arXiv subjects

Yicong Fu

Publications and source records attributed to Yicong Fu.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A bent straw as a tool for an affordable student-safe experiment in vortex ring dynamics

Vortex dynamics are an important topic in fluid dynamics, explaining phenomena like drag and lift generation, jet propulsion, and corner flows. It is also often excluded from introductory or undergraduate fluid dynamics courses on account of its complexity and the inaccessibility of practical and engaging experiments. We present an affordable student-safe experiment to generate vortex rings and study their dynamics using a bent straw and dyed water that allows students to control key parameters, can be imaged using a smartphone camera, and explains the complex physics with simple and easily measured parameters. Vortex rings are produced that parallel seminal experiments, demonstrating secondary structures and the mirroring effect. Meanwhile, nonplanar and triangular jet exits are used to demonstrate asymmetric vortex rings and vortex ring inversion.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2025

Fringe around a Beet Slice: Wetting-induced Dimple in a Thin Liquid Film

When a slice of beet is placed on a plate with a thin layer of beet juice, one can observe a clear fringe around the beet, where the color is more translucent than the rest of the juice. The hypotheses in literature were inconsistent and limited, which motivated us to revisit this phenomenon. Using a motorized confocal displacement sensor, we measured the temporal evolution of the liquid surface profile across the fringe. Our findings suggest that a suction flow, induced by the capillary rise of the contact line, causes a dimple - a small concave depression - to form on the liquid surface. While surface tension and gravity tends to smooth out the dimple, viscous drag acts against them if the liquid film is sufficiently thin. Our scaling analysis correctly estimates the dependence of dimple lifetime on liquid properties and film thickness. We also capture the dimple formation dynamics by numerically solving the lubrication equation with the Young-Laplace equation. This work provides a new interpretation for a common phenomenon.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2025

Vortex transition and thermal mixing by pitching a perforated flexible panel

The effective transport of heat and mass is crucial to both industrial applications and physiological processes. Recent research has evaluated the benefit of using flexible reeds for triggering the vortex induced vibration to enhance mixing, as opposed to traditional techniques like rigid blender or static meshes. Inspired by the soft, porous, and moving fish gill lamellae, we proposed a new concept of thermal dispenser that prescribes active pitching motion to the leading edge of an otherwise passively flapping perforated panel. Experimental measurements revealed drastic differences between the steady leaky flow wake behind a statically deflected perforated panel and the periodic shedding wakes with complex vortex structure transitions behind an actuated perforated panel with or without chord-wise flexibility. A semi-empirical simulation of the thermal convection and diffusion takes the experimentally obtained velocity as input and yields the temperature results. Vortex dynamics, Lagrangian coherent structures, and thermal mixing behaviors were analyzed and compared to elucidate the effects of kinematics, perforation, and flexibility on the wake mode transitions, lateral entrainment mixing, and overall heating. Our work provides a foundational understanding of the fluid-structure interactions of perforated bendable panels under active control which has not been described before in the intermediate Reynolds number range. It provides insights for developing an innovative bio-inspired heat or mass dispenser potentially suitable for subtle and small scale applications.

physics.flu-dyn↗