We derive general analytical expressions for the aerodynamic force and moment on a flapping flexible foil undergoing a prescribed undulatory motion in a two-dimensional, incompressible and linearized potential flow from the vortical impulse theory. We consider a fairly broad class of foil motion, characterized by nine non-dimensional parameters in addition to the reduced frequency. Quite simple analytical expressions are obtained in the particular case when just a chordwise flexure mode is superimposed to a pitching or heaving motion of the foil, for which the optimal conditions generating a maximum thrust force and a maximum propulsion efficiency are mapped in terms of the reduced frequency and the relative amplitude and phase shift of the deflection of the foil. These results are discussed in relation to the optimal conditions for a pitching or heaving rigid foil. The present theoretical results are compared with available numerical data for some particular undulatory motions of the flexible foil, with good agreement for small amplitudes of the oscillations and sufficiently high Reynolds number.

Non-equilibrium wall turbulence with mean-flow three-dimensionality is ubiquitous in geophysical and engineering flows. Under these conditions, turbulence may experience a counter-intuitive depletion of the turbulent stresses, which has important implications for modelling and control. Yet, current turbulence theories have been established mainly for statistically two-dimensional equilibrium flows and are unable to predict the reduction in the Reynolds stress magnitude. In the present work, we propose a multiscale model that captures the response of non-equilibrium wall-bounded turbulence under the imposition of three-dimensional strain. The analysis is performed via direct numerical simulation of transient three-dimensional turbulent channels subjected to a sudden lateral pressure gradient at friction Reynolds numbers up to 1000. We show that the flow regimes and scaling properties of the Reynolds stress are consistent with a model comprising momentum-carrying eddies with sizes and time scales proportional to their distance to the wall. We further demonstrate that the reduction in Reynolds stress follows a spatially and temporally self-similar evolution caused by the relative horizontal displacement between the core of the momentum-carrying eddies and the flow layer underneath. Inspection of the flow energetics reveals that this mechanism is associated with lower levels of pressure–strain correlation, which ultimately inhibits the generation of Reynolds stress, consistent with previous works. Finally, we assess the ability of the state-of-the-art wall-modelled large-eddy simulation to predict non-equilibrium three-dimensional flows.

We study the temporal spectrum of linearised, azimuthal, interfacial perturbations imposed on a cylindrical gaseous filament surrounded by immiscible, viscous, quiescent fluid in radially unbounded geometry. Linear stability analysis shows that the base state is stable to azimuthal perturbations of standing wave form. Normal mode analysis leads to a viscous dispersion relation and shows that in addition to the discrete spectrum, the problem also admits a continuous spectrum. For a given azimuthal Fourier mode and Laplace number, the discrete spectrum yields two eigenfunctions which decay exponentially to zero at large radii and thus cannot represent far field perturbations. In addition to these discrete modes, we find an uncountably infinite set of eigenmodes which decay algebraically to zero. The completeness theorem for perturbation vorticity may be expressed as a sum over the discrete modes and an integral over the continuous ones. We validate our normal mode results by solving the linearised, initial value problem (IVP). The initial perturbation is taken to be an interfacial, azimuthal Fourier mode with zero perturbation vorticity. It is shown that the expression for the time dependent amplitude of a capillary standing wave (in the Laplace domain, $s$) has poles and branch points on the complex $s$ plane. We show that the residue at the poles yields the discrete spectrum, while the contribution from either side of the branch cut provides the continuous spectrum contribution. The particular initial condition treated here in the IVP, has projections on the discrete as well as the continuous spectrum eigenmodes and thus both sets are excited initially. Consequently the time evolution of the standing wave amplitude and the perturbation vorticity field have the form of a sum over discrete exponential contributions and an integral over a continuous range of exponential terms. The solution to the IVP leads to explicit analytical expressions for the standing wave amplitude and the vorticity field in the fluid outside the filament. Linearised analytical results are validated using direct numerical simulations (DNS) conducted using a code developed in-house for solving the incompressible, Navier–Stokes equations with an interface. For small perturbation amplitude, analytical predictions show excellent agreement with DNS. Our analysis complements and extends earlier results on the discrete and the continuous spectrum for interfacial viscous, capillary waves on unbounded domain.

