The non-homogeneous flow of a thixotropic fluid around a sphere

The non-homogeneous flow of a thixotropic fluid around a settling sphere is simulated. A four-parameter Moore model is used for a generic thixotropic fluid and discontinuous Galerkin method is employed to solve the structure-kinetics equation coupled with the conservation equations of mass and momentum. Depending on the normalized falling velocity U*, which compares the time scale of structure formation and destruction, flow solutions are divided into three different regimes, which are attributed to an interplay of three competing factors: Brownian structure recovery, shear-induced structure breakdown, and the convection of microstructures. At small U*( ≪ 1), where the Brownian structure recovery is predominant, the thixotropic effect is negligible and flow solutions are not too dissimilar to that of a Newtonian fluid. As U* increases, a remarkable structural gradient is observed and the structure profile around the settling sphere is determined by the balance of all three competing factors. For large enough U*( ≫ 1), where the Brownian structure recovery becomes negligible, the balance between shear-induced structure breakdown and the convection plays a decisive role in determining flow profile. To quantify the interplay of three factors, the drag coefficient Cs of the sphere is investigated for ranges of U*. With this framework, the effect of the destruction parameter, the confinement ratio, and a possible nonlinearity in the model-form on the non-homogeneous flow of a thixotropy fluid have been addressed.     

Simulations of thixotropic liquids

In thixotropic liquids the rheological properties depend on the liquid’s deformation history. Clay suspensions (as encountered in oil sands mining) are a prominent example. Activated clay particles form a network. As a consequence of (ionic) transport limitations, the network is not an instantaneous feature; it takes time to build up, and also to break down, the latter as a result of deformation in the liquid. In this paper a procedure for detailed simulations of flow of viscous thixotropic liquids is outlined. The local viscosity of the liquid relates to the level of integrity of the network. The time-dependence of the liquid’s rheology is due to the finite rate with which the network in the liquid builds up or breaks down. This concept has been incorporated in a lattice-Boltzmann discretization of the flow equations. With this methodology the way thixotropic liquids are mobilized in mixing tanks and the drag force experienced by dense assemblies of coarse particles (e.g. sand) in thixotropic liquids have been studied.     

Stability of a sandwich plate composed of rubbery material

The stability of a sandwich plate is investigated within the framework of the plane problem of the stability of nonlinear elastic incompressible bodies for finite subcritical strains and an arbitrary form of the potential. Numerical examples are considered for rubbery bodies with Treloar (neo-Hookean body) and Mooney potentials.Institute of Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, Kiev. Kiev Institute of the National Economy. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 2, pp. 334–337, March–April, 1971.     

Nonlinear periodic deformation of thixotropic media

The experimental procedure and the processing of results on the nonlinear periodic deformation of polymeric and dispersed system melts are examined. Experimental data are given on the effect of the amplitude of harmonic deformation on nonlinear stress distortions.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 4, pp. 689–696, July–August, 1972.     

Flow of elasticoviscoplastic thixotropic polymer systems

The necessity and possibility of taking into account the strain-rate dependence of the plastic strength in deriving mathematical models of the flow of heavily filled polymer systems is demonstrated.     

Reproductivity for a nematic liquid crystal model

In this paper we prove existence of weak solution with the reproductivity in time property, for a penalized PDE’s system related to a nematic liquid crystal model. This problem is relatively explict when time-independent Dirichlet boundary conditions are imposed for the orientation of crystal molecules. Nevertheless, for the time-dependent case, the treatment of the problem is completely different. The verification of a maximum principle for weak reproductive solutions is fundamental in the argument. Finally, the relation between reproductive and periodic in time (regular) solutions will be pointed out, differenting the 2D and 3D cases. Basically, in two-dimensional domains every reproductive solution is regular and time periodic, whereas the problem remains open for three-dimensional domains.     

Reproductivity for a nematic liquid crystal model

In this paper we prove existence of weak solution with the reproductivity in time property, for a penalized PDE’s system related to a nematic liquid crystal model. This problem is relatively explict when time-independent Dirichlet boundary conditions are imposed for the orientation of crystal molecules. Nevertheless, for the time-dependent case, the treatment of the problem is completely different. The verification of a maximum principle for weak reproductive solutions is fundamental in the argument.     

Internal Kelvin waves in a two-layer liquid model

The subinertial internal Kelvin wave solutions of a linearized system of the ocean dynamics equations for a semi-infinite two-layer f-plane model basin of constant depth bordering a straight, vertical coast are imposed. A rigid lid surface condition and no-slip wall boundary condition are imposed. Some trapped wave equations are presented and approximate solutions using an asymptotic method are constructed. In the absence of bottom friction, the solution consists of a frictionally modified Kelvin wave and a vertical viscous boundary layer. With a no-slip bottom boundary condition, the solution consists of a modified Kelvin wave, two vertical viscous boundary layers, and a large cross-section scale component. The numerical solutions for Kelvin waves are obtained for model parameters that take account of a joint effect of lateral viscosity, bottom friction, and friction between the layers.     

Singularity in a mathematical model of emulsion liquid membrane

An earlier paper of ours presented a mathematical model to study metal recovery from wastewater with emulsion liquid membrane and the analytical solution resulting from the model. In this paper, we point out that in a certain parameter range the eigenvalue equation has a singularity that gives rise to an additional term in the analytical solution, whose impact is strongest in the initial phase of metal recovery. This paper examines the origin and consequence of the additional term associated with the singularity.     

