Inertia-Dominated Capillary Channel Flow in Microgravity

TL;DR

This study investigates the behavior of open channel flows in microgravity, combining experimental and numerical methods to analyze free surface dynamics and flow collapse in wedge-shaped channels.

Contribution

It presents a comprehensive 3D experimental and numerical analysis of capillary channel flow in microgravity, validating the numerical solver's ability to predict free surface reorientation and collapse.

Findings

Good agreement between experiments and simulations

Flow reorientation occurs during gravity transition

Flow rate influences free surface stability

Abstract

The fluid dynamics video shows three-dimensional experimental and numerical investigations of open channel flows in microgravity. The dynamic reorientation of the free surface from 1g to 0g environment can be observed in a wedge-shaped channel for subcritical and for supercritical flow rate with a collapse of the interface. In addition three-dimensional computations determine important characteristics of the flow, such as the free surface shape, the velocity field, the dynamics of the reorientation and the flow rate depended collapse of the free surface. The good agreement validates the capabilities of the numerical solver.