This paper is about the determination of a free surface wave profile from a given pressure distribution at the bottom. For a two-dimensional irrotational steady surface water wave propagating over a flat horizontal bed, this problem is solved analytically in an implicit form. Explicit solutions can be easily obtained numerically via fixed point iterations, whose convergence is outlined mathematically and numerically. This new surface reconstruction procedure does not involve the resolution of a differential or an integral equation, i.e. the surface is given by algebraic local relations. Thus, this formulation permits the free surface recovery in a simpler and more efficient way than previous methods.

The dynamics of horizontal convection are revealed by examining transient adjustment toward thermal equilibrium. We restrict attention to high Rayleigh numbers (of $O(1{0}^{12} )$) and a Prandtl number ${\sim }5$ that characterize many practical applications, and consider responses to small changes in the thermal boundary conditions, using laboratory experiments, three-dimensional direct numerical simulations (DNS) and simple theoretical models. The experiments and the mechanical energy budget from the DNS demonstrate that unsteady forcing can produce flow dramatically more active than horizontal convection under steady forcing. The physical mechanisms at work are indicated by the time scales of approach to the new equilibrium, and we show that these can range over two orders of magnitude depending on the imposed change in boundary conditions. Changes that lead to a net destabilizing buoyancy flux give rapid adjustments: for applied heat flux conditions the whole of the circulation is controlled by conduction through the stable portion of the boundary layer, whereas for applied temperature difference the circulation is controlled by small-scale convection within the unstable part of the boundary layer. The experiments, DNS and models are in close agreement and show that the time scale under applied temperatures is as small as 0.01 vertical diffusion time scales, a factor of four smaller than for imposed flux. Both cases give adjustments too rapid for diffusion in the interior to play a significant role, at least through 99 % of the adjustment, and we conclude that diffusion through the full depth is not significant in setting the equilibrium state. Boundary changes leading to a net stabilizing buoyancy flux give a very different response, causing the convection to quickly form a shallow circulation cell, followed eventually by a return to full-depth overturning through a combination of penetrative convection and conduction. The time scale again varies by orders of magnitude, depending on the boundary conditions and the location of the imposed boundary perturbation.

The Koopman operator provides a powerful way of analysing nonlinear flow dynamics using linear techniques. The operator defines how observables evolve in time along a nonlinear flow trajectory. In this paper, we perform a Koopman analysis of the first Hopf bifurcation of the flow past a circular cylinder. First, we decompose the flow into a sequence of Koopman modes, where each mode evolves in time with one single frequency/growth rate and amplitude/phase, corresponding to the complex eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the Koopman operator, respectively. The analytical construction of these modes shows how the amplitudes and phases of nonlinear global modes oscillating with the vortex shedding frequency or its harmonics evolve as the flow develops and later sustains self-excited oscillations. Second, we compute the dynamic modes using the dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) algorithm, which fits a linear combination of exponential terms to a sequence of snapshots spaced equally in time. It is shown that under certain conditions the DMD algorithm approximates Koopman modes, and hence provides a viable method to decompose the flow into saturated and transient oscillatory modes. Finally, the relevance of the analysis to frequency selection, global modes and shift modes is discussed.

The ability of hydrodynamically self-excited jets to lock into strong external forcing is well known. Their dynamics before lock-in and the specific bifurcations through which they lock in, however, are less well known. In this experimental study, we acoustically force a low-density jet around its natural global frequency. We examine its response leading up to lock-in and compare this to that of a forced van der Pol oscillator. We find that, when forced at increasing amplitudes, the jet undergoes a sequence of two nonlinear transitions: (i) from periodicity to ${ \mathbb{T} }^{2} $ quasiperiodicity via a torus-birth bifurcation; and then (ii) from ${ \mathbb{T} }^{2} $ quasiperiodicity to 1:1 lock-in via either a saddle-node bifurcation with frequency pulling, if the forcing and natural frequencies are close together, or a torus-death bifurcation without frequency pulling, but with a gradual suppression of the natural mode, if the two frequencies are far apart. We also find that the jet locks in most readily when forced close to its natural frequency, but that the details contain two asymmetries: the jet (i) locks in more readily and (ii) oscillates more strongly when it is forced below its natural frequency than when it is forced above it. Except for the second asymmetry, all of these transitions, bifurcations and dynamics are accurately reproduced by the forced van der Pol oscillator. This shows that this complex (infinite-dimensional) forced self-excited jet can be modelled reasonably well as a simple (three-dimensional) forced self-excited oscillator. This result adds to the growing evidence that open self-excited flows behave essentially like low-dimensional nonlinear dynamical systems. It also strengthens the universality of such flows, raising the possibility that more of them, including some industrially relevant flames, can be similarly modelled.

