In this paper we investigate the stability of a bilayer exposed to air flow. The bilayer consists of a viscoelastic solid layer (mucus), which rests on a viscous fluid film (serous fluid). The motivation behind this work is to examine the coupled, fluid/elastic instabilities related to mucus clearance in the lung where breathing and cough apply shear forces from the air flow onto the bilayer. Previous research on mucus transport due to air flow has not addressed the effects of the underlying serous layer nor those of surface tension at the mucus–air interface, two new features incorporated into the model. Surface tension effects are governed by the new parameter κ′ = (σ/dG′) where σ is the air–mucus surface tension, G′ is the elastic shear modulus of the mucus, and d is a characteristic thickness of the bilayer. The model predictions for the onset of unstable waves as a function of the parameters are compared to previous theories and experiments to provide physical interpretations and to compare results. The comparison with experiments show good qualitative and quantitative agreement. The results are compared, also, to flow over a single, viscoelastic layer, with no viscous fluid underneath, to demonstrate the appearance of new wave behaviour when the viscous fluid is added.

Elliptic jets have decided advantages for technological applications over circular jets; this paper explores further advantages achieved by jet forcing due to self-excitation. Using hot-wire measurements and flow visualization, we have studied an elliptic whistler (i.e. self-excited) air jet of 2:1 aspect ratio which, in contrast to an elliptic jet issuing from a contoured nozzle, displays no axis switching, but significantly increased spread in the major-axis plane. Its near-field mass entrainment is considerably higher (by as much as 70%) than that of a non-whistling jet. Flow visualization reveals unexpected dynamics of the elliptic vortical structures in the whistler jet compared to that in the non-whistling jet. Vortices rolled up from the lip of the elliptic pipe impinge onto the collar, producing secondary vortices; interaction of these two opposite-signed vortices is shown to cause the different behaviour of the whistler jet.

We consider the evolution under the action of surface tension of wedges and cones of viscous fluid whose initial semi-angles are close to π/2. A short time after the fluid is released from rest, there is an inner region, where surface tension and viscosity dominate, and an outer region, where inertia and viscosity dominate. We also find that the velocity of the tip of the wedge or cone is singular, of O(log(1/t)), as time, t, tends to zero. After a long time, the free surface asymptotes to a similarity form where deformations are of O(t2/3), and capillary waves propagate away from the tip. However, a distance of O(t3/4) away from the tip, viscosity acts to damp out the capillary waves.

We solve the linearized governing equations using double integral transforms, which we calculate numerically, and use asymptotic techniques to approximate the solutions for small and large times. We also compare the asymptotic solution for the inviscid fat wedge with a numerical solution of the nonlinear inviscid problem for wedges of arbitrary semi-angle.

We consider oscillatory flows between concentric co-rotating cylinders at angular velocity Ω(t) = Ωm + Ωo cos ωt as a prototype to investigate the competing effects of centrifugal and Coriolis forces on the flow stability. We first study by flow visualization the effect of the mean rotation Ωm on the centrifugal destabilization due to the temporal modulation. We show that increasing the mean rotation first destabilizes and then restabilizes the flow. The instability of the purely azimuthal basic flow is then analysed by investigating the dynamics of the axial velocity component of the vortex structures. Velocity measurements performed in the rotating frame of the cylinders using ultrasound Doppler velocimetry show that secondary flow appears and disappears several times during a flow period. Based on a finite-gap expression for the basic flow, linear stability analysis is performed with a quasi-steady approach, providing the times of appearance and disappearance of secondary flow in a cycle as well as the effect on the instability threshold of the mean rotation. The theoretical and numerical results are in agreement with experimental results up to intermediate values of the frequency. Notably, the flow periodically undergoes restabilization at particular time intervals.

In Part 1 of this work we presented a new mathematical formulation for numerical investigation of capillary wave dynamics. This permitted calculations to be readily performed on a desktop computer. Applications given were primarily to waves in one surface dimension. In Part 2 we describe further applications to waves in two surface dimensions and also to waves in shallow water (not, however, shallow for the capillary waves). Wavenumber–frequency spectra for wind waves are calculated. As was observed in tank experiments by Hara et al. (1997), our calculations show both a frequency spread and a frequency up-shifting which suggests that capillary waves are ‘dragged along’ by longer waves. Fine-scale roughness near wind wave crests shows a transitory nature, changing with the wave pattern. We discuss implications of this for microwave remote sensing. The propagation of short gravity waves in shallow water is studied. As these waves develop bore-like forward faces, generation of parasitic capillary waves is observed. Generation rates for these are substantially greater than observed for waves in deep water.