High-elastic behavior of rubbery polymers at low strain rates

The results of an experimental investigation of the deformation behavior of rubbery amorphous polymers (polybutadiene SKD) at low strain rates and large deformation times are described. It is shown for the first time by a viscometric method that the process of strain development in rubbery polymers has a stepwise character. A model that takes the breakdown of the structure into account is proposed for describing the stepwise nature of the strain development.     

A newton-penalty method for a simplified liquid crystal model

In this paper we are concerned with the computation of a liquid crystal model defined by a simplified Oseen-Frank energy functional and a (sphere) nonlinear constraint. A particular case of this model defines the well known harmonic maps. We design a new iterative method for solving such a minimization problem with the nonlinear constraint. The main ideas are to linearize the nonlinear constraint by Newton’s method and to define a suitable penalty functional associated with the original minimization problem. It is shown that the solution sequence of the new minimization problems with the linear constraints converges to the desired solutions provided that the penalty parameters are chosen by a suitable rule. Numerical results confirm the efficiency of the new method.     

Rheological properties of rubbery polymers at low shear stresses

The rheological behavior of the rubbery amorphous polymers SKB-35 (sodium-butadiene rubber), SKN-26M(butadiene-nitrile rubber), and PIB-85 (polyisobutylene) has been investigated in relation to the creep process. The tests were conducted at low shear stresses, in the constant shear stress regime, on the temperature interval from 0 to 100°C using a parallel-plate viscometer. We have shown, for the first time, by a viscometric method that in the high-elastic state rubbery polymers have a particular equilibrium structure corresponding to each temperature. A reduction in temperature leads to molecular ordering processes associated with an increase in the viscosity of the polymer. A temperature rise leads to molecular disordering and a gradual fall in viscosity. At a given temperature the two processes converge to the same value of the equilibrium viscosity. The rate of the process of equilibrium structure formation is determined not only by the temperature but also by the nature of the polymer. The higher the polarity, the more slowly the equilibrium structure is established.Moscow Lenin State Pedagogical Institute, Problem Laboratory of Polymer Physics. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 6, pp. 970–974, November–December, 1969.     

State of stress and strain of a rubbery cylindrical layer reinforced by an anisotropic shell

An exact solution is obtained for the nonlinear problem of elastic equilibrium of a rubbery cylinder reinforced by an anisotropic shell.L'vov Polytechnic Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 3, pp. 534–537, May–June, 1971.     

Blasius flow of thixotropic fluids: A numerical study

In the present work, laminar, two-dimensional flow of an incompressible thixotropic fluid obeying Harris rheological model is investigated above a fixed semi-infinite plate- the so-called Blasius flow. Assuming that the flow is occurring at high Reynolds number, use will be made of the boundary layer theory to simplify the equations of motion. The equations so obtained are then reduced to a single fourth-order ODE using a suitable similarity variable. It is shown that Harris fluids do not render themselves to a self-similar solution in Blasius flow. A local similarity solution is found which enabled investigating the effects of the model parameters on the velocity profile and wall shear stress at a given location above the plate. Numerical results show that for the Harris model to represent thixotropic fluids, the sign and magnitude of the material parameters appearing in this fluid model cannot be arbitrary.     

Investigation of the starting conditions of rolling thixotropic polymeric systems

The solution of the problem of flow in the roll gap of a polymeric system whose rheological behavior is described by Leonov's thixotropic model is presented. Analytical expressions are obtained for specific pressures, thrusts, and torques under transient rolling conditions, which permitted developing a method of calculating the maximum values of the energy and force characteristics.Lensovet Leningrad Technological Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 1, pp. 133–140, January–February, 1972.     

A tensor model for liquid crystals on a spherical surface

Rod-like molecules confined on a spherical surface can organize themselves into nematic liquid crystal phases. This can give rise to novel textures displayed on the surface, which has been observed in experiments. An important theoretical question is how to find and predict these textures. Mathematically, a stable configuration of the nematic fluid corresponds to a local minimum in the free energy landscape. By applying Taylor expansion and Bingham approximation to a general molecular model, we obtain a closed-form tensor model, which gives a free energy form that is different from the classic Landau-de Gennes model. Based on the tensor model, we implement an efficient numerical algorithm to locate the local minimum of the free energy. Our model successfully predicts the splay, tennis-ball and rectangle textures. Among them, the tennis-ball configuration has the lowest free energy.     

A model of liquid level measurements

A model of measuring the level of a viscous incompressible liquid in a tank as based on the liquid level in a measuring tube is investigated. The tank is in the field of gravity, and the tank liquid level varies according to some law. As a result, a Dirichlet boundary value problem for a nonlinear integrodifferential equation of parabolic type is obtained. A global existence and uniqueness theorem is proved for a weak solution of the problem. In the case of a tank level decreasing linearly with time, it is shown numerically that the liquid level in the measuring tube oscillates with a decaying amplitude with respect to the tank level.     

Nondestructive investigation of the thixotropic recovery of unvulcanized heavily filled rubber

A dynamic method has been used to estimate the thixotropic change in the viscoelastic properties of materials. The thixotropic recovery of the structure of a heavily filled rubber, destroyed by processing under stationary conditions, has been investigated. It is found that the relaxation spectrum changes during the recovery process.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 3, pp. 561–564, May–June, 1969.