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Comprendre, prédire et finalement retarder la transition vers la turbulence dans les écoulements sont d'importants problèmes posés aux scientifiques depuis les travaux pionniers d'Osborne Reynolds en 1883. Ces questions ont été principalement adressées à l'aide de la théorie des instabilités hydrodynamiques. A cause des ressources informatiques limitées, les analyses de stabilité linéaire reposent essentiellement sur d'importantes hypothèses simplificatrices telles que celle d'un écoulement parallèle. Dans ce cadre, connu sous le nom de stabilité locale, seule la stabilité d'écoulement ayant un fort intérêt académique mais relativement peu d'applications pratiques a pu être étudiée. Néanmoins, au cours de la décennie passée, l'hypothèse d'écoulement parallèle a été relaxée au profit de celle d'un écoulement bidimensionnel conduisant alors à ce que l'on appelle la stabilité globale. Ce nouveau cadre permet alors d'étudier les mécanismes d'instabilité et de transition ayant lieu au sein d'écoulements plus réalistes. Plus particulièrement, la stabilité d'écoulements fortement non-parallèles pouvant présenter des décollements massifs, une caractéristique fréquente dans les écoulements d'intérêt industriel, peut maintenant être étudiée. De plus, avec l'accroissement constant des moyens de calcul et le développement de nouveaux algorithmes de recherche de valeurs propres itératifs, il est aujourd'hui possible d'étudier la stabilité d'écoulements pleinement tridimensionnels pour lesquels aucune hypothèse simplificatrice n'est alors nécessaire. Dans la continuité des travaux présentés par Bagheri et al. en 2008, le but de la présente thèse est de développer les outils nécessaires à l'analyse de la stabilité d'écoulements 3D. Trois écoulements ont été choisis afin d'illustrer les nouvelles capacités de compréhension apportées par l'analyse de la stabilité globale appliquée à des écoulements tridimensionnels réels : i) l'écoulement au sein d'une cavité entraînée 3D, ii) l'écoulement se développant dans un tuyau sténosé, et enfin iii) l'écoulement de couche limite se développant au passage d'une rugosité cylindrique montée sur une plaque plane. Chacun de ces écoulements a différentes applications pratiques allant d'un intérêt purement académique à une application biomédicale et aérodynamique. Ce choix d'écoulements nous permet également d'illustrer les différents aspects des outils développés au cours de cette thèse ainsi que les limitations qui leur sont inhérentes. / Understanding, predicting and eventually delaying transition to turbulence in fluid flows have been challenging issues for scientists ever since the pioneering work of Osborne Reynolds in 1883. These problems have mostly been addressed using the hydrodynamic linear stability theory. Yet, due to limited computational resources, linear stability analyses have essentially relied until recently on strong simplification hypotheses such as the “parallel flow” assumption. In this framework, known as “local stability theory”, only the stability of flows with strong academic interest but limited practical applications can be investigated. However, over the course of the past decade, simplification hypotheses have been relaxed from the “parallel flow” assumption to a two-dimensionality assumption of the flow resulting in what is now known as the “global stability theory”. This new framework allows one to investigate the instability and transition mechanisms taking place in more realistic flows. More particularly, the stability of strongly non-parallel flows exhibiting separation, a common feature of numerous flows of practical interest, can now be studied. Moreover, with the continuous increase of computational power available and the development of new iterative eigenvalue algorithms, investigating the global stability of fully three-dimensional flows, for which no simplification hypothesis is necessary, is now feasible. Following the work presented in 2008 by Bagheri et al., the aim of the present thesis is thus to develop the tools mandatory to investigate the stability of 3D flows. Three flow configurations have been chosen to illustrate the new investigation capabilities brought by global stability theory when it is applied to realistic three-dimensional flows: i) the flow within a cuboid lid-driven cavity, ii) the flow within an asymmetric stenotic pipe and iii) the boundary layer flow developing over a cylindrical roughness element mounted on a flat plate. Each of these flows have different practical applications ranging from purely academic interests to biomedical and aerodynamical applications. They also allow us to put in the limelight different aspects and possible limitations of the various tools developed during this PhD thesis.

