A dynamical instability due to fluid–wall coupling lowers the transition Reynolds number in the flow through a flexible tube

A flow-induced instability in a tube with flexible walls is studied experimentally. Tubes of diameter 0.8 and 1.2 mm are cast in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer gels, and the catalyst concentration in these gels is varied to obtain shear modulus in the range 17–550 kPa. A pressure drop between the inlet and outlet of the tube is used to drive fluid flow, and the friction factor $f$ is measured as a function of the Reynolds number $Re$. From these measurements, it is found that the laminar flow becomes unstable, and there is a transition to a more complicated flow profile, for Reynolds numbers as low as 500 for the softest gels used here. The nature of the $f$–$Re$ curves is also qualitatively different from that in the flow past rigid tubes; in contrast to the discontinuous increase in the friction factor at transition in a rigid tube, it is found that there is a continuous increase in the friction factor from the laminar value of $16\ensuremath{/} Re$ in a flexible tube. The onset of transition is also detected by a dye-stream method, where a stream of dye is injected into the centre of the tube. It is found that there is a continuous increase of the amplitude of perturbations at the onset of transition in a flexible tube, in contrast to the abrupt disruption of the dye stream at transition in a rigid tube. There are oscillations in the wall of the tube at the onset of transition, which is detected from the laser scattering off the walls of the tube. This indicates that the coupling between the fluid stresses and the elastic stresses in the wall results in an instability of the laminar flow.

Dynamics of pulsed flow in an elastic tube

Internal haemorrhage, often leading to cardio-vascular arrest happens to be one of the prime sources of high fatality rates in mammals. We propose a simplistic model of fluid flow in our attempt to specify the location of the haemorrhagic spot, which, if located accurately, could possibly be operated leading to an instant cure. The model we employ for the purpose is basically fluid mechanical in origin and consists of a viscous fluid, pumped by a periodic force and flowing through an elastic tube. The analogy is with that of blood, pumped from the heart and flowing through an artery or vein. Our results, aided by graphical illustrations, match reasonably well with experimental observations.

Peristaltic pumping of a micropolar fluid in a tube

Peristaltic transport of a micropolar fluid in a circular tube is studied under low Reynolds number and long wavelength approximations. The closed form solutions are obtained. for velocity, microrotation components, as well as the stream function and they contain new additional parameters namely, N the coupling number and m the micropolar parameter. In the case of free pumping (pressure difference Deltap = 0) the difference in pumping flux is observed to be very small for Newtonian and micropolar fluids but in the case of pumping (Deltap > 0) the characteristics are significantly altered for different N and m. It is observed that the peristalsis in micropolar fluids works as a pump against a greater pressure rise compared with a Newtonian fluid. Streamline patterns which depict trapping phenomena are presented for different parameter ranges. The limit on the trapping of the center streamline is obtained. The effects of N and m on friction force for different Deltap are discussed.

Flux tube model signals for baryon correlations in heavy ion collisions

The flux tube model offers a pictorial description of what happens during the deconfinement phase transition in QCD. The three-point vertices of a flux tube network lead to formation of baryons upon hadronization. Therefore, correlations in the baryon number distribution at the last scattering surface are related to the preceding pattern of the flux tube vertices in the quark-gluon plasma, and provide a signature of the nearby deconfinement phase transition. I discuss the nature of the expected signal, and how to extract it from the experimental data for heavy ion collisions at RHIC and LHC.

Interfacial growth as a model of tube-width heterogeneities in concentrated solutions of stiff polymers

Recent experimental measurements of the distribution P(w) of transverse chain fluctuations w in concentrated solutions of F-actin filaments B. Wang, J Guan, S. M. Anthony, S. C. Bae, K. S. Schweizer, and S. Granick, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 118301 (2010); J. Glaser, D. Chakraborty, K. Kroy, I. Lauter, M. Degawa, N. Kirchgessner, B. Hoffmann, R. Merkel, and M. Giesen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 037801 (2010)] are shown to be well-fit to an expression derived from a model of the conformations of a single harmonically confined weakly bendable rod. The calculation of P(w) is carried out essentially exactly within a path integral approach that was originally applied to the study of one-dimensional randomly growing interfaces. Our results are generally as successful in reproducing experimental trends as earlier approximate results obtained from more elaborate many-chain treatments of the confining tube potential.

Interfacial growth as a model of tube-width heterogeneities in concentrated solutions of stiff polymers

Recent experimental measurements of the distribution P(w) of transverse chain fluctuations w in concentrated solutions of F-actin filaments B. Wang, J Guan, S. M. Anthony, S. C. Bae, K. S. Schweizer, and S. Granick, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 118301 (2010); J. Glaser, D. Chakraborty, K. Kroy, I. Lauter, M. Degawa, N. Kirchgessner, B. Hoffmann, R. Merkel, and M. Giesen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 037801 (2010)] are shown to be well-fit to an expression derived from a model of the conformations of a single harmonically confined weakly bendable rod. The calculation of P(w) is carried out essentially exactly within a path integral approach that was originally applied to the study of one-dimensional randomly growing interfaces. Our results are generally as successful in reproducing experimental trends as earlier approximate results obtained from more elaborate many-chain treatments of the confining tube potential. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

Riemann shock tube: 1D normal shocks in air, simulations and experiments

This paper presents numerical simulation of the evolution of one-dimensional normal shocks, their propagation, reflection and interaction in air using a single diaphragm Riemann shock tube and validate them using experimental results. Mathematical model is derived for one-dimensional compressible flow of viscous and conducting medium. Dimensionless form of the mathematical model is used to construct space-time finite element processes based on minimization of the space-time residual functional. The space-time local approximation functions for space-time p-version hierarchical finite elements are considered in higher order GRAPHICS] spaces that permit desired order of global differentiability of local approximations in space and time. The resulting algebraic systems from this approach yield unconditionally positive-definite coefficient matrices, hence ensure unique numerical solution. The evolution is computed for a space-time strip corresponding to a time increment Delta t and then time march to obtain the evolution up to any desired value of time. Numerical studies are designed using recently invented hand-driven shock tube (Reddy tube) parameters, high/low side density and pressure values, high- and low-pressure side shock tube lengths, so that numerically computed results can be compared with actual experimental measurements.

