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NASA NTRS1989

Semidiscrete Galerkin modelling of compressible viscous flow past a circular cone at incidence

A numerical study of the laminar and compressible boundary layer, about a circular cone in a supersonic free stream, is presented. It is thought that if accurate and efficient numerical schemes can be produced to solve the boundary layer equations, they can be joined to numerical codes that solve the inviscid outer flow. The combination of these numerical codes is competitive with the accurate, but computationally expensive, Navier-Stokes schemes. The primary goal is to develop a finite element method for the calculation of 3-D compressible laminar boundary layer about a yawed cone. The proposed method can, in principle, be extended to apply to the 3-D boundary layer of pointed bodies of arbitrary cross section. The 3-D boundary layer equations governing supersonic free stream flow about a cone are examined. The 3-D partial differential equations are reduced to 2-D integral equations by applying the Howarth, Mangler, Crocco transformations, a linear relation between viscosity, and a Blasius-type of similarity variable. This is equivalent to a Dorodnitsyn-type formulation. The reduced equations are independent of density and curvature effects, and resemble the weak form of the 2-D incompressible boundary layer equations in Cartesian coordinates. In addition the coordinate normal to the wall has been stretched, which reduces the gradients across the layer and provides high resolution near the surface. Utilizing the parabolic nature of the boundary layer equations, a finite element method is applied to the Dorodnitsyn formulation. The formulation is presented in a Petrov-Galerkin finite element form and discretized across the layer using linear interpolation functions. The finite element discretization yields a system of ordinary differential equations in the circumferential direction. The circumferential derivatives are solved by an implicit and noniterative finite difference marching scheme. Solutions are presented for a 15 deg half angle cone at angles of attack of 5 and 10 deg. The numerical solutions assume a laminar boundary layer with free stream Mach number of 7. Results include circumferential distribution of skin friction and surface heat transfer, and cross flow velocity distributions across the layer.

Meade, Andrew James, Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Effect of Suction on Controlling the Secondary Instability of Boundary Layers

The effect of suction on controlling the 3-D secondary instability is investigated for a boundary layer with pressure gradient in the presence of small but finite amplitude Tollmien-Schlichting wave. The focus is on principal parametric resonance responsible for strong growth of subharmonics in low disturbance environment. Calculations are presented for the effect of suction on the onset and amplification of the secondary instability in Blasius and Falkner-Skan flows, as well as its effect on controlling the production of the vortical structure.

El-Hady, Nabil M.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Boundary layer receptivity to freestream turbulence

Freestream turbulence of weak but adjustable intensity incident upon a flat plate test model induced Tollmien-Schichting (TS) waves and wave packets. These were studied using a newly-developed sensor by which the packets could be followed from a station nearly as far forward as the minimum critical Reynolds number to the onset of transition. Conclusions reached from these studies were: (1) weak freestream turbulence induced TS wave packets in a Blasius boundary-layer, (2) packets gained strength during propagation through expansion of lateral and longitudinal scales, and through an increase in peak amplitude, (3) the average wave strength at stations of observation was not related to the freestream velocity fluctuation in a linear manner, and (4) packets typically evolved into turbulent spots.

Kendall, James M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Experimental study of boundary layer transition with elevated freestream turbulence on a heated flat plate

A detailed investigation to document momentum and thermal development of boundary layers undergoing natural transition on a heated flat plate was performed. Experimental results of both overall and conditionally sampled characteristics of laminar, transitional, and low Reynolds number turbulent boundary layers are presented. Measurements were acquired in a low-speed, closed-loop wind tunnel with a freestream velocity of 100 ft/s and zero pressure gradient over a range of freestream turbulence intensities (TI) from 0.4 to 6 percent. The distributions of skin friction, heat transfer rate and Reynolds shear stress were all consistent with previously published data. Reynolds analogy factors for R(sub theta) is less than 2300 were found to be well predicted by laminar and turbulent correlations which accounted for an unheated starting length. The measured laminar value of Reynolds analogy factor was as much as 53 percent higher than the Pr(sup -2/3). A small dependence of turbulent results on TI was observed. Conditional sampling performed in the transitional boundary layer indicated the existence of a near-wall drop in intermittency, pronounced at certain low intermittencies, which is consistent with the cross-sectional shape of turbulent spots observed by others. Non-turbulent intervals were observed to possess large magnitudes of near-wall unsteadiness and turbulent intervals had peak values as much as 50 percent higher than were measured at fully turbulent stations. Non-turbulent and turbulent profiles in transitional boundary layers cannot be simply treated as Blasius and fully turbulent profiles, respectively. The boundary layer spectra indicate predicted selective amplification of T-S waves for TI is approximately 0.4 percent. However, for TI is approximately 0.8 and 1.1 percent, T-S waves are localized very near the wall and do not play a dominant role in transition process.

