The stability of an interface separating less dense, clear salt water above from more dense, sediment-laden fresh water below is explored via direct numerical simulations. We find that the destabilizing effects of double diffusion and particle settling amplify each other above the diffusive interface, whereas they tend to cancel each other below. For moderate settling velocities, plumes form both above and below the interface, whereas for large settling velocities plume formation below the interface is suppressed. We identify the dimensionless parameter that determines in which regime a given flow takes place, along with the critical value at which the transition between the regimes takes place.

This study investigated the relationship between the pinch-off of axisymmetric vortex rings and the evolution of pressure in the shear layer being entrained into the vortex rings. A piston-cylinder apparatus was used to generate the vortex rings, and five cases of constant piston acceleration over distances ranging from zero (impulsive start) to eight piston diameters were investigated. It was determined that increasing the distance over which the piston accelerated increased the dimensionless formation time at which the vortex ring pinches off, consistent with previous observations. A limiting value of vortex ring formation number of approximately seven is approached when the piston is accelerated over more than six piston diameters. For each case, the evolution of pressure in the shear layer was calculated based on PIV measurements of the velocity field and spatial integration of the corresponding pressure gradients using a recently developed algorithm. Plots of the shear layer pressure in X-T diagrams aided in identifying key features of the pressure associated with the evolution of vortex rings, including a high-pressure region that forms behind the leading ring. By extrapolating the motion of this high-pressure region back to the nozzle exit plane in the X-T diagram, its time of first appearance can be estimated. It is found that the appearance of the extrapolated local pressure maximum in the shear layer at the nozzle exit plane coincides with vortex ring pinch-off, as conventionally quantified by the vortex ring formation number.

The influence of particle-polymer interactions on the ensemble average stress is derived as a function of the Deborah number for a dilute suspension of spheres in an Oldroyd-B fluid in the limit of small polymer concentrations. The slow rate of decay of the particle-induced polymer stress with separation from a particle presents a challenge to the derivation of the average stress, which can be overcome by removing the linearized polymer stress disturbance before computing the bulk average stress from the particle-induced disturbance. The linearized stress can be shown to have zero ensemble average. The polymer influence on the particle's stresslet is computed with the aid of a generalized reciprocal theorem based on a regular perturbation from Newtonian flow for small polymer concentration. The analysis shows that the particle-polymer contributions to the shear stress and first normal stress difference shear thicken as has been observed in the experiments of Scirocco et al. [Shear thickening in filled Boger fluids, J. Rheol. 49, 551 (2005)]. The particle-polymer contribution to the second normal stress difference is positive at small Deborah numbers but changes sign at a Deborah number of about 2.3.

The impact of drops of concentrated non-Brownian suspensions (cornstarch and polystyrene spheres) onto a solid surface is investigated experimentally. The spreading dynamics and maximal deformation of the droplet of such shear thickening liquids are found to be markedly different from the impact of Newtonian drops. A particularly striking observation is that the maximal deformation is independent of the drop velocity and that the deformation suddenly stops during the impact phase. Both observations are due to the shear thickening rheology of the suspensions, as is explained theoretically from a balance between the kinetic energy and the viscously dissipated energy, from which we establish a scaling relation between the maximal deformation of the drop and rheological parameters of concentrated suspensions.

Determination of energy transport is crucial for understanding the energy budget and fluid circulation in density varying fluids such as the ocean and the atmosphere. However, it is rarely possible to determine the energy flux field $\mathit{J}=p\mathit{u}$, which requires simultaneous measurements of the pressure and velocity perturbation fields $p$ and $\mathit{u}$, respectively. We present a method for obtaining the instantaneous $\mathit{J}(x,z,t)$ from density perturbations alone: A Green's function-based calculation yields $p$; $\mathit{u}$ is obtained by integrating the continuity equation and the incompressibility condition. We validate our method with results from Navier-Stokes simulations: The Green's function method is applied to the density perturbation field from the simulations and the result for $\mathit{J}$ is found to agree typically to within 1% with $\mathit{J}$ computed directly using $p$ and $\mathit{u}$ from the Navier-Stokes simulation. We also apply the Green's function method to density perturbation data from laboratory schlieren measurements of internal waves in a stratified fluid and the result for $\mathit{J}$ agrees to within $6\%$ with results from Navier-Stokes simulations. Our method for determining the instantaneous velocity, pressure, and energy flux fields applies to any system described by a linear approximation of the density perturbation field, e.g., to small-amplitude lee waves and propagating vertical modes. The method can be applied using our matlab graphical user interface EnergyFlux.