Suppression of Turbulence using Electrified Granular Material

This research explores an understanding of the transition mechanism between laminar and turbulent regimes of fluid flow using a novel approach of coupling fluid flow with electric phenomena. This was done by electrifying granular material inside a simple capacitor-like electrification chamber using a DC power source. The granular material used was sawdust. The fluid introduced was plume from from burned mosquito coil and burned incense stick. The suppression of turbulence is quantified through a measurement of the extension of the maximum laminar flow length ($L_{max})$. Videos of the plume behavior were taken using a Sony Cybershot-WGC camera while image analysis of the plume behavior was done using ImageJ image analysis software. Results reveal significant increase in $L_{max}$ for the plumes exposed to electrified sawdust. Plots of $L_{max}$-versus-applied voltage and $L_{max}$-versus-mass-of-sawdust reveal nonlinear increasing trends. Coupling constants \quad $\kappa $ and $\varsigma $ were theoretically derived to explain the coupled states between the fluid flow and the electrified sawdust.