The evolution of a turbulent spot in an accelerating laminar boundary-layer flow was investigated. The type of boundary layer chosen for this experiment resembles in every respect the flow in the vicinity of a stagnation point theoretically described by Falkner and Skan. The rate of growth of the spot was significantly inhibited by the favourable pressure gradient in all three directions. It became much shorter and narrower in comparison with a similar spot generated in a Blasius boundary layer at comparable distances from its origin and comparable Reynolds numbers. The celerities of its boundaries did not scale with the local free-stream velocity as they do in the absence of a pressure gradient. Dimensional analysis was used to identify and correlate the independent variables determining the size, the convection speed, and the relative rate of growth of this spot

The familiar arrowhead shape of the spot gave way to a rounded triangular shape with the trailing interface being straight and perpendicular to the direction of streaming. The familiar Tollmien-Schlichting wave packet was not observed in this pressure gradient because the surrounding boundary layer was very stable at the Re considered. Since the arrowhead shape of the spot is associated with the breakdown of the waves within the packet it cannot occur below the critical Re. The relative size of the ‘calmed region’ following the spot also diminished; however, one could only speculate as to the origin of this region.

Small-amplitude wave motion in an inert gas confined between a moving piston and a fixed cylinder endwall is studied using the unsteady Euler equations. The waves, generated by either initial disturbances or piston motion, reflect back and forth in the cylinder on the acoustic timescale. The accumulated effect of these waves controls the bulk variations of velocity and thermodynamic variables on the longer piston timescale. Perturbation methods, based on the small ratio of acoustic to piston time, are employed to formulate the gasdynamic problem. The application of multiple timescaling allows the gasdynamic wave field to be separated from the bulk response of the gas. The evolution of the wave phenomena, including nonlinear wave deformation and weak shock formation during the piston passage time, is described in terms of time-dependent Fourier series solutions, whose coefficients are computed from a truncated system of coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations. The long-time asymptotic flow field after shock formation is sawtooth-like, in which case the Fourier modes become decoupled. A remarkably simple relation between the shock amplitude and piston velocity is discovered. It is demonstrated that (i) the wave amplitude and frequency strongly depend on the piston motion; (ii) shock waves can be damped in a significant way by internal dissipation; and (iii) the mathematical approach developed in this study possesses certain advantages over the more traditional method of characteristics.

The problem of viscous fingering in a Hele-Shaw cell with moving contact lines is considered. In contrast to the usual situation where the displaced fluid coats the solid surface in the form of thin films, here, both the displacing and the displaced fluids make direct contact with the solid. The principal differences between these two situations are in the ranges of attainable values of the gapwise component of the interfacial curvature (the component due to the bending of the fluid interface across the small gap of the Hele-Shaw cell), and in the introduction of two additional parameters for the case with moving contact lines. These parameters are the receding contact angle, and the sensivity of the dynamic angle to the speed of the contact line. Our objective is the prediction of the shape and widths of the fingers in the limit of small capillary number, Uμ/σ. Here, U denotes the finger speed, μ denotes the dynamic viscosity of the more viscous displaced fluid, and σ denotes the surface tension of the fluid interface. As might be expected, there are similarities and differences between the two problems. Despite the fact that different equations arise, we find that they can be analysed using the techniques introduced by McLean & Saffman and Vanden-Broeck for the thin-film case. The nature of the multiplicity of solutions also appears to be similar for the two problems. Our results indicate that when contact lines are present, the finger shapes are sensitive to the value of the contact angle only in the vicinity of its nose, reminiscent of experiments where bubbles or wires are placed at the nose of viscous fingers when thin films are present. On the other hand, in the present problem at least two distinct velocity scales emerge with well-defined asymptotic limits, each of these two cases being distinguished by the relative importance played by the two components of the curvature of the fluid interface. It is found that the widths of fingers can be significantly smaller than half the width of the cell.

