The transformation proposed by Coles for correlating the compressible turbulent boundary layer on a solid surface with a given incompressible layer has been extended to the case of a porous surface with air injection. However, unlike Coles's work, the new transformation does not use the empirical concept of the sublayer to define one of the transformation parameters. Instead this parameter can be defined in terms of the stream function at the wall, and so is directly related to the injection rate. The present paper concerns the transformation for the boundary layer with constant pressure and zero heat transfer, but the possibility of extending the transformation to flows with pressure gradients and heat transfer is mentioned briefly.

Comparison with experiments shows that the new transformation successfully relates cf, θ and the fully turbulent part of the velocity profile with their corresponding incompressible values for a wide range of Mach numbers and injection rates.

Laboratory and numerical experiments have been conducted to study the secular spin-up of both a homogeneous and a thermally stratified rotating fluid in a right cylinder. In these experiments, the angular velocity of the container increases linearly in time from some initial rotation rate at t = 0. A simple quasi-geostrophic model is developed to describe the adjustment of the fluid over the characteristic spin-up time scale to the constant angular acceleration of the basin. Good agreement is found between the observed interior temperature and azimuthal velocity fields and the theory in both the homogeneous and stratified secular experiments. This result is in contrast to the much faster adjustment observed in stratified instantaneous spin-up experiments reported earlier. The main difference between these experimental cases is the inability of secular forcing to excite energetic inertial–gravity-wave transients during the initial phases of secular spin-up. Thus, the asymptotic theory which has filtered out these initial higher-frequency transients is accurate even though the inertial period is not much smaller than the characteristic spin-up time scale.

The stability of the Stewartson layer in a rotating incompressible fluid is investigated within the framework of a linear theory. The boundary-layer structure of the shear layer is correctly taken into account and the effect of viscous dissipation on the disturbance is included in the governing equations. The growth rate ωi of the disturbance is given as a function of the unified parameter mRo/(γ½), where m, an integer, is the azimuthal component of the wavenumber vector, γ the radius of the layer, Ro the Rossby number and E the Ekman number. Instability occurs when m Ro/(γ½) > 9·5. The time evolution of a growing disturbance is given schematically. Comparison of our results with the experiments by Hide & Titman shows good agreement.

Eady's model of baroclinic instability has been generalized by including β (the meridional gradient of planetary potential vorticity) while assuming that total potential vorticity is uniform. Moreover, the problems of Eady and of Phillips have been enriched by including a fixed topography or a free boundary (which implies a flow-dependent geostrophic topography). The most general cases (with β, fixed topography and a free boundary) of both problems are shown to have nearly identical stability properties, mainly determined by two Charney numbers: the planetary one and a topographic one. The question of whether this generalized baroclinic instability problem can be described by wave resonance or component ‘resonance’ is addressed. By waves are meant physical modes, which could freely propagate by themselves but are effectively coupled by an independent basic shear, producing the instability. Components, on the other hand, are mathematical modes for which the shear is also crucial for their existence, not just for their coupling, hence the quotation marks around ‘resonance’. In this paper it is shown that both scenarios, components ‘resonance’ and waves resonance, cast light on the free-boundary baroclinic instability problem by providing explanations of the instability onset (at minimum shear) and maximum growth rate cases, respectively. The importance of the mode pseudomomentum for the fulfillment of both mechanisms is also stressed.

The paper describes calculations of the statistical properties of turbulence-induced plate vibration, the computational scheme making no reference to Fourier synthesis. The problem considered is that of a local turbulent field acting on an infinite thin elastic plate, and the statistics of the response field are described at large distances from the forcing region. Effects of mechanical dissipation in the plate are examined, along with a discussion of the relevance of the results to problems involving plates of finite extent.

