Flow structures in spanwise rotating plane Poiseuille flow based on thermal analogy

The analogy between rotating shear flow and thermal convection suggests the existence of plumes, inertial waves and plume currents in plane Poiseuille flow under spanwise rotation. The existence of these flow structures is examined with the results of three-dimensional and two-dimensional three-component direct numerical simulations. The dynamics of plumes near the unstable side is embodied in a truncated exponential distribution of turbulent fluctuations. For large rotation numbers, inertial waves are identified near the stable side, and these can be used to explain the abnormal flow statistics, such as the large root-mean-square of the streamwise velocity fluctuation and the nearly negligible Reynolds shear stress. For small or medium rotation numbers, plumes generated from the unstable side form large-scale plume currents and the patterns of the plume currents show different capabilities in scalar transport.

Onset of Thermal Instabilities in the Plane Poiseuille Flow of Weakly Elastic Fluids: Viscous Dissipation Effects

The onset of thermal instabilities in the plane Poiseuille flow of weakly elastic fluids is examined through a linear stability analysis by taking into account the effects of viscous dissipation. The destabilizing thermal gradients may come from the different temperatures imposed on the external boundaries and/or from the volumetric heating induced by viscous dissipation. The rheological properties of the viscoelastic fluid are modeled using the Oldroyd-B constitutive equation. As in the Newtonian fluid case, the most unstable structures are found to be stationary longitudinal rolls (modes with axes aligned along the streamwise direction). For such structures, it is shown that the viscoelastic contribution to viscous dissipation may be reduced to one unique parameter: γ=λ1(1−Γ), where λ1 and Γ represent the relaxation time and the viscosity ratio of the viscoelastic fluid, respectively. It is found that the influence of the elasticity parameter γ on the linear stability characteristics is non-monotonic. The fluid elasticity stabilizes (destabilizes) the basic Poiseuille flow if γ<γ* (γ>γ*) where γ* is a particular value of γ that we have determined. It is also shown that when the temperature gradient imposed on the external boundaries is zero, the critical Reynolds number for the onset of such viscous dissipation/viscoelastic-induced instability may be well below the one needed to trigger the pure hydrodynamic instability in weakly elastic solutions.

Forced Linear Shear Flows with Rotation: Rotating Couette–Poiseuille Flow, Its Stability, and Astrophysical Implications

We explore the effect of forcing on the linear shear flow or plane Couette flow, which is also the background flow in the very small region of the Keplerian accretion disk. We show that depending on the strength of forcing and boundary conditions suitable for the systems under consideration, the background plane shear flow, and hence the accretion disk velocity profile, is modified into parabolic flow, which is a plane Poiseuille flow or Couette–Poiseuille flow, depending on the frame of reference. In the presence of rotation, the plane Poiseuille flow becomes unstable at a smaller Reynolds number under pure vertical as well as three-dimensional perturbations. Hence, while rotation stabilizes the plane Couette flow, the same destabilizes the plane Poiseuille flow faster and hence the forced local accretion disk. Depending on the various factors, when the local linear shear flow becomes a Poiseuille flow in the shearing box due to the presence of extra force, the flow becomes unstable even for Keplerian rotation, and hence turbulence will ensue. This helps to resolve the long-standing problem of subcritical transition to turbulence in hydrodynamic accretion disks and the laboratory plane Couette flow.

The Stability of Plane Poiseuille Flow in a Finite-Length Channel

The linear stability of plane Poiseuille flow through a finite-length channel is studied. A weakly-divergence-free basis finite element method with SUPG stabilization is used to formulate the weak form of the problem. The linear stability characteristics are studied under three possible inlet-outlet boundary conditions and the corresponding perturbation kinetic energy transfer mechanisms are investigated. Active transfer of perturbation kinetic energy at the channel inlet and outlet, energy production due to convection and dissipation at the flow bulk provide a new perspective in understanding the distinct stability characteristics of plane Poiseuille flow under various boundary conditions.