Numerical calculations of steady viscous incompressible fluid flows

Most authors use the stream function for the calculation of two-dimensional viscous incompressible fluid flows. The velocity field is determined by numerical differentiation, which reduces the computation accuracy significantly. In the following we study steady viscous fluid flow fay a method which makes it possible to avoid this drawback; in this case the problem of the Navier-Stokes equations reduces to a different equivalent problem: an implicit finite-difference scheme constructed on the basis of the results of [1, 2] is proposed for the numerical solution of the resulting system of equations.     

On the Modelling of the Electro-Hydrodynamic Flow Field in Electrostatic Precipitators

Electro-hydrodynamic (EHD) flows are investigated theoretically and numerically in this paper and results are presented for the flow field in model electrostatic precipitators (EPs). The resulting flow fields are shown in various representations and explained qualitatively. Numerical calculations with different flow models (non-turbulent and RANS) were conducted to investigate the influence of the flow model on the resulting secondary flows. Furthermore, a perturbation analysis is presented, leading to a simple differential equation of the Helmholtz type. This allows a more detailed view of the important mechanisms forming the secondary flows as well as being able to obtain a very fast estimation of the resulting flow field. The calculations reveal a strong influence of a vortex formation at the beginning of the precipitation zone on the whole flow field. Furthermore, a strong effect of the boundary conditions of the electric field and the operating parameters is shown. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A Hybrid Boundary/Finite Element Method for Simulating Viscous Flows and Shapes of Droplets in Electric Fields

A mixed boundary element and finite element numerical algorithm for the simultaneous prediction of the electric fields, viscous flow fields, thermal fields and surface deformation of electrically conducting droplets in an electrostatic field is described in this paper. The boundary element method is used for the computation of the electric potential distribution. This allows the boundary conditions at infinity to be directly incorporated into the boundary integral formulation, thereby obviating the need for discretization at infinity. The surface deformation is determined by solving the normal stress balance equation using the weighted residuals method. The fluid flow and thermal fields are calculated using the mixed finite element method. The computational algorithm for the simultaneous prediction of surface deformation and fluid flow involves two iterative loops, one for the electric field and surface deformation and the other for the surface tension driven viscous flows. The two loops are coupled through the droplet surface shapes for viscous fluid flow calculations and viscous stresses for updating the droplet shapes. Computing the surface deformation in a separate loop permits the freedom of applying different types of elements without complicating procedures for the internal flow and thermal calculations. Tests indicate that the quadratic, cubic spline and spectral boundary elements all give approximately the same accuracy for free surface calculations; however, the quadratic elements are preferred as they are easier to implement and also require less computing time. Linear elements, however, are less accurate. Numerical simulations are carried out for the simultaneous solution of free surface shapes and internal fluid flow and temperature distributions in droplets in electric fields under both microgravity and earthbound conditions. Results show that laser heating may induce a non-uniform temperature distribution in the droplets. This non-uniform thermal field results in a variation of surface tension along the surface of the droplet, which in turn produces a recirculating fluid flow in the droplet. The viscous stresses cause additional surface deformation by squeezing the surface areas above and below the equator plane.     

Direct numerical simulation of the laminar-turbulent transition in a thick spherical layer

The results of a numerical study of the laminar-turbulent transition in unsteady isothermal three-dimensional flows of viscous incompressible fluid in a thick spherical layer between counter-rotating spherical boundaries are presented. The calculations are performed for the governing parameters corresponding to the experimental data [1, 2]. The numerical investigations include both solving the complete system of Navier-Stokes equations and analyzing the linear stability of steady-state axisymmetric flows with respect to three-dimensional disturbances. A stochastic flow regime is calculated for the first time. The limits of existence of different flow regimes and the hysteresis regions are found. The spatial flow patterns and frequency characteristics are obtained, which makes it possible to extend and refine the existing experimental data.     