The spatial and temporal structure of the resonant fluid response in a narrow gap (the so-called gap resonance) between two identical fixed boxes is investigated experimentally. Transient wave groups are used to excite the gap resonance from different wave approach directions. This shows a strong beating pattern and a very long duration, reflecting that gap resonance is a multi-mode resonant and weakly damped phenomenon. For head sea excitation the linear transfer function of the $m=2$ gap mode is as significant as that of the $m=1$ mode. Gap resonance can be driven through different mechanisms, e.g. linear excitation and a nonlinear frequency-doubling process. Significant wave group structure is shown in the gap, and the group structure is more distinct in the case with frequency doubling, i.e. long wave, excitation. Then it is clearer visually that the groups originate at the end of the gap, propagate along the gap and are then partially reflected from the other end. The groups within the gap are very clear because the group velocity is close to constant for the first few gap resonance modes, and much smaller than that for free waves on the open sea. In contrast, the phase speed of waves in the gap is larger than that for free waves outside. Only in the limit of short waves do the group velocity and phase speed of the gap modes tend to those of deep-water free waves. The group and phase speeds from these experiments match well the theoretical forms given by Molin et al. (Appl. Ocean Res., vol. 24 (5), 2002, pp. 247–260), albeit for a slightly different box cross-sectional shape.

We have performed high-order compressible Navier–Stokes simulations of a thermoacoustically unstable resonator employing $\text{CO}_{2}$ in transcritical conditions. The parameter space spans the range of base pressures $p_{0}=1.01-1.5\,p_{cr}$ and temperature differences $\unicode[STIX]{x0394}T=T_{hot}-T_{cold}$ up to 200 K, with thermodynamic and transport properties obtained from the Peng–Robinson equation of state and Chung’s model. The set-up is a classic standing-wave thermoacoustic resonator, which has been optimized resulting in a minimum temperature difference required to sustain the instability of 23 K. Strong real-fluid effects in the thermoacoustic response in the linear regime are observed: (i) the thermoviscous functions need to depend on the complex eigenvalue (and not just the angular frequency) for linear theory to accurately predict the growth rate observed in the Navier–Stokes simulations, due to a high growth-rate-to-frequency ratio; (ii) the growth rate and frequency vary in a non-monotonic fashion with respect to $p_{0}$ and $\unicode[STIX]{x0394}T$; (iii) the pressure eigenmode amplitude tends to flatten out, and the pressure–velocity phase difference smoothly transitions from $\unicode[STIX]{x03C0}/2$ to $-\unicode[STIX]{x03C0}/2$ at the average pressure node location; and (iv) the sharp change in base acoustic impedance at transcritical conditions introduces a discontinuity in the eigenmodes’ spatial derivative. The energy budgets illustrate, for a given $\unicode[STIX]{x0394}T$, the increase of the acoustic power produced, but also of the heat input required, for thermodynamic conditions approaching the critical point. Finally, intense mass transport events at transcritical conditions are shown to entail thermodynamic and convective nonlinearities, which do not, however, govern the limit cycle physics, dominated instead by nonlinear minor losses.

Experimental data for turbulent solid–liquid flow in a vertical pipe were collected for glass beads with diameters from 0.5 mm to 5 mm, at concentrations up to 2 % v/v, and Reynolds numbers from 200 000 to 350 000. In addition, data for crushed glass, steel shot and two sizes of stainless-steel cylinders were also collected. The experiments span from the intermediate to the inertia-dominated regimes, and the results include direct measurements for the pressure drops, the solids concentration and the three velocity components for each of the phases using laser Doppler velocimetry and phase Doppler anemometry. In addition, the results include the Reynolds stresses, the granular temperature, the kinetic energy and calculations for the turbulence modulation. The results show augmentation of turbulence for all the conditions studied. The velocity fluctuations for the solid and the liquid are reduced with increasing Reynolds numbers at all conditions. The Reynolds number dictates the behaviour of the relative velocity with concentration: for the Reynolds number of 350 000, the relative velocity increases with increasing concentrations, which can be explained by a decrease in the solid shear and an increase in the solid-phase pressure with rising concentration. In contrast, for the Reynolds number of 200 000, the relative velocity decreases with increasing concentrations, which can be attributed to an increase in drag force at higher concentration. The unique dataset presented begins to close the gap in knowledge for two-phase flow experimentation at concentrations above 0.7 % v/v and Reynolds numbers above 30 000.

