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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Quantifying Mixing using Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: January 25, 2012
Targeted mixing in an array of alternating vortices
R Bachelard1, T Benzekri, C Chandre
1Centre de Physique Théorique, CNRS Aix-Marseille Universités, campus de Luminy, Case 907, F-13288 Marseille cedex 9, France.
Abstract:
Transport and mixing properties of passive particles advected by an array of vortices are investigated. Starting from the integrable case, it is shown that a special class of perturbations allows one to preserve separatrices which act as effective transport barriers, while triggering chaotic advection. In this setting, mixing within the two dynamical barriers is enhanced while long range transport is prevented. A numerical analysis of mixing properties depending on parameter values is performed; regions for which optimal mixing is achieved are proposed. Robustness of the targeted mixing properties regarding errors in the applied perturbation are considered, as well as slip/no-slip and/or boundary conditions for the flow.
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