Axisymmetric bubble pinch-off at high Reynolds numbers

Analytical considerations and potential-flow numerical simulations of the pinch-off of bubbles at high Reynolds numbers reveal that the bubble minimum radius, rn, decreases as tau proportional to r2n sqrt[1lnr2n], where tau is the time to break up, when the local shape of the bubble near the singularity is symmetric. However, if the gas convective terms in the momentum equation become of the order of those of the liquid, the bubble shape is no longer symmetric and the evolution of the neck changes to a rn proportional to tau1/3 power law. These findings are verified experimentally.     

Optimal swimming at low Reynolds numbers

Efficient swimming at low Reynolds numbers is a major concern of microbots. To compare the efficiencies of different swimmers we introduce the notion of "a swimming drag coefficient" which allows for the ranking of swimmers. We find the optimal swimmer within a certain class of two-dimensional swimmers using conformal mapping techniques.     

Investigation of a wake decay behind a circular disk in a hydro channel at high Reynolds numbers

LDA and PIV techniques were used to study the decay of an axisymmetrical turbulent wake originated downstream an immobile disk in a water flume for Reynolds numbers Re = 1.5?2.4?10⁵. Data were compared with experiments performed with a set of thermo-anemometers behind a disk in a wind tunnel at lower Reynolds numbers (Re = 1.3?2.6?10⁴). Observations for a new range of Reynolds number confirmed that the velocity distribution in the disk wake keeps self-similarity. The decay of a wake by the power law ?2/3 in the presented experiments remains until the maximum deficit of velocity becomes comparable with the turbulent pulsation level in the free-stream (less than 2 %).     

Mixing in a T-shaped micromixer at moderate Reynolds numbers

In the present work, the regimes of the flow and mixing of fluids in a T-shaped micromixer in the range of the Reynolds numbers from 1 to 1000 are investigated systematically with the aid of numerical modeling. The flow and mixing regimes are shown to alter substantially with increasing Reynolds numbers. Five different flow regimes have been identified in the total. The dependencies of the friction coefficient and mixing efficiency on the Reynolds number are obtained. A sharp increase in the mixing efficiency at a flow transition from the symmetric to asymmetric steady regime is shown. On the other hand, the mixing efficiency slightly drops in the laminar-turbulent transition region. A substantial influence of the slip presence on walls on flow structure in the channel and mixing efficiency has been revealed.     

Deposition of inertial particles from turbulent flow in channels at high Reynolds numbers

On the basis of the previously developed asymptotic theory of turbulent particle-laden flow with particle deposition in channels coupled with the transport model for the particle Reynolds stress, an asymptotic solution to the problem on the deposition of particles in the limit of high Reynolds numbers was obtained. The numerical calculations confirmed the presence, in the region of the transition from the diffusion-impaction regime of particle sedimentation to the inertia-moderated regime, bifurcation phenomenon of a solution found previously in earlier studies. Features of particle accumulation in the viscous sublayer are analyzed. On the basis of the numerical solution, correlations for particle deposition velocity were obtained. Boundary conditions of the wall-function type for particle concentration whose use allows widening the applicability limits of the equilibrium Eulerian models in terms of particle inertia are proposed.     

Turbulent pipe flow at extreme Reynolds numbers

Both the inherent intractability and complex beauty of turbulence reside in its large range of physical and temporal scales. This range of scales is captured by the Reynolds number, which in nature and in many engineering applications can be as large as 10(5)-10(6). Here, we report turbulence measurements over an unprecedented range of Reynolds numbers using a unique combination of a high-pressure air facility and a new nanoscale anemometry probe. The results reveal previously unknown universal scaling behavior for the turbulent velocity fluctuations, which is remarkably similar to the well-known scaling behavior of the mean velocity distribution.     

Interactions between vortex and magnetic rings at high kinetic and magnetic Reynolds numbers

Interactions between magnetic and vortex rings are studied over a wide interval of interaction parameter values ranging from negligible magnetic effects on vorticity structure, to very strong effects. The employed interaction parameter measures the strength of the Lorentz force in units of the inertial force. At small interaction parameters, the vortex ring shapes part of the magnetic ring into a dissipative, curved, magnetic sheet structure. At high interaction parameters, the Lorentz force acts as an agent of proliferation of vortex rings, since it generates two vortex rings adjacent to the original magnetic structure, one of which is pulled (together with the advected magnetic field) into the wake of the original vortex ring, while the other escapes, ready to interact with another magnetic ring. Once within the initial vortex ring wake, both magnetic and vorticity structures are stretched into spirals, whilst the Lorentz force continuously generates new, intense vorticity at high magnetic field sites.     

