Physical implication of two problems in transition prediction of boundary layers based on linear stability theory

Up to now,the most widely used method for transition prediction is the one based on linear stability theory.When it is applied to three-dimensional boundary layers,one has to choose the direction,or path,along which the growth rate of the disturbance is to be integrated.The direction given by using saddle point method in the theory of complex variable function is seen as mathematically most reasonable.However,unlike the saddle point method applied to water waves,here its physical meaning is not so obvious,as the frequency and wave number may be complex.And on some occasions,in advancing the integration of the growth rate of the disturbance,up to a certain location,one may not be able to continue the integration,because the condition for specifying the direction set by the saddle point method can no longer be satisfied on the basis of continuously varying wave number.In this paper,these two problems are discussed,and suggestions for how to do transition prediction under the latter condition are provided.

Linear stability of plane creeping Couette flow for Burgers fluid

It is well known that plane creeping Couette flow of UCM and Oldroy-B fluids are linearly stable. However, for Burges fluid, which includes UCM and Oldroyd-B fluids as special cases, unstable modes are detected in the present work. The wave speed, critical parameters and perturbation mode are studied for neutral waves. Energy analysis shows that the sustaining of perturbation energy in Poiseuille flow and Couette flow is completely different. At low Reynolds number limit, analytical solutions are obtained for simpli- fied perturbation equations. The essential difference between Burgers fluid and Oldroyd-B fluid is revealed to be the fact that neutral mode exists only in the former.

Linear stability analysis of supersonic axisymmetric jets

Stabilities of supersonic jets are examined with different velocities, momentum thicknesses, and core temperatures. Amplification rates of instability waves at inlet are evaluated by linear stability theory （LST）. It is found that increased velocity and core temperature would increase amplification rates substantially and such influence varies for different azimuthal wavenumbers. The most unstable modes in thin momentum thickness cases usually have higher frequencies and azimuthal wavenumbers. Mode switching is observed for low azimuthal wavenumbers, but it appears merely in high velocity cases. In addition, the results provided by linear parabolized stability equations show that the mean-flow divergence affects the spatial evolution of instability waves greatly. The most amplified instability waves globally are sometimes found to be different from that given by LST.

Effect of local wall temperature on hypersonic boundary layer stability and transition

Wall temperature significantly affects stability and receptivity of the boundary layer. Changing the wall temperature locally may therefore be an effective laminar flow control technique. However, the situation is complicated when the wall temperature distribution is nonuniform, and researchers have experimentally found that local wall cooling may delay the onset of transition. We attempt to clarify the physical mechanisms whereby the local wall temperature affects the transition and the stability of a hypersonic boundary layer. A numerical investigation of the disturbance evolution in a Mach-6 sharp cone boundary layer with local wall heating or cooling is conducted. Direct numerical simulation(DNS) is performed for the single-frequency and broadband disturbance evolution caused by random forcing. We vary the local wall temperature and the location of heating/cooling, and then use the eNmethod to estimate the transition onset. Our results show that local wall cooling amplifies high-frequency unstable waves while stabilizing low-frequency unstable waves, with local heating amplifying all unstable waves locally. The disturbance amplitude and second-mode peak frequency obtained by DNS agree well with the previous experimental results. Local cooling/heating has a dual effect on the stability of the hypersonic boundary layer. For local cooling, while it effectively inhibits the growth of the low-frequency unstable waves that dominate the transition downstream, it also further destabilizes the downstream flow. In addition, while upstream cooling can delay the transition, excessive cooling may promote it;local heating always slightly promotes the transition.Finally, recommendations are given for practical engineering applications based on the present results.

Stability analysis method considering non-parallelism:EPSE method and its application

The e-N method is widely used in transition prediction. The amplitude growth rate used in the e-N method is usually provided by the linear stability theory （LST） based on the local parallel hypothesis. Considering the non-parallelism effect, the parabolized stability equation （PSE） method lacks local characteristic of stability analysis. In this paper, a local stability analysis method considering non-parallelism is proposed, termed as EPSE since it may be considered as an expansion of the PSE method. The EPSE considers variation of the shape function in the streamwise direction. Its local characteristic is convenient for stability analysis. This paper uses the EPSE in a strong non-parallel flow and mode exchange problem. The results agree well with the PSE and the direct numerical simulation （DNS）. In addition, it is found that the growth rate is related to the normalized method in the non-parallel flow. Different results can be obtained using different normalized methods. Therefore, the normalized method must be consistent.

