The three-dimensional incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations for rectangular geometry and periodic boundary conditions are solved numerically using the spectral method of Orszag & Patterson (1972). The calculations are restricted to a magnetic Prandtl number of one and to Gaussian random initial conditions with zero mean magnetic and momentum fields. We permit non-mirror-symmetric (helical) flows. In all cases, there is a continuous transfer of energy from the momentum field to the magnetic field. A proposed mechanism for this transfer involves the cascading of energy from the large scales of the momentum field to the small scales, thence a redistribution of energy between the momentum and magnetic fields by Alfvén waves, and, finally, an inverse cascade of energy from the small scales of the magnetic field to the large scales. This inverse cascade is found when magnetic helicity (〈a. b〉, where b = curl a is the magnetic induction) is present in the flow.

The equations for the viscous flow between two coaxial infinite disks, one stationary and the other rotating, are solved numerically. The effects of applying a uniform suction through the rotating disk are determined. Initially, the fluid and disks are at rest. The angular velocity of one disk and the amount of suction through it are gradually increased to specific values and then held constant. At large Reynolds numbers R, the equilibrium flow approaches an asymptotic state in which thin boundary layers exist near both disks and an interior core rotates with nearly constant angular velocity. We present graphs of the equilibrium flow functions for R = 104 and various values of the suction parameter a (0 ≤ a ≤ 2). When a = 0, the core rotation rate ωc is 0·3131 times that of the disk. Fluid near the rotating disk is thrown centrifugally outwards. As a increases, ωc increases and the centrifugal outflow decreases. When a > 1·3494, the core rotation rate exceeds that of the disk and the radial flow near the rotating disk is directed inwards. We also present accurate tabular results for two flows of special interest: (i) the flow between a stationary and a rotating disk with no suction (a = 0) and (ii) Bödewadt flow. The latter can be obtained by suitable scaling of the boundary-layer solution near the stationary disk for any a ≥ 0. Since several solutions to the steady-state equations of motion have been reported, the question arises as to whether other solutions to the time-dependent equations of motion with zero initial conditions can be found. We exhibit a rotational start-up scheme which leads to an equilibrium solution in which the interior fluid rotates in a direction opposite to that of the disk.

A method of multiple-scale expansion is applied to the theory of incompressible isotropic turbulence in order to close the infinite system of cumulant equations. The dynamical equation for the energy spectrum derived from this method is found to give positive-definite solutions at all Reynolds numbers. At large Reynolds numbers the spectrum takes the form of Kolmogorov's $-\frac{5}{3}$ power spectrum in the inertial subrange, whose extent increases indefinitely with Reynolds number. The spectrum in the energy-containing range satisfies an inviscid similarity law, so that the rate of energy decay or of viscous dissipation is also independent of the viscosity. In the higher wavenumber region beyond the inertial subrange the spectrum takes a universal form which is independent of its structure at lower wavenumbers. The universal spectrum is composed of three different subspectra, which are, in order of increasing wavenumber, the $k^{-\frac{5}{3}}$ spectrum, the k−1 spectrum and the exp [−σk1·5] spectrum, σ being a constant. Various statistical quantities such as the energy, the skewness of the velocity derivative, the microscale and the microscale Reynolds number are calculated from the numerical data for the energy spectrum. Theoretical results are discussed in detail in comparison with experimental results.

Flow-visualization investigations and correlation measurements show that the essentially two-dimensional structures which dominated the turbulent mixing layer of Brown & Roshko (1974) are formed only if the free-stream turbulence is low. If free-stream disturbances are significant, as is likely in most practical cases, including a mixing layer entraining ‘still air’ from the surroundings, three-dimensionality develops at an early stage in transition. Other recent experiments strongly suggest that the Brown-Roshko structure will not form if the initial mixing layer is turbulent or subject to instability modes other than spanwise vortices. Therefore the Brown-Roshko structure will be rare in practice. The alternative large structure in a mixing layer, found by several workers, is intense, but fully three-dimensional and thus less orderly than the Brown-Roshko structure.

