Stability of fluid flow past a membrane

The stability of the flow of a fluid past a solid membrane of infinitesimal thickness is investigated using a linear stability analysis. The system consists of two fluids of thicknesses R and H R and bounded by rigid walls moving with velocities and , and separated by a membrane of infinitesimal thickness which is flat in the unperturbed state. The fluids are described by the Navier-Stokes equations, while the constitutive equation for the membrane incorporates the surface tension, and the effect of curvature elasticity is also examined for a membrane with no surface tension. The stability of the system depends on the dimensionless strain rates and in the two fluids, which are defined as and for a membrane with surface tension , and and for a membrane with zero surface tension and curvature elasticity K. In the absence of fluid inertia, the perturbations are always stable. In the limit , the decay rate of the perturbations is O(k ³ ) smaller than the frequency of the fluctuations. The effect of fluid inertia in this limit is incorporated using a small wave number asymptotic analysis, and it is found that there is a correction of smaller than the leading order frequency due to inertial effects. This correction causes long wave fluctuations to be unstable for certain values of the ratio of strain rates and ratio of thicknesses H. The stability of the system at finite Reynolds number was calculated using numerical techniques for the case where the strain rate in one of the fluids is zero. The stability depends on the Reynolds number for the fluid with the non-zero strain rate, and the parameter , where is the surface tension of the membrane. It is found that the Reynolds number for the transition from stable to unstable modes, , first increases with , undergoes a turning point and a further increase in the results in a decrease in . This indicates that there are unstable perturbations only in a finite domain in the plane, and perturbations are always stable outside this domain. Received: 29 May 1997 / Revised: 9 October 1997 / Accepted: 26 November 1997     

Nonlinear dynamics of the interface between continuous media with different densities

By reducing the hydrodynamic flow in the volume occupied by one or two fluids with different densities to the dynamics of the free surface or interface, equations describing their evolution are derived. These equations make it possible to study the essentially nonlinear stages of instability of free surfaces or interfaces in simple mathematical terms. It is shown that a perturbation of the free surface, however small, causes the formation and separation of a drop for a finite time. Accordingly, a perturbation, however small, of the interface between media with different densities results in the formation and subsequent separation of a large-scale vortex of the heavier fluid. Theoretical results agree qualitatively and quantitatively with experiments performed in [1, 2].     

Statistical mechanics of fluids at spherical structureless walls

Statistical mechanical theories of spherical fluid interfaces are discussed in the context of fluids in contact with structureless walls. The thermodynamic route to the surface tension leads to a formula involving gradients of the external field, which is especially suited to the study of fluid-wall systems. The surface tension is found to be determined by the curvature dependence of the density in the region of the wall. For hard walls, potential distribution theory is used to obtain the exact relationship between the statistical mechanical surface tension expression and the grand potential. The accuracy of simple scaled particle theory calculations of the surface tension is estimated from predictions for the equation of state of pair potential fluids with hard core plus attractive tail interactions. Problems with the mechanical route to the curvature dependence of the surface tension are discussed. The planar wall and results for lower dimensionality are included in appendices.     

Effect of surface tension on the mode selection of vertically excited surface waves in a circular cylindrical vessel

Singular perturbation theory of two-time-scale expansions was developed in inviscid fluids to investigate patternforming, structure of the single surface standing wave, and its evolution with time in a circular cylindrical vessel subject to a vertical oscillation. A nonlinear slowly varying complex amplitude equation, which involves a cubic nonlinear term,an external excitation and the influence of surface tension, was derived from the potential flow equation. Surface tensionwas introduced by the boundary condition of the free surface in an ideal and incompressible fluid. The results show that when forced frequency is low, the effect of surface tension on the mode selection of surface waves is not important.However, when the forced frequency is high, the surface tension cannot be neglected. This manifests that the function of surface tension is to cause the free surface to return to its equilibrium configuration. In addition, the effect of surface tension seems to make the theoretical results much closer to experimental results.     

