Title: Numerical Solution of the Three-dimensional Compressible Flow Author: Martin Kyncl Department: Department of Numerical Mathematics Supervisor: Doc. RNDr. Jiří Felcman, CSc. Abstract: This thesis deals with a fluid flow in 3D in general. The system of the equations, describing the compressible gas flow, is solved numerically, with the aid of the finite volume method. The main purpose is to describe particular boundary conditions, based on the analysis of the incomplete Riemann problem. The analysis of the original initial-value problem shows, that the right hand-side initial condition, forming the Riemann problem, can be partially replaced by the suitable complementary condition. Several modifications of the Riemann problem are introduced and analyzed, as an original result of this work. Algorithms to solve such problems were implemented and used in code for the solution of the compressible gas flow. Numerical experiments documenting the suggested methods are performed. Keywords: compressible fluid flow, the Navier-Stokes equations, the Euler equations, boundary conditions, finite volume method, the Riemann problem, numerical flux, tur- bulent flow

Submitted by Jesiel Ferreira Gomes (jesielgomes@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-04-18T00:27:12Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MARCELLA MAYARA COSTA ARAUJO ARAGÃO – DISSERTAÇÃO (PPGEPM) 2017.pdf: 3889032 bytes, checksum: b07ad0aff275b94b8f849a17c019fe8e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-18T00:27:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MARCELLA MAYARA COSTA ARAUJO ARAGÃO – DISSERTAÇÃO (PPGEPM) 2017.pdf: 3889032 bytes, checksum: b07ad0aff275b94b8f849a17c019fe8e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-23 / No gerenciamento de reservatórios petrolíferos um dos desafios é predizer o comportamento do fluxo de fluidos. A identificação das unidades de fluxo é complexa, por este motivo é necessário realizar a caracterização rochosa. Parâmetros como porosidade e permeabilidade devem ser conhecidos. O uso da estatística é útil para realizar a divisão do reservatório em zonas utilizando dados de testemunho e os perfis do poço. Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo aplicar duas técnicas alternativas, úteis para o reconhecimento de unidades de fluxo no campo de Namorado e realizar uma análise comparativa das técnicas verificando os resultados obtidos em ambas as abordagens, assim como obter o modelo tridimensional das zonas indicadas pelas técnicas. As técnicas utilizadas nesta dissertação são o zoneamento estatístico e índice de zona de fluxo (FZI). Utilizaram-se os dados de permeabilidade de quinze poços fornecidos pela Agência Nacional de Petróleo. Na primeira técnica foram calculadas as variâncias entre zonas, variâncias agrupadas dentro das zonas e por fim o índice de zoneamento com o qual foi possível a divisão de zonas. Na aplicação da técnica FZI o maior valor do índice indicou a profundidade de divisão entre zonas. Após a obtenção das zonas foram construídos dois modelos, o primeiro baseado no zoneamento estatístico, indicando as zonas; e o segundo baseado no FZI, apontando a localização das zonas correspondentes ao reservatório e aquelas associadas ao não-reservatório. Para a construção dos modelos tridimensionais utilizou-se o software geoestatístico SGeMS. De acordo com os resultados obtidos ficou evidenciado que as técnicas de zoneamento estatístico e FZI têm produzido resultados equivalentes em alguns poços, mas divergentes em outros. No entanto, o método FZI apresentou, na maioria dos poços, resultados mais satisfatórios em comparação ao zoneamento estatístico. / In oil reservoirs management one of the challenges is to predict the behaviour of the fluid flow. Identifying the flow units is complex task, therefore it is necessary to perform the characterization of rocks. Parameters such as porosity and permeability must be known. The use of statistics is useful to perform reservoir division into zones using core data and geophysical well logs. This research aims to apply two alternative well established techniques useful for the recognition of flow units in the Namorado field and conduct a comparative analysis of the techniques by looking at the results obtained in both approaches, as well as obtain the three-dimensional model of this field, as indicated by both techniques. The techniques used in this work are statistical zoning and flow zone index (FZI). In this research was used permeability data from 15 wells provided by the Brazilian National Petroleum Agency. In the first technique were calculated the variances between zones, grouped variances within zones and finally the zoning index with which it was possible divide the field into zones. On application of FZI the greatest value of the index indicated the depth of division between zones. After zones recognition, two model were constructed, the first one based on statistical zoning, indicating the zones; and the second based in FZI, pointing out the location of the zones corresponding to the reservoir and those associated with the nonreservoir. For the construction of three-dimensional models the geostatistical software SGeMS was used. According to the obtained results was evidenced that the techniques of statistical and FZI zoning have produced equivalent results in some wells, but different in others. However, the FZI method presented, in most wells, more satisfactory results compared to the statistical zoning.

