Cellular Flows
Topological Metamorphoses in Fluid Mechanics

A cell, whose spatial extent is small compared with a surrounding flow, can develop inside a vortex. Such cells, often referred to as vortex breakdown bubbles, provide stable and clean flame in combustion chambers; they also reduce the lift force of delta wings. This book analyzes cells in slow and fast, one- and two-fluid flows and describes the mechanisms of cell generation: (a) minimal energy dissipation, (b) competing forces, (c) jet entrainment, and (d) swirl decay. The book explains the vortex breakdown appearance, discusses its features, and indicates means of its control. Written in acceptable, non-math-heavy format, it stands to be a useful learning tool for engineers working with combustion chambers, chemical and biological reactors, and delta-wing designs.

1. Introduction; 2. Creeping eddies; 3. Two-fluid creeping flows; 4. Formation of cells in thermal convection; 5. Swirl decay mechanisms; 6. Vortex breakdown in a sealed cylinder; 7. Cellular whirlpool flow; 8. Cellular water-spout flow; 9. Cellular flows in vortex devices.

Vladimir Shtern is currently a consultant at Ghent University, Belgium and of SABIC Americas Inc., Houston. He previously held a faculty position at the University of Houston and visiting faculty positions at the University of Seville, the University of Bristol and the DLR Institute of Fluid Mechanics in Germany. He has also served as a consultant for Shell US, BP-Amoco Exploration, and SABIC Americas companies. Dr Shtern is the author of Counterflows: Paradoxical Fluid Mechanics Phenomena (Cambridge, 2012) and is a regular contributor to the Journal of Fluid Dynamics and Physics of Fluids.