Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

DOI 10.1007/s10494-015-9690-5

Experimental Investigation and Large-Eddy Simulation

of the Turbulent Flow past a Smooth and Rigid
Hemisphere

Jens Nikolas Wood1 · Guillaume De Nayer1 ·

Stephan Schmidt1 · Michael Breuer1

Received: 26 August 2015 / Accepted: 25 November 2015 / Published online: 11 January 2016
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016

Abstract The objective of the present paper is to provide a detailed experimental and
numerical investigation on the turbulent flow past a hemispherical obstacle (diameter D).
For this purpose, the bluff body is exposed to a thick turbulent boundary layer of the thick-
ness δ = D/2 at Re = 50,000. In the experiment this boundary layer thickness is achieved
by specific fences placed in the upstream region of the wind tunnel. A detailed measurement
of the upstream flow conditions by laser-Doppler and hot-film probes allows to mimic the
inflow conditions for the complementary large-eddy simulation of the flow field using a syn-
thetic turbulence inflow generator. These clearly defined boundary and operating conditions
are the prerequisites for a combined experimental and numerical investigation of the flow
field relying on the laser-Doppler anemometry and a finite-volume Navier-Stokes solver for
block-structured curvilinear grids. The results comprise an analysis on the unsteady flow
features observed in the vicinity of the hemisphere as well as a detailed discussion of the
time-averaged flow field. The latter includes the mean velocity field as well as the Reynolds
stresses. Owing to the proper description of the oncoming flow and supplementary numer-
ical studies guaranteeing the choice of an appropriate grid and subgrid-scale model, the
results of the measurements and the prediction are found to be in close agreement.

Keywords Hemisphere · Hemispherical dome · Turbulent flow · Laser-Doppler

anemometry · Constant temperature anemometry · Large-eddy simulation (LES) ·
Wind load · Artificial boundary layer · Inflow generator

 Michael Breuer
[email protected]

1 Professur für Strömungsmechanik, Helmut–Schmidt–Universität Hamburg,

22043 Hamburg, Germany
80 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

1 Introduction

Flow fields around surface-mounted bluff bodies in turbulent boundary layers are of com-
mon interest in environmental and civil engineering as they appear in various applications
such as presented in Fig. 1. Spherically shaped objects such as domed structures exhibit
very complex flow pattern that can be roughly classified into an upstream horseshoe vor-
tex system and a recirculation area with trailing vortices in the wake region. The present
study includes experimental investigations and large-eddy simulations (LES) to characterize
the three-dimensional flow field around a surface-mounted smooth hemisphere in a turbu-
lent boundary layer. A brief epitome of the literature shall provide an overview of the key
aspects summarizing the fundamental experimental examinations that were conducted on
flows around hemispheres. This part is sub-divided into measurements concerning the pres-
sure distribution, the mean flow and the visualization of flow structures. Subsequently, the
conducted numerical simulations and studies which combine experimental and numerical
investigations are highlighted.
Beginning with an analysis based on the pressure distribution the first traceable experi-
ment was carried out by Jacobs [18] in 1938. The measurements focused on the effects of
surface roughness caused by a small hemispherical rivet. Later on Maher [26] carried out
investigations on a series of hemispheres that were placed on the ground of a wind tunnel
in a boundary layer. After exceeding a Reynolds number1 of Re = 1.6 × 106 the surface
drag coefficient showed no further variations due to supercritical flow conditions. Similar
results were observed in a comprehensive study by Taylor [52] confirming the effect of the
Reynolds number independency after exceeding Re = 2 × 105 and additionally surpass-
ing a turbulence intensity of 4 %. Another experiment by Taniguchi et al. [49] found that
there is a relationship between the approaching boundary layer thickness and the aerody-
namic forces acting on the hemisphere. Furthermore, Cheng et al. [10] conducted intensive
surface pressure measurements in a specialized boundary layer wind tunnel. The turbulent
boundary layer featured suburban flow field characteristics with large turbulence intensities
ranging between 18 % and 25 %. The Reynolds numbers for the turbulent conditions var-
ied between Re = 5.3 × 104 and 1.7 × 106 depending on the size of the hemisphere. The
outcome encourages the previous observations made by Maher [26] and Taylor [52].
Besides focusing on pressure measurements Toy et al. [53] initially investigated the flow
field past a hemispherical dome using hot-wire and pulsed-wire anemometers. Based on this
investigation Savory and Toy [37] brought a yet deeper insight into the complex flow struc-
tures occurring in the near-wake regime of hemispheres and cylinders with hemispherical
caps that were exposed to three different turbulent boundary layers within the range from
Re = 4.31 × 104 to 1.4 × 105 . The investigation included the effects of surface roughness
of the model on the drag coefficient as well as the velocity field of the recirculation area
past the hemisphere. A second experiment conducted by Savory and Toy [38] focused on
the separation of the shear layer in the flow around hemispheres conducted at a sub-critical
Reynolds number of Re = 1.4 × 105 . The study included different turbulent boundary lay-
ers classified in thin, smooth and rough boundary layers depending on the thickness and the
turbulence intensity. To generate the desired inflow characteristics, Savory and Toy applied
artificial boundary layer installations including fences and vortex generators in order to
investigate the influence of the upstream boundary conditions. A profound discussion pro-
vided a deeper understanding of the distribution of the turbulent shear stress and intensity in

1 All mentioned Reynolds numbers are based on the diameter of the hemisphere.
Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 81

(http://www.texlon.ch/en/projects/air
inflated structures.php).

Fig. 1 Examples of hemispherical domes in modern civil engineering

the wake regime. Additionally, a representative illustration of the flow field characteristics
was made that includes the horseshoe vortex system, the trailing vortices and the separation
regions. The outcome of both studies [37, 38] is often used as reference for experimental
and numerical examinations. A comparable schematic view is provided by Martinuzzi and
Tropea [28] in case of the flow past a wall-mounted cube, as well as by Pattenden et al. [32]
for the flow around a wall-mounted cylinder. Indeed, both cases possess similar separation
and reattachment characteristics.
Primary visualizations of the vortical flow structures were conducted by Tamai et al. [47].
The experimental setup included two hemispheres of different size exposed to water flow
in the range 2 × 102 < Re < 1.2 × 104 . The experiments allowed to visualize the com-
plex vortical structures by injecting dye into the water channel. Moreover, the frequencies
of the vortex formation and shedding from the separation area were recorded by mea-
suring the spectra of the velocity fluctuations inside and outside the recirculation zone.
Another observation was made by Acarlar and Smith [1] who carried out elaborate exper-
iments using relatively small hemispheres in the laminar flow regime to generate hairpin
vortices. It turned out that the downstream velocity profiles resulting from the artificially
induced flow structures were similar to those of a turbulent boundary layer. Benning-
ton [5] examined various roughness elements and their associated effects on the turbulent
boundary layer. Among the chosen elements, a hemispherical obstacle is analyzed in detail
concerning statistics of the Reynolds stresses, the turbulent kinetic energy and even the
triple correlations.
Simpson et al. [44] examined the flow separation at an axisymmetric bump by utilizing
surface mean pressure measurements, oil flow visualizations and laser-Doppler measure-
ments. The results showed a nearly symmetric mean flow over the bump including a detailed
mapping of separation and nodal points on the leeside of the obstacle. Furthermore, Byun
and Simpson [8] intensified the research on the bump to characterize the 3D separations by
using a fine-spatial-resolution laser-Doppler system and later [9] supplemented the studies
by adding an investigation on the pressure fluctuations. Similar to the flow past the hemi-
sphere a pressure-driven separation occurs. However, the separation line is shifted further
downstream and reattachment is much earlier, leading to a smaller recirculation area.
82 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

Further visualization experiments were conducted by Yaghoubi [55]. They comprised a

detailed visualization of the air flow pattern around grouped hemispheres in a wind tunnel.
The motivation for the study was to achieve a deeper understanding of the flow field and
the associated effects of natural ventilation of domed structures often appearing in oriental
architecture.
Apart from experimental investigations numerical simulations were carried out to pro-
vide enhanced insight into the flow. An early study was conducted by Tamura et al. [48]
without applying any turbulence model. The focus of the simulations lay on the visual-
ization of the unsteady flow pattern and the time-averaged surface pressure distribution at
Re = 2 × 103 and 2 × 104 , respectively.
A fundamental numerical study was carried out by Manhart [27] using large-eddy simu-
lation to receive more detailed information about the vortical structures at Re = 1.5 × 105 .
The Cartesian grid combined with the immersed boundary technique led to an artificial sur-
face roughness on the contour of the hemisphere. The results were therefore compared with
the experiments of Savory and Toy [37, 38] for a rough hemisphere. Besides observations
of temporal spectra and the velocity distributions, the proper orthogonal decomposition
method was applied to examine the highly complex separation processes and to determine
the dominant vortical structures.
Another comparison of numerical and experimental data was made by Meroney et al.
[29]. The three-dimensional wind load distributions on smooth, rough and dual domes in the
shape of hemispherical caps were examined. The calculations were carried out for Re = 1.85
× 105 and 1.44 × 106 . Several RANS turbulence models including the classical k- model,
a Reynolds stress model [54] and the Spalart-Allmaras model [46] were used delivering
similar results. Recently, Kharoua and Khezzar [19] performed a LES on a hemisphere with
a rough and smooth surface at Re = 1.4 × 105 comparing the results with the experiment of
Savory and Toy [37]. A specialized approach to model the surface roughness was presented.
The results of the LES allowed the visualization of instantaneous three-dimensional flow
pattern illustrating the complex interaction of vortical structures in the close vicinity of
the hemisphere. It turned out that the model roughness leads to a larger recirculation area
compared to the smooth surface.
Garcı́a-Villalba et al. [16] conducted LES to study the behavior of turbulent flow sep-
aration from an axisymmetric three-dimensional bump at a Reynolds number of Re = 1.3
× 105 . The characteristics of the turbulent flow field were compared with the experimen-
tal results mentioned above [8, 9, 44] strongly focusing on the formation of the separation
region on the rear side of the bump.
A combined experimental and numerical study was accomplished by Tavakol et al. [51].
A hemisphere was immersed in two turbulent boundary layers of different thickness. The
experiments were conducted in a wind tunnel using a hot-wire sensor to record the veloc-
ity field at certain planes upstream and downstream of the hemisphere at Re = 6.4 × 104 .
Velocity distributions and turbulence intensities were presented for the streamwise and the
spanwise directions in the recirculation zone. A further velocity measurement was carried
out for the area close to the front of the hemisphere investigating the horseshoe vortex that
leads to a strong backflow in the near-wall region. The numerical investigation relied on
the RNG k- turbulence model [56]. The inflow conditions of the simulation were gener-
ated by implying the time-averaged data of the corresponding hot-wire measurements. The
turbulence intensity at the inlet is also taken from the measurements. The results showed
overall good agreement with the experimental data. Recently, Tavakol et al. [50] presented
a yet deeper investigation of the hemisphere flow using LES at Re = 3.6 × 104 and 6.4
× 104 . Based on the earlier study [51] the main focus of this paper was to highlight the
Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 83

