Boundary-layer receptivity under interaction of free-stream turbulence and localized wall roughness

The boundary-layer receptivity under the interaction of free-stream turbu- lence (FST) and localized wall roughness is studied by the direct numerical simulation (DNS) and the fast Fourier transform. The results show that the Tollmien-Schlichting (T-S) wave packets superposed by a group of stability, neutral, and instability T-S waves are generated in the boundary layer. The propagation speeds of the T-S wave packets are calculated. The relation among the boundary-layer receptivity response, the amplitude of the FST, the roughness height, and the roughness width is determined. The results agree well with Dietz’s experiments. The effect of the roughness geometries on the receptivity is also studied.     

Boundary-layer receptivity to external disturbances using multiple scales

Non-homogeneous multiple scales are introduced to solve the resonant problem of non-parallel boundary-layer receptivity originating from the quadratic mixing of environmental disturbances. The resulting algorithm is computationally inexpensive and can be efficiently included in industrial codes for transition prediction. The mutual interactions between acoustic wave, vorticity wave, wall vibration and wall roughness are discussed in detail and the receptivity coefficient, which relates the amplitude of the excited wave to the amplitude of the exciting sources, is computed. The largest effect is found for the interaction between acoustic waves and wall roughness perturbations. Other coupling mechanisms are less effective. By comparing parallel and non-parallel results, it is found that flow non-parallelism can play a non-negligible role even in Blasius’ boundary layer, although the largest effects are evident for the three-dimensional boundary layer over an infinite swept wing. For the particular case of wall roughness—wall vibration mixing, the velocity disturbance is shown to be exactly equal to the velocity perturbation induced by wall roughness alone on a wall vibrating in the normal direction.     

Leading-edge receptivity of boundary layer to three-dimensional free-stream turbulence

The laminar-turbulent transition has always been a hot topic of fluid mechanics. Receptivity is the initial stage and plays a crucial role in the entire transition process. The previous studies of receptivity focus on external disturbances such as sound waves and vortices in the free stream, whereas those on the leading-edge receptivity to the three-dimensional free-stream turbulence(FST), which is more general in the nature,are rarely reported. In consideration of this, this work is devoted to investigating the receptivity process of three-dimensional Tollmien-Schlichting(T-S) wave packets excited by the three-dimensional FST in a flat-plate boundary layer numerically. The relations between the leading-edge receptivity and the turbulence intensity are established, and the influence of the FST directions on the propagation directions and group velocities of the excited T-S wave packets is studied. Moreover, the leading-edge receptivity to the anisotropic FST is also studied. This parametric investigation can contribute to the prediction of laminar-turbulent transition.     

NUMERICAL STUDY OF LOCAL BOUNDARY LAYER RECEPTIVITY TO FREESTREAM VORTICAL DISTURBANCES

IntroductionTheproblemofhowthedisturbancesinthefreestream ,suchassoundwaveandvorticesetc .,excitethedisturbancewavesintheboundarylayeriscalledreceptivityproblem[1,2 ].Throughthiscoursetheinitialconditionsofdisturbance,suchasitsamplitude,frequency ,andphasearedetermined .ThedispersionrelationsoffreestreamdisturbancesaredifferentfromthoseofT_Swaves.Asaresult,suchdisturbancesaloneinthefreestreamdonotexciteT_Swavesinboundarylayer.But,whentheperiodicdisturbancesinboundarylayerforcedbyfreestreamdi…     

