Developments in stability theory

MaRDI QIDQ4348066zbMATH OpenFDO

Authors Nigel Peake

Publication date 12 August 1997

zbMATH Keywords

boundary-layer flow on rotating diskelastic fluid-loaded plateflat-plate leading edgehigh Reynolds number asymptotic theoryKelvin-Helmholtz theorylinear theorysuction in scattering freestream disturbancesTollmien-Schlichting modesvortex sheetwake flows

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Parallel shear flows in hydrodynamic stability (76E05) Interfacial stability and instability in hydrodynamic stability (76E17) Hydrodynamic stability (76E99)

Review text

We describe some of the recent developments in the linear theory of hydrodynamic stability. We start by distinguishing between temporal and spatial stability, in the context of the very familiar model problem of the Kelvin-Helmholtz theory for a vortex sheet. The general prescription for determining the stability of causal solutions for initial-value problems is then described, which introduces the distinction between convective and absolute instabilities. These ideas have found very wide application, and we describe a number of different situations in which absolute instability is seen to play an important role; this includes the response of an elastic fluid-loaded plate, the boundary-layer flow on a rotating disk, and the stability of a range of wake flows. We then consider the question of boundary-layer receptivity, whereby external forcing or disturbances occurring naturally in the freestream are coupled into growing Tollmien-Schlichting (TS) modes within the boundary layer, which in turn are believed to lead to transition to turbulence. We describe the high Reynolds number asymptotic theory for two such problems; the first concerns the action of suction in scattering freestream disturbances into TS waves over a short lengthscale; and the second concerns the receptivity of a flat-plate leading edge, and the way in which the freestream disturbance wavelength is reduced to the TS wavelength over a rather longer lengthscale. For the entire collection see [Zbl 0854.00012].

Recommendations

• Absolute and convective instabilities in free shear layers
• A ‘receptive’ boundary layer
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 4215546
• Streamwise absolute instability of a three-dimensional boundary layer at high Reynolds numbers
• Linear instability of the wake behind a flat plate placed parallel to a uniform stream

Cited in

(6)

• An introduction to hydrodynamic stability
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 15681 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 67687 (Why is no real title available?)
• Streamwise absolute instability of a three-dimensional boundary layer at high Reynolds numbers
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 784997 (Why is no real title available?)
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3063722 (Why is no real title available?)

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