Fluid Dynamics Research 23 (1998) 343348

Pressure spectra in homogeneous low Reynolds number

turbulent shear ow subjected to weak rotation
H.P. Mazumdar
a
, H.I. Andersson
b,
a
Physics and Applied Mathematics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta 700035, India
b
Division of Applied Mechanics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology,
K. Hejes vei 2, N-7034 Trondheim, Norway
Received 16 July 1997; revised 11 December 1997; accepted 25 January 1998
Abstract
In this paper, pressure spectra have been derived from the authors model (Eur. J. Mech., B}Fluids 12 (1) (1993)
3142) developed by means of rapid distortion theory (RDT) of homogeneous low Reynolds number turbulent shear ow
subjected to weak rotation. The combined eects of uniform shear dU
1
}dx
2
and weak rotation O
3
on the evolution of
pressure spectra have been examined in terms of the rotation number 2O
3
}(dU
1
}dx
2
). It is found that the system rotation
exhibits the opposite eect on the pressure eld as compared with the inuence of rotation on the velocity uctuations.
c 1998 The Japan Society of Fluid Mechanics and Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Pressure uctuations have long been known to play important roles in the redistribution pro-
cess of turbulence energy in a variety of turbulent ows. Batchelor (1951) obtained an integral
for the mean-square uctuating pressure in an isotropic turbulent ow. Assuming the velocities at
two neighbouring points to be joint Gaussian, he showed that the energy-containing eddies con-
tribute maximum to the mean-square pressure uctuation. Kraichnan (1956) considered the pressure
uctuations in a free turbulent shear ow. In his analysis of mean-square pressure uctuations,
Kraichnan (1956) neglected the third-order velocity moments and considered the second-moment
interaction with the mean shear as the only shear-interaction term. Deissler (1962) calculated the
pressure spectrum in a weak homogeneous turbulent eld with a uniform transverse velocity gradi-
ent. Neglecting the nonlinear turbulenceturbulence interactions, but taking into account the viscous
eects, Deissler (1962) limited his analysis to the case of low Reynolds numbers. Mulhearn (1975)
calculated the pressure and pressurevelocity correlations from rapid-distortion theory (RDT) for

Corresponding author.
0169-5983/98/$19.00 c 1998 The Japan Society of Fluid Mechanics and
Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S0 1 6 9 - 5 9 8 3 ( 9 8 ) 0 0 0 0 4 - 5
344 H.P. Mazumdar, H.I. Andersson / Fluid Dynamics Research 23 (1998) 343348
turbulence in a uniform shear ow. He proposed that pressure uctuations remain highly corre-
lated right across a free shear ow. George et al. (1984) presented spectral models for turbulent
pressure uctuations in a homogeneous constant mean-shear ow. They showed that the pressure
spectrum exhibits k
7}3
and k
11}2
forms in the inertial subrange, respectively, for the cases when
turbulenceturbulence interaction and the turbulence-mean shear contribution dominate. Following a
review of the more important studies in this eld, Larchev eque (1990) applied eddy damped quasi-
normal Markovian closure approximations to obtain an equation for the pressure spectrum, whereas
Pullin (1995) calculated pressure spectra at large wave numbers for LundgrenTownsend vortex
models of the ne scales of homogeneous turbulence. Hill and Wilczak (1995) made assumptions
of local homogeneity, local isotropy, and compressibility and used the NavierStokes equation to
determine relationships between several fourth-order velocity statistics and the pressure structure
function.
In this paper, we calculate the pressure spectrum following RDT in a homogeneous low Reynolds
number turbulent ow subjected to uniform shear and weak rotation. This is a sequel to our earlier
work (Andersson and Mazumdar, 1993) for such a turbulent ow eld wherein we followed a 2D
rapid distortion and obtained turbulence energy spectra.
2. Mathematical formulation: pressure spectrum
Let us consider the uctuating pressure eld of an incompressible, homogeneous turbulent ow
which is subjected to a uniform shear and spanwise rotation. The equation governing the covariance
of pressure uctuations pertaining to the points P(x, t) and P

(x

, t) in a Cartesian coordinate system

which rotates with constant angular velocity O
3
about the x
3
-axis, can be written as
1
j
c
2

cr
i
cr
i
=2[
c
cr
1
u

2

c
2
cr
i
cr
k
u

i
u

k
+ 2O
3
c
cr
1
u

2
2O
3
c
cr
2
u

1
, (1)
where is the pressure uctuation, j the density, x
i
a position coordinate, u
i
a uctuating component
of velocity, [ =dU
1
}dx
2
is the constant mean shear and r
i
is a component of the vector r extending
from P to P

