scholarly journals Transition to turbulence through steep global-modes cascade in an open rotating cavity

2011 ◽  
Vol 688 ◽  
pp. 493-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bertrand Viaud ◽  
Eric Serre ◽  
Jean-Marc Chomaz
Keyword(s):  
Threshold Value ◽  
Secondary Instability ◽  
Base Flow ◽  
Transition To Turbulence ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Global Mode ◽  
Rotating Boundary ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Real Flow ◽  
Secondary Instabilities

AbstractThe transition to turbulence in a rotating boundary layer is analysed via direct numerical simulation (DNS) in an annular cavity made of two parallel corotating discs of finite radial extent, with a forced inflow at the hub and free outflow at the rim. In a former numerical investigation (Viaud, Serre & Chomaz J. Fluid Mech., vol. 598, 2008, pp. 451–464) realized in a sectorial cavity of azimuthal extent $2\lrm{\pi} / 68$, we have established the existence of a primary bifurcation to nonlinear global mode with angular phase velocity and radial envelope coherent with the so-called elephant mode theory. The former study has demonstrated the subcritical nature of this primary bifurcation with a base flow that keeps being linearly stable for all Reynolds numbers studied. The present work investigates the stability of this elephant mode by extending the cavity both in the radial and azimuthal direction. When the Reynolds number based on the forced throughflow is increased above a threshold value for the existence of the nonlinear global mode, a large-amplitude impulsive perturbation gives rise to a self-sustained saturated wave with characteristics identical to the 68-fold global elephant mode obtained in the smaller cavity. This saturated wave is itself globally unstable and a second front appears in the lee of the primary where small-scale instability develops. These secondary instabilities are identical for the $2\lrm{\pi} / 68$ and the $2\lrm{\pi} / 4$ long sectorial cavities, indicating that transition involves a Floquet mode of zero azimuthal wavenumber. This secondary instability leads to a very disorganized state, defining the transition to turbulence. The observed transition to turbulence linked to the secondary instability of a global mode confirms, for the first time on a real flow, the possibility of a direct transition to turbulence through an elephant mode cascade, a scenario that was up to now only observed on the Ginzburg–Landau model.

Stability of the Base Flow to Axisymmetric and Plane-Polar Disturbances in an Electrically Driven Flow Between Infinitely-Long, Concentric Cylinders

2000 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-42
Author(s):  
J. Liu ◽  
G. Talmage ◽  
J. S. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Electric Current ◽  
Axial Magnetic Field ◽  
Normal Modes ◽  
Azimuthal Velocity ◽  
Base Flow ◽  
Transition To Turbulence ◽  
Electrically Conducting ◽  
Concentric Cylinders ◽  
The Stability

The method of normal modes is used to examine the stability of an azimuthal base flow to both axisymmetric and plane-polar disturbances for an electrically conducting fluid confined between stationary, concentric, infinitely-long cylinders. An electric potential difference exists between the two cylinder walls and drives a radial electric current. Without a magnetic field, this flow remains stationary. However, if an axial magnetic field is applied, then the interaction between the radial electric current and the magnetic field gives rise to an azimuthal electromagnetic body force which drives an azimuthal velocity. Infinitesimal axisymmetric disturbances lead to an instability in the base flow. Infinitesimal plane-polar disturbances do not appear to destabilize the base flow until shear-flow transition to turbulence.

Experiments on the stability and transition of wind-driven water surfaces

2001 ◽  
Vol 446 ◽  
pp. 25-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
FABRICE VERON ◽  
W. KENDALL MELVILLE
Keyword(s):  
Surface Current ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Surface Flow ◽  
Transition To Turbulence ◽  
Surface Velocity ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Gas Transfer ◽  
Water Surfaces ◽  
Langmuir Circulations ◽  
The Stability

We present the results of laboratory and field measurements on the stability of wind-driven water surfaces. The laboratory measurements show that when exposed to an increasing wind starting from rest, surface current and wave generation is accompanied by a variety of phenomena that occur over comparable space and time scales. Of particular interest is the generation of small-scale, streamwise vortices, or Langmuir circulations, the clear influence of the circulations on the structure of the growing wave field, and the subsequent transition to turbulence of the surface flow. Following recent work by Melville, Shear & Veron (1998) and Veron & Melville (1999b), we show that the waves that are initially generated by the wind are then strongly modulated by the Langmuir circulations that follow. Direct measurements of the modulated wave variables are qualitatively consistent with geometrical optics and wave action conservation, but quantitative comparison remains elusive. Within the range of parameters of the experiments, both the surface waves and the Langmuir circulations first appear at constant Reynolds numbers of 370 ± 10 and 530 ± 20, respectively, based on the surface velocity and the depth of the laminar shear layer. The onset of the Langmuir circulations leads to a significant increase in the heat transfer across the surface. The field measurements in a boat basin display the same phenomena that are observed in the laboratory. The implications of the measurements for air–sea fluxes, especially heat and gas transfer, and sea-surface temperature, are discussed.

