exaggerated by the spanwise
averaging procedure). This again shows the articial character of the structure imposed by the
active control.
In the region close to the step foot, all three pressure uctuation patterns reveal a
non-convecting ow structure with (for the uncontrolled and the passively controlled ow)
only weak uctuation intensity (see gure 11). This behaviour is linked to the secondary
recirculation zone.
For the visualization of the entire separated ow region, we used the instantaneous
streamwise velocity component, U . The isosurface U = 0.0 separates forward from backward
directed ow and is a good approximation of the outer bound of the separated ow region. Its
evolution in time can be followed from the animations in gure 12 for the rounded step ow
with APG-induced separation. For the uncontrolled ow, the shape of this isosurface remains
relatively constant. Especially, the separation line exhibits only slight variations as discussed
already in gure 7. The local instantaneous reattachment line shows larger spanwise (and
streamwise) variations than the separation line due to the formation of large-scale structures
within the separated shear layer region.
Signicant dierences of the spatial structure of the separated ow region due to the ow
control including a reduction of its size can be already seen in the reference frames of gure 12.
Note that the presented passively and actively controlled ow cases exhibit reductions of the
15
JoT 5 (2004) 022
(a)
(b)
r_02_c
rf_02_c0
(c)
0.0
0.5
rb_02_c3
Figure 12.
Isosurfaces of the instantaneous streamwise velocity component U = 0.0 (grey):
(a)
animation
for the uncontrolled case,
(b) animation for the passively controlled case and (c) animation for the actively
controlled case.
mean backow length of 71% and a 46%, respectively, including a separation delay of more
than one step height, h, in the streamwise direction. The (animated) passively controlled ow
often shows a disrupted structure of the backow region (see gure 12(b)). Single backow
packets emerge which can reach a considerable height above the bottom wall. The instantaneous
backow of the actively controlled case, especially in its upstream part, reects the structure
of the dominant spanwise aligned 2D-rollers which are created by the oscillating jet and are
convected downstream (see gure 12(c)). Upstream of X = 3.3 (where the recirculation zone
reaches its largest mean vertical extent), even some gaps (with forward-directed ow) between
the backow regions become traceable. From a comparison of the animated instantaneous
U -distributions in the vertical XZ-cross-sections in the background of gure 12, it can be
observed that the large-scale structures downstream of the recirculation zone reach the largest
sizes for the passively controlled ow.
3.3. Reattachment region

Previous investigations of backward-facing step ow revealed that the three-dimensional ow
structure in the reattachment region close to the reattachment surface is very complex and highly
unsteady (see e.g. [41]) giving rise to the well-known eects of increased wall pressure uctuations
[42], structure vibrations, noise and heat transfer [43]. In the present study, additional interest
16
JoT 5 (2004) 022
(a)
(a)
(b)
0.0
0.5
Figure 13. Instantaneous streamwise velocity, U , and velocity vectors projected

