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Coherent structures in an airfoil boundary layer and wake at low Reynolds

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 Coherent structures in an airfoil boundary layer and wake at low Reynolds
numbers
Serhiy Yarusevych, Pierre E. Sullivan, and John G. Kawall

Citation: Phys. Fluids 18, 044101 (2006); doi: 10.1063/1.2187069

View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.2187069
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 PHYSICS OF FLUIDS 18, 044101 共2006兲

Coherent structures in an airfoil boundary layer and wake at low

Reynolds numbers
Serhiy Yarusevycha兲 and Pierre E. Sullivan
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto,
Ontario M5S 3G8, Canada
John G. Kawall
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Ryerson University, Toronto,
Ontario M5B 2K3, Canada
共Received 9 September 2005; accepted 16 February 2006; published online 4 April 2006兲
Boundary layer and turbulent wake development for a NACA 0025 airfoil at low Reynolds numbers
was studied experimentally. Wind tunnel experiments were carried out for a range of Reynolds
numbers and three angles of attack. Laminar boundary layer separation occurs on the upper surface
of the airfoil for all Reynolds numbers and angles of attack examined. Two flow regimes are
investigated 共i兲 boundary layer separation without reattachment and 共ii兲 separation bubble
formation. The results suggest that coherent structures form in the separated flow region and the
wake of the airfoil for both flow regimes. The formation of the roll-up vortices in the separated shear
layer is linked to inviscid spatial growth of disturbances and is attributed to the Kelvin-Helmholtz
instability. Linear stability theory can be employed to adequately describe the salient characteristics
of such vortices and the initial stage of the separated shear layer transition. The development of the
roll-up vortices leads to boundary layer transition, and the vortices break down during the transition
process. Vortex shedding also occurs in the airfoil wake and vortices form in the near-wake region.
It is shown that the boundary layer behavior has a profound effect on the identified coherent
structures, and each of the two flow regimes is associated with distinctly different vortex shedding
characteristics. © 2006 American Institute of Physics. 关DOI: 10.1063/1.2187069兴

I. INTRODUCTION have proven to be challenging, largely because of the com-

Low Reynolds number flow is of interest in connection
with a variety of engineering applications that include the
design of micro air vehicles, rotor blades, hydrofoils, and
wind turbines and the operation of low-speed/high-altitude
aircraft. In general, airfoil performance starts to deteriorate
when the chord Reynolds number 共Rec兲 decreases below
about 500 000.1,2 共Rec = cU0 / ␯, where U0 is the free-stream
velocity, c is the cord length, and ␯ is the kinematic viscos-
ity.兲 The laminar boundary layer on the upper surface of the
airfoil becomes subjected to an adverse pressure gradient,
even at low angles of attack, often resulting in laminar
boundary-layer separation and formation of a shear layer.
Laminar boundary layer separation has a significant detri-
mental effect on airfoil performance, adversely effecting air-
foil lift and drag. Hence, it is not surprising that airfoil
boundary layer development at low Reynolds numbers has
been the main focus of the research in this field.1–7 Previous
experimental results suggest that below Reynolds numbers of
about 50 000, the separated shear layer does not reattach to
the airfoil surface, and a large wake is formed. In contrast, at
higher Reynolds numbers, the separated shear layer may re-
attach to the airfoil surface, resulting in a laminar separation
bubble. It should be noted, however, that investigations of
the separation bubble formation, as well as its characteristics,
Telephone: 共416兲 978-6444. Fax: 共416兲 978-7753. Electronic mail:
a兲
yarus@mie.utoronto.ca
plexity of the phenomenon and its sensitivity to test section
environment.
Recently, there has been increased interest in laminar to
turbulent flow transition and organized structures that de-
velop in the separated shear layer at low Reynolds
numbers.6–10 Laminar separated flows that develop due to the
application of an adverse pressure gradient are inherently
unstable. Past the separation point, the boundary layer under-
goes transition due to amplification of flow instabilities.
Growing instabilities cause the shear layer to roll-up and
form vortices that have been shown to play a dominant role
in bubble formation.7 Most of the numerical research on the
subject has been performed for the flat plate geometry, with
an externally applied adverse pressure gradient. In a detailed
experimental study, Watmuff8 found good agreement be-
tween experimental and numerical results. It should be
noted, however, that according to the findings of Lin and
Pauley,7 characteristics of the vortices formed in the separa-
tion bubble depend on the surface pressure distribution.
Therefore, these characteristics can vary when an airfoil
boundary layer is considered, since the pressure distribution
will depend on airfoil geometry, Reynolds number, and angle
of attack. Several experimental studies confirm the existence
of organized coherent structures within the separation bubble
that forms on an airfoil but did not investigate their behavior
and characteristics in detail.5,6 This serves as a motivation for
the present experimental study.
