D.E. Melnikov¹, V.M. Shevtsova²

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.3, No.4, pp. 329-338, 2007, DOI:10.3970/fdmp.2007.003.329

Abstract Thermocapillary convection in a long vertical liquid column (called liquid bridge) subjected to heating from above is considered for a three-dimensional Boussinesq fluid. The problem is solved numerically via finite-volume method. Full system of three dimensional Navier-Stokes equations coupled with the energy equation is solved for an incompressible fluid. Instability sets in through a wave propagating in axial direction with zero azimuthal wave number, which is a unique stable solution over a wide range of supercritical heating. Further increasing the applied temperature difference results in bifurcation of a second wave traveling azimuthally with a slightly More >

U. Schoisswohl¹, H. C. Kuhlmann²

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.3, No.4, pp. 317-328, 2007, DOI:10.3970/fdmp.2007.003.317

Abstract The flow in thermocapillary liquid pools heated or cooled from above can exhibit various flow patterns depending on the thermal conditions and the geometrical constraints. This pattern formation and the respective physical mechanisms are studied numerically by means of a linear-stability analysis. We focus on the transition from the steady axisymmetric to a three-dimensional flow. More >

R. Prud’homme¹, M. El Ganaoui²

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.3, No.2, pp. 161-172, 2007, DOI:10.3970/fdmp.2007.003.161

Abstract Some problems related to solid/liquid phase change are presented. Attention is focused on interface modeling for numerical analysis and one-dimensional directional growing and melting. Microgravity relevance of some situations is emphasized. It is shown, in particular, that in some circumstances melting is not the simple reversal of crystal growth due to some (still poorly known) phenomena (nucleation and growth of liquid droplets in the bulk, solid and liquid dendrites due to a morphological instability of the phase boundary). Relevant mathematical models are discussed and described (to a certain extent) for analysis and/or characterization of these More >

Y. Kamotani¹, S. Matsumoto², S. Yoda²

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.3, No.2, pp. 147-160, 2007, DOI:10.3970/fdmp.2007.003.147

Abstract A Marangoni Convection Modeling Research group was formed in Japan in order to investigate oscillatory thermocapillary flow systematically over a wide range of Prandtl number (Pr). The research by the group represents the current status of the subject. The present article reports the work done by the group members. The work is divided into three Pr ranges (low, medium and high) because the cause of oscillations is different in each range. For the low-Pr case, the transition to oscillatory flow is preceded by a steady bifurcation to three-dimensional convection. For the first time an experimental More >

Evgeny V. Votyakov¹, Egbert A. Zienicke¹

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.3, No.2, pp. 97-114, 2007, DOI:10.3970/fdmp.2007.003.097

Abstract We simulated numerically the laminar flow in the geometry and the magnetic field of the experimental channel used in [Andreev, Kolesnikov, and Thess (2006)]. This provides detailed information about the electric potential distribution for the laminar regime (numerical simulation) and in the turbulent regime as well (experiment). As follows from comparison of simulated and experimental results, the flow under the magnet is determined by the interaction parameter N = Ha² / Re representing the ratio between magnetic force, determined by the Hartmann number Ha, and inertial force, determined by the Reynolds number Re. We compared two variants: (i)(Re,N)=(2000,18.6)… More >

Radek Pecher¹, Steve Elston, Peter Raynes

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.13, No.2, pp. 91-102, 2006, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2006.013.091

Abstract Meshfree techniques for solving partial differential equations in physics and engineering are a powerful new alternative to the traditional mesh-based techniques, such as the finite difference method or the finite element method. The elimination of the domain mesh enables, among other benefits, more efficient solutions of nonlinear and multi-scale problems. One particular example of these kinds of problems is a Q-tensor based model of nematic liquid crystals involving topological defects.
This paper presents the first application of the meshless local Petrov-Galerkin method to solving the Q-tensor equations of nematostatics. The theoretical part introduces the Landau More >

V.G. Kozlov¹, N.V. Selin²

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.2, No.2, pp. 107-118, 2006, DOI:10.3970/fdmp.2006.002.107

Abstract Thermal vibrational convection in a sector of a thin spherical liquid layer subjected to pendulum vibrations (spherical pendulum) is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Temperature non-uniformity inside the liquid is caused by uniformly distributed internal heat sources (one side of the layer is isothermal, the other one is adiabatic). Experiments are carried out under conditions of stable temperature stratification in the gravity field. Heat transfer and convective structure are investigated in a wide interval of governing dimensionless parameters. A critical increase of heat transfer is revealed as the vibrations intensity is increased, caused by average convection. More >

K. Matsunaga¹, H. Kawamura¹

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.2, No.1, pp. 59-64, 2006, DOI:10.3970/fdmp.2006.002.059

Abstract Existing studies on solidification phenomena mainly focused on the solidification processes per se. In real systems, however, one cannot neglect the effects of molten material convective flow, such as natural and thermocapillary convection (they strongly affect the resulting quality of the solidified materials). The present study aims to experimentally investigate on the effect of the thermocapillary flow upon the directional solidification in a liquid layer with a free upper surface. If no free surface exists, the solid--liquid interface (SLI) is vertical and straight, while, with the free surface, the SLI is inclined against the wall-normal More >

M.El-Gammal¹, J.M.Floryan¹

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.2, No.1, pp. 17-26, 2006, DOI:10.3970/fdmp.2006.002.017

Abstract Interface deformation and thermocapillary rupture in a cavity with free upper surface subject to concentrated heating from above is investigated. The dynamics of the process is modulated by placing different amounts of liquid in the cavity. The results determined for large Biot and zero Marangoni numbers show the existence of limit points beyond which steady, continuous interface cannot exist and processes leading to the interface rupture develop. Evolution of the limit point as a function of the mass of the liquid is investigated. The topology of the flow field is found to be qualitatively similar, More >

B.B. Karki¹, D. Bhattarai¹, L. Stixrude²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.3, No.3, pp. 107-118, 2006, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2006.003.107

Abstract Computer modeling of liquid phase poses tremendous challenge: It requires a relatively large simulation size, long simulation time and accurate interatomic interaction and as such, it produces massive amounts of data. Recent advances in hardware and software have made it possible to accurately simulate the liquid phase. This paper reports the details of methodology used in the context of liquid simulations and subsequent analysis of the output data. For illustration purpose, we consider the results for the liquid phases of two geophysically relevant materials, namely MgO and MgSiO₃. The simulations are performed using the parallel first-principles More >