Particle transport in Poiseuille flow in narrow channels

Particle-tracking experiments were performed to validate a model [Staben, M.E., Zinchenko, A.Z., Davis, R.H., 2003. Motion of a particle between two parallel plane walls in low-Reynolds-number Poiseuille flow. Phys. Fluids 15, 1711–1733] for neutrally buoyant spherical particles convected by a Poiseuille flow in a thin microchannel for particles as large as d_p/H = 0.95, where d_p is the particle diameter and H is the channel width (narrow dimension). The measured and predicted velocities agree within experimental error and show that a particle’s velocity is more retarded when it is larger and/or closer to a channel wall. The particle distribution across the channel for a blunt entrance shows a focusing of small particles away from the walls and towards the center of the channel, whereas the particle distribution for an offset-angled entrance is slightly skewed towards the wall encountered first in the entrance region. As a result, the average particle velocities for the blunt entrance exceed those for the angled entrance. Moreover, due to the depletion of particles from the slow-moving region within one radius of the wall, the average particle velocity exceeds the average fluid velocity unless the particle diameter exceeds about 80% of the channel width.     

3D scanning particle tracking velocimetry

In this article, we present an experimental setup and data processing schemes for 3D scanning particle tracking velocimetry (SPTV), which expands on the classical 3D particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) through changes in the illumination, image acquisition and analysis. 3D PTV is a flexible flow measurement technique based on the processing of stereoscopic images of flow tracer particles. The technique allows obtaining Lagrangian flow information directly from measured 3D trajectories of individual particles. While for a classical PTV the entire region of interest is simultaneously illuminated and recorded, in SPTV the flow field is recorded by sequential tomographic high-speed imaging of the region of interest. The advantage of the presented method is a considerable increase in maximum feasible seeding density. Results are shown for an experiment in homogenous turbulence and compared with PTV. SPTV yielded an average 3,500 tracked particles per time step, which implies a significant enhancement of the spatial resolution for Lagrangian flow measurements.     

Flow around a cylinder surrounded by a permeable cylinder in shallow water

The change in flow characteristics downstream of a circular cylinder (inner cylinder) surrounded by an outer permeable cylinder was investigated in shallow water using particle image velocimetry technique. The diameter of the inner cylinder and the water height were kept constant during the experiments as d?=?50?mm and h _w ?=?25?mm, respectively. The depth-averaged free-stream velocity was also kept constant as U?=?170?mm/s which corresponded to a Reynolds number of Re_d?=?8,500 based on the inner cylinder diameter. In order to examine the effect of diameter and porosity of the outer cylinder on flow characteristics of the inner cylinder, five different outer cylinder diameters (D?=?60, 70, 80, 90 and 100?mm) and four different porosities (???=?0.4, 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7) were used. It was shown that both porosity and outer cylinder diameter had a substantial effect on the flow characteristics downstream of the circular cylinder. Turbulent statistics clearly demonstrated that in comparison with the bare cylinder (natural case), turbulent kinetic energy and Reynolds stresses decreased remarkably when an outer cylinder was placed around the inner cylinder. Thereby, the interaction of shear layers of the inner cylinder has been successfully prevented by the presence of outer cylinder. It was suggested by referring to the results that the outer cylinder having 1.6????D/d????2.0 and 0.4????D/d????0.6 should be preferred to have a better flow control in the near wake since the peak magnitude of turbulent kinetic energy was considerably low in comparison with the natural case and it was nearly constant for these mentioned porosities ??, and outer cylinder to inner cylinder diameter ratios D/d.     

Effect of Particle Clusters on Carrier Flow Turbulence: A Direct Numerical Simulation Study

