The additional pressure drop arising from the presence of a neutrally-buoyant, eccentrically positioned, spherical particle in a Poiseuille flow is calculated to O(a/Ro)5 (a = sphere radius; Ro = tube radius). Similar calculations (of a lesser order of accuracy) are given for non-circular conduits and for ellipsoidal particles. Due to changes in particle orientation resulting from rotation, the instantaneous pressure drop for an ellipsoid of revolution varies periodically with time. This pressure diminution is averaged over one period to obtain the time-average pressure drop.

The function of a healthy ureter is analyzed in terms of a fluid-mechanical model. To the extent that the Reynolds number is of the order of one, the fundamental equations are shown to reduce to those of the theory of lubrication. It is found that from the point of view of the pressure variation with time (the urometrogram) the important part of the peristaltic wave is the constricting part. For this reason this part of the wave is represented with an algebraic expression of the form h ∼ xn making it possible to find closed form solutions. Using Fourier analysis in defining the complete wave shape of the ureter it was also possible to obtain numerical solutions. For both cases it is shown that there is good agreement between the theoretical and experimental pressure distributions, this not being the case for sinusoidal wave shapes. An approximate equation for the flux is developed and a universal relation is presented connecting the maximum pressure, flux and kinematic behaviour of the ureter.

The paper examines the scattering properties of a cavitated line vortex when excited by line and point sources of sound. It is found that the vortex resonances discovered by Kelvin for incompressible flow are essentially unmodified by fluid compressibility, and that many of the resonant modes radiate energy to infinity. Those resonant modes dominate the vortex response, their amplitude growing algebraically with time in a driven instability of the model flow.

The off resonance response is dependent on the value of a normalized frequency parameter (ω/Ω)2|ln ka|. Ω denotes the angular velocity of the steady vortex flow, k the acoustic wave-number, and a the cavity radius. Even off resonance the cavity is an extremely efficient wave scatterer, the scattering efficiency increasing with source order. For example, the scattered energy of a point quadrupole is shown to exceed that of the direct field by a factor of 108 for the typical underwater flow Mach number of 10−2.

Experimental studies of drag reduction and polymer degradation in turbulent pipe flow with dilute water solutions of unfractionated polyethylene oxide are described. Drag reduction results indicate that the magnitude of the reduction cannot be correlated on the basis of weight average molecular weight, rather the phenomenon depends strongly on the concentration of the highest molecular weight species present in the molecular weight distribution. Polymer degradation in turbulent flow is found to be severe for high molecular weight polymers causing appreciable changes in drag reduction and molecular weight with the duration of flow. Data indicates that drag reduction exists in the limit of infinite dilution suggesting that the phenomenon is due to the interaction of individual polymer molecules with the surrounding solvent and that the extent of reduction is relatively independent of pipe diameter when a comparison is carried out at equal solvent wall shear stresses. Consideration of the high viscosity obtained with solutions in an irrotational laminar flow field suggests this is due to polymer molecule deformation and that this phenomenon is central to the mechanism of turbulent flow drag reduction.

The non-linear stability of hydromagnetic flows is investigated by applying energy methods. A universal stability estimate, namely a stability limit for motions subject to arbitrary non-linear disturbances, is obtained for bounded or periodic domains. Our analysis is restricted to fluids possessing constant density and electrical conductivity and we do not take into account temperature or Hall effects. This result establishes the existence of an open region of certain stability near the origin of the $(\tilde{R}_e, \tilde{R}_m)$ Cartesian plane for every fixed Pm (where $(\tilde{R}_e, \tilde{R}_m)$ and Pm are the Reynolds number, magnetic Reynolds number and magnetic Prandtl number, respectively). The universal stability limit can then be improved by suitably defining a maximum problem using variational techniques, and obtaining the relevant Euler–Lagrange equations. The tentative solution to this problem gives a stability limit which enlarges the universal stability region. Our results are then compared with linear and experimental ones, with special emphasis given to the role played by the magnetic field.

The acoustic scattering properties of a semi-infinite compliant plate immersed in turbulent flow are considered in the context of Lighthill's theory of aerodynamic noise. The turbulent eddies are replaced by a volume distribution of quadrupoles, and the reciprocal theorem used to transform the quadrupole scattering problem into one of the diffraction of a plane acoustic wave. This problem is solved by the Wiener–Hopf technique for the case when elastic forces in the plate are negligible, so that a local impedance condition relates the plate velocity to the pressure difference across the plate. Strong scattering of the near-field into propagating sound occurs when certain types of quadrupole lie sufficiently close to the plate edge, and we derive explicit expressions for the scattered fields in various cases. When fluid loading effects are small, and the plate relatively rigid, the results of Ffowcs Williams & Hall (1970) are recovered, in particular the U5 law for radiated intensity. A quite different behaviour is found in the case of high fluid loading, when the plate appears to be relatively limp. The radiated intensity then increases with flow velocity U according to a U6 law. In aeronautical situations, surface compliance is negligible in its effect on the scattering process, and the U5 law must then apply provided the surface is sufficiently large. On the other hand, the effect of appreciable surface compliance is to greatly inhibit the near-field scattering from the surface edge. This weaker scattering is likely to be observed in underwater applications, where fluid loading effects are generally so high as to render unattainable the condition for a plate to be effectively rigid.

