The effects of vortex breakdown bubbles on the mixing environment inside a base driven bioreactor

The bubble-type vortex breakdown inside a cylinder with flow driven by rotation of the base, has applications in mixing. We investigate this phenomena and its effect on the environment inside an open cylinder, with potential application as a tissue-engineering bioreactor, with tissue-scaffolds of two different geometries immersed in the fluid. Addition of scaffolds induces a blockage effect, hindering the flow in the central vortex core returning to the rotating base. This promotes early onset of vortex breakdown and alters the final shape of vortex breakdown bubbles. Placement of the scaffolds centrally on the cylinder axis yields almost identical levels and distributions of shear stress between the upper and lower surfaces of scaffolds. A change from a disk shaped to an ellipsoidal scaffold, of the same size, reduces the intensity of the maximum shear stresses at the scaffold surface by up to 50%. There is a range of Reynolds numbers where increasing Reynolds number, and hence possibly increasing mixing efficiency, leads to a decrease in the maximum levels of fluid forces at the scaffold surfaces. This is an important conclusion for scaffold based tissue engineering where improved mixing is sought, but often sacrificed in favor of minimizing fluid forces.     

Hydrodynamics of a particle impact on a wall

The problem of a particle impacting on a wall, a common phenomenon in particle-laden flows in the minerals and process industries, is investigated computationally using a spectral-element method with the grid adjusting to the movement of the particle towards the wall. Remeshing is required at regular intervals to avoid problems associated with mesh distortion and the constantly reducing maximum time-step associated with integration of the non-linear convective terms of the Navier–Stokes equations. Accurate interpolation between meshes is achieved using the same high-order interpolation employed by the spectral-element flow solver. This approach allows the full flow evolution to be followed from the initial approach, through impact and afterwards as the flow relaxes. The method is applied to the generic two-dimensional and three-dimensional bluff body geometries, the circular cylinder and the sphere. The principal case reported here is that of a particle colliding normally with a wall and sticking. For the circular cylinder, non-normal collisions are also considered. The impacts are studied for moderate Reynolds numbers up to approximately 1200. A cylindrical body impacting on a wall produces two vortices from its wake that convect away from the cylinder along the wall before stalling while lifting induced wall vorticity into the main flow. The situation for a sphere impact is similar, except in this case a vortex ring is formed from the wake vorticity. Again, secondary vorticity from the wall and particle plays a role. At higher Reynolds number, the secondary vorticity tends to form a semi-annular structure encircling the primary vortex core. At even higher Reynolds numbers, the secondary annular structure fragments into semi-discrete structures, which again encircle and orbit the primary core. Vorticity fields and passive tracer particles are used to characterize the interaction of the vortical structures. The evolution of the pressure and viscous drag coefficients during a collision are provided for a typical sphere impact. For a Reynolds number greater than approximately 1000 for a sphere and 400 for a cylinder, the primary vortex core produced by the impacting body undergoes a short-wavelength instability in the azimuthal/spanwise direction. Experimental visualisation using dye carried out in water is presented to validate the predictions.     

Near-field fluctuations and far-field noise of a three-element airfoil system by a discrete vortex method

A circulation-based discrete vortex method is used on a three-element airfoil system. Kutta conditions and Kelvin’s circulation theorem are additional conditions required for this method to determine the circulation distributions on each element and to determine vortex shedding. Discrete shed vortices are introduced near the four sharp edges to represent the sharp-edge vortex shedding caused by unsteady flow separation. The computational procedure warrants neutrally stable solutions of the self-sustained fluctuating flowfield that can provide broad-band spectral information for far-field noise predictions. The near-field vortex method directly calculates the parameters used in an asymptotic formula for far-field sound computation that attributes the noise sources to vortex interactions among the shed vortices and the surface circulations of the three-element airfoil system. The far-field noise characters are then analyzed and compared to the experimental data in the literature.     

Superharmonic instability of stokes waves

A stability of nearly limiting Stokes waves to superharmonic perturbations is considered numerically in approximation of an infinite depth. Investigation of the stability properties can give one an insight into the evolution of the Stokes wave. The new, previously inaccessible branches of superharmonic instability were investigated. Our numerical simulations suggest that eigenvalues of linearized dynamical equations, corresponding to the unstable modes, appear as a result of a collision of a pair of purely imaginary eigenvalues at the origin, and a subsequent appearance of a pair of purely real eigenvalues: a positive and a negative one that are symmetric with respect to zero. Complex conjugate pairs of purely imaginary eigenvalues correspond to stable modes, and as the steepness of the underlying Stokes wave grows, the pairs move toward the origin along the imaginary axis. Moreover, when studying the eigenvalues of linearized dynamical equations we find that as the steepness of the Stokes wave grows, the real eigenvalues follow a universal scaling law, that can be approximated by a power law. The asymptotic power law behavior of this dependence for instability of Stokes waves close to the limiting one is proposed. Surface elevation profiles for several unstable eigenmodes are made available through  http://stokeswave.org website.     

