Experiments are conducted to study the longitudinal vortices that develop in the boundary layer on the upper surface of an inclined, heated plate. An isothermal plate in water is inclined at angles ranging from 20 to 60 degrees (from the vertical) while the temperature difference is varied from 2 to 23°C. A double-pass Schlieren system is used to visualize the vortices and particle image velocimetry (PIV) is used to measure velocities. In addition, a unique method is developed such that both the Schlieren visualization and PIV can be performed simultaneously. The wavelengths of the vortices and the critical modified Reynolds numbers (R˜) for the onset, merging, and breakup of the vortices are determined from Schlieren images for Pr=5.8. The critical values for R˜ and the critical wavelengths are compared to results of previous experiments and stability analyses. The spatial growth rates of vortices are determined by using the PIV measurements to determine how the circulation in the vortices grows with distance from the leading edge. This is the first time that the growth rate of the vortices have been found using velocity measurements. These spatial growth rates are compared to the results of Iyer & Kelly (1974) and found to be in general agreement. By defining a suitable circulation threshold, the critical R˜ for the onset of the vortices can be found from the growth curves.

A three-dimensional simulation of a breaking internal gravity wave in a stratified, compressible, sheared fluid is used to examine the vorticity dynamics accompanying the transition from laminar to turbulent flow. Our results show that baroclinic sources contribute preferentially to eddy vorticity generation during the initial convective instability of the wave field; the resulting counter-rotating vortices are aligned with the external shear flow. These vortices enhance the spanwise vorticity of the shear flow via stretching and distort the spanwise vorticity via advective tilting. The resulting vortex sheets undergo a dynamical (Kelvin–Helmholtz) instability which rolls the vortex sheets into tubes. These vortex tubes link with the original streamwise convective rolls to produce a collection of intertwined vortex loops. A companion paper (Part 2) describes the subsequent interactions among and the perturbations to these vortices that drive the evolution toward turbulence and smaller scales of motion.

A companion paper (Part 1) employed a three-dimensional numerical simulation to examine the vorticity dynamics of the initial instabilities of a breaking internal gravity wave in a stratified, sheared, compressible fluid. The present paper describes the vorticity dynamics that drive this flow to smaller-scale, increasingly isotropic motions at later times. Following the initial formation of discrete and intertwined vortex loops, the most important interactions are the self-interactions of single vortex tubes and the mutual interactions of multiple vortex tubes in close proximity. The initial formation of vortex tubes from the roll-up of localized vortex sheets gives the vortex tubes axial variations with both axisymmetric and azimuthal-wavenumber-2 components. The axisymmetric variations excite axisymmetric twist waves or Kelvin vortex waves which propagate along the tubes, drive axial flows, deplete the tubes' cores, and fragment the tubes. The azimuthal-wavenumber-2 variations excite m=2 twist waves on the vortex tubes, which undergo strong amplification and unravel single vortex tubes into pairs of intertwined helical tubes; the vortex tubes then burst or fragment. Reconnection often occurs among the remnants of such vortex fragmentation. A common mutual interaction is that of orthogonal vortex tubes, which causes mutual stretching and leads to long-lived structures. Such an interaction also sometimes creates an m=1 twist wave having an approximately steady helical form as well as a preferred sense of helicity. Interactions among parallel vortex tubes are less common, but include vortex pairing. Finally, the intensification and roll-up of weaker vortex sheets into new tubes occurs throughout the evolution. All of these vortex interactions result in a rapid cascade of energy and enstrophy toward smaller scales of motion.

