Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 1 17C c i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Write the conservative body force per unit mass as . For a fluid of constant density , the Euler equations for an inviscid fluid and the incompressible flow condition areUsing part (a), these becomeFor irrotational flow, locally choose a velocity potential with . Then , so the unsteady Bernoulli integral isThe constant is spatially uniform on a connected region where the velocity potential is defined; its time dependence can be absorbed into the additive time-dependent gauge of . A global single-valued velocity potential requires an appropriate topological condition, such as a simply connected domain; without it, the integral is locally valid. In a connected steady irrotational region, directly gives one spatial Bernoulli constant even without choosing a global potential.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 3 18C a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Use the standard ideal-fluid assumptions of incompressible flow, inviscid flow, gravity , and no surface tension. Irrotational flow gives in each layer, and incompressibility gives Laplace equationThe rigid-wall boundary conditions are at and at . At the moving interface, each fluid has the same normal velocity as the interface:The dynamic condition is continuity of pressure, at . Bernoulli equation in each fluid reads . Choosing the potential gauges to subtract a common reference pressure, the interface condition becomesTangential velocities need not agree across an inviscid interface.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 4 18C a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 318 1 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use the fully developed flow branch of Hartmann flow. Translation invariance along the walls makes the velocity and induced magnetic field functions of alone. Incompressible flow and zero normal velocity at the walls give and hence . The zero divergence of the magnetic field makes constant, equal to the imposed . There is no forcing in ; the homogeneous -components obey the same coupled viscous-resistive equations as the -components, with zero boundary data. Multiplying them by and , integrating by parts and adding givesThus , establishing the asserted forms on this fully developed flow branch. This is a symmetry reduction of the steady channel model, rather than a claim that every possible flow in a channel is translation invariant.
The current density and Lorentz force density areThe advective acceleration vanishes because acts on fields independent of . The -component of the magnetohydrodynamic momentum equation therefore givesThe -component must also balance: it requires . Hence a compatible pressure is ; the specified streamwise pressure gradient does not require the ordinary pressure to be uniform in . This accounts for the magnetic pressure of the induced field.
The resistive induction equation with constant magnetic diffusivity gives . Since , its curl has -component . Steadiness consequently givesFinally the no-slip boundary condition gives , and the normal magnetic field boundary condition gives . The coupled equations and all wall conditions follow directly from momentum balance and magnetic induction.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 329 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be the rate-of-strain tensor and the Newtonian fluid stress tensor. The viscous dissipation is . The Minimum-dissipation theorem for Stokes flow compares the Stokes flow with every sufficiently regular incompressible flow in the same domain having the same prescribed boundary velocity, with no body force or with a conservative body force absorbed into the fluid pressure. A trial field need not satisfy the Stokes flow equations. Write it as , with and on the boundary. Integration by parts, the symmetry of the Newtonian fluid stress tensor, and giveConsequently the Stokes flow minimizes dissipation:Equality requires a rigid body motion of , which the prescribed boundary eliminates. Extending the flow inside the inserted particle as its rigid body velocity produces an admissible comparison field with zero internal rate-of-strain tensor; hence the extra dissipation due to a rigid inclusion is nonnegative.
Here and below on points into the particle, so the traction represents force exerted by the particle on the fluid. Apply the Lorentz reciprocal theorem for Stokes flow in the fluid region to and the restriction of . The equal outer boundary velocities yieldThe boundary-work formula for viscous dissipation therefore gives . The last integral is zero: is symmetric and divergence-free throughout the particle's original volume, so its total force and torque there vanish, and on is a rigid body velocity. This also allows the sign of this zero-work term to be reversed, giving exactly
With the particle's centre as origin, define , and the particle stresslet tensor . Contracting the linear background velocity with the traction givesThe background rate-of-strain tensor is symmetric and trace-free; the trace of this unprojected particle stresslet tensor does not affect the contraction.
For the straight-rod resistance in a linear flow, write , , , and , . The slender-body force density becomes . The integrals of and are and , respectively, soFor a force-free, torque-free rod, and the perpendicular component of is . Axial spin is not determined by this leading, zero-thickness slender-body theory; it has no effect on . Put . The vector identity givesThe force-free straight-rod orientation equation combines the background rotation with the part of strain that turns the rod; removing preserves its unit length. A rigid body cannot undergo the axial extension or compression imposed by , so opposite axial forces resist that deformation. No leading slender-body force density is needed when , even though the rod may rotate. Its particle stresslet tensor and viscous dissipation are
In the simple shear flow, , and . Thus the rod excess dissipation in shear isThe maxima at correspond to strongest axial extension and compression. The zeros at correspond to zero axial strain: a rod aligned with the velocity or its gradient needs no leading force at that instant. For , with the continuous branch and . Reversing the shear flow reverses the traversal. Substitution givesThe tails make the total finite; the instantaneous zero at lies between two maxima.
For a dilute rod suspension, the added bulk stress is the number density times the orientation average of the particle stresslet tensor. In this ideal infinitely slender, non-interacting model, rods approach alignment with the shear flow and their excess viscous dissipation decays. A real finite-aspect-ratio rod continues to tumble; rotational diffusion and interactions also maintain a spread of orientations. One therefore expects increased effective viscosity, with alignment offering a mechanism for reduced excess viscosity at strong shear flow. This is a qualitative expectation, not a claim that a finite rod suspension has zero steady excess stress.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 329 2 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Take positive downwards. The leading axial velocity of a slender viscous thread is independent of radius. Incompressible flow then gives , while steady mass conservation gives . The Newtonian fluid stress tensor has and . The Young–Laplace equation, neglecting axial curvature at slender order, gives and hence .
The axial cut transmits both the integrated Newtonian fluid stress tensor and the circumferential surface tension. After subtracting the ambient pressure, its tensile force isThe coefficient three is the Trouton ratio for axial extension. The last term is essential: the capillary tensile force of a slender thread is , not , because the capillary pressure subtracts half the interfacial line contribution. Axial force balance is . Together the governing equations areDefine the dimensionless variablesThen and the axial equation becomesFor the increasing power-law branch, all three terms have the same dependence when . Substitution leaves . ThusThis remains valid at , when . The other root is negative and describes a decreasing local branch up to its singular endpoint, not a thread accelerating downwards indefinitely. Positive surface tension decreases , so it slows the fall at a given height on this branch. Thinning reduces the capillary tensile force . Its negative axial derivative supplies an upward capillary force on a thread segment, balancing part of the weight. The viscous tensile force therefore supplies a smaller remaining balance; on the quadratic family this reduces the stretching rate.
The condition alone does not select a unique solution of this second-order ordinary differential equation. The boxed power law is the requested verified branch, with tensile force tending to zero at large height; an additional nozzle tension or downstream condition is required to select it physically. The slender, negligible-inertia approximation must remain valid over the height range considered.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 329 2 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Write , , , and . Incompressible flow with axial strain rate givesIts radial Stokes equation gives , because . The radial Newtonian fluid stress tensor component is . The outer and inner Young–Laplace equation conditions have opposite curvature signs:Subtracting and eliminating givesIn particular, the boxed pressure is equivalent to the printed identity for . For equal gas pressures, , so surface tension draws both interfaces inward in addition to the imposed extension.
The kinematic boundary condition is at either interface. Taking the difference, and then the difference of squared radii, givesThe cancellation of in the area equation is mass conservation: axial stretching reduces the liquid area while radial redistribution changes the hole size. For , equal pressures, and , , one has and . Since ,Closure occurs at , soThis capillary collapse of an annular viscous cylinder has finite closure time for and . For it does not close in this case. The annular formula is used only up to closure; the singular cylindrical inner curvature is not a boundary condition on the subsequent solid cylinder.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 331 1 a i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Separate the uniform stream and an arbitrary time-dependent gauge from each velocity potential: . Only gradients of the velocity potential determine the velocity field. The remote fluid must remain in its unperturbed uniform stream, soAfter fixing the harmless gauge, the nonzero-wavenumber perturbation velocity potentials themselves vanish at the corresponding infinities. Incompressible flow and irrotational flow give the Laplace equation for each perturbation. For a normal mode with , the vertical amplitude solves , henceThe opposite exponentials are excluded because they make the perturbation grow at infinity. It is the perturbation, rather than the total potential , that decays.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 331 2 b i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Set and , so and . Away from , the logarithmic derivative givesFor , and . The Taylor–Goldstein equation residual divided by consequently simplifies toThus the neutral mode of the equal-width Hazel model requiresThe qualifier “solution” needs care at the critical level of an internal gravity wave . For , and : it is a solution separately on either side, not a classical smooth eigenfunction across the critical level of an internal gravity wave. A branch for negative is also needed. For example, a limit from assigns on .