An analytic solution of the non-isentropic equations of gas-dynamics, for the one-dimensional motion of a non-viscous and non-conductive medium, is derived in this paper for the first time. This is a particular solution which contains only one arbitrary function. On the basis of this solution, the interaction of a centred simple wave with a shock of moderate strength is analyzed; and it is shown that, for a weak shock, this analysis is compatible with Friedrichs's theory. Furthermore, in the light of this analysis, it is explained why the empirical methods employed by the shock-expansion theory, including Whitham's rule for determining the shock path, work.

Similarity rules are constructed for the load distributions induced on a thin two-dimensional wing at subsonic speeds by sinusoidal gusts whose wave fronts are at an angle to the leading edge of the wing. It is shown that these rules divide into two groups according to the value of a parameter dependent on the Mach number and the angle between the gust front and the wing. The similarity rules for each group relate all the members of the group to a simpler problem whose solution can be found by existing methods. The similarity between the two groups is also discussed in terms of the two methods of solution available and it is shown that each method of solution is applicable in all cases.

The wave drag coefficient is computed approximately for a nozzle containing a swirling flow as a function of R0−1, the inverse of the Rossby number. When R0−1 < λ1 and R0−1 = λn, where λn denotes the nth zero of the Bessel function J1, there is no wave in the flow and the wave drag is zero. The drag coefficient is found to be sub-divided into different regions between R0−1 = λn and λn+1, with n = 1,2,3,.… When each λn is exceeded, the drag coefficient jumps from zero to a value which is one order higher than its values in the previous region (except in the case n = 1), and then decreases to zero as R0−1 increases toward λn+1. Very high wave drag can be expected in flows of large swirl ratios.

Measurements are given of the total pressure and yaw relative to the pipe axis of flow in various pipe bends attached to the end of a long straight pipe, for a pipe Reynolds number of 2·36 × 105. The behaviour of the induced secondary flows is presented in detail. In a 180° bend it is found that, from the start of the bend, the secondary flows increase to a maximum and then decrease to a steady value. This effect is explained by relating the local total pressure gradient to the production of streamwise vorticity. The same flow mechanism is used to predict qualitatively the flow pattern in an S-bend in which it is found that the secondary flows cause a complete interchange of the slow moving wall fluid and the faster central core. Results of a computer program for calculating the secondary flow from a knowledge of the upstream velocity profile are included. Although real fluid effects, other than those causing the upstream velocity profile, are omitted from the computations, the measured flow pattern is reasonably well predicted in a long bend up to a bend angle of about 75°.

The linear spin-up of a homogeneous electrically conducting fluid confined between infinite flat insulating plates is analyzed for the case in which a uniform magnetic field is applied normal to the boundaries. As in part 1 (Benton & Loper 1969), complete hydromagnetic interaction is embraced even within linearized equations. Approximate inversion of the exact Laplace transform solution reveals the presence of several flow structures: two thin Ekman–Hartmann boundary layers (one on each plate), which are quasi-steady on the time scale of spin-up, two thicker continuously growing magnetic diffusion regions, and an essentially inviscid, current-free core, which may or may not be present on the spin-up time scale, depending upon the growth rate of the magnetic diffusion regions. When a current-free core exists, it is found to spin-up at the same rate as the fluid within magnetic diffusion regions, although different physical mechanisms are at play. As a result, a single hydromagnetic spin-up time is derived, independently of the thickness of magnetic diffusion regions; this time is shorter than in the non-magnetic problem.

Numerical space-amplified solutions of the Orr-Sommerfeld equation for the case of a boundary layer on a flat plate have been calculated for a wide range of values of frequency and Reynolds number. The mean flow is assumed to be parallel and given by the appropriate component of the Blasius solution. The results are presented in a form suitable for comparison with experiment and are also compared with calculations of earlier authors.

Numerical analysis has been used to find the neutral stability curve for the flat plate boundary layer in zero pressure gradient when the main terms representing the growth of boundary-layer thickness are either included or excluded. The boundary layer is found to be slightly less stable when the extra terms are included. The calculations give a critical Reynolds number of 500.

A study of Tollmien–Schlichting waves in the Blasius boundary layer has been carried out under good flow conditions. The maximum r.m.s. amplitude of u, the downstream component of perturbation velocity, was limited to about 0·06% of U0, the free-stream velocity. Measurements of the wave-number and of the distribution of u/U0 normal to the plate agree closely with the theoretical results obtained in parts 1 and 2 of this paper. The experimental critical Reynolds number, Rc, is 400; the theoretical Rc derived from the imaginary part of the eigenvalue is 500 (part 2), but additional amplification carried by the eigenvector removes most of this discrepancy.

A statically stable, gravitationally stratified compressible fluid containing a parallel shear flow is examined for stability against infinitesimal adiabatic perturbations. It is found that the Miles–Howard theorem of incompressible fluids may be generalized to this system, so that n2 ≥ ¼U′2 throughout the flow is a sufficient condition for stability. Here n2 is the Brunt–Väissälä frequency and U’ is the vertical gradient of the flow speed. Howard's upper bound on the growth rate of an unstable mode also generalizes to this compressible system.

It is shown by linear inviscid theory that the most highly amplified instability mode in an incompressible plane parallel flow is a two-dimensional one for either temporally or spatially growing waves.