We study the occurrence of the multiple steady states that flows in a collapsible tube can develop under the effect of: (i) geometrical alterations (e.g. stenosis), (ii) variations of the mechanical properties of the tube wall, or (iii) variations of the external pressure acting on the conduit. Specifically, if the approaching flow is supercritical, two steady flow states are possible in a restricted region of the parameter space: one of these flow states is wholly supercritical while the other produces an elastic jump that is located upstream of the variation. In the latter case the flow undergoes a transition through critical conditions in the modified segment of the conduit. Both states being possible, the actual state is determined by the past history of the system, and the parameter values show a hysteretic behaviour when shifting from one state to the other. First we set up the problem in a theoretical framework assuming stationary conditions, and then we analyse the dynamics numerically in a one-dimensional framework. Theoretical considerations suggest that the existence of multiple states is associated with non-uniqueness of the steady-state solution, which is confirmed by numerical simulations of the fully unsteady problem.

An investigation into the influence of seemingly analogous kinematics (plunge versus tow) for rapidly accelerating, low-aspect-ratio plates has been performed. The instantaneous forces and velocity fields were obtained simultaneously using a six-component force/moment sensor together with a three-dimensional particle tracking velocimetry (3D-PTV) system. Despite identical effective shear-layer velocities and effective angles of attack, the force histories are found to vary between the two aforementioned cases (plunge versus tow) once the impulsive motion is complete, as originally reported on by Kriegseis et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 736, 2013, pp. 91–106). In order to uncover the cause for this curious discrepancy between the two analogous cases a vortex force decomposition is implemented. It is shown that the interplay between growth and orientation of the vortical structures significantly affects vortical hydrodynamic impulse and vortex force, and thus the net lift on the body.

The pressure–strain-rate correlation and pressure fluctuations in convective and near neutral atmospheric surface layers are investigated. Their scaling properties, spectral characteristics, the contributions from the different source terms in the pressure Poisson equation and the effects of the wall are investigated using high-resolution (up to $2048^{3}$) large-eddy simulation fields and through spectral predictions. The pressure–strain-rate correlation was found to have the mixed-layer and surface-layer scaling in the strongly convective and near neutral atmospheric surface layers, respectively. Its apparent surface-layer scaling in the moderately convective surface layer is due to the slow variations of the mixed-layer contribution, and is an inherent problem for single-point statistics in a multi-scale surface layer. In the strongly convective surface layer the pressure spectrum has an approximate $k^{-5/3}$ scaling range for small wavenumbers ($kz\ll 1$) due to the turbulent–turbulent contribution, and does not follow the surface-layer scaling, where $k$ and $z$ are the horizontal wavenumber and the distance from the surface respectively. The pressure–strain-rate cospectrum components have a $k^{-1}$ scaling range, consistent with our prediction using the surface layer parameters. It is dominated by the buoyancy contribution. Thus the anisotropy in the surface layer is due to the energy redistribution caused by the density fluctuations of the large eddies, rather than the turbulent–turbulent (inertial) effects. In the near neutral surface layer, the turbulent–turbulent and rapid contributions are primarily responsible for redistribution of energy from the streamwise velocity component to the vertical and spanwise components, respectively. The pressure–strain-rate cospectra peak near $kz\sim 1$, and have some similarities to those in the strongly convective surface layer for $kz\ll 1$. For the moderately convective surface layer, the pressure–strain-rate cospectra change signs at scales of the order of the Obukhov length, thereby imposing it as a horizontal length scale in the surface layer. This result provides strong support to the multipoint Monin–Obukhov similarity recently proposed by Tong & Nguyen (J. Atmos. Sci., vol. 72, 2015, pp. 4337–4348). We further decompose the pressure into the free-space (infinite domain), the wall reflection and the harmonic contributions. In the strongly convective surface layer, the free-space contribution to the pressure–strain-rate correlation is dominated by the buoyancy part, and is the main cause of the surface-layer anisotropy. The wall reflection enhances the anisotropy for most of the surface layer, suggesting that the pressure source has a large coherence length. In the near neutral surface layer, the wall reflection is small, suggesting a much smaller source coherence length. The present study also clarifies the understanding of the role of the turbulent–turbulent pressure, and has implications for understanding the dynamics and structure as well as modelling the atmospheric surface layer.

