We perform numerical box simulations of strongly stratified turbulence. The equations solved are the Boussinesq equations with constant Brunt–Väisälä frequency and forcing either in rotational or divergent modes, or, with another terminology, in vortical or wave modes. In both cases, we observe a forward energy cascade and inertial-range scaling of the horizontal kinetic and potential energy spectra. With forcing in rotational modes, there is approximate equipartition of kinetic energy between rotational and divergent modes in the inertial range. With forcing in divergent modes the results are sensitive to the vertical forcing wavenumber kfv. If kfv is sufficiently large the dynamics is very similar to the dynamics of the simulations which are forced in rotational modes, with approximate equipartition of kinetic energy in rotational and divergent modes in the inertial range. Frequency spectra of rotational, divergent and potential energy are calculated for individual Fourier modes. Waves are present at low horizontal wavenumbers corresponding to the largest scales in the boxes. In the inertial range, the frequency spectra exhibit no distinctive peaks in the internal wave frequency. In modes for which the vertical wavenumber is considerably larger than the horizontal wavenumber, the frequency spectra of rotational and divergent modes fall on top of each other. The simulation results indicate that the dynamics of rotational and divergent modes develop on the same time scale in stratified turbulence. We discuss the relevance of our results to atmospheric and oceanic dynamics. In particular, we review a number of observational reports indicating that stratified turbulence may be a prevalent dynamic process in the ocean at horizontal scales of the order of 10 or 100 m up to several kilometres.

Turbulent transport of fluctuating turbulent energy, turbulent momentum flux, temperature variance, turbulent heat flux, etc. in the upper part of the atmospheric boundary layer is usually dominated by buoyant transport. This transport is responsible for the erosion of the overlying stably stratified region, resulting in progressive thickening of the mixed layer. It is easy to show that a classical gradient transport model for the transport will not work, because it transports energy in the wrong direction. On the other hand, application of the eddy-damped quasi-Gaussian approximation to the equations for the third moments results in a transport model which predicts realistic inversion rise rates and heat-flux profiles. This is also a gradient transport model, but like molecular transport in solutions, a flux of one quantity depends on gradients of all relevant quantities. Transport coefficients are modified by the heat flux, so that the vertical transport is severely reduced near the inversion base. A simple Lagrangian model of transport of an indelible scalar in a stratified flow indicates that the form of the modified transport coefficients results from a marked anisotropic change in the Lagrangian time scale in stratification.

Simulations of steady two-dimensional stratified flow over an isolated obstacle are presented where the obstacle is tall enough so that the topographic Froude number, Nhm/Uo ≫ 1. N is the buoyancy frequency, hm the height of the topography from the channel floor and Uo the flow speed infinitely far from the obstacle. As for moderate Nhm/Uo (~1), a columnar response propagates far up- and downstream, and an arrested lee wave forms at the topography. Upstream, most of the water beneath the crest is blocked, while the moving layer above the crest has a mean velocity Um = UoH/(H−hm). The vertical wavelength implied by this velocity scale, λo = 2πUm/N, predicts dominant vertical scales in the flow. Upstream of the crest there is an accelerated region of fluid approximately λo thick, above which there is a weakly oscillatory flow. Downstream the accelerated region is thicker and has less intense velocities. Similarly, the upstream lift of isopycnals is greatest in the first wavelength near the crest, and weaker above and below. Form drag on the obstacle is dominated by the blocked response, and not on the details of the lee wave, unlike flows with moderate Nhm/Uo.

Directly downstream, the lee wave that forms has a vertical wavelength given by λo, except for the deepest lobe which tends to be thicker. This wavelength is small relative to the fluid depth and topographic height, and has a horizontal phase speed cpx = −Um, corresponding to an arrested lee wave. When considering the spin-up to steady state, the speed of vertical propagation scales with the vertical component of group velocity cgz = αUm, where α is the aspect ratio of the topography. This implies a time scale = tNα/2π for the growth of the lee waves, and that steady state is attained more rapidly with steep topography than shallow, in contrast with linear theory, which does not depend on the aspect ratio.

