Simultaneous measurement of size and velocity of microbubbles moving in an opaque tube using an X-ray particle tracking velocimetry technique

An X-ray particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) technique was developed to simultaneously measure the sizes and velocities of microbubbles in a fluid without optical aberration. This technique is based on a combination of in-line X-ray holography and PTV. The X-ray PTV technique uses a configuration similar to that of conventional optical imaging techniques, and is easy to implement. In the present work, microbubbles generated from a fine wire by electrical heating were used as tracer particles. The X-ray PTV technique simultaneously recorded size and velocity data for microbubbles (_b=10–60 m) moving upward in an opaque tube (inner diameter =2.7 mm). Due to the different refractive indices of water and air, phase contrast X-ray images clearly show the exact size and shape of overlapped microbubbles. In all of the working fluids tested (deionised water and 0.01 M and 0.10 M NaCl solutions), the measured terminal velocity of the microbubbles rising through the solution was proportional to the square of the bubble diameter. The proposed technique can be used to extract useful information on the behaviour of various bio/microscale fluid flows that are not amenable to analysis using conventional methods.     

Experimental analysis of particle and fluid motion in ac electrokinetics

An ac electric field is applied to induce particle and fluid motion in a wedge-shaped microchannel. Micron-resolution particle image velocimetry (-PIV) is used to determine spatially resolved particle velocity and fluid velocity fields. Under steady-state conditions, the particles experience a balance between dielectrophoretic forces induced by the nonuniform electric field and Stokes drag forces due to viscous interactions with the fluid. The particle velocity is therefore different from the fluid velocity because of dielectrophoresis. A variant of -PIV, two-color -PIV, is developed and used to uniquely determine the fluid velocity from the observation of particles without a priori knowledge of the electrical properties. This technique is used to explore ac electrokinetically generated fluid motion. A series of voltage levels at fixed frequency are applied to the wedge-shaped electrodes. The dependency of fluid velocity on applied voltage at different regions in the flow is obtained by fitting power-law curves. This is used to determine the underlying physical phenomena associated with ac electrokinetics. We found that both electrothermal effects and ac electroosmosis are important for the current experimental conditions. However, the electrothermal effect is dominant in the bulk fluid.     

The effect of background particulates on the delayed transition of a heated 9:1 ellipsoid

An experimental study was done to quantify the effects of a variety of background particulates on the delayed laminar-turbulent transition of a thermally stabilized boundary layer in water. A Laser-Doppler Velocimeter system was used to measure the location of boundary layer transition on a 50 mm diameter, 9:1 fineness ratio ellipsoid. The ellipsoid had a 0.15 m RMS surface finish. Boundary layer transition locations were determined for length Reynolds numbers ranging from 3.0 × 10⁶ to 7.5 × 106. The ellipsoid was tested in three different heating conditions in water seeded with particles of four distinct size ranges. For each level of boundary layer heating, measurements of transition were made for clean water and subsequently, water seeded with 12.5 m, 38.9 m, 85.5 m and 123.2 m particles, alternately. The three surface heating conditions tested were no heating, T = 10°C and T = 15°C where T is the difference between the inlet model heating water temperature, T _i, and free stream water temperature, T . The effects of particle concentration were studied for 85.5 m and 123.2 m particulates.The results of the study can be summarized as follows. The 12.5 m and 38.9 m particles has no measurable effect on transition for any of the test conditions. However, transition was significantly affected by the 85.5 m and 123.2 m particles. Above a length Reynolds number of 4 × 10⁶ the boundary layer transition location moved forward on the body due to the effect of the 85.5 m particles for all heating conditions. The largest percentage changes in transition location from clean water, were observed for 85.5 m particles seeded water.Transition measurements made with varied concentrations of background particulates indicated that the effect of the 85.5 m particles on the transition of the model reached a plateau between 2.65 particulates/ml concentration and 4.2 particles/ml. Measurements made with 123.3 m particles at concentrations up to 0.3 part/ml indicated no similar plateau.     

Turbulent dispersion of droplets for air flow in a pipe

An optical technique was used to study the dispersion of 50 m, 90 m and 150 m droplets downstream of a source located in the center of a vertical pipe through which turbulent air is flowing. A turbulent dispersion coefficient, _P, and a mean-square of the fluctuations in the turbulent velocity, v _p ² , are determined from the change of the measured mean-square displacement of the droplets over the pipe cross section with time. The interesting aspect of the experiments is that they explored conditions where the inertia of the particles is believed to be a much more important effect than that of the crossing of trajectories associated with the inequality of the average velocities of the particles and the fluid.     

