Three-dimensional low-frequency dynamics of a turbulent separation bubble

Turbulent separating and reattaching flows are known to exhibit low-frequency fluctuations manifested in a large-scale contraction and expansion of the reverse-flow region. Previous experimental investigations have been restricted to planar measurements, while the computational cost to resolve the low-frequency spectrum with high-fidelity simulations currently appears to be unaffordable. In this article, we make use of volumetric measurements to reveal the low-frequency dynamics of a turbulent separation bubble (TSB) formed in the fully turbulent flow past a smooth backward-facing ramp. The volumetric velocity field measurements cover the entire separated flow region over a domain with a spanwise extent of S=0.6\, m . Spectral proper orthogonal decomposition (SPOD) of the velocity fluctuations reveals low-rank low-frequency behaviour at Strouhal numbers St< 0.05 , which was also observed in previous planar measurements. However, in contrast with the interpretation of a two-dimensional contraction/expansion motion, the low-frequency dynamics is shown to be inherently three-dimensional, and governed by large elongated structures with a spanwise wavelength of approximately $S/2$ . A low-order model constructed with the leading SPOD mode confirms substantial changes of the TSB extent in the centre plane, linking it to the modal pattern that is strongly non-uniform in the spanwise direction. The findings presented in this study promote a more complete understanding of the low-frequency dynamics in turbulent separated flows, thereby enabling novel modelling and control approaches.