A global analysis of steady states of inviscid compressible subsonic swirling flows in a finite-length straight circular pipe is developed. A nonlinear partial differential equation for the solution of the flow stream function is derived in terms of the inlet flow specific total enthalpy, specific entropy and circulation functions. The equation reflects the complicated thermo–physical interactions in the flows. Several types of solutions of the resulting nonlinear ordinary differential equation for the columnar case together with a flow force condition describe the outlet state of the flow in the pipe. These solutions are used to form the bifurcation diagram of steady compressible flows with swirl as the inlet swirl level is increased at a fixed inlet Mach number. The approach is applied to two profiles of inlet flows, solid-body rotation and the Lamb–Oseen vortex, both with a uniform axial velocity and temperature. The computed results provide for each inlet flow profile theoretical predictions of the critical swirl levels for the appearance of vortex breakdown states as a function of the inlet Mach number, suggesting that the results are robust for a variety of inlet swirling flows. The analysis sheds light on the dynamics of compressible flows with swirl and vortex breakdown, and shows the delay in the appearance of breakdown with increase of the inlet axial flow Mach number in the subsonic range of operation. The present theory is limited to axisymmetric dynamics of swirling flows in pipes where the wall boundary layer is thin and attached and does not interact with the flow in the bulk.

We investigate the transport of a passive scalar in a fully developed turbulent axisymmetric jet at a Reynolds number of $\mathit{Re}=4815$ using data from direct numerical simulation. In particular, we simulate the response of the concentration field to an instantaneous variation of the scalar flux at the source. To analyse the time evolution of this statistically unsteady process we take an ensemble average over 16 independent simulations. We find that the evolution of $C_{m}(z,t)$, the radial integral of the ensemble-averaged concentration, is a self-similar process, with the front position and spread both scaling as $\sqrt{t}$. The longitudinal mixing of $C_{m}$ is shown to be primarily caused by shear-flow dispersion. Using the approach developed by Craske & van Reeuwijk (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 763, 2014, pp. 538–566), the classical theory for shear-flow dispersion is applied to turbulent jets to obtain a closure that couples the integral scalar flux to the integral concentration $C_{m}$. Model predictions using the dispersion closure are in good agreement with the simulation data. Application of the dispersion closure to a two-dimensional jet results in an integral transport equation that is fully consistent with that of Landel et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 711, 2012, pp. 212–258).

Laminar-to-turbulent transition of a boundary layer subjected to streamwise pressure gradients and elevated free stream turbulence is computed through direct numerical simulation. The streamwise pressure distribution and elevated free stream turbulence levels mimic the conditions present on the suction side of highly-cambered airfoils. Longitudinal streamwise streaks form in the laminar boundary layer through the selective inclusion of low-frequency disturbances from the free stream turbulence. The spanwise spacing normalized by local inner variables indicates stabilization of the streaks occurs by the favourable pressure gradient and prevents the development of secondary streak instability modes until downstream of the suction peak. Two distinct processes are found to trigger transition to turbulence in the adverse pressure gradient region of the flow. One involves the development of varicose secondary instability of individual low-speed streaks that results in their breakdown and the formation and growth of discrete turbulent spots. The other involves a rapid amplification of free stream disturbances in the inflectional boundary layer in the adverse pressure gradient region that results in a largely homogeneous breakdown to turbulence across the span. The effect of high-frequency free stream disturbances on the streak secondary instability and on the nonlinear processes within the growing turbulent spot are analysed through the inviscid transport of instantaneous vorticity. The results suggest that free stream turbulence contributes to the growth of the turbulent spot by generating large strain rates that activate vortex-stretching and tilting processes within the spot.

