Applied Scientic Research 58: 483501, 1998. A. Biesheuvel and GJ.F. van Heijst (eds), In Fascination of Fluid Dynamics.

1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.

483

Qualitative Questions in Fluid Mechanics

J.C.R. HUNT
DAMTP, University of Cambridge, Silver Street, Cambridge CB3 9EW, U.K. Abstract. In this paper in honour of Professor Leen van Wijngaarden, some propositions about uid mechanics are discussed. First, basic uid mechanics research should be judged as much by its progress in clarifying the essential questions about the phenomena of uid ow and in establishing general concepts, as by its contribution to the solutions of specic problems. In fact, the latter often contribute to the former. Both aspects attract good students to the subject. Second, researchers make more progress and are likely to impress a journal editor when they relate their problems to general physical and/or mathematical considerations, and when they analyse and present their results in a wide but uid mechanically relevant context, for example through symmetry considerations, invariants (including dimensionless groups, scaling laws and topological constraints), differential properties (or jumps, wiggles and swirls), and through raising new questions and concepts of general signicance from studies of specic ows. Lastly, decisions by organisations and individuals about future research directions also benet from being considered in a wide conceptual framework. Key words: uid mechanics, two phase ow, turbulence, research.

1. Introduction The work of Leen van Wijngaarden has shown the scientic and practical value as well as the fascination of looking at uid dynamical phenomena in terms of broad concepts. Poincar [1] pointed out in his Science and Method that detailed studies should lead on, if possible, to broader questions about the subject as this provides the surest basis for then researching into the next layer of underlying problems and a yet deeper understanding. Asking basic questions is of course not the sole prerogative of experts; it is humbling but salutary when uid dynamicists are asked by the general public or clients of uid dynamics research such questions as: Will the velocity on average be positive or negative? (not always obvious either in engineering or environmental ows), or What will happen if it is enlarged by a factor of 10? or Will the bubbles collect or be dispersed? (a Leen problem) or How reliably can you tell me whether it will rain tomorrow? or Are all turbulent ows basically similar and how could you tell anyway?. Also engineers and others tackling practical problems are just as likely to ask these kind of tricky qualitative questions as to request specic quantitative estimates for, say, the pressure drop in a complex pipe work system or the drag of an aeroplane. Most engineering design or environmental decisions begin with broad considerations of alternatives; precise calculations come at a later stage.

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The aim of this paper is to show that an under-recognised success of uid mechanics research is that it is making progress in formulating such qualitative and general questions more precisely and more meaningfully. At least in some cases it is also leading to clearer answers. As a result of better questions one could argue that we have a better basis for assessing whether we are making progress in understanding qualitative concepts. Although there is little consensus about what are the key qualitative questions to study (or how to study them) perhaps this criterion provides a surer measure of fundamental progress in uid mechanics than ones based on assessing improvements in the designs of uid ow devices or the accuracy of calculations. Both the latter outputs of uid mechanics usually have an empirical content and may have benetted little from basic uid mechanics research (e.g. [2]). Of course progress is fastest when both elements contribute; van Wijngaardens own research has shown that a deeper understanding of two phase uid mechanics certainly improves engineering calculations. A fascinating and comprehensive multi-author review of research problems in uid mechanics published by the U.S. National Committee on Theoretical Mechanics included advocates of problem solving and concept development, with the former slightly in the majority [3]. It is a common observation that most scientists and engineers eschew philosophical and methodological issues (G.I. Taylor would have found this paper unreadable!); so it is no surprise that, since text books on advanced uid mechanics (e.g. [4]) tend to emphasise fundamental theory and traditional problem solving and avoid discussion of the broader questions that dene the problems and the approaches to their solutions, students therefore do not consider these questions seriously. Some earlier textbooks were perhaps better in this respect, such as [5] or [6]. One could argue that with the growth of computational methods it becomes even more important to think in general terms before tackling a problem; as well as dening it precisely enough to be computable such preliminaries are generally less necessary with analytical and experimental studies because they have more in-built controls to ensure that the problems and the results are meaningful. However, such traditional methods cannot address many of the deepest problems that we now need to study and it is necessary to embark on long computations and major experiments involving large quantities of data. At the initial stage one should consider questions such as, what are the symmetric invariant and topological features of a ow; are the dynamics local in space, or do they depend on other effects or motions at other places, times and scales? Are the ow variables unique or do they jump from one state to another? How should one describe the broad features of a ow and which measures are appropriate, whether in terms of streamlines or material surfaces or phase plane plots, or the singular regions (in physical space) where the velocity (or some components) are zero; how should the smoothness or jaggedness or convolutedness of the ow descriptors be described and quantied? If the ow is random should these analy-

