A 'reciprocal' theorem for the prediction of loads on a body moving in an inhomogeneous flow at arbitrary Reynolds number

Several forms of a theorem providing general expressions for the force and torque acting on a rigid body of arbitrary shape moving in an inhomogeneous incompressible flow at arbitrary Reynolds number are derived. Inhomogeneity arises because of the presence of a wall that partially or entirely bounds the fluid domain and/or a non-uniform carrying flow. This theorem, which stems directly from Navier–Stokes equations and parallels the well-known Lorentz reciprocal theorem extensively employed in low-Reynolds-number hydrodynamics, makes use of auxiliary solenoidal irrotational velocity fields and extends results previously derived by Quartapelle & Napolitano (AIAA J., vol. 21, 1983, pp. 911–913) and Howe (Q. J. Mech. Appl. Maths, vol. 48, 1995, pp. 401–426) in the case of an unbounded flow domain and a fluid at rest at infinity. As the orientation of the auxiliary velocity may be chosen arbitrarily, any component of the force and torque can be evaluated, irrespective of its orientation with respect to the relative velocity between the body and fluid. Three main forms of the theorem are successively derived. The first of these, given in (2.19), is suitable for a body moving in a fluid at rest in the presence of a wall. The most general form (3.6) extends it to the general situation of a body moving in an arbitrary non-uniform flow. Specific attention is then paid to the case of an underlying timedependent linear flow. Specialized forms of the theorem are provided in this situation for simplified body shapes and flow conditions, in (3.14) and (3.15), making explicit the various couplings between the body’s translation and rotation and the strain rate and vorticity of the carrying flow. The physical meaning of the various contributions to the force and torque and the way in which the present predictions reduce to those provided by available approaches, especially in the inviscid limit, are discussed. Some applications to high-Reynolds-number bubble dynamics, which provide several apparently new predictions, are also presented

A 'reciprocal' theorem for the prediction of loads on a body moving in an inhomogeneous flow at arbitrary Reynolds number - CORRIGENDUM

Several forms of a theorem providing general expressions for the force and torque acting on a rigid body of arbitrary shape moving in an inhomogeneous incompressible flow at arbitrary Reynolds number are derived. Inhomogeneity arises because of the presence of a wall that partially or entirely bounds the fluid domain and/or a non-uniform carrying flow. This theorem, which stems directly from Navier–Stokes equations and parallels the well-known Lorentz reciprocal theorem extensively employed in low-Reynolds-number hydrodynamics, makes use of auxiliary solenoidal irrotational velocity fields and extends results previously derived by Quartapelle & Napolitano (AIAA J., vol. 21, 1983, pp. 911–913) and Howe (Q. J. Mech. Appl. Maths, vol. 48, 1995, pp. 401–426) in the case of an unbounded flow domain and a fluid at rest at infinity. As the orientation of the auxiliary velocity may be chosen arbitrarily, any component of the force and torque can be evaluated, irrespective of its orientation with respect to the relative velocity between the body and fluid. Three main forms of the theorem are successively derived. The first of these, given in (2.19), is suitable for a body moving in a fluid at rest in the presence of a wall. The most general form (3.6) extends it to the general situation of a body moving in an arbitrary non-uniform flow. Specific attention is then paid to the case of an underlying timedependent linear flow. Specialized forms of the theorem are provided in this situation for simplified body shapes and flow conditions, in (3.14) and (3.15), making explicit the various couplings between the body’s translation and rotation and the strain rate and vorticity of the carrying flow. The physical meaning of the various contributions to the force and torque and the way in which the present predictions reduce to those provided by available approaches, especially in the inviscid limit, are discussed. Some applications to high-Reynolds-number bubble dynamics, which provide several apparently new predictions, are also presented

A generalized reciprocal theorem for predicting the force and torque on bodies moving in an unhomogeneous flow at arbitrary reynolds number