Electrification of weakly conducting liquids in the neighborhood of a wall

The problem of the generation of an uncompensated electric space charge in weakly conducting viscous fluid channel flows in which the medium interacts electrochemically with an interface is investigated for an arbitrary relation between the mobilities of the charged particles of different kinds. New models of the electrochemical surface processes are considered. The effect of the parameters of these processes on the electrification current and on the time taken by the electric parameters of the medium is studied to reach saturation. The possibility of the generation of strong induced electric fields on the interface is justified theoretically, two basic parameters affecting the strength of these fields are determined, and an explanation of the discharge process observed in the experiments in the form of local fluid glow zones is proposed.     

Electroconvective jets in liquid dielectrics

The principal feature of electroconvective jets in liquid dielectrics developing under the influence of a high-voltage external field is the large value of the EHD interaction parameter. This leads to the coupling of the hydrodynamic and electric problems. As formulated in [1, 2] the situation is reversed: the EHD interaction parameter is small. In these problems the interest is usually confined to finding the electric characteristics of the jet for a given velocity field. In [3] flows from sharp electrodes in liquid dielectrics were analyzed under two principal assumptions: nonlinear ohmic conductivity and point EHD interaction. This paper deals with the calculation of submerged electroconvective jets with ionic conductivity on the basis of the boundary-value problem formulated in [4]. In this case point EHD interaction is not assumed. It should be noted that in this formulation the problem is of practical as well as theoretical interest, for example, in connection with the problem of designing throttle EHD converters [5].Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 13–19, November–December, 1984.     

Turbulent Channel Flow with an Artificial Two-Dimensional Wall Layer

Turbulent flow of an incompressible fluid in a plane channel with parallel walls is considered. The three-dimensional time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations are solved numerically using the spectral finite-difference method. An artificial force which completely suppresses lateral oscillations of the velocity is introduced in the near-wall zone (10 % of the channel half-width in the neighborhood of each wall). Thus, the three-dimensional flow zone, in which turbulent oscillations can develop, is separated from the wall by a fluid layer. It is found that the elimination of three-dimensionality in the neighborhood of the walls leads to a significant reduction in the drag. However, complete laminarization does not occur. The flow in the stream core remains turbulent and can be interpreted as a turbulent flow in a channel with walls located on the boundary of the two-dimensional layer and traveling at the local mean-flow velocity. The oscillations developing inside the two-dimensional layer, which have significant amplitude, distort the flow only in the adjacent zone. Beyond this zone the distributions of the mean characteristics and the structure of instantaneous fields completely correspond to ordinary turbulent flow in a channel with rigid walls. The results obtained confirm the hypothesis of the unimportance of the no-slip boundary conditions for the fluctuating velocity component in the mechanism of onset and self-maintenance of turbulence in wall flows.     

Method of calculation of interaction of wall flows

A flow of viscous compressible fluid in the neighborhood of the line of interaction of wall flows is considered. A method of calculating the line of interaction and the direction of the self-induced secondary flow is developed. Papers [1–3] are devoted to the simulation of a separation flow with singularities in the neighborhood of singular lines and points, where boundary-layer equations are invalid. However, the theories of local separation used at present have mainly been developed only for two-dimensional problems, while the models of viscous-inviscid interaction have restrictions in application for turbulent flows with developed separation. The interaction of three-dimensional wall turbulent flows is considered below. It is assumed that the thickness of the boundary layers and the scales of the interaction zones are small in comparison with the characteristic dimension of the system, while the line of discontinuity of the solutions of the three-dimensional boundary layer equations is the same as the line of interaction of the wall flows.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 2, pp. 53–59, March–April, 1987.The author is grateful to G. Yu. Stepanov and V. N. Ershov for their interest in my work and their valuable remarks.     

