ON THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THIN VORTEX LAYERS AND VORTEX SHEETS

The equations for the two-dimensional motion of a layer of uniform vorticity in an incompressible, inviscid fluid are examined in the limit of small thickness. Under the right circumstances, the limit is a vortex sheet whose strength is the vorticity multiplied by the local thickness of the layer. However, vortex sheets can develop singularities in finite time, and their subsequent nature is an open question. Vortex layers, on the other hand, have motions for all time, though they may develop singularities on their boundaries. Fortunately, a material curve within the layer does exist for all time. Under certain assumptions, its limiting motion is again the vortex sheet, and thus its behaviour may indicate the nature and possible existence of the vortex sheet after the singularity time. Similar asymptotic results are obtained also for the limiting behaviour of the centre curve as defined by Moore (1978). By examining the behaviour of a sequence of layers, some physical understanding of the formation of the curvature singularity for a vortex sheet is gained. A strain flow, induced partly by the periodic extension of the sheet, causes vorticity to be advected to a certain point on the sheet rapidly enough to form the singularity. A vortex layer, however, simply bulges outwards as a consequence of incompressibility and subsequently forms a core with trailing arms that wrap around it. The evidence indicates that no singularities form on the boundary curves of the layer. Beyond the singularity time of the vortex sheet, the limiting behaviour of the vortex layers is non-uniform. Away from the vortex core, the layers converge to a smooth curve which has the appearance of a doubly branched spiral. While the circulation around the core vanishes, approximations to the vortex sheet strength become unbounded, indicating a complex, local structure whose precise nature remains undetermined. © 1990, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.