Although the research in low-Reynolds number flows

1070-6631/2006/18共4兲/044101/11/$23.00 18, 044101-1 © 2006 American Institute of Physics

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 044101-2 Yarusevych, Sullivan, and Kawall
has been mainly focused on boundary layer development,
airfoil wake development and characteristics also signifi-
cantly affect airfoil performance. Structure and characteris-
tics of a bluff-body wake have been the subject of active
research for several decades.11–16 In particular, vortex shed-
ding and its interaction with shear layer instabilities have
been of major interest. The vortex shedding frequency is
usually scaled with global parameters to form a Strouhal
number. In the wake of a bluff body, the Strouhal number
does not vary substantially over a wide range of Reynolds
numbers. Typical values of 0.21 and 0.14 were reported for
the case of circular cylinder and a flat plate, respectively.11
When transition occurs in the near wake of a cylinder,
Bloor13 showed that a separated shear layer instability fre-
quency normalized by a corresponding vortex shedding fre-
quency varies as Re0.5, where Re is based on the cylinder
diameter D. This power law relationship has been supported
by the results of others; however, the exact value of the ex-
ponent is a question of ongoing debate.15,16
The wake of an airfoil at post-stall angles of attack can
be expected to behave similar to that of a bluff body. At
pre-stall angles of attack, however, airfoil wake characteris-
tics were shown to be quite different.17,18 Huang and Lin17
investigated vortex shedding of a NACA 0012 airfoil at low
Reynolds numbers. Their results show a wide distribution of
Strouhal numbers based on vortex shedding frequency for
different Reynolds numbers and angles of attack. Moreover,
vortex shedding characteristics were found to be closely re-
lated to boundary layer behavior, resulting in several vortex
shedding modes. Results obtained by Zaman et al.19 also
revealed vortex shedding in an airfoil wake at near stalling
angles of attack, though the focus of their investigation was a
different phenomenon, viz., unusually low frequency oscilla-
tions. It should be noted that available results for unsteady
wake characteristics of an airfoil have provided limited in-
sight compared to those concerned with bluff-body wakes,
presenting an opportunity for future research.
The objective of the present work is to examine airfoil
boundary layer and wake development at low Reynolds
numbers. Specifically, this experimental study focuses on the
coherent structures that form in the separated shear layer and
airfoil wake in order to improve physical understanding of
these phenomena.
II. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
The performance of a symmetrical NACA 0025 airfoil
with a chord length, c, of 0.3 m was examined for a range of
Reynolds numbers 共Rec兲 and three pre-stall angles of attack
共␣兲, 0°, 5° and 10°. It should be noted that similar trends
were observed for these three angles of attack; consequently,
only the data for ␣ = 5° are discussed in detail. All experi-
ments were conducted in a low-turbulence recirculating wind
tunnel, which has a 5-m-long octagonal test section, a
0.91 m ⫻ 1.22 m cross section, and a free-stream turbulence
intensity level less than 0.1%. The flow enters the test section
through seven screens and a 9:1 contraction. One wall of the
test section is made of plexiglas for operational and visual-
ization purposes.
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Phys. Fluids 18, 044101 共2006兲
The airfoil was mounted horizontally in the test section,
0.4 m downstream of the contraction. During the experi-
ments, the free-stream velocity 共U0兲 was monitored by a
pitot-static tube, with an uncertainty estimated to be less than
2.5%. Spectral analysis of the free-stream velocity signal re-
vealed that there was no significant frequency-centered ac-
tivity associated with the oncoming flow.
Flow velocity data were acquired with hot-wire an-
emometry. A Dantec 55P11 normal hot-wire probe and a
Dantec 55P61 cross-wire probe were used during the experi-
ments. A hot-wire probe was attached to a holder mounted on
a traversing mechanism, which allowed probe motion in the
vertical 共y兲 and streamwise 共x兲 directions with a resolution of
0.01 and 0.25 mm, respectively. All hot-wire measurements
were carried out in the vertical midspan plane of the tunnel,
with the origin of the coordinate system located at the lead-
ing edge of the airfoil. Based on the results of Kawall et
al.,20 the maximum hot-wire measurement error was evalu-
ated to be less than 5% and is attributed to the high turbulent
intensities in the separated shear layer and near wake.
The airfoil was equipped with 65 pressure orifices con-
nected to a pressure transducer through a Scanivalve module.
The uncertainty associated with surface pressure measure-
ments was less than 2%.
In order to visualize airfoil boundary layer development
and wake formation, a smoke wire technique was employed.
A smoke wire installed 3 mm downstream of the trailing
edge was coated with smoke-generator fluid. The fluid was
evaporated by inductively heating the wire, which produced
clear streaklines in the flow. A thin 0.076 mm diam wire 共304
stainless steel兲 was chosen in order to provide adequate
smoke density, while not introducing measurable distur-
bances into the flow field, with the corresponding Reynolds
numbers being less than 40 for all cases examined. The flow
was illuminated with a remotely triggered speedlight and the
images were acquired with a Nikon D70s digital camera.
III. RESULTS
A. Boundary layer behavior
Flow visualization results presented in Fig. 1 provide
insight into the boundary layer development and wake for-
mation at ␣ = 5° for several Reynolds numbers. These images
show two distinct flow regimes: 共1兲 boundary layer separa-
tion without reattachment for Rec = 55⫻ 103 and Rec = 100
⫻ 103 关Figs. 1共a兲 and 1共b兲兴, and 共2兲 flow in the presence of
the separation bubble on the upper surface of the airfoil for
Rec = 150⫻ 103 关Fig. 1共c兲兴. In the former case, i.e., for Rec
= 55⫻ 103 and Rec = 100⫻ 103 关Figs. 1共a兲 and 1共b兲兴, a reverse
flow in the separated region entrains the smoke in the up-
stream direction, showing the extent and structure of the
separation region. The boundary layer on the upper surface
of the airfoil separates at approximately x / c = 0.25 and a
wide wake is formed in this case. On the other hand, for
Rec = 150⫻ 103 关Fig. 1共c兲兴, the flow appears to be attached at
the trailing edge and only wake structures can be observed.