to the horizontal plane at Z = 0.03 for the backward-facing step ow: (a)
animation for the uncontrolled case, (b) animation for the passively controlled
case and (c) animation for the actively controlled case.
for the dynamics within this region arises because a central objective of the applied control is
to shift the reattachment location upstream. To elucidate the two-dimensional ow physics, the
animations of the instantaneous streamwise velocity, U , close to the bottom wall in gure 13 are
overlaid by the corresponding velocity vector eld. Vector length and thickness are proportional
to the magnitude of velocity.
The mean reattachment length, Xr , observed in the corresponding LES is 5.8, 5.0 and 5.0
for the uncontrolled, passively controlled and actively controlled case, respectively. The moderate
reduction ratios (e.g. compared with [2]) can be explained with the reduced eectiveness of
excitation methods of only weakly turbulent or transitional shear layers [4, 44].
Within the reattachment region of the uncontrolled ow (gure 13(a)), downstream directed
jets of much higher velocity magnitudes than the surrounding uid (in blue versus yellow
colour) can be noticed. These structures can rst be seen as blowball-like patches in the most
upstream located parts of the (very inhomogeneous) backow boundary (at X 5.0). These
patches correspond to local stagnation regions of jet-like ow splashing down on to the bottom
plate. They have also been observed in transitional backward-facing ow [45] and in turbulent
ow over a fence [9]. Subsequently, during the downstream evolution, these structures get a
more and more elongated shape. In contrast to elongated streaks in an equilibrium at-plate
boundary layer, the jet-like structures still exhibit relatively strong spanwise-directed velocities
at their sides and sometimes a slight meandering-like motion (see e.g. in the last animated frame
at X = 8.0 and Y = 3.0) within the domain of observation, X < 10.0.
In the animation of gure 14 for the uncontrolled ow, at least some information is
given about the arising question concerning the origin of these structures on the reattachment
surface. The observed jet-like pattern close to the bottom plate is related to coherent motions
with a large vertical wall-directed velocity component at the upper plane Z = 0.22 (and with
apparently small streamwise vorticity). As the spanwise coherence of the typical structures
above the reattachment region is barely visible (see e.g. in gure 8(a)), these coherent motions
may stem from local regions of high spanwise vorticity. The vortical structure above one
17
JoT 5 (2004) 022
(c)
Figure 14. Instantaneous streamwise velocity, U , and 3D velocity vectors in

the horizontal planes at Z = 0.03 and at Z = 0.22 (view from bottom to top
within X = [3; 8] and Y = [0; 4], colourscale from gure 13): animation for the
uncontrolled backward-facing step ow.
(a)
(b)
Figure 15. Instantaneous snapshot of the velocity vectors at Z = 0.02 coloured