Numerical solution of differential equations having multitude of scales in the solution field is one of the most challenging research areas, but highly demanded in scientific and industrial applications. One of the natural approaches for handling such problems is to separate the scales and approximate the solution of the segregated scales with appropriate numerical method. Variational multiscale method (VMS) is a predominant method in the paradigm of scale separation schemes. In our work we have used the VMS technique to develop a numerical scheme for computations of turbulent flows in time-dependent domains. VMS allows separation of the entire range of scales in the flow field into two or three groups, thereby enabling a different numerical treatment for the different groups. In the context of computational fluid dynamics(CFD), VMS is a significant new improvement over the classical large eddy simulation (LES). VMS does away with the commutation errors arising due to filtering in LES. Further, in a three-scale VMS approach the model for the subgrid scale can be contained to only a part of the resolved scales instead of effecting the entire range of resolved scales. The projection based VMS scheme that we have developed gives a robust and efficient method for solving problems of turbulent fluid flows in deforming domains, governed by incompressible Navier {Stokes equations. In addition to the existing challenges due to turbulence, the computational complexity of the problem increases further when the considered domain is time-dependent. In this work, we have used an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) based VMS scheme to account for the domain deformation. In the proposed scheme, the large scales are represented by an additional tensor valued space. The resolved large and small scales are computed in a single unified equation, and the effect of unresolved scales is confined only to the resolved small scales, by using a projection operator. The popular Smagorinsky eddy viscosity model is used to approximate the effects of unresolved scales. The used ALE approach consists of an elastic mesh update technique. Moreover, a computationally efficient scheme is obtained by the choice of orthogonal finite element basis function for the resolved large scales, which allows to reformulate the ALE-VMS system matrix into the standard form of the NSE system matrix. Thus, any existing Navier{Stokes solver can be utilized for this scheme, with modifications. Further, the stability and error estimates of the scheme using a linear model of the NSE are also derived. Finally, the proposed scheme has been validated by a number of numerical examples over a wide range of problems.

Este trabalho propõe o estudo do projeto de dispositivos baseados em microcanais de fluido, tais como difusores, misturadores, válvulas, e trocadores de calor, através da aplicação do Método de Otimização Topológica (MOT). O MOT é um método computacional que permite obter um projeto otimizado de um sistema, através da distribuição de uma quantidade limitada de material num dado domínio de projeto. Neste caso, o MOT é aplicado a um domínio fluido, e permite obter a topologia otimizada (formato ótimo) dos microcanais, segundo uma determinada característica, seja esta, a minimização da perda de carga, ou a maximização da velocidade num dado ponto, ou ainda a maximização da troca de calor, no caso de trocadores de calor. Os canais utilizados nestas aplicações operam com baixo número de Reynolds, sendo um caso típico da aplicação das equações de escoamento de Stokes. A implementação do MOT é realizada sob a forma de rotinas computacionais, permitindo um projeto sistematizado dos canais. No processo de otimização, utiliza-se o Método dos Elementos Finitos (MEF) como método de análise dos fenômenos físicos envolvidos, e a Programação Linear Seqüencial (PLS) como algoritmo de otimização. Ao final, propõe-se um estudo multi-físico, aliando-se características otimizadas tanto do ponto de vista da eficiência do escoamento, quanto do ponto de vista da dissipação térmica no canal, combinando-os através de uma função multi-objetivo. Exemplos de projeto bidimensionais de dispositivos de fluido são apresentados para ilustrar o método. / This work proposes studying the design of micro channel devices, such as fluid diffusers, mixers, valves, and heat exchangers, through the application of the Topology Optimization Method (TOM). The TOM is a computational method that allows the distribution of a limited amount of material, inside a given design domain, in order to obtain an optimized system design. Herein, the TOM is applied to a fluidic domain, allowing the design of an optimized microchannel topology (optimal configuration), according to a given objective function, such as head loss minimization, maximum velocity in a given direction, or the heat transfer maximization, in a heat exchanger example. Especially this kind of channel devices, operates at low Reynolds number, thus, it can be modeled through Stokes flow equations. The optimization procedure applies the Finite Element Method (FEM) to perform the physical analysis, and Sequential Linear Programming (SLP) as the optimization algorithm. At the end, a multi-physics analysis is proposed, through a multi-objective cost function, that combines both flow and heat dissipation efficiency optimization. Two-dimensional designs of fluidic devices are presented as examples to illustrate the method.

