Time-periodic Flow Research Articles

Coherent structures formed by small particles in traveling-wave flows.

We experimentally verify the "phase locking model," which describes the formation of one-dimensional coherent structures by low-Stokes-number particles as proposed by Pushkin etal. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 234501 (2011)0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.106.234501] in thermocapillary liquid bridges: When the particles form the coherent structures in time-periodic flows, the synchronous coupling of the toroidal vortex and the azimuthally traveling wave is achieved for a range of azimuthal wave number m. We further propose coherent structures of rational wave numbers in the azimuthal direction and unveil those experimentally.

Projection-based reduced-order modelling of time-periodic problems, with application to flow past flapping hydrofoils

Simulating forced time-periodic flows in industrial applications presents significant computational challenges, partly due to the need to overcome costly transients before achieving time-periodicity. Reduced-order modelling emerges as a promising method to speed-up computations. We extend upon the work of Lotz et al. (2024) where a time-periodic space–time model is introduced. We present a time-periodic reduced-order model that directly finds the time-periodic solution without requiring extensive time integration. The reduced-order model gives a reduction in variables in both space and time. Our approach involves a POD-Galerkin reduced-order model based on a time-periodic full-order model that employs isogeometric analysis, residual-based variational multiscale turbulence modelling and weak boundary conditions. The projection-based reduced-order model inherits these features. We evaluate the reduced-order model with numerical experiments on moving hydrofoils. The motion is known a priori and we restrict ourselves to two spatial dimensions. In these experiments we vary the Strouhal and Reynolds numbers, and the motion profile respectively. Reduced-order model solutions agree well with those of the full-order model. The errors over the entire time period of thrust and lift forces are less than 0.2%. This includes complex scenarios such as the transition from drag to thrust production with increasing Strouhal number. Our time-periodic reduced-order model offers speed-ups ranging from O(102) to O(103) compared to the full-order model, depending upon the basis size. This makes it an appealing solution for prescribed time-periodic problems, with potential for additional speedup through nonlinear reduction techniques such as hyper-reduction.

On periodic motions of a harmonic oscillator interacting with incompressible fluids

We consider a mass–spring system immersed in an incompressible fluid flow governed by the Navier–Stokes equations subject to a prescribed time-periodic flow rate (and possibly external time-periodic body forces on the fluid and the mass). We show that, with no restriction on the period of the flow rate (and of the external forces), when the flow rate is “small”, there exists a weak time-periodic solution to the coupled system. Under some more regularity and “smallness” conditions on the flow rate (and the external forces) we also show that these solutions are, indeed, strong solutions.

Enhancing transport barriers with swimming micro-organisms in chaotic flows

We investigate the effects of bacterial activity on the mixing and transport properties of a passive scalar in time-periodic flows in experiments and in a simple model. We focus on the interactions between swimming Escherichia coli and the Lagrangian coherent structures (LCSs) of the flow, which are computed from experimentally measured velocity fields. Experiments show that such interactions are non-trivial and can lead to transport barriers through which the scalar flux is significantly reduced. Using the Poincaré map, we show that these transport barriers coincide with the outermost members of elliptic LCSs known as Lagrangian vortex boundaries. Numerical simulations further show that elliptic LCSs can repel elongated swimmers and lead to swimmer depletion within Lagrangian coherent vortices. A simple mechanism shows that such depletion is due to the preferential alignment of elongated swimmers with the tangents of elliptic LCSs. Our results provide insights into understanding the transport of micro-organisms in complex flows with dynamical topological features from a Lagrangian viewpoint.

