During $\text{CO}_{2}$ sequestration into a deep saline aquifer of finite vertical extent, $\text{CO}_{2}$ will tend to accumulate in structural highs such as offered by an anticline. Over times of tens to thousands of years, some of the $\text{CO}_{2}$ will dissolve into the underlying groundwater to produce a region of relatively dense, saturated water directly below the plume of $\text{CO}_{2}$. Continued dissolution then requires the supply of unsaturated aquifer water. In an aquifer of finite vertical extent, this may be provided by a background hydrological flow, or a laterally-spreading buoyancy-driven flow caused by the greater density of the $\text{CO}_{2}$ saturated water relative to the original aquifer water.

We investigate long time steady-state dissolution in the presence of a background hydrological flow. In steady state, the distribution of $\text{CO}_{2}$ in the groundwater upstream of the aquifer involves a balance between three competing effects: (i) the buoyancy-driven flow of $\text{CO}_{2}$ saturated water; (ii) the diffusion of $\text{CO}_{2}$ from saturated to under-saturated water; and (iii) the advection associated with the oncoming background flow. This leads to three limiting regimes. In the limit of very slow diffusion, a nearly static intrusion of dense fluid may extend a finite distance upstream, balanced by the pressure gradient associated with the oncoming background flow. In the limit of fast diffusion relative to the flow, a gradient zone may become established in which the along-aquifer diffusive flux balances the advection associated with the background flow. However, if the buoyancy-driven flow speed exceeds the background hydrological flow speed, then a third, intermediate regime may become established. In this regime, a convective recirculation develops upstream of the anticline involving the vertical diffusion of $\text{CO}_{2}$ from an upstream propagating flow of dense $\text{CO}_{2}$ saturated water into the downstream propagating flow of $\text{CO}_{2}$ unsaturated water. For each limiting case, we find analytical solutions for the distribution of $\text{CO}_{2}$ upstream of the anticline, and test our analysis with full numerical simulations. A key result is that, although there may be very different controls on the distribution and extent of $\text{CO}_{2}$ bearing water upstream of the anticline, in each case the dissolution rate is given by the product of the background volume flux and the difference in concentration between the $\text{CO}_{2}$ saturated water and the original aquifer water upstream.

Hodograph methods are applied to determine the flow at high subsonic and sonic velocities past two-dimensional, thin, symmetrical bodies. The boundary value problem for the determination of the stream function Ψ, which in the present theory is a solution of Tricomi's equation, is simplified by the assumption of a free stream breakaway at sonic velocity from the shoulder of the body. A solution is obtained in terms of Bessel functions.

In § 2 and 3 the flow past a wedge of small angle is discussed and expressions are obtained for the pressure on the nose, the drag coefficient and the width of the wake. A comparison with the corresponding results in the case of sonic velocity derived by the more complex analysis of Guderley & Yoshihara (1950) shows that the present simpler theory yields very similar values for the pressure over the nose.

In § 4 the flow at sonic velocity past a profile which is a first-order perturbation upon a wedge profile is analysed on the basis of the same free streamline theory. The flow pattern is obtained past an arbitrarily specified body by an application of the Hankel inversion theorem and an expression is deduced for the drag.

A direct numerical simulation (DNS) of an unstably stratified convective boundary layer with system rotation was performed to study top-down and bottom-up diffusion processes. In order to better understand near-wall dynamics associated with scalar diffusion in the absence of surface roughness, direct simulation is utilized to numerically integrate the governing equations that model the atmospheric boundary layer. The ratio of the inversion height to Obukhov length scale, ${z}_{i} / L= - 49. 1$, indicates moderately strong heating for the case studied. Two passive scalars were initialized in the flow field: the first with a zero gradient at the wall (${q}_{t} $, top-down diffusion), and the second with a non-zero wall gradient and a close-to-zero gradient at the height of the temperature inversion (${q}_{b} $, bottom-up diffusion). Scalar flux, variance and covariance profiles show good agreement between the DNS and rough-wall large-eddy simulation (LES). The top-down gradient function displays a slight increase in amplitude, indicating reduced mixing efficiency for the smooth-wall, low-Reynolds-number convective boundary layer. For the bottom-up process, the gradient matches other rough-wall simulations. The only notable difference between the smooth-wall DNS data and other rough-wall simulations is an increase in the gradient function near the wall. This indicates that the bottom-up gradient functions for a rough wall and a smooth wall are nearly identical except as the viscous sublayer is approached. Finally, a new empirical model for the scalar variance of a bottom-up scalar is proposed: here, a single function replaces two piecewise relationships to accurately capture the DNS results up to the viscous sublayer. The scalar covariance between top-down and bottom-up processes agrees with rough-wall and tree-canopy LES results; this indicates that the scalar covariance is independent of both Reynolds number and surface friction.

