Enhancement of mixing by rodlike polymers
We study the mixing of a passive scalar field dispersed in a solution of rodlike polymers in two dimensions, by means of numerical simulations of a rheological model for the polymer solution. The flow is driven by a parallel sinusoidal force (Kolmogorov flow). Although the Reynolds number is lower t...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer
2018
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| Summary: | We study the mixing of a passive scalar field dispersed in a solution of rodlike polymers in two dimensions, by means of numerical simulations of a rheological model for the polymer solution. The flow is driven by a parallel sinusoidal force (Kolmogorov flow). Although the Reynolds number is lower than the critical value for inertial instabilities, the rotational dynamics of the polymers generates a chaotic flow similar to the so-called elastic-turbulence regime observed in extensible polymer solutions. The temporal decay of the variance of the scalar field and its gradients shows that this chaotic flow strongly enhances mixing. |
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