Energy Growth Of Perturbations Research Articles

Control of linear instabilities in two-dimensional airfoil boundary layers

The present study deals with the control of linear, modal and non-modal growth of perturbations in a trapezoidal wing boundary layer. The asymmetric NACA 2515 airfoil is chosen for the analysis. The boundary layer velocity profiles, at different locations on the airfoil, are obtained using the Falkner–Skan equations. The non-modal linear stability theory is used to obtain the amplification of the initial perturbations, for which the state-space approach is adopted. The control is brought about using a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) controller by the means of addition of fluid momentum in the wall-normal direction from the wing surface. Maximum transient energy growth is calculated across a range of wavenumber pairs, and control is applied to the pair with the highest energy growth. In this numerical analysis, we show that the transient growth is higher towards the trailing edge because of the adverse pressure gradient of the flow. Upon control actuation, the reduction in the transient energy growth of perturbations is achieved up to a maximum of 54.6%.

Initial and Transient Growth of Symmetric Instability

Abstract The mechanism of initial and transient perturbations of symmetric instability (SI) in a hydrostatic flow with lateral shear is analyzed by applying the generalized stability analysis. It is well known that the SI’s most rapidly growing motion is along isopycnals, and the growth rates consist of growing, neutral, and decaying modes. The eigenvectors of these three modes are not orthogonal to each other, hence the initial and transient perturbations bear little resemblance to the normal mode. Our findings indicate that the emergence of normal modes occurs within a time span of 1–3 inertial periods, which we refer to as the transient state. The overall growth of perturbation energy is divided into three components: geostrophic shear production (GSP), lateral shear production (LSP), and meridional buoyancy flux (MB). During the transient state, the perturbation energy is partly driven by MB, contrary to the normal mode which has zero MB. The relative energy contribution is evaluated through the ratio to GSP. While the MB-to-GSP ratio of the initial mode is higher than that of the normal mode, the LSP-to-GSP ratio remains constant. In the absence of the fastest-growing normal mode, MB can serve as the predominant initial energy source. The precise transition in the energy regime is contingent upon the geostrophic Richardson number and Rossby number. Significance Statement Fronts can be unstable to instabilities, which generate disturbance growth and lead to the mixing of water masses. We wanted to understand the initial and transient development of disturbance growth leading to the well-known exponentially growing state. While the exponentially growing disturbance is dominant in the long run, the disturbance growth may not have enough time to achieve the exponentially growing state. We find that the initial disturbance growth bears little resemblance to the exponentially growing state. Capturing the complete spectrum of front evolution remains challenging, and observations have thus far been limited to short-term records. The insights learned from this study can aid in better characterizing the disturbance growth captured in these short-term records.

Optimal control of growth of instabilities in Taylor–Couette flow

The present work aims to achieve optimal control of instabilities in a standard Taylor–Couette flow. The motivation of the present study is to reduce the disturbance growth and delay the transition process to turbulence. We numerically employ control using a stability modifier, namely, wall transpiration. In the non-modal stability framework, we form a state-space model employing control actuation by means of periodic suction/blowing of fluid from the walls. The study is conducted for two cases of flow rotations: (i) counter-rotating cylinders and (ii) the stationary outer cylinder with inner cylinder rotating. The parametric study was performed with varying radii ratios, Reynolds numbers (Re), axial (α), and azimuthal (n) wavenumbers. The time evolution of governing equation is written in terms of perturbation velocities in radial (r) and azimuthal (θ) directions. The optimal feedback control is obtained using a linear quadratic regulator controller and feed backed to the system to reduce the maximum optimal growth of the instabilities in the flow. The perturbation kinetic energy is taken as the measure of the amplification of disturbances and used as the cost function to be minimized. We use Chebyshev spectral collocation method to discretize the equations and variational method to calculate the optimal growth. We studied four different parametric cases of radii ratios (η=r1r2= 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75), with angular velocity (Ω2Ω1) ratio fixed as μ=−1 and μ = 0. We choose the subcritical wavenumbers that led to a maximum transient energy growth corresponding to a Reynolds number ≈ 0.65 times the critical Reynolds number for the case of counter-rotation. For the case of the stationary outer cylinder, we showed the effect of the control in the modal analysis framework. The presented control technique resulted in a maximum of 72% reduction in the growth rate and the typical growth of perturbation energy.

