Viscous Critical-Layer Analysis of Vortex Normal Modes

The linear stability properties of an incompressible axisymmetrical vortex of axial velocity   W ₀( r )  and angular velocity  Ω₀( r )  are considered in the limit of large Reynolds number. Inviscid approximations and viscous WKBJ approximations for three-dimensional linear normal modes are first constructed. They are then shown to be singular at the critical points r_c satisfying  ω= m Ω₀( r_c ) + kW ₀( r_c )  , where ω is the frequency, k and m the axial and azimuthal wavenumbers. The goal of this paper is to resolve these singularities. We show that a viscous critical-layer analysis is analytically tractable. It leads to a single sixth-order equation for the perturbation pressure. This equation is identical to the one obtained in stratified shear flows for a Prandtl number equal to 1. Integral expressions for typical solutions of this equation are provided and matched to the outer inviscid and viscous approximations in the complex plane around r_c . As for planar flows, it is proved that the critical layer solution with a balanced behavior matches a non-viscous approximation in a  4π/3  sector of the complex-plane. As a consequence, the Frobenius expansions of a non-viscous mode on each side of a critical point r_c differ by a π phase jump.     

The Small Vorticity Nonlinear Critical Layer for Kelvin Modes on a Vortex

We consider in this paper the propagation of neutral modes along a vortex with velocity profile being the radial coordinate. In the linear stability theory governing such flows, the boundary in parameter space separating stable and unstable regions is usually comprised of modes that are singular at some value of r denoted r_c , the critical point. The singularity can be dealt with by adding viscous and/or nonlinear effects within a thin critical layer centered on the critical point. At high Reynolds numbers, the case of most interest in applications, nonlinearity is essential, but it develops that viscosity, treated here as a small perturbation, still plays a subtle role. After first presenting the scaling for the general case, we formulate a nonlinear critical layer theory valid when the critical point occurs far enough from the center of the vortex so that the vorticity there is small. Solutions are found having no phase change across the critical layer thus permitting the existence of modes not possible in a linear theory. It is found that both the axial and azimuthal mean vorticity are different on either side of the critical layer as a result of the wave–mean flow interaction. A long wave analysis with O (1) vorticity leads to similar conclusions.     

Compressible Modes of the Rotating-Disk Boundary-Layer Flow Leading to Absolute Instability

This work is devoted to the clarification of the viscous compressible modes particularly leading to absolute instability of the three-dimensional generalized Von Karman's boundary-layer flow due to a rotating disk. The infinitesimally small perturbations are superimposed onto the basic Von Karman's flow to achieve linearized viscous compressible stability equations. A numerical treatment of these equations is then undertaken to search for the modes causing absolute instability within the principle of Briggs–Bers pinching. Having verified the earlier incompressible and inviscid compressible results of [ 1–3 ], and also confirming the correct match of the viscous modes onto the inviscid ones in the large Reynolds number limit, the influences of the compressibility on the subject matter are investigated taking into consideration both the wall insulation and heat transfer. Results clearly demonstrate that compressibility, as the Mach number increases, acts in favor of stabilizing the boundary-layer flow, especially in the inviscid limit, as far as the absolute instability is concerned, although wall heating and insulation greatly enhances the viscous absolutely unstable modes (even more dramatic in the case of wall insulation) by lowering down the critical Reynolds number for the onset of instability, unlike the wall cooling.     

Viscous potential flow analysis of magnetohydrodynamic interfacial stability through porous media

In the view of viscous potential flow theory, the hydromagnetic stability of the interface between two infinitely conducting, incompressible plasmas, streaming parallel to the interface and subjected to a constant magnetic field parallel to the streaming direction will be considered. The plasmas are flowing through porous media between two rigid planes and surface tension is taken into account. A general dispersion relation is obtained analytically and solved numerically. For Kelvin-Helmholtz instability problem, the stability criterion is given by a critical value of the relative velocity. On the other hand, a comparison between inviscid and viscous potential flow solutions has been made and it has noticed that viscosity plays a dual role, destabilizing for Rayleigh-Taylor problem and stabilizing for Kelvin-Helmholtz. For Rayleigh-Taylor instability, a new dispersion relation has been obtained in terms of a critical wave number. It has been found that magnetic field, surface tension, and rigid planes have stabilizing effects, whereas critical wave number and porous media have destabilizing effects.     