This paper describes a floating-element skin friction meter which has been designed for use in adverse pressure gradients. The effects of secondary forces on the element, which arise from the pressure gradient, are examined in some detail. The limitations of various methods of measuring wall shear stress are discussed and the results from the floating element device are compared with measurements taken in a two-dimensional boundary layer using Preston tubes and velocity profiles. As it is planned to use the instrument later for direct measurements of the shear stress in three-dimensional boundary layers, the relevance of the instrument to this situation is also discussed.

We present several new spanwise-localized equilibrium and travelling-wave solutions of plane Couette and channel flows. The solutions exhibit concentrated regions of vorticity that are centred over low-speed streaks and flanked on either side by high-speed streaks. For several travelling-wave solutions of channel flow, the vortex structures are concentrated near the walls and form particularly isolated and elemental versions of coherent structures in the near-wall region of shear flows. One travelling wave appears to be the invariant solution corresponding to a near-wall coherent structure educed from simulation data by Jeong et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 332, 1997, pp. 185–214) and analysed in terms of transient growth modes of streaky flow by Schoppa & Hussain (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 453, 2002, pp. 57–108). The solutions are constructed by a variety of methods: application of windowing functions to previously known spatially periodic solutions, continuation from plane Couette to channel flow conditions, and from initial guesses obtained from turbulent simulation data. We show how the symmetries of localized solutions derive from the symmetries of their periodic counterparts, analyse the exponential decay of their tails, examine the scale separation and scaling of their streamwise Fourier modes, and show that they develop critical layers for large Reynolds numbers.

This paper deals with nonlinear streaming effects associated with oscillatory motion in a viscous fluid. A previous theory by Holtsmark et al. (1954) for the streaming near a circular cylinder in an incompressible fluid of infinite extent is reconsidered and used to obtain new numerical results, which are compared with earlier observations. The regime of validity of this theory is considered. The condition to be satisfied by the Reynolds number is found to be less stringent than was previously supposed.

The more recent theory by Wang (1968) based on the outer–inner expansion technique is discussed and corrected with the Stokes drift.

The case of an incompressible fluid enclosed between two coaxial cylinders, one of which is oscillating, is considered in detail. New theoretical and experimental results are given for various values of the parameters involved (Reynolds number, amplitude and cylinder radii).

This paper presents incompressible laminar boundary-layer results on both the leeside and windside of a prolate spheroid. The results are obtained by an implicit finite difference method of the Crank–Nicolson type. Particular attention has been given to the determination of separation and of embedded streamwise vortices. No restriction on the angle of attack or the thickness ratio is imposed, nor are there invoked any of the common assumptions such as similarity, conical flow and others. The results suggest an embedded vortex region existing between the regular boundary-layer region and the separated region. At higher angle of attack, the vortex region becomes so thick that it itself may be more appropriately called ‘separated’ also. The latter possibility leads to questions of applicability for existing theories on three-dimensional separation.

We consider a blob of Newtonian fluid sandwiched in the narrow gap between two plane parallel surfaces. At some initial instant, its plan-view occupies a given, simply connected domain, and its growth as further fluid is injected at a number of injection points in its interior is to be determined. It is shown that certain functionals of the domain of a purely geometric character, infinite in number, evolve in a predictable manner, and that these may be exploited in some cases of interest to yield a complete description of the motion.

By invoking images, these results may be used to solve certain problems involving the growth of a blob in a gap containing barriers. Injection at a point in a half-plane bounded by a straight line, with an initially empty gap, is shown to lead to a blob whose outline is part of an elliptic lemniscate of Booth for which there is a simple geometrical construction. Injection into a quarter-plane is also considered in some detail when conditions are such that the image domain involved is simply connected.

