Boundary layer measurements are presented through transition for six different free-stream turbulence levels and a complete range of adverse pressure gradients for attached laminar flow. Measured intermittency distributions provide an excellent similarity basis for characterizing the transition process under all conditions tested when the Narasimha procedure for determining transition inception is used. This inception location procedure brings consistency to the data. Velocity profiles and integral parameters are influenced by turbulence level and pressure gradient and do not provide a consistent basis. Under strong adverse pressure gradients transition occurs rapidly and the velocity profile has not fully responded before the completion of transition. The starting turbulent layer does not attain an equilibrium velocity profile. A change in pressure gradient from zero to even a modest adverse level is accompanied by a severe reduction in transition length. Under diffusing conditions the physics of the transition process changes and the spot formation rate increases rapidly; instead of the “breakdown in sets” regime experienced in the absence of a pressure gradient, transition under strong adverse pressure gradients is more related to the amplification and subsequent instability of the Tollmien-Schlichting waves. Measurements reveal an exponential decrease in transition length with increasing adverse pressure gradient; a less severe exponential decrease is experienced with increasing turbulence level. Correlations of transition length are provided which facilitate its prediction in the form of suitable length parameters including spot formation rate.
A pressure distribution representative of a controlled diffusion compressor blade suction surface is imposed on a flat plate. Boundary layer transition in this situation is investigated by triggering a wave packet, which evolves into a turbulent spot. The development from wave packet to turbulent spot is observed and the interactions of the turbulent spot with the ongoing natural transition and the ensuing turbulent boundary layer are examined. Under this steeply diffusing pressure distribution, strong amplification of primary instabilities prevails. Breakdown to turbulence is instigated near the centerline and propagates transversely along the wave packet until the turbulent region dominates. An extensive calmed region is present behind the spot, which persists well into the surrounding turbulent layer. Celerities of spot leading and trailing edges are presented, as is the spanwise spreading half-angle. Corresponding measurements for spots under a wide range of imposed pressure gradients are compiled and the present results are compared with those of other authors. Resulting correlations for spot propagation parameters are provided for use in computational modeling of the transition region under variable pressure gradients.
Boundary layer measurements are presented through transition for six different free-stream turbulence levels and a complete range of adverse pressure gradients for attached laminar flow. Measured intermittency distributions provide an excellent similarity basis for characterizing the transition process under all conditions tested when the Narasimha procedure for determining transition inception is used. This inception location procedure brings consistency to the data. Velocity profiles and integral parameters are influenced by turbulence level and pressure gradient and do not provide a consistent basis. Under strong adverse pressure gradients transition occurs rapidly and the velocity profile has not fully responded before the completion of transition. The starting turbulent layer does not attain an equilibrium velocity profile. A change in pressure gradient from zero to even a modest adverse level is accompanied by a severe reduction in transition length. Under diffusing conditions the physics of the transition process changes and the spot formation rate increases rapidly; instead of the “breakdown in sets” regime experienced in the absence of a pressure gradient, transition under strong adverse pressure gradients is more related to the amplification and subsequent instability of the Tollmien-Schlichting waves. Measurements reveal an exponential decrease in transition length with increasing adverse pressure gradient; a less severe exponential decrease is experienced with increasing turbulence level. Correlations of transition length are provided that facilitate its prediction in the form of suitable length parameters including spot formation rate.
A new method for calculating intermittency in transitional boundary layers with changing pressure gradients is proposed and tested against standard turbomachinery flow cases. It is based on recent experimental studies which show the local pressure gradient parameter to have a significant effect on turbulent spot spreading angles and propagation velocities (and hence transition length). This can be very important for some turbomachinery flows. On a turbine blade suction surface for example, it is possible for transition to start in a region of favorable pressure gradient and finish in a region of adverse pressure gradient. Calculation methods which estimate the transition length from the local pressure gradient parameter at the start of transition will seriously overestimate the transition length under these conditions. Conventional methods based on correlations of zero pressure gradient transition data are similarly inaccurate. The new calculation method continuously adjusts the spot growth parameters in response to changes in the local pressure gradient through transition using correlations based on data given in the companion paper by Gostelow, Melwani and Walker (1995). Recent experimental correlations of Gostelow, Blunden and Walker (1994) are used to estimate the turbulent spot generation rate at the start of transition. The method has been incorporated in a linear combination integral computation and tested with good results on cases which report both the intermittency and surface pressure distribution data. It has resulted in a much reduced sensitivity to errors in predicting the start of the transition zone, and can be recommended for engineering use in calculating boundary layer development on axial turbomachine blades.
Existing transition models are surveyed and deficiencies in previous predictions, which seriously overestimate transition length under an adverse pressure gradient, are discussed. A new model for transition in an adverse pressure gradient situation is proposed and experimental results are provided that confirm its validity. A correlation for transition length is advanced that incorporates both Reynolds number and pressure gradient effects. Under low free-stream turbulence conditions the basic mechanism of transition is laminar instability. There are, however, physical differences between zero and adverse pressure gradients. In the former case, transition occurs randomly, due to the breakdown of laminar instability waves in sets. For an adverse pressure gradient, the Tollmien–Schlichting waves appear more regularly with a well-defined spectral peak. As the adverse pressure gradient is increased from zero to the separation value the flow evolves continuously from random to periodic behavior and the dimensionless transition length progressively decreases.
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