Experiments indicate that particle clusters that form in fluidized–bed risers can enhance gas-phase velocity fluctuations. Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of turbulent flow past uniform and clustered configurations of fixed particle assemblies at the same solid volume fraction are performed to gain insight into particle clustering effects on gas-phase turbulence, and to guide model development. The DNS approach is based on a discrete-time, direct-forcing immersed boundary method (IBM) that imposes no-slip and no-penetration boundary conditions on each particle’s surface. Results are reported for mean flow Reynolds number Re _p ?=?50 and the ratio of the particle diameter d _p to Kolmogorov scale is 5.5. The DNS confirm experimental observations that the clustered configurations enhance the level of fluid-phase turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) more than the uniform configurations, and this increase is found to arise from a lower dissipation rate in the clustered particle configuration. The simulations also reveal that the particle-fluid interaction results in significantly anisotropic fluid-phase turbulence, the source of which is traced to the anisotropic nature of the interphase TKE transfer and dissipation tensors. This study indicates that when particles are larger than the Kolmogorov scale (d _p ?>?η), modeling the fluid-phase TKE alone may not be adequate to capture the underlying physics in multiphase turbulence because the Reynolds stress is anisotropic. It also shows that multiphase turbulence models should consider the effect of particle clustering in the dissipation model.     

A further assessment of interpolation schemes for window deformation in PIV

We have evaluated the performances of the following seven interpolation schemes used for window deformation in particle image velocimetry (PIV): the linear, quadratic, B-spline, cubic, sinc, Lagrange, and Gaussian interpolations. Artificially generated images comprised particles of diameter in a range 1.1 ≤ d _p ≤ 10.0 pixel were investigated. Three particle diameters were selected for detailed evaluation: d _p = 2.2, 3.3, and 4.4 pixel with a constant particle concentration 0.02 particle/pixel². Two flow patterns were considered: uniform and shear flow. The mean and random errors, and the computation times of the interpolation schemes were determined and compared.     

Simultaneous measurement of size and velocity of microbubbles moving in an opaque tube using an X-ray particle tracking velocimetry technique

An X-ray particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) technique was developed to simultaneously measure the sizes and velocities of microbubbles in a fluid without optical aberration. This technique is based on a combination of in-line X-ray holography and PTV. The X-ray PTV technique uses a configuration similar to that of conventional optical imaging techniques, and is easy to implement. In the present work, microbubbles generated from a fine wire by electrical heating were used as tracer particles. The X-ray PTV technique simultaneously recorded size and velocity data for microbubbles (_b=10–60 m) moving upward in an opaque tube (inner diameter =2.7 mm). Due to the different refractive indices of water and air, phase contrast X-ray images clearly show the exact size and shape of overlapped microbubbles. In all of the working fluids tested (deionised water and 0.01 M and 0.10 M NaCl solutions), the measured terminal velocity of the microbubbles rising through the solution was proportional to the square of the bubble diameter. The proposed technique can be used to extract useful information on the behaviour of various bio/microscale fluid flows that are not amenable to analysis using conventional methods.     

Flow structure of microbubble-laden turbulent channel flow measured by PIV combined with the shadow image technique

The turbulence structure of a horizontal channel flow with microbubbles is experimentally investigated using combined particle image velocimetry (PIV) in order to clarify the mechanism of drag reduction caused by microbubbles. A new system which simultaneously measures the liquid phase and the dispersed bubbles is proposed, based on a combination of particle tracking velocimetry (PTV), laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and the shadow image technique (SIT). To accurately obtain the velocity of the liquid phase, tracer particles which overlap with the bubble shadow images are almost entirely eliminated in the post-processing. Finally, the turbulence characteristics of the flow field are presented, including measurements for both phases, and the bubble effect on the turbulence is quantified.     

Spatially averaged time-resolved particle-tracking velocimetry in microspace considering Brownian motion of submicron fluorescent particles

A time-series measurement method is proposed to detect velocity fields in a microchannel taking into account Brownian motion of submicron tracer particles. The present study proposes spatially averaged time-resolved particle-tracking velocimetry (SAT–PTV), which can detect temporal variations of fluid flow and eliminate errors associated with Brownian motion without losing temporal resolution. Velocity vectors of tracer particles obtained by PTV are spatially averaged in each interrogation window of particle-image velocimetry, yielding full velocity field information with temporal resolution. Synthetic particle images, which include Brownian motion of submicron fluorescent particles in flow fields with linear velocity gradients, are generated to validate the ability of SAT–PTV to track particles. SAT–PTV correctly captures the velocity gradient profiles. The spatial resolution based on the size of the first interrogation window and the measurement depth of the microscope system is 6.7 m×6.7 m×1.9 m, within which several vectors are averaged. SAT–PTV is shown to measure the velocity field of a pulsating flow generated by an electrokinetic pump.An earlier version of this paper appeared in the Fourth International Symposium on Particle Image Velocimetry at Göttingen, Germany, 17–19 September 2001.     

