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The effect of fluid decoupling on viscous mixing
Author(s) -
Bigio David I.,
Young Dave
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.760331907
Subject(s) - laminar flow , mechanics , decoupling (probability) , mixing (physics) , materials science , amplitude , exponential decay , physics , optics , quantum mechanics , control engineering , engineering , nuclear physics
Flow in a three‐dimensional channel with a sinusoidally‐wavy, vertical wall is examined for the case of applied down‐ and cross‐channel velocity components. An important parameter for the analysis of the nature of laminar mixing in the flow field occurs when the changes in the downstream direction can be decoupled from the changes in the cross‐channel direction, thereby allowing for a two‐dimensional solution of the system of equations. This paper shows the effect on the nature of laminar mixing when the decoupling of the momentum equations from a fully three‐dimensional case to one where a two‐dimensional solution can be performed. Experiments are performed on a channel with sinusoidally varying vertical walls that cover the range of decoupling criteria. Silicone pigmented either white or black was run in the apparatus, cured, and cross‐sectioned. The cross sections embody a local, detailed history of the state of mixing as it proceeds down the mixer. The amount of mixing is presented as a function of position at each cross section for the different channel configurations. The nature of mixing changes from a linear growth rate in the amount of interfacial area to an exponential rate as the amplitude of the wave is increased. Results demonstrate the existence of chaos, islands, and the factors affecting the mixing behavior.