Two of the most widespread and fascinating patterns observed on cave walls and icefalls – karst and ice flutings – are demonstrated to share the same morphogenesis, whose core is a water film-induced locking mechanism. Creeping flow-based parallel and non-parallel stability analyses are developed through a numerical and analytical approach. These instabilities are shown to develop at inverted overhung conditions. A sharp transition between fluting and ripple-like patterns is presented. The non-parallel problem is solved with the use of Papkovich–Neuber solutions in order to obtain a finite wavelength selection close to the critical conditions. The method and results can be extended to similar problems where the temporal evolution of the interface is linearly related to the film depth.

This paper indicates the existence of a dual solution of the boundary-layer equations for the flow near a nodal point of attachment of the external flow; especial note is made of the non-axisymmetric boundary-layer flow when the external flow is axisymmetric.

As a stepping stone towards understanding acoustic resonances in axial flow compressors, acoustic resonances are computed numerically in fixed single and tandem plate cascades in an infinitely long annular duct. Applying perfectly matched layer absorbing boundary conditions in the form of the complex scaling method of atomic and molecular physics to approximate the radiation condition the resonance problem is transformed into an eigenvalue problem. Of particular interest are resonances with zero radiation damping (trapped modes) or very small radiation damping (nearly trapped modes). Such resonances can be excited by wakes from compressor cascades or struts. If the shedding frequency is sufficiently close to an acoustic resonant frequency, the latter may control the vortex shedding causing high-intensity tonal noise or occasionally even blade failure. All resonances are computed for zero mean flow approximating low-Mach-number flows. The influence of various cascade parameters on the resonant frequencies is studied and, whenever possible, our numerical results are compared with published experimental findings.

A disturbance of finite amplitude λ, which is periodic in the direction of the axis of the channel, is superimposed on plane Poiseuille flow, and the subsequent development of the disturbance is studied. The disturbance is represented by an expansion in the eigenfunctions of the Orr-Sommerfeld equation with coefficients which are functions of the time, and an accurate numerical solution of the truncated system of non-linear ordinary differential equations for the coefficients is obtained.

It is found that even for Reynolds numbers R less than the critical value Rc, the flow breaks down when λ exceeds a critical value λc(R). This is shown in figure 11 for the case when the initial disturbance is represented by the first mode of the Orr-Sommerfeld equation. The development of this type of disturbance is illustrated in figures 1, 3 and 13 and, for the case of a higher-order mode initial disturbance, in figure 14. Near the time of breakdown, the curvature of the modified mean flow changes sign (figure 15), but a disturbance may die down even after a reversal in the sign of the curvature has taken place (see figure 2).

The stability of plane Poiseuille flow to disturbances of finite amplitude is affected by the characteristics of the higher-order modes of the Orr-Sommerfeld equation. As shown in figures 4, 10, and 12, and in figures 5, 6, and 7, these modes are either of a ‘boundary type’, characteristic of the region near the wall, or of an ‘interior type’, characteristic of the centre of the channel. The modes in the transition zone, where the two types merge, are easily amplified through mutual constructive interference, even though individually they have high damping coefficients. It is these transition modes which are mainly responsible for the breakdown through finite amplitude effects.

An inviscid analytical theory of a slow steady liquid mass rotation during the swirl-type sloshing in a vertical circular cylindrical tank with a fairly deep depth is proposed by utilising the asymptotic steady-state wave solution by Faltinsen et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 804, 2016, pp. 608–645). The tank performs a periodic horizontal motion with the forcing frequency close to the lowest natural sloshing frequency. The azimuthal mass transport (first observed in experiments by Prandtl (Z. Angew. Math. Mech., vol. 29(1/2), 1949, pp. 8–9)) is associated with the summarised effect of a vortical Eulerian-mean flow, which, as we show, is governed by the inviscid Craik–Leibovich equation, and an azimuthal non-Eulerian mean. Suggesting the mass-transport velocity tends to zero when approaching the vertical wall (supported by existing experiments) leads to a unique non-trivial solution of the Craik–Leibovich boundary problem and, thereby, gives an analytical expression for the summarised mass-transport velocity within the framework of the inviscid hydrodynamic model. The analytical solution is validated by comparing it with suitable experimental data.