波纹壁对高超声速平板边界层稳定性的影响

高超声速边界层转捩会使飞行器表面热流和摩阻增加3～5倍,极大影响高超声速飞行器的性能.波纹壁作为一种可能的推迟边界层转捩的被动控制方法,具有较强的工程应用前景.文章研究了不同高度和安装位置的波纹壁对来流马赫数6.5的平板边界层稳定性的影响.采用直接数值模拟(DNS)得到层流场,并在上游分别引入不同频率的吹吸扰动以研究波纹壁对扰动演化的作用.对于不同位置的波纹壁,探究了其与同步点相对位置对其作用效果的影响,与相同工况下光滑平板的扰动演化结果进行了对比,发现当快慢模态同步点位于波纹壁上游时,波纹壁会对该频率的第二模态扰动起到抑制作用.当同步点位于波纹壁之中或者下游时,波纹壁对扰动的作用可能因为存在两种不同的机制而使得结果较为复杂.对于不同高度波纹壁,发现高度较低的波纹壁,其作用效果强弱与波纹壁高度成正相关,而更高的波纹壁则会减弱其作用效果.与DNS结果相比,线性稳定性理论可以定性预测波纹壁对高频吹吸扰动的作用,但在波纹壁附近的强非平行性区域误差较大.     

Large Eddy Simulations in Turbines: Influence of Roughness and Free-Stream Turbulence

The individual and coupled effects of the incoming free-stream turbulence (FST) and surface roughness on the transition of a separated shear layer over a flat plate is numerically investigated using Large eddy simulation (LES). The upper wall of the test section is inviscid and specifically contoured to impose a streamwise pressure distribution over the flat plate to simulate the suction surface of a low pressure turbine (LPT) blade. The interaction of the streamwise streaks due to FST and roughness with the separated shear layer is captured. The streaks induced by FST are intermittent in nature and the streaks due to roughness are steady for a given topology of the rough surface. Both FST and roughness promoted near-wall mixing. The ‘net effect’ of mixing in the pre-separated region is manifested by a shift the inflection point of the velocity profile towards the wall. This resulted in the upstream shift of the transition point and a significant reduction in the size of the separation bubble. The combined effect of FST and roughness further reduced the size of separation bubble. The streamwise evolution of the boundary layer parameters has been compared for different cases. The potential ‘roughness benefit’ obtained in the case of highly loaded turbine blades in terms of its considerable reduction of profile loss is also shown.     

Mechanism of three-dimensional boundary-layer receptivity

Boundary-layer receptivity is always a hot issue in laminar-turbulent transition. Most actual laminar-turbulent transitions belong to three-dimensional flows. An infinite back-swept flat-plate boundary layer is a typical three-dimensional flow. Study of its receptivity is important both in theory and applications. In this paper, a freestream turbulence model is established. A modified fourth-order Runge-Kutta scheme is used for time marching, and compact finite difference schemes are used for space discretization. On these bases, whether unsteady cross-flow vortices can be excited in the three-dimensional boundary layer(the infinite back-swept flat-plate boundary layer) by free-stream turbulence is studied numerically. If so, effects of the level and the direction of free-stream turbulence on the three-dimensional boundary-layer receptivity are further studied. Differences of the three-dimensional boundary-layer receptivity are then discussed by considering the non-parallel effect, influence of the leading-edge stagnation point of the flat plate, and variation of the back-swept angle separately. Intensive studies on the three-dimensional boundary-layer receptivity will benefit the development of the hydrodynamic stability theory, and provide a theoretical basis for prediction and control of laminar-turbulent transition.     

The Effect of Pressure Gradient on Boundary Layer Receptivity

This paper presents numerical results for the receptivity of three laminar boundary layers with zero (ZPG), adverse (APG) and favourable (FPG) pressure gradients. Each boundary layer is subjected to a series of simple freestream waveforms which can be considered as constituent parts of either an isotropic or a non-isotropic turbulent freestream. Each freestream waveform has a single frequency in each spatial direction and is divided into two mutually perpendicular components. The first component has a zero spanwise velocity and hence lies in the streamwise normal plane whereas the second component lies in a plane which is perpendicular both to this plane and the spatial frequency vector. High boundary layer receptivities are only obtained for a minority of these waveforms and so only the resulting flow structures for these waveforms are considered in detail. The dominant flow structures are identified as either Tollmien Schlichting (T-S) waves or streaky structures. The streaky structures can be induced by both freestream components, but the response to the second component, which results in streamwise vortices in the freestream, is considerably stronger and occurs over a much larger streamwise frequency range. The boundary layer is only receptive to a relatively narrow band of spanwise wavelengths ranging from approximately one to four times the local boundary layer thickness. The APG leads to receptivities which are more than double those for the FPG case. The ratio of the freestream fluctuation streamwise wavelength to the distance from the plate leading edge is identified as an important influential parameter for receptivity leading to streaks. Significant T-S activity is only observed for APG, but is also detected for ZPG.     

