We study the degree to which Kraichnan–Leith–Batchelor (KLB) phenomenology describes two-dimensional energy cascades in $\alpha $ turbulence, governed by $\partial \theta / \partial t+ J(\psi , \theta )= \nu {\nabla }^{2} \theta + f$, where $\theta = {(- \Delta )}^{\alpha / 2} \psi $ is generalized vorticity, and $\hat {\psi } (\boldsymbol{k})= {k}^{- \alpha } \hat {\theta } (\boldsymbol{k})$ in Fourier space. These models differ in spectral non-locality, and include surface quasigeostrophic flow ($\alpha = 1$), regular two-dimensional flow ($\alpha = 2$) and rotating shallow flow ($\alpha = 3$), which is the isotropic limit of a mantle convection model. We re-examine arguments for dual inverse energy and direct enstrophy cascades, including Fjørtoft analysis, which we extend to general $\alpha $, and point out their limitations. Using an $\alpha $-dependent eddy-damped quasinormal Markovian (EDQNM) closure, we seek self-similar inertial range solutions and study their characteristics. Our present focus is not on coherent structures, which the EDQNM filters out, but on any self-similar and approximately Gaussian turbulent component that may exist in the flow and be described by KLB phenomenology. For this, the EDQNM is an appropriate tool. Non-local triads contribute increasingly to the energy flux as $\alpha $ increases. More importantly, the energy cascade is downscale in the self-similar inertial range for $2. 5\lt \alpha \lt 10$. At $\alpha = 2. 5$ and $\alpha = 10$, the KLB spectra correspond, respectively, to enstrophy and energy equipartition, and the triad energy transfers and flux vanish identically. Eddy turnover time and strain rate arguments suggest the inverse energy cascade should obey KLB phenomenology and be self-similar for $\alpha \lt 4$. However, downscale energy flux in the EDQNM self-similar inertial range for $\alpha \gt 2. 5$ leads us to predict that any inverse cascade for $\alpha \geq 2. 5$ will not exhibit KLB phenomenology, and specifically the KLB energy spectrum. Numerical simulations confirm this: the inverse cascade energy spectrum for $\alpha \geq 2. 5$ is significantly steeper than the KLB prediction, while for $\alpha \lt 2. 5$ we obtain the KLB spectrum.

We use ultra-high-speed video imaging to look at the initial contact of a drop impacting on a liquid layer. We observe experimentally the vortex street and the bubble-ring entrapments predicted numerically, for high impact velocities, by Thoraval et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 108, 2012, article 264506). These dynamics mainly occur within $50~\mathrm{\mu} \mathrm{s} $ after the first contact, requiring imaging at 1 million f.p.s. For a water drop impacting on a thin layer of water, the entrapment of isolated bubbles starts through azimuthal instability, which forms at low impact velocities, in the neck connecting the drop and pool. For Reynolds number $Re$ above ${\sim }12\hspace{0.167em} 000$, up to 10 partial bubble rings have been observed at the base of the ejecta, starting when the contact is ${\sim }20\hspace{0.167em} \% $ of the drop size. More regular bubble rings are observed for a pool of ethanol or methanol. The video imaging shows rotation around some of these air cylinders, which can temporarily delay their breakup into micro-bubbles. The different refractive index in the pool liquid reveals the destabilization of the vortices and the formation of streamwise vortices and intricate vortex tangles. Fine-scale axisymmetry is thereby destroyed. We show also that the shape of the drop has a strong influence on these dynamics.

The interaction of barotropic tidal currents and baroclinic geostrophic eddies is considered theoretically and numerically to determine whether energy can be transferred to an internal wave field by this process. The eddy field evolves independently of the tide, suggesting that it acts catalytically in facilitating energy transfer from the barotropic tide to the internal wave field, without exchanging energy with the other flow components. The interaction is identically zero and no waves are generated when the barotropic tidal current is horizontally uniform. Optimal internal wave generation occurs when the scales of tide and eddy fields satisfy resonant conditions. The most efficient generation is found if the tidal current horizontal scale is comparable to that of the eddies, with a weak maximum when the scales differ by a factor of two. Thus, this process is not an effective mechanism for internal wave excitation in the deep ocean, where tidal current scales are much larger than those of eddies, but it may provide an additional source of internal waves in coastal areas where horizontal modulation of the tide by topography can be significant.

