Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T04:23:58.037Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The compressible vortex pair

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 April 2006

D. W. Moore
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics, Imperial College, Queens Gate, London SW7 2BZ, UK
D. I. Pullin
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Queensland, St. Lucia 4067, Australia

Abstract

We consider the steady self-propagation with respect to the fluid at infinity of two equal symmetrically shaped vortices in a compressible fluid. Each vortex core is modelled by a region of stagnant constant-pressure fluid bounded by closed constant-pressure, constant-speed streamlines of unknown shape. The external flow is assumed to be irrotational inviscid isentropic flow of a perfect gas. The flow is therefore shock free but may be locally supersonic. The nonlinear free-boundary problem for the vortex-pair flow is formulated in the hodograph plane of compressible-flow theory, and a numerical solution method based on finite differences is described. Specific results are presented for a range of parameters which control the flow, namely the Mach number of the pair translational motion and the fluid speed on each vortex bounding streamline. Perturbation-theory predictions are developed, valid for vortices of small core radius when the pair Mach number is much less than unity. These are in good agreement with the hodograph-plane calculations. The numerical and the perturbation-theory results together confirm the recently discovered (Barsony-Nagy, Er-El & Yungster 1987) existence of continuous shock-free transonic compressible flows with embedded vortices. For the vortex-pair geometry studied, solution branches corresponding to physically acceptable flows that could be calculated using the present hodograph-plane numerical method were found to be terminated when either the flow on the streamline of symmetry separating the vortiqes tends to become superonic or when limiting lines appear in the hodograph plane giving a locally multivalued mapping to the physical plane.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1987 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramowitz, M. & Stegun, A. 1970 Handbook of Mathematical Functions, 9th edn. Dover.
Barsony-Nagy, A., Er-El, J. & Yungster, S. 1987 Compressible flow past a contour and stationary vortices. J. Fluid Mech. 178, 367378.Google Scholar
Brown, S. N. 1965 The compressible inviscid leading-edge vortex. J. Fluid Mech. 22, 1732.Google Scholar
Chen, B. & Saffman, P. G. 1980 Numerical evidence for the existence of new types of gravity waves of permanent form on deep water. Stud. Appl. Maths 62, 121.Google Scholar
Garabedian, P. R. & Korn, D. G. 1971 Numerical design of transonic airfoils. In Numerical Solution of Partial Differential Equations (ed. B. Hubbard), vol. 2. pp. 253271. Academic.
Küchemann, D. 1978 The Aerodynamic Design of Aircraft. Pergamon.
Kuo, Y. H. & Sears, W. R. 1954 Plane subsonic and transonic potential flows. In General Theory of High-Speed Aerodynamics, Vol. VI, High Speed Aerodynamics and Jet propulsion (ed. W. R. Sears), pp. 490577. Princeton University Press.
Landau, L. D. & Lifshitz, E. M. 1959 Fluid Mechanics, Pergamon.
Mack, L. M. 1960 The compressible viscous heat-conducting vortex. J. Fluid Mech 8, 284292.Google Scholar
Mandella, M., Moon, Y. J. & Bershader, D. 1986 Quantitative study of shock-generated compressible vortex flows. In Shock Waves and Shock Tubes, Proc. Fifteenth Intl Symp on Shock Waves and Shock Tubes, Berkeley, California (ed. D. Bershader & R. K. Hanson), pp. 471477. Stanford University Press.
Marconi, F. 1984 Supersonic conical separation due to shock vorticity. AIAA J. 22, 1048.Google Scholar
Milne-Thomson, L. 1966 Theoretical Aerodynamics. Macmillan.
Moore, D. W. 1985 The effect of compressibility on the speed of propagation of a vortex ring. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 397, 8797.Google Scholar
Morawetz, C. S. 1956 On the non-existence of continuous transonic flow past airfoils. I. Commun. Pure Appl. Maths 9, 4568.Google Scholar
Morawetz, C. S. 1957 On the non-existence of continuous transonic flow past airfoils II. Commun. Pure Appl. Maths 10, 107131.Google Scholar
Morawetz, C. S. 1958 On the non-existence of continuous transonic flow past airfoils. III. Commun. Pure Appl. Maths 11, 129144.Google Scholar
Nieuwland, G. Y. & Spree, B. M. 1973 Transonic airfoils. Recent developments in theory, experiment and design. Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech. 5, 119150.Google Scholar
Pocklington, H. C. 1894 The configuration of a pair of equal and opposite hollow straight vortices of finite cross section moving steadily through fluid. Proc. Camb. Phil. Soc. 8, 178187.Google Scholar
Sobieczky, H. & Seebass, A. R. 1984 Supercritical airfoil and wing design. Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech. 16, 337363.Google Scholar
Taylor, G. I. 1930 Recent work on the flow of compressible fluids. J. Lond. Math. Soc. 5, 224240.Google Scholar