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  • Ítem
    The Evolution of Internal Damage Identified by Means of X-ray Computed Tomography in Two Steels and the Ensuing Relation with Gurson’s Numerical Modelling
    (MDPI, 2019-03) Suárez Guerra, Fernando; Sket, Federico; Gálvez, Jaime C.; Cendón, David A.; Atienza, José M.; Molina-Aldareguia, Jon
    This paper analyzes the evolution of the internal damage in two types of steel that show different fracture behaviors, with one of them being the initial material used for manufacturing prestressing steel wires, and the other one being a standard steel used in reinforced concrete structures. The first of them shows a flat fracture surface perpendicular to the loading direction while the second one shows the typical cup-cone surface. 3 mm-diameter cylindrical specimens are tested with a tensile test carried out in several loading steps and, after each of them, unloaded and analyzed with X-ray tomography, which allows detection of internal damage throughout the tensile test. In the steel used for reinforcement, damage is developed progressively in the whole specimen, as predicted by Gurson-type models, while in the steel used for manufacturing prestressing steel-wire, damage is developed only in the very last part of the test. In addition to the experimental study, a numerical analysis is carried out by means of the finite element method by using a Gurson model to reproduce the material behavior.
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    A material model to reproduce mixed-mode fracture in concrete
    (Wiley, 2018-08) Suárez Guerra, Fernando; Gálvez, Jaime C.; Cendón , David A.
    This paper presents a material model to reproduce crack propagation in cement-based material specimens under mixed-mode loading. Its numerical formulation is based on the cohesive crack model, proposed by Hillerborg, and extended for the mixed-mode case. This model is inspired by former works by Gálvez et al but implemented for its use in a finite element code at a material level, that is to say, at an integration point level. Among its main features, the model is able to predict the crack orientation and can reproduce the fracture behaviour under mixed-mode fracture loading. In addition, several experimental results found in the literature are properly reproduced by the model.
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    On the localisation of damage under pure bending using a nonlocal approach
    (Elsevier, 2018-06) Suárez Guerra, Fernando
    To reproduce the behaviour of quasibrittle materials mathematically, constitutive laws with softening are needed, which often leads to development of damage localisation bands. If a standard local formulation is used, this approach leads to a pathological mesh dependence, which can be eliminated by making use of alternative nonlocal formulations. The aim of this paper is to assess the localisation properties of damage models under pure bending using different nonlocal formulations; to permit a partially analytical treatment, the idealised case of pure bending is studied. Under these conditions, the localisation process starts at the tensile face of the beam, which belongs to the boundary of the domain on which the problem is solved. Consequently, localisation patterns are affected by the boundary treatment as well as other parameters, such as the characteristic length that defines the area contributing to the nonlocal averaging. This paper presents an analytical study of the onset of localisation of different nonlocal formulations for a beam under pure bending. In addition to it, the subsequent evolution of the localised solution is explored by numerical simulations, analysing the localisation bands spacing, the dissipated energy profile along the fracture plane and the Moment-curvature diagrams, with curvature being a parameter that represents the rotation that drives the loading process (ϕ stands for the relative rotation angle of the cross section and L for the beam length). An analysis of damage localisation on longer beams where damage localises in several areas is also carried out and, finally, the damage localisation due to shrinkage is studied as a more realistic example of the problem addressed here.
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    Distinct Fracture Patterns in Construction Steels for Reinforced Concrete under Quasistatic Loading— A Review
    (MDPI, 2018-03) Suárez Guerra, Fernando; Gálvez, Jaime C.; Cendón , David A.; Atienza , José M.
    Steel is one of the most widely used materials in construction. Nucleation growth and coalescence theory is usually employed to explain the fracture process in ductile materials, such as many metals. The typical cup–cone fracture pattern has been extensively studied in the past, giving rise to numerical models able to reproduce this pattern. Nevertheless, some steels, such as the eutectoid steel used for manufacturing prestressing wires, does not show this specific shape but a flat surface with a dark region in the centre of the fracture area. Recent studies have deepened the knowledge on these distinct fracture patterns, shedding light on some aspects that help to understand how damage begins and propagates in each case. The numerical modelling of both fracture patterns have also been discussed and reproduced with different approaches. This work reviews the main recent advances in the knowledge on this subject, particularly focusing on the experimental work carried out by the authors.
