Linear mechanism of surface gravity wave generation in horizontally sheared flow

An analysis is presented of a linear mechanism of surface gravity wave generation in a horizontally sheared flow in a fluid layer with free boundary. A free-surface flow of this type is found to be algebraically unstable. The development of instability leads to the formation of surface gravity waves whose amplitude grows with time according to a power law. Flow stability is analyzed by using a nonmodal approach in which the behavior of a spatial Fourier harmonic of a disturbance is considered in a semi-Lagrangian frame of reference moving with the flow. Shear-flow disturbances are divided into two classes (wave and vortex disturbances) depending on the value of potential vorticity. It is shown that vortex disturbances decay with time while the energy of wave disturbances increases indefinitely. Transformation of vortex disturbances into wave ones under strong shear is described.     

Bifurcation,stability and symmetry of nonlinear waves

The bifurcation of wave-like spatio-temporal structures due to a hard-mode instability at non-zero wave number is investigated for a simple class of driven systems in one space dimension. We find generically a bifurcation of two branches of waves, travelling waves and standing waves, characterized by nontrivial subgroups of the symmetry group of the system. If both branches are supercritical, the wave with the larger amplitude is found to be stable. In all other cases, both waves are unstable for small amplitudes. At the common boundary of the stability regions of the two wave types in parameter space we find a bifurcation of a branch of modulated waves involving two independent frequencies, connecting the branches of travelling waves and standing waves.Work supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation     

Capillary–Gravity Water Waves with Discontinuous Vorticity: Existence and Regularity Results

In this paper we construct periodic capillarity–gravity water waves with an arbitrary bounded vorticity distribution. This is achieved by re-expressing, in the height function formulation of the water wave problem, the boundary condition obtained from Bernoulli’s principle as a nonlocal differential equation. This enables us to establish the existence of weak solutions of the problem by using elliptic estimates and bifurcation theory. Secondly, we investigate the a priori regularity of these weak solutions and prove that they are in fact strong solutions of the problem, describing waves with a real-analytic free surface. Moreover, assuming merely integrability of the vorticity function, we show that any weak solution corresponds to flows having real-analytic streamlines.     

Nonlinear dynamics of an interface between shear bands

We study numerically the nonlinear dynamics of a shear banding interface in two-dimensional planar shear flow, within the nonlocal Johnson-Segalman model. Consistent with a recent linear stability analysis, we find that an initially flat interface is unstable with respect to small undulations for a sufficiently small ratio of the interfacial width l to cell length L(x). The instability saturates in finite amplitude interfacial fluctuations. For decreasing l/L(x) these undergo a nonequilibrium transition from simple traveling interfacial waves with constant average wall stress, to periodically rippling waves with a periodic stress response. When multiple shear bands are present we find erratic interfacial dynamics and a stress response suggesting low dimensional chaos.     

Nonlinear instability of elementary stratified flows at large Richardson number

Elementary stably stratified flows with linear instability at all large Richardson numbers have been introduced recently by the authors [J. Fluid Mech. 376, 319-350 (1998)]. These elementary stratified flows have spatially constant but time varying gradients for velocity and density. Here the nonlinear stability of such flows in two space dimensions is studied through a combination of numerical simulations and theory. The elementary flows that are linearly unstable at large Richardson numbers are purely vortical flows; here it is established that from random initial data, linearized instability spontaneously generates local shears on buoyancy time scales near a specific angle of inclination that nonlinearly saturates into localized regions of strong mixing with density overturning resembling Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. It is also established here that the phase of these unstable waves does not satisfy the dispersion relation of linear gravity waves. The vortical flows are one family of stably stratified flows with uniform shear layers at the other extreme and elementary stably stratified flows with a mixture of vorticity and strain exhibiting behavior between these two extremes. The concept of effective shear is introduced for these general elementary flows; for each large Richardson number there is a critical effective shear with strong nonlinear instability, density overturning, and mixing for elementary flows with effective shear below this critical value. The analysis is facilitated by rewriting the equations for nonlinear perturbations in vorticity-stream form in a mean Lagrangian reference frame. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics.     