Higher order stability effects in a natural convection boundary layer over a vertical heated wall

 The stability of a laminar boundary layer flow under natural convection on a vertical isothermally heated wall is studied analytically. The analysis is performed by using two different two-dimensional linear models: (1) The non-parallel flow model in which the steady mean flow as well as the disturbance amplitude functions can change in the streamwise direction; (2) The parallel flow model in which the effects of the mean flow and disturbance changes in the streamwise direction are neglected. The linear non-parallel stability analysis is based on the so-called parabolised stability equations (PSEs) which have been successfully applied to the stability analysis of forced convection boundary layers. In this study the PSE equations are applied to natural convection boundary layers in order to show the difference between parallel and non-parallel stability analysis. A second part of this study deals with the effects of variable properties, which are always present in natural convection flows. They are analysed by an extended version of the Orr–Sommerfeld equation (EOSE). Received on 31 May 2000     

Non-Parallel Acoustic Receptivity of a Blasius Boundary Layer Using an Adjoint Approach

Localized and non-localized acoustic receptivity for a Blasius boundary layer is investigated using the adjoint Parabolized Stability Equations. The scattering of an acoustic wave onto a hump, a rectangular roughness or a wall steady blowing and suction is described. Comparisons with local approaches, triple deck theory, direct numerical simulations and experiments are successfully shown. Non-parallel effects are discussed. For comparable parameters, the non-localized receptivity problem produces amplitudes one order of magnitude larger than for the case of localized receptivity. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Three-dimensional receptivity of boundary layers

The paper presents a review of results of some recent (mainly experimental) studies devoted to a quantitative investigation of the problem of receptivity of the 2D and 3D boundary layers with respect to various 3D (in general) external perturbations. The paper concentrates on the mechanisms of excitation and development of stationary and travelling instability modes in a 3D boundary layer on a swept wing, as well as in 2D boundary layers including the Blasius flow and a self-similar boundary layer with an adverse pressure gradient. In particular, the following problems of the boundary-layer receptivity are discussed: (i) receptivity to localized 3D surface roughness, (ii) receptivity to localized 3D surface vibrations, (iii) acoustic receptivity in presence of 3D surface roughness, and (iv) acoustic receptivity in the presence of 3D surface vibrations. All experiments described in the paper were conducted using controlled disturbance conditions with the help of simulation of the stationary and non-stationary perturbations by means of several disturbance generators. This approach gives us the possibility to obtain quantitative results which are independent of any uncontrolled background perturbations of the flow and the experimental model. In contrast to the data obtained at “natural” environmental conditions these results can be directly compared with calculations without any significant assumptions about the physical nature of the disturbances under investigation. The complex (amplitude and phase) coefficients of the boundary-layer receptivity to external perturbations, obtained as functions of the disturbance frequency and the spanwise wavenumber (or the wave propagation angle), represent the main results of the experiments described. These results can be used for the evaluation of the initial amplitudes and phases of the instability modes generated by various external perturbations, as well as for quantitative verification of linear receptivity theories. Several examples of the comparison of experimental results with calculations are also presented in this paper. A brief analysis of the state-of-art in the field is performed and some general properties of different receptivity mechanisms are discussed.     

