Combined electroosmotically and pressure driven flow of power-law fluids in a slit microchannel

Electroosmotic flow of power-law fluids in the presence of pressure gradient through a slit is analyzed. After numerically solving the Poisson–Boltzmann equation, the momentum equation with electroosmotic body force is solved through an iterative numerical procedure for both favorable and adverse pressure gradients. The results reveal that, in case of pressure assisted flow, shear-thinning fluids reach higher velocity magnitudes compared with shear-thickening fluids, whereas the opposite is true when an adverse pressure gradient is applied. The Poiseuille number is found to be an increasing function of the dimensionless Debye–Hückel parameter, the wall zeta potential, and the flow behavior index. Comparison between the exact and the results based on the Debye–Hückel linearization reveals that the simplified solution leads to large errors in evaluating the velocity profile for zeta potentials higher than 25 mV, except for shear-thickening fluids in the presence of favorable pressure gradient.     

Effect of variable slip boundary conditions on flows of pressure driven non-Newtonian fluids

In microfluidic devices it has been suggested a scheme for enhancing the mixing of two fluids is to use patterned, slip boundary conditions. This has been shown to induce significant transverse flow for Newtonian fluids [S.C. Hendy, M. Jasperse, J. Burnell, Effect of patterned slip on micro- and nanofluidic flows, Phys. Rev. E 72 (2005) 016303]. Here we study the effect of patterned slip on non-Newtonian fluids. Using a power-law model it is shown for shear-thickening fluids patterned slip can induce significant transverse flows comparable in size to those produced for Newtonian fluids. However, for shear-thinning fluids this transverse flow is suppressed. We predict a convenient way to increase the transverse flow for shear-thinning fluids is to use a patterned slip boundary condition coupled to a sinusoidally time-varying pressure gradient. This system is studied using a simple linearized White–Metzner model which has a power-law viscosity function [R.B. Bird, R.C. Armstrong, O. Hassager, Dynamics of Polymeric Liquids, Volume 1: Fluid Mechanics, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1987]. In this case it is shown the two variations combine to produce transverse flow, which can be increased by increasing the frequency of the sinusoidal time-dependent fluctuation.     

Database for flows of binary gas mixtures through a plane microchannel

A binary mixture of rarefied gases between two parallel plates is considered. The Poiseuille flow, thermal transpiration (flow caused by a temperature gradient of the plates) and concentration-driven flow (flow caused by a gradient of concentration of the component species) are analyzed on the basis of the linearized model Boltzmann equation with the diffuse reflection boundary condition. The analyses are first performed for mixtures of virtual gases composed of the hard-sphere or Maxwell molecules and the results are compared with those of the original Boltzmann equation. Then, the analyses for noble gases (He–Ne, He–Ar and Ne–Ar) are performed assuming more realistic molecular models (the inverse power-law potential and Lennard-Jones 12,6 models). By use of the results, flux databases covering the entire ranges of the Knudsen number and of the concentration and a wide range of the temperature are constructed. The databases are prepared for the use in the fluid-dynamic model for mixtures in a stationary nonisothermal microchannel derived in [S. Takata, H. Sugimoto, S. Kosuge, Eur. J. Mech. B/Fluids 26 (2007) 155], but can also be incorporated in the generalized Reynolds equation [S. Fukui, R. Kaneko, J. Tribol. 110 (1988) 253] in the gas film lubrication theory. The databases constructed can be downloaded freely from Electronic Annex 2 in the online version of this article.     

Transient Couette flows of Oldroyd's fluids under imposed torques

We study the transient Couette flow of an Oldroyd fluid that fills the gap between two circular cylinders when a constant torque is suddenly applied to the inner cylinder, the outer one being kept motionless. Contrarily to most former studies, the inertia of the moving boundary is not neglected. We give the exact solutions of this problem for a wide class of initial conditions and we present a rigorous asymptotic analysis for small gap devices when the initial state is stationary. The case of Grade 2 fluids is also considered and treated. We also show in some experimental tests, that the knowledge of the relaxation curve of the angular velocity of the rotor can be used to identify the parameters of the model.     