Submitted by Marco Antonio Oliveira da Silva (maosilva@ipen.br) on 2016-08-26T12:15:03Z No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-26T12:15:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / O escoamento bifásico de gás-líquido é encontrado em muitos circuitos fechados que utilizam circulação natural para fins de resfriamento. O fenômeno da circulação natural é importante nos recentes projetos de centrais nucleares para a remoção de calor. O circuito de circulação natural (Circuito de Circulação Natural - CCN), instalado no Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares, IPEN / CNEN, é um circuito experimento concebido para fornecer dados termo-hidráulicos relacionados com escoamento monofásico ou bifásico em condições de circulação natural. A estimativa de transferência de calor tem sido melhorada com base em modelos que requerem uma previsão precisa de transições de padrão de escoamento. Este trabalho apresenta testes experimentais desenvolvidos no CCN para a visualização dos fenômenos de instabilidade em ciclos de circulação natural básica e classificar os padrões de escoamento bifásico associados aos transientes e instabilidades estáticas de escoamento. As imagens são comparadas e agrupadas utilizando mapas auto-organizáveis de Kohonen (SOM), aplicados em diferentes características da imagem digital. Coeficientes da Transformada Discreta de Cossenos de Quadro Completo (FFDCT) foram utilizados como entrada para a tarefa de classificação, levando a bons resultados. Os protótipos de FFDCT obtidos podem ser associados a cada padrão de escoamento possibilitando uma melhor compreensão da instabilidade observada. Uma metodologia sistemática foi utilizada para verificar a robustez do método. / Dissertação (Mestrado em Tecnologia Nuclear) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Submitted by Geandra Rodrigues (geandrar@gmail.com) on 2018-01-11T14:54:52Z No. of bitstreams: 1 andresricardovaldez.pdf: 6592036 bytes, checksum: 23a86a3d84f13bffa421f219e7e4501d (MD5) / Rejected by Fabíola Rubim (fabiola.rubim@ufjf.edu.br), reason: on 2018-01-12T11:05:10Z (GMT) / Submitted by Geandra Rodrigues (geandrar@gmail.com) on 2018-01-12T11:46:32Z No. of bitstreams: 1 andresricardovaldez.pdf: 6592036 bytes, checksum: 23a86a3d84f13bffa421f219e7e4501d (MD5) / Rejected by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br), reason: Favor corrigir: Membro da banca: Filho, José Karam on 2018-01-23T14:01:35Z (GMT) / Submitted by Geandra Rodrigues (geandrar@gmail.com) on 2018-01-23T14:06:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 andresricardovaldez.pdf: 6592036 bytes, checksum: 23a86a3d84f13bffa421f219e7e4501d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2018-01-23T14:22:22Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 andresricardovaldez.pdf: 6592036 bytes, checksum: 23a86a3d84f13bffa421f219e7e4501d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-23T14:22:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 andresricardovaldez.pdf: 6592036 bytes, checksum: 23a86a3d84f13bffa421f219e7e4501d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-09-18 / Neste trabalho são apresentados aspectos de modelagem computacional para o estudo de Interação Fluido-Estrutura (FSI). Numericamente, o Método de Lattice Boltzmann (LBM) é usado para resolver a mecânica dos fluidos, em particular as equações de Navier-Stokes incompressíveis. Neste contexto, são abordados problemas de escoamentos complexos, caracterizado pela presença de obstáculos. A imposição das restrições na interface fluido-sólido é feita utilizando princípios variacionais, empregando o Princípio de Balanço de Potências Virtuais (PVPB) para obter as equações de Euler-Lagrange. Esta metodologia permite determinar as dependências entre carregamentos cinematicamente compatíveis e o estado mecânico adotado. Neste