J. R. A. Pearson

Bio: J. R. A. Pearson is an academic researcher from Imperial Chemical Industries. The author has contributed to research in topics: Instability & Surface tension. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 3 publications receiving 1630 citations.

On convection cells induced by surface tension

Abstract: A mechanism is proposed by which cellular convective motion of the type observed by H. Benard, which hitherto has been attributed to the action of buoyancy forces, can also be induced by surface tension forces. Thus when a thin layer of fluid is heated from below, the temperature gradient is such that small variations in the surface temperature lead to surface tractions which cause the fluid to flow and thereby tend to maintain the original temperature variations. A small disturbance analysis, analogous to that carried out by Rayleigh and others for unstable density gradients, leads to a dimensionless number B which expresses the ratio of surface tension to viscous forces, and which must attain a certain minimum critical value for instability to occur. The results obtained are then applied to the original cells described by Benard, and to the case of drying paint films. It is concluded that surface tension forces are responsible for cellular motion in many such cases where the criteria given in terms of buoyancy forces would not allow of instability.

The instability of uniform viscous flow under rollers and spreaders

Abstract: When a thin film of viscous fluid is produced by passing it through a small gap between a roller or spreader and a flat plate, it often presents a waved, or ribbed, surface. An analysis is given here in terms of lubrication theory to show why in many cases flow leading to a uniform film is unstable. Account is taken of surface tension which proves to be a stabilizing factor. The most unstable values of the wave-number, n (characterizing the disturbance), are calculated as functions of the dimensionless variable T/μU0, and of the geometry of the system; T is the surface tension, μ the viscosity and U0 a representative velocity of the fluid. For the particular case of a spreader in the form of a wide-angled wedge, these predictions are compared with experimental observations. Agreement is obtained for values of T/μU0 between about 10 and 0.1, but for smaller values of T/μU0 it is clear that other considerations, involving only viscous and pressure forces, determine the nature of the secondary flow.

Pattern formation outside of equilibrium

Abstract: A comprehensive review of spatiotemporal pattern formation in systems driven away from equilibrium is presented, with emphasis on comparisons between theory and quantitative experiments. Examples include patterns in hydrodynamic systems such as thermal convection in pure fluids and binary mixtures, Taylor-Couette flow, parametric-wave instabilities, as well as patterns in solidification fronts, nonlinear optics, oscillatory chemical reactions and excitable biological media. The theoretical starting point is usually a set of deterministic equations of motion, typically in the form of nonlinear partial differential equations. These are sometimes supplemented by stochastic terms representing thermal or instrumental noise, but for macroscopic systems and carefully designed experiments the stochastic forces are often negligible. An aim of theory is to describe solutions of the deterministic equations that are likely to be reached starting from typical initial conditions and to persist at long times. A unified description is developed, based on the linear instabilities of a homogeneous state, which leads naturally to a classification of patterns in terms of the characteristic wave vector q0 and frequency ω0 of the instability. Type Is systems (ω0=0, q0≠0) are stationary in time and periodic in space; type IIIo systems (ω0≠0, q0=0) are periodic in time and uniform in space; and type Io systems (ω0≠0, q0≠0) are periodic in both space and time. Near a continuous (or supercritical) instability, the dynamics may be accurately described via "amplitude equations," whose form is universal for each type of instability. The specifics of each system enter only through the nonuniversal coefficients. Far from the instability threshold a different universal description known as the "phase equation" may be derived, but it is restricted to slow distortions of an ideal pattern. For many systems appropriate starting equations are either not known or too complicated to analyze conveniently. It is thus useful to introduce phenomenological order-parameter models, which lead to the correct amplitude equations near threshold, and which may be solved analytically or numerically in the nonlinear regime away from the instability. The above theoretical methods are useful in analyzing "real pattern effects" such as the influence of external boundaries, or the formation and dynamics of defects in ideal structures. An important element in nonequilibrium systems is the appearance of deterministic chaos. A greal deal is known about systems with a small number of degrees of freedom displaying "temporal chaos," where the structure of the phase space can be analyzed in detail. For spatially extended systems with many degrees of freedom, on the other hand, one is dealing with spatiotemporal chaos and appropriate methods of analysis need to be developed. In addition to the general features of nonequilibrium pattern formation discussed above, detailed reviews of theoretical and experimental work on many specific systems are presented. These include Rayleigh-Benard convection in a pure fluid, convection in binary-fluid mixtures, electrohydrodynamic convection in nematic liquid crystals, Taylor-Couette flow between rotating cylinders, parametric surface waves, patterns in certain open flow systems, oscillatory chemical reactions, static and dynamic patterns in biological media, crystallization fronts, and patterns in nonlinear optics. A concluding section summarizes what has and has not been accomplished, and attempts to assess the prospects for the future.

Numerical experiments in homogeneous turbulence

Abstract: The direct simulation methods developed by Orszag and Patternson (1972) for isotropic turbulence were extended to homogeneous turbulence in an incompressible fluid subjected to uniform deformation or rotation. The results of simulations for irrotational strain (plane and axisymmetric), shear, rotation, and relaxation toward isotropy following axisymmetric strain are compared with linear theory and experimental data. Emphasis is placed on the shear flow because of its importance and because of the availability of accurate and detailed experimental data. The computed results are used to assess the accuracy of two popular models used in the closure of the Reynolds-stress equations. Data from a variety of the computed fields and the details of the numerical methods used in the simulation are also presented.

Late stages of spinodal decomposition in binary mixtures

Abstract: The influence of hydrodynamic interactions on the coarsening rate r of a mist of droplets combining through diffusive coalescence is examined in detail. For a sufficiently rarified mist, the competing LifshitzSlyozov or evaporation-condensation mechanism is dominant, but the volume fraction of precipitate actually produced in most off-critical quench experiments probably favors direct coalescence, When the minority phase is continuous, as in a quench at the critical concentration, surface-tension eA'ects lead to a crossover from r -t'" to r -t, where t is the time.