Turbulent mixing at a stable density interface : the variation of the buoyancy flux–gradient relation

Experiments conducted on mixing across a stable density interface in a turbulent Taylor–Couette flow show, for the first time, experimental evidence of an increase in mixing efficiency at large Richardson numbers. With increasing buoyancy gradient the buoyancy flux first passes a maximum, then decreases and at large values of the buoyancy gradient the flux increases again. Thus, the curve of buoyancy flux versus buoyancy gradient tends to be N-shaped (rather than simply bell shaped), a behaviour suggested by the model of Balmforth et al. (J. Fluid Mech. vol. 428, 1998, p. 349). The increase in mixing efficiency at large Richardson numbers is attributed to a scale separation of the eddies active in mixing at the interface; when the buoyancy gradient is large mean kinetic energy is injected at scales much smaller than the eddy size fixed by the gap width, thus decreasing the eddy turnover time. Observations show that there is no noticeable change in interface thickness when the mixing efficiency increases; it is the mixing mechanism that changes. The curves of buoyancy flux versus buoyancy gradient also show a large variability for identical experimental conditions. These variations occur at time scales one to two orders of magnitude larger than the eddy turnover time scale

Magnocellular and parvocellular influences on reflexive attention

AbstractPrevious studies have provided conflicting evidence regarding whether the magnocellular (M) or parvocellular (P) visual pathway is primarily responsible for triggering involuntary orienting. Here, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) to provide new evidence that both the M and P pathways can trigger attentional capture and bias visual processing at multiple levels. Specifically, cued-location targets elicited enhanced activity, relative to uncued-location targets, at both early sensory processing levels (indexed by the P1 component) and later higher-order processing stages (as indexed by the P300 component). Furthermore, the present results show these effects of attentional capture were not contingent on the feature congruency between the cue and expected target, providing evidence that this biasing of visual processing was not dependant on top-down expectations or within-pathway priming

Near-field flow structure of a confined wall jet on flat and concave rough walls

Experimental results are presented of the mean flow and turbulence characteristics in the near field of a plane wall jet issuing from a nozzle onto flat and concave walls consisting of fixed sand beds. This is a flow configuration of interest for sediment erosion, also referred to as scouring. The measurements were made with an acoustic profiler that gives access to the three components of the instantaneous velocities. For the flat-wall flow, it is shown that the outer-layer spatial growth rate and the maxima of the Reynolds stresses approach the values accepted for the far field of a wall jet at a downstream distance x/b0 ≈ 8. These maxima are only about half the values of a plane free jet. This reduction in Reynolds stresses is also observed in the shear-layer region, x/b0 11, the maximum Reynolds shear stress approaches the value of a plane free jet. This change in Reynolds stresses is related to the mean vertical velocity that is negative for x/b0 < 8 and positive further downstream. The evolution of the inner region of the wall jet is found to be in good agreement with a previous model that explicitly includes the roughness length. On the concave wall, the mean flow and the Reynolds stresses are drastically changed by the adverse pressure gradient and especially by the development of Görtler vortices. On the downslope side of the scour hole, the flow is nearly separating with the wall shear stress tending to zero, whereas on the upslope side, the wall-friction coefficient is increased by a factor of about two by Görtler vortices. These vortices extend well into the outer layer and, just above the wall, cause a substantial increase in Reynolds shear stres