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ses be for individual realisations or considered statistically, or at an even broader level, is it sufcient only to focus on integral properties; sometimes this can provide upper or lower bounds on the ow that may be the only information required [7]. Finally, which aspects are specic to the particular ow and which are common to a wide class of ows? However, the student who is here being mildly criticised might justiably reply that there appear to be so many qualitative questions and tools for studying ows, how is he or she to choose between them and to relate one to the other? This is a legitimate criticism and the establishment of systematic approaches might well over the next few years have greater priority in advanced teaching. Certainly, as an editor of a journal, a pleasure which Leen is now giving up, one often notices that papers could be distinctly improved if a wider range of qualitative concepts were used to introduce the problem and to place the results in context. Some of the comments in this review are also inuenced by my recent experiences directing a large scientic organisation and my current interests in solving practical problems in environmental uid mechanics. I have noted that where research contributes most effectively to scientic ideas and knowledge, it is well connected both to the overall structure of science and to other specic studies; using this analogy if research is to build on or, as is sometimes necessary, to dismantle some parts of the existing structure, connecting bolts and dismantling gear are needed to effect these structural modications; research that is merely related to others does not create a stronger structure and makes for weaker scientic contributions.

2. Spatial and Temporal Symmetry of Flows The study of any uid ow eld should begin by dening the domain D in space and time where the velocity u, (x, t) and any related elds at position x and time t are to be considered. The latter elds may cause forces on the ow, such as the velocity v(xp , t) of particles at xp and uid density (x, t), or they may be scalars such as concentration C or temperature . If the domain is closed, denoted by Dc , the ow is determined by the initial velocity eld u, the velocity uB (xB , t) of the bounding surfaces B and any body forces F(x, t). In two phase ow, where particles can exert a force on the ow related to u and v, the initial and boundary conditions for the separate phases have a signicant effect on the resultant ow [8]. If the domain is open Do , the ow enters and leave the domain through the open surfaces S and then the interior elds are also determined by the surface velocities on S, denoted by u = us . One of the broadest questions then to be asked is: how is the spatial and temporal symmetries of the interior elds u, v, related to those of the determining factors, i.e. of the shape and velocity of B , F and the shape of S and of us at S. Recent research has shown how in many cases of practical importance and fundamental interest these relationships are much less simple than one might think.

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For example, a steady two-dimensional channel ow entering a sharp reectionally symmetric expansion of a channel is bistable, resulting in a jet along one side or the other (provided the Reynolds number is large enough) [9]. This ow is an extreme example of a ow with hysteresis, where any steady state solution depend on how it was set up. Another example of where the spatial symmetry of the container, in this case circular symmetry, does not determine the symmetry of the ow eld occurs when electrically conducting liquid is driven by radial electromagnetic forces [10]. However, in both cases (and this appears to be a general nding, though I know of no theoretical argument) if a suitable average is taken over a large number of experiments or a time average is taken (in the second case) the spatial symmetry of the average ow is identical to that of the boundaries B . The rst ow is not ergodic and therefore this symmetry average is not I believe related to ergodic properties of the ow. If the ow is driven by body forces with directional asymmetry (e.g. mountain ows affected by rotational body forces), unexpected spatial symmetries can occur so that simplistic assumptions about the asymmetric effects can also be misleading [11, 12]. What about temporal symmetry? Consider the equations of motion for uid with a continuous phase and with a body force D u/Dt = (1/) p +(1/)F+ 2 u. In the absence of viscosity the application of a steady body force F (which can also be generated by the drag of a second phase in relative motion or by buoyancy forces) or of a pressure difference Ps across the domain D would generate an unsteady ow, i.e. temporal symmetry of F and Ps are not identical to that of u(x, t). So can the viscous stresses always ensure that steady ows result from steady application of forces or pressure gradients? In closed containers where the ow is driven by electromagnetic and/or buoyant forces, analysis and experiments show the answer to be yes! But in open domains, the ow does not necessarily reach a steady state in space or time, even though F is steady in a statistical sense (e.g. in ows driven by buoyancy forces [13] or by particles [14]). These considerations are necessary because in some numerical solutions spatial and/or temporal symmetry of u is sometimes assumed to be identical to that of the symmetry of F as well as that of the boundary conditions. A fascinating and important aspect of this problem is the relation between the symmetry of the initial ow u(x, t) and that of the bounding surface B , and the effects of small asymmetries in both. This also relates to dissipation. Experiments of swirling ows in elliptical containers initiated by Gledzer et al. [15] in Moscow showed that as the swirl decays its axis of symmetry can switch from one direction to another, presumably more stable form. Although different inviscid stable states in these and other ows have been predicted and explained by considering their total energy, intuitive concepts do not really explain these transitions. Interestingly, these dramatic changes in ow pattern may be of some real practical value since they lead to the pattern of streamlines changing signicantly resulting in uid particles having new neighbours. Therefore these transitions enhance mixing and