A slender flexible body immersed in sheared cross-flow may exhibit vortex-induced vibrations (VIVs) involving a wide range of excited frequencies and structural wavenumbers. The mechanisms of broadband VIVs of a cylindrical tensioned beam of length-to-diameter aspect ratio 200 placed in shear flow, with an exponentially varying profile along the span, are investigated by means of direct numerical simulation. The Reynolds number is equal to 330 based on the maximum velocity, for comparison with previous work on narrowband vibrations in linear shear flow. The flow is found to excite the structure at a number of different locations under a condition of wake–body synchronization, or lock-in. Broadband responses are associated with a distributed occurrence of the lock-in condition along the span, as opposed to the localized lock-in regions limited to the high inflow velocity zone, reported for narrowband vibrations in sheared current. Despite the instantaneously multi-frequency nature of broadband responses, the lock-in phenomenon remains a locally mono-frequency event, since the vortex formation is generally synchronized with a single vibration frequency at a given location. The spanwise distribution of the excitation zones induces travelling structural waves moving in both directions; this contrasts with the narrowband case where the direction of propagation toward decreasing inflow velocity is preferred. A generalization of the mechanism of phase-locking between the in-line and cross-flow responses is proposed for broadband VIVs under the lock-in condition. A spanwise drift of the in-line/cross-flow phase difference is identified for the high-wavenumber vibration components; this drift is related to the strong travelling wave character of the corresponding structural waves.

We study symmetric vortex merger in quasi-geostrophic flows using numerical simulations with high vertical resolution. We analyse the effect of varying the vertical aspect ratio of the vortices and compare with the barotropic case. During the merging of potential vorticity cores with small aspect ratio, we observe the birth of secondary instabilities on the filaments. This is a new phenomenon not seen in baroclinic simulations having low vertical resolution. Passive Lagrangian tracers are used to explore the transport of fluid parcels during vortex merger, to provide a detailed view of the flow evolution, and to determine the value of the critical merging distance for baroclinic vortices.

In this work, we compute numerically breakage/coalescence rates and size distribution of surfactant-laden droplets in turbulent flow. We use direct numerical simulation of turbulence coupled with a two-order-parameter phase-field method to describe droplets and surfactant dynamics. We consider two different values of the surface tension (i.e. two values for the Weber number, $We$, the ratio between inertial and surface tension forces) and four types of surfactant (i.e. four values of the elasticity number, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}_{s}$, which defines the strength of the surfactant). Stretching, breakage and merging of droplet interfaces are controlled by the complex interplay among shear stresses, surface tension and surfactant distribution, which are deeply intertwined. Shear stresses deform the interface, changing the local curvature and thus surface tension forces, but also advect surfactant over the interface. In turn, local increases of surfactant concentration reduce surface tension, changing the interface deformability and producing tangential (Marangoni) stresses. Finally, the interface feeds back to the local shear stresses via the capillary stresses, and changes the local surfactant distribution as it deforms, breaks and merges. We find that Marangoni stresses have a major role in restoring a uniform surfactant distribution over the interface, contrasting, in particular, the action of shear stresses: this restoring effect is proportional to the elasticity number and is stronger for smaller droplets. We also find that lower surface tension (higher $We$ or higher $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}_{s}$) increases the number of breakage events, as expected, but also the number of coalescence events, more unexpected. The increase of the number of coalescence events can be traced back to two main factors: the higher probability of inter-droplet collisions, favoured by the larger number of available droplets, and the decreased deformability of smaller droplets. Finally, we show that, for all investigated cases, the steady-state droplet size distribution is in good agreement with the $-10/3$ power-law scaling (Garrett et al., J. Phys. Oceanogr., vol. 30 (9), 2000, pp. 2163–2171), conforming to previous experimental observations (Deane & Stokes, Nature, vol. 418 (6900), 2002, p. 839) and numerical simulations (Skartlien et al., J. Chem. Phys., vol. 139 (17), 2013).

