Quasi-Spectral Sparse Bi-Global Stability Analysis of Compressible Channel Flow over Complex Impedance

Abstract: We have developed a fully sparse, compact-scheme based biglobal stability analysis numerical solver applied, for the scope of the current paper, to the investigation of the effects of impedance boundary conditions (IBCs) on the structure of a fully developed compressible turbulent channel flow. A sixth-order compact finite difference scheme is used to discretize the linearized Navier-Stokes equations leading to a Generalized Eigenvalue Problem (GEVP). Sparsity is retained by explicitly introducing derivatives of the perturbation as additional unknowns, increasing the overall problem size (number of columns $\times$ number of rows) while significantly reducing the number of non-zeros and the computational cost with respect to traditional implementations yielding otherwise dense matrix blocks. The resulting GEVP is coded in Python and solved employing an Message Passing Interface (MPI) parallelized PETSc-based sparse eigenvalue solver adopting a modified Arnoldi algorithm. Base flow is taken from impermeable isothermal-wall turbulent channel flow simulations at bulk Reynolds number, $Re_b= 6900$ and Mach number, $M_b = 0.85$. The eigenvalue spectrum calculated in the biglobal stability analysis shows distinct groups of modes associated with a discrete set of streamwise wave numbers accommodated by computational domain. An iterative strategy for the imposition of the complex IBCs, which are a nonlinear function of the real-valued (Fourier) frequency in the GEVP, has been devised. The adopted IBC specifically represents an array of sub-surface-mounted Helmholtz cavities with resonant frequency, $f_{res}$, covered by a porous sheet with permeability inversely proportional to the impedance resistance $R$. The tunable resonant frequency has been shown to be an attractor for the instability, yielding a single unstable mode at that frequency.