Wavelength Of Vortices Research Articles

Mixing enhancement of a compressible jet over a convex wall

A highly compressive effect would suppress the mixing of the shear layer in a convex wall jet. The spanwise distributed protrusions at the nozzle lip are employed to achieve mixing enhancement in this study. The mixing characteristics and enhancement mechanisms are numerically investigated by the delayed detached-eddy simulation method based on the two-equation shear-stress transport model. A widely applicable flow spatiotemporal analysis method, called proper orthogonal decomposition (POD), is used to gain further insight into the dynamical behaviours of the flow instability mode. The results reveal that the centrifugal effect maintains and amplifies the initial perturbations induced by the spanwise distributed heterogeneities, resulting in forced streamwise vortices. The instabilities induced by the streamwise vortices significantly increase the growth rate of the jet half-width and the shear layer vorticity thickness. The spanwise wavelength of the streamwise vortices is consistent with the spanwise distributed forced excitation. In addition, the spanwise meandering motion of the streamwise vortices is observed, which is usually associated with the streamwise travelling wave. This is further confirmed by the POD analysis of the spanwise velocity fluctuation in both stream-radial and stream-span sections. Also, the spatial distributions of the POD modes with the highest energy provide information on the secondary instability modes. Both sinuous and varicose types of disturbances are observed in the unforced jet, whereas the forced jet seems to be dominated by the sinuous type instability, which is more easily excited than the varicose type instability. Moreover, the turbulence intensity in the forced jet is also significantly enhanced as expected due to the earlier and stronger streamwise vortices and associated instabilities. The enhanced turbulent characteristics of the highly compressible condition tend to be isotropic, whereas in the unforced jet, it is anisotropic due to the strong compressibility suppressing the spanwise turbulent fluctuations.

Coherent structure modification by a shear acting at the surface of a turbulent open channel

Recent experiments in the river Seine have revealed the presence of persistent large rolls. This finding has motivated the present numerical study of a turbulent open channel flow. Our pseudo-spectral direct numerical simulations are aimed at understanding how the shear at the surface, for instance produced by an external wind, can change vortical structures in the bulk. Simulations are run at a Reynolds number in the range [5times 10^3div 10^4], in line with similar laboratory experiments. We investigate how flow structures located near the bottom wall, near the surface or inside the bulk are modified by a surface shear. Statistical signatures are extracted through Fourier analysis of the simulated fields, and typical wavelengths of vortices or streaks are computed. Moreover, instantaneous fields are used to show the existence of upwelling and downwelling motions. These motions can be hindered by the presence of a large enough surface shear. This condition turns out to be necessary for the existence of streaks at the surface as well. Our investigation clarifies the dynamics of vortices in an open channel flow at moderate Reynolds number, indicating that unsteady vortex structures are indeed present, but the existence of long coherent rolls cannot be accounted for by the sole presence of shear at the surface. Numerical studies with a much longer domain and possibly at higher Reynolds numbers are needed to provide a firm answer to the question.

Three-dimensionality in the flow of an elastically mounted circular cylinder with two-degree-of-freedom vortex-induced-vibrations

The study numerically investigates the three-dimensionality in the flow and two-degree-of-freedom (2DOF) vortex-induced-vibrations (VIV) characteristics of an elastically mounted circular cylinder. The cylinder is allowed to vibrate in both streamwise and transverse directions. A low value of mass-ratio (m*=2.546) with the zero-damping coefficient (ζ=0) is taken for the simulations. The primary aim is to understand the vortex shedding behind the cylinder and the transition characteristics of the wake-flow from two-dimensional (2D) to three-dimensional (3D). The Reynolds number (Re) is varied from 150 (fully 2D flow) to 1000 (fully 3D flow), which lies inside the laminar range. The reduced velocity (Ur) is varied 2≤Ur≤17, which covers all three major VIV branches [initial branch (IB), upper branch (UB), and the lower branch (LB)]. The oscillating cylinder sweeps the figure-eight trajectory. Two branches (IB, LB) and three branches (IB, UB, LB) amplitude responses are obtained for the low and high Re values, respectively. The wake behind the cylinder with 2DOF VIV undergoes the mode-C transition of 2D to 3D flow as opposed to the direct mode-B transition observed for transverse only VIV in the literature. The critical Re range of the 2D to 3D transition for the 2DOF VIV cylinder at a reduced velocity of 6 is around 250, less than the 1DOF VIV. Also, this range varies with the variation in m* and the streamwise to transverse oscillation frequency ratio (f*). A λz−Re map (where λz represents the spanwise wavelength of the streamwise vortices) is proposed for the 2DOF VIV, highlighting different modes of transition obtained for combinations of f* and Re.