Verification of parabolized stability equations for its application to compressible boundary layers

Parabolized stability equations （PSE） were used to study the evolution of disturbances in compressible boundary layers. The results were compared with those obtained by direct numerical simulations （DNS）, to check if the results from PSE method were reliable or not. The results of comparison showed that no matter for subsonic or supersonic boundary layers, results from both the PSE and DNS method agreed with each other reasonably well, and the agreement between temperatures was better than those between velocities. In addition, linear PSE was used to calculate the neutral curve for small amplitude disturbances in a supersonic boundary layer. Compared with those obtained by linear stability theory （LST）, the situation was similar to those for incom- pressible boundary layer.

Application of Arnoldi method to boundary layer instability

The Arnoldi method is applied to boundary layer instability, and a finite difference method is employed to avoid the limit of the finite element method. This modus operandi is verified by three comparison cases, i.e., comparison with linear stability theory（LST） for two-dimensional（2D） disturbance on one-dimensional（1D） basic flow, comparison with LST for three-dimensional（3D） disturbance on 1D basic flow, and comparison with Floquet theory for 3D disturbance on 2D basic flow. Then it is applied to secondary instability analysis on the streaky boundary layer under spanwise-localized free-stream turbulence（FST）. Three unstable modes are found, i.e., an inner mode at a high-speed center streak, a sinuous type outer mode at a low-speed center streak, and a sinuous type outer mode at low-speed side streaks. All these modes are much more unstable than Tollmien–Schlichting（TS） waves, implying the dominant contribution of secondary instability in bypass transition. The modes at strong center streak are more unstable than those at weak side streaks, so the center streak is ‘dangerous＇ in secondary instability.

Detailed string stability analysis for bi-directional optimal velocity model

The class of bi-directional optimal velocity models can describe the bi-directional looking effect that usually exists in the reality and is even enhanced with the development of the connected vehicle technologies. Its combined string stability condition can be obtained through the method of the ring-road based string stability analysis. However, the partial string stability about traffic fluctuation propagated backward or forward was neglected, which will be analyzed in detail in this work by the method of transfer function and its H∞ norm from the viewpoint of control theory. Then, through comparing the conditions of combined and partial string stabilities, their relationships can make traffic flow be divided into three distinguishable regions, displaying various combined and partial string stability performance. Finally, the numerical experiments verify the theoretical results and find that the final displaying string stability or instability performance results from the accumulated and offset effects of traffic fluctuations propagated from different directions.

Linear stability analysis of interactions between mixing layer and boundary layer flows

The linear instabilities of incompressible confluent mixing layer and boundary layer were analyzed.The mixing layers include wake,shear layer and their combination.The mean velocity profile of confluent flow is taken as a superposition of a hyperbolic and exponential function to model a mixing layer and the Blasius similarity solution for a flat plate boundary layer.The stability equation of confluent flow was solved by using the global numerical method.The unstable modes associated with both the mixing and boundary layers were identified.They are the boundary layer mode,mixing layer mode 1（nearly symmetrical mode）and mode 2（nearly anti-symmetrical mode）.The interactions between the mixing layer stability and the boundary layer stability were examined.As the mixing layer approaches the boundary layer,the neutral curves of the boundary layer mode move to the upper left,the resulting critical Reynolds number decreases,and the growth rate of the most unstable mode increases.The wall tends to stabilize the mixing layer modes at low frequency.In addition,the mode switching behavior of the relative level of the spatial growth rate between the mixing layer mode 1 and mode 2 with the velocity ratio is found to occur at low frequency.

A Backward-Looking Optimal Current Lattice Model

An optimai current lattice model with backward-looking effect is proposed to describe the motion of traffic flow on a single lane highway. The behavior of the new model is investigated anaiytically and numerically. The stability, neutrai stability, and instability conditions of the uniform flow are obtained by the use of linear stability theory. The stability of the uniform flow is strengthened effectively by the introduction of the backward-looking effect. The numerical simulations are carried out to verify the validity of the new model. The outcomes of the simulation are corresponding to the linearly analyticai results. The analytical and numerical results show that the performance of the new model is better than that of the previous models.

