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The increasing need for real-time monitoring and control of fluid properties such as viscosity and density in industry has led to a growing demand for a low-cost in-situ and on-line measurement system. This thesis is concerned with the design of two different low-cost systems for measuring viscosity of fluids. The first system, which is called torsional guided wave viscosity probe,· is based on the ultrasonic torsional guided waves and consists of a cylindrical waveguide immersed in a fluid whose viscosity is to be determined. The amplitude and the speed of the propagating torsional stress waves change due to the leakage of bulk shear waves into surrounding fluid. This change in attenuation and speed is proportional to the viscosity of the surrounding fluid. The advantages of using torsional guided wave attenuation instead of speed for viscosity estimation are established. The effects of probe material, dimensions and operating frequency on viscosity measurement are discussed in the context of a requirement to match the measured attenuation to the range of viscosity values that are required to be measured, given the constraints on measurability imposed by the overall signal and noise conditions. A prototype probe is shown to work well with Newtonian liquids but to appreciably underestimate the viscosities of polymeric oils; these anomalies are explained quantitatively on the basis of a model of intramolecular relaxation. The probe was unsuccessful when applied to slurries, and a basic explanation is given. A simple and inexpensive electronic platform based on generation of square-wave sequences is designed and its operation is experimentally verified. ---------------_._--- The second system is a paddle probe based on the principle of a simple mixer. It is based on the properties of a permanent magnet DC motor (PMDC) and consists of an impeller immersed in a fluid whose viscosity is to be determined. The motor current increases with increase in the torque on the impeller due to the fluid drag forces. An analytical model is developed to predict the viscosity of the surrounding fluid from the motor current independent of its rotational speed. The effects of shape and size of the impeller on the model prediction of viscosity are experimentally examined. Successful experimental results for a range of fluids are achieved using impellers with certain shapes and sizes.

This investigation is concerned with the linear development of Görtler vortices in the high-Reynolds-number laminar compressible wake behind a flat plate which is aligned with the centreline of a curved mixing layer system. The Görtler modes were previously found to exist within the curved compressible mixing layers by Owen et al. (1997). This study extends the work of Owen et al. (1997) and attempts to demonstrate the effect a wake has on the growth rate and location of such modes. The investigations were made by examining the growth rate and the location of the Görtler modes in the limit of large Görtler number and high wave number within the wake-dominated curved compressible mixing-layer systems based on three wake flow models. An analytical Gaussian wake profile is first used to model the behaviour of the basic flow within the mixing layer at the trailing edge of the splitter plate. It is found that the wake has an amplification effect on the growth of the Görtler instability within the concavely curved, or 'unstably' curved compressible mixing layers. It is also found that within the convexly curved, or 'stably' curved compressible mixing layers the wake modes can occur that would behave differently to the 'thermal modes', which were previously found within the plain curved compressible system by Owen et al. (1997). Another analytic composite model which had some practical applications is then used to predict the behaviour of the modes within the systems. A numerical wake flow model has also been derived to compare with the predictions based on the analytic wake flow models.

