In this paper a reservoir connected through a horizontal contraction to a channel is considered. Both the reservoir and the channel are considered to contain a stable multi-layered system of fluids. The conditions under which there is a flow in only one layer, and the depth in this flowing layer decreases continuously from its depth in the reservoir to its depth in the channel, give the maximum discharge that can be obtained with a flow only from this single layer. For this case the volume discharge calculations are carried out at a single section (the section of minimum width). Where there are velocities in only two layers and the depth in each of these layers decreases continuously from their depths in the reservoir to their depths in the channel, the theory involves computations at two sections in the flow. These are the section of minimum width and a section upstream of the position of minimum width (the virtual point of control). For this flow it is shown that the solution is the one in which the velocity and density distributions are self similar and that the depths of the layers at the point of maximum contraction are two-thirds of those far upstream. It is then shown that for any stable continuous or discrete density stratification in the reservoir a self similar solution will satisfy the conditions for the depths of the flowing layers to decrease smoothly from the reservoir to downstream of the contraction. Again the ratio of the depth at the contraction to that far upstream is two-thirds.

When there is a very large density difference between the fluid in the lower dead water and that in the lowest flowing streamline then this streamline becomes horizontal and may be considered as a frictionless bed. The flow when the bed is not horizontal but where there is a small rise in the channel at the position of maximum contraction is considered for the case where two discrete layers flow under a volume of dead water. In this case the velocity and density profiles are not self similar.

Experiments have been carried out with a contraction in a flume for the withdrawal of two discrete layers from a three layer system and the withdrawal from a fluid with a linear density gradient. In both cases the reservoir and channel bed and hence the lowest streamline was effectively horizontal. These experiments confirmed the theoretical predictions.

The turbulence problem is formulated using the Wiener stochastic expansion. The expansion is useful for processes which are in some sense nearly normal, and can be used for non-linear non-Gaussian processes such as many turbulent fluid flows. Here we present the general formulation for statistically inhomogeneous and anistropic processes.

The transfer term in the energy equation, or equivalently the third-order velocity correlation, forms a sensitive measure of the amount of non-Gaussianity present in real fluid flows. Experimental evidence shows that in many flows this component is small compared with the Gaussian part. It is shown that a homogeneous and isotropic flow which has but a small non-Gaussian part possesses a distribution at one point which is Gaussian to terms of second order. The experiments suggest that immediately behind a grid in a wind tunnel the flow is very nearly normal. The non-Gaussian part grows at a moderate rate, at least within the range of distance downstream (or decay time) available in the usual experiments. This growth is probably due to the relative increase in the amount of energy in the smallest eddies, which are non-normal.

A necessary criterion for the validity of the zero-fourth-cumulant approximation is suggested: the transfer term in dimensionless form should be small. It is shown that calculations using the zero-fourth-cumulant approximation have given negative energy spectra when this condition is violated, probably for the reason that the process is no longer nearly Gaussian. However, even when this condition is fulfilled, it is shown that that approximation must be corrected.

It is suggested that the present theory is valid for quite large times of decay if initial energy spectra are chosen which are not too far from the actual physical values for fluid in turbulent flow. Equations are given for the next-higher-order term in a nearly normal approximation. The expansion is also used in § 6 to describe turbulent mixing problems and is compared with the zero-fourth-cumulant approximation for these problems. Computational results are presented in § 7 and compared with experiments by Stewart and Townsend.

This paper describes an experimental and theoretical study of the complicated disturbance (Taylor column) due to the slow relative motion between a spherical, or short cylindrical, rigid object and an incompressible fluid of low viscosity in which the object is immersed, when the motion of the object is that of steady revolution with angular speed Ω rad/see about an axis (the Z-axis) whose perpendicular distance from the centre of the object, $\overline{R}$, is much greater than a typical linear dimension of the object, L, and the undisturbed fluid motion is one of steady rotation about the same axis with angular speed (Ω+Uϑ/R) and zero relative vorticity (i.e. d(UϑR)/dR = 0). It extends earlier experimental work on Taylor columns to systems of sufficiently large axial dimensions for Z variations in the disturbance pattern to be perceptible. Over the ranges of Rossby and Ekman numbers (based on L) covered by the experiments, namely ε = 1·89 × 10−3 to 2·36 ×10−1 and γ = 1·30 × 10−3 to 2·03 × 10−2 respectively, the axis of the Taylor column is found to trail in the downstream direction at a small angle ϕ = tan−1 (Kε) to the line parallel to the Z-axis through the centre of the object, where K = (1·54 ± 0·04) for a sphere. The variation with Z of the amplitude of the disturbance is roughly linear and the scale-length of this variation, Zc, is close to L/γ¼ over the limited range of γ covered by the experiments.

The experimental value of K is remarkably close to the theoretical value derived by Prof. Lighthill in the appendix, where he applies his general linear theory of waves generated in a dispersive system by travelling forcing effects to the problem of describing a Taylor column at large distances from the moving object when the fluid is inviscid and unbounded.

This paper is concerned with the jet of liquid, open to the atmosphere, that emerges from a two-dimensional channel in which there is Poiseuille flow far upstream, the flow being driven by an applied pressure gradient. The problem is discussed with the aid of the method of matched asymptotic expansions; the small parameter involved is the inverse Reynolds number. A boundary layer forms adjacent to the free surface, and a classical boundary-layer analysis is applied to find the flow there (for moderate distances downstream); the influence of this boundary layer on the flow in the core of the jet is then investigated. Higher-order boundary-layer effects, such as indeterminacy and eigensolutions, are also discussed. The first few terms are found of an asymptotic expansion for the equation of the free surface, and considerations of momentum balance are applied to find the asymptotic contraction ratio of the jet.

