Kelvin waves with helical Beltrami flow structure

In this work we show that when an inviscid axisymmetric Rankine flow experiences a soft expansion, rotating Kelvin waves can be excited. Downstream of the region where the expansion occurs (the transition region) the resulting flow can be expressed as the addition of a Rankine and a Beltrami flow. The Beltrami constant is determined from the Rankine upstream flow, and the helix pitch of the n=1 mode results from the boundary conditions downstream. Finally, a discussion of the process leading to oscillatory flow and a conjecture about the topological background that sustains the Beltrami flow structure are offered. © 2008 American Institute of Physics. Fil:González, R. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina.