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Unstable two-phase flow rate in micro-channels and cracks under imposed

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Article in International Journal of Multiphase Flow · August 2015

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2015.08.009

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 Unstable two-phase flow rate in micro-channels and cracks
under imposed pressure difference

Giuseppe Rastielloa , Sébastien Leclairea,b , Rafik Belarbib , Rachid Bennacera,∗

a LMT-Cachan / ENS-Cachan / CNRS / Université Paris Saclay, 61 Av. du Président Wilson, 94235 Cachan Cedex, France
b LaSIE UMR 7356, Université de La Rochelle, Av. Michel Crépeau 17042 Cedex 1, La Rochelle, France

Abstract
This paper numerically investigates two-phase flow rate instabilities in micro-channels comprising localized geometrical restrictions
(i.e., a convergent-divergent duct). A numerical Lattice Boltzmann method is used to model and simulate multiphase flow with an
accurate treatment of the contact angle at the triple line. A pressure difference is imposed between the inlet and outlet sections of the
channel. This induces flow and allows its time evolution to be followed. Indeed, the resulting flow exhibits strong time fluctuations
as it is strongly influenced by the induced viscous forces acting at solid-fluid interfaces and by pressure discontinuities sustained
across the curved fluid-fluid interfaces (i.e., across the curvatures of the menisci). Flow fluctuations are investigated parametrically
for wetting and non-wetting fluids and for different micro-channel geometrical irregularities. For this purpose, an equivalent dimen-
sionless formulation is adopted. Flow fluctuations are analyzed and related to the controlling dimensionless parameters (Reynolds
number, Laplace number, Bejan number, contact angle and channel constriction ratio). This allows quantification of the coupled in-
fluence of physical fluid properties (surface tension and contact angle), channel geometry, and loading conditions (imposed pressure
difference) on flow evolution. Numerical results show that, under particular conditions, capillary pressure jumps sustained across
the fluid bridge (owing to flow rate, contact angle, and local orientation of channel walls) entirely compensate for the imposed
pressure difference. This situation results in a no-flow state, i.e., the flow becomes impossible even under an imposed pressure
difference.
Keywords: Multiphase flow, Immiscible fluids, Contact angle, Leakage, Triple-line, Numerical lattice Boltzmann method.

The final publication is available at
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/
pii/S0301932215001810
1. Introduction
Understanding of the main physical mechanisms control-
ling multiphase flow in micro-channels and cracks, in the pres-
ence of local variations in their cross-sections, plays a crucial
role in many industrial and engineering applications.
In the microelectronics, energy, and biomedical industries,
micro-pumps, heat-pipes, micro-capillaries, and micro-needles
require proper control and mastery of multiphase flow at the
micro-scales. This problem has attracted researchers’ atten-
tion because of the increasing use of small-scale devices such
as miniature power systems, compact heat exchangers, chem-
ical reactors, and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS).
In particular, great efforts have been made to reveal multiphase
flow instabilities (Wu and Cheng, 2004, Wu et al., 2006, Huh
et al., 2007, Wang et al., 2007, Lee and Mudawar, 2008, Wang
and Cheng, 2008, Han and Kedzierski, 2008, Liu et al., 2005,
Xu et al., 2005) as they could lead to inaccurate predictions of
mixing and, possibly, to unexpected damage.
∗ e-mail: rachid.bennacer@lmt.ens-cachan.fr
In nuclear engineering applications, proper modeling of com-
plex two-phase air steam flows (Simon et al., 2007, Vyskocil
et al., 2014) through cracked concrete structures represent a
real challenge. Under severe thermo-hydraulic loading condi-
tions (e.g., a loss-of-coolant accident (Shekarchi et al., 2002,
Dal Pont et al., 2007, Ahn et al., 2009, Medjigbodo et al., 2015))
phase changes can occur within cracks, leading to the forma-
tion of liquid water bridges. This significantly modifies leakage
kinetics, thus inducing a loss in pertinence of the commonly
adopted macroscopic modeling strategies (Simon et al., 2007,
Rastiello et al., 2014, 2015b,a).
In all the cited cases, global responses (e.g., flow rate evolu-
tion) are strongly influenced by local phenomena occurring near
the triple line. A proper characterization of local fluid-fluid and
fluid-solid interactions occurring during flow is therefore a key
aspect for enhancing the physical validity of the adopted mod-
eling strategies.
In the present work, multiphase flow fluctuations and insta-
bilities induced by localized variations in channel cross-section
(e.g., geometrical defects) are investigated through paramet-
ric numerical analysis. High-performance cluster simulation
strategies are adopted to obtain real-time flow visualizations.
This allows proper study of flow evolution, completing macro-
scopic variables with local information concerning the complex
interactions between the phases considered.
Computations are performed according to a two-dimensional

Accepted for publication in International Journal of Multiphase Flow August 2015

 Rastiello et al. (2015), Unstable two-phase flow rate in micro-channels and cracks under imposed pressure difference

(2D) multiphase lattice Boltzmann (LB) numerical formulation. 1. Collision operator: 

The chosen model follows the numerical formulation presented


|N k (x, t∗ )i = (Ωk )(3) (Ωk )(2) (Ωk )(1) |N k (x, t)i
by Reis and Phillips (2007), along with the improvements by
Leclaire et al. (2012, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015a) for the recolor- 2. Streaming operator:
ing operator, the isotropic color gradient, the enhanced equilib- Nik (x + ci ∆t, t + ∆t) = Nik (x, t∗ )
rium distribution functions, the multiple-relaxation-time (MRT) where the symbols |.i denotes the Dirac ket notation with an ex-
collision operator, and the modeling of static contact angle. The pansion with respect to the velocity space. The collision oper-
first part of this paper presents the basic aspects of the numeri- ator results in three main operations: the single-phase collision
cal model. operator (Ωk )(1) ; the multiphase perturbation operator (Ωki )(2) ;
The second part of the article presents the considered geo- and the multiphase recoloring operator (Ωki )(3) .
metrical micro-channel configuration. A simplified geometry is
analyzed for sake of simplicity: a horizontal rectangular micro- 2.2. Single-phase collision operator
channel with high length-to-height aspect ratio, comprising a The first operator, (Ωk )(1) , is the MRT operator of the single-
single convergent-divergent duct. Dimensionless parameters phase LB model first introduced by D’Humières (1992). The
allowing proper definition of fluid properties and geometrical moments are relaxed toward a local equilibrium, in which K
channel characteristics are then introduced and discussed. denotes a diagonal matrix of relaxation coefficients and M is
In the third part of the article, the presented LB model is the matrix that shifts the domain from a distribution space to a
used to simulate two-phase flow through the channel. A single moment space:
wetting/non-wetting fluid bridge is initialized at the entrance of  
the channel. A pressure difference is then imposed between the (Ωk )(1) (|N k i) = |N k i − M−1 KM |N k i − |N k(e) i (2)
inlet and outlet sections of the channel in order to analyze flow
rate evolution. Its main phases are identified and discussed, and Some details (not all) about the chosen operator are given
representative macroscopic flow variables allowing for a proper below. The density of the fluid k is given by the first moment of
description of average flow and its time fluctuations are defined. the distribution functions:
Parametric analyses allow identification of the role of physi- X X
cal fluid properties (surface tension and contact angle), channel ρk = Nik = Nik(e) (3)
i i
geometry, and loading conditions (imposed pressure difference
between the inlet and outlet) on flow evolution. Finally, con- where the superscript (e) denotes equilibrium. The total fluid
ditions for the appearance of a so-called “fluid cork” such that density is given by ρ = k ρk , while the total momentum is
P
the flow becomes impossible (i.e., flow rate decreases down to defined as the second moment of the distribution functions:
zero) even under a significant imposed pressure difference, are XX XX
discussed in terms of dimensionless variables. ρu = Nik ci = Nik(e) ci (4)
Some conclusive remarks close the paper. i k i k

where u is the velocity of the color-blind distribution functions.

2. Lattice Boltzmann formulation The equilibrium functions are defined by Leclaire et al. (2013):

The numerical model is briefly described here for conve- Nik(e) (ρk , u, αk ) =
nience. For more details about the adopted LB formulation
" #!
3 3 1
the reader can refer to (Reis and Phillips, 2007, Leclaire et al., ρk φi + 2 Wi (ci · u) + 2 (ci · u) − (u · u) + Φki
k 2
(5)
c 2c 2
2012, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015a).
The weights Wi are those of a standard D2Q9 lattice:
2.1. Problem setting
i=1

 4/9,
The 2D two-phase LB model considers two sets of distri-

Wi =  i = 2, 4, 6, 8

1/9, (6)

bution functions, one for each fluid, moving on a D2Q9 lattice  1/36, i = 3, 5, 7, 9


with the velocity vectors ci . With θi = π4 (4 − i), these velocity
vectors are defined as follows: Moreover,
[0, 0], i=1 α, i=1
 
 k

 

x y
ci = [ci , ci ] =  i = 2, 4, 6, 8 φki = α = 2, 4, 6, 8
 
[sin(θ ), cos(θ )] c, (1)

i i (1 − )/5, i (7)
 [sin(θ ), cos(θ )] √2c, i = 3, 5, 7, 9
 k
  (1 − α )/20, i = 3, 5, 7, 9


i i k

where c = ∆x/∆t, ∆y = ∆x, ∆x is the lattice spacing, and ∆t is As established by Grunau et al. (1993), the density ratio be-
the time step. tween the fluids γ must be taken into account as follows to
The distribution functions for a fluid of color k (with k = obtain a stable interface:
r, b) are denoted Nik (x, t), while Ni (x, t) = Nir (x, t) + Nib (x, t) is
ρ0r 1 − αb
the color blind distribution function. The evolution algorithm γ= = (8)
follows the operators below: ρb0 1 − αr

2 Accepted for publication in International Journal of Multiphase Flow

 Rastiello et al. (2015), Unstable two-phase flow rate in micro-channels and cracks under imposed pressure difference

where the superscript “0” over ρ0r or ρ0b indicates the initial value defined such that:
of the density at the beginning of the simulation. 
 −3ν (u · ∇ρk ) /c2 , i=1

In each homogeneous-phase region, the pressure of the fluid k Φi = 
k


+4ν (G : c ⊗ c ) /c4
, i = 2, 4, 6, 8 (13)
k i i
is:  +1ν (G : c ⊗ c ) /c4 , i = 3, 5, 7, 9


3(1 − αk ) 2 k i i
pk = ρk c = ρk (cks )2 (9)
5
1
In the above expressions, only one αk is a free parameter be- Gk = (u ⊗ ∇ρk ) + (u ⊗ ∇ρk )|

(14)
8
cause of (8). In general, we let the blue fluid be the least dense,
and we set the value of 0 < αb < 1 so that the relation 0 < where ⊗ is the tensor product, the symbol ":" stands for the ten-
αb ≤ αr < 1 is guaranteed to hold. This relation needs to be sor contraction, and the superscript | is the transpose operator.
respected to avoid non-physical negative pressure. Also, these
2.3. Perturbation operator
parameters set the isothermal sound speed cks in each fluid k.
According to Premnath and Banerjee (2009), the following The surface tension in the RK model is modeled by means
orthogonal moment set is chosen: of the perturbation operator (Gunstensen et al., 1991, Halliday
et al., 1998, Reis and Phillips, 2007). To introduce surface ten-
h1|
 
  sion into this model, a “color” gradient F, which approximates

 hc x | 
 the normal to the interface, is defined first. With two-phase
 hcy | 
flow, the color gradient can be defined as:
3hc x | ◦ hc x | + 3hcy | ◦ hcy | − 4h1|
 
 
ρr − ρb
!
M =  hc x | ◦ hc x | − hcy | ◦ hcy |
 
F=∇ (15)

hc x | ◦ hcy | ρr + ρb
 
 
 −3hc x | ◦ hc x | ◦ hcy | + 2hcy | 

 −3hc x | ◦ hcy | ◦ hcy | + 2hc x |

 The perturbation operator for the fluid k is therefore defined by:
9hc x | ◦ hc x | ◦ hcy | ◦ hcy | − 6hc x | ◦ hc x | − 6hcy | ◦ hcy | + 4h1|
 
(F · ci )2
" #
A
(10) (Ωi ) (Ni ) = Ni + |F| Wi
k (2) k k
− Bi (16)
2 |F|2 c2
where the symbol ◦ stands for the Hadamard product and where with
the symbols h.| denotes the Dirac bra notation with an expansion
−4/27, i = 1


with respect to the velocity space. The elements of the diagonal 
Bi =  i = 2, 4, 6, 8

