A finite-amplitude propagating wave induces a drift in fluids. Understanding how drifts produced by many waves disperse pollutants has broad implications for geophysics and engineering. Previously, the effective diffusivity was calculated for a random set of small-amplitude surface and internal waves. Now, this is extended by Bühler & Holmes-Cerfon (J. Fluid Mech., 2009, this issue, vol. 638, pp. 5–26) to waves in a rotating shallow-water system in which the Coriolis force is accounted for, a necessary step towards oceanographic applications. It is shown that interactions of finite-amplitude waves affect particle velocity in subtle ways. An expression describing the particle diffusivity as a function of scale is derived, showing that the diffusivity can be substantially reduced by rotation.

We present a theoretical and numerical study of wave-induced particle dispersion due to random waves in the rotating shallow-water system, as part of an ongoing study of particle dispersion in the ocean. Specifically, the effective particle diffusivities in the sense of Taylor (Proc. Lond. Math. Soc., vol. 20, 1921, p. 196) are computed for a small-amplitude wave field modelled as a stationary homogeneous isotropic Gaussian random field whose frequency spectrum is bounded away from zero. In this case, the leading-order diffusivity depends crucially on the nonlinear, second-order corrections to the linear velocity field, which can be computed using the methods of wave–mean interaction theory. A closed-form analytic expression for the effective diffusivity is derived and carefully tested against numerical Monte Carlo simulations. The main conclusions are that Coriolis forces in shallow water invariably decrease the effective particle diffusivity and that there is a peculiar choking effect for the second-order particle flow in the limit of strong rotation.

Being motivated by the recent experiments on instabilities of the two-layer flows in the rotating annulus with super-rotating top, we perform a full stability analysis for such system in the shallow-water approximation. We use the collocation method which is benchmarked by comparison with analytically solvable one-layer shallow-water equations linearized about a state of cyclogeostrophic equilibrium. We describe different kinds of instabilities of the cyclogeostrophically balanced state of solid-body rotation of each layer (baroclinic, Rossby–Kelvin (RK) and Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instabilities), and give the corresponding growth rates and the structure of the unstable modes. We obtain the full stability diagram in the space of parameters of the problem and demonstrate the existence of crossover regions where baroclinic and RK, and RK and KH instabilities, respectively, compete having similar growth rates.

The spreading and diffusion of two-dimensional vortices subject to weak external random strain fields is examined. The response to such a field of given angular frequency depends on the profile of the vortex and can be calculated numerically. An effective diffusivity can be determined as a function of radius and may be used to evolve the profile over a long time scale, using a diffusion equation that is both nonlinear and non-local. This equation, containing an additional smoothing parameter, is simulated starting with a Gaussian vortex. Fine scale steps in the vorticity profile develop at the periphery of the vortex and these form a vorticity staircase. The effective diffusivity is high in the steps where the vorticity gradient is low: between the steps are barriers characterized by low effective diffusivity and high vorticity gradient. The steps then merge before the vorticity is finally swept out and this leaves a vortex with a compact core and a sharp edge. There is also an increase in the effective diffusion within an encircling surf zone.

In order to understand the properties of the evolution of the Gaussian vortex, an asymptotic model first proposed by Balmforth, Llewellyn Smith & Young (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 426, 2001, p. 95) is employed. The model is based on a vorticity distribution that consists of a compact vortex core surrounded by a skirt of relatively weak vorticity. Again simulations show the formation of fine scale vorticity steps within the skirt, followed by merger. The diffusion equation we develop has a tendency to generate vorticity steps on arbitrarily fine scales; these are limited in our numerical simulations by smoothing the effective diffusivity over small spatial scales.