Thermocapillary convection arising in small-depth layers (long horizontal cavities) subject to a horizontal temperature gradient is studied numerically. A broad range of values of the Reynolds-Marangoni number, Re, is considered for three values of the aspect ratio (A = length/height). For the largest aspect ratio considered, A = 25, the fully developed Poiseuille-Couette solution is reached, but only for moderate Re. The limiting Re value for the observability of such a fully developed solution is derived as a function of A(Re [les ] 20A). For Re [les ] 20A, the flow exhibits three distinct regimes, in the upwind, central and downwind regions, respectively. The Poiseuille-Couette solution (when it exists) fills the central region, and the flow is accelerated, in the upwind region, to reach this Poiseuille-Couette solution at a distance that is proportional to Re. In the downwind region, where the flow is deflected by the endwall, a multi-roll structure is exhibited for Re [ges ] 1330. The number of rolls increases with Re. When Re > 20A, the upwind and downwind regions coalesce and some of the downwind rolls can be suppressed. Most of the computations concern interfacial conditions (with fixed temperature distribution) for which the dynamical solution is decoupled from the thermal one. A few thermal solutions are given herein, for Pr = 0.015 only.

Natural convection in a Boussinesq fluid filling the narrow gap between two isothermal, concentric spheres at different temperatures depends strongly on radius ratio, Prandtl number, and Grashof number. When the inner sphere has a higher temperature than the outer sphere, and for fixed values of radius ratio and Prandtl number, experiments show the flow to be steady and axisymmetric for sufficiently small Grashof number and quasi-periodic and axisymmetric for Grashof numbers greater than a critical value. It is our hypothesis that the observed transition is a flow bifurcation. This hypothesis is examined by solving an appropriate eigenvalue problem. The critical Grashof number, critical eigenvalues, and corresponding eigenvectors are obtained as functions of the radius ratio, Prandtl number, and longitudinal wavenumber. Critical Grashof numbers range from 1.18 × 104 to 2.63 × 103 as Prandtl number Pr increases from zero to 0.7, for radius ratios of 0.900 and 0.950. A transitional Prandtl number Prt exists such that for Pr < Prt the bifurcation is time-periodic and axisymmetric. For Pr > Prt the bifurcation is steady and non-axisymmetric with wavenumber two

A first approximation to the bifurcated flow is obtained using the critical eigenvectors. For Pr < Prt the bifurcation sets in as a cluster of relatively strong cells with alternating directions of rotation. The cells remain fixed in location, but pulsate with time. The cluster moves toward the top of the annulus as Pr increases toward Prt. An important feature of the non-axisymmetric bifurcation for Pr > Prt is a set of four cells located at each pole of the annulus in which the radial velocity alternates direction in moving from any one cell to an adjacent one. For fixed radius ratio, the average Nusselt number at criticality varies only slightly with Prandtl number.

In this paper, selected findings of a detailed experimental investigation are reported concerning the effects of forced free-stream unsteadiness on a turbulent boundary layer. The forced unsteadiness was sinusoidal and was superimposed locally on an otherwise-steady mainstream, beyond a turbulent boundary layer which had developed under constant-pressure conditions. Within the region over which free-stream unsteadiness was induced, the sinusoidal variation in pressure gradient was between extremes of zero and a positive value, with a positive average level. The local response of the boundary layer to these free-stream effects was studied through simultaneous measurements of the u- and v-components of the velocity field

Although extensive studies of unsteady, turbulent, fully-developed pipe and channel flow have been carried out, the problem of a developing turbulent boundary layer and its response to forced free-stream unsteadiness has received comparatively little attention. The present study is intended to redress this imbalance and, when contrasted with other studies of unsteady turbulent boundary layers, is unique in that: (i) it features an appreciable amplitude of mainstream modulation at a large number of frequencies of forced unsteadiness, (ii) its measurements are both detailed and of high spatial resolution, so that the near-wall behaviour of the flow can be discerned, and (iii) it allows local modulation of the mainstream beyond a turbulent boundary layer which has developed under the well-known conditions of steady, two-dimensional, constant-pressure flow

