Related papers: Instability cascade of strongly nonlinear gravity …
Computer simulations of sheared granular fluids, modeled as inelastic hard spheres, are presented which show signs of a uniquely three-dimensional instabilty. In the stable regime, a linear velocity profile, $v_{x}=ay$, with shear rate $a$…
The shock wave instability induced when interacting with a small waviness on an interface was investigated analytically and numerically. The perturbation to the shock was phenomenologically treated assuming this as the consequence of the…
We report experimental results on elastic instability in a viscoelastic channel shear flow due to only a natural non-smoothed inlet and small holes along the channel for pressure measurements. We show that non-normal mode instability…
The scope of the present paper is to determine how ion electrostatic wave perturbations in plasma flows are influenced by the presence of a kinematically complex velocity shear. For this purpose we consider a model based on the following…
We employ hydrodynamic equations to follow the clustering instability of a freely cooling dilute gas of inelastically colliding spheres into a well-developed nonlinear regime. We simplify the problem by dealing with a one-dimensional…
Modulation instability in a nonlinear optical waveguide array with alternating positive and negative refractive indices is investigated analytically. Particular solutions of a system of coupled nonlinear equations are found. These solutions…
Several simulations of turbulence in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) [W. Gekelman et al., Rev. Sci. Inst. 62, 2875 (1991)] are energetically analyzed and compared with each other and with the experiment. The simulations use the same model,…
Geophysical fluids such as the ocean and atmosphere can be stratified: their density depends on the depth. As a consequence, they can host internal gravity waves that propagate in the bulk of the fluid, far from the surface. These waves can…
Intuitively, crest speeds of water waves are assumed to match their phase velocities. However, this is generally not the case for natural waves within unsteady wave groups. This motivates our study, which presents new insights into the…
The stability of idealized shear flow at long wavelengths is studied in detail. A hydrodynamic analysis at the level of the Navier-Stokes equation for small shear rates is given to identify the origin and universality of an instability at…
In a recent article (Forterre, PRL, 2001), we have reported a new instability observed in rapid granular flows down inclined planes that leads to the spontaneous formation of longitudinal vortices. From the experimental observations, we…
Inertial waves transport energy and momentum in rotating fluids and are a major contributor to mixing and tidal dissipation in Earth's oceans, gaseous planets, and stellar interiors. However, their stability and breakdown mechanisms are not…
The dynamics of phase-separated interfaces shape the behavior of both passive and active condensates. While surface tension in equilibrium systems minimizes interface length, non-equilibrium fluxes can destabilize flat or constantly curved…
Solar wind is probably the best laboratory to study turbulence in astrophysical plasmas. In addition to the presence of magnetic field, the differences with neutral fluid isotropic turbulence are: weakness of collisional dissipation and…
The evolution of the amplitude of two nonlinearly interacting waves is considered, via a set of coupled nonlinear Schroedinger-type equations. The dynamical profile is determined by the wave dispersion laws (i.e. the group velocities and…
Motion in a one-dimensional (1D) microfluidic array is simulated. Water droplets, dragged by flowing oil, are arranged in a single row, and due to their hydrodynamic interactions spacing between these droplets oscillates with a wave-like…
We study a complex plasma under microgravity conditions that is first stabilized with an oscillating electric field. Once the stabilization is stopped, the so-called heartbeat instability develops. We study how the kinetic energy spectrum…
We describe a simple classroom demonstration of a fluid-dynamic instability. The demonstration requires only a bucket of water, a piece of string and some used tealeaves or coffee grounds. We argue that the mechanism for the instability, at…
We report an experimental observation of an instability in gas of constant density (air) with an initial non-uniform seeding of small droplets that develops as a planar shock wave passes through the gas-droplet mix. The seeding…
We investigate the dynamics of an ensemble of inelastic hard spheres confined between two horizontal plates separated a distance smaller than twice the diameter of the particles, in such a way that the system is quasi-two-dimensional. The…