We investigate the route to dissipation in strongly stratified and rotating systems through high-resolution numerical simulations of the Boussinesq equations (BQs) and the primitive equations (PEs) in a triply periodic domain forced at large scales. By applying geostrophic scaling to the BQs and using the same horizontal length scale in defining the Rossby and the Froude numbers, $\mathit{Ro}$ and $\mathit{Fr}$, we show that the PEs can be obtained from the BQs by taking the limit ${\mathit{Fr}}^{2} / {\mathit{Ro}}^{2} \rightarrow 0$. When ${\mathit{Fr}}^{2} / {\mathit{Ro}}^{2} $ is small the difference between the results from the BQ and the PE simulations is shown to be small. For large rotation rates, quasi-geostrophic dynamics are recovered with a forward enstrophy cascade and an inverse energy cascade. As the rotation rate is reduced, a fraction of the energy starts to cascade towards smaller scales, leading to a shallowing of the horizontal spectra from ${ k}_{h}^{- 3} $ to ${ k}_{h}^{- 5/ 3} $ at the small-scale end. The vertical spectra show a similar transition as the horizontal spectra and we find that Charney isotropy is approximately valid also at larger wavenumbers than the transition wavenumber. The high resolutions employed allow us to capture both ranges within the same simulation. At the transition scale, kinetic energy in the rotational and in the horizontally divergent modes attain comparable values. The divergent energy is several orders of magnitude larger than the quasi-geostrophic divergent energy given by the $\Omega $-equation. The amount of energy cascading downscale is mainly controlled by the rotation rate, with a weaker dependence on the stratification. A larger degree of stratification favours a downscale energy cascade. For intermediate degrees of rotation and stratification, a constant energy flux and a constant enstrophy flux coexist within the same range of scales. In this range, the enstrophy flux is a result of triad interactions involving three geostrophic modes, while the energy flux is a result of triad interactions involving at least one ageostrophic mode, with a dominant contribution from interactions involving two ageostrophic and one geostrophic mode. Dividing the ageostrophic motions into two classes depending on the sign of the linear wave frequency, we show that the energy transfer is for the largest part supported by interactions within the same class, ruling out the wave–wave–vortex resonant triad interaction as a mean of the downscale energy transfer. The role of inertia-gravity waves is studied through analyses of time-frequency spectra of single Fourier modes. At large scales, distinct peaks at frequencies predicted for linear waves are observed, whereas at small scales no clear wave activity is observed. Triad interactions show a behaviour which is consistent with turbulent dynamics, with a large exchange of energy in triads with one small and two large comparable wavenumbers. The exchange of energy is mainly between the modes with two comparable wavenumbers.

The flow field around an asymmetric dielectric-barrier-discharge (DBD) plasma actuator in quiescent air is studied using particle image velocimetry (PIV) and smoke-flow visualization. On initiation of DBD plasma a starting vortex is created, which rolls up to form a coherent structure. The starting vortex becomes self-similar when the maximum velocity induced by the DBD plasma actuator reaches a steady state. Here, the plasma jet momentum increases linearly with time, suggesting that the DBD plasma actuator entrains and accelerates the surrounding fluid with a constant force. The wall-parallel and wall-normal distances of the vortex core are observed to scale with ${t}^{2/ 3} $ as it travels at $3{1}^{\circ } $ to the wall. The velocity of the starting vortex is found to scale with ${t}^{- 1/ 3} $, while the circulation induced by the plasma actuator scales with ${t}^{1/ 3} $.

