Purely elastic turbulence in pressure-driven channel flows
Solutions of long, flexible polymer molecules are complex fluids that simultaneously exhibit fluid-like and solid-like behavior. When subjected to an external flow, dilute polymer solutions exhibit elastic turbulence-a unique, chaotic flow state absent in Newtonian fluids, like water. Unlike its New...
Saved in:
| Published in: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 121; no. 9; p. e2318851121 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
United States
27.02.2024
|
| Subjects: | |
| ISSN: | 1091-6490, 1091-6490 |
| Online Access: | Get more information |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Solutions of long, flexible polymer molecules are complex fluids that simultaneously exhibit fluid-like and solid-like behavior. When subjected to an external flow, dilute polymer solutions exhibit elastic turbulence-a unique, chaotic flow state absent in Newtonian fluids, like water. Unlike its Newtonian counterpart, elastic turbulence is caused by polymer molecules stretching and aligning in the flow, and can occur at vanishing inertia. While experimental realizations of elastic turbulence are well-documented, there is currently no understanding of its mechanism. Here, we present large-scale direct numerical simulations of elastic turbulence in pressure-driven flows through straight channels. We demonstrate that the transition to elastic turbulence is sub-critical, giving rise to spot-like flow structures that, further away from the transition, eventually spread throughout the domain. We provide evidence that elastic turbulence is organized around unstable coherent states that are localized close to the channel midplane. |
|---|---|
| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 1091-6490 1091-6490 |
| DOI: | 10.1073/pnas.2318851121 |