2/27, (17)

matrix K are the relaxation factors. As in (Leclaire et al., 2014),  5/108, i = 3, 5, 7, 9


the coefficients K5,5 and K6,6 are related to bulk and shear stress,
so their values are set to the usual effective relaxation parame- Reis and Phillips (2007) showed that the perturbation oper-
ter ωeff . The other diagonal coefficients are set to χωeff . The ator complies, to within the macroscopic limit, with the capil-
constant factor 0 < χ ≤ 1 may improve the stability of the lary stress tensor present in the macroscopic equations for two-
model. With χ = 1, the multiple-relaxation-time operator be- phase flows. It handles the coupling between the two fluids,
comes a single-relaxation-time operator; lowering the value of with the space- and time-dependent parameters A chosen to fit
χ may therefore make the model more stable (Leclaire et al., the surface tension value at the fluid interface. The surface ten-
2014). However, lowering this value too much can affect accu- sion σ is expressed as follows:
racy. Overall, MRT is preferred to SRT for sake of its improved 4 A 2
stability properties (Leclaire et al., 2014). σ= c (18)
9 ωeff
The effective relaxation parameter ωeff is defined so that the
fluid viscosity is consistent with the macroscopic equations for The value for σ is set at the beginning of a simulation. However,
a single-phase flow in the single-phase regions. When the vis- the value for A could be space- and time-dependent, because
cosities of the fluids are different, an interpolation is applied to ωeff may depend on space and time. Although this operator
define the parameter ωeff at the interface. If νk is the kinematic generates the surface tension, it does not guarantee the fluid’s
viscosity of the fluid k, we use the harmonic density-weighted immiscibility. To minimize mixing and segregate the fluids, the
average to define the viscosity ν at the interface between the recoloring operator (Ωki )(3) needs to be properly selected.
fluids:
2.4. Recoloring operator
1 ρr 1 ρb 1 This operator is used to maximize the amount of fluid k at
= + (11)
ν ρr + ρb νr ρr + ρb νb the interface that is sent to the fluid k region, while remaining
consistent with the laws of conservation of mass and total mo-
Then the effective relaxation parameter is: mentum. The recoloring operator presented here (Latva-Kokko
and Rothman, 2005, Leclaire et al., 2012) is as follows:
2c2 ∆t
ωeff = (12) ρr ρr ρb X
6ν + c2 ∆t (Ωri )(3) (Nir ) = Ni + β 2 cos(ϕi ) Nik(e) (ρk , 0, αk ) (19)
ρ ρ k
From (Leclaire et al., 2013), the expression for Φki in (5) is ρb ρr ρb
X
(Ωbi )(3) (Nib ) = Ni − β 2 cos(ϕi ) Nik(e) (ρk , 0, αk ) (20)
ρ ρ k

3 Accepted for publication in International Journal of Multiphase Flow

 Rastiello et al. (2015), Unstable two-phase flow rate in micro-channels and cracks under imposed pressure difference
where β is a parameter controlling the thickness of the inter-
face. The variable ϕi corresponds to the angle between the
color gradient F and the lattice velocity ci . A special relation
for β exists for which it is possible to easily control the spuri-
ous currents and the physical width of the interface with lattice
refinement (Leclaire et al., 2015b).
2.5. Boundary conditions for static contact angles
The boundary conditions at a fluid-solid interface is treated
according to the exact methodology proposed by Leclaire et al.
(2015a). The main idea is to impose the desired value of the
contact angle at the boundary as a Dirichlet boundary condition
and to propagate this information within the flow field. With
this method, a prediction of the gradients F and ∇ρ = ∇ρr +∇ρb
is made near the solid boundary, then a correction is applied in
order to take into account the desired contact angle. For all
lattice sites, either surrounded by fluid sites or near the solid
sites, the numerical evaluation of the predicted gradients used a
fourth-order isotropic discretization (Leclaire et al., 2013).
3. Model description
The incompressible flow of a two-phase viscous fluid through
a single horizontal rectangular micro-channel (with high length-
to-height ratio) comprising a convergent-divergent duct is nu-
merically simulated. The considered fluid is composed of two
immiscible phases: a principal fluid and a fluid bridge which is
initiated at the channel entrance. According to the nomencla-
ture introduced in previous section, they are denoted as “red”
(r) and “blue” (b) respectively.
3.1. Geometry and boundary conditions
Consider the parallel plates channel, L in length and H in
height, depicted in Fig. 1. It comprises a symmetric convergent-
divergent duct, which is l < L in length and D < H in maximum
constriction (i.e., minimum height of the vertical cross-section).
Accordingly, the slope of the top wall with respect to the hor-
izontal direction is α = arctan [2 (H − D) /l] within the con-
vergent duct, and −α in the divergent duct. The channel walls
are considered as smooth (i.e., H is assumed large enough to
neglect the influence of solid walls roughness ε).
A single circular bubble of blue fluid, R = H/2 in radius,
is initialized at a distance d  L from the inlet section. When
blue fluid touches the solid wall, it is compressed and a bridge
forms. Depending on blue fluid wettability (i.e., contact an-
gle θc ), concave-concave or convex-convex tail (rear) and nose
(front) interfaces form. According to the numerical methodol-
ogy presented in section “Boundary conditions for static contact
angles”, θc is considered as a constant equilibrium property of
the fluid-fluid-solid system and no hysteretic effects (Cho et al.,
2012a,b, Eral et al., 2013) are taken into account.
Numerical experiments are performed by imposing a pres-
sure difference ∆P = Pin − Pout between the inlet (x = 0) and
outlet (x = L) sections of the channel. This allows analysis of
the time evolution of the fluid flow rate, and quantification of
4 Accepted for publication in International Journal of Multiphase Flow
flow fluctuations induced by fluid-fluid and fluid-solid interac-
tions occurring during flow.
A no-slip condition is used to state that, at a solid boundary,
the relative fluid velocity with respect to the channel wall is
null. This corresponds to assume that the channel height and
mean molecular fluid paths λα (α = b, r) are such that local
Knudsen numbers Knα = λα /H always remain smaller than
the conventional critical value (Kn = 10−3 ) corresponding to
the transition between no-slip and slip flow regimes (Arkilic
et al., 1997, Morini et al., 2004). As an example of this, for
air at atmospheric conditions the mean free path λ of molecules
is of about 70 nm. So, rarefaction phenomena can be generally
neglected for H larger than 70 µm. However, if the critical value
experimentally suggested by Turner et al. (2004) is considered
(Kn = 10−2 ), one can assume that no-slip flow hypothesis is
approximately valid for H > 7 µm. Furthermore, the higher the
pressure level the lower is this limit channel height.
3.1.1. Computational grid – D2Q9 lattices
With two fluids, the computational domain is discretized
using two spatially uniform and regular D2Q9 lattices. The final
computational mesh is composed of two 42×400 lattices so that
the total number of degrees of freedom is 604 800 = 2×9×42×
400. Preliminary analyses have shown that such a mesh is dense
enough to allow for a proper characterization of flow evolution.
In other words, further reductions in lattice size do not change
the conclusion of our analysis.
It is, however, worth observing that a proper definition of
mesh convergence in transient regime is extremely complex,
and is not treated in this context. Concerning the steady-state
regime, convergence and accuracy of the adopted numerical
method in modeling the static contact angle are discussed by
Leclaire et al. (2015a).
3.2. Representative dimensionless variables
The mean fluid velocity ū is evaluated as the average ve-
locity of the color-blind fluid inside the whole channel and is
monitored in real-time during computations. It depends on fluid
properties, channel geometry, boundary conditions and time t∗
according to the unknown functional relationship:
F (ρb , ū, ρr , νb , νr , R, H, D, L, l, σ, θc , ∆P, t∗ ) = 0 (21)
where, according to the simplifications aforementioned, param-
eters ε, λb and λr were neglected.
Finding such a relationship (21) may, however, reveal quite
computationally expensive and strongly dependent on the nu-
merical values assigned to input (physical/geometrical) param-
eters. For this reason, a dimensionless equivalent formulation is
used in this work. This allows simplification and parametriza-
tion of the problem, thus recovering characteristic properties of
the system.
For the problem under consideration, nondimensionaliza-
tion performed following a Ipsen’s step-by-step technique (Ipsen,
1960, White, 1999) leads to considering the following set of di-
mensionless independent variables:
ρb νb R D L l
!
G Re, , , , , , , La, Be, θc , t = 0 (22)
ρr νr H H H H
 Rastiello et al. (2015), Unstable two-phase flow rate in micro-channels and cracks under imposed pressure difference
!