The critical-layer regularity of a neutral Hazel mode further gives local finite horizontal kinetic energy only for , since incompressible flow gives and then converges. At , and is smooth after the removable quotient is continued. At , and the formal profile does not decay at infinity, so it fails the remote endpoint condition. These qualifications prevent interpreting the whole closed parameter interval as a family of classical decaying modes.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 331 4 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use , , , and . Work along a sufficiently regular direct trajectory satisfying the given constraints. The zero spatial mean of the scalar field is conserved by incompressible flow, impermeable walls and zero scalar flux, so minimizing is equivalent to minimizing scalar variance, up to the fixed domain volume.
The printed functional fixes the initial state to a candidate ; it contains no term that enforces its kinetic energy. For the optimization over that candidate, add the real Lagrange multiplier constraintEquivalently, one can restrict all control variations to the sphere in a normed vector space of fixed kinetic energy. This term changes the initial-control optimality condition, not the interior adjoint equations.
Let , and . Linearization of the momentum and scalar transport residuals givesBoth appearances of the perturbation velocity in the nonlinear momentum term have been differentiated. In particular, the coefficient is the gradient of the total velocity, not just the base shear.
For the negative-constraint convention of the functional, integration by parts gives the interior coefficients of asThus the adjoint equations for Boussinesq scalar mixing areThe transpose is essential: the th component of is . The coupling transposes advection of the scalar by a velocity perturbation; transposes buoyancy feedback. Dropping the latter would give a passive scalar adjoint, not the active scalar problem.
These equations are integrated backward, not forward. If , they readwith direct coefficients evaluated at . Both terms from the diffusion equation now have the usual forward sign in . A direct-adjoint looping method stores or reconstructs the forward trajectory, solves these equations backward, and uses the initial adjoint as the control gradient. The endpoint and fixed-energy conditions below give necessary conditions for a local optimizer, not a global optimality theorem.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 331 4 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The temporal integration by parts terms areThe terminal states are free and the objective has no explicit terminal-velocity dependence. ThereforeThe factor two follows from the displayed objective without a prefactor. The initial scalar field perturbation is fixed, so and there is no independently prescribed adjoint-scalar condition at . Its value there is obtained by backward integration. Independent variation of the initial velocity state gives .
Variation of the candidate in the energy-augmented functional gives the fixed-energy initial-condition optimality condition. For the usual divergence-free no-slip control space , write for its orthogonal projection, the Leray-Helmholtz projection in the usual incompressible velocity space. This is the standard formal control condition when pressure is determined by incompressible flow and normal momentum. If the independently imposed direct pressure flux is retained as an additional constraint, the admissible control variations must also satisfy its compatibility conditions along the trajectory; they need not fill the usual space . The standard projection formula alone does not prove stationarity for that more restricted problem. ThenFor the natural solenoidal adjoint space, . Equivalently, its component tangent to the sphere in a normed vector space of fixed kinetic energy vanishes:Here is needed for the sphere in a normed vector space to be regular and for division by . The multiplier is real and can have either sign; normalizing the initial adjoint with a prescribed positive sign is not a general necessary condition for minimization. If , the only feasible initial velocity is zero and this tangent formula for the sphere in a normed vector space is inapplicable. First-order stationarity alone also allows maxima or saddles; a local minimum requires the appropriate nonnegative constrained second variation.
The spatial boundary terms vanish with periodic adjoints in , homogeneous no-slip boundary conditions at , and there. To see this, velocity variations vanish at the wall while their normal derivatives need not, so the viscous boundary term forces the adjoint velocity to vanish. Scalar variations have zero normal derivative but free values, forcing the adjoint scalar's normal derivative to vanish. Pressure variation gives adjoint incompressible flow; no independent terminal or initial datum is assigned to . Its additive time-dependent constant may be fixed by a zero spatial mean.
In particular, a homogeneous Neumann condition for the direct pressure does not by variational transposition require . For a smooth adjoint solution, the wall-normal adjoint momentum equation instead suppliesat the flat walls, because the direct scalar normal derivative is zero there. A zero adjoint-pressure derivative would be an additional compatibility choice, valid only when this right-hand side vanishes.
There are also literal direct-data compatibility qualifications in the printed setup. The initial total scalar field is , whose wall derivative is . It is extraordinarily small but mathematically not zero. Thus exact initial scalar data and exact zero wall flux are incompatible for a classical solution smooth at . One may use a parabolic mild solution of an abstract Cauchy problem with the boundary condition enforced for , or replace the initial profile by an exactly compatible smooth one; these are conventions, not an equality . The reference scalar field is also not a stationary profile of the diffusion equation at finite : the full term must be retained.
