Dipole-wall collision in a shallow fluid

Recent experiments on a freely evolving dipolar vortex in a homogeneous Shallow fluid layer have clearly shown the importance of vertical secondary flows on top of the primary horizontal motion. The present contribution focuses on the interaction of such a dipolar vortex with a sidewall. Accurate measurements of the three velocity components in a single horizontal plane have been performed using the Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (SPIV) technique. The experimental results, supported bit numerical simulations, indicate that the complex vertical structure of a shallow-layer dipole becomes even more complex during the collision process. The observed growth of the kinetic energy associated with enhanced vertical motion pinpoints the strong discrepancies between vortex-wall interactions in shallow fluid layers and in purely two-dimensional wall-bounded turbulence. (C) 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.