This paper is dedicated to the solidification of a water drop impacting a cold solid surface. In the first part, we establish a one-dimensional (1-D) solidification model, derived from the Stefan problem, that aims at predicting the freezing dynamics of a liquid on a cold substrate, taking into account the thermal properties of this substrate. This model is then experimentally validated through a 1-D solidification set-up, using different liquids and substrates. In the second part, we show that during the actual drop spreading, a thin layer of ice develops between the water and the substrate and pins the contact line at its edge when the drop reaches its maximal diameter. The liquid film then remains still on the ice and keeps freezing. This configuration lasts until the contact line eventually unpins and the liquid film retracts on the ice. We measure and interpret this crucial time of freezing during which the main ice layer is built. Finally, we compare our 1-D model prediction to the thickness of this ice pancake and we find a very good agreement. This allows us to provide a general expression for the frozen drop’s main thickness, using the drop’s impact and liquid parameters.

The development of turbulence is investigated in the presence of a mean plane shear flow (rate S) rotating with angular velocity vector (rate Ω) perpendicular to its plane. An important motivation was generalizing the work by Lee, Kim & Moin (1990) to rotating shear flow, in particular detailed comparisons of homogeneous rapid distortion theory (RDT) results and the databases of homogeneous and channel flow direct numerical simulations (DNS). Linear analysis and related RDT are used starting from the linearized equations governing the fluctuating velocity field. The parameterization based on the value of the Bradshaw–Richardson number B=R(1+R) (with R=−2Ω/S) is checked against complete linear solutions. Owing to the pressure fluctuation, the dynamics is not governed entirely by the parameter B, and the subsequent breaking of symmetry (between the R and −1 −R cases) is investigated. New analytical solutions for the ‘two-dimensional energy components’ [Escr ](l)ij =Eij(kl=0, t) (i.e. the limits at kl=0 of the one-dimensional energy spectra) are calculated by inviscid and viscous RDT, for various ratios Ω/S and both streamwise l=1 and spanwise l=3 directions. Structure effects (streak-like tendencies, dimensionality) in rotating shear flow are discussed through these quantities and more conventional second-order statistics. In order to compare in a quantitative way RDT solutions for single-point statistics with available large-eddy simulation (LES) data (Bardina, Ferziger & Reynolds 1983), an ‘effective viscosity’ model (following Townsend) is used, yielding an impressive agreement.

The interaction of tandem inverted flexible flags in a uniform flow is investigated. For the inverted flags, their ends are fixed with their heads freely flapping. A direct numerical simulation is performed for which the Reynolds number is of order 200. Large flapping amplitude as well as large drag force is preferred because more energy may be harvested if more bending energy is generated. For the simple case of two tandem inverted flags, the drag force and flapping amplitude of the rear flag are found to be smaller than those of an isolated inverted flag due to the destructive merging mode of vortices. However, it is still unknown whether more bending energy can be generated when coupled inverted flags are arranged properly. To explore the possibility, inverted flags are proposed to be arranged as two rows, which indicate two lines of inverted flags perpendicular to the direction of the incoming flow, and flags in the front and rear rows are in-line or staggered. First the results for infinite flags with periodic boundary condition are presented. In both the in-line and the staggered arrangements, due to the interactions between the front–rear flags, the flapping amplitude or the maximum bending deformation and bending energy of a flag in the rear row can be enhanced, which may be significantly higher than those of an isolated case. Meanwhile, the bending energy of a flag in the front row is close to that of an isolated case. Second, results for finite inverted flag groups show that antiphase synchronization is preferred. When the group number is large enough, the bending energies of the front and rear flags in the inner groups are close to those in the infinite case. This finding may be helpful for the designing of an efficient energy harvesting device using inverted flags.

We report on the results of a laboratory investigation using a rotating two-layer annulus experiment, which exhibits both large-scale vortical modes and short-scale divergent modes. A sophisticated visualization method allows us to observe the flow at very high spatial and temporal resolution. The balanced long-wavelength modes appear only when the Froude number is supercritical (i.e. $F\,{>}\,F_\mathrm{critical}\,{\equiv}\, \upi^2/2$), and are therefore consistent with generation by a baroclinic instability. The unbalanced short-wavelength modes appear locally in every single baroclinically unstable flow, providing perhaps the first direct experimental evidence that all evolving vortical flows will tend to emit freely propagating inertia–gravity waves. The short-wavelength modes also appear in certain baroclinically stable flows.

