Effects of imposed spanwise perturbations on plane mixing-layer structure

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Abstract
The origin and evolution of spatially stationary streamwise vortical structures in plane mixing layers with laminar initial boundary layers were recently examined quantitatively (Bell & Mehta 1992). When both initial boundary layers were made turbulent, such spatially-stationary streamwise structures were not measured which is indicative of the high sensitivity of these structures to initial conditions. In the present study, the effects of four different types of spanwise perturbations at the origin of the mixing layer were investigated. The wavelengths of the imposed perturbations were chosen to be comparable to the initial Kelvin-Helmholtz wavelength. For the first two perturbations, the boundary layers were otherwise left undisturbed. A serration on the splitter plate trailing edge was found to have a relatively small effect on the formation and development of the streamwise structures. The introduction of cylindrical pegs in the high-speed side boundary layer not only generated a regular array of vortex pairs, but also affected the mixing-layer growth rate and turbulence properties in the far-field region. For the other two perturbations, the initial boundary layers were tripped on the splitter plate. An array of vortex generators mounted in the high-speed boundary layer and a corrugated surface attached to the splitter plate trailing edge had essentially the same effects. Both imposed a regular array of relatively strong streamwise vortices in counter-rotating pairs upon the mixing layer. This resulted in large spanwise distortions of the mixing layer mean properties and Reynolds stresses. While the vorticity injection increased the growth rate in the near-field region as expected, the far-field growth rate was reduced by a factor of about two, together with the peak Reynolds stress levels. This result is attributed to the effect of the relatively strong streamwise vorticity in making the spanwise structures more three-dimensional and hence reducing entrainment during the pairing process. The imposed streamwise vorticity did not follow the pattern of increasing spanwise spacing seen in the ‘naturally occurring’ streamwise vorticity. The mean streamwise vorticity decayed with increasing streamwise distance in all cases, albeit at different rates.