The stability of the recirculation bubble behind a smoothed backward-facing step is numerically computed. Destabilization occurs first through a stationary three-dimensional mode. Analysis of the direct global mode shows that the instability corresponds to a deformation of the recirculation bubble in which streamwise vortices induce low- and high-speed streaks as in the classical lift-up mechanism. Formulation of the adjoint problem and computation of the adjoint global mode show that both the lift-up mechanism associated with the transport of the base flow by the perturbation and the convective non-normality associated with the transport of the perturbation by the base flow explain the properties of the flow. The lift-up non-normality differentiates the direct and adjoint modes by their component: the direct is dominated by the streamwise component and the adjoint by the cross-stream component. The convective non-normality results in a different localization of the direct and adjoint global modes, respectively downstream and upstream. The implications of these properties for the control problem are considered. Passive control, to be most efficient, should modify the flow inside the recirculation bubble where direct and adjoint global modes overlap, whereas active control, by for example blowing and suction at the wall, should be placed just upstream of the separation point where the pressure of the adjoint global mode is maximum.

The vortex streets produced by a flapping foil of span to chord aspect ratio of 4:1 are studied in a hydrodynamic tunnel experiment. In particular, the mechanisms giving rise to the symmetry breaking of the reverse Bénard–von Kármán (BvK) vortex street that characterizes fishlike swimming and forward flapping flight are examined. Two-dimensional particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements in the midplane perpendicular to the span axis of the foil are used to characterize the different flow regimes. The deflection angle of the mean jet flow with respect to the horizontal observed in the average velocity field is used as a measure of the asymmetry of the vortex street. Time series of the vorticity field are used to calculate the advection velocity of the vortices with respect to the free stream, defined as the phase velocity Uphase, as well as the circulation Γ of each vortex and the spacing ξ between consecutive vortices in the near wake. The observation that the symmetry-breaking results from the formation of a dipolar structure from each couple of counter-rotating vortices shed on each flapping period serves as the starting point to build a model for the symmetry-breaking threshold. A symmetry-breaking criterion based on the relation between the phase velocity of the vortex street and an idealized self-advection velocity of two consecutive counter-rotating vortices in the near wake is established. The predicted threshold for symmetry breaking accounts well for the deflected wake regimes observed in the present experiments and may be useful to explain other experimental and numerical observations of similar deflected propulsive vortex streets reported in the literature.

An experimental study is carried out to investigate the three-dimensional instantaneous structure of an incident shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interaction at Mach 2.1 using tomographic particle image velocimetry. Large-scale coherent motions within the incoming boundary layer are observed, in the form of three-dimensional streamwise-elongated regions of relatively low- and high-speed fluid, similar to what has been reported in other supersonic boundary layers. Three-dimensional vortical structures are found to be associated with the low-speed regions, in a way that can be explained by the hairpin packet model. The instantaneous reflected shock wave pattern is observed to conform to the low- and high-speed regions as they enter the interaction, and its organization may be qualitatively decomposed into streamwise translation and spanwise rippling patterns, in agreement with what has been observed in direct numerical simulations. The results are used to construct a conceptual model of the three-dimensional unsteady flow organization of the interaction.

Convective instabilities in a fluid-filled circular cylinder heated from below and rotating about its vertical axis are investigated both analytically and numerically under experimental boundary conditions. It is found that there exist two different forms of convective instabilities: convection-driven inertial waves for small and moderate Prandtl numbers and wall-localized travelling waves for large Prandtl numbers. Asymptotic solutions for both forms of convection are derived and numerical simulations for the same problem are also performed, showing a satisfactory quantitative agreement between the asymptotic and numerical analyses.

The present study is concerned with radiation-induced natural convection in a water-filled triangular enclosure with a sloping bottom, which is directly relevant to buoyancy-driven flows in littoral regions. An improved scaling analysis is carried out to reveal more detailed features of the flow than a previously reported analysis. Two critical functions of the Rayleigh number with respect to the horizontal position are derived from the scaling for identifying the distinctness and stability of the thermal boundary layer. Four flow scenarios are possible, depending on the bottom slope and the maximum water depth. For each flow scenario, the flow domain may be composed of multiple subregions with distinct thermal and flow features, depending on the Rayleigh number. The dividing points between neighbouring subregions are determined by comparisons of the critical functions of the Rayleigh number with the global Rayleigh number. Position-dependent scales have been established to quantify the flow properties in different subregions. The different flow regimes for the case with relatively large bottom slopes and shallow waters are examined in detail. The present scaling results are verified by numerical simulations.

