An experimental investigation on the surface water transport process over an airfoil by using a digital image projection technique

In the present study, an experimental investigation was conducted to characterize the transient behavior of the surface water film and rivulet flows driven by boundary layer airflows over a NACA0012 airfoil in order to elucidate underlying physics of the important micro-physical processes pertinent to aircraft icing phenomena. A digital image projection (DIP) technique was developed to quantitatively measure the film thickness distribution of the surface water film/rivulet flows over the airfoil at different test conditions. The time-resolved DIP measurements reveal that micro-sized water droplets carried by the oncoming airflow impinged onto the airfoil surface, mainly in the region near the airfoil leading edge. After impingement, the water droplets formed thin water film that runs back over the airfoil surface, driven by the boundary layer airflow. As the water film advanced downstream, the contact line was found to bugle locally and developed into isolated water rivulets further downstream. The front lobes of the rivulets quickly advanced along the airfoil and then shed from the airfoil trailing edge, resulting in isolated water transport channels over the airfoil surface. The water channels were responsible for transporting the water mass impinging at the airfoil leading edge. Additionally, the transition location of the surface water transport process from film flows to rivulet flows was found to occur further upstream with increasing velocity of the oncoming airflow. The thickness of the water film/rivulet flows was found to increase monotonically with the increasing distance away from the airfoil leading edge. The runback velocity of the water rivulets was found to increase rapidly with the increasing airflow velocity, while the rivulet width and the gap between the neighboring rivulets decreased as the airflow velocity increased.     

Stability of a rivulet flowing in a microchannel

A novel microfluidic technique has been recently proposed to produce quasi-monodisperse collections of microbubbles with a controlled size. In this technique, a gaseous stream is injected through a T-junction into a microchannel transporting a liquid current. The gas adheres to a hydrophobic strip printed on the channel surface. When the gas and liquid flow rates are set appropriately, a gaseous rivulet flows over that strip. The rivulet breaks up downstream due to a capillary pearling instability, which leads to a quasi-monodisperse collection of microbubbles. Motivated by this application, we here analyze the stability of both gas and liquid rivulets coflowing with a current in a quadrangular microfluidic channel. The results essentially differ from those of cylindrical jets because the contact-line-anchorage condition affects fundamentally the rivulet’s instability nature. The temporal stability analysis shows that the rivulet becomes unstable not only for (unperturbed) contact angles larger than 90° (as can be expected) but also for values smaller than that angle. Interestingly enough, the maximum growth factor exhibits a non-monotonic dependence with respect to the Reynolds number (i.e., the viscosities). In fact, there are intervals of that parameter where the fluid system becomes unstable, while all the perturbations are damped outside that interval. The gaseous rivulet does not stabilize as the Reynolds number decreases, which means that it can be unstable even in the Stokes limit and for contact angles less than 90°. In addition, the stability of a flowing liquid rivulet is not determined by its contact angle exclusively (as occurs in the static case), but by the Reynolds number as well. Liquid rivulets with contact angles less than 90° can be unstable for sufficiently high Reynolds numbers.     

Numerical simulation of rivulet evolution on a horizontal cable subject to an external aerodynamic field

On wet and windy days, the inclined cables of cable-stayed bridges may experience a large amplitude oscillation known as rain-wind-induced vibration (RWIV). It has previously been shown by in situ and wind-tunnel studies that the formation of rain-water accumulations or ‘rivulets’ at approximately the separation points of the external aerodynamic flow field and the resulting effect that these rivulets have on this field may be one of the primary mechanisms for RWIV. A numerical method has been developed to undertake simulations of certain aspects of RWIV, in particular, rivulet formation and evolution. Specifically a two-dimensional model for the evolution of a thin film of water on the outer surface of a horizontal circular cylinder subject to the pressure and shear forces that result from the external flow field is presented. Numerical simulations of the resulting evolution equation using a bespoke pseudo-spectral solver capture the formation of two-dimensional rivulets, the geometry, location and growth rate of which are all in good agreement with previous studies. Examinations of how the distribution and magnitude of aerodynamic loading and the Reynolds number influence the rivulet temporal evolution are undertaken, the results of which indicate that while all three affect the temporal evolution, the distribution of the loading has the greatest effect.     