with the vertical velocity component, W (red, W < 0.0; green W > 0.0), and the
isosurfaces of the 2 -eigenvalues (grey) for the uncontrolled backward-facing step
ow (DNS): (a) 2 = 10 up to Z 0.08, (b) 2 = 25 within 0.08 Z 0.50.
of the aforementioned stagnation regions is visualized in gure 15 using a snapshot of the
highly resolved DNS data. Close to the reattachment surface (see gure 15(a), Z 0.08), the
wall-directed ow (red vector tubes) inside the local stagnation region is turned around into
o-wall ow (green) at the boundaries of that region thereby creating a more or less ring-like
vortical structure (apparent from the grey 2 -isosurfaces). At the same instant of time and
18
JoT 5 (2004) 022
further away from the wall (see gure 15(b), 0.08 Z 0.50), a pattern of two (not connected)
wavy spanwise structures (at X 4.0) and two streamwise structures with lifted downstream
tails can be observed. Even though this relatively regular pattern might be characteristic for
the development of a local stagnation point and the subsequent jet-like structures, a complete
explanation of the underlying generation process is still missing.
Along the reattachment surface of the passively controlled ow (gure 13(b)), the described
jet-like ow structures can also be seen. The boundary between backow and forward-directed
ow, i.e. the instantaneous reattachment line, seems to be even more complex than for the
uncontrolled case. An increased number of isolated backow patches persists downstream of
the reattachment line. Within the (primary) recirculation zone, the size of the low-energetic
secondary recirculation zone close to the step foot is about 1h smaller for the passively controlled
than for the uncontrolled ow.
For the actively controlled ow (gure 13(c)), the imposed 2D-structure (see section 3.2)
leaves its footprint in the form of a regularly appearing, spanwise homogeneous backow pattern
(in red) which persists downstream (up to X = 8.0) of the mean reattachment position, Xr .
However, a non-negligible amount of three-dimensionality can be observed here. This holds
particularly for the downstream directed jet-like structures (in blue colour) in between the
2D-rollers. Starting from occasionally appearing stagnation patches (as described above for the
uncontrolled ow), these structures, although remaining as isolated entities, have xed upstream
and downstream tails bounded by the surrounding backow and (further downstream) lowvelocity uid, respectively.
3.4. Redeveloping boundary layer
The relatively slow recovery towards an equilibrium turbulent boundary layer is a general feature
of reattaching ows after the removal of the distortion, i.e. downstream of the separation region
[13, 35, 46, 47]. For the uncontrolled backward-facing step ow, this behaviour can be seen from
the mean streamwise velocity proles shown in gure 16(a). Gradually, the proles approach
the log law typical for turbulent boundary layers with increasing distance from reattachment.
Apart from the smoothing in the wake region, a recovery from the dip below the logarithmic law
becomes obvious. This dip is probably caused by the (slowly decaying) large-scale structures
carried from the separated ow region [13]. An evidence of this slowly decaying behaviour of
the large scales downstream of the reattachment of the separated shear layer is provided e.g. by
the spatiotemporal behaviour of the pressure uctuations (see gure 11).
For the controlled ow cases, the local status of recovery can be easily determined by
comparing the streamwise velocity proles with the corresponding ones of the uncontrolled
backward-facing step ow. The passively controlled ow (see gure 16(b)) shows lower dips
below the log law (and higher peaks of the wake component) compared with the uncontrolled ow
at the same streamwise position, X. Therefore, the redevelopment of an equilibrium boundary
layer is decelerated by the passive control. The opposite holds for the actively controlled ow
(see gure 16(c)), even though the dierences to the base case are less distinct compared with
the passively controlled case. A slightly reduced level of deviation from the log law (compared
with the uncontrolled case) becomes visible (most notably at X = 19.0). Therefore, the actively
controlled ow exhibits a slightly accelerated relaxation behaviour.
A dierent view of these observations is given in gure 17. The deviation from the log law,
U + , at a certain (locally scaled) wall distance, Z + , is plotted as a function of a variously
scaled streamwise coordinate. The wall distance was chosen to be Z + = 50. Obviously, at the
reattachment position, Xr , dened by a zero skin friction, a scaling based on the vanishing local
friction velocity, U , fails. Therefore, the very rst part of the deviation close to Xr is skipped
in gure 17(a). Based on a standard streamwise scaling, i.e. by using the streamwise distance,
19
JoT 5 (2004) 022
(a)
(b)
9.0
X=1
5.0
X=1
.0
1
X=1
+
X=1
X=1
10
.0
9.0
9
X=1
5.0
5
X=1
.0
1
X=1
.0
.0
10
.0
X=7
100
10
.0
X=7
101
102
Z+
103
100
.0
X=7
101
102
Z+
103
100
101
102
Z+
103
Figure 16. Mean velocity proles, U + , along the bottom plate Z = 0.0 for
the turbulent backward-facing step ow (prole oset U + = 10;
, X = 7.0;
, X = 11.0; , X = 15.0; , X = 19.0, scaled by the local friction velocity, U ):
(a) uncontrolled case, (b) passively controlled case and (c) actively controlled
case.
+
(b)
+
(a)
(X<X r>) / r
Figure 17. Deviation, U + , from the logarithmic law, U + = 1/ ln Z + + C + ,