Pressure-driven startup flows of liquid crystalline polymers through slit cells

A wavy texture occurs in the flows of liquid crystalline polymers through a slit cell. In the present paper the development of the wavy texture is examined in pressure-driven startup flows for four types of slit cells, using a liquid crystalline solution of 50 wt% hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC). There exists a comparatively long induction period until the wavy texture appears after the startup of the flow, and the induction time decreases with increasing apparent shear rate. However, it is found that the apparent shear strain at which the wavy texture emerges is independent of the apparent shear rate though the value of the apparent shear strain slightly varies with the type of flow cell. Furthermore, the light scattering experiments are carried out to examine the structure of wavy texture. After the startup of the flow, a homogeneous pattern of the light scattering quickly shrink in size and a spike pattern perpendicular to the flow direction is emphasized. While the wavy texture is seen, the ellipsoidal pattern of light scattering oscillates with the same frequency as the passage of the wavy texture. A structure of scattering objects in the wavy texture is proposed, based on the observation of change in the light scattering pattern with time.     

Stable two-layer flows at all Re; visco-plastic lubrication of shear-thinning and viscoelastic fluids

Multi-fluid flows are frequently thought of as being less stable than single phase flows. Consideration of different non-Newtonian models can give rise to different types of hydrodynamic instability. Here we show that with careful choice of fluid rheologies and flow paradigm, one can achieve multi-layer flows that are linearly stable for Re = ∞. The basic methodology consists of two steps. First we eliminate interfacial instabilities by using a yield stress fluid in one fluid layer and ensuring that for the base flow configurations studied we maintain an unyielded plug region at the interface. Secondly we eliminate linear shear instabilities by ensuring a strong enough Couette component in the second fluid layer, imposed via the moving interface. We show that this technique can be applied to both shear-thinning and visco-elastic fluids.     

Migration and deformation of leukocytes in pressure driven flows

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) are used to study the motion and deformation of leukocytes in pressure driven flows in parallel plate channels. The influence of the adhesion force between the leukocytes and the channel wall on such motion and deformation is also investigated. Leukocytes are represented by two composite fluid models, consisting of a membrane, a cytoplasm and a nucleus. The adhesion force is computed using two adhesion force models. In the first model, the adhesion force is given by a potential, and in the second one it is given by Dembo’s kinetic adhesion model. The numerical code is based on the finite element method and the level set technique is used to track the cell membrane position. In the absence of the adhesion force, the leukocyte moves away from the wall to an equilibrium location that depends on the ratio of the cell to plasma viscosities. In presence of the adhesion force, the leukocyte is attracted to the layer of endothelial cells and, as it gets closer, it flattens under the action of hydrodynamic forces. This deformation, in turn, further increases the adhesion force. The leukocyte, however, can be captured only when it is placed sufficiently close to the wall, which for the kinetic model is of the order of 30 nm. We also find that for the normal parameter values and flow rates the adhesive force given by the kinetic model is too small to capture the leukocyte.     

Pumping of a fluid through a microchannel by means of a bubble driven by a light beam

A new method of pumping a fluid through a microchannel device using a gas bubble-piston, set in motion by the thermocapillary force induced by a light beam, is proposed. To demonstrate the method, a model micropump has been assembled. The model consists of two reservoirs connected by two channels with a bubble-piston driven by a light beam. The pumping rate and the volume per piston stroke are evaluated experimentally. The method proposed is compared with known microfluid pumping methods. Some advantages of the new method are indicated.     

Stability analysis of gravity driven shear flows with free surface for power-law fluids

Summary We study the stability of thin films of fluids subject to gravity along inclined planes, obeying a power-law constitutive relation of the Ostwald-de Waele type. A first analysis, in which the inertia terms are ignored, shows such flow to be stable against small, linear perturbations; a second analysis, in which the inertia terms are included, proves that there are stable and unstable regimes that are separated by a critical Ostwald-de Waele number O. Numerical computations for selected values of O demonstrate the decay and growth rate behavior of some finite amplitude disturbances. Received 12 May 1997; accepted for publication 23 July 1997     

Modelling two-layer nanofluid flow in a micro-channel with electro-osmotic effects by means of Buongiorno's model