Simultaneous flow of gas-liquid in pipes presents considerable challenges and difficulties due to the complexity of the two-flow mixture. Oil-gas industries need to handle highly viscous liquids, hence studying the effect of changing the fluid viscosity becomes imperative as this is typically encountered in deeper offshore exploration. This work looks at the effect of liquid viscosity on gas-liquid flows. The work was carried out using two different pipes of 67mm and 127mm internal diameter. For the experiments carried out on the 67mm diameter pipe, air and three different liquids were used with viscosities 1, 42 and 152cp. With these experiments, the effect of viscosity on the entrainment process from the Taylor bubble in a vertical tube was investigated with the Taylor bubble being held stationary in a downward liquid flow with the use of three different gas injection methods. Taylor bubble length, the gas flow rate and the liquid flow rate approaching the stationary bubble were varied. In addition, the wake length below the stationary bubble was measured at different conditions of gas and liquid superficial velocities and comparison was made with the work by previous authors. Videos were taken with high speed camera to validate the measurement taken on wake lengths. A Wire Mesh Sensor system was placed at two different positions below the air injection point on the 67mm diameter pipe of the stationary bubble facility whose data acquisition provided time and cross-sectionally resolved information about spatial distribution. This information was used to generate time averaged void fraction, bubble size distribution and contour plots of the two-phase flow structure. A Probability Density Function (PDF) of void fraction can be obtained from the former, with PDFs of the wake section of the stationary bubbles showing that the flows are in the bubbly region while the PDF for the entire slug unit assumed that for a typical twin-peaked slug flow. The interpretation of this is that holding a bubble stationary can simulate real slug flow. Results on the bubble length measurement and gas loss into a bubble wake have shown good agreement with existing work by other authors. Experiments on the 127 mm diameter pipe were carried out because most published work on gas/liquid flow were on smaller diameter pipes with air and water, yet many of the industrial applications of such flows in vertical pipes are in larger diameter pipes and with liquids which are much more viscous than water. Another important parameter considered in the study is pressure because of its effect on gas density. This part of the research goes some way to rectify this lack and presents void fraction and pressure gradient data for sulphur hexafluoride with gas densities of 28 and 45 kg/m3 and oil (viscosity 35 times water). The gas and liquid superficial velocities were varied in the ranges 0.1-3 and 0.1-1 m/s respectively. The void fraction was also measured with a Wire Mesh Sensor system. Flow patterns were identified from the signatures of the Probability Density Function of cross-sectionally averaged void fraction. These showed the single peak shapes associated with bubbly and churn flow but not the twin-peaked shape usually seen in slug flow. This confirms previous work in larger diameter pipes but with less viscous liquids. For the bubble to churn flows investigated, the pressure gradients decreased with increasing superficial gas velocity. The change in pressure ultimately affects the density of gas in the two-phase flow mixture. Though there was little effect of pressure on void fraction below certain transitional flow rates, the effect became significant beyond these values. Different statistical analysis techniques such as power spectral density, probability density function, mean, standard deviation and time series of the acquired data have been used which also show the significant effect of pressure on void fraction at high gas density which have not been measured previously.

Ce sujet de thèse s'inscrit dans un domaine en plein développement depuis quelques décennies. Il comporte deux parties:La première partie fait suite à une série de travaux théoriques et numériques en écoulement vertical, effectués par Boudlal et Liapidevskii (Boudlal, LML). On considère un film liquide mince non-Newtonien dévalant une paroi plane inclinée. On cherche à construire des solutions d'ondes périodiques avec discontinuités (ODP) d'amplitude finie, et on met en évidence les conditions nécessaires d'existence de ces ODP. On fait une étude à la fois analytique et numérique de la stabilité non linéaire de ce type d'ondes. Les équations modulées pour un trains d'ondes quasi-périodiques avec discontinuités permettent d'aboutir à un critère de stabilité dépendant de deux paramètres (expression intégro-différentielle), difficile à mettre en œuvre pour le tracé des diagrammes de stabilité des ODP, à cause de la présence des singularités aux frontières d'hyperbolicité (amplitudes faibles et maximales). Pour lever ces singularités des formules asymptotiques sont établies. Pour illustrer ces résultats un calcul numérique permet, à l'aide des formules asymptotiques au voisinage des singularités, de présenter des diagrammes de stabilité pour quelques valeurs des paramètres de l’écoulement.La seconde partie de ce travail est dédiée à la simulation numérique de l'écoulement diphasique (gaz/liquide) stratifiés entre deux plans parallèles et inclinés par rapport à l'horizontale. Le comportement de l'interface entre les deux phases fluides est à l'heure actuelle l'un des sous-domaines les plus actifs de la mécanique des fluides numérique. Dans ce contexte, nous avons choisi d'utiliser