. The primes refer to values at the point P

. We construct an equation for u

1
as
1
j
c
2
u

1
cr
i
cr
i
=2[
c
cr
1
u
2
u

1
2O
3
c
cr
1
u
2
u

1
+ 2O
3
c
cr
2
u
1
u

1
2
c
2
u
i
u
k
u

1
cr
i
cr
k
, (2)
and an analogous equation for u

2
is obtained by replacing u

1
with u

2
.
The Fourier transforms of the quantities

, u

1
, u

2
, u
1
u

1
, u
1
u

2
, u
2
u

1
and u
2
u

2
are denoted by
, z
0,1
, z
0,2
, [
11
, [
12
, [
21
, and [
22
, where for instance, [
22
is dened according to
u
2
u

2
=
_

[
22
e
ikr
dk. (3)
Now, neglecting triple correlation terms in the equations for

, u

1
and u

2
and then taking their
Fourier transforms, we obtain
1
j
k
2
=2[ik
1
z
0,2
2ik
1
O
3
z
0,2
+ 2O
3
ik
2
z
0,1
, (4)
H.P. Mazumdar, H.I. Andersson / Fluid Dynamics Research 23 (1998) 343348 345

k
2
j
z
0,1
=2[ik
1
[
21
2O
3
ik
1
[
21
+ 2O
3
ik
2
[
11
, (5)

k
2
j
z
0,2
=2[ik
1
[
22
2O
3
ik
1
[
22
+ 2O
3
ik
2
[
12
. (6)
The continuity equation for an incompressible ow, k
i
[
i)
=0, is to be satised for all time t0.
While Deissler (1962) explored the evolution of initially three-dimensional turbulence, we consider
the evolution with time of a plane-wave disturbance (Hasen, 1967) in the x
1
x
2
-plane. That is, we
require that
[
13
=[
23
=[
33
=0. (7)
It can be easily shown that
[
12
=[
21
=
k
2
k
1
[
22
and [
11
=
k
2
k
1
[
21
=
_
k
2
k
1
_
2
[
22
. (8)
Eliminating z
0,1
and z
0,2
from Eq. (4) with the help of (5) and (6), and taking into account the
relation [
12
=[
21
, we obtain
=[
22
_
4[
2
k
2
1
j
2
k
4

8[O
3
k
2
1
j
2
k
4
+
4O
2
3
k
2
1
j
2
k
4
_
+[
12
_
8[O
3
k
1
k
2
j
2
k
4

8O
2
3
k
1
k
2
j
2
k
4
_
+ [
11
4O
2
3
k
2
2
j
2
k
4
. (9)
In view of the relations (8), Eq. (9) reduces nally to
=4[
2
j
2
[
22
_
1 +
R
2
4
R
_
k
2
1
k
4
+ 4[
2
j
2
[
22
_
R
_
R
2
1
__
k
2
2
k
4
+ [
2
j
2
[
22
R
2
k
4
2
k
2
1
k
4
, (10)
where R is a rotation number, dened as R=2O
3
}(dU
1
}dx
2
), or a reciprocal Rossby number. The
particular spectrum component [
22
was given explicitly by Andersson and Mazumdar (1993) as
[
22
(k, t) =[(k
1
, k
2
+ k
1
[t, k
3
) exp
_
2v
_
k
2
t + k
1
k
2
[t
2
+
1
3
k
2
1
[
2
t
3
_

_
k
2
1
+ (k
2
+ k
1
[t)
2
+ k
2
3
k
2
1
+ k
2
2
+ k
2
3
_
2{1+(O
3
}[)(k
2
3
}k
2
1
)}
, (11)
where [ is a function that depends on the initial conditions at t =0, i.e. [
22
(k, 0) =[(k
1
, k
2
, k
3
). In
their analysis, Andersson and Mazumdar (1993) considered an initial spectrum tensor satisfying the
relations (8) as
[
i)
(k, 0) =A[o(k + k
0
) + o(k k
0
)]{(o
i)
k
2
k
i
k
)
) o
i3
o
)3
(k
2
1
+ k
2
2
)}, (12)
where k
0
=(k
1
, k
2
, 0) and A is a constant. It follows from Eq. (12) that [
22
(k, 0) =2Ak
2
1
. Let us
now express the wave number vector in spherical coordinates, i.e. k =(k cos [ sin 0, k sin [ sin 0,
k cos 0). Eq. (10) can thus be written as
(k, [, 0) =(4[
2
j
2
}k
2
) sin
2
0
_
cos
2
[ +
1
4
R
2
sec
2
[ R
_
[
22
, (13)
346 H.P. Mazumdar, H.I. Andersson / Fluid Dynamics Research 23 (1998) 343348
which, in the absence of rotation, reduces to Deisslers (1962) expression for (k, [, 0), e.g.,
(k, [, 0) =(4[
2
j
2
}k
2
) cos
2
[sin
2
0 [
22
(k, [, 0).
Integrating (k, [, 0) over all directions in wave number space, we obtain the spectrum of
2
as
(
2
)
k
=
_