On the Generation of Mean Flows by the Interaction of Görtler Vortices and Tollmien-Schlichting Waves in Curved Channel Flows

There are many fluid flows where the onset of transition can be caused by different instability mechanisms which compete in the nonlinear regime. Here the interaction of a centrifugal instability mechanism with the viscous mechanism which causes Tollmien-Schlichting waves is discussed. The interaction between these modes can be strong enough to drive the mean state; here the interaction is investigated in the context of curved channel flows so as to avoid difficulties associated with boundary layer growth. Essentially it is found that the mean state adjusts itself so that any modes present are neutrally stable even at finite amplitude. In the first instance the mean state driven by a vortex of short wavelength in the absence of a Tollmien-Schlichting wave is considered. It is shown that for a given channel curvature and vortex wavelength there is an upper limit to the mass flow rate which the channel can support as the pressure gradient is increased. When Tollmien-Schlichting waves are present then the nonlinear differential equation to determine the mean state is modified. At sufficiently high Tollmien-Schlichting amplitudes it is found that the vortex flows are destroyed, but there is a range of amplitudes where a fully nonlinear mixed vortex-wave state exists and indeed drives a mean state having little similarity with the flow which occurs without the instability modes. The vortex and Tollmien-Schlichting wave structure in the nonlinear regime has viscous wall layers and internal shear layers; the thickness of the internal layers is found to be a function of the Tollmien-Schlichting wave amplitude.     

Effect of pressure gradient on coherent structures in a turbulent boundary layer

By using the idea of resonant triad of the theory of hydrodynamic stability, the effect of pressure gradient on coherent structures in a turbulent boundary layer is investigated. The favorable pressure gradient suppresses the generation of the coherent structure, while the adverse pressure gradient has the opposite effect. The scale, form, as well as the propagation speed of the coherent structures are different from those with zero pressure gradient. The theoretical results are, in general, in agreement with those found from experiments. From the calculated probability density curve of the circulation differences of the nearly streamwise vortex pairs, it is found that the adverse pressure gradient makes the vortex pair more symmetric. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

A Family of Wave-Mean Shear Interactions and Their Instability to Longitudinal Vortex Form

The inviscid instability of O(ε) two-dimensional periodic flows to spanwiseperiodic longitudinal vortex modes in parallel O(1) shear flows of the form ū = ± |z|^q is considered. Here the mean velocity ū is relative to the wave and q is a constant. Such shear flows admit neutral Rayleigh waves with amplitudes that either diminish or diverge with |αz|; both are considered. Of particular interest are streamwise α and spanwise l wavenumbers in the range l² ? α², α = O(1), as it is here that the most analytical progress can be made. A generalized Lagrangian-mean formulation is used to describe the effect of fluctuations upon the mean state and, because the developing mean flow acts to distort the waves, a further equation, the Rayleigh-Craik equation, is employed to complete the specification. It is shown that instability to longitudinal vortex form is likely for both classes of waves in many physically interesting situations, from simple mixing layers to atmospheric boundary layers over undulating surfaces.     

LES and analyses on the vortex structure behind supersonic MVG with turbulent inflow

In this paper, an implicitly implemented high order large eddy simulation by using the fifth order bandwidth-optimized WENO scheme is applied to make comprehensive studies on ramp flows with and without control at Mach 2.5 and Re_θ = 5760. Flow control in the form of microramp vortex generators (MVG) is applied. The mechanism of vortex ring generation behind MVG has been studied in detail and shear layer instability has been studied and found as the mechanism of K–H vortex ring generation. A series of new observations on the flow around supersonic MVG have been made including inflection points (surface in 3-D), vorticity conservation, interaction of the primary vortex and new generated K–H vortex rings, and the K–H vortex ring structure. The numerical observations have been confirmed by the experimental work.     

