No Arabic abstract
The dynamics of inertial particles in Rayleigh-B{e}nard convection, where both particles and fluid exhibit thermal expansion, is studied using direct numerical simulations (DNS). We consider the effect of particles with a thermal expansion coefficient larger than that of the fluid, causing particles to become lighter than the fluid near the hot bottom plate and heavier than the fluid near the cold top plate. Because of the opposite directions of the net Archimedes force on particles and fluid, particles deposited at the plate now experience a relative force towards the bulk. The characteristic time for this motion towards the bulk to happen, quantified as the time particles spend inside the thermal boundary layers (BLs) at the plates, is shown to depend on the thermal response time, $tau_T$, and the thermal expansion coefficient of particles relative to that of the fluid, $K = alpha_p / alpha_f$. In particular, the residence time is constant for small thermal response times, $tau_T lesssim 1$, and increasing with $tau_T$ for larger thermal response times, $tau_T gtrsim 1$. Also, the thermal BL residence time is increasing with decreasing $K$. A one-dimensional (1D) model is developed, where particles experience thermal inertia and their motion is purely dependent on the buoyancy force. Although the values do not match one-to-one, this highly simplified 1D model does predict a regime of a constant thermal BL residence time for smaller thermal response times and a regime of increasing residence time with $tau_T$ for larger response times, thus explaining the trends in the DNS data well.
We report quantitative experimental results for the intensity of noise-induced fluctuations below the critical temperature difference $Delta T_c$ for Rayleigh-Benard convection. The structure factor of the fluctuating convection rolls is consistent with the expected rotational invariance of the system. In agreement with predictions based on stochastic hydrodynamic equations, the fluctuation intensity is found to be proportional to $1/sqrt{-epsilon}$ where $epsilon equiv Delta T / Delta T_c -1$. The noise power necessary to explain the measurements agrees with the prediction for thermal noise. (WAC95-1)
The classic Lorenz equations were originally derived from the two-dimensional Rayleigh-Benard convection system considering an idealised case with the lowest order of harmonics. Although the low-order Lorenz equations have traditionally served as a minimal model for chaotic and intermittent atmospheric motions, even the dynamics of the two-dimensional Rayleigh-Benard convection system is not fully represented by the Lorenz equations, and such differences have yet to be clearly identified in a systematic manner. In this paper, the convection problem is revisited through an investigation of various dynamical behaviors exhibited by a two-dimensional direct numerical simulation (DNS) and the generalized expansion of the Lorenz equations (GELE) derived by considering additional higher-order harmonics in the spectral expansions of periodic solutions. Notably, the GELE allows us to understand how nonlinear interactions among high-order modes alter the dynamical features of the Lorenz equations including fixed points, chaotic attractors, and periodic solutions. It is verified that numerical solutions of the DNS can be recovered from the solutions of GELE when we consider the system with sufficiently high-order harmonics. At the lowest order, the classic Lorenz equations are recovered from GELE. Unlike in the Lorenz equations, we observe limit tori, which are the multi-dimensional analogue of limit cycles, in the solutions of the DNS and GELE at high orders. Initial condition dependency in the DNS and Lorenz equations is also discussed.
The ordering of particles in the drying process of a colloidal suspension is crucial in determining the properties of the resulting film. For example, microscopic inhomogeneities can lead to the formation of cracks and defects that can deteriorate the quality of the film considerably. This type of problem is inherently multiscale and here we study it numerically, using our recently developed method for the simulation of soft polymeric capsules in multicomponent fluids. We focus on the effect of the particle softness on the film microstructure during the drying phase and how it relates to the formation of defects. We quantify the order of the particles by measuring both the Voronoi entropy and the isotropic order parameter. Surprisingly, both observables exhibit a non-monotonic behaviour when the softness of the particles is increased. We further investigate the correlation between the interparticle interaction and the change in the microstructure during the evaporation phase. We observe that the rigid particles form chain-like structures that tend to scatter into small clusters when the particle softness is increased.
Steady flows that optimize heat transport are obtained for two-dimensional Rayleigh-Benard convection with no-slip horizontal walls for a variety of Prandtl numbers $Pr$ and Rayleigh number up to $Rasim 10^9$. Power law scalings of $Nusim Ra^{gamma}$ are observed with $gammaapprox 0.31$, where the Nusselt number $Nu$ is a non-dimensional measure of the vertical heat transport. Any dependence of the scaling exponent on $Pr$ is found to be extremely weak. On the other hand, the presence of two local maxima of $Nu$ with different horizontal wavenumbers at the same $Ra$ leads to the emergence of two different flow structures as candidates for optimizing the heat transport. For $Pr lesssim 7$, optimal transport is achieved at the smaller maximal wavenumber. In these fluids, the optimal structure is a plume of warm rising fluid which spawns left/right horizontal arms near the top of the channel, leading to downdrafts adjacent to the central updraft. For $Pr > 7$ at high-enough Ra, the optimal structure is a single updraft absent significant horizontal structure, and characterized by the larger maximal wavenumber.
Two identical particles driven by the same steady force through a viscous fluid may move relative to one another due to hydrodynamic interactions. The presence or absence of this relative translation has a profound effect on the dynamics of a driven suspension consisting of many particles. We consider a pair of particles which, to linear order in the force, do not interact hydrodynamically. If the system possesses an intrinsic property (such as the shape of the particles, their position with respect to a boundary, or the shape of the boundary) which is affected by the external forcing, hydrodynamic interactions that depend nonlinearly on the force may emerge. We study the general properties of such nonlinear response. Analysis of the symmetries under particle exchange and under force reversal leads to general conclusions concerning the appearance of relative translation and the motions time-reversibility. We demonstrate the applicability of the conclusions in three specific examples: (a) two spheres driven parallel to a wall; (b) two deformable objects driven parallel to their connecting line; and (c) two spheres driven along a curved path. The breaking of time-reversibility suggests a possible use of nonlinear hydrodynamic interactions to disperse or assemble particles by an alternating force.