Global Stability Analysis of Compressible Leading-Edge Flow on a Swept Wing

Abstract : The global hydrodynamic stability of compressible leading-edge flow on a swept wing is addressed using Krylov-based iterative methods in conjunction with direct numerical simulations (DNS). Such a global hydrodynamic stability solver enables the analysis of complex fluid behavior by extracting global stability information directly from numerical simulations. Applying the DNS-based stability approach, unstable boundary-layer modes of the crossflow type and amplified as well as weakly-damped acoustic modes have been computed for a supersonic flow configuration. A parameter study reveals that, depending on the spanwise disturbance wavenumber β, boundary-layer modes or acoustic modes represent the dominant instability mechanism for the investigated parameter choices. Furthermore, the results of the present work clearly demonstrate the necessity of a global stability analysis to comprehensively understand the stability of swept leading-edge flow.