Ocean fronts are an important submesoscale feature, yet frontogenesis theory often neglects turbulence – even parameterized turbulence – leaving theory lacking in comparison with observations and models. A perturbation analysis is used to include the effects of eddy viscosity and diffusivity as a first-order correction to existing strain-induced inviscid, adiabatic frontogenesis theory. A modified solution is obtained by using potential vorticity and surface conditions to quantify turbulent fluxes. It is found that horizontal viscosity and diffusivity tend to be readily frontolytic – reducing frontal tendency to negative values under weakly non-conservative perturbations and opposing or reversing front sharpening, whereas vertical viscosity and diffusivity tend to only weaken frontogenesis by slowing the rate of sharpening of the front even under strong perturbations. During late frontogenesis, vertical diffusivity enhances the rate of frontogenesis, although perturbation theory may be inaccurate at this stage. Surface quasi-geostrophic theory – neglecting all injected interior potential vorticity – is able to describe the first-order correction to the along-front velocity and ageostrophic overturning circulation in most cases. Furthermore, local conditions near the front maximum are sufficient to reconstruct the modified solution of both these fields.

Evolution of a solitary wave travelling along a submerged sill is studied. The disturbance from the sill creates a phase lag along the wave crest between the ambient water depth and the shallower depth over the sill. This phase lag causes wave diffraction between the different parts of the wave, which induces radiating waves off the edge of the sill. The radiating waves act as an outlet for wave energy, resulting in significant and continual amplitude reduction of the solitary wave. Findings from laboratory experiments are confirmed numerically by simulating a much longer propagation distance with different sill breadths. When the sill breadth is narrow, the solitary wave slowly attenuates by wave radiation, maintaining a quasi-steady wave pattern. This is not the case for a broader sill. The resulting phase lag on the sill continually changes the wave pattern and the attenuation rate is substantially greater than the rate for the case of the narrow sill. The significant energy radiation together with the continual change in the wave formation eventually leads to the complete annihilation of the solitary wave in a wave tank. We also report a wave-breaking process along the sill observed in laboratory experiments. This breaking is induced when the wave amplitude on the sill is smaller than the maximum amplitude of a solitary wave in a uniform depth. Also found is the wake-like formation of gravity–capillary waves behind the breaking crest forming on the sill. Other features associated with the breaking are presented.

In wall-bounded turbulent flows, the wall-normal gradient in turbulence intensity causes inertial particles to move preferentially toward the wall, leading to elevated concentration levels in the viscous sublayer. At first glance, wall-modelled large-eddy simulations may seem ill suited for accurately simulating this behaviour, given that the sharp gradients and coherent structures in the viscous sublayer and buffer region are unresolved in this approach. In this paper, a detailed inspection of conservation equations describing the influence of turbophoresis and near-wall structures on particle concentration profiles reveals a more nuanced view depending on the friction Stokes number. The dynamics of low and moderate Stokes number particles indeed depends strongly on the complex spatio-temporal details of streaks, ejections, and sweeps in the near-wall region. This significantly impacts the near-wall particle concentration through a biased sampling effect which provides a net force away from the wall on the particle ensemble caused by the tendency of inertial particles to accumulate in low-speed ejection regions. At higher Stokes numbers, however, this biased sampling is of minimal importance, and the particle concentration becomes inversely proportional to the wall-normal particle velocity variance at a given distance from the wall. As a result, wall-modelled large-eddy simulations can predict concentration profiles with more accuracy in the high Stokes number regime than low Stokes numbers simply by modifying the interpolation scheme for particles between the first grid point and the boundary. However, accurate representation of low and moderate Stokes number particles depends critically on information not present in standard wall-modelled large-eddy simulations.

We present a novel analytical model for the evolution of hydroacoustic waves in weakly compressible fluids characterised by depth variations of the sound speed profile. Using a perturbation expansion in terms of the small vertical variation of the sound speed, we derive a novel expression for the second-order velocity potential and show that this solution does not exist in the case of homogeneous sound speed. At the third order, we derive a linear Schrödinger equation governing the evolution of the wave envelope for large length and time scales, which features new terms depending on the sound speed distribution. We show that for generalised sound speed vertical profiles the frequency of the hydroacoustic signal can increase or decrease with respect to the constant sound speed case, depending on the profile. This has substantial implications on the speed of the wavetrain envelope. Our findings suggest the need to extend existing models that neglect the sound speed vertical variation, especially in view of applications to tsunami early warning.

