A piecewise linear mean flow model for studying stability in a lined channel

Acoustic liners are used to reduce sound emission by turbofan engines. Under grazing flow they may sustain hydrodynamic instabilities and these are studied using a stability analysis, based on a simplified model: the liner is a mass–spring–damper system, the base channel flow is piecewise linear, and the inviscid, incompressible Rayleigh equation is used. The model is an extension to the channel case of a boundary layer model by Rienstra and Darau. The piecewise linear profile introduces a finite boundary layer thickness which ensures well-posedness, allowing an initial value problem to be conducted to investigate absolute stability. For typical values in aeronautics the flow above the liner is unstable. Absolute instability is obtained for somewhat extreme values of the mean flow (tiny boundary layer thickness), and under realistic conditions the flow is convectively unstable. The effect of finite channel height is investigated in both cases. In particular, for large boundary layer thicknesses associated with convective instability the channel height has little effect on the unstable mode. Favorable outcomes and failures of the model are shown by comparison to a published experimental work.