Recent Articles

Numerical analysis of microscale electrohydrodynamic conduction pumping of liquid film

Junxiu Wang, Qiang Liu, Kang Luo, Jian Wu, and Pedro A. Vázquez (CLEO Collaboration)

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 053701 (2025) - Published 12 May, 2025

Micro-electrohydrodynamic (EHD) conduction pumping has become a promising actuator in two-phase heat transport systems. Here we present, for the first time, a unified numerical framework that simultaneously resolves three distinct charge structures: the electric double layer (EDL) at an insulated substrate, the heterocharge layer near electrodes, and the interface charge layer at a free liquid-film surface. The effects of three charge layers on the pumping performance of dielectric liquid film are quantitatively investigated. The volume-of-fluid (VOF) method is employed to track electric-field-induced gas-liquid interface deformation.

Stochastic and deterministic dynamics of free boundaries atop turbulent convection

Wen-Tao Wu, Jun Zhang, and Jin-Qiang Zhong

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 053504 (2025) - Published 9 May, 2025

A warm, upwelling flow is induced by a floating “thermal blanket”, which locally cuts the heat loss from a fluid body that undergoes thermal convection. The interaction between the flows and the thermal blanket (a freely moving boundary) leads to rich behaviors, and each corresponds to a different potential landscape experienced by the free boundary. When the free boundary is small, it sees a bulged hill and tends to slide away. But when the free boundary is large enough, it is trapped in the middle of the fluid surface, as if it sits in a potential valley. The authors developed a method to reconstruct the potential landscapes through a simple model using their experimental data.

Collective effects in breath figures

Ambre Bouillant, Jacco H. Snoeijer, and Bruno Andreotti

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 053605 (2025) - Published 9 May, 2025

Breath figures (BF) form when water vapor condenses into drops on a surface. While most studies focus on the substrate influence, the allocation of vapors between the growth of existing drops and the nucleation of new ones remains unresolved, affecting BF polydispersity. We present a many-droplet theory accounting for interactions mediated by vapor diffusion using asymptotic matching. We show that after nucleation, drop count stabilizes due to collective effects, resulting in nearly monodisperse BFs on defect-free substrates under diffusion control. Our model explains sub-diffusive growth, nucleation arrest, drop density selection, and coarsening as observed in joint experiments.

Permeability of foam-filled granular packing: Numerical modeling

Vincent Langlois, Ali Salame, Olivier Pitois, Adrien Petit, and Bartholomé Soltner

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 053604 (2025) - Published 8 May, 2025

This study presents a numerical model of foam confined in granular media. It shows that, permeability decreases as the bubble-to-grain size ratio increases, due to the redistribution of liquid from the pore core to the grain-grain contacts and grain walls. It improves on previous analytical models and matches experimental data, highlighting the important role of geometrical confinement and wall plateau edges in liquid flow. The work also compares gas-liquid interfacial models and shows that a Navier slip condition - with a slip length ~2% of the bubble size - accurately accounts for the liquid permeability of bulk foam, providing an alternative to the Lemlich interfacial viscosity approach.

Critical behavior and multistability in quasi-two-dimensional turbulence

Filip Novotný, Marek Talíř, Šimon Midlik, and Emil Varga

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 054605 (2025) - Published 8 May, 2025

Turbulence in two dimensions tends to order the flow into large-scale vortices via the inverse cascade. In between 2D and 3D, quasi-2D flows show rich behavior: both the direction of the turbulent cascade and the large-scale condensation of turbulent energy display critical behavior in the dependence on flow parameters. In this work, we experimentally study the transition to turbulence in quasi-2D nanofluidic channels using superfluid helium. We find a cascade of metastable coexisting states (pictured is the large-scale dissipation as a function of flow velocity), whose exact origin remains uncertain. The transitions between states follow scaling of certain nonequilibrium phase transitions.

Combined influences of Soret effect and horizontal magnetic field on dynamics of vertical convection in binary fluids

Chao-Nan Zhang, Lai-yun Zheng, Xu-Long Li, Juan-Juan Qin, Bing-Xin Zhao, and Don Liu

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 053503 (2025) - Published 7 May, 2025

Vertical convection in the presence of a magnetic field has found wide-ranging applications in metallurgy and astrophysics. In the field of metallurgy, magnetic fields are commonly employed to regulate the stability during material formation, resulting in a more uniform distribution of materials and thereby significantly enhancing the quality of the final products. In this process, the combined regulatory mechanism of buoyancy and Lorentz forces plays a crucial role. Therefore, this paper systematically studies this dynamic mechanism over a wide range of parameters. A deeper understanding of these underlying mechanisms will help further improve the quality of metallurgical products.

