Quasilinear theory is often utilized to approximate the dynamics of fluids exhibiting significant interactions between mean flows and eddies. We present a generalization of quasilinear theory to include dynamic mode interactions on the large scales. This generalized quasilinear (GQL) approximation is achieved by separating the state variables into large and small zonal scales via a spectral filter rather than by a decomposition into a formal mean and fluctuations. Nonlinear interactions involving only small zonal scales are then removed. The approximation is conservative and allows for scattering of energy between small-scale modes via the large scale (through nonlocal spectral interactions). We evaluate GQL for the paradigmatic problems of the driving of large-scale jets on a spherical surface and on the beta plane and show that it is accurate even for a small number of large-scale modes. As GQL is formally linear in the small zonal scales, it allows for the closure of the system and can be utilized in direct statistical simulation schemes that have proved an attractive alternative to direct numerical simulation for many geophysical and astrophysical problems.

A mechanism is proposed for the generation of large-amplitude acoustically-driven streaming flows in which time-mean flow speeds are comparable to the instantaneous speed of fluid particles in a high-frequency sound-wave field. Motivated by streaming observed in high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps, two-dimensional flow of a density-stratified ideal gas in a channel geometry is analysed in the asymptotic limit of high-frequency acoustic-wave forcing. Predictions of streaming flow magnitudes based on classical arguments invoking Reynolds stress divergences originating in viscous boundary layers are orders of magnitude too small to account for the observed mean flows. Moreover, classical ‘Rayleigh streaming’ theory cannot account for the direction of the cellular mean flows often observed in HID lamps. In contrast, the mechanism proposed here, which invokes fluctuating baroclinic torques away from viscous boundary layers and thus is largely independent of viscous effects, can account both for the magnitude and the orientation of the observed streaming flows.

Steady two-dimensional Rayleigh–Bénard convection between stress-free isothermal boundaries is studied via numerical computations. We explore properties of steady convective rolls with aspect ratios is smaller.

Recent studies reveal that at large friction Reynolds number $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}^{+}$ the inertially dominated region of the turbulent boundary layer is composed of large-scale zones of nearly uniform momentum segregated by narrow fissures of concentrated vorticity. Experiments show that, when scaled by the boundary-layer thickness, the fissure thickness is $\mathit{O}(1/\sqrt{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}^{+}})$ , while the dimensional jump in streamwise velocity across each fissure scales in proportion to the friction velocity $u_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}}$ . A simple model that exploits these essential elements of the turbulent boundary-layer structure at large $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}^{+}$ is developed. First, a master wall-normal profile of streamwise velocity is constructed by placing a discrete number of fissures across the boundary layer. The number of fissures and their wall-normal locations follow scalings informed by analysis of the mean momentum equation. The fissures are then randomly displaced in the wall-normal direction, exchanging momentum as they move, to create an instantaneous velocity profile. This process is repeated to generate ensembles of streamwise velocity profiles from which statistical moments are computed. The modelled statistical profiles are shown to agree remarkably well with those acquired from direct numerical simulations of turbulent channel flow at large $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FF}^{+}$ . In particular, the model robustly reproduces the empirically observed sub-Gaussian behaviour for the skewness and kurtosis profiles over a large range of input parameters.

High-Rayleigh-number ( $Ra$ ) convection in an inclined two-dimensional porous layer is investigated using direct numerical simulations (DNS) and stability and variational upper-bound analyses. When the inclination angle $\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}$ of the layer satisfies $0^{\circ }<\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}\lesssim 25^{\circ }$ , DNS confirm that the flow exhibits a three-region wall-normal asymptotic structure in accord with the strictly horizontal ( $\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}=0^{\circ }$ ) case, except that as $\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}$ is increased the time-mean spacing between neighbouring interior plumes also increases substantially. Both DNS and upper-bound analysis indicate that the heat transport enhancement factor (i.e. the Nusselt number) $Nu\sim CRa$ with a $\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}$ -dependent prefactor $C$ . When $\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}>\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}_{t}$ , however, where $30^{\circ }<\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}_{t}<32^{\circ }$ independently of $Ra$ , the columnar flow structure is completely broken down: the flow transitions to a large-scale travelling-wave convective roll state, and the heat transport is significantly reduced. To better understand the physics of inclined porous medium convection at large $Ra$ and modest inclination angles, a spatial Floquet analysis is performed, yielding predictions of the linear stability of numerically computed, fully nonlinear steady convective states. The results show that there exist two types of instability when $\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}\neq 0^{\circ }$ : a bulk-mode instability and a wall-mode instability, consistent with previous findings for $\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}=0^{\circ }$ (Wen et al., J. Fluid Mech., vol. 772, 2015, pp. 197–224). The background flow induced by the inclination of the layer intensifies the bulk-mode instability during its subsequent nonlinear evolution, thereby favouring increased spacing between the interior plumes relative to that observed in convection in a horizontal porous layer.