Turbulence characteristics and mixing performances of viscoelastic fluid flow in a serpentine microchannel

Numerical Study on the Characteristics of Boger Type Viscoelastic Fluid Flow in a Micro Cross-Slot under Sinusoidal Stimulation

The cross-slot geometry plays an important role in the study of nonlinear effects of viscoelastic fluids. The flow of viscoelastic fluid in a micro cross-slot with a high channel aspect ratio (AR, the ratio of channel depth to width) can be divided into three types, which are symmetric flow, steady-state asymmetric flow and time-dependent flow under the inlet condition with a constant velocity. However, the flow pattern of a viscoelastic fluid in the cross-slot when a stimulation is applied at inlets has been rarely reported. In this paper, the response of cross-slot flow under an external sinusoidal stimulation is studied by numerical simulations of a two-dimensional model representing the geometry with a maximum limit of AR. For the cases under constant inlet velocity conditions, three different flow patterns occur successively with the increase of Weissenberg number (Wi). For the cases under sinusoidal varying inlet velocity conditions, when the stimulation frequency is far away from the natural frequency of a viscoelastic fluid, the frequency spectrum of velocity fluctuation field shows the characteristics of a fundamental frequency and several harmonics. However, the harmonic frequency disappears when the stimulation frequency is close to the natural frequency of the viscoelastic fluid. Besides, the flow pattern shows spatial symmetry and changes with time. In conclusion, the external stimulation has an effect on the flow pattern of viscoelastic fluid in the 2D micro cross-slot channel, and a resonance occurs when the stimulation frequency is close to the natural frequency of the fluid.

Elastic Turbulence of Aqueous Polymer Solution in Multi-Stream Micro-Channel Flow

Viscous liquid flow in micro-channels is typically laminar because of the low Reynolds number constraint. However, by introducing elasticity into the fluids, the flow behavior could change drastically to become turbulent; this elasticity can be realized by dissolving small quantities of polymer molecules into an aqueous solvent. Our recent investigation has directly visualized the extension and relaxation of these polymer molecules in an aqueous solution. This elastic-driven phenomenon is known as 'elastic turbulence'. Hitherto, existing studies on elastic flow instability are mostly limited to single-stream flows, and a comprehensive statistical analysis of a multi-stream elastic turbulent micro-channel flow is needed to provide additional physical understanding. Here, we investigate the flow field characteristics of elastic turbulence in a 3-stream contraction-expansion micro-channel flow. By applying statistical analyses and flow visualization tools, we show that the flow field bares many similarities to that of inertia-driven turbulence. More interestingly, we observed regions with two different types of power-law dependence in the velocity power spectra at high frequencies. This is a typical characteristic of two-dimensional turbulence and has hitherto not been reported for elastic turbulent micro-channel flows.

Visualization of polymer relaxation in viscoelastic turbulent micro-channel flow

In micro-channels, the flow of viscous liquids e.g. water, is laminar due to the low Reynolds number in miniaturized dimensions. An aqueous solution becomes viscoelastic with a minute amount of polymer additives; its flow behavior can become drastically different and turbulent. However, the molecules are typically invisible. Here we have developed a novel visualization technique to examine the extension and relaxation of polymer molecules at high flow velocities in a viscoelastic turbulent flow. Using high speed videography to observe the fluorescein labeled molecules, we show that viscoelastic turbulence is caused by the sporadic, non-uniform release of energy by the polymer molecules. This developed technique allows the examination of a viscoelastic liquid at the molecular level, and demonstrates the inhomogeneity of viscoelastic liquids as a result of molecular aggregation. It paves the way for a deeper understanding of viscoelastic turbulence, and could provide some insights on the high Weissenberg number problem. In addition, the technique may serve as a useful tool for the investigations of polymer drag reduction.