arXiv subjects

Miguel A. C. Teixeira

Publications and source records attributed to Miguel A. C. Teixeira.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Integral constraints on the linear instability of stratified flow with planar shear at an arbitrary angle to the vertical

Integral constraints on the linear instability of stratified parallel flow with planar shear at an arbitrary angle to the vertical are derived using the analytical approach of Miles and Howard, for perturbations with 2D spatial structure, which are thought to be the most unstable. The general stability formulation reproduces the Miles-Howard stability criterion for vertical shear, but yields no stability condition for non-vertical shear, confirming expectations from earlier studies. This study also extends Howard's semicircle theorem to non-vertical planar shear, and derives a new expression for the upper bound of the instability growth rate (extending that obtained by Howard), which is consistent with published numerical results.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2026

A Generalized Richardson Number Diagnostic for Turbulence in the Free Atmosphere

A new Richardson number formulation, Ri_new, is introduced to improve the diagnosis of turbulence in the stratified free atmosphere. The formulation is derived from the turbulent kinetic energy budget and accounts for both vertical wind shear and horizontal shear (deformation and divergence), weighted by the ratio of horizontal to vertical eddy viscosities (K_mh/K_mv). This extends the classical Richardson number Ri_old, which accounts only for vertical shear. The diagnostics Ri_new , Ri_old ,and the widely used Turbulence Index 1 (TI1), computed from ERA5 reanalysis, are evaluated using more than 247 million automated turbulence reports from commercial aircraft (2017--2024). Across various turbulence intensity thresholds, Ri_new consistently outperforms the other diagnostics, resulting in higher AUC values and improved probability of detection at operationally relevant false-alarm rates. The highest skill is obtained for K_mh/K_mv approximately 5000. Seasonal and regional evaluations indicate that the added value of Ri_new is largest where turbulence generation involves both vertical and horizontal shear, such as over the contiguous United States and during summer. Ri_new remains the best-performing diagnostic in all regions and seasons. Spatial case studies show that Ri_new identifies 83--98% of observed moderate-or-greater turbulence events compared with 54--85% for Ri_old. This substantial improvement in detection comes with a much smaller increase in false alarms, confirming that Ri_new provides a more physically realistic representation of turbulence-prone regions. These results demonstrate that incorporating horizontal wind shear into the Richardson number yields a physically consistent and statistically robust improvement in turbulence diagnostics, with relevance for research and operational applications.

physics.ao-ph↗

arXiv2026

Turbulence-induced anti-Stokes flow: experiments and theory

We report experimental evidence of an Eulerian-mean flow, $\overline{u}(z)$, created by the interaction of surface waves and tailored ambient sub-surface turbulence, which partly cancels the Stokes drift, $u_s(z)$, and present supporting theory. Water-side turbulent velocity fields and Eulerian-mean flows were measured with particle image velocimetry before vs after the passage of a wave group, and with vs without the presence of regular waves. We compare different wavelengths, steepnesses and turbulent intensities. In all cases, a significant change in the Eulerian-mean current is observed, strongly focused near the surface, where it opposes the Stokes drift. The observations support the picture that when waves encounter ambient sub-surface turbulence, the flow undergoes a transition during which Eulerian-mean momentum is redistributed vertically (without changing the depth-integrated mass transport) until a new equilibrium state is reached, wherein the near-surface ratio between $|\mathrm{d}\overline{u}/\mathrm{d}z|$ and $|\mathrm{d}u_s/\mathrm{d} z|$ approximately equals the ratio between the streamwise and vertical Reynolds normal stresses. This accords with a simple statistical theory derived here and holds regardless of the absolute turbulence level, whereas stronger turbulence means faster growth of the Eulerian-mean current. We present a model based on Rapid Distortion Theory which describes the generation of the Eulerian-mean flow as a consequence of the action of the Stokes drift on the background turbulence. Predictions are in qualitative, and reasonable quantitative, agreement with experiments on wave groups, where equilibrium has not yet been reached. Our results could have substantial consequences for predicting the transport of water-borne material in the oceans.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2022

