Finite-Amplitude Equilibrium Solutions for Plane Poiseuille–Couette Flow

Two-dimensional nonlinear equilibrium solutions for the plane Poiseuille–Couette flow are computed by directly solving the full Navier–Stokes equations as a nonlinear eigenvalue problem. The equations are solved using the two-point fourth-order compact scheme and the Newton–Raphson iteration technique. The linear eigenvalue computations show that the combined Poiseuille–Couette flow is stable at all Reynolds numbers when the Couette velocity component σ₂ exceeds 0.34552. Starting with the neutral solution for the plane Poiseuille flow, the nonlinear neutral surfaces for the combined Poiseuille–Couette flow were mapped out by gradually increasing the velocity component σ₂. It is found that, for small σ₂, the neutral surfaces stay in the same family as that for the plane Poiseuille flow, and the nonlinear critical Reynolds number gradually increases with increasing σ₂. When the Couette velocity component is increased further, the neutral curve deviates from that for the Poiseuille flow with an appearance of a new loop at low wave numbers and at very low energy. By gradually increasing the σ₂ values at a constant Reynolds number, the nonlinear critical Reynolds numbers were determined as a function of σ₂. The results show that the nonlinear neutral curve is similar in shape to a linear case. The critical Reynolds number increases slowly up to σ₂∼ 0.2 and remains constant until σ₂∼ 0.58. Beyond σ₂ > 0.59, the critical Reynolds number increases sharply. From the computed results it is concluded that two-dimensional nonlinear equilibrium solutions do not exist beyond a critical σ₂ value of about 0.59. Received: 26 November 1996 and accepted 12 May 1997     

Non-contact boundary layer profiler using low-coherence self-referencing velocimetry

A spatially self-referencing velocimetry system based on low-coherence interferometry has been developed. The measurement technique is contactless and relies on the interference between back-reflected light from an arbitrary reference surface and seeding particles in the flow. The measurement location and the flow velocity are measured relative to the reference surface’s location and velocity, respectively. Scanning of the measurement location along the beam direction does not require mechanical movement of the sensor head. The reference surface (which can move or vibrate relative to the sensor head) can be either an external object or the surface of a body over which measurements are to be performed. The absolute spatial accuracy and the spatial resolution only depend on the coherence length of the light source (tens of microns for a superluminescent diode). The prototype is an all-fiber assembly. An optical fiber of arbitrary length connects the self-contained optical and electronics setup to the sensor head. Proof-of-principle measurements in water (Taylor–Couette flow) and in air (Blasius boundary layer) are reported in this paper.     

Slip effects on shearing flows in a porous medium

This paper deals with the magnetohydrodynamic （MHD） flow of an Oldroyd 8-constant fluid in a porous medium when no-slip condition is no longer valid. Modified Darcy＇s law is used in the flow modelling. The non-linear differential equation with non-linear boundary conditions is solved numerically using finite difference scheme in combination with an iterative technique. Numerical results are obtained for the Couette, Poiseuille and generalized Couette flows. The effects of slip parameters on the velocity profile are discussed.     

Influence of a homogeneous axial magnetic field on Taylor–Couette flow of ferrofluids with low particle–particle interaction

Experimental results concerning the stability of Couette flow of ferrofluids under magnetic field influence are presented. The fluid cell of the Taylor–Couette system is subject to a homogeneous axial magnetic field and the axial flow profiles are measured by ultrasound Doppler velocimetry. It has been found that an axial magnetic field stabilizes the Couette flow. This effect decreases with a rotating outer cylinder. Moreover, it could be observed that lower axial wave numbers are more stable at a higher axial magnetic field strength. Since the used ferrofluid shows a negligible particle–particle interaction, the observed effects are considered to be solely based on the hindrance of free particle rotation.     

A general solution to unsteady, coupled magnetohydrodynamic couette flow

A general solution to nonsteady coupled magnetohydrodynamic plane Couette flow by the method of Fourier series expansion is presented in this paper. Two particular examples of the utility of the solution are included: 1) an impulsive start of the wall, and 2) a wall velocity proportional to (1 − exp(− αt)). For the case of an impulsive start of the wall it is found that flow is apparently accelerated by the presence of the magnetic field, a situation opposite to that which occurs when no induced magnetic field is allowed.     

