Vortex methods have matured in recent years, offering an interesting alternative to finite difference and spectral methods for high resolution numerical solutions of the Navier Stokes equations. In the past three decades, research into the numerical analysis aspects of vortex methods has provided a solid mathematical background for understanding the accuracy and stability of the method. At the same time vortex methods retain their appealing physical character, which was the motivation for their introduction. This book presents and analyzes vortex methods as a tool for the direct numerical simulation of impressible viscous flows. It will interest graduate students and researchers in numerical analysis and fluid mechanics and also serve as an ideal textbook for courses in fluid dynamics.

Vortex methods have been developed and applied to many kinds of flows related to various problems in wide engineering and scientific fields. The purpose of the First International conference on Vortex methods was to provide an opportunity for engineers and scientists to present their achievements, exchange ideas and discuss new developments in mathematical and physical modeling techniques and engineering applications of vortex methods.

Understanding vortex dynamics is the key to understanding much of fluid dynamics. For this reason, many researchers, using a great variety of different approaches--analytical, computational, and experimental--have studied the dynamics of vorticity. The AMS-SIAM Summer Seminar on Vortex Dynamics and Vortex Methods, held in June 1990 at the University of Washington in Seattle, brought together experts with a broad range of viewpoints and areas of specialization. This volume contains the proceedings from that seminar. The focus here is on the numerical computation of high Reynolds number incompressible flows. Also included is a smaller selection of important experimental results and analytic treatments. Many of the articles contain valuable introductory and survey material as well as open problems. Readers will appreciate this volume for its coverage of a wide variety of numerical, analytical, and experimental tools and for its treatment of interesting important discoveries made with these tools.