A dual-beam dual-camera method for a battery-powered underwater miniature PIV (UWMPIV) system

A battery-powered in situ Underwater Miniature PIV (UWMPIV) has been developed and deployed for field studies. Instead of generating high-energy laser pulses as in a conventional PIV system, the UWMPIV employs a low-power Continuous Wave (CW) laser (class IIIb) and an oscillating mirror (galvanometer) to generate laser sheets. In a previous version of the UWMPIV, the time between exposures of a pair of particle images, $\Updelta t$ , could not be reduced without loss of illumination strength. This limitation makes it unsuitable for high-speed flows. In this paper, we present a technique to solve this problem by adopting two CW lasers with different wavelength and two CCD cameras in a second-generation UWMPIV system. Several issues including optical alignment, non-uniform distribution of $\Updelta t$ due to the varying speed of the scanning beam and local flow velocities are discussed. The timing issue is solved through a simple calibration procedure that involves the reconstruction of maps of laser beam arrival time. Comparison of the performance between the new method and a conventional PIV system is presented. Measurements were performed in a laboratory open-channel flume. Excellent agreement was found between the new method and the standard PIV measurement in terms of the extracted vertical profiles of mean velocity, RMS fluctuation, Reynolds stress and dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy.     

Volumetric intake flow measurements of an IC engine using magnetic resonance velocimetry

Magnetic resonance velocimetry (MRV) measurements are performed in a 1:1 scale model of a single-cylinder optical engine to investigate the volumetric flow within the intake and cylinder geometry during flow induction. The model is a steady flow water analogue of the optical IC-engine with a fixed valve lift of $9.21$  mm to simulate the induction flow at crank-angle $270^{\circ }$ bTDC. This setup resembles a steady flow engine test bench configuration. MRV measurements are validated with phase-averaged particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements performed within the symmetry plane of the optical engine. Differences in experimental operating parameters between MRV and PIV measurements are well addressed. Comparison of MRV and PIV measurements is demonstrated using normalized mean velocity component profiles and showed excellent agreement in the upper portion of the cylinder chamber (i.e., $y \ge -20$  mm). MRV measurements are further used to analyze the ensemble average volumetric flow within the 3D engine domain. Measurements are used to describe the 3D overflow and underflow behavior as the annular flow enters the cylinder chamber. Flow features such as the annular jet-like flows extending into the cylinder, their influence on large-scale in-cylinder flow motion, as well as flow recirculation zones are identified in 3D space. Inlet flow velocities are analyzed around the entire valve curtain perimeter to quantify percent mass flow rate entering the cylinder. Recirculation zones associated with the underflow are shown to reduce local mass flow rates up to 50 %. Recirculation zones are further analyzed in 3D space within the intake manifold and cylinder chamber. It is suggested that such recirculation zones can have large implications on cylinder charge filling and variations of the in-cylinder flow pattern. MRV is revealed to be an important diagnostic tool used to understand the volumetric induction flow within engine geometries and is potentially suited to evaluate flow changes due to intake geometry modifications.     

An experimental study on turbulence modification in the near-wall boundary layer of a dilute gas-particle channel flow

Turbulence modifications of a dilute gas-particle flow are experimentally investigated in the lower boundary layer of a horizontal channel by means of a simultaneous two-phase PIV measurement technique. The measurements are conducted in the near-wall region with y ⁺?<?250 at Re _τ (based on the wall friction velocity u _τ and half channel height h)?=?430. High spatial resolution and small interrogation window are used to minimize the PIV measurement uncertainty due to the velocity gradient near the wall. Polythene beads with the diameter of 60?μm (d _p ⁺ ?=?1.71, normalized by the fluid kinematic viscosity ν and u _τ) are used as dispersed phase, and three low mass loading ratios (Φ _m ) ranging from 10^?4 to 10^?3 are tested. It is found that the addition of the particles noticeably modifies the mean velocity and turbulent intensities of the gas-phase, as well as the turbulence coherent structures, even at Φ _m ?=?0.025?%. Particle inertia changes the viscous sublayer of the gas turbulence with a smaller thickness and a larger streamwise velocity gradient, which increases the peak value of the streamwise fluctuation velocity ( $ u_{\text{rms}}^{ + } $ ) of the gas-phase with its location shifting to the wall. Particle sedimentation increases the roughness of the bottom wall, which significantly increases the wall-normal fluctuation velocity ( $ v_{\text{rms}}^{ + } $ ) and Reynolds shear stress ( $ - \langle u^{ \prime } v^{\prime } \rangle^{ + } $ ) of the gas-phase in the inner region of the boundary layer (y ⁺?<?10). Under effect of particle–wall collision, the Q2 events (ejections) of the gas-phase are slightly increased by particles, while the Q4 events (sweeps) are obviously decreased. The spatial scale of the coherent structures near the wall shrinks remarkably with the presence of the particles, which may be attributed to the intensified crossing-trajectory effects due to particle saltation near the bottom wall. Meanwhile, the $ v_{\text{rms}}^{ + } $ and $ - \langle u^{ \prime } v^{\prime } \rangle^{ + } $ of the gas-phase are significantly reduced in the outer region of the boundary layer (y ⁺?>?20).     