superior results of the applied LES compared to the previously performed RANS simu-
lations. The numerical grid consisted of 4.2 × 106 CVs. A detailed analysis of different
subgrid-scale (SGS) models, i.e., WALE [30], dynamic Smagorinsky [17] and the kinetic
energy transport model [21] was performed. The study included a thin turbulent boundary
layer δ/D ≈ 0.15 as inflow condition. For a realistic inlet velocity distribution including
fluctuations a turbulence inflow generator based on the method of Sergent [43] was applied.
As a result the LES showed excellent agreement with the measurements. An updated com-
parison between the previous study [50] with the current data revealed the shortcomings
of the RNG k- model especially in the wake of the hemisphere. A presentation of time-
averaged data focuses on the streamline visualization and surface pressure distribution.
Unfortunately, the paper does not present statistical data of the velocity field or the Reynolds
stresses.
The literature presented indicates that a surface-mounted hemisphere in a turbulent
boundary layer reveals a very complex flow field. The key aspect of most studies often
remains on one specific issue such as the recirculation area or the pressure distribution. Just
a few studies contain general characteristics of the flow including complementary numerical
and experimental investigations.
The present study focuses on the following objectives: Firstly, it shall provide a compre-
hensive view of the flow field past a hemispherical object immersed in a turbulent boundary
layer at Re = 50,000 with the help of experimental/numerical investigations: All relevant
regions of the flow field (horseshoe vortex system, recirculation area and wake) have to
be studied in detail including unsteady characteristics such as vortex shedding and related
spectral analysis. Secondly, the knowledge gained from the present examination of the rigid
structure is important for the upcoming investigations on fluid-structure interaction. Finally,
the complementary experimental/numerical test case of the surface-mounted hemisphere
shall offer a novel benchmark for the evaluation and validation of numerical schemes or
new turbulence models.
The structure of the paper is as follows: Section 2 presents the general description of
the case including the basic parameters. The experimental setup is outlined in Section 3
followed by the numerical approach in Section 4. The comparison of the experimental and
numerical results is sub-divided into the unsteady flow characteristics in Section 5 and the
time-averaged data in Section 6 including an overall discussion. Finally, conclusions are
drawn in Section 7. For the sake of clarity, the numerical investigations on the influence of
the subgrid-scale (SGS) model and of the synthetic turbulence inflow data are shifted to the
Appendix.

2 Description of the Case

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the flow around a surface-mounted hemi-
sphere placed in a turbulent boundary layer. Figure 2 depicts the investigated case. The rigid
hemispherical body (diameter D) is mounted on a smooth wall. The surface of the hemi-
sphere is also considered to be ideally smooth. The structure is put into a thick turbulent
boundary layer which can be described by a 1/7 power law as reviewed by Couniham [12].
At a distance of 1.5 diameters upstream of the bluff body the thickness of the boundary
layer δ corresponds to the height of the hemisphere, i.e., δ = D/2. The Reynolds num-
ber of the air flow (ρair = 1.225 kg/m3 , μair = 18.27 × 10−6 kg/(m s) at ϑ = 20◦ C) is
set to Re = ρair D U∞ / μair ≈ 50,000. U∞ is the undisturbed free-stream mean velocity
in x-direction outside the boundary layer at standard atmospheric conditions. The Mach
84 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

Fig. 2 Surface-mounted hemisphere within a turbulent boundary layer

number is low (Ma ≤ 0.03). At this Mach number the air flow can be assumed to be
incompressible. Moreover, the fluid is considered to be isotherm.
In the present paper all quantities will be given in dimensionless form using the diameter
of the hemisphere D, the undisturbed free-stream velocity U∞ and the fluid density ρair .
The origin of the frame of reference is taken at the center of the base area of the hemisphere,
where x denotes the streamwise, y the spanwise and z the vertical direction (wall-normal).

3 Experimental Setup and Measuring Equipment

This section is divided into three parts. First, the wind tunnel and the experimental settings
are introduced in detail. Besides the basic features, special settings and manufacturing issues
are presented. This is followed by a brief overview of the instrumentation applied. Finally,
the method for artificial boundary layer thickening is presented, since this is a key aspect of
the flow field.

3.1 Wind tunnel and test setup

The experimental investigations for the flow past the hemisphere are carried out in a
Göttingen-type subsonic wind tunnel with an open test section presented in Fig. 3. Further
design specifications are summarized in Table 1.
2582

800

6028

Fig. 3 Wind tunnel applied for the experimental investigations

Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 85

Table 1 Design specifications of the wind tunnel and test setup

Feature Dimension

Nozzle cross-section 375 mm × 500 mm

Length of test section 800 mm
Nozzle contraction ratio 5:1
Velocity range 5 m/s – 28 m/s
Free-stream streamwise turbulence intensity (Tu0u ) < 0.2 %
Flat plate 600 mm × 620 mm
Diameter of the hemisphere 150 mm

The hemisphere is placed on a flat smooth plate which is mounted onto a table. The
dimensions based on the diameter of the hemisphere and the position of the model in the
test section are illustrated in Fig. 4a with reference to the symmetry plane of the setup. The
leading edge of the plate is in alignment with the bottom of the rectangular nozzle of the
wind tunnel. This is necessary to transfer the artificially thickened boundary layer from the
nozzle to the test section without any gaps. The flat plate is designed to cover the complete
spanwise extension of the cross-section of the wind tunnel in order to ensure a smooth
transition of the near-wall flow from the nozzle to the test section. Thus, a gap remains
between the trailing edge of the flat plate and the receiver. The actual setup is depicted in
Fig. 4b.
The model of the hemisphere as well as the flat plate are made of an aluminum alloy.
The surface is additionally varnished with black paint to minimize reflections of the laser
light during measurements close to the surface. An overall average roughness on the con-
tour of Ra < 0.8 μm is achieved. The diameter of the hemisphere is D = 150 mm. To
ensure the rigidity of the model, it is designed as a solid block without any cavities. The
blocking ratio of the hemisphere in the wind tunnel is approximately 4.7 % based on the
projected area Ahemi = (π/8) D 2 of the hemisphere and the area of the cross-section of
the nozzle. To adjust the Reynolds number to Re = 50,000, the blower of the wind tunnel
is set to a free-stream velocity of U∞ = 5.14 m/s. For an empty test section the free-
stream streamwise turbulence intensity Tu0u = (u )rms /U∞ is less than 0.2 %. This value

flow direction
inlet test section receiver
5.3D

z 2.5D
1.7D 2.4D
hemisphere
x
D flat plate

Fig. 4 Dimensions and position of the hemisphere in the test section

86 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

is based on high resolution single-wire constant temperature anemometry (CTA) measure-

ments that were conducted to specify the overall quality of the wind tunnel. According
to LDA measurements the free-stream spanwise and wall-normal turbulence intensities
are one 
order of magnitude smaller, which leads to a free-stream total turbulence level of
 
Tu0tot = 13 u2 + v 2 + w 2 /U∞ ≈ 0.1 %.

3.2 Measurement equipment used for flow analysis

3.2.1 Configuration of the laser-Doppler anemometer

The flow past the hemisphere is measured by a non-invasive 2D laser-Doppler anemometer

offering high resolution velocity measurements of all components, u (streamwise), v (span-
wise) and w (wall-normal direction), respectively. The system consists of the following
components: The laser beam is generated by a water-cooled Coherent Innova 70C argon-
ion laser. The beam is guided to a Dantec FiberFlow transmitter box, where it is split up
into two different wave lengths (514.5 nm and 488 nm) which are used for each velocity
component. The beams are sent from the transmitter box to a 2D optical probe. In order to
receive information about all three velocity components the LDA probe is configured in two
ways: In configuration 1 the probe is facing the flat plate so that the optical axis of the laser
beam points vertically at the surface of the plate as depicted in Fig. 5a. The setup is primar-
ily used to record the spanwise component v. The illustration shows the instantaneous flow

Fig. 5 LDA configuration and measurement grid resolution of the symmetry x–z–plane
Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 87

field in the symmetry x–z–plane of the present study. The dashed area in blue indicates the
measuring plane. The associated experimental grid used for the LDA measurements is
highlighted in Fig. 5c. The distribution of the points is chosen based on the characteris-
tics of the predicted flow field. In the near-wall region and the recirculation area close to
the hemisphere more measurement points are placed to ensure a good resolution of the
gradients.
Configuration 2 is shown in Fig. 5b and is utilized to acquire the streamwise and wall-
normal flow components. In this picture the spanwise y–z–plane shows the measuring plane
as a blue dashed line since the whole view point is rotated by 90◦ compared to configura-
tion 1. In this setup the near-wall region of the streamwise component u has a higher spatial
resolution as realizable in configuration 1 due to the orientation of the optical axis parallel
to the plate. That avoids unwanted laser reflections of the surface that would otherwise point
directly at the photo multipliers of the LDA probe. However, the measurement of the wall-
normal component w is geometrically restricted by the crossing angle of the laser beam.
When the probe moves closer to the surface, a certain position is reached, i.e., 13 mm above
the surface, where the lower laser beam hits the edge of the flat plate and is blocked. Thus,
in the near-wall region the flat plate acts as an optical barrier that interrupts the formation
of the measuring volume. Consequently, no data can be recorded for the wall-normal com-
ponent below this particular separation point. The measurements and the positioning of the
traverse are operated by the Dantec BSA Flow Software.2 Based on both configurations the
three-dimensional flow field within the chosen x–z–measuring plane around the hemisphere
can be determined with the mentioned restrictions for w.
To investigate the flow behind the hemisphere complementary measurements are
achieved in the y–z–plane (−1 ≤ y/D ≤ 1 and 0 ≤ z/D ≤ 1) at x/D = 0.5. Configura-
tion 1 is used to measure the streamwise and spanwise velocity components on a grid with
1239 measurement points.
The aerosol generator TSI Six-Jet Atomizer 9306 is utilized to generate small droplets
of Di-Ethyl-Hexyl-Sebacat (DEHS) with an average size between 0.2 and 0.3 μm. The
spherical droplets feature a long-life cycle and excellent optical properties for laser-Doppler
anemometry. The droplets are atomized and seeded at the receiver of the wind tunnel.