The results reveal a Karman type vortex street forming in the
airfoil wake for both Rec = 55⫻ 103 关Fig. 1共a兲兴 and Rec
= 100⫻ 103 关Fig. 1共b兲兴. An increase of Reynolds number is
 044101-3 Coherent structures in an airfoil boundary layer
FIG. 1. Flow visualization at ␣ = 5°. 共a兲 Rec = 55⫻ 103; 共b兲 Rec = 100⫻ 103;
共c兲 Rec = 150⫻ 103. The flow is from left to right and a smoke wire is
installed 3 mm downstream the trailing edge.
associated with a decrease of vortical length scale and in-
crease in shedding frequency. As the boundary layer regime
changes for Rec = 150⫻ 103 关Fig. 1共c兲兴, it results in a substan-
tially different wake development, with much lower coher-
ence and length scales of the vortices. Note that, even though
the current flow visualization setup does not allow visualiza-
tion of the boundary layer development for Rec = 150⫻ 103,
it provides a high quality wake visualization and permits the
visualization of the structures forming in the boundary layer
at the lower Reynolds numbers. The latter is illustrated in
Fig. 2, which shows flow visualization of the separated re-
gion on the upper surface of the airfoil for Rec = 55⫻ 103 and
Rec = 100⫻ 103 at ␣ = 5°. Results for Rec = 55⫻ 103 关Fig.
2共a兲兴 reveal three eddies at the edge of the reverse flow re-
gion, with the first appearing at approximately x / c = 0.5.
These vortices likely originate due to the roll up of the sepa-
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Phys. Fluids 18, 044101 共2006兲
FIG. 2. Flow visualization of the separated shear layer at ␣ = 5°. 共a兲 Rec
= 55⫻ 103; 共b兲 Rec = 100⫻ 103. Shear layer roll-up vortices are marked by
the arrows.
rated shear layer and are similar to those produced by the
Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in free shear layers. As Rey-
nolds number increases to Rec = 100⫻ 103 关Fig. 2共b兲兴, the
length scale of these vortices decreases substantially and the
vortices are difficult to identify. This may explain why these
structures have not been detected in other flow visualization
studies.
From the flow visualization, Rec = 100⫻ 103 and Rec
= 150⫻ 103 correspond to two distinct flow regimes. In order
to perform a quantitative comparison of these two flow re-
gimes, experimental measurements conducted for Rec = 100
⫻ 103 and Rec = 150⫻ 103 are considered.
Surface pressure measurements were carried out to pro-
vide added insight into the boundary layer development. One
distinctive characteristic of the boundary layer separation is
the region of nearly constant static pressure downstream of
the separation point.2 If the separated shear layer fails to
reattach, the constant-pressure region extends to the trailing
edge of the airfoil. On the other hand, a sudden increase in
pressure following the constant-pressure region serves to in-
dicate the transition in the separated shear layer, which leads
to boundary layer reattachment and the formation of the
separation bubble. As noted by Tani,3 for a small separation
bubble, the location of the reattachment point can be esti-
mated as the position where the pressure is the value found
in the absence of boundary layer separation. This value can
be approximated by means of the inviscid flow solution.
Upper surface pressure distributions for Rec = 100⫻ 103
and Rec = 150⫻ 103 at the three angles of attack examined
are presented in Fig. 3. The estimated positions of separation,
transition and reattachment are marked by S, T, and R, re-
spectively, with an uncertainty equal to 2% of the chord.
From a comparison of the experimental data and the inviscid
flow pressure distributions, a significant diminishment of the
suction peak is evident. This is typical for an airfoil operat-
ing at low Reynolds numbers and is due to boundary layer
separation. The constant pressure region that appears in the
pressure distributions indicates that a separation bubble
forms on the airfoil surface, even at ␣ = 0° for Rec = 150
⫻ 103 关Fig. 3共a兲兴. In this case, the bubble extends from x / c
= 0.5 to 0.8. As the angle of attack increases, the separation
bubble moves upstream, extending from x / c = 0.4 to 0.65 at
␣ = 5° 关Fig. 3共b兲兴 and from x / c = 0.34 to 0.54 at ␣ = 10° 关Fig.
3共c兲兴. The size of the separation bubble decreases as the
angle of attack increases. The formation of the separation
 044101-4 Yarusevych, Sullivan, and Kawall
FIG. 3. Upper surface pressure distributions. 共a兲 ␣ = 0°; 共b兲 ␣ = 5°; 共c兲 ␣
= 10°. S, T, and R mark boundary layer separation, transition and reattach-
ment, respectively.
bubble over approximately 25% of the chord results in a
decreased and broadened suction peak near the leading edge
for Rec = 150⫻ 103. As the Reynolds number is decreased to
Rec = 100⫻ 103, the boundary layer on the upper surface
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Phys. Fluids 18, 044101 共2006兲
separates and fails to reattach. This leads to the formation of
a wider wake at all three angles of attack examined 关cf. Figs.
1共b兲 and 1共c兲兴 and results in much more significant deterio-
ration of airfoil performance. The boundary layer separates
near x / c = 0.37 at ␣ = 0° 关Fig. 3共a兲兴, and the separation point
moves upstream as the angle of attack increases, reaching
x / c = 0.3 at ␣ = 5° 关Fig. 3共b兲兴 and x / c = 0.2 at ␣ = 10° 关Fig.
3共c兲兴. For this Reynolds number, the large separation region
over the upper surface of the airfoil results in a dramatic
decrease in lift and a significant drag penalty.
To gain additional insight into the transition process and
formation of coherent structures, single hot-wire velocity
measurements were employed. It should be noted that a
single normal hot-wire probe is incapable of determining
flow direction. Nevertheless, important information regard-
ing the boundary layer separation location and the extent of
the separation region can be extracted.4 Of course, hot-wire
measurements within the separated shear layer, which is of
particular interest, can be analyzed without any restrictions.
