Table Of ContentInstability and Transition
Volume I
ICASE/NASA LaRC Series
Stability of Time Dependent and Spatially Varying Flows
D.L. Dwoyer and M.Y. Hussaini (eds.)
Studies of Vortex Dominated Flows
M.Y. Hussaini and M.D. Salas (eds.)
Finite Elements: Theory and Application
D.L. Dwoyer, M.Y. Hussaini and R.G. Voigt (eds.)
Instability and Transition, Volumes I and II
M.Y. Hussaini and R.G. Voigt (eds.)
M.Y. Hussaini R.G.Voigt
Editors
Instability and Transition
Materials of the workshop held
May 15-June 9,1989 in Hampton, Virginia
Volume I
With 119 illustrations, 2 in color
Springer-Verlag
New York Berlin Heidelberg
London Paris Tokyo Hong Kong
M.Y. Hussaini
R.G. Voigt
Institute for Computer Applications
in Science and Engineering (lCASE)
!CASE
NASA Langley Research Center
Hampton, VA 23665
U.S.A.
Library of Congress Cataloging·in-Publication Data
Instability and transition 1 [edited by I M.Y. Hussaini, Robert Voigt.
p. cm. - (!CASE/NASA LaRC series)
Proceedings of a workshop on Instability and Transition, held May
15-June 9,1989, sponsored by the Institute for Computer
Applications in Science and Engineering (ICASE) and the Langley
Research Center (LaRC).
1. Fluid dynamics-Congresses. 2. Transition flow-Congresses.
3. Stability-Congresses. I. Hussaini, M. Yousuff. II. Voigt,
Robert G. III. Institute for Computer Applications in Science and
Engineering. IV. Langley Research Center. V. Series.
TA357.155 1990
532'.0526-dc20 90-9806
ISBN-13: 978-1-4612-8008-8
Printed on acid·free paper.
© 1990 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1990
All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part
without the written permission of the publisher (Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 175
Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with
reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage
and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar meth·
odology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden.
The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, etc., in this publication,
even if the former are not especially identified, is not to be taken as a sign that such
names, as understood by the Trade Marks and Merchandise Marks Act, may accordingly
be used freely by anyone.
Camera·ready copy provided by the editors using TeX.
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN -13: 978-1-4612-8008-8 e-ISBN: 978-1-4612-3430-2
DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4612-3430-2
PREFACE
These two volumes contain the proceedings of the workshop on
Instability and Transition, sponsored by the Institute for Computer
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. There were tutorials on Applica
tions of Transition Research (Bushnell), Challenging Research Top
ics in Stability and Transition (Morkovin), Initiation and Evolution
of Disturbances in Shear Flows (Morkovin), Flight Transition Re
search (Holmes), Theoretical Tools (Hall), Measurement Techniques
(Gaster), Modeling of Laminar-Turbulent Transition (Narasimha),
Laminar Flow Control in Flight Research (Wagner), 3 Ft. Transonic
Pressure Tunnel Laminar Flow Control Research (Bobbitt and Har
vey), Computational Tools (Zang), and Effects of Flow Quality on
Transition (Bobbitt). There were also numerous demonstrations on
experimental techniques. Special sessions were devoted to research
presentations on Gortler vortices, crossflow vortices, compressible
boundary layer stability.
These proceedings contain only panel discussions and the research
papers resulting from the collaborative projects started during the
workshop and completed shortly thereafter. There were six panels
with three to six members in each - the Theory Panel WaS chaired
v
by Sir James Lighthill, the Low-Speed Experiment Panel by Percy
Bobbitt, the High-Speed Experiment Panel by Dennis Bushnell, the
Computation Panel by Steven Orszag, the Receptivity Panel by Eli
Reshotko, and the Roughness Panel by Mark Morkovin. The par
ticipants of the workshop were divided into several focused groups,
each hosted by either a Langley or an ICASE scientist: Experiments
(Wilkinson, Dagenhart), Receptivity (Gatski), Advanced Asymp
totics (Hall), Boundary Layer Stability (Erlebacher), Free Shear Flows
(Macaraeg), Compressible Stability and Transition (Malik), Transi
tion Simulation (Zang, Streett), and Transition Modeling (Speziale).
The first volume contains the panel summaries and the position
papers by the panelists as well as the research papers of the Experi
ment Group and the Receptivity Group. The second volume contains
the research papers from the remaining groups. The success of the
workshop was in no small part due to the contributions of the indi~
viduals noted above. We thank all the participants of the workshop
for making it such an exciting event.
We are deeply grateful to Lee Beach and Roy Harris whose sup
port and encouragement was essential from the conception through
the execution of the workshop; we are thankful to Richard Barn
well and Edwin Prior for their continuous assistance. Then there are
many other Langley scientists and logistical staff whose assistance
and cooperation contributed to the smooth operation of the work.
shop. Our thanks are due to them all, in particular Percy Bobbitt,
Dennis Bushnell, Douglas Dwoyer, and Manuel Salas.
