Experimental analysis of the Strato-rotational Instability in a cylindrical Couette flow

This study is devoted to the experimental analysis of the Strato-rotational Instability (SRI). This instability affects the classical cylindrical Couette flow when the fluid is stably stratified in the axial direction. In agreement with recent theoretical and numerical analyses, we describe for the first time in detail the destabilization of the stratified flow below the Rayleigh line (i.e. the stability threshold without stratification). We confirm that the unstable modes of the SRI are non axisymmetric, oscillatory, and take place as soon as the azimuthal linear velocity decreases along the radial direction. This new instability is relevant for accretion disks.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. PRL in press 200

The Universal Aspect Ratio of Vortices in Rotating Stratifi?ed Flows: Experiments and Observations

We validate a new law for the aspect ratio $\alpha = H/L$ of vortices in a rotating, stratified flow, where $H$ and $L$ are the vertical half-height and horizontal length scale of the vortices. The aspect ratio depends not only on the Coriolis parameter f and buoyancy (or Brunt-Vaisala) frequency $\bar{N}$ of the background flow, but also on the buoyancy frequency $N_c$ within the vortex and on the Rossby number $Ro$ of the vortex such that $\alpha = f \sqrt{[Ro (1 + Ro)/(N_c^2- \bar{N}^2)]}$. This law for $\alpha$ is obeyed precisely by the exact equilibrium solution of the inviscid Boussinesq equations that we show to be a useful model of our laboratory vortices. The law is valid for both cyclones and anticyclones. Our anticyclones are generated by injecting fluid into a rotating tank filled with linearly-stratified salt water. The vortices are far from the top and bottom boundaries of the tank, so there is no Ekman circulation. In one set of experiments, the vortices viscously decay, but as they do, they continue to obey our law for $\alpha$, which decreases over time. In a second set of experiments, the vortices are sustained by a slow continuous injection after they form, so they evolve more slowly and have larger |Ro|, but they also obey our law for $\alpha$. The law for $\alpha$ is not only validated by our experiments, but is also shown to be consistent with observations of the aspect ratios of Atlantic meddies and Jupiter's Great Red Spot and Oval BA. The relationship for $\alpha$ is derived and examined numerically in a companion paper by Hassanzadeh et al. (2012).Comment: Submitted to the Journal of Fluid Mechanics. Also see the companion paper by Hassanzadeh et al. "The Universal Aspect Ratio of Vortices in Rotating Stratifi?ed Flows: Theory and Simulation" 201

The Universal Aspect Ratio of Vortices in Rotating Stratified Flows: Theory and Simulation

We derive a relationship for the vortex aspect ratio $\alpha$ (vertical half-thickness over horizontal length scale) for steady and slowly evolving vortices in rotating stratified fluids, as a function of the Brunt-Vaisala frequencies within the vortex $N_c$ and in the background fluid outside the vortex $\bar{N}$, the Coriolis parameter $f$, and the Rossby number $Ro$ of the vortex: $\alpha^2 = Ro(1+Ro) f^2/(N_c^2-\bar{N}^2)$. This relation is valid for cyclones and anticyclones in either the cyclostrophic or geostrophic regimes; it works with vortices in Boussinesq fluids or ideal gases, and the background density gradient need not be uniform. Our relation for $\alpha$ has many consequences for equilibrium vortices in rotating stratified flows. For example, cyclones must have $N_c^2 > \bar{N}^2$; weak anticyclones (with $|Ro| \bar{N}^2$. We verify our relation for $\alpha$ with numerical simulations of the three-dimensional Boussinesq equations for a wide variety of vortices, including: vortices that are initially in (dissipationless) equilibrium and then evolve due to an imposed weak viscous dissipation or density radiation; anticyclones created by the geostrophic adjustment of a patch of locally mixed density; cyclones created by fluid suction from a small localised region; vortices created from the remnants of the violent breakups of columnar vortices; and weakly non-axisymmetric vortices. The values of the aspect ratios of our numerically-computed vortices validate our relationship for $\alpha$, and generally they differ significantly from the values obtained from the much-cited conjecture that $\alpha = f/\bar{N}$ in quasi-geostrophic vortices.Comment: Submitted to the Journal of Fluid Mechanics. Also see the companion paper by Aubert et al. "The Universal Aspect Ratio of Vortices in Rotating Stratified Flows: Experiments and Observations" 201

