Bypass transition induced by free-stream noise in flow past a blade cascade

Flow past a NACA 65 blade cascade at Reynolds number 138, 500 is studied through weighted transient growth and Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS). The mechanism of bypass transition on the pressure side around the leading edge observed in a previous work [1] is examined. The weighted optimal initial perturbations have spanwise wavenumber 40π and are amplified via the Orr mechanism. At higher spanwise wavenumber, e.g. 120π, a free-stream optimal initial perturbation, upstream of the leading edge in the form of streamwise vortices, is obtained. In nonlinear evolution, this high-wavenumber optimal perturbation tilts the mean shear and generates spanwise periodic high and low-speed streaks. Then through a nonlinear lift-up mechanism, the low-speed streaks are lifted above the high-speed ones and generate a mean shear with inflectional points. This layout of streaks activates secondary instabilities and both inner and outer instabilities addressed in literature are observed.