Second-order sensitivity of parallel shear flows and optimal spanwise-periodic flow modifications

The question of optimal spanwise-periodic modification for the stabilisation of spanwise-invariant flows is addressed. A 2nd-order sensitivity analysis is conducted for the linear temporal stability of parallel flows U0 subject to small-amplitude spanwise-periodic modification e*U1, e<<1. Spanwise-periodic modifications have a quadratic effect on stability, i.e. the 1st-order eigenvalue variation is zero. A 2nd-order sensitivity operator is computed from a 1D calculation, allowing one to predict how eigenvalues are affected by any U1, without actually solving for modified eigenvalues/eigenmodes. Comparisons with full 2D stability calculations in a plane channel flow and in a mixing layer show excellent agreement. Next, optimisation is performed on the 2nd-order sensitivity operator: for each eigenmode streamwise wavenumber and base flow modification spanwise wavenumber b, the most stabilising profiles U1 are computed, together with lower bounds for the variation in leading eigenvalue. These bounds increase like b^-2 as b goes to 0, yielding a large stabilising potential. However, 3D modes with wavenumbers |b0|=b and b/2 are destabilised, thus larger control wavenumbers should be preferred. The modification U1 optimised for the most unstable streamwise wavenumber has a stabilising effect on other streamwise wavenumbers too. Finally, the potential of transient growth to amplify perturbations and stabilise the flow is assessed. Combined optimal perturbations that achieve the best balance between transient linear amplification and flow stabilisation are determined. In the mixing layer with b<1.5, these combined optimal perturbations appear similar to transient growth-only optimal perturbations, and achieve a more efficient overall stabilisation than optimal 1D and 2D modifications computed for stabilisation only. This is consistent with the efficiency of streak-based control strategies.Comment: 23 pages, 15 figure

Controlled reattachment in separated flows: a variational approach to recirculation length reduction

A variational technique is used to derive analytical expressions for the sensitivity of recirculation length to steady forcing in separated flows. Linear sensitivity analysis is applied to the two-dimensional steady flow past a circular cylinder for Reynolds numbers $40 \leq Re \leq 120$, both in the subcritical and supercritical regimes. Regions which are the most sensitive to volume forcing and wall blowing/suction are identified. Control configurations which reduce the recirculation length are designed based on the sensitivity information, in particular small cylinders used as control devices in the wake of the main cylinder, and fluid suction at the cylinder wall. Validation against full non-linear Navier-Stokes calculations shows excellent agreement for small-amplitude control. The linear stability properties of the controlled flow are systematically investigated. At moderate Reynolds numbers, we observe that regions where control reduces the recirculation length correspond to regions where it has a stabilising effect on the most unstable global mode associated to vortex shedding, while this property does not hold any more at larger Reynolds numbers.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figure

A fluid mechanical view on abdominal aortic aneurysms

International audienceAbdominal aortic aneurysms are a dilatation of the aorta, localized preferentially above the bifurcation of the iliac arteries, which increases in time. Understanding their localization and growth rate remain two open questions that can have either a biological or a physical origin. In order to identify the respective role of biological and physical processes, we address in this article these questions of the localization and growth using a simplified physical experiment in which water (blood) is pumped periodically (amplitude a, pulsation ) in an elastic membrane (aorta) (length L, cross-section A0 and elastic wave speed c0) and study the deformation of this membrane while decharging in a rigid tube (iliac artery; hydraulic loss K). We first show that this pulsed flow either leads to a homogenous deformation or inhomogenous deformation depending on the value of the non-dimensional parameter c0 2/(aL2K). These different regimes can be related to the aneurysm locations. In the second part, we study the growth of aneurysms and show that they only develop above a critical flow rate which scales as A0c0/K. © 2010 Cambridge University Press

Viscous growth and rebound of a bubble near a rigid surface

Motivated by the dynamics of microbubbles near catalytic surfaces in bubble-powered microrockets, we consider theoretically the growth of a free spherical bubble near a flat no-slip surface in a Stokes flow. The flow at the bubble surface is characterised by a constant slip length allowing us to tune the hydrodynamic mobility of its surface and tackle in one formulation both clean and contaminated bubbles as well as rigid shells. Starting with a bubble of infinitesimal size, the fluid flow and hydrodynamic forces on the growing bubble are obtained analytically. We demonstrate that, depending on the value of the bubble slip length relative to the initial distance to the wall, the bubble will either monotonically drain the fluid separating it from the wall, which will exponentially thin, or it will bounce off the surface once before eventually draining the thin film. Clean bubbles are shown to be a singular limit which always monotonically get repelled from the surface. The bouncing events for bubbles with finite slip lengths are further analysed in detail in the lubrication limit. In particular, we identify the origin of the reversal of the hydrodynamic force direction as due to the change in the flow pattern in the film between the bubble and the surface and to the associated lubrication pressure. Last, the final drainage dynamics of the film is observed to follow a universal algebraic scaling for all finite slip lengths.ER