Study of vortex breakdown by particle tracking velocimetry (PTV)

Using a quasi three-dimensional instantaneous measurement technique, which combines particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) with volume scanning, first quantitative experimental results of the unsteady and asymmetric interior region of vortex breakdown were obtained. The study was carried out in a low speed flow through a cylindrical tube. A vortex was generated by a set of guidevanes and subjected to an adverse pressure gradient causing its breakdown. By scanning a pulsed illuminated planar laser light sheet, a set of meridional and azimuthal cuts of the flow was obtained. With PTV the recorded particle paths in the cuts were processed in order to obtain the instantaneous two-dimensional velocity field, mean streamlines and vorticity distribution. Moreover, the three-dimensional shape of the appearing breakdown, visualized with fluorescent dye, was reconstructed from the cuts. The results revealed that the shape of the bubble nearly equals the streamsurface of the stagnation point. According to the conditions in the water tunnel a single tilted vortex ring at the open rear part of the bubble dominates the interior flow structure of the bubble as first noted by Sarpkaya (1971). The vortical flow is bulged over the bubble, restored and intensified at the lower end. The gathered data lead to the conclusion that the vortex axis remains parallel to the centerline.     

The measurement of velocity gradients in fluid flow by laser light scattering

The motion of the speckle pattern in the far field limit is uniquely determined by the velocity gradient of the light scattering medium. This is the basic physical effect of a non-invasive method that allows the measurement of velocity gradients with high spatial and temporal resolution down to 75 m and 1 ms, respectively. We present three different measurement schemes for the analysis of the scattered light. The experimental results refer to mean gradients obtained from measurements on turbulent channel flows.     

A new particle tracking algorithm based on deterministic annealing and alternative distance measures

We describe a new particle tracking algorithm for the interrogation of double frame single exposure data, which is obtained with particle image velocimetry. The new procedure is based on an algorithm which has recently been proposed by Gold et al. (Gold et al., 1998) for solving point matching problems in statistical pattern recognition. For a given interrogation window, the algorithm simultaneously extracts: (i) the correct correspondences between particles in both frames and (ii) an estimate of the local flow-field parameters. Contrary to previous methods, the algorithm determines not only the local velocity, but other local components of the flow field, for example rotation and shear. This makes the new interrogation method superior to standard methods in particular in regions with high velocity gradients (e.g. vortices or shear flows). We perform benchmarks with three standard particle image velocimetry (PIV) and particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) methods: cross-correlation, nearest neighbour search, and image relaxation. We show that the new algorithm requires less particles per interrogation window than cross-correlation and allows for much higher particle densities than the other PTV methods. Consequently, one may obtain the velocity field at high spatial resolution even in regions of very fast flows. Finally, we find that the new algorithm is more robust against out-of-plane noise than previously proposed methods. Received: 1 March 1999 / Accepted: 29 July 1999     

Microbubble lensing-induced photobleaching (μ-BLIP) with application to microflow visualization

The curvature of gas–liquid interfaces and the step change in properties across these interfaces in microchannels are shown here to create a powerful lens/mirror effect. In a hydrophilic system, light incident on the bubble is focused into the surrounding liquid, resulting in a locally increased total light exposure. The optical phenomena leading to this are discussed, and the effect is demonstrated experimentally by imaging the increased photobleaching rate of fluorophores in the near-bubble region. Numerical simulations of the system are performed to investigate the electrical potential and flow fields resulting from the application of an axial electric field. Microbubble lensing-induced photobleaching (-BLIP) is then applied as a method to inject a negative scalar flow marker for flow visualization in microchannels. Once formed, the electrokinetic transport of this marker is analyzed to determine the cross-channel velocity profile of the liquid phase and the liquid velocity in the film. Experimental data is verified by comparison with numerical predictions and previous experimental studies. This contribution represents both a new application of microscale gas–liquid interfacial phenomena, and a new technique for microfluidic flow visualization, particularly applicable (though not limited) to the study of multiphase microchannel flows.     

