Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2024 / iii / Paper 345 (Fluid Dynamics of the Environment)

Let $W_f$ be the vertical velocity of the carrier fluid. Each species has its isolated Stokes settling velocity relative to that fluid, so $W_i=W_f+{\hat{W}}_i$. The mixture has no imposed vertical volumetric flow rate. Using the particle volume fractions, its zero-volume-flux condition isSubstitution of $W_i=W_f+{\hat{W}}_i$ gives the common carrier-fluid backflowConsequently the hindered settling velocities areThe same $W_f$ appears for both populations precisely because every particle is assumed to feel the same volume-averaged backflow.

Local mass conservation of each particle species gives the system of conservation lawsFor $\mathbf{\varphi }=({\varphi }_1,{\varphi }_2{)}^T$ and flux $F_i={\varphi }_i{W}_i$, the flux Jacobian isWriting its entries as $A_{ij}$, the two characteristic speeds are its eigenvaluesThe discriminant is nonnegative because $A_{12}{A}_{21}={\varphi }_1{\varphi }_2{\hat{W}}_1{\hat{W}}_2\ge 0$, so positive concentrations of two settling species give real characteristics.

Setwhere $s>0$. Applying first-order perturbation of a simple eigenvalue to the flux Jacobian, or expanding its quadratic formula directly, separates the characteristic that changes total concentration from the characteristic that changes composition:At $ϵ=0$, both species move with the common hindered velocity $\hat{W}(1-s)$. Summing their conservation laws givesso the total concentration is a nonlinear kinematic wave:Taking the ratio $c={\varphi }_1/s$ instead gives the composition wave in a bidisperse suspensionand henceThese are the requested leading-order ordinary differential equations along the two characteristic families.

Let the fixed current volume per unit channel width beA suitable high-Reynolds number deep-ambient gravity-current front condition iswhere the order-one Froude number $\mathrm{Fr}$ records the selected front closure. In the dilute limit the mixture's reduced gravity iswith ambient and carrier-fluid density ${\rho }_a$.

The well-mixed particle volume of species $i$ is $V_0{\varphi }_i$. Its deposition rate through the base of length $L$ is $L{\hat{W}}_i{\varphi }_i$, where ${\hat{W}}_i<0$. The resulting gravity-current box model is thereforeIt conserves fluid volume while suspended particle volume, and therefore the driving buoyancy, decreases by deposition.

When ${\hat{W}}_1={\hat{W}}_2=\hat{W}$, both concentrations acquire the same decay factor. The total reduced gravity consequently obeysEliminating time with the front equation givesIntegration from the initial state yieldswhereThe particle-laden gravity current reaches its runout length of a gravity current when $g^{\prime }$ vanishes. Since $\hat{W}<0$,Thus $C=5\mathrm{Fr}$ for the stated front condition; the common normalization $\mathrm{Fr}=1$ gives $C=5$.

Because $\hat{W}<0$, species 1 now settles more slowly and species 2 more rapidly than in the equal-speed case. The supplied inequality says that species 2 provides the larger initial particle-density contribution to the reduced gravity; with exact Boussinesq density contrasts, the corresponding condition is ${\tilde{\varphi }}_1({\rho }_1-{\rho }_a)<{\tilde{\varphi }}_2({\rho }_2-{\rho }_a)$. The dominant buoyancy contribution is therefore removed earlier, so $g^{\prime }(t)$ and the gravity-current front condition fall below their equal-settling values at first order in $ϵ$. The runout length decreases. The slower loss of the weaker species-1 contribution only partly compensates for this effect.

Write the density as a hydrostatic reference profile $\hat{\rho }(z)$ plus a small perturbation ${\rho }^{\prime }$, and define buoyancy and buoyancy frequency byThe Boussinesq approximation to the Navier-Stokes equation, together with mass conservation, iswhere $D/Dt$ is the material derivative, $\nu$ is kinematic viscosity, and $\kappa$ is mass diffusivity. Linearizing about rest and eliminating pressure and buoyancy givesFor a plane wave proportional to $e^{i(kx+mz-\omega t)}$, with $K^2=k^2+m^2$, the viscous-diffusive dispersion relation isIn the inviscid limit this becomesFor weak diffusion the two oscillatory roots areso a freely evolving Fourier mode decays.