The equilibration of a symmetrically unstable density front is examined using linear stability theory and nonlinear numerical simulations. The initial state, chosen to approximate conditions in the surface ocean, consists of a weakly stratified mixed layer above a strongly stratified thermocline. Each layer has a uniform horizontal density gradient and a velocity field in thermal wind balance. The potential vorticity (PV) in the mixed layer is negative, indicating conditions favourable for symmetric instability. Once the instability reaches finite amplitude, a secondary Kelvin–Helmholtz (K-H) instability forms. Linear theory accurately predicts the time and the wavenumber at which the secondary instability occurs. Following the secondary instability, small-scale turbulence injects positive PV into the mixed layer from the thermocline and from the upper boundary, resulting in a rapid equilibration of the flow as the PV is brought back to zero. While the physical parameters used in this study correspond to typical conditions near a surface ocean front, many of the conclusions apply to symmetric instabilities in the atmosphere.

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

We study the axisymmetric propagation of a viscous gravity current over a deep porous medium into which it also drains. A model for the propagation and drainage of the current is developed and solved numerically in the case of constant input from a point source. In this case, a steady state is possible in which drainage balances the input, and we present analytical expressions for the resulting steady profile and radial extent. We demonstrate good agreement between our experiments, which use a bed of vertically aligned tubes as the porous medium, and the theoretically predicted evolution and steady state. However, analogous experiments using glass beads as the porous medium exhibit a variety of unexpected behaviours, including overshoot of the steady-state radius and subsequent retreat, thus highlighting the importance of the porous medium geometry and permeability structure in these systems.

Interior stagnation-point flows of viscoelastic liquids arise in a wide variety of applications including extensional viscometry, polymer processing and microfluidics. Experimentally, these flows have long been known to exhibit instabilities, but the mechanisms underlying them have not previously been elucidated. We computationally demonstrate the existence of a supercritical oscillatory instability of low-Reynolds-number viscoelastic flow in a two-dimensional cross-slot geometry. The fluctuations are closely associated with the ‘birefringent strand’ of highly stretched polymer chains associated with the outflow from the stagnation point at high Weissenberg number. Additionally, we describe the mechanism of instability, which arises from the coupling of flow with extensional stresses and their steep gradients in the stagnation-point region.

Regions of high curvature of a material line as they evolve in a chaotic flow are considered. In such a region, the curvature as a function of arclength along the line is found to have a universal form with the peak curvature the only parameter involved. The alignment of the principal axes of the strain tensor with respect to the local tangent vector of the curve and the ratio of the two largest finite-time Lyapunov exponents play a key role. Numerical experiments with ABC flow demonstrate the result.

An analytical model, based on the Fokker–Planck equation, is constructed of the dye visualization expected near a three-dimensional stagnation point in a swirling fluid flow. The model is found to predict dye traces that oscillate in density and position in the meridional plane in which swirling flows are typically visualized. Predictions based on the model are made for the steady vortex breakdown bubble in a torsionally driven cylinder and compared with computational fluid dynamics predictions and experimental observations. Previous experimental observations using tracer visualization techniques have suggested that even for low-Reynolds-number flows, the steady vortex breakdown bubble in a torsionally driven cylinder is not axisymmetric and has an inflow/outflow asymmetry at its tail. Recent numerical and theoretical studies show that the asymmetry of the vortex breakdown bubble, and consequently its open nature, can be explained by the very small imperfections that are present in any experimental rig. Distinct from this, here it is shown that even for a perfectly axisymmetric flow and breakdown bubble, the combined effect of dye diffusion and the inevitable small errors in the dye injection position lead to the false perception of an open bubble structure with folds near the lower stagnation point. Furthermore, the asymmetries in the predicted flow structures can be remarkably similar to those observed in flow observations and computational predictions with geometric asymmetries of the rig. Thus, when interpreting dye-visualization patterns in steady flow, even if axisymmetric flow can be achieved, it is important to take into account the relative diffusivity of the dye and the accuracy of its injection.

The effect of a remote insulating boundary on the electro-magneto-phoretic motion of an insulating spherical particle suspended in a conducting liquid is investigated using an iterative reflection scheme developed about the unbounded-fluid-domain solution of Leenov & Kolin (J. Chem. Phys., vol. 22, no. 4, p. 683). Wall-induced corrections result from velocity reflections, successively introduced so as to maintain the no-slip condition on the wall and particle boundaries, as well as from the Lorentz forces associated with comparable reflections of the electric field. This method generates asymptotic expansions in λ (≪1), the ratio of particle size to particle–wall separation. The leading-order correction to the hydrodynamic force on the particle appears at O(λ3); it is directed along the leading-order force and tends to augment it.

