Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics - Volume 33, 2001

The time-average of a fluctuating flow often results in a nonzero mean. Such steady streaming may result directly from the action of an oscillatory nonconservative body force or, if such a force is conservative, indirectly through the action of Reynolds stresses in the main body of the fluid or in thin boundary layers at no-slip boundaries. A theory for such streaming flows is developed for homogeneous fluids. For flows with a free surface it is demonstrated that a mechanism for steady streaming exists even in an inviscid fluid. Diverse areas in which steady streaming flows may be important are discussed.

Fluid mechanics research related to fire is reviewed with a focus on canonical flows, multiphysics coupling aspects, and experimental and numerical techniques. Fire is a low-speed, chemically reacting flow in which buoyancy plays an important role. Fire research has focused on two canonical flows, the reacting boundary layer and the reacting free plume. There is rich, multilateral, bidirectional coupling among fluid mechanics and scalar transport, combustion, and radiation. There is only a limited experimental fluid mechanics database for fire owing to measurement difficulties in the harsh environment and to the focus within the fire community on thermal/chemical consequences. Increasingly, computational fluid dynamics techniques are being used to provide engineering guidance on thermal/chemical consequences and to study fire phenomenology.

This review summarizes recent experimental studies of instabilities in free-surface flows driven by thermocapillarity. Two broad classes are considered, depending upon whether the imposed temperature gradient is perpendicular (Marangoni-convection instability) or parallel (thermocapillary-convection instability) to the free surface. Both steady and time-dependent instabilites are reviewed in experiments employing both large- and small-aspect-ratio geometries of various symmetries.

The description and the physical understanding of three-dimensional separated flows are challenging problems mainly because of the use of inappropriate terms linked to the consideration of two-dimensional flows. This fact was realized in the early 1950s by Robert Legendre, who introduced the basic concepts of the Critical Point Theory to provide a rational definition of separation in three-dimensional flows. In parallel, demonstrative experiments were executed by Henri Werlé in the Onera water tunnel laboratory. From the close cooperation between these two scientists resulted the construction of a powerful theoretical tool allowing the elucidation of the structure of largely separated three-dimensional fields. The importance of their contribution to fluid mechanics is illustrated here by the consideration of basic configurations: flow past wings or elongated bodies, in front of obstacles, and behind a base. For each case, the flow organization is discussed by considering representative water tunnel visualizations and corresponding topological interpretations.

An optical technique is described that is often used nowadays to measure surface pressures on wind tunnel models and flight vehicles. The technique uses luminescent coatings, which are painted on the model surface, excited by light of appropriate wavelength, and imaged with digital cameras. The intensity of the emitted light is inversely proportional to the surface pressure. Hence, the surface pressures can be measured efficiently and affordably with a high spatial resolution. The theory and chemistry of how such coatings work and the parameters that affect them are presented. The required hardware and software are described, with emphasis on the different measurement systems and procedures. The various error sources are discussed, and correction schemes that can be used to minimize them are presented. Sample results, covering a wide range of conditions and applications, are presented and discussed.

Models are considered for rotating flows over sills, through straits, and along coasts where the variation in geometry in the flow direction is slow but otherwise unrestricted. In addition to the (rotation-modified) free surface waves of nonrotating open channel hydraulics, with their predominantly vertical signature, slow Rossby or vorticity waves are possible when the background potential vorticity varies. In all but the simplest cases the conservation of energy and momentum fluxes is no longer sufficient to determine the flow behavior. Various additional modeling assumptions are reviewed, and time-dependent finite-amplitude and weakly nonlinear theories that include long Rossby wave dynamics are summarized.