Direct numerical simulations of thermal convection over grooved plates are presented and discussed, in comparison with the standard flat-plate case, in order to gain a better understanding of the altered near-wall dynamics and of the enhancement of the heat transfer. The simulations are performed in a cylindrical cell of aspect-ratio (diameter over cell height) Γ = 1/2 at fixed Prandtl number Pr = 0.7 with the Rayleigh number Ra ranging from 2 × 106 to 2 × 1011. The results show an increase of heat transfer, or in non-dimensional form the Nusselt number Nu when the mean thermal boundary-layer thickness becomes smaller than the groove height, in agreement with earlier experimental investigations available from the literature. The present increase, however, results in a steeper power law of the Nu vs. Ra law rather than a simple upward shift of the Nu law of the flat plate. This finding agrees with some studies, but it is at variance with others. Possible causes for this difference are discussed with the help of an electrical analogy.

First- and second-order boundary-layer theory are examined in detail for some specific flow cases of practical interest. These cases are for flows over blunt axisymmetric bodies in hypersonic high-altitude (or low density) flow where second-order boundary-layer quantities may become important. These cases consist of flow over a hyperboloid and a paraboloid both with free-stream Mach number infinity and flow over a sphere at free-stream Mach number 10. The method employed in finding the solutions is an implicit finite-difference scheme. It is found to exhibit both stability and accuracy in the examples computed. The method consists of starting near the stagnation-point of a blunt body and marching downstream along the body surface. Several interesting properties of the boundary layer are pointed out, such as the nature of some second-order boundary-layer quantities far downstream in the flow past a sphere and the effect of strong vorticity interaction on the second-order boundary layer in the flow past a hyperboloid. In several of the flow cases, results are compared with other theories and experiments.

Compressible rapid distortion theory is used to examine pressure fluctuations and the pressure–dilatation correlation in a field of turbulence subjected to rapid homogeneous compression. It is shown how a one-dimensional compression produces large solenoidal pressure fluctuations. As the dimensionality of the compression increases, the magnitude of these fluctuations decreases — it vanishes for a spherically symmetric compression. By contrast the dilatational, or acoustic, pressure fluctuations depend mainly on the net volumetric compression, and are relatively insensitive to the dimensionality of the compression. These same comments apply to the pressure–dilatation correlation.

The pressure–dilatation correlation appears in the compressible turbulent kinetic energy equation and is significant in rapidly evolving flows; Reynolds stress closure models require that it be represented. The continuity equation provides a relation between pressure dilatation and the rate of change of pressure fluctuation variance. This relation is the basis for our RDT analysis. That analysis leads to a proposal for modelling the rapid contribution to pressure dilatation.

The conventional hot-wire static calibration procedure for the measurement of absolute turbulence intensities with constant-temperature hot-wire anemometers is investigated and serious errors are found. An alternative calibration procedure is developed which involves shaking the wire at low frequencies in a uniform flow. A series of tests indicate that this dynamic calibration method is more accurate and consistent than the conventional procedure.

A method for verifying various calibration procedures is demonstrated. This method involves the measurement of velocity perturbations in a series of Karman vortex streets. The velocity perturbation amplitude is held fixed, but the frequency varies from one vortex street to another. This method also acts as a direct check of the hot-wire system frequency response.

The Rayleigh–Taylor instability of two immiscible fluids in the limit of small Atwood numbers is studied by means of a phase-field description. In this method, the sharp fluid interface is replaced by a thin, yet finite, transition layer where the interfacial forces vary smoothly. This is achieved by introducing an order parameter (the phase-field) continuously varying across the interfacial layers and uniform in the bulk region. The phase-field model obeys a Cahn–Hilliard equation and is two-way coupled to the standard Navier–Stokes equations. Starting from this system of equations we have first performed a linear analysis from which we have analytically rederived the known gravity–capillary dispersion relation in the limit of vanishing mixing energy density and capillary width. We have performed numerical simulations and identified a region of parameters in which the known properties of the linear phase (both stable and unstable) are reproduced in a very accurate way. This has been done both in the case of negligible viscosity and in the case of non-zero viscosity. In the latter situation, only upper and lower bounds for the perturbation growth rate are known. Finally, we have also investigated the weakly nonlinear stage of the perturbation evolution and identified a regime characterized by a constant terminal velocity of bubbles/spikes. The measured value of the terminal velocity is in agreement with available theoretical prediction. The phase-field approach thus appears to be a valuable technique for the dynamical description of the stages where hydrodynamic turbulence and wave-turbulence come into play.