Thin Shear Layer Structures in High Reynolds Number Turbulence

Three-dimensional tomographic time dependent PIV measurements of high Reynolds number (Re) laboratory turbulence are presented which show the existence of long-lived, highly sheared thin layer eddy structures with thickness of the order of the Taylor microscale and internal fluctuations. Highly sheared layer structures are also observed in direct numerical simulations of homogeneous turbulence at higher values of Re (Ishihara et al., Annu Rev Fluid Mech 41:165–180, 2009). But in the latter simulation, where the fluctuations are more intense, the layer thickness is greater. A rapid distortion model describes the structure and spectra for the velocity fluctuations outside and within ‘significant’ layers; their spectra are similar to the Kolmogorov (C R Acad Sci URSS 30:299–303, 1941) and Obukhov (Dokl Akad Nauk SSSR 32:22–24, 1941) statistical model (KO) for the whole flow. As larger-scale eddy motions are blocked by the shear layers, they distort smaller-scale eddies leading to local zones of down-scale and up-scale transfer of energy. Thence the energy spectrum for high wave number k is $E_X (k)\sim Bk^{-2p}$ . The exponent p depends on the forms of the large eddies. The non-linear interactions between the distorted inhomogeneous eddies produce a steady local structure, which implies that 2p?=?5/3 and a flux of energy into the thin-layers balancing the intense dissipation, which is much greater than the mean $\left<\epsilon\right>$ . Thence $B\sim\left<\epsilon\right>^{2/3}$ as in KO. Within the thin layers the inward flux energises extended vortices whose thickness and spacing are comparable with the viscous microscale. Although peak values of vorticity and velocity of these vortices greatly exceed those based on the KO scaling, the form of the viscous range spectrum is consistent with their model.     

PIV measurements of an air jet impinging on an open rotor-stator system

The current work experimentally investigates the flow characteristics of an air jet impinging on an open rotor-stator system with a low non-dimensional spacing, G?=?0.02, and with a very low aspect ratio, e/D?=?0.25. The rotational Reynolds numbers varied from $0.33\times10^5$ to $5.32\times10^5$ , while the jet Reynolds numbers ranged from 17.2?×?10³ to 43?×?10³. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements were taken along the entire disk diameter in three axial planes. From the obtained PIV velocity fields, the flow statistics were computed. A recirculation flow region, which was centered at the impingement point and possessed high turbulence intensities, was observed. Local peaks in root-mean-square fluctuating velocity distributions appeared in the recirculation region and near the periphery, respectively. Proper orthogonal decomposition analysis was applied to the cases of the jet impinging on the rotor with and without rotation to reveal the coherent structures in the jet region.     

An Updated Portrait of Transition to Turbulence in Laminar Pipe Flows with Periodic Time Dependence (A Correlation Study)