The resolvent formulation of McKeon & Sharma (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 658, 2010, pp. 336–382) is applied to supersonic turbulent boundary layers to study the validity of Morkovin’s hypothesis, which postulates that high-speed turbulence structures in zero-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layers remain largely the same as their incompressible counterparts. Supersonic zero-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layers with adiabatic wall boundary conditions at Mach numbers ranging from 2 to 4 are considered. Resolvent analysis highlights two distinct regions of the supersonic turbulent boundary layer in the wave parameter space: the relatively supersonic region and the relatively subsonic region. In the relatively supersonic region, where the flow is supersonic relative to the free-stream, resolvent modes display structures consistent with Mach wave radiation that are absent in the incompressible regime. In the relatively subsonic region, we show that the low-rank approximation of the resolvent operator is an effective approximation of the full system and that the response modes predicted by the model exhibit universal and geometrically self-similar behaviour via a transformation given by the semi-local scaling. Moreover, with the semi-local scaling, we show that the resolvent modes follow the same scaling law as their incompressible counterparts in this region, which has implications for modelling and the prediction of turbulent high-speed wall-bounded flows. We also show that the thermodynamic variables exhibit similar mode shapes to the streamwise velocity modes, supporting the strong Reynolds analogy. Finally, we demonstrate that the principal resolvent modes can be used to capture the energy distribution between momentum and thermodynamic fluctuations.

We apply the recent frame-invariant theory of separation spike formation to complex unsteady flows, including a turbulent separation bubble, an impinging jet, and flows around a freely moving cylinder and a freely rotating ellipse. We show how the theory captures the onset of material spike formation, without any assumption on the flow type (steady, periodic, unsteady) or separation type (on- or off-wall, fixed or moving boundaries). We uncover new phenomena, such as the transition from on-wall to off-wall separation, the merger of initially distinct spikes, and the presence of severe material spikes that remain hidden to previous approaches. Remarkably, even in steady flows around curved boundaries, we detect material spikes in the absence of flow reversal, the main ingredient to existing separation criteria. Together, our results unveil how an involved network of spikes arises, interacts and merges dynamically, leading to the final ejection of particles from the wall in highly transient flow separation processes.

In this paper, we study the shape and dynamics of helical coherent structures found in the flow field of an annular swirling jet undergoing vortex breakdown. The flow field is studied by means of time-resolved tomographic particle image velocimetry measurements. The obtained flow fields are analysed using both classic and spectral proper orthogonal decomposition. Despite the simple geometrical set-up of the annular jet, the flow field is very complex. Two distinct large-scale helical flow structures are identified: a single and a double helix, both co-rotating with the swirl direction, and it is revealed that these structures are not higher harmonics of each other. The structures have a relatively low energy content which makes it hard to separate them from other dynamics of the flow field, notably turbulent motions. Because of this, classic proper orthogonal decomposition fails to identify both structures properly. Spectral proper orthogonal decomposition, on the other hand, allows them to be identified accurately when the filter size is set at around eight times the precession period. The precession frequencies of the single and double helices correspond to Strouhal numbers of 0.273 and $0.536\pm 0.005$, respectively. A global stability analysis of the mean flow field shows that these structures correspond to two separate global modes. The precessing frequencies obtained by the stability analysis and the related spatial structures match very well with the experimental observations. The current work extends our knowledge on turbulent vortex breakdown and on mean field global stability theory in general. It leads to the following conclusions. Firstly, single- and double-helix vortex breakdown are both manifestations of global modes. Previous studies have shown that both $m=1$ and $m=2$ modes can coexist in swirling jets. However, the $m=2$ mode has been identified as a second harmonic of the first mode, while this study identifies both as two independent global modes. Secondly, this work shows that the simultaneous occurrence of multiple helical global modes is possible within a turbulent flow and their shapes and frequencies are very well predicted by mean field stability analysis. The latter finding is of general interest as it applies to a wide class of fluid problems dominated by multiple oscillatory structures.

Hot liquid metal drops impacting onto a cold substrate solidify during their subsequent spreading. Here we experimentally study the influence of solidification on the outcome of an impact event. Liquid tin drops are impacted onto sapphire substrates of varying temperature. The impact is visualised both from the side and from below, which provides a unique view on the solidification process. During spreading, an intriguing pattern of radial ligaments rapidly solidifies from the centre of the drop. This pattern determines the late-time morphology of the splat. A quantitative analysis of the drop spreading and ligament formation is supported by scaling arguments. Finally, a phase diagram for drop bouncing, deposition and splashing as a function of substrate temperature and impact velocity is provided.

