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At least 1,117 records · Page 62

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DOE OSTI2022

Coupling Between Alfvén Wave and Kelvin–Helmholtz Waves in the Low Latitude Boundary Layer

The Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability of magnetohydrodynamic surface waves at the low latitude boundary layer is examined using both an eigenfrequency analysis and a time-dependent wave simulation. The analysis includes the effects of sheared flow and Alfvén velocity gradient. When the magnetosheath flows are perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field direction, unstable KH waves that propagate obliquely to the sheared flow direction occur at the sheared flow surface when the Alfvén Mach number is higher than an instability threshold. Including a shear transition layer between the magnetosphere and magnetosheath leads to secondary KH waves (driven by the sheared flow) that are coupled to the resonant surface Alfvén wave. There are remarkable differences between the primary and the secondary KH waves, including wave frequency, the growth rate, and the ratio between the transverse and compressional components. The secondary KH wave energy is concentrated near the shear Alfvén wave frequency at the magnetosheath with a lower frequency than the primary KH waves. Although the growth rate of the secondary KH waves is lower than the primary KH waves, the threshold condition is lower, so it is expected that these types of waves will dominate at a lower Mach number. Because the transverse component of the secondary KH waves is stronger than that of the primary KH waves, more efficient wave energy transfer from the boundary layer to the inner magnetosphere is also predicted.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Stability of multi-population traffic flows

Traffic waves, known also as stop-and-go waves or phantom jams, appear naturally as traffic instabilities, also in confined environments as a ring-road. A multi-population traffic is studied on a ring-road, comprised of drivers with stable and unstable behavior. There exists a critical penetration rate of stable vehicles above which the system is stable, and under which the system is unstable. In the latter case, stop-and-go waves appear, provided enough cars are on the road. The critical penetration rate is explicitly computable, and, in reasonable situations, a small minority of aggressive drivers is enough to destabilize an otherwise very stable flow. This is a source of instability that a single population model would not be able to explain. Also, the multi-population system can be stable below the critical penetration rate if the number of cars is sufficiently small. Instability emerges as the number of cars increases, even if the traffic density remains the same (i.e., number of cars and road size increase similarly). This shows that small experiments could lead to deducing imprecise stability conditions.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

NASA NTRS2017

Instability Wave-Streak Interactions in a Supersonic Boundary Layer

Optimal initial conditions for transient growth in a two-dimensional boundary layer flow correspond to stationary, counter-rotating vortices that subsequently develop into streamwise elongated streaks, which are characterized by an alternating pattern of low and high streamwise velocity. For incompressible flows, previous studies have shown that boundary layer modulation due to streaks below a threshold amplitude level can stabilize the Tollmien-Schlichting instability waves, resulting in a delay in the onset of laminar-turbulent transition. In the supersonic regime, the linearly, most-amplified waves become three-dimensional, corresponding to oblique, first-mode waves. This change in the character of dominant instabilities leads to an important change in the transition process, which is now dominated by oblique breakdown via nonlinear interactions between pairs of first-mode waves that propagate at equal but opposite angles with respect to the free stream. Because the oblique breakdown process is characterized by a rapid amplification of stationary streamwise streaks, artificial excitation of such streaks may be expected to promote transition in a supersonic boundary layer. Indeed, suppression of those streaks has been shown to delay the onset of transition in prior literature. Consistent with those findings, the present study shows that optimally growing stationary streaks indeed destabilize the first-mode waves, but only when the spanwise wavelength of the instability waves is equal to or smaller than twice the streak spacing. Transition in a benign disturbance environment typically involves first-mode waves with significantly longer spanwise wavelengths, and hence, these waves are stabilized by the optimal growth streaks. Thus, as long as the amplification factors for the destabilized, short wavelength instability waves remain below the threshold level for transition, a significant net stabilization is achieved, yielding a transition delay that is comparable to the length of the laminar region in the uncontrolled case.