Anisotropic microstructure-induced reduction of the Rayleigh instability for liquid crystalline polymers

We analyze a macroscopic 3D model for flows of liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs), deduced from Doi-type [3,4] kinetic equations. The Doi model accounts for rigid-rod microstructure, which introduces elastic relaxation and polymer-induced viscosity in addition to a Newtonian solvent viscosity, thus capturing all effects contained in standard isotropic viscoelastic models for Maxwell and Oldroyd B fluids. The rod-like microstructure further introduces anisotropic effects in the form of drag on the rods, together with a short-range, Maier-Saupe intermolecular potential, whose critical points vary with LCP concentration and yield stable isotropic (at low density) and nematic (at high density) equilibrium phases. From this single model, we compare various physical mechanisms for reducing the capillary instability of inviscid cylindrical jets: solvent viscosity as studied by Rayleigh and Chandrasekhar; isotropic viscoelasticity, both with and without Newtonian solvent viscosity; anisotropic polymer friction; and finally, the nematic, highly aligned prolate phase at high LCP density. Realistic parameter values for LCPs correspond to a regime in which the LCP capillary number (polymer bulk free energy relative to surface tension) is above an identified critical value; in such regimes, the unstable growth rates of the isotropic and nematic phases are lowered arbitrarily close to zero if the molecular drag is sufficiently anisotropic even in the absence of solvent viscosity. In low capillary number regimes, where surface tension dominates LCP bulk free energy, the LCP growth rates are sandwiched below the inviscid Rayleigh curve and above an explicit positive lower bound.     

On the thermodynamics of hard spheres near a soft repulsive wall

We extend the variational method based on the Gibbs-Bogolioubov inequality to the case of fluids against a wall. We investigate the influence of the softness of the wall on the free energy of the system. For small packing fraction we consider a density expansion. The variational results are compared with the exact ones which are given by a direct expansion of the free energy. A comparison between variational and perturbation methods has been done for small packing fraction and also for a case corresponding to the liquid state. The accuracy of the present extension of the variational method to a surface phenomena is found as good as in the bulk fluid. A very simple expression is given for the change on surface tension when we go from the perfect hard wall to soft repulsive wall.     

Fluids absorbed in structured pores

A model of fluids absorbed in a pore with walls patterned with parallel channels is used to demonstrate some of the unity that can be proved to hold between the statistical mechanics of fluids absorbed in structured pores and of fluids adsorbed at unstructured walls and at edges/wedges where walls meet. In particular, the work done to reversibly shear a corrugated pore immersed in liquid is related to the difference in the density profile structure of liquid adsorbed near the edges of the channels. When the channel dimensions are mesoscopic or macroscopic but the minimum pore width is microscopic, statistical mechanics generates remarkable links between the surface tension of planar wall-fluid interfaces or, more generally, the solvation free energy of a planar pore, and the density profile at the sides of a channel wall in the vicinity of edges and wedges.     

Spout states in the selective withdrawal of immiscible fluids through a nozzle suspended above a two-fluid interface

In selective withdrawal, fluid is withdrawn through a nozzle suspended above the flat interface separating two immiscible, density-separated fluids of viscosities nu(upper) and nu(lower) = lambda nu(upper). At low withdrawal rates, the interface gently deforms into a hump. At a transition withdrawal rate, a spout of the lower fluid becomes entrained with the flow of the upper one into the nozzle. When lambda=0.005, the spouts at the transition are very thin with features that are over an order of magnitude smaller than any observed in the humps. When lambda=20, there is an intricate pattern of hysteresis and a spout appears which is qualitatively different from those seen at lower lambda. No corresponding qualitative difference is seen in the hump shapes.     