Nonlinear instability of a viscous liquid jet

We investigate the weakly nonlinear temporal instability of an axisymmetric Newtonian liquid jet. Early nonlinear studies on the capillary instability of inviscid liquid jets were carried up to the third order contributions to the jet deformation and showed the nonlinear interaction between different modes. A recent study on the weakly nonlinear instability of planar Newtonian liquid sheets revealed the role of the liquid viscosity in the sheet stability behavior and showed a complicated influence [1]. Here, the instability of a liquid jet is examined as the axisymmetric counterpart of the sheet, in search for corresponding insight into the role of the liquid viscosity in the jet instability mechanism. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The trajectory and stability of a spiralling liquid jet: Viscous theory

We examine a spiralling slender viscous jet emerging from a rapidly rotating orifice, extending Wallwork et al. [I.M. Wallwork, S.P. Decent, A.C. King, R.M.S.M. Schulkes, The trajectory and stability of a spiralling liquid jet. Part 1. Inviscid theory, J. Fluid Mech. 459 (2002) 43–65] by incorporating viscosity. The effects of viscosity on the trajectory of the jet and its linear instability are determined using a mixture of computational and asymptotic methods, and verified using experiments. A non-monotonic relationship between break-up length and rotation rate is demonstrated with the trend varying with viscosity. The sizes of the droplets produced by this instability are determined by considering the most unstable wave mode. It is also found that there is a non-monotonic relationship between droplet size and viscosity. Satellite droplet formation is also considered by analysing very short wavelength modes. The effects of long wavelength modes are examined, and a wave which propagates down the trajectory of the jet is identified for the highly viscous case. A comparison between theoretical and experimental results is made, with favourable agreement. In particular, a quantitative comparison is made between droplet sizes predicted from the theory with experimental observations, with encouraging agreement obtained. Four different types of break-up are identified in our experiments. The experimentally observed break-up mechanisms are discussed in light of our theory.     

Wave Packet Critical Layers in Shear Flows

In the linear inviscid theory of shear flow stability, the eigenvalue problem for a neutral or weakly amplified mode revolves around possible discontinuities in the eigenfunction as the singular critical point is crossed. Extensions of the linear normal mode approach to include nonlinearity and/or wave packets lead to amplitude evolution equations where, again, critical point singularities are an issue because the coefficients of the amplitude equations generally involve singular integrals. In the past, viscosity, nonlinearity, or time dependence has been introduced in a critical layer centered upon the singular point to resolve these integrals. The form of the amplitude evolution equation is greatly influenced by which choice is made. In this paper, a new approach is proposed in which wave packet effects are dominant in the critical layer and it is argued that in many applications this is the appropriate choice. The theory is applied to two-dimensional wave propagation in homogeneous shear flows and also to stratified shear flows. Other generalizations are indicated.     

On transcritical states in viscous flow passing the edge of a horizontal plate

This contribution puts forward some recent advances in the rigorous (asymptotic) theory of gravity- (and capillarity-)driven shallow flow of a viscous liquid past a horizontal plate, originating in jet impingement oblique to it. Hence, our concern is twofold: with steady developed flow over the distance from the jet centre to the trailing edge of the plate, referred to as a pronounced hydraulic jump blurred by viscous diffusion; with the predominantly inviscid transcritical limit arising near the edge due to scale reduction given an intrinsic expansive singularity taking place there. In the latter situation envisaged briefly, condensing nonlinear inertial effects, weak time dependence, and (very) weak streamline curvature as the essential ingredients into a distinguished limit demonstrates the generation of a weak (transcritical) hydraulic jump by a plate-mounted obstacle. (© 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Navier-Stokes regularization of multidimensional Euler shocks