Spectra of the boundary layer velocity data in the tran-
sition region were examined. Each spectrum was normalized
by the variance of the streamwise velocity component. The
velocity data at each streamwise location were collected at a
y / c position that corresponds to 0.5Ū / U0, where Ū is the
mean streamwise velocity. The duration of a sampled signal
segment was chosen to provide a frequency resolution band-
width of 1.2 Hz, adequate for resolving narrow peaks in the
spectrum. Based on the number of averaged signal segments,
the uncertainty of the spectral analysis is approximately 5%.
Figure 4 depicts spectra 共Euu兲 of the streamwise fluctu-
ating velocity component 共u兲 for Rec = 100⫻ 103 关Fig. 4共a兲兴
and Rec = 150⫻ 103 关Fig. 4共b兲兴 at ␣ = 5°. For clarity, the am-
plitude of each spectrum is stepped by an order of magnitude
with respect to the spectrum at the previous upstream loca-
tion. For Rec = 100⫻ 103 关Fig. 4共a兲兴, a flat “laminar flow”
spectrum is observed at x / c = 0.37. As the separated shear
layer develops downstream, a band of unstable Fourier com-
ponents, sometimes referred to as a wave packet 共e.g., Ref.
8兲, occurs centered at a fundamental frequency f 0 = 165 Hz.
Generation of harmonics and a subharmonic suggests the
presence of nonlinear interactions between the disturbances.6
Roll-up of the separated shear layer leads to transition, with
a “classical” turbulence spectrum observed at x / c = 0.72.
The spectral results shown in Fig. 4共b兲 indicate a similar
transition mechanism for Rec = 150⫻ 103. However, for this
Reynolds number, the band of the amplified disturbances in
the separated shear layer is centered at a higher value of f 0
= 455 Hz. Downstream of the separation point, a band of
unstable frequencies occurs from 360 Hz to about 500 Hz at
x / c = 0.44. Further downstream, at x / c = 0.53, disturbances in
this frequency band are substantially amplified, and the band
itself broadens, remaining centered at a fundamental fre-
quency; in addition, harmonics are generated. Following
rapid transition, a spectrum typical of fully developed turbu-
lent flow occurs at x / c = 0.72.
To study the spatial growth of the disturbances in the
separated shear layer, streamwise velocity signals measured
at y / c positions corresponding to the maximum rms velocity
 044101-5 Coherent structures in an airfoil boundary layer
values at several x / c locations were analyzed. These signals
were filtered using a narrow bandpass filter centered at the
fundamental frequency with a bandwidth of 5 Hz. The rms
value of the filtered signal 共u⬘f 兲 normalized by the free-stream
velocity 共U0兲 is considered. Figure 5 depicts the streamwise
growth of the disturbances for Rec = 100⫻ 103 and Rec
= 150⫻ 103 at ␣ = 0°. The results suggest that, past the sepa-
ration location, identified in the figure by S, disturbances
grow almost exponentially, with the region of the exponen-
tial growth marked by a dashed line for each data set. The
slope of the dashed lines in Fig. 5 is proportional to the
spatial growth rate 共−␣i兲. Note that an increase in Reynolds
number is associated with an increase in the growth rate of
the disturbances. During the last stages of transition, the dis-
turbance growth is no longer exponential 共Fig. 5兲, which is
attributed to nonlinear interactions.6 It is reasonable to as-
sume that the initial spatial growth of the disturbances in the
FIG. 5. Streamwise growth of the most amplified disturbances in the sepa-
rated shear layer, ␣ = 0°.
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Phys. Fluids 18, 044101 共2006兲
FIG. 4. Spectra of the streamwise
fluctuating velocity component at ␣
= 5°. 共a兲 Rec = 100⫻ 103; 共b兲 Rec = 150
⫻ 103. Velocity signals were measured
in the boundary layer at y / c position
corresponding to 0.5U0. The ampli-
tude of each successive spectrum is
stepped by one order of magnitude.
separated shear layer is linear, i.e., independent of their am-
plitude, so that the initial stage of transition can be ad-
equately described by linear stability theory.
B. Linear stability analysis
It is of interest to model the boundary layer transition
process and, in particular, predict frequencies pertaining to
the most amplified disturbances in the separated shear layer,
important for flow control applications. As shown in a pre-
vious experimental study conducted with the same airfoil
and flow conditions as those investigated here,21 matching
these frequencies with periodic excitation leads to significant
improvement of airfoil performance.
Stability of boundary layer disturbances was investigated
in the present study following the classical linear stability
theory.22 The disturbances are considered to be two-
dimensional spatially growing waves, with a real frequency
共␻兲 and a complex wave number 共␣*兲. The mean flow is
assumed to be locally parallel, which is reasonable for the
laminar part of the separation region. In addition, based on
the similarity of the roll-up vortices detected in the separated
shear layer via flow visualization and the vortices that form
in the free shear layer due to the inviscid Kelvin-Helmholtz
instability, viscous effects are assumed to be negligible. In
this formulation, the development of the disturbances is de-
scribed by the Rayleigh equation:22
v̂⬙ − 冉 ␣*Ū⬙
␣ Ū − ␻
*
冊
+ ␣*2 v̂ = 0, 共1兲
where v̂共y兲 is the amplitude of the vertical component 共v*兲 of
the disturbance, v*共x , y , t兲 = v̂共y兲exp关i共␣*x − ␻t兲兴, Ū共y兲 is the
local mean velocity, and the prime denotes differentiation
with respect to y. Since disturbances must vanish at the wall
and in the free stream, the following boundary conditions
must be satisfied:
v̂共0兲 = v̂共⬁兲 = 0. 共2兲
The stability analysis is reduced to an eigenvalue problem of
Eq. 共1兲 with the appropriate boundary conditions 关Eq. 共2兲兴.