Numerical investigation of the coupled interaction between an unsteady aerodynamic flow field and a water film coating on a circular cylinder

Rain–wind induced vibration is an aeroelastic phenomenon that occurs on the inclined cables of cable-stayed bridges and arises due to the interaction between the unsteady wind loading and the formation of water rivulets on the cable surface. A new numerical method has been developed at the University of Strathclyde to simulate the influence of the external flow field on the rivulet dynamics and vice versa. The approach is to couple a Discrete Vortex Method solver to determine the external flow field and unsteady aerodynamic loading, and a pseudo-spectral solver based on lubrication theory to model the evolution and growth of the water rivulets on the cable surface under external loading. Results of this coupled model are presented, to provide detailed information on the development of water rivulets and their interaction with the aerodynamic field. In particular, the effect of the initial water film thickness and the angle of attack in plane on the resulting rivulets are investigated. The results are consistent with previous full scale and experimental observations with rivulets forming on the upper surface of the cable only in configurations where rain–wind induced vibration has been observed. Additionally, the thickness of the lower rivulet is found to be self-limiting in all configurations. The results demonstrate that the model can be used to enhance the understanding of the underlying physical mechanisms of rain–wind-induced vibration.     

Study on the role of rivulet in rain–wind-induced cable vibration through wind tunnel testing

Rain–wind-induced vibration (RWIV) of stay cables has become a concern in bridge engineering over the past decades. The excitation mechanism of RWIV remains unclear. Many researchers believe that the upper rivulet is crucial to RWIV. However, experimental study on rivulet is challenging and limited. The current study designs and tests a cable model of 160 mm in diameter in an open jet wind tunnel. The upper rivulet movement and cable vibration are simultaneously measured. The importance of the upper rivulet in RWIV is directly demonstrated by alternately controlling the upper and lower rivulets. The characteristics of the upper rivulet movement and the effects of this movement on RWIV are investigated in detail. The experiment shows that the rivulet–cable system is coupled, which causes the cable and upper rivulet to vibrate at different amplitudes under the same wind speed. The upper rivulet harmonic movement changes the wind loading on the cable, causing the harmonic vibration of the cable, which in turn exerts a harmonic inertia force on the rivulet. A large vibration of the coupled system then develops.     

Rainwater rivulets on a cable subject to windFilets d'eau de pluie sur un câble soumis au vent

Rainwater rivulets appear on inclined cables of cable-stayed bridges when wind and rain occur simultaneously. In a restricted range of parameters this is known to cause vibrations of high amplitudes on the cable. The mechanism underlying this effect is still under debate but the role of rainwater rivulets is certain. We use a standard lubrication model to analyse the dynamics of a water film on a cylinder under the effect of gravity and wind load. A simple criterion is then proposed for the appearance and position of rivulets, where the Froude number is the control parameter. Experiments with several geometries of cylinder covered with water in a wind tunnel show the evolution of the rivulets with the Froude number. Comparison of the prediction by the model with these experimental data shows that the main mechanism of rivulet formation and positioning is captured. To cite this article: C. Lemaitre et al., C. R. Mecanique 334 (2006).     

Flow stability between separator plates

The flow of a viscous fluid in the narrow gap between two rapidly rotating coaxial cones has been examined in [1]. A similar motion takes place between the plates of a separator in various branches of engineering for the separation of emulsions and clarification of suspensions. The laminar flow regime is necessary for normal operation of the plate separator. The present paper studies the hydrodynamic stability of the interplate flow and suggests a specific criterion which is consistent with the practice of the design and operation of separators and which has a simple physical meaning.     

Three-phase coupled modelling research on rain–wind induced vibration of stay cable based on lubrication theory

Cables of cable-stayed bridges may vibrate with large amplitude under wind and rain, which is known as rain–wind induced vibration (RWIV). According to the pervious researches, the formations and oscillations of rivulets on stay cable surface play important roles in RWIV. In this paper, four different 2D models are presented based on lubrication theory, and the best way of simulating RWIV through lubrication theory is confirmed by the comparisons of rivulet motions and cable vibration responses between these four models and pervious researches. On this basis, the relations among rivulet motions, cable aerodynamic forces and vibration responses are investigated to reveal the mechanism of RWIV. Numerical simulation results show that when RWIV occurs, the periodic oscillations of rivulets around cable lead to the periodic fluctuations of cable lift and drag, whose frequencies are almost equal and close to cable natural frequency. Under the periodically fluctuant lift and drag, cable vibrates with large amplitude in across-wind and along-wind directions, which may further enhance the circumferential oscillations of rivulets conversely. These confirm the conclusion that the resonance between rivulets and cable oscillation may be one of the main reasons for RWIV.     

