The behavior of capillary suspensions at diverse length scales: From single capillary bridges to bulk

Liquid-liquid-solid systems are becoming increasingly common in everyday life with many possible applications. Here, we focus on a special case of such liquid-liquid-solid systems, namely, capillary suspensions. These capillary suspensions originate from particles that form a network based on capillary forces and are typically composed of solids in a bulk liquid with an added secondary liquid. The structure of particle networks based on capillary bridges possesses unique properties compared with networks formed via other attractive interactions where these differences are inherently related to the properties of the capillary bridges, such as bridge breaking and coalescence between adjacent bridges. Thus, to tailor the mechanical properties of capillary suspensions to specific requirements, it is important to understand the influences on different length scales ranging from the dynamics of the bridges with varying external stimuli to the often heterogeneous network structure.     

Preface: Mechanics of soft materials and flexible structures

Acta Mechanica Sinica -     

Double Gaussian potential stochastic resonance method and its application in centrifugal fan blade crack detection

Stochastic resonance (SR) has been extensively utilized in the field of weak fault signal detection for its characteristic of enhancing weak signals by transferring the noise energy. Aiming at solving the output saturation problem of the classical bistable stochastic resonance (CBSR) system, a double Gaussian potential stochastic resonance (DGSR) system is proposed. Moreover, the output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the DGSR method is derived based on the adiabatic approximation theory to analyze the effect of system parameters on the DGSR method. At the same time, for the purpose of overcoming the drawback that the traditional SNR index needs to know the fault characteristic frequency (FCF), the weighted local signal-to-noise ratio (WLSNR) index is constructed. The DGSR with WLSNR can obtain optimal parameters adaptively, thereby establishing the DGSR system. Ultimately, a DGSR method is proposed and applied in centrifugal fan blade crack detection. Through simulations and experiments, the effectiveness and superiority of the DGSR method are verified.     

Nonlinear vibration response of a complex aeroengine under the rubbing fault

Nonlinear Dynamics - Rolling bearing and squeeze film damper will introduce structural nonlinearity into the dynamic model of aeroengine. Rubbing will occur due to the clearance reduction design of...     

Chaos break and synchrony enrichment within Hindmarsh–Rose-type memristive neural models

Nonlinear Dynamics - The fluctuation of ions concentration across the cell membrane of neuron can generate a time varying electromagnetic field. Thus, memristors are used to realize the coupling...     

Isolated resonances and nonlinear damping

We analyze isolated resonance curves (IRCs) in single-degree-of-freedom systems possessing nonlinear damping. Through the combination of singularity theory and the averaging method, the onset and merging of IRCs, which coincide to isola and simple bifurcation singularities, respectively, can be analytically predicted. Numerical simulations confirm the accuracy of the analytical developments. Another important finding of this paper is that we unveil a geometrical connection between the topology of the damping force and IRCs. Specifically, we demonstrate that extremas and zeros of the damping force correspond to the appearance and merging of IRCs. Considering a damping force possessing several minima and maxima confirms the general validity of the analytical result. It also evidences a very complex scenario for which different IRCs are created, co-exist and then merge together to form a super IRC which eventually merges with the main resonance peak.     

Electroosmosis modulated peristaltic biorheological flow through an asymmetric microchannel: mathematical model

A theoretical study is presented of peristaltic hydrodynamics of an aqueous electrolytic non-Newtonian Jeffrey bio-rheological fluid through an asymmetric microchannel under an applied axial electric field. An analytical approach is adopted to obtain the closed form solution for velocity, volumetric flow, pressure difference and stream function. The analysis is also restricted under the low Reynolds number assumption (Stokes flow) and lubrication theory approximations (large wavelength). Small ionic Peclét number and Debye–Hückel linearization (i.e. wall zeta potential ≤ 25 mV) are also considered to simplify the Nernst–Planck and Poisson–Boltzmann equations. Streamline plots are also presented for the different electro-osmotic parameter, varying magnitudes of the electric field (both aiding and opposing cases) and for different values of the ratio of relaxation to retardation time parameter. Comparisons are also included between the Newtonian and general non-Newtonian Jeffrey fluid cases. The results presented here may be of fundamental interest towards designing lab-on-a-chip devices for flow mixing, cell manipulation, micro-scale pumps etc. Trapping is shown to be more sensitive to an electric field (aiding, opposing and neutral) rather than the electro-osmotic parameter and viscoelastic relaxation to retardation ratio parameter. The results may also help towards the design of organ-on-a-chip like devices for better drug design.     

Wave turbulence and intermittency in directional wave fields

The evolution of surface gravity waves is driven by nonlinear interactions that trigger an energy cascade similarly to the one observed in hydrodynamic turbulence. This process, known as wave turbulence, has been found to display anomalous scaling with deviation from classical turbulent predictions due to the emergence of coherent and intermittent structures on the water surface. In the ocean, waves are spread over a wide range of directions, with a consequent attenuation of the nonlinear properties. A laboratory experiment in a large wave facility is presented to discuss the sensitivity of wave turbulence on the directional properties of model wave spectra. Results show that the occurrence of coherent and intermittent structures become less likely with the broadening of the wave directional spreading. There is no evidence, however, that intermittency completely vanishes.     

Rotating Detonation Combustor Research at the University of Cincinnati

Rotating detonation combustors (RDC) are at the forefront of pressure gain combustion (PGC) research. The simplicity in design and the ease of assembly makes it a promising technology that could be integrated into existing combustor architectures. This is, however, coupled with the considerable complexities of the detonation-based flow field, and the associated modes and coupling mechanisms. The current paper is an overview of the research done at the University of Cincinnati to address some of the challenges and questions pertaining to the physics of RDC operation. Issues such as combustor geometry, injection schemes and mixing, varied reactants behavior and modes of RDC operation are discussed. The effects of pressurization of the combustor, along with other detonation enhancement strategies are also deliberated upon. When appropriate, parallels are drawn to the phenomena of high frequency combustion instabilities to address the similarities in observations between the two fields.