Local measurements of turbulent angular momentum transport in circular Couette flow

We report on velocity fluctuations and the fluctuation-driven radial transport of angular momentum in turbulent circular Couette flow. Our apparatus is short (cylinder height to gap width ratio Γ ~ 2) and of relatively high wall curvature (ratio of cylinder radii η ~ 0.35). Fluctuation levels and the mean specific angular momentum are found to be roughly constant over radius, in accordance with previous studies featuring narrower gaps. Synchronized dual beam Laser Doppler Velocimetry (2D LDV) is used to directly measure the r − θ Reynolds stress component as a function of Reynolds number (Re), revealing approximate scalings in the non-dimensional angular momentum transport that confirm previous measurements of torque in similar flows. 2D LDV further allows for a decomposition of the turbulent transport to assess the relative roles of fluctuation intensity and r − θ cross-correlation. We find that the increasing angular momentum transport with Re is due to intensifying absolute fluctuation levels accompanied by a slightly weakening cross-correlation.     

Experiments on the stability of an impulsively-initiated circular Couette flow

Experiments were performed to study the stability characteristics of an unsteady circular Couette flow generated by an impulsive stop of the outer cylinder; the initial condition was a state of rigid-body rotation. Instability of the unsteady basic state is manifested by Görtler vortices, which themselves become unstable to longer-wavelength disturbances, or Taylor vortices which persist indefinitely. The quantities of primary interest are the onset time of instability, the axial vortex wavelength at onset, and the time-evolution of this wavelength. A one-dimensional photodiode array is used to gather data from the flow, which is seeded with flow-visualization material. At sufficiently high values of the Reynolds number, the influence of the inner cylinder on the onset of instability is negligible, based on comparisons with previous experimental data.     

Two dimensional flow quantitative visualization by the hybrid method of flow birefringence and boundary integration

Flow birefringent method and its data processing was reviewed and a new hybrid method of flow birefringence and boundary integration was introduced. The basic equations and boundary conditions suitable to the hybrid method were derived, and a comparison of the hybrid and other classical methods was given. Finally as an example, the flow in a step converging tube was analyzed by the given method. The project supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)     

Unsteady circular Couette flow of a Bingham plastic with the Augmented Lagrangian Method

Numerical simulations are undertaken for unsteady flows of an ideal Bingham fluid in a circular Couette viscometer. The main difficulties in such simulations are caused by the non-differentiability of the constitutive equation and the need to determine the position and shape of the yield surface separating the yielded zones from the unyielded ones. In this work, these difficulties are overcome by using a numerical method based on variational inequalities, i.e. the augmented Lagrangian/Uzawa method. The start-up and cessation of circular Couette flows of a Bingham fluid are solved numerically assuming that only one of the cylinders is rotating. An improved theoretical upper bound for the stopping time in the case of cessation is derived. The numerical estimates for the stopping time compare well with the theoretical bounds. Moreover, with the adopted method the evolution of the velocity profiles and the locations of yielded/unyielded surfaces are accurately calculated. In flow cessation, we observe an interesting effect, namely the appearance of a small unyielded region adjoined to the outer cylinder shortly before cessation.     

Experimental study of the induced flow birefringence of a suspension of rigid particles at the transition from Couette flow to Taylor vortex flow

The flow birefringence induced in solutions of rigid particles is studied experimentally in the region of the axisymmetrical Taylor vortex flow which arises once the velocity gradient G in the annular gap of a conventional Couette cell reaches a critical value G _c .The measurements are performed for several values of G > G _c and for 10 radial observation points in the annular gap. Solutions of two types of rigid particles are investigated: the first is a suspension of flattened clay particles like bentonite, while the second contains rod-like particles of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). The variations of the birefringence intensity n and of the extinction angle measured in the domain of the axisymmetrical flow show a different behavior according to the shape of the particle in solution. This fact is confirmed theoretically with a good agreement for the measurements performed with solutions of flat particles.     

Turbulence in plane Couette flow

Experimental results for fully developed turbulent plane Couette flow are reported and compared to earlier experimental and numerical results. In addition some turbulent statistics not previously reported are shown.     

Flow boiling visualization in a vertical circular minichannel at high vapor quality

This paper reports on an experimental study of saturated flow boiling of R134a inside a circular vertical quartz tube coated with a transparent heater. The inner diameter of the tube was 1.33 mm and the heated length 235.5 mm. The flow pattern at high vapor qualities and the dryout of the liquid film were studied using a high speed CCD camera at the mass fluxes 47.4 and 124.4 kg/m² s in up flow at 6.425 bar. The heat fluxes ranged from 5 to 13.6 kW/m² for the lower mass flux and from 20 to 32.4 kW/m² for the higher mass flux.

The behavior of the flow close to dryout was found to be different at low and high mass flux. At low mass flux the location of the liquid front fluctuated with waves passing high up in the tube. In between the waves, a thin film was formed, slowly evaporating without breaking up.

At high mass flux the location of the liquid front was more stable. In this case the liquid film was seen to break up into liquid streams and dry zones on the tube wall.     