初始压力和狭缝宽度对毫米量级狭缝内爆轰起爆距离的影响

为获得狭缝内爆轰起爆距离的影响因素,分别在高度为1.0 mm,宽度为10、20、30 mm的狭缝爆轰管内,对不同初始压力下(p₀=5.0~50.0 kPa)等当量比的乙烯/氧气预混气体进行了单次爆轰性能实验研究。根据烟迹法、高速摄影图片判定起爆位置,分析了初始压力和狭缝宽度对爆轰起爆距离的影响。结果表明:(1)p₀=21.0~30.0 kPa时,起爆距离随着狭缝宽度的增大而逐渐缩短;(2)p₀=35.0~42.5 kPa时,起爆距离随着狭缝宽度的增大先缩短后增大,在p₀=45.0~50.0 kPa时起爆距离随着狭缝宽度的增大基本保持不变;(3)3种狭缝宽度下,量纲一起爆距离随量纲一初始压力的变化曲线差异较大。     

Theoretical and experimental studies on the aerodynamic instability of a two-dimensional circular cylinder with a moving attachment

Rain–wind induced vibration of cables in cable-stayed bridges is a worldwide problem of great concern. The effect of the motion of water rivulets on the instability of stay cables has been recognized as one of the mechanisms of this complex phenomenon. In order to investigate how the motion of rivulets affects the unstable vibration of cables without considering the effects of axial flow and axial vortex, a real three-dimensional cable was modeled as a two-dimensional circular cylinder, around which an attachment representing the rivulet can move. This could also be regarded as a new kind of two-dimensional 2-dof dynamic system. This paper studies the aerodynamic instability of the system theoretically and experimentally. Equations governing the motions of the cylinder and the attachment are first established. The Lyapunov stability criterion is applied to the equations of motion to derive the criterion for the unstable balance angle of the attachment. Moreover, a new two-dimensional 2-dof cable model system with a movable attachment is designed and tested in a wind tunnel. Parametric studies are carried out to investigate the effects of major factors such as wind speed, frequency and damping of the dynamic system on the unstable balance angle of the rivulet attachment. Theoretical and experimental results match well. These results may be valuable in elucidating the mechanism of rain–wind induced vibration of stay cables.     

Experimental study on condensation heat transfer of steam on vertical titanium plates with different surface energies

Visual experiments were employed to investigate heat transfer characteristics of steam on vertical titanium plates with/without surface modifications for different surface energies. Stable dropwise condensation and filmwise condensation were achieved on two surface modification titanium plates, respectively. Dropwise and rivulet filmwise co-existing condensation form of steam was observed on unmodified titanium surfaces. With increase in the surface subcooling, the ratio of area (η) covered by drops decreased and departure diameter of droplets increased, resulting in a decrease in condensation heat transfer coefficient. Condensation heat transfer coefficient decreased sharply with the values of η decreasing when the fraction of the surface area covered by drops was greater than that covered by rivulets. Otherwise, the value of η had little effect on the heat transfer performance. Based on the experimental phenomena observed, the heat flux through the surface was proposed to express as the sum of the heat flux through the dropwise region and rivulet filmwise region. The heat flux through the whole surface was the weighted mean value of the two regions mentioned above. The model presented explains the gradual change of heat transfer coefficient for transition condensation with the ratio of area covered by drops. The simulation results agreed well with the present experimental data when the subcooling temperature is lower than 10 °C.     

One-group interfacial area transport equation and its sink and source terms in narrow rectangular channel

