A unified definition of a vortex derived from vortical flow and the resulting pressure minimum

Abstract

This paper presents a novel definition of a vortex that integrates the concepts of the invariant swirling motion, the pressure minimum characteristics induced by the swirling motion and the positive Laplacian of the pressure. The current definition specifies a vortex that has a swirling motion and resulting pressure minimum feature in the swirl plane, which is simply represented by the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the velocity gradient tensor.