Influence of hemisphere disturbance on laminar boundary layer at low Reynolds numbers

Abstract

We experimentally investigate the two-dimensional flow characteristics caused by hemisphere disturbance in the laminar boundary layer, with the aim of analyzing the periodic vortex structures generated by the hemisphere at different freestream velocities. For flow fields with Reynolds numbers of ReD= 1919, 2386, and 2819, instantaneous snapshots of the streamwise–wall-normal plane and streamwise–spanwise plane are acquired by time-resolved particle image velocimetry. The velocity distribution near the hemisphere model in the laminar flow state and the conditions for the generation of periodic structures are discussed. Strong shear occurs in the dense area of velocity contours, including a stable horizontal shear layer and inclined shear layer of shedding vortex structures, and the Reynolds shear stress attains a local maximum. The feasibility of three frequency extraction methods for hemisphere disturbance is also compared, and the periodic structures corresponding to each frequency are analyzed in detail. At higher values of ReD, the disordered flow field is formed by a multi-frequency superposition. Spatial two-point cross correlation analysis, which can be regarded as a flow visualization of frequency spectrum analysis, illustrates that the correlation and periodicity of the coherent structures are strongest in the inclined shear layer. Spectral proper orthogonal decomposition appears to be more effective in capturing periodic information about the streamwise–spanwise plane of the hemisphere disturbance. The three frequency extraction methods show that with an increase in ReD gradually transforms the periodic vortex structures from a single frequency state to a multi-frequency superposition state.