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Journal of Applied Mechanics and Technical Physics

2002 year, number 2

On one mechanism of formation of tornado- like vortices in a rotating fluid

B. A. Lugovtsov
Lavrent'ev Institute of Hydrodynamics, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090
Pages: 237-244

Abstract

It is shown that during excitation of
forced, resonant, inertial oscillations
of large amplitude in a rigidly rotating
fluid, the mechanism of formation of
tornado-like vortices is primarily of a
kinematic nature (advection of
circulation of the azimuthal component
velocity and stretching of vortex lines
by the poloidal components of the
velocity field that arise from
excitation of inertial oscillations).
The main parameters of the vortices are
obtained by solutions of model problems.
To excite such oscillations, it is
necessary to deliver energy far
exceeding the initial energy of the
rotating fluid. Therefore, inertial
oscillations by themselves cannot lead
to the occurrence of intense atmospheric
vortices. Nevertheless, such
oscillations can apparently play the
role of a trigger mechanism that
activates more complex processes of
vortex formation related to instability
of the atmosphere.