The paper describes a possible physical characterization for the definition of elementary fluid flow. As consequence, an analytical expansion based on Reynolds number powers for the velocity field is shown in the weakly turbulent case.
An elementary analytical fluid flow is composed by a geometric domain, a list of analytical constraints and by the function which depends on the physical properties, as Reynolds number, of the considered fluid. For this object, notions of laminar or weakly turbulent behavior are described using a simple mathematical model.
Obtaining a detailed understanding of the physical interactions between a cell and its environment often requires information about the flow of fluid surrounding the cell. Cells must be able to effectively absorb and discard material in order to survive. Strategies for nutrient acquisition and toxin disposal, which have been evolutionarily selected for their efficacy, should reflect knowledge of the physics underlying this mass transport problem. Motivated by these considerations, in this paper we discuss the results from an undergraduate research project on the advection-diffusion equation at…
The elementary structures of turbulence, i.e., vortex tubes, are studied using velocity data obtained in laboratory experiments for boundary layers and duct flows at microscale Reynolds numbers 332-1934. While past experimental studies focused on intense vortex tubes, the present study focuses on all vortex tubes with various intensities. We obtain the mean velocity profile. The radius scales with the Kolmogorov length. The circulation velocity scales with the Kolmogorov velocity, in contrast to the case of intense vortex tubes alone where the circulation velocity scales with the rms velocity …
The plane Poiseuille flow is one of the elementary flow configurations. Although its laminar-turbulent transition mechanism is investigated intensively in the last century, the significant difference in the critical Reynolds number between the experiments and theory lacks a clear explanation. In this paper, an attempt is made to reduce this gap by analysing the Reynolds-Orr equation solution. Recent literature results showed that the usage of enstrophy (the volume integral of the vorticity) instead of the kinetic energy as the norm of perturbations predicts higher Reynolds numbers in the two-d…
We numerically analyse the rotation of a neutrally buoyant spheroid in a shear flow at small shear Reynolds number. Using direct numerical stability analysis of the coupled nonlinear particle-flow problem we compute the linear stability of the log-rolling orbit at small shear Reynolds number, ${\rm Re}_a$. As ${\rm Re}_a \to 0$ and as the box size of the system tends to infinity we find good agreement between the numerical results and earlier analytical predictions valid to linear order in ${\rm Re}_a$ for the case of an unbounded shear. The numerical stability analysis indicates that there ar…
We propose a generalized perspective on the behavior of high-order derivative moments in turbulent shear flows by taking account of the roles of small-scale intermittency and mean shear, in addition to the Reynolds number. Two asymptotic regimes are discussed with respect to shear effects. By these means, some existing disagreements on the Reynolds number dependence of derivative moments can be explained. That odd-order moments of transverse velocity derivatives tend not vanish as expected from elementary scaling considerations does not necessarily imply that small-scale anisotropy persists at…
The most elementary structures of turbulence, i.e., vortex tubes, are studied using velocity data obtained in a laboratory experiment for boundary layers with microscale Reynolds numbers 295-1258. We conduct conditional averaging for enhancements of a small-scale velocity increment and obtain the typical velocity profile for vortex tubes. Their radii are of the order of the Kolmogorov length. Their circulation velocities are of the order of the root-mean-square velocity fluctuation. We also obtain the distribution of the interval between successive enhancements of the velocity increment as the…
The transition from laminar to turbulent fluid motion occurring at large Reynolds numbers is generally associated with the instability of the laminar flow. On the other hand, since the turbulent flow characteristically appears in the form of spatially localized structures (e.g., eddies) filling the flow field, a tendency to occupy such a structured state of the flow cannot be ruled out as a driving force for turbulent transition. To examine this possibility, we propose a simple analytical model that treats the flow as a collection of localized spatial structures, each of which consists of elem…
We derive analytical solutions for hydrodynamic sources and sinks to granular temperature in moderately dense suspensions of elastic particles at finite Reynolds numbers. Modeling the neighbor-induced drag disturbances with a Langevin equation allows an exact solution for the joint fluctuating acceleration-velocity distribution function $P\left(v^{\prime},a^{\prime};t\right)$. Quadrant-conditioned covariance integrals of $P\left(v^{\prime},a^{\prime};t\right)$ yield the hydrodynamic source and sink that dictate the evolution of granular temperature. Analytical predictions are in agreement with…
A theoretical mechanism of laminar-turbulent transition originated from the deceleration of fluid streams on the walls of the channel or pipe is proposed. For Poiseuille flow an analytical expression relating the critical Reynolds number with the degree of disturbance of the flow is derived.