A horizontal canal of infinite length and of constant width and depth contains inviscid fluid under gravity. The fluid is bounded internally by a submerged horizontal cylinder which extends right across the canal and has its generators normal to the sidewalls. Suppose that the fluid is set in motion by a surface pressure varying across the canal, then some of the energy is radiated to infinity while some of the energy is trapped in characteristic modes (bound states) near the cylinder. The existence of trapping modes in special cases was shown by Stokes (1846) and Ursell (1951); a general treatment, given by Jones (1953), is based on the theory of elliptic partial differential equations in unbounded domains. In the present paper a much simpler treatment is given which uses only the theory of bounded symmetric linear operators together with Kelvin's minimum-energy theorem of classical hydrodynamics.

This paper is concerned with the coupling mechanisms leading to the spontaneous generation of sound during flame propagation in a tube open at one end. We consider the cases of premixed gaseous combustion and of premixed spray combustion of decane droplets in air. The flame front propagates from the open to the closed end of a tube and, for a particular position, starts to amplify a longitudinal acoustic mode of the tube. We call this mode the primary acoustic instability and focus our study on the physical mechanisms responsible for sound amplification. Measured amplification rates are compared to calculated values. In the gaseous case, it is shown that the instability results from a coupling between the acoustic acceleration field and the geometry of the flame front separating the burnt gases from the denser unburnt mixture. The situation is quite different in the spray case. The primary acoustic instability is much stronger and results from a modification of the inner structure of the flame. This modification arises from the velocity lag of the droplets in the acoustic velocity field, leading to a modulation of the fuel flux at the flame.

Direct numerical simulations of turbulence resulting from Kelvin–Helmholtz instability in stratified shear flow are used to examine the geometry of the dissipation range in a variety of flow regimes. As the buoyancy and shear Reynolds numbers that quantify the degree of isotropy in the dissipation range increase, alignment statistics evolve from those characteristic of parallel shear flow to those found previously in studies of stationary, isotropic, homogeneous turbulence (e.g. Ashurst et al. 1987; She et al. 1991; Tsinober et al. 1992). The analysis yields a limiting value for the mean compression rate of scalar gradients that is expected to be characteristic of all turbulent flows at sufficiently high Reynolds number.

My main focus is the value of the constant q that appears in both the Batchelor (1959) and Kraichnan (1968) theoretical forms for the passive scalar spectrum. Taking account of the effects of time-dependent strain, I propose a revised estimate of q, denoted qe, which appears to agree with spectral shapes derived from simulations and observations better than do previous theoretical estimates. The revised estimate is qe = 7.3±4, and is expected to be valid whenever the buoyancy Reynolds number exceeds O(102). The Kraichnan (1968) spectral form, in which effects of intermittency are accounted for, provides a better fit to the DNS results than does the Batchelor (1959) form.

A small-deformation perturbation analysis is developed to describe the effect of a uniform electric field on drop deformation and orientation in linear flows and emulsion shear rheology. All media are treated as leaky dielectrics, and fluid motion is described by the Stokes equations. The one-particle contribution to the effective stress of a dilute emulsion is obtained from the drop stresslet. Analytical solutions are derived as regular perturbations in the limits of small capillary number and large viscosity ratio. The results show that both shape distortion and charge convection modify emulsion rheology. Drop deformation due to application of an electric field in a direction perpendicular to the shear flow gives rise to normal stresses and may lead to shear thickening or shear thinning, depending on the electric properties of the fluids. Charge convection due to the imposed shear affects both the shear viscosity and normal stresses.