Space–time computations of exactly time-periodic flows past hydrofoils

The computation of periodic flows is typically conducted over multiple periods. First, a number of periods is used to develop periodic characteristics, and afterwards statistics are collected from averages over multiple periods. As a consequence, it is uncertain whether the numerical results are exactly time-periodic, and additionally, the time domain might be needlessly long. In this article, we circumvent these concerns by using a time-periodic function space. Consequently, the boundary conditions and solutions are exactly periodic. We employ the isogeometric analysis framework to achieve higher-order smoothness in both space and time. The discretization is performed using residual-based variational multiscale modeling and weak boundary conditions are adopted to enhance the accuracy near the moving boundaries of the computational domain. We enforce the time-periodic boundary condition within the isogeometric discretization spaces, which converts the two-dimensional time-dependent problem into a three-dimensional boundary value problem. Furthermore, we determine the boundary velocities of moving hydrofoils directly from the computational mesh and use a conservation methodology for force extraction. Application of the computational setup to heaving and pitching hydrofoils displays very accurate and exactly periodic results for lift and drag.

Twist dynamics of vortex interaction in a time-periodic deformation flow

Twist dynamics of vortex interaction in a time-periodic deformation flow

Hopf bifurcation of a non-parallel Navier-Stokes flow

A plane non-parallel flow in a square fluid domain exhibits an odd number of vortices. A spectral structure is found to have a non-real solution of the spectral problem linearized around the flow. With the use of this structure, Hopf bifurcation or secondary time periodic flows branching of a basic square eddy flow are found. In contrast to a square eddy flow involving an even number of vortices in earlier analytical and experimental investigations, instability of the flow leads to steady-state bifurcations.

A new stabilized time-spectral finite element solver for fast simulation of blood flow

The increasing application of cardiorespiratory simulations for diagnosis and surgical planning necessitates the development of computational methods significantly faster than the current technology. To achieve this objective, we leverage the time-periodic nature of these flows by discretizing equations in the frequency domain instead of the time domain. This approach markedly reduces the size of the discrete problem and, consequently, the simulation cost. With this motivation, we introduce a finite element method for simulating time-periodic flows that are physically stable. The proposed time-spectral method is formulated by augmenting the baseline Galerkin’s method with a least-squares penalty term that is weighed by a positive-definite stabilization matrix. An error estimate is established for the convective–diffusive system, showing that the proposed method emulates the behavior of existing standard time methods including optimal convergence rate in diffusive regimes and stability in strong convection. This method is tested on a patient-specific Fontan model at nominal Reynolds and Womersley numbers of 500 and 10, respectively, demonstrating its ability to replicate conventional time simulation results using as few as 7 modes at 11% of the computational cost. Owing to its higher local-to-processor computation density, the proposed method also exhibits improved parallel scalability for fast simulation of time-critical applications.

Periodic electroosmotic flow of nanofluids with slip-dependent high zeta potential

The time periodic electroosmotic flow of nanofluids is investigated analytically in a hydrophobic microchannel. In this study, we consider the interdependence relationship between the wall electrical potential and slip. According to the non-linear slip-dependent zeta potential, we obtain an analytical solution of electrical potential for arbitrary value of wall electrical potential. Subsequently, we give the analytical integration expression of time periodic electroosmotic velocity of nanofluids. Based on the obtained electrical potential distribution, the oscillating flow velocity and rate are calculated numerically. The flow characteristics are determined by the oscillating frequency of electrical field, the volume fraction of nanoparticles and wall electrical potential. The noteworthy results are that, the oscillating electrical field can result in the oscillation of nanofluids. However, such oscillation is strongly dependent on the electrical field frequency and the flow characteristics are significantly different for various frequencies. Moreover, when the nanoparticles are introduced into the time periodic electroosmotic flow, the oscillation can be restrained. This may be helpful to understand the electrohydrodynamic instability of nanofluids.

