Assessing Eulerian Indicators for Predicting Mixing in a Blinking Vortex System with Varying Degrees of Continuous Transition

Abstract

A discontinuous change in sequential velocity fields is known to generate laminar flow mixing through the mechanism of streamline crossing. However, previous research has suggested that a small degree of continuous transition between velocity fields may not necessarily be detrimental. This study therefore used a modified blinking vortex system with varying degree of continuous transition to assess the precise effect that this continuous transition has on mixing performance. This system was studied for the parameters: blinking period, vortex spacing, and the fraction of time spent in transition. Continuous Eulerian indicators were computed to investigate their correspondence with Lagrangian-based metrics, such as Intensity of Segregation, under such conditions. The results showed that up to 30% transition time yielded improvements in mixing, most notably when vortex spacing was large, and this was consistent across different time periods. The mixing prediction by the Eulerian indicators, particularly mobility, showed good agreement with actual mixing quality, albeit not perfectly, suggesting room for refinement in these metrics. Overall, the findings imply that mixing systems, such as continuous pipe flow-based devices, which are designed assuming a discontinuous change in velocity fields, might benefit from the presence of a small degree of continuous transition between discrete states.