Application of scattering chaos to particle transport in a hydrodynamical flow

Abstract

The dynamics of a passive particle in a hydrodynamical flow behind a cylinder is investigated. The velocity field has been determined both by a numerical simulation of the Navier-Stokes flow and by an analytically defined model flow. To analyze the Lagrangian dynamics, we apply methods coming from chaotic scattering: periodic orbits, time delay function, decay statistics. The asymptotic delay time statistics are dominated by the influence of the boundary conditions on the wall and exhibit algebraic decay. The short time behavior is exponential and represents hyperbolic effects. © 1993 American Institute of Physics.