This can be solved to obtain the dispersion relation
 044101-6 Yarusevych, Sullivan, and Kawall
FIG. 6. Disturbance growth rate from linear stability calculations at ␣ = 5°. 共a兲 Rec = 100⫻ 103, x / c = 0.37; 共b兲 Rec = 150⫻ 103, x / c = 0.44. Dashed lines mark
the experimental frequency of the most amplified disturbance. The maximum growth rate corresponds to 共a兲 ␣r = 0.4 共1 / mm兲, and 共b兲 ␣r = 0.79 共1 / mm兲.
␣* = ␣*共␻兲,
where ␣* = ␣r + i␣i, i = 冑−1, ␣r is the real part of the wave
number, and −␣i is the growth rate.
The part of the dispersion relation 关Eq. 共3兲兴 that pertains
to growing disturbances, i.e., ␣i ⬍ 0, is of particular interest.
It was obtained by solving numerically Eqs. 共1兲 and 共2兲,
using experimental mean velocity profiles that are discussed
in detail in Ref. 23. Mean velocities within the separated
region were estimated from the hot-wire measurements, fol-
lowing the results of Watmuff8 and Nishioka et al.24 The
numerical algorithm was verified using data in Ref. 24.
The results for Rec = 100⫻ 103 and Rec = 150⫻ 103 at ␣
= 5° obtained for x / c = 0.37 and x / c = 044, respectively, are
presented in Fig. 6. Note that both streamwise locations
共x / c兲 are within the laminar part of the separated region,
where the onset of disturbances was detected experimentally
共Fig. 4兲. Figure 6 shows the growth rate of disturbances
共−␣i兲 as a function of their frequency 共f = ␻ / 2␲兲. The values
of the fundamental frequency 共f 0兲 obtained from the experi-
mental data are marked with dashed lines in Fig. 6. For
Rec = 100⫻ 103, the highest growth rate of approximately
0.2 mm−1 occurs at f = 180 Hz, which is about 9% higher
than the experimental value of f 0 = 165 Hz 关Fig. 6共a兲兴. As the
Reynolds number increases to Rec = 150⫻ 103 关Fig. 6共b兲兴, the
maximum growth rate increases to approximately 0.3 mm−1
and is located at f = 467 Hz, about 2.6% higher than f 0
= 455 Hz obtained experimentally. Note that an increase of
the growth rate with an increase of the Reynolds number is
in agreement with the experimental trend observed in Fig. 5.
The real part of the wave number 共␣r兲 can be used to
calculate the propagation speed of the disturbances 共cr
= 2␲ f / ␣r兲. The most amplified disturbance located at f
= 180 Hz 关Fig. 6共a兲兴 corresponds to a wave number of
0.4 mm−1, which yields a propagation speed of approxi-
mately 0.52U0. On the other hand, the propagation speed of
the roll-up vortices detected in the separated shear layer can
be estimated as cr = ␭f 0, with the streamwise distance be-
tween the shed vortices 共␭兲 obtained from the flow visualiza-
tion results 共Fig. 2兲 and the frequency 共f 0兲 from spectral
analysis of the hot-wire data 共e.g., Fig. 4兲. For Rec = 100
⫻ 103, this approach gives ␭ ⬇ 18 mm and f 0 = 165 Hz, pro-
viding a propagation speed of about 0.55U0, which compares
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Phys. Fluids 18, 044101 共2006兲
共3兲 well with that obtained from the stability analysis. Also, for
Rec = 55⫻ 103, values of ␭ ⬇ 37 mm and f 0 = 55 Hz obtained
from experimental data provide cr = 0.53U0, with both ex-
perimental estimates close to the expected value of approxi-
mately 0.5U0.6 On the basis of these results, it can be con-
cluded that the roll-up vortices are linked to the spatially
growing inviscid disturbances in the shear layer, supporting
the observed similarity of the vortex pattern to that produced
due to the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. This agrees with the
results of Watmuff8 for a flat plate in an adverse pressure
gradient that also link roll-up vortices to the Kelvin-
Helmholtz instability.
The good agreement between the numerical stability cal-
culations and the experimental data suggests that the initial
stage of the transition process in the separated boundary
layer of an airfoil can be adequately modeled with inviscid
linear stability theory. Moreover, this approach can be ap-
plied to model the characteristic of the roll-up vortices in the
separated shear layer. It is interesting to note that inviscid
stability calculations by Nishioka et al.24 also produced ad-
equate results in the separated shear layer on a flat plate at an
incident angle, despite significant differences in the geometry
and experimental settings.
C. Coherent structures
Watmuff8 found that for a separation bubble forming on
a flat plate in the presence of an adverse pressure gradient,
vortices are generated in the separation bubble and propagate
downstream past the reattachment point. Numerical results
by Lin and Pauley7 show that similar vortex shedding may
occur in the case of the separation bubble forming on the
airfoil surface and suggest that it is caused by an instability
wave associated with the fundamental frequency. Clearly,
this phenomenon may have an effect on the formation of the
coherent structures in the wake of an airfoil, similar to the
case of the circular cylinder.15
In the current study, no evidence of vortex shedding was
obtained past the transition for both Reynolds numbers ex-
amined, as no distinct peaks appear in the corresponding Euu
spectra in Fig. 4. Similar experimental results were obtained
by Brendel and Mueller4 for a Wortmann FX63-137 airfoil.