Stability of the viscous fluid film flow on a uniformly heated substrate

The linear stability is investigated of a viscous fluid film on a uniformly heated substrate under an arbitrary angle of inclination against the horizon. At the substrate, the heat flux is set; at the film surface, the fluid-gas heat transfer coefficient is specified. The waves are considered in the film propagating in an arbitrary direction. Within the frame of the integral model, the dispersion ratios are obtained for the wave increment and phase velocity. The analysis is performed of the dispersion ratios, and the flow instability range is determined. At the Marangoni numbers above a certain threshold, standing wave or traveling wave type disturbances take place; the waves increase in the horizontal direction. For the traveling waves, the Marangoni number threshold value is significantly lower than the same for the standing waves.     

Influence of charge relaxation on the capillary disintegration of a jet of a viscous dielectric liquid placed in an electrostatic field collinear with the axis of the jet

A dispersion relation is derived for capillary waves with an arbitrary symmetry on the surface of a charged jet of a finite-conductivity viscous liquid placed in an electric field collinear with the axis of the jet. Analytical calculations are carried out in an approximation that is linear in dimensionless wave amplitude. In the case of axisymmetric waves, the instability of which causes disintegration of the jet into drops, the finiteness of the potential equalization rate has a noticeable effect only for jets of poorly conducting liquids. The charge relaxation shows up in that “purely relaxation” periodic and aperiodic liquid flows arise. When the conductivity of the liquid declines, the instability growth rates for unstable waves increase and their spectrum extends toward short waves. A charge present on the surface of the jet enhances its instability. An increase in the charge surface diffusion coefficient variously influences the capillary and relaxation branches of the solution: the damping ratio increases in the former case and decreases in the latter. As the diffusion coefficient rises, relaxation flows may become unstable.     

Secondary instabilities of interfacial waves due to coupling with a long wave mode in a two-layer Couette flow

We report experiments on the stability of interfacial waves in a two-layer Couette flow. As the shear rate is increased, the periodic wave train arising from the primary instability undergoes a secondary instability which results in wave coalescence or nucleation, after a long transient. This secondary instability crucially involves the coupling with a long wave mode, which corresponds to variations of the mean interface level. These observations are favourably compared to stability results on travelling wave solutions for a set of two coupled equations, one for the envelope of a weakly unstable wave packet, and the other for the marginal long wave mode with zero wave number. A physical mechanism for this instability is proposed, as well as an interpretation for the onset of chaos.     

Some Stability and Instability Criteria for Ideal Plane Flows

We investigate stability and instability of steady ideal plane flows for an arbitrary bounded domain. First, we obtain some general criteria for linear and nonlinear stability. Second, we find a sufficient condition for the existence of a growing mode to the linearized equation. Third, we construct a steady flow which is nonlinearly and linearly stable in the L² norm of vorticity but linearly unstable in the L² norm of velocity.     

Asymptotic Models of Diffusion Effects due to Nonlinear Resonant Interaction of Waves with Flows

We develop an asymptotic theory describing nonlocal effects caused by weak-diffusion processes in the case of resonant interaction of quasi-harmonic waves of small but finite amplitudes with flows of various physical nature in the case of an arbitrary relation between the nonlinearity and diffusion.We analyze the interaction of internal gravity waves with plane-parallel stratified shear flows in the nonlinearly-dissipative critical layer (CL) formed in the vicinity of the resonance level where the flow velocity is equal to the phase velocity of the wave. It is shown that the combined effect of the radiation force in the inner region of the CL and vorticity diffusion to the outer region results in the formation of a flow in which the asymptotic values of average vorticity at different sides of the CL are constant but different. If the criterion of the linear dynamic stability is satisfied (the Richardson number Ri>1/4), the resulting vorticity steps are comparable to the unperturbed vorticity. As a result, a wave reflected from the vorticity inhomogeneity in the CL is formed. As the amplitude of the incident wave increases, the average vorticity at the incidence side approaches the linear-stability threshold (Richardson number Ri > 1/4), and the reflection coefficient tends to -1.In the regime of nonlinear dissipative CL, we study the quasi-stationary asymptotic behavior of the flow formed by an internal gravity wave incident on a dynamically stable flow with velocity and density stratification, whose velocity at some level is equal to the phase velocity of the wave. It is shown that the vorticity diffusion results in the formation of a nonlocal transition region between the CL and the unperturbed flow, which we call the diffusive boundary layer (DBL). In this case, the CL is shifted toward the incident wave. We obtain a self-similar solution for the average fields, which is valid in the case of a constant vorticity step in the CL, and determine its parameters depending on the inner Reynolds number in the CL which describes the relation between the nonlinear and diffusive effects for the wave field in the resonance region. We determine the structure and temporal dynamics of the DBL formed by a rough surface streamlined by a stratified fluid whose velocity changes direction at some level.It is shown that in the case of the nonlinear resonance interaction of plasma electrons with a Langmuir wave, the electron diffusion in the velocity space leads to a significant nonlocal distortion of the electron distribution function outside the trapping region. We determine the distorted distribution function and calculate the rate of the nonlinear Landau damping of a finite-amplitude wave for an arbitrary ratio of the electron collision rate and the oscillation period of trapped electrons.     