A fully developed steady immiscible flow of nanofluid in a two-layer microchannel is studied in the presence of electro-kinetic effects.Buongiorno’s model is employed for describing the behavior of nanofluids.Different from the previous studies on two-layer channel flow of a nanofluid,the present paper introduces the flux conservation conditions for the nanoparticle volume fraction field,which makes this work new and unique,and it is in coincidence with practical observations.The governing equations are reduced into a group of ordinary differential equations via appropriate similarity transformations.The highly accurate analytical approximations are obtained.Important physical quantities and total entropy generation are analyzed and discussed.A comparison is made to determine the significance of electrical double layer(EDL)effects in the presence of an external electric field.It is found that the Brownian diffusion,the thermophoresis diffusion,and the viscosity have significant effects on altering the flow behaviors.     

Transient growth in Poiseuille-Rayleigh-Bénard flows of binary fluids with Soret effect

The transient growth due to non-normality is investigated for the PoiseuilleRayleigh-Bénard problem of binary fluids with the Soret effect. For negative separation factors such as ψ =-0.1, it is found that a large transient growth can be obtained by the non-normal interaction of the two least-stable-modes, i.e., the upstream and downstream modes, which determine the linear critical boundary curves for small Reynolds numbers.The transient growth is so strong that the optimal energy amplification factor G(t) is up to 10~2~10~3. While for positive separation factors such as ψ = 0.1, the transient growth is weak with the order O(1) of the amplification factor, which can even be computed by the least-stable-mode. However, for both cases, the least-stable-mode can govern the long-term behavior of the amplification factor for large time. The results also show that large Reynolds numbers have stabilization effects for the maximum amplification within moderate wave number regions. Meanwhile, much small negative or large positive separation factors and large Rayleigh numbers can enlarge the maximum transient growth of the pure streamwise disturbance with the wavenumber α = 3.14. Moreover, the initial and evolutionary two-dimensional spatial patterns of the large transient growth for the pure streamwise disturbance are exhibited with a plot of the velocity vector, spanwise vorticity, temperature, and concentration field. The initial three-layer cell vorticity structure is revealed. When the amplification factor reaches the maximum Gmax, it develops into one cell structure with large amplification for the vorticity strength.     

Kinetic assessment of measured mass flow rates and streamwise pressure distributions in microchannel gas flows

Measured mass flow rates and streamwise pressure distributions of gas flowing through microchannels were reported by many researchers. Assessment of these data is crucial before they are used in the examination of slip models and numerical schemes, and in the design of microchannel elements in various MEMS devices. On the basis of kinetic solutions of the mass flow rates and pressure distributions in microchannel gas flows, the measured data available are properly normalized and then are compared with each other. The 69 normalized data of measured pressure distributions are in excellent agreement, and 67 of them are within 1 ± 0.05. The normalized data of mass flow-rates ranging between 0.95 and 1 agree well with each other as the inlet Knudsen number Kn _i < 0.02, but they scatter between 0.85 and 1.15 as Kn _i > 0.02 with, to some extent, a very interesting bifurcation trend. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (90205024, 10621202 and 10425211).     

High temperature and pressure reactive flows through porous media

Large heat load are encountered in hypersonic and space flight applications due to the high vehicle speed (over Mach 5, i.e. 5000 km h⁻¹) and to the combustion heat release. If passive and ablative protections are a way to ensure the thermal management, the active cooling is probably the most efficient way to enable the structures withstanding of such large heat load. In some conditions, transpiration cooling will be used. In this paper, the permeation of fuels and other fluids through porous media is studied up to 1150 K and 60 bars. A dedicated experimental bench has been established to ensure the monitoring of temperature, pressure, mass flow rate and chemical composition (Gas Chromatograph, Mass Spectrometer, Infra Red spectrometer) in stationary and transient conditions. The tests on metallic and composite samples have been conducted with N₂, CH₄, H₂ + CH₄ mixtures and synthetic fuels (n-C₁₂H₂₆). The pressure losses comparison with the mass flow rate has enabled the determination depending on the temperature of the Darcian permeability, K_D the linear contribution, and of the Forchheimer’s term, K_F the quadratic one. The fuel pyrolysis in such low Reynolds flow has been investigated. The blockage effect due to coking activity has been estimated.     

