Ritz method for oscillatory flow in ducts

Oscillatory viscous flow is solved by a Ritz integration method. The method is robust and efficient. The elliptic duct and the isosceles triangular duct are studied in detail. We find that the unsteady flow is dependent on a non‐dimensional frequency s and the aspect ratio b. In general, for s=O(1) or lower, the flow may be considered quasi‐steady, and the velocity is in phase with the applied pressure gradient. For large frequency, s=O(100), the maximum velocity occurs near the larger curvature ends and corners. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetohydrodynamic flow in electrodynamically coupled rectangular ducts

In Sezgin^1,2 the problems considered are the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows in an electrodynamically conducting infinite channel and in a rectangular duct respectively, in the presence of an applied magnetic field. In the present paper we extend the solution procedure of these papers to two rectangular channels connected by a barrier which is partially conductor and partially insulator. The problem has been reduced to the solution of a pair of dual series equations and then to the solution of a Fredholm's integral equation of the second kind. The infinite series obtained were transformed to finite integrals containing Bessel Junctions of the second kind to avoid the computations of slowly converging infinite series and infinite integrals with oscillating integrands. The results obtained compared well with those of Butsenieks and Shcherbinin3 which were obtained for the perfectly conducting barrier separating the flows.     

Numerical simulation for rotating internal weakly viscoelastic flows in rectangular ducts

The present work develops a numerical method for the solution of rotating internal weakly viscoelastic flows in rectangular ducts for dimensionless parameters such as the Reynolds, Rossby and Weissenberg numbers, taken respectively in the intervals between 171 and 12000, 0.047 and 1/12 and up to 1/10000. It is shown that the usual counter‐rotating double‐vortex configuration of secondary flow breaks down with the increase of the Reynolds number (over the threshold of 171). For higher Reynolds numbers such as 7500 and 12000 the secondary flow diffuses to the interior of the duct where it assumes a fully developed configuration and the transition to the turbulence structure is observed. The Sobolev norms increase almost proportionally to the increase of the Reynolds number, and play an essential role for more complex problems involving transition to turbulence modelling. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dean instability and secondary flow structure in curved rectangular ducts

The pressure driven, fully developed turbulent flow of incompressible viscous fluid (water) in 120° curved ducts of rectangular cross-section is investigated experimentally and numerically. Three different types of curved duct (A-CL, B-SL and C-IL) with continuously varying curvature conform to blade profile as the inner and outer curvature walls to simplify and guide the impeller design of pumps. After validating the numerical method against Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurements, the flow development in the ducts is analyzed in detail by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for a wide range of Reynolds numbers (Re = 2.4 × 10⁴–1.4 × 10⁵) and aspect ratios (Ar > 1.0, =1.0 and <1.0). The results clearly depict the existence of multiple Dean vortices along the duct: while the axial velocity profile is more related to an inner Dean vortex (called split base vortex), the wall pressure is more influenced by the Dean vortex attached to the inner curvature wall (called ICW Dean vortex). The induced multiple Dean vortices and the secondary flow patterns in the duct cannot be faithfully predicted by using traditional techniques. Therefore, a new criterion based on the vortex core velocities is proposed. With this approach, the effects of Re, Cr and Ar on the Dean instabilities in curved ducts are carefully studied. Decreasing Re promotes the generation of Dean vortices closer to the duct inlet, a trend that is as opposed to laminar flow. In addition, a new pair of vortices called entrainment Dean vortex occurs near the outlet of the curved duct with Ar = 1.0, which has not been previously reported in the literature.     

Heat transfer to non-Newtonian fluids in laminar flow through rectangular ducts

Heat transfer to non-newtonian fluids flowing laminarly through rectangular ducts is examined. The conservation equations of mass, momentum, and energy are solved numerically with the aid of a finite volume technique. The viscoelastic behavior of the fluid is represented by the Criminale-Ericksen-Filbey (CEF) constitutive equation. Secondary flows occur due to the elastic behavior of the fluid, and, consequently, heat transfer is strongly enhanced. It is observed that shear thinning yields negligible heat transfer enhancement effect, when compared with the secondary flow effect. Maximum heat transfer is shown to occur for some combinations of parameters. Thus, there are optimal combinations of aspect ratio and Reynolds numbers, which depend on the fluid's mechanical behavior. This result can be usefully explored in thermal designs of certain industrial processes.     

