TEMPORAL STABILITY OF FLOW THROUGH VISCOELASTIC TUBES

The stability of the Hagen–Poiseuille flow of a Newtonian fluid in an incompressible, viscoelastic tube contained within a rigid, hollow cylinder is determined using linear stability analysis. The stability of the system subjected to infinitesimal axisymmetric or non-axisymmetric disturbances is considered. The fluid and wall inertia terms are retained in their respective equations of motion. A novel numerical strategy is introduced to study the stability of the coupled fluid–structure system. The strategy alleviates the need for aninitial guess and thus ensures that all the unstable modes within a given closed region in the complex eigenvalue plane will be found. It is found that the system is unstable to both axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric disturbances. Moreover, depending on the values of the control parameters, the first unstable mode can be either an axisymmetric mode with the azimuthal wavenumber n=0 or a non-axisymmetric mode withn =1. For a given azimuthal wavenumber, it is found that there are no more than two unstable modes within the closed region considered here in the complex plane. For both the axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric instabilities, one mode is a solid-based, flow-induced surface instability, while the other one is a fluid-based instability that asymptotes to the least-damped rigid-wall mode as the thickness of the compliant wall tends to zero. All four modes are stabilized, to different degrees, by the solid viscosity.     

电场作用下无黏聚焦射流的时间不稳定性研究

基于电场作用下的流动聚焦实验建立了简化的理论模型,开展了带电同轴液气射流的时间不稳定性分析.在无黏假设下,得到了扰动在时间域内发展演化的解析形式的色散关系,分析了主要控制参数对不稳定模态的影响.结果表明,只有轴对称扰动和第一类非轴对称扰动在时间域内是增长的;液气界面的表面张力对轴对称扰动有着双重影响而对非轴对称扰动起抑制作用;外层气体的流速以及密度的增加均能促进射流的失稳.这些结论与实验结果是定性一致的.结果也表明,在不考虑初始界面电荷密度时,单一的轴向电场能抑制射流的失稳.      

Axisymmetric resonant disturbances in a homogeneous wave guide

The initial boundary-value linear stability problem for small localised axisymmetric disturbances in a homogeneous elastic wave guide, with the free upper surface and the lower surface being rigidly attached to a half-space, is formally solved by applying the Laplace transform in time and the Hankel transforms of zero and first orders in space. An asymptotic evaluation of the solution, expressed as a sum of inverse Laplace-Hankel integrals, is carried out by using the approach of the mathematical formalism of absolute and convective instabilities. It is shown that the dispersion-relation function of the problem D₀ (κ, ω), where the Hankel parameter κ is substituted by a wave number (and the Fourier parameter) κ, coincides with the dispersion-relation function D₀ (k, ω) for two-dimensional (2-D) disturbances in a homogeneous wave guide, where ω is the frequency (and the Laplace parameter) in both cases. An analysis for localised 2-D disturbances in a homogeneous wave guide is then applied. We obtain asymptotic expressions for wave packets, triggered by axisymmetric perturbations localised in space and finite in time, as well as for responses to axisymmetric sources localised in space, with the time dependence satisfying e^−iω₀t + O(e^−εt) for t → ∞, where Im ω₀ = 0, ε > 0, and t denotes time, i.e. for signalling with frequency ω₀. We demonstrate that, for certain combinations of physical parameters, axisymmetric wave packets with an algebraic temporal decay and axisymmetric signalling with an algebraic temporal growth, as √t, i.e., axisymmetric temporal resonances, are present in a neutrally stable homogeneous wave guide. The set of physically relevant wave guides having axisymmetric resonances is shown to be fairly wide. Furthermore, since an axisymmetric part of any source is L²-orthogonal to its non-axisymmetric part, a 3-D signalling with a non-vanishing axisymmetric component at an axisymmetric resonant frequency will generally grow algebraically in time. These results support our hypothesis concerning a possible resonant triggering mechanism of certain earthquakes, see Brevdo, 1998, J. Elasticity, 49, 201–237.     

Experimental investigation of natural convective flows in slowly rotating wide spherical shells

Experimental results are presented on natural convection in a spherical shell of inner and outer radii r ₁ = 14 mm and r ₂ = 35 mm, with the inner sphere cooled and the outer sphere heated. The fluids filling the shell are two different silicon oils having Prandtl numbers 39 and 233. Both spheres are fixed together and can be rotated. In the studied regime, both Coriolis and centrifugal forces become significant. For sufficiently small Rayleigh numbers the resulting flow pattern is axisymmetric and steady, consisting of a plume descending from the south pole of the inner sphere, and returning in the equatorial regions. For greater Rayleigh numbers the flow becomes non-axisymmetric, with azimuthal modes m = 2 to 4 arising. We map out the critical Rayleigh number for the onset of these different modes, and consider how they vary with increasingly rapid overall rotation. Detailed flow measurements are done by converting a standard 2D particle image velocimetry system into a scanning quasi-3D PIV system.     