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    Macro Photography as an Alternative to the Stereoscopic Microscope in the Standard Test Method for Microscopical Characterisation of the Air-Void System in Hardened Concrete: Equipment and Methodology
    (MDPI, 2018-08) Suárez Guerra, Fernando; Conchillo, José J.; Gálvez, Jaime C.; Casati, María J.
    The determination of the parameters that characterize the air-void system in hardened concrete elements becomes crucial for structures under freezing and thawing cycles. The ASTM C457 standard describes some procedures to accomplish this task, but they are not easy to apply, require specialised equipment, such as a stereoscopic microscope, and result in highly tedious tasks to be performed. This paper describes an alternative procedure to the modified point-count method that is described in the Standard that makes use of macro photography. This alternative procedure uses macro-photographic images that can be obtained with a quite standard photo camera and it is successfully applied to a large set of samples and presents some advantages over the traditional method, since the required equipment is less expensive and provides a more comfortable and less tedious procedure for the operator.
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    Estudio de la influencia de la adición de fibras en la rotura en modo II de materiales cuasifrágiles
    (UK Zhende Publishing Limited, 2021-08) Suárez Guerra, Fernando; Felipe-Sesé, Luis; Castilla-Gonzalo, Francisco-José; Díaz-Garrido, Francisco
    La rotura de materiales cuasifrágiles, tales como el hormigón o el yeso, ha sido objeto de estudio desde hace décadas. Estos estudios han ampliado el conocimiento de los mecanismos de rotura así como de los parámetros que gobiernan este fenómeno y han permitido proponer modelos numéricos que lo reproducen mediante herramientas tales como el método de los elementos finitos. Por otro lado, de los tres posibles Modos de rotura que se diferencian a la hora de analizar problemas de Mecánica de la Fractura, el Modo I es sin duda el mejor conocido, reproducido experimentalmente y empleado como base para los modelos numéricos. No obstante, existen situaciones en las que la rotura es el resultado de un estado de tensiones que moviliza un mecanismo en el que participan los Modos I y II simultáneamente. A este respecto, la rotura en Modo II ha sido estudiada con menos profundidad, en parte porque las roturas en Modo I son más habituales, pero también porque su reproducción experimental y, por tanto, su estudio, resulta más complejo. En este estudio se presentan resultados experimentales de ensayos que movilizan la rotura en Modo II en probetas de yeso adicionadas con fibras de refuerzo. En concreto se emplean el ensayo de cortante definido por la norma japonesa JSCE y el ensayo de push-off. El campo de desplazamientos se obtiene empleando la técnica de correlación digital de imágenes (DIC), lo cual ayuda a entender cómo las fibras modifican los mecanismos de rotura de la matriz cuando ésta se produce en condiciones de Modo II.
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    Fracture and Size Effect of PFRC Specimens Simulated by Using a Trilinear Softening Diagram: A Predictive Approach
    (MDPI, 2021-07) Suárez Guerra, Fernando; Gálvez , Jaime C.; Alberti , Marcos G.; Enfedaque, Alejandro
    The size effect on plain concrete specimens is well known and can be correctly captured when performing numerical simulations by using a well characterised softening function. Nevertheless, in the case of polyolefin-fibre-reinforced concrete (PFRC), this is not directly applicable, since using only diagram cannot capture the material behaviour on elements with different sizes due to dependence of the orientation factor of the fibres with the size of the specimen. In previous works, the use of a trilinear softening diagram proved to be very convenient for reproducing fracture of polyolefin-fibre-reinforced concrete elements, but only if it is previously adapted for each specimen size. In this work, a predictive methodology is used to reproduce fracture of polyolefin-fibre-reinforced concrete specimens of different sizes under three-point bending. Fracture is reproduced by means of a well-known embedded cohesive model, with a trilinear softening function that is defined specifically for each specimen size. The fundamental points of these softening functions are defined a priori by using empirical expressions proposed in past works, based on an extensive experimental background. Therefore, the numerical results are obtained in a predictive manner and then compared with a previous experimental campaign in which PFRC notched specimens of different sizes were tested with a three-point bending test setup, showing that this approach properly captures the size effect, although some values of the fundamental points in the trilinear diagram could be defined more accurately.
