3,558 research outputs found
The measurement of velocity gradients in laminar flow by homodyne light-scattering spectroscopy
A technique for measuring velocity gradients in laminar flows by homodyne light
scattering is presented. A theory which describes the light-scattering spectrum is
derived that includes the effects of different types of linear flow fields, particle diffusion
and the intensity profile in the scattering volume. The conditions which must be
satisfied in order that the theory describe the experimental situation are outlined and
complementary experiments are performed which both verify the theory and apply
the technique. Verification is provided using the flow in a Couette device, and the flow
due to single rotating cylinder in a large bath of fluid. The technique is then applied
to measure the spatial variation of the shear rate in a four-roll mill
Living bacteria rheology: population growth, aggregation patterns and cooperative behaviour under different shear flows
The activity of growing living bacteria was investigated using real-time and
in situ rheology -- in stationary and oscillatory shear. Two different strains
of the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus -- strain COL and its isogenic cell
wall autolysis mutant -- were considered in this work. For low bacteria
density, strain COL forms small clusters, while the mutant, presenting
deficient cell separation, forms irregular larger aggregates. In the early
stages of growth, when subjected to a stationary shear, the viscosity of both
strains increases with the population of cells. As the bacteria reach the
exponential phase of growth, the viscosity of the two strains follow different
and rich behaviours, with no counterpart in the optical density or in the
population's colony forming units measurements. While the viscosity of strain
COL keeps increasing during the exponential phase and returns close to its
initial value for the late phase of growth, where the population stabilizes,
the viscosity of the mutant strain decreases steeply, still in the exponential
phase, remains constant for some time and increases again, reaching a constant
plateau at a maximum value for the late phase of growth. These complex
viscoelastic behaviours, which were observed to be shear stress dependent, are
a consequence of two coupled effects: the cell density continuous increase and
its changing interacting properties. The viscous and elastic moduli of strain
COL, obtained with oscillatory shear, exhibit power-law behaviours whose
exponent are dependent on the bacteria growth stage. The viscous and elastic
moduli of the mutant have complex behaviours, emerging from the different
relaxation times that are associated with the large molecules of the medium and
the self-organized structures of bacteria. These behaviours reflect
nevertheless the bacteria growth stage.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure
Lattice-Boltzmann Method for Non-Newtonian Fluid Flows
We study an ad hoc extension of the Lattice-Boltzmann method that allows the
simulation of non-Newtonian fluids described by generalized Newtonian models.
We extensively test the accuracy of the method for the case of shear-thinning
and shear-thickening truncated power-law fluids in the parallel plate geometry,
and show that the relative error compared to analytical solutions decays
approximately linear with the lattice resolution. Finally, we also tested the
method in the reentrant-flow geometry, in which the shear-rate is no-longer a
scalar and the presence of two singular points requires high accuracy in order
to obtain satisfactory resolution in the local stress near these points. In
this geometry, we also found excellent agreement with the solutions obtained by
standard finite-element methods, and the agreement improves with higher lattice
resolution
A Geometric Approach to Massive p-form Duality
Massive theories of abelian p-forms are quantized in a generalized
path-representation that leads to a description of the phase space in terms of
a pair of dual non-local operators analogous to the Wilson Loop and the 't
Hooft disorder operators. Special atention is devoted to the study of the
duality between the Topologically Massive and the Self-Dual models in 2+1
dimensions. It is shown that these models share a geometric representation in
which just one non local operator suffices to describe the observables.Comment: 26 pages, LaTeX. The discussion about the equivalence between the
Proca model and two seldual models, with opposite spins, was eliminated.
