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Preventing transition to turbulence: a viscosity stratification does not always help

Vijayakumar Chikkadi, A. Sameen, Rama Govindarajan

physics.flu-dynarXiv:physics/0511098

Abstract

In channel flows a step on the route to turbulence is the formation of streaks, often due to algebraic growth of disturbances. While a variation of viscosity in the gradient direction often plays a large role in laminar-turbulent transition in shear flows, we show that it has, surprisingly, little effect on the algebraic growth. Non-uniform viscosity therefore may not always work as a flow-control strategy for maintaining the flow as laminar.

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