Progress in numerical simulation of yield stress fluid flows

Numerical simulations of viscoplastic fluid flows have provided a better understanding of fundamental properties of yield stress fluids in many applications relevant to natural and engineering sciences. In the first part of this paper, we review the classical numerical methods for the solution of the non-smooth viscoplastic mathematical models, highlight their advantages and drawbacks, and discuss more recent numerical methods that show promises for fast algorithms and accurate solutions. In the second part, we present and analyze a variety of applications and extensions involving viscoplastic flow simulations: yield slip at the wall, heat transfer, thixotropy, granular materials, and combining elasticity, with multiple phases and shallow flow approximations. We illustrate from a physical viewpoint how fascinating the corresponding rich phenomena pointed out by these simulations are.     

Characterization of yield stress fluids with concentric cylinder viscometers

The methods normally employed for shear rate calculations from concentric cylinder viscometer data generally are not applicable for fluids with a yield stress. In cylindrical systems with large radius ratios, as usually is the case with suspensions, the yield stress induces two possible flow regimes in the annulus. Unless the yield value is exceeded everywhere in the gap only part of the fluid can be sheared while the remaining region behaves like a solid plug. A correct calculation of the shear rate must take into account the presence of a variable effective gap width determined by the extent of the sheared layer. For time-independent yield stress fluids, a two-step procedure, which does not require any specific flow model, is proposed for analysing the experimental torque-speed data. Under the partially sheared condition, the shear rate can be computed exactly, whereas for the fully sheared flow the Krieger and Elrod approximation is satisfactory. The method is assessed by examining both semi-ideal data generated with a Casson fluid with known properties, and experimental data with an industrial suspension. A more complicated problem associated with characterization of time-dependent yield stress fluids is also identified and discussed. An approximate procedure is used to illustrate the dependence of the shear rate on time of shear in constant-speed experiments.     

Numerical simulation of the start-up of Bingham fluid flows in pipelines

This paper describes a mathematical model used to simulate the restart of an axial, compressible and transient flow of a Bingham fluid in circular or annular pipes. The model is based on the mass and momentum conservation equations plus a state equation that relates pressure to density. The viscous effect is modeled by employing a friction factor approach. The governing equations are discretized by using the finite volume method with a first-order upwind scheme, and the resulting non-linear algebraic equations are then solved iteratively. The model results were corroborated by an analytical solution for Newtonian flows. Additionally, the results were also in reasonable agreement with results reported in the literature. We also conducted sensitivity analyses with respect to Reynolds number, aspect ratio, gravity and the non-linear advective terms of the governing equations.     

圆筒内旋转细长管与流体界面耦合的数值方法

圆筒内旋转细长管是石油钻采工程中特有结构,细长管不仅与圆筒发生碰撞接触,还与管内流体和管外环空流体耦合,是一个复杂的非线性流固耦合系统。细长管固体域离散成梁单元,采用非线性碰撞接触动力学方程描述;管内外流体离散成六面体单元,采用计算流体动力学方程描述,在耦合界面处用任意拉格朗日欧拉法动网格来处理运动界面。根据梁单元位移...     

Numerical investigation of plate edge and slot size effects in low yield stress measurements with a slotted plate device

There is a need for accurate yield stress measurements, especially in the case of low yield stress complex materials such as biological samples. This task cannot be accomplished with conventional rotational rheometers due to significant wall slip effects and the necessity to operate the device at very low shear rates, often beyond the limit that such rheometers can achieve. In this paper, we focused on the slotted plate method proposed recently for low yield stress measurements. Using computational fluid dynamics, we studied the effects of plate geometry on the measurement accuracy of the slotted plate method. Results of this study indicate that both wall slip effects and pressure drag force can be substantially reduced by adopting a thin plate with sharp front and rear edges, high slot area ratio, and large number of slots. If the plate has 30° triangular edges, a slot area ratio of 80%, and 12 slots, the slotted plate method overpredicts the yield stress of a 0.09 wt.% Carbopol dispersion (yield stress of 9.17 Pa) by only 8.4% under no-slip conditions and underpredicts the yield stress by 12.3% under free-slip conditions. Similar results were obtained for human saliva characterized by a very low yield stress (0.073 Pa).     

