Three-dimensional conical viscous incompressible fluid flows

New exact solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations are obtained for steady-state three-dimensional conical flows. In this class of flows the velocity decreases in inverse proportion to the distance from the source and the input equations reduce to two-dimensional ones. It is shown that in the spherical coordinate system the equations of motion reduce to a single nonlinear equation with respect to a scalar function which depends on the polar angles. The case in which this equation reduces to the integrable Liouville equation is discussed. This makes it possible to obtain a wide class of three-dimensional solutions in analytic form. Perm’. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 144–148, November–December, 1998. The work was carried out with financial support from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project No. 97-01-00063).     

Three-dimensional motion of a viscous incompressible fluid in a narrow tube

An approximate solution of the problem of unsteady motion of a viscous incompressible fluid in a long narrow deformable tube at low Reynolds numbers is obtained. Pressure oscillations and tube deformation are shown to be related by an integrodifferential equation. The solution obtained extends the Poiseuille solution in elliptic tubes to the case of comparatively arbitrary small deformations in terms of the tube length and angle. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 28–32, July–August, 2009.     

Turbulent wake in a stratified medium

The problem of determining the form of the turbulent wake being formed behind a selfpropelled body in a medium with density varying in the direction of the effect of gravity is considered. The schematic picture of wake development behind a moving object is the following: Initially, diffusion is identical in all directions, and the wake broadens symmetrically; diffusion becomes strongly anisotropic with recession from the object, it diminishes in the vertical direction under the effect of gravity, and the wake becomes flattened; turbulent mixing within the wake results in the production of a more homogeneous density distribution within the volume occupied by the wake than in the surrounding medium; such a fluid volume turns out to be removed from the equilibrium state and tends to return to the equilibrium state under the effect of gravity; collapse of the wake occurs accompanied by its further expansion in the horizontal direction and the excitation of internal waves.Translated from ZhurnalPrikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 5, pp. 68–72, September–October, 1970.     

Internal waves generated by a moving sphere and its wake in a stratified fluid

The internal gravity waves and the turbulent wake of a sphere moving through stratified fluid were studied by the fluorescent dye technique. The Reynolds number Re=U·2a/v was kept nearly constant at about 3 · 10³ and the Froude number F;U/a N ranged from 0.5 to 12.5. It is observed that waves generated by the body are dominant only when F<4 and are replaced by waves generated by the large scale coherent structures of the wake when F>4.     

Three-dimensional divergent waves on a model viscoelastic coating in a potential incompressible fluid flow

Generation of three-dimensional nonlinear waves on a model viscoelastic coating in a potential flow of an incompressible fluid is studied. Periodic nonlinear waves enhanced by the development of quasi-static instability (wave divergence) are considered. The coating is modeled by a flexible flat plate supported by a distributed nonlinearly-elastic spring foundation. Plate flexure is described on the basis of the Karman equations of the theory of thin plates. Perturbations of surface pressure in the potential flow are found in the small slope approximation to an accuracy to terms of the second order of smallness. Numerical simulation reveals a jump-like transition from two-dimensional nonlinear waves to three-dimensional wave structures, which are also observed in experiments.     

Three-dimensional steady flows of stratified fluid and internal waves

A study is made of three-dimensional steady flows of an ideal heavy incompressible fluid stratified in each layer over a flat or asymptotically flat base. Mixed Euler-Lagrange variables are chosen in which surfaces of constant density, including the layer division boundaries, become flat and parallel to the plane of the base. The original problem is reduced to a nonlinear boundary-value problem for a system of three quasilinear equations in a plane layer. This system of equations is used to construct an asymptotic theory of long waves in the three-dimensional case, which has particular solutions in the first approximation in the form of solitons and soliton systems.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 3, pp. 127–132, May–June, 1985.     