High-resolution 3D computation of time-periodic long-wake flows with the Carrier-Domain Method and Space–Time Variational Multiscale method with isogeometric discretization

High-resolution 3D computation of time-periodic long-wake flows with the Carrier-Domain Method and Space–Time Variational Multiscale method with isogeometric discretization

Energy-conserving hyper-reduction and temporal localization for reduced order models of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations

A novel hyper-reduction method is proposed that conserves kinetic energy and momentum for reduced order models of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. The main advantage of conservation of kinetic energy is that it endows the hyper-reduced order model (hROM) with a nonlinear stability property. The new method poses the discrete empirical interpolation method (DEIM) as a minimization problem and subsequently imposes constraints to conserve kinetic energy. Two methods are proposed to improve the robustness of the new method against error accumulation: oversampling and Mahalanobis regularization. Mahalanobis regularization has the benefit of not requiring additional measurement points. Furthermore, a novel method is proposed to perform energy- and momentum-conserving temporal localization with the principle interval decomposition: new interface conditions are derived such that energy and momentum are conserved for a full time-integration instead of only during separate intervals. The performance of the new energy- and momentum-conserving hyper-reduction methods and the energy- and momentum-conserving temporal localization method is analysed using three convection-dominated test cases; a shear-layer roll-up, two-dimensional homogeneous isotropic turbulence and a time-periodic inviscid flow consisting of a vortex in a uniform background flow. Our main finding is that energy conservation in combination with oversampling or regularization leads to a robust method with excellent long time stability properties. When any of these two ingredients is missing, accuracy and/or stability is significantly impaired.

Oscillatory electro-magneto-kinetics of confined-Stokes-second-problem micro-flows

We semi-analytically investigate the electro-magneto-hydrodynamics of time periodic electroosmotic flow of a Newtonian electrolyte through microchannels with oscillating boundaries, resembling a confined-Stokes-second-problem type system. Herein, a constant orthogonal magnetic field and a constant transverse electric field have been used along with the driving time periodic electric field to have better control over mixing in the microchannel or to augment the pumping. The Poisson–Boltzmann equation has been solved with Debye–Hückel linearization for the thin electric double layer to obtain the electric potential distribution. We determine the flow field for low Hartmann number (Ha) cases by the regular perturbation method. Furthermore, Laplace transformation has been used to solve the flow field for each order in the obtained perturbation series. We have obtained the solution of flow field up to O(Ha) and found an excellent match with the complete numerical solution for our range of Ha. The dependence of flow field on dimensionless parameters, such as Ha, electrokinetic number (M), and Womersley number (Wo), has been discussed thoroughly, where Ha and M are functions of the strength of applied magnetic field and transverse electric field, respectively, and Wo is the function of Debye length, kinematic viscosity, and frequency of the time periodic electric field. Interestingly, for large values Wo, we find wave like motion in the flow field, which induces vorticity as well as better mixing caliber. Additionally, we find that the interplay between Ha and M controls the mixing and modifies the flow rate according to the need. Various combinations of such parameters have been discussed to promote mixing as well as pumping for such strongly coupled microfluidic phenomena.

Numerical Study of the Time-Periodic Electroosmotic Flow of Viscoelastic Fluid through a Short Constriction Microchannel.

Electroosmotic flow (EOF) is of utmost significance due to its numerous practical uses in controlling flow at micro/nanoscales. In the present study, the time-periodic EOF of a viscoelastic fluid is statistically analyzed using a short 10:1 constriction microfluidic channel joining two reservoirs on either side. The flow is modeled using the Oldroyd-B (OB) model and the Poisson-Boltzmann model. The EOF of a highly concentrated polyacrylamide (PAA) aqueous solution is investigated under the combined effects of an alternating current (AC) electric field and a direct current (DC) electric field. Power-law degradation is visible in the energy spectra of the velocity fluctuations over a wide frequency range, pointing to the presence of elastic instabilities in the EOF. The energy-spectra curves of the velocity fluctuations under a DC electric field exhibit peaks primarily beneath 20 Hz, with the greatest peak being observed close to 6 Hz. When under both DC and AC electric fields, the energy spectra of the velocity fluctuations exhibit a peak at the same frequency as the AC electric field, and the highest peak is obtained when the frequency of the AC electric field is near 6 Hz. Additionally, the frequency of the AC electric field affects how quickly the viscoelastic EOF flows. Higher flow rates are obtained at relatively low frequencies compared to under the DC electric field, and the greatest flow rate is found close to 6 Hz. But as the frequency rises further, the flow rate falls. The flow rate falls to a level below the DC electric field when the frequency is sufficiently high.

