We study the scaling properties and Kraichnan–Leith–Batchelor (KLB) theory of forced inverse cascades in generalized two-dimensional (2D) fluids (${\it\alpha}$-turbulence models) simulated at resolution $8192^{2}$. We consider ${\it\alpha}=1$ (surface quasigeostrophic flow), ${\it\alpha}=2$ (2D Euler flow) and ${\it\alpha}=3$. The forcing scale is well resolved, a direct cascade is present and there is no large-scale dissipation. Coherent vortices spanning a range of sizes, most larger than the forcing scale, are present for both ${\it\alpha}=1$ and ${\it\alpha}=2$. The active scalar field for ${\it\alpha}=3$ contains comparatively few and small vortices. The energy spectral slopes in the inverse cascade are steeper than the KLB prediction $-(7-{\it\alpha})/3$ in all three systems. Since we stop the simulations well before the cascades have reached the domain scale, vortex formation and spectral steepening are not due to condensation effects; nor are they caused by large-scale dissipation, which is absent. One- and two-point p.d.f.s, hyperflatness factors and structure functions indicate that the inverse cascades are intermittent and non-Gaussian over much of the inertial range for ${\it\alpha}=1$ and ${\it\alpha}=2$, while the ${\it\alpha}=3$ inverse cascade is much closer to Gaussian and non-intermittent. For ${\it\alpha}=3$ the steep spectrum is close to that associated with enstrophy equipartition. Continuous wavelet analysis shows approximate KLB scaling $\mathscr{E}(k)\propto k^{-2}~({\it\alpha}=1)$ and $\mathscr{E}(k)\propto k^{-5/3}~({\it\alpha}=2)$ in the interstitial regions between the coherent vortices. Our results demonstrate that coherent vortex formation (${\it\alpha}=1$ and ${\it\alpha}=2$) and non-realizability (${\it\alpha}=3$) cause 2D inverse cascades to deviate from the KLB predictions, but that the flow between the vortices exhibits KLB scaling and non-intermittent statistics for ${\it\alpha}=1$ and ${\it\alpha}=2$.

We employ experiments to study aspect ratio ($\def\AR{A\mkern-8muR}\AR$) effects on the vortex structure, circulation and lift force for flat-plate wings rotating from rest at 45° angle of attack, which represents a simplified hovering-wing half-stroke. We use the time-varying, volumetric $\AR =2$ data of Carr et al. (Exp. Fluids, vol. 54, 2013, pp. 1–26), reconstructed from phase-locked, phase-averaged stereoscopic digital particle image velocimetry (S-DPIV), and an $\AR =4$ volumetric data set matching the span-based Reynolds number ($\mathit{Re}$) of $\AR =2$. For $\AR =1{-}4$ and $\mathit{Re}_{\mathit{span}}$ of $O$($10^{3}$–$10^{4}$), we directly measure the lift force. The total leading-edge-region circulation for $\AR =2$ and 4 compares best overall using a span-based normalization and for matching rotation angles. The total circulation increases across the span to the tip region, and is larger for $\AR =2$. After the startup, the total circulation for each $\AR$ has a similar slope and a slow growth. The first leading-edge vortex (LEV) and the tip vortex (TV) for $\AR =4$ move past the trailing edge, followed by substantial breakdown. For $\AR =2$ the outboard, aft-tilted LEV merges with the TV and resides over the tip, although breakdown also occurs. Where the LEV is ‘stable’ inboard, its circulation saturates for $\AR =2$ and the growth slows for $\AR =4$. Aft LEV tilting reduces the spanwise LEV circulation for each $\AR$. Both positive and negative axial flow are found in the first LEV for $\AR =2$ and 4, with the positive component being somewhat larger. This yields a generally positive (outboard) average vorticity flux. The average lift coefficient is essentially constant with $\AR$ from 1 to 4 during the slow growth phase, although the large-time behaviour shows a slight decrease in lift coefficient with increasing $\AR$. The S-DPIV data are used to obtain the lift impulse and the spanwise and streamwise components contributing to the lift coefficient. The spanwise contribution is similar for $\AR =2$ and 4, due to similar trailing-edge vortex interactions, LEV saturation behaviour and total circulation slopes. However, for $\AR =2$ the streamwise contribution is much larger, because of the stronger, coherent TV and aft-tilted LEV, which will create a relatively lower-pressure region over the tip.