Investigation of Particle Deposition Characteristics in Vicinity of Laidback Fan-shaped Film Cooling Holes

To design efficient film cooling systems and mitigate particulate deposition, it is very important to know the influences of the design parameters of film cooling holes on particulate deposition. However, most previous research focused on round film cooling holes. Particle deposition characteristics near shaped film cooling holes need to be studied further. In the present study, numerical computations were carried out to simulate the particle deposition behavior on gas turbine disk samples with laidback fan-shaped film cooling holes by using CFD-DPM (Computational fluid dynamics-discrete particle method). The critical velocities for particle sticking and detachment were determined by EI-Batsh model. Compared with round holes, shaped holes mitigate the particle-wall collision for small particles (d_p≤2μm, ρ_p=990kg/m ³), but promote particle-wall collision for large particles (d_p≥4μm, ρ_p=990kg/m ³). Adding the lateral and forward expansion angle can both cause the decrease of particle deposition efficiency, however, the effect of lateral expansion angle on particle deposition is more active.     

A laser-fluorescence technique for turbulent two-phase flow measurements

A non-intrusive measurement technique has been developed for accurate determination of gas and particle velocities in a turbulent two-phase flow field. The principle of the technique is based on the discrimination between the scattered light from particles and the fluorescence emission from particles coated with a fluorescent dye. A high-powered, argon-ion based, single-channel, on-axis backscatter laser-Doppler velocimetry system was used. The fluorescent dye was Rhodamine 6G. A study of the gas-solid two-phase flow behaviour in the freeboard of a cold gas-fluidized bed was undertaken. The solid phase contained two particle groups: bed material (sand) and fuel particles (wood). Measurements of the axial velocity and turbulence intensity distributions of the gas phase and both particle groups within the solid phase were made along the column centre and across the freeboard. Excellent discrimination of velocities from the two phases and from the two particle groups within the solid phase was achieved.     

Simultaneous PIV and PTV measurements of wind and sand particle velocities

Wind-blown sand is a typical example of two-phase particle-laden flows. Owing to lack of simultaneous measured data of the wind and wind-blown sand, interactions between them have not yet been fully understood. In this study, natural sand of 100–125 μm taken from Taklimakan Desert was tested at the freestream wind speed of 8.3 m/s in an atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel. The captured flow images containing both saltating sand and small wind tracer particles, were separated by using a digital phase mask technique. The 2-D PIV (particle imaging velocimetry) and PTV (particle tracking velocimetry) techniques were employed to extract simultaneously the wind velocity field and the velocity field of dispersed sand particles, respectively. Comparison of the mean streamwise wind velocity profile and the turbulence statistics with and without sand transportation reveal a significant influence of sand movement on the wind field, especially in the dense saltating sand layer (y/δ < 0.1). The ensemble-averaged streamwise velocity profile of sand particles was also evaluated to investigate the velocity lag between the sand and the wind. This study would be helpful in improving the understanding of interactions between the wind and the wind-blown sand.     

Wettability and impact dynamics of water droplets on rice (Oryza sativa L.) leaves

A displacement-shifted approach is introduced to the vision-based particle tracking velocimetry (VB-PTV) technique described in Lei et al. (Exp Fluids 53(5):1251–1268, 2012), using translational and angular displacements. The particle matching algorithm in VB-PTV is based on a proximity matrix, G _ij , which favors short distance particle matches over long distance matches. By modifying the formula used in constructing G _ij , particles that lie at the expected location of the match are favored. Two displacement-shifted methods are introduced: the first of which relies on particle image velocimetry estimates of particle displacements and the second of which relies on both the expected displacement and direction of the correct match to construct the proximity matrix. These displacement-shifted algorithms improve performance in high gradient (0.3 px/px and above), high displacement flows (upwards of 20 pixels), broadening the range of flows for which VB-PTV can be used. RMS errors in PTV results are reduced by 33 % or more when these displacement-shifted algorithms are made to the VB-PTV algorithm which is used to process Oseen vortex images. Experimental images of shear layer and the wake region of vortex shedding were used to verify the performances of the proposed methods, and the results are in agreement with the synthetic tests.     