We infer the generation mechanisms of the short-scale waves, both for the baro-clinically unstable case in which they co-exist with a large-scale wave, and for the baroclinically stable case in which they exist alone. The two possible mechanisms considered are spontaneous adjustment of the large-scale flow, and Kelvin–Helmholtz shear instability. Short modes in the baroclinically stable regime are generated only when the Richardson number is subcritical (i.e. $\hbox{\it Ri}\,{<}\,\hbox{\it Ri}_\mathrm{critical}\,{\equiv}\, 1$), and are therefore consistent with generation by a Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. We calculate five indicators of short-wave generation in the baroclinically unstable regime, using data from a quasi-geostrophic numerical model of the annulus. There is excellent agreement between the spatial locations of short-wave emission observed in the laboratory, and regions in which the model Lighthill/Ford inertia–gravity wave source term is large. We infer that the short waves in the baroclinically unstable fluid are freely propagating inertia–gravity waves generated by spontaneous adjustment of the large-scale flow.

Lubrication flows appear in many applications in engineering, biophysics and nature. Separation of surfaces and minimisation of friction and wear is achieved when the lubricating fluid builds up a lift force. In this paper we analyse soft lubricated contacts by treating the solid walls as viscoelastic: soft materials are typically not purely elastic, but dissipate energy under dynamical loading conditions. We present a method for viscoelastic lubrication and focus on three canonical examples, namely Kelvin–Voigt, standard linear and power law rheology. It is shown how the solid viscoelasticity affects the lubrication process when the time scale of loading becomes comparable to the rheological time scale. We derive asymptotic relations between the lift force and the sliding velocity, which give scaling laws that inherit a signature of the rheology. In all cases the lift is found to decrease with respect to purely elastic systems.

A nozzle expansion into a vacuum chamber was used to investigate the evaporation of highly superheated liquid jets. The large molar specific heat of fluids with high molecular complexity — in this case C6F14 — is responsible for the new phenomena reported here. A model was developed to describe the basic physical effects. A cubic equation of state was used to describe the thermodynamic properties of the fluid. The evaporation was modelled as a sonic deflagration followed by an axisymmetric supersonic expansion. As in the case of hypersonic gas jets the final state is reached by a normal shock. For sufficiently high temperatures and expansion ratios a complete adiabatic evaporation of the liquid was found. At even higher temperatures the liquid evaporates completely within a rarefaction discontinuity. The predictions of the model are in good agreement with the experimental results.

Flows of incompressible, electrically conducting liquids along ducts with electrically insulating or weakly conducting walls situated in a strong magnetic field are analysed. Except over a short length along the duct where the magnetic field strength and/or the duct cross-sectional area vary, the duct is assumed to be straight and the field to be uniform and aligned at right angles to the duct. Magnitudes of the field strength B0 and the mean velocity V are taken to be such that the Hartmann number M [Gt ] 1, the interaction parameter N (= M2/Re) [Gt ] 1 (Re being the Reynolds number of the flow) and the magnetic Reynolds number Rm [Lt ] 1.

For an O(1) change in the product VB0 along the duct across the non-uniform region, it is shown that:

(i) In the non-uniform region the streamlines and current flow lines follow surfaces containing the field lines satisfying $\int B^{-1}ds = {\rm constant}$, the integration being carried out along the field line within the duct; these surfaces are equipotentials and isobarics. This leads to

(ii) a tube of stagnant, but not current-free fluid at the centre of the duct parallel to the field lines around which the flow divides to bypass it. To accommodate this flow,

(iii) the usual uniform field/straight duct flow is disturbed over very large distances upstream and downstream of this region, the maximum length O(duct radius × M½) occurring in a non-conducting duct;

(iv) a large pressure drop is introduced into the pressure distribution regardless of the direction of the flow, the effect being most severe in a non-conducting duct, where the drop is O(duct radius × (uniform field/straight duct pressure gradient) × M½);

(v) in the part of the duct with the lower value of VB0 a region of reverse flow occurs near the centre of the duct and the stagnant fluid.

Exact expressions for the internal and external Froude numbers for two-layer flows are derived from the celerities of infinitesimal long internal and external waves, without recourse to the Boussinesq approximation. These expressions are functions of the relative density difference between the layers; the relative thickness of the layers; and the stability Froude number, which can be regarded as an inverse bulk Richardson number. A fourth Froude number, the composite Froude number, has been most often used in previous studies. However, the usefulness of the composite Froude number is shown to diminish as the stability Froude number increases. The potential confusion associated with having four Froude numbers of importance has been alleviated by deriving an equation interrelating them. This equation facilitates a comprehensive understanding of the hydraulics of two-layer flows.