Figure 1: Geometry of the channel and definition of the main physical properties of the fluids.

where t = t∗ νr /L2 is dimensionless time, Re is the Reynolds

number (i.e., the ratio between inertial and viscous forces):
ūH
Re = , (23)
νr
La is the Laplace number (i.e., the ratio of surface tension to
momentum-transport inside the fluid):
σl
La = , (24)
ρ2r νr2
and Be denotes the Bejan number (Bhattacharjee and Grosshan-
dler, 1988) (i.e., the dimensionless pressure difference along the
whole length of the channel):
∆PL2
Be = . (25)
ρr νr2
It is worth observing that this latter number can be seen as a
combination of the Euler (Eu) and Reynolds numbers according
to the relationship Be = Eu · Re .2
Among the dimensionless variables introduced in (22), six
parameters (ρb /ρr , νb /νr , R/H, L/H, d/H and l/H) are held
constant. The remaining variables (La, Be, θc and D/H) vary
parametrically according to the numerical values defined in Tab. 1. ing capillary pressures induce flow accelerations/decelerations
Although for a comprehensive parametric study a larger set
of variable parameters should be considered, this choice allows
significant simplification of the problem:
 D
Re(t) = G̃ La, Be, θc , . (26)
H
This ensures, at the same time, capturing some interesting as-
pects of the variable fluid-fluid and fluid-solid interactions oc-
curring during flow.
It should be noted that the relatively near unitary values as-
signed to νb /νr and ρb /ρr correspond to a computing time con-
straint. It stems directly from the numerical difficulties asso-
ciated to the use of large viscosity and density ratios between
phases in the framework of standard multiphase LB formula-
tions. Under these conditions, large density gradients appear in
the interfacial region between two phases. This may leads to
strong numerical instabilities, the reduction of which requires
very refined computational grids and small time steps. In this
research, parametric analyses were performed in order to cap-
ture some interesting phenomena associated with interactions
between solid and fluid phases. Higher density and viscosity
ratios may thus lead to CPU times which are incompatible with
the need to perform a large numerical campaign.
Table 1: Numerical values assigned to dimensionless parameters.
ρb /ρr 1/2
νb /νr 1
R/H 1/2
L/H 10
l/H 2
d/H 2
D/H 0.5 ~ 1
La 0.05 ~ 0.2
Be (6 ~ 22) ×103
θc 60o ~ 120o
4. Results and discussion
Multiphase flow is numerically characterized for different
channel geometrical configurations, fluid physical properties,
and pressure difference levels. Before discussing the details of
particular properties of the flow evolutions, it is worth noting
that strong flow rate fluctuations are observed when blue fluid
passes through the convergent-divergent duct. In this phase, due
to the applied pressure drop and viscous interactions with the
solid walls, blue fluid menisci’s curvatures evolve. The result-
(i.e., the Reynolds number increases/decreases). Furthermore,
under particular geometrical and kinematic conditions, the flow
rate can decrease down to zero even if a nonzero pressure differ-
ence is imposed between the channel extremities (i.e., the blue
fluid acts as a cork).
4.1. Flow evolution
Wetting and non-wetting blue fluids exhibit different inter-
face curvatures, leading to strong differences in pressure jumps
(i.e. capillary pressures) acting across blue fluid-to-red fluid in-
terfaces. The quantification of these interactions is, however,
extremely complex, as the blue bridge deformation is strongly
influenced by the coupled effect of the contact angle, the ori-
entation of the solid walls, and the applied pressure difference.
This latter aspect is important, as flow can induce a strong asym-
metrical deformation between nose (front) and tail (rear) fluid-
fluid interfaces, even in absence of geometrical irregularities.
Due to the strong expected differences between wetting (θc <
90o ) and non-wetting (θc > 90o ) blue fluids, the two wettability
conditions are treated separately. This allows better definition
of the main flow features and captures the principal fluid-fluid
and fluid-solid coupling sources.
5 Accepted for publication in International Journal of Multiphase Flow
 Rastiello et al. (2015), Unstable two-phase flow rate in micro-channels and cracks under imposed pressure difference
4.1.1. Wetting fluid (θc < 90o )
The time evolution of the Reynolds number for a represen-
tative multiphase computation, performed assuming a wetting
blue fluid (θc = 60o ), is depicted in Fig.2a. Time evolutions of
nose and tail interface curvatures kα (α = n, t) are represented in
Fig. 2b. In order to better understand fluid dynamics and con-
finement effects, fluid interface movements are also analyzed.
According to the Laplace law, this information is directly re-
lated to the capillary pressure drop ∆Pnt = Pn − Pt sustained
across the blue fluid bridge:
∆Pnt = −σ (kn + kt ) . (27)
Curvatures of the intefaces are computed according to the
following procedure: (1) at each time step, the contour value of
the color field (ρr − ρb )/(ρr + ρb ) = 0 is first extracted; (2) its
intersections with the three horizontal lines y1 = H/2 − ∆x/2,
y2 = H/2 + ∆x/2 and y3 = H/2 + 3∆x/2 are computed. This
gives the coordinates of six points, of which three are near the
tail and three are near the nose interfaces; 3) for each of these
two sets of points, the equations of the circles passing through
those dots are found; 4) the curvatures of the nose and the tail
interfaces are finally obtained as the inverse of the computed
radii. Such a simple approach properly works if interfaces are
not too deformed, which is the case for the results depicted in
Figs. 2a and b.
Numerical results show that flow rate fluctuations strictly
depends on the blue fluid bridge interface positions within the
convergent-divergent duct. In particular, for the considered blue
fluid bridge dimensions, both interfaces evolve significantly dur-
ing the intermediate phase of the flow. The Reynolds number
evolves schematically according to the following main phases:
Phase 1 Before the blue fluid reaches the convergent duct, the
mass flow rate remains constant and equal to its initial
value (Re = Rein ). The presence of the convergent-divergent
(i.e., singular/localized source of pressure loss) induces
a reduction in flow rate with respect to the correspond-
ing parallel-plate channel flow. In this phase, a positive
capillary pressure drop ∆Pnt results from the asymmetric
menisci’s curvatures: nose curvature induces an enhance-
ment in flow intensity, while the tail curvature has the
opposite effect. The resulting effect is opposite to that of
the external pressure drop (i.e., it tends to decelerate the
flow).
Phase 2 When the nose (front) interface is within the entrance
of the geometric constriction, flow intensity increases non-
