The absolute instability of boundary-layer flow over viscoelastic walls

The linear stability of boundary-layer flow over a viscoelastic-layer wall is considered. A companion matrix technique is used to formulate the stability problem as a linear matrix eigenvalue problem for complex frequency and all the eigenvalues may be determined without any initial guess values. The eigenvalues are compared with those obtained with an accurate shooting method. The instability character of the boundary-layer flow is further investigated with the purpose of finding the conditions under which the instability of the flow could become absolute. The mapping technique of Kupferet al. (1987) is used to identify the occurrence of absolute instability eigenvalues. Absolute instabilities are discovered for cases of soft damped wall over certain ranges of Reynolds number. The effects of wall material stiffness, damping coefficient, thickness of layer, and Reynolds number on the occurrence of absolute instability are examined and presented.     

On the polynomial approximation of boundary-layer flow profiles

The behaviour of the polynomial approximation to the boundary layer velocity profile is investigated. Various orders of polynomials and 4 different schemes of “reasonable” boundary conditions are examined for applicability as approximate solutions to the Blasius flow over a flat plate. A variational formulation, based upon the local potential is used to obtain the solution. It is found that the best and most consistent results are obtained when a symmetric distribution of auxiliary boundary conditions on the wall and outer edge of the boundary layer is used. The 6th order polynomial of this type, for example, already gives a wall friction factor within 0.5% of the exact solution.     

On the accurate prediction of the wall-normal velocity in compressible boundary-layer flow

We consider a problem which arises in the numerical solution of the compressible two-dimensional or axisymmetric boundary-layer equations. Numerical methods for the compressible boundary-layer equations are facilitated by transformation from the physical (x, y) plane to a computational (ξ, η) plane in which the evolution of the flow is ‘slow’ in the time-like ξ direction. The commonly used Levy-Lees transformation results in a computationally well-behaved problem, but it complicates interpretation of the solution in physical space. Specifically, the transformation is inherently non-linear, and the physical wall-normal velocity is transformed out of the problem and is not readily recovered. Conventional methods extract the wall-normal velocity in physical space from the continuity equation, using finite-difference techniques and interpolation procedures. The present spectrally accurate method extracts the wall-normal velocity directly from the transformation itself, without interpolation, leaving the continuity equation free as a check on the quality of the solution. The present method for recovering wall-normal velocity, when used in conjunction with a highly accurate spectral collocation method for solving the compressible boundary-layer equations, results in a discrete solution which satisfies the continuity equation nearly to machine precision. As demonstration of the utility of the method, the boundary layers of three prototypical high-speed flows are investigated and compared: the flat plate, the hollow cylinder, and the cone. An important implication for classical linear stability theory is also briefly discussed.     

On the non-linear instability of fiber suspensions in a Poiseuille flow

The non-linear instability characteristics of fiber suspensions in a plane Poiseuille flow are investigated. The evolution equation of the perturbation amplitude analogous to Landau equation is formulated and solved numerically for different fiber parameters. It is found that the equilibrium amplitude decreases with the increase of the fiber aspect ratio and volume fraction, i.e. the addition of the fibers reduces the amplitude of the perturbation, and leads to the reduction of the flow instability. This phenomenon becomes significant for large volume concentration and aspect ratio. The mechanism of the reduction of the flow instability is also analyzed by taking into account of the modification of the mean flow and the energy transfer from the mean flow to the perturbation flow.     

Numerical studies of the instability and breakdown of a boundary-layer low-speed streak

The experimental configuration in [M. Asai, M. Minagawa, M. Nishioka, The instability and breakdown of a near-wall low-speed streak, J. Fluid Mech. 455 (2002) 289–314] is numerically reproduced in order to examine the instability of a single low-speed streak in a laminar boundary layer and to investigate the resulting generation of coherent structures. Such a configuration is chosen since the experimental data show that the two instability modes, varicose and sinuous, are of comparable strength. The instability characteristics are retrieved from the simulation of the flow impulse response. The varicose instability is associated to higher frequencies and lower group velocities than those of the sinuous modes. The latter are less affected by the diffusion of the streak mean shear and are amplified for a longer streamwise distance. Analysis of the perturbation kinetic energy production reveals that both the varicose and the sinuous instability are driven by the work of the Reynolds stress against the wall-normal shear of the streak. The base flow considered here therefore presents an exception to the common knowledge, supported by several previous studies, that the sinuous instability is associated to the streak spanwise shear. The vortical structures at the late stage of the varicose breakdown are identified from the numerical data. By comparing them with those pertaining to other transition scenarios, it is confirmed that streaks and streamwise vortices are universal features of boundary layer transition.     

Elastico-viscous boundary-layer flow on the surface of a sphere

Summary The Prandtl boundary-layer theory is extended for an idealized elastico-viscous liquid. The boundary layer equations are solved approximately by Kármán-Pohlhausen technique for the case of a sphere. It is shown that the increase in the elasticity of the liquid causes a shift in the point of separation towards the forward stagnation point.

