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We describe, for the first time, an experiment devoted to the study of the spatial conformation of a flexible fiber in a turbulent flow. We propose a model for the transition from rigid to flexible regimes as the intensity of turbulence is increased or the elastic energy of the fiber is decreased. This transition occurs for a fiber typical length which is observed experimentally and recovered by our analysis. We also demonstrate that the conformations of flexible fibers in a turbulent flow are analog to conformations of flexible polymers in a good solvent. This last result opens some new and creative ways to model flexible fiber distortions in turbulent flows while addressing fundamental problems in polymer dynamics.

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In certain contexts, dairy firms are supplied by small-scale family farms. Firms provide a set of technical and economic recommendations meant to help farmers meet their requirements in terms of the quantity and quality of milk collected. This study analyzes how such recommendations may be adopted by studying six farms in Brazil. All farms are beneficiaries of the country's agrarian reforms, but they differ in terms of how they developed their activities, their resources and their milk collection objectives. First, we built a technical and economic benchmark farm based on recommendations from a dairy firm and farmer advisory institutions. Our analysis of the farms' practices and technical and economic results show that none of the farms in the sample apply all of the benchmark recommendations; however, all farms specialized in dairy production observe the main underlying principles with regard to feeding systems and breeding. The decisive factors in whether the benchmark is adopted and successfully implemented are (i) access to the supply chain when a farmer establishes his activity, (ii) a grasp of reproduction and forage production techniques and (iii) an understanding of dairy cattle feed dietary rationing principles. The technical problems observed in some cases impact the farms' dairy performance and cash position; this can lead to a process of disinvestment. This dynamic of farms facing production standards suggests that the diversity of specialized livestock farmers should be taken into account more effectively through advisory approaches that combine basic zootechnical training with assistance in planning farm activities over the short and medium term.

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We describe a new phenomenon of zonal wind generation by tidal forcing. Following a recent theoretical and numerical analysis [A. Tilgner, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 194501 (2007)], we present the first experimental evidence that the nonlinear self-interaction of a tidally forced inertial mode can drive an intense axisymmetric flow in a rotating deformed sphere. Systematic measurements of zonal flows are carried out by an embarked system of particle image velocimetry, allowing the determination of general scaling laws. These results are fully relevant for zonal winds generation in planets and stars, and illustrate a generic mechanism of geostrophic flow generation by periodic forcing.

RESUMEN

In many developing countries, milk production varies greatly according to farm size, cattle breed, and milking practices. However, production systems often are dominated by smallholder farms. Therefore, relatively small volumes of milk are delivered daily from numerous farms to intermediate cooperatives which supply industrial units. This paper argues that in such two-stage dairy chains, milk quality could be improved by focusing on farming practices rather than on the testing of individual deliveries. Indeed, it is difficult to analyze their quality due to technical, economic, and logistic limitations. The objective of this study is to link on-farm practices with milk chemical quality parameters (fat and protein) and hygienic quality criteria (Aerobic Plate Count, APC and Coliforms). Cattle management practices were monitored monthly over one year on 23 farms located on an irrigation scheme in Morocco. 276 milk samples were analyzed. The monthly variability of milk quality parameters was then characterized. Results show that average cow milk chemical parameters vary within a normal range. They remain primarily linked to the genetic type of cows, the lactation stage, and the conversion of feed concentrates' net energy into milk. Overall milk hygienic quality was poor (APC and Coliforms counts were 100 fold international norms), due essentially to a lack of hygiene and inadequate milking conditions (hands, udder, and teat washing, type of bucket used, dirtiness of cows...). It is suggested that a close monitoring of herd management practices may allow the indirect control of milk quality parameters, thereby avoiding costly analyses of numerous smallholder milk deliveries.