un code de calcul permettant de résoudre à la fois les équations de Navier-Stokes et les équations constitutives d'un fluide viscoélastique par volumes finis (Gilflow) correspondant à un écoulement monophasique du liquide viscoélastique confiné entre deux parois planes horizontales. J’ai implémenté, avec succès, le modèle diphasique mettant en œuvre la méthode "Volume Of Fluid"(VOF). Le transport de l'interface est résolu à l’aide l'équation de transport de la fonction VOF. Les deux méthodes : Hirt-VOF et PLIC-VOF sont testées pour un écoulement diphasique en régime stratifié instationnaire (gaz/ liquide). Pour illustrer les résultats de la simulation numérique, la configuration (gaz/ liquide) stratifiés est présentée. / This thesis is a part of a growing field in recent decades. It has two parts:The first section follows a series of theoretical and numerical works in vertical flow, made by Boudlal and Liapidevskii (Boudlal., LML). We consider a non-newtonian thin liquid film flowing in down inclined wall. We seek to construct solutions of periodic waves of finite amplitude with discontinuities, the so-called Roll waves (RW), the conditions of existence of these kind of waves are shown. We investigate both analytical and numerical nonlinear stability of these waves.The modulation equations for a quasi-periodic wave trains with discontinuities allow to lead a stability criterion, depending on two parameters (integro-differential expression). The main difficulty to establishthe stability domain is due of the presence of singularities near infinitesimal and maximal amplitudes. To remove these singularities the asymptotic formulas are obtained. To illustrate these results, a numerical calculation, using the asymptotic formulas, allows to pesent the stability diagrams for some values of the flow parameters.The second section of this work is dedicated to the numerical simulation of two-phase flow (gas / liquid) stratified between two parallel planes and inclined relative to the horizontal. The behaviour of the interface between the two phases is, at present, one of the most active sub-areas of computational fluid dynamics. In this context, we have chosen to use a code for solving both the Navier-Stokes equations and the constitutive equations of viscoelastic fluid with finite volumes (Gilflow) corresponding to a single phase flow of viscoelastic fluid confined between two horizontal plane walls. The two-phase flow model was here implemented successfully, by application of the "Volume Of Fluid" method (VOF). The transport of the interface is solved by using the transport equation of the VOF function. Both methods : Hirt-VOF and PLIC-VOF are tested for a two-phase flow in an unsteady stratified flow regime (gas / liquid). To illustrate this numerical simulation, the configuration (gas / liquid) stratified is here presented.

The research carried out in this thesis describes the processing of liquids and ceramic suspensions, having a viscosity >100mPa s, using electrostatic atomization, mainly in the stable cone-jet mode. Electrostatic atomization, also called electrospraying, refers to a process where a liquid or a suspension is made to flow through a needle. The liquid or suspension is subjected to a high voltage maintained between the needle and a ground electrode. Two major physical properties, namely electrical conductivity and viscosity, affect electrostatic atornization in the stable cone-jet mode and the investigations described in this thesis focussed on the latter. Firstly, a set of liquid mixtures were prepared using distilled water and glycerol. The dc electrical conductivity of these mixtures were kept constant and the viscosity was varied. The mixtures were subjected to electrostatic atornization and in each case the mode of atornization, the cone/jet characteristics and relic sizes were studied as a function of viscosity. The effect of applied voltage on the conejet mode electrostatic atornization of glycerol having a viscosity of 1338mPa s was also investigated. Secondly, the possibilities of electrostatically atomizing ceramic suspensions were studied in detail. Several alumina suspensions were used including one containing a high volume fraction of solids (20 vol. % - the highest filler loading attempted to date using any jet-based processing route). Applied voltage - flow rate - atornization mode maps were constructed for this suspension incorporating even pico-flow rate regimes. This is a new input into the aerosol science and engineering literature. This section also highlights the importance of controlling the applied voltage and flow rate as these parameters affect the jet diameter and relic/droplet size generated. The effect of the geometry of the ground electrode used for electrostatic atornization was also investigated. In particular, the use of a point-like ground electrode was studied for the very first time. The third and most innovative facet of this research was the discovery of ceramic electrostatic atornization printing (CEAP) and the use of electrostatic atornization to produce ceramic foams. In CEAP a point-like ground electrode is used to focus the spray which was printed as characters, collection of characters and single tracks. This investigation was extended to explore the printing of multiple tracks produced with the aid of several needles and ground electrodes which worked simultaneously. A ring shaped ground electrode was used to electrospray ceramic droplets onto a polyurethane template and this paved the way for the development of a new method to prepare open-cell ceramic foams with a very high porosity. This method was extended to prepare ceramic structures and complex components.

