ABSTRACT
Discrete vortex models offer a powerful computational technique for simulating two-dimensional VISCOUS flows, particularly in cases where separation or vortex roll-up occurs. The earliest research into discrete vortex methodology was carried out by Rosenhead (1] who studied the surface instability between two flow streams travelling in opposite directions. Rosenhead replaced the continuous sheet of vorticity between the two layers by a number of elemental vortices, and then used a time-stepping finite-difference procedure to calculate the deformation of the vortex sheet due to the mutually induced velocities at each vortex position. Rosenhead demonstrated the feasibility of the method, but it was only when computers became available that the number of elemental vortices could be increased sufficiently to allow adequate simulation of complex shear layers.
