The interactions of two like-signed vortices in viscous fluid are investigated using two-dimensional numerical simulations performed across a range of vortex strength ratios, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6EC}=\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}_{1}/\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}_{2}\leqslant 1$, corresponding to vortices of circulation, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}_{i}$, with differing initial size and/or peak vorticity. In all cases, the vortices evolve by viscous diffusion before undergoing a primary convective interaction, which ultimately results in a single vortex. The post-interaction vortex is quantitatively evaluated in terms of an enhancement factor, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}=\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}_{end}/\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}_{2,start}$, which compares its circulation, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}_{end}$, to that of the stronger starting vortex, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E4}_{2,start}$. Results are effectively characterized by a mutuality parameter, $MP\equiv (S/\unicode[STIX]{x1D714})_{1}/(S/\unicode[STIX]{x1D714})_{2}$, where the ratio of induced strain rate, $S$, to peak vorticity, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}$, for each vortex, $(S/\unicode[STIX]{x1D714})_{i}$, is found to have a critical value, $(S/\unicode[STIX]{x1D714})_{cr}\approx 0.135$, above which core detrainment occurs. If $MP$ is sufficiently close to unity, both vortices detrain and a two-way mutual entrainment process leads to $\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}>1$, i.e. merger. In asymmetric interactions and mergers, generally one vortex dominates; the weak/no/strong vortex winner regimes correspond to $MP<,=,>1$, respectively. As $MP$ deviates from unity, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}$ decreases until a critical value, $MP_{cr}$ is reached, beyond which there is only a one-way interaction; one vortex detrains and is destroyed by the other, which dominates and survives. There is no entrainment and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}\sim 1$, i.e. only a straining out occurs. Although $(S/\unicode[STIX]{x1D714})_{cr}$ appears to be independent of Reynolds number, $MP_{cr}$ shows a dependence. Comparisons are made with available experimental data from Meunier (2001, PhD thesis, Université de Provence-Aix-Marseille I).

The scaling of turbulent motions is investigated by considering the flow in the eigenframe of the local strain-rate tensor. The flow patterns in this frame of reference are evaluated using existing direct numerical simulations of homogeneous isotropic turbulence over a Reynolds number range from $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}}=34.6$ up to 1131, and also with reference to data for inhomogeneous, anisotropic wall turbulence. The average flow in the eigenframe reveals a shear layer structure containing tube-like vortices and a dissipation sheet, whose dimensions scale with the Kolmogorov length scale, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D702}$. The vorticity stretching motions scale with the Taylor length scale, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}_{T}$, while the flow outside the shear layer scales with the integral length scale, $L$. Furthermore, the spatial organization of the vortices and the dissipation sheet defines a characteristic small-scale structure. The overall size of this characteristic small-scale structure is $120\unicode[STIX]{x1D702}$ in all directions based on the coherence length of the vorticity. This is considerably larger than the typical size of individual vortices, and reflects the importance of spatial organization at the small scales. Comparing the overall size of the characteristic small-scale structure with the largest flow scales and the vorticity stretching motions on the scale of $4\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}_{T}$ shows that transitions in flow structure occur where $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}}\approx 45$ and 250. Below these respective transitional Reynolds numbers, the small-scale motions and the vorticity stretching motions are progressively less well developed. Scale interactions are examined by decomposing the average shear layer into a local flow, which is induced by the shear layer vorticity, and a non-local flow, which represents the environment of the characteristic small-scale structure. The non-local strain is $4\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}_{T}$ in width and height, which is consistent with observations in high Reynolds number flow of a $4\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}_{T}$ wide instantaneous shear layer with many $\unicode[STIX]{x1D702}$-scale vortical structures inside (Ishihara et al., Flow Turbul. Combust., vol. 91, 2013, pp. 895–929). In the average shear layer, vorticity aligns with the intermediate principal strain at small scales, while it aligns with the most stretching principal strain at larger scales, consistent with instantaneous turbulence. The length scale at which the alignment changes depends on the Reynolds number. When conditioning the flow in the eigenframe on extreme dissipation, the velocity is strongly affected over large distances. Moreover, the associated peak velocity remains Reynolds number dependent when normalized by the Kolmogorov velocity scale. It signifies that extreme dissipation is not simply a small-scale property, but is associated with large scales at the same time.

