Layer Viscosity Research Articles

The relationship between glaciation and volcanism: Numerical simulation and the Holocene volcanism in Kamchatka

This study is concerned with numerical simulation of the strain due to glaciation and glacial melting, when a magma zone (a layer containing inclusions of magma and magma cumulates) is present at the crust–mantle boundary. According to analytical solutions of this problem that involves viscous relaxation of an uncompensated depression at the place of the molten glacier, the depth to the zone of increased shear stresses beneath the depression is proportional to its width, while the relaxation duration is proportional to viscosity of the lithosphere and is a few thousand years. These fundamental estimates are corroborated by our numerical simulation. According to it, the magma zone at the Moho boundary shields the zone of increased shear stresses, limiting it from below. The maximum values (12–25 MPa) with glacial thickness 500–1000 m are reached at the top of this layer of low viscosity. The directions of maximum compression (s1) as calculated for the time after the melting indicate that the magma that rises along dikes is displaced from the center of the magma lens toward its periphery. It is found that glacial unloading makes the dipping faults in the crust above the low-viscosity layer attractors for the rising magma. Glacial unloading accelerates, by factors of a few times, the magma generation in the mantle that occurs following the mechanism of adiabatic decompression, as well as facilitating the accumulation of mantle fluids in the zone of increased shear stresses at the boundary of the low viscosity layer. The magma traverses this deep fluid collector and increases the intensity and explosivity of eruptions at the beginning of an interglacial period. Our numerical simulation results are in general agreement with published data on Early Holocene volcanic eruptions that occurred after the second phase of the Late Pleistocene glaciation in Kamchatka.

Viscosity and Regression Rate of Liquefying Hybrid Rocket Fuels

The combustion behavior of paraffin-based hybrid rocket fuels with gaseous oxygen as an oxidizer has been analyzed in detail. Regression rate tests have been done in a two-dimensional radial microburner at the DLR, German Aerospace Center and at the Space Propulsion Laboratory. Fuel samples have been characterized by viscosity measurements, tensile tests, and a differential scanning calorimeter. Tensile tests showed significant improvement in maximum stress and elongation when polymers in low concentration were added to the paraffin samples. The values of the liquid fuel viscosities differed significantly between the selected fuels. This affected the droplet entrainment process during combustion and the regression rates of the fuels. The entrainment and regression rate increased for the decreasing fuel liquid layer viscosity. An exponential relation has been found between the liquid fuel layer viscosity and the regression rate, which can be used to predict the regression rate of new liquefying fuels by measuring their viscosity.

Modeling viscous dissipation during vocal fold contact: the influence of tissue viscosity and thickness with implications for hydration.

The mechanics of vocal fold contact during phonation is known to play a crucial role in both normal and pathological speech production, though the underlying physics is not well understood. Herein, a viscoelastic model of the stresses during vocal fold contact is developed. This model assumes the cover to be a poroelastic structure wherein interstitial fluid translocates in response to mechanical squeezing. The maximum interstitial fluid pressure is found to generally increase with decreasing viscous dissipation and/or decreasing tissue elasticity. A global minimum in the total contact stress, comprising interstitial fluid pressure and elastic stress in the tissue, is observed over the studied dimensionless parameter range. Interestingly, physiologically reasonable estimates for the governing parameters fall within this global minimum region. The model is validated against prior experimental and computational work, wherein the predicted contact stress magnitude and impact duration agree well with published results. Lastly, observations of the potential relationship between vocal fold hydration and increased risk of tissue damage are discussed based upon model predictions of stress as functions of cover layer thickness and viscosity.