The balance of evidence suggests that if the Brown-Roshko structure does appear it will eventually relax into the alternative fully three-dimensional form: the Kármán vortex street behind a bluff body provides a precedent for slow development of three-dimensionality. However the Brown-Roshko structure, if formed, may well relax so slowly as to be identifiable for the full length of a practical flow.

The unsteady hydrodynamic interaction of two bodies moving in a shallow fluid is examined by applying slender-body theory. The bodies are assumed to be in each other's far field and the free surface is assumed to be rigid. By matched asymptotics, the inner and outer problems are formulated and a pair of coupled integro-differential equations for determining the unknown cross-flows is derived. The degree of coupling is shown to be related to a bottom-clearance parameter. Expressions are given for the unsteady sinkage force, trimming moment, sway force, and yaw moment. Numerical calculations for two weakly coupled cases are presented. One corresponds to the interaction of a stationary body with a passing one, the other to the interaction of two bodies moving in a steady configuration. Theoretical results are compared with existing experimental data.

Laboratory measurements have been made of the one-dimensional spectra of the duration-limited wind waves which are generated when a wind abruptly begins to blow over a water surface, maintaining a constant speed during the succeeding period of time. The duration dependences of the wave energy E and the spectral peak frequency fm determined from the measured spectra are slightly different from those inferred from the fetch dependences of these quantities. The normalized spectra of the duration-limited wind waves are also slightly different from those of fetch-limited wind waves: the concentration of the normalized spectral energy near the spectral peak frequency is smaller, in many cases, for the duration-limited wind waves than for fetch-limited wind waves. The exponential growth rates β of the duration-limited wind-wave spectra are generally larger than those of fetch-limited wind-wave spectra. Furthermore, both for the duration-limited wind waves and for fetch-limited wind waves the exponential growth rate has a behaviour which is different from the empirical formula of Snyder & Cox (1966). A new empirical formula for the growth rate of the wave spectrum is proposed, from which the empirical formula of Snyder & Cox (1966) can be derived as a special case. Agreement between the new empirical formula and the experimental results is satisfactory for fetch-limited wave spectra, but is confined to the qualitative features for the duration-limited wave spectra.

An experimental investigation was carried out of the development of steady, laminar, incompressible flow of a Newtonian fluid in the entry region of a curved pipe for the entry condition of uniform motion. Two semicircular pipes of radius ratios 1/20 and 1/7 were investigated, covering a Dean number range from 138 to 679. The axial velocity and the component of secondary velocity parallel to the plane of curvature of the pipe were measured using laser anemometry. It was observed that, in the upstream region where the boundary layers are thin compared with the pipe radius, the axial velocity within the irrotational core first develops to form a vortex-like flow. In the downstream region, characterized by viscous layers of thickness comparable with the pipe radius, there appears to be three-dimensional separation at the inner wall. There is also an indication of an additional vortex structure embedded within the Dean-type secondary motion. The experimental axial velocity profiles are compared with those constructed from the theoretical analyses of Singh and Yao & Berger. The quantitative agreement between theory and experiment is found to be poor; however, some of the features observed in the experiment are in qualitative agreement with the theoretical solution of Yao & Berger.

The problem of decaying isotropic turbulence has been studied using a Wiener-Hermite expansion with a renormalized time-dependent base. The theory is largely deductive and uses no modelling approximations. It has been found that many properties of large Reynolds number turbulence can be calculated (at least for moderate time) using the moving-base expansion alone. Such properties found are the spectrum shape in the dissipation range, the Kolmogorov constant, and the energy cascade in the inertial subrange. Furthermore, by using a renormalization scheme, it is possible to extend the calculation to larger times and to initial conditions significantly different from the equilibrium form. If the initial spectrum is the Kolmogorov spectrum perturbed with a spike or dip in the inertial subrange, the process proceeds to eliminate the perturbation and relax to the preferred spectrum shape. The turbulence decays with the proper dissipation rate and several other properties are found to agree with measured data. The theory is also used to calculate the energy transfer and the flatness factor of turbulence.