Influence of the surface deformability and variable viscosity on buoyant - thermocapillary instability in a liquid layer

The primary stationary and oscillatory Bénard-Marangoni instability is investigated in a fluid layer of infinite horizontal extent, bounded below by a rigid plane and above by a deformable upper surface, subjected to a vertical temperature gradient. Since the viscosity is temperature-dependent the consequences of relaxing Oberbeck-Boussinesq approximation and free surface deformability are theoretically examined by means of small disturbance analysis. The problem has been solved numerically by the Taylor series expansion method. The results obtained confirm that when the free surface is undeformable, stationary convection develops in the form of polygonal cells, and oscillatory motion cannot be detected. When the surface deformability is considered, stationary convection sets in, either as a short-wavelength hexagonal instability or as a long-wavelengh mode or as both, and oscillatory convection is also possible. The stability threshold for the short-wavelength mode depends mainly on the viscosity variation while the long-wavelength mode is determined by the surface deformation. Numerically, it is found that the neutral oscillatory Marangoni numbers are only negative. When a variable-viscosity model is used the theoretical and experimental results are in better agreement. Received 15 May 1997     

基于光滑粒子动力学方法的液滴冲击固壁面问题数值模拟

采用改进的光滑粒子动力学(SPH)方法对液滴冲击固壁面问题进行了数值模拟. 为了提高传统SPH方法的计算精度和数值稳定性, 在传统的SPH方法的基础上对粒子方法中的密度和核梯度进行了修正, 采用了考虑黎曼解法的SPH流体控制方程, 构造了一种新型的粒子间相互作用力(IIF)模型来模拟表面张力的影响. 应用改进的SPH方法对液滴冲击固壁面问题进行了数值模拟. 计算结果表明：新型的IIF 模型能够较好地模拟表面张力的影响, 改进的SPH方法能够精细地描述液滴与固壁面相互作用过程中液滴的内部压力场演变和自由面形态变化, 液滴的铺展因子随初始韦伯数的增大而增大, 数值模拟结果与实验得到的结果基本一致. 关键词： 液滴 固壁面 光滑粒子动力学 表面张力     

Nanopore wall effect on surface tension of methane

Local pressure is known to be anisotropic across the interfaces separating fluids in equilibrium. Tangential pressure profiles show characteristic negative peaks as a result of surface tension forces parallel to the interface. Nearby attractive forces parallel to the interface are larger than the repulsive forces and, hence, constitute the surface tension. In this work, using molecular dynamics simulations of methane inside nano-scale pores, we show this surface tension behaviour could be significantly influenced by confinement effects. The layering structure, characterised by damped oscillations in local liquid density and tangential pressures, extends deep into the pore and can be a few nanometers thick. The surface tension is measured numerically using local pressures across the interface. Results show that the tension is smaller under confinement and becomes a variable in small pores, mainly controlled by the thickness of the liquid density layering (or liquid saturation) and the pore width. If the liquid saturation inside the pore is high enough, the vapour–liquid interface is not interfered by the pore wall and the surface tension remains the same as the bulk values. The results are important for understanding phase change and multi-phase transport phenomena in nanoporous materials.     

Bénard-Marangoni instability in a viscoelastic ferrofluid

In this paper we report theoretical and numerical results on convection of a magnetic fluid in a viscoelastic carrier liquid. The viscoelastic properties are given by the Oldroyd model. We impose the lower interface to be rigid, whereas the upper one is free and is assumed to be non-deformable and flat. Also, at the upper interface the surface tension is taken to vary linearly with the temperature. Using a spectral method we calculate numerically the convective thresholds for both stationary and oscillatory bifurcations. The effect of the viscoelasticity and the Kelvin force on the instability thresholds are emphasized.     

Statistical thermodynamics of soft surfaces

We review the continuum, statistical thermodynamics of surfaces and interfaces in soft matter where both the energy and entropy of the surface are comparable. These systems include complex fluids that are dominated by either surface tension or the interfacial curvature, such as: fluid and solid interfaces, colloidal dispersions, macromolecular solutions, membranes, and other self-assembling aggregates such as micelles, vesicles, and microemulsions. The primary focus is on the theoretical concepts, their universality, and the role of fluctuations and inhomogeneities with connections to relevant experimental systems.     