Gas-kinetic numerical method for solving mesoscopic velocity distribution function equation

A gas-kinetic numerical method for directly solving the mesoscopic velocity distribution function equation is presented and applied to the study of three-dimensional complex flows and micro-channel flows covering various flow regimes. The unified velocity distribution function equation describing gas transport phenomena from rarefied transition to continuum flow regimes can be presented on the basis of the kinetic Boltzmann–Shakhov model equation. The gas-kinetic finite-difference schemes for the velocity distribution function are constructed by developing a discrete velocity ordinate method of gas kinetic theory and an unsteady time-splitting technique from computational fluid dynamics. Gas-kinetic boundary conditions and numerical modeling can be established by directly manipulating on the mesoscopic velocity distribution function. A new Gauss-type discrete velocity numerical integration method can be developed and adopted to attack complex flows with different Mach numbers. HPF parallel strategy suitable for the gas-kinetic numerical method is investigated and adopted to solve three-dimensional complex problems. High Mach number flows around three-dimensional bodies are computed preliminarily with massive scale parallel. It is noteworthy and of practical importance that the HPF parallel algorithm for solving three-dimensional complex problems can be effectively developed to cover various flow regimes. On the other hand, the gas-kinetic numerical method is extended and used to study micro-channel gas flows including the classical Couette flow, the Poiseuille- channel flow and pressure-driven gas flows in two-dimensional short micro-channels. The numerical experience shows that the gas-kinetic algorithm may be a powerful tool in the numerical simulation of micro-scale gas flows occuring in the Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS). The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (90205009 and 10321002), and the National Parallel Computing Center in Beijing. The English text was polished by Yunming Chen.     

Evidences of persisting thermal structures in Couette flows

DNS of passive thermal turbulent Couette flow at several friction Reynolds numbers (180, 250, and 500), and the Prandtl number of air are presented. The time averaged thermal flow shows the existence of long and wide thermal structures never described before in Couette flows. These thermal structures, named CTFS (Couette Thermal Flow Superstructures), are defined as coherent regions of hot and cold temperature fluctuations. They are intrinsically linked to the velocity structures present in Couette flows. Two different 2D symmetries can be recognized, which get stronger with the Reynolds number. These structures do not affect the mean flow or mean quantities as the Nusselt number. However, turbulent intensities and thermal fluxes depend on the width of the structures, mainly far from the walls. Since the width of the structures is related to the channel width, the statistics of thermal Couette flow are to some point box-dependent.     

Effect of duct velocity profile and buoyancy‐induced flow on efficiency of transient hydrodynamic removal of a contaminant from a cavity

This paper describes a preliminary numerical analysis of the effect of duct velocity profile and buoyancy‐induced flow generated by the heat source on hydrodynamic removal of contaminants contained in cavities. The process of fluid renewal in a cavity is modelled via a numerical solution of the Navier–Stokes equations coupled with the energy equation for transient flows. The foulant has the same density as the fluid in the duct and the duct velocity profile is considered to be Poiseuille flow and Couette flow, respectively. The results show that the change in Grashof number and duct flow velocity profile causes a dramatic difference in the observed flow patterns and cleaning efficiency. From a cleaning perspective, the results suggest that Couette flow at higher value of Grashof number becomes more effective in further purging of contaminated fluid from a cavity. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stability of flow between two rotating cylinders in the presence of a constant heat flux at the outer cylinder and radial temperature gradient – wide gap problem

The stability of Couette flow of a viscous incompressible fluid between two concentric rotating cylinders in the presence of a radial temperature gradient due to a constant heat flux at the outer cylinder is studied. The critical values of `a' (the wave number) and Ta (the Taylor number) are listed in a table and some critical Taylor numbers are shown graphically. It is shown that as the heat flux is increased the flow becomes more unstable for all values of μ calculated, where μ is the ratio of the angular velocity of the outer cylinder to that of the inner cylinder. Received on 04 March 1997     

Empirical slip and viscosity model performance for microscale gas flow

For the simple geometries of Couette and Poiseuille flows, the velocity profile maintains a similar shape from continuum to free molecular flow. Therefore, modifications to the fluid viscosity and slip boundary conditions can improve the continuum based Navier–Stokes solution in the non‐continuum non‐equilibrium regime. In this investigation, the optimal modifications are found by a linear least‐squares fit of the Navier–Stokes solution to the non‐equilibrium solution obtained using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. Models are then constructed for the Knudsen number dependence of the viscosity correction and the slip model from a database of DSMC solutions for Couette and Poiseuille flows of argon and nitrogen gas, with Knudsen numbers ranging from 0.01 to 10. Finally, the accuracy of the models is measured for non‐equilibrium cases both in and outside the DSMC database. Flows outside the database include: combined Couette and Poiseuille flow, partial wall accommodation, helium gas, and non‐zero convective acceleration. The models reproduce the velocity profiles in the DSMC database within an L₂ error norm of 3% for Couette flows and 7% for Poiseuille flows. However, the errors in the model predictions outside the database are up to five times larger. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Time-dependent NMR-velocimetry of a colloidal glass

The time-dependent velocity profiles in a Couette geometry of a soft glass made of colloidal star polymers suspended in squalene is presented. A shear-banded structure, hinted at by conventional rheological methods, is unequivocally confirmed with the local shear-rate of the low shear-rate branch below the measurable threshold. The evolution of the extent of the ‘zero-shear-band’ band is tracked and found to follow a Gompertz-like growth. The effects of altering shear rate, waiting time and temperature on the Gompertz fit parameters are investigated and show, among other relations, that the growth rate of the zero-shear band is proportional to the inverse of the applied shear rate, the time taken to reach unit strain.     