Newtonian and Power-Law fluid flow in a T-junction of rectangular ducts

The aim of the present study is the numerical investigation of the shear-thinning and shear-thickening effects of flow in a T-junction of rectangular ducts. The employed CFD code incorporates the SIMPLE scheme in conjunction with the finite volume method with collocated arrangement of variables. The code enables multi-block computations in domains with multiple apertures, thus coping with the two-block, two-outlet layout of the current 3D computational domain. The shear-thinning and shear-thickening behaviours of the flow are covered by changing the index n of the Power-Law model within a range from 0.20 to 1.25, and the subsequent effects are investigated by means of different flow parameters namely the Reynolds (Re) number and the boundary conditions at the outlets. Results exhibit the extent of the effect of the Re number on the velocity profiles at different positions in the domain for both Newtonian and non-Newtonian cases. Similarly, the trend of the effect of shear-thinning and shear-thickening behaviours on the flow rate ratio between inlet and outlets, in the case of equal pressure imposed on outlets, is shown.     

Two-phase gas-liquid flow regimes for smooth and ribbed rectangular ducts

In this research, adiabatic two-phase air-water flow was investigated, and results for smooth and ribbed rectangular ducts are presented here. The test fluids were air and water at approximately atmospheric conditions. Three ribs of different heights were used; the rib width and pitch were held constant. The ribs were positioned in the duct at three different locations to establish three different conditions: on the bottom wall (water side), on the top wall (air side) and on both the top and bottom walls. The flow regimes in the smooth and ribbed ducts, which were recorded with a video camera, were classified as plug, stratified, slug and wavy flow. The location of the ribs in the duct did not alter the shape of the flow regimes, but the regime boundaries were considerably changed (repositioned). The effects of using ribs of different heights on regime boundaries are represented with flow map diagrams and discussed in detail. Compared to the smooth duct, the ribbed duct had different regime boundary positions. Increasing the rib height initiated hydrodynamical instability at lower fluid velocities. These findings are relevant for the operation and design of pipes, boilers and heat exchangers.     

Hydromagnetic flow in a viscoelastic fluid due to the oscillatory stretching surface

An analysis is carried out to study the unsteady magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) two-dimensional boundary layer flow of a second grade viscoelastic fluid over an oscillatory stretching surface. The flow is induced due to an infinite elastic sheet which is stretched back and forth in its own plane. For the investigated problem, the governing equations are reduced to a non-linear partial differential equation by means of similarity transformations. This equation is solved both by a newly developed analytic technique, namely homotopy analysis method (HAM) and by a numerical method employing the finite difference scheme, in which a coordinate transformation is employed to transform the semi-infinite physical space to a bounded computational domain. The results obtained by means of both methods are then compared and show an excellent agreement. The effects of various parameters like visco-elastic parameter, the Hartman number and the relative frequency amplitude of the oscillatory sheet to the stretching rate on the velocity field are graphically illustrated and analysed. The values of wall shear stress for these parameters are also tabulated and discussed.     

Secondary flow structures in developing viscoelastic fluid flow through curved ducts with square cross section

Meccanica - The present paper numerically investigates viscoelastic fluid flow in the developing flow regime through both straight and 90-degree curve ducts. The aim is to investigate the effects...     

An anomalous phenomenon occurring in the flow of viscoelastic fluids out of ducts

When viscoelastic fluids flow out from horizontal ducts many cracks and protruding ridges are formed on the jet surface. As far as the authors know, this phenomenon has not yet been reported. The occurrence of the anomalous phenomenon is not affected by inlet flow condition or duct shape.The phenomenon may be divided into three regimes, namely, a stable state, a breakage state, and a multiplication state. In the breakage state one ridge divides into two parts after its growth, and in the multiplication state a new ridge is suddenly formed at a crack point. With increasing shear rate, the flow pattern of the jet changes from the stable state to the breakage state, and then to the multiplication state.Furthermore, a recoil effect is observed. In this effect many air bubbles rush into the duct from the exit when the flow is quickly stopped.     