Theoretical and experimental analysis of the accuracy and reproducibility of cell tracking velocimetry

A theoretical and experimental analysis has been conducted to determine the accuracy of cell tracking velocimetry (CTV). CTV is an analytical technique for quantifying magnetically induced velocity of immunomagnetically labeled cells (or particles), in which the computer algorithm, particle tracking velocimetry (PTV), has been modified and combined with a well-defined magnetic energy gradient. In addition, this technique can calculate the size of a cell (or particle) through the use of experimentally measured settling velocities. A model was developed which determines the minimum and maximum cell velocities that can be determined based on a number of intrinsic constants and variables associated with this technique. This model was experimentally tested using a number of calibration particles and very good agreement between model and experimental data was obtained. The combination of model and experimental validation establishes the proper operating parameters for CTV. Received: 14 January 2000/Accepted: 10 July 2000     

Experimental investigation of flow-induced vibration on isolated and tandem circular cylinders fitted with strakes

The effect of varying the geometric parameters of helical strakes on vortex-induced vibration (VIV) is investigated in this paper. The degree of oscillation attenuation or even suppression is analysed for isolated circular cylinder cases. How a cylinder fitted with strakes behaves when immersed in the wake of another cylinder in tandem arrangement is also investigated and these results are compared to those with a single straked cylinder. The experimental tests are conducted at a circulating water channel facility and the cylindrical models are mounted on a low-damping air bearing elastic base with one degree-of-freedom, restricted to oscillate in the transverse direction to the channel flow. Three strake pitches (p) and heights (h) are tested: p=5, 10, 15d, and h=0.1, 0.2, 0.25d. The mass ratio is 1.8 for all models. The Reynolds number range is from 1000 to 10 000, and the reduced velocity varies up to 21. The cases with h=0.1d strakes reduce the amplitude response when compared to the isolated plain cylinder, however the oscillation still persists. On the other hand, the cases with h=0.2, 0.25d strakes almost completely suppress VIV. Spanwise vorticity fields, obtained through stereoscopic digital particle image velocimetry (SDPIV), show an alternating vortex wake for the p=10d and h=0.1d straked cylinder. The p=10d and h=0.2d cylinder wake has separated shear layers with constant width and no roll-up close to the body. The strakes do not increase the magnitude of the out-of-plane velocity compared to the isolated plain cylinder. However, they deflect the flow in the out-of-plane direction in a controlled way, which can prevent the vortex shedding correlation along the span. In order to investigate the wake interference effect on the strake efficiency, an experimental arrangement with two cylinders in tandem is employed. The centre-to-centre distance for the tandem arrangement varies from 2 to 6. When the downstream p=10d and h=0.2d cylinder is immersed in the wake of an upstream fixed plain cylinder, it loses its effectiveness compared with the isolated case. Although the oscillations have significant amplitude, they are limited, which is a different behaviour from that of a tandem configuration with two plain cylinders. For this particular case, the amplitude response monotonically increases for all gaps, except one, a trait usually found in galloping-like oscillations. SDPIV results for the tandem arrangements show alternating vortex shedding and oscillatory wake.     

Improving the dynamic range of particle tracking velocimetry systems

In applying a video-based particle image velocimetry (PTV) system in a complex fluid flow, it is common to find both regions of fast and slow moving flow intermixing-particularly in highly turbulent or reversing flows. When one attempts to track the movement of particles in such a flow with a wide velocity range (and hence, separation distance between particle images), resolution problems are encountered. Inability to cover a wide range of velocities is actually a limitation of PTV. A method is introduced here that extends the dynamic range of PTV when implemented on a video-based system. It combines the use of multiple frames and multiple exposures on a single frame. The method is subsequently verified by tracking dots painted on a spinning flat disc.     

Transient heat transfer behaviors in cylindrical porous beds at relatively large Reynolds numbers

The transient behavior of heat transfer in a cylindrical porous bed was examined experimentally under various factors (flow rate, diameter of spherical solid particle, temperature of flowing fluid and physical properties of porous bed). In these factors, it was understood that especially flow rate and the diameter of the particled have important role in evaluating the transient behavior of heat transfer in the porous bed. That is, as the flow rate and the diameter of the particle under a constant diameterD of the cylindrical bed are increased, mean heat transfer coefficient between flowing fluid and the solid particles is increased and the time period to reach a thermally steady state is decreased. The useful experimental correlation equations of mean heat transfer coefficient and the time period to reach the steady state were derived with the functional relationships of Nusselt numberNu _d =f(d/D, Reynolds numberRe _d ) and Fourier numberFo =f (modified Prandtl numberPr*, d/D, Re _d ).     

