scholarly journals Three-dimensional organisation of primary and secondary crossflow instability

2016 ◽  
Vol 799 ◽  
pp. 200-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacopo Serpieri ◽  
Marios Kotsonis

An experimental investigation of primary and secondary crossflow instability developing in the boundary layer of a $45^{\circ }$ swept wing at a chord Reynolds number of $2.17\times 10^{6}$ is presented. Linear stability theory is applied for preliminary estimation of the flow stability while surface flow visualisation using fluorescent oil is employed to inspect the topological features of the transition region. Hot-wire anemometry is extensively used for the investigation of the developing boundary layer and identification of the statistical and spectral characteristics of the instability modes. Primary stationary, as well as unsteady type-I (z-mode), type-II (y-mode) and type-III modes are detected and quantified. Finally, three-component, three-dimensional measurements of the transitional boundary layer are performed using tomographic particle image velocimetry. This research presents the first application of an optical experimental technique for this type of flow. Among the optical techniques, tomographic velocimetry represents, to date, the most advanced approach allowing the investigation of spatially correlated flow structures in three-dimensional fields. Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) analysis of the captured flow fields is applied to this goal. The first POD mode features a newly reported structure related to low-frequency oscillatory motion of the stationary vortices along the spanwise direction. The cause of this phenomenon is only conjectured. Its effect on transition is considered negligible but, given the related high energy level, it needs to be accounted for in experimental investigations. Secondary instability mechanisms are captured as well. The type-III mode corresponds to low-frequency primary travelling crossflow waves interacting with the stationary ones. It appears in the inner upwelling region of the stationary crossflow vortices and is characterised by elongated structures approximately aligned with the axis of the stationary waves. The type-I secondary instability consists instead of significantly inclined structures located at the outer upwelling region of the stationary vortices. The much narrower wavelength and higher advection velocity of these structures correlate with the higher-frequency content of this mode. The results of the investigation of both primary and secondary instability from the exploited techniques agree with and complement each other and are in line with existing literature. Finally, they present the first experimental observation of the secondary instability structures under natural flow conditions.

2016 ◽  
Vol 808 ◽  
pp. 224-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart A. Craig ◽  
William S. Saric

The crossflow instability in a hypersonic, laminar boundary layer is investigated using point measurements inside the boundary layer for the first time. Experiments are performed on a 7° right, circular cone with an adiabatic wall condition at 5.6° angle of incidence in the low-disturbance Mach 6 Quiet Tunnel at Texas A&M University. Measurements are made with a constant-temperature hot-wire anemometer system with a frequency response up to 180 kHz. Stationary crossflow waves are observed to grow and saturate. A travelling wave coexists with the stationary wave and occurs in a frequency band centred around 35 kHz. A type-I secondary instability is also observed in a frequency band centred around 110 kHz. The behaviour of all three modes is largely consistent with their low-speed counterparts prior to saturation of the stationary wave. Afterward, the behaviour remains in partial agreement with the low-speed case. Neither type-II secondary instability nor transition to turbulence are observed in this study.


2016 ◽  
Vol 812 ◽  
pp. 370-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander J. Moyes ◽  
Pedro Paredes ◽  
Travis S. Kocian ◽  
Helen L. Reed

The purpose of this paper is to provide secondary instability analysis of stationary crossflow vortices on a hypersonic yawed straight circular cone with a $7^{\circ }$ half-angle at $6^{\circ }$ angle of attack, free-stream Mach number 6 and unit Reynolds number $10.09\times 10^{6}~\text{m}^{-1}$. At an angle of attack, a three-dimensional boundary layer is developed between the windward and leeward symmetry planes. Under the action of azimuthal pressure gradients, the flow near the surface is deflected more than the flow near the edge of the boundary layer. This results in an inflectional velocity profile that can sustain the growth of crossflow vortices. The stationary crossflow instability is computed by means of the nonlinear parabolized stability equations, including a methodology to predict the stationary-crossflow marching path and variation of the spanwise number of waves in the marching direction solely from the basic state. Secondary instability analysis is performed using spatial BiGlobal equations based on two-dimensional partial differential equations. The secondary instabilities are calculated at different axial locations along two crossflow vortex trajectories selected to complement experiments conducted in the Mach 6 Quiet Tunnel at Texas A&M University and in the Boeing/AFOSR Mach 6 Quiet Tunnel at Purdue University. The secondary instability analysis captures various instability modes. Similar to observations in the low-speed regime for an infinite swept wing, secondary shear-layer instabilities are amplified as a consequence of the three-dimensional shear layer formed by crossflow vortices. Also, low-frequency travelling crossflow and high-frequency second modes coexist with the shear-layer instabilities. These results are shown to be in good agreement with the two sets of hypersonic yawed cone experiments (one with natural surface roughness and one with artificial discrete roughness) and compare well with experimental measurements of an incompressible swept wing.


1994 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryoji Kobayashi

The laminar-turbulent transition of three-dimensional boundary layers is critically reviewed for some typical axisymmetric bodies rotating in still fluid or in axial flow. The flow structures of the transition regions are visualized. The transition phenomena are driven by the compound of the Tollmien-Schlichting instability, the crossflow instability, and the centrifugal instability. Experimental evidence is provided relating the critical and transition Reynolds numbers, defined in terms of the local velocity and the boundary layer momentum thickness, to the local rotational speed ratio, defined as the ratio of the circumferential speed to the free-stream velocity at the outer edge of the boundary layer, for the rotating disk, the rotating cone, the rotating sphere and other rotating axisymmetric bodies. It is shown that the cross-sectional structure of spiral vortices appearing in the transition regions and the flow pattern of the following secondary instability in the case of the crossflow instability are clearly different than those in the case of the centrifugal instability.