We establish existence and stability of multidimensional shock fronts in the vanishing viscosity limit for a general class of conservation laws with “real”, or partially parabolic, viscosity including the Navier-Stokes equations of compressible gas dynamics with standard or van der Waals-type equation of state. More precisely, given a curved Lax shock solution u⁰ of the corresponding inviscid equations for which (i) each of the associated planar shocks tangent to the shock front possesses a smooth viscous profile and (ii) each of these viscous profiles satisfies a uniform spectral stability condition expressed in terms of an Evans function, we construct nearby smooth viscous shock solutions uε of the viscous equations converging to u⁰ as viscosity ε→0, and establish for these sharp linearized stability estimates generalizing those of Majda in the inviscid case. Conditions (i)-(ii) hold always for shock waves of sufficiently small amplitude, but in general may fail for large amplitudes.We treat the viscous shock problem considered here as a representative of a larger class of multidimensional boundary problems arising in the study of viscous fluids, characterized by sharp spectral conditions rather than symmetry hypotheses, which can be analyzed by Kreiss-type symmetrizers.Compared to the strictly parabolic (artificial viscosity) case, the main new features of the analysis appear in the high frequency estimates for the linearized problem. In that regime we use frequency-dependent conjugators to decouple parabolic components that are smoothed from hyperbolic components (like density in Navier-Stokes) that are not. The construction of the conjugators and the subsequent estimates depend on a careful spectral analysis of the linearized operator.     

Viscous limits for piecewise smooth solutions of the p-system

We study the zero-dissipation problem for a one-dimensional model system for the isentropic flow of a compressible viscous gas, the so-called p-system with viscosity. When the solution of the inviscid problem is piecewise smooth and having finitely many noninteracting shocks satisfying the entropy condition, there exists unique solution to the viscous problem which converges to the given inviscid solution away from shock discontinuities at a rate of order ε as the viscosity coefficient ε goes to zero. The proof is given by a matched asymptotic analysis and an elementary energy method. And we do not need the smallness condition on the shock strength.     

Zero Dissipation Limit to Rarefaction Waves for the ρ-System

We study the zero-dissipation problem for a one-dimensional model system for the isentropic flow of a compressible viscous gas, the so-called p-system with viscosity. When the solution of the inviscid problem is a rarefaction wave with finite strength, there exists unique solution to the viscous problem with the same initial data which converges to the given inviscid solution as c goes to zero. The proof consists of a scaling argument and elementary energy analysis, based on the underlying wave structure.     

Inviscid Limit for Scalar Viscous Conservation Laws in Presence of Strong Shocks and Boundary Layers

In this paper, we study the inviscid limit problem for the scalar viscous conservation laws on half plane. We prove that if the solution of the corresponding inviscid equation on half plane is piecewise smooth with a single shock satisfying the entropy condition, then there exist solutions to the viscous conservation laws which converge to the inviscid solution away fromthe shock discontinuity and the boundary at a rate of ε^1 as the viscosity ε tends to zero.     

On spatial instability of an electrically forced non-axisymmetric jet with curved centerline

This paper considers the problem of spatial instability of an electrically forced non-axisymmetric jet with curved centerline. A mathematical model, which is developed for the spatially growing oscillations of the centerline of the jet, is based on the relevant approximated versions of the equations of the motion for such electrically forced jet flow. The approximations include the assumptions that the radius of curvature of the centerline of the jet is much larger than the radius of the jet and the spatially growing disturbances are infinitesimal in amplitude. For the neutral temporal stability boundary, we identify, in particular, new spatial, conducting and viscous modes of instabilities which travel axially in the direction of increasing axial variable and are enhanced with increasing either the surface charge or the strength of the applied electric field. For given values of the parameters, there is a critical wave number at which the instability of these modes is maximized. The range of values of the wave number and the frequency of these instability modes increases with the externally imposed electric field.     

The stability of the boundary layer on a compliant rotating disc

The boundary layer over a infinite rotating disc is 3D and offinite depth. The breakdown and eventual transition of flowover the surface is preceded by the emergence of crossflow vorticesthat are stationary with respect to the disc. These result froman inviscid instability mechanism associated with an inflexionpoint within the boundary layer's velocity profile or a mechanisminduced by the balance between viscous and Coriolis forces.It has been seen in past studies that compliance can substantiallypostpone the onset of transition, therefore the aim of thisresearch is to investigate whether compliance can be used asa useful tool to do so here. We use numerical and asymptoticmethods to predict possible behaviour by calculating growthrates and producing neutral solutions for the wave number andorientation of both inviscid and viscous modes. The resultsobtained suggest that the inviscid mode of instability willbe stabilized by compliance but the viscous mode will be greatlydestabilized.     