Transition to turbulence in axially symmetrical laminar pipe flows with periodic time dependence classified as pure oscillating and pulsatile (pulsating) ones is the concern of the paper. The current state of art on the transitional characteristics of pulsatile and oscillating pipe flows is introduced with a particular attention to the utilized terminology and methodology. Transition from laminar to turbulent regime is usually described by the presence of the disturbed flow with small amplitude perturbations followed by the growth of turbulent bursts. The visual treatment of velocity waveforms is therefore a preferred inspection method. The observation of turbulent bursts first in the decelerating phase and covering the whole cycle of oscillation are used to define the critical states of the start and end of transition, respectively. A correlation study referring to the available experimental data of the literature particularly at the start of transition are presented in terms of the governing periodic flow parameters. In this respect critical oscillating and time averaged Reynolds numbers at the start of transition; Re _os,crit and Re _ta,crit are expressed as a major function of Womersley number, $\sqrt {\omega ^\prime } $ defined as dimensionless frequency of oscillation, f. The correlation study indicates that in oscillating flows, an increase in Re _os,crit with increasing magnitudes of $\sqrt {\omega ^\prime } $ is observed in the covered range of $1<\sqrt {\omega ^\prime } <72$ . The proposed equation (Eq. 7), ${\rm{Re}}_{os,crit} ={\rm{Re}}_{os,crit} \left( {\sqrt {\omega ^\prime } } \right)$ , can be utilized to estimate the critical magnitude of $\sqrt {\omega ^\prime }$ at the start of transition with an accuracy of ±12?% in the range of $\sqrt {\omega ^\prime } <41$ . However in pulsatile flows, the influence of $\sqrt {\omega ^\prime }$ on Re _ta,crit seems to be different in the ranges of $\sqrt {\omega ^\prime } <8$ and $\sqrt {\omega ^\prime } >8$ . Furthermore there is rather insufficient experimental data in pulsatile flows considering interactive influences of $\sqrt {\omega ^\prime } $ and velocity amplitude ratio, A ₁. For the purpose, the measurements conducted at the start of transition of a laminar sinusoidal pulsatile pipe flow test case covering the range of 0.21<?A ₁?<0.95 with $\sqrt {\omega ^\prime } <8$ are evaluated. In conformity with the literature, the start of transition corresponds to the observation of first turbulent bursts in the decelerating phase of oscillation. The measured data indicate that increase in $\sqrt {\omega ^\prime } $ is associated with an increase in Re _ta,crit up to $\sqrt {\omega ^\prime } =3.85$ while a decrease in Re _ta,crit is observed with an increase in $\sqrt {\omega ^\prime } $ for $\sqrt {{\omega }'} >3.85$ . Eventually updated portrait is pointing out the need for further measurements on i) the end of transition both in oscillating and pulsatile flows with the ranges of $\sqrt {\omega ^\prime } <8$ and $\sqrt {\omega ^\prime } >8$ , and ii) the interactive influences of $\sqrt {\omega ^\prime } $ and A ₁ on Re _ta,crit in pulsatile flows with the range of $\sqrt {\omega ^\prime } >8$ .     

Microfluidic extensional rheometry using a hyperbolic contraction geometry

Microfluidic devices are ideally suited for the study of complex fluids undergoing large deformation rates in the absence of inertial complications. In particular, a microfluidic contraction geometry can be utilized to characterize the material response of complex fluids in an extensionally-dominated flow, but the mixed nature of the flow kinematics makes quantitative measurements of material functions such as the true extensional viscosity challenging. In this paper, we introduce the ‘extensional viscometer-rheometer-on-a-chip’ (EVROC), which is a hyperbolically-shaped contraction-expansion geometry fabricated using microfluidic technology for characterizing the importance of viscoelastic effects in an extensionally-dominated flow at large extension rates ( $\lambda \dot \varepsilon _a \gg 1$ , where $\lambda $ is the characteristic relaxation time, or for many industrial processes $\dot \varepsilon _a \gg 1$ s $^{-1}$ ). We combine measurements of the flow kinematics, the mechanical pressure drop across the contraction and spatially-resolved flow-induced birefringence to study a number of model rheological fluids, as well as several representative liquid consumer products, in order to assess the utility of EVROC as an extensional viscosity indexer.     