We investigate the nonlinear dynamics of a two-dimensional film flowing down a finite heater, for a non-volatile and a volatile liquid. An oscillatory instability is predicted beyond a critical value of the Marangoni number using linear stability theory. Continuation along the Marangoni number using a nonlinear evolution equation is employed to trace the bifurcation diagram associated with the oscillatory instability. Hysteresis, a characteristic attribute of a subcritical Hopf bifurcation, is observed in a critical parametric region. The bifurcation is universally observed for both a non-volatile film and a volatile film.

Existing control-volume models for predicting the front velocity of internal bores enforce the conservation of mass and streamwise momentum, but not vertical momentum. Instead, they usually invoke an empirical assumption relating the up- and downstream energy fluxes to obtain an additional equation required for determining the pressure jump across a bore. The present investigation develops a control-volume model for internal bores on the basis of mass and momentum conservation alone, without the need for considering energy. This is accomplished by combining the streamwise and vertical momentum equations to obtain a vorticity relation that no longer involves pressure. Hence, this vorticity equation, in combination with the conservation of mass, is sufficient for evaluating the bore velocity. The energy loss across the bore can then be predicted by the streamwise energy equation and compared to the assumptions underlying earlier models. The flux of vorticity across the internal bore predicted by the new model is seen to be in close agreement with direct numerical simulation results. Any discrepancies with experimentally measured bore velocities are shown to be due to the effects of downstream mixing.

We consider the development of nonlinear three-dimensional vortex–wave interaction equilibria of laminar plane Couette flow for a range of spanwise wavenumbers. The results are computed using a hybrid approach that captures the required asymptotic structure while at the same time providing a direct link with full numerical calculations of equilibrium states. Each equilibrium state consists of a streak flow, a roll flow and a wave propagating on the streak. Direct numerical simulations at finite Reynolds numbers using initial conditions constructed from these parts confirm that the scheme generates equilibrium solutions of the Navier–Stokes equations. Consideration of the form of the vortex–wave interaction equations in the high-spanwise-wavenumber limit predicts that for small wavelengths the equilibria take on a self-similar structure confined near the centre of the flow. These states feel no influence from the walls, and lead to a class of canonical states relevant to arbitrary shear flows. These predictions are supported by an analysis of computational results at increasing values of the spanwise wavenumber. For the wave part of these new canonical states, it is shown that the mass-specific kinetic energy density per unit wavenumber scales with the $- 5/ 3$ power of the wavenumber.

We study drop impact on a deep pool of the same fluid, with an emphasis on the air layer trapped under the droplets from its formation to its rupture. The penetration velocity of the air layer at a very short time scale prior to its rupture is shown, using an energy argument and experimental verification, to be one-half of the impact velocity. We then deduce the dependence of the rupture position on the liquid viscosity and the impact velocity. We show that the volume of the resulting air bubbles can be related to both those resulting from droplets impacting on solid surfaces and those resulting from rigid spheres impacting on liquid surfaces.

Exact one-dimensional solutions to the equations of fluid dynamics are derived in the $\mathit{Pr}\rightarrow \infty $ and $\mathit{Pr}\rightarrow 0$ limits (where $\mathit{Pr}$ is the Prandtl number). The solutions are analogous to the $\mathit{Pr}= 3/ 4$ solution discovered by Becker and analytically capture the profile of shock fronts in ideal gases. The large-$\mathit{Pr}$ solution is very similar to Becker’s solution, differing only by a scale factor. The small-$\mathit{Pr}$ solution is qualitatively different, with an embedded isothermal shock occurring above a critical Mach number. Solutions are derived for constant viscosity and conductivity as well as for the case in which conduction is provided by a radiation field. For a completely general density- and temperature-dependent viscosity and conductivity, the system of equations in all three limits can be reduced to quadrature. The maximum error in the analytical solutions when compared to a numerical integration of the finite-$\mathit{Pr}$ equations is $\mathit{O}({\mathit{Pr}}^{- 1} )$ as $\mathit{Pr}\rightarrow \infty $ and $\mathit{O}(\mathit{Pr})$ as $\mathit{Pr}\rightarrow 0$.