sentido, as condições de interface fluido-sólido são abordadas pelo Método de Fronteira Imersa (IBM) visando técnicas computacionais de baixo custo. A metodologia IBM trata o equilíbrio das equações na interface fluido-sólido através da interpolação entre os nós Lagrangianos (sólidos) e os nós Eulerianos (fluidos). Neste contexto, uma modificação desta estratégia que fornece soluções mais precisas é estudada. Para mostrar as capacidades do acoplamento LBM-IBM são apresentados vários experimentos computacionais que demonstram grande fidelidade entre as soluções obtidas e as soluções disponíveis na literatura. / This work presents computational modeling aspects for studying Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI). The Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is employed to solve the fluid mechanics considering the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. The flows studied are complex due to the presence of arbitrary shaped obstacles. The obstacles alters the bulk flow adding complexity to the analysis. In this work the Euler-Lagrange equations are obtained employing the Principle of Virtual Power Balance (PVPB). Consequently, the functional dependencies between the mechanical state and every kinematic compatible loadings are established employing variational arguments. This modeling technique allows to study the fluid-solid boundary constraint. In this context the fluid-solid interface is handled employing the Immersed Boundary Method (IBM). The IBM deals with the fluid-solid interface equilibrium equations performing an interpolation of forces between Lagrangian nodes (solid domain) and Eulerian Lattice grid (fluid domain). In this work a different version of this methodology is studied that allows to obtain more accurate solutions. To show the capabilities of the implemented LBM-IBM solver several experiments are done showing the agreement with the benchmarks results available in literature.

Cette thèse traite de la modélisation et de l'approximation numérique des écoulements liquide-gaz compressibles. La difficulté centrale est la modélisation et l'approximation de l'interface liquide-gaz. Le modèle bifluide est constitué d'un système de lois de conservation fermé par une loi d'état du mélange. La loi d'état conditionne les bonnes propriétés (hyperbolicité, existence d'une entropie de Lax) du système. Les schémas classiques de type Godunov conduisent à des imprécisions les rendant inutilisables en pratique. L'existence de solutions discontinues rend difficile la construction de schémas d'ordre élevé et nécessite des maillages très fins pour une précision acceptable. Il est indispensable de proposer des algorithmes performants pour les calculateurs parallèles les plus récents. Nous aborderons chacune de ces problématiques: construction d'une "bonne" loi de pression, construction de schémas numériques adaptés, programmation sur calculateur massivement multicoeur. / This thesis deals with the modeling and numerical approximation of compressible gas-liquid flows. The main difficulty lies in modeling and approximation of the liquid-gas interface. The two-fluid model is a system of conservation laws closed with a mixture pressure law. The law has to be chosen carefully, it conditions good properties of the system as hyperbolicity or existence of a Lax entropy. Classic conservative Godunov-type schemes lead to inaccuracies that make them unusable inpractice. The existence of discontinuous solutions makes it difficult to build high order schemes and requires very fine meshes to an acceptable accuracy. It is therefore essential to provide efficient algorithms for the High Performance Computing. In this thesis, we will partially treat each of these issues : construction of a "good" pressure law, building adapted numerical schemes, programming on GPU or GPU cluster.