Dynamics of collapse of free-surface bubbles: effects of gravity and viscosity

The rupture of the thin film at the top of a bubble floating at a liquid-gas interface leads to the axisymmetric collapse of the bubble cavity. We present scaling laws for such a cavity collapse, established from experiments conducted with bubbles spanning a wide range of Bond (${10^{-3}<Bo\leq1}$) and Ohnesorge numbers (${10^{-3}<Oh<10^{-1}}$), defined with the bubble radius $R$. The cavity collapse is a capillary-driven process, with a dependency on viscosity and gravity affecting, respectively, precursory capillary waves on the cavity boundary, and the static bubble shape. The collapse is characterised by tangential and normal velocities of the kink, formed by the intersection of the concave cavity opening after the top thin film rupture, with the convex bubble cavity boundary. The tangential velocity $U_t$ is constant during the collapse and is shown to be $U_t=4.5~U_c{\mathcal{W}}_R$, where $U_c$ is the capillary velocity and ${\mathcal{W}}_R(Oh,Bo)={(1-\sqrt{Oh {\mathscr{L}}} )^{-1/2}}$ is the wave resistance factor due to the precursory capillary waves, with $\mathscr{L}(Bo)$ being the path correction of the kink motion. The movement of the kink in the normal direction is part of the inward shrinkage of the whole cavity due to the sudden reduction of gas pressure inside the bubble cavity after the thin film rupture. This normal velocity is shown to scale as $U_c$ in the equatorial plane, while at the bottom of the cavity $\overline{U}_{nb}=U_c(Z_c/R)({\mathcal{W}_R}/ {\mathscr{L}})$, where $Z_c(Bo)$ is the static cavity depth. The total volume flux of cavity-filling, which is entirely contributed by this shrinking, scales as ${Q_T\simeq 2\pi R Z_c U_c}$; remains a constant throughout the collapse.Comment: 22 page

An experimental study of particle-driven gravity currents on steep slopes with entrainment of particles

International audienceResults of laboratory experiments are presented in which a finite suspension of sawdust particles was released instantaneously into a rectangular channel immersed in a water tank. Two kinds of gravity currents were studied: currents with or without entrainment of particles from the bed. Experiments were repeated for two slopes: 30° and 45°. We observed that the velocity of the front was significantly in-creased as particle entrainment occurred. In addition, our experiments showed that the front kept a quasi-constant velocity for both runs. This might suggest that the flow regime corresponded to the "slumping regime" or "adjustment phase" described earlier by Huppert and Simpson (1980)

Inertial oscillations in a confined vortex subjected to background rotation

No abstract

Parametrically forced, breaking gravity waves in a circular cylinder

Nous présentons des résultats sur des ondes de gravité créées par instabilité paramétrique dans un réservoir cylindrique et dans la limite d'eau profonde. Le diagramme de phase établi pour des fréquences proches du premier mode axisymétrique montre le seuil d'instabilité ainsi que le seuil d'existence d'ondes stables. L'amplitude des ondes en fonction de la fréquence d'excitation, déterminée pour une amplitude d'excitation en dessous du seuil d'instabilité des ondes, montre des modulations de l'amplitude des ondes ainsi que des bifurcations vers des modes asymétriques. Dans le régime des ondes instables une singularité en temps fini se produit, donnant naissance à des jets à grande vitesse, un phénomène démontré par Zeff et al. (2000) dans des fluides visqueux. Ici une telle singularité est montrée dans des fluides de faible viscosité et faible tension de surface

Inertial oscillations in a confined monopolar vortex subjected to background rotation

We study the axisymmetric inertial oscillations in a confined monopolar vortex under the influence of background rotation. By first focusing on the inviscid linear dynamics, and later studying the effects of viscosity and of a no-slip bottom, we characterize the effects of rotation and confinement. It was found that background rotation allows for oscillations outside the vortex core even with frequencies larger than 2O, with O the background rotation rate. However, confinement is necessary for the system to sustain oscillations with frequencies smaller than 2O. Through the analytical solution for a small perturbation of a Rankine vortex, we obtain five regimes where the oscillations are qualitatively different, depending on their frequency. Numerical results for the linear inviscid waves sustained by a Lamb–Oseen vortex show a similar behavior. The effects of viscosity are twofold: the oscillations are damped and the vortex sustaining the oscillations is modified. When a no-slip bottom is considered, a boundary layer drives a secondary motion superimposed on the inertial oscillations. In this case, the vortex is quickly damped, but the oscillations persist due to the background rotation

3-D Perturbations in Conformal Turbulence

The effects of three-dimensional perturbations in two-dimensional turbulence are investigated, through a conformal field theory approach. We compute scaling exponents for the energy spectra of enstrophy and energy cascades, in a strong coupling limit, and compare them to the values found in recent experiments. The extension of unperturbed conformal turbulence to the present situation is performed by means of a simple physical picture in which the existence of small scale random forces is closely related to deviations of the exact two-dimensional fluid motion.Comment: Discussion of intermittency improved. Figure include