Bifurcation of multimode flows of a viscous fluid in a plane diverging channel

The pattern of steady multimode flow of a viscous incompressible fluid in a plane diverging channel is constructed and investigated. It is shown that odd-mode flows have velocity profiles that are symmetrical about the axis of the channel and from one to three different flows with a fixed number of modes exist. The even-mode flows are asymmetric and exist as pairs. The existence of a denumerable set of finite ranges adjoining one another, in which a single-type of complex bifurcation of the flow occurs, is established in the case of an unbounded range of values of the Reynolds number. As the Reynolds number increases, transitions to flows with an increasing number of modes, containing domains of forward and backward flows, occur successively. Flow patterns with a smaller number of modes do not occur. An increase in the number of an range corresponding to an increase in the Reynolds number leads to an unlimited increase in the length of the range and the number of modes of permissible flows. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.