A novel optical method is used to measure the high-frequency (up to 3 MHz) density fluctuations that precede transition to turbulence within a laminar boundary layer in a hypervelocity flow. This optical method, focused laser differential interferometry, enables measurements of short-wavelength, high-frequency disturbances that are impossible with conventional instrumentation such as pressure transducers or hot wires. In this work, the T5 reflected-shock tunnel is used to generate flows in air, nitrogen and carbon dioxide with speeds between 3.5 and $5~\text{km}~\text{s}^{-1}$ (Mach numbers between 4 and 6) over a 5° half-angle cone at zero angle of attack. Simultaneous measurements are made at two locations approximately midway along a generator of the 1-m-long cone. With increasing Reynolds number (unit values were between 2 and $5\times 10^{6}~\text{m}^{-1}$), density fluctuations are observed to grow in amplitude and transition from a single narrow band of frequencies consistent with the Mack or second mode of boundary-layer instability to bursts of large-amplitude and spectrally broad disturbances that appear to be precursors of turbulent spots. Disturbances that are sufficiently small in initial amplitude have a wavepacket-like signature and are observed to grow in amplitude between the upstream and downstream measurement locations. A cross-correlation analysis indicates propagation of wavepackets at speeds close to the edge velocity. The free stream flow created by the shock tunnel and the resulting boundary layer on the cone are computed, accounting for chemical and vibrational non-equilibrium processes. Using this base flow, local linear and parabolized stability (PSE) analyses are carried out and compared with the experimental results. Reasonable agreement is found between measured and predicted most unstable frequencies, with the greatest differences being approximately 15 %. The scaling of the observed frequency with the inverse of boundary-layer thickness and directly with the flow velocity are consistent with the characteristics of Mack’s second mode, as well as results of previous researchers on hypersonic boundary layers.

There is tantalizing evidence that some mechanically driven stratified flows tend towards a state of constant mixing efficiency. We provide insight into the energy balance leading to the constant mixing efficiency and isolate the responsible mechanism. The work presented demonstrates an important mixing efficiency regime for periodically forced externally driven stratified flows. Externally forced stratified turbulent mixing is often characterized by the associated eddies within the flow, which are the dominant mixing mechanism (Turner, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 173, 1986, pp. 431–471). Here, we study mixing induced by vortex rings in order to characterize the mixing induced by an individual eddy. By generating a long sequence of independent vortex-ring mixing events in a density-stratified fluid with a sharp interface, we determine the mixing efficiency of each ring. After an initial adjustment phase, we find that the mixing efficiency of each vortex ring is independent of the Richardson number. By studying the mixing mechanism here, we demonstrate consistent features of a volumetrically confined, periodically forced external mixing regime.

The flow-induced vibrations of an elastically mounted circular cylinder, free to oscillate in the direction parallel to the current and subjected to a forced rotation about its axis, are investigated by means of two- and three-dimensional numerical simulations, at a Reynolds number equal to 100 based on the cylinder diameter and inflow velocity. The cylinder is found to oscillate up to a rotation rate (ratio between the cylinder surface and inflow velocities) close to 2 (first vibration region), then the body and the flow are steady until a rotation rate close to 2.7 where a second vibration region begins. Each vibration region is characterized by a specific regime of response. In the first region, the vibration amplitude follows a bell-shaped evolution as a function of the reduced velocity (inverse of the oscillator natural frequency). The maximum vibration amplitudes, even though considerably augmented by the rotation relative to the non-rotating body case, remain lower than 0.1 cylinder diameters. Due to their trends as functions of the reduced velocity and to the fact that they develop under a condition of wake-body synchronization or lock-in, the responses of the rotating cylinder in this region are comparable to the vortex-induced vibrations previously described in the absence of rotation. The symmetry breaking due to the rotation is shown to directly impact the structure displacement and fluid force frequency contents. In the second region, the vibration amplitude tends to increase unboundedly with the reduced velocity. It may become very large, higher than 2.5 diameters in the parameter space under study. Such structural oscillations resemble the galloping responses reported for non-axisymmetric bodies. They are accompanied by a dramatic amplification of the fluid forces compared to the non-vibrating cylinder case. It is shown that body oscillation and flow unsteadiness remain synchronized and that a variety of wake topologies may be encountered in this vibration region. The low-frequency, large-amplitude responses are associated with novel asymmetric multi-vortex patterns, combining a pair and a triplet or a quartet of vortices per cycle. The flow is found to undergo three-dimensional transition in the second vibration region, with a limited influence on the system behaviour. It appears that the transition occurs for a substantially lower rotation rate than for a rigidly mounted cylinder.

