scholarly journals Divergent versus Nondivergent Instabilities of Piecewise Uniform Shear Flows on the f Plane

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (7) ◽  
pp. 1685-1699
Author(s):  
Nathan Paldor ◽  
Yona Dvorkin ◽  
Eyal Heifetz
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Delta Function ◽  
Relative Vorticity ◽  
Linear Instability ◽  
Large Radius ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Uniform Shear ◽  
Linear Shear ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Inner Region

Abstract The linear instability of a piecewise uniform shear flow is classically formulated for nondivergent perturbations on a 2D barotropic mean flow with linear shear, bounded on both sides by semi-infinite half-planes where the mean flows are uniform. The problem remains unchanged on the f plane because for nondivergent perturbations the instability is driven by vorticity gradient at the edges of the inner, linear shear region, whereas the vorticity itself does not affect it. The instability of the unbounded case is recovered when the outer regions of uniform velocity are bounded, provided that these regions are at least twice as wide as the inner region of nonzero shear. The numerical calculations demonstrate that this simple scenario is greatly modified when the perturbations’ divergence and the variation of the mean height (which geostrophically balances the mean flow) are retained in the governing equations. Although a finite deformation radius exists on the shallow water f plane, the mean vorticity gradient that governs the instability in the nondivergent case remains unchanged, so it is not obvious how the instability is modified by the inclusion of divergence in the numerical solutions of the equations. The results here show that the longwave instability of nondivergent flows is recovered by the numerical solution for divergent flows only when the radius of deformation is at least one order of magnitude larger than the width of the inner uniform shear region. Nevertheless, even at this large radius of deformation both the amplitude of the velocity eigenfunction and the distribution of vorticity and divergence differ significantly from those of nondivergent perturbations and vary strongly in the cross-stream direction. Whereas for nondivergent flows the vorticity and divergence both have a delta-function structure located at the boundaries of the inner region, in divergent flows they are spread out and attain their maximum away from the boundaries (either in the inner region or in the outer regions) in some range of the mean shear. In contrast to nondivergent flows for which the mean shear is merely a multiplicative factor of the growth rates, in divergent flows new unstable modes exist for sufficiently large mean shear with no shortwave cutoff. This unstable mode is strongly affected by the sign of the mean shear (i.e., the sign of the mean relative vorticity).

Stability bounds on turbulent Poiseuille flow

1988 ◽  
Vol 187 ◽  
pp. 435-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. R. Ierley ◽  
W. V. R. Malkus
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Reynolds Stress ◽  
Poiseuille Flow ◽  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Linear Instability ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Stability

For steady-state turbulent flows with unique mean properties, we determine a sense in which the mean velocity is linearly supercritical. The shear-turbulence literature on this point is ambiguous. As an example, we reassess the stability of mean profiles in turbulent Poiseuille flow. The Reynolds & Tiederman (1967) numerical study is used as a starting point. They had constructed a class of one-dimensional flows which included, within experimental error, the observed profile. Their numerical solutions of the resulting Orr-Sommerfeld problems led them to conclude that the Reynolds number for neutral infinitesimal disturbances was twenty-five times the Reynolds number characterizing the observed mean flow. They found also that the first nonlinear corrections were stabilizing. In the realized flow, this latter conclusion appears incompatible with the former. Hence, we have sought a more complete set of velocity profiles which could exhibit linear instability, retaining the requirement that the observed velocity profile is included in the set. We have added two dynamically generated modifications of the mean. The first addition is a fluctuation in the curvature of the mean flow generated by a Reynolds stress whose form is determined by the neutrally stable Orr-Sommerfeld solution. We find that this can reduce the stability of the observed flow by as much as a factor of two. The second addition is the zero-average downstream wave associated with the above Reynolds stress. The three-dimensional linear instability of this modification can even render the observed flow unstable. Those wave amplitudes that just barely will ensure instability of the observed flow are determined. The relation of these particular amplitudes to the limiting conditions admitted by an absolute stability criterion for disturbances on the mean flow is found. These quantitative results from stability theory lie in the observationally determined Reynolds-Tiederman similarity scheme, and hence are insensitive to changes in Reynolds number.

scholarly journals Interaction between mountain waves and shear flow in an inertial layer

2017 ◽  
Vol 816 ◽  
pp. 352-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin-Han Xie ◽  
Jacques Vanneste
Keyword(s):  
Shear Flow ◽  
Inviscid Limit ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Mountain Waves ◽  
Planetary Rotation ◽  
Thin Region ◽  
Linear Shear ◽  
Propagation Regime ◽  
Finite Distance ◽  
The Mean