Numerical simulations are used to investigate the hydrodynamic benefits of body–fin and fin–fin interactions in a fish model in carangiform swimming. The geometry and kinematics of the model are reconstructed in three-dimensions from high-speed videos of a live fish, Crevalle Jack (Caranx hippos), during steady swimming. The simulations employ an immersed-boundary-method-based incompressible Navier–Stokes flow solver that allows us to quantitatively characterize the propulsive performance of the fish median fins (the dorsal and the anal fins) and the caudal fin using three-dimensional full body simulations. This includes a detailed analysis of associated performance enhancement mechanisms and their connection to the vortex dynamics. Comparisons are made using three different models containing different combinations of the fish body and fins to provide insights into the force production. The results indicate that the fish produces high performance propulsion by utilizing complex interactions among the fins and the body. By connecting the vortex dynamics and surface force distribution, it is found that the leading-edge vortices produced by the caudal fin are associated with most of the thrust production in this fish model. These vortices could be strengthened by the vorticity capture from the vortices generated by the posterior body during undulatory motion. Meanwhile, the pressure difference between the two sides of posterior body resulting from the posterior body vortices (PBVs) helps with the alleviation of the body drag. The appearance of the median fins in the posterior region further strengthens the PBVs and caudal-fin wake capture mechanism. This work provides new physical insights into how body–fin and fin–fin interactions enhance thrust production in swimming fishes, and emphasizes that movements of both the body and fins contribute to overall swimming performance in fish locomotion.

The stability of steady convective exchange flow with a rectangular planform in an unbounded three-dimensional porous medium is explored. The base flow comprises a balance between vertical advection with amplitude $A$ in interleaving rectangular columns with aspect ratio $\unicode[STIX]{x1D709}\leqslant 1$ and horizontal diffusion between the columns. Columnar flow with a square planform ($\unicode[STIX]{x1D709}=1$) is found to be weakly unstable to a large-scale perturbation of the background temperature gradient, irrespective of $A$, but to have no stronger instability on the scale of the columns. This result provides a stark contrast to two-dimensional columnar flow (Hewitt et al., J. Fluid Mech., vol. 737, 2013, pp. 205–231), which, as $A$ is increased, is increasingly unstable to a perturbation on the scale of the columnar wavelength. For rectangular planforms with $\unicode[STIX]{x1D709}<1$, a critical aspect ratio is identified, below which a perturbation on the scale of the columns is the fastest growing mode, as in two dimensions. Scalings for the growth rate and the structure of this mode are identified, and are explained by means of an asymptotic expansion in the limit $\unicode[STIX]{x1D709}\rightarrow 0$. The difference between the stabilities of two-dimensional and three-dimensional exchange flow provides a potential explanation for the apparent difference in dominant horizontal scale observed in direct numerical simulations of two-dimensional and three-dimensional statistically steady ‘Rayleigh–Darcy’ convection at high Rayleigh numbers.

Algebraic disturbance growth in spatially developing boundary-layer flows is investigated using an optimization approach. The methodology builds on the framework of the parabolized stability equations and avoids some of the limitations associated with adjoint-based schemes. In the Blasius boundary layer, non-parallel effects are shown to significantly enhance the energy gain due to algebraic growth mechanisms. In contrast to parallel flow, the most energetic perturbations have finite frequency and are generated by the simultaneous activity of the Orr and lift-up mechanisms. The highest amplification occurs in a limited region of the parameter space that is characterized by a linear relation between the wavenumber and frequency of the disturbances. The frequency of the most highly amplified perturbations decreases with Reynolds number. Adverse streamwise pressure gradient further enhances the amplification of disturbances while preserving the linear trend between the wavenumber and frequency of the most energetic perturbations.

Weakly conducting dielectric liquid drops suspended in another dielectric liquid and subject to an applied uniform electric field exhibit a wide range of dynamical behaviours contingent on field strength and material properties. These phenomena are best described by the Melcher–Taylor leaky dielectric model, which hypothesizes charge accumulation on the drop–fluid interface and prescribes a balance between charge relaxation, the jump in ohmic currents from the bulk and charge convection by the interfacial fluid flow. Most previous numerical simulations based on this model have either neglected interfacial charge convection or restricted themselves to axisymmetric drops. In this work, we develop a three-dimensional boundary element method for the complete leaky dielectric model to systematically study the deformation and dynamics of liquid drops in electric fields. The inclusion of charge convection in our simulations permits us to investigate drops in the Quincke regime, in which experiments have demonstrated a symmetry-breaking bifurcation leading to steady electrorotation. Our simulation results show excellent agreement with existing experimental data and small-deformation theories.