The characteristics of two-phase flow in a narrow rectangular channel are expected to be different from those in other channel geometries, because of the significant restriction of the bubble shape which, consequently, may affect the heat removal by boiling under various operating conditions. The objective of this study is to develop an interfacial area transport equation with the sink and source terms being properly modeled for the gas–liquid two-phase flow in a narrow rectangular channel. By taking into account the crushed characteristics of the bubbles a new one-group interfacial area transport equation was derived for the two-phase flow in a narrow rectangular channel. The random collisions between bubbles and the impacts of turbulent eddies with bubbles were modeled for the bubble coalescence and breakup respectively in the two-phase flow in a narrow rectangular channel. The newly-developed one-group interfacial area transport equation with the derived sink and source terms was evaluated by using the area-averaged flow parameters of vertical upwardly-moving adiabatic air–water two-phase flows measured in a narrow rectangular channel with the gap of 0.993 mm and the width of 40.0 mm. The flow conditions of the data set covered spherical bubbly, crushed pancake bubbly, crushed cap-bubbly and crushed slug flow regimes and their superficial liquid velocity and the void fraction ranged from 0.214 m/s to 2.08 m/s and from 3.92% to 42.6%, respectively. Good agreement with the average relative deviation of 9.98% was obtained between the predicted and measured interfacial area concentrations in this study.     

Bifurcation and transition to turbulence in the gap between rotating and stationary parallel disks

The flow in the gap between rotating and stationary parallel disks is an attractive object for studying the transition characteristics in three-dimensional internal flows. Firstly, in this case a large region of the basic motion is satisfactorily described by a self-similar solution to the Navier-Stokes equations [1]; secondly, as the parameter = h²/v ( is the. angular velocity of rotation of one of the disks and h is the gap width) varies, there is an evolution of the basic motion, so that it is easy to produce different types of initial and subsequent instabilities. The basic steady regime for axially symmetric flow has been studied by many authors (see [1, 2]). Questions of the transition in the gap between disks have been considered [3, 4]. This paper presents a methodology and the results of experimental investigations for different types of initial and subsequent instabilities in the gap between disks enclosed by a cylindrical cover. It was found that as a result of the loss of stability of the basic regime one of two steady vortex regimes is developed depending on the value of the relative gap width. The subsequent stages of soft excitation of the turbulent regime are described and the corresponding boundaries established. It is shown that in very narrow gaps the excitation of turbulence has a hard nature of the type realized in Couette flow. The stability limit for a laminarized boundary layer on a rotating disk and the boundary for complete turbulence of the layer were determined for relatively wide gaps. A comparison was made with known data for an unenclosed rotating disk.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 28–36, September–October, 1984.     

FC-72 pool boiling from finned surfaces placed in a narrow channel: preliminary results

This paper presents an experimental study dealing with the basic nucleate boiling concerning two finned surfaces placed in a narrow channel. The influence of both the channel width and the orientation of the base surface (horizontal or vertical) are discussed. The experiments were performed in a saturated pool of FC-72 while the channel widths investigated were 2.0 mm and 0.5 mm. The experimental data are compared with those obtained in the case of the unconfined situation of the extended surfaces. Channel width reduction does not affect the heat transferred to the liquid in the case of vertical orientation of the base surface, while it causes a drastic reduction in the heat transfer behavior in the case of a horizontal base surface. For the latter situation, vapor stagnation in the gap was observed after the maximum heat flux had been reached. Received on 13 August 1998     

Numerical simulation and analysis of the effects of water-film morphological changes on the aerodynamic lift of stay cables

The cables in cable-stayed bridges can vibrate at large amplitudes during rain and windy conditions, a phenomenon known as rain-wind induced vibration (RWIV). Previous studies have demonstrated that the formation and oscillation of rivulets on stay cable surfaces play an important role in RWIV.This paper presents a new numerical method for simulating the evolution of rivulets on stay cable surfaces based on a combination of the gas–liquid two-phase theory and the volume of fluid method (VOF method), which allows for the straightforward determination of the cables’ aerodynamic lift when RWIV occurs. To verify the accuracy of this method and analyze the effects of wind velocity on the water film and the aerodynamic lift around the cable, three cases with different loadings were investigated using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software CFX. To verify the method’s accuracy, the aerodynamic lifts calculated from these cases were applied to the cable to obtain its vibrational response. In accordance with the experimental results, the numerical results demonstrated that an upper rivulet with a periodic oscillation was formed at a specific wind speed, causing the aerodynamic lift to change with a similar periodicity. The aerodynamic lift’s frequency was approximately the cable’s natural frequency, and induced large vibrations in the cable. No obvious upper rivulets were formed at sufficiently low wind speeds. The frequency of an aerodynamic lift that was significantly larger than the cable’s natural frequency induced small vibrations in the cable. When the wind speed was sufficiently high, despite the eventual formation of a continuous upper rivulet, the frequencies of the upper rivulet’s oscillation and the aerodynamic lift remained distinct from the natural frequency, and the cable continued to exhibit small-amplitude vibrations. These observations confirmed the conclusion that periodic variations in the water film morphology could lead to periodic changes in the aerodynamic lift that would induce RWIV.     

