Marangoni instability in a liquid layer confined between two concentric spherical surfaces under zero-gravity conditions

A liquid layer containing a single solute is bounded on the outside by a rigid spherical surface and on the inside by a concentric gas/liquid interface. The solute evaporates from the liquid to the gas phase and, if the surface tension depends on the solute concentration, surface-tension driven convective flows may arise (Marangoni instability). Assuming zero-gravity conditions and using a normal-mode approach, we study the linear stability of the time-dependent, spherically-symmetric concentration profiles in a motionless liquid. Numerical results are presented for Marangoni numbers and perturbation wave numbers in the case of neutral stability. It turns out that the system's stability properties are strongly dependent on the curvature of the interface and on the mass-transfer Biot number.     

Growth rates of the Marangoni instability in a layer of elastic liquid

The problem of thermocapillary (Marangoni) convection in a layer of viscoelastic liquid is considered. The stability boundary for this problem has been previously calculated in various cases by a number of authors. Here attention is fixed on the magnitude of the growth rate in the parameter regime corresponding to instability. Two noteworthy features are pointed out. First, there are anomalously large values of the growth rate at or near the limiting special case of a Maxwell fluid. Second, the complex values of the growth rate (corresponding to overstability, or the onset of instability via oscillatory motion) coalesce into real (positive) values at moderately supercritical values of the Marangoni number, suggesting that overstability might be elusive to observation.     

Growth factors for Marangoni instability in a spherical liquid layer under zero-gravity conditions

The neutral-stability analysis presented by Hoefsloot et al. [3] is completed by computing the growth factors for the normal modes and by showing that the neutral states (Re()=0) are stationary (Im()=0) rather than oscillatory (Im()0).     

Growth factors for Marangoni instability in a spherical liquid layer under zero-gravity conditions

The neutral-stability analysis presented by Hoefsloot et al. [3] is completed by computing the growth factorsβ for the normal modes and by showing that the neutral states (Re(β)=0) are stationary (Im(β)=0) rather than oscillatory (Im(β)≠0).     

Waves in a liquid between two coaxial cylindrical shells induced by vibrations of the inner cylinder

Institute of Mechanics, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Kiev. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 28, No. 3, pp. 61–70, March, 1992.     

Gravitational instability of thin gas layer between two thick liquid layers

We consider the problem of gravitational instability (Rayleigh–Taylor instability) of a horizontal thin gas layer between two liquid half-spaces (or thick layers), where the light liquid overlies the heavy one. This study is motivated by the phenomenon of boiling at the surface of direct contact between two immiscible liquids, where the rate of the “break-away” of the vapor layer growing at the contact interface due to development of the Rayleigh–Taylor instability on the upper liquid–gas interface is of interest. The problem is solved analytically under the assumptions of inviscid liquids and viscous weightless vapor. These assumptions correspond well to the processes in real systems, e.g., they are relevant for the case of interfacial boiling in the system water-n-heptane. In order to verify the results, the limiting cases of infinitely thin and infinitely thick gas layers were considered, for which the results can be obviously deduced from the classical problem of the Rayleigh–Taylor instability. These limiting cases are completely identical to the well-studied cases of gravity waves at the liquidliquid and liquid–gas interfaces. When the horizontal extent of the system is long enough, the wavenumber of perturbations is not limited from below, and the system is always unstable. The wavelength of the most dangerous perturbations and the rate of their exponential growth are derived as a function of the layer thickness. The dependence of the exponential growth rate on the gas layer thickness is cubic.     

Marangoni convection in a cylinder of finite size

This paper considers a liquid in a finite-size cylinder in which Marangoni instability occurs. The upper boundary of the liquid is free and deformable. The problem of the occurrence of convection in a cylindrical container is solved using the method of separation of variables. A homogeneous differential equation of the sixth order with constant coefficients and complex boundary conditions is obtained. An analytical expression for critical Marangoni numbers is derived for the case of monotonic perturbations. The case is considered where the liquid in the cylinder is weightless.     