Numerical solution of oscillatory flow of Maxwell fluid in a rectangular straight duct

A numerical analysis is presented for the oscillatory flow of Maxwell fluid in a rectangular straight duct subjected to a simple harmonic periodic pressure gradient.The numerical solutions are obtained by a finite difference scheme method. The stability of this finite difference scheme method is discussed. The distributions of the velocity and phase difference are given numerically and graphically. The effects of the Reynolds number, relaxation time, and aspect ratio of the cross section on the oscillatory flow are investigated. The results show that when the relaxation time of the Maxwell model and the Reynolds number increase, the resonance phenomena for the distributions of the velocity and phase difference enhance.     

Instability investigation of creeping viscoelastic flow in a curved duct with rectangular cross-section

In this paper, instability in the creeping viscoelastic flow inside a curved rectangular duct is investigated numerically for the first time. Using the Criminale–Eriksen–Filbey (CEF) model as the constitutive equation, the governing equations are solved by a second order of finite difference method based on the artificial compressibility algorithm in a staggered mesh. The effects of normal stress differences on the flow stability are investigated. The numerical results obtained indicate that the increase of the negative second normal stress difference of viscoelastic fluid causes stability in the creeping flow in curved ducts, however, the increase of the first normal stress difference intensifies the instability. Furthermore, at the special value of Ψ₂/Ψ₁=?0.5, the interaction of the two normal stress differences results in a stable flow field.     

A note on start-up and large amplitude oscillatory shear flow of multimode viscoelastic fluids

Start up of plane Couette flow and large amplitude oscillatory shear flow of single and multimode Maxwell fluids as well as Oldroyd-B fluids have been analyzed by analytical or semi-analytical procedures. The result of our analysis indicates that if a single or a multimode Maxwell fluid has a relaxation time comparable or smaller than the rate of change of force imparted on the fluid, then the fluid response is not singular as Elasticity Number (E ). However, if this is not the case, as E , perturbations of single and multimode Maxwell fluids give rise to highly oscillatory velocity and stress fields. Hence, their behavior is singular in this limit. Moreover, we have observed that transients in velocity and stresses that are caused by propagation of shear waves in Maxwell fluids are damped much more quickly in the presence of faster and faster relaxing modes. In addition, we have shown that the Oldroyd-B model gives rise to results quantitatively similar to multimode Maxwell fluids at times larger than the fastest relaxation time of the multimode Maxwell fluid. This suggests that the effect of fast relaxing modes is equivalent to viscous effects at times larger than the fastest relaxation time of the fluid. Moreover, the analysis of shear wave propagation in multimode Maxwell fluids clearly show that the dynamics of wave propagation are governed by an effective relaxation and viscosity spectra. Finally, no quasi-periodic or chaotic flows were observed as a result of interaction of shear waves in large amplitude oscillatory shear flows for any combination of frequency and amplitudes.     

DNS of viscoelastic turbulent channel flow with rectangular orifice at low Reynolds number

Direct numerical simulations of turbulent viscoelastic-fluid flow in a channel with a rectangular orifice were performed to investigate the influence of viscoelasticity on turbulence statistics and turbulent structures downstream of the orifice. The geometry considered is periodic rectangular orifices with 1:2 expansion. The constitutive equation follows the Giesekus model, valid for polymer (or surfactant) solutions, which are generally capable of reducing the turbulent frictional drag in a smooth channel. The friction Reynolds number and the Weissenberg number were set to 100 and 20-30, respectively. A drag reduction of about 20% was achieved in the viscoelastic flows. The onset Reynolds number for the transition from a symmetric to an asymmetric state was found to be shifted to higher values than that for the Newtonian flow. In the viscoelastic flow, the turbulent kinetic energy was decreased and fewer turbulent eddies were observed, as the Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices were quickly damped. Away from the orifice, quasi-streamwise vortices in the viscoelastic flow were sustained for a longer period, accompanied by energy exchange from elastic energy of the viscoelastic fluid to kinetic energy.     