Large-eddy simulations are conducted to uncover physical aspects of sidewall-induced three-dimensionality for a moderately separated oblique shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction (SWBLI) at $M=2.7$. Simulations are run for three different aspect ratios of the interaction zone. The swept SWBLI on the sidewalls and the corner flow behaviour are investigated, along with the main oblique SWBLI on the bottom wall. As the aspect ratio decreases to unity, the separation and reattachment points on the central plane are observed to move upstream simultaneously, while the bubble length initially increases and then stabilizes to a length 30 % larger than for the infinite-span quasi-two-dimensional case. A distorted incident shock and a three-dimensional (3D) bottom-wall separation pattern are observed, with a patch of attached flow between the central and corner separations. The 3D flow structure is found to be induced by the swept SWBLI formed on the sidewalls. The location of the termination point of the incident shock near the sidewall is limited by a sweepback effect, allowing the definition of a penetration Mach number $M_{p}$ that is shown to correlate well with the spanwise extent of the core flow. The structure and strength of the incident shock are modified significantly by the swept SWBLI on the sidewalls, along with a compression wave upstream and a secondary sidewall shock downstream, leading to a highly 3D pressure field in the main flow above the main SWBLI on the bottom wall. The reflection of the swept SWBLI from the bottom wall leads to a corner compression wave and strong transverse flow close to the bottom wall. A physical model based on the quasi-conical structure of the swept SWBLI on the sidewall is proposed to estimate the 3D SWBLI pattern on the bottom wall, in which the swept SWBLI features and the aspect ratio of the interaction zone are considered to be the critical factors.

Inertial instability in parallel shear flows and circular vortices in a uniformly rotating system ( $f$-plane) redistributes absolute linear momentum or absolute angular momentum in such a way as to neutralize the instability. In previous studies we showed that, in the absence of other instabilities, at high Reynolds numbers the final equilibrium can be predicted with a simple construction based on conservation of total momentum. In this paper we continue this line of research with a study of barotropic shear flows on the equatorial ${\it\beta}$-plane. Through numerical simulations the evolution of the instability is studied in select illuminating cases: a westward flowing Gaussian jet with the flow axis exactly on the equator, a uniform shear flow and eastward and westward flowing jets that have their flow axis shifted away from the equator. In the numerical simulations it is assumed that there are no along-stream variations. This suppresses equatorial Rossby waves and barotropic shear instabilities and allows only inertial instability to develop. We investigate whether for these flows on the equatorial ${\it\beta}$-plane the final equilibrated flow can be predicted as was possible for flows on the $f$-plane. For the Gaussian jet centred on the equator the prediction of the equilibrated flow is obvious by mere inspection of the initial momentum distribution and by assuming that momentum is mixed and homogenized to render the equilibrated flow inertially stable. For the uniform shear flow, however, due to the peculiar nature of the initial momentum distribution and the fact that the Coriolis parameter $f$ varies with latitude, it appears that, unlike in our earlier studies of flows on the $f$-plane, additional constraints need to be considered to correctly predict the outcome of the highly nonlinear evolution of the instability. The mixing range of the linear shear flow and the value of the mixed momentum is determined numerically and this is used to predict the equilibrated flow that emerges from an eastward flowing jet that is shifted a small distance away from the equator. For shifts large enough to induce no shear at the equator the equilibrium flow can be well predicted using the simple recipe used in our earlier studies of parallel shear flows on the $f$-plane. For the westward flowing jet shifted a very small distance from the equator, no prediction appears feasible. For modestly small shifts a prediction is possible by combining the empirical prediction for the linear shear flow with a prediction similar to what we used in our previous studies for flows on the $f$-plane.