This, however, does not rule out the existence of coherent
 044101-7 Coherent structures in an airfoil boundary layer
FIG. 7. Spectra of the lateral fluctuating velocity component at ␣ = 5°. 共a兲 Rec = 100⫻ 103, 共b兲 Rec = 150⫻ 103. Measurements were conducted at y / c positions
corresponding to 0.5U0 for x / c 艋 1 and to half of the maximum velocity deficit for x / c ⬎ 1. The amplitude of each successive spectrum is stepped by one order
of magnitude.
structures. Spectra of the vertical fluctuating velocity compo-
nent 共Evv兲 are more sensitive to frequency-centered activity
in a two-dimensional 共2D兲 flow than are spectra of the
streamwise velocity component 共Euu兲, as can be seen from
comparison of the corresponding Euu and Evv spectra at
x / c = 0.53 in Figs. 4共a兲 and 7共a兲, respectively. Therefore, a
cross-wire probe was employed for a detailed investigation
of the boundary layer evolution and wake formation. Mea-
surements in the airfoil wake were conducted at y / c posi-
tions corresponding to the half maximum velocity deficit. It
should be noted that cross-wire measurements may be lim-
ited in the vicinity of the separation point due to the size of
the probe. However, this was not the case in the present
investigation for the measurements within the transition re-
gion, because the thickness of this region was much larger
than the size of the probe.
Figure 7 depicts the formation of coherent structures and
their evolution in the airfoil boundary layer and wake. Here,
again, the amplitude of each spectrum is stepped by an order
of magnitude with respect to the spectrum at the previous
upstream location. Two distinct cases are considered for ␣
= 5°. These cases correspond to boundary layer separation
without reattachment, Rec = 100⫻ 103, and formation of the
separation bubble, Rec = 150⫻ 103. Figure 7共a兲 shows Evv
spectra at several downstream locations for the case of Rec
= 100⫻ 103. At x / c = 0.53, a peak in the spectrum centered at
f 0 = 165 Hz is attributed to the vortex shedding due to shear
layer roll-up. These vortices quickly break down during the
transition process, similar to the flat-plate results reported by
Lang et al.,10 with no peak associated with the fundamental
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Phys. Fluids 18, 044101 共2006兲
frequency detectable at and beyond x / c = 0.72. As the turbu-
lent separated shear layer evolves downstream, a hump ap-
pears in the spectrum centered at a much lower frequency at
x / c = 1. It grows into an unambiguous peak centered at ap-
proximately 20 Hz at x / c = 1.2. The energy content of this
frequency centered activity increases as the wake evolves
downstream, “saturating” at approximately x / c = 1.8. The
peaks in the spectra are attributable to wake vortex shedding,
with the region from x / c = 1 to x / c = 1.8 representing a vortex
formation region, similar to that observed in the wake of a
circular cylinder.13,14
For the case of Rec = 150⫻ 103, transition in the sepa-
rated shear layer results in boundary layer reattachment and
the formation of a separation bubble. Nevertheless, similar
trends are observed for this Reynolds number 关Fig. 7共b兲兴. In
the separation bubble, vortices shed at the fundamental fre-
quency of 455 Hz break down during the transition process,
and no distinct peaks are observed at the fundamental fre-
quency or its harmonics in the spectrum at x / c = 0.76, which
is within the attached turbulent boundary layer. Wake forma-
tion is associated with the growth of a broad peak centered at
approximately 68 Hz. Coherent structures associated with
this peak appear to have fully formed by x / c = 2, which
yields a slightly longer formation region than that observed
for Rec = 100⫻ 103. The peaks in the spectra for Rec = 150
⫻ 103, however, are broader and less defined that those for
Rec = 100⫻ 103, implying that the wake vortices for the
former Reynolds number are not as coherent as those for the
 044101-8 Yarusevych, Sullivan, and Kawall
FIG. 8. Cross correlation coefficient function of the streamwise fluctuating velocity components, ␣ = 5°, x / c = 1.3. 共a兲 Rec = 100⫻ 103, 共b兲 Rec = 150⫻ 103.
Probes #1 and #3 were located on the opposite sides of the wake, at the y / c positions corresponding to the half maximum velocity deficit.
latter Reynolds number. It should be noted that the spectral
results are in good agreement with flow visualization results
for both Reynolds numbers.
To further investigate airfoil wake vortex shedding, a
rake of three equally spaced normal hot wires 共#1, #2, and
#3兲 was used. The central probe 共#2兲 was placed at the po-
sition corresponding to the maximum velocity deficit, and
the outer probes 共#1 and #3兲 were positioned in the upper
and lower parts of the wake at the locations corresponding to
the half maximum velocity deficit. Cross-correlation coeffi-
cient functions of the velocity signals 共U1 and U3兲 from the
two outer probes are presented for both Reynolds numbers in
Fig. 8 at ␣ = 5° and x / c = 1.3 关␳13共␶兲 = R13共␶兲 / 共␴1␴3兲, where ␶
is the time lag,
R13共␶兲 = limT→⬁ 冉冕1
T 0
T
关U1共t兲 − Ū1兴关U3共t + ␶兲 − Ū3兴dt ,
with T being the averaging time, ␴ is the standard deviation
of the corresponding velocity signal兴. It is clear from the
oscillatory nature of ␳13共␶兲 that frequency-centered activity
occurs in the airfoil wake. The frequency of the ␳13共␶兲 oscil-
lations increases and their regularity and amplitude decrease
with increasing Reynolds number, consistent with the spec-
tral results and flow visualization. The significant negative
correlation coefficient at zero time lag 共␶兲 for both Reynolds
numbers signifies that there is a mean phase difference of
180° between velocity signals obtained from probes #1 and
#3. The implication here is that vortices are shed alternately
on opposite sides of the wake, as in the case of the Karman
vortex street behind a circular cylinder. However, the vortex
shedding characteristics are different when a separation
bubble is formed on an airfoil, i.e., for Rec = 150⫻ 103 at ␣
= 5°, compared to the case when the separated shear layer
does not reattach to the airfoil surface for Rec = 150⫻ 103 at
␣ = 5°.
