Linear to turbulent Görtler instability transition

Abstract

We present results from a highly resolved large-eddy simulation of a freely developing Blasius profile over a concave boundary in a large spanwise domain. Due to the large initial Reynolds and Görtler numbers (Reθ,0 = 1175, Gθ,0 = 75), we observe the onset of two dominant wavelengths: the first dominating in the linear/transition region, λ1, and the second dominating in the turbulent region, λ2. Extending previous linear stability analysis (LSA) to higher Görtler numbers and non-dimensional wavenumbers, both dominant wavelengths of the Görtler instability correspond to predictions of LSA, the latter comparable to laminar theory by replacing the kinematic viscosity with the turbulent viscosity in the definition of the Görtler number. The predicted spatial modes compare well with the computed profiles for both λ1 and λ2. The skin friction coefficient Cf is found heterogeneous in the spanwise direction according to the emerging wavelengths λ1 and λ2 of the Görtler instability. We report a smooth increase in Cf from the theoretical predictions of a laminar boundary layer to those for a turbulent boundary layer over a flat plate. The values only slightly overshoot these predictions in the domain of existence of the second dominant wavelength λ2, very different from that reported at lower Reynolds numbers.