Mountain-generated inertia–gravity waves (IGWs) affect the dynamics of both the atmosphere and the ocean through the mean force they exert as they interact with the flow. A key to this interaction is the presence of critical-level singularities or, when planetary rotation is taken into account, inertial-level singularities, where the Doppler-shifted wave frequency matches the local Coriolis frequency. We examine the role of the latter singularities by studying the steady wavepacket generated by a multiscale mountain in a rotating linear shear flow at low Rossby number. Using a combination of Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin (WKB) and saddle-point approximations, we provide an explicit description of the form of the wavepacket, of the mean forcing it induces and of the mean-flow response. We identify two distinguished regimes of wave propagation: Regime I applies far enough from a dominant inertial level for the standard ray-tracing approximation to be valid; Regime II applies to a thin region where the wavepacket structure is controlled by the inertial-level singularities. The wave–mean-flow interaction is governed by the change in Eliassen–Palm (or pseudomomentum) flux. This change is localised in a thin inertial layer where the wavepacket takes a limiting form of that found in Regime II. We solve a quasi-geostrophic potential-vorticity equation forced by the divergence of the Eliassen–Palm flux to compute the wave-induced mean flow. Our results, obtained in an inviscid limit, show that the wavepacket reaches a large-but-finite distance downstream of the mountain (specifically, a distance of order$(k_{\ast }\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E5})^{1/2}\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E5}$, where$k_{\ast }^{-1}$and$\unicode[STIX]{x1D6E5}$measure the wave and envelope scales of the mountain) and extends horizontally over a similar scale.

scholarly journals Effects of Eddy Vorticity Forcing on the Mean State of the Kuroshio Extension

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 1356-1375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Delman ◽  
Julie L. McClean ◽  
Janet Sprintall ◽  
Lynne D. Talley ◽  
Elena Yulaeva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reference Frames ◽  
Model Simulation ◽  
Kuroshio Extension ◽  
Relative Vorticity ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Instability Criterion ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Vorticity Budget ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Kuroshio

AbstractEddy–mean flow interactions along the Kuroshio Extension (KE) jet are investigated using a vorticity budget of a high-resolution ocean model simulation, averaged over a 13-yr period. The simulation explicitly resolves mesoscale eddies in the KE and is forced with air–sea fluxes representing the years 1995–2007. A mean-eddy decomposition in a jet-following coordinate system removes the variability of the jet path from the eddy components of velocity; thus, eddy kinetic energy in the jet reference frame is substantially lower than in geographic coordinates and exhibits a cross-jet asymmetry that is consistent with the baroclinic instability criterion of the long-term mean field. The vorticity budget is computed in both geographic (i.e., Eulerian) and jet reference frames; the jet frame budget reveals several patterns of eddy forcing that are largely attributed to varicose modes of variability. Eddies tend to diffuse the relative vorticity minima/maxima that flank the jet, removing momentum from the fast-moving jet core and reinforcing the quasi-permanent meridional meanders in the mean jet. A pattern associated with the vertical stretching of relative vorticity in eddies indicates a deceleration (acceleration) of the jet coincident with northward (southward) quasi-permanent meanders. Eddy relative vorticity advection outside of the eastward jet core is balanced mostly by vertical stretching of the mean flow, which through baroclinic adjustment helps to drive the flanking recirculation gyres. The jet frame vorticity budget presents a well-defined picture of eddy activity, illustrating along-jet variations in eddy–mean flow interaction that may have implications for the jet’s dynamics and cross-frontal tracer fluxes.

scholarly journals A Framework for Parameterizing Eddy Potential Vorticity Fluxes

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
David P. Marshall ◽  
James R. Maddison ◽  
Pavel S. Berloff
Keyword(s):  
Stress Tensor ◽  
Potential Vorticity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Eddy Diffusivity ◽  
Linear Instability ◽  
Reynolds Stresses ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Conservation Of Energy ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Energy And Momentum

