Modal Description of Internal Optimal Streaks.

Abstract

This paper deals with the definition and description of optimal streaky (S) perturbations in a Blasius boundary layer. First, the asymptotic behaviours of S-perturbations near the free stream and the leading edge are studied to conclude that the former is slaved to the solution inside the boundary layer. Based on these results, a quite precise numerical scheme is constructed that allows concluding that S-perturbations produced inside the boundary layer, near the leading edge, can bedefined in terms of just one stream wise-evolving solution of the linearized equations, associated with the first eigenmode of an eigenvalue problem first formulated by Luchini (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 327, 1996, p. 101). Such solution may be seen as an internal unstable streaky mode of the boundary layer, similar to eigenmodes of linearized stability problems. The remaining modes decay stream wise. Thus, the definition of streaks in terms of an optimization problem that is used nowadays is not necessary.