There are many ways in which the surrounding media, such as air between an oscillating MEMS structure and a fixed substrate, can affect the dynamic response of a MEMS transducer. Some of these effects involve dissipation while others involve energy transfer. Transverse oscillations of a planar structure can cause a lateral air flow in small gaps that results in pressure gradients. The forces due to the built–up pressure are always against the vibration of the structure and have characteristics of damper and stiffener. In this work, we study the squeeze film phenomenon due to the interaction between the air–film and the structure in the presence of restrictive flow boundary conditions. It is known that the squeeze film damping due to the air trapped between the oscillating MEMS structure and the fixed substrate often contributes to maximum energy dissipation. We carry out an analysis to estimate damping and stiffness in cases with restrictive flow boundaries in dynamic MEMS devices. While the studies reported in the present work address fluid flow damping with restrictive flow boundaries, the analysis of air-flow shows another important phenomenon of enhanced air-spring stiffness. This study is discussed separately in the context of spring stiffening behavior in MEMS devices exhibiting squeeze film phenomenon. First a theoretical framework for modeling squeeze film flow is established and this is followed with analytical and numerical solutions of problems involving squeeze film phenomenon. Modeling of squeeze film effects under different flow conditions is carried out using Reynold’s equation. The problem of squeeze film damping in MEMS transducers is more involved due to the complexities arising from different boundary conditions of the fluid flow. In particular, we focus our attention on estimation of damping in restricted flow boundaries such as only one side vented and no side vented passive boundary conditions. Damping coefficient for these cases are extracted when the fluid is subjected to an input velocity profile according to a specific mode shape at a given frequency of oscillation. We also explain the squeeze film flow in restricted boundaries by introducing the concept of passive and active boundary conditions and analyzing the pressure gradients which are related to the compressibility of the air in the cavity. Passive boundary conditions is imposed by specifying the free flow or no flow along one of the edges of the cavity, whereas, active boundary condition is imposed by the velocity profile being specified at the interface of the cavity with the oscillating structure. Some micromechanical structures, such as pressure sensors and ultrasound transducers use fully restricted or closed boundaries where the damping for such cases, even if small, is very important for the determination of the Q–factor of these devices. Our goal here is to understand damping due to flow in such constrained spaces. Using computational fluid dynamics (ANSYS–FLOTRAN), the case of fully restricted boundaries is studied in detail to study the effect of important parameters which determines the fluid damping, such as flow length of the cavity, air–gap height, frequency of oscillations and the operating pressure in the cavity. A simulation strategy is developed using macros programming which overcomes some of the limitations of the existing techniques and proves useful in imposing a non–uniform velocity and the extraction of damping coefficient corresponding to the flexibility of the structure in specific oscillation modes. Rarefaction effects are also accounted for in the FEM model by introducing the flow rate coefficient, or, alternatively using the concept of effective viscosity. The analysis carried out for the fully restricted case is motivated by the analytical modeling of squeeze film phenomenon for a wide range of different restricted boundaries, and analyzing the resulting pressure gradient patterns. We show that significant damping exists even in fully restricted boundaries due to lateral viscous flow. This is contrary to known reported results, which neglect damping in such cases. The result indicates that in fully restrictive fluid flow boundaries or in a closed cavity, air damping cannot be neglected at lower oscillation frequencies and large flow length to air-gap ratio if the active boundary has a non-uniform velocity profile. Analysis of air-flow in the case of restricted flow boundaries shows another important phenomenon of enhanced air-spring stiffness. It is found that fluid film stiffness has a nonlinear dependence on various parameters such as air-gap to length ratio, fluid flow boundary conditions and the frequency of oscillation. We carry out analysis to obtain the dynamic response of MEMS devices where it is significantly affected by the frequency dependent stiffness component of the squeeze film. We show these effects by introducing frequency dependent stiffness in the equation of motion, and taking examples of fluid boundary conditions with varying restriction on flow conditions. The stiffness interaction between the fluid and the structure is shown to depend critically on stiffness ratios, and the cut-off frequency. It is also inferred that for a given air–gap to flow length ratio, the spring behaviour of the air is independent of the flow boundary conditions at very high oscillation frequencies. Hence, we limit our focus on studying the effect of fluid stiffness in the regime where it is not fully compressible. For non-resonant devices, this study finds its utility in tuning the operating frequency range while for resonant devices it can be useful to predict the exact response. We show that it is possible to design or tune the operating frequency range or shift the resonance of the system by appropriate selection of the fluid flow boundary conditions. The emphasis of the present work has been toward studying the effect of squeeze film flow on dynamic response of MEMS structures with restrictive flow boundary conditions. Estimation of energy dissipation due to viscous flow cannot be ignored in the design of MEMS which comprise of restricted flow boundaries. We also remark that modeling of a system with squeeze film flow of the trapped air in terms of frequency independent parameters, viz. damping and stiffness coefficient, is unlikely to be very accurate and may be of limited utility in specific cases. Although the central interest in studying squeeze film phenomenon is on the damping characteristics because of their direct bearing on energy dissipation or Q–factor of a MEMS device, the elastic behaviour of the film also deserves attention while considering restrictive flow boundary conditions.