We present the main ideas behind the derivation and some applications of a theorem that parallels Lorentz’s reciprocal theorem and provides general expressions for the force and torque acting on a rigid body of arbitrary shape moving in an inhomogeneous incompressible flow at arbitrary Reynolds number. We show that this theorem allows a clear physical interpretation of the various contributions to the loads and encompasses all results available in both limits of inviscid and creeping flows

The hard life of air bubbles crossing a fluid/fluid interface

We investigate the dynamics of isolated air bubbles crossing the horizontal interface separating two Newtonian immiscible liquids initially at rest by means of experiments and DNS. High-speed video imaging is used to obtain a detailed evolution of the various interfaces involved in the system. The size of the bubbles and the viscosity contrast between the two liquids are varied by more than one and four orders of magnitude, respectively, making it possible to obtain bubble shapes ranging from spherical to toroidal. A variety of flow regimes is observed, including that of small bubbles remaining trapped at the fluid–fluid interface in a film-drainage configuration. In most cases, the bubble succeeds in crossing the interface without being stopped near its undisturbed position and, during a certain period of time, tows a significant column of lower fluid which sometimes exhibits a complex dynamics as it lengthens in the upper fluid. Direct numerical simulations of several selected experimental situations are performed with a code employing a volume-of-fluid type formulation of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. Comparisons between experimental and numerical results confirm the reliability of the computational approach in most situations but also points out the need for improvements to capture some subtle but important physical processes, most notably those related to film drainage. Influence of the physical parameters highlighted by experiments and computations, especially that of the density and viscosity contrasts between the two fluids and of the various interfacial tensions, is discussed and analysed in the light of simple models

Turbulence-induced secondary motion in a buoyancy-driven flow in a circular pipe.

We analyze the results of a direct numerical simulation of the turbulent buoyancy-driven flow that sets in after two miscible fluids of slightly different densities have been initially superimposed in an unstable configuration in an inclined circular pipe closed at both ends. In the central region located midway between the end walls, where the flow is fully developed, the resulting mean flow is found to exhibit nonzero secondary velocity components in the tube cross section. We present a detailed analysis of the generation mechanism of this secondary flow which turns out to be due to the combined effect of the lateral wall and the shear-induced anisotropy between the transverse components of the turbulent velocity fluctuations

A numerical investigation of horizontal viscous gravity currents

We study numerically the viscous phase of horizontal gravity currents of immiscible fluids in the lock-exchange configuration. A numerical technique capable of dealing with stiff density gradients is used, allowing us to mimic high-Schmidt-number situations similar to those encountered in most laboratory experiments. Plane two-dimensional computations with no-slip boundary conditions are run so as to compare numerical predictions with the ‘short reservoir’ solution of Huppert (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 121, 1982, pp. 43–58), which predicts the front position lf to evolve as t1/5, and the ‘long reservoir’ solution of Gratton & Minotti (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 210, 1990, pp. 155–182) which predicts a diffusive evolution of the distance travelled by the front xf ~ t1/2. In line with dimensional arguments, computations indicate that the self-similar power law governing the front position is selected by the flow Reynolds number and the initial volume of the released heavy fluid. We derive and validate a criterion predicting which type of viscous regime immediately succeeds the slumping phase. The computations also reveal that, under certain conditions, two different viscous regimes may appear successively during the life of a given current. Effects of sidewalls are examined through three-dimensional computations and are found to affect the transition time between the slumping phase and the viscous regime. In the various situations we consider, we make use of a force balance to estimate the transition time at which the viscous regime sets in and show that the corresponding prediction compares well with the computational results