Flow control over a NACA 0012 airfoil is carried out using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuator at the Reynolds number of 20 000. Here, the plasma actuator is placed over the pressure (lower) side of the airfoil near the trailing edge, which produces a wall jet against the free stream. This reverse flow creates a quasi-steady recirculation region, reducing the velocity over the pressure side of the airfoil. On the other hand, the air over the suction (upper) side of the airfoil is drawn by the recirculation, increasing its velocity. Measured phase-averaged vorticity and velocity fields also indicate that the recirculation region created by the plasma actuator over the pressure surface modifies the near-wake dynamics. These flow modifications around the airfoil lead to an increase in the lift coefficient, which is similar to the effect of a mechanical Gurney flap. This configuration of DBD plasma actuators, which is investigated for the first time in this study, is therefore called a virtual Gurney flap. The purpose of this investigation is to understand the mechanism of lift enhancement by virtual Gurney flaps by carefully studying the global flow behaviour over the airfoil. First, the recirculation region draws the air from the suction surface around the trailing edge. The upper shear layer then interacts with the opposite-signed shear layer from the pressure surface, creating a stronger vortex shedding from the airfoil. Secondly, the recirculation region created by a DBD plasma actuator over the pressure surface displaces the positive shear layer away from the airfoil, thereby shifting the near-wake region downwards. The virtual Gurney flap also changes the dynamics of laminar separation bubbles and associated vortical structures by accelerating laminar-to-turbulent transition through the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability mechanism. In particular, the separation point and the start of transition are advanced. The reattachment point also moves upstream with plasma control, although it is slightly delayed at a large angle of attack.

This paper examines the kinematic behaviour of the reduced velocity gradient tensor (VGT), $\tilde{\unicode[STIX]{x1D608}}_{ij}$, which is defined as a $2\times 2$ block, from a single interrogation plane, of the full VGT $\unicode[STIX]{x1D608}_{ij}=\partial u_{i}/\partial x_{j}$. Direct numerical simulation data from the fully developed turbulent region of a nominally two-dimensional mixing layer are used in order to examine the extent to which information on the full VGT can be derived from the reduced VGT. It is shown that the reduced VGT is able to reveal significantly more information about regions of the flow in which strain rate is dominant over rotation. It is thus possible to use the assumptions of homogeneity and isotropy to place bounds on the first two statistical moments (and their covariance) of the eigenvalues of the reduced strain-rate tensor (the symmetric part of the reduced VGT) which in turn relate to the turbulent strain rates. These bounds are shown to be dependent upon the kurtosis of $\partial u_{1}/\partial x_{1}$ and another variable defined from the constituents of the reduced VGT. The kurtosis is observed to be minimised on the centreline of the mixing layer and thus tighter bounds are possible at the centre of the mixing layer than at the periphery. Nevertheless, these bounds are observed to hold for the entirety of the mixing layer, despite departures from local isotropy. The interrogation plane from which the reduced VGT is formed is observed not to affect the joint probability density functions (p.d.f.s) between the strain-rate eigenvalues and the reduced strain-rate eigenvalues despite the fact that this shear flow has a significant mean shear in the cross-stream direction. Further, it is found that the projection of the eigenframe of the strain-rate tensor onto the interrogation plane of the reduced VGT is also independent of the plane that is chosen, validating the approach of bounding the full VGT using the assumption of local isotropy.

The flapping flight of tiny insects such as flies or larger insects such as butterflies is of fundamental interest not only in biology itself but also in its practical use for the development of micro air vehicles (MAVs). It is known that a butterfly flaps downward for generating the lift force and backward for generating the thrust force. In this study, we consider a simple butterfly-like flapping wing–body model in which the body is a thin rod and the rectangular rigid wings flap in a simple motion. We investigate lift and thrust generation of the model by using the immersed boundary–lattice Boltzmann method. First, we compute the lift and thrust forces when the body of the model is fixed for Reynolds numbers in the range of 50–1000. In addition, we estimate the supportable mass for each Reynolds number from the computed lift force. Second, we simulate free flights when the body can only move translationally. It is found that the expected supportable mass can be supported even in the free flight except when the mass of the body relative to the mass of the fluid is too small, and the wing–body model with the mass of actual insects can go upward against the gravity. Finally, we simulate free flights when the body can move translationally and rotationally. It is found that the body has a large pitch motion and consequently gets off-balance. Then, we discuss a way to control the pitching angle by flexing the body of the wing–body model.