Experimental studies of laminar plumes descending under gravity into stably stratified environments have shown the existence of a critical injection velocity beyond which the plume exhibits a bifurcation to a coiling instability in three dimensions or a sinuous instability in a Hele-Shaw flow. In addition, flow visualization has shown that, prior to the onset of the instability, a stable base flow is established in which the plume penetrates to a depth significantly smaller than the neutral buoyancy depth. Moreover, the fresh water that is viscously entrained by the plume recirculates within a ‘conduit’ whose boundary with the background stratification appears sharp. Beyond the bifurcation, the buckling plume takes the form of a travelling wave of varying amplitude, confined within the conduit, which disappears at the penetration depth. To determine the mechanisms underlying these complex phenomena, which take place at a strikingly low Reynolds number but a high Schmidt number, we study here a two-dimensional arrangement, as it is perhaps the simplest system which possesses all the key experimental features. Through a combination of numerical and analytical approaches, a scaling law is found for the plume's penetration depth within the base flow (i.e. the flow where the instability is either absent or artificially suppressed), and the horizontal cross-stream velocity and concentration profile outside the plume are determined from an asymptotic analysis of a simplified model. Direct numerical simulations show that, with increasing flow rate, a sinuous global mode is destabilized giving rise to the self-sustained oscillations as in the experiment. The sinuous instability is shown to be a consequence of the baroclinic generation of vorticity, due to the strong horizontal gradients at the edge of the conduit, a mechanism that is relevant even at very low Reynolds numbers. Despite the strength of this instability, the penetration depth is not significantly affected by it, instead being determined by the properties of the plume in the vicinity of the source. This scenario is confirmed by a local stability analysis. A finite region of local absolute instability is found near the source for sinuous modes prior to the onset of the global instability. Sufficiently far from the source the flow is locally stable. Near the onset of the global instability, varicose modes are also found to be locally, but only convectively, unstable.

We consider the linear stability of Hill’s vortex with respect to axisymmetric perturbations. Given that Hill’s vortex is a solution of a free-boundary problem, this stability analysis is performed by applying methods of shape differentiation to the contour dynamics formulation of the problem in a three-dimensional axisymmetric geometry. This approach allows us to systematically account for the effect of boundary deformations on the linearized evolution of the vortex under the constraint of constant circulation. The resulting singular integro-differential operator defined on the vortex boundary is discretized with a highly accurate spectral approach. This operator has two unstable and two stable eigenvalues complemented by a continuous spectrum of neutrally stable eigenvalues. By considering a family of suitably regularized (smoothed) eigenvalue problems solved with a range of numerical resolutions, we demonstrate that the corresponding eigenfunctions are in fact singular objects in the form of infinitely sharp peaks localized at the front and rear stagnation points. These findings thus refine the results of the classical analysis by Moffatt & Moore (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 87, 1978, pp. 749–760).

The presence of endwalls in Taylor–Couette flows has far reaching effects, leading to dynamics that are qualitatively different from those associated with the idealized situation involving infinitely long cylinders. This is well known in the classical situation where the inner cylinder is rotating and the outer cylinder is stationary. The effects of endwalls in the centrifugally stable situation with stationary inner cylinder and rotating outer cylinder have not been previously considered in detail. The meridional flows induced by the endwalls lead to the formation of a thin sidewall boundary layer on the inner cylinder wall if the endwalls are rotating, or on the outer cylinder wall if they are stationary. At sufficiently high Reynolds numbers (non-dimensional rotation rate of the outer cylinder), the sidewall boundary layer has concentrated shear, the pressure gradient in the azimuthal direction (which is the streamwise direction for the boundary layer flow) is zero (the flow is axisymmetric) and the boundary layer thickness is constant. At a critical Reynolds number, the sidewall boundary layer loses stability at a subcritical Hopf bifurcation, breaking the axisymmetry of the basic state flow, and for Reynolds numbers slightly above critical, the basic state is unstable to a packet of Hopf modes with azimuthal wavenumbers clustered about the critical wavenumber. The early time evolution of the critical Hopf mode is a rotating wave whose behaviour is analogous to a Tollmien–Schlichting wave. As the Hopf modes grow with time, nonlinear interactions lead to modulations in the waves, localization of the disturbances and the evolution of concentrated streamwise vortical streaks which become very intense via vortex stretching.

