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Vortex Rings

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Fluid Vortices

Part of the book series: Fluid Mechanics and Its Applications ((FMIA,volume 30))

Abstract

The behaviour and inherent beauty of vortex rings have fascinated researchers for a long time. In nature, vortex rings are found to occur in various shapes and sizes. Perhaps the most familiar example is the smoke-ring which is produced when cigarette smoke is ejected suddenly through the lips of a smoker. Another (more dramatic) example of a vortex ring is the mushroom-shaped cloud formed during an explosion. Vortex rings have also been observed in the wakes of birds in forward flight 1. In a laboratory, the usual method of generating vortex rings is to eject fluid impulsively through some type of orifice into quiescent fluid. The ring produced in this manner may be made visible by introducing a marker such as dye or smoke in or around the orifice. Figure 4.1.1 shows a typical dye pattern of a vortex ring produced in this way.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore, 0511

    T. T. Lim

  2. Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Melbourne, Parksville, 3052, Victoria, Australia

    T. B. Nickels

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  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    Sheldon I. Green

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Lim, T.T., Nickels, T.B. (1995). Vortex Rings. In: Green, S.I. (eds) Fluid Vortices. Fluid Mechanics and Its Applications, vol 30. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0249-0_4

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