The motion of a disk rising steadily parallel to the axis of rotation in a uniformly rotating unbounded liquid is considered. In the limit of zero Rossby number the linear viscous equations of motion are reduced to a system of dual integral equations which renders an ‘exact’ solution for arbitrary values of the Taylor number, Ta. The investigation is focused on the drag and the flow field. In the limits of small and large Ta the asymptotic results of the present formulation agree with – and extend – previous investigations by different approaches.

A particular novel feature, for large Ta, is the contribution of the Ekman-layer flux to the outer motion. New insight into the structure of the Taylor column is gained; in particular, it is shown that the main part of the column is a ‘bubble’ of recirculating fluid, detached from the body and not communicating with the Ekman layer. However, it turns out that the essential discrepancy in drag between experiments (Maxworthy 1970) and previous theories cannot be attributed to the Ekman-layer suction effect.

An experimental and theoretical investigation of the stability of the viscoelastic flow of a model Boger fluid between rotating cylinders with an applied pressure gradient is presented. In our theoretical study, a linear stability analysis based on the Oldroyd-B fluid model which predicts the critical conditions and the structure of the vortex flow at the onset of instability is developed. Our results reveal that certain non-axisymmetric modes are more unstable than the previously studied axisymmetric mode when the shearing by the cylinder rotation is the dominant flow-driving force. This is consistent with recent results presented by Beris & Avgousti (1992) on the stability of elastic Taylor–Couette flow. On the other hand, the axisymmetric mode is more unstable when the pressure gradient becomes dominant. Furthermore, we investigate the mechanism of purely elastic Taylor–Dean instability with respect to non-axisymmetric disturbances through an examination of the disturbance-energy equation. It is found that the mechanism of the elastic Taylor–Dean instability is associated with the coupling between the disturbance polymeric stresses due to the azimuthal variation of the disturbance flow and the base state velocity gradients. In our experimental study, evidence of non-inertial, cellular instabilities in the Taylor–Dean flow of a well-characterized polyisobutylene/polybutene Boger fluid is presented. A stationary, meridional obstruction is placed between independently rotating, concentric cylinders to generate an azimuthal pressure gradient in opposition to the shearing flow. Flow visualization experiments near the critical conditions show the transition from purely azimuthal flows to secondary vortex flows, and the development of evenly spaced, banded vortex structures. The critical wavenumber obtained from spectral image analysis of the visualizations, and the critical Deborah number are presented for various ratios of the pressure gradient to the shear driving force. Although there is a quantitative discrepancy between data and theory, the qualitative trends in the data are in agreement with our theoretical predictions. In addition, laser-Doppler velocimetry (LDV) measurements show that the instability is a stationary mode when the pressure gradient is the dominant flow-driving force, while it is an oscillatory instability when the shearing is dominant, again as predicted by the theory.

The objective of this study is to explore concepts for active control of turbulent boundary layers leading to skin-friction reduction using the direct numerical simulation technique. Significant drag reduction is achieved when the surface boundary condition is modified to suppress the dynamically significant coherent structures present in the wall region. The drag reduction is accompanied by significant reduction in the intensity of the wall-layer structures and reductions in the magnitude of Reynolds shear stress throughout the flow. The apparent outward shift of turbulence statistics in the controlled flows indicates a displaced virtual origin of the boundary layer and a thickened sublayer. Time sequences of the flow fields show that there are essentially two drag-reduction mechanisms. Firstly, within a short time after the control is applied, drag is reduced mainly by deterring the sweep motion without modifying the primary streamwise vortices above the wall. Consequently, the high-shear-rate regions on the wall are moved to the interior of the channel by the control schemes. Secondly, the active control changes the evolution of the wall vorticity layer by stabilizing and preventing lifting of the spanwise vorticity near the wall, which may suppress a source of new streamwise vortices above the wall.