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are now a deliberate feature of some designs of tumbling motion in internal combustion engines designed with asymmetric inlets and shapes. Perhaps uid mechanical studies have been strongly inuenced by traditional engineering and manufacturing constraints but with new techniques uid machinery and containers will increasingly have non-symmetric shapes. This poses a real challenge to uid mechanics research because such ows are not well understood. Sulem et al. [16] have shown that if the initial velocity eld of a turbulent-like ow has no point symmetry (i.e. is anisotropic), new types of motion can grow with time having different symmetrics.

3. Invariants of Complex Flows One of the most powerful methods for analysing and understanding phenomena or specic problems in physics and mechanics is to consider them in the framework of different systems of units or different coordinates. We shall consider the question of different physical laws or constraints later in Section 4. Since changing the method of description, e.g. the location of the reference, does not change the physical phenomena, the mathematical description must be capable of being expressed in invariant form to reect this physical affect. Making these descriptions with respect to a change in physical units is normally referred to as dimensional analysis and with respect to coordinate shifts as invariant or frame indifferent analysis. Whereas the former approach is always helpful and can be applied to the overall features of a ow problem with little danger of error, the latter approach appears to be more dangerous. Dimensional analysis of the gross variables of ow problems (e.g. drag of a body as a function of its speed) and its extension to the scale analysis of the internal variables (e.g. velocity proles near the body) are techniques for everyday use in practical problems and also in more subtle ways for the analysis of new research problems. Despite their inclusion in undergraduate mathematics, physics and engineering courses, it is always disappointing to see with what little condence these concepts are used subsequently by those facing new problems in industrial and environmental ows! It is clear that I, as a university teacher, and others have not given enough condence in their use to our students! Perhaps the explanation is that the method is so powerful that its results frighten the user from believing them? [Another explanation for the limited use of dimensional analysis is that there is no computer programme that does it is that what is missing?] Its effective use always requires some physical insight so as to identify the key variables to be considered and those which can be neglected. Two recent practical applications illustrate this theory. There was an industrial requirement to estimate the mean velocity v in electromagnetically drive induction furnaces with r.m.s. magnetic ux density Bo , uid density and magnetic permeability ; physical arguments showed that over the relevant parameter range v should be independent of frequency and therefore v Bo / . Secondly,

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in the eld of turbulent thermal convection it was not until the late 1960s that it was realised that the characteristic velocity w depends not only on the surface heat ux Q but also on the full depth h of the convective layer so that w (gQh)1/3 , where is the expansion coefcient, g is the gravitational acceleration. Regrettably, the application of this understanding to governmental regulations for atmospheric pollution is not likely (except in a few countries) before the year 2000. I think this shows that to change well embedded concepts, even if they are not dimensionally consistent, may take more than 30 years! Barenblatts [17] wide ranging book on scaling, self similarity and intermediate asymptotics shows how the ideas of the dimensional scaling can be applied to analyse internal features of ows over some range of physical and parameter space. Some assumption usually has to be made about which essential property of one region of the solution-space is relevant for determining the solution of another part; for example one might assume that the details of the spatial variation of concentration in a small source of scale l , that is emitting Q units of matter per unit time into a turbulent ow where it is dispersed, do not affect the mean concentration C(x, t). This is correct and means that C is a function of Q and x over distances x greater than l , whatever the model of numerical simulation that is used. But variances (C C)2 of the concentration uctuations, even very far from the source, (such as the odours detected by butteries far away from the source) are sensitive to the scale of the size of the source, particularly relative to the scale of turbulence [18, 19]. Barenblatt [17] points to the self similar solutions of statistical quantities describing many phenomena that retain signicant inuence of the initial condition, for example the decay of turbulence. Comparing these two examples, one sees that in the rst case, the sensitivity is associated with persistence of small scale effects, whereas in others on the persistence of large scale motions. Although only approximate statistical models of turbulence are available their mathematical properties are consistent with observed scaling relationships and the self similarity of the main statistical quantities. The concept of self similarity not only underpins the theory of small scale motions in turbulence [20] but is now used very effectively in the numerical simulation of turbulence to estimate the local properties of the subgrid scale motions that cannot be calculated [21]. But this too is controversial [22]. The idea of describing properties of complex ows in such a way that the mathematical descriptions are invariant to coordinate transformations (usually static rotations or Galilean translations at constant speed) was rst used by von Karman [23] to analyse the correlation Rij (r) of the uctuations ui (x, t) in isotropic turbulence at two points a distance r apart. He showed that if the correlation equation was invariant to rotation, the mean correlation must change in the same way as the vector r. Thence Rij (r) = ui (x)uj (x + r) = A(r)ri rj + B(r)ij , where A(r), B(r) are scalar functions of r(= |r|). (3.1)