The pressure compatibility at a no-slip wall is similarly important. Direct normal momentum gives . The separately imposed zero pressure derivative requires this right side to vanish. It is not automatic for arbitrary fixed-energy initial velocities. For example, the divergence-free no-slip field generated by the periodic stream function with has , and , while . With adjusted to any positive energy, no classical solution smooth up to the initial wall can satisfy that extra pressure condition. The displayed adjoints are the formal necessary equations along admissible smooth trajectories; a well-posed physical formulation normally determines pressure from incompressible flow and normal momentum, rather than imposing independent homogeneous pressure flux for every control.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 332 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Take upwards and write , so that the unperturbed interface is , with carbon dioxide above and water below. Use the sharp-interface, incompressible flow version of Darcy's law, with constant porosity and permeability of a porous medium, no capillary pressure, and effectively unbounded layers. The distinction between Darcy flux and interface speed matters: the base flux is , since the printed is the speed of the interface. Thus the base pressure gradients satisfyThe mass density ordering is stabilizing, whereas injection of the less viscous fluid into the more viscous fluid produces the Saffman–Taylor instability.
For linear stability analysis, displace the interface by . Taking the divergence of Darcy's law shows that the perturbation pressure satisfies the Laplace equation. Decay away from the interface gives, for ,The kinematic boundary condition and continuity of normal Darcy flux giveMeanwhile pressure continuity, evaluated on the displaced interface, givesEliminating yields the buoyancy-modified Darcy fingering dispersion relation:Every nonzero wavenumber decays when , grows when , and is neutral at equality, whereThe zero wavenumber is a uniform displacement and is neutral. Without a short-scale regularization such as surface tension, this model has no fastest-growing finite wavenumber: on the unstable side its growth rate increases without bound as increases. Finite layer depths would change the dispersion relation; none are specified here.
Taking and a year of days, the data giveThe numerical paragraph supplies no porosity, so it cannot determine a unique numerical interface speed. If were instead intended to mean Darcy velocity, the numerical critical value would be , and the interface would move at . These two velocity conventions must not be conflated.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 332 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Let increase upwards, so the bed is at , the surface is at , and . In the shallow-shelf approximation the incompressible flow has nearly depth-uniform horizontal speed and vertical strain . The Newtonian fluid stress tensor, together with the hydrostatic approximation, then givesThe factor four includes both horizontal extension and the pressure correction required by vertical compression. Integrating horizontal force balance over depth, using zero surface shear and the bed traction, gives the membrane-stress derivative and the gravitational driving force . The thin subglacial till layer is idealized by Newtonian till lubrication and undergoes Couette flow, with resisting basal stress . Hence force balance and mass conservation yieldSince is fixed, . No accumulation or ablation is included.
At the grounding line, the first boundary condition is ice-sheet flotation:For an unbuttressed ice shelf, the second is the extensional stress required to balance the difference between the integrated ice and seawater hydrostatic pressures. The ice contribution is , while the water contribution is . On using ice-sheet flotation, their difference is , with . Equivalently, shelf force balance integrates to ; absence of a buttressing force sets this constant to zero. Thus the unbuttressed Newtonian grounding-line stress condition isHere is kinematic viscosity; it appears in the printed target formula without an explicit definition.
The ratio of longitudinal stress divergence to till drag is of order . The given small-parameter limit therefore yields the friction-dominated bulk relationThe coefficient depends on the basal lubrication, and gives seaward motion. This is a bulk reduction: longitudinal stress has been neglected in the differential equation but its boundary traction remains specified. A complete uniformly valid approximation close to the grounding line could require a membrane-stress boundary layer. In the remainder, use the pointwise friction closure and retain the shelf stress condition as the boundary data, as requested in the paper.
Differentiate the ice-sheet flotation condition along the moving grounding line:Now . Substitution of the friction-dominated speed and the shelf stress boundary condition gives the friction-dominated grounding-line evolution law:The coefficient of is the spatial derivative of the flotation deficit, up to sign. If it vanishes, the implicit equation remains the correct compatibility condition but division to determine a finite speed is invalid; tangential contact needs separate analysis.
In a steady state, volume flux per unit width is constant: . The friction relation givesDifferentiating and using at the grounding line givesPut , and . Substitution and cancellation of yield the steady friction-dominated grounding-line thickness relation:For and a bed deepening seaward (), the polynomial is strictly increasing for , starts negative and tends to infinity, so it has exactly one positive root. At that root and , as required by steady outward extension. The relation belongs to the specified friction closure; it is not a flux law for arbitrary till rheology or arbitrary membrane-stress matching.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 337 1 ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Take and . Taking the divergence of the Stokes flow momentum equation gives ; applying the Laplacian to its vertical component then eliminates pressure and gives . The forced velocity and temperature are , so their advection product is and drops out at leading order. The steady heat equation reduces to .
