Evaluation of thickened liquid viscoelasticity for a swallowing process using an inclined flow channel instrument

An inclined flow channel instrument that can be developed to be a structurally simple and easy-to-use rheometer was applied to control the thickness, specifically the viscosity and elasticity, of liquids thickened to support swallowing in nursing-care practice. Aqueous solutions containing salt or acid, which might be used as ingredients in drinks, were thickened with a commercial thickener. The thickener efficacy decreased because of the salt or acid in liquid phase. Analysis of the flows in the instrument by experimentation yielded a dimensionless relation representing changes of the Deborah number in the flow process, as indicated by the relative flow length, considering the shear rate in oral processing. One unique methodology to evaluate the viscoelasticities of thickened liquids during the swallowing process was presented utilizing the measurements such as elapsed time and velocity in the instrument.

Acoustic streaming in Maxwell fluids generated by standing waves in two-dimensional microchannels

In this work, a semianalytic solution for the acoustic streaming phenomenon, generated by standing waves in Maxwell fluids through a two-dimensional microchannel (resonator), is derived. The mathematical model is non-dimensionalized and several dimensionless parameters that characterize the phenomenon arise: the ratio between the oscillation amplitude of the resonator and the half-wavelength ( $\eta =2A/\lambda _{a}$ ); the product of the fluid relaxation time times the angular frequency known as the Deborah number ( $De=\lambda _{1}\omega$ ); the aspect ratio between the microchannel height and the wavelength ( $\epsilon =2 H_{0}/\lambda _{a}$ ); and the ratio between half the height of the microchannel and the thickness of the viscous boundary layer ( $\alpha =H_{0}/\delta _{\nu }$ ). In the limit when $\eta \ll 1$ , we obtain the hydrodynamic behaviour of the system using a regular perturbation method. In the present work, we show that the acoustic streaming speed is proportional to $\alpha ^{2.65}De^{1.9}$ , and the acoustic pressure varies as $\alpha ^{6/5}De^{1/2}$ . Also, we have found that the growth of inner vortex is due to convective terms in the Maxwell rheological equation. Furthermore, the velocity antinodes show a high dependency on the Deborah number, highlighting the fluid's viscoelastic properties and the appearance of resonance points. Due to the limitations of perturbation methods, we will only analyse narrow microchannels.

From kinetic to fluid models of liquid crystals by the moment method

<p style='text-indent:20px;'>This paper deals with the convergence of the Doi-Navier-Stokes model of liquid crystals to the Ericksen-Leslie model in the limit of the Deborah number tending to zero. While the literature has investigated this problem by means of the Hilbert expansion method, we develop the moment method, i.e. a method that exploits conservation relations obeyed by the collision operator. These are non-classical conservation relations which are associated with a new concept, that of Generalized Collision Invariant (GCI). In this paper, we develop the GCI concept and relate it to geometrical and analytical structures of the collision operator. Then, the derivation of the limit model using the GCI is performed in an arbitrary number of spatial dimensions and with non-constant and non-uniform polymer density. This non-uniformity generates new terms in the Ericksen-Leslie model.</p>

Non-Fickian diffusion in viscous aerosol particles

Slow condensed phase diffusion in organic aerosol particles can impede many chemical and physical processes associated with atmospheric aerosol (e.g. gas-particle equilibrium partitioning). The characteristic times associated with these high viscosity particles are typically modelled using a concentration-dependent diffusivity within a purely Fickian framework. In that model, the medium in which diffusion is taking place is treated as being inviscid as far as mass transport is concerned. In this report, we investigate the validity of assuming that the viscosity is equal to zero by using a transport model that includes viscous pressure gradients. It is found that the effect of viscosity is negligible for particles with radii that are larger than 100 nm but, below that radius, it can delay water uptake and loss by orders of magnitude for physically realistic viscosities. However, if the Stokes-Einstein relation is obeyed then, even for nanosized particles, viscosity can be ignored. In addition to numerical calculations, a dimensionless Deborah number is defined that indicates the significance of Fickian diffusion compared to the rheological response during water transport.