linearly until reaching its maximum value (Re = Remax ).
The change in menisci’s curvatures is such that ∆Pnt co-
operates with the effect of ∆P, enhancing its effect and
inducing an increase in mass flow rate. A coupling with
the decrease in pressure, due to fluid acceleration within
the converging section, is noticeable and is partly respon-
sible for the observed non-linear Re(t) evolution.
Phase 3 Once the front interface passes through the diverg-
ing zone, nose curvature decreases and tail curvature in-
creases (as it is still within the convergent duct). The
6 Accepted for publication in International Journal of Multiphase Flow
resulting capillary pressure drop ∆Pnt has an unfavorable
effect with respect to the externally applied pressure dif-
ference ∆P. Flow rate starts then to decrease, eventually
recovering the initial condition (Re = Rein ). This con-
dition is attained when the blue fluid bridge is centered
within the constriction. In this phase, a small asymmetry
between interface curvatures induced by the flow is still
present.
Phase 4 The curvature of the front meniscus continues to in-
crease, while the tail meniscus curvature increases more
(in absolute value), so the capillary pressure drop con-
tinues to reduce the local pressure gradient. The result-
ing flow rate continues to decrease down to its minimum
value (Re = Remin ). This flow condition is attained when
the whole blue fluid is within the beginning of the diverg-
ing duct.
Phase 5 Once the blue fluid is within the diverging zone, a de-
crease in the tail meniscus curvature (in absolute value)
occurs due to progressive decrease in channel cross sec-
tion (it is still within the convergent duct). The curva-
ture of the front interface decreases in parallel, eventually
reaching its asymptotic value. This condition is attained
when the nose interface exits from the divergent section
(i.e., it is within the parallel-plates zone). An increase
in Reynolds number Re, up to recovery of its initial Rein
value, corresponds to this phase.
Phase 6 When the blue fluid is again within the parallel-plates
zone, the initial Reynolds value is recovered Re = Reend =
Rein .
4.1.2. Non-wetting fluid (θc > 90o )
The time evolution of Reynolds number (Re, t) and curva-
ture (kα , t) pertaining to a representative simulation performed
considering a non-wetting fluid (θc = 120o ) are depicted in Fig.
3. Due to the inversion in the menisci’s curvatures, the non-
wetting fluid response is quite different from those previously
described. As expected, strong differences occur in the interme-
diate phases of the test (i.e., when the blue fluid passes through
the convergent-divergent duct).
In this case, the main phases of flow evolution can be sum-
marized schematically as follows:
Phase 1 Before the blue fluid reaches the convergent duct, the
response is quite similar to that observed for a wetting
fluid (i.e., Re = Remin ).
Phase 2 When the nose interface of the blue fluid enters within
the entrance of the geometrical restriction, the mass flow
rate increases. In this phase, the total capillary pressure
drop ∆Pnt results from the competition of two effects: (1)
an abrupt change (decrease) in effective contact angle due
to a change in orientation of the solid walls inducing a fa-
vorable effect on the flow; (2) a reduction in channel cross
section which, in the presence of a non-wetting fluid, has
an unfavorable effect on fluid-invading capability (i.e., it
 Rastiello et al. (2015), Unstable two-phase flow rate in micro-channels and cracks under imposed pressure difference
Phase 1
a)
Meniscus curvature – |k|
3
tail (rear)
nose (front)
2
0
0 5 10 15
b)
Figure 2: Representative (Re, t) evolutions for a two-phase flow considering a wetting fluid (a), and absolute values of the associated dimensionless menisci’s
curvatures (La = 0.12, Be = 14000, D/H = 0.5, θc = 60o ).
tends to slow down the flow). During this phase, the first
effect is dominant. It results in a favorable pressure drop
∆Pnt leading to a modest increase in Re up to a local max-
imum.
Phase 3 Once this condition is attained, the influence of chan-
nel restriction becomes dominant. The reduction in cross
section induces the menisci’s curvatures to change so that
∆Pnt now works against the flow. Then the flow inten-
sity tends to decrease, eventually attaining the condition
Re = Remin . Despite what is observed for the wetting
fluid, this condition is now attained when the whole blue
fluid is within the converging duct.
Phase 4 An abrupt increase in Re, up to recovery of the value
corresponding to the initial flow condition, follows this
regime. Again, this condition corresponds to the centered
blue fluid bridge within the constriction.
Phase 5 The subsequent regime, with Re above the average
value illustrates the cooperating effect of ∆Pnt and the
applied original pressure difference. Blue fluid is pushed
out from the divergent section and the maximum Re =
Remax condition is then attained.
Phase 6 Finally, Re decreases down to recover the initial flow
intensity Re = Reend = Rein .
Phase 2
Phase 4
Phase 6
Phase 5
Phase 3
Wetting fluid
20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80
Time – t
Phase 7 When the entire blue fluid bridge is within the parallel
plates channel, flow rate remains constant Re = Reend =
Rein .
Numerical analysis considering non-wetting blue fluids al-
lows to point out (Phases 2 and 3) the effect of a so-called “ge-
ometric contact angle”. This results from combined effects of
the contact angle θc and geometrical restriction angle α in in-
ducing a change in front meniscus curvature. The latter, under
some conditions, can become convex instead of concave. Mass
flow rate is thus influenced by the change in orientation of the
solid wall through the geometric contact angle, but also by the
change in cross section. In the case of a non-wetting blue fluid,
when the nose interface is within the convergent zone these two
phenomena have opposite effects: the increase in contact angle
would lead to an increase in fluid-invading capability, while a
reduction in section has an opposite effects.
One can note that, for wetting fluids, both effects are still
present but they cooperates, so their identification is more com-
plex.
Finally, it is worth observing that smoother Re(t) evolutions
can be expected if larger fluid bridges are considered; in par-
ticular if their widths are larger than the total length (l) of the
convergent-divergent duct. Under these conditions, nose and
tail menisci cannot simultaneously transit across the convergent-
divergent channel. This, in turn, could reduce the strong non-
7 Accepted for publication in International Journal of Multiphase Flow
 Rastiello et al. (2015), Unstable two-phase flow rate in micro-channels and cracks under imposed pressure difference