scholarly journals Hydrodynamic turbulence in unbounded shear flows

2000 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-187
Author(s):  
J.G. LOMINADZE
Keyword(s):  
Shear Flows ◽  
Numerical Test ◽  
Threshold Value ◽  
Nonlinear Process ◽  
Finite Amplitude ◽  
Transition To Turbulence ◽  
Wave Number ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Test Analysis ◽  
Vortex Disturbances

A new conception of subcritical transition to turbulence in unbounded smooth shear flows is discussed. According to this scenario, the transition to turbulence is caused by the interplay between the four basic phenomena: (a) linear “drift” of spatial Fourier harmonics (SFH) of disturbances in wave-number space (k-space); (b) transient growth of SFH; (c) viscous dissipation; (d) nonlinear process that closes a feedback loop of transition by angular redistribution of SFH in k-space; The key features of the concept are: transition to turbulence only by the finite amplitude vortex disturbances; anisotropy of the process in k-space; onset on chaos due to the dynamic (not stochastic) process. The evolution of 2D small-scale vortex disturbances in the parallel flows with uniform shear of velocity is analyzed in the framework of the weak turbulence approach. This numerical test analysis is carried out to prove the most problematic statement of the conception—existence of positive feedback caused by the nonlinear process (d). Numerical calculations also show the existence of a threshold: if amplitude of the initial disturbance exceeds the threshold value, the self maintenance of disturbances becomes realistic. The latter, in turn, is the characteristic feature of the flow transition to the turbulent state and its self maintenance.

scholarly journals Secondary Instabilities in Incompressible Axisymmetric Boundary Layers: Effect of Transverse Curvature

2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Vinod ◽  
Rama Govindarajan
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Laminar Flow ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Base Flow ◽  
Transition To Turbulence ◽  
Flow Past A Cylinder ◽  
Incompressible Boundary ◽  
Layer Flow ◽  
Secondary Instabilities ◽  
Long Cylinder

The secondary instability of the incompressible boundary layer in the axial flow past a cylinder is studied. The laminar flow is shown to be always stable at high transverse curvatures to secondary disturbances. Because the primary mode is stable as well, (Tutty et al., 2002, “Boundary Layer Flow on a Long Thin Cylinder,”. Phys. Fluids, 14(2), pp. 628–637), this implies that the boundary layer on a thin long cylinder may undergo transition to turbulence by means very different from that on a flat plate. The azimuthal wavenumber of the least stable secondary modes (m±) are related to that of the primary (n) by m+ = 2n and m− = −n. The base flow is shown to be inviscidly stable at any curvature.

Boussinesq global modes and stability sensitivity, with applications to stratified wakes

2017 ◽  
Vol 812 ◽  
pp. 1146-1188
Author(s):  
Kevin K. Chen ◽  
Geoffrey R. Spedding
Keyword(s):  
Bluff Body ◽  
Boussinesq Equations ◽  
Base Flow ◽  
Mode Analysis ◽  
Flow Density ◽  
Global Mode ◽  
Multiple Production ◽  
Small Density ◽  
Global Modes ◽  
The Stability

For the Boussinesq equations, we present a theory of linear stability sensitivity to base flow density and velocity modifications. Given a steady-state flow with small density variations, the sensitivity of the stability eigenvalues is computed from the direct and adjoint global modes of the linearised Boussinesq equations, similarly to Marquetet al.(J. Fluid Mech., vol. 615, 2008, pp. 221–252). Combinations of the density and velocity components of these modes reveal multiple production and transport mechanisms that contribute to the eigenvalue sensitivity. We present an application of the sensitivity theory to a stably linearly density-stratified flow around a thin plate at a$90^{\circ }$angle of attack, a Reynolds number of 30 and Froude numbers of 1, 8 and$\infty$. The global mode analysis reveals lightly damped undulations pervading through the entire domain, which are predicted by both inviscid uniform base flow theory and Orr–Sommerfeld theory. The sensitivity to base flow velocity modifications is primarily concentrated just downstream of the bluff body. On the other hand, the sensitivity to base flow density modifications is concentrated in regions both immediately upstream and immediately downstream of the plate. Both sensitivities have a greater upstream presence for lower Froude numbers.

