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Numerical study of ribbon-induced transition in Blasius flow

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 April 2006

Philippe R. Spalart  and
Kyung-Soo Yang
Philippe R. Spalart
Affiliation:
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Kyung-Soo Yang
Affiliation:
Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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Abstract

The early three-dimensional stages of transition in the Blasius boundary layer are studied by numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations. A finite-amplitude two-dimensional wave and low-amplitude three-dimensional random disturbances are introduced. Rapid amplification of the three-dimensional components is observed and leads to transition. For intermediate amplitudes of the two-dimensional wave the breakdown is of subharmonic type, and the dominant spanwise wavenumber increases with the amplitude. For high amplitudes the energy of the fundamental mode is comparable to the energy of the subharmonic mode, but never dominates it; the breakdown is of mixed type. Visualizations, energy histories, and spectra are presented. The sensitivity of the results to various physical and numerical parameters is studied. The agreement with experimental and theoretical results is discussed.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 178 , May 1987 , pp. 345 - 365
Copyright
© 1987 Cambridge University Press

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