Hydrodynamic Stability

This page is under development and will change as the course progresses.

Click on the topics below to view or print files of the course material. If you are unable to access any of the files mail me.

Handouts

• Extra background material on Newtonian Fluids. See handouts on the page Viscous flow
• Introductory notes
• Kelvin-Helmholtz, Rayleigh-Taylor and capillary instabilities.
• Circular flow between two cylinders:
• The Rayleigh and Orr-Sommerfeld equations.
• The e^n method. A pragmatic attempt at predicting the transition point.
• Taylor-Saffman instability (see problem sheet 1).

Problem sheets

• Sheet 1: Moving Interface
• Sheet 2: Rayleigh Equation etc

Exam papers

Here are the 2004 and the 2005 exam papers. The previous years' papers were set by different lecturers, who gave much more attention to the PSE method. I do not have a copy of the 2006 exam. Here is the 2007 paper.

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