On the absolute instability of the attachment-line and swept-Hiemenz boundary layers (Q1305564)

The authors investigate the absolute instability of swept-Hiemenz and attachement-line boundary-layer flows. The linearized stability equations are obtained, and the eigenvalues of dispersion relation are found by solving the full stability equations in Fourier transform space using a spectral method. No quasi-parallel approximation has been made, and all the terms appearing in the stability equations have been retained. For the swept-Hiemenz boundary layer the authors show that this flow becomes absolutely unstable. It is found that the retention of all the terms in the full equations leads to the flow characteristics which are more unstable, in terms of absolute instability, than those provided by the Orr-Sommerfeld system studied earlier by other authors.