3.2.2 Complementary constant temperature anemometer measurements

In addition to the laser-Doppler anemometry a constant temperature anemometer (TSI 1750

CTA) is utilized to record the velocity spectra in the wake of the hemisphere. The spec-
tra shall provide information about the driving vortex shedding processes and their related
frequencies as well as the overall decay in the inertial subrange. The main reason to use
CTA for this specific analysis instead of LDA is that raw data samples from laser-Doppler
measurements show an irregular time signature since the measured droplets pass the mea-
surement volume randomly. Commonly the data are resampled by using a sampling and
holding algorithm [2, 4, 7] which transfers the random time signal into an equidistant data
set. Nevertheless, the resampling has a great impact on the calculation of the power spectra
of flows with limited concentration of droplets like air flow in wind tunnels, which leads to a
lower sampling rate. According to Adrian and Yao [2] it acts as a first-order low-pass filter.
The low-pass filter frequency is approximately fco = ṅ/2π , where ṅ is the average data rate
per second. The measurements of the present LDA study involve average data rates of about

2 http://www.dantecdynamics.com/bsa-flow-software-for-lda-and-pda
88 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

1 kHz in the free-stream. Approaching the wall a decrease of the data rate is detected which
leads to a minimum sampling of about 0.2 kHz in the near-wall region. As a consequence
of the moderate sampling rate a low cut-off frequency in the range of 64 ≤ fco ≤ 158 Hz
results due to resampling. Thus, in the present case, it is not desirable to use resampled data
as it will contain filtered information above the cut-off frequency leading to an attenuated
spectral decay.
The CTA system is also used as a secondary device to validate the LDA data of the
artificial turbulent boundary layer as it is described in the next section.

3.3 Generation of the artificial turbulent boundary layer

This paragraph presents the methods for artificially adjusting the oncoming boundary layer
to fit to the inlet conditions briefly described in Section 2. The test case assumes an upstream
velocity profile that is based on the 1/7 power law of a turbulent boundary layer. This partic-
ular velocity distribution is utilized at the beginning of the test section to guarantee a clearly
defined boundary layer and thus to achieve comparability between the experimental inves-
tigations and the numerical simulations. The test section of a wind tunnel is often not long
enough to generate naturally developing turbulent boundary layers of a desired thickness.
To satisfy the specifications of the test case, the setup of the wind tunnel has to be modi-
fied to achieve the proper boundary layer thickness. In the current case the thickness of the
boundary layer is specified to be equal to the height of the hemisphere δ/(D/2) = 1 at a
distance of x/D = −1.5 upstream of the hemisphere. This can only be achieved by mod-
ifying the bottom of the wall inside the nozzle by installing turbulence generators that are
used to artificially thicken the height of the boundary layer over a short distance. In sum-
mary, a preliminary objective of the present study is to ensure that the generated turbulent
boundary layer corresponds to the predefined conditions.
In the past, detailed studies [11, 23, 36] were conducted regarding artificial boundary
layer thickening to mimic the influence of atmospheric conditions in near-ground flow.
Parts of these investigations are used in the present experimental setup and shall be dis-
cussed briefly. An early compendium of different methods including obstacles such as
gauzes, rods and flat plates to produce velocity profiles in wind tunnels was summarized
by Lawson [23]. At the same time Counihan [11] presented a setup consisting of a castel-
lated barrier followed by elliptic wedges that work as vortex generators. As a result, these
devices were capable to simulate the velocity distribution similar to a natural turbulent
boundary layer when placed at a distance equal to about four to five desired boundary layer
heights upstream of the test section. Furthermore, Sargison et al. [36] provided a review of
three devices including a fence with triangular spikes and two plates with different holes to
increase the thickness of boundary layers in a wind tunnel. All three measures are suitable
to enlarge the boundary layer thickness.
In a preliminary study investigating the development of the boundary layer on the flat
plate (without the hemisphere placed in the test section) a combination of these devices was
tested including the methods mentioned above. Due to the restricted dimensions of the noz-
zle of the wind tunnel and the test section, the modeling space, where the vortex generators
can be placed, is geometrically limited. The challenge of artificial boundary layer design is
the generation of thick boundary layers over relatively short distances avoiding unwanted
persisting vortical structures that can result from inappropriate devices. Therefore, an inten-
sive analysis of the behavior of each turbulence generator led to the optimum combination of
these devices to achieve the desired boundary layer profile within the given working space.
As a final outcome, a fence with equidistant rods followed by a castellated barrier and a
Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 89

fence with triangular spikes is chosen to mimic the influence of an atmospheric turbulent
boundary layer. A schematic representation of the setup and its functionality is depicted in
Fig. 6.
It shows the symmetry plane of the complete nozzle. Near the outlet the three mentioned
vortex generators are mounted onto the bottom wall of the nozzle. The first vortex generator
is the fence with rods highlighted in green. It is closely followed by a castellated barrier
marked in blue. Both devices are used to generate large disturbances in the near-wall flow.
The produced vortical structures travel to the third vortex generator illustrated in red, which
is the fence with triangular spikes. It is used to break up the large structures for a more
isotropic turbulence distribution in the boundary layer. The exact positions of the vortex
devices can be found in Appendix A.
Corresponding measurements of the inlet boundary layer profile including the mean
velocity and the turbulent fluctuations are depicted in Fig. 7. For the evaluation of the arti-
ficial turbulent boundary layer the streamwise component u is additionally measured by a
specialized constant temperature platinum film probe (TSI model 1218) along with a TSI
1750 constant temperature anemometer. This method is used as a secondary data source for
the streamwise component with special emphasis on the near-wall region. It is directly com-
pared to the measurements by the laser-Doppler anemometry setup (configuration 2, see
Fig. 5b) which has certain restrictions close to the surface of the plate (see Section 3.2.1).
All data are recorded just after the beginning of the test section at x/D = −1.5 in the
symmetry plane without placing the hemisphere into the test section. As a reference veloc-
ity distribution the 1/7 power law with δ = D/2 is used to evaluate the measurements. The
power law and the constant free-stream velocity above z/D = 0.5 is illustrated in Fig. 7a as
a blue line. The measured mean velocity distribution u/U∞ is in close agreement with the
reference exhibiting minor deviations in the region z/D = 0.25. The free-stream velocity
u/U∞ ≈ 1 is reached at about z/D ≈ 0.5 which indicates that the desired thickness of the
boundary layer is attained. Additionally, the displacement thickness δ1 /δ and the momen-
tum thickness δ2 /δ are evaluated from the experimental data to 1/8 and 7/72, respectively.
It leads to a shape factor of H = δ1 /δ2 = 1.286 which confirms a classical property of a
turbulent boundary layer. The Reynolds number based on δ2 is estimated to Reδ2 = 2503.

Fig. 6 Turbulence generators mounted onto the bottom wall of the wind tunnel’s nozzle
90 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

1 26
_ CTA
u/U
_
(CTA) 24 LDA
u/U (LDA)
22
1/7 power law
0.75 20
18
16
14 + + u+=2.44 ln(z+)+5.2
+ u =z
z/D

0.5

u
12
10
8
0.25 6
4
2
0 0 1 2 3
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 10 10 10 10

1 1
(u’)rms /U (CTA)
2
(u’)rms /U (LDA) u’w’/U (LDA)
(v’) rms /U (LDA)
0.75 (w’)rms /U (LDA) 0.75
z/D
z/D

0.5 0.5

0.25 0.25

0 0
2 4 6 8 10 12 -0.001 0
2
Turbulence Intensity [%]

Fig. 7 Inflow properties of the turbulent boundary layer at the inlet of the test section

Figure 7b presents the dimensionless velocity u+ plotted against the dimensionless wall-
normal distance z+ . The first measured point is located at a distance of z = 0.25 mm
above the flat plate. The velocity distribution is nearly linear in the region 4 ≤ z+ ≤
10. Therefore, the first two points close to the wall are still inside the viscous sublayer.
This is in good agreement with the literature which often states the border between the
viscous sublayer
√ and the buffer layer at about z+ ≈ 5. The friction velocity is estimated
to uτ = τw /ρair = 0.225 m/s (uτ /U∞ = 4.38 × 10−2 ), where τw is approximated by
μair u/z. Both classical laws of the wall (viscous sublayer: u+ = z+ and log-layer:
u+ = 1/0.41 ln(z+ ) + 5.2) are correctly reproduced. Some discrepancies in the velocity
distribution are observed in the log area. Indeed, the measured boundary layer does not
exactly follow the 1/7 power law. A comparison between the LDA and CTA data shows
only minor differences which means that the LDA system is capable to achieve the required
near-wall resolution for the chosen setup. Furthermore, the distribution of the mean velocity
across the spanwise expansions of the test section shows only small variations (not shown
here for the sake of brevity).
Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 91

