Effects of free-stream turbulence intensity on transition in a laminar separation bubble formed over an airfoil

Abstract

The laminar-to-turbulent transition process in a laminar separation bubble formed over a NACA 0018 airfoil is investigated experimentally. All experiments are performed for an angle of attack of 4 $$^{\circ }$$ , chord Reynolds numbers of 80,000 and 125,000, and free-stream turbulence intensities between 0.06 and 1.99%. The results show that increasing the level of free-stream turbulence intensity leads to a decrease in separation bubble length, attributed to a downstream shift in mean separation and an upstream shift in mean reattachment, the later ascribed to an upstream shift in mean transition. Maximum spatial amplification rates of disturbances in the separated shear layer decrease with increasing free-stream turbulence intensity, implying that the larger initial amplitudes of disturbances are solely responsible for the upstream shift in mean transition and as a result mean reattachment. At the baseline level of turbulence intensity, coherent structures forming in the aft portion of the bubble are characterized by strong spanwise coherence at formation, and undergo spanwise deformations leading to localized breakup in the vicinity of mean reattachment. As the level of free-stream turbulence intensity is increased, the spanwise coherence of the shear layer rollers is reduced, and spanwise undulations in the vortex filaments start to take place at the mean location of roll-up. At the highest level of turbulence intensity investigated, streamwise streaks originating in the boundary layer upstream of the separation bubble are observed within the bubble. These streaks signify an onset of bypass transition upstream of the separation bubble, which gives rise to a highly three-dimensional shear layer roll-up. A quantitative analysis of the associated changes in salient characteristics of the coherent structures is presented, connecting the effect of elevated free-stream turbulence intensity on the time-averaged and dynamic characteristics of the separation bubble.