Boundary layer transition↗

NASA NTRS1981

Solar wind pickup of ionized Venus exosphere atoms

Previous calculations of electrostatic and electromagnetic growth rates for plasma instabilities have neglected the thermal spread of the distribution function of the planetary ions. We consider the effects of finite temperatures for exospheric ions borne in the solar wind. Specifically, growth rates are calculated for electromagnetic instabilities in the low-frequency case for Alfven waves and the intermediate frequency case for whistlers. Also, electrostatic growth rates are calculated for the intermediate frequency regime. From these growth rates, estimates are derived for the pickup times of the planetary ions. The electromagnetic instabilities are shown to produce the most rapid pickup. In the situation where the angle between the local Venus magnetic field and the plasma flow direction is small, the pickup times for both electromagnetic and electrostatic instabilities become very long. A possible consequence of this effect is to produce regions of enhanced planetary ion density in favorable Venus magnetic field-solar wind flow geometries.

Curtis, S. A.↗

NASA NTRS2011

C/NOFS Satellite Electric Field and Plasma Density Observations of Plasma Instabilities Below the Equatorial F-Peak -- Evidence for Approximately 500 km-Scale Spread-F "Precursor" Waves Driven by Zonal Shear Flow and km-Scale, Narrow-Banded Irregularities

As solar activity has increased, the ionosphere F-peak has been elevated on numerous occasions above the C/NOFS satellite perigee of 400km. In particular, during the month of April, 2011, the satellite consistently journeyed below the F-peak whenever the orbit was in the region of the South Atlantic anomaly after sunset. During these passes, data from the electric field and plasma density probes on the satellite have revealed two types of instabilities which had not previously been observed in the C/NOFS data set (to our knowledge): The first is evidence for 400-500km-scale bottomside "undulations" that appear in the density and electric field data. In one case, these large scale waves are associated with a strong shear in the zonal E x B flow, as evidenced by variations in the meridional (outward) electric fields observed above and below the F-peak. These undulations are devoid of smaller scale structures in the early evening, yet appear at later local times along the same orbit associated with fully-developed spread-F with smaller scale structures. This suggests that they may be precursor waves for spread-F, driven by a collisional shear instability, following ideas advanced previously by researchers using data from the Jicamarca radar. A second new result (for C/NOFS) is the appearance of km-scale irregularities that are a common feature in the electric field and plasma density data that also appear when the satellite is below the F -peak at night. The vector electric field instrument on C/NOFS clearly shows that the electric field component of these waves is strongest in the zonal direction. These waves are strongly correlated with simultaneous observations of plasma density oscillations and appear both with, and without, evidence of larger-scale spread-F depletions. These km-scale, quasi-coherent waves strongly resemble the bottomside, sinusoidal irregularities reported in the Atmosphere Explorer satellite data set by Valladares et al. [JGR, 88, 8025, 1983]. We interpret these new observations in terms of fundamental plasma instabilities associated with the unstable, nighttime equatorial ionosphere.

Pfaff, R.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Preliminary investigation of labyrinth packing pressure drops at onset of swirl-induced rotor instability

Backward and forward subsynchronous instability was observed in a flexible model test rotor under the influence of swirl flow in a straight-through labyrinth packing. The packing pressure drop at the onset of instability was then measured for a range of operating speeds, clearances and inlet swirl conditions. The trend in these measurements for forward swirl and forward instability is generally consistent with the short packing rotor force formulations of Benchert and Wachter. Diverging clearances were also destabilizing and had a forward orbit with forward swirl and a backward orbit with reverse swirl. A larger, stiff rotor model system is now being assembled which will permit testing steam turbine-type straight-through and hi-lo labyrinth packings. With calibrated and adjustable bearings in this new apparatus, direct measure of the net destabilizing force generated by the packings can be made.

Miller, E. H.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Convective Instabilities in Liquid Foams

The main goal of this work is to better understand foam behavior both on the Earth and in microgravity conditions and to determine the relation between a foam's structure and wetness and its rheological properties. Our experiments focused on the effects of the bubble size distribution (BSD) on the foam behavior under gradual or stepwise in the liquid flow rate and on the onset of the convective instability. We were able to show experimentally, that the BSD affects foam rheology very strongly so any theory must take foam texture into account.

