Generating Topological Chaos in Lid-Driven Cavity Flow

Periodic motion of three stirrers in a two-dimensional flow can lead to chaotic transport of the surrounding fluid. For certain stirrer motions, the generation of chaos is guaranteed solely by the topology of that motion and continuity of the fluid. Work in this area has focused largely on using physical rods as stirrers, but the theory also applies when the "stirrers" are passive fluid particles. We demonstrate the occurrence of topological chaos for Stokes flow in a two-dimensional lid-driven cavity without internal rods. This approach to stirring can enhance mixing relative to a "standard" chaos-generating lid-driven cavity flow. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.