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    Cumulative effects of cracking in monoblock multipurpose precast concrete sleepers on railway tracks
    (Elsevier, 2025-03) Donaire-Ávila, Jesús; Aceituno, Javier F.; Suárez Guerra, Fernando
    This work addresses the phenomenon of cracking in multipurpose precast monoblock concrete sleepers by examining the entire process from fabrication to final installation on railway tracks. This includes stages such as manufacturing, stockpiling, track installation for rail neutralization, and eventually fastening the rails to the sleepers. A nonlinear numerical model, which is experimentally validated, is used to analyze this effect. Also, thermal and mechanical actions are considered at each stage of the process. Accordingly, different types of polymeric dowels and concrete aggregates—siliceous and carbonate—are evaluated to assess their impact on cracking. The results indicate that the thermal expansion capacity and elastic stiffness of the dowels, as well as the outdoor temperatures during fabrication, stockpiling, and installation, play critical roles in the cracking process. Sleepers made with carbonate aggregate, stiff-expansive dowels, fabricated in cold environments, and installed in hot conditions are particularly prone to severe cracking. Consequently, these conditions should be avoided to minimize cracking in multipurpose sleepers.
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    Analysis of two experimental setups to study mode II fracture on fibre-reinforced gypsum notched specimens
    (CSIC, 2023-09) Suárez Guerra, Fernando; Aceituno, Javier F.; Donaire-Ávila, Jesús
    The main aim of this work is to study two relevant experimental setups designed for studying shear fracture and see if any of them allows studying the evolution of fracture under Mode II conditions, not only inducing a shear stress state at the onset of fracture. Two tests have been selected, a standardised test described by a Japanese standard, here referred to as the JSCE test, and the push-off test. These tests have been carried out on fibre-reinforced gypsum specimens with increasing proportions of polypropylene fibres and monitored by means of digital image correlation (DIC). The results show that fracture under Mode II conditions is relatively easy to induce with both tests, but once fracture begins, it is extremely difficult to induce a fracture process under Mode II. In general, Mode II has an important role at the onset on fracture, but Mode I predominates afterwards.
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    A smeared crack formulation for simulating fracture of fibre-reinforced concrete by means of a trilinear softening diagram
    (Elsevier, 2023-08) Suárez Guerra, Fernando
    This study presents a smeared crack model for reproducing the fracture behaviour of FRC that is based on an embedded crack formulation used lately with this material. In both cases, a trilinear softening diagram allows reproducing the post-peak behaviour correctly. The model proposed here differs from the one on which it is inspired, since it is a smeared crack model based on the crack band concept where the material damage is isotropic and controlled by a damage factor ranging from 0 to 1, while the original model is an embedded crack model that allows fracture in three directions per element. This new formulation overcomes some limitations of the embedded crack model, that could only be used with triangular elements with an only integration point, since it can be used with triangular and quadrilateral elements with any number of integration points. Unlike previous models, developed for commercial codes, this model is developed in OOFEM, a free finite element code developed at the Czech Technical University in Prague (Czech Republic) and Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden), thus providing the general public with an advanced tool that allows reproducing fracture in structural elements made with fibre-reinforced concrete elements. This work shows that the proposed formulation provides similar results to those obtained with the model on which it is inspired under different situations: mode I fracture, size effect analysis and, finally, modes I and II mixed fracture.
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    Suitability of Constitutive Models of the Structural Concrete Codes When Applied to Polyolefin Fibre Reinforced Concrete
    (MDPI, 2022-03) Enfedaque, Alejandro; Suárez Guerra, Fernando; Alberti, Marcos G.; Gálvez, Jaime C.
    The use of fibres as structural reinforcement in concrete is included in standards, providing guidelines to reproduce their behaviour, which have been proven adequate when steel fibres are used. Nevertheless, in recent years new materials, such as polyolefin fibres, have undergone significant development as concrete reinforcement. This work gives insight on how suitable the constitutive models proposed by the Model Code 2010 (MC2010) are in the case of such polymer fibres. A set of numerical models has been carried out to reproduce the material behaviour proposed by the MC2010 and the approach based on the softening function proposed by the authors. The results show remarkable differences between the experimental results and the numerical simulations when the constitutive models described in the MC2010 are employed for different polyolefin fibre reinforced concrete mixes, while the material behaviour can be reproduced with greater accuracy if the softening function proposed by the authors is employed when this type of macro-polymer fibres is used. Moreover, the relatively complex behaviour of polyolefin fibre reinforced concrete may be reproduced by using such constitutive model.
