Vortical structures over rectangular cavities at low speed

Graham Ashcroft and Xin Zhang

Citation: Physics of Fluids (1994-present) 17, 015104 (2005); doi: 10.1063/1.1833412

View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1833412
View Table of Contents: http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/pof2/17/1?ver=pdfcov
Published by the AIP Publishing

This article is copyrighted as indicated in the abstract. Reuse of AIP content is subject to the terms at: http://scitation.aip.org/termsconditions. Downloaded to IP:
152.78.130.203 On: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 20:30:44
 PHYSICS OF FLUIDS 17, 015104 (2005)

Vortical structures over rectangular cavities at low speed

Graham Ashcrofta) and Xin Zhangb)
Aerospace Engineering, School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton,
Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
(Received 23 May 2004; accepted 13 October 2004; published online 14 December 2004)
Experiments have been performed to acquire qualitative and quantitative flow-field data for an open
cavity flow using the particle image velocimetry technique. The study focuses on the time-mean and
instantaneous development of the turbulent flow structures in the cavity shear layer. The effects of
geometry (length-to-depth ratio) and flow speed on these structures are investigated. The shear
layers are found to be characterized by coherent vortical structures whose size and rate of growth
vary with geometry. The smaller scales of the flow are investigated using a large-eddy
decomposition method. Results show these stochastic structures to predominate primarily in the
shear layer and aft wall regions. 2005 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.1833412]

I. INTRODUCTION layer is inviscidly unstable to small perturbations via the

Flows past cavities, or surface cutouts, have long been of
interest to engineers and researchers alike due to both their
prevalence in engineering and the richness of phenomena
associated with these often geometrically simple structures.
From the numerous experimental, theoretical, and numerical
investigations that have been conducted over the years, the
precise nature of cavity flows is known to be sensitively
dependent on a wide range of flow parameters including
freestream velocity, boundary layer thickness, and turbulence
level, as well as the basic geometric parameters of the cavity
such as the length-to-depth ratio.1 A defining feature of cav-
ity flows is the shear layer that forms as the incoming flow
separates at the upstream edge because of the geometric dis-
continuity. Primarily dependent on the length-to-depth ratio,
the time-mean behavior of the shear layer is commonly used
to distinguish between the two basic flow regimes (open and
closed) that occur in cavity flows.2 If the shear layer sweeps
into the cavity to reattach along the floor and then separates
again before the downstream wall, the cavity is classified as
a closed cavity. By contrast, if the shear layer bridges the
cavity opening and reattaches only near the trailing edge,
then the cavity is classified as an open cavity. Experimental
data show that the closed flow regime typically occurs in
very shallow cavities with length-to-depth ratios greater than
nine and open cavity flows are predominant in cavities with
length-to-depth ratios under six. From experience, it is well
known that such flows may exhibit significant levels of un-
steadiness that under certain conditions, and especially in
open cavity flows, can lead to the development of self-
sustaining oscillations and in turn structural vibration, in-
tense noise radiation, and increases in mean drag.
Central to cavity flows and integral to the development
of oscillations is the instability of the cavity shear layer. Due
to the inflection point in the velocity distribution, the shear
a)
Present address: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Propulsion
Technology, Porz-Wahnheide, Linder Hoehe, 51147 Cologne, Germany.
