Wavy flow of a liquid film in the presence of a cocurrent turbulent gas flow

Wavy downflow of viscous liquid films in the presence of a cocurrent turbulent gas flow is analyzed theoretically. The parameters of two-dimensional steady-state traveling waves are calculated for wide ranges of liquid Reynolds number and gas flow velocity. The hydrodynamic characteristics of the liquid flow are computed using the full Navier-Stokes equations. The wavy interface is regarded as a small perturbation, and the equations for the gas are linearized in the vicinity of the main turbulent flow. Various optimal film flow regimes are obtained for the calculated nonlinear waves branching from the plane-parallel flow. It is shown that for high velocities of the cocurrent gas flow, the calculated wave characteristics correspond to those of ripple waves observed in experiments.     

Effect of permeability on the instability of a non-Newtonian film down a porous inclined plane

A thin film of a power–law fluid flowing down a porous inclined plane is considered. It is assumed that the flow through the porous medium is governed by the modified Darcy’s law together with Beavers–Joseph boundary condition for a general power–law fluid. Under the assumption of small permeability relative to the thickness of the overlying fluid layer, the flow is decoupled from the filtration flow through the porous medium and a slip condition at the bottom is used to incorporate the effects of the permeability of the porous substrate. Applying the long-wave theory, a nonlinear evolution equation for the thickness of the film is obtained. A linear stability analysis of the base flow is performed and the critical condition for the onset of instability is obtained. The results show that the substrate porosity in general destabilizes the film flow system and the shear-thinning rheology enhances this destabilizing effect. A weakly nonlinear stability analysis reveals the existence of supercritical stable and subcritical unstable regions in the wave number versus Reynolds number parameter space. The numerical solution of the nonlinear evolution equation in a periodic domain shows that the fully developed nonlinear solutions are either time-dependent modes that oscillate slightly in the amplitude or time independent stable two-dimensional nonlinear waves with large amplitude referred to as ‘permanent waves’. The results show that the shape and the amplitude of the nonlinear waves are strongly influenced by the permeability of the porous medium and the shear-thinning rheology.     

On Mixed Oscillatory and Steady Modes of Nonlinear Convection in Mushy Layers

We consider the problem of mixed oscillatory and steady modes of nonlinear compositional convection in horizontal mushy layers during the solidification of binary alloys. Under a near-eutectic approximation and the limit of large far-field temperature, we determine a number of two- and three-dimensional weakly nonlinear mixed solutions, and the stability of these solutions with respect to arbitrary three-dimensional disturbances is then investigated. The present investigation is an extension of the problem of mixed oscillatory and steady modes of convection, which was investigated by Riahi (J Fluid Mech 517: 71–101, 2004), where some calculated results were inaccurate due to the presence of a singular point in the equation for the linear frequency. Here we resolve the problem and find some significant new results. In particular, over a wide range of the parameter values, we find that the properties of the preferred and stable solution in the form of particular subcritical mixed standing and steady hexagons appeared to be now in much better agreement with the available experimental results (Tai et al., Nature 359:406–408, 1992) than the one reported in Riahi (J Fluid Mech 517:71–101, 2004). We also determined a number of new types of preferred supercritical solutions, which can be preferred over particular values of the parameters and at relatively higher values of the amplitude of convection.     

Wave development on a thinning liquid film

Experimental results are presented for the growth of surface waves on a liquid film that thins as it flows under gravity over the surface of an upright circular cone. The characteristics of the mean film are calculated on the assumption of quasi-parallel flow, and the actual mean thickness found to relate very closely to that found on this basis. The development of the film was found to fall into three phases: the entry zone in which the velocity profile of the film becomes established where no waves are visible, a region of wave growth in which amplitude, wave speed, and wave length all grow, and a final region in which amplitude and wave speed decline as the film thins further although wave length continues to grow. An empirical relationship is presented which expresses the wave number at any point on the cone in terms of the flow rate and a parameter based on the local Reynolds and Weber numbers and cone angle. It was found that for a given flow rate the maximum wave amplitude was reached at a value of wave number of 0·048.     

Perturbation solutions for asymmetric laminar flow in porous channel with expanding and contracting walls

The cases of large Reynolds number and small expansion ratio for the asym- metric laminar flow through a two-dimensional porous expanding channel are considered. The Navier-Stokes equations are reduced to a nonlinear fourth-order ordinary differential equation by introducing a time and space similar transformation. A singular perturbation method is used for the large suction Reynolds case to obtain an asymptotic solution by matching outer and inner solutions. For the case of small expansion ratios, we are able to obtain asymptotic solutions by double parameter expansion in either a small Reynolds number or a small asymmetric parameter. The asymptotic solutions indicate that the Reynolds number and expansion ratio play an important role in the flow behavior. Nu- merical methods are also designed to confirm the correctness of the present asymptotic solutions.     