Counter-rotating suspension Taylor–Couette flow: pattern transition, flow multiplicity and the spectral evolution

Inertial transitions in a suspension Taylor–Couette flow are explored for the first time via experiments in the counter-rotation regime (i.e. the rotation ratio $\varOmega =\omega _o/\omega _i<0$ , where $\omega _i$ and $\omega _o$ are the angular speeds of the inner and outer cylinders, respectively) up to a particle volume fraction $\phi \leq 0.2$ . The primary bifurcation from the circular Couette flow (CCF) is found to yield patterns similar to those in a particle-free Newtonian fluid, and is supercritical at $|\varOmega |\leq 0.5$ but becomes hysteretic at large $|\varOmega |=1$ . It is shown that the states with different numbers of vortices can coexist over a large range of shear Reynolds number $\mbox {Re}_s(\phi )$ , confirming multi-stable behaviour of the primary and higher-order states for any particle loading at $|\varOmega |\leq 0.5$ . A quasi-periodic state characterized by two incommensurate frequencies, namely, the modulated wavy vortices (MWV), is found at $\varOmega =-0.5$ as a tertiary bifurcation from the wavy Taylor vortices (WTV), with the stationary Taylor vortex flow (TVF) being the primary bifurcating state from CCF at $\phi \geq 0$ . A novel sequence of transitions ${\rm TVF}\to {\rm MWV}_1\to {\rm WTV}\to {\rm MWV}$ , with another variant of modulated vortices (MWV $_1$ ) appearing directly from TVF as a secondary bifurcation, may also occur even for the particle-free ( $\phi =0$ ) case; the coexistence/non-uniqueness of WTV and MWV states is demonstrated over a range of $\mbox {Re}_s$ values spanning the secondary and tertiary bifurcation loci. At $\varOmega =-1$ , the primary bifurcation yields an oscillatory state (spiral/helical vortex flow) that gives birth to another oscillatory state (interpenetrating spiral vortices) and a non-periodic state (non-propagating interpenetrating spirals, NIS) as secondary and tertiary bifurcations, respectively, with NIS being characterized by the absence of frequency peaks in the power spectrum of the scattered light intensity. For all transitions at $\varOmega < 0$ , the critical values of $\mbox {Re}_s^c(\phi )$ decrease with increasing $\phi$ , with more destabilizing effects of particles being found at larger $|\varOmega |$ . The effect of particle loading is found to (i) decrease the amplitude and (ii) increase the wavelength of wavy vortices, with the latter seeming to be responsible for the decreased propagation frequencies of azimuthal waves with increasing $\phi$ . The normalized rotation frequency of spiral vortices also decreases with increasing $\mbox {Re}_s$ and $\phi$ , and a scaling relation in terms of the relative viscosity is found to collapse the frequency data for all $\phi$ .

Effect of Taylor vortex wavelength on polymorphic crystallization of L-histidine

Axial wavelength is a key characteristic parameter of Taylor vortex flows. Thus, in the current study, the effect of Taylor vortex wavelength on the polymorphic nucleation and phase transformation of L-histidine was examined. The vortex wavelength was altered by altering the gap width between the outer and inner cylinders. Further, the vortex velocity was changed by controlling the inner cylinder rotation speed. Owing to the promotion of stable nucleation by the periodic fluid motion, the primary polymorphic fraction of the stable Form A of L-histidine in Taylor vortex flow [Couette–Taylor (CT) crystallizer] was much greater than that in a turbulent eddy flow [mixing tank (MT) crystallizer]. As the vortex wavelength decreased, stable nucleation was promoted, thus increasing the initial polymorphic fraction of the stable Form A. Moreover, the initial polymorphic fraction of the stable Form A increased as the vortex velocity increased. These experimental results are described based on molecular alignment effect of Taylor vortex on stable nucleation. The phase transformation of L-histidine was also strongly influenced by the vortex wavelength and vortex velocity. Hence, the rate of phase transformation in CT crystallizer was approximately ten-fold better than MT crystallizer.

