English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Free-surface vortices have long been studied to develop an understanding of similar rotating flow phenomena observed in nature and technology. However, a complete description of its turbulent three-dimensional flow field still remains elusive. In contrast, the related Taylor-Couette flow system has been well explicated which classically exhibits successive instability phases manifested in so-called Taylor vortices. In this study, observations made on the turbulent free-surface vortex revealed distinguishable, time-dependent “Taylor-like” vortices in the secondary flow field similar to the Taylor-Couette flow system. The observations were enabled by an original application of 2D ultrasonic Doppler velocity profiling complemented with laser induced fluorescence dye observations. Additional confirmation was provided by three-dimensional numerical simulations. Using Rayleigh’s stability criterion, we analytically show that a wall bounded free-surface vortex can indeed become unstable due to a centrifugal driving force in a similar manner to the Taylor-Couette flow. Consequently, it is proposed that the free-surface vortex can be treated analogously to the Taylor-Couette flow permitting advanced conclusions to be drawn on its flow structure and the various states of free-surface vortex flow stability.

Understanding turbulent free-surface vortex flows using a Taylor-Couette flow analogy