Spatial simulation of boundary layer instability - Effects of surface roughness

Abstract

The effects of an isolated, two-dimensional roughness element on the spatial development of instability waves in boundary layers are investigated by numerically integrating the two-dimensional, time-dependent, incompressible Navier-Stokes equations, using a finite difference/Chebyshev discretization. It is shown that (high) inviscid frequencies have higher growth rates than Tollmien-Schlichting frequencies, indicating that disturbances growing in the separation zone are controlled by the inviscid instability of the shear layer at the edge of the separation zone.