A quasi-linear theory is presented for how randomly forced, barotropic velocity fluctuations cause an exponentially growing, large-scale (mean) magnetic dynamo in the presence of a uniform parallel shear flow. It is a ‘kinematic’ theory for the growth of the mean magnetic energy from a small initial seed, neglecting the saturation effects of the Lorentz force. The quasi-linear approximation is most broadly justifiable by its correspondence with computational solutions of nonlinear magnetohydrodynamics, and it is rigorously derived in the limit of small magnetic Reynolds number, . Dynamo action occurs even without mean helicity in the forcing or flow, but random helicity variance is then essential. In a sufficiently large domain and with a small seed wavenumber in the direction perpendicular to the mean shearing plane, a positive exponential growth rate can occur for arbitrary values of , viscous Reynolds number , and random-force correlation time and orientation angle in the shearing plane. The value of is independent of the domain size. The shear dynamo is ‘fast’, with finite in the limit of . Averaged over random realizations of the forcing history, the ensemble-mean magnetic field grows more slowly, if at all, compared to the r.m.s. field (magnetic energy). In the limit of small and , the dynamo behaviour is related to the well-known alpha–omega ansatz when the force is slowly varying () and to the ‘incoherent’ alpha–omega ansatz when the force is more rapidly fluctuating.

A rarefied gas flow thermally induced around a heated (or cooled) flat plate, contained in a vessel, is considered in two different situations: (i) both sides of the plate are simultaneously and uniformly heated (or cooled); and (ii) only one side of the plate is uniformly heated. The former is known as the thermal edge flow and the latter, typically observed in the Crookes radiometer, may be called the radiometric flow. The steady behaviour of the gas induced in the container is investigated on the basis of the Bhatnagar–Gross–Krook (BGK) model of the Boltzmann equation and the diffuse reflection boundary condition by means of an accurate finite-difference method. The flow features are clarified for a wide range of the Knudsen number, with a particular emphasis placed on the structural similarity between the two flows. The limiting behaviour of the flow as the Knudsen number tends to zero (and thus the system approaches the continuum limit) is investigated for both flows. The detailed structure of the normal stress on the plate as well as the cause of the radiometric force (the force acting on the plate from the hotter to the colder side) is also clarified for the present infinitely thin plate.

Previous studies of shear dispersion in bounded velocity fields have assumed random velocities with zero Lagrangian time scale (i.e. velocities are -function correlated in time). However, many turbulent (geophysical and engineering) flows with mean velocity shear exist where the Lagrangian time scale is non-zero. Here, the longitudinal (along-flow) shear-induced diffusivity in a two-dimensional bounded velocity field is derived for random velocities with non-zero Lagrangian time scale . A non-zero results in two-time transverse (across-flow) displacements that are correlated even for large (relative to the diffusive time scale ) times. The longitudinal (along-flow) shear-induced diffusivity is derived, accurate for all , using a Lagrangian method where the velocity field is periodically extended to infinity so that unbounded transverse particle spreading statistics can be used to determine . The non-dimensionalized depends on time and two parameters: the ratio of Lagrangian to diffusive time scales and the release location. Using a parabolic velocity profile, these dependencies are explored numerically and through asymptotic analysis. The large-time is enhanced relative to the classic Taylor diffusivity, and this enhancement increases with . At moderate this enhancement is approximately a factor of 3. For classic shear dispersion with , the diffusive time scale determines the time dependence and large-time limit of the shear-induced diffusivity. In contrast, for sufficiently large , a shear time scale , anticipated by a simple analysis of the particle’s domain-crossing time, determines both the time dependence and the large-time limit. In addition, the scalings for turbulent shear dispersion are recovered from the large-time using properties of wall-bounded turbulence.