The linear instability of the stratified plane Couette flow

We present the stability analysis of a plane Couette flow which is stably stratified in the vertical direction orthogonally to the horizontal shear. Interest in such a flow comes from geophysical and astrophysical applications where background shear and vertical stable stratification commonly coexist. We perform the linear stability analysis of the flow in a domain which is periodic in the stream-wise and vertical directions and confined in the cross-stream direction. The stability diagram is constructed as a function of the Reynolds number Re and the Froude number Fr, which compares the importance of shear and stratification. We find that the flow becomes unstable when shear and stratification are of the same order (i.e. Fr $\sim$ 1) and above a moderate value of the Reynolds number Re$\gtrsim$700. The instability results from a resonance mechanism already known in the context of channel flows, for instance the unstratified plane Couette flow in the shallow water approximation. The result is confirmed by fully non linear direct numerical simulations and to the best of our knowledge, constitutes the first evidence of linear instability in a vertically stratified plane Couette flow. We also report the study of a laboratory flow generated by a transparent belt entrained by two vertical cylinders and immersed in a tank filled with salty water linearly stratified in density. We observe the emergence of a robust spatio-temporal pattern close to the threshold values of F r and Re indicated by linear analysis, and explore the accessible part of the stability diagram. With the support of numerical simulations we conclude that the observed pattern is a signature of the same instability predicted by the linear theory, although slightly modified due to streamwise confinement

Enzymatic Upgrading of Fish and Crustacean Products

Fish wastes constitute an important source of biologically active molecules possessing peculiar properties and practical application promises in various areas ( agriculture, medicine, chemistry, biotechnology ). Several enzymes from crustacean and fish wastes for which sizable stocks of viscera are actually available have been considered. These enzyme activities are namely an aminopeptidase from tuna, a carboxypeptidase from dogfish, a specific crustacean protease extracted from the crab Carcinus maenas and from the cultivated shrimp Penaeus monodon and pepsins from several fish species. A second utilization of these wastes aims to generate biologically active substances (immunostimulants, gastro-intestinal peptides etc. ) through the hydrolysis of marine fish or invertebrates and to use them for enhancing growth and disease resistance of animals or as therapeutical molecules

THE CUSP: FROM FINITE TIME SINGULARITIES TO BREAKING WAVES

International audienceWe all have in mind the sound of the ping-pong ball bouncing repeatedly faster and faster off the ground before it comes to a halt. This phenomenon of divergence in a finite duration of a physical quantity-here the frequency of rebounds-carries in physics the name of "singularity in finite time". Another example of a singularity in finite time comes from the wave breaking phenomenon. In the vicinity of this subtle instant preceding breaking, the temporal derivative of the free surface of water diverges as the inverse of the square root of time. A geometric representation of this singular behavior is the cusp, the simplest catastrophe depending on two parameters as classified in his Catastrophes Theory by René Thom. The drawing of the cusp shows that for certain time and space positions, the surface is a single valued function, whereas outside this domain, it takes three possible values. Therefore, the cusp gives a good representation of the tilting of the wave before breaking. The deliminating curves between these two behavior are called caustics and merge at the singularity point. These lines share in fact the exact mathematical description of the pattern drawn by focusing light at the bottom of a cup after reflecting off the cup wall. My wish during my SCIENTIFIC DELIRIUM MADNESS residency was to create an art piece with the intention to share the contemplation of this subtle and fragile instant where the singularity arises, where the curvature of forms changes sign, where waves tilt over. To extend this infinitely small duration, the singularity will be unfolded-as mathematicians say. The result of my creative process is an array of wooden rods whose arrangement makes straight rays to cooperate and interfere in an apparent continuous and smooth motion, giving rise to a regular but cusped surface that sifts and transforms our own perception of the world around it. Like a filter, the CUSP will let wind, sound, light and thoughts to go through its beams. Fig. 1. The CUSP under the full moon in the Djerassi land. (© Patrice Le Gal. Photo: Kristen Stipanov.