Material stretching in laminar mixing flows: extended mapping technique applied to the journal bearing flow

This paper deals with chaotic mixing in the journal bearing flow. A recently developed mapping technique is used to study the dynamics of this well-known prototype mixing flow. Eigenvalues and eigenmodes of the resulting mapping matrix are used to reveal different zones of mixing. Moreover, an extension of the technique, adding an area tensor to described structure on cell level, is used to determine rate of interfacial area during mixing. The technique is shown to be consistent with the more consuming front tracking model. Copyright (C) 2002 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.