Abstract A framework for parameterizing eddy potential vorticity fluxes is developed that is consistent with conservation of energy and momentum while retaining the symmetries of the original eddy flux. The framework involves rewriting the residual-mean eddy force, or equivalently the eddy potential vorticity flux, as the divergence of an eddy stress tensor. A norm of this tensor is bounded by the eddy energy, allowing the components of the stress tensor to be rewritten in terms of the eddy energy and nondimensional parameters describing the mean shape and orientation of the eddies. If a prognostic equation is solved for the eddy energy, the remaining unknowns are nondimensional and bounded in magnitude by unity. Moreover, these nondimensional geometric parameters have strong connections with classical stability theory. When applied to the Eady problem, it is shown that the new framework preserves the functional form of the Eady growth rate for linear instability. Moreover, in the limit in which Reynolds stresses are neglected, the framework reduces to a Gent and McWilliams type of eddy closure where the eddy diffusivity can be interpreted as the form proposed by Visbeck et al. Simulations of three-layer wind-driven gyres are used to diagnose the eddy shape and orientations in fully developed geostrophic turbulence. These fields are found to have large-scale structure that appears related to the structure of the mean flow. The eddy energy sets the magnitude of the eddy stress tensor and hence the eddy potential vorticity fluxes. Possible extensions of the framework to ensure potential vorticity is mixed on average are discussed.

scholarly journals EFFECTS OF ACTUATOR IMPACT ON THE NONLINEAR DYNAMICS OF A VALVELESS PUMPING SYSTEM

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (03) ◽  
pp. 591-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
TIAN-SHIANG YANG ◽  
CHI-CHUNG WANG
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Transport ◽  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Lumped Parameter Model ◽  
Momentum Balance ◽  
Parameter Study ◽  
Driving Frequency ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Valveless Pumping ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Impact

Valveless pumping assists in fluid transport in various biomedical and engineering systems. Here we focus on one factor that has often been overlooked in previous studies of valveless pumping, namely the impact that a compression actuator exerts upon the pliant part of the system when they collide. In particular, a fluid-filled closed-loop system is considered, which consists of two distensible reservoirs connected by two rigid tubes, with one of the reservoirs compressed by an actuator at a prescribed frequency. A lumped-parameter model with constant coefficients accounting for mass and momentum balance in the system is constructed. Based on such a model, a mean flow in the fluid loop can only be produced by system asymmetry and the nonlinear effects associated with actuator impact. Through asymptotic and numerical solutions of the model, a systematic parameter study is carried out, thereby revealing the rich and complex system dynamics that strongly depends upon the driving frequency of the actuator and other geometrical and material properties of the system. The driving frequency dependence of the mean flowrate in the fluid loop and that of the mean reservoir pressures also are examined for a number of representative cases.

scholarly journals Equilibration of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current by Standing Meanders

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (7) ◽  
pp. 1811-1828 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew F. Thompson ◽  
Alberto C. Naveira Garabato
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Circumpolar Current ◽  
Relative Vorticity ◽  
Alternative Mechanism ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Spatially Correlated ◽  
Eddy Characteristics ◽  
Rapid Changes ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Circumpolar Current ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract The insensitivity of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC)’s prominent isopycnal slope to changes in wind stress is thought to stem from the action of mesoscale eddies that counterbalance the wind-driven Ekman overturning—a framework verified in zonally symmetric circumpolar flows. Substantial zonal variations in eddy characteristics suggest that local dynamics may modify this balance along the path of the ACC. Analysis of an eddy-resolving ocean GCM shows that the ACC can be broken into broad regions of weak eddy activity, where surface winds steepen isopycnals, and a small number of standing meanders, across which the isopycnals relax. Meanders are coincident with sites of (i) strong eddy-induced modification of the mean flow and its vertical structure as measured by the divergence of the Eliassen–Palm flux and (ii) enhancement of deep eddy kinetic energy by up to two orders of magnitude over surrounding regions. Within meanders, the vorticity budget shows a balance between the advection of relative vorticity and horizontal divergence, providing a mechanism for the generation of strong vertical velocities and rapid changes in stratification. Temporal fluctuations in these diagnostics are correlated with variability in both the Eliassen–Palm flux and bottom speed, implying a link to dissipative processes at the ocean floor. At larger scales, bottom pressure torque is spatially correlated with the barotropic advection of planetary vorticity, which links to variations in meander structure. From these results, it is proposed that the “flexing” of standing meanders provides an alternative mechanism for reducing the sensitivity of the ACC’s baroclinicity to changes in forcing, separate from an ACC-wide change in transient eddy characteristics.