We investigate the flow around an oscillating nearly-spherical particle at low, yet non-vanishing, Reynolds numbers, and the potential resulting locomotion. We analytically demonstrate that no net motion can arise up to order one in Re and order one in the asphericity parameter, regardless of the particle's shape. Therefore, geometry-induced acoustic streaming propulsion, if any, must arise at higher order.
Purcell's scallop theorem defines the type of motions of a solid body - reciprocal motions - which cannot propel the body in a viscous fluid with zero Reynolds number. For example, the flapping of a wing is reciprocal and, as was recently shown, can lead to directed motion only if its frequency Reynolds number, Re_f, is above a critical value of order one. Using elementary examples, we show the existence of oscillatory reciprocal motions which are effective for all arbitrarily small values of the frequency Reynolds number and induce net velocities scaling as (Re_f)^α(alpha > 0). This demonstra…
In this Letter we suggest a simple and physically transparent analytical model of the pressure driven turbulent wall-bounded flows at high but finite Reynolds numbers Re. The model gives accurate qualitative description of the profiles of the mean-velocity and Reynolds-stresses (second order correlations of velocity fluctuations) throughout the entire channel or pipe in the wide range of Re, using only three Re-independent parameters. The model sheds light on the long-standing controversy between supporters of the century-old log-law theory of von-Kàrmàn and Prandtl and proposers of a newer th…
In this work the numerical stability of a streamline singular hyperbolic/saddle critical point (HSP) and its relationship with the divergence of pressure force/fluid flux are numerically investigated at low Reynolds numbers. Three canonical configurations at different Reynolds numbers are considered: (a) an isolated circular cylinder; (b) side-by-side circular cylinders and (c) a near-wall circular cylinder. The objective is to investigate the behavior of a HSP subjecting to imbalanced shear-layer interaction and different Reynolds numbers. It is found that a HSP evolves along the shear-layer …
A rapid predictive tool based on the linearised Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations is proposed in this work to investigate secondary currents generated by streamwise-independent surface topography modulations in turbulent channel flow. The tool is derived by coupling the Reynolds-averaged momentum equation to the Spalart-Allmaras transport equation for the turbulent eddy viscosity, using a nonlinear constitutive relation for the Reynolds stresses to capture correctly secondary motions. Linearised equations, describing the steady flow response to arbitrary surface modulations, are derive…
Effect of high and low Reynolds number is studied on low frequency vibrational modes of a spherical virus embedded in the aqueous medium. We have used an analytical approach based on fluid dynamic and classical Lamb theory to calculate the vibrational modes of a virus with material parameters of lysozyme crystal in water. The obvious size effect on the vibrational modes is observed. The estimated damping time which is of the order of picosecond varies with Reynolds number and shows a high value for a critical Reynolds number. The stationary eigenfrequency regions are observed for every quantum…
A simple analytical model for a turbulent flow is proposed, which considers the flow as a collection of localized spatial structures that are composed of elementary "cells" in which the state of the particles (atoms or molecules) is uncertain. The Reynolds number is associated with the ratio between the total phase volume for the system and that for the elementary cell. Calculating the statistical weights of the collections of the localized structures, it is shown that as the Reynolds number increases, the elementary cells group into the localized structures, which successfully explains the on…
I propose a new theory on the nature of turbulence: when the Reynolds number is large, violent fully developed turbulence is due to "rough dependence on initial data" rather than chaos which is caused by "sensitive dependence on initial data"; when the Reynolds number is moderate, (often transient) turbulence is due to chaos. The key in the validation of the theory is estimating the temporal growth of the initial perturbations with the Reynolds number as a parameter. Analytically, this amounts to estimating the temporal growth of the norm of the derivative of the solution map of the Navier-Sto…
The {\it unsteady} process for thermocapillary droplet migration at large Reynolds and Marangoni numbers has been previously reported by identifying a nonconservative integral thermal flux across the surface in the {\it steady} thermocapillary droplet migration, [Wu and Hu, J. Math. Phys. {\bf 54} 023102, (2013)]. Here we add a thermal source in the droplet to preserve the integral thermal flux across the surface as conservative, so that thermocapillary droplet migration at large Reynolds and Marangoni numbers can reach a {\it quasi-steady} process. Under assumptions of {\it quasi-steady} stat…
Analytical considerations and potential flow numerical simulations of the pinch-off of bubbles at high Reynolds numbers reveal that the bubble minimum radius, $r_n$, decreases as $τ\propto r_n^2 \, (-\ln{r_n^2})^{1/2}$, where $τ$ is the time to break-up, when the local shape of the bubble near the singularity is symmetric. However, if the gas convective terms in the momentum equation become of the order of those of the liquid, the bubble shape is no longer symmetric and the evolution of the neck changes to a $r_n\proptoτ^{1/3}$ power law. These findings are verified experimentally.
