The average changes in the structure of thermal boundary layers at the surface of bodies of water produced by various types of surface waves are computed. the waves are two-dimensional plane progressive irrotational waves of unchanging shape. they include deep-water linear waves, deep-water capillary waves of arbitrary amplitude, stokes waves, and the deep-water gravity wave of maximum amplitude.

The results indicate that capillary waves can decrease mean temperature gradients by factors of as much as 9·0, if the average heat flux at the air-water interface is independent of the presence of the waves. Irrotational gravity waves can decrease the mean temperature gradients by factors no more than 1·381.

Of possible pedagogical interest is the simplicity of the heat conduction equation for two-dimensional steady irrotational flows in an inviscid incompressible fluid if the velocity potential and the stream function are taken to be the independent variables.

An experimental investigation was performed to study the spatial coherence of structures in the sublayer of a turbulent boundary layer observed previously by flow visualization. The present work verifies these observations in an Eulerian reference frame and develops a statistical description of the phenomenon. The technique involves simultaneous digital sampling of an array of constant temperature hot-wire anemometers arranged to extract information about a spanwise variation in flow quantities. The quantitative description agrees with dimensionless measures of the structure scales previously published.

The flow of a rotating homogeneous incompressible fluid over various shallow topographies is investigated. In the physical system considered, the rotation axis is vertical while the topography and its mirror image are located on the lower and upper of two horizontal plane surfaces. Upstream of the topographies and outside the Ekman layers on the bounding planes the fluid is in a uniform free-stream motion. An analysis is considered in which E [Lt ] 1, Ro ∼ E½, H/D ∼ E0, and h/D ∼ E½, where E is the Ekman number, Ro the Rossby number, H/D the fluid depth to topography width ratio and h/D the topography height-to-width ratio. The governing equation for the lowest-order interior motion is obtained by matching an interior geostrophic region with Ekman boundary layers along the confining surfaces. The equation includes contributions from the non-linear inertial, Ekman suction, and topographic effects. An analytical solution for a cosine-squared topography is given for the case in which the inertial terms are negligible; i.e. Ro [Lt ] E½. Numerical solutions for the non-linear equations are generated for both cosine-squared and conical topographies. Laboratory experiments are presented which are in good agreement with the theory advanced.

The Orr-Sommerfeld equation is solved numerically using expansions in Chebyshev polynomials and the QR matrix eigenvalue algorithm. It is shown that results of great accuracy are obtained very economically. The method is applied to the stability of plane Poiseuille flow; it is found that the critical Reynolds number is 5772·22. It is explained why expansions in Chebyshev polynomials are better suited to the solution of hydrodynamic stability problems than expansions in other, seemingly more relevant, sets of orthogonal functions.

Previous results concerning the effects of axial velocity on the motion of vortex filaments are reviewed. These results suggest that a slender-body force balance between the Kutta–Joukowski lift on the vortex cross-section and the momentum flux within the curved filament will give some insight into the behaviour of the filament. These simple ideas are exploited for both a single vortex filament and a vortex pair, both containing axial flow. The stability of a straight vortex filament containing an axial flow to long wave sinusoidal displacements of its centre-line is investigated and the stability boundary obtained. The effect of axial flow on the stability of a vortex pair is explored. It is shown that to lowest order (in the ratio of vortex core radius to distance between the vortices) the effect of axial flow is to reduce the self-induced rotation of a single filament and that this effect can be considered as a change in effective core radius. To the next order, travelling waves appear in the instability, the instability mode for the vortex pair becomes non-planar but the amplification rate of the instability is not affected.

The autorotation of a flat plate about its spanwise axis was experimentally studied. Most of the work was done with a wing mounted in the University of Michigan 5 × 7 ft low-speed wind tunnel. The measurements consisted of the unsteady lift, drag, angular acceleration and the wing rotation rate. The flow pattern was studied by means of smoke, tufts and a small model in a water tunnel.