The turbulent fluctuations (u )rms /U∞ , (v  )rms /U∞ and (w  )rms /U∞ are given in
Fig. 7c in percent. It is obvious that the streamwise fluctuations recorded by LDA and CTA
are very similar. Therefore, it is assumed that the velocity components v and w which are
solely measured by LDA, are also valid. This is supported by the fact that Counihan [11]
measured a similar distribution of the turbulence intensities in the case of the elliptic tur-
bulence generators. Furthermore, similar distributions were also obtained by Schlatter et al.
[40] based on a direct numerical simulation (DNS) of a turbulent boundary layer flow on
a flat plate at a Reynolds number of Reδ2 = 2500. The streamwise turbulent fluctuations
(u )rms /U∞ gradually increase from the free-stream (1.2 %) to the near-wall region with a
peak value of about 12.1 % at z/D = 0.01. Contrary to the case of an empty test section
without any artificial boundary layer thickening techniques presented in Section 3.1, the
free-stream streamwise turbulence intensity for the generated thick boundary layer (TBL) is
significantly higher, i.e., TuTBL
u = (u )rms /U∞ = 1.2 %. Consequently, the total free-stream
 
2 + v 2 + w 2 /U ≈ 0.4 %.
tot =
1
turbulence level also increases to TuTBL 3 u ∞

The Reynolds shear stresses are also useful to describe the flow physics, but complicated
to measure accurately. Indeed, in LDA measurements the data collection of each flow com-
ponent is recorded independently. This means that there is no direct correlation between
the two components in a series of measurements due to the independent time signatures in
which the droplets pass the specific measuring plane of each component. However, it is still
possible to approximate the cross-correlations by utilizing a coincidence algorithm which
matches the velocity components by using a window function. This function sets a time
interval in which the velocity components are considered to be correlated. In the present
case this time interval is set to 6 ms. For sufficient calculation accuracy it is necessary to
maintain comparable data rates for each component. For the current setup only the Reynolds
shear stress u w  /U∞ 2 is of interest for the flow physics. The other cross-components the-

oretically vanish due to the homogeneity of the spanwise direction. Figure 7d presents the
distribution of u w  /U∞2 at x/D = −1.5 in the symmetry plane. As expected for a positive

mean velocity gradient at the wall, the Reynolds shear stress is negative.
In conclusion, the predefined inlet conditions of a fully developed turbulent boundary
layer with a desired thickness of δ/D ≈ 0.5 have been achieved by using customized vortex
generators in the nozzle of the wind tunnel. The obtained data are verified by comparison
with the 1/7 power law as the reference for the velocity distribution. Furthermore, an over-
all reasonable distribution of the turbulent fluctuations similar to a natural boundary layer
commonly presented in the literature [11, 23, 36, 40] is achieved.

4 Numerical Setup

4.1 CFD solver: FASTEST-3D

To predict the turbulent flow around the hemisphere based on the large-eddy simulation
technique, the three-dimensional finite-volume fluid solver FASTEST-3D is used. This
in-house code is an enhanced version of the original one [13, 14]. To solve the filtered
Navier-Stokes equations for LES, the solver relies on a predictor-corrector scheme (projec-
tion method) of second-order accuracy in space and time [6]. The discretization relies on
a curvilinear, block-structured body-fitted grid with a collocated variable arrangement. The
surface and volume integrals are calculated based on the midpoint rule. Most flow variables
are linearly interpolated to the cell faces leading to a second-order accurate central scheme.
92 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

The convective fluxes are approximated by the technique of flux blending [15, 20] to sta-
bilize the simulation. For the current case the flux blending includes 5 % of a first-order
accurate upwind scheme and 95 % of a second-order accurate central scheme. A preliminary
study shows that these settings are a good compromise between accuracy and stability. The
momentum interpolation technique of Rhie and Chow [34] is applied to couple the pressure
and the velocity fields on non-staggered grids.
Since LES is used, the large scales of the turbulent flow field are resolved directly,
whereas the non-resolvable small scales have to be taken into account by a subgrid-scale
(SGS) model. Different SGS models based on the eddy-viscosity concept are available in
FASTEST-3D: The well-known and most often used Smagorinsky model [45], the dynamic
Smagorinsky model according to Germano et al. [17] and Lilly [24], and the WALE
model [30]. Owing to the moderate Reynolds number considered and the fine grid applied,
the SGS model is expected to have a limited influence on the results. Nevertheless, in order
to investigate and verify this issue, simulations of the flow around the hemisphere are car-
ried out applying the above mentioned SGS models. For this purpose, a constant inflow
velocity profile (1/7 power law) without any turbulent fluctuations is assumed. The results
are analyzed in Appendix B. This SGS investigation shows that the Smagorinsky model
with 0.065 ≤ Cs ≤ 0.1 or the dynamic Smagorinsky model basically leads to the same
results. The WALE model with CW = 0.33 (value corresponding to the classical Smagorin-
sky model with Cs = 0.1 [30]) produces a nearly identical flow except for the region
upstream to the hemisphere. Therefore, as the best compromise between accurate results
and fast computations, the standard Smagorinsky model with the constant set to Cs = 0.1
is used for the present case.
FASTEST-3D is efficiently parallelized based on the domain decomposition technique
relying on the Message-Passing-Interface (MPI). Non-blocking MPI communications are
used and offer a non negligible speed-up compared to blocking MPI communications [39].

4.2 Computational domain

To simulate the problem using a block-structured mesh, different forms of the computa-
tional domain with according boundary conditions were tested during preliminary tests.
Finally, the chosen computational domain is the simplest one: A large hemispherical expan-
sion with its origin at the center of the hemisphere (see Fig. 8a). This domain is originally
divided into 5 geometrical blocks, so that nearly orthogonal angles are obtained on the sur-
face of the hemisphere (see Fig. 8b) and in the entire volume. To prescribe the inlet and
outlet boundary conditions described in the next section, the upper, left and right blocks are
divided along the x/D = 0 plane leading to 8 geometrical blocks (see Fig. 8a). The dis-
tribution of the blocks and the angles on the surface of the hemisphere can be observed in
the close-up depicted in Fig. 8b. Figure 8c shows the x–y cross-section of the grid at the
bottom wall and Fig. 8d depicts the x–z cross-section in the symmetry plane. For the sake
of visualization only every fourth grid line of the mesh is shown. Accordingly, the angles
between the grid lines and the transitions between the blocks appear to be worse than they
are in the full mesh. The 8 geometrical blocks are later split into 80 parallel blocks for the
distribution of the computation on a parallel computer. The outer domain has a radius of
10 D. 240 grid points are distributed non-equidistantly based on a geometrical stretching in
the expansion direction. 640 points are used at the circumference of the bottom of the hemi-
sphere. The final grid contains 30.72 × 106 control volumes (CVs). In order to fully resolve
the viscous sublayer, the first cell center is located at a distance of z/D ≈ 5 × 10−5 from
the wall, which leads to averaged z+ values below 0.25 (see Fig. 8e and f) and more than
Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 93

Fig. 8 Grid used for the LES prediction of the flow past the hemisphere

50 points in the boundary layer on the hemisphere upstream to the separation. The geomet-
rical stretching ratios are kept below 1.05. The aspect ratio of the cells on the hemispherical
body are low, i.e., in the range between 1 and 10. This yields a dimensionless cell size in
94 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

the two tangential directions below 29, which fits to the recommendation of Piomelli and
Chasnov [33] for a wall-resolved LES. Note that the resolution of the grid is chosen based
on extensive preliminary tests not presented here. For this fine grid a small time step of
t ∗ = t U∞ / D = 3.084 × 10−5 is required ensuring a CFL-number below unity.

4.3 Boundary conditions

Figure 9 depicts the boundary conditions used in the simulation in colors: Black for the
walls, blue for the inlet and red for the outlet. At the bottom of the domain and on the
hemisphere a no-slip wall condition is applied justified by the fine near-wall resolution men-
tioned above. A 1/7 power law with δ/D = 0.5 and without any perturbation is applied as
inlet condition on the external surface of the domain for x ≤ 0. Moreover, this power law is
applied for all CVs with x/D ≤ −2 (see the area with hatched lines on Fig. 9). This region
(x/D ≤ −2) does not need to be solved for the problem. However, it could not be simply
cut from the mesh because of the hemispherical form of the block-structured grid. There-
fore, for all CVs with x/D ≤ −2 the flow field is not predicted, so that the mean velocity
profile at x/D = −2 remains constant in time and perfectly fits the experiment. In order
to approximate the turbulent boundary layer depicted in Fig. 7 perturbations produced by
a turbulence inflow generator (described in Section 4.4) are injected in a 2D × D window
at x/D = −1.5 (see Fig. 9b). A zero velocity gradient boundary condition is defined for
the outlet on the external surface of the domain for the geometrical blocks 5, 6 and 7 as
defined in Fig. 8a). At the outlet of block 8 where the large-scale flow structures leave the
computational domain, a convective boundary condition is applied with a convective veloc-
ity set according to the 1/7 power law. The fact that the simulation does not use symmetry
boundary conditions or slip walls at the top or at the lateral sides, is in agreement with the
free flow situation in the experiments. Indeed, the test section is open on the top and on the
lateral sides.

