2014/08/31 by Sergei Melkoumian, Bartosz Protas
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Compressibility #Computational Fluid Dynamics and Aerodynamics #Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer #Fluid Dynamics and Turbulent Flows #Geology #Incompressible flow #Inviscid flow #Mechanics #Physics #Wake #physics.flu-dyn
paper · pdf · doi:10.1063/1.4903066
published as Physics of Fluids 26, 123601, 2014 · 21 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in "Physics of Fluids"
arxiv created 2014/11/26 · openalex publication_date 2014/12/01 · arxiv updated 2014/12/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
This investigation analyzes the effect of vortex wakes on the Lagrangian displacement of particles induced by the passage of an obstacle in a two-dimensional incompressible and inviscid fluid. In addition to the trajectories of individual particles, we also study their drift and the corresponding total drift areas in the Föppl and Kirchhoff potential flow models. Our findings, which are obtained numerically and in some regimes are also supported by asymptotic analysis, are compared to the wakeless potential flow which serves as a reference. We show that in the presence of the Föppl vortex wake, some of the particles follow more complicated trajectories featuring a second loop. The appearance of an additional stagnation point in the Föppl flow is identified as a source of this effect. It is also demonstrated that, while the total drift area increases with the size of the wake for large vortex strengths, it is actually decreased for small circulation values. On the other hand, the Kirchhoff flow model is shown to have an unbounded total drift area. By providing a systematic account of the wake effects on the drift, the results of this study will allow for more accurate modeling of hydrodynamic stirring.