A fully developed Mach 3 turbulent boundary layer subjected to four expansion regions (centred and gradual expansions of 7° and 14°) was investigated with laser Doppler velocimetry. Measurements were acquired in the incoming flat-plate boundary layer and to s/δ≃20 downstream of the expansions. While mean velocity profiles exhibit significant progress towards recovery by the most downstream measurements, the turbulence structure remains far from equilibrium. Comparisons of computed (method of characteristics) and measured velocity profiles indicate that the post-expansion flow evolution is largely inviscid for approximately 10δ. Turbulence levels decrease across the expansion, and the reductions increase in severity as the wall is approached. Downstream of the 14° expansions, the reductions are more severe and reverse transition is indicated by sharp reductions in turbulent kinetic energy levels and a change in sign of the Reynolds shear stress. Dimensionless parameters such as anisotropy and shear stress correlation coefficient highlight the complex evolution of the post-expansion boundary layer. An examination of the compressible vorticity transport equation and estimates of the perturbation impulses attributable to streamline curvature, acceleration, and dilatation both confirm dilatation to be the primary stabilizer. However, the dilatation impulse increases only slightly for the 14° expansions, so the dramatic differences downstream of the 7° and 14° expansions indicate nonlinear boundary layer response. Differences attributable to the varied radii of surface curvature are fleeting for the 7° expansions, but persist through the spatial extent of the measurements for the 14° expansions.

Determining the onset of wave breaking in unforced nonlinear modulating surface gravity wave trains on the basis of a threshold variable has been an elusive problem for many decades. We have approached this problem through a detailed numerical study of the fully nonlinear two-dimensional inviscid problem on a periodic spatial domain. Two different modes of behaviour were observed for the evolution of a sufficiently steep wave group: either recurrence of the initial state or the rapid onset of breaking, each of these involving a significant deformation of the wave group geometry. For both of these modes, we determined the behaviour of dimensionless growth rates constructed from the rates of change of the local mean wave energy and momentum densities of the wave train, averaged over half a wavelength. These growth rates were computed for wave groups with three to ten carrier waves in the group and also for two modulations with seven carrier waves and three modulations with ten carrier waves. We also investigated the influence of a background vertical shear current.

Two major findings arose from our calculations. First, due to nonlinearity, the crest–trough asymmetry of the carrier wave shape causes the envelope maxima of these local mean wave energy and momentum densities to fluctuate on a fast time scale, resulting in a substantial dynamic range in their local relative growth rates. Secondly, a universal behaviour was found for these local relative growth rates that determines whether subsequent breaking will occur.

The interaction of oblique monochromatic incident waves with a horizontal flexible membrane is investigated in the context of two-dimensional linear hydro-elastic theory. First, analytic diffraction and radiation solutions for a submerged impermeable horizontal membrane are obtained using an eigenfunction expansion method. Secondly, a multi-domain boundary element method (BEM) is developed to confirm the analytic solutions. The inner solution based on a discrete membrane dynamic model and simple-source distribution over the entire fluid boundaries is matched to the outer solution based on an eigenfunction expansion. The numerical solutions are in excellent agreement with the analytic solutions. The theoretical prediction was then compared to a series of experiments conducted in a two-dimensional wave tank at Texas A&M University. The measured reflection and transmission coefficients reasonably follow the trend of predicted values. Using the computer program developed, the performance of surface-mounted or submerged horizontal membrane wave barriers is tested with various system parameters and wave characteristics. It is found that the horizontal flexible membrane can be an effective wave barrier if properly designed.