Experimental investigation of the resistance laws for gas flow in a low-porosity medium at high Reynolds numbers

The interphase interaction force at low porosity was studied experimentally. Two methods are proposed for calculating the specific surface area of pores and for obtaining approximation relations for the resistance force and the Cozeni-Carman constant which are valid in a wide range of values of the parameters of the flow and porous layer.Scientific-Research Institute of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics at Tomsk State University. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 4, pp. 101–109, April, 1993.     

Characteristics of DC discharge in a wire-cylinder configuration at high ambient temperatures

In the present work, the characteristics of direct-current (DC) discharge in a wire-cylinder configuration at an ambient temperature range of 350–850 °C were studied by analyzing photographs of the discharging process and the corresponding V–I characteristics, with the aim of facilitating the application of plasma technology in the fields of energy and the environment. The influences of the ambient temperature, the inter-electrode gap, the gas medium and the cathode material on the DC discharge were investigated. The corona-onset threshold voltage (COTV) and the spark-breakdown threshold voltage (SBTV) decrease as the ambient temperature increases, and the SBTV decreases more rapidly. Increasing the inter-electrode gap enlarges the difference between the SBTV and the COTV. After spark breakdown, in an air atmosphere, glow discharge is more likely to take place under conditions of high ambient temperatures or small inter-electrode gaps. The values of the SBTV in different atmospheres have the following relation: air ≈ O₂ > CO₂. At an ambient temperature range of 350–850 °C and in an atmosphere of N₂, glow discharge and arc discharge occur successively as the output voltage of the power supply is increased, while in an atmosphere of O₂ and CO₂, only corona and arc discharge are successively observed. In an air atmosphere, when the inter-electrode gap is 29 mm, corona, glow and arc discharge occur successively with increasing output voltage when the ambient temperature is 850 °C, while only corona and arc discharge appear when the temperature is 350–750 °C. When the inter-electrode gap is 5 mm in an air atmosphere, corona, glow and arc discharge occur successively in an ambient temperature range of 350–850 °C. The cathode material has a minor influence on the COTV and a more significant influence on the SBTV. In a device using a cathode with a low work function, the SBTV is low, and the power to maintain arc discharge is small.     

Use of adjacent jets to investigate the aerodynamic sound of airfoils at moderately high Reynolds numbers

A new experimental set-up is proposed to investigate the noise generated by airfoils. It consists of two adjacent plane jets ducted into an anechoic room, and the airfoils under investigation are placed in the median jet. Besides the benefit in the acoustical conditions of the experiments (decrease of the background noise due to the jets, shift of the preferred frequencies of the jets below the range of interest for the airfoil emission), the aerodynamic situation itself is improved (increase in length of the potential zone, decrease of induced flow fluctuations). There is therefore the possibility to investigate airfoil noise with longer chords and higher incident velocities.     

Microfluidic valves for flow control at low Reynolds numbers

Fluidics is a technology of generating and controlling fluid flows — preferably without the action of mechanical moving components. Microfluidics perform these tasks in small, typically micronsized structures. Essential part of almost all microfluidic systems are flow control valves. The basic problem is the low Reynolds numberRe: inertial effects used in large-scale fluidics are too small relative to viscous dissipation. New approaches, such as pressure or electrokinetic driving are required. In the subdynamic, viscosity dominated flow regime, Re ceases to be of importance and for pressure-driven valves a new characterisation number was to be introduced. An example of a diverter valve, developed by the author, is described and the meaning of the new dimensionless parameter is demonstrated.     

Turbulence regeneration in pipe flow at moderate Reynolds numbers

We present the results of an experimental investigation into the nature and structure of turbulent pipe flow at moderate Reynolds numbers. A turbulence regeneration mechanism is identified which sustains a symmetric traveling wave within the flow. The periodicity of the mechanism allows comparison to the wavelength of numerically observed exact traveling wave solutions and close agreement is found. The advection speed of the upstream turbulence laminar interface in the experimental flow is observed to form a lower bound on the phase velocities of the exact traveling wave solutions. Overall our observations suggest that the dynamics of the turbulent flow at moderate Reynolds numbers are governed by unstable nonlinear traveling waves.     

Aerodynamics of re-entry vehicles at real values of Reynolds numbers

Results of an experimental study of aerodynamic characteristics of models of two hypersonic re-entry vehicles (ARES-H aerospace demonstrator proposed by EADS-ST and EXPERT re-entry capsule proposed by ESA ESTEC) are presented. The experiments were performed in a new wind tunnel AT-303 at ITAM SB RAS in the range of free-stream Mach numbers M = 10–18 at real values of Reynolds numbers. The test results and specific features of wind-tunnel tests in conical nozzles are discussed.     