A numerical investigation of electrohydrodynamic (EHD) effects on bubble deformation under pseudo-nucleate boiling conditions

In this article, the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) effects on nucleate boiling are studied by developing a numerical modelling of EHD effect on bubble deformation in pseudo-nucleate boiling conditions. The volume of fluid (VOF) method is employed to track the interface between the gas–liquid two phases; the user-defined code is written and added to the commercial software FLUENT to solve the electric field and the corresponding electric body force. On this basis, the model is applied to study the EHD effects on heat transfer and fluid flows. An initial air bubble surrounded by liquid CCl₄ and attached to a horizontal superheated wall under the action of electric field is studied. The results of the EHD effect on bubble shape evolution are compared with those of available experiments showing good agreement. The mechanism of EHD enhancement of heat transfer and the EHD induced phenomena including bubble elongation and detachment are analyzed in detail.     

Investigation of the flow and heat transfer of viscous reacting fluids in long tubes

Heat transfer and resistance in the case of laminar flow of inert gases and liquids in a circular tube were considered in [1–4], the justification of the use of boundary-layer type equations for investigating two-dimensional flows in tubes being provided in [4]. The flow of strongly viscous, chemically reacting fluids in an infinite tube has been investigated analytically and numerically in the case of a constant pressure gradient or constant flow rate of the fluid [5–8]. An analytic analysis of the flow of viscous reacting fluids in tubes of finite length was made in [9, 10]. However, by virtue of the averaging of the unknown functions over the volume of the tube in these investigations, the allowance for the finite length of the tube reduced to an analysis of the influence of the time the fluid remains in the tube on the thermal regime of the flow, and the details of the flow and the heat transfer in the initial section of the tube were not taken into account. In [11], the development of chemical reactions in displacement reactors were studied under the condition that a Poiseuille velocity profile is realized and the viscosity does not depend on the temperature or the concentration of the reactant; in [12], a study was made of the regimes of an adiabatic reactor of finite length, and in [13] of the flow regimes of reacting fluids in long tubes in the case of a constant flow rate. The aim of the present paper is to analyze analytically and numerically in the two-dimensional formulation the approach to the regimes of thermal and hydrodynamic stabilization in the case of the flow of viscous inert fluids and details of the flow of strongly viscous reacting fluids.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 17–25, January–February, 1930.     

Some geometric acoustic problems of one-dimensional unsteady and two-dimensional steady flows

The behavior of discontinuities (weak shocks) of the parameters of a disturbed flow and their interaction with the discontinuities of the basic flow in the geometric acoustics approximation, when the variation of the intensity of such shocks along the characteristics or the bicharacteristics is described by ordinary differential equations, has been investigated by many authors. Thus, Keller [1] considered the case when the undisturbed flow is three-dimensional and steady, and the external inputs do not depend on the flow parameters. An analogous study was made by Bazer and Fleischman for the MGD isentropic flow of an ideal conducting medium [2], while Lugovtsov [3] studied the three-dimensional steady flow of a gas of finite conductivity for small magnetic Reynolds numbers and no electric field. Several studies (for example, [4]) have considered the behavior of discontinuities of the solutions from the general positions of the theory of hyperbolic systems of quasilinear equations. Finally, the interaction of weak shocks (or the equivalent continuous disturbances) with shock waves was studied in [5–11].In what follows we consider one-dimensional (with plane, cylindrical, and spherical waves) and quasi-one-dimensional unsteady flows, and also plane and axisymmetric steady flows. Two problems are investigated: the variation of the intensity of weak shocks in the presence of inputs which depend on the stream parameters, and the interaction of weak shocks with strong discontinuities which differ from contact (tangential) discontinuities.The thermodynamic properties of the gas are considered arbitrary. We note that the resulting formulas for the interaction coefficients of the weak and strong discontinuities are also valid for nonequilibrium flow.     

Three-dimensional separation in the neighborhood of roughness on the surface of an axisymmetric body

Steady-state viscous incompressible fluid flow past an axisymmetric slender body is considered at high Reynolds numbers in the regime with vanishing surface friction in a certain cross-section. In a small neighborhood of this cross-section interaction between the boundary layer flow and the external irrotational stream develops. In order to study the structure of the three-dimensional flow with local separation zones it is assumed that there is three-dimensional roughness on the surface of the body with the scale of the interaction zone. For this zone a numerical solution of the problem is obtained and its nonuniqueness is established. The surface friction line (limiting streamline) patterns with their inherent features are constructed.Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 3, pp. 67–79, May–June, 1995.Thus, on the basis of the asymptotic marginal separation theory it is possible to obtain fairly simple solutions describing flows with a complex surface friction line structure.     