Veretennikov, Igor↗

DOE OSTI2022

Electron cyclotron drift instability and anomalous transport: two-fluid moment theory and modeling

In the presence of a strong electric field perpendicular to the magnetic field, the electron cross-field (E × B) flow relative to the unmagnetized ions can cause the so-called electron cyclotron drift instability (ECDI) due to resonances of the ion acoustic mode and the electron cyclotron harmonics. This occurs in, for example, collisionless shock ramps in space, and in E × B discharge devices such as Hall thrusters. A prominent feature of ECDI is its capability to induce an electron flow parallel to the background >E field at a speed greatly exceeding predictions by classical collision theory. Such anomalous transport is important due to its role in particle thermalization at space shocks, and in causing plasma flows towards the walls of E × B devices, leading to unfavorable erosion and performance degradation, etc. The development of ECDI and anomalous transport is often considered requiring a fully kinetic treatment. In this work, however, we demonstrate that a reduced variant of this instability, and more importantly, the associated anomalous transport, can be treated self-consistently in a collisionless two-fluid framework without any adjustable collision parameter. By treating both electron and ion species on an equal footing, the free energy due to the inter-species velocity shear allows the growth of an anomalous electron flow parallel to the background E field. We will first present linear analyses of the instability in the two-fluid five- and ten-moment models, and compare them against the fully-kinetic theory. At low temperatures, the two-fluid models predict the fastest-growing mode in good agreement with the kinetic result. Also, by including more (> = 10) moments, secondary (and possibly higher) unstable branches can be recovered. The dependence of the instability on ion-to-electron mass ratio, plasma temperature, and background B field strength is also thoroughly explored. We then carry out direct numerical simulations of the cross-field setup using the five-moment model. The development of the instability, as well as the anomalous transport, is confirmed and in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions. The force balance properties are also studied using the five-moment simulation data. Here this work casts new insights into the nature of ECDI and the associated anomalous transport and demonstrates the potential of the two-fluid moment model in efficient modeling of E × B plasmas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

NASA NTRS1993

Nonclassical aileron buzz in transonic flow

A computational study of inviscid, transonic aileron and trailing-edge buzz instabilities is presented. A mixed Eulerian-Lagrangian formulation is used to model the fluid-structure system and to obtain a system of space-discretized equations that is time-marched to simulate the aeroelastic behavior of the wing-aileron system. Results obtained suggest that shock-induced separation may not be an essential driving force behind all buzz phenomena. Several examples are shown where the shock motion interacts with the aileron motion to extract energy from the flow. If the trailing-edge region is sufficiently flexible and the shocks are at the trailing edge, a trailing-edge buzz instability appears possible.

Bendiksen, Oddvar O.↗

NASA NTRS1993

The dynamics of large-scale cyclogenesis over the North Pacific Ocean

Wintertime cases of persistent cyclonic flow abnormalities over the North Pacific were studied with the aim of identifying the primary mechanisms for persistent anomaly development. Processes influencing the time evolution of eddy potential enstrophy and potential vorticity anomalies were examined using intensive diagnostic analyses. Analysis indicates that the primary source region for large-scale development is located over the mid-Pacific jet exit region. Potential enstrophy analysis shows that eddy enstrophy increases result from local conversions between the large-scale eddy and the climatological-mean flow. The occurrence of a form of baroclinic 'self development' during large-scale intensification is suggested by potential vorticity inversions. Baroclinic and barotropic processes contribute positively to the large-scale developments. Results indicate that the primary mechanism for the developments is a large-scale instability of the three-dimensional time-mean flow, and suggest that nonmodel transient growth plays a significant role during development.

Black, Robert X.↗

DOE OSTI2025

A generalized effective potential for differentially rotating plasmas

Global stability of differentially rotating plasma is investigated using a generalized effective potential. We first, for a current-free system, obtain a general form of an effective potential in terms of the free energies of global curvature and gradients of rotation for non-axisymmetric disturbances. We then examine the stability of differentially rotating disks for several rotation profiles and present the associated effective potential for the onset of these instabilities in the MHD regime. In particular, results for global axisymmetric magnetorotational instability as well as local and global non-axisymmetric modes are presented. The latter constitute two distinct non-axisymmetric modes, a high frequency local MRI and a global low-frequency non-axisymmetric mode (the magneto-curvature mode, introduced in Ebrahimi and Pharr [Astrophys. J. 936, 145 (2022)]), confined either between two Alfvénic resonances or an Alfvénic resonance and a boundary.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