The current work presents a realizable method to control streaky disturbances in boundary layer flows and delay transition to turbulence by means of active flow control. Numerical simulations of the nonlinear transitional regime in a Blasius boundary layer are performed where streaks are excited in the boundary layer by means of a high level of free-stream turbulence. The occurring disturbances are measured by means of localized wall-shear-stress sensors and damped out using near-wall actuators, which resemble ring plasma actuators. Each actuator is powered by a time-varying signal whose amplitude is computed by processing signals from the sensors. The processed signal is the result of two control laws: the linear quadratic Gaussian regulator (LQG) and the inverse feed-forward control technique (IFFC). The use of the first control method, LQG, requires a state-space representation of the system dynamics, so the flow is described by means of a linear time-invariant operator that captures only the most relevant information of the dynamics and results in a reduced-order model (ROM). The ROM is computed by means of the eigensystem realization algorithm (ERA), which is based on the impulse responses of the real system. Collecting such impulse responses may be unfeasible when considering free-stream turbulence because of the high dimensionality of the input forcing needed for a precise description of such a phenomenon. Here, a new method to identify the relevant system dynamics and generate the needed impulse responses is proposed, based on additional shear-stress measurements in an upstream location. Transfer functions between such measurements and other downstream sensors are obtained and allow the derivation of the ERA system, in a data-driven approach that would be realizable in experiments. Finally, in order to discuss the advantages of the LQG based on the ROM and analyse its performance, the implemented LQG is compared to the IFFC, which consists of wave cancellation. The work (i) presents a systematic and straightforward way to deal with high-dimensional disturbances in order to build ROMs for a feasible control technique, and (ii) shows that even when considering practical constraints, such as the type and size of actuators and sensors, it is possible to achieve at least as large delay of bypass transition as that obtained in more idealized cases found in the literature.

This work deals with the closed-loop control of streaky structures induced by free-stream turbulence (FST), at the levels of 3.0 % and 3.5 %, in a zero-pressure-gradient transitional boundary layer, by means of localized sensors and actuators. A linear quadratic Gaussian regulator is considered along with a system identification technique to build reduced-order models for control. Three actuators are developed with different spatial supports, corresponding to a baseline shape with only vertical forcing, and to two other shapes obtained by different optimization procedures. A computationally efficient method is derived to obtain an actuator that aims to induce the exact structures that are inside the boundary layer, given in terms of their first spectral proper orthogonal decomposition (SPOD) mode, and an actuator that maximizes the energy of induced downstream structures. All three actuators lead to significant delays in the transition to turbulence and were shown to be robust to mild variations in the FST levels. Integrated total drag reductions observed were up to 21 % and 19 % for turbulence intensity levels of 3.0 % and 3.5 %, respectively, depending on the considered actuator. Differences are understood in terms of the SPOD of actuation and FST-induced fields along with the causality of the control scheme when a cancellation of disturbances is considered along the wall-normal direction. The actuator optimized to generate the leading downstream SPOD mode, representing the streaks in the open-loop flow, leads to the highest transition delay, which can be understood due to its capability of closely cancelling structures in the boundary layer.

We report a numerical analysis of the unforced break-up of free cylindrical threads of viscous Newtonian liquid whose interface is coated with insoluble surfactants, focusing on the formation of satellite droplets. The initial conditions are harmonic disturbances of the cylindrical shape with a small amplitude $\unicode[STIX]{x1D716}$, and whose wavelength is the most unstable one deduced from linear stability theory. We demonstrate that, in the limit $\unicode[STIX]{x1D716}\rightarrow 0$, the problem depends on two dimensionless parameters, namely the Laplace number, $La=\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E}_{0}\bar{R}/\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}^{2}$, and the elasticity parameter, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}=E/\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E}_{0}$, where $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}$, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}$ and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E}_{0}$ are the liquid density, viscosity and initial surface tension, respectively, $E$ is the Gibbs elasticity and $\bar{R}$ is the unperturbed thread radius. A parametric study is presented to quantify the influence of $La$ and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$ on two key quantities: the satellite droplet volume and the mass of surfactant trapped at the satellite’s surface just prior to pinch-off, $V_{sat}$ and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F4}_{sat}$, respectively. We identify a weak-elasticity regime, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}\lesssim 0.05$, in which the satellite volume and the associated mass of surfactant obey the scaling law $V_{sat}=\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F4}_{sat}=0.0042La^{1.64}$ for $La\lesssim 2$. For $La\gtrsim 10$, $V_{sat}$ and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F4}_{sat}$ reach a plateau of about $3\,\%$ and $2.9\,\%$, respectively, $V_{sat}$ being in close agreement with previous experiments of low-viscosity threads with clean interfaces. For $La<7.5$, we reveal the existence of a discontinuous transition in $V_{sat}$ and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F4}_{sat}$ at a critical elasticity, $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}_{c}(La)$, with $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}_{c}\rightarrow 0.98$ for $La\lesssim 0.2$, such that $V_{sat}$ and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F4}_{sat}$ abruptly increase at $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}=\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}_{c}$ for increasing $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FD}$. The jumps experienced by both quantities reach a plateau when $La\lesssim 0.2$, while they decrease monotonically as $La$ increases up to $La=7.5$, where both become zero.