Split-film electrochemical transducer theory is briefly outlined so as to show its ability to separate statistical properties of each component of the surface velocity gradient in regions as different as a boundary layer, a separated zone and a three-dimensional separation line. A lot of measurements of the flow field near a cylinder which are not yet available elsewhere are carried out everywhere on the cross-section of a yawed cylinder. A direct verification of the independence principle and Wild's thermal analogy in separated zones is executed. The periodic and random parts of each component of the surface velocity gradient are separated. Cross-spectral analysis between any pair of points shows that the periodic surface flow is coherent upon any cross-section and in a large region in the spanwise direction. The stationary wave system is investigated in space and time. The reconstitution, instant by instant, of the averaged integral wall streamlines leads to an understanding of the synchronization of the natural oscillations. The four main stagnation or separation lines quickly move from one extreme position to the other, and at certain times contrary vortices stretching in the direction of the generators can appear. In the rearward stagnation region random small-scale fluctuations are probably turbulent, but in the intermediate region high-level random fluctuations in the spanwise direction are much more coherent and probably contribute to keeping the flow in phase at large distances.

In this paper the slip flow of viscous fluid at low Reynolds numbers past a flat plate aligned with the flow is studied theoretically on the basis of Oseen-Stokes equations of motion. An integral equation for the distribution of fundamental singularities representing the plate is derived and solved approximately in the vicinity of the edge and main portion of the plate. A formula for the local skin friction is obtained and discussed numerically. It is also shown that the slippage of the flow gives rise to reduction of the drag force on the plate by an amount O(K|ln K|), where K is the Knudsen number. The velocity change near the edge of the plate is of particular interest and is found to be logarithmically singular there.

It is shown that the approximation of a thin thermal boundary layer gives an accurate description of the growth of spherical vapour bubbles in a superheated liquid except for very small superheats. If the further approximations of a linear variation of vapour pressure with temperature and of constant physical properties are made, then scaled variables can be introduced which describe the growth under any conditions. This scaled description is not valid during the early, surface-tension dominated, portion of the growth. The rate of bubble growth for large superheats is somewhat overestimated in the intermediate stage in which both inertial and thermal effects play a role. This overestimate does not lead to a serious error in the radius-time behaviour for ranges of practical interest. The asymptotic, or thermally controlled, stage of growth is accurately described by the scaled formulation.

The steady supersonic flow of a vibrationally relaxing gas past a cone is studied using numerical methods. Near the tip of the cone the flow is obtained by means of a coordinate expansion and built on to this is a characteristic network used to obtain the remainder of the flow. Of particular interest is the development of the frozen shock at the tip into a relaxation-dominated wave at distances large compared with the width of the wave. The numerical results are presented in a concise similarity form which will permit accurate extrapolation to very weak waves in atmospheric air.

The wake configuration of a sphere has been determined by means of the surface oil-flow method, the smoke method and the tuft-grid method in a wind tunnel at Reynolds numbers ranging from 104 to 106. It was found that the wake performs a progressive wave motion at Reynolds numbers between 104 and 3·8 × 105, and that it forms a pair of stream wise line vortices at Reynolds numbers between 3·8 × 105 and 106.

We explore two types of instability which may develop when a highly conducting gas rotates rapidly in the presence of a radial gravitational force and an azimuthal magnetic field. Beyond a critical radius (equal to twice the isothermal scale height) a decrease of magnetic flux (per unit mass) outwards leads to the appearance of eastward-propagating waves by the mechanism of ‘magnetic buoyancy’. Within the critical radius an increase of magnetic flux outwards leads to westward-propagating waves by a totally different mechanism. Provided that the effects of Ohmic dissipation are not too large, either instability may set in for quite modest magnetic flux gradients, even when the magnetic energy of the system is very much smaller than the rotational energy.