Vortex motions in stratified wake flows

The vortex wakes of obstacles (circular cylinder and sphere) moving through a linearly stratified fluid have been investigated, by means of flow visualization, at Reynolds numbers smaller than 800 and non-dimensional buoyancy frequencies smaller than 6. Vortex shedding from a horizontally suspended circular cylinder is suppressed when the fluid is stratified. The wake of a sphere is affected by lee waves when the Reynolds number exceeds about 200.     

Three-dimensional phase dynamics in a cylinder wake

Recently there has been a new surge of interest in three-dimensional wake patterns, from both an experimental and analytical standpoint. One of the central discoveries is that the patterns of vortex shedding are dependent on the specific end conditions of a long cylinder span. However, a number of outstanding questions have remained unanswered, in part because techniques had not existed to control such patterns in a continuous fashion and from outside a test facility. In the present work, we have devised a method to control the end conditions of a cylinder span by non-mechanical and continuously-variable means, namely by the use of end suction. The technique allows a continuous variation of end conditions and admits transient or impulsive control. With the method, the classical steady-state patterns, such as parallel or oblique shedding or the chevron patterns are simply induced. These experiments demonstrate that the wake, at a given Reynolds number, is receptive to a continuous (but limited) range of oblique shedding angles (), rather than to discrete angles. There is excellent agreement in these results with the cos formula for collapsing oblique-shedding frequencies onto a single universal frequency curve. The use of suction has avoided the grossly unsteady motions at the ends of the cylinder span brought about by the wakes of mechanical end manipulators, and we show that the laminar shedding regime exists up to Reynolds numbers (Re) of 205. The surprisingly large disparity among reported measurements of criticalRe for wake transition (Re=140–200), over the last forty years, can now be explained in terms of spanwise end contamination.The control technique has also allowed experiments to be performed, which have resulted in the discovery of new phenomena such as phase shocks and phase expansions. A major difference between these phenomena is that phase shocks (involving regions of straight vortices) translate spanwise at constant speed, crossing the complete span in a finite time, whereas a phase expansion (involving curved vortices) requires an infinite time to complete its development across the span. These transient wake patterns are well illustrated using a simple model, based on experimental measurements, that thenormal wavelength for oblique or parallel vortices remains constant. However, a detailed and close comparison between our experimental results and those results from analytical modelling of the wake using Ginzburg-Landau modelling (in collaboration with Peter Monkewitz at Lausanne) is presently underway. These equations yield a Burger's equation for the spanwise wavenumber (or phase gradient), from which both (phase) shocks and expansions are well-known solutions.

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Sommario Recentemente è rinato l'interesse per i modelli tridimensionali di scie, sia da un punto di vista sperimentale che da uno analitico. Una delle scoperte centrali è che le modalità di produzione dei vortici sono dipendenti dalle condizioni agli estremi di un lungo cilindro. Nel presente lavoro, è stato formulato un metodo per controllare le condizioni finali agli estremi di un cilindro per mezzo di variabili continue di significato non-meccanico, cioè per mezzo dell'aspirazione agli estremi. La tecnica permette una variazione continua delle condizioni agli estremi ed ammette controllo transitorio od impulsivo. Con questo metodo sono semplicemente indotti i classici modelli a stato fissato, come anche quelli che prevedono produzioni di vortici parallele od oblique o quellichevron. Questi esperimenti dimostrano che la scia, ad un dato numero di Reynolds, ammette una distribuzione continua (ma limitata) di angoli per distribuzioni oblique, piuttosto che una discreta. In questi risultati c'è un eccellente accordo con la formula del coseno per frequenze di produzioni oblique e collassanti su di una curva di frequenzauniversale. L'uso dell'aspirazione ha evitato i moti largamente instabili alle estremità del cilindro, provocati dalle scie delle parti terminali dei manipolatori, e si osserva che il regime laminare diffondente esiste oltre un numero di Reynolds pari a 205. La sorprendentemente larga disparità tra le misure di numeri di Reynolds critici, riportati per transizioni di scia (Re=140÷200) durante gli ultimi quattro anni, può essere ora spiegata in termini di contaminazione della estensione della lunghezza del cilindro.