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This approach has spawned a huge research effort to seek model equations for the statistical moments of the turbulent velocity eld through using invariant properties, the equations of motion and physical ideas to determine unknown coefcients. See, for example, [24] and [25] for a discussion of the rationale and demonstration of their practical value. Subsequent research has shown that, because turbulent ows have distinct properties in different situations with particular initial and boundary conditions, the invariant modelling of statistical properties of turbulence based on local properties can still usefully be used but the coefcients and dimensionless functions (such as A(r), B(r) in the above equation) often have to be adjusted for different classes of turbulent ow or even for different zones in the same ow, as Kline pointed out at the 1980 Stanford Conference for Intercomparison of Turbulence Models. (For reviews, see [26, 27].) The remarkable invariant mathematical properties for the relations between stress and strains of elastic media developed by Navier and others in the 19th century (and nicely summarised in a recently discovered rhyme of Maxwells (see below) that complements Richardsons well-known rhyme for turbulent eddies) [see Annex] were generalised to visco-elastic media by Rivlin and Sawyers [28], Ericsen and colleagues in the 1950s. It was thought that similar invariant descriptions could lead to the formulation of differential equation models for the statistical distribution and movement of disperse particles in uid ows with gradients. In fact, even the equations for a single particle moving in an inviscid ow in a nonuniform eld and non-uniform density were not known until recently [29, 30]. Some authors attempted to derive such results without solving specic boundary value problems, but only by considering how the representation of these forces would change in moving coordinates. It has been rather alarming to see how difcult they found this approach, because using the same method their conclusions changed from one publication to the next. In the end the only secure theoretical answers in these disperse two phase problems came from specic analyses and numerical simulation. The effect of the vorticity shed from the particles on the forces is also just beginning to be better understood by studying individual ows in detail (for a review, see [30]). Invariant properties of the velocity eld are increasingly used to identify their main geometrical and kinematic features. With the possibility of both computing and measuring (for example by tracking particles, e.g. [31]) with high resolution in large numbers of ow elds and of ever increasing complexity it is essential to have reliable and economical methods for nger printing these ows; but these should be invariant to have any physical meaning and generality. Since the qualitative feature of a ow, such as whether it is swirling or not (with angular velocity /2) and whether it is converging or diverging to or from a point or line (with strain rate E ) are independent of the translational (though not rotational) motion of an observer. These features depend on gradients ui /xj (or differences ui (x) uj (x)) of the velocity eld [32]. Amongst many invariants to

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translation and static rotation a suitable and highly informative form involving the gradients is I= ui uj . xj xi
2

(3.2) , which can be normalised to

Analysis shows that I = E 2 1/2 = I E2 E2 +

1 2 1 2 2 2

& 1. The geometrical features of the ow are thus easily quantied so that 1 > I by the sign of one scalar variable; where it is positive the ow is converging and diverging; where it is negative it is swirling. Turbulent ows, especially those carrying particles or bubbles, have different properties in these different regions (e.g. [33]). Mixing processes can be better understood by considering these essential geometric and kinematic properties of the ow [34]. There remains some controversy about a swirling ow where 1 . I < 0; when is it or is it not usefully described as a vortex (e.g. [35])? In general the wider use of these invariants (allied to the eigen-value analysis of statistical correlations such as Equation (3.1)) has led to some consensus about the geometrical and kinematic forms of eddies in turbulence (e.g. [36]). Equation (3.2) shows how the invariant estimates for the magnitude of straining motions that determine the subgrid scale eddy viscosity (e,sg ) in Large Eddy Simulations of turbulence can be expressed in a number of invariant forms, the choice being xed by physical argument [37]. In fact, simply by suitable choice of these invariants e,sg vanishes in viscous ows near a rigid surface; this is a kinematical requirement that otherwise has to be introduced by articial damping! This interesting method also appears to improve the approximation and speed up the computation for engineering ows [38]. Topological criteria for the invariance of properties of a eld are more stringent in that they should not change even if the coordinates are changed by stretching them. Then the mathematical description of a vortical ow on a plane should remain the same even if the vortical ow was occurring on a curved surface or the knottedness of vortex lines should be unaffected. Both these properties, for inviscid ow, can be expressed as integrals, the latter as a volume integral of helicity h which is dened as the scalar product of vorticity ( u) and velocity (h u. u) velocity. See the reviews in [39] and [40]. A topological approach can complement the invariant analysis, in that it leads to some exact statements about certain points . One considers how eld lines are connected and regions of the ow dened by I between the singular points; in the simplest case, these are nodes N , where either the ow swirls around a point or the streamlines radiate in or out from the point, and saddles S where they converge or diverge. Consider these patterns on certain intersections of the ow (e.g. on planes or on bounding surfaces which may not be planar). The centres of the regions where I 1 are usually saddles and where