Continuous-time balanced truncation for time-periodic fluid flows using frequential Gramians

Reduced-order models for flows that exhibit time-periodic behavior (e.g., flows in turbomachinery and wake flows) are critical for several tasks, including active control and optimization. One well-known procedure to obtain the desired reduced-order model in the proximity of a periodic solution of the governing equations is continuous-time balanced truncation. Within this framework, the periodic reachability and observability Gramians are usually estimated numerically via quadrature using the forward and adjoint post-transient response to impulses. However, this procedure can be computationally expensive, especially in the presence of slowly-decaying transients. Moreover, it can only be performed if the periodic orbit is stable in the sense of Floquet. In order to address these issues, we use the frequency-domain representation of the Gramians, which we henceforth refer to as frequential Gramians. First, these frequential Gramians are well-defined for both stable and unstable dynamics. In particular, we show that when the underlying system is unstable, these Gramians satisfy a pair of allied differential Lyapunov equations. Second, they can be estimated numerically by solving algebraic systems of equations that lend themselves to heavy computational parallelism and that deliver the desired post-transient response without having to follow physical transients. The computational gains that we can achieve by using the frequency domain are demonstrated on a simple three-dimensional toy model that exhibits time-periodic dynamics. We then demonstrate this method on a periodically-forced axisymmetric jet at Reynolds numbers Re=1250 and Re=1500. At the lower Reynolds number, the flow strongly amplifies subharmonic perturbations and exhibits vortex pairing about a Floquet-stable T-periodic solution. At the higher Reynolds number, the underlying T-periodic orbit is unstable and the flow naturally settles onto a 2T-periodic limit cycle characterized by pairing vortices. At both Reynolds numbers, we compute a reduced-order model and we use it to design a feedback controller and a state estimator capable of suppressing vortex pairing.

On the onset of long-wavelength three-dimensional instability in the cylinder wake

We study the onset of the three-dimensional mode A instability in the near wake behind a circular cylinder. We show that long-wavelength perturbations organise in a time-shifting pattern such that the in-plane velocity in each streamwise slice corresponds to the base flow solution at shifted times. This observation introduces an additional unifying characteristic for certain mode A type instabilities. We then analyse the mechanisms which control the growth or decay of these perturbations and highlight the crucial role played by the tilting mechanism which operates via non-local interactions in a manner similar to Biot–Savart induction. We characterise its domain of influence using a Green's function-based approach which allows us to rationalise the non-trivial dependence of the growth rate on the spanwise wavenumber. We connect this behaviour to the subtle balance between the local growth of the perturbations as they are swept along by the flow and the feedback on the perturbations that are generated during the next period of the time-periodic base flow. Finally, we discuss generalisations of our findings to other types of flows.

Time-periodic electromagnetohydrodynamic flow in a circular microtube with surface charge dependent slip

The time-periodic electromagnetohydrodynamic (EMHD) flow in circular microtubes is studied by considering slip boundary conditions. An oscillating electric field and a constant magnetic field orthogonal to each other are applied externally to drive the fluid flow. The slip length considered here depends on the surface charge of the channel, which is generally a more realistic situation as demonstrated by recent experimental work. The velocity is obtained by using the characteristics of the Bessel equation. The influences of surface charge density σs and electrical oscillating Reynolds number Re on velocity and flow rate are discussed in detail. Our results demonstrate the EMHD slip flow rate can be reduced by up to 8.5% at low Reynolds number (Re=1) by considering the surface charge effect on slip, but enhanced by up to 8% at high Reynolds number (Re=50). These theoretical results can provide some theoretical basis for experimental studies.

