Numerical solutions are presented for steady two-dimensional symmetric flow past a parabolic cylinder in a uniform stream parallel to its axis. The solutions cover the range R = 0·25 to ∞, where R is the Reynolds number based on the nose radius of the cylinder. For large R, the calculated skin friction near the nose of the cylinder is compared with known theoretical results obtained from second-order boundary-layer theory. Some discrepancy is found to exist between the present calculations and the second-order theory. For small R, it is possible to obtain a reasonably consistent check with a recent theoretical prediction for the limit of the skin friction near the nose of the cylinder as R → 0.

Stratified spin-up, the process of adjustment of a uniformly rotating stratified fluid to an abrupt change in the rotation of the container, is important in many geophysical contexts. An experimental study of this process is presented here for the case where a linearly stratified salt solution is enclosed in a cylindrical container whose rotation rate is changed by a small amount. Results are presented for a limited range of values of B, the internal Froude number, which measures the ratio of the frequencies due to buoyancy and rotation. The experimental study is augmented by a theoretical treatment of idealized models which clarify the more fundamental physical processes that occur. The response of a stratified fluid is faster than that of a homogeneous fluid but the adjustment is limited to layers near the bottom and top boundaries the thickness of which is determined by the value of B. A comparison of the experimental results with the theories of Holton, Walin and Sakurai is also made and it is shown that for the present physical arrangement (insulated side walls) the theories of the latter two authors agree much more closely with experiment than does the theory of Holton. However, all three theories tend to over-estimate the azimuthal displacement in the regions near the upper and lower boundaries where the spin-up is most rapid. The Sweet-Eddington circulation, which accompanies the ideal state of rigid-body rotation, can be significant under normal laboratory conditions and it was necessary to correct some of the spin-up results for this effect. The circulation in the vertical plane is described qualitatively.

The Oseen equations for the two-dimensional flow of a Boussinesq fluid over a thin barrier placed in a channel of finite depth are solved in the double limit ν → 0, t → ∞ under the hypothesis that the velocity at the tip of the barrier is as weakly singular as possible. The predicted flow patterns and drag coefficients are in closer agreement with Davis's experimental observations than those of the Long model.

The prototype linear spin-up problem consisting of a homogeneous viscous electrically conducting fluid confined between two infinite flat rotating electrically conducting plates in the presence of an applied axial magnetic field is studied in an effort to understand better the strength and nature of the coupling between a fluid and its rotating conducting container. It is assumed that the response time of the bounding plates to a magnetic perturbation is much less than the fluid spin-up time and that the plate conductivity is an arbitrary function of distance from the fluid-plate interface. The general Laplace transform solution is inverted and discussed for three special cases: magnetic diffusion regions thick compared with fluid depth during spin-up, arbitrary magnetic field strength and boundary conductance; magnetic diffusion regions thin, weak conductance, arbitrary field; magnetic diffusion regions thin, strong conductance, arbitrary field. In each case conductance of the boundary strengthens the coupling between fluid and boundary, thereby decreasing the spin-up time. The corresponding single plate analysis of Loper (1970a) is found to predict spin-up accurately only if the boundary conductance is much smaller than that of the fluid. The fluid possesses an oscillatory mode of spin-up if the magnetic diffusion regions are thin and boundary conductance is large. That is, the inviscid current-free core of fluid rotates significantly faster than the boundaries during a portion of the spin-up process.

Interactions between short gravity waves and larger-scale flows are investigated in the two-scale approximation. The effect of the wave field on the mean flow is described by an interaction stress tensor and a surface mass transfer. The results are applied to Phillips’ and Longuet-Higgins’ model of short waves breaking on the crests of long carrier waves. It is found that the work done on the long waves by the interaction stresses (corresponding to Longuet-Higgins’ ‘maser’ mechanism of wave generation) is almost exactly balanced by the loss of potential energy arising from the mass transfer. The residual energy transfer leads to attenuation of the long waves, independent of their propagation direction relative to the short waves. Damping factors are estimated from the upwind–downwind ratios of radar backscatter cross-sections. It is found that interactions with waves shorter than 35cm yield attenuation rates about an order of magnitude smaller than the observed growth rates due to the wind.

Hot-wire filament vibration generated by fluctuating aerodynamic loads is found to occur in turbulent flow fields. The motion of the filament relative to the stream can cause errors in the indicated velocity fluctuations. Analysis and experiment show that these errors are probably serious only when the velocity fluctuations are confined within a narrow bandwidth spectrum such as in a Kármán vortex street. Under such conditions the filament goes into a skipping or ‘whirling’ mode of motion and the errors in the velocity perturbation reading are substantial. Errors in normally encountered boundary-layer turbulence are suspected not to be serious but this is not yet certain. A convenient experimental method for detecting these vibrations is outlined.

A study is made of the effect of filament vibration on the direct frequency-response test for hot-wire systems. These tests include shaking the probe at high frequencies in a steady stream and the Kármán vortex street method.