arXiv subjects

Wendy W. Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Wendy W. Zhang.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2016

From splashing to bouncing: the influence of viscosity on the impact of suspension droplets on a solid surface

We experimentally investigated the splashing of dense suspension droplets impacting a solid surface, extending prior work to the regime where the viscosity of the suspending liquid becomes a significant parameter. The overall behavior can be described by a combination of two trends. The first one is that the splashing becomes favored when the kinetic energy of individual particles at the surface of a droplet overcomes the confinement produced by surface tension. This is expressed by a particle-based Weber number $We_p$. The second is that splashing is suppressed by increasing the viscosity of the solvent. This is expressed by the Stokes number $St$, which influences the effective coefficient of restitution of colliding particles. We developed a phase diagram where the splashing onset is delineated as a function of both $We_p$ and $St$. A surprising result occurs at very small Stokes number, where not only splashing is suppressed but also plastic deformation of the droplet. This leads to a situation where droplets can bounce back after impact, an observation we are able to reproduce using discrete particle numerical simulations that take into account viscous interaction between particles and elastic energy.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2014

Dynamic jamming of iceberg-choked fjords

We investigate the dynamics of ice mélange by analyzing rapid motion recorded by a time-lapse camera and terrestrial radar during several calving events that occurred at Jakobshavn Isbræ, Greenland. During calving events (1) the kinetic energy of the ice mélange is two orders of magnitude smaller than the total energy released during the events, (2) a jamming front propagates through the ice mélange at a rate that is an order of magnitude faster than the motion of individual icebergs, (3) the ice mélange undergoes initial compaction followed by slow relaxation and extension, and (4) motion of the ice mélange gradually decays before coming to an abrupt halt. These observations indicate that the ice mélange experiences widespread jamming during calving events and is always close to being in a jammed state during periods of terminus quiescence. We therefore suspect that local jamming influences longer timescale ice mélange dynamics and stress transmission.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2014

Impact dynamics of granular jets with non-circular cross-sections

Using high-speed photography, we investigate two distinct regimes of the impact dynamics of granular jets with non-circular cross-sections. In the steady-state regime, we observe the formation of thin granular sheets with anisotropic shapes and show that the degree of anisotropy increases with the aspect ratio of the jet's cross-section. Our results illustrate the liquid-like behavior of granular materials during impact and demonstrate that a collective hydrodynamic flow emerges from strongly interacting discrete particles. We discuss the analogy between our experiments and those from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), where similar anisotropic ejecta from a quark-gluon plasma have been observed in heavy-ion impact.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2014

Dense Suspension Splat: Monolayer Spreading and Hole Formation After Impact

We use experiments and minimal numerical models to investigate the rapidly expanding monolayer formed by the impact of a dense suspension drop against a smooth solid surface. The expansion creates a lace-like pattern of particle clusters separated by particle-free regions. Both the expansion and the development of the spatial inhomogeneity are dominated by particle inertia, therefore robust and insensitive to details of the surface wetting, capillarity and viscous drag.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2013

Vibration and Nonlinear Resonance in the Break-up of an Underwater Bubble

We use high-speed X-ray phase-contrast imaging, weakly nonlinear analysis and boundary integral simulations to characterize the final stage of underwater bubble break-up. The X-ray imaging study shows that an initial azimuthal perturbation to the shape of the bubble neck gives rise to oscillations that increasingly distort the cross-section shape. These oscillations terminate in a pinch-off where the bubble surface develops concave regions that contact similar to what occurs when two liquid drops coalesce. We also present a weakly nonlinear analysis that shows that this coalescence-like mode of pinch-off occurs when the initial shape oscillation interferes constructively with the higher harmonics it generates and thus reinforce each other's effects in bringing about bubble break-up. Finally we present numerical results that confirm the weakly nonlinear analysis scenario as well as provide insight into observed shape reversals. They demonstrate that when the oscillations interfere destructively, a qualitatively different mode of pinch-off results where the cross-section profile of the bubble neck develops sharply-curved regions.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2013

Still water: dead zones and collimated ejecta from the impact of granular jets

When a dense granular jet hits a target, it forms a large dead zone and ejects a highly collimated conical sheet with a well-defined opening angle. Using experiments, simulations, and continuum modeling, we find that this opening angle is insensitive to the precise target shape and the dissipation mechanisms in the flow. We show that this surprising insensitivity arises because dense granular jet impact, though highly dissipative, is nonetheless controlled by the limit of perfect fluid flow.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2012

Underwater bubble pinch-off: transient stretching flow

At the point of pinch-off of an underwater air bubble, the speed of water rushing in diverges. Previous studies that assumed radial flow throughout showed that the local axial shape is two smoothly connected, slender cones that transition very slowly (logarithmically) to a cylindrical segment. Our simulations show that even with initially radial flow, a transient vertical flow develops with comparable speeds. Bernoulli pressure draws water into the singularity region while incompressibility forces it away from the neck minimum, generating significant vertical flows that rapidly slenderize and symmetrize the collapse region. This transition is due to a different mechanism, occurring much faster than previously expected. Vertical flows dictate the neck shape evolution.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2012

Perfect fluid flow from granular jet impact

Experiments on the impact of a densely-packed jet of non-cohesive grains onto a fixed target show that the impact produces an ejecta sheet comprised of particles in collimated motion. The ejecta sheet leaves the target at a well-defined angle whose value agrees quantitatively with the sheet angle produced by water jet impact. Motivated by these experiments, we examine the idealized problem of dense granular jet impact onto a frictionless target in two dimensions. Numerical results for the velocity and pressure fields within the granular jet agree quantitatively with predictions from an exact solution for 2D perfect-fluid impact. This correspondence demonstrates that the continuum limit controlling the coherent collective motion in dense granular impact is Euler flow.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2011