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Zusammenfassung Die Prandtlsche Grenzschicht-Theorie wird für eine idealisierte viskoelastische Flüssigkeit erweitert. Die Grenzschichtgleichungen werden für den Fall einer angeströmten Kugel näherungsweise mit Hilfe der Kármán-Pohlhausen-Methode gelöst. Es wird gezeigt, daß das Anwachsen der Flüssigkeitselastizität eine Verschiebung des Ablösepunktes auf den vorderen Staupunkt hin zur Folge hat.

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Nomenclature b ^ik arbitrary contravariant tensor - D non-dimensional boundary layer thickness - g _ik metric tensor of a fixed coordinate system - K curvature at any point on the generating curve - K ₀ elastico-viscous parameter - p arbitrary hydrostatic pressure - p _ik stress tensor - p ^ik part of stress tensor associated with the change of shape of material - R radius of the sphere - r radius of any transverse cross-section of the sphere - t time - U potential velocity around the body - U stream-velocity at a large distance from the body - u, w velocity components along (x, z) directions respectively - x distance measured along a generating line from the forward stagnation point - z distance measured along a normal to the surface - non-dimensional elastico-viscous parameter - density of the liquid - boundary layer thickness - convected time derivative - ₀ limiting viscosity for very small changes in deformation velocity - angle measured along the transverse direction - x/R - v kinematic coefficient of viscosity - T _s shearing stress on the surface of the sphere With 2 figures and 1 table     

Measurements with a flow direction boundary-layer probe in a two-dimensional laminar separation bubble

 Measurements with a directional sensitive hot-wire probe have been carried out in a two-dimensional laminar separation bubble caused by an adverse pressure gradient. The probe has three parallel, in plane wires and can be traversed in the boundary layer in all spatial directions. The central wire, operated as a conventional hot-wire in CTA mode, and two surrounding resistance wires measure the instantaneous magnitude and direction of the flow, respectively. The probe is calibrated and operated in a similar way as a single hot-wire probe for boundary layer measurements. The frequency response is high enough for measurements of naturally occurring instability waves in the bubble. The flow direction intermittency was measured inside the bubble and regions with reversed flow were mapped out. Prior to reattachment periodical oscillations of the flow direction are found associated with shedding of vortical structures from the bubble. Received: 13 March 1998/Accepted: 22 April 1998     

Numerical calculation of two-dimensional flow in the channel with a partially compliant wall

The present paper is concerned with the flow in a two-dimensional channel whose wall is partially compliant. The flow field is calculated by the finite-difference method. Results are as follows: (1) When the upstream condition is given by steady flow (Reynolds number Re = 50), a compliant part of the wall oscillates with a frequency nearly equal to the characteristic frequency of the elastic wall. Absolute values of the pressure drop across the compliant part become small compared with those of the plane Poiseuille flow with wholly rigid walls. This ensures under physiological conditions that the blood can be transported more easily toward distal parts due to the compliance of vessel walls. (2) When the upstream condition is given by a pulsatile flow (Womersley number α = 8), interaction arises between characteristic frequency of the wall and basic frequency of the main stream near the compliant wall. As the basic frequency of pulsatile flow decreases, absolute values of mean pressure, which drop across the compliant wall, also become small compared with those of pulsatile flow between wholly rigid walls.     

Deformation of a fluid-filled compliant cylinder in a uniform flow

We investigated surface compliance effects of a fluid-filled object in flow on its shape and internal flow through numerical simulation. A two-dimensional compliant cylinder containing fluid in a flow is a simple model of a cell, e.g. an erythrocyte, leukocyte or platelet. The thin membrane of the cylinder consisted of a network of mass-spring-damper (MSD) systems, representing its mechanical characteristics. We assumed that the stiffness and damping coefficients were those of latex gum. The two-dimensional flow inside and outside the membrane was obtained by solving the two-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations by using the finite element scheme at Re=400, based on the external flow velocity and diameter of an initial circular cylinder. The deformation of the membrane was calculated by solving the equation of motion for an MSD system by using the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. The compliant cylinder deformed more if its stiffness was smaller than that of latex gum. The initial circular section of the cylinder became oval, with a flat front and a convex rear. The aspect ratio of the lateral to streamwise axis length of the oval became larger than unity, and increased with decreasing stiffness. The drag coefficient of the oval cylinder became larger than that of the circular cylinder, and increased with decreasing stiffness. The partial vibration at the rear, caused by shedding vortices, induced oscillating internal flows between two antinodes of the vibrating membrane. Since the object with smaller stiffness had higher ductility, velocity fluctuations of the external flow influenced the internal flow of the compliant object through deformation of the membrane.     

