Experiments with a self-propelled body submerged in a fluid with a vertical density gradient

Abstract

It is shown that the turbulent wake of a self-propelled body moving in a fluid with a vertical density gradient is considerably different than of the same body moving in a fluid having no density gradient. In the uniform density case, the turbulent mixed fluid behind the body expands into an irregular conical shape. In the case of a density gradient, the initial expansion of the mixed fluid is quickly followed by a collapse in the vertical direction which is accompanied by a further spreading in the horizontal direction. This phenomenon is caused by the force of gravity. The volume of fluid behind the self-propelled body has a more or less constant density due to mixing. Thus, it is forced to seek its own density level in the undisturbed fluid.

The collapsing vertical wake is shown to be an efficent generator of internal waves, many of high order. These manifest themselves in surface movements.

The assumption that the internal waves are damped only by viscosity, not by turbulence, leads to results in general accord with the observations.