Dynamical Systems Commons^™

Fractal Powers In Serrin's Swirling Vortex Solutions, Pavel Bělík, Douglas P. Dokken, Kurt Scholz, Mikhail M. Shvartsman

Faculty Authored Articles

We consider a modification of the fluid flow model for a tornado-like swirling vortex developed by Serrin [Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. London, Series A, Math & Phys. Sci. 271(1214) (1972), 325–360], where velocity decreases as the reciprocal of the distance from the vortex axis. Recent studies, based on radar data of selected severe weather events [Mon. Wea. Rev. 133(9) (2005), 2535–2551; Mon. Wea. Rev. 128(7) (2000), 2135–2164; Mon. Wea. Rev. 133(1) (2005), 97–119], indicate that the angular momentum in a tornado may not be constant with the radius, and thus suggest a different scaling of the velocity/radial distance dependence. Motivated …