b)
Telephone: 44-(0)2380-594891. Fax: 44-(0)2380-583058. Elec-
tronic mail: xzhang@soton.ac.uk
KelvinHelmholtz instability mechanism. As the cavity shear
layer evolves downstream of the leading edge, a process of
selective amplification causes the instability waves to ini-
tially grow exponentially with downstream distance until the
amplitudes become such that nonlinear effects become
important.3 Beyond this first stage, nonlinear effects pre-
dominate and the shear layer is often observed to roll up
forming large-scale coherent spanwise vortices.4 Although
the establishment of such structures is not essential to the
development of oscillations, they commonly provide the nec-
essary discrete excitation needed to initiate and maintain os-
cillations, and are therefore of great importance in the study
of cavity flows. The time-dependent and spatially complex
nature of cavity shear layers has, however, made their experi-
mental characterization difficult. In particular, as cavity shear
layers commonly comprise a complex array of evolving
scales and structures, and furthermore are often characterized
by substantial jitter or cycle-to-cycle variation,5 existing
pointwise measurements and time- or phase-averaged data
are not fully adequate to describe the dynamics and complex-
ity of cavity shear layers. As such there exists a definite need
for more quantitative data of a global and instantaneous na-
ture. Such global instantaneous flow realizations would serve
as a suitable basis from which to better understand existing
pointwise and time- or phase-averaged data,6 and further-
more provide valuable information on the interaction be-
tween the more coherent structures and their stochastic coun-
terparts. Alongside the physical insight such data may be
expected to provide, a further reason for the undertaking of
such experimental work is the current need for detailed ex-
perimental data for the validation of recently proposed tur-
bulence modeling strategies79 and high-order numerical
schemes.10,11 If, as envisaged, such schemes prove capable of
providing more accurate and detailed information concerning
the spatial and temporal evolution of complex flows, suitably
detailed experimental data will be imperative for their vali-
dation and possible further development. The aim of the
present study is therefore twofold. First, to investigate the
dynamics and structures of an unsteady turbulent cavity

1070-6631/2005/17(1)/015104/8/$22.50 17, 015104-1 2005 American Institute of Physics

This article is copyrighted as indicated in the abstract. Reuse of AIP content is subject to the terms at: http://scitation.aip.org/termsconditions. Downloaded to IP:
152.78.130.203 On: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 20:30:44
 015104-2 G. Ashcroft and X. Zhang
FIG. 1. Schematic of wind tunnel model showing cavity configuration, PIV
system, and measurement plane.
shear layer to gain greater insight into the physics of cavity
flows, and, second, to acquire detailed experimental informa-
tion to establish an experimental database for the validation
of high-order accurate flow solvers. To this end, experiments
are performed to study the unsteady turbulent flow past a
shallow, open rectangular cavity at low speed. Instantaneous,
global measurements of the velocity field in a two-
dimensional plane over the cavity are made using the particle
image velocimetry (PIV) measurement technique. To eluci-
date and study the dynamics of the various structures re-
solved in the measurements a variety of flow decomposition
techniques are employed.12 In this paper the main findings of
this investigation are reported and sample experimental data
are presented.
II. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
A. Wind tunnel model
A schematic of the wind tunnel model used in the tests is
shown in Fig. 1. The model was designed for testing in the
University of Southampton low speed 3.5 m 2.5 m R.J.
Mitchell tunnel and the smaller 2.7 m 1.7 m wind tunnel.
The design was largely determined by the requirements of
the PIV system used to make the planar velocity measure-
ments. The wind tunnel model comprises three main compo-
nents: a leading edge plate, a rectangular cavity, and a trail-
ing edge plate. Each component was manufactured
separately from aluminum sheets of 10 mm thickness. To
ensure structural rigidity the three main elements are held in
place by two support structures, also of 10 mm thickness,
running the length of the model, Fig. 1. The model is sup-
ported by four cylindrical legs, of 720 mm length and
52 mm diameter, connected to the underside of the model. To
mitigate three-dimensional flow effects, perspex endplates of
5 mm thickness are fitted at either end of the model. A fair-
ing was placed around the cavity on the underside of the
plate to smooth the passage of the flow around the underside
of the model.
The leading edge plate was designed with a length of
265 mm to deliver a turbulent boundary layer with a thick-
ness of 6 mm at the cavity. To avoid separation at the
This article is copyrighted as indicated in the abstract. Reuse of AIP content is subject to the terms at: http://scitation.aip.org/termsconditions. Downloaded to IP:
152.78.130.203 On: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 20:30:44
Phys. Fluids 17, 015104 (2005)
TABLE I. Cavity geometries used in wind tunnel tests.
L (mm) D (mm) W (mm) L/D L/W
100.0 50.0 900.0 2.0 0.1111
150.0 50.0 900.0 3.0 0.1667
200.0 50.0 900.0 4.0 0.2222
plates leading edge, an ellipse of ratio 4 was machined into
the plate. To encourage uniform transition across the span of
the model, a 5 mm wide boundary-layer transition strip, con-
sisting of 100 carborundum grit, was applied 20 mm aft of
the leading edge of the flat plate.
The rectangular cavity was designed to ensure an open
cavity flow. The maximum dimensions of the cavity were
200 mm (length), 50 mm (depth), and 900 mm (width). The
length of the cavity could be adjusted by placing tight fitting
wooden inserts into the rear portion of the cavity. In this way,
three different cavity lengths, and hence length-to-depth ra-
tios, were studied, Table I. The width and depth were fixed.