We consider whether small-amplitude topography in a two-dimensional ocean may contain internal wave attractors. These are closed orbits formed by the characteristics (or wave beam paths) of the linear, inviscid, steady-state Boussinesq equations, and their existence may imply enhanced scattering and energy decay for the internal tide when dissipation is present. We develop a numerical code to detect attractors over arbitrary topography, and apply this to random, Gaussian topography with different covariance functions. The rate of attractors per length of topography increases with the fraction of supercritical topography, but surprisingly, it also increases as the amplitude of the topography is decreased, while the supercritical fraction is held constant. This can partly be understood by appealing to Rice’s formula for the rate of zero crossings of a stochastic process. We compute the rate of attractors for a covariance function typical of ocean bathymetry away from large features and find it is about 10 attractors per 1000 km. This could have implications for the overall energy budget of the ocean.

It is shown that the Euler hydrodynamics for vortical flows of an ideal fluid is equivalent to the equations of motion of a charged compressible fluid moving due to a self-consistent electromagnetic field. The velocity of new auxiliary fluid coincides with the velocity component normal to the vorticity line for the primitive equations. Therefore this new hydrodynamics represents hydrodynamics of vortex lines. Their compressibility reveals a new mechanism for three-dimensional incompressible vortical flows connected with breaking (or overturning) of vortex lines which can be considered as one of the variants of collapses. Transition to the Lagrangian description in the new hydrodynamics corresponds, for the original Euler equations, to a mixed Lagrangian–Eulerian description – the vortex line representation (VLR). The Jacobian of this mapping defines the density of vortex lines. It is shown also that application of VLR to the Navier–Stokes equations results in an equation of diffusive type for the Cauchy invariant. The diffusion tensor for this equation is defined by the VLR metric.

Experiments in ionizing neon are described in which heavy-particle and electron densities are measured and compared with the current kinetic model. The experimental results allow a determination of the atom-atom collisional excitation cross-section constant, giving a value of (8±2) × 10−20 cm2/eV for the range of conditions examined. The population of two of the excited-state levels of the atom are measured and compared with theoretical predictions. The experimental populations are found to follow the expected behaviour in the quasi-equilibrium region, but are several orders of magnitude higher than predicted in the nonequilibrium zone. These findings suggest that the depopulation of excited states through ionizing collisions occurs more slowly than expected. Absorption linewidths and line shifts are also measured in the quasi-equilibrium region and found to compare well with theory. A small precurson population is also observed and population measurements in this region are compared with other experimental results in argon and krypton.

Studies of three-dimensional Stokes flow of two Newtonian fluids that converge in a T-type bifurcation have important applications in polymer coextrusion, blood flow through the venous microcirculation, and other problems of science and technology. This flow problem is simulated numerically by means of the finite element method, and the solution demonstrates that the viscosity ratio between the two fluids critically affects flow behaviour. For the parameters investigated, we find that as the viscosity ratio between the side branch and the main branch increases, the interface between the merging fluids bulges away from the side branch. The viscosity ratio also affects the velocity distribution: at the outlet branch, the largest radial gradients of axial velocity appear in the less-viscous fluid. The distribution of wall shear stress is non-axisymmetric in the outlet branch and may be discontinuous at the interface between the fluids.

In this paper we discuss ‘exotic’ rotationally symmetric containers that admit an entire continuum of distinct equilibrium capillary free surfaces. The paper extends earlier work to a larger class of parameters and clarifies and simplifies the governing differential equations, while expressing them in a parametric form appropriate for numerical integration. A unified presentation suitable for both zero and non-zero gravity is given. Solutions for the container shapes are depicted graphically along with members of the free-surface continuum, and comments are given concerning possible physical experiments.