Stability of the flow in a soft tube deformed due to an applied pressure gradient

A linear stability analysis is carried out for the flow through a tube with a soft wall in order to resolve the discrepancy of a factor of 10 for the transition Reynolds number between theoretical predictions in a cylindrical tube and the experiments of Verma and Kumaran J. Fluid Mech. 705, 322 (2012)]. Here the effect of tube deformation (due to the applied pressure difference) on the mean velocity profile and pressure gradient is incorporated in the stability analysis. The tube geometry and dimensions are reconstructed from experimental images, where it is found that there is an expansion and then a contraction of the tube in the streamwise direction. The mean velocity profiles at different downstream locations and the pressure gradient, determined using computational fluid dynamics, are found to be substantially modified by the tube deformation. The velocity profiles are then used in a linear stability analysis, where the growth rates of perturbations are calculated for the flow through a tube with the wall modeled as a neo-Hookean elastic solid. The linear stability analysis is carried out for the mean velocity profiles at different downstream locations using the parallel flow approximation. The analysis indicates that the flow first becomes unstable in the downstream converging section of the tube where the flow profile is more pluglike when compared to the parabolic flow in a cylindrical tube. The flow is stable in the upstream diverging section where the deformation is maximum. The prediction for the transition Reynolds number is in good agreement with experiments, indicating that the downstream tube convergence and the consequent modification in the mean velocity profile and pressure gradient could reduce the transition Reynolds number by an order of magnitude.

Flame Propagation of H_2-Air in a Semi-Open Obstructed Tube

针对氢／空气混合物,通过实验研究了其预混火焰在半开口管道中的火焰传播加速现象,结果表明,火焰传播状态随着氢气当量比的变化而发生改变。当氢／空气混合物被点燃后,由于障碍物的扰动,火焰在管道中不断加速传播,并最终到达一准稳态传播。在氢气当量比0.31附近时,火焰速度发生跃变。当氢气当量比足够大时,火焰传播由爆燃态转变为爆轰态。在本实验条件下,爆燃转准爆轰的临界条件是d/Lambda>=2.6（d是圆环形障碍物内径,人是爆轰格胞尺度）。障碍物阻塞比的变化对最大火焰速度和压力提升的影响不明显。

The Interaction Between Shock Waves and Foam in a Shock Tube

An experimental study and a numerical simulation were conducted to investigate the mechanical and thermodynamic processes involved in the interaction between shock waves and low density foam. The experiment was done in a stainless shock tube (80mm in inner diameter, 10mm in wall thickness and 5360mm in length). The velocities of the incident and reflected compression waves in the foam were measured by using piezo-ceramic pressure sensors. The end-wall peak pressure behind the reflected wave in the foam was measured by using a crystal piezoelectric sensor. It is suggested that the high end-wall pressure may be caused by a rapid contact between the foam and the end-wall surface. Both open-cell and closed-cell foams with different length and density were tested. Through comparing the numerical and experimental end-wall pressure, the permeability coefficients a and 0 are quantitatively determined.

Influence of the Configuration of Obstacles on Premixed Flame Acceleration in a Tube

在一端封闭、一端开口的火焰传播管中均匀布置障碍物,研究了障碍物结构对管道中预混火焰传播的影 响。结果表明,由于障碍物的扰动,火焰不断加速,在阻塞比相同的条件下,最终的火焰稳态速度与障碍物的形状 和间距基本无关,其中障碍物间距仅仅影响火焰的加速速率,在障碍物间距约等于火焰传播管内径( W/ D≈1. 0) 时,平均火焰速度达到最大值,火焰到达稳态传播的距离最短。同时,本文用一维简化模型模拟了火焰在障碍物管 道中的加速过程,计算结果与实验测试结果在定性上比较吻合,说明在管内火焰速度较低的情况下,用一维可压缩 流动近似处理能初步揭示管内火焰的加速机制。

Investigation of High-Speed Combustible Gas Ignited by a Hot Gas Jet Produced in the Shock Tube

The high-speed combustible gas ignited by a hot gas jet, which is induced by shock focusing, was experimentally investigated. By use of the separation mode of shock tube, the test section of a single shock tube is split into two parts, which provide the high-speed flow of combustible gas and pilot flame of hot gas jet, respectively. In the interface of two parts of test sections the flame of jet was formed and spread to the high-speed combustible gas. Two kinds of the ignitions, 3-D “line-flame ignition” and 2-D “plane-flame ignition”, were investigated. In the condition of 3-D “lineflame ignition” of combustion, thicker hot gas jet than pure air jet, was observed in schlieren photos. In the condition of 2-D “plane-flame ignition” of combustion, the delay time of ignition and the angle of flame front in schlieren photos were measured, from which the velocity of flame propagation in the high-speed combustible gas is estimated in the range of 30–90 m/s and the delay time of ignition is estimated in the range of 0.12–0.29 ms.