Transition from laminar to turbulent flow has beentraditionally studied in terms of exponentially growingeigensolutions to the linearized disturbance equations.However, experimental findings show that transition may occuralso for parameters combinations such that these eigensolutionsare damped. An alternative non-modal growth mechanism has beenrecently identified, also based on the linear approximation.This consists of the transient growth of streamwise elongateddisturbances, mainly in the streamwise velocity component,called streaks. If the streak amplitude reaches a thresholdvalue, secondary instabilities can take place and provoketransition. This scenario is most likely to occur in boundarylayer flows subject to high levels of free-stream turbulenceand is the object of this thesis. Different stages of theprocess are isolated and studied with different approaches,considering the boundary layer flow over a flat plate. Thereceptivity to free-stream disturbances has been studiedthrough a weakly non-linear model which allows to disentanglethe features involved in the generation of streaks. It is shownthat the non-linear interaction of oblique waves in thefree-stream is able to induce strong streamwise vortices insidethe boundary layer, which, in turn, generate streaks by thelift-up effect. The growth of steady streaks is followed bymeans of Direct Numerical Simulation. After the streaks havereached a finite amplitude, they saturate and a new laminarflow, characterized by a strong spanwise modulation isestablished. Using Floquet theory, the instability of thesestreaks is studied to determine the features of theirbreakdown. The streak critical amplitude, beyond which unstablewaves are excited, is 26% of the free-stream velocity. Theinstability appears as spanwise (sinuous-type) oscillations ofthe streak. The late stages of the transition, originating fromthis type of secondary instability, are also studied. We foundthat the main structures observed during the transition processconsist of elongated quasi-streamwise vortices located on theflanks of the low speed streak. Vortices of alternating signare overlapping in the streamwise direction in a staggeredpattern. Descriptors:Fluid mechanics, laminar-turbulenttransition, boundary layer flow, transient growth, streamwisestreaks, lift-up effect, receptivity, free-stream turbulence,nonlinear mechanism, streak instability, secondary instability,Direct Numerical Simulation. / QC 20100518

<p>NR 20140805</p>

In boundary-layer flows it is possible to reduce the friction drag by breaking the path from laminar to turbulent state. In low turbulence environments, the laminar-to-turbulent transition is dominated by local flow instabilities – Tollmien-Schlichting (TS) waves – that exponentially grows while being con- vected by the flow and, eventually, lead to transition. Hence, by attenuating these disturbances via localised forcing in the flow it is possible to delay farther downstream the onset of turbulence and reduce the friction drag. Reactive control techniques are widely investigated to this end. The aim of this work is to compare model-based and adaptive control techniques and show how the adaptivity is crucial to control TS-waves in real applications. The control design consists in (i) choosing sensors and actuators and (ii) designing the system responsible to process on-line the measurement signals in order to compute an appropriate forcing by the actuators. This system, called compen- sator, can be static or adaptive, depending on the possibility of self-adjusting its response to unmodelled flow dynamics. A Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) regulator is chosen as representative of static controllers. Direct numerical simulations of the flow are performed to provide a model for the compensator design and test its performance. An adaptive Filtered-X Least-Mean-Squares (FXLMS) compensator is also designed for the same flow case and its per- formance is compared to the model-based compensator via simulations and experiments. Although the LQG regulator behaves better at design conditions, it lacks robustness to small flow variations. On the other hand, the FXLMS compensator proved to be able to adapt its response to overcome the varied conditions and perform an adequate control action. It is thus found that an adaptive control technique is more suitable to delay the laminar-to-turbulent transition in situations where an accurate model of the flow is not available. / I det tunna gränsskikt som uppstår en yta, kan friktionen minskas genom att förhindra omslag från ett laminärt till ett turbulent flöde. När turbulensnivån är låg  i omgivningen, domineras till en början omslaget av lokala instabiliteter (Tollmien-Schlichting (TS) v ågor) som växer i en exponentiell takt samtidigt som de propagerar nedströms. Därför, kan man förskjuta omslaget genom att dämpa TS vågors tillväxt i ett gränsskikt och därmed minska friktionen.Med detta mål i