On the problem of falling motion of a circular cylinder and a vortex pair in a perfect fluid

We consider a system consisting of a heavy circular cylinder in the field of gravity interacting dynamically with a vortex pair in a perfect fluid. The circulation about the cylinder is assumed to be zero. It is shown that, unlike the famous Föppl configuration, the vortices cannot be in a relative equilibrium. An asymptotic system and a suitable regularization are considered.     

Three-dimensional sand ripples as the product of vortex instability

Three-dimensional sand ripples can be observed under steady liquid flows in both nature and industry. Some examples are the ripples observed on the bed of rivers and in petroleum pipelines conveying sand. Although of importance, the formation of these patterns is not completely understood. There are theoretical and experimental evidence that aquatic ripples grow from two-dimensional bed instabilities, so that a straight vortex is formed just downstream of their crests. The proposition of Raudkivi (2006) [18], that three-dimensionality has its origin in a vortex instability, is employed here. This paper presents a linear stability analysis of the downstream vortex in order to obtain the transverse scales of three-dimensional ripples. The obtained wavelength is compared with experimentally observed ripples.     

Multidimensional turbulence spectra – Statistical analysis of turbulent vortices

Strong nonlinear or very fast phenomena such as mixing, coalescence and breakup in chemical engineering processes, are not correctly described using average turbulence properties. Since these phenomena are modeled by the interaction of fluid particles with single or paired vortices, distribution of the properties of individual turbulent vortices should be studied and understood. In this paper, statistical analysis of turbulent vortices was performed using a novel vortex tracking algorithm. The vortices were identified using the normalized Q-criterion with extended volumes calculated using the Biot–Savart law in order to capture most of the coherent structure related to each vortex. This new and fast algorithm makes it possible to estimate the volume of all resolved vortices. Turbulence was modeled using large-eddy simulation with the dynamic Smagorinsky–Lilly subgrid scale model for different Reynolds numbers. Number density of turbulent vortices were quantified and compared with different models. It is concluded that the calculated number densities for vortices in the inertial subrange and also for the larger scales are in very good agreement with the models proposed by Batchelor and Martinez-Bazán. Moreover, the associated enstrophy within the same size of coherent structures is quantified and its distribution is compared to models for distribution of turbulent kinetic energy. The associated enstrophy within the same size of coherent structures has a wide distribution that is normal distributed in the logarithmic scale.     

Steady vortex pairs in two phase shear flow of an ideal fluid

This study proves an existence of a steady vortex pairs in two phase shear flow in plane domain. The method was used is a variational principle in which a functional related to the kinetic energy can be maximised over the set where the vorticity being a rearrangement of a prescribed function.     

Splitting superfluid hydrodynamic equations and instability of solutions in the case of degenerate bosons

Properties of solutions to superfluid hydrodynamic equations as applied to the degenerate Bose gas are considered. The equations are split into two independent pairs of equations. One pair is written for the normal component implies the instability of solutions, which manifests itself in the majorant catastrophe with respect to the total density. The case when the thermodynamic functions depend on the difference of the normal and superfluid velocities is also considered. In that case, the system is not split; however, the instability and the majorant catastrophe occur when the initial temperature tends to absolute zero.     

The Motion of a Vortex Pair in a Stratified Atmosphere

The movement of a horizontal vortex pair through an inhomogeneous fluid is considered. The problem is formulated first for the case when the ambient fluid is uniform, the fluid moving with the vortex pair has a different density, and the motion is supposed laminar and inviscid. An approximate solution is obtained, which predicts that the distance between the vortices stays constant and the vortices accelerate at a constant rate. This solution is then applied to motion in a stratified atmosphere and it is found that the vortices oscillate vertically with a frequency and amplitude depending on the initial conditions and the stratification. Finally, approximate equations are constructed to describe the effects of turbulent entrainment into the fluid moving with the vortex pair, and an estimate of the damping is obtained.     

Direct numerical simulation of transition and turbulence in compressible mixing layer

The three-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes equations are approximated by a fifth order upwind compact and a sixth order symmetrical compact difference relations combined with three-stage Ronge-Kutta method. The computed results are presented for convective Mach numberMc = 0.8 andRe = 200 with initial data which have equal and opposite oblique waves. From the computed results we can see the variation of coherent structures with time integration and full process of instability, formation of A -vortices, double horseshoe vortices and mushroom structures. The large structures break into small and smaller vortex structures. Finally, the movement of small structure becomes dominant, and flow field turns into turbulence. It is noted that production of small vortex structures is combined with turning of symmetrical structures to unsymmetrical ones. It is shown in the present computation that the flow field turns into turbulence directly from initial instability and there is not vortex pairing in process of transition. It means that for large convective Mach number the transition mechanism for compressible mixing layer differs from that in incompressible mixing layer.     