Consequently the boundary value problem for the forced profiles isIts six boundary conditions areThe horizontal velocity field is , which directly verifies the incompressible flow and stress-free boundary condition. In the detuning used subsequently, may be replaced by in this leading problem, since its correction enters at order . The vertical profiles depend linearly on .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 337 1 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Take the layer depth as the length unit, its thermal diffusion time as the time unit, and its imposed temperature difference as the temperature unit. Then is the velocity field, the pressure after the conductive hydrostatic pressure has been subtracted, the departure from the conductive temperature , the upward unit vector, and the Rayleigh number. Here is the dimensional depth, the kinematic viscosity, the thermal diffusivity and the thermal expansion coefficient. The gradient, divergence and Laplacian act on the dimensionless coordinates. The term in the heat equation is advection of the background gradient, since . Mass density variations enter only the buoyancy term under the Boussinesq approximation; the incompressible flow constraint is .
For fixed, impermeable, stress-free plates, the no-penetration boundary condition, stress-free boundary condition and perfectly conducting thermal boundary condition areFor a nonzero horizontal Fourier mode, incompressibility gives , so the velocity conditions are equivalently on both plates. A uniform horizontal velocity is not fixed by these boundary conditions; take its mean to be zero when discussing the stationary forced pattern.
The printed small-Prandtl-number label does not generally justify these equations. In thermal-time units the full momentum equation contains , where the Prandtl number is . Dropping that term gives infinite-Prandtl-number convection or another explicitly justified Stokes flow approximation. It is not the general limit. For example the horizontal shear , , satisfies the full linear momentum equation and the plate conditions, and persists at fixed as . The printed inertia-free equation would instead require this shear to vanish. The following parts solve the equations actually displayed; applying them at small Prandtl number needs an additional slaving or creeping-flow ordering.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 344 2 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The field is a compositional order parameter in a binary fluid mixture. Its spatial integral is conserved in a closed sample, so advection and diffusion enter a continuity equation; the material derivative follows the incompressible fluid. The diffusive current , with positive order-parameter mobility , moves material down the chemical potential gradient. The chemical potential of a composition field is the functional derivative of the symmetric quartic Landau free energyso . Positive stabilize large amplitudes and penalize sharp interfaces; permits phase separation.
The momentum equation is the Navier-Stokes equation with dynamic viscosity , constant mass density , and the Korteweg force arising from composition stresses. The pressure enforces incompressible flow, , and can absorb pure gradient contributions to that thermodynamic force. For example, gives an equivalent force after redefining the pressure. These equations constitute deterministic Model H dynamics.
Their dissipative signs can be checked by the energy dissipation identity for Model H. Under periodic or no-flux, no-work boundary conditions, composition advection and capillary work cancel between and the kinetic energy, givingThus diffusion and viscosity dissipate energy, while the reversible advective coupling transfers it between composition and motion. Thermal noises are omitted at this deterministic hydrodynamic level.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 345 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Write for the height of the filling-box first front above the floor and for the upward plume volume flux crossing it. Neglect the plume's horizontal area compared with , use the Boussinesq approximation, and measure buoyancy relative to the initially unmodified ambient. The first front separates fluid already modified by plume discharge from the unmodified fluid below; the entire upper region need not be uniformly mixed during an unventilated filling box model transient.
A finite injected volume flux cannot enter a hermetically sealed, fixed-volume room under the incompressible flow assumption. If , an equal overflow or exhaust is needed. Taking that exhaust at the ceiling, volume conservation of the region above the front givesThe source volume flux is subtracted because only entrained room fluid is removed from the initially unmodified region. The printed pure plume law has , so it cannot be an exact finite- source law down to the physical floor. In the far field where , or for a heat source whose injected volume flux is negligible, it givesHere is when the plume discharge first reaches the ceiling. Retaining while using the far-field law gives only while that law remains a valid approximation; it must not be extrapolated to predict negative plume entrainment. A plume virtual origin below the floor is one way to match a nonzero source volume flux.