A single plane wave is also an exact solution of the nonlinear equations. Every field depends only on its phase $\Theta =\mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{x}-\omega t$, while incompressible flow gives $\mathbf{u}\cdot \mathbf{k}=0$. Therefore $\mathbf{u}\cdot \nabla$ annihilates both $\mathbf{u}(\Theta )$ and $b(\Theta )$, and all nonlinear advection terms vanish.

For a boundary-forced wave with real $\omega$, nonzero $\nu$ or $\kappa$ instead makes the bulk vertical wavenumber complex, attenuating the propagating beam. Because diffusion raises the spatial order of the equations, additional short vertical-wavenumber roots form viscous and scalar boundary layers; they allow a no-slip velocity condition and a scalar no-flux condition to accompany impermeability. These layers and bulk attenuation become essential near critical internal-wave reflection, where the inviscid reflected wavelength collapses.

Let $\theta$ be the angle made by the group velocity ray with the horizontal. The internal gravity wave dispersion relation givesEach sawtooth face changes height by $2h_0$ over horizontal distance ${\lambda }_T/2$, so its slope magnitude isThe internal-wave slope criticality criterion is $s_T<\tan \theta$. Hence reflection is subcritical forIn the corresponding internal-wave ray tracing sketch, every incident ray meets one planar face and leaves it into the fluid at the same angle $\theta$ to the horizontal. The reflected ray is steeper than either face, so it clears the sawtooth rather than running into an adjacent corner.

For a face of signed slope $s$, conservation of frequency and tangential wavenumber gives, on the branch relevant to an incident downward-right ray,At $s\mu =1$, the reflected wavenumber diverges and the reflected group velocity becomes tangent to the face. On a supercritical face the denominator changes sign: horizontal propagation reverses and rays from the two faces are directed towards a sawtooth corner. Successive reflections therefore focus energy and shorten the wavelength.

The inviscid ray pattern cannot persist indefinitely. Near-critical focusing amplifies gradients until kinematic viscosity, mass diffusivity, nonlinear wave steepening, and wave breaking matter; a real corner is also rounded on some finite scale. These effects replace the singular ray construction by dissipative boundary layers, mixing, and a finite-width reflected beam.

The maximum boundary slope is $s_{\max }=h_0{k}_T$, so subcritical internal-wave reflection requiresor equivalently

Take $k,m>0$ without loss of generality, putand write the incident field as the imaginary part of ${\tilde{w}}_i{e}^{i(kx+mz-\omega t)}$. The kinematic boundary condition on $z=h(x)$ isFor a flat boundary the reflected wave is $-{\tilde{w}}_i\sin (kx-mz-\omega t)$. Expanding the boundary condition in a Taylor expansion about $z=0$ creates the topographic sidebands of an internal gravity wave. With upward-radiating vertical wavenumber $-\mu |p_j|$, their complex amplitudes through second order areThus the general compact result isFor the convenient nondegenerate case $k>2k_T$, all displayed sideband wavenumbers are positive. Defining ${\Theta }_j=p_{j}x-\mu p_{j}z-\omega t$, the same answer is the explicitly real formulaValidity requires a linear incident wave, an inviscid uniformly stratified bulk, an outgoing-radiation condition, strict separation from critical slopes, and small boundary excursions for every retained mode, in particular $h_0{k}_T\ll 1$ and $\mu h_0{\max }_{|j|\le 2}|p_j|\ll 1$. A vanishing $p_j$ is a degenerate zero-horizontal-wavenumber case and must be treated by taking the corresponding zero-amplitude limit rather than dividing by $p_j$.

If $h_0{k}_T>\tan \theta$, each period contains two critical points satisfying $|h_x|=\tan \theta$, with supercritical intervals around the steepest parts. Internal-wave ray tracing sends neighbouring reflected rays towards caustics attached to those critical points; rays can reverse horizontal direction in the supercritical intervals and intersect rays reflected elsewhere on the sinusoid. At equality the inviscid reflected wavelength collapses locally. The physical pattern is therefore a set of intense finite-width beams and mixing regions once viscosity, scalar diffusion, and wave breaking regularize the ray caustics.

