A FENE-P k–ε turbulence model for low and intermediate regimes of polymer-induced drag reduction

A new low-Reynolds-number k–ε turbulence model is developed for flows of viscoelastic fluids described by the finitely extensible nonlinear elastic rheological constitutive equation with Peterlin approximation (FENE-P model). The model is validated against direct numerical simulations in the low and intermediate drag reduction (DR) regimes (DR up to 50%). The results obtained represent an improvement over the low DR model of Pinho et al. (2008) [A low Reynolds number k–ε turbulence model for FENE-P viscoelastic fluids, Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics, 154, 89–108]. In extending the range of application to higher values of drag reduction, three main improvements were incorporated: a modified eddy viscosity closure, the inclusion of direct viscoelastic contributions into the transport equations for turbulent kinetic energy (k) and its dissipation rate, and a new closure for the cross-correlations between the fluctuating components of the polymer conformation and rate of strain tensors (NLT_ij). The NLT_ij appears in the Reynolds-averaged evolution equation for the conformation tensor (RACE), which is required to calculate the average polymer stress, and in the viscoelastic stress work in the transport equation of k. It is shown that the predictions of mean velocity, turbulent kinetic energy, its rate of dissipation by the Newtonian solvent, conformation tensor and polymer and Reynolds shear stresses are improved compared to those obtained from the earlier model.     

A closure approximation for nematic liquid crystals based on the canonical distribution subspace theory

 A closure approximation for nematic polymers is presented. It approximates the fourth rank order tensor in terms of lower rank tensors, and is derived in the framework of the canonical distribution subspace theory. This approach requires a choice of the class of distributions: Here the set of Bingham distributions is chosen, as already introduced by Chaubal and Leal (1998). The closure is written in a generic frame of reference, and in an explicit form, so that it can be easily implemented. Such formulation also permits studying the closure approximation with continuation tools, which rather completely describe the system dynamics. The predictions can then be compared with those obtained with the exact model. The shear flow is considered as a test, since this flow condition appears to be the most demanding for closure approximations for nematic polymers. Received: 30 November 1999/Accepted: 30 November 1999     

A Variational Principle for the Revised Goodman–Cowin Theory with Internal Length

In the present study a variational principle is proposed for the revised Goodman–Cowin theory with internal length for cohesionless granular materials (Fang et al. in Continuum Mech Thermodyn in press). The balance equations of the internal variables employed in the theory in equilibrium states, the equilibrium expressions of the constitutive variables and the corresponding natural boundary conditions are derived by use of the proposed variational principle for both cases of compressible and incompressible grains. It is demonstrated that the derived results coincide with those obtained by use of the thermodynamic analysis. The current work serves as a supplementary variational verification of the constitutive theory proposed in Fang et al. (in Continuum Mech Thermodyn in press).     

Thermodynamic admissibility of the extended Pom-Pom model for branched polymers

The thermodynamic consistency of the eXtended Pom-Pom (XPP) model for branched polymers of Verbeeten et al. [W.M.H. Verbeeten, G.W.M. Peters, F.P.T. Baaijens, Differential constitutive equations for polymer melts: the extended pom-pom model, J. Rheol. 45 (4) (2001) 823–843; W.M.H. Verbeeten, G.W.M. Peters, F.P.T. Baaijens, Differential constitutive equations for polymer melts: the extended pom-pom model (vol 45, pg 823–843, 2001), J. Rheol. 45 (6) (2001) 1489] as well as its modified version [J. van Meerveld, Note on the thermodynamic consistency of the integral pom-pom model, J. Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech. 108 (1–3) (2002) 291–299] is investigated from the perspective of non-equilibrium thermodynamics, namely the General Equation for Non-Equilibrium Reversible–Irreversible Coupling (GENERIC) framework. The thermodynamic admissibility of the XPP model is shown for both its original and modified form. According to the GENERIC formalism, the parameter α introduced by Verbeeten et al. to predict non-zero second normal stress in shear flows must fulfill the condition 0 ≤ α ≤ 1.     

Numerical simulation of flow-induced fiber orientation using normalization of second moment

A normalization scheme for the numerical solution of the moment approximation equation in fiber suspension flows is presented. Here, normalization refers to rescaling the trace of the second moment tensor to unity at each time step. The equivalence between the normalization scheme and the quadratic closure model is analytically proved. The performance of the scheme is investigated in simple shear flow with respect to the quadratic and hybrid closures, and a stochastic Monte-Carlo simulator that provides exact solution. The proposed scheme is a computationally efficient alternative to the quadratic closure: it performs equally well and is more efficient regarding computational time.     