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 4
Phase 3

Phase 5

Phase 6

Phase 7
a)
Meniscus curvature – |k|

3
tail (rear)
nose (front) Non-wetting fluid
2

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80
b) Time – t

Figure 3: Representative flow evolution for a multiphase flow considering a non-wetting fluid. Time evolutions of (a) the Reynolds number Re, (b) the nose and tail
dimensionless menisci’s curvatures (La = 0.12, Be = 14000, D/H = 0.5, θc = 120o ).

linearities stemming from the simultaneous evolution of their
curvatures.
4.2. Characteristic flow variables
Multiphase flow under the conditions considered is a strongly
transient phenomenon. Therefore it cannot be completely and
properly characterized by a unique Reynolds value (e.g., the
mean Re value); rather, multiple Re measures are needed in
order to define initial and final flow conditions, as well as the
magnitude of the flow’s time fluctuations. For this purpose, four
characteristic variables are adopted in the following sections:
the maximum flow intensity Remax , its minimum value Remin
and its initial Rein and final Reend values.
4.3. Effect of controlling parameters on the flow
The representative flow properties (Remax , Remin , Rein , and
Reend ) depend on pressure difference ∆P, contact angle θc , sur-
face tension σ, and the orientation α of the solid walls (convergent- tence of a critical value of the Laplace number (Lacr ) such that
divergent). According to (26), these dependencies can be alter-
natively expressed in terms of dimensionless variables; there-
fore their role can be analyzed through the La number, Be num-
ber, θc , and D/H ratio respectively:
 D
Reβ = G̃ La, Be, θc , β = max, min, end, in (28)
H
In the following these dependencies are analyzed for the
case of no interface breakup and blue fluid bridge separation.
As depicted in Fig. 4, these phenomena may however occur (for
high Be and/or small La values) and can be represented through
the adopted numerical method. Although very interesting they
are not studied further in the this work.
4.3.1. Influence of surface tension
As evidenced in the previous section, flow rate evolution
is strongly influenced by capillary pressure drops ∆Pnt due to
the menisci’s curvatures. According to the Laplace law (27),
∆Pnt depends linearly on the surface tension σ, and thus on
the Laplace La number. Figure 5 represents the effect of La
on Rein , Remax , Remin and Reend for two representative series of
computations, alternatively considering the blue fluid as wet-
ting (θc = 60o ) and non-wetting (θc = 120o ).
In both cases, numerical results put in evidence the exis-
for La ≥ Lacr the flow becomes impossible (i.e., Remax > Rein >
Re min = Reend = 0). In other terms, if the surface tension is
large enough, mass flow rate can decrease down to zero even
under a nonzero applied pressure difference. Under this con-
dition, the blue fluid acts as a cork and the system reaches a
possible no-flow state.
Once this critical state is identified, numerical results put
8 Accepted for publication in International Journal of Multiphase Flow
 Rastiello et al. (2015), Unstable two-phase flow rate in micro-channels and cracks under imposed pressure difference

1.2 Wetting fluid

Reynolds number – Re
0.8
Time - t

0.6

0.4
Remax
Remin
0.2 Rein
Lacr
Reend
0
0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.2
a) Laplace number – La

Figure 4: Example of interface breakup (La = 0.1, Be = 100000, D/H = 0.5, 0.6 Non-wetting fluid
θc = 60o ).

