We consider the dynamical processes by which a dense, porous object floating in a body of liquid becomes waterlogged and sinks. We first generalize the classic model of capillary rise in a porous medium to present an analytically tractable model of the process, which is valid for objects that are very shallow compared to their horizontal extent. We find an analytical expression for the time taken for the object to sink under this approximation. We use a series of boundary integral simulations to show that decreasing the horizontal extent of the object decreases the time taken to sink. We find that the results of these numerical simulations are in good quantitative agreement with a series of laboratory experiments. Finally, we discuss the implications of our work for pumice fragments, often found floating in open water after a volcanic eruption, occasionally even supporting plant, animal and human remains.

We consider the effect of high rotation rates on two liquid layers that initially form concentric cylinders, centred on the axis of rotation. The configuration may be thought of as a fluid–fluid centrifuge. There are two types of perturbation to the interface that may be considered, an azimuthal perturbation around the circumference of the interface and a varicose perturbation in the axial direction along the length of the interface. It is the first of these types of perturbation that we consider here, and so the flow may be considered essentially two-dimensional, taking place in a circular domain. A linear stability analysis is carried out on a perturbation to the hydrostatic background state and a fourth-order Orr–Sommerfeld-like equation that governs the system is derived. We consider the dynamics of systems of stable and unstable configurations, inviscid and viscous fluids, immiscible fluid layers with surface tension and miscible fluid layers that may have some initial diffusion of density. In the most simple case of two layers of inviscid fluid separated by a sharp interface with no surface tension acting, we show that the effects of the curvature of the interface and the confinement of the system may be characterised by a modified Atwood number. The classical Atwood number is recovered in the limit of high azimuthal wavenumber, or the outer fluid layer being unconfined. Theoretical predictions are compared with numerical experiments and the agreement is shown to be good. We do not restrict our analysis to equal volume fluid layers and so our results also have applications in coating and lubrication problems in rapidly rotating systems and machinery.

We numerically solve the nonlinear two-fluid Hall–Vinen–Bekharevich–Khalatnikov (HVBK) equations for superfluid helium confined inside a short Couette annulus. The outer cylinder and the ends of the annulus are held fixed whilst the inner cylinder is rotated. This simple flow configuration allows us to study how the vortex lines respond to a shear in the presence of boundaries. It also allows us to investigate further the boundary conditions associated with the HVBK model. The main result of our investigation is the anomalous motion of helium II when compared to a classical fluid. The superfluid Ekman cells always rotate in the opposite sense to a classical Navier–Stokes fluid due to the mutual friction between the two fluids, whilst the sense of rotation of the normal fluid Ekman cells depends on the parameter range considered. We also find that the tension of the vortex lines forces the superfluid to rotate about the inner cylinder almost like a rigid column.

The central theme of this work is that a stable levitation of a denser non-magnetizable liquid droplet, against gravity, inside a relatively lighter ferrofluid – a system barely considered in ferrohydrodynamics – is possible, and exhibits unique interfacial features; the stability of the levitation trajectory, however, is subject to an appropriate magnetic field modulation. We explore the shapes and the temporal dynamics of a plane non-magnetizable droplet levitating inside a ferrofluid against gravity due to a spatially complex, but systematically generated, magnetic field in two dimensions. The coupled set of Maxwell’s magnetostatic equations and the flow dynamic equations is integrated computationally, utilizing a conservative finite-volume-based second-order pressure projection algorithm combined with the front-tracking algorithm for the advection of the interface of the droplet. The dynamics of the droplet is studied under both the constant ferrofluid magnetic permeability assumption as well as for more realistic field-dependent permeability described by Langevin’s nonlinear magnetization model. Due to the non-homogeneous nature of the magnetic field, unique shapes of the droplet during its levitation, and at its steady state, are realized. The complete spatio-temporal response of the droplet is a function of the Laplace number $La$, the magnetic Laplace number $La_{m}$ and the Galilei number $Ga$; through detailed simulations we separate out the individual roles played by these non-dimensional parameters. The effect of the viscosity ratio, the stability of the levitation path and the possibility of existence of multiple stable equilibrium states is investigated. We find, for certain conditions on the viscosity ratio, that there can be developments of cusps and singularities at the droplet surface; we also observe this phenomenon experimentally and compare with the simulations. Our simulations closely replicate the singular projection on the surface of the levitating droplet. Finally, we present a dynamical model for the vertical trajectory of the droplet. This model reveals a condition for the onset of levitation and the relation for the equilibrium levitation height. The linearization of the model around the steady state captures that the nature of the equilibrium point goes under a transition from being a spiral to a node depending upon the control parameters, which essentially means that the temporal route to the equilibrium can be either monotonic or undulating. The analytical model for the droplet trajectory is in close agreement with the detailed simulations.

