Feasibility of generating an artificial burst in a turbulent boundary layer

Artificial bursts were generated in laminar and turbulent boundary layers. The burst-like events were produced by withdrawing near-wall fluid from two minute holes separated in the spanwise direction or by pitching a miniature delta wing that was flush-mounted to the wall. Either of these actions generated streamwise vorticity and a low-speed streak that resembled a naturally occurring one. The resulting sequence of events occurred at a given location and at controlled times, allowing detailed examination and comparison with natural, random bursts by means of flow visualization and fast-response probe measurement techniques.