4.4 Synthetic turbulence inflow generator

It is commonly known that discrepancies between experimental measurements and results

of numerical simulations are often the result of an inadequate representation of the bound-
ary conditions. For LES the absence of an appropriate turbulence intensity at the inlet is a
very critical issue (see Appendix C). In order to circumvent this problem, it is meaningful
to incorporate perturbations produced by a turbulence inflow generator into the flow. In the

Fig. 9 Boundary conditions used for the simulation

Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 95

present study the digital filter concept of Klein et al. [22] is applied for this purpose. This
method delivers instantaneous three-dimensional velocity distributions matching desired
mean velocities and Reynolds stresses with the help of the decomposition of Lund et al.
[25]. An integral time scale and two integral length scales are also required to ensure the
temporal and spatial coherence of the generated turbulent structures. Details and the suc-
cessful application of this method for demanding test cases such as the periodic hill flow
are shown in Schmidt and Breuer [41].
Regarding the relatively coarse grid resolution at the inflow plane, the usage of the syn-
thetic turbulence inflow generator (STIG) within the LES is not meaningful due to the
subsequent damping of the initial velocity fluctuations in this area. Accordingly, a shift of
the region where the artificial perturbations are taken into account towards a finer resolved
area is a promising approach. Therefore, instead of the application of the STIG at the inflow
plane, the velocity fluctuations are imposed inside the computational domain and applied
as source terms within the momentum equations. This methodology of imposing the inflow
conditions was recently validated based on the flow past a SD7003 airfoil [42]. The posi-
tion of the STIG window in the present case is at x/D = −1.5 with a width of 2D and a
height of D (see Fig. 9). In order to avoid a discontinuity in the momentum equations, these
source terms are not superimposed at a plane. The application region is spatially spread in
the streamwise direction, where the amplitude of the source terms follows a Gaussian dis-
tribution with the maximum located at x/D = −1.5. In the present case the streamwise
extension covers 5 cells.
Due to the modeling of the boundary layer by the 1/7 power law it is possible to assume
the mixing length model by Prandtl to determine an appropriate integral length scale for
the STIG. To obtain turbulent structures larger than the biggest cells of the STIG window,
the spatial length scale in wall-normal direction is computed at z+ = 100 and leads to
L/D = 2.06 × 10−2 . For the spanwise length scale the same value is chosen. The required
integral time scale is based on the Taylor hypothesis leading to T ∗ = L U∞ /(D u(z+ =
100)) = 2.79 × 10−2 . Based on the grid resolution of the STIG window (−1 ≤ y/D ≤ 1
with y/D = 9.713 × 10−3 and 0 ≤ z/D ≤ 1 with z/D = 2.191 × 10−3 ) and the
employed time step of the simulation t ∗ = t U∞ / D = 3.084 × 10−5 , the normalized
scales and the support of the filters as defined in Klein et al. [22] are nt × ny × nz =
906 × 2 × 9 and Nt × Ny × Nz = 1812 × 4 × 18, respectively. The experimental
velocity distribution and the measured normal and shear components of the Reynolds stress
tensor presented in Section 3.3 are used as input values for the STIG. The missing parts of
the Reynolds stress components close to the wall are filled up with the help of the DNS data
by Schlatter et al. [40] (see Fig. 10). The v– and w–components of the mean velocity are
set to zero as well as the Reynolds stress components u v  /U∞ 2 and v  w  /U 2 .
∞
160,000 time steps are generated to provide a sufficiently long time series of inflow
data. Figure 11 exemplarily shows the instantaneous streamwise velocity distribution at one
arbitrarily chosen time step.

5 Unsteady Results

This section provides an overview of the main physical flow characteristics observed in
the present study. The first systematic classification map of the unsteady flow patterns
past a hemisphere was presented by Savory and Toy [37] comprising several clearly distin-
guishable regions. A visualization of these regions is depicted in Fig. 12 which shows the
results of the instantaneous flow field at an arbitrary instant in time. Figure 12a presents
96 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

Fig. 10 Distributions of the Reynolds stresses derived from the experiment as input parameters for the
application of the synthetic turbulence inflow generator

the unsteady velocity field of the large-eddy simulation based on the main flow component
u/U∞ in the symmetry x–z–plane of the hemisphere. An attempt to capture the unsteady
flow features in the experiment is shown in Fig. 12b. The model of the hemisphere is illu-
minated by a strong laser light-sheet focused on the symmetry plane. The flow was seeded
with DEHS droplets as used for the laser-Doppler measurements. In the following a detailed
look at the highlighted spots 1 − 7 of both pictures shall help to expose the specific flow
regions initially determined by Savory and Toy [37].
The upstream flow field is characterized by the development of a horseshoe vortex sys-
tem (1) which results from the separation of the boundary layer from the ground. This effect
is mainly driven by the positive pressure gradient in front of the hemisphere which acts as
a flow barrier. The size and formation of this particular flow structure also depends on the
properties of the approaching boundary layer such as the turbulence intensity, the veloc-
ity distribution and the overall thickness of the boundary layer. The stagnation area (2) of
the flow is located close to the lower front surface of the hemisphere, where the stagnation
LDA ≈ 166◦ (definition of θ in Fig. 12a).
point is found at the surface at an angle of about θstag
Behind this region the flow is accelerated (3) which leads to the generation of strong near-
wall vorticity. The flow detaches from the surface of the hemisphere along a separation
LDA ≈ 90◦ . The wake of the hemisphere is divided into
line (4) at a separation angle of θsep

Fig. 11 Example of the instantaneous streamwise velocity distribution generated for the given STIG window
Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 97

Fig. 12 Visualization of flow regions and characteristic flow features of the flow past the hemisphere: (1)
horseshoe vortex system, (2) stagnation area, (3) acceleration of the flow, (4) separation point, (5) dividing
streamline, (6) shear layer vorticity, (7) reattachment point

the recirculation area and the outer flow field (5). Strong shear layer vorticity (6) can be
observed leading to the production of Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices which travel downstream
in the flow field. The size of the recirculation area behind the hemisphere can be evalu-
ated by the reattachment point (7) of the flow in the symmetry plane. This last region is not
clearly visible in the experiment and therefore not shown in Fig. 12b. In the reattachment
area the “splatting” effect occurs, redistributing momentum from the wall-normal direction
to the streamwise and spanwise directions.
A complementary view of the instantaneous flow illustrating the 3D-vortex distribution
around the hemisphere is presented in Fig. 13. The flow structures are visualized using iso-
surfaces of the pressure fluctuations (p /(ρair U∞2 ) = −2.47 × 10−4 ) as recommended by

Garcı́a-Villalba et al. [16]. The upstream near-wall flow is dominated by the horseshoe vor-
tex system that trails past the hemisphere and forms stable “necklace”-vortices that stretch
out into the wake region. The flow detaches from the surface of the hemisphere along the
indicated separation line and the vortices “roll-up”. The shedding type and frequency are
varying in time along the separation line as described below. Moreover, these rolled-up vor-
tices interact with the horseshoe vortices just after the hemisphere and in some cases they
merge generating bigger vortical structures. The results are entangled vortical “hairpin”-
structures of different sizes and orientations traveling downstream and forming a “vortex
chain”. Schematic 3D sketches and explanations of the formation of these flow structures
around and behind the hemisphere can be found in the literature [1, 47]. Note that smaller
“hairpin”-structures can be also observed in the wake growing from the ground as usual in
a turbulent boundary layer.
The shape of the instantaneous vortices traveling downstream are depending on the shed-
ding type. In order to identify the different shedding processes and their frequencies, it is
98 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

Fig. 13 Snapshot of unsteady vortical structures visualized by utilizing the iso-surfaces of the pressure
fluctuations (p  /(ρair U∞
2 ) = −2.47 × 10−4 ) colored by the spanwise instantaneous velocity

common to plot velocity spectra at specific locations of the flow field. The present study
examines the velocity spectra of two monitoring points P1 and P2 (see Fig. 14) located in
the wake of the hemisphere outside of the recirculation area. The position of P1 and P2

Fig. 14 Velocity spectra at the monitoring points P1 and P2 in the wake regime of the hemisphere
Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 99

is chosen based on the analysis of Manhart [27]. The positions of the points are visual-
ized in Fig. 14b for the side view and in Fig. 14c for the top view. Monitoring point P1
(x/D = 1.25, y/D = 0, z/D = 0.4) is located in the symmetry plane. The monitoring
point P2 is located outside of the symmetry plane (x/D = 1.25, y/D = 0.37, z/D = 0.16).
Indeed, at these two locations the dominant shedding frequencies are clearly visible. In
order to be sure to capture all frequencies of the wake flow and to get smooth velocity spec-
tra, the data have to be collected with an adequate sampling rate during a long time period.
Therefore, measurements are more appropriate than LES predictions for this purpose. The
measurements include a sampling rate of 1 kHz and are collected over a period of 30 min-
utes with the same hot-film probe as mentioned in Section 3.3. This 1D-probe is restricted
to the measurement of the streamwise velocity component u.
The power spectral density (PSD) of each location is given in Fig. 14a where the colors
of the lines refer to the particular colors of the monitoring point, red and blue, respectively.
At P1 the PSD is high between 7.9 Hz ≤ f1 ≤ 10.6 Hz (0.23 ≤ St1 = f1 D / U∞ ≤ 0.31).
A maximum is reached at about f1 = 9.2 Hz (St1 ≈ 0.27). At P2 outside the symme-
try plane a clearly detectable frequency peak is found at f2 = 5.5 Hz corresponding to a
Strouhal number of St2 ≈ 0.16. This suggests the presence of two vortex shedding types
in the wake: The separation of the boundary layer at the top of the hemisphere leads to a
detachment of “arch-type”-vortices observed at the monitoring point P1 with a shedding
frequency in the range 7.9 Hz ≤ f1 ≤ 10.6 Hz. This phenomenon can be visualized based
on the LES data (see Fig. 15). The second type is a “von Kármán”-shedding process occur-
ring at a shedding frequency of f2 = 5.5 Hz on the sides of the hemisphere captured at
point P2 .
This second shedding process involves an interesting pattern of two clearly distinguish-
able types that switch in shape and time (see Fig. 16). The first kind can be described as
a “quasi-symmetric” process where the vortical structures form and detach in a “double-
sided” symmetric manner (visualized by the velocity magnitude near the wall in Fig. 16a
and schematically depicted in Fig. 16c) leading to “arch-type”-vortices [35] or “symmetric”-
vortices [31]). The second kind relates to a “quasi-periodic” vortex shedding resulting in
a “single-sided” alternating detachment pattern (visualized by the velocity magnitude near
the wall in Fig. 16b and schematically depicted in Fig. 16d), classically observed in the
wake of flow fields past geometrically two-dimensional obstacles such as the cylinder flow.
Both patterns substitute themselves in time so that either the symmetric or the alternating
shedding type is observable in the wake flow during a certain period of time. Manhart [27]
observes this behavior, too. He assumed that the symmetric shedding type is mainly driven
by small-scale, less energetic turbulent structures in the flow field. It nearly completely van-
ished in his predictions when performing a large-eddy simulation on a rather coarse grid,
where the small-scale flow structures cannot be resolved appropriately.