Nonhomogeneous Incompressible Herschel–Bulkley Fluid Flows Between Two Eccentric Cylinders

The equations for the nonhomogeneous incompressible Herschel–Bulkley fluid are considered and existence of a weak solution is proved for a boundary-value problem which describes three-dimensional flows between two eccentric cylinders when in each two-dimensional cross-section annulus the flow characteristics are the same. The rheology of such a fluid is defined by a yield stress τ* and a discontinuous stress-strain law. A fluid volume stiffens if its local stresses do not exceed τ*, and a fluid behaves like a nonlinear fluid otherwise. The flow equations are formulated in the stress–velocity–density–pressure setting. Our approach is different from that of Duvaut–Lions developed for the classical Bingham viscoplastic fluids. We do not apply the variational inequality but make use of an approximation of the generalized Bingham fluid by a non-Newtonian fluid with a continuous constitutive law.     

Theoretical analysis of non-uniform extensional flows in relation to processing rheology and predictions of some constitutive equations

In this paper, a characteristic equation involving the stream function, already given by one of the authors in a previous work for classifying axisymmetric incompressible flows, is re-considered. Non-uniform nearly extensional flows are derived as particular solutions from this equation. Using experimental data in the literature for polymer solutions and melts, it is proved that particular solutions of the characteristic equation lead to kinematics very close to those encountered in the fiber-spinning process. The kinematic equations satisfactorily correlating the fiber-spinning data are used in order to determine the ability of constitutive equations to predict realistic stresses in the flow domain. The rheological parameters of the fluids, obtained from experiments, are used for computation of differential and integral constitutive equations in the spinning conditions. Comparisons with the stress response of adequate constitutive equations are given and discussed.Also affiliated to: Université Joseph Fourier Grenoble I and Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, Associé au CNRS (URA 1510)     

Toward a Turbulence Constitutive Relation for Geophysical Flows

Rapidly rotating turbulent flows are frequently in approximate geostrophic balance. Single-point turbulence closures, in general, are not consistent with a geostrophic balance. This article addresses and resolves the possibility of a constitutive relation for single-point second-order closures for classes of rotating and stratified flows relevant to geophysics. Physical situations in which a geostrophic balance is attained are described. Closely related issues of frame-indifference, horizontal divergence, and the Taylor–Proudman theorem are discussed. It is shown that, in the absence of vortex stretching along the axis of rotation, turbulence is frame-indifferent. Unfortunately, no turbulence closures are consistent with this frame-indifference that is frequently an important feature of rotating or quasi-geostrophic flows. A derivation and discussion of the geostrophic constraint which ensures that the modeled second-moment equations are frame-invariant, in the appropriate limit, is given. It is shown that rotating, stratified, and shallow water flows are situations in which such a constitutive relation procedure is useful. A nonlinear nonconstant coefficient representation for the rapid-pressure strain covariance appearing in the Reynolds stress and heat flux equations, consistent with the geostrophic balance, is described. The rapid-pressure strain closure features coefficients that are not constants determined by numerical optimization but are functions of the state of turbulence as parametrized by the Reynolds stresses and the turbulent heat fluxes as is required by tensor representation theory. These issues are relevant to baroclinic and barotropic atmospheric and oceanic flows. The planetary boundary layers in which there is a transition, with height or depth, from a thermally or shear driven turbulence to a geostrophic turbulence is a classic geophysical example to which the considerations in this article are relevant. Received 14 October 1996 and accepted 9 June 1997     

Original Article On the frame dependence and form invariance of the transport equations for the Reynolds stress tensor and the turbulent heat flux vector: its consequences on closure models in turbulence modelling

The present paper shows that the transport equations governing second order turbulent closures are form invariant, but remain frame dependent through the emergence of the body force; thus they do not fulfil the principle of material frame indifference as formulated by Truesdell & Noll (1965). However, this frame dependence corresponds to that first discussed by Müller (1972) and today developed in the framework of the new concept of extended thermodynamics. Following this new concept, these relations are consequently incorporated as additional basic balance laws. The results are: 1) in the case of the Reynolds-stress-transport equation, this eliminates the so-called constraints imposed in [15–17, 19] on turbulence models; 2) to ensure the closure of the new set of basic balance laws, closure assumptions can then be considered as proper constitutive equations which must be restricted by the well known constitutive theory principles in extended thermodynamics. Received: April 4, 1996     

Méthode particulaire anisotrope pour des écoulements de fluide visqueuxAnisotropic particle method for viscous flows

The anisotropic particle method has been extended to the case of viscous flows. The moment transport equation is modified to account for viscous effects. The diffusion term has been evaluated by using the PSE method and the particle moments. The modified transport equation includes geometrical moments for which a specific transport equation has been introduced. The study of the evolution of two corotating vortices allowed the comparison of the anisotropic particle method with the usual particle method. To cite this article: A. Beaudoin et al., C. R. Mecanique 332 (2004).     