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= 1 are usually nodes; but there is no exact relation between the value of I and I the existence of these points. (Note that the helicity integral is obviously weighted < 0.) Analysing the eld lines connecting these points leads by regions where I (for planes and surfaces) to arithmetical relations between the numbers of node and saddle points, depending on the topology of the surface (e.g. whether or not it has holes through it which some buildings certainly do). In some cases this leads to specic, but non-trivial, geometric results about the minimum number of singular points within the ow or on the boundaries. Conversely, it can be shown that there is no topological limit (in a simple ow in a nite domain) to the number of certain points with particular uid dynamical, as opposed to topological, characteristics notably separation (or attachment) points. These results are not only physically revealing, and even surprising, but they also provide meaningful checks for computations and experiments. They are also rather pleasing aesthetically. It is now quite normal to nding aeronautical engineers and environmental uid dynamicists applying these concepts quite regularly in their routine descriptions of complex ow a real example of a change in qualitative practice! It is not clear how much further in terms of complex analysis it will be practical to take topological analysis of experimentally/computationally singular points. There is certainly a need to examine them more closely in theoretical studies, for example in the context of fractal-like behaviour in these regions. The topological results associated with the scalar quantity of the local value or integral of helicity have not yet made the same impact in practical uid mechanics problems. Some suggestions that have been made [41] are now being investigated. 4. Differential Properties or Jumps, Wiggles and Swirls New ideas in science have often taken a long time to be understood and then applied. In uid mechanics this has certainly been the case with the ideas about the rapid spatial and temporal changes of velocity and other variables in uid ows. Richardson asked a question in 1926 (which he repeated to his windswept companion the astronomer McRea, on the open top of a London bus) about the differentiability of the velocity in turbulent ows. Taylor suggested in 1921 that turbulent diffusion could be represented by a random walk model, and Landau (in about 1944, [6]) argued that as the Reynolds number of turbulence increases the spectra, in terms of frequency and wave number space, remains conned to very narrow bands whose number increases but spacing decreases while in physical space the viscous dissipations are conned to narrow intermittent regions where it is very intense. The rst question has continued to exercise mathematicians concerned with smoothness of the solution of the NavierStokes equation at large Reynolds number. Smale [42] has suggested it is one of the critical outstanding problems in mathematics for the turn of the century! However, at the experimental level the question raises the problem of measuring and simulating the rapid gradients of

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turbulent ows; the strangeness of Richardsons question suggested the need for a new language to describe a mathematical property so different from the smoothness property on which the governing equations are based. Mandelbrot [43], in reviewing the mathematical research on the topic, introduced the term fractal and successfully conveyed the excitement and fruitfulness of analysing and simulating these non-smooth properties this is an asymptotic limit; in practice there is always a smallest scale. The challenge, as always, is to relate this particular mathematical idealisation, both to reality and to other idealisations and methods (e.g. spectra and wavelets) describing the same intermittent, convoluted and wiggly features of turbulent motion [44]. Although the fractal approach in uid mechanics is still controversial, it has enabled certain practical calculations to be performed (e.g. the viscous drag and heat transfer of irregularly shaped bodies), and has proved to be a more robust ngerprint of self similar features of complex ows than other measures (e.g. correlations). This is why it is favoured by many experimentalists, despite its questioning by theoreticians. Taylors paper has similarly stimulated widely different interpretations. Are random walk models representing the sudden change of velocity of particles in turbulence or are they just a convenient mathematical device to enable calculations to be performed where the turbulence has complex but smooth statistical properties and the nite jumps of the random walk have no signicant meaning [45]? Thus in the computations of mean concentrations in homogeneous turbulence, which depends on the large scale and relatively smooth motions, representing diffusion by nite jumps is a convenient computational procedure. However, where the results depend on small scales and sharp gradients (e.g. concentration uctuations or uxes near a surface) the mathematical model more closely resembles the physical process; but there are signicant differences between random walk models based on different assumptions, leading to different forms of the models. There are also differences between such models and numerical simulations which represent the spatial structure of the ow and whose results can be interpreted in terms of its geometric structure. So while this question continues to be relevant, it is continually being rened as research leads to better understanding of random eld representation. The same argument applies when the dispersion of solid particles in turbulence is considered. Landaus questions have been answered to some extent; Ruelle and Takens [46] followed by many experimental demonstrations proposed a theoretical argument based on saddle points in the complex phase plane representation of the solution, that, at nite Reynolds number Re , some at least of the narrow bands of the spectrum would have nite width and therefore have chaotic behaviour. These bands would further widen as Re increased. But we still do not have a denite answer as to whether the spectra that occur at the highest values of Re , such as Kolmogorovs spectra (E(k) k 5/3 ) which is smooth but, signicantly, decays with a non-integer power law, provide an answer to Richardsons question, or whether it is consistent with Mandelbrots description of turbulence in terms of fractals.