This paper analyzes the adjoint solution of the Navier-Stokes equation. We focus on flow across a circular cylinder at three Reynolds numbers, Re_D=20, 100 and 500. The quantity of interest in the adjoint formulation is the drag on the cylinder. We use classical fluid mechanics approaches to analyze the adjoint solution, which is a vector field similar to a flow field. Production and dissipation of kinetic energy of the adjoint field is discussed. We also derive the evolution of circulation of the adjoint field along a closed material contour. These analytical results are used to explain three…
With materials of anisotropic electrical conductivity, it is possible to generate a dynamo with a simple velocity field, of the type precluded by Cowling's theorems with isotropic materials. Following a previous study by Ruderman and Ruzmaikin [1] who considered the dynamo effect induced by a uniform shear flow, we determine the conditions for the dynamo threshold when a solid plate is sliding over another one, both with anisotropic electrical conductivity. We obtain numerical solutions for a general class of anisotropy and obtain the conditions for the lowest magnetic Reynolds number, using a…
Locomotion and generation of flow at low Reynolds number are subject to severe limitations due to the irrelevance of inertia: the "scallop theorem" requires that the system have at least two degrees of freedom, which move in non-reciprocal fashion, i.e. breaking time-reversal symmetry. We show here that a minimal model consisting of just two spheres driven by harmonic potentials is capable of generating flow. In this pump system the two degrees of freedom are the mean and relative positions of the two spheres. We have performed and compared analytical predictions, numerical simulation and expe…
We consider incompressible flows between two transversely vibrating solid walls and construct an asymptotic expansion of solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations in the limit when both the amplitude of vibrations and the thickness of the Stokes layer are small and have the same order of magnitude. Our asymptotic expansion is valid up to the flow boundary. In particular, we derive equations and boundary conditions, for the averaged flow. In the leading order, the averaged flow is described by the stationary Navier-Stokes equations with an additional term which contains the leading-order Stokes …
Mixing in fluids is a rapidly developing field of fluid mechanics \cite{Sreen,Shr,War}, being an important industrial and environmental problem. The mixing of liquids at low Reynolds numbers is usually quite weak in simple flows, and it requires special devices to be efficient. Recently, the problem of mixing was solved analytically for a simple case of random flow, known as the Batchelor regime \cite{Bat,Kraich,Fal,Sig,Fouxon}. Here we demonstrate experimentally that very viscous liquids at low Reynolds number, $Re$. Here we show that very viscous liquids containing a small amount of high mol…
Dynamics of a liquid drop falling through a quiescent medium of another liquid is investigated in external uniform electric field. The electrohydrodynamics of a drop is governed by inherent deformability of the drop (defined by capillary number), the electric field strength (defined by Masson number) and the surface charge convection (quantified by electric Reynolds number). Surface charge convection generates nonlinearilty in a electrohydrodynamics problem by coupling the electric field and flow field. In Stokes limit, most existing theoretical models either considered weak charge convection …
We investigate the behavior of a treadmilling microswimmer in a two-dimensional unbounded domain with a semi-infinite no-slip wall. The wall can also be regarded as a probe or pipette inserted into the flow. We solve the governing evolution equations in an analytical form and numerically calculate trajectories of the swimmer for several different initial positions and orientations. We then compute the probability that the treadmilling organism can escape the vicinity of the wall. We find that many trajectories in a 'wedge' around the wall are likely to escape. This suggests that inserting a pr…