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    Damage tolerance in engineering components: Implementation to anchor heads
    (Elsevier, 2022-06) Olivares, Miguel A.; Gálvez, Jaime C.; Suárez Guerra, Fernando
    Damage tolerance is commonly used as a design criterion in some engineering fields, such as aerospace engineering, but is not usual in civil engineering, where structural safety often relies on safety coefficients. This work presents a study on how using damage tolerance for designing post-tensioning anchor heads, usual mechanisms in many civil engineering works, can be useful for building safer structures. Damage is simulated using 2D and 3D finite element models, considering axisymmetric damage and single damage, respectively. The influence of several aspects, such as the crack depth, the crack orientation angle or the shape of the anchorage, is studied. Lastly, a specific anchorage geometry is analysed using the damage tolerance concept to show that this approach may help in the design of this type of elements.
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    Modelling fracture on polyolefin fibre reinforced concrete specimens subjected to mixed-mode loading
    (Elsevier, 2019-02) Suárez Guerra, Fernando; Gálvez, Jaime C.; Enfedaque, Alejandro; Alberti, Marcos G.
    In recent years, polyolefin fibres have proved a remarkable performance as reinforcement of concrete, which has inspired a number of studies involving, among others, the simulation of fracture on polyolefin fibre reinforced concrete (PFRC) specimens. Fracture has been successfully reproduced on PFRC specimens in the past by means of an embedded crack model with a trilinear softening function, but always using for comparison the classical three-point bending test, which employs a symmetrical setup and induces fracture under pure mode I conditions. In the present study, six sets of specimens tested under an alternative setup of the three-point bending test, which induces fracture under mixed-mode conditions (I and II), are simulated using the same numerical approach. The results not only prove that the use of a trilinear softening function together with an embedded cohesive crack approach can reproduce fracture under mixed-mode conditions, but also provide interesting insights on how the trilinear softening function may be designed for suiting the usage of different fibre lengths or varying the proportions of polyolefin fibres.
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    Fracture of eutectoid steel bars under tensile loading: Experimental results and numerical simulation Author links open overlay panel
    (Elsevier, 2016-06) Suárez Guerra, Fernando; Gálvez, Jaime C.; Cendón , David A.; Atienza, José M.
    Construction steel bars tested under tension usually show a cup-cone fracture pattern. Nevertheless, some steels, such as the eutectoid one used for manufacturing prestressing steel wires, show a different pattern: a flat fracture surface with a dark region inside. This paper presents experimental work performed to identify the fracture mechanisms that trigger this particular flat fracture pattern and numerical simulations where it is reproduced numerically. The experimental tests are carried out on cylindrical specimens of three diameters, 3, 6 and 9 mm, subjected to tension. In order to analyse the fracture mechanism, numerical simulations are performed by using the finite element method and the cohesive zone approach. To that end, a cohesive interface element with mechanical properties that depend on the stress triaxiality is presented and assessed. This approach provides reasonably good agreement with the experimental results. In addition, when compared with other popular models such as the GTN model, it presents certain advantages since it requires a smaller number of parameters to be defined.
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    Study of the last part of the stress-deformation curve of construction steels with distinct fracture patterns
    (Elsevier, 2016-10) Suárez Guerra, Fernando; Gálvez, Jaime C.; Cendón , David A.; Atienza, José M.
    The principal mechanical characteristics of construction steels are obtained by tensile testing. Nevertheless, the standards neglect the behaviour of steel beyond the maximum load point and do not define parameters related to the part of the stress-deformation curve that lies between the maximum load point and failure. The necking process that begins when the maximum load is reached makes it somewhat difficult to study the material behaviour beyond that point. However, the ductility of steel is highly affected by this last part of the load-deformation curve. For such a reason, and especially since structural safety is directly related to ductility, a deeper knowledge of this may help in designing safer structures. In this paper, this part of the load-deformation curve is analysed in two construction steels that exhibit distinct fracture patterns: one shows the typical cup-cone fracture surface, while the other shows a flat fracture surface with a dark region inside. An experimental campaign has been carried out with cylindrical specimens of contrasting diameters: 3 mm, 6 mm and 9 mm for each material. The use of a digital image correlation system is shown to be extremely useful in studying the behaviour of steel beyond the maximum load point, with an innovative procedure for identifying the growth of the internal damage that leads to failure in a specimen being developed.
