Fluid and Instability Mechanics Laboratory

Laboratory

Related publications (90)

Transport across thin membranes: Effective solute flux jump

François Gallaire, Pier Giuseppe Ledda, Giuseppe Antonio Zampogna

A model to describe the transport across membranes of chemical species dissolved in an incompressible flow is developed via homogenization. The asymptotic matching between the microscopic and macroscopic solute concentration fields leads to a solute flux jump across the membrane, quantified through the solution of diffusion problems at the microscale. The predictive model, written in a closed form, covers a wide range of membrane behaviors, in the limit of negligible Reynolds and Peclet numbers inside the membrane. The closure problem at the microscale, found via homogenization, allows one to link the membrane microstructure to its effective macroscopic properties, such as solvent permeability and solute diffusivity. After a validation of the model through comparison with the corresponding full-scale solution, an immediate application is provided, where the membrane behavior is a priori predicted through an analysis of its microscopic properties. The introduced tools and considerations may find applications in the design of thin microstructured membranes. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.

AIP Publishing2022

Subharmonic parametric instability in nearly brimful circular cylinders: a weakly nonlinear analysis

Alessandro Bongarzone, François Gallaire, Francesco Viola

In labscale Faraday experiments, meniscus waves respond harmonically to small-amplitude forcing without threshold, hence potentially cloaking the instability onset of parametric waves. Their suppression can be achieved by imposing a contact line pinned at the container brim with static contact angle theta(s) = 90 0 (brimful condition). However, tunable meniscus waves are desired in some applications as those of liquid-based biosensors, where they can be controlled adjusting the shape of the static meniscus by slightly underfilling/overfilling the vessel (theta(s) not equal 90 degrees) while keeping the contact line fixed at the brim. Here, we refer to this wetting condition as nearly brimful. Although classic inviscid theories based on Floquet analysis have been reformulated for the case of a pinned contact line (Kidambi, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 724, 2013, pp. 671-694), accounting for (i) viscous dissipation and (ii) static contact angle effects, including meniscus waves, makes such analyses practically intractable and a comprehensive theoretical framework is still lacking. Aiming at filling this gap, in this work we formalize a weakly nonlinear analysis via multiple time scale method capable of predicting the impact of (i) and (ii) on the instability onset of viscous subharmonic standing waves in both brimful and nearly brimful circular cylinders. Notwithstanding that the form of the resulting amplitude equation is in fact analogous to that obtained by symmetry arguments (Douady, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 221, 1990, pp. 383-409), the normal form coefficients are here computed numerically from first principles, thus allowing us to rationalize and systematically quantify the modifications on the Faraday tongues and on the associated bifurcation diagrams induced by the interaction of meniscus and subharmonic parametric waves.

CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS2022

Dynamics of cavitation bubbles near granular boundaries

Mohamed Farhat, Davide Bernardo Preso, Armand Baptiste Sieber

We study the dynamics of a cavitation bubble near beds of sand of different grain sizes. We use high-speed imaging to observe the motion of the bubble and the sand for different values of the stand-off parameter gamma (dimensionless bubble-boundary distance) between 0.3 and 5.3. Compared with a rigid boundary, we find that a granular boundary leads to bubbles with shorter lifetimes and reduced centroid displacements. Above gamma approximate to 1.3, the behaviour of the bubble is almost independent of the granularity of the sand. When the stand-off parameter lies between 0.6 and 1.3, a mound of sand develops beneath the bubble, which can force the latter to assume a conical shape as it collapses. For gamma less than or similar to 0.6, the bubble develops a bell-shaped form, leading to the formation of thin and surprisingly fast micro-jets (v(jet) > 1000 m s(-1)). Moreover, between gamma approximate to 1.3 and gamma approximate to 0.3, granular jets erupt from the sand surface following the bubble collapse. We additionally develop a simple numerical model, based on the boundary integral method, to predict the dynamics of a cavitation bubble near a bed of sand, which we replace by an equivalent liquid. The simulations are remarkably consistent with experimental observations for values of gamma down to 1.3. We also show how the anisotropy parameter a dimensionless version of the Kelvin impulse, can be adapted for the case of a nearby bed of sand and predict the displacement of the bubble centroid for zeta less than or similar to 0.08.

CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS2022

Weak nonlinearity for strong non-normality

Edouard Boujo, Yves-Marie François Ducimetière, François Gallaire

We propose a theoretical approach to derive amplitude equations governing the weakly nonlinear evolution of non-normal dynamical systems, when they experience transient growth or respond to harmonic forcing. This approach reconciles the non-modal nature of these growth mechanisms and the need for a centre manifold to project the leading-order dynamics. Under the hypothesis of strong non-normality, we take advantage of the fact that small operator perturbations suffice to make the inverse resolvent and the inverse propagator singular, which we encompass in a multiple-scale asymptotic expansion. The methodology is outlined for a generic nonlinear dynamical system, and four application cases highlight common non-normal mechanisms in hydrodynamics: the streamwise convective non-normal amplification in the flow past a backward-facing step, and the Orr and lift-up mechanisms in the plane Poiseuille flow.

2022

Transition from sub-Rayleigh anticrack to supershear crack propagation in snow avalanches

Johan Alexandre Philippe Gaume, Bertil Trottet, Alec van Herwijnen

Avalanches can occur when a porous snow layer lies beneath a dense cohesive snow slab. Field experiments and simulations now reveal different crack-propagation regimes in slab avalanches, similar to rupture propagation following an earthquake. Snow slab avalanches, characterized by a distinct, broad fracture line, are released following anticrack propagation in highly porous weak snow layers buried below cohesive slabs. The anticrack mechanism is driven by the volumetric collapse of the weak layer, which leads to the closure of crack faces and to the onset of frictional contact. Here, on the basis of snow fracture experiments, full-scale avalanche measurements and numerical simulations, we report the existence of a transition from sub-Rayleigh anticrack to supershear crack propagation. This transition follows the Burridge-Andrews mechanism, in which a supershear daughter crack nucleates ahead of the main fracture front and eventually propagates faster than the shear wave speed. Furthermore, we show that the supershear propagation regime can exist even if the shear-to-normal stress ratio is lower than the static friction coefficient as a result of the loss of frictional resistance during collapse. This finding shows that snow slab avalanches have fundamental similarities with strike-slip earthquakes.

NATURE PORTFOLIO2022

From coating flow patterns to porous body wake dynamics via multiscale models

Pier Giuseppe Ledda

Multiscale phenomena are involved in countless problems in fluid mechanics. Coating flows are known to exhibit a broad variety of patterns, such as wine tears in a glass and dripping of fresh paint applied on a wall. Coating flows are typically modeled under the assumption that the thickness of the fluid layer is much smaller than the characteristic length of the free-surface deformations, i.e. there is a separation of scales between the microscopic variations of the velocity and pressure field along the thin layer and the macroscopic modulations of the free-surface. A different multiscale phenomenon of undeniable interest in the fluid dynamics community is the flow around and through porous objects. Dandelion seeds are transported by the wind thanks to a hairy structure, called pappus, known to present larger values of the aerodynamic drag and a more stable wake compared to an impervious disk in the same flow conditions.This thesis investigates the pattern formation of several coating flows and the wake dynamics past diverse permeable bodies via multiscale models. We initially consider the flow of a thin viscous film underneath an inclined planar substrate. We show the emergence of free-surface structures modulated along the direction transversal to the main flow, called rivulets. These rivulets result from a pure equilibrium between hydrostatic gravity and surface tension effects, and may destabilize with the formation of traveling drops. We determine via a linear stability analysis the critical values of the inclination angle and film thickness beyond which rivulets destabilize. We numerically study the linear and non-linear response with respect to a harmonic forcing in the inlet flow rate, determining the diverse lenses' patterns emerging on a steady rivulet. The dripping problem is deepened by considering a single drop deposited on a very thin film. Very slight inclinations with respect to the horizontal, of the order of degrees, lead to the formation of a rivulet in the wake of a shrinking drop. Subsequently, we investigate the role of these instabilities in karst draperies formation, by coupling the hydrodynamic model with the deposition of calcium carbonate on the substrate. We implement an algorithm which retrieves the asymptotic properties of the two-dimensional linear impulse response from numerical simulations. The analysis shows the predominance of streamwise structures, reminiscent of draperies, growing on the substrate. The role of modifications of the substrate is then investigated in the cases of dewetting of very thin polymer films, in the context of production of optical metasurfaces, and in the case of three-dimensional spreading of a mass of fluid. The last part of the thesis is devoted to the modifications of wake flows instabilities past bluff bodies when composed of a permeable microstructure, with a focus on the case of a porous sphere and a cylindrical circular membrane. We develop an inverse procedure to optimize and retrieve the microstructure based on flow objectives. The analysis is concluded by studying the path instability of a freely-falling permeable disk. A complex series of bifurcations occurs but, as the ratio between voids and solid structure increases, all wake and path instabilities are damped.