Using direct numerical simulations of turbulent Couette flow, we predict drag reduction in suspensions of neutrally buoyant fluid spheres, of diameter larger than the Kolmogorov length scale. The velocity fluctuations are enhanced in the streamwise direction, and reduced in the cross-stream directions, which is similar to the more studied case of drag reduction using polymers. Despite these similarities, the drag reduction mechanism is found to originate in the logarithmic region, while the buffer region contributes to a slight drag increase, which is opposite to polymer-induced drag reduction. Another striking difference is the reduction of the turbulent energy at the large scales and an enhancement at the small scales.

Modelling and simulation are developed, generalized and validated for both heat transfer and shear-induced particle migration in dense non-colloidal laminar suspension flows. Past theory and measurements for the effective thermal conductivity in porous materials at zero shear rate are coupled to more recent effective thermal diffusivity measurements of sheared suspensions. The suspension effective heat transfer affected by the local shear rate ($\dot{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}}$), the phenomenon of shear-induced particle migration (SIM), the buoyancy effects ($\unicode[STIX]{x0394}\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}$) and the thermal Péclet number ($Pe_{d_{p}}=\dot{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}}d_{p}^{2}/\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}_{f}$, where $d_{p}$ is the diameter of rigid particles and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}_{f}$ is the fluid phase thermal diffusivity) at the particle scale are all considered in the present constitutive three-dimensional modelling. Moreover, the influence of the temperature, the shear rate and the particle volume fraction ($\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}$) on the suspension effective viscosity ($\unicode[STIX]{x1D702}_{S}$), the suspension effective thermal properties and the fluid density ($\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{f}$) are taken also into account. The present contribution represents an emerging field of heat transfer applications of complex fluid flows and is very beneficial for many future applications where concentrated suspension laminar flows with conjugate heat transfer may be present (e.g. for designing more innovative and compact heat exchangers).

In this study, we investigate the stability of time-dependent zonal flows to two-dimensional (zonally symmetric) disturbances. While steady currents can only experience inertial instability (II) in this setting, unsteady ones may be destabilized in other ways. For example, time-periodic flows can be subject to parametric subharmonic instability (PSI). Motivated by observations of salinity interleaving patterns in the upper equatorial Pacific Ocean, our objective is to determine the basic properties of dominant instabilities (their generation mechanism, spatial and temporal characteristics, and finite-amplitude development) for background flows that are representative of those in the upper-equatorial ocean, yet still amenable to a computational sweep of parameter space. Our approach is to explore the stability of solutions to linear and nonlinear versions of a two-dimensional model for an idealized background flow with oscillating linear shear. To illustrate basic properties of the instabilities, the f-plane and equatorial β-plane scenarios are studied using a linear model. Stability regime diagrams show that on the f-plane there is a clear separation in dominant vertical scales between PSI- and II-dominated regimes, whereas on the equatorial β-plane the parameter space contains a region where dominant instability is a mixture of the two types. In general, PSI favours lower vertical modes than II. The finite-amplitude development of instabilities on the equatorial β-plane is explored using a nonlinear model, including cases illustrating the equilibration of pure II and the development of pure PSI and mixed instabilities. We find that unless the instabilities are weak enough to be equilibrated by viscosity at low amplitude, disturbances continue to grow until the vertical shear of their meridional velocity field becomes large enough to allow for Richardson numbers less than 1/4; as a consequence, PSI-favoured vertical modes are able to reach higher amplitudes than II-favoured modes before becoming susceptible to Kelvin–Helmholtz instability, and induce tracer intrusions of a considerably larger meridional extent.