Dynamics of a bubble bouncing at a liquid/liquid/gas interface

We study the dynamics of an air bubble bouncing at a liquid/liquid/gas interface, which we refer to as a compound interface. When a bubble interacts with a thin layer of oil on top of bulk water, the oil layer modifies the interfacial properties and thus the entire process of bouncing and bubble bursting. The influence on the bubble motion is experimentally and numerically investigated. Based on the coefficient of restitution and the damping rate of the bubble velocity profile, the damping increases with the oil layer thickness and viscosity. In addition, the effect of the oil layer thickness is more prominent for high-viscosity oil. Furthermore, a reduced-order mass–spring–damper model is proposed to describe the bubble bouncing at the compound interface, which predicts the time of the first contact of the bubble with the interface and agrees well with the experimental results. Such a model also captures the general experimental trends of the coefficient of restitution for the multiphase system. Our work contributes to a further understanding of the collision and coalescence of bubbles with a compound interface.

Improving Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage performance in oil sands with a top water zone using polymer injection and the fishbone well pattern

In western Canada, a significant number of oil sands reserves have little or no cap rock with a top water zone. Due to huge heat loss to the top water zone, the conventional Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) process is uneconomical when applied directly in this type of reservoir.In this study, it is proposed that a high temperature polymer solution can be injected into the bottom of the top water zone to establish a stable high viscosity layer that will prevent steam from leaking into the top water zone. In order to select a suitable polymer that has stable viscosity under high temperature, the viscosities of different polymer solutions at different temperatures were measured and the concentration of the selected polymer solution was optimized. Furthermore, in order to extend the connection area between the oil sands and the steam chamber, the fishbone well pattern was applied instead of the single well pair pattern.Numerical simulations were performed to evaluate the feasibility of using the selected polymer in the fishbone well pattern to improve SAGD performance in oil sands with a top water zone. The numerical simulation model was based on a typical Athabasca oil sands reservoir. In this study, the effects of steam injection pressure, polymer solution injection time, steam injection rate, and different fishbone well patterns on the performance of the SAGD process were studied and optimized.The numerical simulation results suggest that the fishbone well pattern could extend the steam distribution and that polymer injection is able to prevent heat from leaking into the top water zone. Compared to the conventional SAGD process in an oil sands reservoir with a top water zone, the optimal case using a one-fishbone well pattern and polymer injection could enhance the oil production significantly. Under these conditions, the oil recovery factor in this study increased from 10.58% to 59.02%; the cumulative steam oil ratio decreased from 10.44m3/m3 to 3.85m3/m3; and the cumulative injected energy oil ratio decreased from 24.00GJ/m3 to 8.87GJ/m3. This indicates that the SAGD process with the one-fishbone well pattern and polymer injection is able to improve SAGD performance in oil sands with a top water zone.

Effect of Turbulence and Roughness on Coupled Porous-Medium/Free-Flow Exchange Processes

The interactions between turbulent free flow and flow in a porous medium are of key interest in different fields, e.g., meteorology, agriculture, building physics, and aerospace engineering. Properly understanding the strongly coupled exchange processes between the two domains is crucial to describing these interactions. In (Mosthaf et al. in Water Resour Res 47(10):W10522, 2011. doi: 10.1029/2011WR010685 ), a concept for coupling laminar compositional single-phase free flow to compositional two-phase porous-medium flow under non-isothermal conditions was presented. In this study, the existing coupling concept is first extended to turbulent free-flow conditions. This includes the interface conditions between a Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes free flow using algebraic turbulence models and a Darcy porous-medium flow. Second, eddy viscosity and boundary layer models for a rough interface are integrated into this model concept. Results from laboratory evaporation experiments are used for comparison of the developed model concept. A sensitivity analysis of the evaporation rate and porous-medium quantities on different model setups, boundary conditions, Beavers–Joseph coefficients, and roughness lengths is performed. Results demonstrate how including turbulence, either with eddy viscosity or boundary layer models, affects the evaporation rate. The model concept is able to predict early stage-I and intermediate to later stage-II evaporation rates. Sand-grain roughness concepts are successfully included into the model and show the desired qualitative effect.