Two-dimensional unsteady laminar flow of a power law fluid across a square cylinder

The two-dimensional and unsteady free stream flow of power law fluids past a long square cylinder has been investigated numerically in the range of conditions 60≤Re≤160 and 0.5≤n≤2.0. Over this range of Reynolds numbers, the flow is periodic in time. A semi-explicit finite volume method has been used on a non-uniform collocated grid arrangement to solve the governing equations. The global quantities such as drag coefficients, Strouhal number and the detailed kinematic variables like stream function, vorticity and so on, have been obtained for the above range of conditions. While, over this range of Reynolds number, the flow is known to be periodic in time for Newtonian fluids, a pseudo-periodic flow regime displaying more than one dominant frequency in the lift is observed for shear-thinning fluids. This seems to occur at Reynolds numbers of 120 and 140 for n=0.5 and 0.6, respectively. Broadly speaking, the smaller the value of the power law index, lower is the Reynolds number of the onset of the pseudo-periodic regime. This work is concerned only with the fully periodic regime and, therefore, the range of Reynolds numbers studied varies with the value of the power law index. Not withstanding this aspect, in particular here, the effects of Reynolds number and of the power law index have been elucidated in the unsteady laminar flow regime. The leading edge separation in shear-thinning fluids produces an increase in drag values with the increasing Reynolds number, while shear-thickening fluid behaviour delays this separation and shows the lowering of the drag coefficient with the Reynolds number. Also, the preliminary results suggest the transition from the steady to unsteady flow conditions to occur at lower Reynolds numbers in shear-thinning fluids than that in Newtonian fluids.     

Numerical simulation of viscoelastic flows with Oldroyd-B constitutive equations and novel algebraic stress models

The purpose of the present study is to compare numerical simulations of viscoelastic flows using the differential Oldroyd-B constitutive equations and two newly devised simplified algebraic explicit stress models (AES-models). The flows of a viscoelastic fluid in a 180° bent planar channel and in a 4:1 planar contraction are considered to illustrate and support the underlying theory. The flow in the bent channel is used to illustrate the frame-invariant property of the new models in a pure shear flow exhibiting strong streamline curvature. The flow in the 4:1 contraction serves as a benchmark test in a situation where strong elongation occurs. For both geometries, it is found that the predictions of the new AES-models are in good agreement with Oldroyd-B up to Deborah numbers of order 0.5, with a significant reduction in computational effort.     

Numerical study of the effects occurring near a circular cylinder in stratified fluid flows with short buoyancy periods

Flow around a two-dimensional circular cylinder of a stratified fluid with periods buoyancy T_b = 25.2 and 6.28 sec is studied numerically over a wide range of Reynolds and Froude numbers. It is found that in the presence of a perturbation ahead of a cylinder which moves downstream with increasing Reynolds number, the salinity isolines have the shape of a semi-circular comb with sharp teeth. The shape change of the attached waves and the occurrence of fluid layers of different densities in the cylinder wake are studied. In flows with a buoyancy period T_b = 6.28 sec at Reynolds numbers Re < 60, stagnant zones are found in the cylinder wake, and at Re > 60, these zones are absent.     

亚、跨、超音速及不可压流动的数值分析方法的研究

为了对亚、跨、超音速及不可压无粘流动进行数值模拟,将LU－SGS方法与预处理方法结合,给出了PLU－SGS方法。方程离散基于有限体积法,采用高阶精度AUSMPW格式。方程求解采用了特征边界条件。通过典型算例的数值试验对比分析,表明PLU－SGS方法可以有效地对亚、跨、超音速及不可压流动进行数值模拟,并具有较高的计算精度和收敛速度。     

Numerical simulation of unsteady inviscid flows with free surfaces

The boundary element method is used to calculate numerically the unteady flow of a capillary liquid associated with the interaction of an expanding gas cavity and the free surface of the liquid.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 2, pp. 3–7, March–April, 1990.     

Direct numerical simulation of turbulent flows through concentric annulus with circumferential oscillation of inner wall

Periodic wall oscillations in the spanwise or circumferential direction can greatly reduce the friction drag in turbulent channel and pipe flows. In a concentric annulus, the constant rotation of the inner cylinder can intensify turbulence fluctuations and enhance skin friction due to centrifugal instabilities. In the present study, the effects of the periodic oscillation of the inner wall on turbulent flows through concentric annulus are investigated by the direct numerical simulation (DNS). The radius ratio of the inner to the outer cylinders is 0.1, and the Reynolds number is 2 225 based on the bulk mean velocity U_m and the half annulus gap H. The influence of oscillation period is considered. It is found that for short-period oscillations, the Stokes layer formed by the circumferential wall movement can effectively inhibit the near-wall coherent motions and lead to skin friction reduction, while for long-period oscillations, the centrifugal instability has enough time to develop and generate new vortices, resulting in the enhancement of turbulence intensity and skin friction.     