Transient spray cooling: An analytic predictive approach

Nilojendu Banerjee, Cameron Tropea, and Satyanarayanan Seshadri

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 053602 (2025) - Published 7 May, 2025

We present a predictive model for transient spray cooling of a heated flat substrate under a single nozzle, capturing the transition through film, transitional, and nucleate boiling regimes. Heat transfer from individual droplet impacts is evaluated using regime-specific theoretical correlations from literature, combined through a superposition approach. The evolution of the temperature of the substrate is computed via finite difference-based conjugate heat transfer simulation. Validated against experimental data, the model is further used to explore how spray parameters influence cooling effectiveness.

Two-dimensional global stability analysis of elongated bubbles moving in a horizontal tube

Mirco Magnini and Miguel A. Herrada

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 053603 (2025) - Published 7 May, 2025

The problem of a long gas bubble transported in a capillary channel by a wetting liquid is traditionally studied under the assumption of steady-state flow. However, the flow becomes unsteady when the Reynolds number (Re) is above a threshold dependent on the capillary number (CaI). This work shows that the instability is triggered by the build-up of dynamic pressure of the flow impinging the rear meniscus of the bubble. The stability curve, which can be predicted based on a modified version of the Weber number, divides the Re-CaI map into stable and unstable regimes.

Potential flows with electromagnetically induced circulation in a Hele-Shaw cell

Kyle I. McKee and John W. M. Bush

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 054103 (2025) - Published 7 May, 2025

In Hele-Shaw cells, pressure-driven viscous fluid motion between two closely-spaced plates gives rise to a two-dimensional potential flow with zero circulation. Here, we show how the introduction of electromagnetic effects enables the realization of potential flows with circulation. We present canonical Hele-Shaw experiments with circulation prescribed by the electromagnetic configuration, and rationalize the observed flows theoretically. We also draw an analogy between this new class of circulatory potential flows and a class of electrostatic systems.

Slender body theory for ultrathin plates in two-dimensional viscous flow

Giulia Salussolia and Catherine Kamal

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 054301 (2025) - Published 7 May, 2025

Modelling ultrathin platelike particles in viscous flow is notoriously difficult due to the influence of their edges. This work introduces a two-dimensional slender body theory that bypasses these complexities by systematically excluding edge effects. Derived from the boundary integral formulation of Stokes flow, the theory reduces the problem to a nonlocal line integral along the particle’s centerline. The resulting model accurately captures the flow and rheology of passive and active particles across a range of conditions.

Structural uncertainty assessment for fire-engulfed objects in crosswind: Establishing credibility for a multiphysics wall-modeled large-eddy simulation paradigm

Stefan P. Domino, Sarah Scott, and Josh Hubbard

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 054604 (2025) - Published 7 May, 2025

Accurately predicting thermal response for fire-engulfed objects subjected to crosswind requires a multiphysics, turbulent reacting flow model suite that leverages large-eddy simulation (LES). Structural uncertainty assessment for isothermal, elevated cylinder configurations showcase excellent predictivity and mesh convergence when using dynamic coefficient LES with nonlocal wall model velocity sampling. This model suite is deployed to a liquid hydrocarbon fire validation study (elevated mock fuselage exposed to low- and high-crosswind) where replication of windward-to-leeward migration of peak heat fluxes and flame attachment characteristics are noted, while revealing novel fire dynamics.

Large-eddy simulations of a utility-scale offshore wind farm under neutral atmospheric conditions

Christian Santoni, Tor Viren, Lian Shen, Fotis Sotiropoulos, and Ali Khosronejad

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 054801 (2025) - Published 7 May, 2025

Accurate simulation of offshore wind farm performance requires realistic modeling of sea-surface interactions. A comparison was performed between the wave-phase-aware and wave-phase-averaged boundary conditions in large-eddy simulations of a utility-scale offshore wind farm. The wave-phase-aware approach, informed by high-order wave modeling, yields faster wake recovery and improved agreement with supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) measurements, highlighting the importance of resolving wave kinematics in high-fidelity wind farm modeling.

Nonballistic transport of particles in a canopy-plume system

Erika S. MacDonald, Hayoon Chung, Laura K. C. Sunberg, Nicholas T. Ouellette, and Jeffrey R. Koseff

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 053801 (2025) - Published 6 May, 2025

We investigated the transport of model firebrands in a canopy-plume system to explore which physical parameters influenced their landing positions. Broad landing distributions motivated a division of particle populations based on landing distance. Particles that travelled further spent more time in the plume and remained higher in the water column. We found that common assumptions in wildfire literature, such as ballistic transport of firebrands, did not capture the dynamics we observed. Stochastic simulations suggested that spatiotemporal coherence in the flow field is an important reason why this ballistic assumption fails.

