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We report the results of a combined experimental and numerical study of specific finite-amplitude disturbances for transition to turbulence in the flow through a circular pipe with a sudden expansion. The critical amplitude thresholds for localized turbulent patch downstream of the expansion scale with the Reynolds number with a power law exponent of −2.3 for experiments and −2.8 for simulations. A new mechanism for the periodic bursting of the recirculation region is uncovered where the asymmetric recirculation flow develops a periodic dynamics: a secondary recirculation breaks the symmetry along the pipe wall and bursts into localized turbulence, which travels downstream and relaminarises. Flow visualizations show a simple flow pattern of three waves forming, growing, and bursting.

The results of experiments on the flow through a circular sudden expansion pipe at moderate Reynolds numbers are presented. At five diameters upstream of the expansion, laminar flow was disturbed by a (constant) cross-flow jet, a suction or a (periodic in–out) synthetic jet from a hole in the wall. When the disturbance exceeded a critical value of the control parameter depending on the Reynolds number, localised turbulent patches formed downstream of the expansion at fixed axial positions. For the cross-flow jet, the onset of turbulent patches is related to the velocity ratio of the mean jet velocity to the mean pipe velocity. At low velocity ratio, turbulent patches formed intermittently. For the suction disturbance, the flow experienced a strong asymmetry of the recirculation region and required a larger velocity ratio before the turbulent patch formed. For the synthetic jet, the amplification of wavy disturbances into turbulent patches and their axial positions are controlled by the driving frequency. Overall, these results suggest the existence of different mechanisms for the development of localised turbulent patches.