Latest papers in fluid mechanics

Author(s): Morie Koseki and Marco Edoardo Rosti

This study investigates the effect of compliant walls on the turbulent heat transfer in channel flows over viscous-hyperelastic walls. We show that the compliant wall leads to an increase not only of the momentum transfer but also of the heat transfer, and that the heat transfer enhancement is favorable compared to the momentum one

[Phys. Rev. Fluids 11, 054301] Published Wed May 06, 2026

Author(s): Pabitra Badhuk, Atanu Dolai, and R. V. Ravikrishna

Twin-swirl flows can generate various vortex breakdown structures depending on the swirling direction, strength, and the momentum ratio between the swirling streams. The present study uses scale-resolving simulations to analyze the mechanism of radial pressure gradient formation, role of entrainment in mixing, and identification of coherent structures in such flows. We show that while the centripetal acceleration dominates the radial pressure gradient formation with a single swirler, the contribution of advection and turbulence components are also significant in twin-swirl flows. We also show that the entrainment velocity is better estimated by the rms components than the mean velocity.

[Phys. Rev. Fluids 11, 054601] Published Wed May 06, 2026

Author(s): A. Roccon, G. Amati, L. Brandt, D. Calhoun, P. Costa, W. Lu, S. Pirozzoli, D. Richter, M. Umair, D. You, T. Zahtila, and C. Marchioli

[Phys. Rev. Fluids 11, 059901] Published Wed May 06, 2026

Author(s): Chapnik Zvi and Or Yizhar

Micronanorobotic swimmers have promising potential for future biomedical tasks such as targeted drug delivery and minimally invasive diagnosis. An efficient method for controlled actuation of such nanoswimmers is applying a rotating external magnetic field, resulting in helical corkscrewlike locomot…

[Phys. Rev. E 113, 055103] Published Wed May 06, 2026

Author(s): Yuxing Jiao and Mingcheng Yang

A fluid with broken time-reversal symmetry would exhibit odd transport coefficients, such as odd viscosity, thermal conductivity, and diffusion coefficient, which may fundamentally alter the fluid properties and significantly influence the structure and dynamics of immersed objects. Here, we develop…

[Phys. Rev. E 113, 055102] Published Tue May 05, 2026

Author(s): Naresh K. Dhanwani, Ajay Harishankar Kumar, Hansol Wee, and Osman A. Basaran

Using theory and simulation we analyze the retraction of a highly slender Newtonian liquid sheet with surface covered by a surfactant monolayer surrounded by air primarily in the Stokes limit with 1/Oh=0 where Oh is the Ohnesorge number. As the two surfaces of the sheet remain planar for long times after retraction is initiated, a control volume analysis is used to analytically calculate the maximum film thickness and retraction velocity. The role of finite inertia is also studied and it is shown that rim formation is suppressed if Oh (1+B0Γ0)≫L0 where B0 and L0 are the Boussinesq-Scriven number and initial sheet aspect ratio and Γ0 the initial surfactant concentration.

[Phys. Rev. Fluids 11, 053602] Published Mon May 04, 2026

Author(s): Wilfried Raffi, Jochem G. Meijer, and Detlef Lohse

Freeze–thaw cycles drive complex interactions between objects and moving solid–liquid interfaces. Using experimental model systems of oil-in-water emulsions and polystyrene particle suspensions, we reveal the occurence of hysteresis: Solid particles drift from their initial positions after one freeze-thaw cycle, while deformable oil droplets largely return to their initial positions with reversible shape changes. Our theoretical model captures these trends, highlighting the complexity of freeze–thaw dynamics.

[Phys. Rev. Fluids 11, 054001] Published Mon May 04, 2026

Author(s): Brandon Choi, Matteo Ugliotti, Mateo Reynoso, Daniel R. Gurevich, and Roman O. Grigoriev

This paper introduces a data-driven framework for constructing accurate and general equivariant models of multiscale phenomena which does not rely on specific assumptions about the underlying physics. This framework is illustrated using incompressible fluid turbulence as an example that is represent…

[Phys. Rev. E 113, 055101] Published Mon May 04, 2026