The Boltzmann equation provides a rigorous theoretical framework to study dilute gas flows at arbitrary degrees of rarefaction. Asymptotic methods have been applied to steady flows, enabling the development of analytical formulae. For unsteady (oscillatory) flows, two important limits have been studied: (i) at low oscillation frequency and small mean free path, slip models have been derived; and (ii) at high oscillation frequency and large mean free path, the leading-order dynamics are free-molecular. In this article, the complementary case of small mean free path and high oscillation frequency is examined in detail. All walls are solid and of arbitrary smooth shape. We perform a matched asymptotic expansion of the unsteady linearized Boltzmann–BGK equation in the small parameter $\nu / \omega $, where $\nu $ is the collision frequency of gas particles and $\omega $ is the characteristic oscillation frequency of the flow. Critically, an algebraic expression is derived for the perturbed mass distribution function throughout the bulk of the gas away from any walls, at all orders in the frequency ratio $\nu / \omega $. This is supplemented by a boundary layer correction defined by a set of first-order differential equations. This system is solved explicitly and in complete generality. We thus provide analytical expressions up to first order in the frequency ratio, for the density, temperature, mean velocity and stress tensor of the gas, in terms of the temperature and mean velocity of the wall, and the applied body force. In stark contrast to other asymptotic regimes, these explicit formulae eliminate the need to solve a differential equation for a body of arbitrary geometry. To illustrate the utility of these results, we study the oscillatory thermal creep problem for which we find a tangential boundary layer flow arises at first order in the frequency ratio.

Direct numerical simulation is performed with a focus on the characterization of nonlinear dynamics during reflection of a plane internal wave at a sloping bottom. The effect of incoming wave amplitude is assessed by varying the incoming Froude number, $Fr$, and the effect of off-criticality is assessed by varying the slope angle in a range of near-critical values. At low $\mathit{Fr}$, the numerical results agree well with linear inviscid theory of near-critical internal wave reflection. With increasing $\mathit{Fr}$, the reflection process becomes nonlinear with the formation of higher harmonics and the initiation of fine-scale turbulence during the evolution of the reflected wave. Later in time, the wave response becomes quasi-steady with a systematic dependence of turbulence on the temporal and spatial phase. Convective instabilities are found to play a crucial role in the formation of turbulence during each cycle. The cycle evolution of flow statistics is studied in detail and qualitative differences between off-critical and critical reflection are identified. The parametric dependence of turbulence levels on Froude number and slope angle is calculated. Interestingly, at a given value of $\mathit{Fr}$, the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) can be higher for somewhat off-critical reflection compared to exactly critical reflection. For a fixed slope angle, as the Froude number increases in the simulated cases, the fraction of the input wave energy converted into the turbulent kinetic energy and the fraction of the input wave power dissipated by turbulence also increase.

The aim of this paper it to derive general coordinate-invariant forms of the Eliassen–Palm flux tensor and thereby characterize the true geometric nature of the eddy–mean-flow interaction in hydrostatic Boussinesq rotating fluids. In the quasi-geostrophic limit previous forms of the Eliassen–Palm flux tensor are shown to be related to each other via a gauge transformation; a general form is stated and its geometric properties are discussed. Similar methodology is applied to the hydrostatic Boussinesq Navier–Stokes equations to re-derive the residual-mean equations in a coordinate-invariant form. Thickness-weighted averaging in buoyancy coordinates is carefully described, via the definition of a volume-form-weighted average, constructed so as to commute with the covariant divergence of a vector. The procedures leading to the thickness-weight averaged equation are discussed, and forms of the Eliassen–Palm flux tensor which arise are identified.

An upper bound on the rate of vertical heat transport is established in three dimensions for stress-free velocity boundary conditions on horizontally periodic plates. A variation of the background method is implemented that allows negative values of the quadratic form to yield ‘small’ ($O\left(1/ \mathit{Pr}\right)$) corrections to the subsequent bound. For large (but finite) Prandtl numbers this bound is an improvement over the ‘ultimate’ $R{a}^{1/ 2} $ scaling and, in the limit of infinite $Pr$, agrees with the bound of $R{a}^{5/ 12} $ recently derived in that limit for stress-free boundaries.