To provide support for the PIV camera the base plate of the
cavity extends beyond the model endplates, Fig. 1.
The wind tunnel model was instrumented with static
pressure taps along the model centerline. The tappings are
made using hypodermic tubing of 0.85 mm internal diameter
mounted flush to the surface. Flexible PVC tubing was used
to connect the hypodermic tubes to a ZOC (zero operate
calibrate) pressure transducer located outside the wind tun-
nel.
B. Flow facilities and experimental conditions
Experiments were performed in the University of
Southampton low speed 3.5 m 2.5 m R.J. Mitchell tunnel
and the smaller 2.7 m 1.7 m wind tunnel. Both tunnels are
of the conventional closed return, closed test section type
and have measured freestream turbulence levels of less than
0.3%.13 The R.J. Mitchell tunnel was used for laser Doppler
anemometry (LDA) surveys; all other measurements were
performed in the smaller 2.7 m 1.7 m wind tunnel.
The flow conditions for the results reported here were
U = 32 m / s, 37 m / s, and 42 m / s. The Reynolds numbers at
these velocities were, respectively, 1.1 105, 1.3 105, and
1.4 105 based on cavity depth. To establish a basic under-
standing of the flow over the wind tunnel model under these
conditions preliminary measurements were made. These took
the form of static pressure measurements, oil flow visualiza-
tion, and a boundary layer survey using the laser Doppler
anemometry technique. Initial static pressure measurements
showed the existence of a mild adverse pressure gradient
over the model. Through experimentation it was found this
could be largely eliminated by inclining the wind tunnel
model at a small negative angle of attack 2.5 . This setup
was consequently used in all further investigations.
The oil flow visualization provided a global view of the
time-mean flow over the model, with and without the cavity.
With the cavity sealed, the flow was observed to be essen-
tially two dimensional, with the effects of the endplates con-
fined to the immediate end wall regions. With the cavity
 015104-3 Vortical structures over rectangular cavities
TABLE II. Boundary layer parameters.
U (m/s) (mm) * (mm) (mm)
32 6.55 1.12 0.79
37 6.23 1.07 0.77
42 5.80 1.03 0.74
open, flow visualization showed the time-mean flow within
the cavity to be nominally two dimensional over the central
portion of the model. For the most three-dimensional geom-
etry investigated L / W = 0.22, this region extended over
50% of the cavity width.
The LDA surveys upstream of the cavity showed the
incoming boundary layer to be a fully turbulent boundary
layer with a 99% velocity thickness of 6 mm and a shape
factor of 1.4. Further details of the boundary layer properties
are summarized in Table II.
C. Velocity measurement and data acquisition
Velocity measurements were performed using the par-
ticle image velocimetry optical flow measurement technique.
To illuminate the tracer particles a dual laser head, Gemini
PIV: Nd:YAG (YAGyttrium aluminum garnet) laser sys-
tem (New Wave Research) operating at a 4 Hz repetition rate
was used, producing a light sheet of 0.2 mm thickness. The
laser system was mounted in the ceiling of the wind tunnel
directly over the cavity model with the laser sheet aligned
parallel with the mean flow along the centerline of the
model, where, from the preliminary oil flow visualization
study, the mean flow was known to be approximately two
dimensional, Fig. 1. This configuration ensured the entire
cavity region was well illuminated, largely eliminating the
problem of shadow regions. To minimize reflections of the
laser light from the model surface, the wind tunnel model
was sprayed a matt black color.
PIV images were acquired using a charged-coupled-
device (CCD) camera. The camera was a 12-bit, Dantec
HiSense camera (type 13 gain 4) with a spatial resolution of
1280 1024 pixels. In double frame mode (PIV mode) the
camera has a maximum acquisition rate of 4 Hz. At each
instance a pair of single exposure image frames is acquired
to enable cross-correlation PIV data processing. Using a
frame-straddling technique, each pair of image frames can
be acquired with a minimum inter-frame period of 1 s. The
CCD camera was orientated 90 to the plane of the light
sheet at a distance of 0.6 m, Fig. 1. To obtain different views
of the flow field, two separate lenses were used, a Nikon
24 mm f / 2.8F lens and a Nikon 60 mm f / 2.8F lens. With
the CCD camera located 0.6 m from the light sheet the
24 mm lens provided a field of view of 210 mm
170 mm, sufficient to capture the entire flow field within
the largest cavity. The 60 mm lens provided a field of view
of 85 mm 70 mm and was used to make more detailed
measurements at the cavity leading and trailing edges.