Global stability analysis of axisymmetric boundary layer over a circular cylinder

This paper presents a linear global stability analysis of the incompressible axisymmetric boundary layer on a circular cylinder. The base flow is parallel to the axis of the cylinder at inflow boundary. The pressure gradient is zero in the streamwise direction. The base flow velocity profile is fully non-parallel and non-similar in nature. The boundary layer grows continuously in the spatial directions. Linearized Navier–Stokes (LNS) equations are derived for the disturbance flow quantities in the cylindrical polar coordinates. The LNS equations along with homogeneous boundary conditions forms a generalized eigenvalues problem. Since the base flow is axisymmetric, the disturbances are periodic in azimuthal direction. Chebyshev spectral collocation method and Arnoldi’s iterative algorithm is used for the solution of the general eigenvalues problem. The global temporal modes are computed for the range of Reynolds numbers and different azimuthal wave numbers. The largest imaginary part of the computed eigenmodes is negative, and hence, the flow is temporally stable. The spatial structure of the eigenmodes shows that the disturbance amplitudes grow in size and magnitude while they are moving towards downstream. The global modes of axisymmetric boundary layer are more stable than that of 2D flat-plate boundary layer at low Reynolds number. However, at higher Reynolds number they approach 2D flat-plate boundary layer. Thus, the damping effect of transverse curvature is significant at low Reynolds number. The wave-like nature of the disturbance amplitudes is found in the streamwise direction for the least stable eigenmodes.     

Effects of T-S wave amplitude on the control of boundary layer transition bystreaks

The effects of streaks on boundary layer transition depend on the initial amplitude of T-S waves introducedto excite the transition. This problem was studied in a flat-plate boundary layer in water tunnel byusing hydrogen bubble method. Three T-S wave initial amplitudes were tested. The results show thatboth narrow and wide-spacing streaks depress the transition excited by T-S waves with lower initialamplitude. However, when transition is excited by T-S waves of higher initial amplitude, thenarrow-spacing streaks depress the transition, while the wide-spacing streaks promote thetransition. Further the underlying mechanisms were also analyzed.     

Large eddy simulations in low-pressure turbines: Effect of wakes at elevated free-stream turbulence

The transition of a separated shear layer over a flat plate, in the presence of periodic wakes and elevated free-stream turbulence (FST), is numerically investigated using Large Eddy Simulation (LES). The upper wall of the test section is inviscid and specifically contoured to impose a streamwise pressure distribution over the flat plate to simulate the suction surface of a low-pressure turbine (LPT) blade. Two different distributions representative of a ‘high-lift’ and an ‘ultra high-lift’ turbine blade are examined. Results obtained from the current LES compare favourably with the extensive experimental data previously obtained for these configurations. The LES results are then used to further investigate the flow physics involved in the transition process.In line with experimental experience, the benefit of wakes and FST obtained by suppressing the separation bubble, is more pronounced in ‘ultra high-lift’ design when compared to the ‘high-lift’ design. Stronger ‘Klebanoff streaks’ are formed in the presence of wakes when compared to the streaks due to FST alone. These streaks promoted much early transition. The weak Klebanoff streaks due to FST continued to trigger transition in between the wake passing cycles.The experimental inference regarding the origin of Klebanoff streaks at the leading edge has been confirmed by the current simulations. While the wake convects at local free-stream velocity, its impression in the boundary layer in the form of streaks convects much slowly. The ‘part-span’ Kelvin–Helmholtz structures, which were observed in the experiments when the wake passes over the separation bubble, are also captured. The non-phase averaged space-time plots manifest that reattachment is a localized process across the span unlike the impression of global reattachment portrayed by phase averaging.     