Generalized Flows Satisfying Spatial Boundary Conditions

In a region D in ${\mathbb{R}^2}$ or ${\mathbb{R}^3}$ , the classical Euler equation for the regular motion of an inviscid and incompressible fluid of constant density is given by $$\partial_t v+(v\cdot \nabla_x)v=-\nabla_x p, {\rm div}_x v=0,$$ where v(t, x) is the velocity of the particle located at ${x\in D}$ at time t and ${p(t,x)\in\mathbb{R}}$ is the pressure. Solutions v and p to the Euler equation can be obtained by solving $$\left\{\begin{array}{l} \nabla_x\left\{\partial_t\phi(t,x,a) + p(t,x)+(1/2)|\nabla_x\phi(t,x,a)|^2 \right\}=0\,{\rm at}\,a=\kappa(t,x),\\ v(t,x)=\nabla_x \phi(t,x,a)\,{\rm at}\,a=\kappa(t,x), \\ \partial_t\kappa(t,x)+(v\cdot\nabla_x)\kappa(t,x)=0, \\ {\rm div}_x v(t,x)=0, \end{array}\right. \quad\quad\quad\quad\quad(0.1)$$ where $$\phi:\mathbb{R}\times D\times \mathbb{R}^l\rightarrow\mathbb{R}\,{\rm and}\, \kappa:\mathbb{R}\times D \rightarrow \mathbb{R}^l$$ are additional unknown mappings (l?≥ 1 is prescribed). The third equation in the system says that ${\kappa\in\mathbb{R}^l}$ is convected by the flow and the second one that ${\phi}$ can be interpreted as some kind of velocity potential. However vorticity is not precluded thanks to the dependence on a. With the additional condition κ(0, x)?=?x on D (and thus l?=?2 or 3), this formulation was developed by Brenier (Commun Pure Appl Math 52:411–452, 1999) in his Eulerian–Lagrangian variational approach to the Euler equation. He considered generalized flows that do not cross ${\partial D}$ and that carry each “particle” at time t?=?0 at a prescribed location at time t?=?T?>?0, that is, κ(T, x) is prescribed in D for all ${x\in D}$ . We are concerned with flows that are periodic in time and with prescribed flux through each point of the boundary ${\partial D}$ of the bounded region D (a two- or three-dimensional straight pipe). More precisely, the boundary condition is on the flux through ${\partial D}$ of particles labelled by each value of κ at each point of ${\partial D}$ . One of the main novelties is the introduction of a prescribed “generalized” Bernoulli’s function ${H:\mathbb{R}^l\rightarrow \mathbb{R}}$ , namely, we add to (0.1) the requirement that $$\partial_t\phi(t,x,a) +p(t,x)+(1/2)|\nabla_x\phi(t,x,a)|^2=H(a)\,{\rm at}\,a=\kappa(t,x)\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad(0.2)$$ with ${\phi,p,\kappa}$ periodic in time of prescribed period T?>?0. Equations (0.1) and (0.2) have a geometrical interpretation that is related to the notions of “Lamb’s surfaces” and “isotropic manifolds” in symplectic geometry. They may lead to flows with vorticity. An important advantage of Brenier’s formulation and its present adaptation consists in the fact that, under natural hypotheses, a solution in some weak sense always exists (if the boundary conditions are not contradictory). It is found by considering the functional $$(\kappa,v)\rightarrow \int\limits_{0}^T \int\limits_D\left\{\frac 1 2 |v(t,x)|^2+H(\kappa(t,x))\right\}dt\, dx$$ defined for κ and v that are T-periodic in t, such that $$\partial_t\kappa(t,x)+(v\cdot\nabla_x)\kappa(t,x)=0, {\rm div}_x v(t,x)=0,$$ and such that they satisfy the boundary conditions. The domain of this functional is enlarged to some set of vector measures and then a minimizer can be obtained. For stationary planar flows, the approach is compared with the following standard minimization method: to minimize $$\int\limits_{]0,L[\times]0,1[} \{(1/2)|\nabla \psi|^2+H(\psi)\}dx\,{\rm for}\,\psi\in W^{1,2}(]0,L[\times]0,1[)$$ under appropriate boundary conditions, where ψ is the stream function. For a minimizer, corresponding functions ${\phi}$ and κ are given in terms of the stream function ψ.     

Mixed Convection Boundary-Layer Flow Over a Vertical Surface Embedded in a Porous Material Subject to a Convective Boundary Condition

The mixed convection boundary-layer flow on one face of a semi-infinite vertical surface embedded in a fluid-saturated porous medium is considered when the other face is taken to be in contact with a hot or cooled fluid maintaining that surface at a constant temperature $T_\mathrm{{f}}$ . The governing system of partial differential equations is transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations through an appropriate similarity transformation. These equations are solved numerically in terms of a dimensionless mixed convection parameter $\epsilon $ and a surface heat transfer parameter $\gamma $ . The results indicate that dual solutions exist for opposing flow, $\epsilon <0$ , with the dependence of the critical values $\epsilon _\mathrm{{c}}$ on $\gamma $ being determined, whereas for the assisting flow $\epsilon >0$ , the solution is unique. Limiting asymptotic forms for both $\gamma $ small and large and $\epsilon $ large are also discussed.     