Flooding in two-phase counter-current flows: Numerical investigation of the gas–liquid wavy interface using the Navier–Stokes equations

This paper is devoted to a theoretical analysis of counter-current gas–liquid wavy film flow between vertical plates. We consider two-dimensional nonlinear waves on the interface over a wide variation of parameters. We use the Navier–Stokes equations in their full statement to describe the liquid phase hydrodynamics. For the gas phase equations, we use the Benjamin-Miles approach where the liquid phase is a small disturbance for the turbulent gas flow. We find a region of the superficial velocity where we have two solutions at one set of the problem parameters and where the flooding takes place. We calculate the flooding dependences on the gas/liquid physical properties, on the liquid Reynolds number and on the distance between the plates. These computations allow us to present the correlation for the onset of flooding that based on the fundamental equations and principles.     

Viscous liquid film flow down an inclined corrugated surface. Calculation of the flow stability to arbitrary perturbations using an integral method

Viscous liquid film flow along an inclined corrugated (sinusoidal) surface has been studied. Calculations were performed using an integral model. The stability of nonlinear steady-state flows to arbitrary perturbations was examined using the Floquet theory. It has been shown that for each type of corrugation there is a critical Reynolds number for which unstable perturbations occur. It has been found that this value greatly depends on the physical properties of the liquid and geometric parameters of the flow. In particular, in the case of film flow down a smooth wall, the critical waveformation parameter depends only on the angle of inclination of the flow surface. The values of the corrugation parameters (amplitude and period) were obtained for which the film flow down a wavy wall is stable to arbitrary perturbations up to moderate Reynolds numbers. Such parameter values exist for all investigated angles of inclination of the flow surface.     

Stability and nonlinear wavy regimes in downward film flows on a corrugated surface

The linear and nonlinear stability of downward viscous film flows on a corrugated surface to freesurface perturbations is analyzed theoretically. The study is performed with the use of an integral approach in ranges of parameters where the calculated results and the corresponding solutions of Navier-Stokes equations (downward wavy flow on a smooth wall and waveless flow along a corrugated surface) are in good agreement. It is demonstrated that, for moderate Reynolds numbers, there is a range of corrugation parameters (amplitude and period) where all linear perturbations of the free surface decay. For high Reynolds numbers, the waveless downward flow is unstable. Various nonlinear wavy regimes induced by varying the corrugation amplitude are determined. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 110–120, January–February, 2007.     

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.     

Selection of solitary waves in vertically falling liquid films

Two-dimensional solitary waves at the surface of a film flow down a vertical plane are considered. When the system is subjected to inlet white noise, solitary waves are formed after an inception region and interact with each other. Using open-domain simulations of reduced equation models, we investigate numerically their late time process dynamics. Close to the instability threshold, the waves synchronize themselves into bound states. For higher values of the Reynolds number, the separation distance between the waves increases and the synchronization process at work is weaker. Performing statistics, we show that the mean characteristics of the waves correspond to the minimal value of the mean film thickness along the traveling-wave branch of solutions. In this regime, synchronization occurs through the waves tails which is associated with a change of scaling of the waves features. A similar behavior is observed performing simulations in periodic domains: the selected waves maximize the mean flow rate.     

Wave formation on vertical falling liquid films

The method of integral relations is used to derive a nonlinear “two-wave” structure equation for long waves on the surface of vertical falling liquid films. This equation is valid in a wide range of Reynolds numbers and reduces to the known equations for high and low Re. Theoretical data for the fastest growing waves are compared with the experimental results on velocities, wave numbers and growth rates of the waves in the inception region. The validity of theoretical assumptions is also confirmed by the direct measurements of the instantaneous velocity profiles in a wave liquid film.     

Experimental and numerical investigations of pressure drop in a rectangular duct with modified power law fluids

Numerical solutions are presented for fully developed laminar flow for a modified power law fluid (MPL) in a rectangular duct. The solutions are applicable to pseudoplastic fluids over a wide shear rate range from Newtonian behavior at low shear rates, through a transition region, to power law behavior at higher shear rates. The analysis identified a dimensionless shear rate parameter which, for a given set of operating conditions, specifies where in the shear rate range a particular system is operating, i.e. in the Newtonian, transition, or power law regions. The numerical results of the friction factor times Reynolds number for the Newtonian and power law region are compared with previously published results showing agreement within 0.05% in the Newtonian region, and 0.9% and 5.1% in the power law region. Rheological flow curves were measured for three CMC-7H4 solutions and were found to be well represented by the MPL constitutive equation. The friction factor times Reynolds number values were measured in the transition region for which previous measurements were unavailable. Good agreement was found between experiment and calculation thus confirming the validity of the analysis.     

Periodic boundary layer near an axisymmetric stagnation point on a circular cylinder

An analysis is presented to investigate the time-mean characteristics of the laminar boundary layer near an axisymmetric stagnation point when the velocity of the oncoming flow relative to the body oscillates. Different solutions are obtained for the small and high values of the reduced frequency parameter. The range of Reynolds number considered was from 0.01 to 100. Numerical solutions for the velocity functions are presented, and the wall values of the velocity gradients are tabulated.     