We present a combined direct numerical simulation and hot-wire anemometry study of an axisymmetric turbulent wake. The data lead to a revised theory of axisymmetric turbulent wakes which relies on the mean streamwise momentum and turbulent kinetic energy equations, self-similarity of the mean flow, turbulent kinetic energy, Reynolds shear stress and turbulent dissipation profiles, non-equilibrium dissipation scalings and an assumption of constant anisotropy. This theory is supported by the present data up to a distance of 100 times the wake generator’s size, which is as far as these data extend.

Gravity wave turbulence is investigated experimentally in a large wave basin in which irregular waves are generated unidirectionally. The roles of the basin boundary conditions (absorbing or reflecting) and of the forcing properties are investigated. To that purpose, an absorbing sloping beach opposite the wavemaker can be replaced by a reflecting vertical wall. We observe that the wave field properties depend strongly on these boundary conditions. A quasi-one-dimensional field of nonlinear waves propagates towards the beach, where they are damped whereas a more multidirectional wave field is observed with the wall. In both cases, the wave spectrum scales as a frequency power law with an exponent that increases continuously with the forcing amplitude up to a value close to $-4$. The physical mechanisms involved most likely differ with the boundary condition used, but cannot be easily discriminated with only temporal measurements. We also studied freely decaying gravity wave turbulence in the closed basin. No self-similar decay of the spectrum is observed, whereas its Fourier modes decay first as a time power law due to nonlinear mechanisms, and then exponentially due to linear viscous damping. We estimate the linear, nonlinear and dissipative time scales to test the time scale separation that highlights the important role of a large-scale Fourier mode. By estimation of the mean energy flux from the initial decay of wave energy, the Kolmogorov–Zakharov constant of the weak turbulence theory is evaluated and found to be compatible with a recently obtained theoretical value.

A direct numerical simulation investigation of a transient flow in a channel with a smooth top wall and a roughened bottom wall made of close-packed pyramids is presented. An initially stationary turbulent flow is accelerated rapidly to a new flow rate and the transient flow behaviour after the acceleration is studied. The equivalent roughness heights of the initial and final flows are $k_{s}^{+}=14.5$ and 41.5, respectively. Immediately after the acceleration ends, the induced change behaves in a ‘plug-flow’ manner. Above the roughness crests, the additional velocity due to the perturbation flow is uniform; below the crest, it reduces approximately linearly to zero at the bottom of the roughness elements. The interaction of the perturbation flow with the rough wall is characterised by a series of events that resemble those observed in roughness-induced laminar–turbulent transitions. The process has two broad stages. In the first of these, large-scale vortices, comparable in extent to the roughness wavelength, develop around each roughness element and high-speed streaks form along the ridge lines of the elements. After a short time, each vortex splits into two, namely (i) a standing vortex in front of the element and (ii) a counter-rotating hairpin vortex behind it. The former is largely inactive, but the latter advects downstream with increasing strength, and later lifts away from the wall. These hairpin vortices wrap around strong low-speed streaks. The second stage of the overall process is the breakdown of the hairpin vortices into many smaller multi-scale vortices distributed randomly in space, leading eventually to a state of conventional turbulence. Shortly after the beginning of the first stage, the three components of the r.m.s of the velocity fluctuation all increase significantly in the near-wall region as a result of the vortical structures, and their spectra bear strong signatures of the surface topology. During the second stage, the overall turbulence energy in this region varies only slightly, but the spectrum evolves significantly, eventually approaching that of conventional turbulence. The direct effect of roughness on the flow is confined to a region up to approximately three element heights above the roughness crests. Turbulence in the core region does not begin to increase until after the transition near the wall is largely complete. The processes of transition over the smooth and rough walls of the channel are practically independent of each other. The flow over the smooth wall follows a laminar–turbulent transition and, as known from previous work, resembles a free-stream turbulence-induced boundary layer bypass transition.