0
_
2
0
(k, [, 0)k
2
sin 0 d[d0, (14)
where

2
=
_

0
(
2
)
k
dk. (15)
Finally, introducing the dimensionless variables

[
22
=[
22
(vt)
2
}A,

k =(vt)
1}2
k,

t =[t, (16)
we calculate the nondimensionalized quantities.
3. Results and discussion
Initially the spherical averaging in Eq. (14) can be accomplished analytically, leading to
(
2
)
k
vt
4A[
2
j
2
=
4
5
_
1 +
2
3
R(R 2)
_
2

k
2
exp(2

k
2
), (17)
and the one-point correlation (15) at

t =0 becomes

2
(vt)
3}2
4A[
2
j
2
=

3
50
_
1 +
2
3
R(R 2)
_
. (18)
Here, it is noteworthy that the pressure spectrum (17) and the pressure moment (18) depend explicitly
on the rotation number R. This contrasts with the initial velocity spectra derived by Andersson and
Mazumdar (1993), which turned out to be independent of R.
Spectra of
2
were computed for

t0 and the results for R=0 are presented in Fig. 1. The
numerical integration was accomplished by repeated one-dimensional integrations using an adapted
version of the QUAD3D routine of Press et al. (1986). The QTRAP-routine based on the extended
trapezoidal rule was adopted as the one-dimensional integrator. The accuracy of the integration was
veried by comparison with the analytical solutions (17) and (18), and both were reproduced to
within 10
4
. The spherically averaged spectra in Fig. 1 resemble those for the spherical averages
of [
22
reported earlier by Andersson and Mazumdar (1993), but the maximum values are shifted
to the left, i.e. towards lower wave numbers. Information about the most inuential scales of the
uctuating pressure eld has obvious relevance for the understanding of turbulence-generated noise.
Spectra of
2
were computed also for R=0.01 i.e. the same rotation numbers as those considered
by Andersson and Mazumdar (1993). The eect of weak rotation would scarcely be discernible if
these spectra had been included in Fig. 1. This is because the imposed background vorticity 2O
3
corresponds only to 1% of the mean shear vorticity dU
1
}dx
2
when the magnitude of R is 0.01.
H.P. Mazumdar, H.I. Andersson / Fluid Dynamics Research 23 (1998) 343348 347
Fig. 1. Dimensionless spectra of
2
at various dimensionless times

t without rotation.
Table 1
Variation of
2
(vt)
3}2
}4A[
2
j
2
with time

t for dierent rotation numbers

t R=0.01 R=0 R= + 0.01

0 0.798 0.787 0.777
0.5 1.012 0.999 0.986
1.0 1.671 1.652 1.633
2.0 4.234 4.194 4.153
3.0 7.756 7.691 7.626
4.0 11.518 11.433 11.348
The variation of
2
with time in Table 1, as obtained from the spectrum curves of
2
, shows that
the pressure uctuations are increasing rapidly with time. This is solely due to the rst term on the
right hand side of (4), which is associated with mean shear and pressurevelocity correlations. When
the eect of system rotation is considered in combination with mean shear, it is well-known that for
weak rotation, i.e. |R|1, the ow is unstable for positive R and stable otherwise, c.f. Andersson and
Mazumdar (1993). In fact, both the directional components of the turbulence tended to increase (de-
crease) with positive (negative) rotation. It is therefore interesting to observe from Table 1 that sys-
tem rotation exhibits the opposite eect on the pressure eld, i.e. positive rotation tends to damp the
pressure uctuations, whereas
2
is enhanced for R=0.01. This is rather surprising in view of the
close connection between and [
22
, as pointed out already by Deissler (1962) for the non-rotating
case. The present ndings can therefore be understood only if the implicit inuence on the pressure
spectra via [
22
is more than outweighed by the explicit rotation terms in the equations for the pressure
correlations (4) and pressurevelocity correlations, Eqs. (5), (6). In fact, for weak rotation |R|1,
Eq. (13) shows that the explicit eect of rotation on the pressure spectra is proportional to R.
348 H.P. Mazumdar, H.I. Andersson / Fluid Dynamics Research 23 (1998) 343348
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to B.A. Pettersson Reif for assistance in processing the diagram. The
comments of an anonymous referee helped to improve the paper.
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