     

Three-dimensional vorticity in a turbulent cylinder wake

The three components of the vorticity vector in the intermediate region of a turbulent cylinder wake were measured simultaneously using a multi-hot-wire probe. This probe has an improved spatial resolution compared with those reported in the literature. The behavior of the instantaneous velocity and vorticity signals is examined. Both coherent and incoherent vorticity fields are investigated using a phase-averaged technique. The iso-contours of the phase-averaged longitudinal and lateral vorticity variances, and , wrap around the spanwise structures of opposite sign and run through the saddle point along the diverging separatrix. The observation conforms to the previous reports of the occurrence of the longitudinal structures based on flow visualizations and numerical simulations. The magnitude of these contours is about the same as that of the maximum coherent spanwise vorticity at the vortex center, indicating that the strength of the longitudinal structures is comparable to that of the spanwise vortices. Furthermore, and exhibit maximum concentration away from the vortex center, probably because of a combined effect of the large-scale spanwise vortices and the intermediate-scale longitudinal structures. Coherent structures contribute about 36% to the spanwise vorticity variance at x/d=10. The contribution decreases rapidly to about 5% at x/d=40. The present results suggest that vorticity largely reside in relatively small-scale structures.     

Vortex systems in the stratified wake of a sphere

The fine structure of the flow and the characteristics of the principal types of vortex structures in the wake of a sphere moving uniformly and horizontally in an exponentially stratified fluid have been experimentally investigated.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 82–90, July–August, 1991.The authors are grateful to G. Yu. Stepanov for his careful analysis of the first version of this article and his valuable comments.     

Stability of an incompressible two-dimensional wake

In experimental investigations of the wake flow behind a plate, a monochromatic (in time) signal is usually observed immediately behind the end of the plate. Downstream, the signal is distorted and then becomes random, i.e., a turbulent flow regime is realized. Theoretically, a branch point is found at the experimentally observed frequency in the spectrum of three-dimensional perturbations of the problem linearized with respect to the steady solution [1]. Mattingly and Criminale [1] attribute all the characteristics of the observed signal to this point. As in other similar investigations, the mechanism of the appearance of the monochromatic signal in the near wake was not elucidated in [1]. In the present paper, the problem of the characteristic oscillations of the flow in the near wake is studied. The appearance of the monochromatic signal is explained by the presence in the near wake of a standing wave of the required frequency, the wave being formed by two scattering points. The first is the end of the plate, and the second the branch point in the spectrum of linear three-dimensional perturbations.     

Point vortex in a viscous incompressible fluid

A plane steady problem of a point vortex in a domain filled by a viscous incompressible fluid and bounded by a solid wall is considered. The existence of the solution of Navier-Stokes equations, which describe such a flow, is proved in the case where the vortex circulation Θ and viscosity ν satisfy the condition |Θ| < 2πν. The velocity field of the resultant solution has an infinite Dirichlet integral. It is shown that this solution can be approximated by the solution of the problem of rotation of a disk of radius Γ with an angular velocity ω under the condition 2πγ ² ω → Γ as γ → 0 and ω→∞.     

Formation of discontinuities in the wake of a cylinder in a stratified flow

The results of an experimental investigation of continuously stratified flow past a cylinder are presented. It is shown that interfaces with an elevated value of the density gradient (discontinuities) are formed in the wake.Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No.1, pp. 20–26, January–February, 1993.     

Micro-scale instability in a continuously stratified fluid

Experimental observations of small-scale structures caused by flow instabilities at layers of high density gradient in the wake behind a cylinder in a fluid with a continuous salt concentration stratification are reported. In the density wake it is possible to discern a number of structures such as wedge-like structures or cusps; small-scale instabilities (breakers) in the zones of interaction of attached internal waves and the high-gradient wake envelope; small-scale instability of the density boundary layer with a complicated density gradient pattern superimposed on a smooth velocity profile, and small-scale wake structures behind attached vortices in the case of a closed (central) wake envelope.Translated from Izvestiya RossiiskoiAkademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 3, pp. 3–10, May–June, 1995.