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…     

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.     

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.     

Local receptivity in non-parallel boundary layer

The research on boundary-layer receptivity is the key issue for the laminarturbulent transition prediction in fluid mechanics. Many of the previous studies for local receptivity are on the basis of the parallel flow assumption which cannot accurately reflect the real physics. To overcome this disadvantage, local receptivity in the non-parallel boundary layer is studied in this paper by the direct numerical simulation (DNS). The difference between the non-parallel and parallel boundary layers on local receptivity is investigated. In addition, the effects of the disturbance frequency, the roughness location, and the multiple roughness elements on receptivity are also determined. Besides, the relations of receptivity with the amplitude of free-stream turbulence (FST), with the roughness height, and with the roughness length are ascertained as well. The Tollmien- Schlichting (T-S) wave packets are excited in the non-parallel boundary layer under the interaction of the FST and the localized wall roughness. A group of T-S waves are separated by the fast Fourier transform. The obtained results are in accordance with Dietz’s measurements, Wu’s theoretical calculations, and the linear stability theory (LST).     

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.     

Numerical modeling of the receptivity of a supersonic boundary layer to acoustic disturbances

The receptivity of a supersonic (M_∞ = 6) boundary layer on a flat plate to acoustic disturbances is investigated on the basis of a numerical solution of the 2D Navier-Stokes equations. Numerical results obtained for fast and slow acoustic waves impinging on the plate at zero angle agree qualitatively with asymptotic theory. Calculations carried out for other angles of incidence of the acoustic waves reveal new features of the perturbation field in the neighborhood of the leading edge of the plate. It is shown that, due to visco-inviscid interaction, the shock formed near the leading edge may significantly affect the acoustic field and the receptivity.     

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.     

Acoustic receptivity of Mach 4.5 boundary layer with leading-edge bluntness

Boundary layer receptivity to two-dimensional slow and fast acoustic waves is investigated by solving Navier–Stokes equations for Mach 4.5 flow over a flat plate with a finite-thickness leading edge. Higher order spatial and temporal schemes are employed to obtain the solution whereby the flat-plate leading edge region is resolved by providing a sufficiently refined grid. The results show that the instability waves are generated in the leading edge region and that the boundary-layer is much more receptive to slow acoustic waves (by almost a factor of 20) as compared to the fast waves. Hence, this leading-edge receptivity mechanism is expected to be more relevant in the transition process for high Mach number flows where second mode instability is dominant. Computations are performed to investigate the effect of leading-edge thickness and it is found that bluntness tends to stabilize the boundary layer. Furthermore, the relative significance of fast acoustic waves is enhanced in the presence of bluntness. The effect of acoustic wave incidence angle is also studied and it is found that the receptivity of the boundary layer on the ‘windward’ side (with respect to the acoustic forcing) decreases by more than a factor of four when the incidence angle is increased from 0° to 45°. However, the receptivity coefficient for the ‘leeward’ side is found to vary relatively weakly with the incidence angle.      

Roughness-induced generation of crossflow vortices in three-dimensional boundary layers

The receptivity theory of Goldstein and Ruban is extended within the nonasymptotic (quasi-parallel) framework of Zavol'skii et al. to predict the roughness-induced generation of stationary and nonstationary instability waves in three-dimensional, incompressible boundary layers. The influence of acoustic-wave orientation, as well as that of different types of roughness geometries, including isolated roughness elements, periodic arrays, and two-dimensional lattices of compact roughness shapes, as well as random, but spatially homogeneous roughness distributions, is examined. The parametric study for the Falkner-Skan-Cooke family of boundary layers supports our earlier conjecture that the initial amplitudes of roughness-induced stationary vortices are likely to be significantly larger than the amplitudes of similarly induced nonstationary vortices in the presence of acoustic disturbances in the free stream. Maximum unsteady receptivity occurs when the acoustic velocity fluctuation is aligned with the wave-number vector of the unsteady vortex mode. On the other hand, roughness arrays that are oriented somewhere close to the group velocity direction are likely to produce higher instability amplitudes. Limitations of the nonasymptotic theory are discussed, and future work is suggested.Financial support for this work was provided by the Theoretical Flow Physics Branch at the NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, under Contract No. NAS1-19299.     

