The effect of transient viscoelastic properties on interfacial instabilities in superposed pressure driven channel flows

In a recent study, Ganpule and Khomami (submitted to J. Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech.) have shown that in order to accurately describe the experimentally observed interfacial instability phenomenon in superposed channel flow of viscoelastic fluids, a constitutive equation that can accurately depict not only the steady viscometric properties of the experimental test fluids, but also their transient viscoelastic properties must be used in the analysis. In the present study, the effect of differences in transient viscoelastic properties which can arise either due to the differences in the predictive capabilities of various constitutive models or from the presence of multiple modes of relaxation on the interfacial instabilities of the superposed pressure driven channel flows has been investigated. Specifically, a linear stability analysis is performed using nonlinear constitutive equations which predict identical steady viscometric properties but different transient viscoelastic properties. It is shown that different nonlinear constitutive equations give rise to the same mechanism of interfacial instability, but the boundaries of the neutral stability contours and the magnitudes of the growth/decay rates, especially at intermediate and shortwaves, are shifted due to the overshoots in the transient viscoelastic responses predicted by the constitutive equations. In addition, the effect of the presence of multiple modes of relaxation on interfacial stability is studied using single and multiple mode upper convected Maxwell (UCM) fluids and it is shown that pronounced differences in the intermediate and shortwave linear stability predictions arise due to the fact that the increase in the number of modes gives rise to additional fast as well as slow relaxation modes and the presence of these additional relaxation modes gives rise to differences in the transient viscoelastic response of the fluids in the absence of any overshoots. The effect of fluid inertia on the interfacial stability of viscoelastic liquids is examined and it is shown that at longwaves, inertia has a pronounced effect on the stability of the interface, whereas at shortwaves, elastic and viscous effects dominate. Furthermore, the mechanism of viscoelastic interfacial instabilities is studied by a careful examination of disturbance eigenfunctions as well as performing a disturbance energy analysis. The results indicate that the mechanism of viscoelastic interfacial instabilities can be described in terms of interaction of mechanisms of purely viscous and purely elastic instabilities. However, since more than one mechanism for the instability is at work, the disturbance energy analysis can not clearly distinguish between them due to the fact that the eigenfunctions used in the energy analysis contain the information regarding both viscous and elastic effects. Hence, the mechanism of the instability must be determined by a careful examination of disturbance eigenfunctions.     

Stability of planar stagnation flow of a highly viscoelastic fluid

Linear stability analysis is used to predict the onset of instabilities in inertialess viscoelastic planar stagnation flow. Beyond a critical value of the dimensionless flow rate, or Deborah number, the creeping base flow of similarity type, which is valid in the limit of vanishingly small Reynolds numbers, becomes unstable to localized three-dimensional disturbances. Stability calculations of the local similarity type viscoelastic flow in a small region near the stagnation plane are reported for the quasi-linear Oldroyd-B constitutive equation. The stability results for a range of Deborah numbers and viscosity ratio are presented to explore systematically the effects of elasticity and other rheological properties. The onset of instability and the temporal and spatial characteristics of the secondary flow predicted here resemble other purely elastic instabilities measured and predicted for viscoelastic flows in other simple and complex geometries with curved streamlines.     

Selective withdrawal of polymer solutions: Computations

This paper reports numerical simulations of selective withdrawal of Newtonian and polymeric liquids, and complements the experimental study reported in the accompanying paper (Zhou and Feng [2]). We use finite elements to solve the Navier–Stokes and constitutive equations in the liquid on an adaptively refined unstructured grid, with an arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian scheme to track its free surface. The rheology of the viscoelastic liquids are modeled by the Oldroyd-B and Giesekus equations, and the physical and geometric parameters are matched with those in the experiments. The computed interfacial deformation is in general agreement with the experimental observations. In particular, the critical condition for interfacial rupture is predicted to quantitative accuracy. Furthermore, we combine the numerical and experimental data to explore the potential of selective withdrawal as an extensional rheometer. For Newtonian fluids, the measured steady elongational viscosity is within 47% of the actual value, apparently with better accuracy than other methods applicable to low-viscosity liquids. For polymer solutions, an estimated maximum error of 300% compares favorably with prior measurements.     

