arXiv subjects

Pierre Bragança

Publications and source records attributed to Pierre Bragança.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Preferential concentration in a periodically forced particle-laden turbulent planar jet

Periodic forcing is common in particle-laden jets, yet its influence on turbulence and inertial-particle clustering remains poorly understood. We investigate a turbulent planar jet at two Reynolds numbers, approximately 4950 and 9900 based on nozzle height, subjected to sinusoidal forcing at a frequency three orders of magnitude below the preferred jet instability. Hot-wire anemometry and high-speed particle imaging characterise the carrier turbulence, while Voronoi tessellations quantify preferential concentration of dilute inertial droplets. Despite its low frequency and moderate amplitude, forcing substantially modifies turbulence while leaving the mean-flow development nearly unchanged. The integral scale decreases by up to $40\%$, while forced and unforced jets retain the same time-averaged relationship between the dimensionless dissipation coefficient and Taylor-scale Reynolds number. Within the forcing cycle, velocity fluctuations and the Taylor microscale vary approximately in opposite phase, keeping the Taylor-scale Reynolds number within $\pm10\%$ of its cycle mean despite substantial variations in dissipation and Kolmogorov time scale. Particle clustering is even more sensitive, with forcing increasing mean preferential concentration and producing phase-dependent variations of $21$--$49\%$ of the cycle mean. Clustering peaks when the Kolmogorov time scale is largest, corresponding to the smallest particle Stokes number. Thus, markedly different clustering states occur at similar instantaneous Taylor-scale Reynolds numbers. These findings demonstrate that weak temporal modulation can control particle organisation without substantially altering the mean transporting flow.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2026

Finding a reconnection in a vortex-haystack

Counter-rotating vortex reconnection is a topology-transforming event that leads to strong vorticity amplification and is often associated with the most irregular regions of the velocity field. Detecting such events directly in turbulent flows is a major challenge due to the ambiguity inherent in the definition of a vortex and the rapid proliferation of intense small scale vortices. We develop a novel methodology by combining two tools. The first is a local in scale, space and time regularity indicator that isolates spatio-temporal regions of interest. The second is a reconnection indicator that exploits a well-known property of vortex reconnection namely, that the enstrophy (volume integral of the square of vorticity) flows from the symmetry to the collision plane. To examine the flow of enstrophy in the correct reference frame, a new method inspired by orientational order parameters in liquid crystals is developed. We then show a proof of concept for our reconnection indicator by comparing it with diagnostic methods available in the literature. The method is validated on experimental datasets from a turbulent von Kármán flow at two different resolutions, one of which allows us to probe the flow below the Kolmogorov scale, $η$. Our findings suggest that counter-rotating vortex reconnection could be a potential mechanism for the creation of motions at scales below $η$.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2026

Characterisation of a multistable turbulent wake: application of an improved regime identification with analytical model training

This article presents the experimental study and the modelling of the multistable jet in the wake of two side by side square bars separated by a distance $G$ at Reynolds number $R=U_\infty H/ν=10000$ (with $U_\infty$ the velocity of the incoming flow, $H$ the bar side and $ν$ the kinematic viscosity). The velocity field downstream of the bars is measured by means of two dimensional two components Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). We use the weighted transverse position of the jet $Y_m$ and the jet width $w$ to characterise the regimes of multistability as the gap ratio $G/H$ is increased. Three main regimes of multistability are possible: tristability, bistability, and monostability. In our wind tunnel, tristability is observed for $G/H\in [1.15,1.25]$, bistability is observed for $G/H\in [1.5,2.65]$ and monostability is observed for $G/H\in [3.0,3.5]$. Within the first two ranges of $G/H$, there exists gap ratios for which multistability is more complex. In order to analyse the simple and complex multistability regimes as well as the transition from bistable to monostable, we construct an analytical stochastic differential equation (SDE) modelling $Y_m$ for each gap ratio. These SDEs are written with polynomial drift and diffusion. For this matter we use a data based method that finds an trade--off between simplicity of the model (smaller number of monomials) and precision. A first key advantage of the use of the data-based model fitting method is that when the flow is tristable, bistable or monostable, we recover the drifts expected from the theory of bifurcations, but we are now able to correct it with the right multiplicative noise expressed by the diffusion. The second key advantage is that we can also fit atypical drift expressions when the multistability regime is complex that help us make sense of the jet behaviour.

physics.flu-dyn↗