Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 February 2009
This paper examines the predictions of shallow water theory for steady and unsteady withdrawal flows through an extended sink from fluid of finite depth. Two-dimensional plane flows and three-dimensional axi-symmetric flow through a circular drain are examined. Shallow water theory indicates the presence of limiting configurations, where the surface of the fluid collapses directly into the sink. In addition, this theory suggests that some previously computed steady solutions may be unstable.