Combustion Fronts in a Porous Medium with Two Layers

We study a model for the lateral propagation of a combustion front through a porous medium with two parallel layers having different properties. The reaction involves oxygen and a solid fuel. In each layer, the model consists of a nonlinear reaction–diffusion–convection system, derived from balance equations and Darcy’s law. Under an incompressibility assumption, we obtain a simple model whose variables are temperature and unburned fuel concentration in each layer. The model includes heat transfer between the layers. We find a family of traveling wave solutions, depending on the heat transfer coefficient and other system parameters, that connect a burned state behind the combustion front to an unburned state ahead of it. These traveling waves are strong: they correspond to connecting orbits of a system of five ordinary differential equations that lie in the unstable manifold of a hyperbolic saddle and the stable manifold of a nonhyperbolic equilibrium. We argue that for physically relevant initial conditions, traveling waves that correspond to connecting orbits that approach the nonhyperbolic equilibrium along its center direction do not occur. When the heat transfer coefficient is small, we prove that strong traveling waves exist for a small range of system parameters, near parameter values where the two layers individually admit strong traveling waves with the same speed. When the heat transfer coefficient is large, we prove that strong traveling waves exist for a very large range of parameters. For small heat transfer, combustion typically does not occur simultaneously in the two layers; for large heat transfer, it does. The proofs use geometric singular perturbation theory. We give a numerical method to solve the nonlinear problem, and we present numerical simulations that indicate that the traveling waves we have found are in fact the dominant feature of solutions.     

Nonlinearwaves in a liquid film-gas flow system

The instability and regular nonlinear waves in the film of a heavy viscous liquid flowing along the wall of a round tube and interacting with a gas flow are investigated. The solutions for the wave film flows are numerically obtained in the regimes from free flow-down in a counter-current gas stream to cocurrent upward flow of the film and the gas at fairly large gas velocities. Continuous transition from the counter-current to the cocurrent flow via the state with a maximum amplitude of nonlinear waves and zero values of the liquid flow rate and the phase velocity is investigated. The Kapitsa-Shkadov method is used to reduce a boundary value problem to a system of evolutionary equations for the local values of the layer thickness and the liquid flow rate.     

Interfacial instabilities in a stratified flow of two superposed fluids

Here we shall present a linear stability analysis of a laminar, stratified flow of two superposed fluids which are a clear liquid and a suspension of solid particles. The investigation is based upon the assumption that the concentration remains constant within the suspension layer. Even for moderate flow-rates the base-state results for a shear induced resuspension flow justify the latter assumption. The numerical solutions display the existence of two different branches that contribute to convective instability: long and short waves which coexist in a certain range of parameters. Also, a range exists where the flow is absolutely unstable. That means a convectively unstable resuspension flow can be only observed for Reynolds numbers larger than a lower, critical Reynolds number but still smaller than a second critical Reynolds number. For flow rates which give rise to a Reynolds number larger than the second critical Reynolds number, the flow is absolutely unstable. In some cases, however, there exists a third bound beyond that the flow is convectively unstable again. Experiments show the same phenomena: for small flow-rates short waves were usually observed but occasionally also the coexistence of short and long waves. These findings are qualitatively in good agreement with the linear stability analysis. Larger flow-rates in the range of the second critical Reynolds number yield strong interfacial waves with wave breaking and detached particles. In this range, the measured flow-parameters, like the resuspension height and the pressure drop are far beyond the theoretical results. Evidently, a further increase of the Reynolds number indicates the transition to a less wavy interface. Finally, the linear stability analysis also predicts interfacial waves in the case of relatively small suspension heights. These results are in accordance with measurements for ripple-type instabilities as they occur under laminar and viscous conditions for a mono-layer of particles.     

Formation of waves on a horizontal erodible bed of particles

The mechanisms responsible for the initial growth of sand waves on the surface of a settled layer of particles are studied experimentally and theoretically. Experiments employ water-glycerin solutions of 1–14 cP and glass spheres (_s = 2.4 g/cm³) that are either 100 or 300 μm in diameter. The particle Reynolds number and Shields parameter are of order one and the flow Reynolds number is of order 1000 to 10,000. Experimentally obtained regime maps of sand wave behavior and data on the wavelengths of the sand waves that first appear on the surface of the settled bed are presented. Turbulence in the clear liquid is not necessary for formation of waves and there is no dramatic change in behavior as the flowrate is increased across the turbulent transition. The initial wavelength varies as the Fronde number to the first power. Because a flowing suspension phase is observed before waves form, linear stability analysis of the clear-layer—suspension-layer cocurrent two-phase flow is presented. The suspension phase is modeled as a continuum that has an either constant or exponentially increasing viscosity. Neither of the models correctly predicts the wavelength for the first observed waves, their growth rate or their speed. However, the initial wavelength is found to agree well with the trajectory length for a saltating particle obtained from a model for forces on individual particles.