Sohn, Ki-Hyeon↗
NASA NTRS1991

A finite Reynolds number approach for the prediction of boundary layer receptivity in localized regions

Previous theoretical work on the boundary layer receptivity problem has utilized large Reynolds number asymptotic theories, thus being limited to a narrow part of the frequency - Reynolds number domain. An alternative approach is presented for the prediction of localized instability generation which has a general applicability, and also accounts for finite Reynolds number effects. This approach is illustrated for the case of Tollmien-Schlichting wave generation in a Blasius boundary layer due to the interaction of a free stream acoustic wave with a region of short scale variation in the surface boundary condition. The specific types of wall inhomogeneities studied are: regions of short scale variations in wall suction, wall admittance, and wall geometry (roughness). Extensive comparison is made between the results of the finite Reynolds number approach and previous asymptotic predictions, which also suggests an alternative way of using the latter at Reynolds numbers of interest in practice.

Choudhari, Meelan↗
NASA NTRS1990

The effect of small streamwise velocity distortion on the boundary layer flow over a thin flat plate with application to boundary layer stability theory

Researchers show how an initially linear spanwise disturbance in the free stream velocity field is amplified by leading edge bluntness effects and ultimately leads to a small amplitude but linear spanwise motion far downstream from the edge. This spanwise motion is imposed on the boundary layer flow and ultimately causes an order-one change in its profile shape. The modified profiles are highly unstable and can support Tollmein-Schlichting wave growth well upstream of the theoretical lower branch of the neutral stability curve for a Blasius boundary layer.

Goldstein, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Free-stream turbulence and concave curvature effects on heated, transitional boundary layers

An experimental investigation of the transition process on flat-plate and concave curved-wall boundary layers for various free-stream turbulence levels was performed. Results show that for transition of a flat-plate, the two forms of boundary layer behavior, identified as laminar-like and turbulent-like, cannot be thought of as separate Blasius and fully-turbulent profiles, respectively. Thus, simple transition models in which the desired quantity is assumed to be an average, weighted on intermittency, of the theoretical laminar and fully turbulent values is not expected to be successful. Deviation of the flow identified as laminar-like from theoretical laminar behavior is shown to be due to recovery after the passage of a turbulent spot, while deviation of the flow identified as turbulent-like from the full-turbulent values is thought to be due to incomplete establishment of the fully-turbulent power spectral distribution. Turbulent Prandtl numbers for the transitional flow, computed from measured shear stress, turbulent heat flux and mean velocity and temperature profiles, were less than unity. For the curved-wall case with low free-stream turbulence intensity, the existence of Gortler vortices on the concave wall within both laminar and turbulent flows was established using liquid crystal visualization and spanwise velocity and temperature traverses. Transition was found to occur via a vortex breakdown mode. The vortex wavelength was quite irregular in both the laminar and turbulent flows, but the vortices were stable in time and space. The upwash was found to be more unstable, with higher levels of u' and u'v', and lower skin friction coefficients and shape factors. Turbulent Prandtl numbers, measured using a triple-wire probe, were found to be near unity for all post-transitional profiles, indicating no gross violation of Reynolds analogy. No evidence of streamwise vortices was seen in the high turbulence intensity case.

Kim, J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Resonant Triad in Boundary-Layer Stability: Composite Solution and Comparison with Observations - Part 2

Here, numerical results are computed from an asymptotic near-resonance triad analysis. The analysis considers a resonant triad of instability waves consisting of a plane fundamental wave and a pair of symmetrical oblique subharmonic waves. The relevant scaling ensures that nonlinearity is confined to a distinct critical layer. The analysis is first used to form a composite solution that accounts for both the flow divergence and nonlinear effects. It is shown that the backreaction on the plane Tollmien Schlichting (TS) fundamental wave, although fully accounted for, is of little significance. The observed enhancement at the fundamental frequency disturbance is not in the plane TS wave, but is caused by nonlinearly generated waves at the fundamental frequency that result from nonlinear interactions in the critical layer. The saturation of the oblique waves is caused by their self-interaction. The nonlinear phase-locking phenomenon, the location of resonance with respect to the neutral stability curve, low frequency effects, detuning in the streamwise wave numbers, and nonlinear distortion of the mode shapes are discussed. Nonlinearity modifies the initially two dimensional Blasius profile into a fuller one with spanwise periodicity. The interactions at a wide range of unstable spanwise wave numbers are considered, and the existence of a preferred spanwise wave number is explained by means of the vorticity distribution in the critical layer. Besides presenting novel features of the phenomena and explaining the delicate mechanisms of the interactions, the results of the theory are in excellent agreement with experimental and numerical observations for all stages of the development and for various input parameters.