In the last half a century, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been established as an important complementary part and some times a significant alternative to Experimental and Theoretical Fluid Dynamics. Development of efficient computational algorithms for digital simulation of fluid flows has been an ongoing research effort in CFD. An accurate numerical simulation of compressible Euler equations, which are the gov-erning equations of high speed flows, is important in many engineering applications like designing of aerospace vehicles and their components. Due to nonlinear nature of governing equations, such flows admit solutions involving discontinuities like shock waves and contact discontinuities. Hence, it is nontrivial to capture all these essential features of the flows numerically. There are various numerical methods available in the literature, the popular ones among them being the Finite Volume Method (FVM), Finite Difference Method (FDM), Finite Element Method (FEM) and Spectral method. Kinetic theory based algorithms for solving Euler equations are quite popular in finite volume framework due to their ability to connect Boltzmann equation with Euler equations. In kinetic framework, instead of dealing directly with nonlinear partial differential equations one needs to deal with a simple linear partial differential equation. Recently, FEM has emerged as a significant alternative to FVM because it can handle complex geometries with ease and unlike in FVM, achieving higher order accuracy is easier. High speed flows governed by compressible Euler equations are hyperbolic partial differential equations which are characterized by preferred directions for information propagation. Such flows can not be solved using traditional FEM methods and hence, stabilized methods are typically introduced. Various stabilized finite element methods are available in the literature like Streamlined-Upwind Petrov Galerkin (SUPG) method, Galerkin-Least Squares (GLS) method, Taylor-Galerkin method, Characteristic Galerkin method and Discontinuous Galerkin Method. In this thesis a novel stabilized finite element method called as Kinetic Streamlined-Upwind Petrov Galerkin (KSUPG) method is formulated. Both explicit and implicit versions of KSUPG scheme are presented. Spectral stability analysis is done for explicit KSUPG scheme to obtain the stable time step. The advantage of proposed scheme is, unlike in SUPG scheme, diffusion vectors are obtained directly from weak KSUPG formulation. The expression for intrinsic time scale is directly obtained in KSUPG framework. The accuracy and robustness of the proposed scheme is demonstrated by solving various test cases for hyperbolic partial differential equations like Euler equations and inviscid Burgers equation. In the KSUPG scheme, diffusion terms involve computationally expensive error and exponential functions. To decrease the computational cost, two variants of KSUPG scheme, namely, Peculiar Velocity based KSUPG (PV-KSUPG) scheme and Circular distribution based KSUPG (C-KSUPG) scheme are formulated. The PV-KSUPG scheme is based on peculiar velocity based splitting which, upon taking moments, recovers a convection-pressure splitting type algorithm at the macroscopic level. Both explicit and implicit versions of PV-KSUPG scheme are presented. Unlike KSUPG and PV-KUPG schemes where Maxwellian distribution function is used, the C-KUSPG scheme uses a simpler circular distribution function instead of a Maxwellian distribution function. Apart from being computationally less expensive it is less diffusive than KSUPG scheme.