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Other explanations have been proposed that such spectra are also consistent with the smooth but convoluted structure of vortical eddy motions (e.g. [47]). While Landaus conception of intermittency has been incorporated into statistical models of turbulence, it is not yet clear whether it is qualitatively consistent with the recent studies of the geometric and dynamical structure of small scale turbulence, showing that the most likely location of intense small scale dissipation is close to vortices.

5. From Problems to Concepts Progress in uid mechanics, like all of science and mathematics, comes rst from painstaking study on specic problems. But the second step towards these can contribute to a wider and deeper understanding of uid ow and the solution of other problems by asking the question that dened the problem in a more general way and by generalising the interpretation of their results (cf. Poincar [1]). The novelist and sea-shore naturalist George Eliot got it exactly right in Middlemarch when she describes the pleasure scientists feel in this phase of their work when they retreat from their laboratory to contemplate the connections between their own studies and wider scientic issues. Although some studies in uid mechanics clearly address already established fundamental questions, in fact many new general concepts have arisen from studies that were stimulated by particular applications. Vortex breakdown is a recent example (e.g. [48]). This phenomenon, which was studied because it lowered the engineering performance of delta wing aircraft, was seen by Benjamin [49] as an paradigm of a wide class of rotating and stratied ows where the velocity could be sub- and super- wave speed as the state changed over a small distance. However, this ow problem also illustrates how general concepts never replace the need for detailed aspects of the ows to be studied in any particular case. (This is probably why many engineers are suspicious of broad concepts!) In this case the precise form of the breakdown is very sensitive including the shape of the boundary surfaces. There is, I believe, no golden rule to guide researchers about which particular problems will eventually lead to results with some general interest; who would have thought that the study by Moffatt [50] of viscous ow in a corner would show that there are (in principle) an innite number of oppositely rotating eddies and therefore of changes in ow direction. A good way to test afterwards whether any result has wider signicance is by relating the solution to general concepts and questions. In this case the solution conrmed that in general it is not possible in viscous ows to predict without a detailed study even the local ow direction, when there is no dominant directional stress or inertia at the locality in question. Oceanographers, meteorologists and magnetohydrodynamicists are especially familiar with the difculty of predicting weak mean motions in the present of signicant oscillations (e.g. [51]). If a ow or a class of ows is found to have features that occur widely in other ows, how should it or they be studied? By denition they cannot depend