Universality in crossover function for convection in fluids with a free surface

We show that in the onset of convection in a thin fluid layer with a free surface, the passage from surface tension driven to buoyancy driven convection with changing thickness of the fluid layer follows a universal curve and can be calculated very accurately using a variational method. We have shown that the balance between surface tension traction to buoyancy force determines the crossover length scale of the fluid which is independent of viscosity or thermal diffusivity. We suggest a scenario near critical point of fluids in which this crossover can be observed.     

Theory of the liquid-vapour interface of a binary mixture of Lennard-Jones fluids

We present results of calculations of the equilibrium surface tension and density profiles for the liquid-vapour interface of a binary mixture of Lennard-Jones 12-6 fluids. The calculations are based on a density-functional theory for the Helmholtz free energy of the inhomogeneous mixture. This is a ‘microscopic’ generalization of the van der Waals-Cahn-Hilliard theory for the interface of a binary mixture.

Our calculations cover the full range of liquid-vapour coexistence and the whole range of concentration. We find a correlation between the excess surface tension of the mixture and the surface segregation (adsorption) of the species with the lower surface tension. The ways in which segregation and excess surface tension depend on the Lennard-Jones parameters of the pure components are briefly discussed. Our results for the excess surface tension of mixtures of Ar and N₂ and Ar and CH₄ are compared with experiment; the agreement is reasonable.     

Adsorption and interfacial phenomena of a Lennard-Jones fluid adsorbed in slit pores: DFT and GCMC simulations

ABSTRACT

Confinement of fluids in porous media leads to the presence of solid–fluid (SF) interfaces that play a key role in many different fields. The experimental characterisation of SF interfacial properties, in particular the surface tension, is challenging or not accessible. In this work, we apply mean-field density functional theory (DFT) to determine the surface tension and also density profile of a Lennard-Jones fluid in slit-shaped pores for realistic amounts of adsorbed molecules. We consider the pore walls to interact with fluid molecules through the well-known 10-4-3 Steele potential. The results are compared with those obtained from Monte Carlo simulations in the Grand Canonical Ensemble (GCMC) using the test-area method. We analyse the effect on the adsorption and interfacial phenomena of volume and energy factors, in particular, the pore diameter and the ratio between SF and fluid–fluid dispersive energy parameters, respectively. Results from DFT and GCMC simulations were found to be comparable, which points to their reliability.     

STEADY INTERNAL WATER WAVES WITH A CRITICAL LAYER BOUNDED BY THE WAVE SURFACE

In this paper we construct small amplitude periodic internal waves traveling at the boundary region between two rotational and homogeneous fluids with different densities. Within a period, the waves we obtain have the property that the gradient of the stream function associated to the fluid beneath the interface vanishes, on the wave surface, at exactly two points. Furthermore, there exists a critical layer which is bounded from above by the wave profile. Besides, we prove, without excluding the presence of stagnation points, that if the vorticity function associated to each fluid in part is real-analytic, bounded, and non-increasing, then capillary-gravity steady internal waves are a priori real-analytic. Our new method provides the real-analyticity of capillary and capillary-gravity waves with stagnation points traveling over a homogeneous rotational fluid under the same restrictions on the vorticity function.     

Finite-Wavelength Stability¶of Capillary-Gravity Solitary Waves

We consider the Euler equations describing nonlinear waves on the free surface of a two-dimensional inviscid, irrotational fluid layer of finite depth. For large surface tension, Bond number larger than 1/3, and Froude number close to 1, the system possesses a one-parameter family of small-amplitude, traveling solitary wave solutions. We show that these solitary waves are spectrally stable with respect to perturbations of finite wave-number. In particular, we exclude possible unstable eigenvalues of the linearization at the soliton in the long-wavelength regime, corresponding to small frequency, and unstable eigenvalues with finite but bounded frequency, arising from non-adiabatic interaction of the infinite-wavelength soliton with finite-wavelength perturbations. Received: 7 February 2001 / Accepted: 6 October 2001