Recent Results In Laminar Turbulent Transition

The 24 papers presented at the international concluding colloquium of the German priority programme (DFG-Verbundschwerpunktprogramm) "Transition", held in April 2002 in Stuttgart. The unique and successful programme ran six years, starting April 1996, and was sponsored mainly by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG, but also by the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt, DLR, the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt Braunschweig, PTB, and Airbus Deutschland. The papers summarise the results of the programme and cover transition mechanisms, transition prediction, transition control, natural transition and measurement techniques, transition - turbulence - separation, and visualisation issues. Three invited papers are devoted to mechanisms of turbulence production, to a general framework of stability, receptivity and control, and a forcing model for receptivity analysis. Almost every transition topic arising in subsonic and transonic flow is covered.

The origins of turbulent flow and the transition from laminar to turbulent flow are among the most important unsolved problems of fluid mechanics and aerodynamics. Besides being a fundamental question of fluid mechanics, there are any number of applications for information regarding transition location and the details of the subsequent turbulent flow. The JUT AM Symposium on Laminar-Turbulent Transition, co-hosted by Arizona State University and the University of Arizona, was held in Sedona, Arizona. Although four previous JUT AM Symposia bear the same appellation (Stuttgart 1979, Novosibirsk 1984, Toulouse 1989, and Sendai 1994) the topics that were emphasized at each were different and reflect the evolving nature of our understanding of the transition process. The major contributions of Stuttgart 1979 centered on nonlinear behavior and later stages of transition in two-dimensional boundary layers. Stability of closed systems was also included with Taylor vortices in different geometries. The topics of Novosibirsk 1984 shifted to resonant wave interactions and secondary instabilities in boundary layers. Pipe- and channel-flow transition were discussed as model problems for the boundary layer. Investigations of free shear layers were presented and a heavy dose of supersonic papers appeared for the first time. The character of Toulouse 1989 was also different in that 3-D boundary layers, numerical simulations, streamwise vortices, and foundation papers on receptivity were presented. Sendai 1994 saw a number of papers on swept wings and 3-D boundary layers. Numerical simulations attacked a broader range of problems.

The Origin of Species Charles Darwin The origin of turbulence in fluids is a long-standing problem and has been the focus of research for decades due to its great importance in a variety of engineering applications. Furthermore, the study of the origin of turbulence is part of the fundamental physical problem of turbulence description and the philosophical problem of determinism and chaos. At the end of the nineteenth century, Reynolds and Rayleigh conjectured that the reason of the transition of laminar flow to the 'sinuous' state is in stability which results in amplification of wavy disturbances and breakdown of the laminar regime. Heisenberg (1924) was the founder of linear hydrody namic stability theory. The first calculations of boundary layer stability were fulfilled in pioneer works of Tollmien (1929) and Schlichting (1932, 1933). Later Taylor (1936) hypothesized that the transition to turbulence is initi ated by free-stream oscillations inducing local separations near wall. Up to the 1940s, skepticism of the stability theory predominated, in particular due to the experimental results of Dryden (1934, 1936). Only the experiments of Schubauer and Skramstad (1948) revealed the determining role of insta bility waves in the transition. Now it is well established that the transition to turbulence in shear flows at small and moderate levels of environmental disturbances occurs through development of instability waves in the initial laminar flow. In Chapter 1 we start with the fundamentals of stability theory, employing results of the early studies and recent advances.

This volume features the contributions to the 15th Symposium of the STAB (German Aerospace Aerodynamics Association). Papers provide a broad overview of ongoing work in Germany, including high aspect ratio wings, low aspect ratio wings, bluff bodies, laminar flow control and transition, active flow control, hypersonic flows, aeroelasticity, aeroacoustics, mathematical fundamentals, numerical simulations, physical fundamentals, and facilities.

The subject of laminar-turbulent transition is of considerable practical importance and has a wide range of engineering applications. For this reason, the International Union of Applied Mechanics decided to sponsor a third Symposium on "Laminar-Turbulent Transition", which would be organised by the ONERA Toulouse Research Center and held at "Ecole Nationale Superieure de l'Aeronautique et de l'Espace" in 1989. It was supposed that like the two previous IUTAM Symposia (Stuttgart 1979 and Novosibirsk 1984) the symposium would be devoted to experimental of laminar-turbulent transition In fluids, i.e. the and theoretical studies physical problem of transition and mathematical modelling in shear flows. The contributed papers were selected by the Scientific Committee from extended abstracts. The larger number of highly qualified papers submitted for presentation led us to include in the program poster sessions, which could be held during morning, lunch and afternoon breaks, and to take the decision that the symposium should last five days (from Monday 11 to Friday 15 September). An excursion on Wednesday offering a well deserved rest and the occasion of new personal exchanges between the participants seems to have been appreciated by all. The symposium consisted of 8 invited lectures and 62 contributed pa pers presented either on oral or poster sessions.