First-principles study of full a-dislocations in pure magnesium

Full a-dislocations on the (0001) basal plane, \((10\bar 10)\) prismatic plane, and \((10\bar 11)\) and \((10\bar 12)\) pyramidal planes in pure magnesium are investigated by using the Peierls-Nabarro model combined with generalized stacking fault (GSF) energies from first-principles calculations. The results show that the \(\left( {10\bar 11} \right)\left\langle {11\bar 20} \right\rangle\) and \(\left( {10\bar 12} \right)\left\langle {11\bar 20} \right\rangle\) slip modes have nearly the same GSF energy barriers, which are obviously larger than the GSF energy barriers of the \(\left( {0001} \right)\left\langle {11\bar 20} \right\rangle\) and \(\left( {10\bar 10} \right)\left\langle {11\bar 20} \right\rangle\) slip modes. For both edge and screw full dislocations, the maximum dislocation densities, Peierls energies, and stresses of dislocations on the \((10\bar 10)\) , (0001), \((10\bar 11)\) , and \((10\bar 12)\) planes eventually increase. Moreover, the Peierls energies and the stresses of screw full dislocations are always lower than those of edge full dislocations for all slip systems. Dislocations on the \((10\bar 11)\) and \((10\bar 12)\) pyramidal planes possess smaller core energies, while the \((10\bar 10)\) prismatic plane has the largest ones, implying that the formation of full dislocations on the \((10\bar 10)\) plane is more difficult.     

Vertical Motions of Heavy Inertial Particles Smaller than the Smallest Scale of the Turbulence in Strongly Stratified Turbulence

We study the statistics of the vertical motion of inertial particles in strongly stratified turbulence. We use Kinematic Simulation (KS) and Rapid Distortion Theory (RDT) to study the mean position and the root mean square (rms) of the position fluctuation in the vertical direction. We vary the strength of the stratification and the particle inertial characteristic time. The stratification is modelled using the Boussinesq equation and solved in the limit of RDT. The validity of the approximations used here requires that $ \sqrt{{L}/{g}} < {2\pi}/{\mathcal{N}} < \tau_{\eta} $ , where τ _η is the Kolmogorov time scale, g the gravitational acceleration, L the turbulence integral length scale and $\mathcal{N}$ the Brunt–Väisälä frequency. We introduce a drift Froude number $Fr_{d} = \tau_p g / \mathcal{N} L$ . When Fr _d ?<?1, the rms of the inertial particle displacement fluctuation is the same as for fluid elements, i.e. $\langle(\zeta_3 - \langle \zeta_3 \rangle)^2\rangle^{1/2} = 1.22\, u'/\mathcal{N} + \mbox{oscillations}$ . However, when Fr _d ?>?1, $\langle(\zeta_3 - \langle \zeta_3 \rangle)^2\rangle^{1/2} = 267 \, u' \tau_p$ . That is the level of the fluctuation is controlled by the particle inertia τ _p and not by the buoyancy frequency $\mathcal{N}$ . In other words it seems possible for inertial particles to retain the vertical capping while loosing the memory of the Brunt–Väisälä frequency.     

Elucidating the Role of Interfacial Tension for Hydrological Properties of Two-Phase Flow in Natural Sandstone by an Improved Lattice Boltzmann Method

We investigated the interfacial tension (IFT) effect on fluid flow characteristics inside micro-scale, porous media by a highly efficient multi-phase lattice Boltzmann method using a graphics processing unit. IFT is one of the most important parameters for carbon capture and storage and enhanced oil recovery. Rock pores of Berea sandstone were reconstructed from micro-CT scanned images, and multi-phase flows were simulated for the digital rock model at extremely high resolution (3.2  \(\upmu \) m). Under different IFT conditions, numerical analyses were carried out first to investigate the variation in relative permeability, and then to clarify evolution of the saturation distribution of injected fluid. We confirmed that the relative permeability decreases with increasing IFT due to growing capillary trapping intensity. It was also observed that with certain pressure gradient \(\Delta P\) two crucial IFT values, \(\sigma _{1}\) and \(\sigma _{2}\) , exist, creating three zones in which the displacement process has totally different characteristics. When \(\sigma _{1}< \sigma < \sigma _{2}\) , the capillary fingering patterns are observed, while for \(\sigma < \sigma _{1}\) viscous fingering is dominant and most of the passable pore spaces were invaded. When \(\sigma > \sigma _{2}\) the invading fluid failed to break through. The pore-throat-size distribution estimated from these crucial IFT values ( \(\sigma _{1 }\) and \(\sigma _{2})\) agrees with that derived from mercury porosimetry measurements of Berea sandstone. This study demonstrates that the proposed numerical method is an efficient tool for investigating hydrological properties from pore structures.     

