Spatial and temporal scaled physical modeling of fluid convection using hypergravity

TL;DR

This paper introduces a hypergravity-based approach to improve the accuracy of scaled physical models of fluid convection, validated through centrifuge experiments, enhancing understanding of gravity-driven fluid behaviors.

Contribution

The study presents a novel method using hypergravity to better satisfy similarity criteria in physical fluid models, enabling more accurate simulations of natural convection and multi-phase flows.

Findings

Scaling similarity increases with gravitational acceleration.

Optimal model representation occurs at N3g with specific spatial and time scales.

Centrifuge radius and fluid velocity significantly affect model accuracy.

Abstract

Scaled physical modeling is an important means to understand the behavior of fluids in nature. However, a common source of errors is conflicting similarity criteria. Here, we present using hypergravity to improve the scaling similarity of gravity-dominated fluid convection, e.g. natural convection and multi-phase flow. We demonstrate the validity of the approach by investigating water-brine buoyant jet experiments conducted under hypergravity created by a centrifuge. Results show that the scaling similarity increases with the gravitational acceleration. In particular, the model best represents the prototype under N3g with a spatial scale of 1/N and a time scale of 1/N2 by simultaneously satisfying the Froude and Reynolds criteria. The significance of centrifuge radius and fluid velocity in determining the accuracy of the scaled model is discussed in the light of Coriolis force and turbulence. This study demonstrates a new direction for the physical modeling of fluids subject to gravity with broad application prospects.