We investigate the linear stability of a film flowing down a solid substrate in the presence of soluble surfactants. The Navier–Stokes equations for the liquid motion are considered, together with advection–diffusion equations for the concentrations of the species involved, which include monomers dissolved in the bulk and adsorbed at the liquid–air and at the liquid–substrate interfaces. The adsorption–desorption kinetics of the surfactant at both interfaces is explicitly accounted for. An Orr–Sommerfeld eigenvalue problem is formulated, and solved analytically in the limit of long-wave disturbances and numerically for arbitrary wavelength using a finite element method. An extensive parametric study is performed to reveal the role of surfactant solubility and adsorption–desorption kinetics. The results quantify the stabilizing effect of soluble surfactants due to the presence of Marangoni stresses, and indicate that moderately soluble surfactants may be more effective than insoluble ones. Disturbances of finite wavelength are stabilized by more than an order of magnitude, and their detailed behaviour depends in a non-monotonic way on the amount of surfactant and on its solubility and kinetics. The above predictions provide insights for the interpretation of recent experimental findings on the primary instability and on the ensuing unstable dynamics of liquid films doped with soluble surfactants.

This paper studies the flow around a propeller rotating in the reverse direction in a uniform free stream. Large eddy simulation is used to study this massively separated flow at a Reynolds number of 480 000 and advance ratios $J= - 0. 5$, $- 0. 7$ and $- 1. 0$. Simulations are performed on two grids; statistics of the loads and velocity field around the propeller show encouraging agreement between the two grids and with experiment. The impact of advance ratio is discussed, and a physical picture of the unsteady flow and its influence on the propeller loads is proposed. An unsteady vortex ring is formed in the vicinity of the propeller disk due to the interaction between the free stream and the reverse flow produced by the reverse rotation. The flow is separated in the blade passages; the most prominent is the separation along the sharp edge of the blade on the downstream side of the blade. This separation results in high-amplitude, transient propeller loads. Conditional averaging is used to describe the statistically relevant events that determine low- and high-amplitude thrust and side-forces. The vortex ring is closer and the reverse flow induced by propeller rotation is lower when the loads are high. The propeller loads scale with $\rho {U}^{2} $ for $J\lt - 0. 7$ and with $\rho {n}^{2} {D}^{2} $ for $J\gt - 0. 7$.

The impulsive spin-up of a two-component superfluid and its container is solved analytically for the first time in arbitrary geometry, generalizing the extensively studied case of single-fluid spin-up. The superfluid is modelled by the Hall–Vinen–Bekarevich–Khalatnikov (HVBK) two-fluid equations, neglecting non-hydrodynamic processes like vortex tension and pinning, which are weak in certain applications (e.g. neutron stars) and confined to boundary layers in the inviscid HVBK component in other applications (e.g. helium II spin-up in smooth-walled containers). Both components of the flow are found to be columnar. The spin-up time depends on the geometry, mutual friction coefficients, $B$, ${B}^{\prime } $, the Ekman number $E$, and the superfluid density fraction ${\rho }_{n} $. For $B\sim O(1)$, the inviscid component undergoes Ekman pumping due to strong coupling to the viscous component, and the azimuthal velocities are ‘locked together’ during the spin-up. For $B\lesssim {E}^{1/ 2} $, there is no Ekman pumping in the inviscid component and the inviscid azimuthal velocity spins up via mutual friction on a combination of the mutual friction and Ekman time scales. The spin-up process is studied in spheres, cylinders (with co- and counter-rotating lids), and cones, and occurs faster in spheres and cones. Ekman pumping is (anti-) clockwise adjacent to the (lower-) upper-right boundary, and mirrored about the rotation axis. The solution obtained by Reisenegger (J. Low Temp. Phys., vol. 92, 1993, p. 77) between slowly accelerating parallel plates is recovered in the associated limit. The hydrodynamic torque on the container decays dual-exponentially with time in a cylinder but not in a sphere or cone, where it is a superposition of exponentials whose time scales vary with latitude. The torque is a good diagnostic of the flow; e.g. it is steepest initially in a sphere with strong mutual friction.

We study spreading dynamics of nematic liquid crystal droplets within the framework of the long-wave approximation. A fourth-order nonlinear parabolic partial differential equation governing the free surface evolution is derived. The influence of elastic distortion energy and of imposed anchoring variations at the substrate are explored through linear stability analysis and scaling arguments, which yield useful insight and predictions for the behaviour of spreading droplets. This behaviour is captured by fully nonlinear time-dependent simulations of three-dimensional droplets spreading in the presence of anchoring variations that model simple defects in the nematic orientation at the substrate.