Transient growth, edge states, and repeller in rotating solid and fluid.

For the classical problem of the rotation of a solid, we show a somehow surprising behavior involving large transient growth of perturbation energy that occurs when the moment of inertia associated to the unstable axis approaches the moment of inertia of one of the two stable axes. In that case, small but finite perturbations around this stable axis may induce a total transfer of energy to the unstable axis, leading to relaxation oscillations where the stable and unstable manifolds of the unstable axis play the role of a separatrix, an edge state. For a fluid in solid-body rotation, a similar linear and nonlinear dynamics apply to the transfer of energy between three inertial waves respecting the triadic resonance condition. We show that the existence of large transient energy growth and of relaxation oscillations may be physically interpreted as in the case of a solid by the existence of two quadratic invariants, the energy and the helicity in the case of a rotating fluid. They occur when two waves of the triad have helicities that tend towards each other, when their amplitudes are set such that they have the same energy. We show that this happens when the third wave has a vanishing frequency which corresponds to a nearly horizontal wave vector. An inertial wave, perturbed by a small-amplitude wave with a nearly horizontal wave vector, will then be periodically destroyed, its energy being transferred entirely to the unstable wave, although this perturbation is linearly stable, resulting in relaxation oscillations of wave amplitudes. In the general case we show that the dynamics described for particular triads of inertial waves is valid for a class of triadic interactions of waves in other physical problems, where the physical energy is conserved and is linked to the classical conservation of the so-called pseudomomentum, which singles out the role of waves with vanishing frequency.

Exact instantaneous optimals in the non-geostrophic Eady problem and the detrimental effects of discretization

We derive exact analytical expressions for flow configurations that optimize the instantaneous growth rate of energy in the linear Eady problem, along with the associated growth rates. These optimal perturbations are relevant linear stability analysis, but, more importantly, they are relevant for understanding the energetics of fully nonlinear baroclinic turbulence. The optimal perturbations and their growth rates are independent of the Richardson number. The growth rates of the optimal perturbations grow linearly as the horizontal wavelength of the perturbation decreases. Perturbation energy growth at large scales is driven by extraction of potential energy from the mean flow, while at small scales it is driven by extraction of kinetic energy from the mean shear. We also analyze the effect of spatial discretization on the optimal perturbations and their growth rates. A second order energy-conserving discretization on the Arakawa B grid generally has too-weak growth rates at small scales and is less accurate than two second order discretizations on the Arakawa C grid. The two C grid discretizations, one that conserves energy and another that conserves both energy and enstrophy, yield very similar optimal perturbation growth rates that are significantly more accurate than the B grid discretization at small scales.

Transient energy growth of optimal streaks in parallel round jets

We present a linear optimal perturbation analysis of streamwise invariant disturbances evolving in parallel round jets. The potential for transient energy growth of perturbations with azimuthal wavenumber m≥1 is analyzed for different values of Reynolds number Re. Two families of steady (frozen) and unsteady (diffusing) base flow velocity profiles have been used, for different aspect ratios α = R/θ, where R is the jet radius and θ is the shear layer momentum thickness. Optimal initial conditions correspond to infinitesimal streamwise vortices, which evolve transiently to produce axial velocity streaks, whose spatial structure and intensity depend on base flow and perturbation parameters. Their dynamics can be characterized by a maximum optimal value of the energy gain Gopt, reached at an optimal time τopt after which the perturbations eventually decay. Optimal energy gain and time are shown to be, respectively, proportional to Re2 and Re, regardless of the frozen or diffusing nature of the base flow. Besides, it is found that the optimal gain scales like Gopt∝1/m3 for all m except m = 1. This quantitative difference for azimuthal wavenumber m = 1 is shown to be based on the nature of transient mechanisms. For m = 1 perturbations, the shift-up effect [J. I. Jiménez-González et al., “Modal and non-modal evolution of perturbations for parallel round jets,” Phys. Fluids 27, 044105-1–044105-19 (2015)] is active: an initial streamwise vorticity dipole induces a nearly uniform velocity flow in the jet core, which shifts the whole jet radially. By contrast, optimal perturbations with m≥2 are concentrated along the shear layer, in a way that resembles the classical lift-up mechanism in wall-shear flows. The m = 1 shift-up effect is more energetic than the m≥2 lift-up, but it is slower, with optimal times considerably shorter in the case of m≥2 disturbances. This suggests that these perturbations may emerge very quickly in the flow when injected as initial conditions. When the base flow diffuses, the large time scale for m = 1 disturbances allows the shear layer to spread and the jet core velocity to decrease substantially, thus lowering the values of corresponding optimal gain and time. For m≥2, results are less affected, since the shorter transient dynamics does not leave room for significant modifications of the base flow velocity profiles, and the scaling laws obtained in the frozen case are recovered. Nevertheless, base flow diffusion hinders the transient growth, as a consequence of a weaker component-wise non-normality and a smoother, radially spread structure of optimal disturbances.