A linear and weakly nonlinear analysis of convection in a layer of shear-thinning fluids between two horizontal plates heated from below is performed. The objective is to examine the effects of the nonlinear variation of the viscosity with the shear rate on the nature of the bifurcation, the planform selection problem between rolls, squares and hexagons, and the consequences on the heat transfer coefficient. Navier’s slip boundary conditions are used at the top and bottom walls. The shear-thinning behaviour of the fluid is described by the Carreau model. By considering an infinitesimal perturbation, the critical conditions, corresponding to the onset of convection, are determined. At this stage, non-Newtonian effects do not come into play. The critical Rayleigh number decreases and the critical wavenumber increases when the slip increases. For a finite-amplitude perturbation, nonlinear effects enter in the dynamic. Analysis of the saturation coefficients at cubic order in the amplitude equations shows that the nature of the bifurcation depends on the rheological properties, i.e. the fluid characteristic time and shear-thinning index. For weakly shear-thinning fluids, the bifurcation is supercritical and the heat transfer coefficient increases, as compared with the Newtonian case. When the shear-thinning character is large enough, the bifurcation is subcritical, pointing out the destabilizing effect of the nonlinearities arising from the rheological law. Departing from the onset, the weakly nonlinear analysis is carried out up to fifth order in the amplitude expansion. The flow structure, the modification of the viscosity field and the Nusselt number are characterized. The competition between rolls, squares and hexagons is investigated. Unlike Albaalbaki & Khayat (J. Fluid. Mech., vol. 668, 2011, pp. 500–550), it is shown that in the supercritical regime, only rolls are stable near onset.

A three-dimensional two-layer, fully dispersive and strongly nonlinear interfacial wave model, including the interaction with a time-varying bottom topography, is developed. The method is based on a set of integral equations. The source and dipole terms are developed in series expansions in the vertical excursions of the interface and bottom topography, obtaining explicit inversion by Fourier transform. Calculations of strongly nonlinear interfacial waves with excursions comparable to the thinner layer depth show that the quadratic approximation of the method contains the essential dynamics, while the additional cubic terms always are small. Computations confirm the onset of wave train formation driven by topography, observed in experiments (Maxworthy, J. Geophys. Res., vol. 84(C1), 1979, pp. 338–346), depending on the Froude number and the topography height. Simulations of tidally driven three-dimensional internal wave formation show the formation of two wave trains per half tidal cycle for strong forcing and one wave train for weak forcing. Waves of both backward and forward curvature are calculated.

The stability of gravitationally unstable, transient boundary layers in heterogeneous saline aquifers is examined with respect to the onset of natural convection. Permeability is assumed to vary periodically across the thickness of the aquifer. We study the interaction between permeability variation and concentration perturbations within the boundary layer. We observe that the instability decreases with an increase in the permeability variance if the boundary layer thickness is large compared with the permeability wavelength. On the other hand, when the boundary layer thickness is smaller than the permeability wavelength, the behaviour of instability as a function of variance depends on the phase of permeability variation. Such behaviours are shown to result from the interaction of two modes of vorticity production related to the coupling of concentration and velocity perturbations with the magnitude and gradient of permeability variation, respectively. We show that these two modes of vorticity production, when coupled with the transient nature of the boundary layer, determine the evolutionary paths followed by the most amplified perturbations that trigger the onset of convection. When the permeability variance is large, we find that small changes in the permeability field can lead to large changes in the onset times for convection.

A canonical study is developed to investigate the unsteady interactions of a streamwise-oriented vortex impinging upon a finite surface using high-fidelity simulation. As a model problem, an analytically defined vortex superimposed on a free stream is convected towards an aspect-ratio-six ($\mathit{AR}=6$) plate oriented at an angle of ${\it\alpha}=4^{\circ }$ and Reynolds number of $\mathit{Re}=20\,000$ in order to characterize the unsteady modes of interaction resulting from different spanwise positions of the incoming vortex. Outboard, tip-aligned and inboard positioning are shown to produce three distinct flow regimes: when the vortex is positioned outboard of, but in close proximity to, the wingtip, it pairs with the tip vortex to form a dipole that propels itself away from the plate through mutual induction, and also leads to an enhancement of the tip vortex. When the incoming vortex is aligned with the wingtip, the tip vortex is initially strengthened by the proximity of the incident vortex, but both structures attenuate into the wake as instabilities arise in the pair’s feeding sheets from the entrainment of opposite-signed vorticity into either structure. Finally, when the incident vortex is positioned inboard of the wingtip, the vortex bifurcates in the time-mean sense with portions convecting above and below the wing, and the tip vortex is mostly suppressed. The time-mean bifurcation is actually a result of an unsteady spiralling instability in the vortex core that reorients the vortex as it impacts the leading edge, pinches off, and alternately attaches to either side of the wing. The increased effective angle of attack inboard of impingement enhances the three-dimensional recirculation region created by the separated boundary layer off the leading edge which draws fluid from the incident vortex inboard and diminishes its impact on the outboard section of the wing. The slight but remaining downwash present outboard of impingement reduces the effective angle of attack in that region, resulting in a small separation bubble on either side of the wing in the time-mean solution, effectively unloading the tip outboard of impingement and suppressing the tip vortex. All incident vortex positions provide substantial increases in the wing’s lift-to-drag ratio; however, significant sustained rolling moments also result. As the vortex is brought inboard, the rolling moment diminishes and eventually switches sign as the reduced outboard loading balances the augmented sectional lift inboard of impingement.