Elements of the first-principles-based theory of Wei et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 522, 2005, p. 303), Fife et al. (Multiscale Model. Simul., vol. 4, 2005a, p. 936; J. Fluid Mech., vol. 532, 2005b, p. 165) and Fife, Klewicki & Wei (J. Discrete Continuous Dyn. Syst., vol. 24, 2009, p. 781) are clarified and their veracity tested relative to the properties of the logarithmic mean velocity profile. While the approach employed broadly reveals the mathematical structure admitted by the time averaged Navier–Stokes equations, results are primarily provided for fully developed pressure driven flow in a two-dimensional channel. The theory demonstrates that the appropriately simplified mean differential statement of Newton's second law formally admits a hierarchy of scaling layers, each having a distinct characteristic length. The theory also specifies that these characteristic lengths asymptotically scale with distance from the wall over a well-defined range of wall-normal positions, y. Numerical simulation data are shown to support these analytical findings in every measure explored. The mean velocity profile is shown to exhibit logarithmic dependence (exact or approximate) when the solution to the mean equation of motion exhibits (exact or approximate) self-similarity from layer to layer within the hierarchy. The condition of pure self-similarity corresponds to a constant leading coefficient in the logarithmic mean velocity equation. The theory predicts and clarifies why logarithmic behaviour is better approximated as the Reynolds number gets large. An exact equation for the leading coefficient (von Kármán coefficient κ) is tested against direct numerical simulation (DNS) data. Two methods for precisely estimating the leading coefficient over any selected range of y are presented. These methods reveal that the differences between the theory and simulation are essentially within the uncertainty level of the simulation. The von Kármán coefficient physically exists owing to an approximate self-similarity in the flux of turbulent force across an internal layer hierarchy. Mathematically, this self-similarity relates to the slope and curvature of the Reynolds stress profile, or equivalently the slope and curvature of the mean vorticity profile. The theory addresses how, why and under what conditions logarithmic dependence is approximated relative to the specific mechanisms contained within the mean statement of dynamics.

A detailed statistical analysis of turbulent flow and heat transfer in eccentric annular duct was performed via direct numerical simulations (DNS) with particular emphasis on the needs of turbulence closure models. A large number of flow characteristics such as components of the Reynolds stress tensor, temperature–velocity correlations and some others were obtained for the first time for such kind of a flow. The results of the paper will serve as a benchmark test case for turbulence modelling, specifically for models intended to be used for flows with partly turbulent regimes.

A simplified one-dimensional partial differential equation for the integral axial momentum flux during the deceleration phase of single-pulsed transient incompressible jets is derived and solved analytically. The wave speed of the derived first-order nonlinear wave equation shows that the momentum flux transient from the deceleration phase propagates downstream at twice the initial jet penetration rate. Transient-jet velocity data from the existing literature is shown to be consistent with this derivation, and an algebraic analytical solution matches the measured timing and decay of axial velocity after the deceleration transient. The solution also shows that a wave of increased entrainment accompanies the deceleration transient as it travels downstream through the jet. In the long-time limit, the peak entrainment rate at the leading edge of this ‘entrainment wave’ approaches an asymptotic value of three times that of the initial steady jet. The rate of approach to the asymptotic behaviour is controlled by the deceleration rate, which suggests that rate-shaping may be tailored to achieve a desired mixing state at a given time after the end of a single-pulsed jet. In the wake of the entrainment wave, the absolute entrainment rate eventually decays to zero. The local injected fluid concentration also decays, however, so that entrainment rate relative to the local concentration of injected fluid remains higher than in the initial steady jet. An analysis of diesel engine fuel-jets is provided as one example of a transient-jet application in which the considerable increase in the mixing rate after the deceleration phase has important implications.

The classic hydrodynamic Hele-Shaw problem is revisited in the context of evaluating the viscous resistance to low-Mach compressible viscous gas flows through shallow non-uniform micro-fluidic configurations. Our recent study of gas flows through constricted shallow micro-channels indicates that the failure of the standard Hele-Shaw approximation to satisfy the no-slip boundary condition at the sidewalls severely restricts its applicability. To overcome this we have extended the asymptotic scheme to incorporate an inner solution in the vicinity of the sidewalls (which, in turn, allows for the characterization of the effects of channel cross-section geometry) and its matching to an outer correction. We have compared the results of the present asymptotic analysis to existing exact analytic and numerical results for straight and uniform channels and to finite-element simulations for a 90° turn and a symmetric T-junction, which demonstrate a remarkably improved accuracy relative to the standard Hele-Shaw approximation. This suggests the present scheme as a viable alternative for the rapid performance estimate of micro-fluidic devices.