An exact relation is derived between scalar dissipation due to molecular diffusivity and the randomness of stochastic Lagrangian trajectories for flows without bounding walls. This ‘Lagrangian fluctuation–dissipation relation’ equates the scalar dissipation for either passive or active scalars to the variance of scalar inputs associated with initial scalar values and internal scalar sources, as these are sampled backward in time by the stochastic Lagrangian trajectories. As an important application, we reconsider the phenomenon of ‘Lagrangian spontaneous stochasticity’ or persistent non-determinism of Lagrangian particle trajectories in the limit of vanishing viscosity and diffusivity. Previous work on the Kraichnan (Phys. Fluids, 1968, vol. 11, pp. 945–953) model of turbulent scalar advection has shown that anomalous scalar dissipation is associated in that model with Lagrangian spontaneous stochasticity. There has been controversy, however, regarding the validity of this mechanism for scalars advected by an actual turbulent flow. We here completely resolve this controversy by exploiting the fluctuation–dissipation relation. For either a passive or an active scalar advected by any divergence-free velocity field, including solutions of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equation, and away from walls, we prove that anomalous scalar dissipation requires Lagrangian spontaneous stochasticity. For passive scalars, we prove furthermore that spontaneous stochasticity yields anomalous dissipation for suitable initial scalar fields, so that the two phenomena are there completely equivalent. These points are illustrated by numerical results from a database of homogeneous isotropic turbulence, which provide both additional support to the results and physical insight into the representation of diffusive effects by stochastic Lagrangian particle trajectories.

We investigate the fluid–structure interaction of a vertically hanging filament immersed in uniform incompressible high Reynolds number flow. The filament is subject to small-amplitude harmonic heaving at its upstream edge, and to a gravity-induced (‘hanging chain’) tension force. We focus on the limit of small bending rigidity to examine the differences between a highly elastic beam (where bending rigidity is small but finite) and a membrane (where bending rigidity vanishes). The problem is analysed by means of thin airfoil theory, in conjunction with a discrete vortex model for the downstream wake. Denoting the filament non-dimensional rigidity (normalized by the tension force) by $\bar{\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}}$, it is first verified that the beam deflection and associated flow field converge to the membrane solution at $\bar{\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}}\rightarrow 0$. At low actuation frequencies, the differences between the membrane and beam motions are small, and both follow a nearly rigid-body motion parallel to the upstream-edge actuation. With increasing frequency, the differences between the beam and membrane become visible at increasingly lower values of $\bar{\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}}$, and the stabilizing effect of beam flexural rigidity, resulting in reduced flapping amplitudes, is apparent. Examining the beam motion near its edge points at non-small frequencies, semi-analytic approximations for the associated time-periodic displacements are obtained. Close to the actuated end, a layer of width $\bar{\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}}^{1/2}$ is found, where the flexural rigidity term in the equation of motion is balanced by the tension term. Here, the differences between the beam and membrane deflections are attributed to the additional zero-slope condition satisfied by the former. In the vicinity of the free end, a local Taylor expansion is carried out. A balance between the bending and inertia terms results in a layer of width $\propto \bar{\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}}^{1/4}/\bar{\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}}_{h}^{1/2}$, where $\bar{\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}}_{h}$ denotes the scaled heaving frequency. The layer is therefore thicker than the upstream layer for $\bar{\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}}_{h}\approx 1$, and becomes thinner with increasing $\bar{\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}}_{h}$. Within the layer, the beam deflects linearly with the distance from the edge, in marked difference from a membrane and in accordance with the free-end conditions satisfied by the former.