Nonlinear evolution of linear optimal perturbations of strongly stratified shear layers

The Miles–Howard theorem states that a necessary condition for normal-mode instability in parallel, inviscid, steady stratified shear flows is that the minimum gradient Richardson number, $Ri_{g,min}$, is less than $1/4$ somewhere in the flow. However, the non-normality of the Navier–Stokes and buoyancy equations may allow for substantial perturbation energy growth at finite times. We calculate numerically the linear optimal perturbations which maximize the perturbation energy gain for a stably stratified shear layer consisting of a hyperbolic tangent velocity distribution with characteristic velocity $U_{0}^{\ast }$ and a uniform stratification with constant buoyancy frequency $N_{0}^{\ast }$. We vary the bulk Richardson number $Ri_{b}=N_{0}^{\ast 2}h^{\ast 2}/U_{0}^{\ast 2}$ (corresponding to $Ri_{g,min}$) between 0.20 and 0.50 and the Reynolds numbers $\mathit{Re}=U_{0}^{\ast }h^{\ast }/\unicode[STIX]{x1D708}^{\ast }$ between 1000 and 8000, with the Prandtl number held fixed at $\mathit{Pr}=1$. We find the transient growth of non-normal perturbations may be sufficient to trigger strongly nonlinear effects and breakdown into small-scale structures, thereby leading to enhanced dissipation and non-trivial modification of the background flow even in flows where $Ri_{g,min}>1/4$. We show that the effects of nonlinearity are more significant for flows with higher $\mathit{Re}$, lower $Ri_{b}$ and higher initial perturbation amplitude $E_{0}$. Enhanced kinetic energy dissipation is observed for higher-$Re$ and lower-$Ri_{b}$ flows, and the mixing efficiency, quantified here by $\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}_{p}/(\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}_{p}+\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}_{k})$ where $\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}_{p}$ is the dissipation rate of density variance and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}_{k}$ is the dissipation rate of kinetic energy, is found to be approximately 0.35 for the most strongly nonlinear cases.

Transient growth of perturbations in Stokes oscillatory flows

Oscillatory Stokes flows, with zero mean, are subjected to subcritical transition to turbulence. The maximal energy growth of perturbations is computed in the subcritical regime through an optimisation method. The results show strong amplifications during half a period. The energy transfer from the base flow involves an Orr mechanism with two-dimensional vorticity waves, and the maximum energy scales exponentially with the Reynolds number. Nonlinear simulations show that low-energy perturbations are sufficient to trigger turbulent flow.

Local linear stability of laminar axisymmetric plumes

The temporal and spatiotemporal stability of thermal plumes is investigated for laminar velocity and temperature profiles, under the Boussinesq approximation, in the far self-similar region as well as in the region close to a finite-size inlet. In the self-similar case, Prandtl and Grashof numbers are systematically varied, and azimuthal wavenumbers $m=0$, 1 and 2 are considered. In the temporal analysis, helical modes of $m=1$ are found to be dominant throughout the unstable parameter space, with few exceptions. Axisymmetric modes typically present smaller growth rates, but they may dominate at very low Prandtl and Grashof numbers. Double-helical modes of $m=2$ are unstable over a very restricted range of parameters. Only the helical $m=1$ mode is found to ever become absolutely unstable, whereas $m=0$ and $m=2$ modes are at most convectively unstable. In a temporal setting, an analysis of the perturbation energy growth identifies buoyancy- and shear-related mechanisms as the two potentially destabilizing flow ingredients. Buoyancy is demonstrated to be important at low Grashof numbers and long wavelengths, whereas classical shear mechanisms are dominant at high Grashof numbers and shorter wavelengths. The physical mechanism of destabilization through the effect of buoyancy is investigated, and an interpretation is proposed. In the near-source region, both axisymmetric and helical modes may be unstable in a temporal sense over a significant range of wavenumbers. However, absolute instability is again only found for helical $m=1$ modes.