Flow regimes and flow transitions in liquid fluidized beds

Using two-dimensional liquid fluidized beds of glass particles in water, we have been able to identify at least four discrete fiow regimes. The points of transition between these regimes are sharp and non-hysteretic. The regimes include (in the order of increasing gm/gm_mf), wavy fiow, wavy fiow with transverse structure, fine-scale turbulent flow, and bubbling states. Characterization of each of these regimes is given in terms of the rime and length scales of the motion, as measured by light transmission, optical scanning, and digital time-series analysis. Features of the mechanics of these states are discussed. Observation of the bubbling state for particles of moderate density (ρ_s = 3990 kg/m³) in liquid beds is new, and is shown to be related fo anomalous expansion data reported by earlier investigators.     

Nonuniform convective Couette flow

An exact solution describing the convective flow of a vortical viscous incompressible fluid is derived. The solution of the Oberbeck–Boussinesq equation possesses a characteristic feature in describing a fluid in motion, namely, it holds true when not only viscous but also inertia forces are taken into account. Taking the inertia forces into account leads to the appearance of stagnation points in a fluid layer and counterflows, as well as the existence of layer thicknesses at which the tangent stresses vanish on the lower boundary. It is shown that the vortices in the fluid are generated due to the nonlinear effects leading to the occurrence of counterflows and flow velocity amplification, compared with those given by the boundary conditions. The solution of the spectral problem for the polynomials describing the tangent stress distribution makes it possible to explain the absence of the skin friction on the solid surface and in an arbitrary section of an infinite layer.     

Optical visualization of accelerated and decelerated flow over a circular cylinder

Prandtl and Tietjens [1] obtained the spectra of flow over a circular cylinder. Later, other authors returned to this question (see, in particular, [2, 3]). The investigations showed that the time-dependent picture of the separation flow over the cylinder can be divided into two main phases: an initial phase of symmetric flow and a phase of steady, periodic, and asymmetric flow. In the symmetric flow over the cylinder [1] one observes in the neighborhood of the separation points delta-shaped regions, whose structure it would be interesting to elucidate. In the present paper, we present the results of an investigation by a method of optical visualization of some features of the flow over a circular cylinder in regimes when the flow is accelerated and decelerated.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSE, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 2, pp. 136–142, March—April, 1981.     

Couette flow of granular materials

The flow of granular materials between rotating cylinders is studied using a continuum model proposed by Rajagopal and Massoudi (A method for measuring material moduli for granular materials: flow in an orthogonal rheometer, DOE/PETC/TR90/3, 1990). For a steady, fully developed condition, the governing equations are reduced to a system of coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations. The resulting boundary value problem is non-dimensionalized and is then solved numerically. The effect of material parameters, i.e., dimensionless numbers on the volume fraction and the velocity fields are studied.     

Marangoni effect in the Couette flow

Viscous heating in an axisymmetric creeping flow of a second-order fluid with free surface between two coaxially mounted cylinders produces a radial temperature gradient in the fluid. The dependence of the surface tension upon temperature is the cause for a secondary flow in the meridional plane of the flow field. This secondary flow (Marangoni effect), and its influence upon the shape of the free surface are studied. The deformation of the free surface caused by the Marangoni effect is compared with the deformation caused by inertia and normal stress differences.     

Modeling plane turbulent Couette flow

Among the salient features of shear-driven plane Couette flow is the constancy of the total shear stress (viscous and turbulent) across the flow. This constancy gives rise to a quasi-homogenous core region, which makes the bulk of the flow substantially different from pressure-driven Poiseuille flow. The present second-moment closure study addresses the conflicting hypotheses relating to turbulent Couette flow. The inclusion of a new wall-proximity function in the wall-reflection part of the pressure-strain model seems mandatory, and the greement with recent experimental and direct numerical simulation (DNS) results is encouraging. Analysis of model computations in the range 750 ≤ Re ≤ 35,000 and comparisons with low-Re DNS data suggest that plane Couette flow exhibits a local-equilibrium core region, in which anisotropic, homogeneous turbulence prevails. However, the associated variation of the mean velocity in the core, as obtained by the model, conflicts with the intuitively appealing assumption of homogeneous mean shear. The constancy of the velocity gradient exhibited by the DNS therefore signals a deficiency in the modeled transport equation for the energy dissipation rate.     

Unsteady generalized Couette flow in composite microchannel

A numerical study is reported on the fully developed unsteady laminar fluid flow in microchannel parallel-plates partially filled with a uniform porous medium and partially filled with a clear fluid. The flow is induced by the movement of one of the plates and the pressure gradient. The Brinkman-extended Darcy model is utilized to model the flow in the porous region, while the Stokes equation is used in the clear fluid region. A theoretical analysis is also presented for the fully developed steady flow to find closedform expressions for the interfacial velocity and the velocity and skin frictions at the bounding plates. Numerical computations shows excellent agreement between the closedform solutions for fully developed steady flow and the numerical solution to unsteady flow at large values of time.