European Mechanics Colloquium number 119 was held at Imperial College on 16–18 July 1979, when the subject of vortex shedding from bodies in unidirectional flow and oscillatory flow, was discussed. A wide range of experimental work was presented including low-Reynolds-number flows around circular cylinders, the influence of disturbances on bluff body flow, the measurement of fluctuating forces and the influence of oscillations of the stream. About a third of the 33 papers presented concentrated on theoretical aspects and the majority of these were concerned with the ‘method of discrete vortices’.

The nonlinear evolution and breakdown of laminar flow in the boundary layer on a flat plate is examined with the aim of making a closer comparison of theory and experiment than has been attempted previously. The importance of three-dimensionality is emphasized. It is concluded that many features of the nonlinear instability are consistent with existing linear and weakly nonlinear theories even as breakdown is approached. The development of the secondary instability, or ‘spike’, is also considered and suggestions for an improved theory of its growth are made.

Steady rotating flow over topography in a periodic channel is examined, with emphasis on the interaction of waves, topography and mean flow. A simple quasi-linear theory is presented that features an implicit equation relating the net zonal flow to the forcing and topography. A good description of the dynamics is obtained, even when resonant Rossby waves appear. Multiple solutions for given external parameters are predicted in some cases, and confirmed by comparison with a fully nonlinear numerical model.

The nonlinear results also indicate that the zonally averaged shear can be important when topographic effects or Rossby numbers are large. With this factor taken into account the theory gives good agreement with the fully nonlinear model, as long as eddy–eddy interactions are minor.

The theory is relevant to the dynamics of planetary waves in the atmosphere, and may also be applied to some oceanic problems.

The flow near the mouth of an open tube is examined, experimentally and theoretically, under conditions in which resonant acoustic waves are excited in the tube at the other end. If the edge of the tube is round, separation does not occur at high Strouhal numbers, which enables us to verify theoretical predictions for dissipation in the boundary layer and for acoustic radiation. Observation with the aid of schlieren pictures shows that in the case of a sharp edge vortices are formed during inflow. The vortices are shed from the pipe during outflow. Based on these observations a mathematical model is developed for the generation and shedding of vorticity. The main result of the analysis is a boundary condition for the pressure in the wave, to be applied near the mouth. The pressure amplitudes in the acoustic wave measured under resonance are compared with theoretical predictions made with the aid of the boundary condition obtained in the paper.

A comprehensive programme of research is being undertaken on short-crested waves produced by obliquely reflecting waves from a rigid vertical wall. This has included a new wave theory to third-order approximation. The second-order Eulerian water-particle velocities throughout the bottom boundary layer are now investigated. From this the resulting mass transport is considered to the first approximation. The vertical velocity component has a non-zero value within and just beyond the boundary layer. The limiting two-dimensional cases of progressive and standing waves are obtained and compared with published results. Comparison is also made with available experimental data. Graphs of some analytical solutions are presented.

The waves propagating from an oscillating plane piston into a vibrationally relaxing gas are calculated by an exact numerical method ignoring viscosity and heat conduction. Secondary effects due to the starting of the piston from rest and to acoustic streaming can be eliminated from the calculated flows, leaving a truly periodic progressive wave which can be analysed and compared with approximate solutions. It is found that for moderate amplitude waves nonlinearity is only important as a convective effect which produces higher harmonics, whereas dissipation is adequately described by linear theory.

The only solutions to date which describe nonlinear resonant acoustic oscillations are those for which the distortion of the travelling waves is negligible. Many experiments do not comply with this small-rate restriction. A finite-rate theory of resonance for an inviscid gas, in which the intrinsic nonlinearity of the waves is taken into account, necessitates the construction of periodic solutions of a nonlinear functional equation. This is achieved by introducing the notion of a critical point of the functional equation, which corresponds physically to a resonating wavelet. In a finite-rate theory a wave may break in a single cycle in the tube, and thus there may be more than one shock present even at fundamental resonance. Discontinuous solutions of the functional equation are constructed which satisfy the weak shock conditions.

The low-frequency character of two model problems is exploited in order to illustrate the acoustic consequences of the interactions between chemically reacting (or relaxing) inhomogeneities and flames or constrictions in ducts. The monopole of the former is associated with heat transfer in a fluid which exhibits variations in its specific heats, while in the latter there is an extension of the classical phenomenon associated with the pulsations of an inhomogeneity of the fluid compressibility. This second mechanism is found to be insignificant, but the heat-conduction source is considered to be very powerful at sufficiently low Mach numbers; in fact, to first order it is independent of the flow Mach number for laminar, as well as a certain class of turbulent, flows.

Boundary-layer structure of prograde and retrograde rotating flows past a cylinder on a β-plane is investigated. It is found that β inhibits boundary-layer separation for prograde flows but it exerts no influence on the boundary-layer structure for retrograde flows. The results agree with the few available experimental observations.

The present study examines the flow past slender bodies possessing finite centre-line curvature in a viscous, incompressible fluid without any appreciable inertia effects. We consider slender bodies having arbitrary centre-line configurations, circular transverse cross-sections, and longitudinal cross-sections which are approximately elliptic close to the body ends (i.e. prolate-spheroidal body ends). The no-slip boundary condition on the body surface is satisfied, using a convenient stepwise procedure, to higher orders in the slenderness parameter (ε) than has previously been possible. In fact, the boundary condition is satisfied up to an error term of O(ε2) by distributing appropriate stokeslets, potential doublets, rotlets, sources, stresslets and quadrupoles on the body centre-line. The methods used here produce an integral equation valid along the entire body length, including the ends, whose solution determines the stokeslet strength or equivalently the force per unit length up to a term of O(ε2). The O(ε2) correction to the stokeslet strength is also found. The theory is used to examine the motion of a partial torus and a helix of finite length. For helical bodies comparisons are made between the present theory and the resistive-force theory using the force coefficients of Gray & Hancock and Lighthill. For the motion considered the Gray & Hancock force coefficients generally underestimate the force per unit length, whereas Lighthill's coefficients provide good agreement except in the vicinity of the body ends.

Necessary conditions for linear stability of a rotating, compressible and inviscid fluid are found by the generalized progressing wave expansion method. The full three-dimensional problem involving an arbitrarily given rotational symmetric external force field is considered for an arbitrary steady shear flow with vanishing axial velocity. The results obtained are compared with previously known results.