Fig. 15 Vortex shedding from the top of the hemisphere visualized by the pressure fluctuations of the LES
in the symmetry plane
100 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

Fig. 16 Visualization of the two vortex shedding types present in the wake behind the hemisphere

It has to be noted that the large-eddy simulations of Manhart [27] cannot be compared
directly with the present case due to the differences in the Reynolds number and the artificial
surface model roughness. Nevertheless, the qualitative results suggest a similar behavior for
the two major shedding frequencies.
Unsteady flow results are useful to get an impression of the overall complexity of the
observed flow phenomena. For a general characterization, statistical evaluations of the flow
field are more appropriate. Therefore, the next paragraph presents the time-averaged flow
field.

6 Time-averaged Results and Discussion

This section presents the time-averaged results of the flow around the hemisphere. The
instantaneous flow was averaged over a long time period of about 1370 dimensionless time
units3 for the LDA measurements which ensures a sufficient amount of data. Due to the
small time step, the LES results are averaged over a shorter period of 86 dimensionless time
units. This seems to be sufficient relying on the investigations of Garcı́a-Villalba et al. [16].
The outlined approach using two-dimensional color plots offers the possibility to identify
characteristic regions that are introduced and discussed in the previously mentioned pub-
lications (see Section 1). The key aspects focus on the detailed view of the velocity field
and the associated Reynolds stresses in the symmetry plane and a chosen spanwise plane
in the wake. The laser-Doppler measurements are used for the interpretation of the physical

3 Time normalized by U∞ and D.

Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 101

characteristics of the flow. In parallel, the results obtained by the large-eddy simulation are
compared with the experimental data and offer details in areas where the measurements are
limited. Additionally, selected profiles at specific locations along the streamwise direction
of the flow field are chosen for a critical quantitative comparison between the experiment
and the simulation. Finally, three-dimensional properties specific to the flow are discussed
based on the LES results. The discussion begins with the characteristics of the symmetry
plane.

6.1 Symmetry plane

Based upon the classification map mentioned in Section 5, the flow field in the symmetry
plane is analyzed with regard to the characteristic regions stated by Savory and Toy [37].

6.1.1 Characteristics of the flow field

Figure 17 depicts the velocity field around the hemisphere focusing on the streamwise and
the wall-normal components. The LDA measurements, presented on the left, are compared
with the results of the large-eddy simulation, presented on the right.
The streamwise velocity component u/U∞ is shown in Fig. 17a and b. As a funda-
mental flow characteristic the oncoming flow upstream of the hemisphere in the region
−1.5 ≤ x/D ≤ −0.75 is investigated. The experimental results show that the thickness
of the approaching boundary layer is matching the height of the hemisphere well with

Fig. 17 Comparison of the experimental and numerical time-averaged velocity components and streamlines
in the symmetry x–z–plane at y/D = 0
102 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

z/D ≈ 0.5. A comparable velocity distribution is visible in the large-eddy simulation. The
development of a recirculation area can be perceived close to the lower front of the hemi-
sphere between −0.75 ≤ x/D ≤ −0.5. This phenomenon is connected to the horseshoe
vortex system. It results from the reorganization of the approaching boundary layer which
LES /D = −0.97 due to the positive pressure gradient (stag-
detaches from the ground at xdetach
nation area) located at the bottom front of the hemisphere at about θstag LDA = 166◦ in the
◦
measurements and at about θstag = 161 in the simulation. The size of the horseshoe vor-
LES

tex depends on the turbulence intensity of the approaching flow (see Appendix C for the
results with and without inflow turbulence). Although the inflow conditions of the synthetic
turbulence inflow generator are adjusted to the experimental boundary layer, the horseshoe
vortex shows slightly larger expansions in case of the numerical simulation.
The next distinct location is the separation point where the flow detaches from the sur-
face of the hemisphere. It marks an important characteristic for the validation of numerical
simulations since its position depends on multiple physical flow properties such as Reynolds
number, turbulence intensity of the boundary layer and surface roughness. After exceeding
LDA ≈ 90◦ in case of the laser-Doppler
the separation point the flow detaches at an angle of θsep
◦
measurements. A comparable angle of θsep = 92 is evaluated for the LES. The separated
LES

flow leads to the development of a free shear layer which can be observed as a strong veloc-
ity gradient between the outer flow field and the recirculation area in the wake. The size of
the recirculation area stretches up to x/D ≈ 1.0 in the experiment and in the simulation.
It is interrelated to the turbulence intensity of the approaching boundary layer. According
to previous studies [19, 38, 51, 53] the turbulence level of the oncoming flow influences
the length of the recirculation area since with increasing turbulence intensity the location
of the separation point is shifted to a further downstream position on the hemisphere. An
investigation comparing LES predictions without and with STIG data strongly supports this
LDA /D = 1.04 in case of
observation (see Appendix C). The flow reattaches at about xreattach
the measurements and at about xreattach /D = 1.16 in the simulation.
LES

The wall-normal velocity component w/U∞ is presented in Fig. 17c and d. The flow
field close to the bottom wall is not resolved in the experimental investigation due to the
restrictions of the chosen setup (see Section 3.2.1). The missing data is blanked out in white.
A notable region is the area of increasing velocity at the front side of the hemisphere at
−0.45 ≤ x/D ≤ −0.15 and 0.25 ≤ z/D ≤ 0.45 resulting from the acceleration of the
fluid after exceeding the stagnation area. The size of this area and the velocity magnitude
are almost identical for both LDA measurements and LES. A similar phenomenon can be
detected at about 0.5 ≤ x/D ≤ 1.5 and 0.40 ≤ z/D ≤ 0.85 above the recirculation area.
Again the extensions of this region are almost congruent in shape and dimension. A com-
parison of the streamline plots of the experiment and the numerical simulation are presented
Fig. 17e and f. In conclusion, the overall velocity distributions found for the experiment and
the numerical simulation are very similar. A closer view using specific velocity profiles at
certain positions within the flow field provides a more detailed insight into the quantitative
data.
Figure 18 depicts the velocity distribution at specific locations along the symmetry plane
for the streamwise (Fig. 18a) and the wall-normal (Fig. 18b) component. Both figures out-
line the results of the large-eddy simulation as blue solid lines superimposed by the discrete
measuring points of the LDA data represented by black squares. For the sake of clearness
only every second measuring point of the experimental results is shown. The chosen dis-
tributions in each picture can be subdivided into the upstream region, the hemisphere and
the wake region, each consisting of three profiles. Overall, a very good agreement for both
Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 103

Fig. 18 Comparison of the experimental (black symbols) and numerical (blue lines) time-averaged
streamwise and wall-normal velocity in the symmetry x–z–plane at y/D = 0 and x/D =
{−1.5, −1, −0.6, −0.25, 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5} (only every second measurement point is displayed)

the streamwise and the wall-normal component is achieved between LES predictions and
LDA measurements. A characteristic position of the flow field in front of the hemisphere is
at x/D = −0.6. This profile represents the position of the horseshoe vortex system with a
strong backflow in the near-wall region that is well predicted by the large-eddy simulation.
Another representative position of the flow field is located at x/D ≥ 0.25. The results show
an excellent coincidence concerning the developing shear layer and the velocity distribution
in the wake.

6.1.2 Reynolds stresses

This section provides a view at the second-order moments in terms of Reynolds stresses.
Figure 19a and b refer to the normal Reynolds stress u u /U∞ 2 . The turbulence intensity

in the approaching boundary layer is clearly visible in case of the laser-Doppler measure-
ment. In the large-eddy simulation the incoming turbulence intensity is not so strong even
through an equal turbulence intensity level is imposed at the STIG window. Indeed, a part of
the generated turbulent fluctuations are damped by the numerical discretization: The grid is
non-equidistant and the flux blending includes 5 % of a first-order upwind scheme. Despite
this difference of the inflow, the shape, location and magnitude of the normal Reynolds
stress are well predicted by the large-eddy simulation in the rest of the domain. The high-
est Reynolds stresses appear in the free shear layer right after the separation point due to
the rapid roll-up process of the vortical structures as explained in the unsteady flow results
(see Section 5). This region stretches out into the upper recirculation region where turbu-
lent mixing is perceived. The “splatting” process arising at the reattachment point produces
104 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

Fig. 19 Comparison of the experimental and numerical time-averaged Reynolds stresses in the symmetry
x–z–plane at y/D = 0

also streamwise fluctuations. However, these are not visible in the figure, because their
associated magnitude is much lower than in the shear layer.
The distribution of the spanwise normal component v  v  /U∞ 2 is depicted in Fig. 19c

and d. The experimental data show high Reynolds stresses throughout the recirculation
area and the near-wall region including the reattachment point. Note that the spanwise
normal component v  v  /U∞2 around the reattachment area is very high. Its value is com-

parable with the normal Reynolds stress u u /U∞ 2 in the shear layer. It is assumed that

the spanwise velocity fluctuations are associated with the “splatting” process taking place
in the reattachment region and with the detaching vortices at the sides of the hemisphere.
Near the reattachment point the flow hits the wall and a part of the momentum is redis-
tributed from the wall-normal component to the lateral component. Moreover, the vortices
detaching at the sides of the hemisphere (as shown in Section 5) additionally cause a lat-
eral oscillating motion of the recirculation area. This particular movement is related to the
Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 105

“von Kármán”-shedding processes at the lower sides of the hemisphere. The results of
the large-eddy simulation support these observations delivering higher normal Reynolds
stresses in the lower wake flow. Nevertheless, the experimental results show a signifi-
cantly higher v  v  /U∞
2 distribution in the upper part of the recirculation compared with the

numerical simulation. The reason for this deviation is presently unclear.