Using variational calculus, we investigate the time-dependent injection rate that minimises the growth of the Saffman–Taylor instability when a finite volume of fluid is injected in a finite time, $t_{f}$, into a Hele-Shaw cell. We first consider a planar interface, and show that, with a constant viscosity ratio, the constant injection rate is optimal. When the viscosity of the displacing fluid, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}_{1}(t)$, gradually increases over time, as may occur with a slowly gelling polymer solution, the optimal injection rate, $U^{\ast }(t)$, involves a gradual increase in the flow rate with time. This leads to a smaller initial value of flow rate than the constant injection rate, finishing with a larger value. Such optimisation can lead to a substantial suppression of the instability as compared to the constant injection case if the characteristic gelling time is comparable to $t_{f}$. In contrast, for either relatively slow or fast gelling, there is much less benefit in selecting the optimal injection rate, $U^{\ast }(t)$, as compared to the constant injection rate. In the case of a constant injection rate from a point source, $Q$, then with a constant viscosity ratio the fastest-growing perturbation on the radially spreading front involves axisymmetric modes whose wavenumber increases with time. Approximating the discrete azimuthal modes by a continuous distribution, we find the injection rate that minimises growth, $Q^{\ast }(t)$. We find that there is a critical time for injection, $t_{f}^{\dagger }$, such that if $t_{f}>t_{f}^{\dagger }$ then $Q^{\ast }(t)$ can be chosen so that the interface is always stable. This critical time emerges from the case with an injection rate given by $Q^{\ast }\sim t^{-1/3}$. As the total injection time is reduced to values $t_{f}<t_{f}^{\dagger }$, the system becomes progressively more unstable, and the optimal injection rate for an idealised continuous distribution of azimuthal modes asymptotes to a flow rate that increases linearly with time. As for the one-dimensional case, if the viscosity of the injection fluid gradually increases over time, then the optimal injection rate has a smaller initial value but gradually increases to larger values than for the analogous constant viscosity problem. If the displacing fluid features shear-thinning rheology, then the optimal injection rate involves a smaller flow rate at early times, although not as large a reduction as in the Newtonian case, and a larger flow rate at late times, although not as large an increase as in the Newtonian case.

We derive here Lagrangian fluctuation–dissipation relations for advected scalars in wall-bounded flows. The relations equate the dissipation rate for either passive or active scalars to the variance of scalar inputs from the initial values, boundary values and internal sources, as those are sampled backward in time by stochastic Lagrangian trajectories. New probabilistic concepts are required to represent scalar boundary conditions at the walls: the boundary local-time density at points on the wall where scalar fluxes are imposed and the boundary first hitting time at points where scalar values are imposed. These concepts are illustrated both by analytical results for the problem of pure heat conduction and by numerical results from a database of channel-flow turbulence, which also demonstrate the scalar mixing properties of near-wall turbulence. As an application of the fluctuation–dissipation relation, we examine for wall-bounded flows the relation between anomalous scalar dissipation and Lagrangian spontaneous stochasticity, i.e. the persistent non-determinism of Lagrangian particle trajectories in the limit of vanishing viscosity and diffusivity. In Part I of this series, we showed that spontaneous stochasticity is the only possible mechanism for anomalous dissipation of passive or active scalars, away from walls. Here it is shown that this remains true when there are no scalar fluxes through walls. Simple examples show, on the other hand, that a distinct mechanism of non-vanishing scalar dissipation can be thin scalar boundary layers near the walls. Nevertheless, we prove for general wall-bounded flows that spontaneous stochasticity is another possible mechanism of anomalous scalar dissipation.

Groups of surface gravity waves induce horizontally varying Stokes drift that drives convergence of water ahead of the group and divergence behind. The mass flux divergence associated with spatially variable Stokes drift pumps water downwards in front of the group and upwards in the rear. This ‘Stokes pumping’ creates a deep Eulerian return flow that sets the isopycnals below the wave group in motion and generates a trailing wake of internal gravity waves. We compute the energy flux from surface to internal waves by finding solutions of the wave-averaged Boussinesq equations in two and three dimensions forced by Stokes pumping at the surface. The two-dimensional (2-D) case is distinct from the 3-D case in that the stratification must be very strong, or the surface waves very slow for any internal wave (IW) radiation at all. On the other hand, in three dimensions, IW radiation always occurs, but with a larger energy flux as the stratification and surface wave (SW) amplitude increase or as the SW period is shorter. Specifically, the energy flux from SWs to IWs varies as the fourth power of the SW amplitude and of the buoyancy frequency, and is inversely proportional to the fifth power of the SW period. Using parameters typical of short period swell (e.g. 8 s SW period with 1 m amplitude) we find that the energy flux is small compared to both the total energy in a typical SW group and compared to the total IW energy. Therefore this coupling between SWs and IWs is not a significant sink of energy for the SWs nor a source for IWs. In an extreme case (e.g. 4 m amplitude 20 s period SWs) this coupling is a significant source of energy for IWs with frequency close to the buoyancy frequency.