The flow was seeded using a Smoke Processor SP2 lo-
cated immediately downstream of the working section. A
water based smoke fluid was used with a typical particle size
This article is copyrighted as indicated in the abstract. Reuse of AIP content is subject to the terms at: http://scitation.aip.org/termsconditions. Downloaded to IP:
152.78.130.203 On: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 20:30:44
Phys. Fluids 17, 015104 (2005)
H
1.42
1.39
1.40
FIG. 2. Time-mean sectional streamlines: L / D = 4, U = 32 m / s.
of 1 m. During testing the seeding input was controlled
manually and the seeding density carefully monitored to en-
sure a high seeding quality.
A Dantec PIV 2100 system was used to control and syn-
chronize the data acquisition as well as to process the raw
image pairs through the cross-correlation data reduction
technique. In this way the flow velocity in each defined in-
terrogation area is estimated. The smaller the interrogation
area, the higher is the spatial resolution. Typically, interroga-
tion areas of 32 32 pixels were used with a 75% overlap,
providing 157 125 vectors per image pair. For each geom-
etry and flow speed investigated 250 PIV images were col-
lected.
To monitor the fluctuating pressures within the cavity,
the wind tunnel model was equipped with a single Bruel &
Kjaer type 4134 pressure-field 1 / 2 in. diameter microphone
flush mounted along the model centerline at the center of the
upstream wall of the cavity. The microphone was used in
conjunction with a Bruel & Kjaer type 2615 preamplifier,
powered by a Bruel & Kjaer type 2608 measuring amplifier.
The microphone was calibrated using a Bruel & Kjaer type
4228 pistonphone. For data acquisition the unsteady signals
were routed through a low-pass antialias filter prior to digi-
tization using a 16-bit analog-to-digital converter card in-
stalled in a standard desktop PC.
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A. Time-mean flow structures
For all configurations investigated the time-mean cavity
flow fields were characterized by large regions of recirculat-
ing flow. Example data are shown in Fig. 2 for the cavity
with length-to-depth ratio 4. The figure shows the time-mean
sectional streamlines, computed from the arithmetic mean of
250 instantaneous PIV images, in the measurement plane
along the model centerline. The data presented are for the
freestream flow speed U = 32 m / s, but are representative of
the flow topologies observed at the higher flow speeds (see
following paragraph). The cavity geometry is shown in black
and the mean freestream flow is from left to right. The dark
gray areas mask the regions of data corrupted by reflections
of the laser light from the model surface. The streamline
patterns in Fig. 2 show a large (clockwise) recirculating re-
gion to dominate the cavity flow and confirm the flow to be
of the open flow type. Similar patterns were observed in
the other geometries. For the shortest cavity, the recirculating
 015104-4 G. Ashcroft and X. Zhang
FIG. 3. Time-mean streamwise velocity profiles for cavity with length-to-
depth ratio 3: U = 32 m / s, U = 37 m / s, and - - - U
= 42 m / s.
flow was centered towards the fore of the cavity at x / D
= 0.31, y / D = 0.65. For the longer cavities, flow separation
was evident along the floor of the cavity and consequently
the regions of recirculation are centered towards the aft por-
tion of the cavity. For the geometry with length-to-depth ra-
tio 3 the center of the recirculating flow is x / D
= 1.94, y / D = 0.59, while for the geometry with length-to-
depth ratio 4 it is x / D = 3.18, y / D = 0.57. In both of these
cases secondary regions of recirculation were evident near
the fore wall of the cavity. These are driven by the primary
regions of recirculation and therefore rotate in an anticlock-
wise direction. The region of secondary recirculation is larg-
est in the longest cavity, and consequently the reattachment
point on the fore wall of the cavity is nearer the leading edge
of the cavity.