The Nonlinear Critical-Wall Layer in a Parallel Shear Flow

The nonlinear critical layer theory is developed for the case where the critical point is close enough to a solid boundary so that the critical layer and viscous wall layers merge. It is found that the flow structure differs considerably from the symmetric “eat's eye” pattern obtained by Benney and Bergeron [1] and Haberman [2]. One of the new features is that higher harmonics generated by the critical layer are in some cases induced in the outer flow at the same order as the basic disturbance. As a consequence, the lowest-order critical layer problem must be solved numerically. In the inviscid limit, on the other hand, a closed-form solution is obtained. It has continuous vorticity and is compared with the solutions found by Bergeron [3], which contain discontinuities in vorticity across closed streamlines.     

Boundary layers for parabolic perturbations of quasi‐linear hyperbolic problems

In this paper, we study the asymptotic relation between the solutions to the one‐dimensional viscous conservation laws with the Dirichlet boundary condition and the associated inviscid solution. We assume that the viscosity matrix is positive definite, then we prove the existence and the stability of the weak boundary layers by discussing nonlinear well‐posedness of the inviscid flow with certain boundary conditions. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Existence of Görtler Vortices in Separated Boundary Layers

The linear stability properties of Görtler vortices within a general separated boundary layer flow are addressed. There has been little previous theoretical work directed toward this problem and here we are able to characterize the important features of vortices over the complete wavenumber spectrum. This investigation complements earlier studies of vortices within an attached flow which demonstrated that there are three distinctive wavenumber régimes which together describe the most relevant possibilities for vortex behavior. In the first of these, at relatively small wavenumbers, the mode is inviscid in character; as the vortex wavenumber increases so the spatial amplification rate of the vortices increases until viscous effects become significant and the growth rate begins to diminish. As the wavenumber increases yet further so the vortex is completely stabilized. Here we discuss the corresponding structures which may exist within a separated flow and the most significant result we find is that the maximum growth rate of a mode in this type of flow is actually greater than that which occurs when the flow has not separated. In addition, the inviscid modes are shown to have a far more complicated configuration than within an attached boundary layer and, indeed, their structure can only be completely determined by implementation of numerical procedures.     

The inviscid limit for an inflow problem of compressible viscous gas in presence of both shocks and boundary layers

In this paper, we study the inviscid limit problem for the Navier-Stokes equations of one-dimensional compressible viscous gas on half plane. We prove that if the solution of the inviscid Euler system on half plane is piecewise smooth with a single shock satisfying the entropy condition, then there exist solutions to Navier-Stokes equations which converge to the inviscid solution away from the shock discontinuity and the boundary at an optimal rate of ε¹ as the viscosity ε tends to zero.     

Long-Wave Instability in a Three-Layer Stratified Shear Flow

In inviscid fluid flows, instability can occur because of a resonance between two wave modes. For the case when the modes remain distinct at the critical point where the wave phase speeds coincide, then in the weakly nonlinear, long-wave limit, there is an expectation that the generic outcome is a model consisting of two coupled Korteweg–deVries equations. This situation is examined for a certain three-layer stratified shear flow.     

Subcritical Rossby Waves in Zonal Shear Flows with Nonlinear Critical Layers

It was shown by Benney and Bergeron [ 1 ] that singular neutral modes with nonlinear critical layers are mathematically possible in a variety of shear flows. These are usually subcritical modes; i.e., they occur at values of the flow parameters where their linear, viscous counterparts would be damped. One question raised then is how such modes might be generated.
This article treats the problem of Rossby waves propagating in a mixing layer with velocity profile ū = tanh y . The beta parameter, which is a measure of the stabilizing Coriolis force, is taken to be large enough so that linear instability cannot occur. First, computed dispersion curves are presented for singular modes with nonlinear critical layers. Then, full numerical simulations are employed to illustrate how these modes can be generated by resonant interaction with conventional nonsingular Rossby waves, even when the singular mode is absent initially.