The asymmetrical Mach reflection configuration is studied analytically in this paper, using an asymmetrical model extended from a recent symmetrical model and accounting for the new features related to asymmetry of the two wedges. It is found that the two sliplines do not turn parallel to the incoming flow at the same horizontal location and the sonic throat locates at the position where the difference of slopes of the two sliplines vanishes. This allows us to define a new sonic throat compatibility condition essential to determine the size of the Mach stem. The present model gives the height of the Mach stem, declined angle of the Mach stem from vertical axis, sonic throat location and shape of all shock waves and sliplines. The accuracy of the model is checked by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. It is found that the Mach stem height is strongly dependent on asymmetry of the wedge angles and almost linearly dependent on the asymmetry of the wedge lower surface lengths. The Mach stem height is shown to be insensitive to the asymmetry of the horizontal positions of the two wedges. The mechanisms for these observations are explained. For instance, it is demonstrated that the Mach reflection configuration remains closely similar when there is horizontal shift of either wedge.

The motion of a free-moving plate atop turbulent thermal convection exhibits diverse dynamics that displays characteristics of both deterministic and chaotic motions. Early experiments performed by Zhong & Zhang (Phys. Rev. E, vol. 75 (5), 2007, 055301) found an oscillatory and a trapped state existing for a plate floating on convective fluid in a rectangular tank. They proposed a piecewise smooth physical model (ZZ model) that successfully captures this transition of states. However, their model was deterministic and therefore could not describe the stochastic behaviours. In this study, we combine the ZZ model with a novel approach that models the stochastic aspects through a variational inequality structure. With the powerful mathematical tools for stochastic variational inequalities, the properties of the Markov process and corresponding Kolmogorov equations could be studied both numerically and analytically. Moreover, this framework also allows one to compute the transition probabilities. Our present work captures the stochastic aspects of the two aforementioned boundary–fluid coupling states, predicts the stochastic behaviours and shows excellent qualitative and quantitative agreements with the experimental data.

In this paper, a multi-layer model is developed for the purpose of studying nonlinear internal wave propagation in shallow water. The methodology employed in constructing the multi-layer model is similar to that used in deriving Boussinesq-type equations for surface gravity waves. It can also be viewed as an extension of the two-layer model developed by Choi & Camassa. The multi-layer model approximates the continuous density stratification by an -layer fluid system in which a constant density is assumed in each layer. This allows the model to investigate higher-mode internal waves. Furthermore, the model is capable of simulating large-amplitude internal waves up to the breaking point. However, the model is limited by the assumption that the total water depth is shallow in comparison with the wavelength of interest. Furthermore, the vertical vorticity must vanish, while the horizontal vorticity components are weak. Numerical examples for strongly nonlinear waves are compared with laboratory data and other numerical studies in a two-layer fluid system. Good agreement is observed. The generation and propagation of mode-1 and mode-2 internal waves and their interactions with bottom topography are also investigated.

A weakly nonlinear stability analysis of an axisymmetric Newtonian liquid jet is presented. The calculation is based on a small-amplitude perturbation method and performed to second order in the perturbation parameter. The obtained solution includes terms derived from a polynomial approximation of a viscous contribution containing products of Bessel functions with different arguments. The use of such an approximation is not needed in the inviscid case and the planar case, since the equations of those problems can be solved in an exact form. The developed model depends on three dimensionless parameters: the initial perturbation amplitude, the perturbation wavenumber and the liquid Ohnesorge number, the latter being the dimensionless liquid viscosity. The influence of the approximate terms was shown to be relatively small for a large range of Ohnesorge numbers so that they can be ignored. This simplification provides a jet model as simple to use as the previous ones, but taking into account the liquid viscosity and the cylindrical geometry. The jet model is used to reveal the effect of both the wavenumber and the Ohnesorge number on the formation of satellite drops, which is known as a nonlinear effect. Results are found in good agreement with direct numerical simulations and forced liquid jet experiments for wavenumbers lower than a threshold value. Satellite drop formation is retarded with increasing Ohnesorge number and wavenumber, as expected by the damping and size effects of viscosity. The threshold number corresponds to the maximum wavenumber for which satellite drop formation is predicted before jet breakup, and for which volume conservation is satisfied within a certain amount. The volume conservation criterion is imposed to ensure that the conclusions inferred by our model are safe.

