On stratified jets and wakes generated by a self-propelled body

Abstract

Wakes in a stratified medium have been studied with considerable interest owing to the ubiquity of such phenomena in nature and engineering applications. In this thesis we have investigated some of the characteristics of wakes/jets generated by propulsive underwater bodies with laboratory-scale experiments using various flow visualization techniques. The qualitative data obtained leads us to some interesting observations and questions. The structure of jets in a stratified flow, to which attention has not been paid in comparison to stratified wakes, has been more closely studied and we have attempted to explain its structure. We have also used a two-dimensional viscous incompressible flow simulation using the discrete vortex method to construct and test a novel self-propelled body. This model has the potential to yield some insights into the two-dimensional wake decay of a self-propelled body.