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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
Affiliation:
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Kyung-Soo Yang
Affiliation:
Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA

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.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1987 Cambridge University Press

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