Spectral methods for the viscoelastic time-dependent flow equations with applications to Taylor–Couette flow

The time evolution of finite amplitude axisymmetric perturbations (Taylor cells) to the purely azimuthal, viscoelastic, cylindrical Couette flow was numerically simulated. Two time integration numerical methods were developed, both based on a pseudospectral spatial approximation of the variables, efficiently implemented using fast Poisson solvers and optimal filtering routines. The first method, applicable for finite Re numbers, is based on a time-splitting integration with the divergence-free condition enforced through an influence matrix technique. The second one, is based on a semi-implicit time integration of the constitutive equation with both the continuity and the momentum equations enforced as constraints. Stability results for an upper convected Maxwell fluid were obtained for the supercritical bifurcations, either steady or time-periodic, developed after the onset of instabilities in the primary flow. At small elasticity values, ? ≡ De/Re, the time integration of finite amplitude disturbances confirms the stability of the single branch of steady Taylor cells. At intermediate ? values the rotating wave family of time-periodic solutions developed at the onset of instability is stable, whereas the standing wave is found to be unstable. At high ? values, and in particular for the limit of creeping flow (? = ∞), the present study shows that the rotating wave family is unstable and the standing (radial) wave is stable, in agreement with previous finite-element investigations. It is thus shown that spectral techniques provide a robust and computationally efficient method for the simulation of complex, non-linear, time-dependent viscoelastic flows.     

Flow visualization of the elastic Taylor-Couette instability in Boger fluids

Flow visualization is performed on an elastically-dominated instability in several similar Boger fluids in Taylor-Couette flow. The onset and evolution of secondary flow are observed over a range of shear rates using reflective mica platelet seeding. Sequences of ambiently and sheet-illuminated images were digitally processed. Rotation of the inner cylinder was ramped from rest to its final value over a time on the order of a polymer relaxation time. Dilute solutions of high molecular weight polyisobutylene in oligomeric polybutene manifest a flow transition at a Deborah number, De _s = _s 1.5 with a Taylor number of 0.00022 in a cell with dimensionless gap ratio = 0.0963. At this transition, simple azimuthal shearing is replaced by steady, roughly square, axisymmetric counter-rotating vortices grossly similar to the well-known Taylor vortex flow that is observed at De _s = 0, Ta = 3612. At De _s = 3.75, Ta = 0.0014, an axisymmetric oscillatory secondary flow develops initially but is replaced by the steady vortices. At De _s = 7.5, Ta = 0.0054, the oscillatory and vortex flow coexist and possess an irregular cellular cross-section. A wide span of growth rates is observed: the ratio of onset to polymer relaxation time ranges from 170000 at De _s = 1.5 to O(10) at De _s > 5. The role of inertia was explored through changing the solvent viscosity. A transition similar to the one that occurs at De _s = 3.75, Ta = 0.0014, from the base azimuthal shearing flow to axisymmetric vortices, was also observed with a much lower viscosity fluid at De _s = 3.3, Ta = 74.     

Axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric instability of an electrically charged viscoelastic liquid jet

A linear analysis is performed to investigate the competition between axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric instability of an electrically charged viscoelastic liquid jet. The liquid is assumed to be a dilute polymer solution modeled by the Oldroyd-B constitutive equation. As to its electric properties, the liquid is assumed to be of finite electrical conductivity and is described by the Taylor–Melcher leaky dielectric theory. An analytical dispersion relation is derived and the temporal growth rate is solved numerically. Two viscoelastic liquids, i.e. a PEO aqueous solution and a PIB Boger fluid, are taken as examples to study the effects of electric field and electrical conductivity on jet instability. The result shows that electric field basically destabilizes both the axisymmetric and the non-axisymmetric mode. On the other hand, the effect of electrical conductivity on the modes is quite limited. An energy analysis shows that elasticity enhances both axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric jet instability and its destabilization effect on the axisymmetric mode is more profound. For viscoelastic jets of high Deborah numbers the combined effect of viscosity and elasticity is possibly characterized by an equivalent Reynolds number related only to the viscosity of solvent.     