For displacement ventilation, let be the total ceiling exhaust, the total buoyant-source volume flux, and the separate ambient inflow into the lower layer. Volume conservation and the upper-layer buoyancy flux balance giveThe ambient inflow has zero reference buoyancy. In the ideal two-layer closure the upper layer is uniformly mixed with reduced gravity , and the lower layer has zero reference buoyancy. The plume supplies the upper layer while lighter upper-layer air is removed at the ceiling. An interface is driven downward when and upward when ; since , its equilibrium is stable.
In the negligible-source-volume pure plume limit, identifying gives the intended one-source answerThe prescribed inequality makes , so both layers fit in the room. It does not, by itself, justify neglecting a finite source : the pure plume source region must also be small compared with , normally requiring . If denotes additional background ventilation rather than total exhaust, replace in both formulas by . If it is total exhaust, the separate ambient inlet carries . These conventions must not be mixed.
For independent equal axisymmetric pure plumes, adding their volume fluxes givesThus the conventional multiple-plume displacement ventilation calculation with negligible source volume flux and separate ambient ventilation givesSplitting the buoyancy flux increases total fluid entrainment, so the same ventilation balances the plumes at a lower interface. The global buoyancy flux is unchanged, which leaves the upper-layer reduced gravity unchanged. Independence requires sufficiently separated sources and plumes that do not merge below the interface.
There is, however, a substantive problem with the literal source-volume specification in this paragraph of the PDF. It puts all through the buoyant sources, so and . For every positive interface height, entraining plumes haveThere is no fresh ambient inflow to replace the lower-layer fluid being entrained. Consequently the stated positive steady two-layer configuration does not follow from those literal hypotheses. This is no steady displacement layer without ambient supply, not a small correction to the scaling. For example, a matched plume virtual origin givesWhen , this yields . The unshifted answer equals the omitted in this case, so neglecting the source region cannot be justified. Also each source has reference buoyancy , already equal to the proposed upper-layer value; a steady positive plume cannot entrain zero-buoyancy lower fluid and still deliver that same value. The conventional answer is valid for a corrected arrangement with negligible-volume buoyancy sources and a separate ambient inlet, or with source flux and the remaining supplied directly to the lower layer. A real room may have other circulation or continuous stratification, but that requires a different model.
For the intended displacement ventilation model, reducing the exhaust to makes the new equilibriumThe interface initially descends since its old plume volume flux exceeds the new exhaust. In ventilated filling-box relaxation, writing and taking the linearization of the two balances above givesAs , the two decay times areA dimensional analysis estimate of the full adjustment time is thereforeThe interface adjusts on the shorter lower-layer scale; replacing the buoyancy stored throughout the upper layer is slower. Exact equilibrium is approached asymptotically, and a specified small relative tolerance adds a logarithmic factor. For the literal all-inflow-through-sources arrangement there is no positive two-layer equilibrium to return to; is only a flushing-scale estimate for a different, whole-room adjustment.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 314 1 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Expanding the kinetic helicity conservation law separates advection from the other flux:Thus material conservation of kinetic helicity density holds precisely whenAn especially useful sufficient pair of conditions is incompressible flow, , and constancy of along integral curves of the vorticity, . Together these conditions make both terms vanish without cancellation. They are not necessary individually, because the two terms in the displayed balance can cancel. An irrotational flow is a trivial conserved case with .
For contrast, combining the balance with mass conservation givesConsequently constancy of along integral curves of the vorticity makes an advected scalar even in compressible flow; it does not generally make itself constant.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 331 1 a iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Use the linearized boundary condition: evaluate at and discard products of perturbations. The kinematic boundary condition and Young–Laplace equation becomeIncompressible flow and irrotational flow give the Laplace equation for each potential. For a normal mode, the wall conditions selectWith , the kinematic conditions give and . Hence and . Substitution into the dynamic condition gives the finite-depth Rayleigh-Taylor dispersion relation:Its denominator is positive. Assuming and , negative therefore produces a growing branch with , as in Rayleigh-Taylor instability.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 344 2 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Let be the polar molecular field, with the positive functional derivative convention used in the paper. During a pure advective displacement , the polar order parameter changes byThe free energy change is . Assume periodic boundaries, or boundary conditions that eliminate the surface work, and incompressibility . Integration by parts in the advective term givesRelabelling the dummy indices in the rotational and flow alignment of a polar order parameter terms givesTherefore , with the reversible stress of a polar liquid crystalFor a local free-energy density , an explicit choice isIts divergence is exactly , by the Euler-Lagrange equation for . A pressure term can be reassigned in an incompressible flow; the chosen representative realizes the printed divergence without that ambiguity. The force density has mechanical power , the negative of the advective free energy rate, which checks the stress sign.
