We study wetting front (traveling wave) solutions to the Richards equation that describe the vertical infiltration of water through one-dimensional periodically layered unsaturated soils. We prove the existence, uniqueness, and large time asymptotic stability of the traveling wave solutions under prescribed flux boundary conditions and certain constitutive conditions. The traveling waves are connections between two steady state solutions that form near the ground surface and towards the underground water table. We found a closed form expression of the wave speed. The speed of a traveling wave is equal to the ratio of the flux difference and the difference of the spatial averages of the two steady states. We give both analytical and numerical examples showing that the wave speeds in the periodic soils can be larger or smaller than those in the homogeneous soils which have the same mean diffusivity and conductivity

We analyze the power spectra and structure functions (SFs) of the temperature and radial velocity fields, calculated in the radial and azimuthal directions, in annular centrifugal Rayleigh–Bénard convection (ACRBC) for Rayleigh number Ra ∈[108,1011], Prandtl number Pr = 10.7, and inverse Rossby number Ro−1=16 using the spatial data obtained by quasi-two-dimensional direct numerical simulation. Bolgiano and Obukhov-like (BO59-like) scalings for the energy spectrum in both the azimuthal and radial directions and thermal spectrum in the azimuthal direction are observed. The range of BO59-like scaling becomes wider as Ra increases. At Ra=1011, it is found that BO59-like scaling Eu(kr)∼kr−11/5 spans nearly two decades for the energy spectrum calculated in the radial direction. Power-law fittings in the range larger than the Bolgiano scales, the scaling exponents of transverse and longitudinal velocity SFs vs the order coincide with the theoretical prediction of BO59 scaling ζ u p =3p/5 basically. The second-order temperature SFs exhibit a gradual transition from the Obukhov–Corrsin behavior at scales smaller than the Bolgiano scales to the BO59 behavior at scales larger than the Bolgiano scales. The slopes from the third to sixth-order temperature SFs are similar, which is similar to classical Rayleigh–Bénard convection and Rayleigh–Taylor turbulence. The probability density functions (p.d.f.) of temperature fluctuations δT/σT reveal the cold plumes are strong and the p.d.f. in different regions at high Ra are similar. The stronger turbulent-mixing and larger centrifugal buoyancy in ACRBC may result in the BO59-like scaling.

We successfully perform the three-dimensional tracking in a turbulent fluid flow of small axisymmetrical particles that are neutrally-buoyant and bottom-heavy, i.e., they have a non-homogeneous mass distribution along their symmetry axis. We experimentally show how a tiny mass inhomogeneity can affect the particle orientation along the preferred vertical direction and modify its tumbling rate. The experiment is complemented by a series of simulations based on realistic Navier-Stokes turbulence and on a point-like particle model that is capable to explore the full range of parameter space characterized by the gravitational torque stability number and by the particle aspect ratio. We propose a theoretical perturbative prediction valid in the high bottom-heaviness regime that agrees well with the observed preferential orientation and tumbling rate of the particles. We also show that the heavy-tail shape of the probability distribution function of the tumbling rate is weakly affected by the bottom-heaviness of the particles.