Large-eddy simulation (LES) is utilized to investigate flow physics and lower-fidelity modelling assumptions in the simulation of an oblique shock impinging on a supersonic turbulent boundary layer (OSTBLI). A database of LES solutions is presented, covering a range of shock strengths and Reynolds numbers, that is utilized as a surrogate-truth model to explore three topics. First, detailed conservation budgets are extracted within the framework of parametric investigation to identify trends that might be used to mitigate statistical (aleatory) uncertainties in inflow conditions. It is found, for instance, that an increase in Reynolds number does not significantly affect length of separation. Additionally, it is found that variation in the shock-generating wedge angle has the effect of increasing the intensity of low-frequency oscillations and moving these motions towards longer time scales, even when scaled by interaction length. Next, utilizing the LES database, a detailed analysis is performed of several existing models describing the low-frequency unsteady motion of the OSTBLI system. Most significantly, it is observed that the length scale of streamwise coherent structures appears to be dependent on Reynolds number, and at the Reynolds number of the present simulations, these structures do not exist on time scales long enough to be the primary cause of low-frequency unsteadiness. Finally, modelling errors associated with turbulence closures using eddy-viscosity and stress-transport-based Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) simulations are investigated. It is found that while the stress-transport models offer improved predictions, inadequacies in modelling the turbulence transport terms and the isotropic treatment of the dissipation is seen to limit their accuracy.

We generalize the POD-based Galerkin method for post-transient flow data by incorporating Navier–Stokes equation constraints. In this method, the derived Galerkin expansion minimizes the residual like POD, but with the power balance equation for the resolved turbulent kinetic energy as an additional optimization constraint. Thus, the projection of the Navier–Stokes equation on to the expansion modes yields a Galerkin system that respects the power balance on the attractor. The resulting dynamical system requires no stabilizing eddy-viscosity term – contrary to other POD models of high-Reynolds-number flows. The proposed Galerkin method is illustrated with two test cases: two-dimensional flow inside a square lid-driven cavity and a two-dimensional mixing layer. Generalizations for more Navier–Stokes constraints, e.g. Reynolds equations, can be achieved in straightforward variation of the presented results.

Eulerian and Lagrangian tools are used to detect coherent structures in the velocity and magnetic fields of a mean-field dynamo, produced by direct numerical simulations of the three-dimensional compressible magnetohydrodynamic equations with an isotropic helical forcing and moderate Reynolds number. Two distinct stages of the dynamo are studied: the kinematic stage, where a seed magnetic field undergoes exponential growth; and the saturated regime. It is shown that the Lagrangian analysis detects structures with greater detail, in addition to providing information on the chaotic mixing properties of the flow and the magnetic fields. The traditional way of detecting Lagrangian coherent structures using finite-time Lyapunov exponents is compared with a recently developed method called function $M$. The latter is shown to produce clearer pictures which readily permit the identification of hyperbolic regions in the magnetic field, where chaotic transport/dispersion of magnetic field lines is highly enhanced.

A computational model of the pseudo-incompressible equations is used to probe the range of validity of an extended Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin theory (XWKB), previously derived through a distinguished limit of a multiple-scale asymptotic analysis of the Euler or pseudo-incompressible equations of motion, for gravity-wave packets at large amplitudes. The governing parameter of this analysis had been the scale-separation ratio $\varepsilon $ between the gravity wave and both the large-scale potential-temperature stratification and the large-scale wave-induced mean flow. A novel feature of the theory had been the non-resonant forcing of higher harmonics of an initial wave packet, predominantly by the large-scale gradients in the gravity-wave fluxes. In the test cases considered a gravity-wave packet is propagating upwards in a uniformly stratified atmosphere. Large-scale winds are induced by the wave packet, and possibly exert a feedback on the latter. In the limit $\varepsilon \ll 1$ all predictions of the theory can be validated. The larger $\varepsilon $ is the more the transfer of wave energy to the mean flow is underestimated by the theory. The numerical results quantify this behaviour but also show that, qualitatively, XWKB remains valid even when the gravity-wave wavelength approaches the spatial scale of the wave-packet amplitude. This includes the prevalence of first and second harmonics and the smallness of harmonics with wave number higher than two. Furthermore, XWKB predicts for the vertical momentum balance an additional leading-order buoyancy term in Euler and pseudo-incompressible theory, compared with the anelastic theory. Numerical tests show that this term is relatively large with up to $30\hspace{0.167em} \% $ of the total balance. The practical relevance of this deviation remains to be assessed in future work.