Collision of Almost Parallel Vortex Filaments

We investigate the occurrence of collisions in the evolution of vortex filaments through a system introduced by Klein, Majda, and Damodaran and Zakharov . We first establish rigorously the existence of a pair of almost parallel vortex filaments, with opposite circulation, colliding at some point in finite time. The collision mechanism is based on one of the self‐similar solutions of the model, described by the authors in an earlier work. In the second part of this paper we extend this construction to the case of an arbitrary number of filaments, with polygonal symmetry, that are perturbations of a configuration of parallel vortex filaments forming a polygon, with or without its center, rotating with constant angular velocity.© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Numerical exploration of new features on three-dimensional transition of a cylinder wake

The three-dimensional transition of the wake flow behind a circular cylinder is studied in detail by direct numerical simulations using 3D incompressible N-S equations for Reynolds number ranging from 200 to 300. New features and vortex dynamics of the 3D transition of the wake are found and investigated. At Re = 200, the flow pattern is characterized by mode A instability. However, the spanwise characteristic length of the cylinder determines the transition features. Particularly for the specific spanwise charac-     

New approaches in computational dynamics of the mixing flow

Between the most mature interdisciplinary areas, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) comes recently into focus. In the same time, it becomes more and more difficult to contribute fundamental research to it. However, although it remains unpredictable how CFD develops, it is part of what makes it an exciting and attractive discipline.This paper aims to exhibit some part of recent work in CFD. It concerns the qualitative approach of the turbulent behaviour of a mixing flow in an excitable media. Studying a mixing for a flow implies the analysis of successive stretching and folding phenomena for its particles, the influence of parameters and initial conditions. In the previous works, the study of the 3D non-periodic models exhibited a quite complicated behaviour. In agreement with experiments, there were involved some significant events, the so-called “rare events”. The variation of parameters had a great influence on the length and surface deformations. The experiments were realized with a special vortex installation, it was used a well-known aquatic algae as biologic material, and the water as basic fluid.In the paper there are presented some features of a qualitative comparative analysis of the model associated to the vortex flow technology. In the computational analysis there were used the fast analysis tools of MAPLE11 soft, in order to check the “rare events” and to complete the statistical analysis of the behaviour of the model.     

On the existence of Burgers vortices for high Reynolds numbers

Axisymmetric or non-axisymmetric Burgers vortices have been studied numerically as a model of concentrated vorticity fields. Recently it has been rigorously proved that non-axisymmetric Burgers vortices exist for all values of the vortex Reynolds number if an asymmetry parameter is sufficiently small. On the other hand, several numerical results indicate that Burgers vortices have simpler structures as the vortex Reynolds number is increasing, even when the asymmetry parameter is not sufficiently small. In this paper we give a rigorous explanation for this numerical observation and extend the existence and stability results of Burgers vortices for high vortex Reynolds numbers.     

Trapped instability and vortex formation by an unstable coastal current

This paper addresses the instability of a two-layer coastal current in a quasigeostrophic model; the potential vorticity (PV) structure of this current consists in two uniform cores, located at different depths, with finite width and horizontally shifted. This shift allows both barotropic and baroclinic instability for this current. The PV cores can be like-signed or opposite-signed, leading to their vertical alignment or to their hetonic coupling. These two aspects are novel compared to previous studies. For narrow vorticity cores, short waves dominate, associated with barotropic instability; for wider cores, longer waves are more unstable and are associated with baroclinic processes. Numerical experiments were performed on the f-plane with a finite-difference model. When both cores have like-signed PV, trapped instability develops during the nonlinear evolution: vertical alignment of the structures is observed. For narrow cores, short wave breaking occurs close to the coast; for wider cores, substantial turbulence results from the entrainment of ambient fluid into the coastal jet. When the two cores have opposite-signed PV, the nonlinear regimes range from short wave breaking to the ejection of dipoles or tripoles, via a regime of dipole oscillation near the wall. The Fourier analysis of the perturbed flow is appropriate to distinguish the regimes of short wave breaking, of dipole formation, and of turbulence, but not the differences between regimes involving only vortex pairs. To explain more precisely the regimes where two vortices (and their wall images) interact, a point vortex model is appropriate.