Reynolds number – Re 0.5

in evidence that for small Laplace values (La < Lacr ) the ini-
tial and final flow rates are equal (Rein = Reend ) and quasi-
independent of La. The maximum flow intensity Remax in-
creases linearly against La, while the opposite tendency is ob-
served for Remin . This clearly illustrates the key role of σ in am-
plifying capillary pressure drops, enhancing or reducing flow
intensity. In this phase (i.e. the absence of the cork effect) Remax
and Remin evolutions are, however, quite asymmetric with re-
spect to the reference Rein level. In particular, |Remax −Rein |/|Remin −
Rein | < 1 for wetting blue fluids, while an opposite response is
obtained for non-wetting ones. This feature directly stems from
asymmetric menisci’s curvature induced by the flow itself.
This evidence can be easily explained in light of previously
discussed Re(t) evolutions. In particular, if a wetting fluid is
considered, flow induces an increase in curvature for the tail
interface and an opposite effect on the nose interface. The as-
sociated capillary pressure drop ∆Pnt works against ∆P, and in-
creases as asymmetry in curvatures increases (i.e., Be increases,
as mentioned in the next section). Therefore, in the convergent
duct, flow contributions to ∆Pnt are opposite to those associated
with section constriction, while they cooperates when the blue
fluid is within the diverging duct. Opposite considerations can
be introduced for non-wetting fluids.
For Laplace values larger than the critical level (La > Lacr ),
the capillary pressure drop induced by menisci’s curvatures is
such that the effect of the imposed pressure difference ∆P is
entirely compensated. Therefore, no flow is possible and the
blue fluid bridge acts as a cork. In this phase, strong differences
between wetting and non-wetting fluids can be observed:
• for wetting fluids, the maximum-flow condition always
precedes the formation of the cork, so Remax continues to
increase linearly with La. Maximum flow rate is indeed
attained when the blue fluid is within the convergent sec-
tion, while the condition Re = 0 (i.e., the cork appearance
condition) is always attained in the diverging duct;
0.4
0.3
0.2
Remax
Remin
0.1 Rein
Lacr
Reend
0
0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.2
b) Laplace number – La
Figure 5: Influence of the Laplace number La on Re considering (a) a wetting
blue fluid (Be = 10000, D/H = 0.5, θc = 60o ), (b) a non-wetting fluid (Be =
6000, D/H = 0.5, θc = 120o ).
• for non-wetting fluids, an abrupt reduction in Remax cor-
responds to the condition La = Lacr . Then Remax newly
starts to increase linearly, but with a reduced slope. For
such fluids the cork always forms within the convergent
zone of the duct; therefore the observed Remax corre-
sponds to the local maximum in Re, attained when the
front interface enters the convergent section (i.e., second
phase of the test).
Representative flow evolutions Re(t) depicted in Fig. 6 al-
low these considerations to be made more explicit for both wet-
ting (Fig. 6a) and non-wetting fluids (Fig. 6b). For each kind
of fluid, two Laplace values satisfying the condition La1 <
Lacr < La2 are considered. Numerical results clearly illustrate
the role of the surface tension in amplifying flow fluctuations
(acceleration-deceleration and vice versa). If La is high enough,
this deceleration effect is such that the flow reaches a rest state
where the liquid bridge (blue fluid) stops the flow.

9 Accepted for publication in International Journal of Multiphase Flow

 Rastiello et al. (2015), Unstable two-phase flow rate in micro-channels and cracks under imposed pressure difference

1
La > Lacr æ cork 1.6 Be < Becr æ cork
La < Lacr æ no cork Be > Becr æ no cork
0.8 1.4

Reynolds number – Re
Reynolds number – Re

1.2
0.6 1

0.8
0.4
0.6

0.4
0.2
0.2 Wetting fluid
Wetting fluid
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
a) Time – t a) Time · Bejan number – t · Be ◊106
0.6
Be1 > Becr
Non-wetting fluid 1.4
Be2 > Be1 > Becr
0.5
Reynolds number – Re 1.2
Reynolds number – Re

0.4 1

0.8
0.3
0.6
0.2
0.4

0.1 0.2
La > Lacr æ cork
Non-wetting fluid
La < Lacr æ no cork
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
b) Time – t b) Time · Bejan number – t · Be ◊106

Figure 6: Influence of the La number of the observed (Re, t) responses for two Figure 7: Representative flow rate Re versus time t evolution for two Be values,
representative simulations with La1 < Lacr < La2 for a) a wetting fluid (Be = considering a) a wetting fluid (Be1 = 10000, Be2 = 22000, La = 0.14, θc =
6000, La1 = 0.12, La2 = 0.18, θc = 60o , D/H = 0.5) and b) a non-wetting fluid 60o , D/H = 0.5) and b) a non-wetting fluid (Be1 = 10000, Be2 = 22000,
(Be = 6000, La1 = 0.12, La2 = 0.18, θc = 120o , D/H = 0.5) La = 0.14, θc = 120o , D/H = 0.5).

