BSc/MSci Examination

Friday 8th May 2015 10:00 - 12:30

SPA6310 Fluid Dynamics Duration: 2.5 hours

YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO READ THE CONTENTS OF THIS QUESTION PAPER UNTIL
INSTRUCTED TO DO SO BY AN INVIGILATOR.

Instructions:
Answer ALL questions from Section A. Answer ONLY TWO questions from Section B.
Section A carries 50 marks, each question in section B carries 25 marks.

If you answer more questions than specified, only the first answers (up to the specified
number) will be marked. Cross out any answers that you do not wish to be marked.

Only non-programmable calculators are permitted in this examination. Please state on your
answer book the name and type of machine used.

Complete all rough workings in the answer book and cross through any work that is not to be
assessed.

Important note: The academic regulations state that possession of unauthorised material at
any time when a student is under examination conditions is an assessment offence and can lead
to expulsion from QMUL.

Please check now to ensure you do not have any notes, mobile phones or unauthorised elec-
tronic devices on your person. If you have any, raise your hand and give them to an invigilator
immediately. It is also an offence to have any writing of any kind on your person, including on
your body. If you are found to have hidden unauthorised material elsewhere, including toilets and
cloakrooms it will be treated as being found in your possession. Unauthorised material found on
your mobile phone or other electronic device will be considered the same as being in possession
of paper notes. A mobile phone that causes a disruption is also an assessment offence.

EXAM PAPERS MUST NOT BE REMOVED FROM THE EXAM ROOM.

Examiners:
Dr J. Cho
Dr. D. Tsiklauri

c Queen Mary University of London, 2015
Page 2 SPA6310 (2015)

SECTION A Answer ALL questions in Section A

Question A1

Given the vector fields, A and B, show that the following identity is true using the index notation:

∇ × (A × B) = (B · ∇)A − (A · ∇)B + A(∇ · B) − B(∇ · A) .

[5 marks]

Question A2

Given x, u ∈ <3 , let f = f (x, t) be some scalar field of a fluid with a flow field u = u(x, t), where
x = x(t). Show that the total derivative df /dt is same as the material derivative Df /Dt.

[5 marks]

Question A3

Briefly describe a Rankine vortex, its axial vorticity and azimuthal velocity distributions in the
radial direction. How does it generalise a point vortex?

[5 marks]

Question A4

A mid-latitude storm is characterised by speed 30 m/s and size 1000 km. The Coriolis parameter
at mid-latitude is approximately 10−4 rad/sec. Compute the Rossby number Ro of the storm,
where Ro characterises the ratio of the relative vorticity to the background vorticity (i.e., Coriolis
parameter).

[5 marks]

Question A5

Given the characteristic speed U and length L of the flow and the viscosity ν of the fluid, what
is the Reynolds number in terms of these quantities? What property of the flow does it charac-
terise?

[5 marks]
SPA6310 (2015) Page 3

Question A6

Derive the time-dependent Bernoulli streamfunction for a constant density, irrotational fluid in a
constant gravity (conservative) field g.

[5 marks]

Question A7

Write down the momentum part of the Navier-Stokes equations for an incompressible homo-
geneous density fluid in terms of velocity u and ‘density normalised’ pressure p/ρ, where ρ is
density.

[5 marks]

Question A8

Given the dispersion relation for a one-dimensional wave, ω = ω(k), where ω is the frequency
and k is the wavenumber of the wave, write down the expressions for the phase and group
speeds and briefly explain the physical meaning of the two velocities.

[5 marks]

Question A9

Write down the compressible Euler equations (momentum, continuity and energy) for an adia-
batic fluid, in terms of the velocity u, density ρ and pressure p fields. For the body force contri-
butions, include only those due to gravity g and Coriolis acceleration − f × u, where |f | is the
constant Coriolis parameter.

[5 marks]

Question A10

Given the velocity potential φ and streamfunction ψ for a two-dimensional flow, what is the com-
plex potential, w = w(z), where z = x + iy ? Show that w is an analytic function of z.

[5 marks]

Turn over
Page 4 SPA6310 (2015)

SECTION B Answer TWO questions from Section B

Question B1

The line vortex

Γ0
u = eθ ,
2πr
where Γ0 is a constant, r is the radial distance from the origin, and eθ is the azimuthal direction.

a) What is the vorticity at the origin and at r > 0? If viscosity is present, what happens to the
vorticity in time?

[6 marks]

b ) Let Γ(r, t) = 2πruθ (r, t), where uθ is the azimuthal flow speed and t is time. Show that
 2 
∂Γ ∂ Γ 1 ∂Γ
= ν − ,
∂t ∂r2 r ∂r

where ν is the constant viscosity coefficient.

[6 marks]

c) For Γ in part b), what are the initial condition for r ≥ 0 and the boundary condition for t > 0
at the origin?

[4 marks]

d ) Let Γ = f (η), where η is a nondimensional variable. Obtain the similarity solution,

 2
 Γ0  2

Γ = Γ0 1 − e−η /4 ⇒ uθ = 1 − e−η /4 .
2πr
[6 marks]

e) What is the characteristic distance beyond which the flow is unaltered by the viscosity?
What is the flow at small distances from the origin – i.e., at r  (4νt)1/2 ? What type of
rotation is this?

