This work is about the effect of viscosity stratification on the hydrodynamic instability of rotating disk flow, and whether or not it can take into account experimental observations of the lowering of critical Reynolds numbers in electrochemical systems, where a viscosity stratification is assumed to result from the gradients of chemical species existing in the convective boundary layer near the disk electrode. The analysis is for temporal stability of a class of von Kármán solutions: fully three-dimensional modes are considered and the neutral curves are therefore functions of not only the Reynolds number but also the wave frequency and the two wave numbers. Global minimization over wave numbers and also over the frequency gives the critical Reynolds number. The neutral curves exhibit a two-mode structure and the dependence of both modes on parameters is studied. It is shown that viscosity stratification leads to an increase in the range of parameters where perturbations are amplified and to a reduction of the critical Reynolds number, in a wide range of perturbation frequencies. The results support the hypothesis that the current oscillations may originate from a hydrodynamic instability.
Polarization curves experimentally obtained in the electro-dissolution of iron in a 1 M H2SO4 solution using a rotating disc as the working electrode present a current instability region within the range of applied voltage in which the current is controlled by mass transport in the electrolyte. According to the literature (Barcia et. al., 1992) the electro-dissolution process leads to the existence of a viscosity gradient in the interface metal-solution, which leads to a velocity field quantitatively different form the one developed in uniform viscosity conditions and may affect the stability of the hydrodynamic field. The purpose of this work is to investigate whether a steady viscosity profile, depending on the distance to the electrode surface, affects the stability properties of the classic velocity field near a rotating disc. Two classes of perturbations are considered: perturbations monotonically varying along the radial direction, and perturbations periodically modulated along the radial direction. The results show that the hydrodynamic field is always stable with respect to the first class of perturbations and that the neutral stability curves are modified by the presence of a viscosity gradient in the second case, in the sense of reducing the critical Reynolds number beyond which perturbations are amplified. This result supports the hypothesis that the current oscillations observed in the polarization curve may originate from a hydrodynamic instability
No abstract
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.