Blocking a wave: Frequency band gaps in ice shelves with periodic crevasses

We assess how the propagation of high-frequency elastic-flexural waves through an ice shelf is modified by the presence of spatially periodic crevasses. Analysis of the normal modes supported by the ice shelf with and without crevasses reveals that a periodic crevasse distribution qualitatively changes the mechanical response. The normal modes of an ice shelf free of crevasses are evenly distributed as a function of frequency. In contrast, the normal modes of a crevasse-ridden ice shelf are distributed unevenly. There are "band gaps", frequency ranges over which no eigenmodes exist. A model ice shelf that is 50 km in lateral extent and 300 m thick with crevasses spaced 500 m apart has a band gap from 0.2 to 0.38 Hz. This is a frequency range relevant for ocean wave/ice-shelf interactions. When the outermost edge of the crevassed ice shelf is oscillated at a frequency within the band gap, the ice shelf responds very differently from a crevasse-free ice shelf. The flexural motion of the crevassed ice shelf is confined to a small region near the outermost edge of the ice shelf and effectively "blocked" from reaching the interior.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2009

Asymmetric bubble disconnection: persistent vibration evolves into smooth contact

Focusing a finite amount of energy dynamically into a vanishingly small amount of material requires that the initial condition be perfectly symmetric. In reality, imperfections are always present and cut-off the approach towards the focusing singularity. The disconnection of an underwater bubble provides a simple example of this process. An initial asymmetry in the shape of the bubble neck excites vibrations that persist over time. Often the vibrations evolve into a smooth contact that severs the neck into several lobes.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2009

Impact of a Viscous Liquid Drop

We simulate the impact of a viscous liquid drop onto a smooth dry solid surface. As in experiments, when ambient air effects are negligible, impact flattens the falling drop without producing a splash. The no-slip boundary condition at the wall produces a boundary layer inside the liquid. Later, the flattening surface of the drop traces out the boundary layer. As a result, the eventual shape of the drop is a "pancake" of uniform thickness except at the rim, where surface tension effects are significant. The thickness of the pancake is simply the height where the drop surface first collides with the boundary layer.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2007

Viscous Withdrawal of Miscible Liquid Layers

In viscous withdrawal, a converging flow imposed in an upper layer of viscous liquid entrains liquid from a lower, stably stratified layer. Using the idea that a thin tendril is entrained by a local straining flow, we propose a scaling law for the volume flux of liquid entrained from miscible liquid layers. A long-wavelength model including only local information about the withdrawal flow is degenerate, with multiple tendril solutions for one withdrawal condition. Including information about the global geometry of the withdrawal flow removes the degeneracy while introducing only a logarithmic dependence on the global flow parameters into the scaling law.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2007

Liquid interfaces in viscous straining flows: Numerical studies of the selective withdrawal transition

This paper presents a numerical analysis of the transition from selective withdrawal to viscous entrainment. In our model problem, an interface between two immiscible layers of equal viscosity is deformed by an axisymmetric withdrawal flow, which is driven by a point sink located some distance above the interface in the upper layer. We find that steady-state hump solutions, corresponding to selective withdrawal of liquid from the upper layer, cease to exist above a threshold withdrawal flux, and that this transition corresponds to a saddle-node bifurcation for the hump solutions. Numerical results on the shape evolution of the steady-state interface are compared against previous experimental measurements. We find good agreement where the data overlap. However, the numerical results' larger dynamic range allows us to show that the large increase in the curvature of the hump tip near transition is not consistent with an approach towards a power-law cusp shape, an interpretation previously suggested from inspection of the experimental measurements alone. Instead the large increase in the curvature at the hump tip reflects a logarithmic coupling between the overall height of the hump and the curvature at the tip of the hump.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2007

Liquid Transport Due to Light Scattering

Using experiments and theory, we show that light scattering by inhomogeneities in the index of refraction of a fluid can drive a large-scale flow. The experiment uses a near-critical, phase-separated liquid, which experiences large fluctuations in its index of refraction. A laser beam traversing the liquid produces a large-scale deformation of the interface and can cause a liquid jet to form. We demonstrate that the deformation is produced by a scattering-induced flow by obtaining good agreements between the measured deformations and those calculated assuming this mechanism.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2006

Breakup of Air Bubbles in Water: Memory and Breakdown of Cylindrical Symmetry

Using high-speed video, we have studied air bubbles detaching from an underwater nozzle. As a bubble distorts, it forms a thin neck which develops a singular shape as it pinches off. As in other singularities, the minimum neck radius scales with the time until breakup. However, because the air-water interfacial tension does not drive breakup, even small initial cylindrical asymmetries are preserved throughout the collapse. This novel, non-universal singularity retains a memory of the nozzle shape, size and tilt angle. In the last stages, the air appears to tear instead of pinch.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2005

Drop Splashing on a Dry Smooth Surface

The corona splash due to the impact of a liquid drop on a smooth dry substrate is investigated with high speed photography. A striking phenomenon is observed: splashing can be completely suppressed by decreasing the pressure of the surrounding gas. The threshold pressure where a splash first occurs is measured as a function of the impact velocity and found to scale with the molecular weight of the gas and the viscosity of the liquid. Both experimental scaling relations support a model in which compressible effects in the gas are responsible for splashing in liquid solid impacts.

physics.flu-dyn↗