Effects of channel geometry on buoyancy-driven mixing

The evolution of the concentration and flow fields resulting from the gravitational mixing of two interpenetrating miscible fluids placed in a tilted tube or channel is studied by using direct numerical simulation. Three-dimensional (3D) geometries, including a cylindrical tube and a square channel, are considered as well as a purely two-dimensional (2D) channel. Striking differences between the 2D and 3D geometries are observed during the long-time evolution of the flow. We show that these differences are due to those existing between the 2D and 3D dynamics of the vorticity field. More precisely, in two dimensions, the strong coherence and long persistence of vortices enable them to periodically cut the channels of pure fluid that feed the front. In contrast, in 3D geometries, the weaker coherence of the vortical motions makes the segregational effect due to the transverse component of buoyancy strong enough to preserve a fluid channel near the front of each current. This results in three different regimes for the front velocity (depending on the tilt angle), which is in agreement with the results of a recent experimental investigation. The evolution of the front topology and the relation between the front velocity and the concentration jump across the front are investigated in planar and cylindrical geometries and highlight the differences between 2D and 3D mixing dynamics

Dynamics of a two-dimensional upflowing mixing layer seeded with bubbles : bubble dispersion and effect of two-way coupling

The evolution and structure of a spatially evolving two-dimensional mixing layer seeded with small bubbles are numerically investigated. The one-way coupling approach is first employed to show that characteristics of bubble dispersion are dominated by the possibility for sufficiently small bubbles to be captured in the core of the vortices. A stability analysis of the ODE system governing bubble trajectories reveals that this entrapment process is governed by the presence of stable fixed points advected by the mean flow. Two-way coupling simulations are then carried out to study how the global features of a two-dimensional flow are affected by bubble-induced disturbances. The local interaction mechanism between the two phases is first analyzed using detailed simulations of a single bubbly vortex. The stability of the corresponding fixed point is found to be altered by the collective motion of bubbles. For trapped bubbles, the interphase momentum transfer yields periodic sequences of entrapment, local reduction of velocity gradients, and eventually escape of bubbles. Similar mechanisms are found to take place in the spatially-evolving mixing layer. The presence of bubbles is also found to enhance the destabilization of the inlet velocity profile and to shorten the time required for the roll-up phenomenon to occur. The most spectacular effects of small bubbles on the large-scale flow are a global tilting of the mixing layer centerline towards the low-velocity side and a strong increase of its spreading rate. In contrast, no significant modification of the flow is observed when the bubbles are not captured in the large-scale vortices, which occurs when the bubble characteristics are such that the drift parameter defined in the text exceeds a critical value. These two contrasted behaviors agree with available experimental results

Linear stability and sensitivity of the flow past a fixed oblate spheroidal bubble

The stability properties of the wake past an oblate spheroidal bubble held fixed in a uniform stream are studied in the framework of a global linear analysis. In line with previous studies, provided the geometric aspect ratio of the bubble, χ, is large enough, the wake is found to be unstable only within a finite range of Reynolds number, Re. The neutral curves corresponding to the occurrence of the first two unstable modes are determined over a wide range of the (χ, Re) domain and the structure of the modes encountered along the two branches of each neutral curve is discussed. Then, using an adjoint-based approach, a series of sensitivity analyses of the flow past the bubble is carried out in the spirit of recent studies devoted to twodimensionaland axisymmetric rigid bodies. The regions of the flow most sensitiveto an external forcing are found to be concentrated in the core or at the periphery of the standing eddy, as already observed with bluff bodies at the surface of which the flow obeys a no-slip condition. However, since the shear-free condition allows the fluid to slip along the bubble surface, the rear half of this surface turns out to be also significantly sensitive to disturbances originating in the shear stress, a finding which may be related to the well-known influence of surfactants on the structure and stability properties of the flow past bubbles rising in water

Bifurcations and symmetry breaking in the wake of axisymmetric bodies

We consider the generic problem of wake instabilities past fixed axisymmetric bodies, and focus on the extreme cases of a sphere and a flat disk. Numerical results reveal that the wakes of these two bodies evolve differently as the Reynolds number is increased. Especially, two new vortex shedding modes are identified behind a disk. To interpret these results, we introduce a model based on the theory of mode interactions in presence of O(2) symmetry. This model, which was initially developed for the Taylor–Couette system, allows us to explain the structural differences observed in the evolution of the two types of wakes and to accurately predict the evolution of the lift force