Lorsqu'un liquide mouillant touche un solide, on observe un ménisque de taille millimétrique. Si le solide est rugueux à une échelle submillimétrique, le liquide peut progresser le long des aspérités sur une distance qui est potentiellement illimitée si le solide est horizontal. Nous modélisons la rugosité avec des piliers cylindriques et montrons que quelques cylindres seulement suffisent à transporter et guider précisément un liquide. Nous étudions la dynamique macroscopique et microscopique de l'invasion. Nous examinons ensuite combien de liquide s'accumule dans une variété de textures et proposons un nouveau type de détergence pour extraire le liquide de la rugosité. Nous prenons aussi la gravité en compte et l'utilisons d'abord pour démontrer que plusieurs fronts liquides peuvent être observés simultanément dans des porosités multi-échelles. Nous nous intéressons enfin aux ponts capillaires millimétriques et nous dédions notre dernier chapitre à leur dynamique de croissance radiale. / When a wetting liquid contacts a solid, we observe a liquid meniscus of millimetric size. If the solid is rough at a submillimetric scale, the liquid may progress along the asperities for a potentially unlimited distance if the solid is horizontal. We model the roughness with a regular texture and show that a low number of surface features is sufficient to transport and precisely guide a liquid. We study the macroscopic and microscopic dynamics of the invasion. We examine then how much liquid accumulates in a variety of texture and propose a new kind of detergency to remove the liquid from the roughness. We also consider the influence of gravity and use it to demonstrate that multiple liquid fronts can be observed simultaneously in porosities of different scales. Then we turn our attention to millimetric capillary bridges and dedicate our last chapter to explain their dynamics of radial growth with the Cox-Voinov model.

En termes d’économie d’énergie, la réduction de trainée revêt un intérêt indéniable. Dans certains cas, ce phénomène obtenu grâce à l’ajout dans le milieu de faibles quantités d’additifs peut atteindre une réduction du frottement à la paroi, en régime turbulent, allant jusqu’à 80% comparé au fluide seul. On le retrouve dans divers domaines d’applications telles quele transport des hydrocarbures et dans les circuits d’eau de chauffage et de refroidissement.Trois systèmes qui ont la capacité de s’autoorganiser en milieux aqueux ou organique ont été étudiés dans le but de vérifier leur possible aptitude à réduire le frottement hydrodynamique.On s’est intéressé à un polysavon (80C12) composé d’un squelette polystyrène auquel sont liées des amines tertiaires portant des chaines alkyles de 12 carbones. Ce composé forme des micelles dans l’eau dont la forme cylindrique a été mise en évidence par diffusion de la lumière et Cryo-MET. L’étude du transfert de masse sur une électrode à disque tournant et les résultats rhéologiques ont mis en évidence le caractère viscoélastique qui est responsable duphénomène de réduction de frottement hydrodynamique recherché.Des études rhéologiques réalisés sur les systèmes lécithine/décane et ionomère/toluène ont permis de mettre en évidence le caractère viscoélastique des associations anisotropes de ces composés. / In terms of energy saving, drag reduction hasan undeniable interest. In some cases drag reduction with additives can reach 80% compared to pure solvent. This phenomenon has applications in many fields suchas transportation of hydrocarbons and cooling and heating systems. Three systems which have the capacity to selforganizein aqueous or organic media have been studied in order to check their possible ability to reduce hydrodynamic friction.We worked on a polysoap (80C12) based on polystyrene skeleton to which tertiary amines bearing alkyls chains of 12 carbons. This compound formsmicelles in water whose cylindrical shape has been demonstrated by light scattering and Cryo-TEM. The studies of the mass transfer on a rotating disk electrode and the rheological results have showed for the 80C12solutions several characteristics attributed to the dragreducing additives.Rheological studies on the systems lecithin/decane and ionomers/toluene, highlight the viscoelastic properties of the anisotropic associations of these compounds.