The concept of a mixing efficiency is widely used to relate the amount of irreversible diabatic mixing in a stratified flow to the amount of energy available to support mixing. This common measure of mixing in a flow is based on the change in the background potential energy, which is the minimum gravitational potential energy of the fluid that can be achieved by an adiabatic rearrangement of the instantaneous density field. However, this paper highlights examples of mixing that is primarily ‘buoyancy-driven’ (i.e. energy is released to the flow predominantly from a source of available potential energy) to demonstrate that the mixing efficiency depends not only on the specific characteristics of the turbulence in the region of the flow that is mixing, but also on the density profile in regions remote from where mixing physically occurs. We show that this behaviour is due to the irreversible and direct conversion of available potential energy into background potential energy in those remote regions (a mechanism not previously described). This process (here termed ‘relabelling’) occurs without requiring either a local flow or local mixing, or any other process that affects the internal energy of that fluid. Relabelling is caused by initially available potential energy, associated with identifiable parcels of fluid, becoming dynamically inaccessible to the flow due to mixing elsewhere. These results have wider relevance to characterising mixing in stratified turbulent flows, including those involving an external supply of kinetic energy.

Rayleigh–Bénard convection, i.e. the flow of a fluid between two parallel plates that is driven by a temperature gradient, is an idealised set-up to study thermal convection. Of special interest are the statistics of the turbulent temperature field, which we are investigating and comparing for three different geometries, namely convection with periodic horizontal boundary conditions in three and two dimensions as well as convection in a cylindrical vessel, in order to determine the similarities and differences. To this end, we derive an exact evolution equation for the temperature probability density function. Unclosed terms are expressed as conditional averages of velocities and heat diffusion, which are estimated from direct numerical simulations. This framework lets us identify the average behaviour of a fluid particle by revealing the mean evolution of a fluid with different temperatures in different parts of the convection cell. We connect the statistics to the dynamics of Rayleigh–Bénard convection, giving deeper insights into the temperature statistics and transport mechanisms. We find that the average behaviour is described by closed cycles in phase space that reconstruct the typical Rayleigh–Bénard cycle of fluid heating up at the bottom, rising up to the top plate, cooling down and falling again. The detailed behaviour shows subtle differences between the three cases.

We study stratified turbulence in plane Couette flow using direct numerical simulations. Two external dimensionless parameters control the dynamics, the Reynolds number $\mathit{Re}=Uh/{\it\nu}$ and the bulk Richardson number $\mathit{Ri}=g{\it\alpha}_{V}Th/U^{2}$, where $U$ and $T$ are half the velocity and temperature difference between the two walls respectively, $h$ is the half channel depth, ${\it\nu}$ is the kinematic viscosity and $g{\it\alpha}_{V}$ is the buoyancy parameter. We focus on spatio-temporal intermittency due to stratification and we explore the boundary between fully developed turbulence and intermittent flow in the $\mathit{Re}{-}\mathit{Ri}$ plane. The structures populating the intermittent flow regime show coexistence between laminar and turbulent patches, and we demonstrate that there are qualitative differences between the previously studied low-$\mathit{Re}$ low-$\mathit{Ri}$ intermittent regime and the high-$\mathit{Re}$ high-$\mathit{Ri}$ intermittent regime. At low-$\mathit{Re}$ low-$\mathit{Ri}$, turbulent regions span the entire gap, whereas at high-$\mathit{Re}$ high-$\mathit{Ri}$, turbulence is confined vertically with complex dynamics arising from interacting turbulent layers. Consistent with a previous investigation of Flores & Riley (Boundary-Layer Meteorol., vol. 129 (2), 2010, pp. 241–259), we present evidence suggesting that intermittency in the asymptotic regime of high-$\mathit{Re}$ Couette flows appears for $L^{+}<200$, where $L^{+}=Lu_{{\it\tau}}/{\it\nu}$, with $L$ being the Monin–Obukhov length scale, $L=u_{{\it\tau}}^{3}/C_{{\it\kappa}}q_{w}$, $q_{w}$ the wall heat flux, $C_{{\it\kappa}}$ the von Kármán constant and $u_{{\it\tau}}=\sqrt{{\it\tau}_{w}/{\it\rho}_{0}}$ the friction velocity determined from the wall shear stress ${\it\tau}_{w}$, where ${\it\rho}_{0}$ is the constant background density. We also consider the mixing as quantified by various versions of the flux Richardson number $\mathit{Ri}_{f}$, defined as the ratio of the conversion rate from kinetic to potential energy to the turbulent kinetic energy injection rate due to shear. We investigate how laminar and turbulent regions separately contribute to the overall mixing. Remarkably, we find that although fluctuations are greatly suppressed in the laminar regions, $\mathit{Ri}_{f}$ does not change significantly compared with its value in turbulent regions. As we observe a tight coupling between the mean temperature and velocity fields, we demonstrate that both Monin–Obukhov self-similarity theory (Monin & Obukhov, Contrib. Geophys. Inst. Acad. Sci. USSR, vol. 151, 1954, pp. 163–187) and the explicit algebraic model of Lazeroms et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 723, 2013, pp. 91–125) predict the mean profiles well. We thus use these models to trace out the boundary between fully developed turbulence and intermittency in the $\mathit{Re}{-}\mathit{Ri}$ plane.

