The axially symmetric, swirl-free gas dynamics and interlinked motion of a cork stopper provoked by the opening of a champagne bottle are modelled rigorously and studied numerically. The experimental study by Liger-Belair et al. (Science Advances, 5(9), 2019) animated the present investigation. Inspection analysis justifies the inviscid treatment of the expanding jet of air enriched with dissolved carbonic acid gas initially pressurised in the bottle. Solving of the resulting Euler equations is facilitated by the open-source software Clawpack. Specific enhancements allow for resolving of the emerging supersonic pockets, associated with surprisingly complex shock structures, as well as the gas–stopper interaction with due accuracy. Our experimental effort provided modelling of the frictional behaviour, constitutive law and reversible (de-)compression of the cork material. Initially, the gas expands inside the bottleneck yet sealed by the stopper, and is hence accelerated by the gas but decelerated by dry sliding friction. Once the stopper has passed the bottle opening, the jet rapidly assumes locally supersonic speed, where a complex shock pattern is detected. Special attention is paid to the formation and dissolution of one or even two Mach discs between the opening and the released stopper. This simulated dynamics is found to be in fairly good agreement with recent experimental findings. It also provides a first insight into the generation of the typical popping sound.

Discrete vortex rings impinging on concave hemispherical cavities were explored experimentally. Planar laser-induced fluorescence, two-dimensional particle image velocimetry and flow visualization techniques were employed. Five different ratios of vortex ring to hemisphere cavity radius ($\gamma$) were investigated, namely, $\gamma = 1/4,1/3,2/5,$$1/2, 2/3$. For $\gamma = 1/4,1/3, 2/5$, the geometric confinement of the primary ring due to the hemispherical cavity induced loop-like instabilities in the secondary ring, which led to head-on collision and ejection of the looped ends as they orbited the primary ring. As the hemispherical cavity decreased in diameter (increasing $\gamma$), the dynamics were altered significantly due to the increased generation of vorticity along the edge of the hemisphere. For $\gamma = 1/2$, vorticity produced at the edge/lip of the hemisphere ultimately disrupted the classical formation of a secondary vortex ring from the wall-bounded vorticity. For $\gamma = 2/3$, the primary ring and hemisphere radius were close enough in size that the interaction was dominated by direct impact of the primary ring with the lip of the cavity. The primary vortex ring produced a vortex ring at the lip of the hemisphere that ultimately separated from the cavity, orbited around the primary ring, and then self-advected in the direction opposite to the primary vortex ring trajectory. A detailed investigation of the dynamics provided.

This study aims to leverage the relationship between fluid dynamic loading and resulting structural deformation to infer the incident flow speed from measurements of time-dependent structure kinematics. Wind tunnel studies are performed on cantilevered cylinders and trees. Tip deflections of the wind-loaded structures are captured in time series data, and a physical model of the relationship between force and deflection is applied to calculate the instantaneous wind speed normalized with respect to a known reference wind speed. Wind speeds inferred from visual measurements showed consistent agreement with ground truth anemometer measurements for different cylinder and tree configurations. These results suggest an approach for non-intrusive, quantitative flow velocimetry that eliminates the need to directly visualize or instrument the flow itself.

The ability to create dynamic deformations of micron-sized structures is relevant to a wide variety of applications such as adaptable optics, soft robotics and reconfigurable microfluidic devices. In this work, we examine non-uniform lubrication flow as a mechanism to create complex deformation fields in an elastic plate. We consider a Kirchhoff–Love elasticity model for the plate and Hele-Shaw flow in a narrow gap between the plate and a parallel rigid surface. Based on linearization of the Reynolds equation, we obtain a governing equation which relates elastic deformations to gradients in non-homogeneous physical properties of the fluid (e.g. body forces, viscosity and slip velocity). We then focus on a specific case of non-uniform Helmholtz–Smoluchowski electro-osmotic slip velocity, and provide a method for determining the zeta-potential distribution necessary to generate arbitrary static and quasi-static deformations of the elastic plate. Extending the problem to time-dependent solutions, we analyse transient effects on asymptotically static solutions, and finally provide a closed form solution for a Green’s function for time periodic actuations.

A combined numerical and experimental study examining vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of a neutrally buoyant tethered sphere has been undertaken. The study covered the Reynolds-number range $50\leq \mathit{Re}\lesssim 12\hspace{0.167em} 000$, with the numerical ($50\leq \mathit{Re}\leq 800$) and experimental ($370\leqslant \mathit{Re}\lesssim 12\hspace{0.167em} 000$) ranges overlapping. Neutral buoyancy was chosen to eliminate one parameter, i.e. the influence of gravity, on the VIV behaviour, although, of course, the effect of added mass remains. The tether length was also chosen to be sufficiently long so that, to a good approximation, the sphere was constrained to move within a plane. Seven broad but relatively distinct sphere oscillation and wake states could be distinguished. For regime I, the wake is steady and axisymmetric, and it undergoes transition to a steady two-tailed wake in regime II at $\mathit{Re}= 210$. Those regimes are directly analogous to those of a fixed sphere. Once the sphere begins to vibrate at $\mathit{Re}\simeq 270$ in regime III, the wake behaviour is distinct from the fixed-sphere wake. Initially the vibration frequency of the sphere is half the shedding frequency in the wake, with the latter consistent with the fixed-sphere wake frequency. The sphere vibration is not purely periodic but modulated over several base periods. However, at slightly higher Reynolds numbers ($\mathit{Re}\simeq 280$), planar symmetry is broken, and the vibration shifts to the planar normal (or azimuthal) direction, and becomes completely azimuthal at the start of regime IV at $\mathit{Re}= 300$. In comparison, for a fixed sphere, planar symmetry is broken at a much higher Reynolds number of $\mathit{Re}\simeq 375$. Interestingly, planar symmetry returns to the wake for $\mathit{Re}\gt 330$, in regime V, for which the oscillations are again radial, and is maintained until $\mathit{Re}= 450$ or higher. At the same time, the characteristic vortex loops in the wake become symmetrical, i.e. two-sided. For $\mathit{Re}\gt 500$, in regime VI, the trajectory of the sphere becomes irregular, possibly chaotic. That state is maintained over the remaining Reynolds-number range simulated numerically ($\mathit{Re}\leq 800$). Experiments overlapping this Reynolds-number range confirm the amplitude radial oscillations in regime V and the chaotic wandering for regime VI. At still higher Reynolds numbers of $\mathit{Re}\gt 3000$, in regime VII, the trajectories evolve to quasi-circular orbits about the neutral point, with the orbital radius increasing as the Reynolds number is increased. At $\mathit{Re}= 12\hspace{0.167em} 000$, the orbital diameter reaches approximately one sphere diameter. Of interest, this transition sequence is distinct from that for a vertically tethered heavy sphere, which undergoes transition to quasi-circular orbits beyond $\mathit{Re}= 500$.