Improved local amplification factor transport equation for stationary crossflow instability in subsonic and transonic flows

Transition prediction is a hot research topic of fluid mechanics.For subsonic and transonic aerodynamic flows,e^(N) method based on Linear Stability Theory(LST)is usually adopted reliably to predict transition.In 2013,Coder and Maughmer established a transport equation for Tollmien-Schlichting(T-S)instability so that the e^(N) method can be applied to general Reynolds-Average-Navier-Stokes(RANS)solvers conveniently.However,this equation focuses on T-S instability,and is invalid for crossflow instability induced transition which plays a crucial role in flow instability of three-dimensional boundary layers.Subsequently,a transport equation for crossflow instability was developed in 2016,which is restricted to wing-like geometries.Then,in 2019,this model was extended to arbitrarily shaped geometries based on local variables.However,there are too many tedious functions and parameters in this version,and it can only be used for incompressible flows.Hence,in this paper,after a large amount of LST analyses and parameter optimization,an improved version for subsonic and transonic boundary layers is built.The present improved model is more robust and more concise,and it can be applied widely in aeronautical flows,which has great engineering application value and significance.An extensive validation study for this improved transition model will be performed.

Instability analysis and drag coefficient prediction on a swept RAE2822 wing with constant lift coefficient

Swept wing is widely used in civil aircraft,whose airfoil is chosen,designed and optimized to increase the cruise speed and decrease the drag coefficient.The parameters of swept wing,such as sweep angle and angle of attack,are determined according to the cruise lift coefficient requirement,and the drag coefficient is expected to be predicted accurately,which involves the instability characteristics and transition position of the flow.The pressure coefficient of the RAE2822 wing with given constant lift coefficient is obtained by solving the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equation numerically,and then the mean flow is calculated by solving the boundary layer（BL） equation with spectral method.The cross-flow instability characteristic of boundary layer of swept wing in the windward and leeward is analyzed by linear stability theory（LST）,and the transition position is predicted by eNmethod.The drag coefficient is numerically predicted by introducing a laminar/turbulent indicator.A simple approach to calculate the lift coefficient of swept wing is proposed.It is found that there is a quantitative relationship between the angle of attack and sweep angle when the lift coefficient keeps constant;when the angle of attack is small,the flow on the leeward of the wing is stable.when the angle of attack is larger than 3°,the flow becomes unstable quickly;with the increase of sweep angle or angle of attack the disturbance on the windward becomes more unstable,leading to the moving forward of the transition position to the leading edge of the wing;the drag coefficient has two significant jumping growth due to the successive occurrence of transition in the windward and the leeward;the optimal range of sweep angle for civil aircraft is suggested.

Attenuation of boundary-layer instabilities for natural laminar flow design on supersonic highly swept wings

To meet the challenge of drag reduction for next-generation supersonic transport aircraft,increasing attention has been focused on Natural Laminar Flow(NLF)technology.However,the highly swept wings and high-Reynolds-number conditions of such aircraft dramatically amplify Crossflow(CF)instabilities inside boundary layers,making it difficult to maintain a large laminar flow region.To explore novel NLF designs on supersonic wings,this article investigates the mechanisms underlying the attenuation of Tollmien-Schlichting(TS)and CF instabilities by modifying pressure distributions.The evolution of TS and CF instabilities are evaluated under typical pressure distributions with different leading-edge flow acceleration region lengths,pressure coefficient slopes and pressure coefficient deviations.The results show that shortening the leading-edge flow acceleration region and using a flat pressure distribution are favorable for suppressing CF instabilities,and keeping a balance of disturbance growth between positive and negative wave angles is favorable for attenuating TS instabilities.Based on the uncovered mechanisms,a strategy of supersonic NLF design is proposed.Examination of the proposed strategy at a 60°sweep angle and Ma=2 presents potential to exceed the conventional NLF limit and achieve a transition Reynolds number of 17.6million,which can provide guidance for NLF design on supersonic highly swept wings.