Asunto(s)

Industria Lechera/métodos , Grasas de la Dieta/análisis , Higiene , Proteínas de la Leche/análisis , Leche , Crianza de Animales Domésticos/métodos , Animales , Bovinos , Recuento de Células/veterinaria , Recuento de Colonia Microbiana/veterinaria , Seguridad de Productos para el Consumidor , Femenino , Humanos , Mastitis Bovina/epidemiología , Leche/química , Leche/citología , Leche/microbiología , Leche/normas , Marruecos

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This study is devoted to the experimental analysis of the stratorotational instability (SRI). This instability affects the classical cylindrical Couette flow when the fluid is stably stratified in the axial direction. In agreement with recent theoretical and numerical analyses, we describe for the first time in detail the destabilization of the stratified flow below the Rayleigh line (i.e., the stability threshold without stratification). We confirm that the unstable modes of the SRI are nonaxisymmetric, oscillatory, and take place as soon as the azimuthal linear velocity decreases along the radial direction. This new instability is relevant for accretion disks.

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Our experimental study is devoted to the transition to defect turbulence of a periodic spiral wave pattern occurring in the flow between a rotating and a stationary disk. As the rotation rate Omega of the disk is increased, the radial phase velocity of the waves changes its sign: The waves that propagate first outward on average, then become stationary and finally propagate inward. As they become stationary, the nucleation of topological defects breaks the periodicity of the pattern. For higher Omega, more and more defects are generated in the flow pattern. This article presents the statistical study of this defect mediated turbulence.

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The well-known Benard-von Karman cylinder wake is one of the most challenging phenomena of fluid mechanics. As the Reynolds number of the flow around a cylinder passes through a critical value, alternating vortex shedding appears via a Hopf bifurcation. Theoretical studies of the wake have described the appearance of this self-sustained oscillation as the result of a convective to absolute transition resulting in the formation of a global mode. We illustrate here the convective global regime of the subcritical wake by analyzing visualizations of its impulse response.

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The discrete Ginzburg-Landau model for a family of oscillators linearly coupled with their first neighbors is studied. The full linear stability analysis of the nonlinear plane wave solutions is performed by considering both the wave number (k) of the basic states and the wave number (q) of the perturbations as free parameters. In particular, it is shown that nonlinear plane waves can be destabilized not only by long (q-->0) or short (q=pi) wave perturbations, but also by intermediate wave numbers (0

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The instability of a vortex subjected to a stationary dipolar or tripolar constraint is studied experimentally by using a rotating deformable cylinder on which two or three rollers are applied. As the Reynolds number and the aspect ratio of the cylinder are varied, different modes of instability are observed and their wavelength and frequency are compared to theoretical predictions. Secondary instability and cyclic breakup are also evidenced in the elliptic geometry.

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The physical system under consideration is the flow above a rotating disk and its cross-flow instability, which is a typical route to turbulence in three-dimensional boundary layers. Our aim is to study the nonlinear properties of the wavefield through a Volterra series equation. The kernels of the Volterra expansion, which contain relevant physical information about the system, are estimated by fitting two-point measurements via a nonlinear parametric model. We then consider describing the wavefield with the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation, and derive analytical relations which express the coefficients of the Ginzburg-Landau equation in terms of the kernels of the Volterra expansion. These relations must hold for a large class of weakly nonlinear systems, in fluid as well as in plasma physics. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics.

RESUMEN

A recently proposed evolution equation [Vaienti et al., Physica D 85, 405 (1994)] for the probability density functions (PDF's) of turbulent passive scalar increments obtained under the assumptions of fully three-dimensional homogeneity and isotropy is submitted to validation using direct numerical simulation (DNS) results of the mixing of a passive scalar with a nonzero mean gradient by a homogeneous and isotropic turbulent velocity field. It is shown that this approach leads to a quantitatively correct balance between the different terms of the equation, in a plane perpendicular to the mean gradient, at small scales and at large Péclet number. A weaker assumption of homogeneity and isotropy restricted to the plane normal to the mean gradient is then considered to derive an equation describing the evolution of the PDF's as a function of the spatial scale and the scalar increments. A very good agreement between the theory and the DNS data is obtained at all scales. As a particular case of the theory, we derive a generalized form for the well-known Yaglom equation (the isotropic relation between the second-order moments for temperature increments and the third-order velocity-temperature mixed moments). This approach allows us to determine quantitatively how the integral scale properties influence the properties of mixing throughout the whole range of scales. In the simple configuration considered here, the PDF's of the scalar increments perpendicular to the mean gradient can be theoretically described once the sources of inhomogeneity and anisotropy at large scales are correctly taken into account.