The stokes problems for a conducting fluid with a suspension of particles

The Stokes problems of an incompressible, viscous, conducting fluid with embedded small spherical particles over an infinite plate, set into motion in its plane by impulse and by oscillation, in the presence of a transverse magnetic field, are studied. The velocities of the fluid and of the particles and the wall shear stress are obtained. The stress is found to increase due to the particles and the magnetic field, with the effect of the particles diminishing as the field strength is increased.Nomenclature H ₀ strength of the imposed magnetic field - k density ratio of particles to fluid (per unit volume of flow field) - m _e ² H ₀ ² / - t time - y co-ordinate normal to the plate - u fluid velocity - v particle velocity - _e magnetic permeability of the fluid - kinematic viscosity of the fluid - electric conductivity of the fluid - fluid density - particle relaxation time - frequency of oscillation of the plate     

Impact of hindered Brownian diffusion on the accuracy of particle-image velocimetry using evanescent-wave illumination

The nano-particle image velocimetry technique uses evanescent-wave illumination generated by total internal reflection at the wall to excite colloidal neutrally buoyant fluorescent tracer particles. The displacement of these particles over time as they are convected by the flow then gives the flow velocity components tangential to the wall. Since the extent of the illumination region normal to the wall is comparable to the particle diameter, a major source of error in this technique is particle mismatch within a pair of images due to Brownian diffusion causing a particle to move in to or out of the illuminated region. The brightness (proportional to the amount of imaged fluorescence) and size of individual particle images in nPIV data are discussed. A sequence of artificial nPIV images are generated for a known uniform velocity field with the particles subject to hindered Brownian diffusion. The velocity fields calculated from these artificial images are compared with the known velocity field to determine the effect of Brownian diffusion-induced particle mismatch on nPIV accuracy. A similar analysis is carried out for experimental nPIV images. The results provide design guidance for experimental measurements using the nPIV technique.     

Theoretical analysis of convective heat transfer enhancement of microencapsulated phase change material slurries

This paper analyzes the convective heat transfer enhancement mechanism of microencapsulated phase change material slurries based on the analogy between convective heat transfer and thermal conduction with thermal sources. The influence of each factor affecting the heat transfer enhancement for laminar flow in a circular tube with constant wall temperature is analyzed using an effective specific heat capacity model. The model is validated with results available in the literature. The analysis and the results clarify the heat transfer enhancement mechanism and the main factors influencing the heat transfer. In addition, the conventional Nusselt number definition of phase change slurries for internal flow is modified to describe the degree of heat transfer enhancement of microencapsulated phase change material slurries. The modification is also consistent evaluation of the convective heat transfer of internal and external flows.c volumetric concentration of microcapsules - c_m mass concentration of microcapsules - c_p specific heat, kJ kg^–1 K^–1 - h_fs phase change material heat of fusion, kJ kg^–1 - h_m* modified convective heat transfer coefficient, W m^–2 K^–1 - k thermal conductivity, W m^–1 K^–1 - k_e effective thermal conductivity of slurry, W m^–1 K^–1 - k_b slurry bulk thermal conductivity, W m^–1 K^–1 - ML dimensionless initial subcooling - Mr dimensionless phase change temperature range - Nu conventional Nusselt number - Nu* improved Nusselt number - q_wⁿ wall heat flux, Wm^–2 - Pe Peclet number - Pr Prandtl number - Re Reynolds number - r radial coordinate, m - r₀ duct radius, m - r₁ dimensionless radial coordinate - Ste Stefan number - T temperature, K - T₁ lower phase change temperature limit, K - T₂ upper phase change temperature limit, K - T_i slurry inlet temperature, K - u axial velocity, m/s - v radial velocity, m/s - x axial coordinate, m - x₁ dimensionless axial coordinate - thermal diffusivity, m²/s - dimensionless temperature - dynamic viscosity, N·s/m² - kinematic viscosity, m²/s - _t width of thermal boundary, m - degree of heat transfer enhancement, = h_m*/(h_m*)_single - b bulk fluid (slurry) - b0 slurry without phase change - l liquid - m mean - s solid - f suspending fluid - p microcapsule particles - w wall - single single-phase fluid     

Dynamics of Brownian particles in a turbulent channel flow

Turbulent channel flows with suspended particles are investigated by means of numerical simulations. The fluid velocity is computed by large eddy simulation. Motion of small graphite particles with diameter of 0.01–10 m, corresponding to the Schmidt number, Sc, of 2.87 × 10²–6.22 × 10⁶ and the particle relaxation time in wall unit, _p⁺, of 9.79 × 10^–5–4.51, is computed by Lagrangian particle tracking. Relation between the particle relaxation time and the computed deposition velocity is found to be in good agreement with an empirical relation. The statistics of the particle motion in the vicinity of the wall are studied. Clear differences are found in dynamical behavior of particles with different sizes. Medium size particles show a strong dependence on the structure of the fluid flow, while small and large particles are considerably less sensitive.     