Experimental studies have shown that the boundary-layer flow over a rotating cone is susceptible to cross-flow and centrifugal instability modes of spiral nature, depending on the cone sharpness. For half-angles (ψ) ranging from propeller nose cones to rotating disks (ψ ≥ 40°), the instability triggers co-rotating vortices, whereas for sharp spinning missiles (ψ < 40°), counter-rotating vortices are observed. In this paper we provide a mathematical description of the onset of co-rotating vortices for a family of cones rotating in quiescent fluid, with a view towards explaining the effect of ψ on the underlying transition of dominant instability. We investigate the stability of inviscid cross-flow modes (type I) as well as modes which arise from a viscous–Coriolis force balance (type II), using numerical and asymptotic methods. The influence of ψ on the number and orientation of the spiral vortices is examined, with comparisons drawn between our two distinct methods as well as with previous experimental studies. Our results indicate that increasing ψ has a stabilizing effect on both the type I and type II modes. Favourable agreement is obtained between the numerical and asymptotic methods presented here and existing experimental results for ψ > 40°. Below this half-angle we suggest that an alternative instability mechanism is at work, which is not amenable to investigation using the formulation presented here.

A conventional laminar vortex ring model is generalized by assuming that the time dependence of the vortex ring thickness ℓ is given by the relation ℓ = atb, where a is a positive number and 1/4 ≤ b ≤ 1/2. In the case in which , where ν is the laminar kinematic viscosity, and b = 1/2, the predictions of the generalized model are identical with the predictions of the conventional laminar model. In the case of b = 1/4 some of its predictions are similar to the turbulent vortex ring models, assuming that the time-dependent effective turbulent viscosity ν∗ is equal to ℓℓ′. This generalization is performed both in the case of a fixed vortex ring radius R0 and increasing vortex ring radius. In the latter case, the so-called second Saffman's formula is modified. In the case of fixed R0, the predicted vorticity distribution for short times shows a close agreement with a Gaussian form for all b and compares favourably with available experimental data. The time evolution of the location of the region of maximal vorticity and the region in which the velocity of the fluid in the frame of reference moving with the vortex ring centroid is equal to zero is analysed. It is noted that the locations of both regions depend upon b, the latter region being always further away from the vortex axis than the first one. It is shown that the axial velocities of the fluid in the first region are always greater than the axial velocities in the second region. Both velocities depend strongly upon b. Although the radial component of velocity in both of these regions is equal to zero, the location of both of these regions changes with time. This leads to the introduction of an effective radial velocity component; the latter case depends upon b. The predictions of the model are compared with the results of experimental measurements of vortex ring parameters reported in the literature.

This work focuses on the direct numerical simulation of the pulsatile flow through a bileaflet mechanical heart valve under physiological conditions and in a realistic aortic root geometry. The motion of the valve leaflets has been computed from the forces exerted by the fluid on the structure both being considered as a single dynamical system. To this purpose the immersed boundary method, combined with a fluid–structure interaction algorithm, has shown to be an inexpensive and accurate technique for such complex flows. Several complete flow cycles have been simulated in order to collect enough phase-averaged statistics, and the results are in good agreement with experimental data obtained for a similar configuration. The flow analysis, strongly relying on the data accessibility provided by the numerical simulation, shows how some features of the leaflets motion depend on the flow dynamics and that the criteria for the red cell damages caused by the valve need to be formulated using very detailed analysis. In particular, it is shown that the standard Eulerian computation of the Reynolds stresses, usually employed to assess the risk of haemolysis, might not be adequate on several counts: (i) Reynolds stresses are only one part of the solicitation, the other part being the viscous stresses, (ii) the characteristic scales of the two solicitations are very different and the Reynolds stresses act on lengths much larger than the red cells diameter and (iii) the Eulerian zonal assessment of the stresses completely misses the information of time exposure to the solicitation which is a fundamental ingredient for the phenomenon of haemolysis. Accordingly, the trajectories of several fluid particles have been tracked in a Lagrangian way and the pointwise instantaneous viscous stress tensor has been computed along the paths. The tensor has been then reduced to an equivalent scalar using the von Mises criterion, and the blood damage index has been evaluated following Grigioni et al. (Biomech. Model Mechanobiol., vol. 4, 2005, p. 249).