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    Numerical Simulation of PFRC Fracture Subjected to High Temperature by Means of a Trilinear Softening Diagram
    (MDPI, 2023-09-03) Suárez Guerra, Fernando; Enfedaque, Alejandro; Alberti, Marcos G.; Gálvez, Jaime C.
    Fibre-reinforced concrete (FRC) has been used for decades in certain applications in the construction industry, such as tunnel linings and precast elements, but has experienced important progress in recent times, boosted by the inclusion of guidelines for its use in some national and international standards. Traditional steel fibres have been studied in depth and their performance is well-known, although in recent years new materials have been proposed as possible alternatives. Polyolefin macro-fibres, for instance, have been proven to enhance the mechanical properties of concrete and the parameters that define their behaviour (fibre length, fibre proportion or casting method, for instance) have been identified. These fibres overcome certain traditional problems related to steel fibres, such as corrosion or their interaction with magnetic fields, which can limit the use of steel in some applications. The behaviour of polyolefin fibre-reinforced concrete (PFRC) has been numerically reproduced with success through an embedded cohesive crack formulation that uses a trilinear softening diagram to describe the fracture behaviour of the material. Furthermore, concrete behaves well under high temperatures or fire events, especially when it is compared with other construction materials, but the behaviour of PFRC must be analysed if the use of these fibres is to be extended. To this end, the degradation of PFRC fracture properties has been recently experimentally analysed under a temperature range between 20 ◦ C and 200 ◦ C. As temperature increases, polyolefin fibres modify their mechanical properties and their shape, which reduce their performance as reinforcements of concrete. In this work, those experimental results, which include results of low (3 kg/m3 ) and high (10 kg/m3 ) proportion PFRC specimens, are used as reference to study the fracture behaviour of PFRC exposed to high temperatures from a numerical point of view. The experimental load-deflection diagrams are reproduced by modifying the trilinear diagram used in the cohesive model, which helps to understand how the trilinear diagram parameters are affected by high temperature exposure. Finally, some expressions are proposed to adapt the initial trilinear diagram (obtained with specimens not exposed to high temperature) in order to numerically reproduce the fracture behaviour of PFRC affected by high temperature exposure.
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    An automatic procedure for calibrating the fracture parameters of fibre-reinforced concrete
    (Elsevier, 2025-02-21) Suárez Guerra, Fernando; Donaire Ávila, Jesús; Aceituno, Javier F.
    In this work a calibration procedure to obtain the material parameters that characterize the fracture behaviour of fibre-reinforced concrete (FRC) is presented. This procedure uses a recently proposed trilinear softening diagram implemented in a smeared crack model of the free finite element code OOFEM that allows reproducing the fracture behaviour of FRC and takes advantage of the optimization package of SciPy, with both pieces of software being open-source and of free access for anyone interested in this field. This work presents the calibration procedure, which uses the Nelder-Mead algorithm to adjust the numerical result with the experimental diagram and discusses some key aspects, such as the number of reference points used in the calibration process or the weighting factors used with them, including the possibility of making some reference points more relevant than others in the calibration process. The influence of the mesh size and the element type used in the FEM model is also analysed. To evaluate the quality of the numerical approximation, a deviation factor is defined, which provides an scalar value that becomes lower as the numerical adjustment is closer to the experimental diagram in the reference points. The proposed procedure allows calibrating six parameters automatically with a meaningful time reduction and good accuracy. Using a higher number of reference points may lead to a better adjustment, although this study suggests that a good selection of the reference points is more effective than using a high number of reference points or using weighting factors to make some points more relevant than others. This procedure is finally validated by applying it with experimental results obtained with other types of FRC materials (different fibres and different fibre proportions) and specimen geometries.