Two-dimensional absolute instability of a supersonic boundary layer

The results of the author's earlier investigation of the stability of a partially viscous shock layer indicate that any plane-parallel flow may be absolutely unstable if for that flow there exists more than one normal instability mode. This assumption has been confirmed for a supersonic boundary layer at infinitely large Reynolds numbers. Two types of absolute instability, corresponding to two known types of branching of the dispersion relation, have been detected.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 176–179, January–February, 1988.     

Small perturbations spectrum in boundary-layer flow on a flat plate

The small perturbation spectrum of a number of flows has recently been analyzed carefully [1–3]. At the same time, investigations for the boundary layer have been limited within the framework of linear perturbation theory to the neighborhood of the neutral curve although a spectrum analysis is of indubitable interest not only to find the stability criterion of a laminar stream, but also to solve a problem with initial data about the time development of an arbitrary small perturbation. In particular, the possibility of representing an arbitrary perturbation in terms of a system of basis functions is related to the question of the completeness of the system. The finiteness was proved [4] and an estimate was obtained of the domain of eigenvalue existence in an investigation of the boundary-layer stability and a deduction has been made about the finiteness of the small perturbations spectrum for boundary-layer flow on this basis. A sufficiently complete survey of the investigation of the neutral stability of a laminar boundary layer can be found in the monograph [5]. The small perturbations spectrum in a boundary layer flow is obtained in this paper by methods of the linear theory of hydrodynamic stability by using the complete boundary conditions on the outer boundary. It is shown that the small perturbations spectrum is finite for each fixed value of the wave number . Singularities in the spectrum behavior are investigated for sufficiently small .Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 4, pp. 112–115, July–August, 1975.The author is grateful to M. A. Gol'dshtik and V. N. Shtern for useful discussions of the results of the research.     

Stability of fluid flow in the presence of a compliant surface

This paper is concerned with the dynamic behaviour of a thin elastic plate in the presence of flow. The plate is excited by a time varying force applied on a line which is at right angles to the direction of flow. Causality is invoked to make the solution unique. It is found that the system responds differently for flow speeds above and below a critical value. Above this value, a temporal instability occurs and the amplitude of the motion grows with time at each point on the plate. Below this value there are travelling waves upstream of the driver, whilst downstream the behaviour is dominated by a disturbance which does not grow with time at any one position, but nevertheless grows as it is convected downstream. This type of instability is less severe than the temperal one and is of the type generally referred to as convective.     

Nonsimilar boundary-layer flow over a stationary permeable plate in a rotating fluid with a magnetic field

Summary  The nonsimilar boundary-layer flow and heat transfer over a stationary permeable surface in a rotating fluid in the presence of magnetic field, mass transfer and free stream velocity are studied. The parabolic partial differential equations governing the flow have been solved numerically by using a difference–differential method. For small streamwise distance, these partial differential equations are also solved by a perturbation technique with Shanks transformation. For uniform mass transfer, analytical solutions are obtained. The surface skin friction coefficients and the Nusselt number increase with the magnetic field, suction and streamwise distance from the leading edge of the plate except the skin friction coefficient in the y-direction which decreases with the increasing magnetic field. Received 4 December 2001; accepted for publication 24 September 2002     

Stability of a nanopowder boundary-layer flow on a concave plate

Using hot-wire probe measurements, the mean and fluctuating velocities in a boundary layer on a concave plate immersed in the flow of a nanosized silicon dioxide powder are studied. A region of destabilization of disturbances is detected.     

Mixed convection boundary-layer flow on a horizontal flat surface with a convective boundary condition

The steady mixed convection boundary-layer flow on an upward facing horizontal surface heated convectively is considered. The problem is reduced to similarity form, a necessary requirement for which is that the outer flow and surface heat transfer coefficient are spatially dependent. The resulting similarity equations involve, apart from the Prandtl number, two dimensionless parameters, a measure of the relative strength of the outer flow M and a heat transfer coefficient γ. The free convection, M=0, case is considered with the asymptotic limits of large and small γ being derived. Results for the general, M>0, case are presented and the asymptotic limit of large M being treated.     

On Rayleight instability in decaying plane Couette flow

The inflexion point criterion of Rayleigh is one of the most well-known results in hydrodynamic stability theory but cannot easily be demonstrated experimentally in wall bounded flows. For plane Couette flow, where both walls move with equal speed in opposite directions, it is possible to establish a (time-dependent) inflectional velocity profile if both walls are brought momentarily to rest. If the Reynolds number is high enough a growing stationary instability develops. This situation is ideally suited for flow visualization of the instability. In this paper we show flow visualization experiments and stability calculations of the developing transverse roll cell instability in such a flow at low Reynolds numbers. Although the stability calculations are based on a quasi-stationary velocity profile, the measured and most amplified wave length obtained from the calculations are in excellent agreement.