Well-posedness of a multiscale model for concentrated suspensions

In a previous work [math.AP/0305408] three of us have studied a nonlinear parabolic equation arising in the mesoscopic modelling of concentrated suspensions of particles that are subjected to a given time-dependent shear rate. In the present work we extend the model to allow for a more physically relevant situation when the shear rate actually depends on the macroscopic velocity of the fluid, and as a feedback the macroscopic velocity is influenced by the average stress in the fluid. The geometry considered is that of a planar Couette flow. The mathematical system under study couples the one-dimensional heat equation and a nonlinear Fokker-Planck type equation with nonhomogeneous, nonlocal and possibly degenerate, coefficients. We show the existence and the uniqueness of the global-in-time weak solution to such a system.Comment: 1 figur

A unified hyperbolic formulation for viscous fluids and elastoplastic solids

We discuss a unified flow theory which in a single system of hyperbolic partial differential equations (PDEs) can describe the two main branches of continuum mechanics, fluid dynamics, and solid dynamics. The fundamental difference from the classical continuum models, such as the Navier-Stokes for example, is that the finite length scale of the continuum particles is not ignored but kept in the model in order to semi-explicitly describe the essence of any flows, that is the process of continuum particles rearrangements. To allow the continuum particle rearrangements, we admit the deformability of particle which is described by the distortion field. The ability of media to flow is characterized by the strain dissipation time which is a characteristic time necessary for a continuum particle to rearrange with one of its neighboring particles. It is shown that the continuum particle length scale is intimately connected with the dissipation time. The governing equations are represented by a system of first order hyperbolic PDEs with source terms modeling the dissipation due to particle rearrangements. Numerical examples justifying the reliability of the proposed approach are demonstrated.Comment: 6 figure

Finite element methods for deterministic simulation of polymeric fluids

In this work we consider a finite element method for solving the coupled Navier-Stokes (NS) and Fokker-Planck (FP) multiscale model that describes the dynamics of dilute polymeric fluids. Deterministic approaches such as ours have not received much attention in the literature because they present a formidable computational challenge, due to the fact that the analytical solution to the Fokker-Planck equation may be a function of a large number of independent variables. For instance, to simulate a non-homogeneous flow one must solve the coupled NS-FP system in which (for a 3-dimensional flow, using the dumbbell model for polymers) the Fokker-Planck equation is posed in a 6-dimensional domain. In this work we seek to demonstrate the feasibility of our deterministic approach. We begin by discussing the physical and mathematical foundations of the NS-FP model. We then present a literature review of relevant developments in computational rheology and develop our deterministic finite element based method in detail. Numerical results demonstrating the efficiency of our approach are then given, including some novel results for the simulation of a fully 3-dimensional flow. We utilise parallel computation to perform the large-scale numerical simulations

MHD free convection-radiation interaction in a porous medium - part I : numerical investigation

A numerical investigation of two dimensional steady magnetohydrodynamics heat and mass transfer by laminar free convection from a radiative horizontal circular cylinder in a non-Darcy porous medium is presented by taking into account the Soret/Dufour effects. The boundary layer conservation equations, which are parabolic in nature, are normalized into non-similar form and then solved numerically with the well-tested, efficient, implicit, stable Keller–Box finite-difference scheme. We use simple central difference derivatives and averages at the mid points of net rectangles to get finite difference equations with a second order truncation error. We have conducted a grid sensitivity and time calculation of the solution execution. Numerical results are obtained for the velocity, temperature and concentration distributions, as well as the local skin friction, Nusselt number and Sherwood number for several values of the parameters. The dependency of the thermophysical properties has been discussed on the parameters and shown graphically. The Darcy number accelerates the flow due to a corresponding rise in permeability of the regime and concomitant decrease in Darcian impedance. A comparative study between the previously published and present results in a limiting sense is found in an excellent agreement

The Tensor Diffusion approach as a novel technique for simulating viscoelastic fluid flows

In this thesis, the novel Tensor Diffusion approach for the numerical simulation of viscoelastic fluid flows is introduced. Therefore, it is assumed that the extra-stress tensor can be decomposed into a product of the strain-rate tensor and a (nonsymmetric) tensor-valued viscosity function. As a main potential advantage, which can be demonstrated for fully developed channel flows, the underlying complex material behaviour can be explicitly described by means of the so-called Diffusion Tensor. Consequently, this approach offers the possibility to reduce the complete nonlinear viscoelastic three-field model to a generalised Stokes-like problem regarding the velocity and pressure fields, only. This is enabled by inserting the Diffusion Tensor into the momentum equation of the flow model, while the extra-stress tensor or constitutive equation can be neglected. As a result, flow simulations of viscoelastic fluids could be performed by applying techniques particularly designed for solving the (Navier-)Stokes equations, which leads to a way more robust and efficient numerical approach. But, a conceptually improved behaviour of the numerical scheme concerning viscoelastic fluid flow simulations may be exploited with respect to discretisation and solution techniques of typical three- or four-field formulations as well. In detail, an (artificial) diffusive operator, which is closely related to the nature of the underlying material behaviour, is inserted into the (discrete) problem by means of the Diffusion Tensor. In this way, certain issues particularly regarding the flow simulation of viscoelastic fluids without a Newtonian viscosity contribution, possibly including realistic material and model parameters, can be resolved. In a first step, the potential benefits of the Tensor Diffusion approach are illustrated in the framework of channel flow configurations, where several linear and nonlinear material models are considered for characterising the viscoelastic material behaviour. In doing so, typical viscoelastic flow phenomena can be obtained by simply solving a symmetrised Tensor Stokes problem including a suitable choice of the Diffusion Tensor arising from both, differential as well as integral constitutive laws. The validation of the novel approach is complemented by simulating the Flow around cylinder benchmark by means of a four-field formulation of the Tensor Stokes problem. In this context, corresponding reference results are reproduced quite well, despite the applied lower-order approximation of the tensor-valued viscosity. A further evaluation of the Tensor Diffusion approach is performed regarding two-dimensional contraction flows, where potential advantages as well as improvements and certain limits of this novel approach are detected. Therefore, suitable stabilisation techniques concerning the Diffusion Tensor variable plus the behaviour of deduced monolithic and segregated solution methods are investigated