Welcome to the new version of CaltechAUTHORS. Login is currently restricted to library staff. If you notice any issues, please email coda@library.caltech.edu
Published July 1985 | Published
Journal Article Open

The Penetration of a Finger into a Viscous Fluid in a Channel and Tube

Abstract

The steady-state shape of a finger penetrating into a region filled with a viscous fluid is examined. The two-dimensional and axisymmetric problems are solved using Stokes equations for low Reynolds number flow. To solve the equations, an assumption for the shape of the finger is made and the normal-stress boundary condition is dropped. The remaining equations are solved numerically by covering the domain with a composite mesh composed of a curvilinear grid which follows the curved interface, and a rectilinear grid parallel to the straight boundaries. The shape of the finger is then altered to satisfy the normal-stress boundary condition by using a nonlinear least squares iteration method. The results are compared with the singular perturbation solution of Bretherton (J. Fluid Mech., 10 (1961), pp. 166–188). When the axisymmetric finger moves through a tube, a fraction $m$ of the viscous fluid is left behind on the walls of the tube. The fraction $m$ was measured experimentally by Taylor (J. Fluid Mech., 10 (1961), pp. 161–165) as a function of the dimensionless parameter µU/T. The numerical results are compared with the experimental results of Taylor.

Additional Information

©1985 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. Received by the editors September 13, 1983, and in revised form January 13, 1984. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, and the Office of Naval Research. We wish to thank Prof. H.O. Kreiss for suggesting the composite mesh method and B. Kreiss for help with the initial implementation.

Attached Files

Published - REIsiamjssc85.pdf

Files

REIsiamjssc85.pdf
Files (2.0 MB)
Name Size Download all
md5:15ace909e4535332ea54ad0b8c18d9bf
2.0 MB Preview Download

Additional details

Created:
August 22, 2023
Modified:
October 17, 2023