Nonisothermal analysis of extrusion film casting process using molecular constitutive equations

Extrusion film casting (EFC) is a commercially important process that is used to produce several thousand tons of polymer films and coatings. In a recent work, we demonstrated the influence of polymer chain architecture on the extent of necking in an isothermal film casting operation (Pol et al., J Rheol 57:559–583, 2013). In the present research, we have explored experimentally and theoretically the effects of long-chain branching on the extent of necking during nonisothermal film casting conditions. Polyethylenes of linear and long-chain branched architectures were used for experimental studies. The EFC process was analyzed using the 1-D flow model of Silagy et al. (Polym Eng Sci 36:2614–2625, 1996) in which the energy equation was introduced to model nonisothermal effects, and two multimode constitutive equations, namely the “extended pom-pom” (XPP, for long-chain branched polymer melts) equation and the “Rolie-Poly stretch version” (RP-S, for linear polymer melts) equation, were incorporated to account for the effects of polymer chain architecture. We show that the model does a better job of capturing the qualitative features of the experimental data, thereby elucidating the role of chain architecture and nonisothermal conditions on the extent of necking.     

Numerical Flow Simulation for Bingham Plastics in a Single-Screw Extruder

Numerical simulations have been performed concerning the operation of a single-screw extruder, pumping a Bingham plastic under isothermal, developed flow conditions. Under the assumption of sufficiently low Reynolds numbers, inertia effects are neglected. The singular rheological behavior of the Bingham plastic is considered as the limiting case within a class of generalized Newtonian liquids with smooth constitutive equations. The validation of this regularization process is shown for a related flow problem where the Bingham solution is known analytically. A mixed finite-element method is applied to the flow in the screw-extruder to reduce the equations of motion, the continuity equation, and the regularized constitutive equation to a set of nonlinear algebraic equations, which are solved using a Newton method. In particular, the pumping characteristics of a given screw geometry are extracted from the finite-element calculations, i.e., the dependence of the volumetric flow rate and of the power requirement on the axial pressure drop, on the screw speed, and on the rheological parameters. Calculated flow fields clearly show the size and position of regions in the extruder channel where the Bingham plastic behaves like a solid. Received: 12 December 1995 and accepted 12 November 1996     

A mathematical model and a numerical model for hyperbolic mass transport in compressible flows

A number of contributions have been made during the last decades to model pure-diffusive transport problems by using the so-called hyperbolic diffusion equations. These equations are used for both mass and heat transport. The hyperbolic diffusion equations are obtained by substituting the classic constitutive equation (Fick’s and Fourier’s law, respectively), by a more general differential equation, due to Cattaneo (C R Acad Sci Ser I Math 247:431–433, 1958). In some applications the use of a parabolic model for diffusive processes is assumed to be accurate enough in spite of predicting an infinite speed of propagation (Cattaneo, C R Acad Sci Ser I Math 247:431–433, 1958). However, the use of a wave-like equation that predicts a finite velocity of propagation is necessary in many other calculations. The studies of heat or mass transport with finite velocity of propagation have been traditionally limited to pure-diffusive situations. However, the authors have recently proposed a generalization of Cattaneo’s law that can also be used in convective-diffusive problems (Gómez, Technical Report (in Spanish), University of A Coruña, 2003; Gómez et al., in An alternative formulation for the advective-diffusive transport problem. 7th Congress on computational methods in engineering. Lisbon, Portugal, 2004a; Gómez et al., in On the intrinsic instability of the advection–diffusion equation. Proc. of the 4th European congress on computational methods in applied sciences and engineering (CDROM). Jyväskylä, Finland, 2004b) (see also Christov and Jordan, Phys Rev Lett 94:4301–4304, 2005). This constitutive equation has been applied to engineering problems in the context of mass transport within an incompressible fluid (Gómez et al., Comput Methods Appl Mech Eng, doi: 10.1016/j.cma.2006.09.016, 2006). In this paper we extend the model to compressible flow problems. A discontinuous Galerkin method is also proposed to numerically solve the equations. Finally, we present some examples to test out the performance of the numerical and the mathematical model.     