Study of the intake tumble motion by flow visualization and particle tracking velocimetry

The purpose of this work is to characterize the in-cylinder tumbling flow generated by an engine head during the induction process using flow visualization and particle tracking velocimetry (PTV). The study was carried out for a 4-valve engine head with shrouded intake valves in a special single cylinder transient water analog. This shrouded intake valve configuration was used to obtain a prototypical pure tumble flow suitable for fundamental combustion studies. The results revealed that the shrouded intake valves generate a strong, well-behaved tumble vortex on the axial plane between the cylinder head and the piston face. This vortex dominates the entire flow field and seems to be highly repeatable from cycle to cycle. The effect of engine speed on this tumbling flow was studied. An equivalent tumble ratio was defined and evaluated using the measured velocity fields at BDC (bottom dead center).List of symbols ABDC after bottom dead Center - ATDC after top dead center - BBDC before bottom dead center - BDC bottom dead center - BTDC before top dead center - dm mass of the volume element - M total angular momentum - PTV particle tracking velocimetry - r radial distance from the reference point - t total pulse duration - TDC top dead center - U instantaneous velocity - v velocity of the center point of the element - X streak length     

Particle imaging techniques for microfabricated fluidic systems

This paper presents the design and implementation of velocimetry techniques applicable to the analysis of microfluidic systems. The application of both micron-resolution particle image velocimetry (micro-PIV) and particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) to the measurement of velocity fields within micromachined fluidic channels is presented. The particle tracking system uses epifluorescent microscopy, CCD imaging, and specialized image interrogation algorithms to provide microscale velocity measurement resolution. The flow field in a straight channel section is measured using cross-correlation micro-PIV and compared to the analytical solution for a measured mass flow rate. Velocity field measurements of the flow at the intersection of a cross-channel are also presented and compared with simulations from a commercially available flow solver, CFD-ACE+. Discussions regarding flow seeding, imaging optics, and the flow setup for measuring flows in microfabricated fluidic devices are presented. A simple process for estimating measurement uncertainty of the in-plane velocity measurements caused by three-dimensional Brownian motion is described. A definition for the measurement depth for PTV measurements is proposed. The agreement between measured and predicted values lends further support to the argument that liquid microflows with characteristic dimensions of order 50-μm dimension channels follow macroscale flow theory.     

The Hele-Shaw problem and area-preserving curve-shortening motions

We prove existence, locally in time, of a solution of the following Hele-Shaw problem: Given a simply connected curve contained in a smooth bounded domain, find the motion of the curve such that its normal velocity equals the jump of the normal derivatives of a function which is harmonic in the complement of the curve in and whose boundary value on the curve equals its curvature. We show that this motion is a curve-shortening motion which does not change the area of the region enclosed by the curve. In case is the whole plane ², we also show that if the initial curve is close to an equilibrium curve, i.e., to a circle, then there exists a global solution and the global solution tends to some circle exponentially fast as time tends to infinity.     

Digital image plane holography (DIPH) for two-phase flow diagnostics in multiple planes

A technique for measuring the size and displacement of the disperse phase in two planes of a two-phase flow is presented. Digital image plane holography (DIPH) is used for the simultaneous recording and independent reconstruction of both planes. Each fluid plane is illuminated with two laser sheets propagating in opposite directions. The defocused image fields are holographically recorded at 90°, and can be reconstructed either in a defocused or in the best-focused plane. The analysis of the images in a defocused plane provides the sizes, while the cross-correlation of the focused images provides the velocity field, as in a regular particle image velocimetry (PIV) experiment. For air bubbles freely drifting in glycerine, diameters from 50 m to 400 m and displacements of up to 300 m have been measured.     

Natural convection from a thin heated wire situated on the surface of a liquid

The temperature and velocity fields associated with the free convection of a liquid near a thin heated wire situated close to the horizontal surface of the liquid were studied experimentally. The temperature field was analyzed by the shadow method using a Svil' 80 instrument, and the velocity field by observing the motion of light-scattering particles. Universal profiles of the horizontal velocity and vertical temperature gradient were derived by making scale transformations of the spatial profiles measured in various cross sections of the heated zone for several values of the power developed by the wire.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 139–142, November–December, 1970.     