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on precise details of initial and boundary conditions. Furthermore some do not depend sensitively on all the terms in the governing equations. This usually implies that only certain parameters are important, and that idealised or simplied theoretical/computational studies may well be appropriate (e.g. linearised or low dimensional forms may be sufcient) [52]. Whereas plausible physical arguments, supported by experiments, used to be the only method of justifying the use of such an approach, now such simplications can be more forcefully justied by comparing them with exact numerical computations of the ow (provided the Reynolds number is not too great) (e.g. [30, 53]). Many of the recent developments of general concepts and detailed understanding of the eigen solutions or building blocks of uid mechanics arose from laboratory and eld studies of ows with idealised initial and boundary conditions, for example stability and chaos [54], thermal convection [55, 56], bubble induced turbulence [57] on eddy structure in turbulence [58] and gravity currents [59]. Paradoxically, idealised and simplied models (whether physical, theoretical or computational) are also useful in the context of complex environmental and industrial ow problems where it is not possible or practical to compute accurately (as with clouds or ows through groups of obstacles) or even to understand all the inuences of changes in parameters and external factors. Many of such ow problems may not be well posed mathematically (e.g. in terms of temporal and spatial boundary conditions) and therefore the conceptual approach is particularly appropriate. Similarly, simplied models are needed for designing ow control systems (at least at the initial stage) because the response to a variety of disturbances needs to be understood. In some situations the simplication may not even be within the framework of uid mechanics. This occurs when control engineers provide advice on uid systems based largely on statistical studies of the ow and other governing variables, such as for a chemical process, the air quality forecasting of an urban area or hydrological control and forecasting. These are real examples of where the uid dynamicist may have the salutary experience of having to compete! Of course any statistical model is specic to a particular ow; but perhaps uid dynamicists will have to incorporate more of this approach as they begin to apply their concepts to less well dened ow problems? As we have noted already, the way in which the study of a problem is interpreted largely determines whether or not it makes a wider contribution to the subject; some of the key words that are used to indicate such an ambition are mechanism, scaling and in the environmental parameterisation. Sometimes new terminology needs to be invented; a paucity of terminology has led to multiple use of the word entrainment and some needless confusion [60]. Is it necessary to solve a problem completely in order that the uid mechanics community can benet from the identication of a new mechanism and a new terminology? I think probably not; clearly Leonardos depiction, description and emphasis of vortices had a great effect; today experimenters video a phenomenon

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and circulate the images on an Internet home page! Howard and Lamarks realisation in 1803 that clouds had rather few forms (all basically belonging to the cumulus and stratus/cirrus families, corresponding broadly to unstable and stable environments) is a corner stone of observational meteorology and now is an equally vital element in modelling processes on length scales less than those of the computational grid, typically 50 km for global models. This illustrates one aspect of how practical progress is made in uid mechanics, namely through continual improvement in the modelling and understanding of non-linear eigen solutions to the equations of uid dynamics and thermodynamics of which clouds are an excellent example. Vortex rings are another example of such an eigen solution which maintain their form over a substantial time period and within a certain range are not sensitive to initial conditions. This is why the interaction and response to different surroundings of clouds, vortices, plumes, etc. is central to current research [61]. To predict environmental ow or to control engineering ows on-line, inevitably only limited real time data about the ow is available. By recognising the tendency for the uid motions to be determined by one or more of these eigen solutions, it should be possible to improve the accuracy of ow calculations and the design of a control system. As well as the concepts discussed earlier, a knowledge of these building blocks are, I believe, the main tools that a uid dynamicist rst deploys when a new and complex uid mechanical problem is presented which requires some understanding in broad terms and perhaps some detailed study in order to nd an answer. If for the ow phenomena in question no data exists, the problem should be dened by the initial and boundary conditions and the nature of the uid and the body forces. Then one might recall other ows having similar dening properties and, if the information is available, their general sensitivity. One might focus on the generic eigen solution of characteristic ows that occur in comparable situations, and on the interactions that occur between elements of the ow, especially those that are generic, and might be described as basic mechanisms. For example, in unsteady high Reynolds number shear ows, it would be relevant to consider the recent developments in understanding the interaction between waves and mean ows, or the different qualitative features of convective and absolute instabilities. One should also remember Sherlock Holmes famous case of the dog that did not bark in the night and not forget to examine those interactions that do not occur; in fact many uid mechanical problems and concepts implicitly assume such noninteractions. Recent research is beginning to elucidate their principles which show us more clearly when and where they occur the most famous example of a vorticity discontinuity shielding the longer range interactions occurs in the polar regions and contributes to the intensity of the local chemical processes in the Ozone Hole [62]. See also Kevlahan and Farge [63]. This rst-look identication and mapping process may well show novel juxtapositions of characteristic ows, which then may raise questions about how they interact; recent research on the physics of cloud tops involves two phase ows,

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inhomogeneous mixing and local radiation; aeronautical engineers are concerned about how atmospheric eddies interact with trailing vortices shed from the wings of large aircraft. Understanding about unexplained interactions between signicant characteristic ows continues to be a well tried route to new and interesting research problems, many of which lead to valuable practical applications. Indeed whole research programmes have been built up on this principle.

