Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 30, 2026

Assembly and Characterization of an External Driver for the Generation of Sub-Kilohertz Oscillatory Flow in Microchannels
Published on: January 28, 2022
Hydrodynamic rotational amplifiers with direction controllability, rotational hysteresis, nonreciprocity, and venturi
Enze Hu1, Bin Wang1, Xuesheng Wang1
1School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China. bwang@ecust.edu.cn.
None:
Hydrodynamic metamaterials provide a transformation-based route for manipulating low-Reynolds-number flows, but many existing designs rely on spatially inhomogeneous and anisotropic material parameters that are difficult to realize and integrate in practical fluidic systems. Here, we propose a body-force-based design strategy for hydrodynamic rot-amplifiers. By mapping coordinate transformations to an equivalent body-force distribution, the proposed method reproduces target transformed flow fields in a homogeneous background fluid without physically constructing complex anisotropic viscosity tensors. Numerical simulations show that the designed rot-amplifiers can simultaneously redirect the central flow direction and enhance the central velocity, leading to Venturi amplification while keeping the external background flow unperturbed. We further reveal that the transformation sequence controls the coupling between rotation and amplification: amplification followed by rotation induces Venturi amplification attenuation and rotational hysteresis, whereas rotation followed by amplification separates the dominant functional regions, eliminating the coupled attenuation and maintaining both target rotation and velocity amplification. The different responses under the two transformation sequences demonstrate transformation-order-induced nonreciprocity and a magnetism-analogous rotational hysteresis response associated with body-force redistribution, pressure-gradient lag, and viscous dissipative driving. Under inhomogeneous incoming flow, body force manipulation locks the central average flow direction to the prescribed direction in the fixed Cartesian frame, with angular deviations below 0.3° for the tested preset angles, whereas viscosity manipulation is passively deflected by the background inflow and shows deviations of approximately 23°. These results establish body-force manipulation and transformation-sequence control as design principles for active multifunctional hydrodynamic metamaterials with Venturi amplification, nonreciprocity, rotational hysteresis, and direction-locking capability.
Related Concept Videos
Bioreactor Controls-II
Time-Domain Interpretation of PD Control
Consider the example of control of motor torque. Initially, a positive...
Open and closed-loop control systems
An open-loop control system operates without feedback from the output. It consists of two primary elements: the controller and the controlled process. The controller receives an input signal and...
Steady, Laminar Flow in Circular Tubes
Steady, Laminar Flow Between Parallel Plates
PD Controller: Design
Designing a continuous-data controller requires selecting and linking components like adders and integrators, which are fundamental in Proportional,...