Analysis of the squeezing flow of dusty fluids

The current investigation deals with the study of the effect of introducing a small fraction of dust, by volume, to the fluid in a squeeze film on the viscous resistance to a steady moving disc. Expressions are obtained for the fluid-phase and the dust-phase velocity distributions and the dust particle number density. Analysis based on an iterative procedure indicates that the resistance to motion experienced by the moving disc increases due to the presence of dust.Nomenclature A arbitrary function of integration - B bulk concentration - F resistance to motion experienced by the disc (dusty fluid case) - F _c resistance to motion experienced by the disc (clean fluid case) - F* difference in resistance between the clean fluid and dusty fluid films - f mass concentration - h thickness of the squeeze film - K Stokes coefficient of resistance - m mass of a single dust particle - fluid viscosity coefficient - N dust particles number density - N ₀ dust particles number density at r=R - n iteration level - p fluid pressure in the squeeze film - P pressure in the surrounding - R radius of the disc - fluid density - (r, , y) cylindrical coordinates - t time - U fluid-phase velocity vector - V dust-phase velocity vector - ₁ fluid-phase radial velocity component - U ₂ dust-phase radial velocity component     

Dual-plane stereo particle image velocimetry (DSPIV) for measuring velocity gradient fields at intermediate and small scales of turbulent flows

A two-frequency dual-plane stereo particle image velocimetry (DSPIV) technique is described for highly resolved measurements of the complete nine-component velocity gradient tensor field u_i/x_j on the quasi-universal intermediate and small scales of turbulent flows. The method is based on two simultaneous, independent stereo particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements in two differentially spaced light sheet planes, with light sheet characterization measurements demonstrating the required sheet thicknesses, separation, and two-axis parallelism that determine the measurement resolution and accuracy. The present approach uses an asymmetric forward–forward scatter configuration with two different laser frequencies in conjunction with filters to separate the scattered light onto the individual stereo camera pairs, allowing solid metal oxide particles to be used as seed particles to permit measurements in nonreacting as well as exothermic reacting turbulent flows.     

Asymmetric snap-buckling of a column restrained by a stiff wire

Summary A relatively simple example of asymmetric snap-through buckling in a continuous structure is the nonlinear problem of a cantilevered column restrained at its tip by a stiff wire, which is inclined at an acute angle to the column centerline, and loaded at its tip by a force perpendicular to the centerline. A parameter called , which is the nondimensional ratio of the flexural rigidity of the column to the combined extensional stiffness of the wire and the column centerline, determines the essential features of the buckling. If is zero, or is small compared to unity, the bending of the column is small enough to justify the use of linear bending theory for the column. Hence, even though the constraint is nonlinear, the solution to this problem is obtained in closed form. The critical point for the structure is found to be an asymmetric branching point for =0, while for positive, the critical point is a snap-through type. The effect of is similar to that induced by initial imperfections in more complex structures. For very small , the critical load is markedly decreased from the value for =0. Moreover, the graph of the load vs. tip deflection has the appearance of having an acute discontinuity in slope at the critical point for very small, although it is actually found that the graph has a horizontal tangent there.

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Sommario Un esempio relativamente semplice di collasso asimmetrico per carico di punta in una struttura continua è il problema non lineare di una colonna incastrata ad una estremità e vincolata all'altra estremità da un filo rigido che forma un angolo acuto con l'asse della colonna e caricata a quella estremità con una forza perpendicolare allo stesso asse. Un parametro chiamato , che è il rapporto adimensionale fra la rigidità flessionale della colonna e la rigidezza longitudinale del filo e dell'asse della colonna, determina le caratteristiche essenziali del cedimento. Se è zero o è piccolo rispetto all'unità, l'inflessione della colonna è sufficientemente piccola per giustificare l'uso della teoria lineare di inflessione per la colonna. Di conseguenza anche se il vincolo non è lineare la soluzione del problema è ottenuta in forma compatta. Il punto critico della struttura si trova nel punto di biforcazione asimmetrica per =0, mentre per positivo, il punto critico rappresenta un punto di collasso. L'effetto di è simile a quello prodotto da imperfezioni iniziali in strutture più complesse. Per molto piccolo il carico critico è notevolmente ridotto rispetto al valore per =0. Inoltre il grafico del carico in funzione della curvatura all'estremità sembra avere una netta discontinuità nella pendenza dal punto di biforcazione per molto piccolo benchè, in realtà si trovi che il grafico ha lì una tangente orizzontale.

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This research was supported by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (Project DEFENDER) and was monitored by the U.S. Army Research Office, Durham, under Contract DA-31-124-ARO-D-257.