On the instability of wave-catalysed longitudinal vortices in strong shear

1994 ◽  
Vol 272 ◽  
pp. 235-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.R.C. Phillips ◽  
Z. Wu
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Vortex ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Longitudinal Vortices ◽  
Periodic Flows ◽  
Uniform Shear ◽  
Free Surface Waves ◽  
Strong Shear ◽  
Generalized Lagrangian ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Inviscid Instability

The inviscid instability of O(ε) two-dimensional periodic flows to spanwise-periodic longitudinal vortex modes in parallel O(1) shear flows is considered. In such cases, not only is the effect of fluctuations upon the mean state important but also the influence of the developing mean flow on the fluctuating part of the motion. The former is described by a generalized Lagrangian-mean formulation; the latter by a modified Rayleigh equation. Of specific interest is whether the spanwise distortion of the wave field feeds back to enhance or inhibit instability to longitudinal vortex form. Two cases are considered in detail: uniform shear between wavy walls and non-uniform shear beneath free-surface waves. In both cases wave distortion acts to inhibit, and in some circumstances curtail, instability for all but the shortest waves.

Numerical Solutions for Unsteady Subsonic Vortical Flows Around Loaded Cascades

1993 ◽  
Vol 115 (4) ◽  
pp. 810-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Fang ◽  
H. M. Atassi
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Unsteady Flow ◽  
Numerical Solutions ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Vortical Flows ◽  
Unsteady Aerodynamic ◽  
Reduced Frequency ◽  
The Mean

A frequency domain linearized unsteady aerodynamic analysis is presented for three-dimensional unsteady vortical flows around a cascade of loaded airfoils. The analysis fully accounts for the distortion of the impinging vortical disturbances by the mean flow. The entire unsteady flow field is calculated in response to upstream three-dimensional harmonic disturbances. Numerical results are presented for two standard cascade configurations representing turbine and compressor bladings for a reduced frequency range from 0.1 to 5. Results show that the upstream gust conditions and blade sweep strongly affect the unsteady blade response.

Multiple linear instability of layered stratified shear flow

1994 ◽  
Vol 258 ◽  
pp. 255-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colm-Cille P. Caulfield
Keyword(s):  
Shear Flow ◽  
Intermediate Layer ◽  
Linear Instability ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Relative Significance ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Stratified Shear Flow ◽  
New Type ◽  
The Mean

We develop a simple model for the behaviour of an inviscid stratified shear flow with a thin mixed layer of intermediate fluid. We find that the flow is simultaneously unstable to oscillatory disturbances that are a generalization of those discussed by Holmboe (1962), purely unstable modes analogous to those considered by Taylor (1931), and a new type of oscillatory disturbance at large wavelength. The relative significance of these different types of instability depends on the ratio R of the depth of the intermediate layer to the depth of the shear layer. For small values of R, the new type of oscillatory wave has both the largest growthrate for given bulk Richardson number Ri0, and is also primarily unstable to disturbances propagating at an angle to the mean flow, i.e. such modes violate the conditions of Squire's theorem (1933), and thus the assumption of initial two dimensionality of such flows is invalid. For intermediate values of R, the Holmboe-type modes and the Taylor-types modes may have wavelengths and phase speeds conducive to the formation of a resonant triad over a wide range of Ri0. Thus the presence of an intermediate layer in a stratified shear flow markedly changes its stability properties.

scholarly journals The Stability of Short Symmetric Internal Waves on Sloping Fronts: Beyond the Traditional Approximation

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 459-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Colin de Verdière
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Internal Waves ◽  
Relative Vorticity ◽  
Rotation Vector ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Earth’S Rotation ◽  
Horizontal Shear ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Earth's Rotation ◽  
The Mean

Abstract The interaction of internal waves with geostrophic flows is found to be strongly dependent upon the background stratification. Under the traditional approximation of neglecting the horizontal component of the earth’s rotation vector, the well-known inertial and symmetric instabilities highlight the asymmetry between positive and negative vertical components of relative vorticity (horizontal shear) of the mean flow, the former being stable. This is a strong stratification limit but, if it becomes too low, the traditional approximation cannot be made and the Coriolis terms caused by the earth’s rotation vector must be kept in full. A new asymmetry then appears between positive and negative horizontal components of relative vorticity (vertical shear) of the mean flow, the latter becoming more unstable. Particularly conspicuous at low latitudes, this new asymmetry does not require vanishing stratification to occur as it operates readily for rotation/stratification ratios 2Ω/N as small as 0.25 (the stratification still dominates over rotation) for realistic vertical shears. Given that such ratios are easily found in ocean–atmosphere boundary layers or in the deep ocean, such ageostrophic instabilities may be important for the routes to dissipation of the energy of the large-scale motions. The energetics show that, depending on the orientation of the internal wave crests with respect to the mean isopycnal surfaces, the unstable motions can draw their energy either from the kinetic energy or from the available potential energy of the mean flow. The kinetic energy source is usually the leading contribution when the growth rates reach their maxima.

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