[3 marks]
SPA6310 (2015) Page 5

Question B2

A slowly varying, one-dimensional wave train can be written as

η(x, t) = A(x, t) eiθ(x,t) ,

where it is understood that the real part is to be taken; A(x, t) is the slowly varying amplitude and
θ(x, t) is the phase function, where x is space and t is time.

a) Show that
∂k ∂k
+ cg = 0,
∂t ∂x
by defining the local wavenumber, k = ∂θ/∂x, and the local frequency, ω = −∂θ/∂t; here
cg = cg (k) is the group velocity.

[6 marks]

b ) Briefly, interpret the derived equation in part (a). Relate it to the material derivative.

[3 marks]

c) Given the dispersion relation for capillary waves,

ω(k) = (τ k 3 /ρ)1/2 ,

where the constants τ and ρ are tension and density, respectively, obtain k = k(x, t) and
ω = ω(x, t).

[8 marks]

d ) For the k and ω obtained in part (c), obtain θ = θ(x, t).

[2 marks]

e) Write down the representation for a general disturbance in the form of a Fourier integral.
Suppose a disturbance has a form of a single wavepacket of almost constant wavenumber
k0 and the amplitude of the packet varies slowly with x, so that the packet contains a
large number of crests. Show that the envelope of the wave, and hence the wavepacket
as a whole, moves with the group velocity. Briefly discuss how such a packet might be
generated.

[6 marks]

Turn over
Page 6 SPA6310 (2015)

Question B3

Complex variables can be very useful in solving vortex dynamics problems.

a) Show that the complex potential w for a line vortex located at z = z0 , where z = x + iy, is:
iΓ
w = − log(z − z0 ) ,
2π
where Γ is the circulation.

[8 marks]

b ) What is the complex potential w for a pair of oppositely signed line vortices located at
z = ±d (i.e., one at +d and the other at −d), where d is the distance from the origin along
the real axis? What motion is self-induced in this case? Sketch the dipole and streamlines.

[5 marks]

c) Obtain explicitly the streamfunction from the complex potential in part (b).

[5 marks]

d ) What is the translational velocity (u, v) of the vortex at z = d?

[5 marks]

e) What would be the motion of the pair if the two vortices had the same sign of circulation?

[2 marks]
SPA6310 (2015) Page 7

Question B4

Perturbation method is useful for solving many types of fluid problems.

a ) For example, the following is a simple model of a boundary layer, amenable to a

perturbation method:
d2 u du
ε 2+ − 1 = 0,
dy dy
where u = u(y) is the flow and  > 0 is a small parameter. What type of perturbation
problem does this model represent? What feature makes this type of problem difficult
to solve, in general?
[4 marks]

b ) The following, much simpler algebraic equation for x, can give some insight to the
above differential equation:

εx2 + x − 1 = 0 .

Obtain the exact solution to this equation. How many solutions are there? What is
the connection between the number of solutions here and the difficulty mentioned in
part (a)?
[3 marks]

c ) Taylor expand the exact solution(s) obtained in part (b), up to first order in ε. Describe
what happens to the solutions as ε → 0.
[4 marks]

d ) Expand the solution in a power series – i.e., x(ε) = Σ∞ i

i=0 ε xi . Obtain the asymptotic
solution, up to first order in ε and compare with the answer from part (c), expanded to
second order in ε.
[6 marks]

e ) Rescale x and transform the algebraic equation in part (b) so that the “boundary layer”
is recovered. Show, via perturbation up to first order in ε with the rescaled variable in
the transformed equation, that correct solutions are obtained.
[8 marks]

Turn over
Page 8 SPA6310 (2015)

Appendix

εipq εijk = δpj δqk − δpk δqj

 
 r̂ rθ̂ ẑ 
 
 
1  ∂ ∂ ∂

∇×F = ∂r ∂θ ∂z

r  

 
 Fr rFθ Fz 

u2θ
 
∂ur 1 ∂p 2 ur 2 ∂uθ
+ (u · ∇)ur − = − + ν ∇ ur − 2 − 2
∂t r ρ ∂r r r ∂θ
 
∂uθ ur uθ 1 ∂p 2 uθ 2 ∂ur
+ (u · ∇)uθ − = − + ν ∇ uθ − 2 + 2
∂t r ρr ∂θ r r ∂θ
∂uz 1 ∂p
+ ν ∇ 2 uz


+ (u · ∇)uz = −
∂t ρ ∂z
1 ∂(rur ) 1 ∂uθ ∂uz
0 = + +
r ∂r r ∂θ ∂z

∂φ 1 ∂φ ∂φ
∇φ = r̂ + θ̂ + ẑ
∂r  r ∂θ ∂z
1 ∂ ∂ 1 ∂2 ∂2
∇2 = r + 2 2+ 2
r ∂r ∂r r ∂θ ∂z

End of Paper