FLOW TOPOLOGY ASSOCIATED WITH DISJOINT EDDIES IN AN ASYMMETRIC FILM-SPLITTING PROBLEM

In a film-splitting problem where recirculation is present, theoretica l arguments lead to the joint eddy flow topology, where two eddies, at tached to the interface, share a common streamline, and the disjoint e ddy topology, where only one eddy attaches to the interface. The secon d, interior eddy is then separated from the former by a meandering str eamtube. The disjoint eddy topology is shown to be generic if any asym metry source is present. Original measurements of the velocity vector field are combined with spectral element simulations of the flow to su pport the theoretical developments.