A note on the wave action density of a a viscous instability mode on a laminar free-shear flow

Using the assumptions of an incompressible and viscous flow at large Reynolds number, we derive the evolution equation for the wave action density of an instability wave travelling on top of a laminar free-shear flow. The instability is considered to be viscous; the purpose of the present work is to...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of fluid mechanics 1995-11, Vol.302, p.141-148
Main Author: Balsa, Thomas F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Exact sciences and technology
Fluid dynamics
Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications)
Hydrodynamic stability
Laminar flows
Physics
Stability of laminar flows
Viscous instability
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Using the assumptions of an incompressible and viscous flow at large Reynolds number, we derive the evolution equation for the wave action density of an instability wave travelling on top of a laminar free-shear flow. The instability is considered to be viscous; the purpose of the present work is to include the cumulative effect of the (locally) small viscous correction to the wave, over length and time scales on which the underlying base flow appears inhomogeneous owing to its viscous diffusion. As such, we generalize our previous work for inviscid waves. This generalization appears as an additional (but usually non-negligible) term in the equation for the wave action. The basic structure of the equation remains unaltered.
ISSN:0022-1120
1469-7645
DOI:10.1017/S0022112095004046