Deep water waves in two-dimensional flow can have curvature singularities on the surface profile; for example, the limiting Stokes wave has a corner of radians and the limiting standing wave momentarily forms a corner of radians. Much less is known about the possible formation of curvature singularities in general. A novel way of exploring this possibility is to consider the curvature as a complex function of the complex arclength variable and to seek the existence and nature of any singularities in the complex arclength plane. Highly accurate boundary integral methods produce a Fourier spectrum of the curvature that allows the identification of the nearest singularity to the real axis of the complex arclength plane. This singularity is in general a pole singularity that moves about the complex arclength plane. It approaches the real axis very closely when waves break and is associated with the high curvature at the tip of the breaking wave. The behaviour of these singularities is more complex for standing waves, where two singularities can be identified that may collide and separate. One of them approaches the real axis very closely when a standing wave forms a very narrow collapsing column of water almost under free fall. In studies so far, no singularity reaches the real axis in finite time. On the other hand, the surface elevation has square-root singularities in the complex plane that do reach the real axis in finite time, the moment when a wave first starts to break. These singularities have a profound effect on the wave spectra.

The flow over a pair of counter-rotating cylinders is investigated numerically and experimentally. It is demonstrated that it is possible to suppress unsteady vortex shedding for gap sizes from one to five cylinder diameters, at Reynolds numbers from 100 to 200, expanding on the more limited work by Chan & Jameson (Intl J. Numer. Meth. Fluids, vol. 63, 2010, p. 22). The degree of unsteady wake suppression is proportional to the speed and the direction of rotation, and there is a critical rotation rate where a complete suppression of flow unsteadiness can be achieved. In the doublet-like configuration at higher rotational speeds, a virtual elliptic body that resembles a potential doublet is formed, and the drag is reduced to zero. The shape of the elliptic body primarily depends on the gap between the two cylinders and the speed of rotation. Prior to the formation of the elliptic body, a second instability region is observed, similar to that seen in studies of single rotating cylinders. It is also shown that the unsteady wake suppression can be achieved by rotating each cylinder in the opposite direction, that is, in a reverse doublet-like configuration. This tends to minimize the wake interaction of the cylinder pair and the second instability does not make an appearance over the range of speeds investigated here.

We experimentally investigate the dynamics of surface waves excited by oscillations from a cylindrical sidewall. Particle-imaging-velocimetry measurements with fluorescent particles were used to determine the flow patterns near the sidewall of the cylindrical fluid container and to identify the locations of the evolving air–water interfaces. The high-frequency wall oscillations created four jets that originate at the cylindrical sidewall. Four vortex streets shed from the jets propagate from the sidewall to the centre of the container and subsequently excite a low-frequency gravity wave. The interaction between this gravitational surface wave and the high-frequency capillary waves was found to be responsible for creating droplet splash at the water surface. This phenomenon was first described as ‘Long-Xi’ or ‘dragon wash’ in ancient China. The physical processes for generating the droplet ejection, including the circular capillary waves, azimuthal waves, streaming jets and low-frequency gravity waves, are described in this paper.

We perform direct numerical simulation to study the transport of gas and heat as passive scalars in free-surface turbulence. Our analysis focuses on the surface age of surface fluid particles, i.e. the time elapsed since the last surface renewal they experienced. Using Lagrangian tracing of fluid particles combined with heat diffusion analysis, we are able to directly quantify surface age to illustrate scalar characteristics at different stages of interfacial transfer. Results show that at the early stage of surface renewal, vertical advection associated with upwellings greatly enhances surface gas flux; random surface renewal model does not apply at this stage when most of the interfacial gas transfer occurs. After a fluid particle leaves the upwelling region, it may enter a nearby downwelling region immediately, where the gas flux is sharply reduced but the variation in surface temperature is small; alternatively, the fluid particle may travel along the surface for some time before it is absorbed by a downwelling, where the surface temperature has changed significantly due to long duration of diffusion and the gas flux is also reduced. To gain further insight into the relationships between surface velocity and scalar quantities, we perform a statistical analysis of upwellings using clustering and nonlinear regression. With this analysis, we are able to provide qualitative and quantitative descriptions of the skewed probability density functions associated with the surface divergence, temperature and gas flux that support our physics-based investigation of surface renewal and surface age.

