We construct a new type of planar Euler flows with localized vorticity. Let $\kappa _i\not =0$ , $i=1,\ldots , m$ , be m arbitrarily fixed constants. For any given nondegenerate critical point $\mathbf {x}_0=(x_{0,1},\ldots ,x_{0,m})$ of the Kirchhoff–Routh function defined on $\Omega ^m$ corresponding to $(\kappa _1,\ldots , \kappa _m)$ , we construct a family of stationary planar flows with vortex sheets that have large vorticity amplitude and concentrate on curves perturbed from small circles centered near $x_{0,i}$ , $i=1,\ldots ,m$ . The proof is accomplished via the implicit function theorem with suitable choice of function spaces.

The laminar flow over a slender delta wing at incidence has been extensively studied both experimentally and theoretically using vortex sheet methods. These vortex sheet methods have generally been successful apart from the prediction of the secondary boundary-layer separation induced by the primary vortex. This paper revisits the problem using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and focusses on the effects of the secondary flow separation. The modelling approach is briefly summarised, and the results are compared with flow measurements and results from vortex sheet methods. The computations show very good agreement with measurements for the surface pressures and total head contours. The results help to understand the complex structure of the leading edge vortex flow, and the associated secondary separation of the boundary layer. They indicate that inviscid mechanisms dominate the larger scale features, and highlight a possible mechanism for the development of an instability in the leading edge vortex sheet.


We consider a special configuration of vorticity that consists of a pair ofexternally tangent circular vortex sheets, each having a circularly symmetric core of bounded vorticity concentric to the sheet, and each core precisely balancing the vorticity mass of the sheet. This configuration is a stationary weak solution of the 2D incompressible Euler equations. We propose to perform numerical experiments to verify that certain approximations of this flow configuration converge to a non-stationary weak solution. Preliminary simulations presented here suggest this isindeed the case. We establish a convergence theorem for the vortex blob method that applies to this problem. This theorem and the preliminary calculations we carried out support the existence of two distinct weak solutions with the same initial data.


Nous prouvons que pour toute solution u du problème de Kelvin–Helmholtz des nappes de tourbillons pour l'équation d'Euler bi-dimensionnelle, définie localement en temps, la courbe de saut de u et la densité de tourbillon sont analytiques (sous une hypothèse de régularité Holderienne de la courbe de saut). Nous donnons également un résultat de régularité partielle de la trace de u sur t=0 lorsque u est définie sur un demi-interval [O,T[.