sikte, tillämpas och jämförs två reglertekniska metoder, nämligen en adaptiv signalbaserad metod och en statiskt modellbaserad metod. Vi visar att adaptivitet är av avgörande betydelse för att kunna dämpa TS vågor i en verklig miljö. Den reglertekniska konstruktionen består av val av givare och aktuatorer samt att bestämma det system som behandlar mätsignaler (on- line) för beräkning av en lämplig signal till aktuatorer. Detta system, som kallas för en kompensator, kan vara antingen statisk eller adaptiv, beroende på om det har möjlighet till att anpassa sig till omgivningen. En så kallad linjär regulator (LQG), som representerar den statiska kompensator, har tagits fram med hjälp av numeriska simuleringar of strömningsfältet. Denna kompensator jämförs med en adaptiv regulator som kallas för Filtered-X Least-Mean-Squares (FXLMS) både experimentellt och numeriskt. Det visar sig att LQG regulatorn har en bättre prestanda än FXLMS för de parametrar som den var framtagen för, men brister i robusthet. FXLMS å andra sidan, anpassar sig till icke- modellerade störningar och variationer, och kan därmed hålla en god och jämn prestanda.Man kan därmed dra slutsaten att adaptiva regulatorer är mer lämpliga för att förhala omslaget fr ån laminär till turbulent strömning i situationer då en exakt modell av fysiken saknas. / <p>QC 20141020</p>

Despite years of research in high speed boundary layer flow, there is still a need for insightful experiments to realize key features of the flow like boundary layer response to different conditions and related transition mechanisms. Volumes of data on the these problems point to the fact that there is still much to be understood about the nature of boundary layer instability causing transition and growth of boundary layer in different conditions. Boundary layer stability experiments have been found to be more useful, in which the boundary layer is perturbed and its behavior observed to infer useful conclusions. Also, apart from the stability part, the effect of various changes in boundary layer due to the perturbation makes interesting observation to gain more insight into the understood and the not so understood facets of the same. In view of the above, the effect of a steady axisymmetric thermal bump is investigated on a hypersonic boundary layer over a 60º sharp cone cylinder model. The thermal bump, placed near tip of the cone, perturbs the boundary layer, the behavior of which is observed by recording the wall heat flux on the cone and cylinder surface using platinum thin film sensors. The state of the boundary layer is qualitatively assessed by the wall heat flux comparisons between laminar and turbulent values. The same thermal bump also acts as a heat addition source to boundary layer in which case this recorded data provides a look into the effect of the heat addition to the wall heat flux. To gain a larger view of heat addition causing changes to the flow, effects of change in enthalpy are also considered. Experiments are performed in the IISc HST2 shock tunnel facility at 2MJkg−1 stag-nation enthalpy and Mach number of 8,with and without the thermal bump to form comparisons. Some experiments are also performed in the IISc HST3 free piston driven shock tunnel facility at 6MJkg−1, to investigate the effect of change in stagnation enthalpy on the wall heat flux. To support the experimental results theoretical comparisons and computational studies have also been carried out. The results of experiments show that the laminar boundary layer over the whole model remains laminar even when perturbed by the thermal bump. The wall heat flux measurements show change on the cone part where there seems to be fluctuation in the temperature gradients caused by the thermal bump, which decrease at first and then show an increase towards the base of the cone. The cylinder part remains the same with and without the thermal bump, indicating heavy damping effects by the expansion fan at cone cylinder junction. A local peak in wall heat flux is observed at the junction which is reduced by 64% by the action of the thermal bump. The possible reason for this is attributed to the increased temperature gradients at the wall due to delayed dissipation of heat that is accumulated in the boundary layer as a result of the thermal bump action. The comparison of data for enthalpies of 2MJkg−1 and 6MJkg−1 show that there are negligible real gas effects in the higher enthalpy case and they do not affect the wall heat flux much. Also it is found that the thermal bump fails to dump heat into the flow directly though it creates heat addition virtually by mere discontinuity in the surface temperature and causes temperature gradients fluctuation in the boundary layer. Considering the thermal bump action and the change in stagnation enthalpy of the flow, there seems to be no change in both cases that can be attributed to a common observation resulting from the factor of change in heat inside the boundary layer.