Diffusion toward a cylinder in the case of an arbitrary viscous flow. Diffusive boundary layer approximation

Steady convective diffusion of a dissolved substance toward the surface of a cylinder (optionally circular) in a viscous flow is examined. An analytical solution is obtained in [1, 2] for the case of laminar flow around a curved cylinder when the freestream flow is straight and uniform. More complex hydrodynamical problems are examined in [3, 4]. In the present work an approximate analytical expression is obtained for diffusive flow of a substance toward the surface of a solid cylinder in the case of an arbitrary two-dimensional flow. Formulas are given for calculating the mass transfer at a circular cylinder in some shear flows of a viscous, incompressible fluid.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 163–166, September–October, 1976.The authors thank Yu. P. Gupalo and Yu. S. Ryazantseva for formulating the problem and their attention to the work.     

Magnetohydrodynamic lubrication theory for a cylindrical bearing

Liquid metal, which is a conductor of electric current, may be used as a lubricant at high temperatures. In recent years considerable attention has been devoted to various problems on the motion of an electrically conducting liquid lubricant in magnetic and electric fields (magnetohydrodynamic theory of lubrication), Thus, for example, references [1–3] study the flow of a conducting lubricating fluid between two plane walls located in a magnetic field. An electrically conducting lubricating layer in a magnetohydrodynamic bearing with cylindrical surfaces is considered in [4–8] and elsewhere.The present work is concerned with the solution of the plane magnetohydrodynamic problem on the pressure distribution of a viscous eletrically conducting liquid in the lubricating layer of a cylindrical bearing along whose axis there is directed a constant magnetic field, while a potential difference from an external source is applied between the journal and the bearing. The radial gap in the bearing is not assumed small, and the problem reduces to two-dimensional system of magnetohydrodynamic equations.An expression is obtained for the additional pressure in the lubricating layer resulting from the electromagnetic forces. In the particular case of a very thin layer the result reported in [4–8] is obtained. SI units are used.     

The influence of fluid properties on electrohydrodynamic heat transfer enhancement in liquids under viscous and electrically dominated flow conditions

Fluid property effects on electrohydrodynamic (EHD) heat transfer enhancement were investigated. Heat transfer, pressure drop, electrical power requirements, and the transition between the viscous dominated and electrically dominated flow regimes as a function of fluid properties were examined using three cooling oils having widely varying physical properties. Low viscosity and low electrical conductivity gave the greatest heat transfer enhancement for a given electrical power input. The required electrical power to achieve a specified heat transfer enhancement was greater for working fluids that had a small charge relaxation time, defined as the ratio of the electrical permittivity to the electrical conductivity. These results correlate well with available experimental and analytical data. A theoretical prediction of the effect of fluid properties and forced flow rate on the onset of EHD enhancement was experimentally verified. The onset of significant EHD heat transfer enhancement occurs most readily in low viscosity liquids at low Reynolds number flows for a given electrical power input.     

