Dynamics of three-dimensional coherent structures in a flat-plate boundary layer

An investigation is presented that analyses the energy flows that are connected to the dynamical behaviour of coherent structures in a transitional flat-plate boundary layer. Based on a mathematical description of the three-dimensional coherent structures of this flow as provided by the Karhunen–Loève procedure, energy equations for the coherent structures are derived by Galerkin projection of the Navier–Stokes equations in vorticity transport formulation onto the corresponding basis of eigenfunctions. In a first step, the time-averaged energy balance – showing the energy flows that support the different coherent structures and thus maintain the fluctuations of the velocity field – is considered. In a second step, the instantaneous power budget is investigated for the particularly interesting case of a coherent structure providing a prime contribution to the characteristic spike events of the transitional boundary layer. As this structure shows a strong variation in energy, the question about which mechanisms cause these variations is addressed. Our results show that the occurrence of a spike must be attributed to an autonomous event and cannot be interpreted as just an epiphenomenon of the passage of a Λ-vortex.