The Stability of the Laminar Boundary Layer

The present papcr is a continuation of a theoretical investigation of the stability of the laminar boundary layer in a compressible fluid. An approximate estimate for the minimum critical Reynolds number Re[sub]cr[sub-sub]min, or stability limit, is obtained in terms of the distribution of the kinematic viscosity and the product of the mean density [rho][super][bar]* and mean vorticity [formula] across the boundary layer. With the help of this estimate for Re[sub]cr[sub-sub]min it is shown that withdrawing heat from the fluid through the solid surface increases RRe[sub]cr[sub-sub]min and stabilizes the flow, as compared with the flow over an insulated surface at the same Mach number. Conduction of heat to the fluid through the solid surface has exactly the opposite effect. The value of Re[sub]cr[sub-sub]min for the insulated surface decreases as the Mach number increases for the case of a uniform free-stream velocity. These general conclusions are supplemented by detailed calculations of the curves of wave number (inverse wave length) against Reynolds number for the neutral disturbances for 10 representative cases of insulated and noninsulated surfaces. So far as laminar stability is concerned, an important difference exists between the case of a subsonic and supersonic free-stream velocity outside the boundary layer. The neutral boundary-layer disturbances that are significant for laminar stability die out exponentially with distance from the solid surface; therefore, the phase velocity c* of these disturbances is subsonic relative to the free-stream velocity [symbol] or [symbol], [symbol] where is the local sonic velocity. When [symbol]<1, (where M[sub]0 is free-stream Mach number), it follows that [inequalities] and any laminar boundary-1ayer flow is ultimately unstable at sufficiently high Reynolds numbers because of the destabilizing action of viscosity near the solid surface, as explained by Prandtl for the incompressible fluid. When M[sub]0 >1, however, [inequalities]. If the quantity [forumla] is large enough negatively, the rate at which energy passes from the disturbance to the mean flow, which is proportional to [formula], can always be large enough to counterbalance the rate at which energy passes from the mean flow to the disturbance because of the destabilizing action of viscosity near the solid surface. In that case only damped disturbances exist and the laminar boundary layer is completely stable at all Reynolds numbers. This condition occurs when the rate at which heat is withdrawn from the fluid through the solid surface reaches or exceeds a critical value that depends only on the Mach number and the properties of the gas. Calculations show that for M[sub]0 > 3 (approx.) the laminar boundary-layer flow for thermal equilibrium -- where the heat conduction through the solid surface balances the heat radiated from the surface -- is completely stable at all Reynolds numbers under free-flight conditions if the free-stream velocity is uniform. The results of the analysis of the stability of the laminar boundary layer must be applied with care to discussions of transition; however, withdrawing heat from the fluid through the solid surface, for example, not only increases Re[sub]cr[sub-sub]min but also decreases the initial rate of amplification of the self-excited disturbances, which is roughly proportional fo 1/[sqrt]Re[sub]cr[sub-sub]min. Thus, the effect of the thermal conditions at the solid sufice on the transition Reynolds number Re[sub]tt, is similar to the effect on Re[sub]cr[sub-sub]min. A comparison between this conclusion and experimental investigations of the effect of surface heating on transition at low speeds shows that the results of the present paper give the proper direction of this effect. The extension of the results of the stability analysis to laminar boundary-layer gas flows with a pressure gradient in the direction of the free stream is discussed

Stability of viscous shock wave for compressible Navier-Stokes equations with free boundary

A free boundary problem for the one-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes equations is investigated. The asymptotic stability of the viscous shock wave is established under some smallness conditions. The proof is given by an elementary energy estimate.Comment: 20 page

Absolute and convective instabilities of an inviscid compressible mixing layer: Theory and applications

This study aims to examine the effect of compressibility on unbounded and parallel shear flow linear instabilities. This analysis is of interest for industrial, geophysical, and astrophysical flows. We focus on the stability of a wavepacket as opposed to previous single-mode stability studies. We consider the notions of absolute and convective instabilities first used to describe plasma instabilities. The compressible-flow modal theory predicts instability whatever the Mach number. Spatial and temporal growth rates and Reynolds stresses nevertheless become strongly reduced at high Mach numbers. The evolution of disturbances is driven by Kelvin -Helmholtz instability that weakens in supersonic flows. We wish to examine the occurrence of absolute instability, necessary for the appearance of turbulent motions in an inviscid and compressible two-dimensional mixing layer at an arbitrary Mach number subject to a three-dimensional disturbance. The mixing layer is defined by a parametric family of mean-velocity and temperature profiles. The eigenvalue problem is solved with the help of a spectral method. We ascertain the effects of the distribution of temperature and velocity in the mixing layer on the transition between convective and absolute instabilities. It appears that, in most cases, absolute instability is always possible at high Mach numbers provided that the ratio of slow-stream temperature over fast-stream temperature may be less than a critical maximal value but the temporal growth rate present in the absolutely unstable zone remains small and tends to zero at high Mach numbers. The transition toward a supersonic turbulent regime is therefore unlikely to be possible in the linear theory. Absolute instability can be also present among low-Mach-number coflowing mixing layers provided that this same temperature ratio may be small, but nevertheless, higher than a critical minimal value. Temperature distribution within the mixing layer also has an effect on the growth rate, this diminishes when the slow stream is heated. These results are applied to the dynamics of mixing layers in the interstellar medium and to the dynamics of the heliopause, frontier between the interstellar medium, and the solar wind. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics

