The effects of rotation on a salt-fingering interface between two mixed layers are studied experimentally. It is found that rotation causes an interface to thicken more rapidly than it does in the corresponding non-rotating experiment. In order to interpret this result, the collective-instability model of Stern (1969, 1975) is extended to include the Coriolis effect and the neutral-stability condition is derived. Rotation stabilizes the fingers, the degree of stabilization being dependent on the wavenumber of the perturbation. By assuming equal fluxes in the rotating and non-rotating experiments, the interface thickness data are found to be consistent with the extended collective-instability model.

We numerically investigated the unsteady dynamics of a two-dimensional airfoil undergoing a continuous, prescribed pitch-up motion and freely translating as a response to aerodynamic forces and the gravity field. The pitch-up motion was applied about an axis located $1/6$ chord away from the leading edge and was parameterized using the shape change number, with a Reynolds number set to 2000. It was shown that the minimum kinetic energy reached by the airfoil depends stochastically and asymptotically on shape change numbers for values below and above 1, respectively. Very low kinetic energy levels (close to zero) can be reached in both stochastic and asymptotic regions but high shape change numbers are accompanied by significant gain in altitude which may be undesirable from a practical perspective. Rather, shape change numbers in the range [0.1–0.3] allow us to reach relatively low levels of kinetic energy for close perching locations. We showed that highly nonlinear fluid–structure interactions induced by massive flow separations and strong vortices are conducive to low kinetic energy, but responsible for the stochastic dependence of kinetic energy to shape change number, which can make perching manoeuvres hardly controllable for flying vehicles.

The initial perturbation with the largest transient energy growth is computed in the context of the swept leading-edge boundary layer. The highest energy amplification is found for perturbations which are homogeneous in the spanwise z-direction, although on shorter time scales the most amplified disturbances have a finite spanwise wavenumber. In both cases the production term associated with the shear of the spanwise velocity is responsible for the energy amplification in the perturbation energy equation. A connection is made with the amplification mechanism exhibited by optimal perturbations in streaky boundary layers (Hoepffner et al. J. Fluid Mech. vol. 537, 2005, p.91) and the results are compared to the optimal Görtler–Hämmerlin disturbances computed by Guégan et al. (J. Fluid Mech. vol. 566, 2006, p. 11).

As one of the most important force production mechanisms of swimming and flying animals, the fluid dynamics of flapping has been intensively studied. However, these efforts have been mainly directed toward animals in forward motion or locomotive appendages undergoing linear translation. Here we seek to complement the existing knowledge of the flapping mechanism by studying angularly reciprocating flat plates without a free stream velocity, under a so-called ‘bollard pull’ condition. We visualize the flow field around the flat plate to find that two independent vortical structures are formed per half-cycle, resulting in the separation of two distinct vortex pairs at sharp edges rather than a single vortex loop which is typical of a starting–stopping vortex paradigm in flows with free streams. Based on our observations, we derive a scaling law to predict the thrust of the flapping plate; this is the first experimentally validated theoretical model for the thrust of angularly reciprocating plates without a prescribed background flow.

Using variational calculus, we investigate the time-dependent injection rate that minimises the growth of the Saffman–Taylor instability when a finite volume of fluid is injected in a finite time, $t_{f}$, into a Hele-Shaw cell. We first consider a planar interface, and show that, with a constant viscosity ratio, the constant injection rate is optimal. When the viscosity of the displacing fluid, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}_{1}(t)$, gradually increases over time, as may occur with a slowly gelling polymer solution, the optimal injection rate, $U^{\ast }(t)$, involves a gradual increase in the flow rate with time. This leads to a smaller initial value of flow rate than the constant injection rate, finishing with a larger value. Such optimisation can lead to a substantial suppression of the instability as compared to the constant injection case if the characteristic gelling time is comparable to $t_{f}$. In contrast, for either relatively slow or fast gelling, there is much less benefit in selecting the optimal injection rate, $U^{\ast }(t)$, as compared to the constant injection rate. In the case of a constant injection rate from a point source, $Q$, then with a constant viscosity ratio the fastest-growing perturbation on the radially spreading front involves axisymmetric modes whose wavenumber increases with time. Approximating the discrete azimuthal modes by a continuous distribution, we find the injection rate that minimises growth, $Q^{\ast }(t)$. We find that there is a critical time for injection, $t_{f}^{\dagger }$, such that if $t_{f}>t_{f}^{\dagger }$ then $Q^{\ast }(t)$ can be chosen so that the interface is always stable. This critical time emerges from the case with an injection rate given by $Q^{\ast }\sim t^{-1/3}$. As the total injection time is reduced to values $t_{f}<t_{f}^{\dagger }$, the system becomes progressively more unstable, and the optimal injection rate for an idealised continuous distribution of azimuthal modes asymptotes to a flow rate that increases linearly with time. As for the one-dimensional case, if the viscosity of the injection fluid gradually increases over time, then the optimal injection rate has a smaller initial value but gradually increases to larger values than for the analogous constant viscosity problem. If the displacing fluid features shear-thinning rheology, then the optimal injection rate involves a smaller flow rate at early times, although not as large a reduction as in the Newtonian case, and a larger flow rate at late times, although not as large an increase as in the Newtonian case.