Flow-rate and thrust coefficients for two-layer flows in a convergent nozzle

Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 187–189, January–February, 1990.     

Measurements of pulsating and oscillating flows of non-Newtonian fluids through concentric and eccentric cylinders

The unsteady flow of non-Newtonian fluids through concentric and eccentric cylinders was investigated experimentally. Two experiments were carried out; one was pulsating flow and the other was flow under a constant pressure gradient with the inner cylinder oscillating longitudinally. The flow enhancement was examined and its dependence on the frequency of the oscillations and the eccentricity of the apparatus was determined.     

Transient flows of a second grade fluid

Exact analytical solutions for a class of unsteady unidirectional flows of an incompressible second-order fluid are constructed. The flows are generated impulsively from rest by motion of a plate or two plates or by sudden application of a pressure gradient. Expressions for velocity, flux and skin friction are obtained for both large and small times. It is found that large and small times solutions are dependent on the coefficient of viscoelasticity. The solutions corresponding to Newtonian fluids can be easily obtained from those for fluids of second order by letting the viscoelastic parameter to be zero.     

On the pressure and stress singularities induced by steady flows of incompressible viscous fluids

Design for structural integrity requires an appreciation of where stress singularities can occur in structural configurations. While there is a rich literature devoted to the identification of such singular behavior in solid mechanics, to date there has been relatively little explicit identification of stress singularities caused by fluid flows. In this study, stress and pressure singularities induced by steady flows of viscous incompressible fluids are asymptotically identified. This is done by taking advantage of an earlier result that the Navier-Stokes equations are locally governed by Stokes flow in angular corners. Findings for power singularities are confirmed by developing and using an analogy with solid mechanics. This analogy also facilitates the identification of flow-induced log singularities. Both types of singularity are further confirmed for two global configurations by applying convergence-divergence checks to numerical results. Even though these flow-induced stress singularities are analogous to singularities in solid mechanics, they nonetheless render a number of structural configurations singular that were not previously appreciated as such from identifications within solid mechanics alone.     

Oscillating flows of miscible fluids

A theoretical analysis is presented for the flows of two miscible, viscous, incompressible fluids, subject to oscillatory pressure gradients in a cylindrical tube. The extended, time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations with inter-component interaction for the fluids are reduced to ordinary, inhomogeneous differential equations of fourth order by separation and decoupling, and solved in closed form. As distinguished from the classical one-fluid Richardson flow, the dynamics of the two-component, oscillatory flow is determined by two eigenvalues which are complex. Since the coupling force between the fluids increases with their velocity difference, deviations from the one-fluid Richardson effect exist.On sabbatical leave from Department of Electrical Engineering, Colorado State University, U.S.A.     

Convective instability in a two-layer system of reacting fluids with concentration-dependent diffusion

The development of convective instability in a two-layer system of miscible fluids placed in a narrow vertical gap has been studied theoretically and experimentally. The upper and lower layers are formed with aqueous solutions of acid and base, respectively. When the layers are brought into contact, the frontal neutralization reaction begins. We have found experimentally a new type of convective instability, which is characterized by the spatial localization and the periodicity of the structure observed for the first time in the miscible systems. We have tested a number of different acid–base systems and have found a similar patterning there. In our opinion, it may indicate that the discovered effect is of a general nature and should be taken into account in reaction–diffusion–convection problems as another tool with which the reaction can govern the movement of the reacting fluids. We have shown that, at least in one case (aqueous solutions of nitric acid and sodium hydroxide), a new type of instability called as the concentration-dependent diffusion convection is responsible for the onset of the fluid flow. It arises when the diffusion coefficients of species are different and depend on their concentrations. This type of instability can be attributed to a variety of double-diffusion convection. A mathematical model of the new phenomenon has been developed using the system of reaction–diffusion–convection equations written in the Hele–Shaw approximation. It is shown that the instability can be reproduced in the numerical experiment if only one takes into account the concentration dependence of the diffusion coefficients of the reagents. The dynamics of the base state, its linear stability and nonlinear development of the instability are presented. It is also shown that by varying the concentration of acid in the upper layer one can achieve the occurrence of chemo-convective solitary cell in the bulk of an almost immobile fluid. Good agreement between the experimental data and the results of numerical simulations is observed.