In contrast to the significant variations observed in the
mean flow topologies with length-to-depth ratio, no obvious
changes were observed as the flow speed was varied. This
may be seen in Fig. 3, which shows the time-mean stream-
wise velocity profiles for the cavity with length-to-depth ra-
tio 3 at each of the flow speeds investigated. A similar ab-
sence of variation between the flow speeds was also evident
in the other geometries investigated. The main features of the
data are the development of the shear layer with distance
downstream of the leading edge and the presence of reversed
flow near the base of the cavity. To quantify the time-mean
development of the shear layers, the growth rate of the cavity
shear layers was investigated using vorticity thickness as
a measure of the shear layer thickness. Vorticity thickness is
defined as
U2 U1
x = , 1
U/ymaxy
where U = Ux , y is the time-mean velocity profile of the
shear layer, and U2 and U1 are the speeds of the upper and
lower streams, respectively.14 In this work U2 = U and U1
= 0. Figure 4 shows the variation of vorticity thickness along
the lip line of the cavity with distance from the cavity lead-
ing edge. The data shown are for a freestream flow speed of
32 m / s, but are representative of the data at the higher
speeds. The data for each of the three geometries show the
same basic trend: linear growth over almost the entire span
of the cavity. The rate of growth would appear to be inde-
This article is copyrighted as indicated in the abstract. Reuse of AIP content is subject to the terms at: http://scitation.aip.org/termsconditions. Downloaded to IP:
152.78.130.203 On: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 20:30:44
Phys. Fluids 17, 015104 (2005)
FIG. 4. Vorticity thickness along the shear layer: L / D = 2, U = 32 m / s;
L / D = 3, U = 32 m / s; and L / D = 4, U = 32 m / s.
pendent of geometry. From the data shown the spreading rate
d / dx has a value of 0.143.
To further examine the spatial structure of the shear layer
and determine the scale of the dominant eddies, the instan-
taneous PIV data have been used to form two-point spatial
correlation functions. The two-point correlation coefficients
are defined as (no summation on repeated indices)
ui x,tuj x + e,t
Rijx,e = , 2
ix,t jx,t
where i denotes the root-mean-square value of the fluctua-
tion of the ith component of velocity and e is a displacement
vector with origin at x. Contours of the correlation coeffi-
cients R11 and R22 with separations in both x and y directions
are plotted in Fig. 5. The data shown are for the geometry
with length-to-depth ratio 3 at a freestream velocity of
32 m / s, but are representative of the results obtained at the
higher flow speeds and with the other geometries. The cor-
relations of the streamwise component for fixed points along
the lip line of the geometry exhibit a characteristic shape that
is elongated in the streamwise direction. The length and
height of the region of high positive correlation grows with
increasing distance from the cavity leading edge. This is con-
sistent with the amplification of vortical disturbances by the
shear layer to form large-scale coherent structures.
In contrast to the u-component correlations, the
v-correlations have roughly circular contours. A distinct fea-
ture of the v-correlation coefficient contours is the pattern of
alternate regions of positive and negative coefficient values
evident across the span of the cavity. This reflects the orga-
nized nature of the coherent structures within the shear layer.
To obtain a measure of the size of these structures the trans-
verse integral length scale ly given by
ly =
0
R11de2 3
has been computed. The variation of ly with distance from
the cavity leading edge is shown in Fig. 6 for each of the
three geometries investigated. For clarity, the data for the
 015104-5 Vortical structures over rectangular cavities
FIG. 5. Two-point correlations at x / L = 0.8, y / L = 0.0 (L / D = 3, U
= 32 m / s). (a) Contours of u-u correlation coefficient. (b) Contours of v-v
correlation coefficient.
two shorter cavities have been offset to the right. For each
geometry three distinct regions are evident in the curves.
Near the leading edge there is a region in which no growth is
discernable. This is then followed by a region over which the
disturbances grow rapidly. Finally, just ahead of the trailing
edge, growth appears to cease and the scale of structures
remains constant. The data near the leading edge are mis-
leading. The rapid (exponential) growth one would expect in
FIG. 6. Integral length scale ly along the shear layer: L / D = 2, U
= 37 m / s; L / D = 3, U = 37 m / s; and L / D = 4, U = 37 m / s. Note the data
for the two shorter cavities are offset to the right for clarity.
This article is copyrighted as indicated in the abstract. Reuse of AIP content is subject to the terms at: http://scitation.aip.org/termsconditions. Downloaded to IP:
152.78.130.203 On: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 20:30:44
Phys. Fluids 17, 015104 (2005)
FIG. 7. Large-scale vortical structures revealed by Galilean decomposition
of low-pass filtered field: L / D = 3, U = 32 m / s.
this region15 is not recorded due to insufficient resolution.
