Direct numerical simulation of turbulent flow and structures in a circular pipe subjected to axial system rotation

Turbulent circular pipe flows subjected to axial system rotation are studied using direct numerical simulations (DNS) for a wide range of rotation numbers of Rob = 0–20 at a fixed Reynolds number. To ensure that energetic turbulent eddy motions are captured at high rotation numbers, long pipes up to Lz = 180πR are used in DNS. Two types of energy-containing flow structures have been observed. The first type is hairpin structures that are characteristic of the turbulent boundary layer developing over the pipe wall for both non-rotating and axially rotating flows. The second type is Taylor columns forming at moderate and high rotation numbers. Based on the study of two-point autocorrelation coefficients, it is observed that Taylor columns exhibit quasi-periods in both axial and azimuthal directions. According to the premultiplied spectra, Taylor columns feature one single characteristic axial length scale at the moderate rotation numbers but two at high rotation numbers. It is discovered that the axial system rotation suppresses the sweep events systematically and impedes the formation of hairpin structures. As the rotation number is increased, the turbulence kinetic energy held by Taylor columns enhances rapidly associated with significant increases in their axial length scales.