Effect of scalar nonlinearity on zonal flow generation by Rossby waves

Effects of scalar nonlinearity on the generation of zonal flow by Rossby waves in shallow rotating fluid are considered. Zonal flows are generated via the action of Reynolds stress due to vector nonlinearity together with the effects of scalar nonlinearity. It is shown that the scalar nonlinearity reduces the amplitude threshold of the zonal flow instability. In addition, it increases the range of wave vectors of unstable modes subjected to the instability. The growth rate of the instability as a function of the spectrum of primary waves is calculated. The spectrum is assumed to be arbitrary with emphasizing the case of two monochromatic waves.     

Theory of periodic and solitary space charge waves in extrinsic semiconductors

We present a theory of the existence and stability of traveling periodic and solitary space charge wave solutions to a standard rate equation model of electrical conduction in extrinsic semiconductors which includes effects of field-dependent impurity impact ionization. A nondimensional set of equations is presented in which the small parameter β = (dielectric relaxation time) / (characteristic impurity time) 1 plays a crucial role for our singular perturbation analysis. For a narrow range of wave velocities a phase plane analysis gives a set of limit cycle orbits corresponding to periodic traveling waves. while for a unique value of wave velocity we find a homoclinic orbit corresponding to a moving solitary space charge wave of the type experimentally observed in p-type germanium. A linear stability analysis reveals all waves to be unstable under current bias on the infinite one-dimensional line. Finally, we conjecture that solitary waves may be stable in samples of finite length under voltage bias.     

An Instability Index Theory for Quadratic Pencils and Applications

Primarily motivated by the stability analysis of nonlinear waves in second-order in time Hamiltonian systems, in this paper we develop an instability index theory for quadratic operator pencils acting on a Hilbert space. In an extension of the known theory for linear pencils, explicit connections are made between the number of eigenvalues of a given quadratic operator pencil with positive real parts to spectral information about the individual operators comprising the coefficients of the spectral parameter in the pencil. As an application, we apply the general theory developed here to yield spectral and nonlinear stability/instability results for abstract second-order in time wave equations. More specifically, we consider the problem of the existence and stability of spatially periodic waves for the “good” Boussinesq equation. In the analysis our instability index theory provides an explicit, and somewhat surprising, connection between the stability of a given periodic traveling wave solution of the “good” Boussinesq equation and the stability of the same periodic profile, but with different wavespeed, in the nonlinear dynamics of a related generalized Korteweg–de Vries equation.     

The effect of Lagrangian chaos on locking bifurcations in shear flows

The effect of an externally imposed perturbation on an unstable or weakly stable shear flow is investigated, with a focus on the role of Lagrangian chaos in the bifurcations that occur. The external perturbation is at rest in the laboratory frame and can form a chain of resonances or cat's eyes where the initial velocity v(x0)(y) vanishes. If in addition the shear profile is unstable or weakly stable to a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, for a certain amplitude of the external perturbation there can be an unlocking bifurcation to a nonlinear wave resonant around a different value of y, with nonzero phase velocity. The interaction of the propagating nonlinear wave with the external perturbation leads to Lagrangian chaos. We discuss results based on numerical simulations for different amplitudes of the external perturbation. The response to the external perturbation is strong, apparently because of non-normality of the linear operator, and the unlocking bifurcation is hysteretic. The results indicate that the observed Lagrangian chaos is responsible for a second bifurcation occurring at larger external perturbation, locking the wave to the wall. This bifurcation is nonhysteretic. The mechanism by which the chaos leads to locking in this second bifurcation is by means of chaotic advective transport of momentum from one chain of resonances to the other (Reynolds stress) and momentum transport to the vicinity of the wall via chaotic scattering. These results suggest that locking of waves in rotating tank experiments in the presence of two unstable modes is due to a similar process. (c) 2002 American Institute of Physics.     

