Interactions of Tollmien-Schlichting waves and Dean vortices. Comparison of direct numerical simulation and a weakly nonlinear theory

Abstract

Direct numerical simulation is used to evaluate a weakly nonlinear theory describing the interaction of Tollmien-Schlichting waves with Dean vortices in curved channel flow. The theory and the simulation agree for certain combinations of parameters, but the two approaches give conflicting results for other combinations. Some possibilities for these discrepancies are discussed