Extensional Magnetorheology of Viscoelastic Human Blood Analogues Loaded with Magnetic Particles

This study represents a pioneering work on the extensional magnetorheological properties of human blood analogue fluids loaded with magnetic microparticles. Dynabeads M-270 particles were dispersed in Newtonian and viscoelastic blood analogue fluids at 5% wt. Capillary breakup experiments were performed, with and without the influence of an external magnetic field aligned with the flow direction. The presence of the particles increased the viscosity of the fluid, and that increment was larger when embedded within a polymeric matrix. The application of an external magnetic field led to an even larger increment of the viscosity of the working fluids, as the formation of small aggregates induced an increment in the effective volume fraction of particles. Regarding the liquid bridge stability, the Newtonian blood analogue fluid remained as a Newtonian liquid exhibiting a pinch-off at the breakup time in any circumstance. However, in the case of the viscoelastic blood analogue fluid, the presence of the particles and the simultaneous application of the magnetic field enhanced the formation of the beads-on-a-string structure, as the Ohnesorge number remained basically unaltered, whereas the time of the experiment increased due to its larger viscosity, which resulted in a decrease in the Deborah Number. This result was confirmed with fluids containing larger concentrations of xanthan gum.

Ion transport in a charged conical nanopore filled with viscoelastic fluids: ion current rectification

The ionic current rectification (ICR) is a non-linear current-voltage response upon switching the polarity of the potential across nanopore, similar to the I-V response in the semiconductor diode. The ICR phenomenon finds several potential applications in micro/nano-fluidics (e.g., Bio-sensors and Lab-on-Chip applications). From a biological application viewpoint, most biological fluids (e.g., blood, saliva, mucus, etc.) exhibit non-Newtonian visco-elastic behavior; their rheological properties differ from Newtonian fluids. Therefore, the resultant flow-field should show an additional dependence on the rheological material properties of viscoelastic fluids such as fluid relaxation time (λ) and fluid extensibility (ε). Despite numerous potential applications, the comprehensive investigation of the viscoelastic behavior of the fluid on ionic concentration profile and ICR phenomena has not been attempted. ICR phenomena occur when the length scale and Debye layer thickness approaches of the same order. Therefore, this work extensively investigates the effect of viscoelasticity on the flow and ionic mass transfer along with the ICR phenomena in a single conical nanopore. The Poisson-Nernst-Planck (P-N-P) model coupled with momentum equations have been solved, for a wide range of conditions Deborah number, 1 ≤ De ≤ 100, Debye length parameter, 1 ≤ κRt ≤ 50, fluid extensibility parameter, 0.05 ≤ ε ≤ 0.25, applied electric potential, −40 ≤V ≤ 40, and surface charge density σ = −10 and −50. Four distinct novel characteristics of electro-osmotic flow (EOF) in a conical nanopore have been investigated here, namely (1) detailed structure of flow field and velocity distribution in viscoelastic fluids (2) influence of Deborah number and fluid extensibility parameter on ionic current rectification (ICR) (3) volumetric flow rate calculation as a function of Deborah number and fluid extensibility parameter (4) effect of viscoelastic parameters on concentration distribution of ions in the nanopore. At high applied voltage, both the extensibility parameter and Deborah number facilitate the ICR phenomena. In addition, the ICR phenomena are observed to be more pronounced at low values of κRt than the high values of κRt . This effect is due to the overlapping of the electric double layer at low values of κRt.

Homotopy perturbation and numerical solutions for MHD flow of PTT fluid through a channel embedded in a porous medium

An analysis is made of the steady one dimensional flow and heat transfer of an incompressible viscoelastic electrically conducting fluid (PTT model) in a channel embedded in a saturated porous medium. The pressure driven flow is subjected to a transverse magnetic field of constant magnetic induction (field strength). The heat transfer accounts for the viscous dissipation. The governing equation (a non-linear ordinary differential equation) is solved analytically (Homotopy Perturbation Method) and numerically (Runge-Kutta method with shooting technique) providing the consistency of the result. The role of Deborah number substantiates both Newtonian and non-Newtonian aspects of the flow model. The inclusion of two body forces affects rheological property of the flow model considered. Temperature distribution in the boundary layer is shown when the channel surfaces are held at constant temperatures. A novel result of the analysis is that the contribution of viscous dissipation is found to be negligible as the variation of temperature is almost linear across the flow field in the present PTT fluid model indicating preservation of thermal energy loss.