Exact solutions of incompressible Couette flow with porous walls for slightly rarefied gases

In this work, the transient incompressible Couette flow and steady-state temperature profiles between two porous parallel plates for slightly rarefied gases are solved exactly. The first-order approximation of slip velocity at the boundaries is used in the formulation. The solution is also applicable for Couette flow in micro-channels under certain circumstances. The influences of mass transfer and a nondimensional slip parameter on slip velocities are discussed. It is also found that the transient slip velocities at the walls are greatly different from the steady-state velocity slips. The influences of velocity slip and temperature slip parameters on the temperature distribution and heat transfer at the walls are analyzed and discussed. It is shown that the slip parameters can greatly change the temperature profiles and heat transfer characteristics at the walls.     

Flow birefringence visualization of transitions in circular Couette flow

Flow birefringence technique is an experimental method in fluid dynamics from which we can obtain information about the velocity fields in various devices. This method has been used here to observe transitions which occur in the classical Couette device when the angular velocity of the inner cylinder increases beyond a certain critical value. Although earlier experiments have been reported, the observation of the flow birefringence phenomena in the entirely illuminated annular gap of a classical Couette cell consists in a new access to these problems and may well bring important information on the changes occuring in the hydrodynamical field at the different transitions.     

Effect of nonuniform accommodation coefficient distribution on the couette flow

The Couette flow is considered for surfaces with nonuniformly distributed energy accommodation coefficients α. It is shown that at Knudsen numbers greater or of the order of unity heat fluxes and viscous stresses can be considerably optimized by varying the surface distribution of α at a fixed integral value. At the same time, for Kn ≪ 1 the flows with nonuniformly distributed α are similar with the flow with a constant accommodation coefficient equal to its mean value.     

Analytical Investigation of the Effect of Viscous Dissipation on Couette Flow in a Channel Partially Filled with a Porous Medium

An analytical study of viscous dissipation effect on the fully developed forced convection Couette flow through a parallel plate channel partially filled with porous medium is presented. A uniform heat flux is imposed at the moving plate while the fixed plate is insulated. In the fluid-only region the flow field is governed by Navier–Stokes equation while the Brinkman-extended Darcy law relationship is considered in the fully saturated porous medium. The interface conditions are formulated with an empirical constant β due to the stress jump boundary condition. Fluid properties are assumed to be constant and the longitudinal heat conduction is neglected. A closed-form solution for the velocity and temperature distributions and also the Nusselt number in the channel are obtained and the viscous dissipation effect on these profiles is briefly investigated.     

Measured Reynolds stress distributions and energy budgets of a fully pulsed round air jet

 Most particle-tracking velocimetry (PTV) algorithms are not suitable for calculating the velocity vectors of a fluid flow subjected to strong deformation, because these algorithms deal only with flows due to translation. Accordingly, it is necessary to develop a novel algorithm applicable to flows subjected to strong deformations such as rotation, shear, expansion and compression. This paper proposes a novel particle tracking algorithm using the velocity gradient tensor (VGT) which can deal with strong deformations and demonstrates that this algorithm is applicable to some basic fluid motions (rigidly rotating flow, Couette flow, and expansion flow). Furthermore, the performance of this algorithm is compared with the binary image cross-correlation method (BICC), the four-consecutive-time-step particle tracking method (4-PTV), and the spring model particle tracking algorithm (SPG) using simulations and experimental data. As a result, it is shown that this novel algorithm is useful and applicable for the highly accurate measurement and analysis of fluid flows subjected to strong deformations. Received: 9 February 1999/Accepted: 22 November 1999     

Burnett simulation of flow and heat transfer in micro Couette flow using second-order slip conditions

The conventional Burnett equations with second-order velocity slip and temperature jump conditions were applied to the steady-state micro Couette flow of a Maxwellian monatomic gas. An analytical approach as well as a relaxation method was used to determine the velocity slip and temperature jump at the wall. Convergent solutions to the Burnett equations were obtained on arbitrary fine numerical grids for all Knudsen numbers (Kn) up to the limit of the equations’ validity. The Burnett equations with second-order slip conditions indicate a much better agreement with DSMC data over the first-order slip conditions at high Kn. The convergent Burnett solutions were obtained in orders of magnitude quicker than that with the corresponding DSMC simulation. The augmented Burnett equations were also introduced to model the flow but no obvious improvement in the results was found.     