Naturally, growth only becomes apparent when the structures
are resolvable at the resolution of the PIV system. This is the
situation across the central portion of the cavity and therefore
growth is observed. Here, the disturbances appear to grow
approximately linearly, with the greatest growth rate ob-
served for the longest cavity. Near the trailing edge the stag-
nation in growth suggests that the evolution of the coherent
structures is impeded by the trailing edge geometry. Direct
evidence of these structures and their dynamics are presented
in the following section.
B. Instantaneous flow structures
For all configurations investigated the flows were found
to be highly unsteady and dominated by the behavior of the
shear layer. The shear layer itself was found to be character-
ized by the presence of large-scale coherent structures. To
highlight these structures, Fig. 7 shows the instantaneous ve-
locity vectors for the cavity geometry with length-to-depth
ratio 3. To elucidate the large-scale vortical structures the
velocity field has been low-pass filtered using a homogenous
Gaussian filter, viz.,
x,t =
U D
eUx e,tde, 4
where D denotes the domain of the velocity field and is
the filter function, here defined by
e =
6
2
1/2
exp
6e2
2
5
where denotes the filter width. Additionally, a Galilean
decomposition has been applied, whereby the convective ve-
locity of the vortices (66% of the freestream velocity) is
subtracted from the velocity field.12 The visible coherent vor-
tical structures form ordered patterns across the length of the
cavity. As Fig. 7 indicates, the large structures are initiated
near the cavity leading edge and grow in size as they convect
downstream until the trailing edge impedes their further de-
velopment. Typically, between three and four vortices are
observed in the shear layer at any one instance. Examination
of the entire PIV data set obtained from the model test (6750
images in total) revealed that coherent vortical structures
were present in the majority of images. However, consider-
 015104-6 G. Ashcroft and X. Zhang Phys. Fluids 17, 015104 (2005)

FIG. 8. Instantaneous and fluctuating velocity fields at trailing edge (L / D = 3, U = 32 m / s. (a) Large-scale vortices revealed by Galilean decomposition
Uc = 0.66U. (b) Large-scale vortices revealed by Galilean decomposition of low-pass filtered field (Uc = 0.66U, = 20 mm). (c) Instantaneous fluctuating
velocity field illustrated by LES decomposition = 20 mm. (d) Instantaneous fluctuating velocity field illustrated by LES decomposition = 5 mm.

able variation was found in these data and regular well de-
fined structures were not always observed. The flows exhib-
ited considerable complexity and the shear layer behavior
was intermittent. These observations are consistent with the
fact that strong self-sustaining oscillations did not develop at
any of the flow speeds investigated, as will be discussed later
in this section.
The length scales of the coherent structures evident in
Fig. 7 correspond well with the integral length scales estab-
lished from the two-point correlation analysis of the preced-
ing section. These coherent structures therefore correspond
to the energy-containing eddies of the shear layer. To exam-
ine the finer scales of motion a LES (large eddy simulation)
decomposition has been employed.12 The total velocity field
is represented as the sum of the large-scale field and the
remaining smaller field,
x,t + Ux,t.
Ux,t = U
This type of decomposition is extremely useful in visualizing
small-scale turbulent eddies because it removes the transla-
tion imposed by the large-scale field on the small-scale vor-
tices. The scale of the structures highlighted is determined by
the filter width
in Eq. (4) through the choice of filter func-
tion.
Sample data obtained from this analysis are shown in
Figs. 8 and 9 for the two longer cavities. These data corre-
This article is copyrighted as indicated in the abstract. Reuse of AIP content is subject to the terms at: http://scitation.aip.org/termsconditions. Downloaded to IP:
152.78.130.203 On: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 20:30:44
spond to the high resolution PIV data obtained in the trailing
edge regions of the cavities with the 60 mm camera lens. In
each case the flow is from left to right and the trailing edge
geometry is the black region in the lower right-hand corner
of each figure. The LES-decomposed small-scale velocity
fields U are shown in parts (c) and (d) of each figure. The
small-scale velocity field is obtained by subtracting the fil-
tered field U from the instantaneous velocity field U. Also
shown in each figure are the Galilean decomposed instanta-
neous and low-pass filtered velocity fields. In these data the
large-scale vortical structures are clearly evident. The instan-
taneous data contain information from all scales of motion
resolved by the PIV system. Although it is clear in these
figures that the dominant flow features are the large-scale
vortical structures, many finer-scale features are also appar-
ent. These features are highlighted in the LES-decomposed
6
small-scale velocity fields. To highlight structures at two dis-
tinct scales, data for two filter widths are presented. In each
case the analysis reveals a distribution of fine-scale vortical
structures as well as other less obvious coherent motion. Al-
though the fine-scale structures are much less organized than
the large-scale structures, the data reveal the fine-scale struc-
tures to be distributed mainly in the shear layer and aft wall
regions. The lack of such structures in the more central por-
tion of the cavity, to the left of the figure, is indicative of
their shorter life spans. These stochastic structures account
 015104-7 Vortical structures over rectangular cavities Phys. Fluids 17, 015104 (2005)

FIG. 9. Instantaneous and fluctuating velocity fields at trailing edge (L / D = 4, U = 32 m / s). (a) Large-scale vortices revealed by Galilean decomposition
Uc = 0.66U. (b) Large-scale vortices revealed by Galilean decomposition of low-pass filtered field (Uc = 0.66U, = 20 mm). (c) Instantaneous fluctuating
velocity field illustrated by LES decomposition = 20 mm. (d) Instantaneous fluctuating velocity field illustrated by LES decomposition = 5 mm.

