On the inviscid acoustic-mode instability of supersonic shear flows

The same methods used previously to study acoustic-mode instability in supersonic boundary layers are applied to free shear layers, and new calculations are made for boundary layers with cooling and suction. The objective is to obtain additional information about acoustic-mode instability, and to find what features of the instability are common to boundary layers and free shear flows. Acoustic modes exist whenever there is an embedded region of locally supersonic flow relative to the phase speed of the instability wave. Consequently, they can be found in boundary layers, wakes, and jets, but not in mixing layers unless the flow is confined. In this first part of a two-part paper, attention is directed principally to two-dimensional waves. The linear, inviscid stability theory is used to calculate spatial amplification rates at Mach number 3 for the sinuous and varicose modes of a single wake flow and a single jet flow, each made up of the same mixing-layer profile plus a central region of uniform flow. Along with sequences of sinuous and varicose unstable modes clearly identifiable as acoustic modes, both of these flows, unlike the boundary layer, have a lowest sinuous mode that is the most unstable. The unstable modes include both subsonic and radiating disturbances with large amplification rates. The latter phenomenon is also found for highly cooled boundary layers with suction. In these boundary layers, suction is generally stabilizing for nonradiating acoustic disturbances, but destabilizing for radiating disturbances.The work described in this paper was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Support from the Aerodynamics Division of the Office of Aeronautics and Exploration Technology is gratefully acknowledged. A preliminary version of this paper was presented at the Fourth Symposium on Numerical and Physical Aspects of Aerodynamic Flows, California State University, Long Beach, CA, 16–19 January 1989.     

Influence of the walls on overheating instability in a magnetohyduodynamic channel

The mechanism of the overheating instability of magnetohydrodynamic flows is as follows. if the electrical conductivity of the medium depends on the temperature, then a small local increase in temperature may lead, under specific conditions, to an increase in liberation of Joule heat energy, to a further temperature rise, and so to instability.The overheating instability has been studied before (1, 2) for a unifrom unperturbed temperature and without account for the effect of the boundaries of the region. It has been discovered that the growth increment of the disturbances increases as the wavelength increases. However, it is clear that heat conduction through the boundaries of the region occupied by the conducting medium may effect the development of perturbations, primarily of long wavelength perturbations. Below we will examine the simplest problem of the stability of temperature distribution for an electric discharge in a gas between two planes.     

Stability of a plane-parallel convective flow of a liquid in a horizontal layer

We consider the stationary plane-parallel convective flow, studied in [1], which appears in a two-dimensional horizontal layer of a liquid in the presence of a longitudinal temperature gradient. In the present paper we examine the stability of this flow relative to small perturbations. To solve the spectral amplitude problem and to determine the stability boundaries we apply a version of the Galerkin method, which was used earlier for studying the stability of convective flows in vertical and inclined layers in the presence of a transverse temperature difference or of internal heat sources (see [2]). A horizontal plane-parallel flow is found to be unstable relative to two critical modes of perturbations. For small Prandtl numbers the instability has a hydrodynamic character and is associated with the development of vortices on the boundary of counterflows. For moderate and for large Prandtl numbers the instability has a Rayleigh character and is due to a thermal stratification arising in the stationary flow.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 1, pp. 95–100, January–February, 1974.     

Spatial Instabilities of the Incompressible Attachment-Line Flow Using Sparse Matrix Jacobi–Davidson Techniques

We consider the linear stability of incompressible attachment-line flow within the spatial framework. No similarity or symmetry assumptions for the instability modes are introduced and the full two-dimensional representation of the modes is used. The perturbation equations are discretized on a two-dimensional staggered grid. A high order finite difference scheme has been developed which gives rise to a large, sparse, quadratic, eigenvalue problem for the instability modes. The benefits of the Jacobi–Davidson method for the solution of this eigenvalue system are demonstrated and the approach is validated in some detail. Spatial stability results are presented subsequently. In particular, instability predictions at very high Reynolds numbers are obtained which show almost equally strong instabilities for symmetric and antisymmetric modes in this regime.     