When a binary alloy is directionally solidified, a two-phase mushy dendritic zone is often formed. Interdendritic convection of the melt may occur, and is coupled with compositional convection of the residual melt. If fluid flow velocities are high enough, local melt-back of the dendrites may occur, leading to channel formation, and thus preferred flow paths. In order to predict the onset of convection, a coupled liquid/mush model is proposed, which includes most of the known physics. An elaborate scaling procedure leads to certain conclusions concerning the nature of convection, and points to a much simplified model, which can essentially be solved analytically. Predictions of the theory are compared quantitatively with experiments.

The theory of surface gravity waves scattering at vortex flows in the ocean is developed in this paper. A scattering amplitude is found in the Born approximation as a function of vorticity which appears very convenient for investigation of scattering at simple localized flows. It is shown that the wave scattering cross-section is determined by the vertical component of vorticity. For a random (turbulent) vortex field the scattering cross-section per unit voume is determined by a vorticity correlation function. The damping of the coherent wave component and the angular spectrum widening are calculated for multiple scattering by vortex turbulence of drift flows. The spectrum angular width evolution for waves scattered at self-similar vortices of the logarithmic boundary layer is determined only by its dynamical speed and the wave vector. The latter result may be used for a remote sensing of oceanic turbulent drift flows based on observations of surface waves.

This paper examines the dynamics of geostrophic flows with large displacement of isopycnal surfaces. The β-effect is assumed strong i.e. the parameter (Rd cot θ)/Re (where θ is the latitude, Rd is the deformation radius, Re is the Earth's radius) is of the order of, or greater than, the Rossby number. A system of asymptotic equations is derived, with the help of which the stability of an arbitrary zonal flow with both vertical and horizontal shear is proven. It is demonstrated that the horizontal and vertical spatial variables in the asymptotic system are separable, which yields a ‘horizontal’ set of evolutionary equations for the amplitudes of the barotropic and baroclinic modes (the vertical profile of the latter is arbitrary).

A numerical investigation is conducted into the flow of a dilute suspension of rigid rod-like particles between parallel flat plates, driven by a uniform pressure gradient. The particles are assumed to be small relative to lengthscales of the flow with the effect that particle orientations evolve according to the local velocity gradient; the particles are also assumed to be small in an absolute sense, with the consequence that Brownian motions are of consequence. The calculations are performed using a novel approach, with a theoretical basis that has been developed previously in a companion paper (Szeri & Leal 1992). The new approach permits one to solve flow problems of microstructured fluids (such as suspensions, liquid crystals, polymer solutions and melts) without ‘pre-averaging’ or closure approximations. In the present work, the new approach is used to expose previously unknown pathological, non-physical predictions in various constitutive models derived using closure approximations. This appears to have passed unnoticed in prior work. In addition, the new approach is shown to possess several computational advantages. The determination of the orientation distribution of particles is self-adaptive; this leads, in effect, to a very efficient solution of the associated Smoluchowski (or Fokker–Planck) equation. Moreover, the new approach is highly suited to parallel (and vector) implementation on modern computers. These issues are explored in detail in the context of the example flow.

We consider the viscous motion of a thin axisymmetric column of fluid with a free surface. A one-dimensional equation of motion for the velocity and the radius is derived from the Navier–Strokes equation. We compare our results with recent experiments on the breakup of a liquid jet and on the bifurcation of a drop suspended from an orifice. The equations form singularities as the fluid neck is pinching off. The nature of the singularities is investigated in detail.

Instantaneous and phase averaged pressure distributions in the near field of a jet, and their effects on the conditions for the onset of cavitation are studied in detail. The measurements are performed by using microscopic bubbles as pressure sensors, and holography as a means of detecting them. Experiments are performed at Red exceeding 4 × 105, with and without acoustic excitation. The results show that the highest negative pressure peaks (–0.97) and the resulting cavitation inception occur because of vortex pairing. Prior to pairing the negative peaks are between –0.8 and –0.9. Weak acoustic excitation changes the entire flow structure and the spatial distributions of bubbles, but has little effect on the onset of cavitation. Downstream of the potential core the highest pressure peaks (∼ –0.6) are considerably smaller, in agreement with the occurrence of cavitation there. It is also shown that although the r.m.s. values of pressure fluctuations do not vary with the jet speed, the probability distribution changes significantly, causing a reduction in the inception index with increasing velocity. The probability of cavitation inception is estimated from the distributions of bubbles and pressure peaks. It is shown that the actual, non-uniform bubble distribution increases the probability of inception owning to migration of the bubbles to the low pressure regions.