A special initial condition for (1+1)-dimensional Burgers equation is considered. It allows to obtain new analytical solutions for an arbitrary low viscosity as well as for the inviscid case. The viscous solution is written as a rational function provided the Reynolds number (a dimensionless value inversely proportional to the viscosity) is a multiple of two. The inviscid solution is expressed in radicals. Asymptotic expansion of the viscous solution at infinite Reynolds number is compared against the inviscid case. All solutions are finite, tend to zero at infinity and therefore are physicall…
In this paper, we obtain analytical results for shear stress distributions inside an elastic body placed in a low Reynolds number transport. The problem definition is inspired by a recent experimental study (Valiei et al., Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 5133-5137) that reports the flow-triggered deformation of bacterial biofilms, formed on cylindrical rigid microposts, into long filamentous structures known as streamers. In our analysis, we consider an elastic body of finite thickness (forming a rim) placed over a rigid cylinder, i.e., we mimic the biofilm structure in the experiment. We consider Oseen f…
Bead-based micro-swimmers are promising systems for payload delivery on the micro-scale. However, the principles underlying their optimal design are not yet fully understood. Here we study a simple device consisting of three arbitrarily-shaped beads connected by two springs. We analytically determine the most favorable kinematic parameters for sinusoidal driving, and show how the swimmer changes from being a pusher to a puller. For cargo carrying ellipsoidal beads, we perform geometric optimization under the constraint of a constant total volume or surface area, with the aim of maximizing the …
Modeling blood flow in larger vessels using lattice-Boltzmann methods comes with a challenging set of constraints: a complex geometry with walls and inlet/outlets at arbitrary orientations with respect to the lattice, intermediate Reynolds number, and unsteady flow. Simple bounce-back is one of the most commonly used, simplest, and most computationally efficient boundary conditions, but many others have been proposed. We implement three other methods applicable to complex geometries (Guo, Zheng and Shi, Phys Fluids (2002); Bouzdi, Firdaouss and Lallemand, Phys. Fluids (2001); Junk and Yang Phy…
We seek to understand the kinetic energy spectrum in the dissipation range of fully developed turbulence. The data are obtained by direct numerical simulations (DNS) of forced Navier-Stokes equations in a periodic domain, for Taylor-scale Reynolds numbers up to $R_λ=650$, with excellent small-scale resolution of $k_{max}η\approx 6$ for all cases (and additionally at $R_λ=1300$ with $k_{max}η\approx3$), where $k_{max}$ is the maximum resolved wavenumber and $η$ is the Kolmogorov length scale. We find that, for a limited range of wavenumbers $k$ past the bottleneck in the range $0.1 \lesssim kη\…
Helical propulsion is used by many microorganisms to swim in viscous-dominated environments. Their swimming dynamics are relatively well understood, but detailed study of the flow fields and actuation mechanisms are still needed to realize wall effects and hydrodynamic interactions. In this letter, we describe the development of an autonomous swimming robot with a helical tail that operates in the Stokes regime. The device uses a battery-based power system with a miniature motor that imposes a rotational speed to a helical tail. The speed, direction, and activation are controlled electronicall…
We present a theory for the self-propulsion of symmetric, half spherical Marangoni boats (soap or camphor boats) at low Reynolds numbers. Propulsion is generated by release (diffusive emission or dissolution) of water-soluble surfactant molecules, which modulate the air-water interfacial tension. Propulsion either requires asymmetric release or spontaneous symmetry breaking by coupling to advection for a perfectly symmetrical swimmer. We study the diffusion-advection problem for a sphere in Stokes flow analytically and numerically both for constant concentration and constant flux boundary cond…
A new analytical criterion that captures the onset of separation of flow past elliptic cylinders is derived by considering the variation of the wall normal velocity in Reynolds number parameter space. It is shown that this criterion can be used to calculate the separation Reynolds number Re_s for the classical problem of flow past a circular cylinder, a contentious and unresolved issue till date. The two dimensional Navier-Stokes equations are solved computationally and an exact value of Re_s is obtained by applying the aforementioned criterion.