La capacité à percevoir des courants dans un fluide s'est développée chez de nombreuses espèces animales, dans des contextes écologiques très variés qui couvrent aussi bien les interactions proies-prédateurs, la sélection sexuelle ou l'orientation dans un environnement. Parmi ces espèces animales, les grillons détectent les courants d'air générés notamment lors de l'attaque de leurs prédateurs à l'aide de deux organes appelés "cerques", situés à l'arrière de leur abdomen et recouverts de poils mécano-sensoriels. Ces senseurs sont considérés comme les détecteurs les plus sensibles du monde animal. Il leur suffit de capter l'énergie d'un dixième d'un photon pour déclencher un potentiel d'action au niveau du neurone sensoriel. Ce manuscrit présente à la fois le développement des outils de mesures sans contact adaptés à ces questions d'écologie sensorielle ainsi que les méthodes numériques simulant les processus physiques à l'oeuvre. L'étude du fonctionnement des senseurs a nécessité l'adaptation des méthodes de mesures non intrusives de très grande précision tel que la Vélocimétrie par Imagerie de Particules (PIV). La couche limite oscillante dans laquelle évoluent les poils a été visualisée et a servi à déterminer la réponse de poils modélisés par des systèmes oscillatoires du second ordre. Le couplage visqueux entre poils a été lui aussi caractérisé en adaptant la PIV à des mesures à très petites échelles sur des poils biomimétiques micro-electro-mécanique (MEMS). Les mesures des perturbations générées lors des attaques d'araignées, principales prédatrices des grillons, nous ont aidé à valider des modélisations numériques, réalisées à l'aide des techniques de dynamique des fluides computationnelles (CFD) par résolution des équations de Navier Stokes via la méthode des éléments finis (FEM). La mise au point et l'utilisation de techniques de métrologie optique en dynamique des fluides semi-visqueux et l'analyse des données nous permettent de revisiter la sensibilité extrême du système sensoriel du grillon et de placer ces mesures dans un contexte plus large, d'écologie sensorielle. En particulier, nous montrons que ces soies sont placées en groupe compact et exercent entre elles un fort couplage aérodynamique visqueux, qui réduit fortement leur sensibilité "de groupe". Ce fort couplage interroge l'intérêt d'avoir des récepteurs aussi performants individuellement, s'ils perdent leur sensibilité lorsqu'ils fonctionnent en réseau. Finalement, les réactions des poils à des mouvements de fluides générés par un piston mimant les attaques réelles d'araignées ont pu être déterminées à l'aide d'une caméra rapide, puis simulées et validées après avoir développé un modèle mécanique du poil répondant à des stimuli transitoires. / Flow sensing is used by a vast number of animals in various ecological contexts, from preypredator interactions to mate selection, and orientation to flow itself. Among these animals, crickets use hundreds of filiform hairs on two cerci as an early warning system to detect remote potential predators. Over the years, the cricket hairs have been described as the most sensitive sensor in the animal kingdom. The energy necessary for the emission of an action potential by its sensory neuron was estimated to be a tenth of the energy of a photon. This PhD thesis aims to describe recent technological advances in the measurement and model of flows around biological and artificial flow sensors in the context of organismal sensory ecology. The study and understanding of the performance of sensory systems requires a high spatial precision of non-intrusive measurement methods. Thus, non-contacting measurement methods such as and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), originally developed by aerodynamics and fluid mechanics engineers, have been used to measure flows of biological relevance. The viscous oscillatory boundary layer surrounding filiform hairs has been visualized and used as input to model the mechanical response of these hairs, described as second order mechanical systems. The viscous hydrodynamic coupling occurring within hair canopy was also characterized using PIV measurements on biomimetic micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) hairs, mimicking biological ones. Using PIV, we have also measured the air flow upstream of hunting spiders. We prove that this flow is highly conspicuous aerodynamically, due to substantial air displacement detectable up to several centimeters in front of the running predator. This disturbance of upstream air flows were also assessed by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with the finite elements method (FEM). The development of non-intrusive measurement and CFD methods and their application to the analysis of the biological flow involved in cricket sensory ecology allowed us to revisit the extreme sensitivity of cricket filiform hairs. We predicted strong hydrodynamic coupling within natural hair canopies and we addressed why hairs are packed together at such high densities, particularly given the exquisite sensitivity of a single hair. We also proposed a new model of hair deflection during the arrival of a predator, by taking into account both the initial and long-term aspects of the flow pattern produced by a lunging predator. We conclude that the length heterogeneity of the hair canopy mirrors the flow complexity of an entire attack, from launch to grasp.