The mean velocity profile in the convective atmospheric boundary layer (CBL) is derived analytically. The shear-stress budget equations and the mean momentum equations are employed in the derivation. The multi-point Monin–Obukhov similarity (MMO) recently proposed and analytically derived by Tong & Nguyen (J. Atmos. Sci., vol. 72, 2015, pp. 4337–4348) and Tong & Ding (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 864, 2019, pp. 640–669) provides the scaling properties of the statistics in the shear-stress budget equations. Our previous and present studies have shown that the CBL is mathematically a singular perturbation problem. Therefore, we obtain the mean velocity profile using the method of matched asymptotic expansions. Three scaling layers are identified: the outer layer, which includes the mixed layer, the inner-outer layer and the inner-inner layer, which includes the roughness layer. There are two overlapping layers, the local-free-convection layer and the log layer, respectively. Two new velocity-defect laws are discovered: the mixed-layer velocity-defect law and the surface-layer velocity-defect law. The local-free-convection mean profile is obtained by asymptotically matching the expansions in the first two layers. The log law is obtained by matching the expansions in the last two layers. The von Kármán constant is obtained using velocity and length scales, and therefore has a physical interpretation. A new friction law, the convective logarithmic friction law, is obtained. The present work provides an analytical derivation of the mean velocity profile hypothesized in the Monin–Obukhov similarity theory, and is part of a comprehensive derivation of the MMO scaling from first principles.

Thin, roughly horizontal low-permeability layers are a common form of large-scale heterogeneity in geological porous formations. In this paper, the dynamics of a buoyancy-driven plume in a two-dimensional layered porous medium is studied theoretically, with the aid of high-resolution numerical simulations. The medium is uniform apart from a thin, horizontal layer of a much lower permeability, located a dimensionless distance $L\gg 1$ below the dense plume source. If the dimensionless thickness $2\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}L$ and permeability $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F1}$ of the low-permeability layer are small, the effect of the layer is found to be well parameterized by its impedance $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FA}=2\unicode[STIX]{x1D700}L/\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F1}$. Five different regimes of flow are identified and characterized. For $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FA}\ll L^{1/3}$, the layer has no effect on the plume, but as $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FA}$ is increased the plume widens and spreads over the layer as a gravity current. For still larger $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FA}$, the flow becomes destabilized by convective instabilities both below and above the layer, until, for $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FA}\gg L$, the spread of the plume is dominated by convective mixing and buoyancy is transported across the layer by diffusion alone. Analytical models for the spread of the plume over the layer in the various different regimes are presented.

A fundamental effect of fluid turbulence is turbulent mixing, which results in the stretching and wrinkling of scalar isosurfaces. Thus, the area of isosurfaces is of interest in understanding turbulence in general, with specific applications in, for example, combustion and the identification of turbulent/non-turbulent interfaces. We report measurements of isosurface areas in 28 direct numerical simulations (DNS) of homogeneous isotropic turbulence with a mean scalar gradient resolved on up to $14\,256^{3}$ grid points with Taylor Reynolds number $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}}$ ranging from 24 to 633 and Schmidt number $Sc$ ranging from 0.1 to 7. More precisely, we measure layers with very small but finite thickness. The continuous equation we evaluate converges exactly to the area in the limit of zero layer thickness. We demonstrate a method for numerically integrating this equation that, for a test case with an analytical solution, converges linearly towards the exact solution with decreasing layer width. By applying the technique to DNS data and testing for convergence with resolution of the simulations, we verify the resolution requirements for DNS recently proposed by Yeung et al. (Phys. Rev. Fluids, vol. 3 (6), 2018, 064603). We conclude that isosurface areas scale with the square root of the Taylor Péclet number $Pe_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}}$ between approximately 50 and 4429, with some departure from power-law scaling evident for $2.4<Pe_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}}<50$. No independent effect of either $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}}$ or $Sc$ is observed. The excellent scaling of area with $Pe_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}}^{1/2}$ occurs even though the probability density function of the scalar gradient is very close to exponential for $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}}=98$ but approximately lognormal when $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}}=633$.