A three-dimensional experimental investigation of the structure of the spanwise vortex generated by a shallow vortex dipole

Julie Albagnac (1) , Frédéric Moulin (1) , Olivier Eiff (1) , Laurent Lacaze (1) , Pierre Brancher (1)

1 IMFT - Institut de mécanique des fluides de Toulouse

The three-dimensional dynamics of shallow vortex dipoles is investigated by means of an innovative three-dimensional, three-component (3D-3C) scanning PIV technique. In particular, the three-dimensional structure of a frontal spanwise vortex is characterized. The technique allows the computation of the three-dimensional pressure field and the planar (x, y) distribution of the wall shear stress, which are not available using standard 2D PIV measurements. The influence of such a complex vortex structure on mass transport is discussed in the context of the available pressure and wall shear stress fields.

Mots clés: Vortex dynamics; Shallow water; 3D PIV

Domaines: Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]

Julie Albagnac, Frédéric Moulin, Olivier Eiff, Laurent Lacaze, Pierre Brancher. A three-dimensional experimental investigation of the structure of the spanwise vortex generated by a shallow vortex dipole. Environmental Fluid Mechanics, 2014, 14 (5), pp.957-970. ⟨10.1007/s10652-013-9291-6⟩. ⟨hal-01728776⟩