Optimal perturbations and transition energy thresholds in boundary layer shear flows

Abstract

Subcritical transition to turbulence in spatially developing boundary layer flows can be triggered efficiently by finite amplitude perturbations. In this Rapid Communication, we employ adjoint-based optimization to identify optimal initial perturbations in the Blasius boundary layer, culminating in the computation of the subcritical transition critical energy threshold and the associated fully localized critical optimum in a spatially extended configuration, the so called minimal seed. By dynamically rescaling the variables with the local boundary layer thickness, we show that the identified edge trajectory approaches the same attracting phase space region as previously reported edge trajectories, and reaches the region more efficiently.