3 results
Optimal streaks in the circular cylinder wake and suppression of the global instability
- Gerardo Del Guercio, Carlo Cossu, Gregory Pujals
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- Journal:
- Journal of Fluid Mechanics / Volume 752 / 10 August 2014
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 10 July 2014, pp. 572-588
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The steady, spanwise-periodic, symmetric (varicose) optimal blowing and suction that maximizes energy amplification in the circular cylinder wake is computed at Reynolds numbers ranging from 50 to 100. It is found that the cylinder wake can sustain large energy amplifications that are associated with the generation by the optimal blowing and suction of streamwise vortices near the cylinder, which then induce the transient spatial growth of high-energy streamwise streaks further downstream. The most amplified perturbations have spanwise wavelengths ranging from five to seven times the cylinder diameter at the Reynolds numbers considered, with the corresponding optimal streaks reaching their maximum amplitude in the near wake, inside the pocket of absolute instability which sustains the global instability. The optimal blowing and suction is shown to stabilize the global linear instability. The most stabilizing spanwise wavelengths are in good agreement with previous findings. The amplitude of optimal blowing and suction required to suppress the global instability decreases when the Reynolds number $\def \xmlpi #1{}\def \mathsfbi #1{\boldsymbol {\mathsf {#1}}}\let \le =\leqslant \let \leq =\leqslant \let \ge =\geqslant \let \geq =\geqslant \def \Pr {\mathit {Pr}}\def \Fr {\mathit {Fr}}\def \Rey {\mathit {Re}}\mathit{Re}$ is increased from 75 to 100. This trend reveals the key role played by the non-normal amplification of the streaks in the stabilization process, which is able to overcome the increase of the uncontrolled global growth rate with $\mathit{Re}$. Finally, it is shown that the global instability can be suppressed with control amplitudes smaller than those required by 2-D (spanwise-uniform) control. This result is not what would be expected from first-order sensitivity analyses, which predict a zero sensitivity of the global instability to spanwise-periodic control and, in general, a non-zero sensitivity to spanwise-uniform control.
Stabilizing effect of optimally amplified streaks in parallel wakes
- Gerardo Del Guercio, Carlo Cossu, Gregory Pujals
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- Journal:
- Journal of Fluid Mechanics / Volume 739 / 25 January 2014
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 13 December 2013, pp. 37-56
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We show that optimal perturbations artificially forced in parallel wakes can be used to completely suppress the absolute instability and to reduce the maximum temporal growth rate of the inflectional instability. To this end we compute optimal transient energy growths of stable streamwise uniform perturbations supported by a parallel wake for a set of Reynolds numbers and spanwise wavenumbers. The maximum growth rates are shown to be proportional to the square of the Reynolds number and to increase with spanwise wavelengths with sinuous perturbations slightly more amplified than varicose ones. Optimal initial conditions consist of streamwise vortices and the optimally amplified perturbations are streamwise streaks. Families of nonlinear streaky wakes are then computed by direct numerical simulation using optimal initial vortices of increasing amplitude as initial conditions. The stabilizing effect of nonlinear streaks on temporal and spatiotemporal growth rates is then determined by analysing the linear impulse response supported by the maximum amplitude streaky wakes profiles. This analysis reveals that at $\mathit{Re}= 50$, streaks of spanwise amplitude ${A}_{s} \approx 8\hspace{0.167em} \% {U}_{\infty } $ can completely suppress the absolute instability, converting it into a convective instability. The sensitivity of the absolute and maximum temporal growth rates to streak amplitudes is found to be quadratic, as has been recently predicted. As the sensitivity to two-dimensional (2D, spanwise uniform) perturbations is linear, three-dimensional (3D) perturbations become more effective than the 2D ones only at finite amplitudes. Concerning the investigated cases, 3D perturbations become more effective than the 2D ones for streak amplitudes ${A}_{s} \gtrsim 3\hspace{0.167em} \% {U}_{\infty } $ in reducing the maximum temporal amplification and ${A}_{s} \gtrsim 12\hspace{0.167em} \% {U}_{\infty } $ in reducing the absolute growth rate. However, due to the large optimal energy growths they experience, 3D optimal perturbations are found to be much more efficient than 2D perturbations in terms of initial perturbation amplitudes. Despite their lower maximum transient amplification, varicose streaks are found to be always more effective than sinuous ones in stabilizing the wakes, in accordance with previous findings.
Optimal transient growth and very large–scale structures in turbulent boundary layers
- CARLO COSSU, GREGORY PUJALS, SEBASTIEN DEPARDON
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- Journal:
- Journal of Fluid Mechanics / Volume 619 / 25 January 2009
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 25 January 2009, pp. 79-94
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The optimal energy growth of perturbations sustained by a zero pressure gradient turbulent boundary is computed using the eddy viscosity associated with the turbulent mean flow. It is found that even if all the considered turbulent mean profiles are linearly stable, they support transient energy growths. The most amplified perturbations are streamwise uniform and correspond to streamwise streaks originated by streamwise vortices. For sufficiently large Reynolds numbers two distinct peaks of the optimal growth exist, respectively scaling in inner and outer units. The optimal structures associated with the peak scaling in inner units correspond well with the most probable streaks and vortices observed in the buffer layer, and their moderate energy growth is independent of the Reynolds number. The energy growth associated with the peak scaling in outer units is larger than that of the inner peak and scales linearly with an effective turbulent Reynolds number formed with the maximum eddy viscosity and a modified Rotta–Clauser length based on the momentum thickness. The corresponding optimal perturbations consist of very large–scale structures with a spanwise wavelength of the order of 8δ. The associated optimal streaks scale in outer variables in the outer region and in wall units in the inner region of the boundary layer, in which they are proportional to the mean flow velocity. These outer streaks protrude far into the near wall region, having still 50% of their maximum amplitude at y+ = 20. The amplification of very large–scale structures appears to be a robust feature of the turbulent boundary layer: optimal perturbations with spanwise wavelengths ranging from 4δ to 15δ can all reach 80% of the overall optimal peak growth.