Kelvin-Helmholtz flow instability

Kelvin-Helmholtz instability is one of basic cases of flow instability. It is responsible for a wide range of phenomena in the natural environment (e.g. ocean waves, atmospheric flows) and in industrial installations (e.g. slug formation, water hammer). The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability develops at the interface between two fluids that are moving at different velocities. Small interface deformations influence the local pressure distribution, which may amplify the initial deformations. Shear forces between both fluid flows distort the initially linear waves into a much more complex interface topology (more @ ).