Visualized study on specific points on demand curves and flow patterns in a single-side heated narrow rectangular channel

A simultaneous visualization and measurement study on some specific points on demand curves, such as onset of nucleate boiling (ONB), onset of significant void (OSV), onset of flow instability (OFI), and two-phase flow patterns in a single-side heated narrow rectangular channel, having a width of 40 mm and a gap of 3 mm, was carried out. New experimental approaches were adopted to identify OSV and OFI in a narrow rectangular channel. Under experimental conditions, the ONB could be predicted well by the Sato and Matsumura model. The OSV model of Bowring can reasonably predict the OSV if the single-side heated condition is considered. The OFI was close to the saturated boiling point and could be described accurately by Kennedy’s correlation. The two-phase flow patterns observed in this experiment could be classified into bubbly, churn, and annular flow. Slug flow was never observed. The OFI always occurred when the bubbles at the channel exit began to coalesce, which corresponded to the beginning of the bubbly–churn transition in flow patterns. Finally, the evolution of specific points and flow pattern transitions were examined in a single-side heated narrow rectangular channel.     

Measurement of locally heated liquid film thickness by a double-fiber optical probe

An experimental investigation of thermocapillary deformations in a film of 10% ethyl alcohol solution in water, flowing down a plate with a heater of length 6.7 mm and width 68 mm, is performed. Heating of the film results in the formation of a horizontal liquid bump at the top edge of the heater. On the heater the flow divides into vertical rivulets with a thin film between them. Film deformations in the bump and the thin film between the rivulets are investigated. Local film thickness is measured by means of a double-fiber optical probe. The method is based on the dependence of the intensity of reflected light on the distance between the probe and the reflecting surface. The measurement results are compared to those previously obtained using the schlieren method. The experiment is controlled by three parameters. They are, with their respective values, the plate inclination angle (4–90°), the Reynolds number (0.15–62) and the heat flux density (0–4.5 W/cm²).     

Dynamic film thickness between bubbles and wall in a narrow channel

The present paper describes a novel technique to characterize the behavior of the liquid film between gas bubbles and the wall in a narrow channel. The method is based on the electrical conductance. Two liquid film sensors are installed on both opposite walls in a narrow rectangular channel. The liquid film thickness underneath the gas bubbles is recorded by the first sensor, while the void fraction information is obtained by measuring the conductance between the pair of opposite sensors. Both measurements are taken on a large two-dimensional domain and with a high speed. This makes it possible to obtain the two-dimensional distribution of the dynamic liquid film between the bubbles and the wall. In this study, this method was applied to an air–water flow ranging from bubbly to churn regimes in the narrow channel with a gap width of 1.5 mm.     

The rivulet flow pattern during oil–water horizontal flow through a 12 mm pipe

The present study reports the hydrodynamics of the rivulet pattern during oil–water flow through a 12 mm horizontal acrylic pipe. The interfacial distribution has been observed visually and characterized from signals obtained from an optical probe as well as by isokinetic sampling. The probability density function (PDF) and fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the signals have provided an understanding of the flow configuration. The experiments have revealed that although rivulet flow is a typical separated flow pattern, it has different characteristics as compared to the stratified and annular flow patterns. The holdup and pressure drop under such conditions have been compared with the drift flux model for horizontal flow as well as the two-fluid model as proposed by Brauner and Maron [9] for liquid–liquid flows.     

Scaling of hydrogen electron stark widths at high densities and theInglis–Teller limit

The density dependence of Stark widths at high densities can vary significantly and in a manner contrary to the well-known behavior at lower densities, reflecting issues such as the screening length, collisions, and non-impact effects. In this regime reversed temperature dependence as well as a weak density dependence is possible. At high densities effects such as continuum lowering and the Inglis–Teller limit, whose computation needs care, become important. Specifically the atomic wavefunctions involved may be: a) broadened mostly or significantly by electron collisions; b) such that practically all collisions are strong so that standard perturbative estimates do not work; or c) comparable to the screening length, so that the penetrating collisions are severely overestimated by the standard line broadening theory. Interesting possibilities are a width saturation, the experimental determination of the shielding length from the line widths and abnormal continuum lowering behavior.