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Noisy transitional flows in imperfect channels

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2015

C. Lissandrello
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Division of Materials Science and Engineering, and the Photonics Center, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
L. Li
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Division of Materials Science and Engineering, and the Photonics Center, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
K. L. Ekinci*
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Division of Materials Science and Engineering, and the Photonics Center, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
V. Yakhot
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Division of Materials Science and Engineering, and the Photonics Center, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
*
Email address for correspondence: ekinci@bu.edu

Abstract

Here, we study noisy transitional flows in imperfect millimetre-scale channels. For probing the flows, we use microcantilever sensors embedded in the channel walls. We perform experiments in two nominally identical channels. The different sets of imperfections in the two channels result in two random flows in which the high-order moments of the near-wall fluctuations differ by orders of magnitude. Surprisingly, however, the lowest-order statistics in both cases appear to be qualitatively similar and can be described by a proposed noisy Landau equation for a slow mode. The noise, regardless of its origin, regularizes the Landau singularity of the relaxation time and makes transitions driven by different noise sources appear similar.

Type
Rapids
Copyright
© 2015 Cambridge University Press 

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