We study the spreading of a film from ethanol–water droplets of radii $0.9~\text{mm}<r_{d}<1.1~\text{mm}$ on the surface of a deep water layer for various concentrations of ethanol in the drop. Since the drop is lighter ($\unicode[STIX]{x1D709}=\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{l}/\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{d}>1.03$), it stays at the surface of the water layer during the spreading of the film from the drop; the film is more viscous than the underlying water layer since $\unicode[STIX]{x1D712}=\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}_{l}/\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}_{d}>0.38$. Inertial forces are not dominant in the spreading since the Reynolds numbers based on the film thickness $h_{f}$ are in the range $0.02<Re_{f}<1.4$. The spreading is surface-tension-driven since the film capillary numbers are in the range $0.0005<Ca_{f}<0.0069$ and the drop Bond numbers are in the range $0.19<Bo_{d}<0.56$. We observe that, when the drop is brought in contact with the water surface, capillary waves propagate from the point of contact, followed by a radially expanding, thin circular film of ethanol–water mixture. The film develops instabilities at some radius to form outward-moving fingers at its periphery while it is still expanding, till the expansion stops at a larger radius. The film then retracts, during which time the remaining major part of the drop, which stays at the centre of the expanding film, thins and develops holes and eventually mixes completely with water. The radius of the expanding front of the film scales as $r_{f}\sim t^{1/4}$ and shows a dependence on the concentration of ethanol in the drop as well as on $r_{d}$, and is independent of the layer height $h_{l}$. Using a balance of surface tension and viscous forces within the film, along with a model for the fraction of the drop that forms the thin film, we obtain an expression for the dimensionless film radius $r_{f}^{\ast }=r_{f}/r_{d}$, in the form $fr_{f}^{\ast }={t_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}d}^{\ast }}^{1/4}$, where $t_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}d}^{\ast }=t/t_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}d}$, with the time scale $t_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}d}=\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}_{d}r_{d}/\unicode[STIX]{x0394}\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E}$ and $f$ is a function of $Bo_{d}$. Similarly, we show that the dimensionless velocity of film spreading, $Ca_{d}=u_{f}\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}_{d}/\unicode[STIX]{x0394}\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E}$, scales as $4f^{4}Ca_{d}={r_{f}^{\ast }}^{-3}$.

A model of a laminar viscous conducting flow, near a dielectric disc in a uniform magnetic field and in the presence of external rotation, is considered, where there is a uniform suction and an axial temperature gradient between the flow and the disc’s surface. It is assumed that the parameters of the suction or the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) interaction are such that the nonlinear inertial terms, related to the circulation flow, are negligible in the differential equations of the MHD boundary layer on a rotating disc. Analysis of the motion and energy equations, taking the dependence of density on temperature into account, is carried out using the Dorodnitsyn transformation. The exact analytical solution for the boundary layer and heat transfer equations is obtained and analysed, neglecting the viscous and Joule dissipation. The dependence of the flow characteristics in the boundary layer on the rate of suction and the magnetic field induction is studied. It is shown that the direction of the radial flow in the boundary layer on a disc can be changed, not only by variation of the ratio between the angular velocities in the external flow and the boundary layer, but also by changing the ratio of the temperatures in these two flows, as well as by varying the hydrodynamic Prandtl number. The approximate calculation of a three-dimensional flow in a rotating cylinder with a braking disc (or lid) is carried out, demonstrating that a magnetic field slows the circulation velocity in a rotating cylinder.