Viscous and Inviscid Instabilities of Flow Along a Streamwise Corner

Here we consider the stability of flow along a streamwise corner formed by the intersection of two large flat plates held perpendicular to each other. Self-similar solutions for the steady laminar mean flow in the corner region have been obtained by solving the boundary layer equations for zero and nonzero streamwise pressure gradients. The stability of the mean flow is investigated using linear stability analysis. An eigensolver has been developed to solve the resulting linear eigenvalue problem either in a global mode to obtain an approximation to all the dominant eigenmodes or in a local mode to refine a particular eigenmode. The stability results indicate that the entire spectrum of two-dimensional and oblique viscous modes of a two-dimensional Blasius boundary layer is active in the case of a corner layer as well, but away from the cornerline. In a corner region of finite spanwise extent, the continuous spectrum of oblique modes degenerates to a discrete spectrum of modes of increasing spanwise wave number. The effect of the corner on the two-dimensional viscous instability is small and decreases the growth rate. The growth rate of outgoing oblique disturbances is observed to decrease, while the growth rate of incoming oblique disturbances is enhanced by the corner. This asymmetry between the outgoing and incoming viscous modes increases with increasing obliqueness of the disturbance. The instability of a zero pressure gradient corner layer is dominated by the viscous modes; however, an inviscid corner mode is also observed. The critical Reynolds number of the inviscid mode rapidly decreases with even a small adverse streamwise pressure gradient and the inviscid mode becomes the dominant one. Received 17 March 1998 and accepted 28 April 1999     

Effect of Prandtl number on the linear stability of compressible Couette flow

Accurate prediction of laminar to turbulent transition in high-speed flows is a challenging task. Compressibility, and the resultant large variations in the transport properties can affect the transition process significantly. In this paper, we study the influence of Prandtl number, the ratio of momentum to heat diffusivity, in Couette flows at high Mach numbers. It is a part of an ongoing research programme to isolate and understand the transport property effects on the stability of high-speed flows. As a first step, we neglect the high-temperature effects and vary the Prandtl number in the range 0.9 to 0.2, by changing the relative magnitudes of viscosity and conductivity. A temporal linear stability analysis shows that the variation of phase speed with Prandtl number leads to synchronization between two acoustic modes, with peaks in growth rate at the synchronization points. Two types of branching patterns are observed depending on the Prandtl number, and the branch type determines which of the two modes is destabilized and which one is stabilized due to synchronization. Further, the mode shapes are either retained as earlier or interchanged between the two acoustic modes depending on the branching pattern. The stability diagrams for varying Mach and Reynolds numbers show a destabilizing role of decreasing the Prandtl number, both in terms of increased disturbance growth rates, and of larger regions of instability in the parameter space. It also results in a significant reduction in the critical Reynolds number of the flow, especially at high Mach numbers with wall cooling.     

Development and stability of swirling flows

The purpose of this research is to investigate steady axisymmetric swirling flows in channels and free vortices and also to establish the role of hydrodynamic instability in the formation of the sharp changes in flow structure associated with an increased rate of rotation. On the basis of numerical solutions of the complete Navier-Stokes equations obtained by a finite-difference method swirling flows in pipes with impermeable and permeable walls and in a free vortex are investigated. The stability of the swirling axisymmetric flows is considered on the assumption of local parallelism: the problem of the normal modes developing against the background of the axisymmetric flow determined by the velocity profiles in local cross sections of the flow is solved. Attention is mainly concentrated on free vortex flows with reverse current zones, their structure and stability.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 3–11, July–August, 1988.     

Spontaneous swirling in axisymmetric MHD flows of an ideally conducting fluid with closed streamlines

The region of instability of the Hill-Shafranov viscous MHD vortex with respect to azimuthal axisymmetric perturbations of the velocity field is determined numerically as a function of the Reynolds number and magnetization in a linear formulation. An approximate formulation of the linear stability problem for MHD flows with circular streamlines is considered. The further evolution of the perturbations in the supercritical region is studied using a nonlinear analog model (a simplified initial system of equations that takes into account some important properties of the basic equations). For this model, the secondary flows resulting from the instability are determined. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 40–50, May–June, 2007.     