A vortex–wave interaction theory describing the effect of boundary forcing on shear flows

A strongly nonlinear theory describing the effect of small amplitude boundary forcing in the form of waves on high Reynolds number shear flows is given. The interaction leads to an $O(1)$ change in the unperturbed flow and is relevant to a number of forcing mechanisms. The cases of the shear flow being bounded or unbounded are both considered and the results for the unbounded case apply to quite arbitrary flows. The instability criterion for unbounded flows is expressed in terms of the wall forcing and the friction Reynolds number. As particular examples we investigate wall transpiration or surface undulations as sources of the forcing and both propagating and stationary waves are considered. Results are given for propagating waves with crests perpendicular to the flow direction and for stationary waves with crests no longer perpendicular to the flow direction. In the first of those situations we find the instability induced by transpiration waves is independent of the propagation speed. For wavy walls downstream propagation completely stabilises the flow at a critical speed whereas upstream propagation greatly destabilises the flow. For stationary oblique waves we find that the instability is enhanced and a much wider range of unstable wavenumbers exists. For the bounded case with a wall of fixed wavelength we identify a critical wavelength where the most dangerous mode switches from the aligned to the oblique configuration. For the transpiration problem in the oblique configuration a strong resonance occurs when the vortex wavelength coincides with the spanwise wavelength of the forcing.

Transient growth in a flat plate boundary layer under a stream with uniform shear

One of the simplest problems involving external vorticity in boundary layer flows is the flow over a semi-infinite plate under a stream of uniform shear. We study the transient growth phenomenon in this flow to investigate the role of freestream shear on energy amplification and analyze the differences with the Blasius flow. The initial optimal disturbance that triggers the maximum growth is found to be streamwise vortices, as in other shear flows. Compared to the Blasius boundary layer, higher optimum energy and larger spanwise wavelength of streamwise vortices have been observed. We provide scaling laws for the maximum optimal amplification, which is found to increase exponentially with the freestream shear gradient.

Dynamic mode decomposition and Koopman spectral analysis of boundary layer separation-induced transition

In the present work, dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) and Koopman spectral analysis are applied to flat plate particle image velocimetry experimental data. Experiments concerning separated-flow transition process were carried out in a test section allowing the variation of the Reynolds number (Re), the adverse pressure gradient (APG) and the free-stream turbulence intensity (Tu). The analysis accounts for two different Re numbers, two different Tu levels, and a fixed APG condition inducing flow separation, as it may occur in low pressure turbine-like conditions. For every flow condition, instantaneous velocity fields clearly show the formation of Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) vortices induced by the KH instability. The most effective definition of the observable matrix for Koopman analysis able to characterize these vortices is addressed first for a reference Tu and Re number condition. Successively, the robustness of DMD and Koopman modal decomposition has been examined for different Tu levels and Re numbers. On a short time trace (10 KH periods), the Koopman analysis is shown to identify the proper KH vortex shedding frequency and wavelength for every condition tested, while DMD fails especially with low Tu and high Re. To validate the results on a longer time trace, a statistical analysis of the dominant unstable eigenvalues captured by the two procedures is successively performed considering several temporal blocks for different inflow conditions. Overall, the Koopman analysis always performs better than DMD since it finds a larger number of unstable eigenvalues at the KH instability frequency and wavelength.

An investigation into the formation of buoyancy driven streamwise vortices

An investigation was conducted into the formation and development of streamwise thermal vortices, which were observed in a natural convection test rig. The formation mechanism of these vortices and the mechanism which determines the vortex wavelength is not well understood. A numerical investigation into these mechanisms using Large Eddy Simulations was conducted.A method for the formation of the streamwise vortices has been proposed. The mechanism involved the interaction of an incoming boundary layer vortex with buoyancy forces from a heated wall. This interaction causes the incoming boundary layer vortex to roll up into counter-rotating vortex pairs.Studies to understand factors affecting the wavelength of the vortices were conducted. One study looked at the effect of different wall temperatures on the wavelength. It was found the variation in wavelength with temperature agreed well with existing experimental data. Another study looked at the effect of fluid properties on the wavelength. This study involved simulations that doubled or halved the fluid viscosity and thermal conductivity. It was then shown that the variation in wavelength with temperature was not due to changes in fluid properties with temperature.

