Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T06:47:50.602Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Transition phenomena in oscillating boundary-layer flows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2006

J. A. Miller  and
A. A. Fejer
J. A. Miller
Affiliation:
Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois Present address: U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.
A. A. Fejer
Affiliation:
Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The transition Reynolds number and the turbulent Reynolds number induced by a sinusoidally fluctuating free stream have been determined experimentally. The oscillating flow was produced in a closed-circuit wind tunnel by means of a rotating shutter valve which had a range of frequencies from 4 to 125 c/s corresponding to a range of the dimensionless frequency parameter, $\omega v |U^2_\infty$, of 2·29 × 10−6 to 4·49 × 10−5. The dimensionless amplitude parameter, $\Delta U|U_\infty$, could be adjusted by means of shutter blades of various widths from a value of 0.0775 to 0.667.

Flows in both the free stream and the boundary layer were monitored simultaneously by means of two transistorized constant-temperature hot-wire anemometers. The transition Reynolds number, the turbulent Reynolds number and turbulent intermittency factor, γ, were determined from the velocity-time traces recorded on a dual-channel oscilloscope.

It was found that the transition Reynolds number depends only on the amplitude of the oscillations and that the dimensionless transition length is a function only of the frequency. The time-space distribution of turbulent bursts in the transition region indicates that the location as well as duration of bursts is quite regular and closely tied to the fluctuations of free-stream velocity, confirming the analysis of Greenspan & Benney.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 18 , Issue 3 , March 1964 , pp. 438 - 448
Copyright
© 1964 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Feiler, C. E. & Yeager, E. B. 1962 Effect of large-amplitude oscillations on heat transfer. NASA Tech. Rep. R-142.Google Scholar
Greenspan, H. P. & Benney, D. J. 1963 On shear-layer instability, breakdown and transition. J. Fluid. Mech. 15, 135–53.Google Scholar
Hall, A. A. & Hislop, G. S. 1938 Experiments on the transition of the laminar boundary layer on a flat plate. Aero. Res. Counc. R. & M. no. 1843.Google Scholar
Hill, P. G. 1958 Laminar boundary layers in oscillatory flow. D.Sc. Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Hinze, J. O. 1959 Turbulence, An Introduction to its Mechanism and Theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Karlsson, S. F. 1958 An unsteady turbulent boundary layer. Ph.D. Thesis, Johns Hopkins University.
Klebanoff, P. D. & Tidstrom, D. D. & Sargent, L. M. 1962 The three-dimensional nature of boundary-layer instability. J. Fluid Mech. 12, 1.Google Scholar
Kovasznay, L. S. G., Komoda, H. & Vasudeva, B. R. 1962 Detailed flow field in transition. Proc. 1962 Heat Trans. Fluid Mech. Inst., Stanford University Press.
Liepmann, H. W. 1945 Investigation of boundary layer transition on concave walls. NACA Advance Confidential Report 4328.
Lin, C. C. 1956 Motion in the boundary layer with a rapidly oscillating external flow. 9th Intern. Cong. Appl. Mech., Brussels, Belgium.
Miller, J. A. 1963 Transition in oscillating Blasius flow. Ph.D. Thesis, Illinois Institute of Technology.
Nickerson, R. J. 1957 The effect of freestream oscillations on the laminar boundary layer on a flat plate. D.Sc. Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Schlichting, H. 1962 Boundary-Layer Theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Schubauer, G. B. & Skramstad, H. K. 1943 Laminary boundary layer oscillations and stability of laminar flow. Nat. Bur. Stand. Res. Paper 1772.
Stuart, J. T. 1960 Stability of a class of shear flows. J. Fluid Mech. 9, 353.Google Scholar
Taylor, G. I. 1938 Some recent developments in the study of turbulence, Proc. 5th Int. Congr. Appl. Mech. p. 294. New York.
Watson, J. 1960 On the stability of the three-dimensional disturbances of a viscous fluid. J. Fluid Mech. 9, 371.Google Scholar