When a solid boundary deforms rapidly into a quiescent liquid layer, a flow is induced that can lead to jet formation. An asymptotic analytical solution is presented for this flow, driven by a solid boundary deforming with dimensionless vertical velocity $V_{b}(x,t)={\it\epsilon}(1+\cos x)\,f(t)$, where the amplitude ${\it\epsilon}$ is small relative to the wavelength and the time dependence $f(t)$ approaches 0 for large $t$. Initially, the flow is directed outwards from the crest of the deformation and slows with the slowing of the boundary motion. A domain-perturbation method is used to reveal that, when the boundary stops moving, nonlinear interactions with the free surface leave a remnant momentum directed back towards the crest, and this momentum can be a precursor to jet formation. This scenario arises in a laser-induced printing technique in which an expanding blister imparts momentum into a liquid film to form a jet. The analysis provides insight into the physics underlying the interaction between the deforming boundary and free surface, in particular, the dependence of the remnant flow on the thickness of the liquid layer and the deformation amplitude and wavelength. Numerical simulations are used to show the range of validity of the analytical results, and the domain-perturbation solution is extended to an axisymmetric domain with a Gaussian boundary deformation to compare with previous numerical simulations of blister-actuated laser-induced forward transfer.

Laboratory experiments were used to evaluate and improve modelling of combined wave–current flow through submerged aquatic canopies. Horizontal in-canopy particle image velocimetry (PIV) and wavemaker-measurement synchronization allowed direct volume averaging and ensemble averaging by wave phase, which were used to fully resolve the volume-averaged unsteady momentum budget. Parameterizations for the drag, Reynolds stress, vertical advection, wake production and shear production were tested against the laboratory measurements. The drag was found to have small errors due to unsteadiness and the finite aspect ratio of the canopy elements. The Smagorinsky model for the Reynolds stress showed much better agreement with the measurements than the quadratic friction parameterization used in the literature. A proposed parameterization for the vertical advection based on linear wave theory was also found to be effective and is much more computationally efficient than solving the pressure Poisson equation. A simple 1D 0-equation Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) model was developed to use these parameterizations. The basic framework of the model is an extrapolation from previous 2- and 3-box models to $N$ boxes. While the resolution of the model is flexible, the filter length for the Smagorinsky parameterization has to be chosen appropriately. With the proper filter length, the $N$-box model demonstrated good agreement with the measurements at both low and high resolution. Scaling analysis was used to establish a region of parameter space where the $N$-box model is expected to be effective. The following conditions define this region: the wave-induced velocity is of similar or greater magnitude than the background current, the drag to shear length ratio is small enough to produce canopy behaviour, the wave orbital excursion is not much larger than the drag length, the Froude number is small and the canopy is under shallow submergence, yet far from emergent. Under these assumptions, the dominant balance is between pressure and unsteadiness, the drag is secondary, and the other terms are small. The simple Reynolds stress parameterization in the $N$-box model is appropriate under these conditions because the Reynolds stress is unlikely to be the dominant source of error. This finding is important because the Reynolds stress is typically one of the dominant drivers of computational cost and model complexity. Based on these findings, the $N$-box model is expected to be a practical tool for a wide range of combined wave–current canopy flows because of its simplicity and computational efficiency.

