Inertia-Dominated Capillary Channel Flow in Microgravity

Abstract

The fluid dynamics videos show three-dimensional experimental and numerical investigations of open channel flows in microgravity. The dynamic reorientation of the free surface from 1g to 0g environment can be observed in a wedge-shaped channel for subcritical and for supercritical flow rate with a collapse of the interface. In addition three-dimensional computations are shown to determine important characteristics of the flow, such as the free surface shape, the velocity field, the dynamics of the reorientation and the flow rate depended collapse of the free surface. The good agreement validates the capabilities of the numerical solver.