On the Gortler Vortex Instability Mechanism at Hypersonic Speeds


Book Description

The linear instability of the hypersonic boundary layer on a curved wall is considered. As a starting point the viscosity of the fluid is taken to be a linear function of temperature and real-gas effects are ignored. It is shown that the flow is susceptible to Gortler vortices and that they are trapped in the logarithmically thin adjustment layer in which the temperature of the basic flow changes rapidly to its free stream value. The vortices decay exponentially in both directions away from this layer and are most unstable when their wavelength is comparable with the depth of the adjustment layer. The non-uniqueness of the neutral stability curve associated with incompressible Gortler vortices is shown to disappear at high Mach numbers if the appropriate fast streamwise dependence of the instability is built into the disturbance flow structure. It is shown that in the hypersonic limit wall-cooling has a negligible effect on the stability of a fluid with a given value of the Chapman constant. Hall, Philip and Fu, Yibin Langley Research Center NAS1-18605; RTOP 505-90-21-01...







Secondary Instabilities of Görtler Vortices in High-Speed Boundary Layers


Book Description

This thesis first reveals the mechanism of Görtler instabilities and then demonstrates how transitions at hypersonic flows can be effectively controlled (either promoted or suppressed) with Görtler or Klebanoff modes. It focuses on understanding and controlling flow transitions from mild laminar to fully turbulent flows at high speeds—aspects that have become crucial at the dawn of an incredible era, in which hypersonic vehicles are becoming available. Once this occurs, it will be possible to travel from Beijing to Los Angeles within just 2 hours, and we will all live in a genuinely global village—and not just virtually, but physically. Görtler instabilities have often been used to promote flow transition in hypersonic vehicles. However, how Görtler instabilities are excited and how they evolve in hypersonic flows are questions that have yet to be answered.










Instability and Transition


Book Description

These two volumes contain the proceedings of the workshop on the Institute for Computer Instability and Transition, sponsored by Applications in Science and Engineering (ICASE) and the Langley Research Center (LaRC), during May 15 to June 9, 1989. The work shop coincided with the initiation of a new, focused research pro gram on instability and transition at LaRC. The objectives of the workshop were to (i) expose the academic community to current technologically important issues of instability and transition in shear flows over the entire speed range, (ii) acquaint the academic com munity with the unique combination of theoretical, computational and experimental capabilities at LaRC and foster interaction with these facilities, (iii) review current state-of-the-art and propose fu ture directions for instability and transition research, (iv) accelerate progress in elucidating basic understanding of transition phenomena and in transferring this knowledge into improved design methodolo gies through improved transition modeling, and (v) establish mech anisms for continued interaction. The objectives (i) to (iii) were of course immediately met. It is still premature to assess whether ob jectives (iv) and (v) are achieved. The workshop program consisted of tutorials, research presenta tions, panel discussions, experimental and computational demonstra tions, and collaborative projects.