Results are reported which allow comparison of the behaviour of boundary layers under the same mean external conditions, but with different time dependence in their free-stream velocities. These time dependences correspond to: (i) steady flow, (ii) quasi-steadily varying flow, and (iii) unsteady flow at different frequencies of mainstream unsteadiness. Experimental results focus upon the time-averaged nature of the flow; they indicate that the mean structure of the turbulent boundary layer is sufficiently robust that the imposition of free-stream unsteadiness results only in minor differences relative to the mean character of the steady flow, even at frequencies for which the momentary condition of the flow departs substantially from its quasi-steady state. Mean levels of turbulence production are likewise unaffected by free-stream unsteadiness and temporal production of turbulence appears to result only from modulation of the motions which contribute to turbulence production as a time-averaged measure.

The paper is concerned with the problem of the linear stability of an arbitrary inviscid zonal flow on a β-plane. Based on the analysis of integral relations following from the linear boundary-value problem, new evaluations, considerably more exact than the previously known ones, of the parameter region of unstable disturbances are derived. Some new relations among these bounds are established.

An extensive experimental investigation of the binary collision dynamics of water drops for size ratios of 1. 0.75, and 0.5, for the Weber-number range of 1 to 100, and for all impact parameters is reported. Two different types of separating collisions, namely reflexive and stretching separations, are identified. Reflexive separation is found to occur for near head-on collisions, while stretching separation occurs for large-impact-parameter collisions. The boundaries between both of the separating collisions and coalescence collision are found experimentally. Theoretical models for predictions of the reflexive and stretching separation are also given.

An angular spectrum model for predicting the transformation of Stokes waves on a mildly varying topography is developed, including refraction, diffraction, shoaling and nonlinear wave interactions. The equations governing the water-wave motion are perturbed using the method of multiple scales and Stokes expansions for the velocity potential and free-surface displacement. The first-order solution is expressed as an angular spectrum, or directional modes, of the wave field propagating on a beach with straight iso-baths whose depth is given by laterally averaged depths. The equations for the evolution of the angular spectrum due to the effects of bottom variation and cubic resonant interaction are obtained from the higher-order problems. Comparison of the present model with existing models is made for some simple cases. Numerical examples of the time-independent version of the model are presented for laboratory experiments for wave diffraction behind a breakwater gap and wave focusing over submerged shoals: an elliptic shoal on a sloping beach and a circular shoal on a flat bottom.

We examine weak second-sound waves in He II at temperatures and pressures near one of the zeros of the Khalatnikov steepening parameter Γ. An extension of the reductive perturbation scheme of Taniuti & Wei is employed to derive the cubic Burgers’ equation governing these waves. It is shown that mixed nonlinearity may occur in disturbances in which the local value of Γ remains strictly positive or strictly negative. Further new results include expressions for the shock speed, shock structure and the conditions under which the shock thickness increases, rather than decreases, with strength. The fundamental existence conditions for temperature shocks are also delineated and related to the shock disintegration process observed in experimental studies.

The extended Korteweg-de Vries equation which includes nonlinear and dispersive terms cubic in the wave amplitude is derived from the water-wave equations and the Lagrangian for the water-wave equations. For the special case in which only the higher-order nonlinear term is retained, the extended Korteweg-de Vries equation is transformed into the Korteweg-de Vries equation. Modulation equations for this equation are then derived from the modulation equations for the Korteweg-de Vries equation and the undular bore solution of the extended Korteweg-de Vries equation is found as a simple wave solution of these modulation equations. The modulation equations are also used to extend the solution for the resonant flow of a fluid over topography. This resonant flow occurs when, in the weakly nonlinear, long-wave limit, the basic flow speed is close to a linear long-wave phase speed for one of the long-wave modes. In addition to the effect of higher-order terms, the effect of boundary-layer viscosity is also considered. These solutions (with and without viscosity) are compared with recent experimental and numerical results.