An evolving view of transition zone and midmantle viscosity

AbstractIn a new study, Liu and Zhong (this issue) investigate the impact of thermochemical anomalies in the lower mantle on the viscosity structure inferred from the geoid, finding that both thermochemical and thermal only mantle models can be reconciled with the geoid with nearly the same viscosity structure. They also find a preference for radial viscosity models where the lowest viscosity layer occurs in the transition zone as opposed to the upper mantle. While their weak transition zone viscosity model is not unprecedented, it differs from the most widely used viscosity models, which assume the smallest viscosity occurs in the upper mantle. Liu and Zhong's investigation does not support the midmantle viscosity increase recently suggested by Rudolph et al. [2015] who use a nearly identical methodology but different tomographic model.

Experimental study of oblique impact of particles on wet surfaces

Granulation and agglomeration processes are characterized by intense particle–particle and particle–wall contacts. Furthermore, these collisions often happen in the presence of liquid layers due to liquid injection. Therefore the knowledge of micro-mechanics during wet collisions is fundamental for the exact description of such a process. In this work the collision behaviour of dry particles obliquely impacting a target plate covered by liquid layers is characterized by means of restitution coefficients. The coefficient of restitution describes the energy dissipation during an impact and is defined as the ratio of the velocities after and before impact. It is an important parameter for discrete element method (DEM) simulations and depends strongly on the collision parameters (such as collision velocity and angle), particle deformation behaviour (i.e. elastic or plastic) as well as on the properties of the injected liquid (viscosity, layer thickness). To investigate the influence of these parameters on the wet collision behaviour particle–wall impacts were recorded by two synchronized high-speed cameras allowing a three-dimensional analysis of the collision event. The focus of this work is to investigate the influence of liquid layer thickness, viscosity, surface tension and surface roughness on the normal and tangential coefficient of restitution.

Broad plumes rooted at the base of the Earth's mantle beneath major hotspots

Plumes of hot upwelling rock rooted in the deep mantle have been proposed as a possible origin of hotspot volcanoes, but this idea is the subject of vigorous debate. On the basis of geodynamic computations, plumes of purely thermal origin should comprise thin tails, only several hundred kilometres wide, and be difficult to detect using standard seismic tomography techniques. Here we describe the use of a whole-mantle seismic imaging technique--combining accurate wavefield computations with information contained in whole seismic waveforms--that reveals the presence of broad (not thin), quasi-vertical conduits beneath many prominent hotspots. These conduits extend from the core-mantle boundary to about 1,000 kilometres below Earth's surface, where some are deflected horizontally, as though entrained into more vigorous upper-mantle circulation. At the base of the mantle, these conduits are rooted in patches of greatly reduced shear velocity that, in the case of Hawaii, Iceland and Samoa, correspond to the locations of known large ultralow-velocity zones. This correspondence clearly establishes a continuous connection between such zones and mantle plumes. We also show that the imaged conduits are robustly broader than classical thermal plume tails, suggesting that they are long-lived, and may have a thermochemical origin. Their vertical orientation suggests very sluggish background circulation below depths of 1,000 kilometres. Our results should provide constraints on studies of viscosity layering of Earth's mantle and guide further research into thermochemical convection.

A new regime of slab-mantle coupling at the plate interface and its possible implications for the distribution of volcanoes

We investigate the effects of a thin, low viscosity layer just above the subducting slab on 3D thermal and flow structure in the mantle wedge by taking Northeast Japan as an example. The low viscosity layer assumed here is needed to explain the observed low surface heat flow and low seismic attenuation in the forearc by decoupling the mantle from the subducting slab. We find that when the viscosity in the low viscosity layer is sufficiently low, along-arc component of the flow arises inside the layer and produces along-arc temperature variation. It can also be considered as the along-arc changes in the degree of slab-mantle coupling at the plate interface. The onset time and the characteristic wavelength of the 3D flow depend on the viscosity and the extent of the low viscosity layer. In order to explain the observed spatial and temporal changes in the distribution of Quaternary volcanoes in Northeast Japan, the viscosity and the thickness of the low viscosity layer need to be <5×1018 Pas and ∼6 km, respectively. The model proposed here is based on an assumption which is simpler and better constrained by observations compared to previous models. Therefore, it could be an alternative explanation of the distribution of volcanoes in Northeast Japan.