We are concerned with the behaviour of a two-dimensional jet that issues from a planar orifice, with a ‘top-hat’ profile. At the orifice the steady flow is modulated by a time-harmonic fluctuation. A suitably defined Reynolds number is assumed to be large throughout. At large streamwise distances from the orifice, the time-averaged flow yields the classical, Bickley, jet with a suitable virtual origin. This decays algebraically whilst, by contrast, the unsteady component decays exponentially with streamwise distance. An asymptotic theory confirms the exponential decay and provides a good agreement with the numerical solution.

Experiments are performed on the flow past a sphere moving vertically at constant speeds in a salt-stratified fluid. Shadowgraph method and fluorescent dye are used for the flow visualization, and particle image velocimetry is used for the velocity measurement in the vertical plane. Vertical ‘jets’ or columnar structures are observed in the shadowgraph for all the Froude numbers Fr(0.2 ≲ Fr ≲ 70) investigated, and the wake structures in the whole parameter space of Fr and the Reynolds number Re(30 ≲ Re ≲ 4000) are classified into seven types, five of which are newly found. Those include two types of thin jets, one of which is short with its top disturbed by internal waves to have a peculiar ‘bell-shaped’ structure, while the other has an indefinitely long length. There are two other new types of jet with periodically generated ‘knots’, one of which is straight, while the other has a spiral structure. A simply meandering jet has also been found. These wake structures are significantly different from those in homogeneous fluids except under very weak stratification, showing that the stratification effects on vertical motion are much more significant than those on horizontal motion.

The nonlinear stability of a laminar boundary layer that flows at high Reynolds number (Re) above a plane surface covered by a liquid film is investigated. The basic flow is considered to be nearly parallel and the simulations are based on triple deck theory. The overall interaction problem is solved using the finite element methodology with the two-dimensional B-cubic splines as basis functions for the unknowns in the boundary layer and the film and the one-dimensional B-cubic splines as basis functions for the location of the interface. The case of flow above an oscillating solid obstacle is studied and conditions for the onset of Tollmien–Schlichting (TS) waves are recovered in agreement with the literature. The convective and absolute nature of TS and interfacial waves is captured for gas-film interaction, and the results of linear theory are recovered. The evolution of nonlinear disturbances is also examined and the appearance of solitons, spikes and eddy formation is monitored on the interface, depending on the relative magnitude of Froude and Weber numbers (Fr, We), and the gas to film density and viscosity ratios (ρ/ρw, μ/μw). For viscous films TS waves grow on a much faster time scale than interfacial waves and their effect is essentially decoupled. The influence of interfacial disturbances on short-wave growth in the bulk of the boundary layer bypassing classical TS wave development is captured. For highly viscous films for which inertia effects can be neglected, e.g. aircraft anti-icing fluids, soliton formation is obtained with their height remaining bounded below a certain height. When water films are considered interfacial waves exhibit unlimited local growth that is associated with intense eddy formation and the appearance of finite time singularities in the pressure gradient.

We present 10 new equilibrium solutions to plane Couette flow in small periodic cells at low Reynolds number Re and two new travelling-wave solutions. The solutions are continued under changes of Re and spanwise period. We provide a partial classification of the isotropy groups of plane Couette flow and show which kinds of solutions are allowed by each isotropy group. We find two complementary visualizations particularly revealing. Suitably chosen sections of their three-dimensional physical space velocity fields are helpful in developing physical intuition about coherent structures observed in low-Re turbulence. Projections of these solutions and their unstable manifolds from their ∞-dimensional state space on to suitably chosen two- or three-dimensional subspaces reveal their interrelations and the role they play in organizing turbulence in wall-bounded shear flows.