Spectral stability analysis for periodic traveling wave solutions of NLS and CGL perturbations

We consider cnoidal traveling wave solutions to the focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLS) that have been shown to persist when the NLS is perturbed to the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation (CGL). We show that while these periodic traveling waves are spectrally stable solutions of NLS with respect to periodic perturbations, they are unstable with respect to bounded perturbations. Furthermore, we use an argument based on the Fredholm alternative to find an instability criterion for the persisting solutions to CGL.     

Linear instability of planar shear banded flow

We study the linear stability of planar shear banded flow with respect to perturbations with wave vector in the plane of the banding interface, within the nonlocal Johnson-Segalman model. We find that perturbations grow in time, over a range of wave vectors, rendering the interface linearly unstable. Results for the unstable eigenfunction are used to discuss the nature of the instability. We also comment on the stability of phase separated domains to shear flow in model H.     

Free surface waves in wall-bounded granular flows

We report free-surface waves in granular flows near boundaries in an inclined chute. The chevron-shaped traveling waves spontaneously develop at inclinations close to the angle of repose for both steady and accelerating flows. Two distinct regimes are characterized by internal angle and frequency variations. Experimental measurements indicate that subsurface circulation driven by velocity gradients near frictional walls plays a central role in the pattern formation mechanism, suggesting that wave generation is controlled by the granular analog of a fluid boundary layer.     

Surface gravity waves in deep fluid at vertical shear flows

Special features of surface gravity waves in a deep fluid flow with a constant vertical shear of velocity is studied. It is found that the mean flow velocity shear leads to a nontrivial modification of the dispersive characteristics of surface gravity wave modes. Moreover, the shear induces generation of surface gravity waves by internal vortex mode perturbations. The performed analytical and numerical study show that surface gravity waves are effectively generated by the internal perturbations at high shear rates. The generation is different for the waves propagating in the different directions. The generation of surface gravity waves propagating along the main flow considerably exceeds the generation of surface gravity waves in the opposite direction for relatively small shear rates, whereas the latter wave is generated more effectively for high shear rates. From the mathematical standpoint, the wave generation is caused by non-self-adjointness of the linear operators that describe the shear flow.     

The effects of unequal diffusion coefficients on periodic travelling waves in oscillatory reaction-diffusion systems

Many oscillatory biological systems show periodic travelling waves. These are often modelled using coupled reaction-diffusion equations. However, the effects of different movement rates (diffusion coefficients) of the interacting components on the predictions of these equations are largely unknown. Here we investigate the ways in which varying the diffusion coefficients in such equations alters the wave speed, time period, wavelength, amplitude and stability of periodic wave solutions. We focus on two sets of kinetics that are commonly used in ecological applications: lambda-omega equations, which are the normal form of an oscillatory coupled reaction-diffusion system close to a supercritical Hopf bifurcation, and a standard predator-prey model. Our results show that changing the ratio of the diffusion coefficients can significantly alter the shape of the one-parameter family of periodic travelling wave solutions. The position of the boundary between stable and unstable waves also depends on the ratio of the diffusion coefficients: in all cases, stability changes through an Eckhaus (‘sideband’) instability. These effects are always symmetrical in the two diffusion coefficients for the lambda-omega equations, but are asymmetric in the predator-prey equations, especially when the limit cycle of the kinetics is of large amplitude. In particular, there are two separate regions of stable waves in the travelling wave family for some parameter values in the predator-prey scenario. Our results also show the existence of a one-parameter family of travelling waves, but not necessarily a Hopf bifurcation, for all values of the diffusion coefficients. Simulations of the full partial differential equations reveals that varying the ratio of the diffusion coefficients can significantly change the properties of periodic travelling waves that arise from particular wave generation mechanisms, and our analysis of the travelling wave families assists in the understanding of these effects.