Self-propelled wakes in a stratified fluid

Patrice Meunier (1) , Geoffrey R. Spedding (2)

1 IRPHE - Institut de Recherche sur les Phénomènes Hors Equilibre
2 USC - University of Southern California

In studying canonical problems for decaying turbulence in stratified flows, a good argument can be made for those having zero net momentum as being most broadly applicable, while the drag wake, represented by numerous studies, might be a more special case. Experiments were conducted on bodies at, or very close to zero-momentum in a stratified flow tank. Three classes of wake flows and scaling behaviour were observed, and will be described. Since submerged wakes are often accompanied by internal waves, the net zero-momentum vortex wake may not be the most relevant for practical applications.

Domaines: Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]

Patrice Meunier, Geoffrey R. Spedding. Self-propelled wakes in a stratified fluid. Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 2004, 49, pp.204. ⟨hal-00087112⟩