Numerical Investigation of Transitional Characteristics for Natural-Convection Flow in Open-Ended Inclined Channel Heated From Below

Abstract This report presents an investigation of the characteristics for transitional natural-convection flow in an open-ended inclined channel heated from below in the air under uniform heat flux intensity and non-Boussinesq condition. The investigated range of modified Rayleigh number and inclination is from 5.93 × 106 to 1.45 × 109 and 30–90 deg to the horizontal, respectively. Fine-resolution implicit large Eddy simulation is performed to solve the compressible governing equations using the modified preconditioned all-speed Roe scheme, hybrid boundary condition, and dual-time-stepping technique. The Nusselt number based on the maximum wall-temperature differs significantly while based on averaged wall-temperature is closer to the previously proposed laminar correlations. Transition is found to be pronounced at a lower angle of inclination (30 deg) for the considered heat flux intensity. The absolute magnitude of the critical length for the start and end of the transition when converted to nondimensional parameters is found to be higher compared to similar data for natural convection flow over a flat plate in water but the ratio of the end to start of the transition is found to be comparable. Single-roll longitudinal vortices periodically placed in spanwise direction exists in the transition region whose wavelength is found to be higher than those reported for channel flow under the isothermal condition and flow over a flat plate in water. Correlations for Nusselt number, critical aspect ratio, and vortex wavelength to the modified Rayleigh number are presented.

Instabilities of Decaying Flow in a Rectangular Channel

Instabilities near the wall of a rectangular water channel in decaying freestream flow is investigated experimentally. A sliding piston imparts trapezoidal velocity variation (constant acceleration from rest, constant velocity, and constant deceleration to rest) onto the freestream in the channel. With the onset of deceleration, a space invariant unsteady wall jet like velocity profiles develop opposite to the flow direction as evident from particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements. Strong shear and decaying velocity profiles with reverse flow are observed in the deceleration phase and after piston stops. Velocity profiles at this stage are found to be highly inflectional. Dye visualization shows that the outer layer becomes unstable resulting in the formation of array of vortices similar to Kelvin–Helmholtz vortices in shear layer instability. Secondary vortices of opposite sign evolve in the inner layer close to the wall due to the adverse pressure gradient induced by the primary vortices. Vortex formation is not observed below a critical value of Reynolds number. Due to decaying nature of the base flow, i.e., decreasing Reynolds number, the instability vortices do not break down to turbulent flow. The wavelength of instability vortices ($$\lambda $$) scales with the average boundary-layer thickness $${\bar{\delta }}$$, the average being taken from start of reverse flow to appearance of a vortex. The ratio $$\lambda /{{\bar{\delta }}}$$ is $$\sim 2.6$$. The vortex formation time scales with the average convective time scale and is $$\sim 16/ (\overline{ \Delta u/ \delta })$$, where $$\Delta u = u_{max} - u_{min} $$ and $$ u_{max}, u_{min} $$, $$\delta $$ are maximum velocity, minimum velocity, and boundary-layer thickness respectively of the base flow at any instant. Visualization in the transverse plane reveals vortical structures appear at later times after vortex formation in stream-wise direction indicating three dimensional flow.

The mode B structure of streamwise vortices in the wake of a two-dimensional blunt trailing edge

The structure of streamwise vortices that arise due to secondary instabilities in the wake of a two-dimensional blunt body with a chord-to-thickness ratio of 12.5 was investigated using high-speed stereoscopic particle image velocimetry. Reynolds numbers spanning an order of magnitude from to 25 800 were considered, where is the height of the blunt trailing edge. A modified two-dimensional -criterion ( ) was applied to identify the streamwise vortices. The wavelength of the streamwise vortices, defined as the spanwise distance between adjacent streamwise vortex pairs in the wake, was investigated by applying an autocorrelation algorithm to snapshots of . The most probable wavelength was found to range from to with increasing , and the mean wavelengths increased from to . These wavelength values appeared to increase asymptotically. Visual inspection and cross-correlation analyses based on showed that the streamwise vortices maintain their directions of rotation during primary shedding cycles. The latter analysis was carried out at low because of a large amount of wake distortion and the absence of time-resolved data at high . The characteristics of the streamwise vortex structure found here match those of mode B, which, at similar , dominates the wakes of circular and square cylinders and has also recently been shown to exist in the wake of an elongated blunt body with a larger chord-to-thickness ratio of 46.5 (Gibeau et al., J. Fluid Mech., vol. 846, 2018, pp. 578–604).