For a laminar vortex shedding from a NACA 0012 air-
foil at Rec ⬍ 3000, Huang et al.25 showed that vortices start
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Phys. Fluids 18, 044101 共2006兲
to develop in the upper-side separated boundary layer and at
the trailing edge. These vortices continue to grow until they
shed alternatively into the wake. However, the results sug-
gest that bluff-body vortex shedding becomes more domi-
nant with an increase of Reynolds number. Indeed, for the
Reynolds number range investigated in the present study,
transition to turbulence that occurs in the separated shear
layer results in a different wake vortex shedding mechanism.
Vortices develop in the near-wake vortex formation region
and are shed alternatively on the upper and lower sides of the
turbulent wake. The similarity of the presented results to
bluff body wakes suggest that vortex formation is caused by
a global instability in the near wake.26 The shear layer roll-up
vortices do not propagate in the near wake, as they break
冊 down during the transition process. However, this does not
rule out the existence of other weaker coherent structures
that may affect wake vortex shedding characteristics. As evi-
dent from the flow visualization results 共Figs. 1 and 2兲, the
vortices in the separated shear layer become more pro-
nounced and propagate further downstream as Reynolds
number decreases from Rec = 100⫻ 103 to Rec = 55⫻ 103.
Thus, at lower Reynolds numbers, the roll-up vortices may
extend to the near wake region and interact with wake vortex
shedding, similar to a flow regime that occurs in a circular
cylinder wake.15 Such a flow regime in an airfoil wake is
certainly of interest for future investigations.
It is evident that vortex shedding characteristic can vary
substantially as a result of a change in boundary layer behav-
ior. Surface pressure measurements, not presented here, con-
ducted for a range of Reynolds numbers at ␣ = 5° suggest
that a bubble forms on the airfoil surface at approximately
Rec = 135⫻ 103 at this angle of attack. To further investigate
the effect of Reynolds number and on the formation and
characteristics of the coherent structures in the separated
shear layer and turbulent airfoil wake, spectral analysis of the
boundary layer and wake velocity measurements was per-
formed for a range of Reynolds numbers at ␣ = 5°.
 044101-9 Coherent structures in an airfoil boundary layer
FIG. 9. Variation of 共a兲 Strouhal number 共St0兲 based on the fundamental frequency of disturbances in the separated shear layer and 共b兲 the fundamental
frequency 共f 0兲 with Reynolds number at ␣ = 5°. Plots based on Eqs. 共4兲 and 共5兲 are shown by dashed lines for the corresponding Rec ranges.
Variation of the Strouhal number 共St0 = f 0d / U0兲, based
on the fundamental frequency of the separated shear layer
disturbances 共f 0兲 and the length of the airfoil projection on a
cross-stream plane 关d = 0.25c共cos ␣兲 for NACA 0025 at ␣
⬍ 14°兴, with Reynolds number is presented in Fig. 9共a兲. The
Strouhal number appears to have an almost linear depen-
dency on the Reynolds number from Rec = 55⫻ 103 to ap-
proximately Rec = 125⫻ 103, corresponding to the case of
boundary layer separation without reattachment. Formation
of the separation bubble drastically changes this trend as the
Strouhal number remains almost constant at 4.4 with an in-
crease of Reynolds number from 150⫻ 103. Figure 9共b兲 de-
picts the variation of f 0 with Reynolds number. Two distinct
sets of data can be identified, which correspond to the two
boundary layer flow regimes. A linear fit, shown by dashed
lines, can be made to each set of data plotted on a logarith-
mic scale. This signifies that the fundamental frequency ex-
hibits a power-law dependency on the Reynolds number of
the form f 0 ⬃ 共Rec兲n. For the lower Reynolds number range,
the relationship is
f 0 = 10−7.130共Rec兲1.870 ,
whereas for the higher Reynolds number range the relation-
ship is
f 0 = 10−2.920共Rec兲1.078 .
It is interesting to note that a similar relation between f 0 and
Rec has been reported for a circular cylinder,13 with n = 1.5.
In Eqs. 共4兲 and 共5兲, the fundamental frequency can be ex-
pressed in terms of St0, and a relationship of the following
form results St0 ⬃ 共Rec兲n−1. The corresponding plots are
shown by the dashed lines in Fig. 9共a兲 and show good agree-
ment with the data, supporting the power-law relation be-
tween the fundamental frequency and the Reynolds number.
The dependency of the Strouhal number 共Sts = f sd / U0兲,
based on the wake vortex shedding frequency 共f s兲, on the
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Phys. Fluids 18, 044101 共2006兲
Reynolds number is depicted in Fig. 10共a兲. Clearly, boundary
layer behavior has a profound effect on vortex shedding. As
in the case of the separated shear layer, two distinctly differ-
ent trends can be identified in Fig. 10共a兲. In the absence of
boundary layer reattachment, Sts increases from about 0.2 to
0.28 with an increase of the Reynolds number from 55
⫻ 103 to 80⫻ 103. Note that the lower value compares well
with that for the shedding from a circular cylinder 共0.21兲.
