Robert J. Whittaker

Mathematical modelling of fibre-enhanced perfusion inside a tissue-engineering bioreactor

We develop a simple mathematical model for forced flow of culture medium through a porous scaffold in a tissue-engineering bioreactor. Porous-walled hollow fibres penetrate the scaffold and act as additional sources of culture medium. The model, based on Darcys law, is used to examine the nutrient and shear-stress distributions throughout the scaffold. We consider several configurations of fibres and inlet and outlet pipes. Compared with a numerical solution of the full Navier-Stokes equations within the complex scaffold geometry, the modelling approach is cheap, and does not require knowledge of the detailed microstructure of the particular scaffold being used. The potential of this approach is demonstrated through quantification of the effect the additional flow from the fibres has on the nutrient and shear-stress distribution.

Equilibrium conditions for the floating of multiple interfacial objects

We study the effect of interactions between objects floating at fluid interfaces, for the case in which the objects are primarily supported by surface tension. We give conditions on the density and size of these objects for equilibrium to be possible and show that two objects that float when well-separated may sink as the separation between them is decreased. Finally, we examine the equilbrium of a raft of strips floating at an interface, and find that rafts of sufficiently low density may have infinite spatial extent, but that above a critical raft density, all rafts sink if they are sufficiently large. We compare our numerical and asymptotic results with some simple table-top experiments, and find good quantitative agreement.

The energetics of flow through a rapidly oscillating tube. Part 1. General theory

We examine the effect of prescribed wall-driven oscillations of a flexible tube of arbitrary cross-section, through which a flow is driven by prescribing either a steady flux at the downstream end or a steady pressure difference between the ends. A large-Womersley-number large-Strouhal-number regime is considered, in which the oscillations of the wall are small in amplitude, but sufficiently rapid to ensure viscous effects are confined to a thin boundary layer. We derive asymptotic expressions for the flow fields and evaluate the energy budget. A general result for the conditions under which there is zero net energy transfer from the flow to the wall is provided. This is presented as a critical inverse Strouhal number (a dimensionless measure of the background flow rate) which is expressed only in terms of the tube geometry, the fluid properties and the profile of the prescribed wall oscillations. Our results identify an essential component of a fundamental mechanism for self-excited oscillations in three-dimensional collapsible tube flows, and enable us to assess how geometric and flow properties affect the stability of the system.

Predicting the onset of high-frequency self-excited oscillations in elastic-walled tubes

We present a theoretical description of flow-induced self-excited oscillations in the Starling resistor—a pre-stretched thin-walled elastic tube that is mounted on two rigid tubes and enclosed in a pressure chamber. Assuming that the flow through the elastic tube is driven by imposing the flow rate at the downstream end, we study the development of small-amplitude long-wavelength high-frequency oscillations, combining the results of two previous studies in which we analysed the fluid and solid mechanics of the problem in isolation. We derive a one-dimensional eigenvalue problem for the frequencies and mode shapes of the oscillations, and determine the slow growth or decay of the normal modes by considering the system’s energy budget. We compare the theoretical predictions for the mode shapes, frequencies and growth rates with the results of direct numerical simulations, based on the solution of the three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations, coupled to the equations of shell theory, and find good agreement between the results. Our results provide the first asymptotic predictions for the onset of self-excited oscillations in three-dimensional collapsible tube flows.

The energetics of flow through a rapidly oscillating tube. Part 2. Application to an elliptical tube

In Part 1 of this work, we derived general asymptotic results for the three-dimensional flow field and energy fluxes for flow within a tube whose walls perform prescribed small-amplitude periodic oscillations of high frequency and large axial wavelength. In the current paper, we illustrate how these results can be applied to the case of flow through a finite-length axially non-uniform tube of elliptical cross-section – a model of flow in a Starling resistor. The results of numerical simulations for three model problems (an axially uniform tube under pressure–flux and pressure–pressure boundary conditions and an axially non-uniform tube with prescribed flux) with prescribed wall motion are compared with the theoretical predictions made in Part 1, each showing excellent agreement. When upstream and downstream pressures are prescribed, we show how the mean flux adjusts slowly under the action of Reynolds stresses using a multiple-scale analysis. We test the asymptotic expressions obtained for the mean energy transfer E from the flow to the wall over a period of the motion. In particular, the critical point at which E = 0 is predicted accurately: this point corresponds to energetically neutral oscillations, the condition which is relevant to the onset of global instability in the Starling resistor.

Steady axisymmetric creeping plumes above a planar boundary. Part 1. A point source

Asymptotic solutions are obtained for the rise of an axisymmetric hot plume from a localized source at the base of a half-space filled with very viscous fluid. We consider an effectively point source, generating a prescribed buoyancy flux

The self-similar rise of a buoyant thermal in very viscous flow

B

Arenavirus budding resulting from viral-protein-associated cell membrane curvature

, and show that the length scale of the plume base is

Slender-body theory for steady sheared plumes in very viscous fluid

z_0 \,{=}\, (32\upi \kappa^2\nu/B)

The energetics of flow through a rapidly oscillating tube with slowly varying amplitude

, where