arXiv subjects

Michael C. Rogers

Publications and source records attributed to Michael C. Rogers.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2012

The Heads and Tails of Buoyant Autocatalytic Balls

Buoyancy produced by autocatalytic reaction fronts can produce fluid flows that advect the front position, giving rise to interesting feedback between chemical and hydrodynamic effects. In a large diameter, extended cylinder that is relatively free of boundary constraints, localized initiation of an iodate-arsenous acid (IAA) reaction front on the bottom boundary generates a rising autocatalytic plume. Such plumes have several differences from their non-reactive counterparts. Using numerical simulation, we have found that if reaction is initiated using a spherical ball of product solution well above the bottom boundary, the subsequent flow can evolve much like an autocatalytic plume: the ball develops a reacting head and tail that is akin to the head and conduit of an autocatalytic plume, except that the tail is disconnected from the boundary. In the limit of large initial autocatalytic balls, however, growth of a reacting tail is suppressed and the resemblance to plumes disappears. Conversely, very small balls of product solution fail to initiate sustained fronts and eventually disappear.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2010

Autocatalytic plume pinch-off

A localized source of buoyancy flux in a non-reactive fluid medium creates a plume. The flux can be provided by either heat, a compositional difference between the fluid comprising the plume and its surroundings, or a combination of both. For autocatalytic plumes produced by the iodate-arsenous acid reaction, however, buoyancy is produced along the entire reacting interface between the plume and its surroundings. Buoyancy production at the moving interface drives fluid motion, which in turn generates flow that advects the reaction front. As a consequence of this interplay between fluid flow and chemical reaction, autocatalytic plumes exhibit a rich dynamics during their ascent through the reactant medium. One of the more interesting dynamical features is the production of an accelerating vortical plume head that in certain cases pinches-off and detaches from the upwelling conduit. After pinch-off, a new plume head forms in the conduit below, and this can lead to multiple generations of plume heads for a single plume initiation. We investigated the pinch-off process using both experimentation and simulation. Experiments were performed using various concentrations of glycerol, in which it was found that repeated pinch-off occurs exclusively in a specific concentration range. Autocatalytic plume simulations revealed that pinch-off is triggered by the appearance of accelerating flow in the plume conduit.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2009

Natural versus forced convection in laminar starting plumes

A starting plume or jet has a well-defined, evolving head that is driven through the surrounding quiescent fluid by a localized flux of either buoyancy or momentum, or both. We studied the scaling and morphology of starting plumes produced by a constant flux of buoyant fluid from a small, submerged outlet. The plumes were laminar and spanned a wide range of plume Richardson numbers Ri. Ri is the dimensionless ratio of the buoyancy forces to inertial effects, and is thus our measurements crossed over the transition between buoyancy-driven plumes and momentum-driven jets. We found that the ascent velocity of the plume, nondimensionalized by Ri, exhibits a power law relationship with Re, the Reynolds number of the injected fluid in the outlet pipe. We also found that as the threshold between buoyancy-driven and momentum-driven flow was crossed, two distinct types of plume head mophologies existed: confined heads, produced in the Ri > 1 regime, and dispersed heads, which are found in the Ri < 1 regime. Head dispersal is caused by a breakdown of overturning motion in the head, and a local Kelvin-Helmholtz instability on the exterior of the plume.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2005

Autocatalytic chemical smoke rings

Buoyant plumes, evolving free of boundary constraints, may develop well-defined mushroom shaped heads. In normal plumes, overturning flow in the head entrains less buoyant fluid from the surroundings as the head rises, robbing the plume of its driving force. We consider here a new type of plume in which the source of buoyancy is an autocatalytic chemical reaction. The reaction occurs at a sharp front which separates reactants from less dense products. In this type of plume, entrainment assists the reaction, producing new buoyancy which fuels an accelerating plume head. When the head has grown to a critical size, it detaches from the upwelling conduit, forming an accelerating, buoyant vortex ring. This vortex is analogous to a rising smoke ring. A second-generation head then develops at the point of detachment.Multiple generations of chemical vortex rings can detach from a single triggering event.

physics.flu-dyn↗