Taylor-Couette flow of polymer solutions with shear-thinning and viscoelastic rheology

We study Taylor-Couette flow of a glycerol-water mixture containing a wide range of concentration (0-2000 ppm) of xanthan gum, which induces both shear-thinning and viscoelasticity, in order to assess the effect of the changes in rheology on various flow instabilities. For each suspension, the Reynolds number (the ratio of inertial to viscous forces) is slowly increased to a peak value of around 1000, and the flow is monitored continuously using flow visualisation. Shear-thinning is found to suppress many elasticity-controlled instabilities that have been observed in previous studies of viscoelastic Taylor-Couette flow, such as diwhirls and disordered oscillations. The addition of polymers is found to reduce the critical Reynolds number for the formation of Taylor vortices, but delay the onset of wavy flow. However, in the viscoelastic regime (concentration), the flow becomes highly unsteady soon after the formation of Taylor vortices, with substantial changes in the waviness with Reynolds number, which are shown to be highly repeatable. Vortices are found to suddenly merge as the Reynolds number increases, with the number of mergers increasing with polymer concentration. These abrupt changes in wavelength are highly hysteretic and can occur in both steady and wavy regimes. Finally, the vortices in moderate and dense polymer solutions are shown to undergo a gradual drift in both their size and position, which appears to be closely linked to the splitting and merger of vortices

Shear-thinning mediation of elasto-inertial Taylor–Couette flow

We study the shear-thinning mediation of elasto-inertial transitions in Taylor–Couette flow of viscoelastic polymer solutions. Two types of high molecular weight polymers are used at various concentrations and in water–glycerol solvents of various viscosities. This allows us to access a wide range of elastic numbers and effective shear-thinning indices. Conservative ramp-up (slow acceleration of the inner cylinder and subsequent increase in Reynolds number) and steady-state (constant rotation speed) experiments are performed, in which the flow is monitored continuously using flow visualisation. Depending on the shear-thinning and elastic properties of the working fluid, very different behaviours are observed. In almost constant-viscosity fluids (Boger fluids), or shear-thinning fluids with significant elasticity, the flow transitions from purely azimuthal Couette flow (CF) to a highly chaotic flow state referred to as elasto-inertial turbulence (EIT) via Taylor vortex flow (TVF) and elasto-inertial rotating spiral waves (RSW). When the degree of shear-thinning is increased and elasticity reduced, elastic waves or EIT may fade to a wavy Taylor vortex flow (WTVF) with increasing inertia. Significant shear-thinning leads to a delay in the onset of EIT. Remarkably, in some highly shear-thinning cases, even with a significant elasticity, elastic flow features (EIT, RSW) are completely suppressed, and the flow exhibits a ‘Newtonian-like’ transition sequence (CF–TVF–WTVF). Shear-thinning acts to modify, delay, or even completely suppress elasto-inertial behaviours (RSW, EIT), that would otherwise have existed in the absence of shear-thinning. It is, thus, possible to induce various hydrodynamic regimes by tuning the relative degrees of shear-thinning, elasticity and inertia

Vortex merging and splitting: A route to elastoinertial turbulence in Taylor-Couette flow

We report experimental evidence of a new merge-split transition (MST) to elastoinertial turbulence (EIT) in Taylor-Couette flows of viscoelastic polymer solutions, caused by merging and splitting of base Taylor vortices when crossed by elastic axial waves (rotating standing waves, RSW). These vortex merging and splitting events are not due to transient behavior, finite aspect ratio, or shear-thinning behavior. They are random in nature and increase in frequency with Re; when superimposed on a RSW flow state they cause abrupt changes in the axial spatial wavelength, leading to the transition from a RSW to the EIT state. We thus identify MST as an inertial feature solely triggered by elasticity and independent of any shear-thinning behavior

Modulation of elasto-inertial transitions in Taylor–Couette flow by small particles

Particle suspensions in non-Newtonian liquid matrices are frequently encountered in nature and industrial applications. We here study the Taylor–Couette flow (TCF) of semidilute spherical particle suspensions (volume fraction ≤0.1 ) in viscoelastic, constant-viscosity liquids (Boger fluids). We describe the influence of particle load on various flow transitions encountered in TCF of such fluids, and on the nature of these transitions. Particle addition is found to delay the onset of first- and second-order transitions, thus stabilising laminar flows. It also renders them hysteretic, suggesting an effect on the nature of bifurcations. The transition to elasto-inertial turbulence (EIT) is shown to be delayed by the presence of particles, and the features of EIT altered, with preserved spatio-temporal large scales. These results imply that particle loading and viscoelasticity, which are known to destabilise the flow when considered separately, can on the other hand compete with one another and ultimately stabilise the flow when considered together

