This paper considers the linear response of a homogeneous uniformly rotating ocean of infinite horizontal extent with a discontinuity in depth to a variable horizontal wind stress. It is shown that, for either a transient or time-periodic wind stress which is suddenly applied to an initially calm sea surface, the asymptotic response far from the forcing region is dominated by an outgoing dispersive wave which is trapped along the depth discontinuity, i.e. a double Kelvin wave. Plots of the forced wave patterns in the neighbourhood of the depth discontinuity itself are also presented.

The effect of a sudden change in vertical velocity of a vessel partially filled with fluid is considered. It is shown that very small free surface disturbances can be amplified so strongly by a velocity change that instability can occur. This instability frequently causes a jet to emanate from the free surface. Conditions causing free surface disturbances in a vessel in free fall are considered and it is shown that a contact angle between the fluid and the wall of the vessel different from ½π radians can distort the surface in such a way that the amplification and instability upon vertical impact results in a central jet. The results of experiments of this effect are shown. The generation of waves due to transient side wall motions, such as those that might result from fluid pressure at impact, are considered in the appendix. It is shown that such waves would have a different form than those observed in the experiments.

A considerable body of experimental data now exists concerning turbulent boundary layers with air injection at the wall, both at subsonic and at supersonic speeds. In the present report these data for Mach numbers up to 6·5 have been analyzed to find the parameters which occur in the law of the wall as deduced from mixing-length theory. Although the absolute values of the parameters are subject to error because of the lack of accurate skin-friction measurements, the trends of these parameters with Mach number and injection mass flow are clearly defined.

The variational problem introduced by Howard (1963) for the derivation of an upper bound on heat transport by convection in a layer heated from below is analyzed for the case in which the equation of continuity is added as constraint for the velocity field. Howard's conjecture that the maximizing solution of the Euler equations is characterized by a single horizontal wave-number is shown to be true only for a limited range of the Rayleigh number, Ra. A new class of solutions with a multiple boundary-layer structure is derived. The upper bound for the Nusselt number, Nu, given by these solutions is Nu ≤ (Ra/1035)½ in the limit when the Rayleigh number tends to infinity. The comparison of the maximizing solution with experimental observations by Malkus (1954a) and Deardorff & Willis (1967) emphasizes the similarity pointed out by Howard.

A unified approach to the problem of jet efflux from symmetrical channels of finite width and possessing a general curvilinear nozzle shape is presented. The nozzle may be composed of polygonal and/or curved-arc segments. Precise nozzle shapes cannot be initially prescribed, however. The solution is based on the combined use of conformal mapping and the Riemann-Hilbert solution to a mixed boundary-value problem. The selection of an appropriate curvature function is described; examples show possible applications.

A smoke visualization technique was used to study the laminar wake behind a single cylinder. Observations of the wake revealed the nature of the process of formation of a Kármán vortex street: instability of the shear layers was coupled with the rolling up process induced by the concentration of vorticity.

An unexpected mass transfer was observed through the Kármán vortex street which cause mixing of the fluid surrounding the wake.

A differential approximation for the equations of radiative transfer in a grey gas is applied in a study of the effects of thermal radiation upon the classical problem of the compressive action of a plane, cylindrical or spherical piston. The ambient gas ahead of the precursor shock wave is supposed cool and the shock wave transparent, whilst the piston is taken to be neither an emittor nor reflector of radiative energy. It is shown that self-similar flow patterns may arise if the ambient density and piston speed are both non-uniform with variations linked to the absorption coefficient which is assumed to be density and temperature dependent. Detailed flow patterns are obtained in the case of general opacity and also in the transparent limit from which it is deduced that under certain conditions the approximation provided by the latter may be rather dubious.