Numerical investigation of viscous gas secondary flows in a rotating cylinder with sources and sinks

A source-sink model of secondary flow excitation in a rotating cylinder, which describes the interaction between a circulator and a rotating gas, is proposed for a nonlinear system of Navier-Stokes equations, and the results of a numerical calculation of the resulting circulating flows are presented. The modified Newton's method employed in the numerical solution makes use of regularizing perturbations to ensure its stability and convergence at low Ekman numbers and high rates of rotation of the cylinder. The combined effect of mechanical and thermal means of flow excitation and the influence of viscous energy dissipation are considered.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 39–44, July–August, 1989.     

Numerical rheometry of bulk materials using a power law fluid and the lattice Boltzmann method

In the present study, the flow of bulk materials is characterised as a non-Newtonian fluid and modelled using the lattice Boltzmann method. A power law and a Bingham model is implemented in the LBM, which is hydrodynamically coupled to the discrete element method (DEM) for structural interaction. The performance of both non-Newtonian models is assessed, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in benchmark problems. The validated, non-Newtonian LBM–DEM framework is then applied to the geometry of a cylindrical Couette rheometer to numerically determine the constitutive response of a sample of Leighton Buzzard sand. The numerical results, which employ the power law, are compared with experimental data, and a number of other synthetic soil samples are defined using the presented process of numerical rheometry. Finally, the numerical stress–strain rate response of the synthetic soil samples is interpreted within the context of a regularised Bingham model, and the similarities discussed.     

Comparison of squeeze flow and vane rheometry for yield stress and viscous fluids

Two principal squeeze flow modes are investigated for yield stress and Newtonian materials squeezed by a constant force, F, between plates of equal or unequal diameters. In mode A, the material fills the space between the plates and is extruded at their periphery as their separation decreases. Experiments are described to measure the contribution to F from the extrudate. In mode B, all the material remains in contact with the planes of the plates as their separation decreases; there is no extrudate. The results of mode B experiments agree closely with the predictions of theory and give rheological parameters in fair agreement with those measured by the rotational vane method. The material properties and extrusion behaviour which complicate mode A experiments are discussed.     

Numerical simulation of gap effect in supersonic flows

The gap effect is a key factor in the design of the heat sealing in supersonic vehicles subjected to an aerodynamic heat load. Built on S-A turbulence model and Roe discrete format, the aerodynamic environment around a gap on the surface of a supersonic aircraft was simulated by the finite volume method. As the presented results indicate, the gap effect depends not only on the attack angle, but also on the Mach number.     

Numerical simulation of Mach reflection in steady flows

The structure obtained when two shocks intersect is known to be highly sensitive to various parameters. In the so-called dual solution domain, both regular and Mach reflection patterns are possible, resulting in hysteresis. The phenomenon is important in inlets because of the substantial difference in entropy rise associated with the two manifestations, and the possibility of unstart with Mach reflection. The effect of various numerical and physical parameters on hysteresis are investigated with two-dimensional simulations. The effect of spanwise relief on a three-dimensional situation is also elucidated. It is confirmed that Mach-stem heights determined from inviscid computations are captured relatively accurately by comparison with experimental data and earlier Euler solutions reported in the literature. Near bifurcation points, however, the solution is highly sensitive to the scheme, and the van Leer and Roe schemes can yield converged solutions with different reflection configurations. Viscous terms and downstream conditions are observed to have relatively minor impact on the solution. The three-dimensional simulations reveal that beyond the spanwise limit of the compression surface, the overall shock-structure remains similar in form but the strengths of various shocks are rapidly muted by the expansion from the side surface. Additionally, the flow downstream of the shock that once formed the Mach reflection rapidly becomes supersonic. The Mach-stem height on the symmetry plane and its variation with spanwise position shows reasonable agreement with the experimental data of other investigators.     

Numerical simulation of the two-phase flows with viscous carrier phase

The motion of a dilute mixture of two incompressible phases with viscous carrier phase is investigated theoretically in the two-velocity approximation. The numerical solution of the mass and momentum conservation equations is used to analyze the influence of the parameters of the phases on their joint motion for two specific problems.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 3, pp. 49–54, May–June, 1931.I thank L. G. Loitsyanskii for interest in the work.     

Flow of non-Newtonian fluid contained in a fixed circular cylinder due to the longitudinal oscillation of a concentric circular cylinder

Summary The flow of a Reiner-Rivlin fluid between two coaxial porous circular cylinders has been studied. The inner cylinder performs a steady oscillation while the outer one is fixed.The exact solution of this problem has been obtained and approximate solutions for the two extreme cases, very small and very high frequencies, have been derived.