Bursting and reformation cycle of the laminar separation bubble over a NACA-0012 aerofoil: The dynamics of the flow-field

Abstract: Detailed flow dissection using Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) and Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) is carried out to investigate the dynamics of the flow-field around a NACA-0012 aerofoil at a Reynolds number of $5\times 10^4$, Mach number of $0.4$, and at various angles of attack around the onset of stall. Three distinct dominant flow modes are identified by the DMD and the POD: 1) a globally oscillating flow mode at a low-frequency (LFO mode 1); 2) a locally oscillating flow mode on the suction surface of the aerofoil at a low-frequency (LFO mode 2); and 3) a locally oscillating flow mode along the wake of the aerofoil at a high-frequency (HFO mode). The LFO mode 1 features the globally oscillating-flow around the aerofoil, the oscillating-pressure along the aerofoil chord, and the process that creates and sustains the triad of vortices. The LFO mode 2 features the expansion and advection of the upstream vortex (UV) of the TCV. The HFO mode originates at the aerofoil leading-edge and features the oscillating mode along the aerofoil wake. The HFO mode exists at all of the investigated angles of attack and causes a global oscillation in the flow-field. The global flow oscillation around the aerofoil interacts with the laminar portion of the separated shear layer in the vicinity of the leading-edge and triggers an inviscid absolute instability that creates and sustains the TCV. When the UV of the TCV expands, it advects downstream and energies the HFO mode. The LFO mode 1, the LFO mode 2, and the HFO mode mutually strengthen each other until the LFO mode 1 and 2 overtake the HFO mode at the onset of stall. At the angles of attack $9.7^{\circ} \leq \alpha \leq 10.0^{\circ}$ the low-frequency flow oscillation (LFO) phenomenon is fully developed. At higher angles of attack, the HFO mode overtakes the LFO mode 2, and the aerofoil undergoes a full stall.