*** 9511552 Wu This award supports collaboration between Jiezie Wu, Jain- Ming Wu, University of Tennessee Space Institute, George Carnevale, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and Tong Binggang, Yin Xieyuan, and Ma Huiyang, University of Science and Technology, Hefei, China, on the mechanism, receptivity, and control of compressible, heat-conducting vortices. The project proposes a thorough and detailed investigation of the stability and mechanics of compressible vortices, and concerns questions which are both of fundamental importance and practical relevance. The Chinese partners are from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), a key university affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. USTC received funding from the Chinese NSF for a "key" project on the mechanisms of vortices, separation, and their control in complex gaseous media. This entitled USTC to a large influx of funds (by Chinese standards) and provides a valuable opportunity for US researchers to take advantage of complementary research and instrumentation. The structure, instability, and breakdown of a vortex core have been studied intensively over the past few decades because of the relevance to almost all fluid systems with small viscosity in nature and in technology. The proposed work could represent important progress in understanding more compressible and heat conducting vortical flows, ranging from geophysical vortices such as hurricanes and tornadoes, to vortices in technology such as the vortex system around a supersonic aircraft. ***