A survey of the density field in the immediate vicinity of Jarvis Island was made in April 1971. The island is isolated and is situated in the Pacific Equatorial Undercurrent, thus presenting the opportunity to study a high Reynolds number (∼ 109) stratified shear flow. Large deflexions of the isopycnals were observed near the island. Solutions derived from the perfect-fluid equations of Drazin (1961) axe in reasonable agreement with the observed mass field in the upstream region. Downstream, a wake region was apparent, but the dynamics of the wake are obscure. A coefficient of pressure deficit in the wake is in the same range as values computed from homogeneous laboratory flows, but baroclinic effects are observed.

It does not seem to be possible to prove analytically that an incompressible, inviscid free shear layer is less unstable with respect to spatially growing three-dimensional disturbances than to two-dimensional ones. For this reason a numerical calculation for the special case of the hyperbolic tangent velocity profile was performed. It was found that even for spatially growing disturbances the amplification of three-dimensional disturbances is smaller than for two-dimensional ones.

An extension of the StuartWatson technique for examination of the non-linear hydrodynamic instability of time-dependent flows is proposed. An example in Bnard convection is used to illustrate the method. Extensions to more general problems are indicated.

A turbulent plume from a continuous source of buoyancy in a long tank is shown to generate a series of quasi-steady counterflowing horizontal shear layers throughout the tank. Both the horizontal flow velocity and the depth of the shear layers are observed to decrease with distance above/below the plume outflow. The shear layers are supported by the stable density stratification produced by the plume and are superimposed on the vertical advection and entrainment inflow that make up the so-called ‘filling box’ circulation. Thus, at some depths, the surrounding water flows away from the plume instead of being entrained, although we see no evidence of ‘detrainment’ of dense plume water. Given the stratification produced by the plume at large times, the timescale for the velocity structure to adjust to changes in forcing is proportional to the time for long internal gravity waves to travel the length of the tank. The shear layers are interpreted in terms of internal normal modes that are excited by, and which in turn determine, the horizontal plume outflow. The sixth and seventh baroclinic modes typically dominate because at the level of the plume outflow their phase speed is approximately equal and opposite to the vertical advection in the ‘filling box’. Also, the approximate balance between phase speed and advection is found to hold throughout the tank, resulting in the observed quasi-steady flow structure. Viscosity causes the horizontal velocity in the shear layers to decrease with distance above/below the plume outflow, and is thought to be responsible for a low-frequency oscillation in the flow structure that is observed during experiments.

Grad’s method of moments is employed to develop higher-order Grad moment equations – up to the first 26 moments – for dilute granular gases within the framework of the (inelastic) Boltzmann equation. The homogeneous cooling state of a freely cooling granular gas is investigated with the Grad 26-moment equations in a semi-linearized setting and it is shown that the granular temperature in the homogeneous cooling state still decays according to Haff’s law while the other higher-order moments decay on a faster time scale. The nonlinear terms of the fully contracted fourth moment are also considered and, by exploiting the stability analysis of fixed points, it is shown that these nonlinear terms have a negligible effect on Haff’s law. Furthermore, an even larger Grad moment system, which includes the fully contracted sixth moment, is also scrutinized and the stability analysis of fixed points is again exploited to conclude that even the inclusion of the scalar sixth-order moment into the Grad moment system has a negligible effect on Haff’s law. The constitutive relations for the stress and heat flux (i.e. the Navier–Stokes and Fourier relations) are derived through the Grad 26-moment equations and compared with those obtained via the Chapman–Enskog expansion and via computer simulations. The linear stability of the homogeneous cooling state is analysed through the Grad 26-moment system and various subsystems by decomposing them into longitudinal and transverse systems. It is found that one eigenmode in both longitudinal and transverse systems in the case of inelastic gases is unstable. By comparing the eigenmodes from various theories, it is established that the 13-moment eigenmode theory predicts that the unstable heat mode of the longitudinal system remains unstable for all wavenumbers below a certain coefficient of restitution, while any other higher-order moment theory shows that this mode becomes stable above some critical wavenumber for all values of the coefficient of restitution. In particular, the Grad 26-moment theory leads to a smooth profile for the critical wavenumber, in contrast to the other considered theories. Furthermore, the critical system size obtained through the Grad 26-moment theory is in excellent agreement with that obtained through existing theories.