An exciting new direction in hydrodynamic stability theory and the transition to turbulence is concerned with the role of disconnected states or finite amplitude solutions in the evolution of disorder in fluid flows. This volume contains refereed papers presented at the IUTAM/LMS sponsored symposium on "Non-Uniqueness of Solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations and their Connection with Laminar-Turbulent Transition" held in Bristol 2004. Theoreticians and experimentalists gathered to discuss developments in understanding both the onset and collapse of disordered motion in shear flows such as those found in pipes and channels. The central objective of the symposium was to discuss the increasing amount of experimental and numerical evidence for finite amplitude solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations and to set the work into a modern theoretical context. The participants included many of the leading authorities in the subject and this volume captures much of the flavour of the resulting stimulating and lively discussions.

Starting from fundamentals of classical stability theory, an overview is given of the transition phenomena in subsonic, wall-bounded shear flows. At first, the consideration focuses on elementary small-amplitude velocity perturbations of laminar shear layers, i.e. instability waves, in the simplest canonical configurations of a plane channel flow and a flat-plate boundary layer. Then the linear stability problem is expanded to include the effects of pressure gradients, flow curvature, boundary-layer separation, wall compliance, etc. related to applications. Beyond the amplification of instability waves is the non-modal growth of local stationary and non-stationary shear flow perturbations which are discussed as well. The volume continues with the key aspect of the transition process, that is, receptivity of convectively unstable shear layers to external perturbations, summarizing main paths of the excitation of laminar flow disturbances. The remainder of the book addresses the instability phenomena found at late stages of transition. These include secondary instabilities and nonlinear features of boundary-layer perturbations that lead to the final breakdown to turbulence. Thus, the reader is provided with a step-by-step approach that covers the milestones and recent advances in the laminar-turbulent transition. Special aspects of instability and transition are discussed through the book and are intended for research scientists, while the main target of the book is the student in the fundamentals of fluid mechanics. Computational guides, recommended exercises, and PowerPoint multimedia notes based on results of real scientific experiments supplement the monograph. These are especially helpful for the neophyte to obtain a solid foundation in hydrodynamic stability. To access the supplementary material go to extras.springer.com and type in the ISBN for this volume.

Viscous flow is treated usually in the frame of boundary-layer theory and as two-dimensional flow. Books on boundary layers give at most the describing equations for three-dimensional boundary layers, and solutions often only for some special cases. This book provides basic principles and theoretical foundations regarding three-dimensional attached viscous flow. Emphasis is put on general three-dimensional attached viscous flows and not on three-dimensional boundary layers. This wider scope is necessary in view of the theoretical and practical problems to be mastered in practice. The topics are weak, strong, and global interaction, the locality principle, properties of three-dimensional viscous flow, thermal surface effects, characteristic properties, wall compatibility conditions, connections between inviscid and viscous flow, flow topology, quasi-one- and two-dimensional flows, laminar-turbulent transition and turbulence. Though the primary flight speed range is that of civil air transport vehicles, flows past other flying vehicles up to hypersonic speeds are also considered. Emphasis is put on general three-dimensional attached viscous flows and not on three-dimensional boundary layers, as this wider scope is necessary in view of the theoretical and practical problems that have to be overcome in practice. The specific topics covered include weak, strong, and global interaction; the locality principle; properties of three-dimensional viscous flows; thermal surface effects; characteristic properties; wall compatibility conditions; connections between inviscid and viscous flows; flow topology; quasi-one- and two-dimensional flows; laminar-turbulent transition; and turbulence. Detailed discussions of examples illustrate these topics and the relevant phenomena encountered in three-dimensional viscous flows. The full governing equations, reference-temperature relations for qualitative considerations and estimations of flow properties, and coordinates for fuselages and wings are also provided. Sample problems with solutions allow readers to test their understanding.