On the application of en-methods to three-dimensional boundary-layer flows

Extension of the eⁿ-method from two-dimensional to three-dimensional boundary-layer flows has not been straightforward. Confusion has centred on whether to use temporal or spatial stability theories, conversion between the two approaches, and the choice of integration path. The aim of this study is to clarify the confusion about the direction and magnitude of maximum growth in convectively unstable three-dimensional non-parallel boundary layers. To this end, the time-asymptotic response of the boundary layer to an impulsive point excitation is considered. Since all frequencies and all wavenumbers are excited by an impulsive point source, the most amplified component of the response is equivalent to the result of maximizing the growth over arbitrary choices of harmonic point excitation; the standard eⁿ-approach. The impulse response is calculated using a spatial steepest-descent method, which is distinct from the earlier Cebeci–Stewartson method. It is necessary to allow both time and spanwise distance to become complex during integration, but with the constraint that both are real at the end point. This method has been applied to the two-dimensional Blasius boundary layer, for which validation of the method is more straightforward, and also to a three-dimensional Falkner–Skan–Cooke (with non-zero pressure gradient and sweep) boundary layer. Dimensional frequencies and spanwise wavenumbers of propagating components are kept constant (although not necessarily real), as is physically relevant to steady flows with spatial inhomogeneity in the chordwise direction only. With this method a spatial approach is taken without having to make a priori choices about the value of disturbance frequency or wavenumber. Further, purely by choosing a downstream observation point, it is possible to find the maximum-amplitude component directly without having to calculate the entire impulse response (or wave packet). If the flow is susceptible to more than one convective instability mode, provided the modes are separated in the frequency–wavenumber space, separate n-factors can be calculated for each mode. Wave-packet propagation in the Ekman layer (a strictly parallel three-dimensional boundary layer) is also discussed to draw comparisons between the conditions for maximum growth in parallel and non-parallel boundary layers.     

Large-scale spanwise periodicity in a turbulent boundary layer induced by highly ordered and directional surface roughness

The effect of converging–diverging riblet-type surface roughness (riblets arranged in a ‘herringbone’ pattern) are investigated experimentally in a zero pressure gradient turbulent boundary layer. For this initial parametric investigation three different parameters of the surface roughness are analysed in detail; the converging–diverging riblet yaw angle α, the streamwise fetch or development length over the rough surface F_x and the viscous-scaled riblet height h⁺. It is observed that this highly directional surface roughness pattern induces a large-scale spanwise periodicity onto the boundary layer, resulting in a pronounced spanwise modification of the boundary layer thickness. Hot-wire measurements reveal that above the diverging region, the local mean velocity increases while the turbulent intensity decreases, resulting in a thinner overall boundary layer thickness in these locations. The opposite situation occurs over the converging region, where the local mean velocity is decreased and the turbulent intensity increases, producing a locally thicker boundary layer. Increasing the converging–diverging angle or the viscous-scaled riblet height results in stronger spanwise perturbations. For the strongest convergent–divergent angle, the spanwise variation of the boundary layer thickness between the diverging and converging region is almost a factor of two. Such a large variation is remarkable considering that the riblet height is only 1% of the unperturbed boundary layer thickness. Increasing the fetch seems to cause the perturbations to grow further from the surface, while the overall strength of the induced high and low speed regions remain relatively unaltered. Further analysis of the pre-multiplied energy spectra suggests that the surface roughness has modified or redistributed the largest scale energetic structures.     

An experimental study of receptivity of acoustic waves in laminar boundary layers

The receptivity of a laminar boundary layer developing on a flat plate was studied with two- and three-dimensional roughness elements. The layer was subjected to acoustic waves from speakers orientated perpendicular to the surface of the plate. Visualization of the transition patterns were obtained by heating temperature sensitive liquid crystals on the plate and observing the cooling patterns associated with the different flow regimes. Hot-wire data showed that the most amplified Tollmien-Schlichting waves dominated the downstream growth when the roughnesses were placed within the linearly unstable regime. The receptivity depended upon the size and aspect ratio of the three-dimensional roughness as predicted by Choudhari and Kerschen 1990. This research was partially funded by the Office of Naval Research under Contract N00014-89-J-1400. Their support is gratefully acknowledged. We also thank one of the reviewers for his helpful comments.     

