A Bypass Transition Model for Boundary Layers

1994 ◽  
Vol 116 (4) ◽  
pp. 759-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. W. Johnson

Experimental data for laminar boundary layers developing below a turbulent free stream show that the fluctuation velocities within the boundary layer increase in amplitude until some critical level is reached, which initiates transition. In the near-wall region, a simple model, containing a single empirical parameter, which depends only on the turbulence level and length scale, is derived to predict the development of the velocity fluctuations in laminar boundary layers with favorable, zero, or adverse pressure gradients. A simple bypass transition model, which considers the streamline distortion in the near-wall region brought about by the velocity fluctuations, suggests that transition will commence when the local turbulence level reaches approximately 23 percent. This value is consistent with experimental findings. This critical local turbulence level is used to derive a bypass transition prediction formula, which compares reasonably with start of transition experimental data for a range of pressure gradients (λ θ = −0.01 to 0.01) and turbulence levels (Tu = 0.2 to 5 percent). Further improvement to the model is proposed through prediction of the boundary layer distortion, which occurs due to Reynolds stresses generated within the boundary layer at high free-stream turbulence levels and also through inclusion of the effect of turbulent length scale as well as turbulence level.

Author(s):  
Mark W. Johnson

Experimental data for laminar boundary layers developing below a turbulent free stream shows that the fluctuation velocities within the boundary layer increase in amplitude until some critical level is reached which initiates transition. In the near wall region, a simple model, containing a single empirical parameter which depends only on the turbulence level and length scale, is derived to predict the development of the velocity fluctuations in laminar boundary layers with favourable, zero or adverse pressure gradients. A simple bypass transition model which considers the streamline distortion in the near wall region brought about by the velocity fluctuations suggests that transition will commence when the local turbulence level reaches approximately 23%. This value is consistent with experimental findings. This critical local turbulence level is used to derive a bypass transition prediction formula which compares reasonably with start of transition experimental data for a range of pressure gradients (λθ = −0.01 to 0.01) and turbulence levels (Tu = 0.2% to 5%). Further improvement to the model is proposed through prediction of the boundary layer distortion, which occurs due to Reynolds stresses generated within the boundary layer at high free stream turbulence levels and also through inclusion of the effect of turbulent length scale as well as turbulence level.


1996 ◽  
Vol 118 (4) ◽  
pp. 728-736 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. Mislevy ◽  
T. Wang

The effects of adverse pressure gradients on the thermal and momentum characteristics of a heated transitional boundary layer were investigated with free-stream turbulence ranging from 0.3 to 0.6 percent. Boundary layer measurements were conducted for two constant-K cases, K1 = −0.51 × 10−6 and K2 = −1.05 × 10−6. The fluctuation quantities, u′, ν′, t′, the Reynolds shear stress (uν), and the Reynolds heat fluxes (νt and ut) were measured. In general, u′/U∞, ν′/U∞, and νt have higher values across the boundary layer for the adverse pressure-gradient cases than they do for the baseline case (K = 0). The development of ν′ for the adverse pressure gradients was more actively involved than that of the baseline. In the early transition region, the Reynolds shear stress distribution for the K2 case showed a near-wall region of high-turbulent shear generated at Y+ = 7. At stations farther downstream, this near-wall shear reduced in magnitude, while a second region of high-turbulent shear developed at Y+ = 70. For the baseline case, however, the maximum turbulent shear in the transition region was generated at Y+ = 70, and no near-wall high-shear region was seen. Stronger adverse pressure gradients appear to produce more uniform and higher t′ in the near-wall region (Y+ < 20) in both transitional and turbulent boundary layers. The instantaneous velocity signals did not show any clear turbulent/nonturbulent demarcations in the transition region. Increasingly stronger adverse pressure gradients seemed to produce large non turbulent unsteadiness (or instability waves) at a similar magnitude as the turbulent fluctuations such that the production of turbulent spots was obscured. The turbulent spots could not be identified visually or through conventional conditional-sampling schemes. In addition, the streamwise evolution of eddy viscosity, turbulent thermal diffusivity, and Prt, are also presented.