4.3.2. Influence of the imposed pressure difference
To overcome a possible “cork effect” (i.e., to increase Lacr ),
the applied pressure difference ∆P (i.e., Be number) has to be
increased. Figure 7 represents the representative flow rate evo-
lutions for two Be numbers. For sake of comparison, Re evo-
lutions are represented using a rescaled dimensionless time t˜ =
t · Be. This accounts for the increase in fluid velocity when the
Be increases (the travelling time needed to the liquid bridge for
passing from the inlet to the outlet sections reduces).
Once time is rescaled, numerical results clearly indicate
that higher Be values correspond to higher mean flow levels
(Remean ≈ Rein = Reend , in the absence of the cork effect) while
the influence of Be on flow fluctuations is less pronounced. In
other words, a change in Be only induces a vertical translation
of the Re(t˜) profile. When Re(t˜) touches the horizontal axis (i.e.
Remin = 0) the zero-flow condition is attained.
Therefore, for a given set of dimensionless (La, θc , D/H)
parameters, there exists a critical Bejan number (Becr ) such that
10
if Be ≤ Becr a “cork condition” is attained. The effect of Be for
non-wettable blue fluids is globally similar to the wettable case.
The main difference is, in this case, that the Remin condition is
attained in when the blue fluid bridge is within the convergent
duct instead of the divergent duct.
All these considerations are summarized in Fig. 8, where
Remax , Remin , Rein , and Reend are represented versus the Bejan
number. A wettable blue fluid is considered in this case, but
similar results have been obtained for all the simulated condi-
tions (also for non-wetting blue fluids). For Be ≤ Becr , Remax
and Rein increase linearly with Be while Remin = Reend = 0.
Once the critical condition is attained, further increases in Be
induce linear increases in Remin and Reend = Rein . In this phase,
all curves are quasi-parallel. However a clear asymmetry in
flow fluctuations can be seen; furthermore this asymmetry tends
to increase with Be.
Accepted for publication in International Journal of Multiphase Flow
 Rastiello et al. (2015), Unstable two-phase flow rate in micro-channels and cracks under imposed pressure difference
1.6 Remax
Remin
1.4 Rein
Reynolds number – Re
Reend
1.2
1 0.3
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2 Becr
0 0
0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
Bejan number – Be
Figure 8: Influence of the Bejan number Be on Remax , Remin , Rein and Reend
(La = 0.14, θc = 60o , D/H = 0.5).
4.3.3. Influence of the constriction ratio
An alternative way to avoid reaching a critical “cork con-
dition” is to reduce the maximum channel restriction (i.e., in-
crease the D/H ratio). A reduction in D/H induces a decrease
in the mean flow rate owning to a progressive increase of the lo-
calized pressure loss occurring within the convergent-divergent
duct. Representative time evolution of the Reynolds number
(Re, t) obtained considering a non-wettable blue fluid and three
values of D/H are depicted in Fig. 9. As expected, a decrease
in D/H not only induces a reduction in initial and final flow
rate levels, but also leads to a strong increase in the amplitude
of the flow rate fluctuations. For the channel with D/H = 0.5
(maximum constriction), these fluctuations are large enough to
induce the flow to stop (i.e., the cork conditions is achieved).
The results obtained considering D/H = 0.75 are partly
affected by some numerical oscillations (owning to a poor de-
scription of the convergent duct for small α values). Indeed, for
D/H = 0.75, the slope of the convergent-divergent duct is very
small and is approximated by the regular stairway bounce back
approach concerning the momentum of the color-blind fluid.
However, to accurately model contact angle (Leclaire et al.,
2015a), the real position of the wall and its normal vector are
taken into account. This leads to a gap of up to one lattice site
between the boundary modeling, causing this kind of oscilla-
tions (this problematic is a lot less present with D/H = 1 or
D/H = 0.5). A possible solution in order to reduce this effect
would be to increase mesh refinement. However, as the mag-
nitude of the oscillations is sufficiently small, one can judge
that a cork would not be form even in absence of these parasite
effects. Furthermore, although these oscillations, flow evolves
according to the main phases as defined in section “Flow evo-
lution”.
These results show the role of the so-called “geometrical
contact angle” in influencing flow rate fluctuations. For a non-
wetting blue fluid, the higher the solid walls’ inclination α, the
higher are: 1) the initial fluid acceleration due to an instanta-
0.5
0.4
Reynolds number – Re
0.2
Non-wetting fluid
D/H = 1
0.1
D/H = 0.75
D/H = 0.5
2 2.2 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
◊10 4 Time – t
Figure 9: Representative flow rate Re versus time t evolution for three D/H
ratios considering a non-wetting fluid (Be = 6000, La = 0.14, θc = 120o ).
neous change in contact angle, when the nose meniscus enters
within the convergent duct (Phase 2); 2) the subsequent fluid
deceleration (Phase 3) associated with the menisci’s deforma-
tions induced by the reduction in the cross section to flow.
5. Concluding remarks
Multiphase flow in a rectangular channel comprising a ge-
ometrical constriction (convergent-divergent) is simulated nu-
merically. The two-phase fluid comprises a principal fluid (red),
and a secondary fluid bridge (blue) which is initiated at the
channel entrance. Flow is induced by imposing a pressure dif-
ference between the extremities of the channel. An LBM nu-
merical technique is used to simulate multiphase flow with ex-
act treatment of the triple line and contact angle. This allows
parametric analysis of the time fluctuations of the mass flow
rate (i.e. of the Reynolds number), and to understand the role
of complex solid-solid and fluid-fluid couplings on the global
flow properties: mean flow rate and its time fluctuations. For
this purpose a simplified dimensionless formulation is adopted.
Four parameters are considered as variables: the Laplace num-
ber (i.e., surface tension), the Bejan number (i.e., the imposed
pressure difference), the contact angle and the channel restric-
tion ratio D/H.
The numerical results clearly show that flow rate fluctua-
tions result from the coupled effect of surface tension, contact
angle, imposed pressure difference and channel geometry. Sep-
arate analysis of these interactions is however quite complex, as
they are simultaneous and induce concurrent/opposite effects.
In particular, a so-called “geometric contact angle” effect
results from a coupling between fluids wettability (i.e., con-
tact angle) and walls orientation. Furthermore, the reduction in
cross section strongly influences the curvatures of the meniscii
which, under some conditions, could become convex instead
of concave. This coupling is clear for non-wetting blue fluids.
Under this condition, when the nose interface enters within the
11 Accepted for publication in International Journal of Multiphase Flow
 Rastiello et al. (2015), Unstable two-phase flow rate in micro-channels and cracks under imposed pressure difference
convergent duct an instantaneous change in “geometric contact
angle” induces a flow acceleration, while the reduction in cross
section has the opposite effect. Therefore, the mass flow rate
first increases and then decreases. For wetting blue fluids, both
effects are still present but they cooperate. Their identification
is therefore more complex.
Numerical results put in evidence that, under some condi-
tions, flow fluctuations are such that the flow stops and the blue
fluid bridge acts as a cork: the capillary pressures induced by
the menisci’s curvatures entirely compensate the imposed pres-
sure difference. This condition can, therefore, be expressed in
terms of critical dimensionless numbers (i.e., Laplace number,
Bejan number, D/H, and θc ).
Further research efforts are needed in order treat the prob-
lem in a more complex way, considering larger viscosity and
density ratios between phases (i.e., gas-liquid multiphase flows)
and treating more complex boundary conditions (e.g., slip flow,
hysteretic contact angles). Furthermore, a larger number of
parametrically variable dimensionless parameters (e.g. the rela-
tive dimension of the blue fluid bridge with respect to the chan-
nel height) would be considered. This, in turn, could allow ex-
plicit expression of the “cork condition” in terms of the repre-
sentative dimensionless variables.
Finally, the extension to more complex and three-dimensional
(3D) channel geometries (e.g., cracks in geomaterials) could
represent a further important development. In particular, 3D
simulations should allow to reveal more complex phenomena
occurring during flow. This however require the numerical pro-
cedure for accurately modeling contact angle for off-grid bound-
ary to be extended to 3D case. These developments are actually
in progress.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge Georges Nahas, Re-
search Engineer at IRSN (French National Institute for Radio-
protection and Nuclear Safety) and Associate Professor at ENS
Cachan, for useful discussions.
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