It is demonstrated that in substantial portions of some flows (both Boussinesq and non-Boussinesq exchange flow through a contraction are presented as examples), the stability Froude number exceeds a critical value. In this case hydraulic analysis yields imaginary phase speeds corresponding to the instability of long internal waves. Various implications of this result are discussed.

The relative viscosities of suspensions of randomly oriented rods in a Newtonian fluid were measured using falling-ball rheometry. The rods were monodisperse and sufficiently large to render colloidal and Brownian forces negligible. Steel and brass ball bearings were dropped along the centreline of cylindrical columns containing the suspensions. The terminal velocities of the falling balls were measured and used to determine the average viscosities of the suspensions. The suspensions behaved as Newtonian fluids in that they were characterized by a constant viscosity. They exhibited a linear relative viscosity-volume fraction relationship for volume fractions less than 0.125, and, for volume fractions between 0.125 and 0.2315, the specific viscosity increased with the cube of the volume fraction. The relative viscosity was found to be independent of falling-ball size for a ratio of falling ball to fibre length greater than 0.3. It was found to be independent of the diameter of the containing cylindrical column for a ratio of column diameter to fibre length greater than 3.2. The value determined for the intrinsic viscosity is in good agreement with theoretical predictions for suspensions of randomly oriented rods.

Evolution of a nonlinear wave field along a laboratory tank is studied experimentally and numerically. The numerical study is based on the Zakharov nonlinear equation, which is modified to describe slow spatial evolution of unidirectional waves as they move along the tank. Groups with various initial shapes, amplitudes and spectral contents are studied. It is demonstrated that the applied theoretical model, which does not impose any constraints on the spectral width, is capable of describing accurately, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the slow spatial variation of the group envelopes. The theoretical model also describes accurately the variation along the tank of the spectral shapes, including free wave components and the bound waves.

This paper shows how electrochemical techniques can be used in studies of flow around solid objects to measure the velocity gradient at the solid boundary. The method holds the advantages that it is not necessary to calibrate and that the test element is easy to fabricate. A study of the distribution of the wall velocity gradient around a cylinder of 1 in. diameter indicates that boundary-layer theory correctly predicts the measurements between the front stagnation point and the separation for Reynolds number, R, greater than 150. The wall velocity gradients in the wake are much smaller than in the front part of the cylinder and they reveal a minimum which is quite close to the separation point.

An asymptotic description is given of Newtonian fluid flow in a channel which is suddenly heated or cooled. The viscosity is assumed to be purely a function of temperature. The asymptotic approximation is that the downstream viscosity at the channel wall differs by an order of magnitude from that in the upstream flow. Although we make the drastic assumption that viscous dissipation is negligible, we can analyse flows where the viscosity depends either algebraically or exponentially on the temperature.

Closed reduced equations analogous to the quasi-geostrophic equations are derived in the extratropics for small Rossby numbers and vertical scales that are comparable to or much larger than horizontal scales. On these scales, significant vertical motions are permitted and found to couple to balanced geostrophic dynamics. In the equatorial regions, similar reduced equations are derived for meridional scales much larger than the vertical and zonal scales. These equations are derived by a systematic exploration of different aspect ratios, and Froude and buoyancy numbers, and offer advantages similar to the standard quasi-geostrophic equations for studies of smaller-scale processes and/or of the equatorial regions.

The bi-modal behaviour of the turbulent flow past three-dimensional blunt bluff bodies is simulated using wall-resolved large eddy simulations. Bi-modality (also called bi-stability) is a phenomenon that occurs in the wakes of three-dimensional bluff bodies. It manifests as a random displacement of the wake between preferred off-centre locations. Two bluff bodies are considered in this work: a conventional square-back Ahmed body representative of road cars, and a simplified lorry, which is taller than it is wide, with its aspect ratio corresponding to a 15 % European lorry scale model. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the asymmetric bi-modal switching behaviour of the wake, observed experimentally, has been captured in simulations. The resulting unsteady flow fields are then analysed, revealing instantaneous topological changes in the wake experiencing bi-modal switching. The best-resolved case, the simplified lorry geometry, is then studied in greater detail using modal decomposition to gain insights into the energy content and the dominant frequencies of the wake flow structures associated with the asymmetric states. High-frequency snapshots of the switching sequence allow us to propose that large hairpin vortices are responsible for the triggering of the switching.

