A nonlinear PSE method for two-fluid shear flows with complex interfacial topology

A nonlinear stability method is developed for laminar two-fluid shear flows which undergo changes in the interface topology. The method is based on the nonlinear parabolized stability equations (PSE) and incorporates a scalar-based interface capturing (IC) scheme in order to track complex deformations of the fluid interface. In doing so, the formulation retains the flexibility and physical insight of instability-wave based methods, while providing hydrodynamic modeling capabilities similar to direct numerical calculations: the new formulation, referred to as the IC-PSE, can capture the nonlinear physical mechanisms responsible for generating large-scale, two-fluid structures, without incurring heavy computational costs. This approach is valid for spatially developing, laminar two-fluid shear flows which are convectively unstable, and can naturally account for the growth of finite amplitude interfacial waves, along with changes to the interfacial topology. We demonstrate the accuracy of the IC-PSE against direct Navier–Stokes calculations for two-fluid mixing layers with density and viscosity stratification. The comparisons show that the IC-PSE can predict the dynamics of the instability waves and capture the formation of Kelvin–Helmholtz vortex rolls and large scale liquid structures, at an order of magnitude less computational cost than direct calculations. The role of surface tension in the IC-PSE formulation is shown to be valid for flows in which Re/We ? 1, and the method accurately predicts the formation and non-linear evolution of flow structures in this limit. This is demonstrated for spatially developing mixing layers which lead to vortex roll-up and ligaments, prior to droplet formation. The pinch-off process itself is a high surface tension phenomenon and in not considered herein. The method also accurately captures the effect of interfacial waves on the mean flow, and the topology changes during the non-linear evolution of the two-fluid structures.     

Instability of two-phase flows: A lower bound on the dimension of the global attractor of the Cahn-Hilliard-Navier-Stokes system

We consider a model for the flow of a mixture of two viscous and incompressible fluids in a two or three dimensional channel-like domain. The model consists of the Navier-Stokes equations governing the fluid velocity coupled with a convective Cahn-Hilliard equation for the relative density of atoms of one of the fluids. We prove the instability of certain stationary solutions for such a system endowed with periodic boundary conditions on elongated domains (0,2π/α₀)×(0,2π) or (0,2π/α₀)×(0,2π)×(0,2π/β₀) for a special class of periodic body forces, provided that α₀ and β₀ are small enough. As a consequence, we deduce a lower bound for the Hausdorff dimension of the global attractor.     

Particle-laden viscous thin-film flows on an incline: Experiments compared with a theory based on shear-induced migration and particle settling

Particle settling in driven viscous films is a complex physical process involving different physical effects. A recent analysis by Cook (2008) [10] has identified a balance between hindered settling and shear-induced migration as the dominant large scale physics for particle/liquid separation. However, experimental data for this has been lacking. This paper presents new data including the role of particle size and liquid viscosity showing clear agreement with the theory. We discuss the role of timescales in the dynamics of the experiment and present results from a dynamic model.     

Ultrasound velocimetry of ferrofluid spin-up flow measurements using a spherical coil assembly to impose a uniform rotating magnetic field

Ferrofluid spin-up flow is studied within a sphere subjected to a uniform rotating magnetic field from two surrounding spherical coils carrying sinusoidally varying currents at right angles and 90° phase difference. Ultrasound velocimetry measurements in a full sphere of ferrofluid shows no measureable flow. There is significant bulk flow in a partially filled sphere (1-14 mm/s) of ferrofluid or a finite height cylinder of ferrofluid with no cover (1-4 mm/s) placed in the spherical coil apparatus. The flow is due to free surface effects and the non-uniform magnetic field associated with the shape demagnetizing effects. Flow is also observed in the fully filled ferrofluid sphere (1-20 mm/s) when the field is made non-uniform by adding a permanent magnet or a DC or AC excited small solenoidal coil. This confirms that a non-uniform magnetic field or a non-uniform distribution of magnetization due to a non-uniform magnetic field are causes of spin-up flow in ferrofluids with no free surface, while tangential magnetic surface stress contributes to flow in the presence of a free surface.Recent work has fitted velocity flow measurements of ferrofluid filled finite height cylinders with no free surface, subjected to uniform rotating magnetic fields, neglecting the container shape effects which cause non-uniform demagnetizing fields, and resulting in much larger non-physical effective values of spin viscosity η′∼10⁻⁸−10⁻¹² N s than those obtained from theoretical spin diffusion analysis where η′≤10⁻¹⁸ N s. COMSOL Multiphysics finite element computer simulations of spherical geometry in a uniform rotating magnetic field using non-physically large experimental fit values of spin viscosity η′∼10⁻⁸−10⁻¹² N s with a zero spin-velocity boundary condition at the outer wall predicts measureable flow, while simulations setting spin viscosity to zero (η′=0) results in negligible flow, in agreement with the ultrasound velocimetry measurements. COMSOL simulations also confirm that a non-uniform rotating magnetic field or a uniform rotating magnetic field with a non-uniform distribution of magnetization due to an external magnet or a current carrying coil can drive a measureable flow in an infinitely long ferrofluid cylinder with zero spin viscosity (η′=0).     

A Remark on the Cauchy Problem of 1D Compressible Navier-Stokes Equations with Density-dependent Viscosity Coefcients

This paper is concerned with the Cauchy problems of one-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes equations with density-dependent viscosity coefcients.By assumingρ0∈L1(R),we will prove the existence of weak solutions to the Cauchy problems forθ0.This will improve results in Jiu and Xin’s paper(Kinet.Relat.Models,1(2):313–330(2008))in whichθ12is required.In addition,We will study the large time asymptotic behavior of such weak solutions.     

Quasi-sure Flows Associated with Vector Fields of Low Regularity

The authors construct a solution Ut（x） associated with a vector field on the Wiener space for all initial values except in a 1-slim set and obtain the 1-quasi-sure flow property where the vector field is a sum of a skew-adjoint operator not necessarily bounded and a nonlinear part with low regularity, namely one-fold differentiability. Besides, the equivalence of capacities under the transformations of the Wiener space induced by the solutions is obtained.     

On the Rayleigh-Taylor Instability for Two Uniform Viscous Incompressible Flows

The authors study the Rayleigh-Taylor instability for two incompressible immis- cible fluids with or without surface tension, evolving with a free interface in the presence of a uniform gravitational field in Eulerian coordinates. To deal with the free surface, instead of using the transformation to Lagrangian coordinates, the perturbed equations in Eule- rian coordinates are transformed to an integral form and the two-fluid flow is formulated as a single-fluid flow in a fixed domain, thus offering an alternative approach to deal with the jump conditions at the free interface. First, the linearized problem around the steady state which describes a denser immiscible fluid lying above a light one with a free interface separating the two fluids, both fluids being in （unstable） equilibrium is analyzed. By a general method of studying a family of modes, the smooth （when restricted to each fluid domain） solutions to the linearized problem that grow exponentially fast in time in Sobolev spaces are constructed, thus leading to a global instability result for the linearized problem. Then, by using these pathological solutions, the global instability for the corresponding nonlinear problem in an appropriate sense is demonstrated.     

Vortical and self-similar flows of 2D compressible Euler equations

This paper presents the vortical and self-similar solutions for 2D compressible Euler equations using the separation method. These solutions complement Makino’s solutions in radial symmetry without rotation. The rotational solutions provide new information that furthers our understanding of ocean vortices and reference examples for numerical methods. In addition, the corresponding blowup, time-periodic or global existence conditions are classified through an analysis of the new Emden equation. A conjecture regarding rotational solutions in 3D is also made.