Dynamical Equations and Turbulent Closures in Geophysics

Based on scaling arguments the governing equations for turbulent flows are classified. The similarity for stratified and rotating flows is characterized and the conditions for a hydrostatic assumption are shown for several flow regimes. For stratified rotating flow a scale analysis of the turbulent stresses exhibits different classes of second order closure. The complete sets of the governing equations for second and third order turbulent closures are presented. The evolution of the equations is embedded into a historical chronology. Received September 15, 1997     

Incorporation of polymer diffusivity and migration into constitutive equations

Given a general one-particle constitutive equation for the stress tensor, we discuss how to incorporate the additional effects of polymer diffusivity and migration into that constitutive equation within the framework of continuum mechanics. For the example of an upper-convected Maxwell model representing the polymer contribution to the stress tensor of a dilute polymer solution, we describe i) how to modify the constitutive equation for the stress tensor to include diffusion and migration effects, ii) how to formulate a balance equation for the polymer mass density in order to describe the nonhomogeneous composition of the polymer solution resulting from migration, and iii) how to close the extended set of coupled equations by means of further constitutive equations for the migration velocity and the diffusion tensor. In order to guarantee the material objectivity for all equations, we formulate them in the body tensor formulation of continuum mechanics (and then translate them into Cartesian space). The proposed equations are compared to results of a recent kinetic-theory approach.Dedicated to Professor Arthur S. Lodge on the occasion of his 70th birthday and his retirement from the University of Wisconsin.     

Non parabolic band transport in semiconductors: closure of the moment equations

The problem of the closure of the moment equations of the semiconductor Boltzmann equation is studied in the framework of the Kane dispersion relation (therefore avoiding the limitations of the parabolic band approximation). By using the maximum entropy ansatz for the closure one obtains, in the limit of small anisotropy, explicit constitutive relations for the stress tensor and the flux of energy flux tensor. The results obtained are in remarkable agreement with those arising from Monte Carlo simulations. Received October 27, 98     

A finite element method for computing the flow of multi-mode viscoelastic fluids: comparison with experiments

The numerical computation of viscoelastic fluid flows with differential constitutive equations presents various difficulties. The first one lies in the numerical convergence of the complex numerical scheme solving the non-linear set of equations. Due to the hybrid type of these equations (elliptic and hyperbolic), geometrical singularities such as reentrant corner or die induce stress singularities and hence numerical problems. Another difficulty is the choice of an appropriate constitutive equation and the determination of rheological constants. In this paper, a quasi-Newton method is developed for a fluid obeying a multi-mode Phan-Thien and Tanner constitutive equation. A confined convergent geometry followed by the extrudate swell has been considered. Numerical results obtained for two-dimensional or axisymmetric flows are compared to experimental results (birefringence patterns or extrudate swell) for a linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and a low density polyethylene (LDPE).     

Permanent Waves in Slow Free-Surface Flow of a Herschel–Bulkley fluid

Unsteady flow of a viscoplastic fluid on an inclined plane is examined. The fluid is described by the three-parameter Herschel–Bulkley constitutive equation. The set of equations governing the flow is presented, recovering earlier results for a Bingham fluid and steady uniform motion. A permanent wave solution is then derived, and the relation between wave speed and flow depth is discussed. It is shown that more types of gravity currents are possible than in a Newtonian fluid; these include some cases of flows propagating up a slope. The speed of permanent waves is derived and the possible surface profiles are illustrated as functions of the flow behavior index.     

Lattice Boltzmann simulations of viscoplastic fluid flows through complex flow channels

We present the results of lattice Boltzmann (LB) simulations for the planar-flow of viscoplastic fluids through complex flow channels. In this study, the Bingham and Casson model fluids are covered as viscoplastic fluid. The Papanastasiou (modified Bingham) model and the modified Casson model are employed in our LB simulations. The Bingham number is an essential physical parameter when considering viscoplastic fluid flows and the modified Bingham number is proposed for modified viscoplastic models. When the value of the modified Bingham number agrees with that of the “normal” Bingham number, viscoplastic fluid flows formulated by modified viscoplastic models strictly reproduce the flow behavior of the ideal viscoplastic fluids. LB simulations are extensively performed for viscoplastic fluid flows through complex flow channels with rectangular and circular obstacles. It is shown that the LB method (LBM) allows us to successfully compute the flow behavior of viscoplastic fluids in various complicated-flow channels with rectangular and circular obstacles. For even low Re and high Bn numbers corresponding to plastic-property dominant condition, it is clearly manifested that the viscosity for both the viscoplastic fluids is largely decreased around solid obstacles. Also, it is shown that the viscosity profile is quite different between both the viscoplastic fluids due to the inherent nature of the models. The viscosity of the Bingham fluid sharply drops down close to the plastic viscosity, whereas the viscosity of the Casson fluid does not rapidly fall. From this study, it is demonstrated that the LBM can be also an effective methodology for computing viscoplastic fluid flows through complex channels including circular obstacles.