Velocity and temperature dissimilarity in fully developed turbulent channel and plane Couette flows

The natural dissimilarity or decorrelation of stream-wise velocity and temperature fluctuations in fully developed turbulent channel and plane Couette flows was studied using direct numerical simulation (DNS). For both of the flow configurations, a Reynolds number of about 150 was used based on the friction velocity and half the distance between walls. Buoyancy effects were neglected, and only results with a molecular Prandtl number, Pr, equal to 1 are presented. The boundary conditions for the thermal field were a uniform source of energy in the domain and isothermal wall temperature for the channel and Couette flow, respectively. The importance of those events responsible for wall-normal turbulent fluxes in the generation of axial velocity and temperature dissimilarity was examined using conditional probability. It was found that the dissimilarity in the whole domain was higher in Couette than in channel flow. It was also found that for wall-normal turbulent fluxes (momentum and heat), the averaged dissimilarity in the whole domain was slightly more correlated with those events in the second or fourth quadrant, according to the quadrant analysis technique. For channel flow, the importance of both kinds of events was similar, while for Couette flow there was a predominance in the generation of dissimilarity by those events in the fourth quadrant. Also, for both flow configurations and throughout the wall-normal direction, it was found that in the buffer region there was a predominance of events in the fourth quadrant associated with dissimilarity for both wall-normal turbulent fluxes. In the frequency domain, the distribution of energy showed that there was a high-frequency shift experienced from the wall towards the centerline by the temperature spectrum with regards to the axial velocity spectrum, for which the action of the fluctuations of the wall-normal velocity was the main cause. In the central region of the flow, on the other hand, there was a global convergence of all spectra towards the pressure spectrum, with this convergence lower for Couette flow. Finally, it is shown that the dissimilarity in developed conditions is caused by the greater correlation existing for the temperature fluctuation with the instantaneous axial pressure gradient than for the velocity fluctuation with the instantaneous axial pressure gradient.     

Modeling plane turbulent Couette flow

Among the salient features of shear-driven plane Couette flow is the constancy of the total shear stress (viscous and turbulent) across the flow. This constancy gives rise to a quasi-homogenous core region, which makes the bulk of the flow substantially different from pressure-driven Poiseuille flow. The present second-moment closure study addresses the conflicting hypotheses relating to turbulent Couette flow. The inclusion of a new wall-proximity function in the wall-reflection part of the pressure-strain model seems mandatory, and the greement with recent experimental and direct numerical simulation (DNS) results is encouraging. Analysis of model computations in the range 750 ≤ Re ≤ 35,000 and comparisons with low-Re DNS data suggest that plane Couette flow exhibits a local-equilibrium core region, in which anisotropic, homogeneous turbulence prevails. However, the associated variation of the mean velocity in the core, as obtained by the model, conflicts with the intuitively appealing assumption of homogeneous mean shear. The constancy of the velocity gradient exhibited by the DNS therefore signals a deficiency in the modeled transport equation for the energy dissipation rate.     

Second-order accurate particle image velocimetry

 An adaptive, second-order accurate particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique is presented. The technique uses two singly exposed images that are interrogated using a modified cross-correlation algorithm. Consequently, any of the equipment commonly available for conventional PIV (such as dual head Nd: YAG lasers, interline transfer CCD cameras, etc.) can be used with this more accurate algorithm. At the heart of the algorithm is a central difference approximation to the flow velocity (accurate to order Δt ²) versus the forward difference approximation (accurate to order Δt) common in PIV. An adaptive interrogation region-shifting algorithm is used to implement the central difference approximation. Adaptive shifting algorithms have been gaining popularity in recent years because they allow the spatial resolution of the PIV technique to be maximized. Adaptive shifting algorithms also have the virtue of helping to eliminate velocity bias errors. The second- order accuracy resulting from the central difference approximation can be obtained with relatively little additional computational effort compared to that required for a standard first-order accurate forward difference approximation. The adaptive central difference interrogation (CDI) algorithm has two main advantages over adaptive forward difference interrogation (FDI) algorithms: it is more accurate, especially at large time delays between camera exposures; and it provides a temporally symmetric view of the flow. By comparing measurements of flow around a single red blood cell made using both algorithms, the CDI technique is shown to perform better than conventional FDI-PIV interrogation algorithms near flow boundaries. Cylindrical Taylor–Couette flow images, both experimental and simulated, are used to demonstrate that the CDI algorithm is significantly more accurate than conventional PIV algorithms, especially as the time delay between exposures is increased. The results of the interrogations are shown to agree quite well with analytical predictions and confirm that the CDI algorithm is indeed second-order accurate while the conventional FDI algorithm is only first-order accurate. Received: 15 June 2000/Accepted: 2 February 2001