Couette and Poiseuille flows in a low viscosity asthenosphere: Effects of internal heating rate, Rayleigh number, and plate representation

Mantle convection models with a low viscosity asthenosphere and high viscosity surface plates have been shown to produce very large aspect ratio convection cells like those inferred to exist in Earth’s mantle and to exhibit two asthenospheric flow regimes. When the surface plate is highly mobile, the plate velocity exceeds the flow velocities in the asthenosphere and the plate drives a Couette-type flow in the asthenospheric channel. For sluggish plates, the flow velocities in the asthenosphere exceed the plate velocity and the asthenospheric flow is more Poiseuille-like. It has been shown that under certain circumstances, flows become increasingly Couette-like as the aspect ratio of the plate is increased in numerical simulations. These models also show an increase in the average surface heat flux with aspect ratio which is counterintuitive, as one would expect that large aspect ratio models would result in older and colder oceanic lithosphere. Previous investigations have used single internal heating rates and Rayleigh numbers and a plate formulation that did not preclude significant deformation within the plate. In this paper, we investigate the conditions necessary for Couette and Poiseuille asthenospheric flows and for surface heat flux to increase with plate aspect ratio by varying the internal heating rate, the Rayleigh number and the representation of surface plates in 2D mantle convection models Plates are represented as a high viscosity layer with (1) a free-slip top surface boundary condition and (2) a force-balance boundary condition that imposes a constant surface velocity within the plate. We find that for models with a free-slip surface boundary condition, the internal heating rate and Rayleigh number do not strongly affect the dominance of Couette or Poiseuille flows in the asthenosphere but the increase in surface heat flux with model aspect ratio in the Poiseuille asthenospheric flow regime increases with internal heating rate. For models using the force-balance representation of surface plates, the flow regime in the asthenosphere is found to be almost independent of the plate aspect ratio and spatially averaged surface heat flux decreases with increasing aspect ratio. The dependence of heat flux on plate aspect ratio is an important consideration in Earth’s thermal history while the preponderance of Poiseuille or Couette flows in the asthenosphere may be important for understanding the mobility of surface plates and asthenospheric seismic anisotropy.

Effects of boundary layer and liquid viscosity and compressible air on sloshing characteristics

ABSTRACT In this paper, numerical investigations for tank sloshing, based on commercial CFD package FLUENT, are performed to study effects of boundary layer grid, liquid viscosity and compressible air on sloshing pressure, wave height and rising time of impact pressure. Also, sloshing experiments for liquids of different viscosity are carried out to validate the numerical results. Through comparison of numerical and experimental results, a computational model in-cluding boundary layer grid can predict the sloshing pressure more accurately. Energy dissipation due to viscous friction leads to reduction of sloshing pressure and wave elevation. Sloshing pressure is also reduced because of cushion effect of compressible air. Due to high viscosity damping effect and compressible air effect, the rising time of impact pressure becomes longer. It is also found that liquid viscosity and compressible air influence distribution of dynamic pressure along the vertical tank wall.

Free-Surface Grease Flow: Influence of Surface Roughness and Temperature

Grease flow in grease-lubricated systems can often be qualified as free-surface flow. It occurs, for example, in rolling bearings after the churning phase or on open gears. Here only a fraction of the bearing or gearbox volume is filled with grease. Part of the grease is flowing in relatively thin layers induced by centrifugal forces caused by rotation of the various components. In this paper, a model problem is investigated in the form of a free-surface flow of grease on a rotating disc. Experiments have been performed where the onset of flow and remaining grease have been studied varying the surface roughness, temperature and the centrifugal forces. The experiments have been coupled to analytical models describing the flow and temperature distribution in the grease. It was found that the impact of surface roughness could be neglected. The flow is determined by the centrifugal forces and rheology of the grease. Temperature effects the rheology but also the oil separation creating low shear strength/low viscosity layers at the surface.

Diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopic identification of dispersant/particle bonding mechanisms in functional inks.

In additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, material is deposited drop by drop, to create micron to macroscale layers. A typical inkjet ink is a colloidal dispersion containing approximately ten components including solvent, the nano to micron scale particles which will comprise the printed layer, polymeric dispersants to stabilize the particles, and polymers to tune layer strength, surface tension and viscosity. To rationally and efficiently formulate such an ink, it is crucial to know how the components interact. Specifically, which polymers bond to the particle surfaces and how are they attached? Answering this question requires an experimental procedure that discriminates between polymer adsorbed on the particles and free polymer. Further, the method must provide details about how the functional groups of the polymer interact with the particle. In this protocol, we show how to employ centrifugation to separate particles with adsorbed polymer from the rest of the ink, prepare the separated samples for spectroscopic measurement, and use Diffuse Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (DRIFTS) for accurate determination of dispersant/particle bonding mechanisms. A significant advantage of this methodology is that it provides high level mechanistic detail using only simple, commonly available laboratory equipment. This makes crucial data available to almost any formulation laboratory. The method is most useful for inks composed of metal, ceramic, and metal oxide particles in the range of 100 nm or greater. Because of the density and particle size of these inks, they are readily separable with centrifugation. Further, the spectroscopic signatures of such particles are easy to distinguish from absorbed polymer. The primary limitation of this technique is that the spectroscopy is performed ex-situ on the separated and dried particles as opposed to the particles in dispersion. However, results from attenuated total reflectance spectra of the wet separated particles provide evidence for the validity of the DRIFTS measurement.

Control of Slag-Dragging Effects at the Metal–Slag Interface through Electromagnetic Brake in a Slab Mold

AbstractTurbulent flow when steel is delivered through a nozzle in a slab mold induces dragging forces at the metal–slag interface that entrain slag droplets into the metal bulk. These dragging effects are discontinuous and correspond to the velocity fluctuations of turbulence at that interface which themselves, are dependent on nozzle immersion, nozzle design, mold width and casting speed. Slag viscosity and density, metal viscosity and slag layer thickness are employed to estimate that critical velocity which is embodied in a critical capillary number for some established mold operating conditions. This approach permits the link between all operating variables including flux chemistry and nozzle design with the interface instability. A relationship between the capillary number and the magnetic field strength used to brake the liquid steel is established which is used to assure the interface stability for any operating condition and flux chemistry.

Shear Senses and Viscous Dissipation of Layered Ductile Simple Shear Zones

Velocity profiles and shear heat profiles for inclined, layered Newtonian simple shear zones are considered. Reverse fault-like simple shear of the boundaries and upward net pressure gradient act together in such shear zones. As the velocity of the boundary increases, the point of highest velocity shifts from the lower layer of less viscosity into the upper layer. The shear heat profile shows a temperature peak inside the lower layer. For a more viscous upper layer, the point of highest velocity is located inside the upper layer and shifts towards the upper boundary of the shear zone. The shear heat profile shows a maximum temperature within the upper layer. Depending on the flow parameters of the two layers, the slip rate of the boundary, and the dip and thickness of the shear zone, a shear sense in reverse to the relative movement of the shear zone boundaries may develop. These models can decipher thermo-kinematics of layered shear zones in plate-scale hot orogens.