The drag exerted by weakly dissipative trapped lee waves on the atmosphere: application to Scorer's two-layer model

While it is known that trapped lee waves propagating at low levels in a stratified atmosphere exert a drag on the mountains that generate them, the distribution of the corresponding reaction force exerted on the atmospheric mean circulation, defined by the wave momentum flux profiles, has not been established, because for inviscid trapped lee waves these profiles oscillate indefinitely downstream. A framework is developed here for the unambiguous calculation of momentum flux profiles produced by trapped lee waves, which circumvents the difficulties plaguing the inviscid trapped lee wave theory. Using linear theory, and taking Scorer's two-layer atmosphere as an example, the waves are assumed to be subject to a small dissipation, expressed as a Rayleigh damping. The resulting wave pattern decays downstream, so the momentum flux profile integrated over the area occupied by the waves converges to a well-defined form. Remarkably, for weak dissipation, this form is independent of the value of Rayleigh damping coefficient, and the inviscid drag, determined in previous studies, is recovered as the momentum flux at the surface. The divergence of this momentum flux profile accounts for the areally-integrated drag exerted by the waves on the atmosphere. The application of this framework to this and other types of trapped lee waves potentially enables the development of physically-based parametrizations of the effects of trapped lee waves on the atmosphere.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2018

A model for the wind-driven current in the wavy oceanic surface layer: apparent friction velocity reduction and roughness length enhancement

A simple analytical model is developed for the current induced by the wind and modified by surface wind-waves in the oceanic surface layer, based on a first-order turbulence closure and including the effect of a vortex force representing the Stokes drift of the waves. The shear stress is partitioned between a component due to shear in the current, which is reduced at low turbulent Langmuir number ($La_t$), and a wave-induced component, which decays over a depth proportional to the dominant wavelength. The model reproduces the apparent reduction of the friction velocity and enhancement of the roughness length estimated from current profiles, detected in a number of studies. These effects are predicted to intensify as $La_t$ decreases, and are entirely attributed to non-breaking surface waves. The current profile becomes flatter for low $La_t$ owing to a smaller fraction of the total shear stress being supported by the current shear. Comparisons of the model with the comprehensive dataset provided by the laboratory experiments of Cheung and Street show encouraging agreement, with the current speed decreasing as the wind speed increases (corresponding to decreasing $La_t$), if the model is adjusted to reflect the effects of a full wave spectrum on the intensity and depth of penetration of the wave-induced stress. A version of the model where the shear stress decreases to zero over a depth consistent with the measurements accurately predicts the surface current speed. These results contribute towards developing physically-based momentum flux parameterizations for the wave-affected boundary layer in ocean circulation models.

physics.ao-ph↗

arXiv2017

When is a surface foam-phobic or foam-philic?

By integrating the Young-Laplace equation, including the effects of gravity, we have calculated the equilibrium shape of the two-dimensional Plateau borders along which a vertical soap film contacts two flat, horizontal solid substrates of given wettability. We show that the Plateau borders, where most of a foam's liquid resides, can only exist if the values of the Bond number ${\rm Bo}$ and of the liquid contact angle $θ_c$ lie within certain domains in $(θ_c,{\rm Bo})$ space: under these conditions the substrate is foam-philic. For values outside these domains, the substrate cannot support a soap film and is foam-phobic. In other words, on a substrate of a given wettability, only Plateau borders of a certain range of sizes can form. For given $(θ_c,{\rm Bo})$, the top Plateau border can never have greater width or cross-sectional area than the bottom one. Moreover, the top Plateau border cannot exist in a steady state for contact angles above 90$^\circ$. Our conclusions are validated by comparison with both experimental and numerical (Surface Evolver) data. We conjecture that these results will hold, with slight modifications, for non-planar soap films and bubbles. Our results are also relevant to the motion of bubbles and foams in channels, where the friction force of the substrate on the Plateau borders plays an important role.

cond-mat.soft↗