Transport across thin membranes: Effective solute flux jump

A model to describe the transport across membranes of chemical species dissolved in an incompressible flow is developed via homogenization. The asymptotic matching between the microscopic and macroscopic solute concentration fields leads to a solute flux jump across the membrane, quantified through the solution of diffusion problems at the microscale. The predictive model, written in a closed form, covers a wide range of membrane behaviors, in the limit of negligible Reynolds and Péclet numbers inside the membrane. The closure problem at the microscale, found via homogenization, allows one to link the membrane microstructure to its effective macroscopic properties, such as solvent permeability and solute diffusivity. After a validation of the model through comparison with the corresponding full-scale solution, an immediate application is provided, where the membrane behavior is a priori predicted through an analysis of its microscopic properties. The introduced tools and considerations may find applications in the design of thin microstructured membranes

Suppression of von Kármán vortex streets past porous rectangular cylinders

Although the stability properties of the wake past impervious bluff bodies have been widely examined in the literature, similar analyses regarding the flow around and through porous ones are still lacking. In this work, the effect of the porosity and permeability on the wake patterns of porous rectangular cylinders is numerically investigated at low to moderate Reynolds numbers in the framework of numerical simulation combined with local and global stability analyses. A modified Darcy-Brinkman formulation is employed here so as to describe the flow behavior inside the porous media, where also the convective terms are retained to correctly account for the inertial effects at high values of permeability. Different aspect ratios of the cylinder are considered, varying the thickness-to-height ratios, t/d, from 0.01 (flat plate) to 1.0 (square cylinder). The results show that the permeability of the bodies has a strong effect in modifying the characteristics of the wakes and of the associated flow instabilities, while the porosity weakly affects the resulting flow patterns. In particular, the fluid flows through the porous bodies and, thus, as the permeability is progressively increased, the recirculation regions, initially attached to the rear part of the bodies, at first detach from the body and, eventually, disappear even in the near wakes. Global stability analyses lead to the identification of critical values of the permeability above which any linear instability is prevented. Moreover, a different scaling of the nondimensional permeability allows us to identify a general threshold for all the configurations here studied that ensures the suppression of vortex shedding, at least in the considered parameter space

Flow dynamics of a dandelion pappus: A linear stability approach

The study and control of flow instabilities is a key problem in aerodynamics. Aircrafts are designed not only to generate the lift force needed to balance their weight but, more importantly, to be stable and reasonably steady when in cruise conditions. Similar flow stability properties are naturally achieved by biological flying objects such as the dandelion seeds that are transported by the wind owing to a disklike structure called a pappus. The pappus creates a parachute flow configuration and is a remarkable prototype of how the wake, which would be unsteady if the pappus was completely impermeable, can be stabilized by changing the body structure so as to allow the flow to pass through. We approach the problem using the approximation of an anisotropic and nonhomogeneous rigid porous disk, combined with the linear stability analysis technique. The results show the presence of a mean porosity threshold beyond which the flow is always characterized by a separated, steady, and axisymmetric recirculating vortex ring. We compare our results with those of real dandelion pappi. The threshold is very close to the experimentally observed values of porosity, explaining why the morphology of the pappus promotes a steady wake regime

Controlled reattachment in separated flows: a variational approach to recirculation length reduction

A variational technique is used to derive analytical expressions for the sensitivity of recirculation length to steady forcing in separated flows. Linear sensitivity analysis is applied to the two-dimensional steady flow past a circular cylinder for Reynolds numbers $40 \leq Re \leq 120$ , in both the subcritical and supercritical regimes. Regions that are the most sensitive to volume forcing and wall blowing/suction are identified. Control configurations that reduce the recirculation length are designed based on the sensitivity information, in particular small cylinders used as control devices in the wake of the main cylinder, and fluid suction at the cylinder wall. Validation against full nonlinear Navier-Stokes calculations shows excellent agreement for small-amplitude control. The linear stability properties of the controlled flow are systematically investigated. At moderate Reynolds numbers, we observe that regions where control reduces the recirculation length correspond to regions where it has a stabilizing effect on the most unstable global mode associated with vortex shedding, while this property no longer holds at larger Reynolds number

Instability of a thin viscous film flowing under an inclined substrate: steady patterns

The flow of a thin film coating the underside of an inclined substrate is studied. We measure experimentally spatial growth rates and compare them to the linear stability analysis of a flat film modelled by the lubrication equation. When forced by a stationary localized perturbation, a front develops that we predict with the group velocity of the unstable wave packet. We compare our experimental measurements with numerical solutions of the nonlinear lubrication equation with complete curvature. Streamwise structures dominate and saturate after some distance. We recover their profile with a one-dimensional lubrication equation suitably modified to ensure an invariant profile along the streamwise direction and compare them with the solution of a purely two-dimensional pendent drop, showing overall a very good agreement. Finally, those different profiles agree also with a two-dimensional simulation of the Stokes equations