= 0.41, C + = 5.0, at Z + = 50 (scaling based on the local friction velocity,
U ) for the uncontrolled case (), passively controlled case ( ) and
actively controlled case ( ) of the turbulent backward-facing step ow as a
function of the streamwise distance (a) from the step, X = 0.0, and (b) from
the reattachment position, Xr (scaled by the ow thickness, r , at Xr ),
respectively.
X, from the edge of the backstep in gure 17(a), the aforementioned observations are conrmed.
Downstream of X = 10.0, the passively controlled ow exhibits larger negative deviations from
the log law compared with the uncontrolled ow whereas the actively controlled ow shows
an opposite behaviour.2 In conjunction with the ow dynamics it can be supposed from these
Note that downstream of approximately X 18.0, the deviation function in gure 17(a) for all three cases is
probably inuenced by the outow boundary condition.
20
JoT 5 (2004) 022
1
X=1
(c)
(mean ow based) observations that the increased number of jet-like structures apparent in
the actively controlled ow downstream of reattachment (see gure 13(c)) is advantageous for
the quick formation of structures typical for turbulent boundary layers (e.g. streaks) further
downstream.
It is interesting to notice that by using a streamwise scaling proposed by Castro and
Epik [47], the curves for all three cases pretty much collapse (see gure 17(b)). In this
alternative scaling, (X Xr )/r , the streamwise variable is expressed as the distance from
the reattachment position, Xr , normalized by the ow thickness, r , at the location Xr . As
the emphasis of this alternative scaling is placed particularly on the recovery characteristics, the
results show (to some extent) a similarity of the recovery process for the dierent cases. However,
the observations derived from the standard streamwise scaling, X, seem to be more important
in this work as the global character of the applied control methods for the entire separated ow
is more pronounced than with the recovery-based scaling.
At this point, it is worth mentioning that the same conclusions can be drawn from an
analysis of the corresponding proles of the mean streamwise velocity for the rounded step
cases (not shown here). In fact, the ow behaviour in the reattachment region and in the
redeveloping boundary layer does not vary signicantly between the geometry-induced and the
APG-induced separated ow cases (except for the inuence of the dierent Reynolds numbers
in our examples). This justies that explicit analyses of the rounded step ow are omitted in
sections 3.3 and 3.4. Concerning the control inuence on the recovery process downstream of
reattachment, similar observations as from the streamwise velocity can be obtained from the
Reynolds stress components (not shown here). The development of the inner layer (with a
characteristic u u -peak) and the concurrent decay of the outer layer peaks (e.g. of u u and
of u w ) also exhibit dierent progression rates for the controlled cases.
4. Conclusions
To close an often existing gap in knowledge between the application of ow control methods and
the understanding of how the ow characteristics are thereby altered, this paper is intended to
shed light on the coherent structures of turbulent separated ows under applied ow control.
For this purpose, LES of a variety of selected cases are performed and analysed (mainly with
respect to the structure dynamics). These cases cover
dierent open-loop control types (additional to the uncontrolled reference ow), i.e. a passively
controlled ow with a surface-mounted fence placed upstream of separation and an actively
controlled ow with an oscillating blowing/suction jet, and
situations with dierent separation characteristics, i.e. a ow with a geometrically induced
separation over a sharp-edged backward-facing step and a ow with an adverse-pressuregradient (APG)-induced separation over a rounded step.
The passively controlled ow exhibits an increased complexity of the coherent structures due
to the interaction of the augmented turbulence in the oncoming boundary layer ow with the
separation process downstream of the (sharp-edged or rounded) step. The additional turbulence
intensity upstream of the separation is created by the control fence causing its own small
separation zone. Both, the structure intensity and the extent of the turbulent structures into
the ambient uid are increased.
The impact of the (in such a way) manipulated upstream ow on the separated shear layer
downstream of the step are twofold.
(1) On the one hand, the increased level of turbulence allows the ow to interfere with the
roll-up process downstream of the sharp-edged step. The coherent structures downstream
21
JoT 5 (2004) 022
(2) On the other hand, the turbulent boundary layer with enriched turbulence intensity remains
wall-attached over a longer distance for the APG-induced separation (at least in the timeaveraged sense). Therefore, the freely evolving separation line is shifted downstream. Due
to the oncoming large-scale structures generated by the impact of the control fence, the
separated shear layer above the separated ow region is highly perturbed and therefore
very inhomogeneous. This inhomogeneity in the spanwise direction is often characterized
by the formation of isolated backow packets rather than by a relatively invariable and
homogeneous (uncontrolled) backow region.
The actively controlled ow is dominated by downstream travelling 2D-rollers which are
aligned in the spanwise direction. These rollers are created by the oscillating jet and act as an
articially created structure superimposed on the natural (i.e. uncontrolled) ow. Remnants of
these rollers can still be observed in regions far downstream of the reattachment. The convection
velocity of the rollers remains constant at about 60% of the freestream velocity which is the
same value as for the large-scale structures apparent in the uncontrolled and passively controlled
ow. The vertical extent of the roller structures for the particularly selected active control
setup is larger than for the uncontrolled ow, but still smaller compared with the passively
controlled ow.
In the reattachment region, the dynamics of the coherent structures do not reveal signicant
dierences between the dierent control and separation types. Generally, characteristic jet-like
patches with locally increased streamwise velocities at their centres are observed corresponding
to local stagnation patches and their downstream evolution. The shape, the covering area and
the number of incidences of these patches depend on the streamwise observation position, on the
Reynolds number of the ow, on the mean reattachment position and on the mean distribution
of the wall shear along the reattachment surface.
For both control methods and both investigated types of separation, the mean ow
characteristics are signicantly altered. As the control is designed to increase the mixing
capability of the separated shear layer, a reduction of the size of the recirculation region is a
consequence thereof. Depending on the separation type, an upstream shift of the reattachment
position only (for the geometrically induced separation) or, additionally, a downstream shift
of the separation position (for the APG-induced separation) are provoked by the control.
Furthermore, the investigated control methods cause a dierent behaviour in the redeveloping
boundary layer region downstream of reattachment: for the passively controlled ow, the
relaxation towards an equilibrium turbulent boundary layer is decelerated, whereas for the
actively controlled ow, this process is accelerated. Other (of the various) mean ow related
features, like the turbulence generation within the separated shear layer or the pressure-driven
backow behaviour along the wall, are omitted here due to the limited scope of this paper on
coherent structures.
The observations presented in this paper can be valuable for the prediction of the control
impact on a separated ow case as well as for the design of alternative and more ecient control
tools. For the latter aim, a detailed analysis of the control costs (e.g. energy expenditure or drag
increase) would be necessary (e.g. by dening a cost functional as for the sub-optimal/optimal
control). In this regard, it would be also reasonable to evaluate where the energy of the control
tool impacts the ow in order to potentially detect ineciencies (e.g. the spread of turbulence
far into the ambient uid).
22
JoT 5 (2004) 022
of the step grow faster compared with the uncontrolled ow. Subsequently, these structures
reach an increased vertical extent on the free-stream side and are inuenced by the bottom
wall at an earlier stage thereby reducing the size of the secondary recirculation zone at the
foot of the step.
Acknowledgments
The support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, grant no. We 705/7), by the Leibniz
Computing Center (LRZ) of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and by the Computing Center
of the Universit
at der Bundeswehr M
unchen is gratefully acknowledged.
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On: 18 April 2015, At: 03:58