Experimental insights into elasto-inertial transitions in Taylor-Couette flows

Since the seminal work of Taylor in 1923, Taylor–Couette (TC) flow has served as a paradigm to study hydrodynamic instabilities and bifurcation phenomena. Transitions of Newtonian TC flows to inertial turbulence have been extensively studied and are well understood, while in the past few years, there has been an increasing interest in TC flows of complex, viscoelastic fluids. The transitions to elastic turbulence (ET) or elasto-inertial turbulence (EIT) have revealed fascinating dynamics and flow states; depending on the rheological properties of the fluids, a broad spectrum of transitions has been reported, including rotating standing waves, flame patterns (FP), and diwhirls (DW). The nature of these transitions and the relationship between ET and EIT are not fully understood. In this review, we discuss experimental efforts on TC flows of viscoelastic fluids. We outline the experimental methods employed and the non-dimensional parameters of interest, followed by an overview of inertia, elasticity and elasto-inertia-driven transitions to turbulence and their modulation through shear thinning or particle suspensions. The published experimental data are collated, and a map of flow transitions to EIT as a function of the key fluid parameters is provided, alongside perspectives for the future work. This article is part of the theme issue 'Taylor–Couette and related flows on the centennial of Taylor’s seminal Philosophical Transactions paper (part 1)'

POD analysis of oscillating grid turbulence in water and shear thinning polymer solution

Oscillating grids are frequently used with water and Newtonian fluids to generate controlled turbulence and mixing. Yet, their use with shear thinning fluids still requires experimental characterization. Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) is applied to PIV measurements of the flow generated by an oscillating grid in water and a shear thinning dilute polymer solution (DPS) of xanthan gum. The aims are to investigate the ability of POD to isolate periodic flow structures, and to use it to describe the effects of the shear thinning property. A dominance of the low order POD modes is evidenced in DPS. The methods applied in blade stirred tanks to identify oscillatory motion fail here. However, a strong mode coupling in the grid swept region is observed, determined by the working fluid and by an underlying chaotic nature of the flow. Possibilities of reconstructing turbulence properties using high order modes are discussed

Oscillating grid generating turbulence near gas-liquid interfaces in shear-thinning dilute polymer solutions

Understanding the behavior of liquid phase turbulence near gas-liquid interfaces is of great interest in many fundamental, environmental, or industrial applications. For example, near-surface liquid side turbulence is known to enhance the mass transfers between the two phases. Descriptions of this behavior for air-water systems exist in the literature, but the case of turbulence in a shear-thinning liquid phase below a flat gas-liquid interface has never been considered to the best of our knowledge. This paper consists in an experimental characterization of low Reynolds number, oscillating grid generated, near-surface turbulence in shear-thinning dilute polymer solutions, in the surface-influenced and in the viscous sublayers. The energy transfer mechanism, known in the water case, is evidenced in dilute polymer solutions. A horizontal damping mechanism, similar to the one introduced by surfactants, is evidenced. The evolution of the viscous sublayer depth can be explained by both viscous and shear-thinning effects, and it appears that a critical polymer concentration may exist within the dilute regime

Oscillating grid turbulence in shear-thinning polymer solutions

Oscillating grid apparatuses are well known and convenient tools for the fundamental study of turbulence and its interaction with other phenomena since they allow to generate turbulence supposedly homogeneous, isotropic, and free of mean shear. They could, in particular, be used to study turbulence and mass transfer near the interface between non-Newtonian liquids and a gas, as already done in air-water situations. Although frequently used in water and Newtonian fluids, oscillating grid turbulence (OGT) generation has yet been rarely applied and never characterized in non-Newtonian media. The present work consists of a first experimental characterization of the flow properties of shear-thinning polymer (Xanthan Gum, XG) solutions stirred by an oscillating grid. Various polymer concentrations are tested for a single grid stirring condition. The dilute and semidilute entanglement concentration regimes are considered. Liquid phase velocities are measured by Particle Image Velocimetry. The existing mean flow established in the tank is described and characterized, as well as turbulence properties (intensity, decay rate, length scales, isotropy, etc.). OGT in dilute polymer solutions induces an enhanced mean flow compared to water, a similar decay behavior with yet different decay rates, and enhanced turbulence large scales and anisotropy. In the semidilute regime of XG, turbulence and mean flows are essentially damped by viscosity. The evolution of mean flow and turbulence indicators leads to the definition of several polymer concentration subregimes, within the dilute one. Critical concentrations around 20 ppm and 50 ppm are found, comparable to drag reduction characteristic concentrations

Taylor-Couette instability in disk suspensions: Experimental observation and theory

Using the well-known hydrodynamic theory for dilute suspensions of spheroids, we have previously predicted the destabilization of Taylor-Couette flow due to anisotropic viscous stresses induced by suspended disk-shaped particles [Gillissen and Wilson, Phys. Rev. Fluids 3, 113903 (2018)]. Here we provide experimental evidence for the destabilization mechanism using suspensions of mica flakes. There is good qualitative agreement between the experiment and theory in the mica concentration dependence of the critical speed for instability onset and of the axial wavelength of the corresponding Taylor vortices. Quantitative differences are attributed to hydrodynamic interactions between the disks, which we account for in the theory in an ad hoc fashion using rotary diffusion