Experimental and theoretical observations of elastic instabilities in eccentric cylinder flows: local versus global instability

A theoretical and experimental investigation of the stability of the viscoelastic flow of a Boger fluid between eccentric cylinders is presented. In our theoretical study, a local linear stability analysis for the flow of an Oldroyd-B fluid suggests that the flow is elastically unstable for all eccentricities. A global solution to the stability problem is obtained by a perturbation eigenvalue analysis, incorporating the azimuthal variation of the base state flow at the same order as the streamwise variation of the stability function. A comparison between the local and global stability predictions is made. Flow visualization experiments with a solution of high molecular weight polyisobutylene dissolved in a viscous solvent clearly show the transition from a purely azimuthal flow to a secondary toroidal flow. Comparison of these experimental results with the local linear stability theory shows good agreement between the measured and predicted critical conditions for the onset of the non-inertial cellular instability at small δ, where δ is the eccentricity made dimensionless with the average gap thickness. At higher eccentricities, experiment and local linear stability theory cease to agree. Evidence will be given that this disagreement is due to a global affect, i.e. the convection of stress not included the local theory. Specifically, it is suggested that convection of polymeric stresses in the base flow as well as in the disturbance flow can stabilize the instabilities found in this geometry. Finally, the discovery of a new localized purely elastic instability associated with the recirculation flow in the co-rotating eccentric cylinder geometry is presented.     

Propagation of long waves of finite amplitude at the interface of two viscous fluids

The propagation of long waves of finite amplitude at the interface of two viscous fluids has been studied theoretically. For plane Couette-Poiseuille flow of two superposed layers of fluids of different viscosity, an equation is derived to determine the development in time of the shape of these finite amplitude waves. The influence of the viscosity ratio, the density difference of the fluids and an imposed pressure gradient have been investigated.     

Destabilization of long-wavelength Love and Stoneley waves in slow sliding

Love waves are dispersive interfacial waves that are a mode of response for anti-plane motions of an elastic layer bonded to an elastic half-space. Similarly, Stoneley waves are interfacial waves in bonded contact of dissimilar elastic half-spaces, when the displacements are in the plane of the solids. It is shown that in slow sliding, long-wavelength Love and Stoneley waves are destabilized by friction. Friction is assumed to have a positive instantaneous logarithmic dependence on slip rate and a logarithmic rate weakening behavior at steady-state.Long-wavelength instabilities occur generically in sliding with rate- and state-dependent friction, even when an interfacial wave does not exist. For slip at low rates, such instabilities are quasi-static in nature, i.e., the phase velocity is negligibly small in comparison to a shear wave speed. The existence of an interfacial wave in bonded contact permits an instability to propagate with a speed of the order of a shear wave speed even in slow sliding, indicating that the quasi-static approximation is not valid in such problems.     

Velocity fields around spheres and bubbles investigated by laser-doppler anemometry

An experimental investigation is presented in which the velocity fields around sheres and bubbles moving in a cylinder have been measured by laser-Doppler anemometry (LDA). Instabilities in the flow field at rather low Deborah numbers have been discovered and these instabilities are damped by inertia forces. It is shown that the wall correction factor K is a rapidly decreasing function of the Deborah number. The experimental measurements have been compared with numerical simulations, and on the basis of this comparison it has been possible to identify a time constant and a zero-shear-rate viscosity for the test liquid.     

Instabilities in viscoelastic flow through an axisymmetric sudden contraction

Kinematics and dynamics of the viscoelastic flow in an axisymmetric 4 : 1 sudden contraction geometry are studied for a highly elastic polyisobutylene (PIB) based polymer solution (referred to as PIB-Boger fluid). The critical conditions for the onset of the elastic instabilities and the dynamics of the resulting secondary flows are measured for various flow rates. The spatio-temporal characteristics of the flow are determined by instantaneous pressure measurements and streakline photography. The nonlinear dynamics of the global flow field both upstream and downstream of the contraction plane are systematically examined. New dynamic flow behavior and elastic instabilities downstream of the contraction plane are reported. It is shown that the instantaneous pressure measurements along with flow visualization can be used as an effective tool to characterize viscoelastic flows in complex geometries.     

Electro-magnetic-field-induced flow and interfacial instabilities in confined stratified liquid layers

The electro-magneto-hydrodynamic (EMHD) flow and instabilities engendered by the Lorenz force arising from interaction between externally applied perpendicular electric and magnetic fields are investigated in layers of two immiscible liquids in a channel. A new finite wave-number EMHD instability mode is uncovered by the Orr–Sommerfeld analysis, in addition to the interfacial and shear modes which also arise in the pressure-driven flows. Thus, EMHD can be controlled for micro-channel transport, heat and mass transfer, mixing, micro-emulsion generation, etc.     