Typos correcte
Formation of Nanopillar Arrays in Ultrathin Viscous Films: The Critical Role of Thermocapillary Stresses
Experiments by several groups during the past decade have shown that a molten
polymer nanofilm subject to a large transverse thermal gradient undergoes
spontaneous formation of periodic nanopillar arrays. The prevailing explanation
is that coherent reflections of acoustic phonons within the film cause a
periodic modulation of the radiation pressure which enhances pillar growth. By
exploring a deformational instability of particular relevance to nanofilms, we
demonstrate that thermocapillary forces play a crucial role in the formation
process. Analytic and numerical predictions show good agreement with the pillar
spacings obtained in experiment. Simulations of the interface equation further
determine the rate of pillar growth of importance to technological
applications.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Real-time rheology of actively growing bacteria
The population growth of a Staphylococcus aureus culture, an active colloidal system of spherical cells, was followed by rheological measurements, under steady-state and oscillatory shear flows. We observed a rich viscoelastic behavior as a consequence of the bacteria activity, namely, of their multiplication and density-dependent aggregation properties. In the early stages of growth (lag and exponential phases), the viscosity increases by about a factor of 20, presenting several drops and full recoveries. This allows us to evoke the existence of a percolation phenomenon. Remarkably, as the bacteria reach their late phase of development, in which the population stabilizes, the viscosity returns close to its initial value. Most probably, this is caused by a change in the bacteria physiological activity and in particular, by the decrease of their adhesion properties. The viscous and elastic moduli exhibit power-law behaviors compatible with the "soft glassy materials" model, whose exponents are dependent on the bacteria growth stage. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.87.030701
Nonlinear dynamics of drops and bubbles and chaotic phenomena
Nonlinear phenomena associated with the dynamics of free drops and bubbles are investigated analytically, numerically and experimentally. Although newly developed levitation and measurement techniques have been implemented, the full experimental validation of theoretical predictions has been hindered by interfering artifacts associated with levitation in the Earth gravitational field. The low gravity environment of orbital space flight has been shown to provide a more quiescent environment which can be utilized to better match the idealized theoretical conditions. The research effort described in this paper is a closely coupled collaboration between predictive and guiding theoretical activities and a unique experimental program involving the ultrasonic and electrostatic levitation of single droplets and bubbles. The goal is to develop and to validate methods based on nonlinear dynamics for the understanding of the large amplitude oscillatory response of single drops and bubbles to both isotropic and asymmetric pressure stimuli. The first specific area on interest has been the resonant coupling between volume and shape oscillatory modes isolated gas or vapor bubbles in a liquid host. The result of multiple time-scale asymptotic treatment, combined with domain perturbation and bifurcation methods, has been the prediction of resonant and near-resonant coupling between volume and shape modes leading to stable as well as chaotic oscillations. Experimental investigations of the large amplitude shape oscillation modes of centimeter-size single bubbles trapped in water at 1 G and under reduced hydrostatic pressure, have suggested the possibility of a low gravity experiment to study the direct coupling between these low frequency shape modes and the volume pulsation, sound-radiating mode. The second subject of interest has involved numerical modeling, using the boundary integral method, of the large amplitude shape oscillations of charged and uncharged drops in the presence of a static or time-varying electric field. Theoretically predicted non linearity in the resonant frequency of the fundamental quadrupole mode has been verified by the accompanying experimental studies. Additional phenomena such as hysteresis in the frequency response of ultrasoncially levitated droplets in the presence of a time varying electric field, and mode coupling in the oscillations of ultrasonically modulated droplets, have also been uncovered. One of the results of this ground-based research has been the identification and characterization of phenomena strictly associated with the influence of the gravitational field. This has also allowed us to identify the specific requirements for potential microgravity investigations yielding new information not obtainable on Earth
The apparent roughness of a sand surface blown by wind from an analytical model of saltation
We present an analytical model of aeolian sand transport. The model
quantifies the momentum transfer from the wind to the transported sand by
providing expressions for the thickness of the saltation layer and the apparent
surface roughness. These expressions are derived from basic physical principles
and a small number of assumptions. The model further predicts the sand
transport rate (mass flux) and the impact threshold (the smallest value of the
wind shear velocity at which saltation can be sustained). We show that, in
contrast to previous studies, the present model's predictions are in very good
agreement with a range of experiments, as well as with numerical simulations of
aeolian saltation. Because of its physical basis, we anticipate that our model
will find application in studies of aeolian sand transport on both Earth and
Mars
Thrombus Formation on a Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
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