Multi-time scale-invariance of turbulence in a shell model

Alexei A. Mailybaev

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 054603 (2025) - Published 6 May, 2025

We relate the concept of multiscaling in the inertial range of turbulence to a hidden scaling symmetry. We deduce that the anomalous exponents of scaling laws are determined solely by the degree of time-scale homogeneity of the observed quantities. This yields a universal rule that includes the usual structure functions and Kolmogorov multipliers, and extends further to multi-time correlations and other multi-time properties of turbulent statistics.

CoNFiLD-inlet: Synthetic turbulence inflow using generative latent diffusion models with neural fields

Xin-Yang Liu, Meet Hemant Parikh, Xiantao Fan, Pan Du, Qing Wang, Yi-Fan Chen, and Jian-Xun Wang

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 054901 (2025) - Published 6 May, 2025

Synthetic inflow turbulence generation is a critical bottleneck for high-fidelity, eddy-resolving simulations due to limitations in realism, generalizability, and computational cost. This study introduces CoNFiLD-inlet, a parametric inflow generator that couples conditional neural fields with latent diffusion models to synthesize high-fidelity inflow turbulence with Reynolds number (Re) awareness. Unlike autoregressive or deterministic methods, CoNFiLD-inlet enables mesh-independent, stochastic generation of temporally coherent velocity fields with generalization across unseen Re. Comprehensive validations in DNS and WMLES confirm robustness, scalability, and superior statistical fidelity.

Steady solutions of Rayleigh-Bénard convection between Navier-slip boundaries

Zhe Feng

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 053502 (2025) - Published 5 May, 2025

This study investigates steady solutions of two-dimensional Rayleigh-Bénard convection under Navier-slip boundary conditions, bridging the gap between classical no-slip and free-slip models. By systematically varying the slip length, the work reveals a critical range where the heat transport and flow strength are highly sensitive to the boundary slip. The findings uncover universal scaling laws and highlight the pivotal role of slip length in modulating boundary layer structures and optimizing heat-flux configurations, offering new insights into both theoretical fluid dynamics and practical microstructured surface applications.

Mechanisms of vortex-induced vibrations of a D-section prism at subcritical Reynolds number

Weilin Chen, Huan Ping, Chunning Ji, Md. Mahbub Alam, and Yan Bao

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 054102 (2025) - Published 5 May, 2025

This paper presents a systematic investigation of vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of a D-section prism at subcritical Re. It is found that the response is persistently VIV typed, which can be excited and sustained by the viscous and/or pressure lift coefficient. Galloping is found to be absent because it requires an unstable structural mode with a frequency close to the prism natural frequency and flow mode with the natural vortex shedding frequency.

Effect of capillary number and viscosity ratio on multiphase displacement in microscale pores

Samantha A. McBride, Fernando Temprano-Coleto, Paul R. Kaneelil, Reese Knopp, Aubrey J. Taylor, Mariko A. Storey-Matsutani, Jessica L. Wilson, Mohammad Sadeq Saleh, Andrew R. Konicek, Arben Jusufi, Mohsen S. Yeganeh, and Howard A. Stone

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 054201 (2025) - Published 5 May, 2025

Multiphase displacement is important in oil recovery, microfluidics, and CO2 capture. We study viscous oil trapping in microfluidic devices with sinusoidal pockets during water invasion. Varying capillary number (Ca), viscosity ratios, and pore geometries reveals that higher oil viscosity and water velocities increase oil trapping due to transition from meniscus displacement to viscous fingering. We find that trapping dynamics at high Ca are geometry independent. Our three-dimensional model based on the long-wave approximation predicts some experimental observations, such as increased oil retention at higher Ca and viscosity ratios, and the characteristic interfacial shape of trapped oil.

Probing quasigeostrophic turbulence via complex networks

V. R. Krishna Priya, Snehal Sunil Patil, Somnath Roy, Konduri Aditya, and Rajaram Lakkaraju

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 054402 (2025) - Published 5 May, 2025

Oceanic eddies are dynamic swirling formations that vary in size from about a few kilometers at mid-latitudes to hundreds of kilometers near the tropics. These eddies can persist for days to months and play a crucial role in regulating the climate by transporting heat, salt, and marine life over long distances. Through complex networks, we have discovered both local and nonlocal interactions between these eddies. We have also examined their connectivity and resilience to evaluate the ecosystem’s capacity to withstand disturbances.

High-order statistics and extreme fluctuations in stationary turbulence via one-dimensional turbulence

Pranav Nath and Jean-Pierre Hickey

Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 054602 (2025) - Published 5 May, 2025

High-Reynolds number turbulence presents an enormous computational challenge due to its large scale separation. We explore a reduced dimensional approach to compute forced Homogeneous Isotropic Turbulence (HIT) up to a Taylor-scale Reynold’s number of 5428. The developed formulation based on one-dimensional turbulence captures many quantitative characteristics of HIT including energy spectra, normalized dissipation rate, skewness, energy flux, high-order structure functions and intermittency, along with an insight into occurrence of extreme events.

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