Deriving thin-film averaged equations using computer algebra

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Hazra, Swarnaditya, Picardo, Jason R.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Hazra, Swarnaditya
Picardo, Jason R.
author_facet Hazra, Swarnaditya
Picardo, Jason R.
contents We demonstrate the use of computer algebra for facilitating the derivation of thin film reduced-order models. We focus on the weighted residual integral boundary layer (WRIBL) method, which has proven to be a very effective technique for developing reduced-order models by averaging the Navier-Stokes equations over the thin-gap direction. In particular, we use SymPy (the symbolic computing library in Python) to derive the core-annular WRIBL model of Dietze and Ruyer-Quil (J. Fluid Mech. 762, 60, 2015); the derivation is especially involved due to the inclusion of second-order terms, the presence of two hydrodynamically active phases, the enforcement of interfacial boundary conditions, and the cylindrical geometry. We show, using excerpts of code, how each step of the derivation can be broken down into substeps that are amenable to symbolic computation. To illustrate the application of the derived model, we solve it numerically using scientific computing libraries in Python, and briefly explore the dynamics of the Rayleigh-Plateau instability. The use of open-source computer algebra, in the manner described here, greatly eases the derivation of averaged models, thereby facilitating their use for the study of multiscale flows, as well as for computationally-efficient prediction and optimization.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_05103
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Deriving thin-film averaged equations using computer algebra
Hazra, Swarnaditya
Picardo, Jason R.
Fluid Dynamics
Pattern Formation and Solitons
We demonstrate the use of computer algebra for facilitating the derivation of thin film reduced-order models. We focus on the weighted residual integral boundary layer (WRIBL) method, which has proven to be a very effective technique for developing reduced-order models by averaging the Navier-Stokes equations over the thin-gap direction. In particular, we use SymPy (the symbolic computing library in Python) to derive the core-annular WRIBL model of Dietze and Ruyer-Quil (J. Fluid Mech. 762, 60, 2015); the derivation is especially involved due to the inclusion of second-order terms, the presence of two hydrodynamically active phases, the enforcement of interfacial boundary conditions, and the cylindrical geometry. We show, using excerpts of code, how each step of the derivation can be broken down into substeps that are amenable to symbolic computation. To illustrate the application of the derived model, we solve it numerically using scientific computing libraries in Python, and briefly explore the dynamics of the Rayleigh-Plateau instability. The use of open-source computer algebra, in the manner described here, greatly eases the derivation of averaged models, thereby facilitating their use for the study of multiscale flows, as well as for computationally-efficient prediction and optimization.
title Deriving thin-film averaged equations using computer algebra
topic Fluid Dynamics
Pattern Formation and Solitons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.05103