Tensor Products, Positive Linear Operators, and Delay-Differential Equations

We develop the theory of compound functional differential equations, which are tensor and exterior products of linear functional differential equations. Of particular interest is the equation $$\begin{aligned} \dot{x}(t)=-\alpha (t)x(t)-\beta (t)x(t-1) \end{aligned}$$ with a single delay, where the delay coefficient is of one sign, say $\delta \beta (t)\ge 0$ with $\delta \in \{-1,1\}$ . Positivity properties are studied, with the result that if $(-1)^k=\delta $ then the $k$ -fold exterior product of the above system generates a linear process which is positive with respect to a certain cone in the phase space. Additionally, if the coefficients $\alpha (t)$ and $\beta (t)$ are periodic of the same period, and $\beta (t)$ satisfies a uniform sign condition, then there is an infinite set of Floquet multipliers which are complete with respect to an associated lap number. Finally, the concept of $u_0$ -positivity of the exterior product is investigated when $\beta (t)$ satisfies a uniform sign condition.     

Expansivity and Cone-fields in Metric Spaces

Due to the results of Lewowicz and Tolosa expansivity can be characterized with the aid of Lyapunov function. In this paper we study a similar problem for uniform expansivity and show that it can be described using generalized cone-fields on metric spaces. We say that a function \(f:X\rightarrow X\) is uniformly expansive on a set \(\varLambda \subset X\) if there exist \(\varepsilon >0\) and \(\alpha \in (0,1)\) such that for any two orbits \(\hbox {x}:\{-N,\ldots ,N\} \rightarrow \varLambda \) , \(\hbox {v}:\{-N,\ldots ,N\} \rightarrow X\) of \(f\) we have $$\begin{aligned} \sup _{-N\le n\le N}d(\hbox {x}_n,\hbox {v}_n) \le \varepsilon \implies d(\hbox {x}_0,\hbox {v}_0) \le \alpha \sup _{-N\le n\le N}d(\hbox {x}_n,\hbox {v}_n). \end{aligned}$$ It occurs that a function is uniformly expansive iff there exists a generalized cone-field on \(X\) such that \(f\) is cone-hyperbolic.     

Generalized Resolvent Estimates of the Stokes Equations with First Order Boundary Condition in a General Domain

In this paper, we prove unique existence of solutions to the generalized resolvent problem of the Stokes operator with first order boundary condition in a general domain ${\Omega}$ of the N-dimensional Eulidean space ${\mathbb{R}^N, N \geq 2}$ . This type of problem arises in the mathematical study of the flow of a viscous incompressible one-phase fluid with free surface. Moreover, we prove uniform estimates of solutions with respect to resolvent parameter ${\lambda}$ varying in a sector ${\Sigma_{\sigma, \lambda_0} = \{\lambda \in \mathbb{C} \mid |\arg \lambda| < \pi-\sigma, \enskip |\lambda| \geq \lambda_0\}}$ , where ${0 < \sigma < \pi/2}$ and ${\lambda_0 \geq 1}$ . The essential assumption of this paper is the existence of a unique solution to a suitable weak Dirichlet problem, namely it is assumed the unique existence of solution ${p \in \hat{W}^1_{q, \Gamma}(\Omega)}$ to the variational problem: ${(\nabla p, \nabla \varphi) = (f, \nabla \varphi)}$ for any ${\varphi \in \hat W^1_{q', \Gamma}(\Omega)}$ . Here, ${1 < q < \infty, q' = q/(q-1), \hat W^1_{q, \Gamma}(\Omega)}$ is the closure of ${W^1_{q, \Gamma}(\Omega) = \{ p \in W^1_q(\Omega) \mid p|_\Gamma = 0\}}$ by the semi-norm ${\|\nabla \cdot \|_{L_q(\Omega)}}$ , and ${\Gamma}$ is the boundary of ${\Omega}$ . In fact, we show that the unique solvability of such a Dirichlet problem is necessary for the unique existence of a solution to the resolvent problem with uniform estimate with respect to resolvent parameter varying in ${(\lambda_0, \infty)}$ . Our assumption is satisfied for any ${q \in (1, \infty)}$ by the following domains: whole space, half space, layer, bounded domains, exterior domains, perturbed half space, perturbed layer, but for a general domain, we do not know any result about the unique existence of solutions to the weak Dirichlet problem except for q =  2.     

