Direct numerical simulation of mechanism and control of secondary instability induced transition in a supersonic boundary layer

Abstract

Mechanisms and control of secondary-instability-induced-transition in a supersonic boundary layer are studied numerically via direct numerical simulation. The aim is to investigate and compare the transition mechanisms of fundamental, subharmonic, asymmetric subharmonic, and detuned resonances, and to control these secondary instabilities using a local wall cooling strip. The results indicate that the nonlinear interaction between the high-amplitude primary mode and low-amplitude secondary modes is the main contributor to transition. The mutual- and self-interactions of the primary and secondary modes generate other harmonic modes with laminar breakdown soon appearing. The asymmetric subharmonic resonance induces the earliest transition, while the fundamental subharmonic has the latest. Wall cooling effects are also studied. The results show that a lower wall temperature significantly suppresses the secondary instabilities, and steady modes become dominant and lead to obvious streamwise vortexes. Numerical data demonstrate that all secondary-instability-induced transitions result in fully developed turbulent boundary layers, as supported by the skin friction and scaled velocity profiles. The transition control cases indicate that the local wall cooling strip can significantly delay the transition by suppressing the growth of the primary mode. An upstream control strip is found to have a more obvious suppression effect. The fundamental and asymmetric subharmonic resonances are sensitive to the location of the local wall cooling strip and show a stronger transition delaying effect.