The Navier-Stokes equations for flow in a rotating circular pipe are solved numerically, subject to imposing helical symmetry on the velocity field v = v(r, θ + αz,t). The helical symmetry is exploited by writing the equations of motion in helical variables, reducing the problem to two dimensions. A limited study of the pipe flow is made in the parameter space of the wavenumber α, and the axial and azimuthal Reynolds numbers. The steadily rotating waves previously studied by Toplosky & Akylas (1988), which arise from the linear instability of the basic steady flow, are found to undergo a series of bifurcations, through periodic to aperiodic time dependence. The relevance of these results to the mechanism of laminar-turbulent transition in a stationary pipe is discussed.

Non-parallel effects which are due to the growing boundary layer are investigated by direct numerical integration of the complete Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible flows. The problem formulation is spatial, i.e. disturbances may grow or decay in the downstream direction as in the physical experiments. In the past various non-parallel theories were published that differ considerably from each other in both approach and interpretation of the results. In this paper a detailed comparison of the Navier-Stokes calculation with the various non-parallel theories is provided. It is shown, that the good agreement of some of the theories with experiments is fortuitous and that the difference between experiments and theories concerning the branch I neutral location cannot be explained by non-parallel effects.

The flow past a cylindrical obstacle in an enclosed channel is examined when the entire configuration is rotating rapidly about an axis which is aligned with that of the obstacle. When viewed from a frame of reference which is rotating with the channel, Coriolis forces dominate and act to constrain the motion to be two-dimensional. The channel is considered to have depth varying linearly across its width, producing effects equivalent to the so-called β-plane approximation and permitting waves to travel away from the obstacle, both upstream and downstream. For the eastward flow considered in this paper, this leads to the formation of a lee-wavetrain downstream of the obstacle and, under some conditions, a region of retarded, or ‘blocked’, flow upstream of the obstacle. The flow regime studied is essentially inviscid, although one form of frictional effect on the flow, introduced through the Ekman layers, is included. The properties of this system are examined numerically and compared with the theoretical predictions from other studies, which are applicable in asymptotic limits of the parameters. In particular, the relevance of ‘Long's model’ solutions is considered.

An experimental study of surface waves parametrically excited by vertical vibrations is presented. The shape of the eigenmodes in a closed vessel, and the importance of the free-surface boundary conditions, are discussed. Stability boundaries, wave amplitude, and perturbation characteristic time of decay are measured and found to be in agreement with an amplitude equation derived by symmetry. The measurement of the amplitude equation coefficients explains why the observed transition is always supercritical, and shows the effect of the edge constraint on the dissipation and eigen frequency of the various modes. The fluid surface tension is obtained from the dispersion relation measurement. Several visualization methods in large-aspect-ratio cells are presented.

Local baroclinic instability is studied in a two-layer quasi-geostrophic model. Variable meridional bottom slope controls the local supercriticality of a uniform zonal flow. Solutions are found by matching pressure, velocity, and upper-layer vorticity across longitudes where the bottom slope changes abruptly so as to destabilize the flow in a central interval of limited zonal extent. In contrast to previous results from heuristic models, an infinite number of modes exist for arbitrarily short intervals. For long intervals, modal growth rates and frequencies approach the numerical and WKB results for the most unstable mode. For intervals of length comparable to and smaller than the wavelengths of unstable waves in the homogeneous problem, the WKB results lose accuracy. The modes retain large growth rates (about half maximum) for intervals as short as the internal deformation radius. Evidently, the deformation radius and not the homogeneous instability determines the fundamental scale for local instability. Maximum amplitudes occur near the downstream edge of the unstable interval. Lower-layer amplitudes decay downstream more rapidly than upper-layer amplitudes. For short intervals, the instability couples motions with widely disparate horizontal scales in the upper and lower layers. Heat flux is more strictly confined than amplitude. Growth rates increase linearly with weak supercriticality.