Mankbadi, Reda R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A Chebyshev matrix method for the spatial modes of the Orr-Sommerfeld equation

The Chebyshev matrix collocation method is applied to obtain the spatial modes of the Orr-Sommerfeld equation for Poiseuille flow and the Blasius boundary layer. The problems is linearized by the companion matrix technique for semiinfinite domain using a mapping transformation. The method can be easily adapted to problems with different boundary conditions requiring different transformations.

Danabasoglu, Gokhan↗
NASA NTRS1991

Effect of suction on controlling the secondary instability of boundary layers

The effect of suction on controlling the three-dimensional secondary instability is investigated for a boundary layer with a pressure gradient in the presence of a small but finite-amplitude Tollmien-Schlichting wave. The focus is on the principal parametric resonance responsible for the strong growth of subharmonics in a low disturbance environment. Calculations are presented for the effect of suction on the onset and amplification of the secondary instability in Blasius and Falkner-Skan flows, as well as its effect on controlling the production of the vortical structure.

El-Hady, Nabil M.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Boundary layer receptivity to unsteady free-stream pressure gradients

A linear triple-deck theory is applied to an examination of the response of a boundary layer to short-scale variations in an unsteady free-stream disturbance field. Two-dimensional incompressible flows are considered, and a locally-parallel Blasius mean flow is assumed. A simple pulsating pressure source and a traveling pressure field in the free-stream are modeled by introducing appropriate pressure sources in the upper deck of the triple-deck structure. The modification in unsteady thickness is obtained for these cases, the results are related to the Tollmien-Schlichting instability wave, and the generation of unstable Tollmien-Schlichting waves for both experiments modeled is confirmed.

Heinrich, Roland A. E.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The stability to two-dimensional wakes and shear layers at high Mach numbers

This study is concerned with the stability properties of laminar free-shear-layer flows, and in particular symmetric two-dimensional wakes, for the supersonic through the hypersonic regimes. Emphasis is given to the use of proper wake profiles that satisfy the equations of motion at high Reynolds numbers. In particular the inviscid stability of a developing two-dimensional wake is studied as it accelerates at the trailing edge of a splitter plate. The nonparallelism of the flow is a leading-order effect in the calculation of the basic state, which is obtained numerically. Neutral stability characteristics are computed and the hypersonic stability is obtained by increasing the Mach number. It is found that the stability characteristics are altered significantly as the wake develops. Multiple modes (secondary modes) are found in the near wake that are closely related to the corresponding Blasius ones, but as the wake develops mode multiplicity is delayed to higher and higher Mach numbers. At a distance of about one plate length from the trailing edge, there is only one mode in a Mach number range of 0-20. The dominant mode emerging at all wake stations, and for high enough Mach numbers, is the so-called vorticity mode that is centered around the generalized inflection point layer. The structure of the dominant mode is also obtained analytically for all streamwise wake locations and it is shown how the far-wake limit is approached. Asymptotic results for the hypersonic mixing layer given by a tanh and a Lock distribution are also given.

Papageorgiou, Demetrios T.↗
NASA NTRS1992

An investigation of DTNS2D for use as an incompressible turbulence modelling test-bed

This paper documents an investigation of a two dimensional, incompressible Navier-Stokes solver for use as a test-bed for turbulence modelling. DTNS2D is the code under consideration for use at the Center for Modelling of Turbulence and Transition (CMOTT). This code was created by Gorski at the David Taylor Research Center and incorporates the pseudo compressibility method. Two laminar benchmark flows are used to measure the performance and implementation of the method. The classical solution of the Blasius boundary layer is used for validating the flat plate flow, while experimental data is incorporated in the validation of backward facing step flow. Velocity profiles, convergence histories, and reattachment lengths are used to quantify these calculations. The organization and adaptability of the code are also examined in light of the role as a numerical test-bed.