We study the classical problem of planar shock refraction at an oblique density discontinuity, separating two gases at rest. When the shock impinges on the density discontinuity, it refracts, and in the hydrodynamical case three signals arise. Regular refraction means that these signals meet at a single point, called the triple point. After reflection from the top wall, the contact discontinuity becomes unstable due to local Kelvin–Helmholtz instability, causing the contact surface to roll up and develop the Richtmyer–Meshkov instability (RMI). We present an exact Riemann-solver-based solution strategy to describe the initial self-similar refraction phase, by which we can quantify the vorticity deposited on the contact interface. We investigate the effect of a perpendicular magnetic field and quantify how its addition increases the deposition of vorticity on the contact interface slightly under constant Atwood number. We predict wave-pattern transitions, in agreement with experiments, von Neumann shock refraction theory and numerical simulations performed with the grid-adaptive code AMRVAC. These simulations also describe the later phase of the RMI.

The interactions and synchronization of two parallel and slender flags in a uniform axial flow are studied in the present paper by generalizing Lighthill’s elongated body theory (EBT) and Lighthill’s large-amplitude elongated body theory (LAEBT) to account for the hydrodynamic coupling between flags. The proposed method consists of two successive steps, namely the reconstruction of the flow created by a flapping flag within the LAEBT framework and the computation of the fluid force generated by this non-uniform flow on the second flag. In the limit of slender flags in close proximity, we show that the effect of the wakes has little influence on the long-time coupled dynamics and can be neglected in the modelling. This provides a simplified framework extending LAEBT to the coupled dynamics of two flags. Using this simplified model, both linear and large-amplitude results are reported to explore the selection of the flapping regime as well as the dynamical properties of two side-by-side slender flags. Hydrodynamic coupling of the two flags is observed to destabilize the flags for most parameters, and to induce a long-term synchronization of the flags, either in-phase or out-of-phase.

The coating of discrete objects is an important but poorly understood step in the manufacturing of a broad variety of products. An important model problem is the flow of a thin liquid film on a rotating cylinder, where instabilities can arise and compromise coating uniformity. In this work, we use lubrication theory and flow visualization experiments to study the influence of surfactant on these flows. Two coupled evolution equations describing the variation of film thickness and concentration of insoluble surfactant as a function of time, the angular coordinate and the axial coordinate are solved numerically. The results show that surface-tension forces arising from both axial and angular variations in the angular curvature drive flows in the axial direction that tend to smooth out free-surface perturbations and lead to a stable speed window in which axial perturbations do not grow. The presence of surfactant leads to Marangoni stresses that can cause the stable speed window to disappear by driving flow that opposes the stabilizing flow. In addition, Marangoni stresses tend to reduce the spacing between droplets that form at low rotation rates, and reduce the growth rate of rings that form at high rotation rates. Flow visualization experiments yield observations that are qualitatively consistent with predictions from linear stability analysis and the simulation results. The visualizations also indicate that surfactants tend to suppress dripping, slow the development of free-surface perturbations, and reduce the shifting and merging of rings and droplets, allowing more time for solidifying coatings in practical applications.

We present fully resolved simulations of the flow–structure interaction in a flexible pipe conveying incompressible fluid. It is shown that the Reynolds number plays a significant role in the onset of flutter for a fluid-conveying pipe modelled through the classic garden-hose problem. We investigate the complex interaction between structural and internal flow dynamics and obtain a phase diagram of the transition between states as function of three non-dimensional quantities: the fluid-tension parameter, the dimensionless fluid velocity and the Reynolds number. We find that the flow patterns inside the pipe strongly affect the type of induced motion. For unsteady flow, if there is symmetry along a direction, this leads to in-plane motion whereas breaking of the flow symmetry results in both in-plane and out-of-plane motions. Hence, above a critical Reynolds number, complex flow patterns result for the vibrating pipe as there is continuous generation of new vorticity due to the pipe wall acceleration, which is subsequently shed in the confined space of the interior of the pipe.

In this paper we investigate the effect of stable stratification on plane Couette flow when gravity is oriented in the spanwise direction. When the flow is turbulent we observe near-wall layering and associated new mean flows in the form of large-scale spanwise-flattened streamwise rolls. The layers exhibit the expected buoyancy scaling $l_{z}\sim U/N$ where $U$ is a typical horizontal velocity scale and $N$ the buoyancy frequency. We associate the new coherent structures with a stratified modification of the well-known large-scale secondary circulation in plane Couette flow. We find that the possibility of the transition to sustained turbulence is controlled by the relative size of this buoyancy scale to the spanwise spacing of the streaks. In parts of parameter space transition can also be initiated by a newly discovered linear instability in this system (Facchini et al., J. Fluid Mech., vol. 853, 2018, pp. 205–234). When wall turbulence can be sustained the linear instability opens up new routes in phase space for infinitesimal disturbances to initiate turbulence. When the buoyancy scale suppresses turbulence the linear instability leads to more ordered nonlinear states, with the possibility for intermittent bursts of secondary shear instability.

We present a novel analytical solution for hydro-acoustic waves in a weakly compressible fluid flow over a slowly varying bottom. Application of a multiple-scale perturbation technique and matched asymptotic analysis leads to a uniform analytical solution of the depth-averaged governing equations in three dimensions. We show that the slow depth variation has a leading-order effect on the evolution of the normal mode amplitude and direction. This dynamics is much richer than the two-dimensional limit analysed in previous studies. For tsunamigenic disturbances, we show that the hydro-acoustic wave field is made up by longshore trapped and offshore propagating components, which were not explicated in previous work. For a plane beach, we find an exact analytical solution of the model equation in terms of integrals of Bessel functions. Our model offers a physical insight into the evolution of hydro-acoustic waves of interest for the design of tsunami early warning systems.