The response of the Blasius boundary layer to free-stream vortical disturbances of the convected gust type is studied. The vorticity signature of the boundary layer is computed through the boundary-region equations, which are the rigorous asymptotic limit of the Navier–Stokes equations for low-frequency disturbances. The method of matched asymptotic expansion is employed to obtain the initial and outer boundary conditions. For the case of forcing by a two-dimensional gust, the effect of a wall-normal wavelength comparable with the boundary-layer thickness is taken into account. The gust viscous dissipation and upward displacement due to the mean boundary layer produce significant changes on the fluctuations within the viscous region. The same analysis also proves useful for computing to second-order accuracy the boundary-layer response induced by a three-dimensional gust with spanwise wavelength comparable with the boundary-layer thickness. It also follows that the boundary-layer fluctuations of the streamwise velocity match the corresponding free-stream velocity component. The velocity profiles are compared with experimental data, and good agreement is attained.

The generation of Tollmien–Schlichting waves by the nonlinear mixing between the two-dimensional unsteady vorticity fluctuations and the mean flow distortion induced by localized wall roughness and suction is also investigated. Gusts with small wall-normal wavelengths generate significantly different amplitudes of the instability waves for a selected range of forcing frequencies. This is primarily due to the disparity between the streamwise velocity fluctuations in the free stream and within the boundary layer.

The influence of thermal expansion on the dynamics of thick to moderately thick premixed flames (flame thickness less than or comparable to the channel height) for a variable-density flow in a narrow, rectangular channel is explored. The study is conducted within the framework of the zero-Mach-number, variable-density Navier–Stokes equations. Both adiabatic and non-adiabatic channel walls are considered. A small Péclet number asymptotic solution is developed for steady, variable-density flame propagation in the narrow channel. The dynamics of channel flames are also examined numerically for O(1) Péclet numbers in configurations which include flame propagation in a semi-closed channel from the closed to the open end of the channel, flame propagation in a semi-closed channel towards the closed end of the channel and flame propagation in an open channel in which a Poiseuille flow (flame assisting or flame opposing) is imposed at the channel inlet. Comparisons of the finite-Péclet-number dynamics are made with the behaviour of the small-Péclet-number solutions. We also compare how thermal expansion modifies the flow dynamics from those determined by a constant-density model. The small-Péclet-number variable-density solution for a flame propagating in a circular pipe is given in the Appendix.

In this paper, the available potential energy (APE) framework of Winters et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 289, 1995, p. 115) is extended to the fully compressible Navier–Stokes equations, with the aims of clarifying (i) the nature of the energy conversions taking place in turbulent thermally stratified fluids; and (ii) the role of surface buoyancy fluxes in the Munk & Wunsch (Deep-Sea Res., vol. 45, 1998, p. 1977) constraint on the mechanical energy sources of stirring required to maintain diapycnal mixing in the oceans. The new framework reveals that the observed turbulent rate of increase in the background gravitational potential energy GPEr, commonly thought to occur at the expense of the diffusively dissipated APE, actually occurs at the expense of internal energy, as in the laminar case. The APE dissipated by molecular diffusion, on the other hand, is found to be converted into internal energy (IE), similar to the viscously dissipated kinetic energy KE. Turbulent stirring, therefore, does not introduce a new APE/GPEr mechanical-to-mechanical energy conversion, but simply enhances the existing IE/GPEr conversion rate, in addition to enhancing the viscous dissipation and the entropy production rates. This, in turn, implies that molecular diffusion contributes to the dissipation of the available mechanical energy ME = APE + KE, along with viscous dissipation. This result has important implications for the interpretation of the concepts of mixing efficiency γmixing and flux Richardson number Rf, for which new physically based definitions are proposed and contrasted with previous definitions.

The new framework allows for a more rigorous and general re-derivation from the first principles of Munk & Wunsch (1998, hereafter MW98)'s constraint, also valid for a non-Boussinesq ocean: where G(KE) is the work rate done by the mechanical forcing, Wr, forcing is the rate of loss of GPEr due to high-latitude cooling and ξ is a nonlinearity parameter such that ξ = 1 for a linear equation of state (as considered by MW98), but ξ < 1 otherwise. The most important result is that G(APE), the work rate done by the surface buoyancy fluxes, must be numerically as large as Wr, forcing and, therefore, as important as the mechanical forcing in stirring and driving the oceans. As a consequence, the overall mixing efficiency of the oceans is likely to be larger than the value γmixing = 0.2 presently used, thereby possibly eliminating the apparent shortfall in mechanical stirring energy that results from using γmixing = 0.2 in the above formula.