Transient growth in Taylor-Couette flow of a Bingham fluid.

In this paper we investigate linear transient growth of perturbation energy in Taylor-Couette flow of a Bingham fluid. The effects of yield stress on transient growth and the structure of the optimal perturbation are mainly considered for both the wide-gap case and the narrow-gap case. For this purpose we complement the linear stability of this flow subjected to axisymmetric disturbances, presented by Landry et al. [M. P. Landry, I. A. Frigaard, and D. M. Martinez, J. Fluid Mech. 560, 321 (2006)], with the transient growth characteristics of both axisymmetric and nonaxisymmetric perturbations. We obtain the variations of the relative amplitude of optimal perturbation with yield stress, analyze the roles played by the Coriolis force and the additional stress in the evolution of meridional perturbations for the axisymmetric modes, and give the explanations for the possible change of the optimal azimuthal mode (featured by the maximum optimal energy growth G(opt)) with yield stress. These results might help us in the understanding of the effect of fluid rheology on transient growth mechanism in vortex flows.

Transient Growth of Axisymmetric Perturbations in Co-rotating Taylor-couette Flow of a Bingham Fluid

Linear transient growth of perturbation energy is studied in co-rotating Taylor-Couette flow of a Bingham fluid. The effects of yield stress on transient growth and structure of the optimal perturbation are mainly considered. For the wide gap case, the peak of the amplitude of optimal perturbation is shifted towards the inner cylinder with increasing yield stress. The anti-lift-up mechanism found in a range of inner cylinder Reynolds number Re1 is substituted by the classical lift-up view as strong yield stress is imposed. While for the narrow gap case, the peak value of the optimal perturbation is shifted towards the outer cylinder as the yield stress is increased, and the lift-up mechanism always exists.

Three dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation of linearly polarised Alfven wave dynamics in Arnold-Beltrami-Childress magnetic field

Previous studies (e.g., Malara et al., Astrophys. J. 533, 523 (2000)) considered small-amplitude Alfven wave (AW) packets in Arnold-Beltrami-Childress (ABC) magnetic field using WKB approximation. They draw a distinction between 2D AW dissipation via phase mixing and 3D AW dissipation via exponentially divergent magnetic field lines. In the former case, AW dissipation time scales as S1∕3 and in the latter as log(S), where S is the Lundquist number. In this work, linearly polarised Alfven wave dynamics in ABC magnetic field via direct 3D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulation is studied for the first time. A Gaussian AW pulse with length-scale much shorter than ABC domain length and a harmonic AW with wavelength equal to ABC domain length are studied for four different resistivities. While it is found that AWs dissipate quickly in the ABC field, contrary to an expectation, it is found the AW perturbation energy increases in time. In the case of the harmonic AW, the perturbation energy growth is transient in time, attaining peaks in both velocity and magnetic perturbation energies within timescales much smaller than the resistive time. In the case of the Gaussian AW pulse, the velocity perturbation energy growth is still transient in time, attaining a peak within few resistive times, while magnetic perturbation energy continues to grow. It is also shown that the total magnetic energy decreases in time and this is governed by the resistive evolution of the background ABC magnetic field rather than AW damping. On contrary, when the background magnetic field is uniform, the total magnetic energy decrease is prescribed by AW damping, because there is no resistive evolution of the background. By considering runs with different amplitudes and by analysing the perturbation spectra, possible dynamo action by AW perturbation-induced peristaltic flow and inverse cascade of magnetic energy have been excluded. Therefore, the perturbation energy growth is attributed to a new instability. The growth rate appears to be dependent on the value of the resistivity and the spatial scale of the AW disturbance. Thus, when going beyond WKB approximation, AW damping, described by full MHD equations, does not guarantee decrease of perturbation energy. This has implications for the MHD wave plasma heating in exponentially divergent magnetic fields.