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    Force Prediction for Incremental Forming of Polymer Sheets
    (MDPI, 2018-09-03) Medina Sánchez, Gustavo; García Collado, Alberto; Carou Porto, Diego; Dorado Vicente, Rubén
    Incremental sheet forming (ISF) is gaining attention as a low cost prototyping and small batch production solution to obtain 3D components. In ISF, the forming force is key to define an adequate setup, avoiding damage and reducing wear, as well as to determine the energy consumption and the final shape of the part. Although there are several analytical, experimental and numerical approaches to estimate the axial forming force for metal sheets, further efforts must be done to extend the study to polymers. This work presents two procedures for predicting axial force in Single Point Incremental Forming (SPIF) of polymer sheets. Particularly, a numerical model based on the Finite Element Model (FEM), which considers a hyperelastic-plastic constitutive equation, and a simple semi-analytical model that extends the known specific energy concept used in machining. A set of experimental tests was used to validate the numerical model, and to determine the specific energy for two polymer sheets of polycarbonate (PC) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The approaches provide results in good agreement with additional real examples. Moreover, the numerical model is useful for accurately predicting temperature and thickness.
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    Bubble pressure requirements to control the bubbling process in forced co-axial air-water jets
    (Elsevier, 2020-12-01) Ruiz-Rus, Javier; Bolaños Jimenez, Rocio; Sevilla, Alejandro; Martínez-Bazán, Carlos
    We analyse the controlled generation of bubbles of a given size at a determined bubbling rate in a co-flowing water stream forcing the gas flow. The temporal evolution of the bubble size, R(t), the air flow rate, Qa(t), and the pressure evolution inside the bubble, pb(t), during the bubbling process are reported. To that aim, the temporal evolution of the bubble shape and the pressure inside the air feeding chamber, pc(t), where a harmonic perturbation is induced using a loudspeaker, are obtained from high-speed images synchronized with pressure measurements. A model is developed to describe the unsteady motion of the gas stream along the injection needle, coupled with the Rayleigh-Plesset equation for the growing bubble, allowing us to obtain pb(t). Thus, the minimum pressure amplitudes required inside the forming bubble to control their size and bubbling frequency are provided as a function of the gas flow rate, the liquid velocity, uw, and the forcing frequency, ff. Two different behaviors have been observed, depending on the liquid-to-gas velocity ratio, Λ. For small enough values of Λ, the critical pressure amplitude is given by p_s ∼ ρ_a c u_a St_f3, associated to a rapid pressure increase taking place during an interval of time of the order of the acoustic time. However, for larger values of Λ, ps ∼ ρ u_w^2 St_f^3 Λ^{−1/5} We^{−1/4}. Here ρ and ρa are the liquid and gas densities respectively, c the speed of sound in air and St_f = f_f r_o/u_w and We = ρ u_w^2 r_o/σ the Strouhal and Weber numbers, where r_o denotes the outer radius of the injector.
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    Controlled formation of bubbles in a planar co-flow configuration
    (Elsevier, 2017-03-01) Ruiz-Rus, Javier; Bolaños Jimenez, Rocio; Gutiérrez-Montes, Cándido; Sevilla, Alejandro; Martínez-Bazán, Carlos
    We present a new method that allows to control the bubble size and formation frequency in a planar air-water co-flow configuration by modulating the Water velocity at the nozzle exit. The forcing process has been experimentally characterized determining the amplitude of the water velocity fluctuations from measurements of the pressure variations in the water stream. The effect of the forcing on the bubbling process has been described by analyzing the pressute signals in the air stream in combinatiOn with visualizations performed with a high-speed camera. We show that, when the forcing amplitude is sufficiently large, the bubbles can be generated at a rate different from the natural bubbling frequency, f(n), which depends on the water-to-air velocity ratio, Lambda u(n)/u(q), and the Weber number, We rho(w)u(n)(2)H(0)/sigma, where H(0) is the half-thickness of the air stream at the exit slit, rho(w), the water density and a the surface tension coefficient. Consequently, when the forcing is effective, monodisperse bubbles, of sizes smaller than those generated without stimulation, are produced at the prescribed frequency, f(f) > f(n). The effect of the forcing process on the bubble size is also characterized by measuring the resulting intact length, l, i.e. the length of the air stem that remains attached to the injector when a bubble is released. In addition, the physics behind the forcing procedure is explained as a purely kinematic mechanism that is added to the effect of the pressure evolution inside the air stream that would take place in the unforced case. Finally, the downstream position of the maximum perturbation amplitude has been determined by a one-dimensional model, exhibiting a good agreement with both experiments and numerical simulations performed with OpenFOAM.