A laminar boundary layer develops in a favourable pressure gradient where the velocity profiles asymptote to the Falkner & Skan similarity solution. Flying-hot-wire measurements show that the layer separates just downstream of a subsequent region of adverse pressure gradient, leading to the formation of a thin separation bubble. In an effort to gain insight into the nature of the instability mechanisms, a small-magnitude impulsive disturbance is introduced through a hole in the test surface at the pressure minimum. The facility and all operating procedures are totally automated and phase-averaged data are acquired on unprecedently large and spatially dense measurement grids. The evolution of the disturbance is tracked all the way into the reattachment region and beyond into the fully turbulent boundary layer. The spatial resolution of the data provides a level of detail that is usually associated with computations.

Initially, a wave packet develops which maintains the same bounded shape and form, while the amplitude decays exponentially with streamwise distance. Following separation, the rate of decay diminishes and a point of minimum amplitude is reached, where the wave packet begins to exhibit dispersive characteristics. The amplitude then grows exponentially and there is an increase in the number of waves within the packet. The region leading up to and including the reattachment has been measured with a cross-wire probe and contours of spanwise vorticity in the centreline plane clearly show that the wave packet is associated with the cat's eye pattern that is a characteristic of Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. Further streamwise development leads to the formation of roll-ups and contour surfaces of vorticity magnitude show that they are three-dimensional. Beyond this point, the behaviour is nonlinear and the roll-ups evolve into a group of large-scale vortex loops in the vicinity of the reattachment. Closely spaced cross-wire measurements are continued in the downstream turbulent boundary layer and Taylor's hypothesis is applied to data on spanwise planes to generate three-dimensional velocity fields. The derived vorticity magnitude distribution demonstrates that the second vortex loop, which emerges in the reattachment region, retains its identity in the turbulent boundary layer and it persists until the end of the test section.

The effect of entrained bubbles on the structure of a vortex ring is studied using particle image velocimetry. Quantitative information on the velocity and vorticity distribution within the vortex core is obtained from multiple images recorded with two 65 frames per second, 35 mm cameras. Bubble trajectories and velocities are also determined from these images. It is demonstrated that for certain combinations of vortex strengths and bubble diameters, a few microscopic bubbles, at very low overall void fraction, shift and macroscopically deform the structure of the vortex. For example, five 512 μm diameter bubbles, entrained by a vortex with core diameter of 2 cm and strength of 160 cm2 s−1, displace the core by 3.5 mm and fragment the core into two regions with peak vorticities that are 20% higher than the original maximum vorticity. The same phenomenon is observed with laminar, transitional and turbulent vortices. Dimensional analysis along with the experimental data show that the distortion is maximum when the bubbles settle, following entrainment by the vortex, in a region located between 20% and 40% of core radius. The governing dimensionless parameters and trends are identified and discussed. The vortex distortions are explained in terms of changes to the liquid momentum caused by the entrainment of the bubbles. It is argued and proven in detail in Appendix A that the change to the liquid momentum due to the presence of the bubble is equal to the bubble volume multiplied by the local stresses that exist in the absence of the bubble. These stresses include the gravity-induced (buoyancy) and hydrodynamic pressure gradients as well as viscous stresses. The buoyancy displaces the core of the vortex upward whereas the force due to hydrodynamic pressure gradients reduces the core size and as a result increases the vorticity. Estimated distortions agree with the experimental data.

The tendency of granular materials in rapid shear ow to form non-uniform structures is well documented in the literature. Through a linear stability analysis of the solution of continuum equations for rapid shear flow of a uniform granular material, performed by Savage (1992) and others subsequently, it has been shown that an infinite plane shearing motion may be unstable in the Lyapunov sense, provided the mean volume fraction of particles is above a critical value. This instability leads to the formation of alternating layers of high and low particle concentrations oriented parallel to the plane of shear. Computer simulations, on the other hand, reveal that non-uniform structures are possible even when the mean volume fraction of particles is small. In the present study, we have examined the structure of fully developed layered solutions, by making use of numerical continuation techniques and bifurcation theory. It is shown that the continuum equations do predict the existence of layered solutions of high amplitude even when the uniform state is linearly stable. An analysis of the effect of bounding walls on the bifurcation structure reveals that the nature of the wall boundary conditions plays a pivotal role in selecting that branch of non-uniform solutions which emerges as the primary branch. This demonstrates unequivocally that the results on the stability of bounded shear flow of granular materials presented previously by Wang et al. (1996) are, in general, based on erroneous base states.

