Exploring separation and reattachment in shear-thinning suspensions through pipe-wall ultrasound measurements

To better understand how turbulent flow structures develop within shear-thinning suspensions (STSs), we investigate the behavior of a shear layer forming within an STS downstream of a sudden expansion with an expansion ratio of 0.5. Specifically, the shear-layer reattachment behavior downstream of an axisymmetric expansion is characterized through ultrasound imaging velocimetry (UIV) and through pressure measurements, and the observed behavior is used to surmise how the shear layer is modified within the STS. Four fluids are investigated, which include pure water, as well as three 1750 ppm xanthan-gum-in-water solutions mixed with non-reactive mineral microspheres at volume fractions of 0%, 15%, and 30%. Wall-pressure measurements were collected through pressure taps located at 0h to 25.8h downstream of the expansion with subsequent UIV measurements collected from 1h to 9h downstream of the expansion, where h is the step height and equals the difference between the pipe and throat radii. For single-phase cases, pressure-recovery profiles and UIV flow fields indicate a predictably large reattachment length at low Reynolds numbers, which shortens as the Reynolds number increases from $$ to $$ and finally stabilizes at roughly 8h. In contrast, the STSs exhibit pressure-recovery and pipe-wall velocity profiles indicating a reattachment length that is consistently short (8h) and independent of Reynolds number. The results indicate that the suspended phase within the STSs causes the shear layer to diffuse far more rapidly, thereby promoting momentum transfer toward the wall, which results in a consistently short reattachment length.