Secondary steady-state and time-periodic flows from a basic flow with square array of odd number of vortices

Secondary steady-state and time-periodic flows from a basic flow with square array of odd number of vortices

Competing particle attractee in liquid bridges.

Assuming the so-called particle accumulation structures (PAS) in liquid bridges as archetypal systems for the investigation of particle self-assembly phenomena in laminar time-periodic flows, an attempt is made here to disentangle the complex hierarchy of relationships existing between the multiplicity of the loci of aggregation (streamtubes which coexist in the physical space as competing attractee) and the particle structures effectively showing up. While the former depends on purely topological (fluid-dynamic) arguments, the influential factors driving the outcomes of the fluid-particle interaction seem to obey a much more complex logic, which makes the arrangement of particles different from realization to realization. Through numerical solution of the governing Eulerian and Lagrangian equations for liquid and mass transport, we show that for a fixed aspect ratio of the liquid bridge, particles can be gradually transferred from one streamtube to another as the Stokes number and/or the Marangoni number are varied. Moreover, ranges exist where these attractors compete resulting in overlapping or intertwined particle structures, some of which, characterized by a strong degree of asymmetry, have never been reported before. This article is part of the theme issue 'New trends in pattern formation and nonlinear dynamics of extended systems'.

Vibration-induced streaming flow near a sharp edge: Flow structure and instabilities in a large span of forcing amplitude.

The steady streaming generated near solid walls by the periodic forcing of a viscous fluid is known to be strongly enhanced near sharp structures, owing to centrifugal effects that lead to the generation of an intense jet from the sharp tip. This flow has been shown to provide efficient active mixing in microchannels, due to strong transverse velocity. The forcing is often prescribed by acoustic transducers, but it can also be generated from low-frequency time-periodic flow ensured by mechanical vibrations. In this paper, we study the flow structure generated by low-frequency forcing (typically 10Hz) around a sharp tip. Using direct numerical simulations, we extract both the time-periodic and steady responses within a large span of amplitude of vibrations. When the amplitude is smaller than the tip radius of curvature, we recover the flow structure observed at higher frequencies (>1kHz) in previous studies, namely, an intense symmetric central jet and a quadratic dependence for the characteristic streaming velocity with the oscillating velocity v_{s}∼v_{a}^{2}. At higher amplitudes, such a scaling no longer holds and the streaming flow pattern loses its left-right symmetry. We then analyze the mechanisms of the instability from the careful examination of the instationary flow fields, and we propose possible mechanisms for such a flow transition involving the coupling between the streaming jet and instationary vorticity.

Experimental investigations of linear and nonlinear periodic travelling waves in a viscous fluid conduit

Conduits generated by the buoyant dynamics between two miscible Stokes fluids with high viscosity contrast, a type of core–annular flow, exhibit a rich nonlinear wave dynamics. However, little is known about the fundamental wave dispersion properties of the medium. In the present work, a pump is used to inject a time-periodic flow that results in the excitation of propagating small- and large-amplitude periodic travelling waves along the conduit interface. This wavemaker problem is used as a means to measure the linear and nonlinear dispersion relations and corresponding periodic travelling wave profiles. Measurements are favourably compared with predictions from a fully nonlinear, long-wave model (the conduit equation) and the analytically computed linear dispersion relation for two-Stokes flow. A critical frequency is observed, marking the threshold between propagating and non-propagating (spatially decaying) waves. Measurements of wave profiles and the wavenumber–frequency dispersion relation quantitatively agree with wave solutions of the conduit equation. An upshift from the conduit equation's predicted critical frequency is observed and is explained by incorporating a weak recirculating flow into the full two-Stokes flow model. When the boundary condition corresponds to the temporal profile of a nonlinear periodic travelling wave solution of the conduit equation, weakly nonlinear and strongly nonlinear, cnoidal-type waves are observed that quantitatively agree with the conduit nonlinear dispersion relation and wave profiles. This wavemaker problem is an important precursor to the experimental investigation of more general boundary value problems in viscous fluid conduit nonlinear wave dynamics.