In this paper, we explore the strong rotation limit of the rotating and stratified Boussinesq equations with periodic boundary conditions when the stratification is order 1 ([Rossby number] Ro = ε, [Froude number] Fr = O(1), as ε → 0). Using the same framework of Embid & Majda (Geophys. Astrophys. Fluid Dyn., vol. 87, 1998, p. 1), we show that the slow dynamics decouples from the fast. Furthermore, we derive equations for the slow dynamics and their conservation laws. The horizontal momentum equations reduce to the two-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations. The equation for the vertically averaged vertical velocity includes a term due to the vertical average of the buoyancy. The buoyancy equation, the only variable to retain its three-dimensionality, is advected by all three two-dimensional slow velocity components. The conservation laws for the slow dynamics include those for the two-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations and a new conserved quantity that describes dynamics between the vertical kinetic energy and the buoyancy. The leading order potential enstrophy is slow while the leading order total energy retains both fast and slow dynamics. We also perform forced numerical simulations of the rotating Boussinesq equations to demonstrate support for three aspects of the theory in the limit Ro → 0: (i) we find the formation and persistence of large-scale columnar Taylor–Proudman flows in the presence of O(1) Froude number; after a spin-up time, (ii) the ratio of the slow total energy to the total energy approaches a constant and that at the smallest Rossby numbers that constant approaches 1 and (iii) the ratio of the slow potential enstrophy to the total potential enstrophy also approaches a constant and that at the lowest Rossby numbers that constant is 1. The results of the numerical simulations indicate that even in the presence of the low wavenumber white noise forcing the dynamics exhibit characteristics of the theory.

The global-scale interior magnetic field Bi needed to account for the Sun's observed differential rotation can be effective only if confined below the convection zone in all latitudes including, most critically, the polar caps. Axisymmetric solutions are obtained to the nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic equations showing that such polar confinement can be brought about by a very weak downwelling flow U ~ 10−5cms−1 over each pole. Such downwelling is consistent with the helioseismic evidence. All three components of the magnetic field B decay exponentially with altitude across a thin, laminar ‘magnetic confinement layer’ located at the bottom of the tachocline and permeated by spiralling field lines. With realistic parameter values, the thickness of the confinement layer ~10−3 of the Sun's radius, the thickness scale being the magnetic advection–diffusion scale δ = η/U where the magnetic (ohmic) diffusivity η ≈ 4.1 × 102cm2s−1. Alongside baroclinic effects and stable thermal stratification, the solutions take into account the stable compositional stratification of the helium settling layer, if present as in today's Sun, and the small diffusivity of helium through hydrogen, χ ≈ 0.9 × 101cm2s−1. The small value of χ relative to η produces a double boundary-layer structure in which a ‘helium sublayer‘ of smaller vertical scale (χ/η)1/2δ is sandwiched between the top of the helium settling layer and the rest of the confinement layer. Solutions are obtained using both semi-analytical and purely numerical, finite-difference techniques. The confinement-layer flows are magnetostrophic to excellent approximation. More precisely, the principal force balances are between Lorentz, Coriolis, pressure-gradient and buoyancy forces, with relative accelerations negligible to excellent approximation. Viscous forces are also negligible, even in the helium sublayer where shears are greatest. This is despite the kinematic viscosity being somewhat greater than χ. We discuss how the confinement layers s at each pole might fit into a global dynamical picture of the solar tachocline. That picture, in turn, suggests a new insight into the early Sun and into the longstanding enigma of solar lithium depletion.

According to linear theory and assuming the liquids to be inviscid and the bubbles to remain spherical, bubbles set in oscillation attract or repel each other with a force that is proportional to the product of their amplitude of volume pulsations and inversely proportional to the square of their distance apart. This force is attractive, if the forcing frequency lies outside the range of eigenfrequencies for volume oscillation of the two bubbles. Here we study the nonlinear interaction of two deformable bubbles set in oscillation in water by a step change in the ambient pressure, by solving the Navier–Stokes equations numerically. As in typical experiments, the bubble radii are in the range 1–1000 μm. We find that the smaller bubbles (~5 μm) deform only slightly, especially when they are close to each other initially. Increasing the bubble size decreases the capillary force and increases bubble acceleration towards each other, leading to oblate or spherical cap or even globally deformed shapes. These deformations may develop primarily in the rear side of the bubbles because of a combination of their translation and harmonic or subharmonic resonance between the breathing mode and the surface harmonics. Bubble deformation is also promoted when they are further apart or when the disturbance amplitude decreases. The attractive force depends on the Ohnesorge number and the ambient pressure to capillary forces ratio, linearly on the radius of each bubble and inversely on the square of their separation. Additional damping either because of liquid compressibility or heat transfer in the bubble is also examined.