for the high spatial intermittence in the flow by affecting the
location and geometry of the large-scale coherent turbulent
structures.
The intermittent nature of the shear layer is reflected in
the essentially broadband character of the spectra of the mea-
sured pressure fluctuations. This may be seen in Fig. 10
which shows the pressure spectra for the geometry with
FIG. 10. Amplitude spectra for cavity with L / D = 4: U = 32 m / s,
U = 37 m / s, and - - - U = 42 m / s.
This article is copyrighted as indicated in the abstract. Reuse of AIP content is subject to the terms at: http://scitation.aip.org/termsconditions. Downloaded to IP:
152.78.130.203 On: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 20:30:44
length-to-depth ratio 4. Although narrow-band tones are evi-
dent in these data they arise from extraneous sources and are
not related to the cavity flow. The lower frequency tone evi-
dent in the spectra at the highest flow speed corresponds to
an excited duct mode of the tunnel. The second, higher fre-
quency, tone is produced by the turning vanes of the tunnel.
Besides these spurious features a low frequency peak is ob-
served in each of the spectra. These peaks are believed to be
hydrodynamic in origin and due to the recirculating flow
with the cavities. For example, defining the time scale of the
recirculating flow as that required for a particle to circulate
within the cavity along the time-averaged streamlines, the
time scale of the recirculating flow in the cavity of length-
to-depth ratio 3 at U = 32 m / s is 0.04 s. This provides a
Strouhal number of 0.12, which compares well with the
value of 0.13 obtained from the Fourier analysis of the un-
steady pressure signal.
While strong self-sustaining oscillations did not develop
under the flow conditions investigated, there is evidence of
weak tonal components in the pressure spectra. Although the
individual spectra themselves perhaps provide little evi-
dence, in that the peaks are so small, the persistence of small
peaks in the spectra across the range of flow speeds and the
fact that they scale with Strouhal number would indicate that
these peaks do indeed correspond to weak Rossiter modes.
Evidence of these weak modes was greatest in the cavities
 015104-8 G. Ashcroft and X. Zhang
with length-to-depth ratios of 2 and 4. For example, for the
longer cavity, careful examination of Fig. 10 reveals a weak
peak in each spectra at a Strouhal number of 1.6, corre-
sponding to the third Rossiter mode.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
Using particle image velocimetry the instantaneous and
time-mean flow structures in a turbulent, shallow, and open
cavity flow have been investigated. For all configurations
examined in this study the time-mean growth rate of the
shear layer with downstream distance, measured in terms of
rate of change of vorticity thickness, has been found to be
independent of geometry and flow speed, and constant across
the cavity span. The results of the present study therefore
support the existing hypothesis that the time-mean behavior
of cavity shear layers is analogous to turbulent free shear
layers. Using a statistical two-point correlation analysis of
the acquired velocity field data, a similar trend in the growth
rates of the integral-scale structures in the shear layer has
also been revealed, showing these structures to grow linearly
across the cavity opening until the proximity of the trailing
impedes further growth. Three distinct regions therefore exist
across the opening of the cavity: a region of exponential
growth in the immediate region of the leading edge, a region
of linear growth across the center of the cavity, and a region
of effectively zero growth towards the trailing edge. Increas-
ing cavity length has two effects on the growth patterns
across the cavity. First, it increases the growth rate of the
structures in the region of linear growth and second, it in-
creases the size of the region of zero growth near the trailing
edge.