6. Concluding Remarks In this paper it has been assumed that general concepts in uid mechanics still exist. Is this true when there are so many sub-disciplines, each with their own journal, as Batchelor [64] commented in his article on the preoccupations of a journal editor? I think the answer continues to be yes, because there is plenty of evidence that fundamental ideas and widely applicable techniques do diffuse between these sub-disciplines, partly in traditional ways through serendipitous cross reading of specialist publications, authors proselytising through publishing in a variety of specialist journals and partly, which is surprising in such a busy world, by the continued very wide readership of the leading fundamental research and review journals. However, the new development is the increasingly rapidly and open exchange of ideas and techniques by those developing computer codes in uid mechanics, often before they appear in print. It is natural that formulae and techniques are accurately and rapidly communicated in this way, as one sees with new models for turbulence, computational techniques and interpretation for numerical simulation of complex ows, methods for assimilation of data in geophysical ows and formulae for forces on particles in two phase ows. Video and satellite imagery, sufcient computer capacity and sizeable telecommunication bandwidth capacity are all now available, which together with the use of the Internet by research groups, is transforming the communication of numerical and visual uid mechanical data. These developments which are complementary to journal publications enable researchers to verify for themselves the validity of models and simulations. However, one also sees how powerful general ideas spread through the subdisciplines. I would note how in studies of unsteady, chaotic, multiscale ow phenomena, general statistical models are now less sought after; rather research on modelling methods is tailored to particular classes of ow problem, notably in two phase and geophysical ows and combustion; furthermore there is great merit in studying the ow in terms of individual realisations and characteristic ow features. The study by physicists of pattern formation has had an impact on many branches of the subject. In some elds of applied uid mechanics involving non-academic organisations, there is now greater openness notably in meteorology and in some activities of the aerospace and oil industries. However, there is less openness, slower diffusion

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of research and consequential duplication of effort in other elds, such as those concerned with industrial processes and, regrettably, industrial safety [65]. It is inevitable that since uid mechanics is a quantitative subject the most signicant questions have to be phrased in part using mathematical language and ideas. However, since most of the developments and applications of our subject have occurred in this century, it is not surprising that theoretical research in uid mechanics has still not exhausted the basic mathematical ideas that are more than fty years old. Fluid dynamicists have played an important role in developing applied mathematical methods that are useful in many elds outside our subject. However, in a few areas current mathematical developments are having an impact in uid mechanics, leading to general questions and insights that researchers, and even users, of uid mechanics can understand, such as those concerning chaotic ows and predictability, shadow theory and Hamiltonian methods to indicate patterns of behaviour [66], error limits and new approaches to numerical methods. Probably, approximation theory and numerical methods have been the key developments in mathematics for ensuring that uid dynamical research, allied to other sciences and technologies, continues to contribute to many of the most difcult and important scientic and practical problems of our time. We should not forget that this is why research in this subject continues to be quite well supported by tax-payers and industry. It is interesting that these computational aspects of mathematics were not reected in Hilberts list of outstanding problems for mathematics in 1900 and were positively discouraged by many mathematicians for about the rst 50 years of this century! It appears that one can draw the optimistic conclusion that new general concepts and techniques continue to arise from fundamental and applied problems in uid mechanics. But perhaps more could be done by researchers to formulate general questions so that they can be widely discussed and tackled on a broad front; the problems (sic) of turbulence (cf. [3]) and of two phase ow come to mind. Continuing to refer to and study the general issues is one way of ensuring that research in each of the different strands of uid mechanics cross-fertilises others. This approach should be the basis for effective planning and organisation of research. It should ensure that fundamental as well as applied uid mechanics research activities are well supported and attract able recruits. However, most importantly of all, the qualitative questions of uid mechanics enrich individual research and make it more enjoyable and fascinating.

Acknowledgements Support for this work at Arizona State University was provided by the N.S.F. Environmental Geochemistry and Biochemistry Initiative on Grant 97-08452. I am also grateful for the hospitality at CERFACS and the Institut Mecanique des Fluides de Toulouse in 1997 where this paper was begun. Thanks also to Drs Biesheuvel and

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van Heijst for organising an excellent meeting and a free-ranging feest of uid mechanics.

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Annex Maxwells Rhyme on the Stress-Strain Elasticity Tensor Count up the stresses, O Weigh well the stresses, O For whats our life but just a strife Where strains elicit stresses, O To Nature blind, my torpid mind Cared not what cork or jelly meant Nor could experience the stresses round The differential element. Now better taught, maturer thought Trial state of mind reverses, O And nds great fun in twenty one Elastic modulesses, O Hes blest who dares let worldly cares And worldly men go jog on all And learns to express six types of stress Each unto each orthogonal

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Vex not my ears with crystal spheres Their harmonys insipid O But play again that six fold strain My parallelepiped O Count up the stresses O Commented on by Tait in 1877. Why didnt he say GREEN (Caius) grew the stresses O? Sent in an envelope from William Garnett to J.C.M. Garnett. Found in the papers of J.C.M. Garnett, April 8th 1995.