The interactions among pressure, density, vorticity and their gradients in compressible turbulent channel flows (TCF) are studied using direct numerical simulations (DNS). DNS of three isothermal-wall TCF for Mach number Ma = 0.2, 0.7, and 1.5, respectively are performed using a discontinuous Galerkin method (DGM). The Reynolds numbers of these three cases are ≈2800, based on the bulk velocity, bulk density, half channel width and dynamic viscosity at the wall. A high cross-correlation between density and spanwise vorticity occurs at y+≈4, which is coincident with the peak mean spanwise baroclinicity. The relationship between the spanwise baroclinicity and the correlation is analysed. The difference between the evolution of density and spanwise vorticity very near the wall is discussed. The transport equation for the mean product of density and vorticity fluctuations 〈ρ′ω′i〉 is presented and the distributions of terms in the 〈ρ′ω′z〉 transport equation indicate that the minima and maxima of the profiles are located around y+≈5. The connection between pressure gradients and vorticity fluxes for compressible turbulent flows with variable viscosity has been formulated and verified. High correlations (0.7–1.0) between pressure gradient and vorticity flux are found very close to the wall (y+<5). The correlation coefficients are significantly influenced by Ma and viscosity in this region. Turbulence advection plays an important role in destroying the high correlations between pressure gradient and vorticity flux in the region away from the wall (y+ > 5).

Reflection of an obliquely incident solitary wave at a vertical wall is studied experimentally in the laboratory wave tank. Precision measurements of water-surface variations are achieved with the aid of laser-induced fluorescent (LIF) technique and detailed features of the Mach reflection are captured. During the development stage of the reflection process, the stem wave is not in the form of a Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) soliton but a forced wave, trailing by a continuously broadening depression. Evolution of stem-wave amplification is in good agreement with the Kadomtsev–Petviashvili (KP) theory. The asymptotic characteristics and behaviours are also in agreement with the theory of Miles (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 79, 1977b, p. 171) except those in the neighbourhood of the transition between the Mach reflection and the regular reflection. The predicted maximum fourfold amplification of the stem wave is not realized in the laboratory environment. On the other hand, the laboratory observations are in excellent agreement with the previous numerical results of the higher-order model of Tanaka (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 248, 1993, p. 637). The present laboratory study is the first to sensibly analyse validation of the theory; note that substantial discrepancies exist from previous (both numerical and laboratory) experimental studies. Agreement between experiments and theory can be partially attributed to the large-distance measurements that the precision laboratory apparatus is capable of. More important, to compare the laboratory results with theory, the corrected interaction parameter is derived from proper interpretation of the theory in consideration of the finite incident wave angle. Our laboratory data indicate that the maximum stem wave can reach higher than the maximum solitary wave height. The wave breaking near the wall results in the substantial increase in wave height and slope away from the wall.

We show that in a turbulent flow transporting suspended sediment, the unsaturated sediment flux q(x, t) can be described by a first-order relaxation equation. From a mode analysis of the advection–diffusion equation for the particle concentration, the relaxation length and time scales of the dominant mode are shown to be the deposition length HU/Vfall and deposition time H/Vfall, where H is the flow depth, U the mean flow velocity and Vfall the sediment settling velocity. This result is expected to be particularly relevant for the case of sediment transport in slowly varying flows, where the flux is never far from saturation. Predictions are shown to be in quantitative agreement with flume experiments, for both net erosion and net deposition situations.