EPFL2022

Crack propagation speeds in weak snowpack layers

Johan Alexandre Philippe Gaume, Bertil Trottet, Alec van Herwijnen

For the release of a slab avalanche, crack propagation within a weak snowpack layer below a cohesive snow slab is required. As crack speed measurements can give insight into underlying processes, we analysed three crack propagation events that occurred in similar snowpacks and covered all scales relevant for avalanche release. For the largest scale, up to 400 m, we estimated crack speed from an avalanche movie; for scales between 5 and 25 m, we used accelerometers placed on the snow surface and for scales below 5 m, we performed a propagation saw test. The mean crack speeds ranged from 36 +/- 6 to 49 +/- 5 m s(-1), and did not exhibit scale dependence. Using the discrete element method and the material point method, we reproduced the measured crack speeds reasonably well, in particular the terminal crack speed observed at smaller scales. Finally, we used a finite element model to assess the speed of different elastic waves in a layered snowpack. Results suggest that the observed cracks propagated as mixed mode closing cracks and that the flexural wave of the slab is responsible for the energy transfer to the crack tip.

CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS2021

Relaxation of capillary-gravity waves due to contact line nonlinearity: A projection method

Alessandro Bongarzone, François Gallaire, Francesco Viola

We present a physics-inspired mathematical model based on successive linear eigenmode projections to solve the relaxation of small-amplitude and two-dimensional viscous capillary-gravity waves with a phenomenological nonlinear contact line model. We show that each projection eventually induces a rapid loss of total energy in the liquid motion and contributes to its nonlinear damping.

AIP Publishing2021

On the effect of a penetrating recirculation region on the bifurcations of the flow past a permeable sphere

Matteo Ciuti, François Gallaire, Pier Giuseppe Ledda, Giuseppe Antonio Zampogna

We study the flow past a permeable sphere modeled using homogenization theory. The flow through the porous medium is described by the Darcy law, in which the permeability quantifies the resistance for the fluid to pass through the microstructure. A slip condition on the tangential velocity at the interface between the fluid and porous region is employed to account for the viscous effects in the proximity of the interface. The steady and axisymmetric flow is first characterized under the assumption of a homogenous and isotropic porous medium. In a certain range of permeability, the recirculation region penetrates inside the sphere, resulting in a strong modification of the linear stability properties of the flow and in a decrease in the critical Reynolds numbers for the flow instability. However, for very large permeabilities, a critical permeability value is identified, beyond which the steady and axisymmetric flow remains always linearly stable. The hypothesis of a homogenous porous medium is then relaxed, and the effect of polynomial distributions of permeability inside the body is studied. Interestingly, some macroscopic flow properties do not significantly vary with the permeability distributions, provided that their average is maintained constant. The analysis is concluded by outlining a simplified procedure to retrieve the full-scale structure corresponding to a considered distribution of permeability.

AIP Publishing2021

Effects of spanwise confinement on stratified shear instabilities

Yves-Marie François Ducimetière, François Gallaire

We consider the influence of transverse confinement on the instability properties of velocity and density distributions reminiscent of those pertaining to exchange flows in stratified inclined ducts, such as the recent experiment of Lefauve et al. [J. Fluid Mech. 848, 508 (2018)]. Using a normal mode streamwise and temporal expansion for flows in ducts with various aspect ratios B and nontrivial transverse velocity profiles, we calculate two-dimensional (2D) dispersion relations with associated eigenfunctions varying in the “crosswise” direction, in which the density varies, and the spanwise direction, both normal to the duct walls and to the flow direction. We also compare these 2D dispersion relations to the so-called one-dimensional (1D) dispersion relations obtained for spanwise invariant perturbations, for different aspect ratios B and bulk Richardson numbers Rib. In this limited parameter space, the presence of lateral walls has a stabilizing effect, in that the 1D growth-rate predictions are almost systematically an upper bound to the 2D growth rates, which in turn decrease monotonically as lateral walls are brought together with increased spanwise confinement (B→0). Furthermore, accounting for spanwise-varying perturbations results in a plethora of unstable modes, the number of which increases as the aspect ratio is increased. These modes present an odd-even regularity in their spatial structures, which is rationalized by comparison to the so-called one-dimensional oblique dispersion relation obtained for oblique waves, characterized by a continuously varying spanwise wavenumber in addition to the streamwise wavenumber. Finally, we show that in most cases, the most unstable 2D mode is the one that oscillates the least in the spanwise direction, as a consequence of viscous damping. However, in a limited region of the parameter space and in the absence of stratification, we show that a secondary mode with a more complex “twisted” structure dominated by crosswise vorticity becomes more unstable than the least oscillating Kelvin-Helmholtz mode associated with spanwise vorticity.

2021