The retraction of jetted slender viscoelastic liquid filaments

Long and slender liquid filaments are produced during inkjet printing, which can subsequently either retract to form a single droplet, or break up to form a primary droplet and one or more satellite droplets. These satellite droplets are undesirable since they degrade the quality and reproducibility of the print, and lead to contamination within the enclosure of the print device. Existing strategies for the suppression of satellite droplet formation include, among others, adding viscoelasticity to the ink. In the present work, we aim to improve the understanding of the role of viscoelasticity in suppressing satellite droplets in inkjet printing. We demonstrate that very dilute viscoelastic aqueous solutions ( $\text {concentrations} \sim 0.003\,\%$ wt. polyethylene oxide, corresponding to nozzle Deborah number $De_{n}\sim 3$ ) can suppress satellite droplet formation. Furthermore, we show that, for a given driving condition, upper and lower bounds of polymer concentration exist, within which satellite droplets are suppressed. Satellite droplets are formed at concentrations below the lower bound, while jetting ceases for concentrations above the upper bound (for fixed driving conditions). Moreover, we observe that, with concentrations in between the two bounds, the filaments retract at velocities larger than the corresponding Taylor–Culick velocity for the Newtonian case. We show that this enhanced retraction velocity can be attributed to the elastic tension due to polymer stretching, which builds up during the initial jetting phase. These results shed some light on the complex interplay between inertia, capillarity and viscoelasticity for retracting liquid filaments, which is important for the stability and quality of inkjet printing of polymer solutions.

Stagnation point flow of Jeffrey nanofluid with activation energy and convective heat and mass conditions

This research reports stagnation flow of Jeffrey nanofluid toward a permeable stretching cylinder. Brownian motion, thermophoresis, thermal radiation and viscous dissipation are explored. Convective heat-mass conditions are implemented. Moreover, activation energy is taken into account. Transformations (variables) are utilized in order to convert PDEs (Partial DIfferential Equations). (continuity, momentum, energy and concentration equation) into ODEs (Ordinary Differential Equations). Resulting systems are solved by the optimal homotopy analysis method. Behaviors of involved flow, heat and mass transport parameters for velocity, concentration and temperature are examined. Surface friction and Sherwood number and Nusselt numbers are also examined. Velocity of the fluid can be minimized by higher estimations of parameter due to ratio of relaxation and retardation time, suction and injection parameters. Decay in fluid temperature is observed for higher Prandtl number and Deborah number for relaxation time parameter. Skin friction coefficient is controlled via higher values of parameter due to ratio of relaxation and retardation time. Intensification in heat transfer rate (Nusselt number) is seen via higher values of parameter due to ratio of relaxation and retardation time, radiation parameter, Prandtl number and Deborah number for relaxation time and curvature parameter.

MHD Boundary Layer Flow over a Stretching Sheet: A New Stochastic Method

In this study, a new computing model is developed using the strength of feed-forward neural networks with the Levenberg–Marquardt scheme-based backpropagation technique (NN-BLMS). It is used to find a solution for the nonlinear system obtained from the governing equations of the magnetohydrodyanmic (MHD) boundary layer flow over a stretching sheet. Moreover, the partial differential equations (PDEs) for the MHD boundary layer flow over a stretching sheet are converting into ordinary differential equations (ODEs) with the help of similarity transformation. A dataset for the proposed NN-BLMM-based model is generated at different scenarios by a variation of various embedding parameters: Deborah number β and magnetic parameter (M). The training (TR), testing (TS), and validation (VD) of the NN-BLMS model are evaluated in the generated scenarios to compare the obtained results with the reference results. For the fluidic system convergence analysis, a number of metrics, such as the mean square error (MSE), error histogram (EH), and regression (RG) plots, are utilized for measuring the effectiveness and performance of the NN-BLMS infrastructure model. The experiments showed that comparisons between the results of proposed model and the reference results match in terms of convergence up to E-02 to E-10. This proves the validity of the NN-BLMS model. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that there is a decrease in the thickness of the boundary layer by increasing the Deborah number and magnetic parameter. The importance of the experiment can be seen due to its industrial applications such as MHD power generation, MHD generators, and MHD pumps.