Scattering of Tollmien-Schlichting waves by localized roughness in transonic boundary layers

The laminar-turbulent transition in boundary-layer flows is often affected by wall imperfections, because the latter may interact with either the freestream perturbations or the oncoming boundary-layer instability modes, leading to a modification of the accumulation of the normal modes. The present paper particularly focuses on the latter mechanism in a transonic boundary layer, namely, the effect of a two-dimensional(2 D) roughness element on the oncoming Tollmien-Schlichting(T-S) modes when they propagate through the region of the rapid mean-flow distortion induced by the roughness. The wave scattering is analyzed by adapting the local scattering theory developed for subsonic boundary layers(WU, X. S. and DONG, M. A local scattering theory for the effects of isolated roughness on boundary-layer instability and transition: transmission coefficient as an eigenvalue. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 794, 68–108(2006)) to the transonic regime, and a transmission coefficient is introduced to characterize the effect of the roughness. In the sub-transonic regime, in which the Mach number is close to, but less than, 1, the scattering system reduces to an eigenvalue problem with the transmission coefficient being the eigenvalue; while in the super-transonic regime, in which the Mach number is slightly greater than 1, the scattering system becomes a high-dimensional group of linear equations with the transmission coefficient being solved afterward. In the largeReynolds-number asymptotic theory, the K′arm′an-Guderley parameter is introduced to quantify the effect of the Mach number. A systematical parametric study is carried out,and the dependence of the transmission coefficient on the roughness shape, the frequency of the oncoming mode, and the K′arm′an-Guderley parameter is provided.     

Artificial eigenmodes in truncated flow domains

Whenever linear eigenmodes of open flows are computed on a numerical domain that is truncated in the streamwise direction, artificial boundary conditions may give rise to spurious pressure signals that are capable of providing unwanted perturbation feedback to upstream locations. The manifestation of such feedback in the eigenmode spectrum is analysed here for two simple configurations. First, explicitly prescribed feedback in a Ginzburg–Landau model is shown to produce a spurious eigenmode branch, named the ‘arc branch’, that strongly resembles a characteristic family of eigenmodes typically present in open shear flow calculations. Second, corresponding mode branches in the global spectrum of an incompressible parallel jet in a truncated domain are examined. It is demonstrated that these eigenmodes of the numerical model depend on the presence of spurious forcing of a local \(k^+\) instability wave at the inflow, caused by pressure signals that appear to be generated at the outflow. Multiple local \(k^+\) branches result in multiple global eigenmode branches. For the particular boundary treatment chosen here, the strength of the pressure feedback from the outflow towards the inflow boundary is found to decay with the cube of the numerical domain length. It is concluded that arc branch eigenmodes are artefacts of domain truncation, with limited value for physical analysis. It is demonstrated, for the example of a non-parallel jet, how spurious feedback may be reduced by an absorbing layer near the outflow boundary.     

Receptivity of hypersonic boundary layer due to fast-slow acoustics interaction

The objective of receptivity is to investigate the mechanisms by which external disturbances generate unstable waves. In hypersonic boundary layers, a new receptivity process is revealed, which is that fast and slow acoustics through nonlinear interaction can excite the second mode near the lower-branch of the second mode. They can generate a sum-frequency disturbance though nonlinear interaction,which can excite the second mode. This receptivity process is generated by the nonlinear interaction and the nonparallel nature of the boundary layer. The receptivity coefficient is sensitive to the wavenumber difference between the sumfrequency disturbance and the lower-branch second mode.When the wavenumber difference is zero, the receptivity coefficient is maximum. The receptivity coefficient decreases with the increase of the wavenumber difference. It is also found that the evolution of the sum-frequency disturbance grows linearly in the beginning. It indicates that the forced term generated by the sum-frequency disturbance resonates with the second mode.