Super-stable parallel flows of multiple visco-plastic fluids

We consider the stability of a multi-layer plane Poiseuille flow of two Bingham fluids. It is shown that this two-fluid flow is frequently more stable than the equivalent flow of either fluid alone. This phenomenon of super-stability results only when the yield stress of the fluid next to the channel wall is larger than that of the fluid in the centre of the channel, which need not have a yield stress. Our result is in direct contrast to the stability of analogous flows of purely viscous generalised Newtonian fluids, for which short wavelength interfacial instabilities can be found at relatively low Reynolds numbers. The results imply the existence of parameter regimes where visco-plastic lubrication is possible, permitting transport of an inelastic generalised Newtonian fluid in the centre of a channel, lubricated at the walls by a visco-plastic fluid, travelling in a stable laminar flow at higher flow rates than would be possible for the single fluid alone.     

Flow of a viscoelastic fluid between eccentric cylinders: impact on flow stability

The flow of an elastic fluid between eccentric cylinders was experimentally and theoretically examined. A purely elastic flow instability in the eccentric cylinder flow geometry has been discovered 1, 2. The focus of this paper is an investigation of how the characteristics of the base flow ultimately influence the flow stability. The velocity profiles of a Boger fluid between eccentric cylinders was measured by Laser Doppler velocimetry and compared to the theoretical predictions from a lubrication analysis. The base flow stress profiles between eccentric cylinders were calculated by integrating the polymeric stresses along streamlines. It is shown that the convection of polymeric stresses alter the hoop stresses in the flow. Implications of this observation to the flow stability are discussed.     

Small Reynolds number instabilities in two-layer Couette flow

Instabilities in two-layer Couette flow are investigated from a small Reynolds number expansion of the eigenvalue problem governing linear stability. The wave velocity and growth rate are given explicitly, and previous results for long waves and short waves are retrieved as special cases. In addition to the inertial instability due to viscous stratification, the flow may be subject to the Rayleigh–Taylor instability. As a result of the competition of these two instabilities, inertia may completely stabilise a gravity-unstable flow above some finite critical Froude number, or conversely, for a gravity-stable flow, inertia may give rise to finite wavenumber instability above some finite critical Weber number. General conditions for these phenomena are given, as well as exact or approximate values of the critical numbers. The validity domain of the many asymptotic expansions is then investigated from comparison with the numerical solution. It appears that the small-Re expansion gives good results beyond Re = 1, with an error less that 1%. For Reynolds numbers of a few hundred, we show from the eigenfunctions and the energy equation that the nature of the instability changes: instability still arises from the interfacial mode (there is no mode crossing), but this mode takes all the features of a shear mode. The other modes correspond to the stable eigenmodes of the single-layer Couette flow, which are recovered when one fluid is rigidified by increasing its viscosity or surface tension.     

Liquid jet in a high Mach number air stream

The instability of circular liquid jet immersed in a coflowing high velocity air stream is studied assuming that the flow of the viscous gas and liquid is irrotational. The basic velocity profiles are uniform and different. The instabilities are driven by Kelvin–Helmholtz instability due to a velocity difference and neckdown due to capillary instability. Capillary instabilities dominate for large Weber numbers. Kelvin–Helmholtz instability dominates for small Weber numbers. The wavelength for the most unstable wave decreases strongly with the Mach number and attains a very small minimum when the Mach number is somewhat larger than one. The peak growth rates are attained for axisymmetric disturbances (n = 0) when the viscosity of the liquid is not too large. The peak growth rates for the first asymmetric mode (n = 1) and the associated wavelength are very close to the n = 0 mode; the peak growth rate for n = 1 modes exceeds n = 0 when the viscosity of the liquid jet is large. The effects of viscosity on the irrotational instabilities are very strong. The analysis predicts that breakup fragments of liquids in high speed air streams may be exceedingly small, especially in the transonic range of Mach numbers.     

Stability of the interface in two-layer couette flow of upper convected maxwell liquids

The linear stability of a two-layer Couette flow of upper convected Maxwell liquids is considered. The fluids have different densities, viscosities, and elasticities, with surface tension at the interface. At low speeds, the interfacial mode may become unstable, while other modes stay stable. The shortwave asymptotics of the interfacial mode is analyzed. It is found that an elasticity difference can stabilize or destabilize the flow even in the absence of a viscosity difference. As the viscosity difference increases, the range of elasticities for which there is shortwave stability widens. A linearly stable arrangement can be achieved by placing the less viscous fluid in a thin layer to stabilize longwaves and using elasticities to stabilize shortwaves. Such an arrangement can be stable even when the density stratification is adverse.     

Linear rheology of viscoelastic emulsions with interfacial tension

Emulsions of incompressible viscoelastic materials are considered, in which the addition of an interfacial agent causes the interfacial tension to depend on shear deformation and variation of area. The average complex shear modulus of the medium accounts for the mechanical interactions between inclusions by a self consistent treatment similar to the Lorentz sphere method in electricity. The resulting expression of the average modulus includes as special cases the Kerner formula for incompressible elastic materials and the Oldroyd expression of the complex viscosity of emulsions of Newtonian liquids in time-dependent flow.     

