Two-layer hydraulics is developed for problems in which the moving layers can have stagnant layers above and below, the two internal wave modes can have comparable speeds and the total depth of the moving layers may vary. The general development allows both Boussinesq and non-Boussinesq problems to be studied. Solutions are presented in the Froude-number plane and the effect of different layer densities on the form of the solution space is shown. The theory is applied to two-layer plunging flows and a variety of controlled solutions are found. Solutions for the 2½-layer theory and the plunging flow theory are demonstrated experimentally. Shear instability is often observed in the divergent section of the channel.

An integral solution is described for flow of an electrically conducting fluid in a plane channel in a magnetic field which is aligned with the direction of the mean flow. It is shown that the presence of the magnetic field retards the development of the velocity profile by producing Lorentz forces which oppose the movement of fluid from the viscous wall region to the core. Solutions are presented for the entry length as a function of the magnetic interaction parameter. Solutions are also given for the dependence of the frictional component of the pressure drop on the magnetic field strength. The transverse pressure gradient produced by Lorentz forces is discussed for a typical case.

Here we show that the distribution of energy of internal gravity waves over a patch of seabed corrugations strongly depends on the distance of the patch to adjacent seafloor features located downstream of the patch. Specifically, we consider the steady state energy distribution due to an incident internal wave arriving at a patch of seabed ripples neighbouring (i) another patch of ripples (i.e. a second patch) and (ii) a vertical wall. Seabed undulations with dominant wavenumber twice as large as overpassing internal waves reflect back part of the energy of the incident internal waves (Bragg reflection) and allow the rest of the energy to transmit downstream. In the presence of a neighbouring topography on the downstream side, the transmitted energy from the patch may reflect back; partially if the downstream topography is another set of seabed ripples or fully if it is a vertical wall. The reflected wave from the downstream topography is again reflected back by the patch of ripples through the same mechanism. This consecutive reflection goes on indefinitely, leading to a complex interaction pattern including constructive and destructive interference of multiply reflected waves as well as an interplay between higher mode internal waves resonated over the topography. We show here that when steady state is reached both the qualitative and quantitative behaviour of the energy distribution over the patch is a strong function of the distance between the patch and the downstream topography: it can increase or decrease exponentially fast along the patch or stay (nearly) unchanged. As a result, for instance, the local energy density in the water column can become an order of magnitude larger in certain areas merely based on where the downstream topography is. This may result in the formation of steep waves in specific areas of the ocean, leading to breaking and enhanced mixing. At a particular distance, the wall or the second patch may also result in a complete disappearance of the trace of the seabed undulations on the upstream and the downstream wave field.

The original version of this article (Wexler et al.2013) was published with author A. Lindner’s name incorrectly spelled. The error has been rectified in the online PDF and HTML copies.

We report on the structure and dynamics of gaseous detonation stabilized in a supersonic flow emanating radially from a central source. The steady-state solutions are computed and their range of existence is investigated. Two-dimensional simulations are carried out in order to explore the stability of the steady-state solutions. It is found that both collapsing and expanding two-dimensional cellular detonations exist. The latter can be stabilized by putting several rigid obstacles in the flow downstream of the steady-state sonic locus. The problem of initiation of standing detonation stabilized in the radial flow is also investigated numerically.

Using a combination of theoretical modelling and experiments, seiches in a reservoir are shown to become linearly unstable due to the coupling with flow under a dam that opens and closes in response to the upstream water pressure. The phenomenon is related to the mechanism commonly attributed to generate sound in musical instruments like the clarinet. Shallow water theory is used to model waves in the reservoir, and these are coupled, by an outflow condition, to a nonlinear oscillator equation for the dam opening. In general, several modes of oscillation are predicted to be unstable, and the frequency of the most unstable mode compares well with the dominant frequencies observed in the experiments. The experiments also show a systematic variation of the amplitude and spatial structure of the oscillations with the weight of the dam, reflecting the nonlinear coupling between the unstable modes of the system.

A novel method for performing spectral analysis of a fluid flow solely based on snapshot sequences from numerical simulations or experimental data is presented by Schmid (J. Fluid Mech., 2010, this issue, vol. 656, pp. 5–28). Dominant frequencies and wavenumbers are extracted together with dynamic modes which represent the associated flow structures. The mathematics underlying this decomposition is related to the Koopman operator which provides a linear representation of a nonlinear dynamical system. The procedure to calculate the spectra and dynamic modes is based on Krylov subspace methods; the dynamic modes reduce to global linear eigenmodes for linearized problems or to Fourier modes for (nonlinear) periodic problems. Schmid (2010) also generalizes the analysis to the propagation of flow variables in space which produces spatial growth rates with associated dynamic modes, and an application of the decomposition to subdomains of the flow region allows the extraction of localized stability information. For finite-amplitude flows this spectral analysis identifies relevant frequencies more effectively than global eigenvalue analysis and decouples frequency information more clearly than proper orthogonal decomposition.

A class of unsteady vortex solutions of the Euler equations is investigated. The solutions satisfy the von Kármán–Bödewadt similarity scalings and correspond to free and forced oscillations of radially unbounded solid-body-type vortices with axially varying rotation rates. The vortices may be of unbounded vertical extent or confined by impermeable top and/or bottom plates. In the latter case the bounding plates may be stationary or oscillatory. A solution breakdown result tends to support the hypothesis that breakdown of viscous Bödewadt-type counter-rotating vortex flows is an essentially inviscid process.