The basic dynamics of a prolate spheroidal particle suspended in shear flow is studied using lattice Boltzmann simulations. The spheroid motion is determined by the particle Reynolds number (${\mathit{Re}}_{p} $) and Stokes number ($\mathit{St}$), estimating the effects of fluid and particle inertia, respectively, compared with viscous forces on the particle. The particle Reynolds number is defined by ${\mathit{Re}}_{p} = 4G{a}^{2} / \nu $, where $G$ is the shear rate, $a$ is the length of the spheroid major semi-axis and $\nu $ is the kinematic viscosity. The Stokes number is defined as $\mathit{St}= \alpha \boldsymbol{\cdot} {\mathit{Re}}_{p} $, where $\alpha $ is the solid-to-fluid density ratio. Here, a neutrally buoyant prolate spheroidal particle ($\mathit{St}= {\mathit{Re}}_{p} $) of aspect ratio (major axis/minor axis) ${r}_{p} = 4$ is considered. The long-term rotational motion for different initial orientations and ${\mathit{Re}}_{p} $ is explained by the dominant inertial effect on the particle. The transitions between rotational states are subsequently studied in detail in terms of nonlinear dynamics. Fluid inertia is seen to cause several bifurcations typical for a nonlinear system with odd symmetry around a double zero eigenvalue. Particle inertia gives rise to centrifugal forces which drives the particle to rotate with the symmetry axis in the flow-gradient plane (tumbling). At high ${\mathit{Re}}_{p} $, the motion is constrained to this planar motion regardless of initial orientation. At a certain critical Reynolds number, ${\mathit{Re}}_{p} = {\mathit{Re}}_{c} $, a motionless (steady) state is created through an infinite-period saddle-node bifurcation and consequently the tumbling period near the transition is scaled as $\vert {\mathit{Re}}_{p} - {\mathit{Re}}_{c} {\vert }^{- 1/ 2} $. Analyses in this paper show that if a transition from tumbling to steady state occurs at ${\mathit{Re}}_{p} = {\mathit{Re}}_{c} $, then any parameter $\beta $ (e.g. confinement or particle spacing) that influences the value of ${\mathit{Re}}_{c} $, such that ${\mathit{Re}}_{p} = {\mathit{Re}}_{c} $ as $\beta = {\beta }_{c} $, will lead to a period that scales as $\vert \beta - {\beta }_{c} {\vert }^{- 1/ 2} $ and is independent of particle shape or any geometric aspect ratio in the flow.

We present the results of a combined experimental and theoretical investigation of the surface-tension-driven coalescence of flexible structures. Specifically, we consider the dynamics of the rise of a wetting liquid between flexible sheets that are clamped at their upper ends. As the elasticity of the sheets is progressively increased, we observe a systematic deviation from the classical diffusive-like behaviour: the time to reach equilibrium increases dramatically and the departure from classical rise occurs sooner, trends that we elucidate via scaling analyses. Three distinct temporal regimes are identified and subsequently explored by developing a theoretical model based on lubrication theory and the linear theory of plates. The resulting free-boundary problem is solved numerically and good agreement is obtained with experiments.

This study explores the formation of circular thin-film hydraulic jumps caused by the normal impact of a jet on an infinite planar surface. For more than a century, it has been believed that all hydraulic jumps are created due to gravity. However, we show that these thin-film hydraulic jumps result from energy loss due to surface tension and viscous forces alone. We show that, at the jump, surface tension and viscous forces balance the momentum in the liquid film and gravity plays no significant role. Experiments show no dependence on the orientation of the surface and a scaling relation balancing viscous forces and surface tension collapses the experimental data. A theoretical analysis shows that the downstream transport of surface energy is the previously neglected critical ingredient in these flows, and that capillary waves play the role of gravity waves in a traditional jump in demarcating the transition from the supercritical to subcritical flow associated with these jumps.

Wing or fin flexibility can dramatically affect the performance of flying and swimming animals. Both laboratory experiments and numerical simulations have been used to study these effects, but analytical results are notably lacking. Here, we develop small-amplitude theory to model a flapping wing that pitches passively due to a combination of wing compliance, inertia and fluid forces. Remarkably, we obtain a class of exact solutions describing the wing’s emergent pitching motions, along with expressions for how thrust and efficiency are modified by compliance. The solutions recover a range of realistic behaviours and shed new light on how flexibility can aid performance, the importance of resonance, and the separate roles played by wing and fluid inertia. The simple robust estimates afforded by our theory may prove valuable even in situations where details of the flapping motion and wing geometry differ.