A solution of the inviscid rapid distortion equations for a stratified flow with homogeneous shear is proposed, extending the work of Hanazaki & Hunt (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 507, 2004, pp. 1–42) to the two horizontal velocity components. The analytical solution allows for the determination of the spectral tensor evolution at any given time starting from a known initial condition. By following the same approach as that adopted by Mann (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 273, 1994, pp. 141–168), a model for the spectral velocity tensor in the atmospheric boundary layer is obtained, where the spectral tensor, assumed to be isotropic at the initial time, evolves until the breakup time where the spectral tensor is supposed to achieve its final state observed in the boundary layer. The model predictions are compared with atmospheric measurements obtained over a forested area, giving the opportunity to calibrate the model parameters, and further validation is provided by additional low-roughness data. Characteristic values of the model coefficients and their dependence on the Richardson number are proposed and discussed.

The majority of Antarctic ice is discharged via long and narrow fast-flowing ice streams. At ice stream margins, the rapid transition from the vertical shearing flow in the ice ridges surrounding the stream to a rapidly sliding plug flow in the stream itself leads to high stress concentrations and a velocity field whose form is non-trivial to determine. In this paper, we develop a boundary layer theory for this narrow region separating a lubrication-type ice ridge flow and a membrane-type ice stream flow. This allows us to derive jump conditions for the outer models describing ridge and stream self-consistently. Much of our focus is, however, on determining the velocity and shear heating fields in the margin itself. Ice stream margins have been observed to change position over time, with potentially significant implications for ice stream discharge. Our boundary layer model allows us to extend previous work that has determined rates of margin migration from a balance between shear heating in the margin and the cooling effect of margin migration into the colder ice of the surrounding ice ridge. Solving for the transverse velocity field in the margin allows us to include the effect of advection due to lateral inflow of ice from the ridge on margin migration, and we demonstrate that this reduces the rate of margin migration, as previously speculated.