The flow pattern was very different from that over a static wing. The wing did not stall until it was nearly perpendicular to the free stream and the flow did not reattach to the lower surface until the wing had rotated well past zero angle of attack.

The maximum and average lift, drag and angular acceleration were measured for Reynolds numbers from 25 000 to 250 000. At Re = 240 000 the maximum lift coefficient was 4·50 with an average value of 2·20, while the maximum drag coefficient was 4·30 with an average value of 1·60. The angular acceleration was small; the wing rotated at an almost constant angular velocity. The non-dimensional wing rotation rate was measured for Reynolds numbers from 1300 to 280 000 and approached an asymptotic limit of 0·35 for sufficiently high Reynolds numbers.

The effect of applying driving and retarding torques to the wing was studied. As the rotation rate was increased above the free autorotation rate, the lift and drag increased. When the rotation rate was reduced by a retarding torque they both decreased. The power developed by the rotating wing was considerably less than for a windmill of the same frontal area.

A variety of wing configurations were tested, including different airfoils and aspect ratios and spoilers mounted at various locations on the wing. However, except for spoilers that were so large that they prevented autorotation, none of these changes had a major effect on the gross properties of the autorotation phenomenon.

Freely falling wings were also studied. For Reynolds numbers above 4000 the average lift and drag coefficients were comparable to those observed in the fixed axis tests and it appeared that the flow pattern was similar.

This paper is the first in a series of investigations having the overall objective of developing a new technique for treating the slow viscous motion past finite assemblages of particles of arbitrary shape. The new method, termed the multi-pole representation technique, is based on the theory that any object conforming to a natural co-ordinate system in a particle assemblage can be approximated by a truncated series of multi-lobular disturbances in which the accuracy of the representation is systematically improved by the addition of higher order multipoles. The essential elements of this theory are illustrated by examining the flows past finite line arrays of axisymmetric bodies such as spheres and spheroids which conform to special natural co-ordinate systems. It is demonstrated that this new procedure converges more rapidly and is simpler to use than the method of reflexions and represents the desired boundaries more precisely than the point-force approximation even when the objects are touching one another. Comparison of these solutions with the exact solutions of Stimson & Jeffery (1926) for the two sphere problem demonstrates the rapidity of convergence of this multipole procedure even when the spheres are touching. Drag results are also presented for flows past chains containing up to 101 spheres as well as for chains containing up to 15 prolate or oblate spheroids. The potential value of the technique is suggested by the rapidity with which the drag calculations were made, the 101 sphere problem requiring about 10 seconds on an IBM 360–65 computer to determine both the fluid flow and the drag coefficient.

The velocity on the axis of a circular tube was measured over a range of distances from a piston reciprocating in simple harmonic motion. These velocities become independent of axial distance sufficiently far from the piston. The method of calculating the developing flow is based on a comparison with steady laminar flow which, in the entry region of a circular tube, approaches the fully developed state exponentially with distance x from the entry. The steady flow is a function of xν/R2u0 where ν is the kinematic viscosity, R is the tube radius and u0 is the entry velocity. It is shown that within the limits of experimental error, an oscillating flow follows the steady flow development if u0 is the instantaneous entry velocity and if the characteristic length is changed from R to the oscillating boundary-layer thickness in the established flow.

In studying the stability of the boundary layer with surface mass injection, a generalized version of the Orr–Sommerfeld equation was derived which takes account of the transverse velocity component in the mainflow. The new terms in the generalized Orr–Sommerfeld equation are inversely proportional to the Reynolds number. The resulting eigenvalue problem was solved numerically for a wide range of values of the mass injection intensity. It was found that the critical Reynolds number (based on the distance from the leading edge) decreases with increasing mass injection. The deviations between the critical Reynolds numbers from the generalized and conventional Orr–Sommerfeld equations have a different sign at low injection intensities from that at high injection intensities.