scholarly journals Transition to turbulence in an elliptic vortex

1996 ◽  
Vol 307 ◽  
pp. 43-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. S. Lundgren ◽  
N. N. Mansour
Keyword(s):  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Periodic Wave ◽  
Transition To Turbulence ◽  
Energy Spectra ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Secondary Instabilities ◽  
Vortex Tubes

Stability and transition to turbulence are studied in a simple incompressible two-dimensional bounded swirling flow with a rectangular planform – a vortex in a box. This flow is unstable to three-dimensional disturbances. The instability takes the form of counter-rotating swirls perpendicular to the axis which bend the vortex into a periodic wave. As these swirls grow in amplitude the primary vorticity is compressed into thin vortex layers. These develop secondary instabilities which roll up into vortex tubes. In this way the flow attains a turbulent state which is populated by intense elongated vortex tubes and weaker vortex layers which spiral around them. The flow was computed at two Reynolds numbers by spectral methods with up to 2563 resolution. At the higher Reynolds number broad three-dimensional shell-averaged energy spectra are found with nearly a decade of Kolmogorov k−5/3 law and small-scale isotropy.

scholarly journals Direct and adjoint global modes of a recirculation bubble: lift-up and convective non-normalities

2009 ◽  
Vol 622 ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
OLIVIER MARQUET ◽  
MATTEO LOMBARDI ◽  
JEAN-MARC CHOMAZ ◽  
DENIS SIPP ◽  
LAURENT JACQUIN
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Passive Control ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Adjoint Problem ◽  
Base Flow ◽  
Mode Analysis ◽  
Global Mode ◽  
Recirculation Bubble ◽  
Global Modes ◽  
The Stability

The stability of the recirculation bubble behind a smoothed backward-facing step is numerically computed. Destabilization occurs first through a stationary three-dimensional mode. Analysis of the direct global mode shows that the instability corresponds to a deformation of the recirculation bubble in which streamwise vortices induce low- and high-speed streaks as in the classical lift-up mechanism. Formulation of the adjoint problem and computation of the adjoint global mode show that both the lift-up mechanism associated with the transport of the base flow by the perturbation and the convective non-normality associated with the transport of the perturbation by the base flow explain the properties of the flow. The lift-up non-normality differentiates the direct and adjoint modes by their component: the direct is dominated by the streamwise component and the adjoint by the cross-stream component. The convective non-normality results in a different localization of the direct and adjoint global modes, respectively downstream and upstream. The implications of these properties for the control problem are considered. Passive control, to be most efficient, should modify the flow inside the recirculation bubble where direct and adjoint global modes overlap, whereas active control, by for example blowing and suction at the wall, should be placed just upstream of the separation point where the pressure of the adjoint global mode is maximum.

Secondary instability of crossflow vortices: validation of the stability theory by direct numerical simulation

2007 ◽  
Vol 583 ◽  
pp. 229-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
GIUSEPPE BONFIGLI ◽  
MARKUS KLOKER
Keyword(s):  
Stability Theory ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Amplitude Distribution ◽  
Detailed Comparison ◽  
Secondary Instability ◽  
Linear Stability Theory ◽  
Local Maxima ◽  
Instability Modes ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Secondary Instabilities

Detailed comparison of spatial direct numerical simulations (DNS) and secondary linear stability theory (SLST) is provided for the three-dimensional crossflow-dominated boundary layer also considered at the DLR-Göttingen for experiments and theory. Secondary instabilities of large-amplitude steady and unsteady crossflow vortices arising from one single primary mode have been analysed. SLST results have been found to be reliable with respect to the dispersion relation and the amplitude distribution of the modal eigenfunction in the crosscut plane. However, significant deviations have been found in the amplification rates, the SLST results being strongly dependent on the necessarily simplified representation of the primary state. The secondary instability mechanisms are shown to be local, i.e. robust with respect to violations of the periodicity assumption made in the SLST for the wall-parallel directions. Perturbations associated with different local maxima of the spanwise periodic eigenfunctions develop independently from each other interacting only with the primary vortices next to them. Characteristic structures induced by different secondary instability modes have been analysed and an analogy with the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability mechanism has been highlighted.