Two- and three-dimensional instabilities in the film blowing process

We examine the film blowing process (FBP), which is widely used for manufacturing biaxially stretched films of polymeric materials. The viscoelastic property of the material is taken into account by employing the Upper Convected Maxwell, the Oldroyd-B or the Phan-Thien and Tanner constitutive model. In contrast to all previous theoretical works, which followed the now classical method developed by Pearson and Petrie [J.R.A. Pearson, C.J.S. Petrie, The flow of a tubular film. Part 1. Formal mathematical representation, J. Fluid Mech. 40 (1) (1970) 1–19; J.R.A. Pearson, C.J.S. Petrie, The flow of a tubular film. Part 2. Interpretation of the model and discussion of solutions, J. Fluid Mech. 42 (3) (1970) 609–625], we analyze the process by starting with the general three-dimensional mass and momentum balances and by formally and systematically applying the thin-film approximation. This procedure results in two-dimensional dynamic balances in both the axial and azimuthal directions. Although these balances are highly non-linear and more complicated than the original momentum balance, they are reduced by one spatial dimension and, more importantly, they are more general than the classical ones, whereas they are developed in a rigorous and straightforward manner. When we assume axial symmetry and steady state, we recover the earlier model equations. However, this new methodology allows us to examine not only axisymmetric, but also non-axisymmetric disturbances to this base flow and to retain the time derivatives in all the governing equations. This procedure is an extension of our earlier one used to study transient annular extrusion [K. Housiadas, J. Tsamopoulos, Unsteady flow of an axisymmetric annular film under gravity, Phys. Fluids 10 (10) (1998) 2500–2516; K. Housiadas, J. Tsamopoulos, Unsteady extrusion of a viscoelastic annular film: I. General model and its numerical solution, J. Non-Newton. Fluid Mech. 88 (3) (2000) 229–259], which also involved the thin-film approximation and three moving interfaces, but under the assumption of axial symmetry. Viscous, elastic, inertial, gravitational and capillary forces are included in our model. The base state is computed using finite differences to simultaneously predict bubble shape, film thickness, velocity, pressure and polymer extra-stress profiles. Subsequently, its linear stability is examined to two- and three-dimensional disturbances by solving the full eigenvalue problem to determine the stability regions of the process. It is shown that under typical operating conditions the bubble becomes unstable first to non-axisymmetric disturbances, although two-dimensional instability is also predicted by our model, in agreement with recent experiments.     

Instability and structure of axisymmetric rotating flow

The development of instability in an axisymmetric flow has been experimentally investigated. The evolution of disturbances ranging from high-frequency fluctuations to large-scale ordered structures with wave numbersn=2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 is traced. An experimental diagram of the regions of stable existence of various types of disturbances is constructed. The periodic flop-over cycles of a hydrodynamical system with respect ton are obtained experimentally for constant external conditions in the absence of forcing.Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 60–67, September–October, 1993.     

A numerical study on nonlinear dynamics of three-dimensional time-depended viscoelastic Taylor-Couette flow

In this paper, three-dimensional viscoelastic Taylor-Couette instability between concentric rotating cylinders is studied numerically. The aim is to investigate and provide additional insight about the formation of time-dependent secondary flows in viscoelastic fluids between rotating cylinders. Here, the Giesekus model is used as the constitutive equation. The governing equations are solved using the finite volume method (FVM) and the PISO algorithm is employed for pressure correction. The effects of elasticity number, viscosity ratio, and mobility factor on various instability modes (especially high order ones) are investigated numerically and the origin of Taylor-Couette instability in Giesekus fluids is studied using the order of magnitude technique. The created instability is simulated for large values of fluid elasticity and high orders of nonlinearity. Also, the effect of elastic properties of fluid on the time-dependent secondary flows such as wave family and traveling wave and also on the critical conditions are studied in detail.     

Numerical simulation of instabilities and secondary regimes in spherical couette flow

In all previous numerical investigations of spherical Couette flow only axisymmetric regimes were considered. At the same time, in experiments [1–4] it was found that when both spheres rotate and the layer is thin centrifugal instability of the main flow leads to the appearance of nonaxisymmetric secondary flows of the azimuthal traveling wave type. The results of an initial numerical investigation of these flows are presented below. Solving the linear problem of the stability of the main flow and simulating the secondary flows on the basis of the complete nonlinear Navier-Stokes equations has made it possible to supplement and explain many of the results obtained experimentally. The type of bifurcation and the structure of the disturbances whose growth leads to the appearance of three-dimensional nonstationary flows are determined, and the transitions between different secondary regimes in the region of weak supercriticality are described.Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 3–15, January–February, 1995.     