0.75
z/D

0.5

0.25

0
-1.5

-1.25

-1

-0.75

-0.5

-0.25

0.25

0.5

0.75

1.25

1.5

1.75

2
x/D

0.75
z/D

0.5

0.25

0
-1.5

-1.25

-1

-0.75

-0.5

-0.25

0.25

0.5

0.75

1.25

1.5

1.75

2
x/D

0.75
z/D

0.5

0.25

0
-1.5

-1.25

-1

-0.75

-0.5

-0.25

0.25

0.5

0.75

1.25

1.5

1.75

x/D

0.75
z/D

0.5

0.25

0
-1.5

-1.25

-1

-0.75

-0.5

-0.25

0.25

0.5

0.75

1.25

1.5

1.75

x/D

Fig. 20 Comparison of the experimental (black symbols) and numerical (blue lines) time-averaged Reynolds
stresses in the symmetry x–z–plane at y/D = 0 and x/D = {−1.5, −1, −0.6, −0.25, 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5}
(only every second measurement point is displayed)
106 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

The wall-normal Reynolds stress w  w  /U∞2 is presented in Fig. 19e and f. Once more the

LES predictions are in good agreement with the measurement except for the oncoming area,
where the turbulence intensity is slightly damped. Intense Reynolds stresses are present in
the free shear layer and the recirculation region at 1 ≤ x/D ≤ 1.5.
The Reynolds shear stress u w  /U∞2 is shown in Fig. 19g and h. Both the measurement

and the simulation show that the largest values are expected in the free shear layer.
The profiles of the Reynolds stresses are presented in Fig. 20. The complete upper flow
field until x/D = 0 shows only minor differences between the laser-Doppler measurements
and the large-eddy simulation for all Reynolds stress components. The streamwise Reynolds
stress u u /U∞
2 is well predicted past the separation point. As already mentioned there are

some discrepancies in the spanwise normal Reynolds stresses v  v  /U∞ 2 in the wake regime.

It is not quite clear yet whether the numerical simulation underestimates the level in the
upper regime of the recirculation area or if the measurement of configuration 1 overpredict
these values. The results of the Reynolds shear stress u w  /U∞ 2 are in close agreement

between the experiment and the simulation.

6.2 Spanwise plane

Besides the analysis of the symmetry plane, measurements are also conducted for the span-
wise flow at a y–z cross-section as briefly mentioned in Section 3.2.1. It is processed using
LDA configuration 1 (see Fig. 5a) which offers the possibility of an appropriate near-wall
resolution across the complete spanwise extension of the test section. The motivation for
this measurement is to complement the data obtained from the symmetry plane in order

Fig. 21 Comparison of the experimental and numerical time-averaged velocity components in the y–z–plane
at x/D = 0.5
Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 107

to receive a better three-dimensional perspective of the flow field and to compare it with
the large-eddy simulation. The investigation focuses on the streamwise and spanwise flow
components at the position x/D = 0.5 (y–z–plane) behind the hemisphere.

6.2.1 Characteristics of the flow field

The color plots for the streamwise component are presented in Fig. 21a and b. The chosen
position of the spanwise plots provides an insight into the specific velocity distribution in the
wake regime: The uniform outer flow field, the accelerated flow above the hemisphere, the
shear layer distribution, the recirculation zone and the near-wall flow at the far sides. First,
an almost symmetric velocity distribution of the streamwise flow component with regard
to the symmetry plane at y/D = 0 is recognizable. The shear layer forms an arch-type
structure that is related to the roll-up process of the detaching vortices. The recirculation
region expands from −0.3 ≤ y/D ≤ 0.3 and 0 ≤ z/D ≤ 0.3. In the near-wall region the
centers of the trailing necklace vortices are observed at the position y/D = ±0.7. Overall
the distribution and the magnitude of the streamwise velocity component are confirmed by
the numerical results.
Figures 21c and d refer to the spanwise velocity component. The velocity distribution
in the lower region closely behind the hemisphere is dominated by two counter-rotating
vortices that are located symmetrically to the plane y/D = 0. The alternating direction of
the velocity component across the spanwise direction indicates the counterwise rotation of
the vortices.

Fig. 22 Comparison of the experimental and numerical time-averaged Reynolds stresses in the y–z–plane
at x/D = 0.5
108 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

6.2.2 Reynolds stresses

Referring to the discussed velocity distributions for the spanwise plane, the corresponding
Reynolds stresses are depicted in Fig. 22. Figure 22a and b show the streamwise Reynolds
stress component u u /U∞ 2 . The minor differences in its size between the experiment and

the large-eddy simulation is related to the applied grid resolution. The very fine mesh used
in the large-eddy simulation leads to a better resolution of the gradients in the flow field.
This can easily be perceived by the Reynolds stress distribution in the shear layer that reveals
an overall thinner arch. The near-wall data of the experiment between 0 ≤ z/D ≤ 0.02 are
erroneous due to optical reflections of the flat plate that occur in the utilized LDA setup
(configuration 1) and are therefore not usable for further flow interpretation.
Finally, a view of the spanwise Reynolds stress distribution is given in Fig. 22c and d
which confirms all significant effects already mentioned for the streamwise case. Addition-
ally, this component has noticeably higher Reynolds stresses located in the region -0.15
≤ y/D ≤ 0.15 compared to the streamwise Reynolds stresses. This seems to be connected
to the two large vortices that form in this region mentioned in Section 6.2.1 which are con-
nected to a strong spanwise movement. As observed in the case of the symmetry plane the
Reynolds stresses in the experiment are more pronounced. This effect can be explained by
the relatively coarse two-dimensional orthogonal measurement grid of the laser-Doppler
data that leads to a slightly distorted image of the spanwise Reynolds stresses which are per-
ceived as a horizontal “stripe-pattern” of the fluctuations. On the contrary, the large-eddy
simulation reveals its capability of a more detailed spatial view as a result of the fine three-
dimensional numerical mesh. Nevertheless, the discrepancies in the spanwise Reynolds
stresses between the numerical simulation and the experiment should be examined in further
studies to clarify which side of the investigation is causing this deviation.

6.3 3D visualization of the time-averaged flow

The major benefit of the large-eddy simulation lies in its high spatio-temporal resolution.
This leads to a large amount of flow field information that can be utilized to analyze even

Fig. 23 Time-averaged streamlines near the bottom wall and on the surface of the hemisphere
Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 109

Fig. 24 Horseshoe vortex

system: Time-averaged
streamlines in the symmetry
plane upstream of the hemisphere

smallest flow structures in characteristic regions such as corner eddies. Besides this, large
structures, like the horseshoe vortex system, can be explored in detail. A few chosen numer-
ical results of the three-dimensional time-averaged flow field shall provide a deeper insight
into the characteristics of the flow field around the hemisphere.
Figure 23 presents the bottom wall streamlines based on the time-averaged velocity in
the x–y–plane including the surface of the hemisphere. This view is used to examine the
separation and reattachment behavior of the flow field:
– Far upstream of the hemisphere the flow is divided by the separation streamline that
wriggles widely around the obstacle and is connected to the separation of the bound-
ary layer from the ground. This phenomenon is also observed by Martinuzzi and
Tropea [28] for the turbulent flow past a wall-mounted cube at Re = 4.0 × 104 .
– The upstream region close to the hemisphere is dominated by the horseshoe vortex
system. At certain positions along the symmetry plane an alternating series of saddle
and nodal points indicates either a separation or a reattachment of the flow and helps to
separate single vortices. The points can be easily detected since the streamlines bundle
up at these specific spots. A comparable formation of vortices is noticed for the wall-
mounted cube [28].
– In front of the hemisphere after the stagnation point, the flow field accelerates along the
surface up to the separation line. This separation line stretches out along the circumfer-
ence nearly up to the bottom wall. This is a significant difference to the turbulent flow
past the axisymmetric bump [8, 9, 16, 44] at Re = 1.3 × 105 (based on the hill height),
where the separation line is shifted to the backside of the 3D hill.
– Behind the obstacle, a classical recirculation area forms with a reattachment point
located in the symmetry plane. In the recirculation area two symmetric spiral flow pat-
terns are visible on the ground, which represent the footprint of the arch-type vortical
structure. These pattern are also observable for other wall-mounted bluff obstacles such

Fig. 25 Horseshoe vortex

system: 3D-filaments based on
the time-averaged velocity and
colored by the mean wall-normal
velocity
110 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

Fig. 26 Horseshoe vortex system: Vortex 1 visualized by 3D-filaments based on the time-averaged velocity
and colored by the mean wall-normal velocity

as the cube [28] and the finite-height circular cylinder [32]. Such an arch-type struc-
ture is not mentioned in the discussion of the axisymmetric 3D hill flow, but spiral flow
patterns are also present in the separation region, which in this case is however much
thinner and shorter [8, 9, 16, 44].
One of the characteristic regions is the horseshoe vortex system. Figure 24 depicts the
streamlines in the symmetry plane just in front of the lower base of the hemisphere to
highlight the vortices forming the horseshoe vortex system. These vortices are paired. The
vortices of a pair rotate in opposite directions. Each vortex of the system is classified
by applying the indices chosen by Baker [3] who, among others, presented the mecha-
nism of the formation of the complex vortex system. Vortex 0 is related to the separation
of the boundary layer just in front of the lower face of the hemisphere. The counter-
rotating vortex 0 is also resolved in the LES but too small to be visualized in Fig. 24. It
is followed by the primary vortex 1 which is the largest structure of the horseshoe vor-
tex system. It is caused by the separation of the boundary layer due to the presence of
vortex 0. A secondary counter-rotating vortex 1 is generated by the detaching boundary

Fig. 27 Recirculation area: 3D-filaments based on the time-averaged velocity and colored by the mean
wall-normal velocity
Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 111

Fig. 28 Time-averaged streamlines on the surface behind the hemisphere

layer beneath the primary vortex. This complex separation process leads to an overall num-
ber of four visible vortices. An additional view of the upstream vortex system is given
in Fig. 25 as three-dimensional filaments. It relates to the x–y–plane view of the hemi-
sphere and shows the first four previously described vortices as they trail around the front
of the hemisphere. Due to its symmetry only one side of the horseshoe vortex distribu-
tion is presented. The illustration in Fig. 26 enhances the primary vortex with the help of
3D-filaments based on the time-averaged velocity and colored by the mean wall-normal
velocity.
The second major flow region is the recirculation area visualized in Fig. 27. The
illustrated 3D-filaments in the near wake are coiled up in an arc-shaped structure that char-
acterizes the size of the recirculation area. Corresponding wall streamlines of the rear side
of the hemisphere are given in Fig. 28. The streamlines depict the large backflow area on
the surface of the hemispherical body. Two other symmetric spiral flow patterns appear on
each side relating to the lateral separation points. A narrow and flat counter-rotating vortical
structure that stretches along the circumferential direction is presented in Fig. 29. The close
up view of the symmetry plane at the top of the hemisphere reveals this flat region that can
also be observed in Fig. 23.

