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Interaction of a vortex pair with a polymeric fluid layer

Rabia Sonmez*

Robert A. Handler

David B. Goldstein, Anton Burtsev, and Ryan Kelly

Saikishan Suryanarayanan

  • *Contact author: rsonmez@gmu.edu
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Phys. Rev. Fluids 11, 073301 – Published 6 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/qbb2-g6p6

Abstract

The interaction of vortical structures with boundaries has been extensively studied in Newtonian fluids, where conditions such as no-slip walls, free surfaces, or contaminated surfaces dictate whether vortices rebound, dissipate, or generate secondary structures. In this work, we investigate a related but fundamentally different problem: the interaction of a vortex pair with a finite, nonuniform layer of polymeric fluid. Numerical simulations employing the finitely extensible nonlinear elastic-Peterlin model are used to examine the effects of polymer concentration, relaxation time, polymer layer thickness, and maximum polymer extension on the evolution of kinetic energy and enstrophy. The results show that, while the polymeric fluid dissipates vortical motion, vortex-polymer layer interactions can also generate new coherent structures. In particular, the formation of secondary and tertiary vortices coincides with transient increases in kinetic energy, a behavior absent in the Newtonian case. Unlike classical vortex-boundary interactions, where the primary vortex survives, we find that under certain conditions it completely dissipates upon interaction with the polymer layer. These findings emphasize that fluids with nonuniform polymer concentrations act not only as dissipative agents but also as sources of vorticity, extending the traditional view of polymer-induced drag reduction and providing insights into vortex-polymer interactions.

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Phys. Rev. Fluids 11, 073301– Published 6 July, 2026
  • Received 2 January 2026
  • Accepted 16 June 2026
Article part of CHORUS
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