A nonlinear Harmonic Navier-Stokes (HNS) framework is introduced for simulating instabilities in laminar spanwise-invariant shear layers, featuring sharp and smooth wall surface protuberances. While such cases play a critical role in the process of laminar-to-turbulent transition, classical stability theory analyses such as parabolized or local stability methods fail to provide (accurate) results, due to their underlying assumptions. The generalized incompressible Navier-Stokes (NS) equations are expanded in perturbed form, using a spanwise and temporal Fourier ansatz for flow perturbations. The resulting equations are discretized using spectral collocation in the wall-normal direction and finite-difference methods in the streamwise direction. The equations are then solved using a direct sparse-matrix solver. The nonlinear mode interaction terms are converged iteratively. The solution implementation makes use of a generalized domain transformation to account for geometrical smooth surface features, such as humps. No-slip conditions can be embedded in the interior domain to account for the presence of sharp surface features such as forward- or backward-facing steps. Common difficulties with Navier-Stokes solvers, such as the treatment of the outflow boundary and convergence of nonlinear terms, are considered in detail. The performance of the developed solver is evaluated against several cases of representative boundary layer instability growth, including linear and nonlinear growth of Tollmien-Schlichting waves in a Blasius boundary layer and stationary crossflow instabilities in a swept flat-plate boundary layer. The latter problem is also treated in the presence of a geometrical smooth hump and a sharp forward-facing step at the wall. HNS simulation results, such as perturbation amplitudes, growth rates, and shape functions, are compared to benchmark flow stability analysis methods such as Parabolized Stability Equations (PSE), Adaptive Harmonic Linearized Navier-Stokes (AHLNS), or Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS). Good agreement is observed in all cases. The HNS solver is subjected to a grid convergence study and a simple performance benchmark, namely memory usage and computational cost. The computational cost is found to be considerably lower than high-fidelity DNS at comparable grid resolutions.@en

The Parabolized Stability Equations (PSE), Adaptive Harmonic Linearized Navier-Stokes (AHLNS) and Harmonic Navier-Stokes (HNS) solvers are used to analyze the linear and nonlinear stability of swept-wing boundary layers under the influence of smooth wall deformations of varying size and geometry. Special attention is given to the validity of the slowly varying flow assumption of PSE via a comparison with AHLNS and HNS results. The surface deformations analyzed in this work are found to affect the development of the primary stationary crossflow instability mode as well as higher harmonics. Analysis of the locally most amplified mode reveals successive modulation of the growth rate in the vicinity of the surface deformation. This process was found to be largely governed by linear terms and driven by the base flow modification due to the deformed wall. Similarly, the base flow modification causes higher harmonics to experience a significant destabilization. This is followed by stabilization as nonlinear interactions become dominant. The PSE methodology proved capable of predicting the stability response for small wall deformations with only minor amplitude discrepancies compared to HNS results. The main difference was found to occur in the wall-normal velocity profiles of the mean flow distortion mode. The deviations of the PSE results compared to harmonic stability methods increased as the protuberance was made steeper. Moreover, the PSE framework was not able to converge for all cases nonlinearly.@en

The effect of discrete roughness elements on the development and breakdown of stationary crossflow instability on a swept wing is explored. Receptivity to various element heights and chordwise locations is explored using a combination of experimental and theoretical tools. Forcing configurations, determined based on linear stability predictions, are manufactured and applied on the wing in a low turbulence facility. Measurements are performed using infrared thermography, quantifying the transition front location, and planar particle image velocimetry, providing a reconstruction of stationary crossflow instabilities and their associated growth. Measurements are corroborated with simulations based on nonlinear parabolised stability equations. Results confirm the efficacy of discrete roughness elements in introducing and conditioning stationary crossflow instabilities. Primary instability amplitudes and resulting laminar-turbulent transition location are found to strongly depend on both roughness amplitude and chordwise location. The Reynolds number based on element height is found to satisfactorily approximate the initial forcing amplitude, revealing the importance of local velocity effects in non-zero-pressure gradient flows. Direct estimation of initial perturbation amplitudes from nonlinear simulations suggests the existence of pertinent flow mechanisms in the element vicinity, active in conditioning the onset of modal instabilities. Dedicated velocimetry planes, elucidate the development of a momentum deficit wake which rapidly decays downstream of the element followed by mild growth, representing the first experimental evidence of transient behaviour in swept wing boundary layers. The outcome of this work identifies a strong scalability of the transition dynamics to roughness amplitude and location, warranting the upscaling of roughness elements to more accessible, measurable and spatially resolved configurations in future experiments.

@en

The nonlinear stability of three-dimensional boundary layers over various undulated surfaces was calculated using the generalized Nonlinear Parabolized Stability Equations (NPSE). The results are compared with a flat plate configuration to assess the effect of the undulation shape on the stability of the boundary layer. It was found that the effect of surface undulations is significant and should not be ignored when performing stability analysis. All undulation shapes considered in this work showed a destabilization of the primary mode and the associated harmonics. The stability of the boundary layer was directly affected by the amplitude of the undulations, while their respective shape did not meaningfully affect the evolution of the crossflow instabilities within the parameter range considered in this work.

@en

The interaction between forward-facing steps of several heights and a pre-existing critical stationary crossflow instability of a swept-wing boundary layer is analysed. Direct numerical simulations (DNS) are performed of the incompressible three-dimensional laminar base flow and the stationary distorted flow that arise from the interaction between an imposed primary stationary crossflow perturbation and the steps. These DNS are complemented with solutions of the linear and the nonlinear parabolised stability equations, used towards identifying the influence of linearity and non-parallelism near the step. A fully stationary solution of the Navier-Stokes equations is enforced numerically, in order to isolate the mechanisms pertaining to the interaction of the stationary disturbance with the step. Results provide insight into the salient modifications of the base laminar boundary layer due to the step, and the response of the incoming crossflow instability to these changes. The fundamental spanwise Fourier mode of the disturbance field gradually lifts up as it approaches the step and passes over it. The flow environment around the step is characterised by a sudden spanwise modulation of the base-flow streamlines. Additional stationary perturbation structures are induced at the step, which manifest in the form of spanwise-aligned velocity streaks near the wall. Shortly downstream of the step, the fundamental component of the crossflow perturbation maintains a rather constant amplification for the smallest steps studied. For the largest step, however, the fundamental crossflow perturbation is stabilised significantly shortly downstream of the largest step. This surprising result is ascribed to a modulation of the kinetic energy transfer between the base flow and the fundamental perturbation field, which is brought forward as a new step interaction mechanism. Possible non-modal growth effects at the step are discussed. Furthermore, the results from DNS indicate significant amplification of the high-order harmonic crossflow components downstream of the step.

@en