Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Preparation of Free-Surface Hyperbolic Water Vortices
Published on: July 28, 2023
Hairpin vortex solution in planar couette flow: a tapestry of knotted vortices
Tomoaki Itano1, Sotos C Generalis
1Department of Pure and Applied Physics, Faculty of Engineering Science, Kansai University, Osaka 564-8680, Japan.
Abstract:
A numerical continuation method has been carried out seeking solutions for two distinct flow configurations, planar Couette flow (PCF) and laterally heated flow in a vertical slot (LHF). We found that the spanwise vortex solution in LHF identifies a new solution in PCF. The vortical structure of our new solution has the shape of a hairpin observed ubiquitously in high-Reynolds-number turbulent flow, and we believe this discovery may provide the paradigm for a hierarchical organization of coherent structures in turbulent shear layers.
Related Concept Videos
Couette Flow
Steady, Laminar Flow Between Parallel Plates
Steady, Laminar Flow in Circular Tubes
Bernoulli's Equation for Flow Along a Streamline
Turbulent Flow
Irrotational Flow