Linear oscillations of a compressible hemispherical bubble on a solid substrate

The linear natural and forced oscillations of a hemispherical bubble on a solid substrate are under theoretical consideration. The contact line dynamics is taken into account with the Hocking condition, which eventually leads to interaction of the shape and volume oscillations. Resonant phenomena, mostly pronounced for the bubble with the fixed contact line or with the fixed contact angle, are found out. The limiting case of weakly compressible bubble is studied. The general criterion identifying whether the compressibility of a bubble can be neglected is obtained.Comment: new slightly extended version with some minor changes, added journal reference and DOI information; 12 pages, 8 figures, published in Physics of Fluid

A Moving Boundary Flux Stabilization Method for Cartesian Cut-Cell Grids using Directional Operator Splitting

An explicit moving boundary method for the numerical solution of time-dependent hyperbolic conservation laws on grids produced by the intersection of complex geometries with a regular Cartesian grid is presented. As it employs directional operator splitting, implementation of the scheme is rather straightforward. Extending the method for static walls from Klein et al., Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc., A367, no. 1907, 4559-4575 (2009), the scheme calculates fluxes needed for a conservative update of the near-wall cut-cells as linear combinations of standard fluxes from a one-dimensional extended stencil. Here the standard fluxes are those obtained without regard to the small sub-cell problem, and the linear combination weights involve detailed information regarding the cut-cell geometry. This linear combination of standard fluxes stabilizes the updates such that the time-step yielding marginal stability for arbitrarily small cut-cells is of the same order as that for regular cells. Moreover, it renders the approach compatible with a wide range of existing numerical flux-approximation methods. The scheme is extended here to time dependent rigid boundaries by reformulating the linear combination weights of the stabilizing flux stencil to account for the time dependence of cut-cell volume and interface area fractions. The two-dimensional tests discussed include advection in a channel oriented at an oblique angle to the Cartesian computational mesh, cylinders with circular and triangular cross-section passing through a stationary shock wave, a piston moving through an open-ended shock tube, and the flow around an oscillating NACA 0012 aerofoil profile.Comment: 30 pages, 27 figures, 3 table

High-Order Unstructured Lagrangian One-Step WENO Finite Volume Schemes for Non-Conservative Hyperbolic Systems: Applications to Compressible Multi-Phase Flows

In this article we present the first better than second order accurate unstructured Lagrangian-type one-step WENO finite volume scheme for the solution of hyperbolic partial differential equations with non-conservative products. The method achieves high order of accuracy in space together with essentially non-oscillatory behavior using a nonlinear WENO reconstruction operator on unstructured triangular meshes. High order accuracy in time is obtained via a local Lagrangian space-time Galerkin predictor method that evolves the spatial reconstruction polynomials in time within each element. The final one-step finite volume scheme is derived by integration over a moving space-time control volume, where the non-conservative products are treated by a path-conservative approach that defines the jump terms on the element boundaries. The entire method is formulated as an Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method, where the mesh velocity can be chosen independently of the fluid velocity. The new scheme is applied to the full seven-equation Baer-Nunziato model of compressible multi-phase flows in two space dimensions. The use of a Lagrangian approach allows an excellent resolution of the solid contact and the resolution of jumps in the volume fraction. The high order of accuracy of the scheme in space and time is confirmed via a numerical convergence study. Finally, the proposed method is also applied to a reduced version of the compressible Baer-Nunziato model for the simulation of free surface water waves in moving domains. In particular, the phenomenon of sloshing is studied in a moving water tank and comparisons with experimental data are provided

Nonmodal energy growth and optimal perturbations in compressible plane Couette flow

Nonmodal transient growth studies and estimation of optimal perturbations have been made for the compressible plane Couette flow with three-dimensional disturbances. The maximum amplification of perturbation energy over time, $G_{\max}$, is found to increase with increasing Reynolds number ${\it Re}$, but decreases with increasing Mach number $M$. More specifically, the optimal energy amplification $G_{\rm opt}$ (the supremum of $G_{\max}$ over both the streamwise and spanwise wavenumbers) is maximum in the incompressible limit and decreases monotonically as $M$ increases. The corresponding optimal streamwise wavenumber, $\alpha_{\rm opt}$, is non-zero at M=0, increases with increasing $M$, reaching a maximum for some value of $M$ and then decreases, eventually becoming zero at high Mach numbers. While the pure streamwise vortices are the optimal patterns at high Mach numbers, the modulated streamwise vortices are the optimal patterns for low-to-moderate values of the Mach number. Unlike in incompressible shear flows, the streamwise-independent modes in the present flow do not follow the scaling law $G(t/{\it Re}) \sim {\it Re}^2$, the reasons for which are shown to be tied to the dominance of some terms in the linear stability operator. Based on a detailed nonmodal energy analysis, we show that the transient energy growth occurs due to the transfer of energy from the mean flow to perturbations via an inviscid {\it algebraic} instability. The decrease of transient growth with increasing Mach number is also shown to be tied to the decrease in the energy transferred from the mean flow ($\dot{\mathcal E}_1$) in the same limit