DNS Study on the Origin of the Flow Randomization in Late Boundary Layer Transition

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This paper is devoted to the investigation of the origin and mechanism of randomization in late boundary layer transition over a flat plate without pressure gradient. The flow randomization is a crucial phase before flow transition to the turbulent state. According to existing literatures, the randomization was caused by the big background noises and non-periodic spanwise boundary conditions. It was assumed that the large ring structure is affected by background noises first, and then the change of large ring structure affects the small length scales quickly, which directly leads to randomization and formation of turbulence. However, by careful analysis of our high order DNS results, we believe that the internal instability of multiple ring cycles structure is the main reason. What we observed is that randomization begins when the third cycle overlaps the first and second cycles. A significant asymmetric phenomenon is originated from the second cycle in the middle of both streamwise and spanwise directions. More technically, a visible asymmetric phenomenon in the middle vortex ring cycle starts at time step t=16.25T and x=838.9{\delta}in where the top and bottom level rings are still completely symmetric. The non-symmetric structure of middle level ring affects the small length scale in boundary layer bottom quickly. The randomization phenomenon spreads to top level through ejections. Finally, the whole flow domain becomes randomized. A hypothesis of C- and K-types shift is given as a possible mechanism of flow randomization.