In agreement with a recent experimental discovery by Xi et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 102, 2009, paper no. 044503), we also find a sloshing mode in experiments on the large-scale circulation (LSC) of turbulent Rayleigh–Bénard convection in a cylindrical sample of aspect ratio one. The sloshing mode has the same frequency as the torsional oscillation discovered by Funfschilling & Ahlers (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 92, 2004, paper no. 1945022004). We show that both modes can be described by an extension of a model developed previously Brown & Ahlers (Phys. Fluids, vol. 20, 2008, pp. 105105-1–105105-15; Phys. Fluids, vol. 20, 2008, pp. 075101-1–075101-16). The extension consists of permitting a lateral displacement of the LSC circulation plane away from the vertical centreline of the sample as well as a variation of the displacement with height (such displacements had been excluded in the original model). Pressure gradients produced by the sidewall of the container on average centre the plane of the LSC so that it prefers to reach its longest diameter. If the LSC is displaced away from this diameter, the walls provide a restoring force. Turbulent fluctuations drive the LSC away from the central alignment, and combined with the restoring force they lead to oscillations. These oscillations are advected along with the LSC. This model yields the correct wavenumber and phase of the oscillations, as well as estimates of the frequency, amplitude and probability distributions of the displacements.

The role of fluid motion in delivery of nutrients to phytoplankton cells is a fundamental question in biological and chemical oceanography. In the study of mass transfer to phytoplankton, diatoms are of particular interest. They are non-motile, are often the most abundant components in aggregates and often form chains, so they are the ones expected to benefit most from enhancement of nutrient flux due to dissipating turbulence. Experimental data to test the contribution of advection to nutrient acquisition by phytoplankton are scarce, mainly because of the inability to visualize, record and thus imitate fluid motions in the vicinities of cells in natural flows. Laboratory experiments have most often used steady Couette flows to simulate the effects of turbulence on plankton. However, steady flow, producing spatially uniform shear, fails to capture the diffusion of momentum and vorticity, the essence of turbulence. Thus, numerical modelling plays an important role in the study of effects of fluid motion on diffusive and advective nutrient fluxes. In this paper we use the immersed boundary method to model the interaction of rigid and flexible diatom chains with the surrounding fluid and nutrients. We examine this interaction in two nutrient regimes, a uniform background concentration of nutrients, such as might be typical of an early spring bloom, and a contrasting scenario in which nutrients are supplied as small, randomly distributed pulses, as is more likely for oligotrophic seas and summer conditions in coastal and boreal seas. We also vary the length and flexibility of chains, as whether chains are straight or bent, rigid or flexible will affect their behaviour in the flow and hence their nutrient fluxes. The results of numerical experiments suggest that stiff chains consume more nutrients than solitary cells. Stiff chains also experience larger nutrient fluxes compared to flexible chains, and the nutrient uptake per cell increases with increasing stiffness of the chain, suggesting a major advantage of silica frustules in diatoms.