Stability of jet flows in a rotating shallow water layer

The problem of the stability of an isolated jet flow and two counter-streaming jet flows in a rotating shallow-water layer is considered. These flows are described by exact solutions of the Charny–Obukhov equation with one or two discontinuities of the potential vorticity, respectively. The isolated jet flow is shown to be stable. For the system consisting of two jet flows the dependence of the characteristics of the unstable wave modes on a geometric parameter, namely, the ratio of the spacing between the jet axes to the deformation radius, is determined. On the basis of the contour dynamics method a weakly-nonlinear model of the longwave instability is developed.     

Three-dimensional instability analysis of boundary layers perturbed by streamwise vortices

A parametric study is presented for the incompressible, zero-pressure-gradient flat-plate boundary layer perturbed by streamwise vortices. The vortices are placed near the leading edge and model the vortices induced by miniature vortex generators (MVGs), which consist in a spanwise-periodic array of small winglet pairs. The introduction of MVGs has been experimentally proved to be a successful passive flow control strategy for delaying laminar-turbulent transition caused by Tollmien–Schlichting (TS) waves. The counter-rotating vortex pairs induce non-modal, transient growth that leads to a streaky boundary layer flow. The initial intensity of the vortices and their wall-normal distances to the plate wall are varied with the aim of finding the most effective location for streak generation and the effect on the instability characteristics of the perturbed flow. The study includes the solution of the three-dimensional, stationary, streaky boundary layer flows by using the boundary region equations, and the three-dimensional instability analysis of the resulting basic flows by using the plane-marching parabolized stability equations. Depending on the initial circulation and positioning of the vortices, planar TS waves are stabilized by the presence of the streaks, resulting in a reduction in the region of instability and shrink of the neutral stability curve. For a fixed maximum streak amplitude below the threshold for secondary instability (SI), the most effective wall-normal distance for the formation of the streaks is found to also offer the most stabilization of TS waves. By setting a maximum streak amplitude above the threshold for SI, sinuous shear layer modes become unstable, as well as another instability mode that is amplified in a narrow region near the vortex inlet position.     

Transition to instability of a phase interface in a porous medium in the isothermal approximation

The stability of the phase interface in geothermal systems is considered in the isothermal approximation with allowance for capillary effects. The dispersion relation is obtained and the domains of stability and instability of steady-state vertical flows are found. Possible types of transition to instability, namely, transitions with the most unstable mode corresponding to zero and infinite wavenumbers or to all wavenumbers simultaneously, are described. In the first case the nonlinear Kolmogorov-Petrovskii-Piskunov equation describing the evolution of a narrow strip of weakly unstable modes on the stability threshold is derived. The effect of the parameters of the system on its stability is investigated.     

On the stability of plane parallel viscoelastic shear flows in the limit of infinite Weissenberg and Reynolds numbers

Elastic effects on the hydrodynamic instability of inviscid parallel shear flows are investigated through a linear stability analysis. We focus on the upper convected Maxwell model in the limit of infinite Weissenberg and Reynolds numbers. We study the effects of elasticity on the instability of a few classes of simple parallel flows, specifically plane Poiseuille and Couette flows, the hyperbolic-tangent shear layer and the Bickley jet.The equation for stability is derived and solved numerically using the spectral Chebyshev collocation method. This algorithm is computationally efficient and accurate in reproducing the eigenvalues. We consider flows bounded by walls as well as flows bounded by free surfaces. In the inviscid, nonelastic case all the flows we study are unstable for free surfaces. In the case of wall bounded flow, there are instabilities in the shear layer and Bickley jet flows. In all cases, the effect of elasticity is to reduce and ultimately suppress the inviscid instability.     

VIBRATION AND STABILITY OF VERTICAL UPWARD-FLUID-CONVEYING PIPE IMMERSED IN RIGID CYLINDRICAL CHANNEL

A theoretical model is developed for the vibration and stability of a vertical pipe subjected concurrently to two dependent axial flows. The external fluid, after exiting the outer annular region between the pipe and a rigid cylindrical channel, is conveyed upwards inside the pipe. This configuration thus resembles of a pipe that aspirating fluid. The equation of planar mo- tion is solved by means of the differential quadrature method （DQM）. Calculations are conducted for a slender drill-string-like and a bench-top-size system, for different confinement conditions of the outer annular channel. It is shown that the vibrations of these two systems are closely related to the degree of confinement of the outer annular channel. For a drill-string-like system with narrow annuli, buckling instability may occur in the second and third modes. For a bench-top-size system, however, both buckling and flutter may occur in the lowest three modes. The form of instability depends on the annuli size.     