1997 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Mayle ◽  
A. Schulz

A theory is presented for calculating the fluctuations in a laminar boundary layer when the free stream is turbulent. The kinetic energy equation for these fluctuations is derived and a new mechanism is revealed for their production. A methodology is presented for solving the equation using standard boundary layer computer codes. Solutions of the equation show that the fluctuations grow at first almost linearly with distance and then more slowly as viscous dissipation becomes important. Comparisons of calculated growth rates and kinetic energy profiles with data show good agreement. In addition, a hypothesis is advanced for the effective forcing frequency and free-stream turbulence level that produce these fluctuations. Finally, a method to calculate the onset of transition is examined and the results compared to data.


1973 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 201-204
Author(s):  
R. Camarero

A calculation procedure for the solution of two-dimensional and axi-symmetric laminar boundary layers in compressible flow has been developed. The method is an extension of the integral approach of Tani to include compressibility effects by means of a reference temperature. Arbitrary pressure gradients and wall temperature can be specified. Comparisons with experiments obtained for supersonic flows over a flat plate indicate that the method yields adequate results. The method is then applied to the solution of the boundary layer on a Basemann inlet.


Author(s):  
R. E. Mayle ◽  
A. Schulz

A theory is presented for calculating the fluctuations in a laminar boundary layer when the free stream is turbulent. The kinetic energy equation for these fluctuations is derived and a new mechanism is revealed for their production. A methodology is presented for solving the equation using standard boundary layer computer codes. Solutions of the equation show that the fluctuations grow at first almost linearly with distance and then more slowly as viscous dissipation becomes important. Comparisons of calculated growth rates and kinetic energy profiles with data show good agreement. In addition, a hypothesis is advanced for the effective forcing frequency and free-stream turbulence level which produce these fluctuations. Finally, a method to calculate the onset of transition is examined and the results compared to data.


1995 ◽  
Vol 117 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Volino ◽  
T. W. Simon

Recent experimental studies of two-dimensional boundary layers undergoing bypass transition have been reviewed to attempt to characterize the effects of free-stream turbulence level, acceleration, and wall curvature on bypass transition. Results from several studies were cast in terms of “local” boundary layer coordinates (momentum and enthalpy thickness Reynolds numbers) and compared. In unaccelerated flow on flat walls, skin friction coefficients were shown to match those from a laminar integral solution before transition and quickly adjusted to match those from a fully turbulent correlation after transition. Stanton number data also matched a correlation in the laminar region, but do not match correlation values so well in the turbulent region. The data showed that the relationship between skin friction coefficient and momentum thickness Reynolds number is unaffected by streamwise acceleration. Stanton numbers were strongly affected by acceleration, however, indicating a breakdown in Reynolds analogy. Concave curvature caused the formation of Go¨rtler vortices, which strongly influenced the skin friction. Convex curvature had an opposite, and lesser effect. The location and length of the transition region generally followed the expected trends as free-stream turbulence level, curvature, and acceleration were varied; the onset location and the transition length were extended by acceleration and convex curvature and reduced by concave curvature and enhanced turbulence. When individual cases were compared, some inconsistencies were observed. These inconsistencies indicate a need to characterize the flows to be compared more completely. Better spectral and length scale measurements of the free-stream disturbance would help in this regard. Within the transition region, the intermittency data from all the cases on flat walls (no curvature) were consistent with an intermittency distribution from the literature. Turbulent spot production rates were shown to be mostly dependent on free-stream turbulence, with a noted increase in spot production rate due to concave curvature and little effect of convex curvature. The acceleration effect on spot production rate was small for the cases studied.