Forward roll coating flows of viscoelastic liquids

Roll coating is distinguished by the use of one or more gaps between rotating cylinders to meter and apply a liquid layer to a substrate. Except at low speed, the two-dimensional film splitting flow that occurs in forward roll coating is unstable; a three-dimensional steady flow sets in, resulting in more or less regular stripes in the machine direction. For Newtonian liquids, the stability of the two-dimensional flow is determined by the competition of capillary and viscous forces: the onset of meniscus nonuniformity is marked by a critical value of the capillary number. Although most of the liquids coated industrially are non-Newtonian polymeric solutions and dispersions, most of the theoretical analyses of film splitting flows relied on the Newtonian model. Non-Newtonian behavior can drastically change the nature of the flow near the free surface; when minute amounts of flexible polymer are present, the onset of the three-dimensional instability occurs at much lower speeds than in the Newtonian case.Forward roll coating flow is analyzed here with two differential constitutive models, the Oldroyd-B and the FENE-P equations. The results show that the elastic stresses change the flow near the film splitting meniscus by reducing and eventually eliminating the recirculation present at low capillary number. When the recirculation disappears, the difference of the tangential and normal stresses (i.e., the hoop stress) at the free surface becomes positive and grows dramatically with fluid elasticity, which explains how viscoelasticity destabilizes the flow in terms of the analysis of Graham [M.D. Graham, Interfacial hoop stress and instability of viscoelastic free surface flows, Phys. Fluids 15 (2003) 1702–1710].     

Double-diffusive convection in a cubical lid-driven cavity with opposing temperature and concentration gradients

A numerical study of three-dimensional incompressible viscous flow inside a cubical lid-driven cavity is presented. The flow is governed by two mechanisms: (1) the sliding of the upper surface of the cavity at a constant velocity and (2) the creation of an external gradient for temperature and solutal fields. Extensive numerical results of the three-dimensional flow field governed by the Navier-Stokes equations are obtained over a wide range of physical parameters, namely Reynolds number, Grashof number and the ratio of buoyancy forces. The preceding numerical results obtained have a good agreement with the available numerical results and the experimental observations. The deviation of the flow characteristics from its two-dimensional form is emphasized. The changes in main characteristics of the flow due to variation of Reynolds number are elaborated. The effective difference between the two-dimensional and three-dimensional results for average Nusselt number and Sherwood number at high Reynolds numbers along the heated wall is analyzed. It has been observed that the substantial transverse velocity that occurs at a higher range of Reynolds number disturbs the two-dimensional nature of the flow.     

On the flow of a viscous fluid driven along a channel by suction at porous walls

This paper is a theoretical treatment of the flow of a viscous incompressible fluid driven along a channel by steady uniform suction through porous parallel rigid walls. Many authors have found such flows when they are symmetric, steady and two-dimensional, by assuming a similarity form of solution due to Berman in order to reduce the Navier-Stokes equations to a nonlinear ordinary differential equation. We generalise their work by considering asymmetric flows, unsteady flows and three-dimensional perturbations. By use of numerical calculations, matched asymptotic expansions for large values of the Reynolds number, and the theory of dynamical systems, we find many more exact solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations, examine their stability, and interpret them. In particular, we show that most previously found steady solutions are unstable to antisymmetric two-dimensional disturbances. This leads to a pitchfork bifurcation, stable asymmetric steady solutions, a Hopf bifurcation, stable time-periodic solutions, stable quasi-periodic solutions, phase locking and chaos in succession as the Reynolds number increases.     

Viscoelasticity of a dielectric fluid in nonuniform electric fields generated by electrodes with flocked fabrics

The rheological behavior of a dielectric fluid is studied in nonuniform electric fields which are generated by an electrode covered with flocked fabrics. Although no electrorheological (ER) effects are observed in uniform fields between metal electrodes with smooth surfaces, striking increases in viscosity and elastic response are induced by the electrode with flocked fabrics. The presence of flocked fabrics does not have a significant effect on the fluid rheology without electric fields. The ER behavior and current density are influenced by the fiber length even at a constant field strength. When a very small amount of fine particles is introduced in the electrified fluid without shear, we can see the rapid and large-scale motion of particles between the tips of fibers and plate electrode. In high DC fields, the Coulomb force acting on a free charge often gives rise to the secondary motion of fluid. The local motion of fluid in high electric fields is refereed to as electrohydrodynamic (EHD) convection. The additional energy may be required to change the periodic patterns of EHD convection by forced shear. Therefore, the ER effect demonstrated by the modification of electrode with flocked fabrics can be attributed to a combined effect of EHD convection and external shear. Received: 10 March 1998 Accepted: 1 June 1998