Several important issues pertaining to dispersion and polydispersity of droplets in turbulent flows are investigated via direct numerical simulation (DNS). The carrier phase is considered in the Eulerian context, the dispersed phase is tracked in the Lagrangian frame and the interactions between the phases are taken into account in a realistic two-way (coupled) formulation. The resulting scheme is applied for extensive DNS of low-Mach-number, homogeneous shear turbulent flows laden with droplets. Several cases with one- and two-way couplings are considered for both non-evaporating and evaporating droplets. The effects of the mass loading ratio, the droplet time constant, and thermodynamic parameters, such as the droplet specific heat, the droplet latent heat of evaporation, and the boiling temperature, on the turbulence and the droplets are investigated. The effects of the initial droplet temperature and the initial vapour mass fraction in the carrier phase are also studied. The gravity effects are not considered as the numerical methodology is only applicable in the absence of gravity. The evolution of the turbulence kinetic energy and the mean internal energy of both phases is studied by analysing various terms in their transport equations. The results for the non-evaporating droplets show that the presence of the droplets decreases the turbulence kinetic energy of the carrier phase while increasing the level of anisotropy of the flow. The droplet streamwise velocity variance is larger than that of the fluid, and the ratio of the two increases with the increase of the droplet time constant. Evaporation increases both the turbulence kinetic energy and the mean internal energy of the carrier phase by mass transfer. In general, evaporation is controlled by the vapour mass fraction gradient around the droplet when the initial temperature difference between the phases is negligible. In cases with small initial droplet temperature, on the other hand, the convective heat transfer is more important in the evaporation process. At long times, the evaporation rate approaches asymptotic values depending on the values of various parameters. It is shown that the evaporation rate is larger for droplets residing in high-strain-rate regions of the flow, mainly due to larger droplet Reynolds numbers in these regions. For both the evaporating and the non-evaporating droplets, the root mean square (r.m.s.) of the temperature fluctuations of both phases becomes independent of the initial droplet temperature at long times. Some issues relevant to modelling of turbulent flows laden with droplets are also discussed.

Large-amplitude nonlinear oscillations of an axially symmetric water drop of volume 7.33 cm3, initial aspect ratio 3.4, with surfactant Triton X-100 of 1.4×10−4 g ml−1 (1 CMC), in microgravity are compared with predictions of the boundary-integral method. The small shear viscosity of the bulk phase, as well as the surface dilatational viscosity and surface shear viscosity are considered. When a very specific set of material properties is assumed, numerical simulations of the drop oscillations are in good agreement with the experimental results of drop oscillations measured in space during the second United States Microgravity Laboratory, USML-2. The obtained surface viscosities are in rough agreement with literature values.

The existing model equations governing the accelerated motion of a spherical particle are examined and their predictions compared with the results of the numerical solution of the full Navier–Stokes equations for unsteady, axisymmetric flow around a freely moving sphere injected into an initially stationary or oscillating fluid. The comparison for the particle Reynolds number in the range of 2 to 150 and the particle to fluid density ratio in the range of 5 to 200 indicates that the existing equations deviate considerably from the Navier–Stokes equations. As a result, we propose a new equation for the particle motion and demonstrate its superiority to the existing equations over a range of Reynolds numbers (from 2 to 150) and particle to fluid density ratios (from 5 to 200). The history terms in the new equation account for the effects of large relative acceleration or deceleration of the particle and the initial relative velocity between the fluid and the particle. We also examine the temporal structure of the near wake of the unsteady, axisymmetric flow around a freely moving sphere injected into an initially stagnant fluid. As the sphere decelerates, the recirculation eddy size grows monotonically even though the instantaneous Reynolds number of the sphere decreases.

Direct numerical simulations of three time-developing turbulent plane wakes have been performed. Initial conditions for the simulations were obtained using two realizations of a direct simulation from a turbulent boundary layer at momentum-thickness Reynolds number 670. In addition, extra two-dimensional disturbances were added in two of the cases to mimic two-dimensional forcing. The wakes are allowed to evolve long enough to attain approximate self-similarity, although in the strongly forced case this self-similarity is of short duration. For all three flows, the mass-flux Reynolds number (equivalent to the momentum-thickness Reynolds number in spatially developing wakes) is 2000, which is high enough for a short k−5/3 range to be evident in the streamwise one-dimensional velocity spectra.

The spreading rate, turbulence Reynolds number, and turbulence intensities all increase with forcing (by nearly an order of magnitude for the strongly forced case), with experimental data falling between the unforced and weakly forced cases. The simulation results are used in conjunction with a self-similar analysis of the Reynolds stress equations to develop scalings that approximately collapse the profiles from different wakes. Factors containing the wake spreading rate are required to bring profiles from different wakes into agreement. Part of the difference between the various cases is due to the increased level of spanwise-coherent (roughly two-dimensional) energy in the forced cases. Forcing also has a significant impact on flow structure, with the forced flows exhibiting more organized large-scale structures similar to those observed in transitional wakes.

