Transient growth and instability in rotating boundary layers

Abstract

The three-dimensional temporal instability of rotating boundary layer flows is investigated by computing classical normal modes as well as by evaluating the transient growth of optimal disturbances. The flows examined are the rotating Blasius (RB) and the rotating asymptotic suction layers (RAS), with the rotation axis normal to the basic flow plane. In agreement with an inviscid criterion, streamwise unstable modes are found in both flow cases for anti-cyclonic rotation: at high Reynolds numbers, one obtains the Rossby number unstable range 0<1/Ro<0.57 for RB, or 0<1/Ro<1 for RAS. Critical Reynolds and Rossby numbers are also determined in both instances. Moreover the dependence of transient growth with respect to wavenumbers, Rossby and Reynolds numbers is presented for both cyclonic and anti-cyclonic r\'egimes. In particular, the {\it peak} transient growth is computed for a wide range of parameter values within the cyclonic regime and is shown to be reduced by rotation. A scaling analysis with respect to the Reynolds number is performed showing that the standard Re^2 scaling is recovered only at very weak rotation. Optimal disturbances resemble oblique vortices. At weak rotation, they are almost streamwise vortices though their structure departs from the classical non-rotating case. Strong rotation imposes two-dimensionality and the optimal disturbances vary weakly in the spanwise direction and exhibit growth by the Orr mechanism.