Flow control of transitional shear flows is investigated by means of numerical simulations. The attenuation of three-dimensional wavepackets of Tollmien-Schlichting (TS) and streaks in the boundary layer is obtained using active control in combination with localised sensors and actuators distributed near the rigid wall. Due to the dimensions of the discretized Navier-Stokes operator, reduced-order models are identified, preserving the dynamics between the inputs and the outputs of the system. Balanced realizations of the system are computed using balanced truncation and system identification. We demonstrate that the energy growth of the perturbations is substantially and efficiently mitigated, using relatively few sensors and actuators. The robustness of the controller is analysed by varying the number of actuators and sensors, the Reynolds number, the pressure gradient and by investigating the nonlinear, transitional case. We show that delay of the transition from laminar to turbulent flow can be achieved despite the fully linear approach. This configuration can be reproduced in experiments, due to the localisation of sensing and actuation devices. The closed-loop system has been investigated for the corresponding twodimensional case by using full-dimensional optimal controllers computed by solving an iterative optimisation based on the Lagrangian approach. This strategy allows to compare the results achieved using open-loop model reduction with model-free controllers. Finally, a parametric analysis of the actuators/ sensors placement is carried-out to deepen the understanding of the inherent dynamics of the closed-loop. The distinction among two different classes of controllers – feedforward and feedback controllers - is highlighted. A second shear flow, a confined turbulent jet, is investigated using particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements. Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) modes and Koopman modes via dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) are computed and analysed for understanding the main features of the flow. The frequencies related to the dominating mechanisms are identified; the most energetic structures show temporal periodicity. / <p>QC 20130207</p>

Two types of shear flows are investigated in this thesis; numerical simulations are performed for the analysis and control of the perturbation arising in a boundary layer over a flat plate, whereas PIV measurements are analysed for the investigation of a confined turbulent jet. Modal structures of the flows are identified: the aim is to understand the flow phenomena and to identify reduced-order models for the feedback control design. The attenuation of three-dimensional wavepackets of streaks and Tollmien-Schlichting (TS) waves in the boundary layer is obtained using feedback control based on arrays of spatially localized sensors and actuators distributed near the rigid wall. In order to tackle the difficulties arising due to the dimension of the discretized Navier-Stokes operator, a reduced-order model is identified, preserving the dynamics between the inputs and the outputs; to this end, approximate balanced truncation is used. Thus, control theory tools can be easily handled using the low-order model. We demonstrate that the energy growth of both TS wavepackets and streak-packets is substantially and efficiently mitigated, using relatively few sensors and actuators. The robustness of the controller is investigated by varying the number of actuators and ensors, the Reynolds number and the pressure gradient. The configuration can be possibly reproduced in experiments, due to the localization of sensing and actuation devices. A complete analysis of a confined turbulent jet is carried out using timeresolved PIV measurements. Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) modes and Koopman modes are computed and analysed for understanding the main features of the flow. The frequencies related to the dominating mechanisms are identified; the most energetic structures show temporal periodicity. / QC 20110214

Temporally developing direct numerical simulations (T-DNS) are performed and validated for bypass transition of a zero pressure gradient flat plate boundary layer to understand the interplay between pressure-strain terms and flow instability mechanisms, and to propose and validate a phenomenological hypothesis for the identification of a robust transition onset marker for use in transition-sensitive Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Results show that transition initiates at a location where the slow pressure-strain term becomes more dominant than the rapid term in the pre-transitional boundary layer region. The slow pressure strain term is responsible for the transfer of turbulence energy from the streamwise component to other components while the rapid pressure strain term counteracts with the slow term in the pre-transitional regime before transition onset akin to a shear sheltering like effect. The relative magnitudes of the slow and rapid terms thus provide a basis for the development of physically meaningful large-scale parameters that can be used as a transition onset marker for Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes RANS simulations.

In this thesis direct numerical simulations are used to investigate two phenomenain shear flows: laminar-turbulent transition over a flat plate and periodicvortex shedding induced by a jet in cross flow. The emphasis is on understanding and controlling the flow dynamics using tools from dynamical systems and control theory. In particular, the global behavior of complex flows is describedand low-dimensional models suitable for control design are developed; this isdone by decomposing the flow into global modes determined from spectral analysisof various linear operators associated with the Navier–Stokes equations.Two distinct self-sustained global oscillations, associated with the sheddingof vortices, are identified from direct numerical simulations of the jet incrossflow. The investigation is split into a linear stability analysis of the steadyflow and a nonlinear analysis of the unsteady flow. The eigenmodes of theNavier–Stokes equations, linearized about an unstable steady solution revealthe presence of elliptic, Kelvin-Helmholtz and von K´arm´an type instabilities.The unsteady nonlinear dynamics is decomposed into a sequence of Koopmanmodes, determined from the spectral analysis of the Koopman operator. Thesemodes represent spatial structures with periodic behavior in time. A shearlayermode and a wall mode are identified, corresponding to high-frequency andlow-frequency self-sustained oscillations in the jet in crossflow, respectively.The knowledge of global modes is also useful for transition control, wherethe objective is to reduce the growth of small-amplitude disturbances to delaythe transition to turbulence. Using a particular basis of global modes, knownas balanced modes, low-dimensional models that capture the behavior betweenactuator and sensor signals in a flat-plate boundary layer are constructed andused to design optimal feedback controllers. It is shown that by using controltheory in combination with sensing/actuation in small, localized, regionsnear the rigid wall, the energy of disturbances may be reduced by an order of magnitude.