Flow past a cylinder: shear layer instability and drag crisis

Flow past a circular cylinder for Re=100 to 10⁷ is studied numerically by solving the unsteady incompressible two‐dimensional Navier–Stokes equations via a stabilized finite element formulation. It is well known that beyond Re ～ 200 the flow develops significant three‐dimensional features. Therefore, two‐dimensional computations are expected to fall well short of predicting the flow accurately at high Re. It is fairly well accepted that the shear layer instability is primarily a two‐dimensional phenomenon. The frequency of the shear layer vortices, from the present computations, agree quite well with the Re^0.67 variation observed by other researchers from experimental measurements. The main objective of this paper is to investigate a possible relationship between the drag crisis (sudden loss of drag at Re ～ 2 × 10⁵) and the instability of the separated shear layer. As Re is increased the transition point of shear layer, beyond which it is unstable, moves upstream. At the critical Reynolds number the transition point is located very close to the point of flow separation. As a result, the shear layer eddies cause mixing of the flow in the boundary layer. This energizes the boundary layer and leads to its reattachment. The delay in flow separation is associated with narrowing of wake, increase in Reynolds shear stress near the shoulder of the cylinder and a significant reduction in the drag and base suction coefficients. The spatial and temporal power spectra for the kinetic energy of the Re=10⁶ flow are computed. As in two‐dimensional isotropic turbulence, E(k) varies as k^?5/3 for wavenumbers higher than energy injection scale and as k^?3 for lower wavenumbers. The present computations suggest that the shear layer vortices play a major role in the transition of boundary layer from laminar to turbulent state. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flow instability in a curved porous channel formed by two concentric cylindrical surfaces

Stability of laminar flow in a curved channel formed by two concentric cylindrical surfaces is investigated. The channel is occupied by a fluid saturated porous medium; the flow in the channel is driven by a constant azimuthal pressure gradient. The momentum equation takes into account two drag terms: the Darcy term that describes friction between the fluid and the porous matrix, and the Brinkman term, which allows imposing the no-slip boundary condition at the channel walls. An analytical solution for the basic flow velocity is obtained. Numerical analysis is carried out using the collocation method to investigate the onset of instability leading to the development of a secondary motion in the form of toroidal vortices. The dependence of the critical Dean number on porosity and the channel width is analyzed.     

Orientational instability of a lyotropic nematic liquid crystal layer

The problem of periodic domain initiation in a thin lyotropic nematic liquid crystal layer is studied. This layer has a planar director initial orientation, but the anchoring energy is minimized by the homeotropic one. The periodic structures whose wave vector is perpendicular to the director exist during the director reorientation process from the planar orientation to the homeotropic one when the reorientation wave front appears. It is shown that the divergent terms of the Prank orientation elasticity energy plays an important role in this effect. The saddle-splay Prank constant and the anisotropic anchoring energy coefficient are estimated.     

Orientation instability of the layer of a nematic liquid crystal

The origin of periodic structures in a layer of a lyotropic nematic liquid crystal observed in the director (vector, describing the anisotropic properties of the medium) reorientation experiment is studied. Such perturbations with the wavevector perpendicular to the initial orientation can develop in a liquid crystal layer in the unstable equilibrium state when the director is parallel to the walls under the condition that its orthogonality to the boundary corresponds to the minimum anchoring energy. It is shown that the linear dependence of the domain period on the layer thickness observed experimentally can be theoretically described when the Frank orientation elasticity energy is considered in the most general form taking the divergence terms into account and the anchoring energy of orientation is small as compared with the bulk energy. A relation between the coefficient of the divergence terms (saddlesplay elastic constant) and two other coefficients in the Frank energy is obtained.     

Thermocapillary instability of a liquid layer in the presence of a soluble surfactant

The effect of capillarity on the stability of a plane layer of viscous heat-conducting liquid in the presence of a soluble surfactant is investigated. It is found that an increase in surfactant solubility has a stabilizing effect on equilibrium. Monotonic instability is the most dangerous mode in the case of long-wave perturbations, whereas in the short-wave region loss of stability is induced by oscillatory perturbations.Krasnoyarsk. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 3–8, January–February, 1996.     

Oscillatory thermocapillary instability of a liquid layer in the presence of a surfactant

The effect of capillarity and a surfactant on the stability of a liquid layer in the presence of a vertical temperature gradient is investigated. It is found that the surfactant leads to the appearance of both monotonic and oscillatory instability, the presence of a surface concentration destabilizing the equilibrium in the case of heating from below. When the free surface is heated, the surfactant stabilizes the capillary instability.Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No.1, pp. 6–10, January–February, 1993.     

Oscillations of a viscous fluid in a thin layer between two coaxial disks rotating together

A study is made of the problem of the motion of an incompressible viscous fluid in the space between two coaxial disks rotating together with constant angular velocity under the assumption that the pressure changes in time in accordance with a harmonic law. The problem is solved using the equations of unsteady motion of an incompressible viscous fluid in a thin layer. It is shown that the velocity field in this case is a superposition on a steady field of damped oscillations with cyclic frequency equal to twice the angular velocity of the disks and forced oscillations with cyclic frequency equal to the cyclic frequency of the oscillations of the pressure field. It is shown that the amplitude of the forced oscillations of the velocity field depends strongly on the ratio of the cyclic frequency of the oscillations of the pressure field to the angular velocity of the disks. It is shown that there is a certain value of the ratio at which the amplitude of the forced oscillations has a maximal value (resonance). It is shown that even for very small amplitudes of the pressure oscillations the amplitude of the oscillations of the relative velocity at resonance may reach values comparable with the mean velocity of the main flow.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 166–169, January–February, 1984.