Görtler vortices developed in laminar boundary layer experience remarkable changes when the flow is subjected to compressibility effects. In the present study, five $\mathit{Ma}$ numbers, covering incompressible to hypersonic flows, at $\mathit{Ma}=0.015$, 1.5, 3.0, 4.5 and 6.0 are specified to illustrate these effects. Görtler vortices in subsonic and moderate supersonic flows ($\mathit{Ma}=0.015$, 1.5 and 3.0) are governed by the conventional wall-layer mode (mode W). In hypersonic flows ($\mathit{Ma}=4.5$, 6.0), the trapped-layer mode (mode T) becomes dominant. This difference is maintained and intensifies downstream leading to different scenarios of secondary instabilities. The linear and nonlinear development of Görtler vortices which are governed by dominant modal disturbances are investigated with direct marching of the nonlinear parabolic equations. The secondary instabilities of Görtler vortices set in when the resulting streaks are adequately developed. They are studied with Floquet theory at multiple streamwise locations. The secondary perturbations become unstable downstream following the sequence of sinuous mode type I, varicose mode and sinuous mode type II, indicating an increasing threshold amplitude. Onset conditions are determined for these modes. The above three modes can each have the largest growth rate under the right conditions. In the hypersonic cases, the threshold amplitude $A(u)$ is dramatically reduced, showing the significant impact of the thermal streaks. To investigate the parametric effect of the spanwise wavenumber, three global wavenumbers ($B=0.5$, 1.0 and $2.0\times 10^{-3}$) are specified. The relationship between the dominant mode (sinuous or varicose) and the spanwise wavenumber of Görtler vortices found in incompressible flows (Li & Malik, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 297, 1995, pp. 77–100) is shown to be not fully applicable in high-speed cases. The sinuous mode becomes the most dangerous, regardless of the spanwise wavelength when $\mathit{Ma}>3.0$. The subharmonic type can be the most dangerous mode while the detuned type can be neglected, although some of the sub-dominant secondary modes reach their peak growth rates under detuned states.

Recent experiments have shown that suspensions of swimming micro-organisms are characterized by complex dynamics involving enhanced swimming speeds, large-scale correlated motions and enhanced diffusivities of embedded tracer particles. Understanding this dynamics is of fundamental interest and also has relevance to biological systems. The observed collective dynamics has been interpreted as the onset of a hydrodynamic instability, of the quiescent isotropic state of pushers, swimmers with extensile force dipoles, above a critical threshold proportional to the swimmer concentration. In this work, we develop a particle-based model to simulate a suspension of hydrodynamically interacting rod-like swimmers to estimate this threshold. Unlike earlier simulations, the velocity disturbance field due to each swimmer is specified in terms of the intrinsic swimmer stress alone, as per viscous slender-body theory. This allows for a computationally efficient kinematic simulation where the interaction law between swimmers is known a priori. The neglect of induced stresses is of secondary importance since the aforementioned instability arises solely due to the intrinsic swimmer force dipoles.

Our kinematic simulations include, for the first time, intrinsic decorrelation mechanisms found in bacteria, such as tumbling and rotary diffusion. To begin with, we simulate so-called straight swimmers that lack intrinsic orientation decorrelation mechanisms, and a comparison with earlier results serves as a proof of principle. Next, we simulate suspensions of swimmers that tumble and undergo rotary diffusion, as a function of the swimmer number density $(n)$, and the intrinsic decorrelation time (the average duration between tumbles, ${\it\tau}$, for tumblers, and the inverse of the rotary diffusivity, $D_{r}^{-1}$, for rotary diffusers). The simulations, as a function of the decorrelation time, are carried out with hydrodynamic interactions (between swimmers) turned off and on, and for both pushers and pullers (swimmers with contractile force dipoles). The ‘interactions-off’ simulations allow for a validation based on analytical expressions for the tracer diffusivity in the stable regime, and reveal a non-trivial box size dependence that arises with varying strength of the hydrodynamic interactions. The ‘interactions-on’ simulations lead us to our main finding: the existence of a box-size-independent parameter that characterizes the onset of instability in a pusher suspension, and is given by $nUL^{2}{\it\tau}$ for tumblers and $nUL^{2}/D_{r}$ for rotary diffusers; here, $U$ and $L$ are the swimming speed and swimmer length, respectively. The instability manifests as a bifurcation of the tracer diffusivity curves, in pusher and puller suspensions, for values of the above dimensionless parameters exceeding a critical threshold.

