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The linear impulse response of a laminar three-dimensional boundary layer with imposed spanwise periodic conditions is theoretically analyzed. Because of the imposed spanwise periodicity, a unidirectional absolute instability is physically significant. The base flow is obtained through a direct numerical simulation of the flow along a swept cylinder, with periodic boundary conditions enforced at the spanwise boundaries. It is shown that this flow is absolutely stable. However, it exhibits crossflow modes of zero group velocity whose damping rate in time is quite slow. Moreover, these crossflow modes are spatially amplified. A direct numerical simulation of the same configuration but in the presence of surface roughness has enabled the observation of these traveling crossflow waves. The introduction of the roughness element in the computation creates initial transients that play the role of an impulselike forcing, which generates the traveling crossflow waves as predicted by the theoretical analysis. Depending on the roughness chordwise location, the frequency and damping rate in time of the crossflow waves change in agreement with the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The self-sustained formation of synchronized ring vortices in hot subsonic jets is investigated by direct numerical simulation of the axisymmetric equations of motion. The onset of global instability and the global frequency of synchronized oscillations are examined as functions of the ambient-to-jet temperature ratio and the initial jet shear layer thickness. The numerical results are found to follow the predictions from nonlinear global instability theory; global instability sets in as the unperturbed flow is absolutely unstable over a region of finite streamwise extent at the inlet, and the global frequency near the global instability threshold corresponds to the absolute frequency of the inlet profile. In strongly supercritical thin shear layer jets, however, the simulations display global frequencies well above the absolute frequency, in agreement with experimental results. The inner structure of rolled-up vortices in hot jets displays fine layers of positive and negative vorticity that are produced and maintained by the action of the baroclinic torque. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]