Further increase of the Reynolds number does not seem to
produce any significant change of Sts, as it remains approxi-
mately constant until the separation bubble is formed on the
airfoil surface. Huang and Lin17 reported a similar trend for a
NACA 0012 airfoil. Their “scaled” results for ␣ = 5° are pre-
sented in Fig. 10共a兲 for comparison. Because the separation
bubble formed at approximately Rec = 30⫻ 103 in their study
compared to the value of 135⫻ 103 in the current investiga-
tion, the Reynolds numbers in their dataset were scaled with
the ratio of these two critical Reynolds numbers, i.e., 1:4.5,
with the Strouhal numbers left unchanged. The two sets of
results show the same trend. The higher values of Sts ob-
tained by Huang and Lin17 compared to the corresponding
共4兲
values obtained herein are to be expected since they tested a
more streamlined body.11 It is interesting to note that Huang
and Lin17 obtained no evidence of vortex shedding at higher
Reynolds numbers, which corresponded to flow with a sepa-
共5兲
ration bubble. It was suggested that this flow regime is a
transitional one that is not accompanied by vortex shedding.
However, since only a normal hot-wire probe was used in
their experiments, it is likely that they failed to detect the
less coherent vortical structures identified in the present in-
vestigation via spectral analysis of cross-wire data. As shown
in Fig. 10共a兲, formation of the separation bubble is associated
with much larger wake Strouhal numbers, which increases
monotonically from Sts = 0.63 with an increase of Reynolds
number starting from 150⫻ 103. The sudden change in the
boundary layer behavior, resulting in the formation of the
 044101-10 Yarusevych, Sullivan, and Kawall
FIG. 10. Variation of 共a兲 Strouhal number 共Sts兲 based on the wake vortex shedding frequency 共f s兲 and 共b兲 dimensionless vortex shedding frequency 共Fs兲 with
Reynolds number at ␣ = 5°. Scaled data from Huang and Lin 共Ref. 17兲 are shown in 共a兲. Plots based on Eqs. 共6兲 and 共7兲 are shown by dashed lines for the
corresponding Rec ranges.
separation bubble, appears to have an effect similar to that of
geometry modification to a more streamlined body, which is
associated with an increase of Sts.11
Another parameter of interest is the dimensionless shed-
ding frequency Fs = f sd2 / ␯, sometimes referred to as the
Roshko number.18 Fs has been shown by Roshko12 to vary
linearly with Reynolds number in the wake of a circular cyl-
inder. Figure 10共b兲 shows the variation of Fs with Reynolds
number obtained in the present investigation. A linear fit,
shown in dashed lines, has been made to the data for each of
the two flow regimes considered. For the lower Reynolds
number range associated with boundary layer separation
without reattachment, the following correlation is obtained:
Fs = 0.0896 Rec − 2055.9.
And for the higher Reynolds number range, when a separa-
tion bubble forms on the airfoil surface, the following corre-
lation is obtained:
Fs = 0.4559 Rec − 43412.1.
Equations 共6兲 and 共7兲 can be modified to get a functional
dependency of Sts on Rec, and the corresponding plots are
shown by dashed lines in Fig. 10共a兲. The results show good
agreement with the data for each of the two Reynolds num-
ber ranges considered. On the basis of results shown in Fig.
10, it can be concluded that formation of the separation
bubble on the airfoil surface has a profound effect on airfoil
vortex shedding, as Sts and Fs each exhibit a distinctly dif-
ferent physical dependency on Reynolds number for this
flow regime than that for the case of boundary layer separa-
tion without reattachment.
IV. CONCLUDING REMARKS
Boundary layer and wake development on a NACA 0025
airfoil at low Reynolds numbers has been studied experimen-
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Phys. Fluids 18, 044101 共2006兲
tally via surface pressure measurements, hot-wire velocity
measurements, and complementary surface flow visualiza-
tion.
Laminar boundary layer separation occurs on the upper
surface of the NACA 0025 airfoil for Rec = 150⫻ 103 and
Rec = 100⫻ 103 at all angles of attack examined. The sepa-
rated boundary layer undergoes transition and reattaches to
the airfoil surface at Rec = 150⫻ 103. However, for Rec
= 100⫻ 103, the separated shear layer fails to reattach to the
airfoil surface, leading to significant degradation of airfoil
performance.
Spectral analysis of the velocity measurements con-
ducted in the separated shear layer suggests that a band of
共6兲 unstable Fourier components is amplified in the separated
shear layer, in accordance with linear stability theory. The
comparison of numerical and experimental results suggest
that inviscid linear stability theory can be employed to de-
scribe the initial stage of the separated shear layer transition
共7兲 on an airfoil at low Reynolds numbers.
Flow visualization and the analysis of coherent struc-
tures provide added insight into the separated shear layer and
airfoil wake development. Vortices that form due to the
roll-up of the separated shear layer are linked to the spatial
inviscid growth of flow disturbances attributed to the Kelvin-
Helmholtz instability; consequently, the salient characteris-
tics of the roll-up vortices can be adequately predicted from
inviscid linear stability analysis. The roll-up vortices lead to
boundary layer transition, and they break down during the
transition process, with no evidence of frequency-centered
activity found in close proximity downstream of the transi-
tion “point.” Evidence of vortex shedding in the airfoil wake
has been obtained for all cases examined. Wake vortices
form in the near-wake region located between x / c = 1 and
x / c = 2. Vortex formation is similar to that for the vortex
shedding from a circular cylinder, and the size of the forma-
 044101-11 Coherent structures in an airfoil boundary layer Phys. Fluids 18, 044101 共2006兲

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