Steffen, Christopher J., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Boundary-layer receptivity due to distributed surface imperfections of a deterministic or random nature

Acoustic receptivity of a Blasius boundary layer in the presence of distributed surface irregularities is investigated analytically. It is shown that, out of the entire spatial spectrum of the surface irregularities, only a small band of Fourier components can lead to an efficient conversion of the acoustic input at any given frequency to an unstable eigenmode of the boundary layer flow. The location, and width, of this most receptive band of wavenumbers corresponds to a relative detuning of O(R sub l.b.(exp -3/8)) with respect to the lower-neutral instability wavenumber at the frequency under consideration, R sub l.b. being the Reynolds number based on a typical boundary-layer thickness at the lower branch of the neutral stability curve. Surface imperfections in the form of discrete mode waviness in this range of wavenumbers lead to initial instability amplitudes which are O(R sub l.b.(exp 3/8)) larger than those caused by a single, isolated roughness element. In contrast, irregularities with a continuous spatial spectrum produce much smaller instability amplitudes, even compared to the isolated case, since the increase due to the resonant nature of the response is more than that compensated for by the asymptotically small band-width of the receptivity process. Analytical expressions for the maximum possible instability amplitudes, as well as their expectation for an ensemble of statistically irregular surfaces with random phase distributions, are also presented.

Choudhari, Meelan↗
NASA NTRS1992

Sensitivity analysis of hydrodynamic stability operators

The eigenvalue sensitivity for hydrodynamic stability operators is investigated. Classical matrix perturbation techniques as well as the concept of epsilon-pseudoeigenvalues are applied to show that parts of the spectrum are highly sensitive to small perturbations. Applications are drawn from incompressible plane Couette, trailing line vortex flow and compressible Blasius boundary layer flow. Parametric studies indicate a monotonically increasing effect of the Reynolds number on the sensitivity. The phenomenon of eigenvalue sensitivity is due to the non-normality of the operators and their discrete matrix analogs and may be associated with large transient growth of the corresponding initial value problem.

Schmid, Peter J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

A finite Reynolds number approach for receptivity due to rapid variations in surface boundary conditions

A new approach to the prediction of instability generation due to the interaction of free-stream disturbances with regions of short-scale variations in surface boundary conditions is presented which accounts for the finite Reynolds number effects while providing a framework for studying receptivity in a variety of flows. The approach is demonstrated for the case of Tollmien-Schlichting wave generation in a Blasius boundary layer due to the interaction of a free-stream acoustic wave with a localized wall inhomogeneity. The results obtained by the finite Reynolds number approach are compared with predictions of the asymptotic approach.

Choudhari, Meelan↗
NASA NTRS1992

Direct numerical simulation of instabilities in parallel flow with spherical roughness elements

Results from a direct numerical simulation of laminar flow over a flat surface with spherical roughness elements using a spectral-element method are given. The numerical simulation approximates roughness as a cellular pattern of identical spheres protruding from a smooth wall. Periodic boundary conditions on the domain's horizontal faces simulate an infinite array of roughness elements extending in the streamwise and spanwise directions, which implies the parallel-flow assumption, and results in a closed domain. A body force, designed to yield the horizontal Blasius velocity in the absence of roughness, sustains the flow. Instabilities above a critical Reynolds number reveal negligible oscillations in the recirculation regions behind each sphere and in the free stream, high-amplitude oscillations in the layer directly above the spheres, and a mean profile with an inflection point near the sphere's crest. The inflection point yields an unstable layer above the roughness (where U''(y) is less than 0) and a stable region within the roughness (where U''(y) is greater than 0). Evidently, the instability begins when the low-momentum or wake region behind an element, being the region most affected by disturbances (purely numerical in this case), goes unstable and moves. In compressible flow with periodic boundaries, this motion sends disturbances to all regions of the domain. In the unstable layer just above the inflection point, the disturbances grow while being carried downstream with a propagation speed equal to the local mean velocity; they do not grow amid the low energy region near the roughness patch. The most amplified disturbance eventually arrives at the next roughness element downstream, perturbing its wake and inducing a global response at a frequency governed by the streamwise spacing between spheres and the mean velocity of the most amplified layer.

Deanna, R. G.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A finite Reynolds-number approach for the prediction of boundary-layer receptivity in localized regions

Previous theoretical work on the boundary layer receptivity problem has utilized large Reynolds number asymptotic theories, thus being limited to a narrow part of the frequency-Reynolds number domain. An alternative approach is presented for the prediction of localized instability generation which has a general applicability, and also accounts for finite Reynolds number effects. This approach is illustrated for the case of Tollmien-Schlichting wave generation in a Blasius boundary layer due to the interaction of a free stream acoustic wave with a region of short scale variation in the surface boundary condition. The specific types of wall inhomogeneities studied are: regions of short scale variations in wall suction, wall admittance, and wall geometry (roughness). Extensive comparison is made between the results of the finite Reynolds number approach and previous asymptotic predictions, which also suggests an alternative way of using the latter at Reynolds numbers of interest in practice.

Choudhari, Meelan↗