The boundary layer that forms on the walls of a shock tube, after the diaphragm which initially separates two gases at different pressures is burst, is investigated. Both the driver and driven gases are assumed to have the same thermal properties and the shock tube wall is maintained at constant temperature. Crocco variables are used and a method is presented for solving the compressible boundary-layer equations within the tube in similarity variables. Three cases, corresponding to different initial pressure ratios of the driver and driven gases, are calculated which are representative of weak and medium-strength shock and expansion waves.

It has recently been suggested that the magneto-rotational instability (MRI) is a limiting case of the magneto-elliptic instability (MEI). This limit is obtained for horizontal modes in the presence of rotation and an external vertical magnetic field, when the aspect ratio of the elliptic streamlines tends to infinite. In this paper we unveil the link between these previously unconnected mechanisms, explaining both the MEI and the MRI as different manifestations of the same magneto-elliptic-rotational instability (MERI). The growth rates are found and the influence of the magnetic and rotational effects is explained, in particular the effect of the magnetic field on the range of negative Rossby numbers at which the horizontal instability is excited. Furthermore, we show how the horizontal rotational MEI in the rotating shear flow limit is linked to the MRI by the use of the local shearing box model, typically used in the study of accretion discs. In such a limit the growth rates of the two instability types coincide for any power-law-type background angular velocity radial profile with negative exponent corresponding to the value of the Rossby number of the rotating shear flow. The MRI requirement for instability is that the background angular velocity profile is a decreasing function of the distance from the centre of the disc, which corresponds to the horizontal rotational MEI requirement of negative Rossby numbers. Finally a physical interpretation of the horizontal instability, based on a balance between the strain, the Lorentz force and the Coriolis force, is given.

Spatial evolution of small perturbations introduced into an inlet cross-section of fully developed turbulent flow in a long straight circular pipe is investigated via direct numerical simulation (DNS). The turbulent inflow field is extracted from an auxiliary streamwise-periodic simulation running in parallel with the main spatial simulation. It is shown that mean perturbation amplitude ϵ increases exponentially with distance downstream. The growth rate is found to be constant when normalized by viscous length, ϵ ~ exp(0.0021x+) over the considered Reynolds-number range 140 ≤ Reτ ≤ 320. The universal character of perturbation growth is confirmed by channel-flow simulations.

A coupled-mode model is presented for wave–current–seabed interaction, with application to the problem of wave scattering by ambient shearing currents in variable bathymetry regions. We consider obliquely incident waves on a horizontally non-homogeneous current in a variable-depth strip, which is characterized by straight and parallel bottom contours. The flow associated with the current is assumed to be directed along the bottom contours and it is considered to be steady and known. In a finite subregion containing the bottom irregularity, we assume that the horizontal current profile is general and smoothly varying. Outside this region, the current is assumed to be uniform (or zero). Based on a variational principle, in conjunction with a rapidly convergent local-mode series expansion of the wave pressure field in the finite subregion containing the current variation and the bottom irregularity, a new coupled-mode system of equations is obtained, governing the scattering of waves in the presence of variable bathymetry and longshore shearing currents. By keeping only the propagating mode in the local-mode series, a new one-equation model is derived, having the property to reduce to the modified mild-slope equation when the current is zero, and to the enhanced mild-shear equation when the bottom is flat. An important aspect of the present model is that it can be further elaborated to treat shearing currents with general, depth-dependent vertical structure, and to include the effects of weak nonlinearity.

The nonlinear stability of two-phase core-annular flow in a cylindrical pipe is studied. A constant pressure gradient drives the flow of two immiscible liquids of different viscosities and equal densities, and surface tension acts at the interface separating the phases. Insoluble surfactants are included, and we assess their effect on the flow stability and ensuing spatio-temporal dynamics. We achieve this by developing an asymptotic analysis in the limit of a thin annular layer – which is usually the relevant regime in applications – to derive a coupled system of nonlinear evolution equations that govern the dynamics of the interface and the local surfactant concentration on it. In the absence of surfactants the system reduces to the Kuramoto–Sivashinsky (KS) equation, and its modifications due to viscosity stratification (present when the phases have unequal viscosities) are derived elsewhere. We report on extensive numerical experiments to evaluate the effect of surfactants on KS dynamics (including chaotic states, for example), in both the absence and the presence of viscosity stratification. We find that chaos is suppressed in the absence of viscosity differences and that the new flow consists of successive windows (in parameter space) of steady-state travelling waves separated by time-periodic attractors. The intricate structure of the travelling pulses is also explained physically. When viscosity stratification is present we observe a transition from time-periodic dynamics, for instance, to steady-state travelling wave pulses of increasing amplitudes and speeds. Numerical evidence is presented that indicates that the transition occurs through a reverse Feigenbaum cascade in phase space.