A numerical procedure has been developed to study the linear stability of nonlinear three-dimensional progressive gravity waves on deep water. The three-dimensional patterns considered herein are short-crested waves which may be produced by two progressive plane waves propagating at an oblique angle, γ, to each other. It is shown that for moderate wave steepness the dominant resonances are sideband-type instabilities in the direction of propagation and, depending on the value of γ, also in the transverse direction. It is also shown that three-dimensional progressive gravity waves are less unstable than two-dimensional progressive gravity waves.

The onset of convection in a low-Prandtl-number fluid confined in a uniformly rotating vertical cylinder heated from below is studied. The linear stability problem is solved for perfectly conducting stress-free or rigid boundary conditions at the top and bottom; the sidewalls are taken to be insulating and rigid. For these Prandtl numbers axisymmetric overstability leads to an oscillating concentric pattern of rolls. When the instability breaks axisymmetry the resulting pattern must in addition precess. The relationship between these two types of oscillatory behaviour is explored in detail. The complex interaction between different types of neutrally stable modes is traced out as a function of the Prandtl and Taylor numbers, as well as the aspect ratio. A qualitative explanation is provided for the multiplicity of modes of a given azimuthal wavenumber and its dependence on the parameters. Specific predictions are made for the Prandtl numbers 0.025, 0.49 and 0.78, corresponding to mercury, liquid helium 4 and compressed carbon dioxide gas.

Natural-convection flow in an enclosure with adiabatic horizontal walls and isothermal vertical walls maintained at a fixed temperature difference has been investigated. At high values of the natural-convection parameter, the Rayleigh number, a recirculating pocket appears near the corners downstream of the vertical walls, and the flow separates and reattaches at the horizontal walls in the vicinity of this recirculation. There is also a considerable thickening of the horizontal layer. In some previous studies by different authors, this corner flow was considered to be caused by an internal hydraulic jump, and the jump theory was used to predict bifurcation of the steady flow into periodic flow. The present work examines the corner phenomenon closely to decide if it is indeed caused by a hydraulic jump. The results of the analysis reveal the oversimplification of the problem made in the previous studies: there is no connection of the corner phenomenon with a hydraulic jump. The separation of flow at the ceiling is not a feature of hydraulic jumps, and the essential energy loss associated with hydraulic jumps is not observed in the corner flow. It is shown that the corner structure is caused by thermal effects. Owing to the temperature undershoots in vertical boundary layer, which are known to be caused by the stable thermal stratification of the core, relatively cold fluid reaches the upper corner. This cold fluid detaches from the ceiling like a plume at high Rayleigh numbers, and causes the separation and recirculation.

The combined effects of system rotation (Coriolis force) and curvature (centrifugal force) on the bifurcation structure of two-dimensional flows in a toroidal geometry of rectangular cross-section are examined. The problem depends on the Rossby number, Ro = U/bΩ, the Ekman number, Ek = ν/b2Ω, the aspect ratio, γ = b/h and the radius ratio, η = ri/ro; here U is the velocity scale, b is the channel width in the spanwise direction, Ω is the rotational speed, (ri, ro) are the inner and outer radii of the duct, h = ro – ri is the channel gap in the radial direction and v is the kinematic viscosity of the fluid. A pseudospectral method is devised to discretize the two-dimensional Navier–Stokes equation in stream-function form. Continuation schemes are used to track the solution paths with Rossby number as the control parameter. Extended systems are used to determine the precise location of the singular points of the discretized system. The loci of such singular points are tracked with respect to curvature of the duct. Unlike the findings of Miyazaki (1973) on the same problem, curvature is found to have profound effects on the solution structure; flow mutations take place through a tilted cusp at (Ro = 7.122, η = 0.678) and a transcritical bifurcation point at (Ro = 1.357, η = 0.349).