The linear receptivity of a swept-wing three-dimensional boundary layer is studied experimentally and theoretically. Cross-flow instability normal modes are excited by means of surface vibration or roughness perturbations. The resulting disturbances are investigated, and the normal modes are linked to the source perturbations. Experiments are performed under controlled disturbance conditions with a time-harmonic source that is localized in the spanwise direction. A localized surface vibration is used to excite wave trains consisting of cross-flow instability waves. Normal oblique modes (harmonic in time and space) are obtained by Fourier decomposition of the wave trains. This provides the spatial variation of the normal modes and, in particular, the initial amplitudes and phases of the modes at the source location. The shape of the surface vibrator is measured and used to determine the complex receptivity coefficients for the normal modes (i.e. for various spanwise wavenumbers, wave propagation angles, and disturbance frequencies – including zero frequency). The experimental receptivity coefficients are independent of the specific shape of the surface non-uniformities and can be directly compared with calculations. The theoretical work is based on a linear approximation to the disturbance source – valid for small forcing amplitudes. Like earlier studies on roughness-induced receptivity, the basic flow is locally assumed to satisfy the parallel-flow approximation. The modal response for the cross-flow instability is determined from the residue associated with the least-stable eigenmode.

A detailed quantitative comparison between the experimental and theoretical receptivity characteristics is carried out. Good agreement is found for the roughness–vibrational receptivity coefficients of the swept-wing boundary layer (especially for the most-unstable cross-flow modes) over a range of disturbance frequencies and spanwise wavenumbers. The theory correctly predicts the initial spectra for the travelling and stationary cross-flow instabilities excited by the surface vibrations and surface roughness, respectively. The good agreement between theory and experiment suggests that the linear receptivity theory can be used effectively in engineering methods for transition prediction. The experimental data can also be used for validation of other theoretical approaches to the problem.