We report theoretical and numerical studies of the flow behaviour when a fluid is injected into a confined porous medium saturated with another fluid of different density and viscosity. For a two-dimensional configuration with point source injection, a nonlinear convection–diffusion equation is derived to describe the time evolution of the fluid–fluid interface. In the early time period, the fluid motion is mainly driven by the buoyancy force and the governing equation is reduced to a nonlinear diffusion equation with a well-known self-similar solution. In the late time period, the fluid flow is mainly driven by the injection, and the governing equation is approximated by a nonlinear hyperbolic equation that determines the global spreading rate; a shock solution is obtained when the injected fluid is more viscous than the displaced fluid, whereas a rarefaction wave solution is found when the injected fluid is less viscous. In the late time period, we also obtain analytical solutions including the diffusive term associated with the buoyancy effects (for an injected fluid with a viscosity higher than or equal to that of the displaced fluid), which provide the structure of the moving front. Numerical simulations of the convection–diffusion equation are performed; the various analytical solutions are verified as appropriate asymptotic limits, and the transition processes between the individual limits are demonstrated. The flow behaviour is summarized in a diagram with five distinct dynamical regimes: a nonlinear diffusion regime, a transition regime, a travelling wave regime, an equal-viscosity regime, and a rarefaction regime.

In boundary-layer flows, one may reduce skin-friction drag by delaying the onset of laminar-to-turbulent transition via the attenuation of small-amplitude Tollmien–Schlichting (TS) waves. In this work, we use numerical simulations and experiments to compare the robustness of adaptive and model-based techniques for reducing the growth of two-dimensional TS disturbances. In numerical simulations, the optimal linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) regulator shows the best performance under the conditions it was designed for. However, it is found that the performance deteriorates linearly with the drift of the Reynolds number from its nominal value. As a result, an order-of-magnitude loss of performance is observed when applying the computation-based LQG controller in wind-tunnel experiments. In contrast, it is shown that the adaptive filtered-X least-mean-squares (FXLMS) algorithm is able to maintain an essentially constant performance for significant deviations of the nominal values of the disturbance amplitude and Reynolds number.

It is often assumed on the basis of single-parcel energetics that compressible effects and conversions with internal energy are negligible whenever typical displacements of fluid parcels are small relative to the scale height of the fluid (defined as the ratio of the squared speed of sound to the gravitational acceleration). This paper shows that the above approach is flawed, however, and that a correct assessment of compressible effects and internal energy conversions requires the consideration of the energetics of at least two parcels or, more generally, of mass-conserving parcel rearrangements. As a consequence, it is shown that it is the adiabatic lapse rate and its derivative with respect to pressure, rather than the scale height, that controls the relative importance of compressible effects and internal energy conversions when considering the global energy budget of a stratified fluid. Only when mass conservation is properly accounted for is it possible to explain why the available internal energy can account for up to 40 % of the total available potential energy in the oceans. This is considerably larger than the prediction of single-parcel energetics, according to which this number should be no more than approximately 2 %.

Soft bio-microcapsules are drops bounded by a thin elastic shell made of cross-linked proteins. Their shapes and their dynamics in flow depend on their membrane constitutive law characterized by shearing and area-dilatation resistance. The deformations of such capsules are investigated experimentally in planar elongation flows and compared with numerical simulations for three bidimensional models: Skalak, neo-Hookean and generalized Hooke. An original cross-flow microfluidic set-up allows the visualization of the deformed shape in the two perpendicular main fields of view. Whatever the elongation rate, the three semi-axis lengths of the ellipsoid fitting the experimental shape are measured up to 180 % of stretching of the largest axis. The geometrical analysis in the two views is sufficient to determine the constitutive law and the Poisson ratio of the membrane without a preliminary knowledge of the shear elastic modulus $G_{s}$. We conclude that the membrane of human serum albumin capsules obeys the generalized Hooke law with a Poisson ratio of 0.4. The shear elastic modulus is then determined by the combination of numerical and experimental variations of the Taylor parameter with the capillary number.

A formal relationship between the skewness and the correlation coefficient of large and small scales, termed the amplitude modulation coefficient, is established for a general statistically stationary signal and is analysed in the context of a turbulent velocity signal. Both the quantities are seen to be measures of phase in triadically consistent interactions between scales of turbulence. The naturally existing phase relationships between large and small scales in a turbulent boundary layer are then manipulated by exciting a synthetic large-scale motion in the flow using a spatially impulsive dynamic wall roughness perturbation. The synthetic scale is seen to alter the phase relationships, or the degree of modulation, in a quasi-deterministic manner by exhibiting a phase-organizing influence on the small scales. The results presented provide encouragement for the development of a practical framework for favourable manipulation of energetic small-scale turbulence through large-scale inputs in a wall-bounded turbulent flow.