Transition experiments in a boundary layer with embedded streamwise vortices

Abstract

The stability of a flat plate boundary layer modulated by stationary streamwise vortices was studied experimentally in the T-324 low speed wind tunnel in Novosibirsk. Vortices were generated inside the boundary layer by means of roughness elements arranged in a regular array along the spanwise (z-) direction. Transition is not caused directly by these structures, but by the growth of small amplitude traveling waves riding on top of the steady vortices. This situation is analogous to the transition process in Görtler and cross-flows. The waves were found to amplify up to a stage where higher harmonics are generated, leading to turbulent breakdown and disintegration of the spanwise boundary layer structure. For strong modulations, the observed instability is quite powerful, and can be excited ‘‘naturally’’ by small uncontrollable background disturbances. Controlled oscillations were then introduced by means of a vibrating ribbon, allowing a detailed investigation of the wave characteristics. The instability seems to be associated with the spanwise gradients of the mean flow, ∂U/∂z, and at all z-positions, the maximum wave amplitude was found at a wall-normal position where the mean velocity is equal to the phase velocity of the wave, U(y)=c, i.e., at the local critical layer. Unstable waves were observed at frequencies well above those for which Tollmien–Schlichting (TS) waves amplify in the Blasius boundary layer. Excitation at lower frequencies and milder basic flow modulations showed that TS-type waves may also develop. The relation between TS-type waves and the observed high-frequency instability is discussed in the light of previous authors’ findings.