In addition to conserving energy and enstrophy, the nonlinear terms of the two-dimensional incompressible Navier–Stokes equation are well known to conserve the global integral of any continuously differentiable function of the scalar vorticity field. However, the phenomenological role of these additional inviscid invariants, including the issue as to whether they cascade to large or small scales, is an open question. In this work, well-resolved implicitly dealiased pseudospectral simulations suggest that the fourth power of the vorticity cascades to small scales.

It is known that the wake pattern observed in a cross-section behind swimming or flying animals is typically characterized by the presence of periodical vortex shedding. However, depending on species, propulsive wakes can differ according to the spatial ordering of the main vortex structures. We conducted a very precise experiment to analyse the role of the topology of the wake in the generation of propulsion by comparing two prototypical cases in a quasi-two-dimensional view. One configuration is jellyfish-like, with symmetric shedding of vortex pairs, and the other is fish-like, with alternating shedding of counter-rotating vortices. Self-propulsion is achieved by the flapping motion of two identical pitching rigid foils, separated by a distance $d$. By keeping the momentum input unchanged, we compared both symmetric and asymmetric flapping modes. For the entire explored range of parameters, the symmetric jellyfish-like mode has shown to produce more thrust than the fish-like asymmetrical one. We show here that this difference is due to a pressure effect related to the ability of each wake to produce or not, strong fluctuations of transversal velocities in the near-wake region.

The dynamics of the subgrid-scale (SGS) stress and scalar flux in the convective atmospheric surface layer are studied through the budgets of the SGS turbulence kinetic energy (TKE), the SGS stress and the SGS temperature flux using field measurements from the Advection Horizontal Array Turbulence Study (AHATS). The array technique, which employs sensor arrays to perform filter operations to obtain the SGS velocity and temperature, is extended to include pressure sensors to measure the fluctuating pressure, enabling separation of the resolvable- and subgrid-scale pressure, and therefore for the first time allowing for measurement of the pressure covariance terms and the full SGS budgets. The non-dimensional forms of the SGS budget terms are obtained as functions of the stability parameter $z/ L$ and the ratio of the wavelength of the spectral peak of the vertical velocity to the filter width, ${\Lambda }_{w} / {\Delta }_{f} $. The results show that the SGS TKE budget is a balance among the production, transport and dissipation. The SGS shear stress budget and the SGS temperature flux budgets are dominated by the production and pressure destruction, with the latter causing return to isotropy. The budgets of the SGS normal stress components are more complex. Most notably the pressure–strain-rate correlation includes two competing processes, return to isotropy and generation of anisotropy, the latter due to ground blockage of the large convective eddies. For neutral surface layers, return to isotropy dominates. For unstable surface layers return to isotropy dominates for small filter widths, whereas for large filter widths the ground blockage effect dominates, resulting in strong anisotropy. The results in the present study, particularly for the pressure–strain-rate correlation, have strong implications for modelling the SGS stress and flux using their transport equations in the convective atmospheric boundary layer.

The induced diffusion of tracers in a bacterial suspension is studied theoretically and experimentally at low bacterial concentrations. Considering the swimmer–tracer hydrodynamic interactions at low Reynolds number and using a kinetic theory approach, it is shown that the induced diffusion coefficient is proportional to the swimmer concentration, their mean velocity and a coefficient $\beta $, as observed experimentally. This paper shows that $\beta $ increases as a result of the interaction with solid surfaces. The coefficient $\beta $ scales as the tracer–swimmer cross-section times the mean square displacement produced by single scattering events, which depends on the swimmer propulsion forces. Considering simple swimmer models (acting on the fluid as two monopoles or as a force dipole), it is shown that $\beta $ increases for decreasing swimming efficiencies. Close to solid surfaces, the swimming efficiency degrades and, consequently, the induced diffusion increases. Experiments on wild-type Escherichia coli in a Hele-Shaw cell, under buoyant conditions, are performed to measure the induced diffusion on tracers near surfaces. The modification of the suspension pH varies the swimmers’ velocity over a wide range, allowing the $\beta $ coefficient to be extracted with precision. It is found that solid surfaces modify the induced diffusion: decreasing the confinement height of the cell, $\beta $ increases by a factor of 4. The theoretical model reproduces this increase, although there are quantitative differences, probably attributed to the simplicity of the swimmer models and to the estimates for the parameters that model E. coli.