Measurements of the velocity characteristics of near-wake flows were obtained with a direction-sensitive laser-Doppler anemometer. The wakes were formed downstream of central disks of diameters 8·9, 12·5 and 14·2 mm which were located on the centreline of a 20·0 mm jet. Detailed measurements were obtained with initial annular-jet velocities of from 9·4 to 39·5 m/s and include values of the axial and radial components of the mean velocity, the three normal stresses and the shear stress. Probability density distributions and energy spectra were also measured.

The results show, for example, that the curvature of the annular jet increases with disk diameter and that the ratios of the maximum positive and negative centre-line velocities to the exit velocity increase with decreasing disk diameter and are essentially independent of the initial velocity. The turbulent field is substantially anisotropic with a minimum turbulence intensity of around 30% in the recirculation region; the locations of zero shear stress and zero mean velocity gradient are not coincident. The measured spectra reveal predominant frequencies in a small region of the outer-shear layer and in the vicinity of the jet exit; these discrete frequencies did not propagate downstream nor into the recirculation region.

The response of surface gravity waves with profile ζ to forcing by the atmospheric pressure p(a) is studied. It is shown that not only the usually considered cross-spectrum 〈p(a)ζ〉 is responsible for wave growth. All higher-order spectra 〈p(a)ζ1,…,ζn〉 also lead to wave growth linear in ε = ρ(a)/ρ,ρ(a) and ρ being the density of air and water respectively. The bispectral contribution is investigated in detail and is calculated for three models of the bispectrum. The results indicate that bispectral contributions are not negligible and may account for typically 30-50%, and possibly more, of the usually considered cross-spectral contribution. The bispectral growth mechanism contains the fluctuating-stress mechanism discussed by Longuet-Higgins (1969) as a special case. As a byproduct new information on the symmetry properties of the hydrodynamic coupling off the dispersion shell is obtained.

A study is made of the steady radial-axial flow generated in a non-Newtonian fluid confined between two infinite parallel planes by torsional oscillations of one of the planes. Canonical equations of motion appropriate for the small amplitude motion of a simple fluid are used. It is shown that under certain circumstances the direction of the radial-axial flow is opposite to that in a Newtonian fluid.

Measurements of the statistical property called the ‘rescaled range’ in grid-generated turbulence exhibit a Hurst coefficient H = 0·5 for 43 < UT/M < 1850, where M/U is a characteristic time scale associated with the grid size M and mean velocity U. Theory predicts that H = 0·5 for independence of two observations separated by a time interval T, and the deviation from H = 0·5 is referred to as the ‘Hurst phenomenon’. The rescaled range obtained for grid turbulence contains an initial region UT/M < 43 of large H, approaching 1·0, corresponding approximately to the usual region of a finite non-zero autocorrelation of turbulent velocity fluctuations. For UT/M > 1850 the rescaled range breaks from H = 0·5 and rises at a significantly faster rate, H = 0·7-0·8, implying a long-term dependence or possibly non-stationarity at long times. The measured autocorrelations remain indistinguishable from zero for UT/M > 20. The break in the trend H = 0·5 is probably caused by motions on scales comparable to characteristic time scales of the wind-tunnel circulation. Rescaled-range analysis is a powerful statistical tool for determining the time scale separating the grid turbulence from the background wind-tunnel motions.

The linear stability of the Stewartson layer in a compressible fluid is studied. The viscosity and the heat conductivity are shown to be negligible for a special kind of infinitesimal disturbance. The basic equations of the disturbance are shown to reduce to those for a Boussinesq fluid subject to a virtual radial stratification. A Miles-type sufficient condition for stability and a Howard-type semicircle theorem are derived. The growth rates of unstable modes with wavenumber and shear strength are summarized in stability diagrams for typical cases. The results clarify the situation in which the stability of the Stewartson layer is governed by a balance between the shear strength and the temperature stratification in the layer.

The phenomenon of steady cellular convection in a rotating fluid in which the stratification is statically unstable is well known. If the temperature field also varies in the horizontal direction a thermal wind is generated which can diminish the amplitude of the cells, or if inertial effects are strong enough, confine them to a narrow vertical band. On the other hand, in an enclosed container resonance can occur which increases the amplitude of the cells beyond the scope of a linear theory.