On the uniqueness and stability of solutions to some continuum mechanics problems

One-dimensional shear flows of a perfect fluid, a perfect rigid-plastic body, a Newtonian viscous fluid, and a viscoplastic medium in a plane layer and the compression problem for a Euler beam are considered as examples to discuss a relation between the nonuniqueness of a solution to the basic continuum mechanics problem and the instability of the unique solution to this problem. When the basic solution is not unique, the question is raised on the mechanical interpretation of the linearized stability problem for this solution.     

Secondary vibrational convective motions in a flat vertical layer of liquid

Investigations of the stability of steady-state plane-parallel convective motion between vertical planes heated to different temperatures [1–5] have shown that this motion, depending on the value of the Prandtl number P, exhibits instability of two types. With small and moderate Prandtl numbers, the instability is of a hydrodynamic nature. It is brought about by monotonic perturbations which, in the supercritical region, develop into a periodic, with respect to the vertical, system of steady-state vortices at the interface between the opposing convective flows. Articles [6, 7] are devoted to the numerical investigation of nonlinear secondary steady-state flows. If P>11.4, there appears a new mode of instability, i.e., running thermal waves increasing in the flow; with P>12, this mode becomes more dangerous [4]. This instability is connected with the development of vibrational perturbations, and it can be considered that in the supercritical region the perturbations lead to the establishment of steady-state vibrations. Linear theory has made it possible to determine the boundaries of the regions of stability. In the present article a numerical investigation is made of nonlinear supercritical conditions developing as a result of a loss of stability of the steady-state flow with respect to vibrational perturbations.     

Linear stability of swirling flows computed as solutions to the quasi-cylindrical equations of motion

The linear stability of numerical solutions to the quasi-cylindrical equations of motion for swirling flows is investigated. Initial conditions are derived from Batchelor's similarity solution for a trailing line vortex. The stability calculations are performed using a second-order-accurate finite-difference scheme on a staggered grid, with the accuracy of the computed eigenvalues enhanced through Richardson extrapolation. The streamwise development of both viscous and inviscid instability modes is presented. The possible relationship to vortex breakdown is discussed.     

Stability of stratified shear flows in channels with variable cross sections

For the instability problem of density stratified shear flows in sea straits with variable cross sections, a new semielliptical instability region is found. Furthermore, the instability of the bounded shear layer is studied in two cases: (i) the density which takes two different constant values in two layers and (ii) the density which takes three different constant values in three layers. In both cases, the dispersion relation is found to be a quartic equation in the complex phase velocity. It is found that there are two unstable modes in a range of the wave numbers in the first case, whereas there is only one unstable mode in the second case.     

Streamwise streaks and secondary instability in a two-dimensional bent channel

Streamwise streaks generated from a pair of oblique waves and secondary instability of the streaks are studied in a two-dimensional bent channel. Nonlinear parabolized stability equations (NPSE) are employed to investigate streamwise streaks and vortices. A pair of oblique waves from linear stability analysis is imposed as initial disturbances. Generation of streamwise streaks and vortices and subsequent development are described in detail. The case of plane channel is also studied to provide comparable data. Through comparison, the effect of bent region is clearly highlighted. Results of parametric studies to examine the effect of Reynolds number, radius of curvature, and bent angle are also given and discussed in detail. Secondary instability analysis for the modified mean flow due to the streamwise streaks is carried out by solving a two-dimensional eigenvalue problem. Several unstable modes which can be classified into fundamental and subharmonic mode of secondary instability are identified. Among several unstable modes, two modes are turned out to be dominant modes. Details on these two modes including generation mechanism, typical pattern, and dependency on wave number and streak amplitude are discussed. It is found that the presence of bent channel can lead to early oblique-mode breakdown via strong growth of the streamwise streaks due to the curved section. Such large amplitude of streaks and its secondary instability eventually could trigger transition even for small amplitude oblique waves at subcritical channel Reynolds numbers.