The instability mechanism of single and multilayer Newtonian and viscoelastic flows down an inclined plane

The instability mechanism of single and multilayer flow of Newtonian and viscoelastic fluids down an inclined plane has been examined based on a rigorous energy analysis as well as careful examination of the eigenfunctions. These analyses demonstrate that the free surface instability in single and multilayer flows in the limit of longwave disturbances (i.e., the most dangerous disturbances) arise due to the perturbation shear stresses at the free surface. Specifically, for viscoelastic flows, the elastic forces are destabilizing and the main driving force for the instability is the coupling between the base flow and the perturbation velocity and stresses and their gradient at the free surface. For Newtonian flows at finite Re, the driving force for the interfacial instability in the limit of longwaves depends on the placement of the less viscous fluid. If the less viscous fluid is adjacent to the solid surface then the main driving force for the instability is interfacial friction, otherwise the bulk contribution of Reynolds stresses drives the instability. For viscoelastic fluids in the limit of vanishingly small Re, the driving force for the instability is the coupling of the base flow and perturbation velocity and stresses and their gradients across the interface. In the limit of shortwaves the interfacial stability mechanism of flow down inclined plane is the same as plane Poiseuille flows (Ganpule and Khomami 1998, 1999a, b). Received: 20 October 2000/Accepted: 11 January 2001     

Instability of a viscoelastic liquid jet with axisymmetric and asymmetric disturbances

The temporal instability behavior of a viscoelastic liquid jet in the wind-induced regime with axisymmetric and asymmetric disturbances moving in an inviscid gaseous environment is investigated theoretically. The corresponding dispersion relation between the wave growth rate and the wavenumber is derived. The linear instability analysis shows that viscoelastic liquid jets are more unstable than their Newtonian counterparts, and less unstable than their inviscid counterparts, for both axisymmetric and asymmetric disturbances, respectively. The instability behavior of viscoelastic jets is influenced by the interaction of liquid viscosity and elasticity, in which the viscosity tends to dampen the instability, whereas the elasticity results in an enhancement of instability. Relatively, the effect of the ratio of deformation retardation to stress relaxation time on the instability of viscoelastic jets is weak. It is found that the liquid Weber number is a key measure that controls the viscoelastic jet instability behavior. At small Weber number, the axisymmetric disturbance dominates the instability of viscoelastic jets, i.e., the growth rate of an axisymmetric disturbance exceeds that of asymmetric disturbances. When the Weber number increases, both the growth rate and the instability range of disturbances increase drastically. The asymptotic analysis shows that at large Weber number, more asymmetric disturbance modes become unstable, and the growth rate of each asymmetric disturbance mode approaches that of the axisymmetric disturbance. Therefore, the asymmetric disturbances are more dangerous than that of axisymmetric disturbances for a viscoelastic jet at large Weber numbers. Similar to the liquid Weber number, the ratio of gas to liquid density is another key measure that affects the viscoelastic jet instability behavior substantially.     

Experimental investigations of controlled transition of a laminar separation bubble in an axisymmetric diffuser

The instability of a pressure-induced laminar separation bubble is examined experimentally on an axisymmetric diffuser for a Reynolds number range 7,800 ≤ ≤ 11,400 for an inlet pipe diameter D ₁ (50 mm) and as mean input flow velocity 4.2 m/s ≤ u _m ≤ 6.1 m/s. A characterization of the base flow shows a wide-spread separation at the smooth diverging contour which gives rise to a massive amplification of instabilities. Controlled disturbances are introduced by means of a slot and a membrane actuator to trigger the transition, and the receptivity of the perturbations to the laminar boundary layer is evaluated. Different axisymmetric and azimuthal disturbances are applied in order to study their influence on the laminar–turbulent transition. The measurements show a clear dependence of the transition scenario and the reattachment length on the actuation mode.     