The Effect of Non-Normality of Navier-Stokes Operator Mechanism on Dynamics of an Axisymmetric Swirling Flow

The effect of non-normality of the Navier-Stokes operator on the dynamics of an axisymmetric swirling flow, namely, the Oseen vortex, has been investigated. The eigenvalue analysis and transient growth analysis have been employed in order to obtain the least stable eigenmode and the global optimal perturbation, which are both considered as the initial perturbation. Three stages of dynamic process have been put into evidence for the evolution of the optimal perturbation. The early (linear) stage is characterized by the amplification of radial perturbation, consistent with the prediction of transient growth theory. Having come into the nonlinear stage, the perturbation energy growth is suppressed by the interaction between the vortex ring and the Oseen vortex core. Finally, the phenomena of secondary energy growth are also observed. Compared with the results obtained by applying the least stable eigenmode as the initial disturbance, the nonlinear behavior of the optimal perturbation features radial fluid motion and the rapid production of small eddies, which are both thought to be beneficial to fluid entrainment or mixing. The effect of perturbation amplitude on the nonlinear evolution of flows is also studied.

Three-dimensional instabilities in tornado-like vortices with secondary circulations

AbstractTornadoes and other intense atmospheric vortices are known to occasionally transition to a flow structure with multiple vortices within their larger circulations. This phenomenon has long been ascribed to fluid dynamical instability of the inner-core circulation, and many previous studies have diagnosed low-wavenumber unstable modes in tornado-like vortices that resemble the observed structures. However, relatively few of these studies have incorporated the strong vertical motions of the inner-core circulation into the stability analysis, and no stability analyses have been performed using a complete, frictionally driven secondary circulation with strong radial inflow near the surface. Stability analyses are presented using the complete circulations generated from idealized simulations of tornado-like vortices. Fast-growing unstable modes are found that are consistent with the asymmetric structures present in these simulations. Attempts to correlate the structures and locations of these modes with instability conditions for vortices with axial jets derived by Howard & Gupta and by Leibovich & Stewartson produce only mixed results. Analyses of perturbation energy growth show that interactions between eddy fluxes and the radial shear of the azimuthal wind contribute very little to the growth of the dominant modes. Rather, the radial shear of the vertical wind and the vertical shear of the vertical wind (corresponding to deformation in the axial direction) are the primary energy sources for perturbation growth. Relatively weak axisymmetric instabilities are also identified that have some similarity to symmetric oscillations that have been observed in tornadoes.

The Effect of Non-normality of the Navier-Stokes Operator on the Dynamics of an Axisymmetric Swirling Flow

We consider in detail the effect of non-normality of the Navier-Stokes operator on the time evolution of an axisymmetric swirling flow. The eigenvalue analysis and transient growth analysis have been employed to obtain the least stable eigenmode and the global optimal perturbation respectively, which are both taken as the initial disturbances. Three stages of dynamic process have been observed for the dynamics of the optimal perturbation. In the linear stage the result of the amplification of perturbation energy is consistent with that revealed by transient growth theory. Having come into the nonlinear stage, the perturbation energy growth is suppressed by the interaction with the Oseen vortex core. Finally, the phenomena of secondary energy growth is also observed. Compared with the results obtained by applying the least stable eigenmode as the initial disturbance, the nonlinear behavior of the optimal perturbation features radial fluid motion and the rapid production of small eddies. The effect of perturbation amplitude on the nonlinear evolution of flows is also investigated.

A Discrete-Time, State-Space Approach for the Investigation of Non-Normal Effects in Thermoacoustic Systems

A low-order, state-space modeling approach for thermoacoustic systems has been developed, which is based on present and past values of nodal characteristic wave amplitudes. The method allows to simulate the time evolution of the system state, but also the efficient computation of the (pseudo-)spectrum of the evolution operator. It is demonstrated by comparison with a frequency-domain “network model” that eigenmodes and asymptotic linear stability are predicted correctly. The influence of various model parameters (downstream reflection coefficient, temperature ratio across the heat source, magnitude and spread of heat source time delays) on transient growth of perturbation energy is explored. The discussion in the present paper is limited to simple test cases, but the approach can be generalized to systems with non-trivial topology.