To provide insight into the instantaneous large scale flow
structures of the cavity shear layer a Galilean decomposition
was applied to the individual velocity field data sets. The
scales of the largest coherent structures revealed by this
analysis were found to correspond well with the integral
length scales established from the statistical two-point corre-
lation analysis. These structures correspond to the energy-
containing eddies, and are the structures one would antici-
pate a conventional eddy-viscosity model would be able to
capture with sufficient temporal and spatial resolution. For
the validation of more sophisticated turbulence models, how-
ever, details of the finer scales of motion are important, as we
expect these models to be capable of directly resolving these
features (at least those in the lower wavenumber range). To
provide suitable validation data for such simulations the finer
This article is copyrighted as indicated in the abstract. Reuse of AIP content is subject to the terms at: http://scitation.aip.org/termsconditions. Downloaded to IP:
152.78.130.203 On: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 20:30:44
Phys. Fluids 17, 015104 (2005)
scales of motion in the experimental data have been eluci-
dated using LES decomposition. Analysis has shown these
structures to be primarily distributed in the shear layer and
aft wall regions. For the configurations investigated these
stochastic structures induce a strong intermittency into the
flow that prevents the development of strong self-sustaining
oscillations. To model these flows accurately the temporal
and spatial motion of these finer scales would therefore need
to be resolved. Such computations are most certainly beyond
the capability of the time-dependent Reynolds averaged
NavierStokes approach, but with the use of high-order ac-
curate numerical schemes and more sophisticated turbulence
models such as mentioned in the Introduction, such calcula-
tions should be feasible, in which case the experimental data
acquired in this study will provide useful validation data.
1
D. Rockwell and E. Naudascher, Reviewself-sustaining oscillations of
flow past cavities, J. Fluids Eng. 100, 152 (1978).
2
E. Plentovich, R. Stallings, and M. Tracy, Experimental cavity pressure
measurements at subsonic and transonic speeds, NASA TP 3358 (1993).
3
V. Sarohia, Experimental investigations of oscillations in flows over shal-
low cavities, AIAA J. 15, 984 (1977).
4
J. Rossiter, Wind-tunnel experiments on the flow over rectangular cavi-
ties at subsonic and transonic speeds, Aeronautical Research Council
Reports and Memoranda 3438 (1964).
5
D. Rockwell and C. Knisely, The organized nature of flow impingement
upon a corner, J. Fluid Mech. 93, 413 (1979).
6
K. Ahuja and J. Mendoza, Effects of cavity dimensions, boundary layer,
and temperature on cavity noise with emphasis on benchmark data to
validate computational aeroacoustic codes, NASA Contract Rep. NASA
CR 4653 (1995).
7
P. Spalart, W. Jou, M. Streles, and S. Allmaras, Comments on the feasi-
bility of LES for wings and on a hybrid RANS/LES approach, Proceed-
ings of the First AFSOR International Conference on DNS/LES, Ruston,
LA, August 48, 1997.
8
K. D. Squires, J. R. Forsythe, S. A. Morton, W. Z. Strang, K. E. Wurtzler,
R. F. Tomaro, M. J. Grismer, and P. R. Spalart, Progress on detached-
eddy simulation of massively separated flows, AIAA Paper 2002-1021.
9
D. Drikakis, Advances in turbulent flow computations using high-
resolution methods, Prog. Aerosp. Sci. 39, 405 (2003).
10
K. Lele, Compact finite difference schemes with spectral-like resolution,
J. Comput. Phys. 103, 16 (1992).
11
W. Tam and J. Webb, Dispersion-relation-preserving finite difference
schemes for computational acoustics, J. Comput. Phys. 107, 262 (1993).
12
R. Adrian, K. Christensen, and Z. Liu, Analysis and interpretation of
instantaneous turbulent velocity fields, Exp. Fluids 29, 275 (2000).
13
X. Zhang, An inclined rectangular jet in a turbulent boundary layer-
vortex flow, Exp. Fluids 28, 344 (2000).
14
G. Brown and A. Roshko, On density effects and large structure in tur-
bulent mixing layers, J. Fluid Mech. 64, 775 (1974).
15
A. Michalke, On spatially growing disturbances in an inviscid shear
layer, J. Fluid Mech. 23, 521 (1965).