We consider the manner in which a container filled with viscous fluid adjusts to changes in its rotation rate. We begin with homogeneous flows involving small departures in rotation rate from an initial state of solid-body rotation in an axisymmetric container. This is followed by a summary of other more recent developments, including weakly and fully nonlinear calculations and comparison with experiment and the question of spin-down. The question of “spin-over” is addressed, followed by a brief synopsis of free-surface effects, and a discussion of nonaxisymmetric spin-up. The second part of the review focuses on the effects of stratification on the spin-up process. Linearized (low Rossby number) spin-up within a cylindrical container is described. Thereafter, both experimental and nonlinear computational results are described and compared. The final section focuses on stratified spin-up and spin-down in conical geometries, and a number of comparisons between theory and experiment are given.

Polymer melts exhibit extrusion instabilities at sufficiently high levels of stress, and they appear to exhibit wall slip. I explore the evidence for slip, the possible mechanisms of slip, and the relation between slip and extrusion instabilities.

This review begins with the classical foundations of relative dispersion in Kolmogorov's similarity scaling. Analysis of the special cases of isotropic and homogeneous scalar fields is then used to establish most simply the connection with turbulent mixing. The importance of the two-particle acceleration covariance in relative dispersion is demonstrated from the kinematics of the motion of particle-pairs. A summary of the development of two-particle Lagrangian stochastic models is given, with emphasis on the assumptions and constraints involved, and on predictions of the scalar variance field for inhomogeneous sources. Two-point closures and kinematic simulation are also reviewed in the context of their prediction of the Richardson constant and other fundamental constants. In the absence of reliable field data, direct numerical simulations and laboratory measurements seem most likely to provide suitable data with which to test the assumptions and predictions of these theories.

Early work of Ricardo is described, in which squish is used in flat-head engines to generate turbulence levels comparable to those in overhead-valve engines, leading to rapid flame propagation, and suppressing knock. Work by NACA before World War II is described, in which turbulence levels were measured in overhead-valve engines, indicating indirectly that surprisingly high levels were achieved just before ignition, possibly due to a tumble instability. Finally, work of Obukhov of 30 years ago is described, in which instabilities of tumbling flow are investigated in ellipsoids crudely modeling the engine cylinder as the piston rises; this suggests that there is an instability leading to intense small-scale motion just before ignition. Suggestions for further work are given.

Recent studies of the morphodynamics of the coastal region are reviewed. Emphasis is given to idealized models that consider a morphological pattern in isolation from the others, to obtain indications on the physical processes controlling its appearance and development. In particular, attention focuses on morphodynamic stability analyses that allow understanding of the behavior of morphological features that are repetitive in both space and time. Indeed rhythmic patterns are commonly observed both in the continental shelf far from the coast and in the near-shore region.

This review highlights the differences between the aerodynamics of high-speed trains and other types of transportation vehicles. The emphasis is on modern, high-speed trains, including magnetic levitation (Maglev) trains. Some of the key differences are derived from the fact that trains operate near the ground or a track, have much greater length-to-diameter ratios than other vehicles, pass close to each other and to trackside structures, are more subject to crosswinds, and operate in tunnels with entry and exit events. The coverage includes experimental techniques and results and analytical and numerical methods, concentrating on the most recent information available.

Junction flows occur when a boundary layer encounters an obstacle attached to the same surface. Physical phenomena that have been observed for blunt and streamlined obstacles are discussed for both laminar and turbulent approaching boundary layers. The pressure gradients around an obstacle produce a three-dimensional separation with horseshoe vortices that wrap around the obstacle. Except for very low Reynolds number laminar flows, these vortices are highly unsteady and are responsible for high turbulence intensities, high surface pressure fluctuations and heat transfer rates, and erosion scour in the nose region of the obstacle. Calculation methods are also reviewed; methods that capture the large-scale chaotic vortical motions should be used for computations. Some work on the control, modification, or elimination of such vortices is also reviewed.