In comparison to the flow in a rigid channel, there is a multi-fold reduction in the transition Reynolds number for the flow in a micro channel when one of the walls is made sufficiently soft, due to a dynamical instability induced by the fluid-wall coupling. The flow after transition is characterized using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) in the x − y plane where x is the stream-wise direction and y is the cross-stream co-ordinate along the small dimension of the channel of height 0.2 − 0.3mm. For the two different soft walls of shear modulus 18 kPa and 2.19 kPaused here, the transition Reynolds number is about 250 and 330 respectively. The deformation of the microchannel due to the applied pressure gradient is measured in the experiments, and is used to predict the laminar mean velocity profiles for comparison with the experimental results. The mean velocity profiles in the microchannel are in quantitative agreement with those predicted for the laminar flow before transition, but are flatter near the centerline and have higher gradients at the wall after transition. The flow after transition is characterized by a mean velocity profile that is flatter at the center and steeper at the walls in comparison to that for a laminar flow. The root mean square of the stream-wise fluctuating velocity shows the characteristic sharp increase from the wall and a maximum close to the wall, as observed in turbulent flows in rigid-walled channels. However, the profile is asymmetric with a significantly higher maximum close to the soft wall in comparison to that close to the hard wall, and the Reynolds stress is found to be non-zero at the soft wall, indicating that there is a stress exerted by fluid velocity fluctuations on the wall. The turbulent energy production profile has a maximum at the soft wall, in contrast to the flow at a rigid surface where the turbulent energy production is zero at the wall (due to the zero Reynolds stress). The maximum of the root mean square of the velocity fluctuations and the Reynolds stress (divided by the fluid density) in the soft-walled microchannel for Reynolds numbers in the range 250-400, when scaled by suitable powers of the maximum velocity, are comparable to those in a rigid channel at Reynolds numbers in the range 5000-20000. The near-wall velocity profile shows no evidence of a viscous sub-layer for (yv∗/ν) as low as 2, but there is a logarithmic layer for (yv∗/ν) up to about 30, where the von Karman constants are very deferent from those for a rigid-walled channel. Here, v∗ is the friction velocity, ν is the kinematic viscosity and y is the distance from the soft surface. . The surface of the soft wall in contact with the fluid is marked with dye spots to monitor the deformation and motion along the fluid-wall interface. The measured displacement of the surface in the stream-wise direction, which is of the order of 5 − 12µm, is consistent with that calculated on the basis of linear elasticity. Low-frequency oscillations in the displacement of the surface are observed after transition in both the stream-wise and span-wise directions, indicating that the turbulent velocity fluctuations are dynamically coupled to motion in the solid. Modification of soft-wall turbulence in a micro channel due to the addition of small amounts of polymer The modification of soft-wall turbulence in a microchannel due to the addition of small amounts of polymer is experimentally studied using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to measure the mean and the fluctuating velocities. The micro channels are of rectangular cross-section with height about 160 µm, width about 1.5 mm and length about 3 cm, with three walls made of hard Poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) gel, and one wall made of soft PDMS gel with an elasticity modulus of about 18 kPa. A dynamical instabilty of the laminar flow due to the fluid-wall coupling, and a transition to turbulence, is observed at a Reynolds number of about 290 for the flow of pure water in the soft-walled microchannel (Verma and Kumaran, J. Fluid Mech., 727, 407-455, 2013). Solutions of polyacrylamide of molecular weight 5 × 106 and mass fraction up to 50 ppm, and of molecular weight 4 × 104 and mass fraction up to 1500 ppm, are used in the experiments. In all cases, the solutions are in the dilute limit be-low the critical concentration where the interactions between polymer molecules become important. The modification of the fluid viscosity due to addition of polymer molecules is small; the viscosity of the solutions with the highest polymer concentration exceed those for pure water by about 10% for the polymer with molecular weight 5 × 106, and by about 5% for the polymer with molecular weight 4 × 104. Two distinct types of flow modifications below and above a threshold mass fraction for the polymer, cTHRESHOLD , which is about 1 ppm for the polyacrylamide with molecular weight 5 × 106, and about 500 ppm for the polyacrylamide