Inertial waves propagate in homogeneous rotating fluids, and constitute a challenging and simplified case study for the broader class of inertio-gravity waves, present in all geophysical and astrophysical media, and responsible for energetically costly processes such as diapycnal and angular momentum mixing. However, a complete analytical description and understanding of internal waves in arbitrarily shaped enclosed domains, such as the ocean or a planet liquid core, is still missing. In this work, the inviscid, linear inertial wave field is investigated by means of three-dimensional ray tracing in spherical shell domains, having in mind possible oceanographic applications. Rays are here classically interpreted as representative of energy paths, but in contrast to previous studies, they are now launched with a non-zero initial zonal component allowing for a more realistic, localized forcing and the development of azimuthal inhomogeneities. We find that meridional planes generally act in the shell geometry as attractors for ray trajectories. In addition, the existence of trajectories that are not subject to meridional trapping is here observed for the first time. Their dynamics was not captured by the previous purely meridional studies and unveils a new class of possible solutions for inertial motion in the spherical shell. Both observed behaviours shed some new light on possible mechanisms of energy localization, a key process that still deserves further investigation in our ocean, as well as in other stratified, rotating media.

Experiments and global linear stability analysis are used to obtain the critical flow rate below which the highly stretched capillary jet, generated when a Newtonian liquid issues from a vertically oriented tube, is no longer steady. The theoretical description, based on the one-dimensional mass and momentum equations retaining the exact expression for the interfacial curvature, accurately predicts the onset of jet self-excited oscillations experimentally observed for wide ranges of liquid viscosity and nozzle diameter. Our analysis, which extends the work by Sauter & Buggisch (J. Fluid Mech. vol. 533, 2005, pp. 237–257), reveals the essential stabilizing role played by the axial curvature of the jet, the latter effect being especially relevant for injectors with a large diameter. Our findings allow us to conclude that, surprisingly, the size of the steady threads produced at a given distance from the exit can be reduced by increasing the nozzle diameter.

Flow instabilities driven by the dissipative nature of particle–particle interactions have been well documented in granular flows. The bulk of previous studies on such instabilities have considered the impact of inelastic dissipation only and shown that instabilities are enhanced with increased dissipation. The impact of frictional dissipation on the stability of grains in a homogeneous cooling system is studied in this work using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and kinetic-theory-based predictions. Surprisingly, both MD simulations and theory indicate that high levels of friction actually attenuate instabilities relative to the frictionless case, whereas moderate levels enhance instabilities compared to frictionless systems, as expected. The mechanism responsible for this behaviour is identified as the coupling between rotational and translational motion. These results have implications not only for granular materials, but also more generally to flows with dissipative interactions between constituent particles – cohesive systems with agglomeration, multiphase flows with viscous dissipation, etc.

In this work we investigate, by way of experiments and theory, the Faraday instability threshold in cylinders at low frequencies. This implies large wavelengths where effects from mode discretization cannot be ignored. Careful selection of the working fluids has resulted in an immiscible interface whose apparent contact line with the sidewall can glide over a tiny film of the more wetting fluid, without detachment of its actual contact line. This unique behaviour has allowed for a system whose primary dissipation is defined by the bulk viscous effects, and in doing so, for the first time, close connection is seen with the viscous linear stability theory for which a stress-free condition is assumed at the sidewalls. As predicted, mode selection and co-dimension 2 points are observed in the experiment for a frequency range including subharmonic, harmonic, and superharmonic modes. While agreement with the predictions are generally excellent, there are deviations from the theory for certain modes and these are explained in the context of harmonic meniscus waves. A review of previous work on single-mode excitation in cylinders is given, along with comparison to the viscous model and analysis based upon the conclusions of the current experiments.