ScholarlyCommons: Repository

Title

Stretching fields and mixing near the transition to nonperiodic two-dimensional flow

Author(s)

M. J. Twardos, Condensed Matter & Thermal Physics Group and The Center for Nonlinear Studies
Paulo E. Arratia, University of PennsylvaniaFollow
M. K. Rivera, Condensed Matter & Thermal Physics Group and The Center for Nonlinear Studies
G. A. Voth, Wesleyan University
J. P. Gollub, Haverford College
R. E. Ecke, Condensed Matter & Thermal Physics Group and The Center for Nonlinear Studies

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of this Version

5-30-2008

Comments

Suggested Citation:
M. J. Twardos, P. E. Arratia, M. K. Rivera, G. A. Voth, J. P. Gollub, and R. E. Ecke. (2008) Stretching fields and mixing near the transition to nonperiodic two-dimensional flow. Physical Review E. Vol. 77(5).

Copyright American Physical Society.
Publisher URL: http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevE.77.056315

Abstract

Although time-periodic fluid flows sometimes produce mixing via Lagrangian chaos, the additional contribution to mixing caused by nonperiodicity has not been quantified experimentally. Here, we do so for a quasi-two-dimensional flow generated by electromagnetic forcing. Several distinct measures of mixing are found to vary continuously with the Reynolds number, with no evident change in magnitude or slope at the onset of nonperiodicity. Furthermore, the scaled probability distributions of the mean Lyapunov exponent have the same form in the periodic and nonperiodic flow states.