Les liquides diffèrent des solides par une réponse retardée à la sollicitation en cisaillement; c’est-à-dire une absence d’élasticité de cisaillement et un comportement d'écoulement à basses fréquences (<1 Hz). Ce postulat pourrait ne pas être vrai à toutes échelles. A l’échelle submillimétrique, les mesures viscoélastiques (VE) réalisées en améliorant l'interaction entre le liquide et le substrat, montrent qu’une élasticité basses-fréquences existe dans des liquides aussi variés que les polymères, les surfondus, les liquides à liaison H, ioniques ou van der Waals. Ce résultat implique que les molécules à l'état liquide ne seraient pas dynamiquement libres, mais élastiquement corrélées.En utilisant les propriétés biréfringentes des fluctuations prétransitionnelles qui coexistent dans la phase isotrope des cristaux liquides, nous montrons qu'il est possible de visualiser ces corrélations « cachées ». Dans des conditionssimilaires aux mesures VE, une biréfringence optique synchrone à la déformation est observée dans la phase isotrope à des fréquences aussi basses que 0.01 Hz et des températures éloignées de toute transition. Le comportement dela biréfringence basses-fréquences a des similitudes avec l'élasticité; elle est en phase avec la déformation à faibles amplitudes de déformation, puis en phase avec le taux de déformation à plus grandes amplitudes. La biréfringence basses- fréquences est forte, sans défaut et réversible. Elle indique un ordre à longue portée. La synchronisation de la réponse à la sollicitation en fréquence et l’état ordonné qu’elle produit ne sont pas compatibles avec un état liquide isotrope mais montrent qu’il s’agit d’un état élastique soumis à déformation (entropie élastique). / Liquids differ from solids by a delayed response to a shear mechanical solicitation; i.e. they have no shearelasticity and exhibit a flow behaviour at low frequency (<1 Hz). This postulate might be not verified at thesub-millimeter scale. By optimizing the measurement in particular by improving the liquid/substrate interactions (wetting), a low frequency shear elasticity has been found in liquids including molten polymers, glass-formers, H-bond polar, ionic or van der Waals liquids. This result implies that molecules in the liquid state may not be dynamically free but weaklyelastically correlated. Using the birefringent properties of the pretransitional fluctuations coexisting in the isotropic phase of liquid crystals, we show that it is possible to visualize these “hidden” shear-elastic correlations. We detect a synchronized birefringent optical response in the isotropic phase that is observable at frequencies as low as 0.01 Hz and at temperatures far away from anyphase transition. The low-frequency birefringence exhibits a strain dependence similar to the low frequency elasticity: An optical signal that is in-phase with the strain at low strain amplitudes and in-phase with the strain-rate at larger strain amplitudes. The birefringent response is strong, defect-free, reversible and points out a collective response. This long-range ordering rules out the condition of an isotropic liquid and its synchronized response supports the existenceof long-range elastic (solid-like) correlations. In the light of this, the strain dependence of the harmonic birefringent signal and the shear elasticity may correspond to an entropy-driven transition.