The interaction of a flexible structure with a flowing fluid in which it is submersed or by which it is surrounded gives rise to a rich variety of physical phenomena with applications in many fields of engineering, for example, the stability and response of aircraft wings, the flow of blood through arteries, the response of bridges and tall buildings to winds, the vibration of turbine and compressor blades, and the oscillation of heat exchangers. To understand these phenomena we need to model both the structure and the fluid. However, in keeping with the overall theme of this volume, the emphasis here is on the fluid models. Also, the applications are largely drawn from aerospace engineering although the methods and fundamental physical phenomena have much wider applications. In the present article, we emphasize recent developments and future challenges. To provide a context for these, the article begins with a description of the various physical models for a fluid undergoing time-dependent motion, then moves to a discussion of the distinction between linear and nonlinear models, time-linearized models and their solution in either the time or frequency domains, and various methods for treating nonlinear models, including time marching, harmonic balance, and systems identification. We conclude with an extended treatment of the modal character of time-dependent flows and the construction of reduced-order models based on an expansion in terms of fluid modes. The emphasis is on the enhanced physical understanding and dramatic reductions in computational cost made possible by reduced-order models, time linearization, and methodologies drawn from dynamical system theory.

The compression system instabilities known as surge and rotating stall are natural limits to the performance of all compressors and are especially troubling in gas turbine engines. In the last 15 years, rapid progress has been made in understanding this complex problem through the application of control technology; in particular, system identification techniques have proven to be useful. New findings include the roles of compressibility and nonlinearity in the stall-inception process. These findings have been used to implement feedback control schemes that have achieved increased stability in a variety of compressors and engines. Approaches fall into one of two categories: (a) operating range extension through active damping of linear disturbances, or (b) manipulation of the nonlinear system dynamics to maintain the operating point close to the instability boundary in the presence of disturbances seen in operation.

Spilling breakers receive much less attention from casual observers of the ocean surface than their more dramatic and powerful plunging counterparts. However, spilling breakers probably occur more frequently than plunging breakers and are important contributors to turbulence, spray, and bubble generation at the water surface. Recent research has concentrated primarily on relatively weak and/or short-wavelength spillers whose crests are strongly affected by surface tension forces both during wave steepening and the resulting turbulent free-surface flow. When surface tension forces are dominant, the free surface does not overturn or splash during the breaking process but undergoes some unique and interesting motions. In this review, recent research contributions are discussed and placed in the context of spilling behavior over a wide range of wavelengths and breaking intensities.

Shelterbelts or windbreaks were used for centuries to reduce wind speed, to control heat and moisture transfer and pollutant diffusion, to improve climate and environment, and to increase crop yields; but only within the last few decades have systematic studies considered the aerodynamics and shelter mechanisms of shelterbelts and windbreaks. This review examines recent modeling and numerical simulation studies as well as the mechanisms that control flow and turbulence around shelterbelts and windbreaks. We compare numerical simulations with experimental data and explain the relationships between sheltering effects and the structure of shelterbelts and windbreaks. We discuss how and why the desired effects are achieved by using numerical analysis. This chapter begins with the derivation of a general equation set for porous shelterbelts and windbreaks; the numerical model and simulation procedure are developed; unseparated and separated flows are predicted and characterized; the momentum budget and shelter mechanisms are analyzed; the effects of wind direction, density, width, and three dimensionality of shelterbelt structure on flow and turbulence are systematically described. Recent modeling and simulation of heat flux and evapotranspiration are also summarized. Finally, we discuss the use of high-performance distributed and parallel computing as well as clusters of networked workstations to enhance performance of the model applied to simulations of shelterbelts and windbreaks.

This article describes some of the fundamental ideas underlying methods for induced-drag prediction and reduction. A review of current analysis and design methods, including their development and common approximations, is followed by a survey of several approaches to lift-dependent drag reduction. Recent concepts for wing planform optimization, highly nonplanar surfaces, and various tip devices may lead to incremental but important gains in aircraft performance. Focusing on relatively high-aspect-ratio subsonic wings, the review suggests that opportunities for new concepts remain, but the greatest challenge lies in their integration with other aspects of the system.