Pulsatile inlet flow through a circular tube with an axisymmetric blockage of varying size is studied both numerically and experimentally. The geometry consists of a long, straight tube and a blockage, semicircular in cross-section, serving as a simplified model of an arterial stenosis. The stenosis is characterized by a single parameter, the aim being to highlight fundamental behaviours of constricted pulsatile flows. The Reynolds number is varied between 50 and 700 and the stenosis degree by area between 0.20 and 0.90. Numerically, a spectral element code is used to obtain the axisymmetric base flow fields, while experimentally, results are obtained for a similar set of geometries, using water as the working fluid. For low Reynolds numbers, the flow is characterized by a vortex ring which forms directly downstream of the stenosis, for which the strength and downstream propagation velocity vary with the stenosis degree. Linear stability analysis is performed on the simulated axisymmetric base flows, revealing a range of absolute instability modes. Comparisons are drawn between the numerical linear stability analysis and the observed instability in the experimental flows. The observed flows are less stable than the numerical analysis predicts, with convective shear layer instability present in the experimental flows. Evidence is found of Kelvin–Helmholtz-type shear layer roll-ups; nonetheless, the possibility of the numerically predicted absolute instability modes acting in the experimental flow is left open.

In the present investigation, the form drag on a bluff body in confined flow is studied. From the observation of invariance in pressure distribution between a disk and a flat plate normal to free upstream in unconfined flow, a linear relation linking the drag to the base pressure is derived when the potential-flow model by Parkinson & Jandali (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 40, 1970, p. 577) is incorporated. A theoretical wake width deduced from well-documented experimental data for a disk is proposed such that the wake Strouhal number is independent of inclination. This width, when combined with the momentum equation and solved simultaneously with the aforementioned linear equation, leads to realistic predictions of the drag and the base pressure. The method is consistent when applied to a cone of arbitrary vertex angle, a circular cylinder at subcritical Reynolds numbers and a sphere at subcritical as well as supercritical Reynolds numbers. The case of the inclined disk is also discussed. As the pressure distribution is invariant under wall constraint, analytical expressions for the effect of confinement on the loading of bluff bodies are derived and found to provide the correct trend of experimental data.

In this paper, we derive and investigate an asymptotic model for the dynamics of curved viscous inertial Newtonian fibres subjected to surface tension, as they occur in rotational spinning processes. Accordingly, we extend the slender body theory of Panda, Marheineke & Wegener (Math. Meth. Appl. Sci., vol. 31, 2008, p. 1153) by including surface tension and deducing boundary conditions for the free end of the fibre. The asymptotic model accounts for the inner viscous transport and places no restrictions on either the motion or the shape of the fibre centreline. Depending on the capillary number, the boundary conditions yield an explicit description for the temporal evolution of the fibre end. We study numerically the behaviour of the fibre as a function of the effects of viscosity, gravity, rotation and surface tension.

The flow generated by the breaking of free-surface waves of different initial steepnesses is simulated numerically. The aim is to investigate the role played by the breaking intensity on the resulting flow. The study, which assumes a two-dimensional flow, makes use of a two-fluids Navier–Stokes solver combined with a Level-Set technique for the interface capturing. The evolution of periodic wavetrains is considered. Depending on the initial steepness ϵ, the wavetrain remains regular or develops a breaking, which can be either of spilling or plunging type. From the analysis of the local strain fields it is shown that, in the most energetic phase of plunging breaking, dissipation is mainly localized about the small air bubbles generated by the fragmentation of the air cavity entrapped by the plunging of the jet. The downward transfer of the horizontal momentum is evaluated by integrating the flux of momentum through horizontal planes lying at different depths beneath the still water level. From weak to moderate breaking, increase in the breaking intensity results in growing transfer of horizontal momentum, as well as thickening of the surface layer. Beyond a certain breaking intensity, the larger amount of air entrapped causes a reduction in the momentum transferred and the shrinkage of the layer. Quantitative estimates of the amount of air entrapped by the breaking and of the degassing process are provided. A scaling dependence of the amount of air entrapped by the first plunging event on the initial steepness is found. A careful analysis of the circulation induced in water by the breaking process is carried out. It is seen that in the plunging regime the primary circulation induced by the breaking process scales with the velocity jump between the crest and the trough of the wave.

The limits of the main assumptions of the numerical calculations are analysed. It is shown that up to half-wave period after the breaking onset, the Reynolds number of the simulation does not significantly affect the solution. In order to further support the findings, an estimate of the uncertainty of the numerical results is derived through several repetitions of the numerical simulation with small perturbations of the initial conditions.