NASA NTRS2001

Spatial Linear Instability of Confluent Wake/Boundary Layers

The spatial linear instability of incompressible confluent wake/boundary layers is analyzed. The flow model adopted is a superposition of the Blasius boundary layer and a wake located above the boundary layer. The Orr-Sommerfeld equation is solved using a global numerical method for the resulting eigenvalue problem. The numerical procedure is validated by comparing the present solutions for the instability of the Blasius boundary layer and for the instability of a wake with published results. For the confluent wake/boundary layers, modes associated with the boundary layer and the wake, respectively, are identified. The boundary layer mode is found amplified as the wake approaches the wall. On the other hand, the modes associated with the wake, including a symmetric mode and an antisymmetric mode, are stabilized by the reduced distance between the wall and the wake. An unstable mode switching at low frequency is observed where the antisymmetric mode becomes more unstable than the symmetric mode when the wake velocity defect is high.

Liou, William W.↗

DOE OSTI2020

Global gyrokinetic particle simulations of microturbulence in W7-X and LHD stellarators

Global gyrokinetic particle simulations of electrostatic ion temperature gradient (ITG) instability show that the most unstable eigenmode is localized to some magnetic fieldlines or discrete locations on the poloidal plane in the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) stellarator due to its mirror-like magnetic fields, which vary strongly in the toroidal direction and induce coupling of more toroidal harmonics (n) to form the linear eigenmode than in the Large Helical Device (LHD) stellarator. Nonlinear electrostatic simulation results show that self-generated zonal flows are the dominant saturation mechanism for the ITG instabilities in both the LHD and W7-X. Additionally, radial widths of the fluctuation intensity in both the LHD and W7-X are significantly broadened from the linear phase to the nonlinear phase due to turbulence spreading. Finally, nonlinear spectra in the W7-X are dominated by low-n harmonics, which can be generated both by nonlinear toroidal coupling of high-n harmonics and by linear toroidal coupling with large amplitude zonal flows due to the 3D equilibrium magnetic fields.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

NASA NTRS1996

Nonlinear spatial evolution of inviscid instabilities on hypersonic boundary layers

The spatial development of an initially linear vorticity-mode instability on a compressible flat-plate boundary layer is considered. The analysis is done in the framework of the hypersonic limit where the free-stream Mach number M approaches infinity. Nonlinearity is shown to become important locally, in a thin critical layer, when sigma, the deviation of the phase speed from unity, becomes o(M(exp -8/7)) and the magnitude of the pressure fluctuations becomes 0(sigma(exp 5/2)M(exp 2)). The unsteady flow outside the critical layer takes the form of a linear instability wave but with its amplitude completely determined by the nonlinear flow within the critical layer. The coupled set of equations which govern the critical-layer dynamics reflect a balance between spatial-evolution, (linear and nonlinear) convection and nonlinear vorticity-generation terms. The numerical solution to these equations shows that nonlinear effects produce a dramatic reduction in the instability-wave amplitude.

Wundrow, David W.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Direct numerical study of leading-edge contamination

Instability, turbulence, and relaminarization in the attachment-line region of swept and unswept cylindrical bodies are studied by numerical solution of the full Navier-Stokes equations. The flow is simulated over a strip containing the attachment-line and treated as homogeneous in the spanwise direction; the disturbances decay exponentially upstream. Transpiration through the wall may be prescribed. The new method, which admits completely general disturbance, agrees with published linear-stability results, which were limited to an apparently restrictive form of disturbance. Fully developed turbulent solutions with sweep are generated and compare well with the experiment. The turbulence is subcritical (except for blowing), resulting in large hysteresis loops. By lowering the sweep Reynolds number, or increasing the suction, the turbulent flow is made to relaminarize. The relaminarization Reynolds number is much less sensitive to suction than the linear-stability Reynolds number. Extensive attempts to detect the postulated nonlinear instability of the unswept flow failed, suggesting that this flow is linearly and nonlinearly stable.