with molecular weight 4 × 104. As the polymer mass fraction increases up to the threshold value, there is no change in the transition Reynolds number, but there is significant turbulence attenuation the root mean square velocities in the stream wise and cross-stream directions decrease by a factor of 2, and the Reynolds stress decreases by a factor of 4 in comparison to that for pure water. When the polymer concentration increases beyond the threshold value, there is a decrease in the decrease in the transition Reynolds number by nearly one order of magnitude, and a further decrease in the intensity of the turbulent fluctuations. The lowest transition Reynolds number of about 35 for the solution of polyacrylamide with molecular weight 5 × 106 and mass fraction 50 ppm. For the polymer solutions with the highest concentrations, the fluctuating velocities in the stream wise and cross-stream direction are lower by a factor of 5, and the Reynolds stress is lower by a factor of 10, in comparison to pure water. Despite the significant turbulence attenuation, a sharp increase in the intensity of the fluctuating velocities is evident at transition for all polymer concentrations. Transitions to deferent kinds of turbulence in a channel with soft walls The flow in a rectangular channel with walls made of soft polyacrylamide gel is studied to examine the effect of soft walls on transition and turbulence. The width of the channel is much larger than the height, so that the flow can be considered approximately two-dimensional, the wall thickness is much larger than the channel height (smallest dimension), the bottom wall is fixed to a substrate and the top wall is unrestrained. The fluid velocity is measured using Particle Image Velocimetry, while the wall motion is studied by embedding beads in the soft wall, and measuring the time-variation of the displacement both parallel and perpendicular to the surface. As the Reynolds number increases, two different flow regimes are observed in sequence. The first is the ‘soft-wall turbulence’ resulting from a dynamical instability of the base flow due to the fluid-wall coupling. The flow in this case exhibits many of the features of the turbulent flow in a rigid channel, including the departure of the velocity profile from the parabolic profile, and the near-wall maxima in the stream-wise root mean square fluctuating velocity. However, there are also significant differences. The turbulence intensities, when scaled by suitable powers of the mean velocity, are much larger than those after the hard-wall laminar-turbulent transition at a Reynolds number of about 1000. The Reynolds stress profiles do not decrease to zero at the walls, indicating that the wall motion plays a role in the generation of turbulent fluctuations. There is no evidence of a viscous sub-layer close to the wall to within the experimental resolution. The mean velocity profile does satisfy a logarithmic law close to the surface within a region between 2-30 wall units from the surface, but the von Karman constants are very different from those for the hard-wall turbulence. The wall displacement measurements indicate that there is no observable motion perpendicular to the surface, but displacement fluctuations parallel to the surface are observed after transition, coinciding with the onset of velocity fluctuations in the fluid. The fluid velocity fluctuations are symmetric about the center line of the channel, and they show relatively little downstream variation after a flow development length of about 5 cm. As the Reynolds number is further increased, there is a second ‘wall flutter’ transition, which involves visible downstream traveling waves in the top (unrestrained) wall alone. Wall displacement fluctuations of low frequency (less than about 500 rad/s) are observed both parallel and perpendicular to the wall. The mean velocity profiles and turbulence intensities are asymmetric, with much larger turbulence intensities near the top wall. There is no evident logarithmic profile close to either the top or bottom wall. Fluctuations are initiated at the entrance of the test section, and the fluctuation intensities decrease with downstream distance, the fluctuation intensities first rapidly increase and then decrease as the Reynolds number is increased. For a channel with relatively small height (0.6 mm), the transition Reynolds number for the soft-wall instability is lower the hard-wall transition Reynolds number of about 1000, and the laminar flow becomes unstable to the soft-wall instability leading to soft-wall turbulence and then to wall flutter as the Reynolds number is increased. For a channel with relatively large height (1.8 mm), the transition Reynolds number for the soft-wall instability is higher than 1000, the flow first undergoes the hard-wall laminar-turbulent transition at a Reynolds number of about 1000, the turbulent flow undergoes the soft-wall transition leading to soft-wall turbulence, and then to wall flutter.