Vortex flowmeter with enhanced turndown ratio based on high-frequency pressure sensors and improved convection velocity estimation

A novel vortex flowmeter by using pressure sensors and improved convection velocity estimation was proposed to extend the lower operation range of flowrate. The two sensors were mounted on the positions of 0.2D45° and 1.0D45° according to the signal strength and vortex wavelength criterion. The high-frequency pressure sensors were designed to acquire the undistorted signals of vortex-induced pressure fluctuation and further compute the vortex convection velocity. Aiming at the problem of multiple peaks in cross-correlation calculation, a modified transit time estimation technique combined with a moving-average-filter-based cross correlation function were introduced and verified by the tests. Then, the mean convection coefficient was obtained and the performance of the transit-time-based method was analyzed and compared with that of the frequency-based method. It indicated that the novel vortex flowmeter is robust at low Reynolds number range, which achieves a turndown ratio of 8:1 with an accuracy of ±2% in the Reynolds number range from 1.53×104 to 1.23×105. A remarkable improvement of turndown ratio is achieved compared to the original frequency-based method of 3:1. The proposed system of pressure sensors shows good prospect for the gas metering in small pipes due to the feature of non-invasion and sufficient high frequency response.

HIFiRE-5 Boundary-Layer Transition Measured in a Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel with Infrared Thermography

The principal goal of the Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation (HIFiRE) flight 5 is to measure hypersonic boundary-layer transition on a three-dimensional body. This paper presents measurements of heat flux and boundary-layer transition in the Boeing/U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel. This facility has been developed to provide quiet flow at high Reynolds number, with low noise levels comparable to flight. Previously, the global heat flux and location of the transition front were measured with temperature-sensitive paint (TSP). A new HIFiRE-5 model was built with a polyether ether ketone shell, which is suitable for infrared–thermographic heat-flux measurements. Quiet-flow tests at Reynolds numbers of and zero angle of attack indicate a centerline transition location within 4% of the earlier TSP results, on the order of the uncertainty of the two techniques. This good agreement reinforces confidence in the earlier measurements and the new infrared-based technique. Examination of the off-centerline transition front indicates that the wavelength of stationary crossflow vortices is the same for both models and instrumentation techniques, although the streaks do not coincide precisely.

Structured spin angular momentum in highly focused cylindrical vector vortex beams for optical manipulation.

We investigate the spin properties of a family of cylindrical vector vortex beams under a focusing condition. The spin-orbit interaction is demonstrated by comparing the energy flow and spin flow density of the focused field to those of the incident field. This spin-orbit interaction is analyzed to construct the desired distribution of spin angular momentum for optical manipulation. The structured spin angular momentum of the focused field can transfer to the optical torque for the non-magnetic absorptive particle. The influences of polarization topological charge, vortex topological charge and wavelength on optical torque in the hot-spot of focused field are summarized for three typical particles. Such results may be exploited in practical optical manipulation, particularly for optically induced rotations.

Experimental investigation of Görtler vortices in hypersonic ramp flows

A sharp leading-edge ramp model with 15°, 20°, and 25° ramp angles is experimentally investigated at a freestream Mach number 7.7 and a unit Reynolds number 4.2 × 106 m−1 in the Aachen Shock Tunnel TH2. The objective of this paper is to analyze Gortler vortices in terms of shear layer length, flow curvature, and vortex related parameters. The spanwise heat flux variation caused by it and the streamwise heat flux enhancement during its tenure are also studied. Thermocouples, pressure sensors, schlieren imagery, and infrared imaging are used for the investigation. The boundary layer on the flat plate until separation is laminar. An important outcome is that the arc length at reattachment is constant irrespective of the ramp angle. Characteristic boundary layer thicknesses at different Mach number show that the momentum thickness is insensitive to compressibility and is used to determine the Gortler number. A model is presented to determine the Gortler number in terms of ramp angle and a constant based on separation angle, arc length, momentum thickness, and Reynolds number. The half of the vortex wavelength is equal to the boundary layer thickness just before reattachment. The length scale required for breakdown of Gortler vortices decreases with rising ramp angle and is analogous to peak heating length. The streamwise heat flux enhancement occurs during the tenure of Gortler vortices and the enhancement rises with ramp angle. Although the visibility of Gortler vortices through temperature variation is distinct, the spanwise heat flux variation is not too high. Moreover, the spanwise heat flux variation rises marginally with ramp angle.