Three-dimensionalization of barotropic vortices on the f-plane

1994 ◽  
Vol 265 ◽  
pp. 25-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. D. Smyth ◽  
W. R. Peltier
Keyword(s):  
Time Dependence ◽  
Shear Layer ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Secondary Instability ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Longitudinal Modes ◽  
Dimensional Flow ◽  
Two Dimensional Flow ◽  
The Stability

We examine the stability characteristics of a two-dimensional flow which consists initially of an inflexionally unstable shear layer on an f-plane. Under the action of the primary instability, the vorticity in the shear-layer initially coalesces into two Kelvin–Helmholtz vortices which subsequently merge to form a single coherent vortex. At a sequence of times during this process, we test the stability of the two-dimensional flow to fully three-dimensional perturbations. A somewhat novel approach is developed which removes inconsistencies in the secondary stability analyses which might otherwise arise owing to the time-dependence of the two-dimensional flow.In the non-rotating case, and before the onset of pairing, we obtain a spectrum of unstable longitudinal modes which is similar to that obtained previously by Pierrehumbert & Widnall (1982) for the Stuart vortex, and by Klaassen & Peltier (1985, 1989, 1991) for more realistic flows. In addition, we demonstrate the existence of a new sequence of three-dimensional subharmonic (and therefore ‘helical’) instabilities. After pairing is complete, the secondary instability spectrum is essentially unaltered except for a doubling of length- and timescales that is consistent with the notion of spatial and temporal self-similarity. Once pairing begins, the spectrum quickly becomes dominated by the unstable modes of the emerging subharmonic Kelvin–Helmholtz vortex, and is therefore similar to that which is characteristic of the post-pairing regime. Also in the context of non-rotating flow, we demonstrate that the direct transfer of energy into the dissipative subrange via secondary instability is possible only if the background flow is stationary, since even slow time-dependence acts to decorrelate small-scale modes and thereby to impose a short-wave cutoff on the spectrum.The stability of the merged vortex state is assessed for various values of the planetary vorticity f. Slow rotation may either stabilize or destabilize the columnar vortices, depending upon the sign of f, while fast rotation of either sign tends to be stabilizing. When f has opposite sign to the relative vorticity of the two-dimensional basic state, the flow becomes unstable to new mode of instability that has not been previously identified. Modes whose energy is concentrated in the vortex cores are shown to be associated, even at non-zero f, with Pierrehumbert's (1986) elliptical instability. Through detailed consideration of the vortex interaction mechanisms which drive instability, we are able to provide physical explanations for many aspects of the three-dimensionalization process.

On the laminar–turbulent transition of the rotating-disk flow: the role of absolute instability

2014 ◽  
Vol 745 ◽  
pp. 132-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shintaro Imayama ◽  
P. Henrik Alfredsson ◽  
R. J. Lingwood
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Rotating Disk ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Secondary Instability ◽  
Transition To Turbulence ◽  
Absolute Instability ◽  
Nonlinear Saturation ◽  
Global Mode ◽  
Turbulent Transition ◽  
Laminar Turbulent Transition

AbstractThis paper describes a detailed experimental study using hot-wire anemometry of the laminar–turbulent transition region of a rotating-disk boundary-layer flow without any imposed excitation of the boundary layer. The measured data are separated into stationary and unsteady disturbance fields in order to elaborate on the roles that the stationary and the travelling modes have in the transition process. We show the onset of nonlinearity consistently at Reynolds numbers, $R$, of $\sim $510, i.e. at the onset of Lingwood’s (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 299, 1995, pp. 17–33) local absolute instability, and the growth of stationary vortices saturates at a Reynolds number of $\sim $550. The nonlinear saturation and subsequent turbulent breakdown of individual stationary vortices independently of their amplitudes, which vary azimuthally, seem to be determined by well-defined Reynolds numbers. We identify unstable travelling disturbances in our power spectra, which continue to grow, saturating at around $R=585$, whereupon turbulent breakdown of the boundary layer ensues. The nonlinear saturation amplitude of the total disturbance field is approximately constant for all considered cases, i.e. different rotation rates and edge Reynolds numbers. We also identify a travelling secondary instability. Our results suggest that it is the travelling disturbances that are fundamentally important to the transition to turbulence for a clean disk, rather than the stationary vortices. Here, the results appear to show a primary nonlinear steep-fronted (travelling) global mode at the boundary between the local convectively and absolutely unstable regions, which develops nonlinearly interacting with the stationary vortices and which saturates and is unstable to a secondary instability. This leads to a rapid transition to turbulence outward of the primary front from approximately $R=565$ to 590 and to a fully turbulent boundary layer above 650.

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