Finite-amplitude equilibrium solutions for plane Poiseuille-Couette flow (Q1389984)

Two-dimensional nonlinear equilibrium solutions for the plane Poiseuille-Couette flow are computed by directly solving the full Navier-Stokes equations as a nonlinear eigenvalue problem. The equations are solved using the two-point fourth-order compact scheme and the Newton-Raphson iteration technique. The linear eigenvalue computations show that the combined Poiseuille-Couette flow is stable at all Reynolds numbers when the Couette velocity component \(\sigma_2\) exceeds 0.34552. In the nonlinear case, by gradually increasing the \(\sigma_2\) values at a constant Reynolds number, the nonlinear critical Reynolds numbers were determined as a function of \(\sigma_2\). The results show that the nonlinear neutral curve is similar in shape to a linear one. The critical Reynolds number increases slowly up to \(\sigma_2\sim 0.2\) and remains constant until \(\sigma_2\sim 0.58\). Beyond \(\sigma_2>0.59\), the critical Reynolds number increases sharply. From the computed results it is concluded that two-dimensional nonlinear equilibrium solutions do not exist beyond a critical \(\sigma_2\) value of about 0.59.