Lid-Driven Butterfly Cavity for a Controllable Viscous Flow

Abstract

Abstract The theme of current effort is to numerically analyze physical aspects of the flow triggered by a lid-driven cavity of butterfly cross section. The main goal is to search how the butterfly shape adds to the mixing phenomenon and its stationary flow solution. To achieve the aim, numerical simulations are performed from the scaled equations employing a conventional finite element technique. The induced pressure and velocity field topologies are elucidated through visualizing the contour plots and stream flows for varying Reynolds numbers. The present results reveal that the amount of flow and its mixing process can be controlled by adjusting the nonparallel walls of the butterfly in such a manner that fast mixing and slow mixing can take place in different sections of the cavity. This permits us decomposition of particles during separation process of chemical substances in industrial applications.