Kinetic-energy transport and turbulence production within the shear layer of a horizontal-axis wind-turbine wake are investigated with respect to their influence on the tip-vortex pairwise instability, the so-called leapfrogging instability. The study quantifies the effect of near-wake instability and tip-vortex breakdown on the process of mean-flow kinetic-energy transport within the far wake of the wind turbine, in turn affecting the wake re-energising process. Experiments are conducted in an open-jet wind tunnel with a wind-turbine model of 60 cm diameter at a diameter-based Reynolds number range $\mathit{Re}_{D}=150\,000{-}230\,000$. The velocity fields in meridian planes encompassing a large portion of the wake past the rotor are measured both in the unconditioned and the phase-locked mode by means of stereoscopic particle image velocimetry. The detailed topology and development of the tip-vortex interactions are discussed prior to a statistical analysis based on the triple decomposition of the turbulent flow fields. The study emphasises the role of the pairing instability as a precursor to the onset of three-dimensional vortex distortion and breakdown, leading to increased turbulent mixing and kinetic-energy transport across the shear layer. Quadrant analysis further elucidates the role of sweep and ejection events within the two identified mixing regimes. Prior to the onset of the instability, vortices shed from the blade appear to inhibit turbulent mixing of the expanding wake. The second region is dominated by the leapfrogging instability, with a sudden increase of the net entrainment of kinetic energy. Downstream of the latter, random turbulent motion characterises the flow, with a significant increase of turbulent kinetic-energy production. In this scenario, the leapfrogging mechanism is recognised as the triggering event that accelerates the onset of efficient turbulent mixing followed by the beginning of the wake re-energising process.

Rheological and transport studies of model thin films and membranes, often inspired by biological systems, make use of translational or rotational motion or diffusion of particles trapped in the surface film. Here, we consider the translational mobility of spherical and oblate spheroidal particles protruding into the surrounding subphase liquid. Both the subphase and surface film contribute to the resistance experienced by the particle, which is calculated as a function of the degree of protrusion as well as the viscosity contrast between the surface film and the surrounding fluid. The calculations are based on a combination of a perturbation expansion involving the particle shape and the Lorentz reciprocal theorem.

We investigate the rheological properties of a suspension of neutrally buoyant rigid ellipsoids by fluid–structure interaction simulations of a particle in a periodic domain under simple shear using the curvilinear immersed-boundary (CURVIB) method along with a quaternion–angular velocity technique to calculate the dynamics of the particle’s motion. We calculate all the different terms of particle stress for the first time for non-spherical particles, i.e. in addition to the stresslet, we calculate the acceleration and Reynolds stress, which are typically ignored in previous similar works. Furthermore, we derive analytical expressions for all these terms to verify the numerical results and deduce the effect of inertia by comparing our numerical results with the analytical solution. The effect of particle Reynolds number ($\mathit{Re}$), volume fraction (${\it\phi}$), and the shape of particles has been studied on all mechanisms of stress generation, the intrinsic viscosity, and normal stress differences of the suspension for the range $0.008\leqslant {\it\phi}\leqslant 0.112$ and $0.01\leqslant \mathit{Re}\leqslant 10.0$. We found that inertia increases the shear and the second normal difference of the stresslet (dominant term of the particle stress), and decreases the first normal difference that is generated due to the strain field. The contribution of acceleration stress to the total stress is found to be important in the second normal stress difference, with a cycle-average comparable to the stresslet component. We also discovered that the contribution of Reynolds stress in the first normal stress difference becomes important even when inertia is as low as $\mathit{Re}\sim O(0.1)$, and its value can be even greater than the stresslet when inertia increases, i.e. Reynolds stresses cannot be ignored for non-spherical particles. For concentrations in the range from dilute to semi-dilute, the effect of inertia on the intrinsic viscosity of a suspension is found to be comparable to the volume fraction. Furthermore, our calculations show that for a dilute concentration and the low-inertia regime ($\mathit{Re}<1.0$), the intrinsic viscosity of a suspension consisting of ellipsoids with an aspect ratio of five can be 20 % higher than its Stokesian analytical value.