On the structure of a three-dimensional compressible vortex

We present here self-similar solutions of the equations of motion of a viscous, heat conducting gas, for a family of slender vortices. Slenderness makes possible use of the boundary-layer-like "quasi-cylindrical approximation". For our solutions, velocity components at the vortex edge behave like a power of the axial coordinate, and the vortex core width varies like a power of the same variable - 1/2 in many of the results presented here. Effects due to the temperature dependence of the viscosity, and varying the Prandtl number and specific-heat ratio are included. It appears that the location of the vortex 'edge' is actually an independently specifiable parameter of the solution. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. Ail rights reserved.