Nonlinear Instability in the Region of Laminar-Turbulent Transition in Supersonic Three-Dimensional Flow over a Flat Plate

Direct numerical simulation is applied to obtain laminar-turbulent transition in supersonic flow over a flat plate. It is shown that, due to the nonlinear instability, Tollmien–Schlichting waves generated in the boundary layer lead to the formation of oblique disturbances in the flow. These represent a combination of compression and expansion waves, whose intensities can be two orders higher than that of external harmonic disturbances. The patterns of the three-dimensional flow over the plate are presented and the structures of the turbulent flat-plate boundary layers are described for the freestream Mach numbers M = 2 and 4.     

SHEAR-HORIZONTAL WAVES IN A ROTATED Y-CUT QUARTZ PLATE WITH AN ISOTROPIC ELASTIC LAYER OF FINITE THICKNESS

We study shear-horizontal (SH) waves in a rotated Y-cut quartz plate carrying an isotropic elastic layer of finite thickness.The three-dimensional theories of anisotropic elasticity and isotropic elast...     

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.     

Unsteady gravity-elastic and gravity-capillary ship waves

The development of three-dimensional waves generated by a region of pressures moving uniformly and rectilinearly over the surface of a thin elastic isotropic plate covering an ideal fluid layer of finite depth is investigated. The pressures act starting at a certain instant. A qualitative similarity between the waves occurring and gravity-capillary waves is noted. The calculations are made for an ice cover. This model problem permits examining a number of properties of the oscillations of the ice cover occurring when hauling freight over ice roads, landing and takeoff of aircraft from ice fields, etc. [1]. The development of ship waves in a fluid of finite depth in the absence of a floating plate was investigated in [2, 3] and gravity-capillary waves were studied in [4–6]. Certain properties of steady three-dimensional waves occurring during movement of a load over the surface of a floating elastic plate were established in [1].Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 26–32, September–October, 1978.     

Numerical simulation of receptivity of a hypersonic boundary layer to acoustic disturbances

Direct numerical simulations of the evolution of disturbances in a viscous shock layer on a flat plate are performed for a free-stream Mach number M _∞ = 21 and Reynolds number Re _L = 1.44 · 10⁵. Unsteady Navier-Stokes equations are solved by a high-order shock-capturing scheme. Processes of receptivity and instability development in a shock layer excited by external acoustic waves are considered. Direct numerical simulations are demonstrated to agree well with results obtained by the locally parallel linear stability theory (with allowance for the shock-wave effect) and with experimental measurements in a hypersonic wind tunnel. Mechanisms of conversion of external disturbances to instability waves in a hypersonic shock layer are discussed. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 84–91, May–June, 2007.     

Stability of the laminar boundary layer flow encountering a row of roughness elements: Biglobal stability approach and DNS

The stability of the laminar boundary layer developing on a flat plate in the presence of a periodic row of roughness elements is investigated. A Direct Numerical Simulation is performed to compute the steady flow downstream of the roughness elements, which contains a pair of two counter-rotating streamwise vortices per element, which can be considered as a “pre-streaky” structure. The linear stability of this base flow is analyzed by means of the so-called “biglobal” stability approach. Three-dimensional eigenmodes are found, which are shown to be the continuation of the Tollmien–Schlichting waves present in the case of an unperturbed boundary layer. Moreover, a stabilizing effect due to the roughness-induced vortices is found. A Direct Numerical Simulation of the interaction between a two-dimensional Tollmien–Schlichting wave and the roughness array is also performed. The computed perturbation traveling downstream of the roughness elements is shown to be a linear combination of the biglobal eigenmodes.     