The novel idea is to use a disk pump to drive each fluid layer independently round a closed-return density-stratified water channel. A small-scale model was built and tested to demonstrate the feasibility of the idea. A hydrogen-bubble technique was used for both flow visualization and velocity measurement. Density measurements were made with an electrical conductivity probe developed by the authors. The tests have demonstrated the usefulness of such a facility, especially for long steady-state experiments in density-stratified flows.

This paper reports on weak quadratic interactions which can occur with two-dimensional waves on shallow water layers and in the capillary-gravity range on deep water layers. It supplies experimental support of theoretical predictions for resonant interactions, but, perhaps of more significance, it explores in detail interactions which occur under conditions near resonance.

Waves of approximately sinusoidal form are introduced on the surface of water in a long rectangular tank. For deep water a rapid distortion in the sinusoidal wave and sometimes additional crests are observed because of energy exchange among the first, second and third harmonics at frequencies where both surface tension and gravity are important (7·5–13 c/s). An even greater exchange of energy can be observed on shallow water layers at low frequencies. For example, a wave train with seven secondary crests can be observed when the wave maker is operated at 3·04 c/s in a water layer of 0·65 cm.

Measured amplitudes and phase angles of the Fourier components of the wave train are described by a system of equations using only quadratic interactions among participating harmonics. The exchange of energy among Fourier components under certain conditions is explained in terms of the rate of change of relative phase angles of the different harmonics.

The supersonic flight of a slender projectile in a fluid which may undergo internal non-equilibrium transformations is examined by a systematic perturbation scheme. In the frozen limit, the classical results of Whitham and his celebrated ‘rule’ are recovered. Unlike the classical theory, however, the shape of the nose shock can be expressed explicitly in terms of known functions when the relaxation decay length becomes of the same order as a characteristic length scale. The theoretically predicted shock angle, expressed as a function of the radial distance, is found to be in excellent agreement with the experimental measurements of Wegener and Klikoff.

This paper presents a solution of the second-order boundary-layer equations for the two-dimensional case of a wall jet on a curved surface. The outer flow is obtained by means of a conformal transformation, and general solutions for the displacement and curvature effects are given both as series and as integrals. These solutions are applied to symmetrical flow over a parabolic surface, the wall jet being either outside or inside.

The behaviour of internal gravity waves near a critical level is investigated by means of a transient two dimensional finite difference model. All the important non-linear, viscosity and thermal conduction terms are included, but the rotational terms are omitted and the perturbations are assumed to be incompressible. For Richardson numbers greater than 2·0 the interaction of the incident wave and the mean flow is largely as predicted by the linear theory–very little of the incident wave penetrates through the critical level and almost all of the wave's energy and momentum are absorbed by changes in the original wind. However, these changes in the wind are centred above the critical level, so that the change in the wind has only a small effect on the height of the critical level. For Richardson numbers less than 2·0 and greater than 0·25 a significant fraction of the incident wave is reflected, part of which could have been predicted by the linear theory. For these stable Richardson numbers a steady state is apparently reached where the maximum wind change continues to grow slowly, but the minimum Richardson number and wave magnitudes remain constant. This condition represents a balance between the diffusion outward of the added momentum and the rate at which it is absorbed. For Richardson numbers less than 0·25, over-reflexion, predicted from the linear theory, is observed, but because the system is dynamically unstable no over-reflecting steady state is ever reached.

Extensive schlieren studies and yawmeter traverses of the wake behind slender cone-cylinders at large angles of incidence have shown that the flow pattern is generally steady. Under certain flow conditions, however, the wake exhibits an instability which is not understood. For cross-flow Reynolds numbers in the subcritical region the wake can be described in terms of a cross-flow Strouhal number which has a constant value of 0·2 for cross-flow Mach number components (Mc) up to 0·7 and then increases steadily to a value of 0·6 at Mc = 1·6. The strength of the wake vortices varies substantially with Mc, increasing to a maximum at Mc ≈ 0·7 and then decreasing rapidly for higher values of Mc. Schlieren photographs of the wake have been analysed by means of the impulse flow analogy and also by considering the vortices to be part of a yawed infinite vortex street. The impulse flow analogy is shown to be of use in determining the cross-flow Strouhal number but estimates of vortex strength are too high. The Kármán vortex street theory combined with the sweepback principle leads to reliable estimates of vortex strength up to Mc = 1·0.