Spin hydrodynamic coupling is a recently discovered method to directly generate electricity from an electrically conducting fluid flow in the absence of Lorentz forces. This method relies on a collective coupling of electron spins - the internal quantum mechanical angular momentum of the electrons - with the local vorticity of a fluid flow. In this work, we experimentally investigate the spin hydrodynamic coupling in circular and non-circular capillary pipe flows and extend a previously obtained range of Reynolds numbers to smaller and larger values, 20<Re<21,500, using the conducting liquid m…
This paper studies multiphase flow within grooved textures exposed to external unsteadiness. We derive analytical expressions for multiphase unsteady Stokes flow driven by oscillating streamwise/spanwise velocity in the presence of periodic grooves. Good agreement is obtained between the analytical solution and direct numerical simulations performed using the volume of fluid method. The effects of oscillation frequency, Reynolds number, and the multiphase interface location on the transfer function between the input signal external to the groove and output near the interface, are examined. The…
We investigate a hierarchy of eddy-viscosity terms in POD Galerkin models to account for a large fraction of unresolved fluctuation energy. These Galerkin methods are applied to Large Eddy Simulation data for a flow around the vehicle-like bluff body call Ahmed body. This flow has three challenges for any reduced-order model: a high Reynolds number, coherent structures with broadband frequency dynamics, and meta-stable asymmetric base flow states. The Galerkin models are found to be most accurate with modal eddy viscosities as proposed by Rempfer & Fasel (1994). Robustness of the model solutio…
We present an asymptotic theory for analytical characterization of the high-Reynolds-number incompressible flow of a Newtonian fluid past a shear-free circular cylinder. The viscosity-induced modifications to this flow are localized and except in the neighborhood of the rear stagnation point, behave like a linear perturbation of the inviscid flow. Our theory gives a highly accurate description of these modifications by including the contribution from the most significant viscous term in a correctional perturbation expansion about an inviscid base state. We derive the boundary layer equation fo…
We construct a new subgrid scale (SGS) stress model for representing the small scale effects in large eddy simulation (LES) of incompressible flows. We use the covariance tensor for representing the Reynolds stress and include Clark's model for the cross stress. The Reynolds stress is obtained analytically from Cinlar random velocity field, which is based on vortex structures observed in the ocean at the subgrid scale. The validity of the model is tested with turbulent channel flow computed in OpenFOAM. It is compared with the most frequently used Smagorinsky and one-equation eddy SGS models t…
Following the idea that dissipation in turbulence at high Reynolds number is by events singular in space-time and described by solutions of the inviscid Euler equations, we draw the conclusion that in such flows scaling laws should depend only on quantities appearing in the Euler equations. This excludes viscosity or a turbulent length as scaling parameters and constrains drastically possible analytical pictures of this limit. We focus on the law of drag by Newton for a projectile moving quickly in a fluid at rest. Inspired by the Newton's drag force law (proportional to the square of the spee…
In Stokes flow, Purcell's scallop theorem forbids objects with time-reversible (reciprocal) swimming strokes from moving. In the presence of inertia, this restriction is eased and reciprocally deforming bodies can swim. A number of recent works have investigated dimer models that swim reciprocally at intermediate Reynolds numbers Re ~ 1-1000. These show interesting results (e.g. switches of the swim direction as a function of inertia) but the results vary and seem to be case-specific. Here, we introduce a general model and investigate the behaviour of an asymmetric spherical dimer of oscillati…
A fundamental effect of fluid turbulence is turbulent mixing, which results in the stretching and wrinkling of scalar isosurfaces. Thus, the area of isosurfaces is of interest in understanding turbulence in general with specific applications in, e.g., combustion and the identification of turbulent/non-turbulent interfaces. We report measurements of isosurface areas in 28 direct numerical simulations (DNSs) of homogeneous isotropic turbulence with a mean scalar gradient resolved on up to $14256^3$ grid points with Taylor Reynolds number $Re{_λ}$ ranging from 24 to 633 and Schmidt number $Sc$ ra…
Mesoscale filtering and protective layers are replete throughout the natural world. Within the body, arrays of extracellular proteins, microvilli, and cilia can act as both protective layers and mechanosensors. For example, blood flow profiles through the endothelial surface layer determine the amount of shear stress felt by the endothelial cells and may alter the rates at which molecules enter and exit the cells. Characterizing the flow profiles through such layers is therefore critical towards understanding the function of such arrays in cell signaling and molecular filtering. External filte…
Inspired by recent experiments using synthetic microswimmers to manipulate droplets, we investigate the low-Reynolds-number locomotion of a model swimmer (a spherical squirmer) encapsulated inside a droplet of comparable size in another viscous fluid. Meditated solely by hydrodynamic interactions, the encaged swimmer is seen to be able to propel the droplet, and in some situations both remain in a stable co-swimming state. The problem is tackled using both an exact analytical theory and a numerical implementation based on boundary element method, with a particular focus on the kinematics of th…