2016 ◽  
Vol 797 ◽  
pp. 683-728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuesong Wu ◽  
Ming Dong

The fundamental difference between continuous modes of the Orr–Sommerfeld/Squire equations and the entrainment of free-stream vortical disturbances (FSVD) into the boundary layer has been investigated in a recent paper (Dong & Wu, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 732, 2013, pp. 616–659). It was shown there that the non-parallel-flow effect plays a leading-order role in the entrainment, and neglecting it at the outset, as is done in the continuous-mode formulation, leads to non-physical features of ‘Fourier entanglement’ and abnormal anisotropy. The analysis, which was for incompressible boundary layers and for FSVD with a characteristic wavelength of the order of the local boundary-layer thickness, is extended in this paper to compressible boundary layers and FSVD with even shorter wavelengths, which are comparable with the width of the so-called edge layer. Non-parallelism remains a leading-order effect in the present scaling, which turns out to be more general in that the equations and solutions in the previous paper are recovered in the appropriate limit. Appropriate asymptotic solutions in the main and edge layers are obtained to characterize the entrainment. It is found that when the Prandtl number $\mathit{Pr}<1$, free-stream vortical disturbances of relatively low frequency generate very strong temperature fluctuations within the edge layer, leading to formation of thermal streaks. A composite solution, uniformly valid across the entire boundary layer, is constructed, and it can be used in receptivity studies and as inlet conditions for direct numerical simulations of bypass transition. For compressible boundary layers, continuous spectra of the disturbance equations linearized about a parallel base flow exhibit entanglement between vortical and entropy modes, namely, a vortical mode necessarily induces an entropy disturbance in the free stream and vice versa, and this amounts to a further non-physical behaviour. High Reynolds number asymptotic analysis yields the relations between the amplitudes of entangled modes.


1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Mayle

A theory is presented for predicting the production rate of turbulent spots. The theory, based on that by Mayle-Schulz for bypass transition, leads to a new correlation for the spot production rate in boundary layer flows with a zero pressure gradient. The correlation, which agrees reasonably well with data, clearly shows the effects of both free-stream turbulence level and length scale. In addition, the theory provides an estimate for the lowest level of free-stream turbulence causing bypass transition.


Author(s):  
J. P. Gostelow ◽  
G. J. Walker

Boundary layer transition has been investigated experimentally under low, moderate and high free-stream turbulence levels and varying adverse pressure gradients. Under high turbulence levels and adverse pressure gradients a pronounced subtransition was present. A strong degree of similarity in intermittency distributions was observed, for all conditions, when the Narasimha procedure for determination of transition inception was used. Effects of free-stream turbulence on the velocity profile are particularly strong for the laminar boundary layer upstream of the transition region. This could reflect the influence of the turbulence on the shear stress distribution throughout the layer and this matter needs further attention. The velocity profiles in wall coordinates undershoot the turbulent wall layer asymptote near the wall over most of the transition region. The rapidity with which transition occurs under adverse pressure gradients produces strong lag effects on the velocity profile; the starting turbulent boundary layer velocity profile may depart significantly from local equilibrium conditions. The practice of deriving integral properties and skin friction for transitional boundary layers by a linear combination of laminar and turbulent values for equilibrium layers is inconsistent with the observed lag effects. The velocity profile responds sufficiently slowly to the perturbation imposed by transition that much of the anticipated drop in form factor will not have occurred prior to the completion of transition. This calls into question both experimental techniques which rely on measured form factor to characterize transition and boundary layer calculations which rely on local equilibrium assumptions in the vicinity of transition.


Author(s):  
Keiji Takeuchi ◽  
Susumu Fujimoto ◽  
Eitaro Koyabu ◽  
Tetsuhiro Tsukiji

Wake-induced bypass transition of boundary layers on a flat plate subjected to favorable and adverse pressure gradients was investigated. Detailed boundary layer measurements were conducted using two hot-wire probes. A spoked-wheel-type wake generator was used to create periodic wakes in front of the flat plate. The main focus of this study was to reveal the effect of the Strouhal number, which changed by using different numbers of wake-generating bars, on the turbulence intensity distribution and the transition onset position of the boundary layer on the flat plate using two hot-wire probes.


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