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.     

Optimal disturbances above and upstream of a flat plate with an elliptic-type leading edge

Adjoint-based iterative methods are employed to compute linear optimal disturbances in a spatially growing boundary layer around an elliptic leading edge. The Lagrangian approach is used where an objective function is chosen and constraints are assigned. The optimisation problem is solved using power iterations combined with a matrix-free formulation, where the state is marched forward in time with a standard direct numerical simulation solver and backward with the adjoint solver until a chosen convergence criterion is fulfilled. We consider the global and, more relevant to receptivity studies, the upstream localised optimal initial condition leading to the largest possible energy amplification at time T. We find that the two-dimensional initial condition with the largest potential for growth is a Tollmien–Schlichting-like wave packet that includes the Orr mechanism and is located inside the boundary layer downstream of the leading edge. Three-dimensional optimal disturbances induce streaks by the lift-up mechanism. Requiring the optimal initial condition to be localised upstream of the plate enables us to better study the effects of the leading edge on the boundary layer receptivity mechanisms. Two-dimensional upstream disturbances are inefficient at triggering unstable eigenmodes, whereas three-dimensional disturbances induce streamwise streaks with significant growth.     

Swept-Wing Boundary Layer Receptivity to a Steady Free-Stream Vortex Disturbance

A single trailing vortex developed behind a micro-wing immersed in a free stream was used to study the vortex receptivity of a swept-wing boundary layer. As a result of the interaction, longitudinal-velocity disturbances develop in the boundary layer. On the swept wing, disturbance transformation occurs near the leading edge and is accompanied by the formation of a wave packet consisting of waves typical of cross-flow instability. Disturbances with other characteristics are also detected. These disturbances may be attributable to distributed boundary-layer receptivity to the free-stream vortex disturbance considered.     

Boundary layer sensitivity and receptivitySensibilité et réceptivité d'une couche limite

The relation between the receptivity and the sensitivity of the incompressible flow in the boundary layer over a flat plate to harmonic perturbations is determined. Receptivity describes the birth of a disturbance, whereas sensitivity is a concept of larger breath, describing the modification incurred by the state of a system as a response to parametric variations. The governing equations ruling the system's state are the non-local stability equations. Receptivity and sensitivity functions can be obtained from the solution of the adjoint system of equations. An application to the case of Tollmien–Schlichting waves spatially developing in a flat plate boundary layer is studied. To cite this article: C. Airiau et al., C. R. Mecanique 330 (2002) 259–265.     

On the receptivity and nonparallel stability of traveling disturbances in rotating-disk flow

The generation and evolution of small amplitude long wavelength traveling disturbances in rotating-disk flow is the subject of this paper. The steady rotational speed of the disk is perturbed so as to introduce high-frequency oscillations in the flow field. Secondly, we introduce surface imperfections on the disk such as roughness elements. The interaction of these two disturbances will generate the instability waves whose evolution is governed by parabolic partial differential equations which are solved numerically. It is found that, for the class of disturbances considered here (wavelength on the order of Reynolds number), eigensolutions exist which decay or grow algebraically in the radial direction. However, these solutions grow only for frequencies larger than 4.58 times the steady rotational speed of the disk. The computed receptivity coefficient shows that there is an optimum size of roughness for which these modes are preferentially excited. The width of these roughness elements in the radial direction is about 0.1r ₀ ^* where r ₀ ^* is the radial location of the roughness. It is also found that the receptivity coefficient is larger for a negative spanwise wave number than for a positive one. The cumulative wave pattern produced from the roughness site shows that the typical wave angles for these disturbances are about –26° with about seven waves around the circumference. This is in contrast with the wave angles of 10°–14° found for the 30 or so inviscid cross-flow vortices.This work was sponsored by NASA Langley Research Center under Contracts NAS1-18240 (P.B. and M.R.M.) and NAS1-18605 (P.H.).