Transition delay in boundary-layer flows is achieved via reactive control of flow instabilities, i.e. Tollmien-Schlichting (TS) waves. Adaptive and model-based control techniques are investigated by means of direct numerical simulations (DNS) and experiments. The action of actuators localised in the wall region is prescribed based on localised measurement of the disturbance field; in particular, plasma actuators and surface hot-wire sensors are considered. Performances and limitations of this control approach are evaluated both for two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) disturbance scenarios. The focus is on the robustness properties of the investigated control techniques; it is highlighted that static model-based control, such as the linear-quadratic- Gaussian (LQG) regulator, is very sensitive to model-inaccuracies. The reason for this behaviour is found in the feed-forward nature of the adopted sensor/actuator scheme; hence, a second, downstream sensor is introduced and actively used to recover robustness via an adaptive filtered-x least-mean-squares (fxLMS) algorithm. Furthermore, the model of the flow required by the control algorithm is reduced to a time delay. This technique, called delayed-x least-mean-squares (dxLMS) algorithm, allows taking a step towards a self-tuning controller; by introducing a third sensor it is possible to compute on-line the suitable time-delay model with no previous knowledge of the controlled system. This self-tuning approach is successfully tested by in-flight experiments on a motor-glider. Lastly, the transition delay capabilities of the investigated control con- figuration are confirmed in a complex disturbance environment. The flow is perturbed with random localised disturbances inside the boundary layer and the laminar-to-turbulence transition is delayed via a multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) version of the fxLMS algorithm. A positive theoretical net-energy- saving is observed for disturbance amplitudes up to 2% of the free-stream velocity at the actuation location, reaching values around 1000 times the input power for the lower disturbance amplitudes that have been investigated. / I den här avhandlingen har reglertekniska metoder tillämpats för att försena omslaget från ett laminärt till ett turbulent gränsskikt genom att dämpa tillväxten av små instabiliteter, så kallade Tollmien-Schlichting vågor. Adaptiva och modellbaserade metoder för reglering av strömning har undersökts med hjälp av numeriska beräkningar av Navier-Stokes ekvationer, vindtunnelexperiment och även genom direkt tillämpning på flygplan. Plasmaaktuatorer och varmtrådsgivare vidhäftade på ytan av plattan eller vingen har använts i experimenten och modellerats i beräkningarna. Prestanda och begränsningar av den valda kontrollstrategin har utvärderats för både tvådimensionella och tredimensionella gränsskiktsinstabiliteter. Fokus har varit på metodernas robusthet, där vi visar att statiska metoder som linjär-kvadratiska regulatorer (LQG) är mycket känsliga för avvikelser från den nominella modellen. Detta beror främst på att regulatorer agerar i förkompenseringsläge (”feed-foward”) på grund av strömningens karaktär och placeringen av givare och aktuatorer. För att minska känsligheten mot avvikelser och därmed öka robustheten har en givare införts nedströms och en adaptiv fXLMS algoritm (filtered-x least-mean-squares) har tillämpats.                  Vidare har modelleringen av fXLMS-algoritmen förenklats genom att ersätta överföringsfunktionen mellan aktuatorer och givare med en lämplig tidsfördröjning.  Denna  metod som kallas för dxLMS (delayed-x least-mean-squares) kräver att ytterligare en givare införs långt uppströms för att kunna uppskatta hastigheten på de propagerande instabilitetsvågorna. Denna teknik har tillämpats framgångsrikt för reglering av gränsskiktet på vingen av ett segelflygplan. Slutligen har de reglertekniska metoderna testas för komplexa slumpmässiga tredimensionella störningar som genererats uppströms lokalt i gränsskiktet. Vi visar att en signifikant försening av laminärt-turbulentomslag äger rum med hjälp av en fXLMS algoritm. En analys av energibudgeten visar att för ideala aktuatorer och givare kan den sparade energiåtgången på grund av minskad väggfriktion vara upp till 1000 gånger större än den energi som använts för reglering.