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Related Concept Videos

Steady, Laminar Flow Between Parallel Plates01:17

Steady, Laminar Flow Between Parallel Plates

Understanding steady, laminar flow between parallel plates is essential for analyzing and designing flow in narrow rectangular channels, commonly found in various water conveyance and drainage systems. The Navier-Stokes equations govern fluid motion and are generally challenging to solve due to their nonlinearity. However, simplifications are possible in certain cases, like the steady laminar flow between parallel plates. For this scenario, we assume steady, incompressible, laminar flow.
Laminar and Turbulent Flow01:07

Laminar and Turbulent Flow

Fluid dynamics is the study of fluids in motion. Velocity vectors are often used to illustrate fluid motion in applications like meteorology. For example, wind—the fluid motion of air in the atmosphere—can be represented by vectors indicating the speed and direction of the wind at any given point on a map. Another method for representing fluid motion is a streamline. A streamline represents the path of a small volume of fluid as it flows. When the flow pattern changes with time, the streamlines...
Introduction to Types of Flows01:23

Introduction to Types of Flows

Fluid flows are categorized by dimensionality and behavior, with one-dimensional flow being the simplest form, where properties like velocity and pressure change only along a single axis. Water moving through straight pipes exemplifies this flow type, as variations in other directions are minimal. One-dimensional analysis helps simplify understanding such flows, focusing solely on changes along the pipe's length.
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Plane Potential Flows01:23

Plane Potential Flows

Plane potential flows simplify fluid motion by assuming the fluid to be irrotational and incompressible. These characteristics allow these flows to be described by a velocity potential function, ϕ, representing the flow speed in a given direction, and a stream function, ψ, that visualizes the flow path, both governed by Laplace's equation. These parameters help in estimating flow patterns, velocity distributions, and pressure fields around various hydraulic structures.
Uniform Flow
Uniform flow...
Navier–Stokes Equations01:28

Navier–Stokes Equations

For incompressible Newtonian fluids, where density remains constant, stresses show a linear relationship with the deformation rate, defined by normal and shear stresses. Normal stresses depend on the pressure exerted on the fluid and the rate of deformation in specific directions, which determines how fluid flows under varying pressures. Shear stresses, on the other hand, act tangentially across fluid layers. They explain how adjacent fluid layers slide relative to one another, connecting...
Pressure Variation in a Fluid at Rest01:11

Pressure Variation in a Fluid at Rest

In a fluid at rest, the pressure at any point beneath the fluid surface depends solely on the depth, not on the container's shape or size. This principle, known as hydrostatic pressure, arises because, in stationary fluids, there is no acceleration, meaning the forces within the fluid balance out. Only vertical forces, caused by the weight of the fluid above, contribute to pressure changes with depth.
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An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
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Nonlocal interface dynamics and pattern formation in gravity-driven unsaturated flow through porous media.

Luis Cueto-Felgueroso1, Ruben Juanes

  • 1Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Building 48-319, Cambridge Massachusetts 02139, USA.

Physical Review Letters
|December 31, 2008
PubMed
Summary

A new model explains why water forms preferential flow paths (fingers) in dry soil. It incorporates apparent surface tension, accurately predicting finger speed and width based on infiltration rates.

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Area of Science:

  • * Porous media physics
  • * Fluid dynamics
  • * Soil science

Background:

  • * Current continuum models fail to explain preferential flow (fingering) during infiltration in homogeneous, dry soils.
  • * Understanding fingering is crucial for water management and contaminant transport in soils.

Purpose of the Study:

  • * To develop a new continuum model that explains the occurrence of fingering in unsaturated porous media.
  • * To incorporate an apparent surface tension at the wetting front without adding new parameters.

Main Methods:

  • * Phase-field methodology applied to multiphase flow.
  • * Development of a continuum model with apparent surface tension at the wetting front.
  • * Linear stability analysis to predict finger dynamics.

Main Results:

  • * The proposed model successfully reproduces observed fingering phenomena, including higher water saturation at finger tips.
  • * Linear stability analysis predicts that both finger velocity and width increase with infiltration rate.
  • * Model predictions show quantitative agreement with experimental data.

Conclusions:

  • * The inclusion of apparent surface tension in a phase-field model provides a mechanism for fingering in homogeneous soils.
  • * The model offers a physically based explanation for preferential flow, enhancing our understanding of infiltration processes.
  • * The findings have implications for predicting water movement and solute transport in unsaturated porous media.