Viscous near-wall flow in a wake of circular cylinder at moderate Reynolds numbers

Here we present the results of experimental investigation of a cross flow around a circular cylinder mounted near the wall of a channel with rectangular cross section. The experiments were carried out in the range of Reynolds numbers corresponding to the transition to turbulence in a wake of the cylinder. Flow visualization and SIV-measurements of instantaneous velocity fields were carried out. Evolution of the flow pattern behind the cylinder and formation of the regular vortex structures were analyzed. It is shown that in the case of flow around the cylinder, there is no spiral motion of fluid from the side walls of the channel towards its symmetry plane, typical of the flow around a spanwise rib located on the channel wall. The laminar-turbulent transition in the wake of the cylinder is caused by the shear layer instability.     

Scattering of sound in a moving viscous microinhomogeneous medium at large Reynolds numbers

A generalization of the Rayleigh law of a low-frequency sound attenuation in a microinhomogeneous medium to the case of scattering particles moving in a viscous liquid at a large Reynolds numbers is proposed. It is shown that, under these conditions, the attenuation may be independent of the scattering by the moving particles themselves but be only determined by the flow caused by these particles, the maximum attenuation being observed in the direction across the particle motion. The corresponding corrections proportional to the first power of the hydrodynamic Mach number are compared with the corrections lying at the basis of the modified Rayleigh law, which was proposed earlier for the potential flow of an ideal liquid around inhomogeneities, and also with the laws of scattering in a moving viscous microinhomogeneous medium at a small Reynolds numbers. As an example of the operation of the generalized law, characteristics of the sound scattering by rain are refined.     

Stationary shapes of deformable particles moving at low Reynolds numbers

We introduce an iterative solution scheme in order to calculate stationary shapes of deformable elastic capsules which are steadily moving through a viscous fluid at low Reynolds numbers. The iterative solution scheme couples hydrodynamic boundary integral methods and elastic shape equations to find the stationary axisymmetric shape and the velocity of an elastic capsule moving in a viscous fluid governed by the Stokes equation. We use this approach to systematically study dynamical shape transitions of capsules with Hookean stretching and bending energies and spherical resting shape sedimenting under the influence of gravity or centrifugal forces. We find three types of possible axisymmetric stationary shapes for sedimenting capsules with fixed volume: a pseudospherical state, a pear-shaped state, and buckled shapes. Capsule shapes are controlled by two dimensionless parameters, the Föppl-von-Kármán number characterizing the elastic properties and a Bond number characterizing the driving force. For increasing gravitational force the spherical shape transforms into a pear shape. For very large bending rigidity (very small Föppl-von-Kármán number) this transition is discontinuous with shape hysteresis. The corresponding transition line terminates, however, in a critical point, such that the discontinuous transition is not present at typical Föppl-von-Kármán numbers of synthetic capsules. In an additional bifurcation, buckled shapes occur upon increasing the gravitational force.     

Population dynamics at high Reynolds number

We study the statistical properties of population dynamics evolving in a realistic two-dimensional compressible turbulent velocity field. We show that the interplay between turbulent dynamics and population growth and saturation leads to quasilocalization and a remarkable reduction in the carrying capacity. The statistical properties of the population density are investigated and quantified via multifractal scaling analysis. We also investigate numerically the singular limit of negligibly small growth rates and delocalization of population ridges triggered by uniform advection.     

A comparison of vortex and pseudo-spectral methods for the simulation of periodic vortical flows at high Reynolds numbers

We present a validation study for the hybrid particle-mesh vortex method against a pseudo-spectral method for the Taylor–Green vortex at Re_Γ = 1600 as well as in the collision of two antiparallel vortex tubes at Re_Γ = 10,000. In this study we present diagnostics such as energy spectra and enstrophy as computed by both methods as well as point-wise comparisons of the vorticity field. Using a fourth order accurate kernel for interpolation between the particles and the mesh, the results of the hybrid vortex method and of the pseudo-spectral method agree well in both flow cases. For the Taylor–Green vortex, the vorticity contours computed by both methods around the time of the energy dissipation peak overlap. The energy spectrum shows that only the smallest length scales in the flow are not captured by the vortex method.In the second flow case, where we compute the collision of two anti-parallel vortex tubes at Reynolds number 10,000, the vortex method results and the pseudo-spectral method results are in very good agreement up to and including the first reconnection of the tubes. The maximum error in the effective viscosity is about 2.5% for the vortex method and about 1% for the pseudo-spectral method. At later times the flows computed with the different methods show the same qualitative features, but the quantitative agreement on vortical structures is lost.