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R Sureshkumar

Publications and source records attributed to R Sureshkumar.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Pattern formation in Taylor-Couette flow of dilute polymer solutions: dynamical simulations and mechanism.

We report spatiotemporal pattern formation in Taylor-Couette flow (i.e., flow between rotating cylinders) of viscoelastic dilute polymer solutions obtained for the first time from first-principles dynamical simulations. Solution structures with varying spatial and temporal symmetries, such as rotating standing waves, flames, disordered oscillations, and solitary vortex solutions which include diwhirls (stationary and axisymmetric) and oscillatory strips (axisymmetric or nonaxisymmetric), are observed, depending on the ratio of fluid relaxation time to the time period of inner cylinder rotation. The flow-microstructure coupling mechanisms underlying the pattern formation process are also discussed.

Journal Article↗

Hierarchical approach to model multilayer colloidal deposition in porous media.

Particle deposition is important in many environmental systems such as water and wastewater filtration, air pollution control, subsurface transport, biofilm formation and fouling, and thin film synthesis for use in remediation technologies. While continuum-level models have been developed to predict deposition dynamics in these systems, these models fail to explain transient dynamics of multilayer deposition from a mechanistic viewpoint. In this work, a multiscale approach has been developed to predict multiple layer irreversible colloidal deposition in the presence of interparticle electrostatic and van der Waals interactions in porous media. The approach combines the kinetic information obtained from the mesoscopic stochastic simulations of particle deposition with the macroscopic conservation equation describing colloidal transport. Sequential Brownian dynamics simulations are first performed by accounting for particle-particle (P-P) and particle-surface (P-S) interactions, and multilayered particle deposits are obtained. The available surface function quantifying the deposition kinetics is then obtained from the deposit microstructure. Deposition dynamics are studied at different ionic strengths and particle potentials that control the range and magnitude of interparticle interactions. Simulation results showed that the microstructure of the particle deposits formed under the influence of P-P and P-S electrostatic interactions exhibited significant variations with respect to ionic strength and could be qualitatively explained bythe interplay between the repulsive and attractive P-P and P-S interaction forces. The available surface function also varied significantly as a function of ionic strength. This basic understanding of the deposition dynamics at the mesoscale was then combined with the continuum-level transport equations to predict particle breakthrough curves in porous media. The approach is capable of capturing transient features of deposition dynamics, as demonstrated by the good agreement between the model predictions and the experimental observations.

Adsorption↗

Multiscale simulation of irreversible deposition in presence of double layer interactions.

Sequential lattice Monte Carlo simulations, in which the transition probabilities are derived from the discrete form of the continuum-level mass conservation law, are used to predict the morphology of colloidal deposits. The simulations account for particle-surface (P-S) and particle-particle (P-P) electrostatic and van der Waals interactions. Simulation results for maximum coverage for monolayer deposition are in quantitative agreement with the hard-sphere RSA jamming limit. Moreover, as reported in earlier studies, monolayer simulations in the absence of P-S interactions qualitatively predict the monotonic increases in fractional coverage with increasing ionic strength, characterized by the Debye screening length (kappa a). Monolayer simulations with P-S interactions show that the dependence of fractional coverage on kappa a is strongly influenced by the ratio of particle to surface potentials (Psi(p)/Psi(s)). P-S and P-P forces achieve their respective maximum at different values of kappa a leading to a nonmonotonic trend in surface coverage as a function of kappa a. These results indicate that the incorporation of P-S interactions into colloidal deposition studies allows more accurate interpretation of the experimental data. In multilayer deposition simulations, balance between long-ranged weak interactions and short-ranged strong interactions between P-P and P-S, coupled with physical screening effects, resulted in widely varying coverages with height of the deposit, ionic strength, and Psi(p)/Psi(s). Moreover, fractal dimension of the deposit ranged from approximately 1 (kappa a << 1) to 1.7 (kappa a >> 1). Qualitative kinetic analysis showed widely varying deposition rates in different layers depending on Psi(p)/Psi(s) and ionic strength. The multilayer system approached the monolayer system in the limit kappa a--> infinity and Psi(p)/Psi(s)--> infinity.

Journal Article↗