Spalart, P. R.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Improved Approach to the Predictability & Reliability of the Onset of Turbulence With Shocks

The construction of numerical schemes for (a) stable and accurate simulation of turbulence with strong shocks, and for (b) obtaining correct propagation speed of discontinuities in the presence of stiff source terms share one important ingredient – minimization of numerical dissipation while maintaining numerical stability. The dual requirements to achieve both numerical stability and minimal numerical dissipation are often conflicting since existing shock capturing schemes were designed mainly to be robust for rapidly developed turbulence-free flows and for shock waves without stiff source term. For the past two decades, Yee and collaborators have focused on an improved understanding of the nonlinear behavior of different high order shock-capturing methods. It was found that even very high order methods without proper nonlinear stability and numerical dissipation control can either numerically smear the onset of turbulence due to excess numerical dissipation, or induce (onset) numerical turbulence that is not physical turbulence due to lack of proper numerical dissipation to improve nonlinear stability for long time integration. Our approach is to combine (I) and (II) below for obtaining the physically correct onset of turbulence with shocks, including problems with stiff source terms: (I) Nonlinear dynamics is utilized to complement the traditional linearized stability theory (Yee & Sweby, Yee et al., Griffiths et al., Lafon & Yee, Yee, Wang et al., Kotov et al. 1990- 2015) in order to (i) Minimize numerically induced false transition to turbulence, (ii) Minimize numerical instability due to long time integration of turbulent flows, (iii) Minimize numerically induced standing wave solutions, and (iv) Minimize wrong propagation of speed of discontinuities due to the presence of stiff source terms. (II) Our recently developed physical preserving (structural preserving) high order methods with improved nonlinear stability & accuracy that are essential in minimizing spurious numerics are used.

HECC↗

DOE OSTI2023

Effect of outer-cylinder rotation on the radially heated Taylor–Couette flow

A Taylor–Couette setup with radial heating is considered where a Boussinesq fluid is sheared in the annular region between two concentric, independently rotating cylinders maintained at different temperatures. Linear stability analysis is performed to determine the Taylor number for the onset of instability. Two radius ratios corresponding to wide and thin gaps with several rotation rate ratios are considered. The rotation of the outer cylinder is found to have a general stabilizing effect on the stability threshold as compared to pure inner-cylinder rotation, with a few exceptions. The radial heating sets up an axial flow which breaks the reflection symmetry of isothermal Taylor–Couette flow in the axial coordinate. This symmetry breaking separates linear stability thresholds, and we find the fastest growing modes with both positive and negative azimuthal numbers for different parameters. Another important finding of the current study is the discovery of unstable modes in the Rayleigh-stable regime. Furthermore, closed disconnected neutral curves (CDNCs) are observed for both wide and thin gaps which can separate from or merge into open neutral–stability curves. Alternatively, CDNCs can also morph into open neutral stability curves as the rotation rate ratio is changed. CDNCs are observed to be sensitive to changes in control parameters, and their appearance/disappearance is shown to induce discontinuous jumps in the critical Taylor number. Finally, for both wide and thin gaps, the fastest-growing modes found in the pure corotation case are shown to have their origins in the instability islands at smaller values of rotation rate ratios.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

NASA NTRS1991

On the linear stability of compressible plane Couette flow

The linear stability of compressible plane Couette flow is investigated. The correct and proper basic velocity and temperature distributions are perturbed by a small amplitude normal mode disturbance. The full small amplitude disturbance equations are solved numerically at finite Reynolds numbers, and the inviscid limit of these equations is then investigated in some detail. It is found that instability can occur, although the stability characteristics of the flow are quite different from unbounded flows. The effects of viscosity are also calculated, asymptotically, and shown to have a stabilizing role in all the cases investigated. Exceptional regimes to the problem occur when the wavespeed of the disturbances approaches the velocity of either of the walls, and these regimes are also analyzed in some detail. Finally, the effect of imposing radiation-type boundary conditions on the upper (moving) wall (in place of impermeability) is investigated, and shown to yield results common to both bounded and unbounded flows.

Duck, Peter W.↗