An experimental study of a turbulent boundary layer at Rθ≈1070 and Rτ≈543 was conducted. Detailed measurements of the velocity vector and the velocity gradient tensor within the near-wall region were performed at various distances from the wall, ranging from approximately y+=14 to y+=89. The measured mean statistical properties of the fluctuating velocity and vorticity components agree well with previous experimental and numerically simulated data. These boundary layer measurements were used in a joint probability density analysis of the various component vorticity and vorticity–velocity gradient products that appear in the instantaneous vorticity and enstrophy transport equations. The vorticity filaments that contribute most to the vorticity covariance Ω[bar]xΩ [bar]y in this region were found to be oriented downstream with angles of inclination to the wall, when projected on the streamwise (x, y)-plane, that decrease with distance moving from the buffer to the logarithmic layer. When projected on the planview (x, z)- and cross-stream (y, z)-planes, the vorticity filaments that most contribute to the vorticity covariances Ω [bar]xΩ [bar]z and Ω [bar]yΩ [bar]z have angles of inclination to the z-ordinate axis that increase with distance from it. All the elements of the ΩiΩj ∂Ui/∂xj term in the enstrophy transport equation, i.e. the term that describes the rate of increase or decrease of the enstrophy by vorticity filament stretching or compression by the strain-rate field, have been examined. On balance, the average stretching of the vorticity filaments is greater than compression at all y+ locations examined here. However, some individual velocity gradient components compress the vorticity filaments, on average, more than they stretch them.

Oscillatory translational and rotational motions of small particles in viscous fluids are studied for two cases: (i) circular disks and (ii) nearly spherical particles. For circular disks, four motions are treated: broadside and edgewise oscillatory translations and out-of-plane and in-plane oscillatory rotations. In each case the unsteady Stokes equations are reduced to dual integral equations and solved exactly for all frequencies. Streamline portraits of the flow fields are used to understand the evolution of the velocity and pressure fields. The motions of nearly spherical particles are then studied using the reciprocal theorem. Asymptotic formulae for the hydrodynamic resistance tensors are derived and discussed.

The initial value problem for the motion of an intense, quasi-geostrophic, equivalent-barotropic, singular vortex near an infinitely long escarpment is studied in three parts. First, for times small compared to the topographic wave timescale the motion of the vortex is analysed by deriving an expression for the secondary circulation caused by the advection of fluid columns across the escarpment. The secondary circulation, in turn, advects the primary vortex and integral expressions are found for its velocity components. Analytical expressions in terms of integrals are found for the vortex drift velocity components. It is found that, initially, cyclones propagate away from the deep water region and anticyclones propagate away from the shallow water region. Asymptotic evaluation of the integrals shows that both cyclones and anticyclones eventually propagate parallel to the escarpment with shallow water on their right at a steady speed which decays exponentially with distance from the escarpment. Secondly, it is shown that for times comparable to, and larger than, the wave timescale, the vortex always resonates with the topographic wave field. The flux of energy in the topographic waves leads to a loss of energy in the vortex and global energy and momentum arguments are used to derive an equation for the distance (or, equivalently, the vortex velocity) of the vortex from the escarpment. It is shown that cyclones, provided they are initially within an O(1) distance (here a unit of distance is dimensionally equivalent to one Rossby radius of deformation) from the escarpment, drift further away from the deep water (i.e. toward higher ambient potential vorticity), possibly crossing the escarpment and accumulate at a distance of ≈1.2 on the shallow side of the escarpment. For distances larger than 1.2 there is essentially no drift of the vortex perpendicular to the escarpment. Anticyclones display similar behaviour except they drift in the opposite direction, i.e. away from the shallow water or toward lower ambient potential vorticity. Third, the method of contour dynamics is used to describe the evolution of the vortex and the interface representing the initial potential vorticity jump between the shallow and deep water regions. The contour dynamic results are in good quantitative agreement with the analytical results.