Fiber alignment in oscillating confined shearing flows

Scott Strednak (1) , Jason E Butler (1) , Laurence Bergougnoux (2) , Elisabeth Guazzelli (3)

1 UF|CHE - Department of Chemical Engineering [Gainesville]
2 IUSTI - Institut universitaire des systèmes thermiques industriels
3 MSC - Matière et Systèmes Complexes

Fiber orientation in oscillatory shearing flow was studied both experimentally and numerically. Optical measurements were made using a custom flow cell containing rigid, noncolloidal fibers suspended at high concentration in a Newtonian fluid. Simulations that account for hydrodynamic drag and excluded volume predict fiber alignment in the vorticity direction for some conditions, in agreement with the measurements. Vorticity alignment was found to be a complex function of strain amplitude and fiber concentration, confinement, and aspect ratio.

Domaines: Mécanique des fluides [physics.class-ph]

Scott Strednak, Jason E Butler, Laurence Bergougnoux, Elisabeth Guazzelli. Fiber alignment in oscillating confined shearing flows. Physical Review Fluids, 2021, 6, ⟨10.1103/physrevfluids.6.014302⟩. ⟨hal-03117749⟩