Assessing non-normal effects in thermoacoustic systems with mean flow

In this paper, non-normal interactions in a thermoacoustic system are studied, using a low-order expansion of the state variables in terms of eigenmodes. The thermoacoustic eigenmodes are determined as solutions of the Helmholtz equation or the linearized Euler equations, respectively, in the presence of a time-lagged heat source. Subsequently, non-normal effects are evaluated in a post-processing analysis based on the computed eigenmodes. In the case where the eigenmode analysis is based on the linearized Euler equations, effects of a non-zero mean flow velocity can be taken into account. The energy associated with the eigenmodes may then contain contributions of convected entropy and vorticity modes as well as the acoustic field. The notion of transient growth of perturbation energy is thus extended from an expression based on the classical acoustic energy density to a form based on a generalized disturbance energy. The expansion in terms of eigenmodes is computationally efficient, making the approach potentially applicable to complex, 3D configurations including non-trivial boundary conditions and spatio-temporal distributions of heat release fluctuations. In the present paper, the method is applied to a 1D configuration that consists of a duct including a 1D heat source, followed by a choked isentropic nozzle. It is shown that for such a case, it is essential to include the contribution of entropy perturbations in the calculation of the optimal initial perturbation and the maximum transient energy growth. Subsequently, the impact of increasing mean flow Mach number and increasing strength of flame/acoustic interaction on non normal effects is assessed in a parameter study.

Nonlinear transient growth in a vortex column

Growth of optimal transient perturbations to an Oseen vortex column into the nonlinear regime is studied via direct numerical simulation (DNS) for Reynolds number, Re (≡ circulation/viscosity), up to 10000. An optimal bending-wave transient mode is obtained from linear analysis and used as the initial condition. (DNS of a vortex column embedded in finer-scale turbulence reveals that optimal modes are preferentially excited during vortex–turbulence interaction.) Tilting of the optimal mode's radial vorticity perturbation into the azimuthal direction and its concomitant stretching by the column's strain field produces positive Reynolds stress, hence kinetic energy growth. Modes experiencing the largest growth are those with initial vorticity localized at a ‘critical radius’ outside the core, such that this perturbation vorticity resonantly induces core waves. Resonant forcing leads to growth of perturbation energy concentrated within the core. Moderate-amplitude (~5%) perturbations cause significant distortion of the core and generate secondary filament-like spiral structures (‘threads’) outside the core. As the mode evolves into the nonlinear regime, radially outward self-advection of thread dipoles accelerates growth arrest by removing the perturbation from the critical radius and disrupting resonant forcing. With increasing Re, the evolving vorticity patterns become more chaotic, more turbulent-like (finer scaled, contorted vorticity), and persist longer. This suggests that at typical Re (~106), nonlinear transient growth may indeed be able to break up, hence induce rapid decay of, column vortices – highly relevant for addressing the aircraft wake hazard crisis and the looming air traffic capacity crisis. In addition, we discover a regenerative transient growth scenario in which threads induce secondary perturbations closer to the vortex column. A parent–offspring regenerative mechanism is postulated and verified by DNS. There is a clear trend towards stronger regenerative growth with increasing Re. These results, showing an important role of transient growth in turbulent vortex decay, are highly relevant to the prediction and control of vortex-dominated flows.

Transient Growth of Perturbation Energy in the Taylor—Couette Problem with Radial Flow

Transient growth of perturbation energy in the Taylor—Couette problem with radial flow is investigated. The effects of radial flow on transient growth and structure of the optimal perturbation are mainly considered. For the wide gap case, strong radial flow, either inward or outward, shifts the peak of the amplitude of optimal perturbation towards the outer cylinder and the lift-up mechanism cannot be observed. However, for the narrow gap case, the optimal perturbation is almost unaffected by the radial flow and the lift-up mechanism still exists.

The Role of Nonnormality in Overreflection Theory

Abstract The role of nonnormality in the overreflection of gravity waves is investigated. In the limit of weak stratification, wave packets having a critical level inside a shear layer of finite depth are reflected with amplified energy. This process, which exhibits the characteristics of stimulated emission, occurs in three stages: first, the incoming wave enters the shear layer and excites nonpropagating perturbations leaning with and against the shear. Subsequently, the energy of perturbations leaning against the shear grows in a manner similar to energy growth of perturbations in constant shear flows, indicating that the Orr mechanism that is slightly modified by stratification underlies the observed growth. Finally, the amplified perturbations excite propagating waves originating from the vicinity of the shear layer boundary. The role of nonnormality in this process is also investigated from the perspective of the associated nonorthogonality of the modes of the dynamical system. It is found that the incident wave packet projects on nonorthogonal analytic modes having the structure of a downward propagating wave in the far field below the shear layer and overreflection expressed by the interaction among these nonorthogonal modes.