Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: We consider an unusual shear layer occuring between two parallel Couette flows. Contrary to the classical free shear layer, the width of the shear zone does not vary in the streamwise direction but rather exhibits a lateral variation. Based on some simplifying assumptions, an analytic solution is derived for this shear layer. These assumptions are justified by a comparison with numerical solutions of the full Navier-Stokes equations, which accord with the analytical solution to better than 1% in the entire domain. An explicit formula is found for the width of the shear zone as a function of the wall-normal coordinate. This width is independent of the wall velocities in the laminar regime. Preliminary results for a cocurrent laminar-turbulent shear layer in the same geometry are also presented. Shear-layer instabilities are then developed and result in an unsteady mixing zone at the interface between the two cocurrent streams.
Source: Physical Review E
Institution: Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Language: English
Subfield: Computational Mechanics
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Norges Forskningsråd
OpenAlex ID: W2042004867