Coherent structures in controlled separated flow

Institut fr Strmungsmechanik und Aerodynamik , Universitt der Bundeswehr

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

JOT J OURN A L OF TUR B UL ENC E

Coherent structures in controlled

Abstract. The inuence of a passive (no external energy input) and an

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Coherent structures in controlled separated ow

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Coherent structures in controlled separated ow

Coherent structures in controlled separated ow

Figure 1. Schematic view of the ow over a backward-facing step at Reh = 3000.

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Coherent structures in controlled separated ow

Figure 2. Schematic view of the ow over a rounded step at Reh = 9100.

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Coherent structures in controlled separated ow

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Coherent structures in controlled separated ow

Figure 4. Mean streamwise velocity component, U , and uctuations, urms of

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Coherent structures in controlled separated ow

2.3. Data analysis using proper orthogonal decomposition (POD)

using a database of NT = 8777 snapshots of a subdomain (X, Y, Z) = (6 . . . 10, 0 . . . 5, 0 . . . 2)

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Coherent structures in controlled separated ow

Figure 5. Isosurfaces of the instantaneous 2 -eigenvalues: (a) animation for

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Coherent structures in controlled separated ow

Figure 6. Instantaneous spanwise vorticity, y , for the backward-facing step

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Coherent structures in controlled separated ow

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Coherent structures in controlled separated ow

Figure 8. Isosurfaces of the instantaneous vertical velocity uctuations w =

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Coherent structures in controlled separated ow

Coherent structures in controlled separated ow

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Coherent structures in controlled separated ow

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Coherent structures in controlled separated ow

3.3. Reattachment region

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