A mixer design for the pigtail braid
The stirring of a body of viscous fluid using multiple stirring rods is known to be particularly effective when the rods trace out a path corresponding to a nontrivial mathematical braid. The optimal braid is the so-called "pigtail braid", in which three stirring rods execute the usu...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
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Elsevier
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/668/ |
| Summary: | The stirring of a body of viscous fluid using multiple
stirring rods is known to be particularly effective when
the rods trace out a path corresponding to a nontrivial
mathematical braid. The optimal braid is the so-called
"pigtail braid", in which three stirring rods execute
the usual "over-under" motion associated with braiding
plaiting) hair. We show how to achieve this optimal
braiding motion straightforwardly: one stirring rod is
driven in a figure-of-eight motion, while the other two
rods are baffles, which rotate episodically about their
common centre. We also explore the extent to which the
physical baffles may be replaced by flow structures
(such as periodic islands). |
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