Fig. 29 Separation line: Time-averaged streamlines in the symmetry plane close to the apex of the
hemisphere
112 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

7 Conclusions

The present study outlines a comparison between experimental and numerical investigations
of a hemispherical body in a thick turbulent boundary layer at Re = 50,000. Compre-
hensive laser-Doppler measurements are conducted in a wind tunnel with an open test
section to acquire the three-dimensional flow field around the hemisphere. To achieve the
desired boundary layer characteristics a specialized arrangement of turbulence generators
is mounted upstream of the test section. Additionally, a constant temperature anemometer
is applied to obtain the power spectral density at specific locations in the wake flow. The
numerical predictions are conducted using the large-eddy simulation technique. In order to
gain optimum comparability between the experiment and the numerical simulation, the sta-
tistical data of the wind tunnel measurements for the boundary layer are used to generate
appropriate inflow conditions for the LES. For this purpose, the approaching boundary layer
is generated by superimposing the turbulent mean velocity profile with spatio-temporal fluc-
tuations provided as source terms by a synthetic turbulence inflow generator reproducing
the turbulent characteristics of the flow. With almost identical inflow conditions mimick-
ing the approaching boundary layer quite well, the comparison of the time-averaged flow
field in the symmetry and a cross-flow plane reveals an excellent agreement between LDA
measurements and LES predictions except for the spanwise Reynolds stresses which need
clarification.
The experimental and numerical time-averaged results, including mean velocity distribu-
tions and Reynolds stresses, are used for the validation of the numerical simulation. Due to
its superior spatio-temporal resolution compared to the measurements the validated large-
eddy simulation offers the advantage to explore the unsteady features of the complicated
flow. An exception is the measurement of the power spectrum. Due to the very small compu-
tational time step used in the LES, the constant temperature anemometry still offers a more
practical way to gather an adequate amount of data in a reasonable time. Combining both, a
detailed analysis of the complex three-dimensional flow phenomena can be processed.
The first part of the results presents the unsteady flow characteristics with major focus on
the shedding processes in the wake regime and their interactions. Along the circumference in
the y–z–plane the shedding type differs: On the upper area the rolled-up structures separate
at a frequency in the range of 7.9 Hz ≤ f1 ≤ 10.6 Hz (0.23 ≤ St1 = f1 D / U∞ ≤ 0.31).
Frequently, a merging of distinct smaller structures is observed just after the separation
that leads to larger vortices. At the lower sides of the hemisphere alternating or symmet-
ric shedding of bigger vortices is detected at a frequency of f2 = 5.5 Hz (St2 ≈ 0.16).
All together it forms a chain of entangled vortical “hairpin”-structures of different sizes
traveling downstream.
The second part of the results contains the time-averaged data. It is used to identify char-
acteristic regions within the flow field such as the horseshoe vortex, separation/stagnation
points and the wake. Far upstream, the flow is divided by an outer streamline, which
widely surrounds the structure. Upstream and close to the hemisphere the horseshoe
vortex dominates. For the present case it contains four paired vortices, which counter-
rotate to each other. After the stagnation point the flow accelerates up to the separation
line. A classical large recirculation area forms behind the body, containing an arch-type
vortical structure. For the current turbulent regime a narrow and flat counter-rotating vor-
tical region is also present along the circumferential direction just after this separation
line.
Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 113

The turbulence intensity of the approaching inflow has a large impact on the extensions
and location of the mentioned phenomena. This is for example obvious based on the size
and intensity of the horseshoe vortex system upstream of the hemispherical structure which
significantly depends on the level of turbulent fluctuations of the approaching boundary
layer. Without the inflow turbulence this region is largely overestimated by the large-eddy
simulation. The influence of the turbulence level at the inlet can also be observed in the
location of the separation line which moves to a position further downstream when the
turbulence intensity increases resulting in a shorter recirculation area. An additional study
investigates the influence of different subgrid-scale models on the results. As an outcome
only minor deviations between the results relying on different SGS models are found due to
the very fine grid used in the LES.
The results of the present study form the basis for the upcoming investigations
that move towards fluid-structure interaction. Future experimental and numerical studies
intend to exchange the rigid structure by a thin-walled flexible membranous hemi-
sphere. Air inflated structures as depicted in Fig. 1a indicate the practical value of such
examinations.

Acknowledgments The numerical part of the project is financially supported by the Deutsche Forschungs-
gemeinschaft under the contract number BR 1847/12-1. The computations were carried out on the German
Federal Top-Level Computer SuperMUC at LRZ Munich under the contract number pr84na. Furthermore,
the authors want to thank Markus Klein (Universität der Bundeswehr München) for providing the original
source code of the digital filter based inflow procedure.

Appendix A: Position of the Vortex Generators

The positions of the utilized vortex generators based on the diameter of the hemisphere are
given in Fig. 30. The triangular spikes are raised at an angle of 50◦ related to the bottom of
the nozzle.

Fig. 30 Position of the vortex generators inside the nozzle

114 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

Appendix B: Influence of the Subgrid-Scale Model

In order to evaluate the influence of the SGS model on the current case, five simulations are
carried out with different SGS models:
– Smagorinsky (Smag.) model [45] with three different constants Cs = 0.065, 0.1 and
0.18
– Dynamic Smagorinsky (Dyn.) model [17];
– WALE model [30] with a constant CW = 0.33.

Fig. 31 Influence of different SGS models on the flow: Time-averaged streamwise velocity component
u/U∞ at the symmetry plane y = 0 (left), time-averaged streamlines near the bottom wall and on the surface
of the hemisphere (right)
Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 115

These preliminary computations use a slightly different numerical setup: A constant inlet
velocity profile (1/7 power law) is considered without any turbulent fluctuations and no
perturbation is added as source term at x/D = −1.5. The rest of the setup is identical to the
one described in Section 4. The results are time-averaged during about t ∗ = t U∞ /D = 45
in dimensionless form.
Figure 31 compares the time-averaged streamwise velocity component u/U∞ in the
symmetry plane y = 0 and the time-averaged streamlines near the bottom wall and on the
surface of the hemisphere for the tested SGS models. For the sake of brevity more detailed
comparisons based on profiles of the time-averaged velocity and Reynolds stresses are not
depicted here. To investigate the differences the seven characteristic regions described by
Savory and Toy [37] (see Fig. 12) are used:
– The first area is the region of the horseshoe vortices located upstream of the hemi-
sphere. The classical Smagorinsky model with Cs = 0.065 or Cs = 0.1 leads to nearly
identical results as the dynamic model. Several counter-rotating vortices are clearly vis-
ible in front of the hemisphere. The WALE model delivers the largest vortex similar to
Smagorinsky Cs = 0.065, Cs = 0.1 and to the dynamic model. However, the other
smaller vortices of the horseshoe vortex system do not distinctly appear (see Fig. 32 for
a direct comparison). The biggest difference is observed for the classical Smagorinsky
model with Cs = 0.18: The horseshoe vortex system is composed of only one big flat
vortex. This difference is clearly visible for the wall streamlines.
– The second region includes the stagnation point. The SGS model has no significant
influence on the position of the stagnation point (θstag ≈ 158◦ )
– As expected, in the third characteristic region (acceleration area above the hemisphere)
the differences between the SGS models are negligible.
– The fourth region comprises the flow separation line on the hemisphere. Its form is iden-
tical for all tested SGS models. Based on the angle θsep (see Fig. 31 for the definition),
the position of the flow separation line is the same for all SGS models (θsep ≈ 96◦ ),
except for the classical Smagorinsky model with Cs = 0.18. Indeed, this SGS model
predicts the flow separation slightly earlier (θsep ≈ 95◦ ).
– In the fifth (dividing streamline) and sixth (shear layer) region the influence of the SGS
model is hardly visible. Form and position of both regions are nearly identical.
– The last characteristic region is the reattachment point with respect to the symmetry
plane. All simulations predict its position at about xreattach /D = 1.35.
To conclude the classical Smagorinsky model with Cs = 0.065 or Cs = 0.1 leads to
nearly identical results as the dynamic model. The WALE model predicts similar results as
the dynamic one, except in the horseshoe vortex region. Applying the classical Smagorinsky

Fig. 32 Influence of different SGS models on the flow: Time-averaged streamlines at the symmetry plane
y = 0 (zoom of the region of the horseshoe vortices)
116 Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119

model with Cs = 0.18, several of the characteristic regions show significant differences
compared to the dynamic model. Therefore, the classical Smagorinsky model with 0.065 ≤
Cs ≤ 0.1 or the dynamic Smagorinsky model can be equivalently used for the current case.
As mentioned in Section 4 the classical Smagorinsky model with Cs = 0.1 is set.

Appendix C: Influence of the Synthetic Turbulence Inflow Data

To investigate the influence of the synthetic turbulence inflow data on the numerical results,
two LES predictions are briefly compared: The setup is identical to the one described in
Section 4 except for one simulation carried out without any source terms for the perturba-
tions at x/D = −1.5, i.e., a fully steady incoming flow.

Fig. 33 Comparison of numerical time-averaged flow characteristics obtained without or with STIG data
Flow Turbulence Combust (2016) 97:79–119 117

Some interesting flow characteristics are plotted for comparison in Fig. 33. The following
observations can be made:
– By considering the synthetic turbulence inflow data the size of the horseshoe vortex
in front of the hemisphere is reduced. This can be explained by the higher mixing rate
inserted by the synthetic turbulence fluctuations leading to a better agreement with the
measurements.
– Due to the application of the inflow data generated by the STIG the flow separation on
STIG ≈ 92◦ instead of θ ◦
the hemisphere occurs later: θsep sep ≈ 96 without perturbations.
Without the STIG data the boundary layer on the hemisphere before the separation line
is laminar (see Fig. 33c, e and g).
– Due to the later flow separation the recirculation area is smaller for the case with the
synthetic turbulence inflow data (see Fig. 33a and b).
This investigation shows that the use of the STIG data, i.e., the turbulence intensity of the
oncoming boundary layer and the corresponding flow structures, have a significant impact
on the results of the present case. Thus, it is a prerequisite for achieving a good agreement
between the numerical results and the measurements.

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