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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 April 2006
The role of diffusion and transient velocities in the dispersal of passive scalars by chaotic advection produced in a low Reynolds number periodic journal-bearing flow is studied numerically and experimentally. The transient velocity field, which occurs whenever the cylinders switch motion, is obtained by solving the Navier–Stokes equations numerically in the eccentric annulus. It is observed, numerically, that the transient effects, along with diffusion, significantly enhance the separation of chaotically advected particles even when the Reynolds number is very low. Corresponding experimental observations are found to be in good qualitative agreement with the numerical results obtained by including the effect of transient velocities, which are seen to add to the overall separation of particles.