This study examines the structure of shear stress and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) flux across the roughness layer of a uniform, fully rough gravel-bed channel flow (ks+ ≫ 100, δ/k = 20) using high-resolution acoustic Doppler velocity profiler measurements. The studied gravel-bed roughness layer exhibits a complex random multi-scale roughness structure in strong contrast with conceptualized k- or d-type roughness in standard rough-wall flows. Within the roughness layer, strong spatial variability of all time-averaged flow quantities are observed affecting up to 40% of the boundary layer height. This variability is attributed to the presence of bed zones with emanating bed protuberances (or gravel clusters) acting as local flow obstacles and bed zones of more homogenous roughness of densely packed gravel elements. Considering the strong spatial mean flow variability across the roughness layer, a spatio-temporal averaging procedure, called double averaging (DA), has been applied to the analysed flow quantities. Three aspects have been addressed: (a) the DA shear stress and DA TKE flux in specific bed zones associated with three classes of velocity profiles as previously proposed in Mignot, Barthélemy & Hurther (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 618, 2009, p. 279), (b) the global and per class DA conditional statistics of shear stress and associated TKE flux and (c) the contribution of large-scale coherent shear stress structures (LC3S) to the TKE flux across the roughness layer. The mean Reynolds and dispersive shear structure show good agreement between the protuberance bed zones associated with the S-shape/accelerated classes and recent results obtained in standard k-type rough-wall flows (Djenidi et al., Exp. Fluids, vol. 44, 2008, p. 37; Pokrajac, McEwan & Nikora, Exp. Fluids, vol. 45, 2008, p. 73). These gravel-bed protuberances act as local flow obstacles inducing a strong turbulent activity in their wake regions. The conditional statistics show that the Reynolds stress contribution is fairly well distributed between sweep and ejection events, with threshold values ranging from H = 0 to H = 8. However, the TKE flux across the roughness layer primarily results from the residual shear stress between ejection and sweep of very high magnitude (H = 10–20) and of small turbulent scale. Although LC3S are seen to penetrated the interfacial roughness layer, their TKE flux contribution is found to be negligible compared to the very energetic small-scale sweep events. These sweeps are dominantly produced in the bed zones of local gravel protuberances where the velocity profiles are inflexional of S-shape type and the mean flow properties are of mixing-layer flow type as previously shown in Mignot et al. (2009).

This paper reports an experimental investigation of the near wake of a finite-length square cylinder, with one end mounted on a flat plate and the other free. The cylinder aspect ratio or height-to-width ratio H/d ranges from 3 to 7. Measurements were carried out mainly in a closed-loop low-speed wind tunnel at a Reynolds number Red, based on d and the free-stream velocity of 9300 using hot-wire anemometry, laser Doppler anemometry and particle image velocimetry (PIV). The planar PIV measurements were performed in the three orthogonal planes of the three-dimensional cylinder wake, along with flow visualization conducted simultaneously in two orthogonal planes (Red = 221). Three types of vortices, i.e. the tip, base and spanwise vortices were observed and the near wake is characterized by the interactions of these vortices. Both flow visualization and two-point correlation point to an inherent connection between the three types of vortices. A model is proposed for the three-dimensional flow structure based on the present measurements, which is distinct from previously proposed models. The instantaneous flow structure around the cylinder is arch-type, regardless of H/d, consisting of two spanwise vortical ‘legs’, one on each side of the cylinder, and their connection or ‘bridge’ near the free end. Both tip and base vortices are the streamwise projections of the arch-type structure in the (y, z) plane, associated with the free-end downwash flow and upwash flow from the wall, respectively. Other issues such as the topological characteristics, spatial arrangement and interactions among the vortical structures are also addressed.

Flow characteristics and fluxes in thermohaline staircases are measured in two tanks differing in aspect ratio A, where A is the ratio of tank width to fluid depth. In one tank (the ‘1 × 1’ tank) which is 30 cm deep and 30 cm wide, a staircase of one salt-finger layer and one convecting layer develops for a certain setting of the control parameters. The convecting layer has A ≃ 2. Shadowgraphs show convecting plumes that appear disorganized, and a large-scale flow never develops. Instead, the finger layer grows in height, overtakes the convecting layer and within a few days becomes one finger layer. The second tank (the ‘1 × 5’ tank) is also 30 cm deep but is 150 cm wide. For the same control parameter setting a similar staircase with a finger layer 20 cm deep and a convecting layer 10 cm deep develop. The convecting layer, with A = 15, has quite a different character. A large-scale flow develops so that the convecting layer has one cell, 10 cm deep and 150 cm wide. In this flow are large plumes which are transient and tilted; particle image velocimetry measurements of Reynolds stresses show they help to maintain the large-scale flow against viscous dissipation. Shadowgraphs show all the finger tips swept in the direction of the large-scale flow adjacent to the finger layer. Measurements show that the large-scale flow ‘collects’ the salt delivered by the many fingers so that the accumulated negative buoyancy leads to deep convection. This is a more stable arrangement, with the configuration lasting to the order of 102 days.