In this study, we revisit Rayleigh’s visionary hypothesis (Rayleigh, Proc. R. Soc. Lond., vol. 29, 1879a, pp. 71–97), that patterns resulting from interfacial instabilities are dominated by the fastest-growing linear mode, as we study nonlinear pattern selection in the context of a linear growth (dispersion) curve that has two peaks of equal height. Such a system is obtained in a physical situation consisting of two liquid layers suspended from a heated ceiling, and exposed to a passive gas. Both interfaces are then susceptible to thermocapillary and Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities, which lead to rupture/pinch off via a subcritical bifurcation. The corresponding mathematical model consists of long-wavelength evolution equations which are amenable to extensive numerical exploration. We find that, despite having equal linear growth rates, either one of the peak-modes can completely dominate the other as a result of nonlinear interactions. Importantly, the dominant peak continues to dictate the pattern even when its growth rate is made slightly smaller, thereby providing a definite counter-example to Rayleigh’s conjecture. Although quite complex, the qualitative features of the peak-mode interaction are successfully captured by a low-order three-mode ordinary differential equation model based on truncated Galerkin projection. Far from being governed by simple linear theory, the final pattern is sensitive even to the phase difference between peak-mode perturbations. For sufficiently long domains, this phase effect is shown to result in the emergence of coexisting patterns, wherein each peak-mode dominates in a different region of the domain.

The Lagrangian transport due to non-breaking and breaking focusing wave packets is examined. We present direct numerical simulations of the two-phase air–water Navier–Stokes equations describing focusing wave packets, investigating the Lagrangian drift by tracking tracer particles in the water before, during and after the breaking event. The net horizontal transport for non-breaking focusing packets is well described by the classical Stokes drift, both at the surface and in the bulk of the fluid, where the e-folding scale of the evanescent vertical profile is given by the characteristic wavenumber. For focusing wave packets that lead to breaking, we observe an added drift that can be ten times larger than the classical Stokes drift for a non-breaking packet at the surface, while the initial depth of the broken fluid scales with the wave height at breaking. We find that the breaking induced Lagrangian transport scales with the breaking strength. A simple scaling argument is proposed to describe this added drift and is found to be consistent with the direct numerical simulations. Applications to upper ocean processes are discussed.

The statistical properties are presented for the direct numerical simulation of a self-similar adverse pressure gradient (APG) turbulent boundary layer (TBL) at the verge of separation. The APG TBL has a momentum thickness-based Reynolds number range from $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{2}}=570$ to 13 800, with a self-similar region from $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{2}}=10\,000$ to 12 300. Within this domain the average non-dimensional pressure gradient parameter $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}=39$, where for a unit density $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}=\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{1}P_{\!e}^{\prime }/\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}_{w}$, with $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{1}$ the displacement thickness, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}_{w}$ the mean shear stress at the wall and $P_{\!e}^{\prime }$ the far-field pressure gradient. This flow is compared with previous zero pressure gradient and mild APG TBL ($\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}=1$) results of similar Reynolds number. All flows are generated via the direct numerical simulation of a TBL on a flat surface with far-field boundary conditions tailored to apply the desired pressure gradient. The conditions for self-similarity, and the appropriate length and velocity scales, are derived. The mean and Reynolds stress profiles are shown to collapse when non-dimensionalised on the basis of these length and velocity scales. As the pressure gradient increases, the extent of the wake region in the mean streamwise velocity profiles increases, whilst the extent of the log-layer and viscous sublayer decreases. The Reynolds stress, production and dissipation profiles of the APG TBL cases exhibit a second outer peak, which becomes more pronounced and more spatially localised with increasing pressure gradient. This outer peak is located at the point of inflection of the mean velocity profiles, and is suggestive of the presence of a shear flow instability. The maximum streamwise velocity variance is located at a wall normal position of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{1}$ of spanwise wavelength of $2\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}_{1}$. In summary as the pressure gradient increases the flow has properties less like a zero pressure gradient TBL and more akin to a free shear layer.

In the present study, the experimental set-up of Ganesh et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 802, 2016, pp. 37–78) is used to examine the dynamics of a shedding cavity by examining the vapour production rate of the natural cavity and determining how minimal injection of non-condensable gas can substantially alter the vapour production rate, the resulting cavity flow and the cavity shedding process. The influence of the dissolved gas content on the shedding natural cavity flow is also examined. High-speed visual imaging and cinemagraphic X-ray densitometry were used to observe the void fraction dynamics of the cavity flow. Non-condensable gas is injected across the span of the cavity flow at two locations: immediately downstream of the cavity detachment location at the apex of the wedge or further downstream into mid-cavity. The gas injected near the apex is found to increase the pressure near the suction peak, which resulted in the suppression of vapour formation. Hence, the injection of gas could result in a substantial net reduction in the overall cavity void fraction. Injection at the mid-cavity did less to suppress the vapour production and resulted in less significant modification of both the mean cavity pressure and net volume fraction. Changes in the cavity void fraction, in turn, altered the dynamics of the bubbly shock formation. Variation of the dissolved gas content alone (i.e. without injection) did not significantly change the cavity dynamics.