On pattern selection in mixed convection in rectangular ducts

Mixed convection in a horizontal rectangular duct has the same critical Rayleigh number as natural convection in a rectangular cavity for the onset of convection. The linear stability analysis predicts either an odd or an even number of convective rolls to appear depending on the aspect ratio of the cross section. However, it has been shown both experimentally and numerically that an even number of convective rolls appears under supercritical conditions for fully developed mixed convection. The paper first presents an analytical solution for the buoyancy-induced mainstream velocity, w ^b , at the onset of buoyancy-induced motion in a forced convective flow. Then, a comparison in the initial growth rate of w ^b is made between the case of an odd and an even number of rolls; which shows the selection of an even number of rolls over an odd number in mixed convection except for low aspect ratio ducts.     

An exact analytical solution for creeping Dean flow of Bingham plastics through curved rectangular ducts

In this paper, an exact analytical solution for creeping flow of Bingham plastic fluid passing through curved rectangular ducts is presented for the first time. The closed form of axial velocity distribution, flow resistance ratio, and wall shear stress are derived using bounded Fourier transformation. An extensive investigation on mutual effects of Hedstrom number, curvature ratio, and aspect ratio is conducted. The results indicate that a drag reduction is caused in the flow field by increasing the Hedstrom number. It is shown that unlike the Newtonian creeping Dean flow, the critical aspect ratio (an aspect ratio in which the flow resistance ratio is independent from curvature ratio) does not exist at large enough Hedstrom numbers. Analytical solution also indicated that as Hedstrom number is increased, the value of Poiseuille number is enhanced, and unlike the Newtonian flows, the value of Poiseuille number is not zero at edges of cross section.     

Pure axial flow of viscoelastic fluids in rectangular microchannels under combined effects of electro-osmosis and hydrodynamics

This paper presents an analysis of the combined electro-osmotic and pressure-driven axial flows of viscoelastic fluids in a rectangular microchannel with arbitrary aspect ratios. The rheological behavior of the fluid is described by the complete form of Phan-Thien–Tanner (PTT) model with the Gordon–Schowalter convected derivative which covers the upper convected Maxwell, Johnson–Segalman and FENE-P models. Our numerical simulation is based on the computation of 2D Poisson–Boltzmann, Cauchy momentum and PTT constitutive equations. The solution of these governing nonlinear coupled set of equations is obtained by using the second-order central finite difference method in a non-uniform grid system and is verified against 1D analytical solution of the velocity profile with less than 0.06% relative error. Also, a parametric study is carried out to investigate the effect of channel aspect ratio (width to height), wall zeta potential and the Debye–Hückel parameter on 2D velocity profile, volumetric flow rate and the Poiseuille number in the mixed EO/PD flows of viscoelastic fluids with different Weissenberg numbers. Our results show that, for low channel aspect ratios, the previous 1D analytical models underestimate the velocity profile at the channel half-width centerline in the case of favorable pressure gradients and overestimate it in the case of adverse pressure gradients. The results reveal that the inapplicability of the Debye–Hückel approximation at high zeta potentials is more significant for higher Weissenberg number fluids. Also, it is found that, under the specified values of electrokinetic parameters, there is a threshold for velocity scale ratio in which the Poiseuille number is approximately independent of channel aspect ratio.     

Heat transfer distribution in rectangular ducts with V-shaped ribs

 Heat transfer distributions are presented for a rectangular duct with two opposite wide walls arranged with V-shaped ribs pointing upstream or downstream relative to the main flow direction. The rectangular duct has an aspect ratio of 1/8. The parallel V-shaped circular ribs are arranged staggered on the two wide walls. The rib height-to-hydraulic diameter ratio is 0.06, with an attack angle of 60°. The pitch-to-height ratio equals 10. The tested Reynolds numbers range from 1000 to 6000. The test surface is sprayed with black paint and then liquid crystal, and a steady state method is adopted to obtain the temperature distribution between adjacent ribs. The secondary flow caused by the angled ribs creates different spanwise variation of the heat transfer coefficient on the rib-roughened wall for different V-rib orientations. Interaction between heat transfer and secondary flow is analyzed. In the streamwise direction, the temperature distribution shows a sawtooth behavior between a pair of adjacent ribs. Local Nusselt numbers are presented between a pair of adjacent ribs, and based on these the average Nusselt numbers are calculated to investigate the augmentation of heat transfer by the presence of the V-shaped ribs. Received on 15 May 2000