Instability due to second normal stress jump in two-layer shear flow of the Giesekus fluid

The two-layer Couette flow of superposed Giesekus liquids is examined. In order to emphasize the effect of a jump in the second normal stress difference, the analysis is focused on flows where the shear rate and first normal stress difference are continuous across the interface. In this case, the flow is neutrally stable to streamwise disturbances, but can be unstable for spanwise disturbances driven by a jump in the second normal stress difference. Whether the long and order one waves are stable or not depends on the sign of this difference. Short waves are unstable. In the case of order one wave instability, the mode of maximum growth rate gives rise to stationary ripples perpendicular to the flow. The eigenvalue problem for purely spanwise wave vectors can in principle be solved analytically, although, in general, the analytical solution is too complicated to obtain. In most cases, however, a simplifying assumption can be made which makes analytical solutions feasible. We present such solutions and compare them with purely numerical solutions.     

On the modeling of fluidity loss phenomena in Couette and Poiseuille flows of elastic liquids

Some effects of the possible relaxation transition from viscoelastic liquid state to highly elastic solid state were theoretically and numerically investigated in the shear situations, within the approach proposed in papers [1, 2, 5, 16]. It was found that for a single Maxwellian model the constitutive equations developed in [1, 2, 5] are not valid at elevated shear stresses. Some new aspects of the possible rheological behavior of elastic liquids in subcritical (before transition) and supercritical (after transition) regimes were demonstrated. The mechanism of fluidity loss studied in this paper could serve as a possible trigger mechanism for the melt flow instabilities.     

Three-dimensional presentation of extensional flow data

A proposal has been made by Ferguson and Hudson (Eur. Polym. J., 29 (1993) 141–147; J. Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech., 52 (1994) 121–135) that three-dimensional representation of extensional flow data can be used to resolve apparent disagreements among the results from a variety of extensional flow experiments. A theoretical investigation of the procedure, which involves plotting a transient extensional viscosity against strain and time is carried out in this paper. We then seek to draw some conclusions about the validity and limitations of the approach. The method does not work for purely viscous non-newtonian liquids or for simple (co-rotational and upper convected) Maxwell models. However, the failure of results to lie close to a unique surface (for any particular material) is most marked in situations where our theoretical models are least reliable. More work, both experimental and theoretical, is required.     

Extracting extensional properties through excess pressure drop estimation in axisymmetric contraction and expansion flows for constant shear viscosity,extension strain-hardening fluids

In this study, hyperbolic contraction–expansion flow (HCF) devices have been investigated with the specific aim of devising new experimental measuring systems for extensional rheological properties. To this end, a hyperbolic contraction–expansion configuration has been designed to minimize the influence of shear in the flow. Experiments have been conducted using well-characterized model fluids, alongside simulations using a viscoelastic White–Metzner/FENE-CR model and finite element/finite volume analysis. Here, the application of appropriate rheological models to reproduce quantitative pressure drop predictions for constant shear viscosity fluids has been investigated, in order to extract the relevant extensional properties for the various test fluids in question. Accordingly, experimental evaluation of the hyperbolic contraction–expansion configuration has shown rising corrected pressure drops with increasing elastic behaviour (De=0～16), evidence which has been corroborated through numerical prediction. Moreover, theoretical to predicted solution correspondence has been established between extensional viscosity and first normal stress difference. This leads to a practical means to measure extensional viscosity for elastic fluids, obtained through the derived pressure drop data in these HCF devices.     

Velocity–pressure coupling in finite difference formulations for the Navier–Stokes equations

A new numerical procedure for solving the two‐dimensional, steady, incompressible, viscous flow equations on a staggered Cartesian grid is presented in this paper. The proposed methodology is finite difference based, but essentially takes advantage of the best features of two well‐established numerical formulations, the finite difference and finite volume methods. Some weaknesses of the finite difference approach are removed by exploiting the strengths of the finite volume method. In particular, the issue of velocity–pressure coupling is dealt with in the proposed finite difference formulation by developing a pressure correction equation using the SIMPLE approach commonly used in finite volume formulations. However, since this is purely a finite difference formulation, numerical approximation of fluxes is not required. Results presented in this paper are based on first‐ and second‐order upwind schemes for the convective terms. This new formulation is validated against experimental and other numerical data for well‐known benchmark problems, namely developing laminar flow in a straight duct, flow over a backward‐facing step, and lid‐driven cavity flow. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.