Near-surface velocimetry using evanescent wave illumination

Total internal reflection velocimetry (TIRV) is used to measure particle motion in the near-wall region of a microfluidic system. TIRV images are illuminated with the evanescent field of an incident laser pulse and contain only particles that are very close to the channel surface. Sub-micron-sized fluorescent particles suspended in water are used as seed particles and their images are analyzed with a particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) algorithm to extract information about apparent slip velocity. At relatively low shear rates (less than 2,500 s^-1), a velocity proportional to the shear rate was observed. The statistical difference between velocities measured over hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces was found to be minimal. The results suggest that the slip length, if present, is less than 10 nm, but uncertainty regarding the exact character of the illumination field prevents a more accurate measurement at this time. Numerical simulations are presented to help understand the results and to provide insight into the mechanisms that result in the experimentally observed distributions. Issues associated with the accuracy of the experimental technique and the interpretations of the experimental results are also discussed.A version of this paper was presented at the 5th international symposium on particle image velocimetry (PIV 2003), Busan, Korea, 22–24 September 2003.     

X-ray based measurements of the local solid phase content in a three-phase flow of a bubble column: statistical significance

Information regarding the flow properties in bubble columns with a three-phase flow is of great interest for research into its performance, as well as for the validation of computer models. In an earlier paper, we proposed an X-ray based particle tracking velocimetry (PTV), called XPTV. This method allows not only the measurement of the velocities of both solid and fluid phases in a three-phase flow, but also the assessment of the time-averaged local solid phase content. In this paper, we are concerned with the statistical significance of the obtained measurements.     

Solids behavior in dilute zone of a CFB riser under turbulent conditions

The behavior of the solid phase in the upper zone of a circulating fluidized bed riser was studied using a phase Doppler anemometer. Glass particles of mean diameter 107 μm and superficial gas velocities U_g covering the turbulent and the beginning of the fast fluidization regime were investigated. Three static bed heights were tested. Ascending and descending particles were found co-existing under all operating conditions tested, and at all measurement locations. Superficial gas velocity proved/happened to have a larger effect on descending particles at the wall and on ascending particles in the central region. Transversal particle velocities in both directions (toward the center and toward the wall) behaved relatively equivalently, with only slight difference observed at the wall. However, observation of the number of particles moving in either transversal direction showed a change in bed structure when increasing U_g. Furthermore, a balance was constantly observed between the core zone and the annulus zone where the mutual mass transfer between these two zones occurred continuously. Transition from a slow to a fast particle motion was accompanied by a transition to high levels of velocity fluctuations, and was found corresponding to the appearance of significant solid particle flow rate.     

Particle tracer response across shocks measured by PIV

The experimental approach used for the evaluation of the particle response time across a stationary shock wave is assessed by means of PIV measurements. The study focuses on the experimental requirements for a reliable and unbiased measurement of the particle response time τ _p and length ξ _p based on a single-exponent decaying law. A numerical simulation of the particle response experiment returns the parameters governing the measurement: namely the normalized spatial and temporal resolution, shock strength, and digital resolution. Representing the velocity decay in logarithmic coordinates it is shown that measurements performed with laser pulse separation time up to τ _p and interrogation window up to ξ _p still yield unbiased results for the particle response. A set of experiments on the particle response across a planar oblique shock wave was conducted to verify the results from the numerical assessment. Liquid droplets of DEHS and solid tracer particles of silicon and titanium dioxide with different primary crystal size are compared. The resulting temporal response ranges from 2 to 3 μs, corresponding to values commonly reported in literature, to almost 0.3 μs when particles are properly dehydrated and a filter is applied before injection into the wind tunnel. It is the first experimental evidence of particle tracers with a measured response time lower than 0.4 μs. The same procedure is applied to attempt the measurement of individual particle tracers by particle tracking velocimetry to estimate the spread in the distribution of tracer time response. The latter analysis is limited by the particle image tracking precision error, which biases the results introducing a wider broadening of the particle velocity distribution.