Taylor-Couette stability analysis for a Doi-Edwards fluid

The stability of Taylor-Couette flow of entangled polymeric solutions to small axisymmetric stationary disturbances is analyzed using the Doi-Edwards constitutive equation in the small gap limit. A previous analysis of Karlsson, Sokolov, and Tanner for the general K-BKZ equation, of which the Doi-Edwards equation is a special case, reduces the problem to one of numerically evaluating seven viscoelastic functions of the shear rate in the gap. Of these seven, only three — two of which are related to the second normal stress difference, and one of them to shear thinning — significantly affect the flow stability. The negative second normal stress difference of the Doi-Edwards fluid stabilizes the flow at low values of the Weissenberg number ₁ , while shear thinning produces strong destabilization at moderate Weissenberg number. Here ₁ is the longest relaxation time. Non-monotonic effects of viscoelasticity on Taylor-Couette stability analogous to those predicted here have been observed in experiments of Giesekus. The extreme shear thinning of the Doi-Edwards fluid is also predicted to produce a large growth in the height of the Taylor cells, a phenomenon that has been seen experimentally by Beavers and Joseph.     

Mode spectra of natural disturbances in a circular jet and the effect of acoustic forcing

A modal spectrum technique was used to study coherent instability modes (both axisymmetric and azimuthal) triggered by naturally occurring disturbances in a circular jet. This technique was applied to a high Reynolds number (400,000) jet for both untripped (transitional) and tripped (turbulent) nozzle exit boundary layers, with both cases having a core turbulence level of 0.15%. The region up to the end of the potential core was dominated by the axisymmetric mode, with the azimuthal modes dominating further downstream. The growth of the azimuthal modes was observed closer to the nozzle exit for the jet with a transitional boundary layer. Whether for locally parallel flow or slowly diverging flow, even at low levels of acoustic forcing, the inviscid linear theory is seen to be inadequate for predicting the amplitude of the forced mode. In contrast, the energy integral approach reasonably predicts the evolution of the forced mode.     

Theory of thermal instability of the flow of a viscoelastic fluid

The problem of the stability of the flow of viscoelastic fluids has fundamental importance for the technology of the production of polymer products and viscosimetry. This problem is not reduced only to classical inertial turbulence. A number of other mechanisms leading to flow instability are known [1, 2]. A thermal mechanism based on the allowance for dissipative heating and elastic properties within the framework of a linear model of a viscoelastic fluid was drawn upon to explain this phenomenon in [1]. The possibility of a self-oscillatory mode of flow was demonstrated on the basis of a qualitative analysis of the theological equation and the equation of heat balance in application to simple shear flow and uniform stretching. A theoretical analysis of the self-heating of flowing systems possessing viscoelastic properties is carried out in the present report. The main laws of the thermal instability of viscoelastic fluids discovered in [1] are described.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 3, pp. 115–122, May–June, 1979.     

Measurement of liquid film thickness in micro square channel

In micro channels, slug flow becomes one of the main flow regimes due to strong surface tension. In micro channel slug flow, elongated bubble flows with the thin liquid film confined between the bubble and the channel wall. Liquid film thickness is an important parameter in many applications, e.g., micro heat exchanger, micro reactor, coating process etc. In the present study, liquid film thickness in micro square channels is measured locally and instantaneously with the confocal method. Square channels with hydraulic diameter of D_h = 0.3, 0.5 and 1.0 mm are used. In order to investigate the effect of inertial force on the liquid film thickness, three working fluids, ethanol, water and FC-40 are used. At small capillary numbers, liquid film at the channel center becomes very thin and the bubble interface is not axisymmetric. However, as capillary number increases, bubble interface becomes axisymmetric. Transition from non-axisymmetric to axisymmetric flow pattern starts from lower capillary number as Reynolds number increases. An empirical correlation for predicting axisymmetric bubble radius based on capillary number and Weber number is proposed from the present experimental data.     

Downstream boundary effects on the spectral characteristics of a swirling flowfield

The spectral characteristics and the structural response of a swirling flowfield are investigated subject to a non-axisymmetric disturbance and a contraction imposed downstream. Two natural frequencies are noted in different regions of the undisturbed swirling flowfield, one is due to a precessing vortex core and the other to the most amplified downstream azimuthal instability. The downstream contraction usually causes compression of the central recirculation zone into two side-lobes, increases the dominant frequencies and forms a straight central vortex core with a high axial velocity. The dominant downstream instability frequency depends linearly on the inlet Reynolds number and on the mode of the breakdown. For the downstream non-axisymmetric disturbance, such as the passing of the turbine blades, the fundamental frequency is not altered by the disturbance and the oscillation strength of the downstream instability is greatly reduced as the excitation frequency remains unmatched with the dominant downstream natural frequency. Downstream azimuthal instability promotes the breakdown recirculation.A version of this paper was presented at the 26th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Reno, Nevada, 11–14, Jan. 1988