A classical problem in free-surface hydrodynamics concerns flow in a channel, when an obstacle is placed on the bottom. Steady-state flows exist and may adopt one of three possible configurations, depending on the fluid speed and the obstacle height; perhaps the best known has an apparently uniform flow upstream of the obstacle, followed by a semiinfinite train of downstream gravity waves. When time-dependent behaviour is taken into account, it is found that conditions upstream of the obstacle are more complicated, however, and can include a train of upstream-advancing solitons. This paper gives a critical overview of these concepts, and also presents a new semianalytical spectral method for the numerical description of unsteady behaviour.

The vertical rise of a round plume of light fluid through a surrounding heavier fluid is considered. An inviscid model is analysed in which the boundary of the plume is taken to be a sharp interface. An efficient spectral method is used to solve this nonlinear free-boundary problem, and shows that the plume narrows as it rises. A generalized condition is also introduced at the boundary, and allows the ambient fluid to be entrained into the rising plume. In this case, the fluid plume first narrows then widens as it rises. These features are confirmed by an asymptotic analysis. A viscous model of the same situation is also proposed, based on a Boussinesq approximation. It qualitatively confirms the widening of the plume due to entrainment of the ambient fluid, but also shows the presence of vortex rings around the interface of the rising plume.

The propagation of a solitary wave in a horizontal fluid layer is studied. There is an interfacial free surface above and below this intrusion layer, which is moving at constant speed through a stationary density-stratified fluid system. A weakly nonlinear asymptotic theory is presented, leading to a Korteweg–de Vries equation in which the two fluid interfaces move oppositely. The intrusion layer solitary wave system thus forms a widening bulge that propagates without change of form. These results are confirmed and extended by a fully nonlinear solution, in which a boundary-integral formulation is used to solve the problem numerically. Limiting profiles are approached, for which a corner forms at the crest of the solitary wave, on one or both of the interfaces.

Waves on a neutrally buoyant intrusion layer moving into otherwise stationary fluid are studied. There are two interfacial free surfaces, above and below the moving layer, and a train of waves is present. A small amplitude linearized theory shows that there are two different flow types, in which the two interfaces are either in phase or else move oppositely. The former flow type occurs at high phase speed and the latter is a low-speed solution. Nonlinear solutions are computed for large amplitude waves, using a spectral type numerical method. They extend the results of the linearized analysis, and reveal the presence of limiting flow types in some circumstances.

Steady flow with constant circulation into a vertical drain is considered. The precise details of the outflow are simplified by assuming that the drain is equivalent to a distributed volume sink, into which the fluid flows with uniform downward speed. It is shown that a maximum outflow rate exists, corresponding to no fluid circulation and vertical entry into the drain hole. Numerical solutions to the full nonlinear problem are computed, using the method of fundamental solutions. An approximate analysis, based on the use of the shallow-water equations, is presented for flows in which the free surface enters the drain. There is, in addition, a second type of solution, having a stagnation point at the free surface and no fluid circulation. These flows are also computed numerically, and results are presented.

The steady simultaneous withdrawal of two inviscid fluids of different densities in a duct of finite height is considered. The flow is two-dimensional, and the fluids are removed by means of a line sink at some arbitrary position within the duct. It is assumed that the interface between the two fluids is drawn into the sink, and that the flow is uniform far upstream. A numerical method based on an integral equation formulation yields accurate solutions to the problem, and it is shown that under normal operating conditions, there is a solution for each value of the upstream interface height. Numerical solutions suggest that limiting configurations exist, in which the interface is drawn vertically into the sink. The appropriate hydraulic Froude number is derived for this situation, and it is shown that a continuum of solutions exists that are supercritical with respect to this Froude number. An isolated branch of subcritical solutions is also presented.

Withdrawal flow through a point sink on the bottom of a fluid of finite depth is considered. The fluid is at rest at infinity, and a stagnation point is present at the free surface, directly above the point sink. Numerical solutions are computed by means of the method of fundamental solutions, and it is observed that flows of this type are apparently possible for Froude number less than about 1.5. Relationships to previous work are discussed.

A simple model for underground mineral leaching is considered, in which liquor is injected into the rock at one point and retrieved from the rock by being pumped out at another point. In its passage through the rock, the liquor dissolves some of the ore of interest, and this is therefore recovered in solution. When the injection and recovery points lie on a vertical line, the region of wetted rock forms an axi-symmetric plume, the surface of which is a free boundary. We present an accurate numerical method for the solution of the problem, and obtain estimates for the maximum possible recovery rate of the liquor, as a fraction of the injected flow rate. Limiting cases are discussed, and other geometries for fluid recovery are considered.

When a line sink is placed beneath the free surface of an otherwise quiescent fluid of infinite depth, two different flow types are now known to be possible. One type of flow involves the fluid being drawn down toward the sink, and in the other type, a stagnation point forms at the surface immediately above the position of the sink.

This paper investigates the second of these two flow types, which involves a free-surface stagnation point. The effects of surface tension are included, and even when small, these are shown to have a very significant effect on the overall solution behaviour. We demonstrate by direct numerical calculation that there are regions of genuine non-uniqueness in the nonlinear solution, when the surface-tension parameter does not vanish. In addition, an asymptotic solution valid for small Froude number is derived.

The flow caused by a point sink immersed in an otherwise stationary fluid is investigated. Low Froude number solutions are sought, in which the flow is radially symmetric and possesses a stagnation point at the surface, directly above the sink. A small-Froude-number expansion is derived and compared with the results of a numerical solution to the fully nonlinear problem. It is found that solutions of this type exist for all Froude numbers less than some maximum value, at which a secondary circular stagnation line is formed at the surface. The nonlinear solutions are reasonably well predicted by the small-Froude-number expansion, except for Froude numbers close to this maximum.