An experimental and analytical study of the separation of a turbulent boundary layer is reported. The turbulent boundary-layer separation model proposed by Sandborn & Kline (1961) is demonstrated to predict the experimental results. Two distinct turbulent separation regions, an intermittent and a steady separation, with correspondingly different velocity distributions are confirmed. The true zero wall shear stress turbulent separation point is determined by electronic means. The associated mean velocity profile is shown to belong to the same family of profiles as found for laminar separation. The velocity distribution at the point of reattachment of a turbulent boundary layer behind a step is also shown to belong to the laminar separation family.

Prediction of the location of steady turbulent boundary-layer separation is made using the technique employed by Stratford (1959) for intermittent separation.

The self-similar one-dimensional propagation of a strong shock wave in a medium with exponentially varying density and ray-tube area is studied, using the Eulerian approach of Sedov. Conservation integrals analogous to Sedov's are obtained, with the expression for the Lagrangian variable. Calculated results are compared with the predictions of the CCW (Chisnell, Chester and Whitham) approximation. It was found that, in contrast to the implosion case, the propagation parameter from the CCW approximation is in error by 15% or more.

A method is established for the calculation of the trajectories of shocks moving upward in the atmosphere, on the basis of the assumption that they are of the self-propagating type. The results of calculations for self-similar motions are given, and these are used to establish a propagation law based upon the concepts of the Chisnell, Chester and Whitham (CCW) approximation. This propagation law enters a characteristics law based upon that proposed by Whitham, but reformulated for the computation of axisymmetric shocks with varying density.

An asymptotic self-preserving shock shape is investigated, and is computed for the case γ = 1·4. A parabolic approximation scheme suggested by the self-preserving solution is developed, in which the solution near the axis is reduced to the solution of a system of ordinary differential equations. Finally, the governing equation for the general case without axial symmetry (but without winds) is presented.

The results of Ursell (1964) are confirmed by proving that there are no additional contributions to Ursell's integral from singularities of the integrand at infinity. The method consists of proving that the asymptotic expansion of a force coefficient Δ(N) is uniformly valid in a finite sector of the complex N-plane. This in turn requires that the kernel of an integral equation remains small in this sector.

A smoke visualization technique was used to study the laminar wake behind a group of three cylinders. The main characteristic of the interaction between the three cylinders was the appearance of strong sinuous oscillations some distance downstream in the wake, which led to the formation of a new single vortex street. The mechanism of the formation process of this vortex street and the part played in it by the sinuous oscillations is demonstrated by a series of photographs. The effects of variation of the spacing of the configuration have been examined in detail.

In an interaction between three fully developed vortex streets, some of the rows of vortices crossed, and there was an extremely complicated re-arrangement of vorticity in the wake.

Transition to turbulence in such wakes was also studied. The most interesting result observed was an asymmetric transition. Wakes were sometimes observed which were laminar on one side and turbulent on the other.

Equations of motion are derived for long gravity waves in a straight uniform channel. The cross-section of the channel may be of any shape provided that it does not have gently sloping banks and it is not very wide compared with its depth. The equations may be reduced to those for two-dimensional motion such as occurs in a rectangular channel. The order of approximation in these equations is sufficient to give the solitary wave as a solution.

The steady motion of a liquid drop in another liquid of comparable density and viscosity is studied theoretically. Both inside and outside the drop, the Reynolds number is taken to be large enough for boundary-layer theory to hold, but small enough for surface tension to keep the drop nearly spherical. Surface-active impurities are assumed absent. We investigate the boundary layers associated with the inviscid first approximation to the flow, which is shown to be Hill's spherical vortex inside, and potential flow outside. The boundary layers are shown to perturb the velocity field only slightly at high Reynolds numbers, and to obey linear equations which are used to find first and second approximations to the drag coefficient and the rate of internal circulation.

Drag coefficients calculated from the theory agree quite well with experimental values for liquids which satisfy the conditions of the theory. There appear to be no experimental results available to test our prediction of the internal circulation.

Linear perturbation analysis is applied to the problem of the onset of convection in a horizontal layer of fluid heated uniformly from below, when the fluid is bounded below by a rigid plate of inlinite conductivity and above by a solid layer of finite conductivity and finite thickness. The critical Rayleigh number and wave-number are found for various thickness ratios and thermal conductivity ratios. Both numbers are reduced by the presence of a boundary of finite (rather than infinite) conductivity in qualitative agreement with the observation of Koschmieder (1966).

This paper considers the problem of the stability of an infinite horizontal layer of a viscous fluid which loses heat throughout its volume at a constant rate. The variation of the critical Rayleigh number, Rt, and the cell aspect ratio, a, with the rate of heat loss, is calculated with two sets of boundary conditions corresponding to two free and two rigid boundaries. In both cases we find that, as the rate of heat loss increases, Rt decreases, showing that the layer becomes more unstable, and a increases, showing that the cells become narrower. We also consider the possibility that a double layer of cells is formed for large values of the rate of heat loss, by the stable layer at the top, and find that this does not occur while the temperature of the upper surface of the layer is less than that of the lower.