Effect of the motion pattern on the turbulence generated by an active grid

Abstract

In the field of turbulence research, many experiments are performed using turbulence generated under reproducible conditions. In the past mostly static grids having a fixed blockage were adopted, but in order to generate turbulence with high intensity and high turbulence Reynolds numbers, so called active grids can be used. Therefore, an experimental study has been carried out to investigate the effect of the motion pattern on the turbulence generated by an active grid with individually controllable paddles in the wind tunnel. Measurements were performed using the hot-wire technique. In comparison to former experiments, modifications of the active grid had been made concerning the arrangement of the paddles. The results show that the homogeneity of the turbulence could be improved using the modified grid. Turbulence Reynolds numbers could reach values up to 540. In order to produce even higher integral time scales or higher turbulence Reynolds numbers, synchronous movement of adjacent paddles was tested but did not show the intended improvements. In this paper, the results of the experimental study are presented in more detail.