Numerical modeling of the effect of composite rheology on internal deformation in down-built diapirs

A two-dimensional finite difference code (FDCON) is used to estimate the progressive deformation and the effect of a composite rheology, i.e., Newtonian combined with non-Newtonian, on finite deformation patterns within a down-built diapir. The geometry of the diapir is fixed using two rigid rectangular overburden units which sink into a source layer of a certain viscosity. We have analyzed the progressive deformation within the entire salt layer for a composite rheology and compared them to a standard model with Newtonian rheology (ηs=1018Pas). The composite rheology models show a more complex deformation patterns in comparison to the standard model. Deformation is more localized within the source layer, leaving a broader less deformed zone within the middle of the source layer. In comparison to the standard model, ellipticity (R) of the strain ellipse is amplified by a factor of up to three in high deformation regions with a finite deformation f larger than two (f=log10(R)). Initially vertical and horizontal passive marker-lines within the salt layer, are folded during salt movement. Initially horizontally-oriented marker-lines in the source layer show upright folds within the middle of the stem. Within the source layer, initially vertical marker-lines form recumbent folds, which are refolded during their flow from the source layer into the stem. During their refolding, the hinge of the fold migrates outward towards the flank of the diapir. A temporal and spatial hinge migration is observed for sub-horizontal folds that originated in the source layer as they are refolded. We have also studied both the effect of curved versus sharp corners between the source layer and the stem on strain evolution within both the feeding source layer and the down-built diapir. Strain evolution and hinge migration are strongly influenced by the geometry of the corner between the source layer and the stem.

Open Fissure Folds record coseismic loading and postseismic stress relaxation

Open Fissure Folds hosted by high pressure/low temperature metamorphic rocks of south Evia (Greece) are introduced, their structural and microstructural record is analysed, and a mechanical model is proposed. Open Fissure Folds are preserved as at least two parallel folded quartz–feldspar veins separated by narrow buckled rock columns. The veins originated as tensile cracks that propagated in the middle crust driven by high differential stress. Features diagnostic for Open Fissure Folds indicate that the rock columns represented the layers of high viscosity, and not the veins as consistently reported in many previous studies on folded veins. This record is taken to indicate that buckling of the rock columns initiated after arrest of the fractures and terminated prior to complete vein sealing. Accordingly, mechanical decoupling by open fissures allowed for buckling of the rock columns in response to episodic creep of the host rocks according to stress relaxation, as expected for postseismic deformation in the earthquake cycle. I propose that the parental fractures propagated in response to quasi-instantaneous coseismic loading of the middle crust. Buckling was attributed to transient postseismic creep and stress relaxation. Complete sealing of the veins occurred when stresses were largely relaxed. Each Open Fissure Fold records the stress and strain history of a single earthquake.

О парадигме внутренней турбулентности

Статья посвящена проблемам реконструкции начальной стадии внутренней турбулентности (без учета граничных эффектов). Введением вязкости и диффузионного расслоения проводится нестандартная регуляризация многокомпонентной системы Эйлера. Для нее получены аналог условия Гюгонио и аналог условия устойчивости Лакса. Исследована проблема локальной достижимости точек фазового пространства. Построены бифуркации однофронтовых решений усеченной системы Эйлера в двухфронтовые решения. Показан сверхзвуковой характер появления бифуркаций. Построена реконструкция начальной стадии внутренней турбулентности (без учета граничных эффектов), включая математическое описание возникновения двухскоростного режима (катастрофа Римана-Гюгонио) и перемежаемости.

Asphalt concrete rutting predicted using the PEDRO model

This paper presents a theoretical viscoelastic approach, called PEDRO (PErmanent Deformation of asphalt concrete layers for ROads), for predicting rut formation in asphalt concrete materials subjected to traffic loading. Input data are traffic parameters, asphalt concrete viscosity and asphalt layer thickness. Vertical strains that cause rutting in the pavement were estimated using the PEDRO approach. A large-size type of wheel tracking machine, which has the capability to subject asphalt concrete slabs to different loadings, has been used to study the effects of wheel load and tyre pressure. Rut development in the slabs under various loading conditions was predicted. The approach has shown reasonable results as regards predicting densification and shear rutting in the tested asphalt concrete slabs.