An analytical description for the initial phases of collapse of a spherical or cylindrical shock wave in a perfect gas is given in the present paper. The shock wave is initiated by the instantaneous and uniform deposition of a finite quantity of energy per unit surface area at a finite radius R0. For the initial shock motion where xs = (Rs - R0)/R0 is small, analytical solutions are obtained by a power-series expansion of the dependent variables in xs. The classical self-similar solution for a strong planar blast wave is recovered as the present zero-order solution. Non-similar effects arising from both finite shock strengths and the presence of a characteristic length R0 are accounted for simultaneously in the present perturbation scheme. The analysis is carried out up to third order in xs. For very large values of the initiation energy where the shock wave remains strong throughout its collapse, it is found that the present perturbation solution can adequately describe a significant portion of the collapse processes. The solution indicates that the shock decays rather rapidly initially and later begins to accelerate as a result of the additional adiabatic compression of the shocked states due to flow-area convergence. However, for weak initiation where the energy released is small, the present perturbation solution is an asymptotic series and diverges very rapidly as the shock propagates away from the wall. The range of validity then is limited to very small values of xs.

Recorded pressure signatures of supersonic aircraft often show intense, spiky perturbations superimposed on a basic N-shaped pattern. A first-order scattering theory, incorporating both inertial and thermal interactions, is developed to explain the spikes. Scattering from a weak shock is studied first. The solution of the scattering equation is derived as a sum of three terms: a phase shift corresponding to the singularity found by Lighthill; a small local compression or rarefaction; a surface integral over a paraboloid of dependence, whose focus is the observation point and whose directrix is the shock. The solution is found to degenerate at the shock into the result given by ray acoustics, and the surface integral is identified with the scattered waves that make up the spikes. The solution is generalized for arbitrary wave-forms by means of a superposition integral. Eddies in the Kolmogorov inertial subrange are found to be the main source of spikes, and Kolmogorov's similarity theory is used to show that, for almost all times t after a sonic-bang shock passes an observation point, the mean-square pressure perturbation equals $(\Delta p)^2 (t_c/t)^{\frac{7}{6}}$, where Δp is the pressure jump across the shock and tc is a critical time predicted in terms of meteorological conditions. For an idealized model of the atmospheric boundary layer, tc is calculated to be about 1 ms, a figure consistent with the qualitative data currently available. The mean-square pressure perturbation just behind the shock itself is found to be finite but enormous, according to first-order scattering theory. It is conjectured that a second-order theory might explain the shock thickening that actually occurs.

Trajectories are calculated for small particles introduced upstream into a fluid flowing past a fixed sphere. Unseparated potential flow is taken as the velocity profile for the fluid, and the effect of gravity is included in the formulation when it acts along the axis of symmetry. Using a numerical procedure, particle trajectories which graze the sphere, and the corresponding collision efficiencies, are calculated for values of the Stokes number σ. When gravity is neglected, an analytic solution is obtained for large values of σ which is in good agreement with the numerical results for σ as low as 5. These results are compared with those of Sell (1931) and Langmuir & Blodgett (1946). When gravity is included, a critical value of the Stokes number σc is calculated for which no collisions occur until σ > σc.

The flow around a circular cylinder has been examined over the Reynolds number range 105 to 7·5 × 105, Reynolds number being based on cylinder diameter. Narrow-band vortex shedding has been observed up to a Reynolds number of 5·5 × 105, i.e. well into the critical régime. At this Reynolds number the Strouhal number reached the unusually high value of 0·46. Spectra of the velocity fluctuations measured in the wake are presented for several values of Reynolds number.

The distribution of pressure in normal and stenosed aortic valves is investigated experimentally with a rigid-walled model placed in a pulsatile water-tunnel, and the experiments are complemented by a one-dimensional solution of the unsteady inviscid-flow equations. In the normal valve, convectively fed vortices are formed in the aortic sinuses; the vortices aid cusp positioning and the prevention of jet formation during valve closure. Aortic valve stenosis is shown to prevent the generation of vortices, causing the formation of a turbulent jet, with reduction of the pressure difference between the inlets (ostia) of the coronary arteries and the ventricle. This pressure difference is calculated for man resting and exercising, and for various degrees of stenosis.

A theoretical method is given for the determination of the shape of a fluid drop in steady and unsteady flows by making an expansion in terms of the drop deformation. Effects of fluid viscosity and interfacial tension are taken into account. Examples given include the determination of the shape of a drop in shear and in hyperbolic flow when each is started impulsively from rest.