2016 ◽  
Vol 792 ◽  
pp. 682-711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael O. John ◽  
Dominik Obrist ◽  
Leonhard Kleiser

The leading-edge boundary layer (LEBL) in the front part of swept airplane wings is prone to three-dimensional subcritical instability, which may lead to bypass transition. The resulting increase of airplane drag and fuel consumption implies a negative environmental impact. In the present paper, we present a temporal biglobal secondary stability analysis (SSA) and direct numerical simulations (DNS) of this flow to investigate a subcritical transition mechanism. The LEBL is modelled by the swept Hiemenz boundary layer (SHBL), with and without wall suction. We introduce a pair of steady, counter-rotating, streamwise vortices next to the attachment line as a generic primary disturbance. This generates a high-speed streak, which evolves slowly in the streamwise direction. The SSA predicts that this flow is unstable to secondary, time-dependent perturbations. We report the upper branch of the secondary neutral curve and describe numerous eigenmodes located inside the shear layers surrounding the primary high-speed streak and the vortices. We find secondary flow instability at Reynolds numbers as low as$Re\approx 175$, i.e. far below the linear critical Reynolds number$Re_{crit}\approx 583$of the SHBL. This secondary modal instability is confirmed by our three-dimensional DNS. Furthermore, these simulations show that the modes may grow until nonlinear processes lead to breakdown to turbulent flow for Reynolds numbers above$Re_{tr}\approx 250$. The three-dimensional mode shapes, growth rates, and the frequency dependence of the secondary eigenmodes found by SSA and the DNS results are in close agreement with each other. The transition Reynolds number$Re_{tr}\approx 250$at zero suction and its increase with wall suction closely coincide with experimental and numerical results from the literature. We conclude that the secondary instability and the transition scenario presented in this paper may serve as a possible explanation for the well-known subcritical transition observed in the leading-edge boundary layer.


1980 ◽  
Vol 86 ◽  
pp. 363-368
Author(s):  
Monique G. Aubier

When studying the propagation of accelerated electrons outwards in the corona, we have shown that the perpendicular momentum of the electrons remaining after the type I process is transformed into parallel momentum during the propagation along the decreasing magnetic field, and that type III emission can occur when the parallel velocity component reaches a critical value. With this model we explain in particular the low frequency cut-off of type I emission, the characteristics of the type III bursts near their starting frequency and the transition between type III- and type I-like decameter emission observed in few cases.


Author(s):  
Joshua R. Brinkerhoff ◽  
Metin I. Yaras

This paper describes numerical simulations of the instability mechanisms in a separation bubble subjected to a three-dimensional freestream pressure distribution. Two direct numerical simulations are performed of a separation bubble with laminar separation and turbulent reattachment under low freestream turbulence at flow Reynolds numbers and streamwise pressure distributions that approximate the conditions encountered on the suction side of typical low-pressure gas-turbine blades with blade sweep angles of 0° and 45°. The three-dimensional pressure field in the swept configuration produces a crossflow-velocity component in the laminar boundary layer upstream of the separation point that is unstable to a crossflow instability mode. The simulation results show that crossflow instability does not play a role in the development of the boundary layer upstream of separation. An increase in the amplification rate and most amplified disturbance frequency is observed in the separated-flow region of the swept configuration, and is attributed to boundary-layer conditions at the point of separation that are modified by the spanwise pressure gradient. This results in a slight upstream movement of the location where the shear layer breaks down to small-scale turbulence and modifies the turbulent mixing of the separated shear layer to yield a downstream shift in the time-averaged reattachment location. The results demonstrate that although crossflow instability does not appear to have a noticeable effect on the development of the transitional separation bubble, the 3D pressure field does indirectly alter the separation-bubble development by modifying the flow conditions at separation.


2002 ◽  
Vol 456 ◽  
pp. 49-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER WASSERMANN ◽  
MARKUS KLOKER

Crossflow-vortex-induced laminar breakdown in a three-dimensional flat-plate boundary-layer flow is investigated in detail by means of spatial direct numerical simulations. The base flow is generic for an infinite swept wing, with decreasing favourable chordwise pressure gradient. First, the downstream growth and nonlinear saturation states initiated by a crossflow-vortex-mode packet as well as by single crossflow-vortex modes with various spanwise wavenumbers are simulated. Second, the secondary instability of the flow induced by the saturated crossflow vortices is scrutinized, clearly indicating the convective nature of the secondary instability and strengthening knowledge of the conditions for its onset. Emphasis is on the effect of crossflow-vortex-mode packets and of the spanwise vortex spacing on the secondary stability properties of the saturation states. Saturated uniform crossflow vortices initiated by single crossflow-vortex modes turn out to be less unstable than vortices initiated by a packet of vortex modes, and closely spaced saturated vortices are even stable. Third, we investigate the transition control strategy of upstream flow deformation by appropriate steady nonlinear vortex modes as applied in wind tunnel experiments at the Arizona State University. A significant transition delay is shown in the base flow considered here, and the underlying mechanisms are specified.


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