We compare laboratory experiments, contact dynamics simulations and continuum Navier–Stokes simulations with a $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}(I)$ visco-plastic rheology, of the discharge of granular media from a silo with a lateral orifice. We consider a rectangular silo with an orifice of height $D$ which spans the silo width $W$, and we observe two regimes. For small enough aperture aspect ratio ${\mathcal{A}}=D/W$, the Hagen–Beverloo relation is obtained. For thin enough silos, ${\mathcal{A}}\gg {\mathcal{A}}_{c}$, we observe a second regime where the outlet velocity varies with $\sqrt{W}$. This new regime is also obtained in the continuum simulations when the friction on side walls is taken into account in a thickness-averaged version of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}(I)$ $+$ Navier–Stokes (in the spirit of Hele-Shaw flows). Moreover most of the internal details of the flow field observed experimentally are reproduced when considering this lateral friction. These two regimes are recovered experimentally for a cylindrical silo with a lateral rectangular orifice of height $D$ and arc length $W$. The dependency of the flow rate on the particle diameter is found to be reasonably described experimentally using two geometrical functions that depend respectively on the number of beads through the two aperture dimensions. This is consistent with two-dimensional discrete simulation results: at the outlet, the volume fraction and the velocities depend on the particle diameter and this behaviour is correctly described by those geometrical functions. A similar dependency is observed in the two-dimensional continuum simulations.

While flow-induced vibration of bluff bodies has been extensively studied over the last half-century, only limited attention has been given to flow-induced vibration of elastically mounted rotating cylinders. Since recent low-Reynolds-number numerical work suggests that rotation can enhance or suppress the natural oscillatory response, the former could find applications in energy harvesting and the latter in vibration control. The present experimental investigation characterises the dynamic response and wake structure of a rotating circular cylinder undergoing vortex-induced vibration at a low mass ratio ($m^{\ast }=5.78$) over the reduced velocity range leading to strong oscillations. The experiments were conducted in a free-surface water channel with the cylinder vertically mounted and attached to a motor that provided constant rotation. Springs and an air-bearing system allow the cylinder to undertake low-damped transverse oscillations. Under cylinder rotation, the normalised frequency response was found to be comparable to that of a freely vibrating non-rotating cylinder. At reduced velocities consistent with the upper branch of a non-rotating transversely oscillating cylinder, the maximum oscillation amplitude increased with non-dimensional rotation rate up to $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}\approx 2$. Beyond this, there was a sharp decrease in amplitude. Notably, this critical value corresponds approximately to the rotation rate at which vortex shedding ceases for a non-oscillating rotating cylinder. Remarkably, at $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}=2$ there was approximately an 80 % increase in the peak amplitude response compared to that of a non-rotating cylinder. The observed amplitude response measured over the Reynolds-number range of ($1100\lesssim Re\lesssim 6300$) is significantly different from numerical predictions and other experimental results recorded at significantly lower Reynolds numbers.

The sequence of events constituting the formation of a leading-edge vortex (LEV) has been investigated for a periodically plunging nominally two-dimensional flat plate and a similarly articulated plate of aspect ratio two. Particle image velocimetry applied in multiple parallel planes and unsteady surface pressure measurements were used to quantify the sources and sinks of vorticity governing the growth of circulation in a control region moving with the plate in each case. In the two-dimensional case, the initial accumulation of (negative) vorticity in the nascent LEV produces a strong surface diffusive flux of vorticity that erodes the connection between the LEV and downstream boundary layer through cross-cancelation, initiating the ‘roll up’ of the LEV. Despite the significant diffusive flux earlier in the vortex development, there is no significant accumulation of secondary vorticity until after the severing occurs. The growth of the secondary vortex reduces the suction near the leading edge, such as to result in a self-limiting mechanism on the diffusive flux. In the finite-aspect-ratio case, a similar development is observed, except that the formation process is regulated or reversed by the spanwise convection of vorticity, which opposes the action of the surface diffusive flux. The physical mechanisms of vortex formation or reversal identified here can provide a basis for the design of passive or active flow control strategies to regulate vortex development.