Instabilities in unsteady boundary layers with reverse flow

Instabilities arising in unsteady boundary layers with reverse flow have been investigated experimentally. Experiments are conducted in a piston driven unsteady water tunnel with a shallow angle diffuser placed in the test section. The ratio of temporal (Πt) to spatial (Πx) component of the pressure gradient can be varied by a controlled motion of the piston. In all the experiments, the piston velocity variation with time is trapezoidal consisting of three phases: constant acceleration from rest, constant velocity and constant deceleration to rest. The adverse pressure gradient (and reverse flow) are due to a combination of spatial deceleration of the free stream in the diffuser and temporal deceleration of the free stream caused by the piston deceleration. The instability is usually initiated with the formation of one or more vortices. The onset of reverse flow in the boundary layer, location and time of formation of the first vortex and the subsequent flow evolution are studied for various values of the ratio Πx/(Πx+Πt) for the bottom and the top walls. Instability is due to the inflectional velocity profiles of the unsteady boundary layer. The instability is localized and spreads to the other regions at later times. At higher Reynolds numbers growth rate of instability is higher and localized transition to turbulence is observed. Scalings have been proposed for initial vortex formation time and wavelength of the instability vortices. Initial vortex formation time scales with convective time, δ/ΔU, where δ is the boundary layer thickness and ΔU is the difference of maximum and minimum velocities in the boundary layer. Non-dimensional vortex formation time based on convective time scale for the bottom and the top walls are found to be 23 and 30 respectively. Wavelength of instability vortices scales with the time averaged boundary layer thickness.

CFD investigation of bubble effects on Taylor–Couette flow patterns in the weakly turbulent vortex regime

The effect of gas bubbles on Taylor–Couette flow patterns in the transition from laminar to weakly turbulent vortex flow is investigated by quasi-2D and 3D CFD simulation. The CFD model is based on the Eulerian–Eulerian two-fluid approach with constitutive closures for inter-phase forces and liquid turbulence and validated by comparison with previously published experimental data. The bubble spatial distribution patterns and the mechanism by which the dispersed fluid obtains a non-uniform radial distribution is discussed and the relative importance of various inter-phase forces is demonstrated. In addition, the experimental observation of vortex axial wavelength expansion due to the presence of bubbles was reproduced by the CFD simulations, and a two fluid Taylor–Couette flow regime map based on three observed regimes was constructed. Lastly, the influence of the azimuthal Reynolds number and gas superficial velocity on vortex wavelength, liquid velocity, mass transfer and turbulence are discussed in detail.

Effect of Initialized Method on the Three-dimensional Secondary Wake Instability of Elongated Bluff Body

Direct numerical simulation (DNS) is used to calculate the three-dimensional cases of elongated bluff body under low Reynolds numbers (Re=1000). Primary instabilities such as Von Karman vortices and secondary instabilities including Mode A and Mode C are identified in the numerical results to investigate the physical mechanism of the wake region. Besides, vortex formation length and wave length of secondary instabilities are also characterized to reveal the flow structures. In the cases where Re=1000, Mode A is the dominant secondary instability in RANS initialized calculation. The spanwise and streamwise wavelength of Mode A is about 3D and 4D respectively, where D is the thickness of trailing edge. The sense of rotation alternates every half shedding cycle, which exhibits out-phase symmetry. However, Mode A and Mode C coexist in free-stream-condition initialized calculation. The spanwise wavelength of Mode C is about 0.5D. Conclusion is reached that difference in initialization method may result in difference in wake flow instabilities.

Visualization of pre-set vortices in boundary layer flow over wavy surface in rectangular channel

Smoke-wire flow visualization is used to study the development of pre-set counter-rotating streamwise vortices in boundary layer flow over a wavy surface in a rectangular channel. The formation of the vortices is indicated by the vortical structures on the cross-sectional plane normal to the wavy surface. To obtain uniform spanwise vortex wavelength which will result in uniform vortex size, two types of spanwise disturbances were used: a series of perturbation wires placed prior and normal to the leading edge of the wavy surface, and a jagged pattern in the form of uniform triangles cut at the leading edge. These perturbation wires and jagged pattern induce low-velocity streaks that result in the formation of counter-rotating streamwise vortices that evolve downstream to form the mushroom-like structures on the cross-sectional plane of the flow. The evolution of the most amplified disturbances can be attributed to the formation of these mushroom-like structures. It is also shown that the size of the mushroom-like structures depends on the channel entrance geometry, Reynolds number, and the channel gap.