The problem of buoyancy-induced Stokes flow in a sectorial region is addressed. Skew-symmetric flows are considered for wedge or opening angles of the sector in the range 0 < α [les ] π. The basic structure and character of the motion are found to depend critically upon the relative dominance, near the sector vertex, of the particular solution of the system with respect to the leading eigenfunction. A simple criterion is developed for the appearance of eddies, such as those observed by Moffatt (1964), in the neighbourhood of the sector vertex. A calculation is carried out for the specific case of motion induced by different temperatures on the radial boundaries of the enclosure. It is found that corner eddies may be present in this circumstance for wedge angles in the range 126° [lsim ] α [lsim ] 146°. The eddying motion near the vertex is examined, in some detail, for the wedge angle α = 135°. In the limiting case of α = π, corresponding to a semicircular-shaped sector, the particular solution is found to exhibit singular behaviour. However, this singular nature is found to be spurious, as a bounded particular solution can be constructed with the aid of one of the eigensolutions. Results are given for no-slip and shear-free conditions on the circular boundary of the sector for the purpose of comparison.

This paper describes supersonic flows of a gas-particle mixture around a sphere. The Euler equations for a gas-phase interacting with a particle one are solved by using a TVD (Total Variation Diminishing) scheme developed by Chakravarthy & Osher, and the particle phase is solved by applying a discrete particle-cloud model. First, steady two-phase flows with a finite loading ratio are simulated. By comparing in detail the dusty results with the dust-free ones, the effects of the presence of particles on the flow field in the shock layer are clarified. Also an attempt to correlate the particle behaviours is made with universal parameters such as the Stokes number and the particle loading ratio. Next, non-steady two-phase flows are treated. Impingement of a large particle-cloud on a shock layer of a dust-free gas in front of a sphere is numerically simulated. The effect of particles rebounded from the sphere is taken into account. It is shown that a temporal reverse flow region of the gas is induced near the body axis in the shock layer, which is responsible for the appearance of the gas flow region where the pressure gradient becomes negative along the body surface. These phenomena are consistent with the previous experimental observations. It will be shown that the present results support a flow model for the particle-induced flow field postulated in connection with ‘heating augmentation’ found in the heat transfer measurement in hypersonic particle erosion environments. The particle behaviour in such flows is so complicated that it is almost impossible to treat the particle phase as an ordinary continuum medium.

We have investigated the effect of a solidifying crust on the dynamics and surface morphology of radial viscous-gravity currents. Liquid polyethylene glycol was admitted into the base of a tank filled with cold sucrose solution maintained at a temperature below the wax freezing point. As the radial current advanced away from the inlet, its surface solidified and deformed through a combination of folding and fracturing. For the warmest experiments, during which solidification did not occur, the radius of the current increased in proportion to the square root of time, as demonstrated both experimentally and theoretically for isothermal viscous fluids by Huppert (1982). When cooling was sufficiently rapid, solid crust formed and caused the spreading rate to decrease. A cooling model combining conduction in the wax with convection in the sucrose solution predicts the distance from the source at which the solid crust first appeared

Progressively colder experiments revealed a sequence of surface morphologies which resembled features observed on cooling lava flows and lava lakes. Flows in which crust formed very slowly developed marginal levees which contained and channelled the main portion of the current. Colder flows with more rapid crust growth formed regularly spaced surface folds, multi-armed rift structures complete with shear offsets, and bulbous lobate forms similar to pillow lavas seen under the ocean. The same transitions between modes of surface deformation were also generated by keeping the ambient water temperature constant and decreasing the extrusion rate. This demonstration that surfaces can exhibit a well-defined sequence of morphologies which depend on the underlying flow conditions offers the prospect of more successful interpretation of natural lava flows.

The withdrawal of layered fluids from an open tank through a hole centred on the bottom is investigated numerically under the assumption of potential flow. A fully cubic-spline nonlinear axisymmetric boundary-integral-method scheme with the built-in boundary conditions, which effectively reduces the numerical errors at the intersection lines where the tank wall and the density interfaces meet, is used. Two cases are studied: (i) the tank contains only one fluid with a free surface; (ii) the tank contains two fluids having different densities with a distinct interface and a free surface

The numerical results show two different phenomena, depending upon the drain rate and initial conditions. When the tank is rapidly drained, a dip forms at the centre of the lower interface and extends into the hole very quickly, as observed by Lubin & Springer (1967). For a slowly draining tank, a jet forms in the centre of the depression region. This jet can either shoot up or move down, depending on the initial conditions.