It is a pleasure to express our sincere appreciation to Linda John
son and Emily Todd who handled all the preliminary arrangements
for the workshop, to Holly Joplin, who served as the workshop secre
tary; and to Etta Blair, who handled reimbursement for the partici
pants. We are also appreciative of Emily Todd who coordinated the
collection of manuscripts and facilitated their editing, and to Bar
bara Stewart who typed the majority of manuscripts. Thanks are
also due to Zvi Ruder and other staff of Springer-Verlag for their
cooperation in bringing out these volumes.
M. Y. Hussaini
R. G. Voigt
vi
WELCOME ADDRESS
We at Langley consider the Instability and Transition Workshop
extremely important in helping us to assess the state of knowledge
in the area of transition from laminar to turbulent flow, to help
us -identify promising future areas of research, and to help us build
future interactions with the world research community as our panels
discuss the status of the major aspects of transition research.
As I look to the future, I see our ability to predict and control
viscous flow phenomena becoming increasingly important to the suc
cessful design of aircraft. Of course, a major feature of these viscous
flows is the transition process. Our major aeronautical technology
initiatives all require advanced knowledge of transition for their suc
cess. Future transport aircraft, both subsonic and supersonic, will
require laminar flow control to increase aerodynamic efficiency. The
National Aero-Space Plane's design requires an accurate prediction
of the hypersonic transition process in order to properly estimate
drag, installed engine performance, and aerodynamic heating. Ad
vanced military aircraft with high agility require a knowledge of flow
separation and control of separation location in order to execute the
design.
In my view, now is the right time to give increased emphasis to
transition research. From my previous discussion, there is clearly
a need to move ahead in this arena. At the same time, significant
new research tools give us the opportunity to make unprecedented
progress over the next several years. These new tools are analytical,
computational, and experimental. In the analytical arena, new non
linear theoretical techniques give us the ability to understand the fun
damental nature of nonlinear interactions in the transitioning flow.
Modern computational fluid dynamics techniques give us the ability
to directly simulate the transition process, yielding information on
details of the flow well into the nonlinear stage previously unattain
able. In the experimental area, new facilities and instrumentation
allow us to probe transitioning flows under conditions more closely
matching the flight environment than previously possible. These fa
cilities include not only quiet low-speed facilities, but now a family of
quiet supersonic and hypersonic wind tunnels. Additionally, many of
the advanced instrumentation techniques developed for wind tunnel
use in the recent past are now being successfully applied in flight
testing.
vii
Langley has played a significant role in the development of all of
these techniques and facilities. It is our intention to continue to play
a leading role in furthering the state of knowledge of transition in the
future. This workshop represents a new beginning for us in helping
to shape our future research program.
Roy V. Harris, Jr.
Director for Aeronautics
NASA Langley Research Center
viii
Contents
Preface ........................................................ v
M. Y. Hussaini and R. G. Voigt
Welcome Address ........................................... vii
Roy V. Harris
Contributors ............................................... xviii
Prologue .................................................... xxx
M. Y. Hussaini and T. A. Zang
Panel Summary: Theory .................................... 3
Sir James Lighthill
Position Paper for the Panel on Theory ......................... 6
M. E. Goldstein
Some Theoretical Aspects of Boundary Layer Stability
Theory ........................................................ 11
Philip Hall
Theory ofInstability and Transitj on ............................ 20
Thorwald Herbert
Theory on Instability and Transition ........................... 32
Frank T. Smith
Panel Summary: High-Speed Transition
Experiments ................................................. 43
Dennis Bushnell
Suggested Future Directions in High-Speed Transition
Experimental Research ......................................... 45
Dennis Bushnell
ix
High-Speed Quiet Tunnels ..................................... 49
Ivan E. Beckwith
Transition in High-Speed Free Shear Layers .................... 52
A. Demetriades
Some Comparisons of Linear Stability Theory with
Experiment at Supersonic and Hypersonic Speed ............... 68
James M. Kendall
Dominance of "Noise" on Boundary Layer Transition
in Conventional Wind Tunnels - A Place for the
"Quiet" Ballistic Range in Future Studies ...................... 77
Samuel R. Pate
Transition Research Using Flight Experiments .................. 88
Eli Reshotko
Hypersonic Transition Testing in Wind Tunnels ................ 91
Kenneth F. Stetson
Panel Summary: Low Speed Experiments ............... 103
Percy J. Bobbitt
Transition Research Opportunities at Subsonic and
Transonic Speeds ............................................. 108
Percy J. Bobbitt
Some Transition Problems in Three-Dimensional Flows ........ 130
D. Amal
Three-Dimensional Mode Resonances in Boundary
Layers, Jets and Wakes ....................................... 136
T. C. Corke
The Role of the Low-Speed Wind Tunnel in Transition
Research ..................................................... 150
M. Gaster
x
