Measurement of instantaneous flow reversals and velocity field in a conical diffuser

An 8° total divergence angle conical diffuser fed with a fully developed turbulent pipe flow at its inlet was experimentally investigated. Through effective use of pulsed-wire anemometry, some quantitative information about instantaneous reversals was obtained in conical diffuser flow. Profiles of streamwise mean and fluctuating velocities, skewness factor, and flatness factor are presented for the stations in the final stages of the diffuser flow, where appreciable instantaneous reversals were detected in the wall region. Results are also presented for the stations in the earlier stages of the diffuser, where smaller instantaneous backflow was present. Comparative results of conventional pressure measurements and hot-wire anemometer measurements were obtained to determine quantitatively the effects of instantaneous flow reversals on these techniques. In the regions of instantaneous backflow, the pulsed-wire technique was found most accurate for measuring the mean and fluctuating velocities. The hot-wire and pulsed-wire anemometer results were also used to obtain guidelines for hot-wire use in highly turbulent instantaneously reversing flows. The integral constraint of continuity was used at the diffuser stations to evaluate measurement techniques for obtaining mean velocity in a conical diffuser flow. The distributions of streamwise mean and fluctuating wall shear stress were measured with a pulsed-wire skin friction probe. Pulsed-wire wall shear stress probe results indicated serious errors in the values of the mean wall shear stress obtained by the conventional Preston tube in the region of appreciable instantaneous backflow. Some of the separation prediction criteria reported in the literature were evaluated for their validity using the present results of quantitative instantaneous backflow. These measurements illustrate important characteristics of instantaneous flow reversals and the velocity field in the highly turbulent axisymmetric flow developing under a severe adverse pressure gradient.