Transition study of 3D aerodynamic configures using improved transport equations modeling

As boundary layer transition plays an important role in aerodynamic drag prediction, the proposal and study of transition prediction methods simulating the complex flow phenomena are prerequisite for aerodynamic design. In this paper, with the application of the linear stability theory based on amplification factor transport transition equations on the two-equation shear stress transport (SST) eddy-viscosity model, a new method, the SST-NTS-NCF model, is yielded. The new amplification factor transport equation for the crossflow instability induced transition is proposed to add to the NTS equation proposed by Coder, which simulates Tollmien-Schlichting wave transition. The turbulent kinetic energy equation is modified by introducing a new source term that simulates the transition process without the intermittency factor equation. Finally, coupled with these two amplification factor transport equations and SST turbulence model, a four-equation transition turbulence model is built. Comparisons between predictions using the new model and wind-tunnel experiments of NACA64(2) A015, NLF(2)-0415 and ONERA-D infinite swept wing and ONERAM6 swept wing validate the predictive quality of the new SST-NTS-NCF model. (C) 2016 Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Production and hosting by Elsevier Ltd.

Competition of the multiple Grtler modes in hypersonic boundary layer flows

Competition of multiple Gortler modes in hypersonic boundary layer flows are investigated with the local and marching methods. The wall-layer mode （mode W） and the trapped-layer mode （mode T） both occur in the compressible boundary layer where there exists a temperature adjustment layer near the upper edge. The mode T has the largest growth rate at a lower Gortler number while the mode W dominates at larger G/Srtler numbers. These two modes are both responsible for the flow transition in the hypersonic flows especially when Gortler number is in the high value range in which the crossover of these two modes takes place. Such high Gortler numbers are virtually far beyond the neutral regime. The nonparallel base flows, therefore, cease to influence the stability behavior of the Gortler modes. The effects of the Mach number on the multiple Gortler modes are studied within a chosen Mach number of 0.95, 2, 4 and 6. When the flow Mach number is sufficiently large, e.g., Ma ≥4, the growth rate crossover of the mode T and mode W occurs both in the conventional G-β map as well as on the route downstream for a fixed wavelength disturbance. Four particular regions （Region T, T-W, W-T and W） around the crossover point are highlighted with the marching analysis and the result matches that of the local analysis. The initial disturbance of a normal mode maintains the shape in its corresponding dominating region while a shape-transformation occurs outside this region.

Experimental Investigation of Flow Instabilities in a Laminar Separation Bubble

The present paper reports the results of a detailed experimental study aimed at investigating the dynamics of a laminar separation bubble, from the origin of separation up to the breakdown to turbulence of the large scale co- herent structures generated as a consequence of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability process. Measurements have been performed along a fiat plate installed within a double contoured test section, designed to produce an adverse pressure gradient typical of Ultra-High-Lift turbine blade profiles, which induces the formation of a laminar separation bubble at low Reynolds number condition. Measurements have been carried out by means of comple- mentary techniques： hot-wire （HW） anemometry, Laser Doppler Velocirnetry （LDV） and Particle Image Veloci- metry （PIV）. The high accuracy 2-dimensional LDV results allow investigating reverse flow magnitude and both Reynolds normal and shear stress distributions along the separated flow region, while the high frequency response of the HW anemometer allows analyzing the amplification process of flow oscillations induced by instability mechanisms. PIV results complement the flow field analysis providing information on the generation and evolu- tion of the large scale coherent structures shed as a consequence of the separated shear layer roll-up, through in- stantaneous velocity vector maps. The simultaneous analysis of the data obtained by means of the different meas- uring techniques allows an in depth view of the instability mechanisms involved in the transition/reattachrnent processes of the separated shear layer.

Comparison of 2-acetylfuran,2-ethylfuran,and 2-methylfuran spherically expanding flame intrinsic instabilities

The intrinsic instability of three furan derivatives, namely, 2-acetylfuran(AF), 2-ethylfuran(EF), and 2-methylfuran(MF), is experimentally and theoretically investigated and compared. A deep-learning-based end-to-end system is used to segment the cells and measure the crack length on the cellular flame front of the spherically expanding flame to quantitively investigate the flame morphology. Moreover, the flame front radius profile is quantitively investigated to shed light on the correlation between disturbance amplitude and flame radius. With the use of the linear stability model, the theoretical critical flame radius and Peclet number are obtained and compared to their corresponding experimental results to characterize the outset of cellularization and evaluate the flame instability propensity. Our analysis shows that compared with AF and EF, MF is prone to cellularization at a smaller flame radius and has a faster cell proliferation rate and crack length growth rate before reaching the hydrodynamic saturation limit. Meanwhile, the average area of saturated cells tends to be similar for the three furan derivatives. Furthermore,AF premixed flame does not exhibit cellularization before the flame radius is less than 45 mm in low initial pressure.