An experimental study was conducted in a turbulent spray flame in which droplets were produced ultrasonically at low velocity relative to the host gas. In this fashion, injector-specific effects on the two-phase flow were minimized and a scenario generally characteristic of the far field of practical spray systems could be simulated. Close to the burner exit, the spray flame appeared as a dense column of drops burning with an envelope flame. Further downstream, it opened up slowly in the radial direction and developed a turbulent ‘brush’ appearance. Measurements of the size, velocity and concentration of the droplets, and of gas-phase velocity and temperature were made by combining a Phase-Doppler interferometric technique with Stokes/anti-Stokes Raman thermometry. The experimental data were used to derive scaling and self-similarity for the Reynolds-averaged continuity and momentum equations using suitable transformations.

Results showed three distinct regions, on the basis of the behaviour of the gas axial velocity in the spray flame. In the lower part of the flame, the gas momentum increased because of vaporization. In the intermediate region of the spray flame, the axial velocity decayed along the centreline as an inverse power of the distance from the virtual origin, with exponents smaller than unity. In the upper part of the spray flame, the flow field recovered the axial velocity decay that is typical of incompressible jets, namely as an inverse of the axial distance. Self-similar behaviour held for the axial velocity throughout the intermediate region. The vapour source term in the gas continuity equation scaled approximately as an inverse power of axial distance, and exhibited self-similarity throughout the spray flame. As a result, a simple model of the Reynolds stress term could be formulated, in which two competing contributions appear: one, that is due to turbulent transport, tends to increase the value of the velocity correlation; another, that is due to the vaporization term, tends to reduce the value of the velocity correlation and can be construed as a vaporization-induced tendency towards relaminarization. The first term is modelled by a classic gradient-transport approach yielding an empirical mixing length relating the velocity correlation to the average velocity gradient. Model and experiments are found to be in good agreement, especially sufficiently far from the injector, where one-way coupling between the two phases holds.

The nonlinear evolution of wavepackets in a laminar boundary layer has been observed experimentally. The packets originated from disturbances generated by a loudspeaker coupled to the boundary layer by a small hole in the plate. In a preliminary experiment two types of short-duration acoustic pulses were used, one with a positive excitation and another with a negative excitation. The experiments indicated that the packet that originated from a positive pulse displayed nonlinear behaviour at considerably lower amplitudes than that from a negative pulse. However, the preliminary experiments suggested that at some distance from the source the packets were identical in shape with a relative phase shift of 180°. Using complex-amplitude pulses it was possible to extend the experiments to include packets with other phases. This more comprehensive experiment not only showed a strong influence of the phase on the evolution of the packet, but also demonstrated that this nonlinear behaviour is not determined by the local effects of the excitation process. The observations suggested that the important parameter is the phase of the packet relative to the modulation envelope.

A new mechanism is proposed for the generation of Tollmien–Schlichting (T–S) waves by free-stream turbulence. For definiteness and self-consistency, the mechanism is described mathematically by using a triple-deck formalism. The free-stream turbulence is represented by convecting gusts consisting of the so-called vortical and entropy waves of small amplitude. We show that suitable convecting gusts can interact with sound waves in the free stream to produce a forcing that has the same time and length scales as those of the T–S waves, thereby exciting such waves in the vicinity of the lower branch of the neutral stability curve. The T–S waves so produced have the order of magnitude of ε2R5/16, where ε is the amplitude of the free-stream disturbance and R the global Reynolds number. The scale conversion is achieved without resorting to any non-homogeneity on the wall, and hence the mechanism operates in a flat boundary layer. Furthermore, the T–S waves so generated do not undergo any immediate decay, as they may do in some other receptivity processes. For homogeneous isotropic free-stream turbulence, the spectrum of the T–S waves is obtained. The efficiency of the receptivity mechanism is assessed by parametric studies.

The linear response of an inviscid two-dimensional Couette flow disturbed by a time-periodic forcing is studied under the assumption that the forcing is distributed along a straight line. When the forcing is tilted against the shear, the disturbance streamfunction and energy are shown to be locally amplified downstream of the source before decaying at large distance. This spatially localized amplification is interpreted as an analogue of the transient growth phenomenon studied in the context of unforced intial-value problems. The self-consistency of the linear approximation and the instability of the disturbance are also examined.

In this paper, we present a new two-dimensional viscometer, and the hydrodynamic calculations used to obtain the surface viscosities from the measurements. In order to interpret the experiments, performed with solutions of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and also with monolayers of insoluble surfactants, we develop various hydrodynamic models of soluble Gibbs monolayers and of incompressible Langmuir monolayers, that describe well the experimental results. In the case of SDS solutions, the calculations allow the determination of the surface shear viscosity, and its value is in good agreement with previous studies.