Information is given on the spacing, path and strength of the vortices shed from the body for flow conditions varying from incompressible speeds up to Mc = 1·0. Finally this information is used to determine the vortex drag of a two-dimensional circular cylinder below Mc = 1·0.

The structure of the flat plate incompressible smooth-surface boundary layer in a low-speed water flow is examined using hydrogen-bubble measurements and also hot-wire measurements with dye visualization. Particular emphasis is placed on the details of the process of turbulence production near the wall. In the zone 0 < y+ < 100, the data show that essentially all turbulence production occurs during intermittent ‘bursting’ periods. ‘Bursts’ are described in some detail.

The uncertainties in the bubble data are large, but they have the distinct advantage of providing velocity profiles as a function of time and the time sequences of events. These data show that the velocity profiles during bursting periods assume a shape which is qualitatively distinct from the well-known mean profiles. The observations are also used as the basis for a discussion of possible appropriate mathematical models for turbulence production.

A method is presented for integrating numerically the equations of motion for a compressible free shear layer developing from a boundary-layer profile of arbitrary shape. Sutherland's law is used to determine the coefficient of viscosity and the Prandtl number is taken as 0·72. Calculated results are reported for free-stream Mach numbers ranging from 0 to 10 and for stagnation-enthalpy ratios ranging from 0 to 5·0. The effects of varying the initial boundary-layer profile and of a discontinuity in temperature at the origin are also studied. The results include graphs showing the development of dividing-streamline velocity, of local Nusselt number, and of dividing-streamline location.

An investigation is made of resonant triads of Tollmien-Schlichting waves in an unstable boundary layer. The triads considered are those comprising a two-dimensional wave and two oblique waves propagating at equal and opposite angles to the flow direction and such that all three waves have the same phase velocity in the downstream direction. For such a resonant triad remarkably powerful wave interations take place, which may cause a continuous and rapid transfer of energy from the primary shear flow to the disturbance. It appears that the oblique waves can grow particularly rapidly and it is suggested that such preferential growth may be responsible for the rapid development of three-dimensionality in unstable boundary layers. The non-linear energy transfer primarily takes place in the vicinity of the critical layer where the downstream propagation velocity of the waves equals the velocity of the primary flow.

The theoretical analysis is initially carried out for a general primary velocity profile; then, in order to demonstrate the essential features of the results, precise interaction equations are derived for a particular profile consisting of a layer of constant shear bounded by a uniform flow. Some exact solutions of the general interaction equations are presented, one of which has the property that the wave amplitudes become indefinitely large at a finite time. The possible relevance of the present theoretical model to the experiments of Klebanoff, Tidstrom & Sargent (1962) is examined.

Steady supersonic two-dimensional flows governed by the Navier–Stokes equations are considered. For flows past a thin body, the Oseen theory is shown to fail at large distances. An investigation of the equations bridging the linear and non-linear zones is made. From this, it follows that the resulting equations are a system of Burgers and diffusion equations. The Whitham theory is shown to result under the inviscid limit of our analysis. Various other limits are also obtained.

An explicit expression for flows past a thin airfoil is given, and the flow past a double wedge is exhibited in terms of known functions.

An analytical study is made of nearly free-molecular flow of a noble gas from one reservoir to another through a two-dimensional slit, with finite pressure and temperature ratios across the slit. The fundamental solution of the linear Boltzmann equation is employed in the study. The total mass flow is calculated to the first-order correction terms, of the order of α ln α and α, where α is the inverse Knudsen number. The coefficients of these terms are in general multiple integrals, but they become explicit functions of the pressure and temperature ratios after the multiple integrations are carried out by using Krook collision model. When the general result is simplified to the isothermal case the first-order correction has a negative value, indicating the reduction of the total mass flow due to intermolecular collisions in the counter flows.