The Boussinesq approximation replaces density by a common reference value ${\rho }_0$ in inertia, mass conservation, and pressure acceleration, while retaining small density differences in the gravitational buoyancy term. It gives incompressible flow and is appropriate here wheneven though those small differences drive the room-scale motion. It would fail for order-one thermal density contrasts or strongly compressible ventilation.

The Batchelor entrainment hypothesis sets the mean inflow speed across a turbulent plume edge to $\alpha$ times a representative axial plume speed, where $\alpha$ is the entrainment coefficient. It closes integral plume balances by relating plume growth to its speed. Applied here, it produces an entraining axisymmetric warm plume above the floor source and a one-sided cold wall line plume below the vent. Treating both as turbulent top-hat plume models neglects source regions, detailed profiles, wall friction, interaction between the two plumes, and the finite thickness of the density interface; these are the principal modelling assumptions.

Define the indoor-to-outdoor reduced gravityBecause the whole opening lies above the interface, its indoor side contains upper-layer fluid of density ${\rho }_H$. Under hydrostatic pressure, the pressure difference varies linearly about a neutral pressure level. Equal opening geometry and equal discharge coefficients for inflow and outflow put that level at the vent midpoint. At vertical distance $y$ from it, the ideal Bernoulli equation gives speed $\sqrt{2g_V^{\prime }|y|}$.

Writing $Q_V$ for either one-way volumetric flow rate, integration over one half of the opening givesThe total unsigned exchange is $2Q_V$. The ideal sharp-edged inviscid model has $C_d=1$; an empirical $C_d<1$ represents contraction and losses.

For plume radius $r$, top-hat speed $U$, and plume reduced gravity $g_B^{\prime }$, define the volumetric flow rate, momentum flux, and buoyancy fluxThe integral balances for a steady axisymmetric pure plume in a uniform lower layer areThe source is at the plume's virtual origin $z=0$. Solving these equations givesIt is useful to defineThen the remaining similarity laws take the compact formThe second relation also follows immediately from conservation of buoyancy flux, $B=Q_B{g}_B^{\prime }$.

Measure downward distance from the plume virtual origin byand let $\mathcal{B}$ be the magnitude of the cold plume's buoyancy flux per unit span. A one-sided wall line plume with width $b$, downward speed $W>0$, and reduced-gravity magnitude $g^{\prime }$ satisfiesThe pure plume solution isImposing $b(z_V)=H^{\prime }/2$ fixesThe constant speed is a special feature of a pure top-hat line plume; its width and volumetric flow rate grow linearly with downward distance while entrainment dilutes its density anomaly like $(z_o-z{)}^{-1}$.

LetThe global steady heat, or buoyancy flux, balance equates the floor-source input to the buoyancy carried out by the one-way upper-layer exhaust:The corresponding upper-to-lower density jump is fixed by the warm plume crossing the interface,The first balance also shows that the descending cold plume has buoyancy-flux magnitude per unit wall length

At a steady interface, the upward axisymmetric-plume volume flux equals the total downward wall-plume volume flux. Using parts (c) and (d),After cancellation of $B^{1/3}$, the required implicit geometric relation isThus the ideal steady interface fraction is independent of the source strength: increasing $B$ multiplies both opposing plume volume fluxes by $B^{1/3}$. The floor area $A$ and room height $H$ affect the transient filling time and admissibility of the assumed ordering, but not this steady integral balance, provided $0<h<z_V$ and the plumes remain separated.

SetCombining the single-opening exchange flow relation $Q_V=K_V\sqrt{g_H^{\prime }}$ with $B=Q_V{g}_H^{\prime }$ givesIt also gives $g_H^{\prime }=(B/K_V{)}^{2/3}$, after which the second density balance determines $g_L^{\prime }$.

Assume the two identical openings and their wall plumes behave symmetrically and do not interact before reaching the interface. If $Q_V^{(1)}$ is the one-way rate through either vent, the global buoyancy balance isEach wall plume therefore has buoyancy flux per unit span $\mathcal{B}=B/(2L)$. The steady volume balance now includes two descending plumes:Hence the interface height is determined implicitly byFor completeness, if each opening retains the same single-opening exchange flow coefficient $K_V$, then