Liouville Type Property and Spreading Speeds of KPP Equations in Periodic Media with Localized Spatial Inhomogeneity

The current paper is devoted to the study of semilinear dispersal evolution equations of the form $$\begin{aligned} u_t(t,x)=(\mathcal {A}u)(t,x)+u(t,x)f(t,x,u(t,x)),\quad x\in \mathcal {H}, \end{aligned}$$ where $\mathcal {H}=\mathbb {R}^N$ or $\mathbb {Z}^N,\; \mathcal {A}$ is a random dispersal operator or nonlocal dispersal operator in the case $\mathcal {H}=\mathbb {R}^N$ and is a discrete dispersal operator in the case $\mathcal {H}=\mathbb {Z}^N$ , and $f$ is periodic in $t$ , asymptotically periodic in $x$ (i.e. $f(t,x,u)-f_0(t,x,u)$ converges to $0$ as $\Vert x\Vert \rightarrow \infty $ for some time and space periodic function $f_0(t,x,u)$ ), and is of KPP type in $u$ . It is proved that Liouville type property for such equations holds, that is, time periodic strictly positive solutions are unique. It is also proved that if $u\equiv 0$ is a linearly unstable solution to the time and space periodic limit equation of such an equation, then it has a unique stable time periodic strictly positive solution and has a spatial spreading speed in every direction.     

Experimental exploration of underexpanded supersonic jets

Two underexpanded free jets at fully expanded Mach numbers $M_\mathrm{j}$ = 1.15 and 1.50 are studied. Schlieren visualizations as well as measurements of static pressure, Pitot pressure and velocity are performed. All these experimental techniques are associated to obtain an accurate picture of the jet flow development. In particular, expansion, compression and neutral zones have been identified in each shock cell. Particle lag is considered by integrating the equation of motion for particles in a fluid flow and it is found that the laser Doppler velocimetry is suitable for investigating shock-containing jets. Even downstream of the normal shock arising in the $M_\mathrm{j}$ = 1.50 jet, the measured gradual velocity decrease is shown to be relevant.     

Dynamical Parallelepipeds in Minimal Systems

For a topological dynamical system $(X,T)$ ( X , T ) and $d\in \mathbb N $ d ∈ N , the associated dynamical parallelepiped $\mathbf{Q}^{[d]}$ Q [ d ] was defined by Host–Kra–Maass. For a minimal distal system it was shown by them that the relation $\sim _{d-1}$ ～ d ? 1 defined on $\mathbf{Q}^{[d-1]}$ Q [ d ? 1 ] is an equivalence relation; the closing parallelepiped property holds, and for each $x\in X$ x ∈ X the collection of points in $\mathbf{Q}^{[d]}$ Q [ d ] with first coordinate $x$ x is a minimal subset under the face transformations. We give examples showing that the results do not extend to general minimal systems.     

Semianalytical Solution for \text{ CO}_{2} Plume Shape and Pressure Evolution During \text{ CO}_{2} Injection in Deep Saline Formations

The injection of supercritical carbon dioxide ( $\text{ CO}_{2})$ in deep saline aquifers leads to the formation of a $\text{ CO}_{2}$ rich phase plume that tends to float over the resident brine. As pressure builds up, $\text{ CO}_{2}$ density will increase because of its high compressibility. Current analytical solutions do not account for $\text{ CO}_{2}$ compressibility and consider a volumetric injection rate that is uniformly distributed along the whole thickness of the aquifer, which is unrealistic. Furthermore, the slope of the $\text{ CO}_{2}$ pressure with respect to the logarithm of distance obtained from these solutions differs from that of numerical solutions. We develop a semianalytical solution for the $\text{ CO}_{2}$ plume geometry and fluid pressure evolution, accounting for $\text{ CO}_{2}$ compressibility and buoyancy effects in the injection well, so $\text{ CO}_{2}$ is not uniformly injected along the aquifer thickness. We formulate the problem in terms of a $\text{ CO}_{2}$ potential that facilitates solution in horizontal layers, with which we discretize the aquifer. Capillary pressure is considered at the interface between the $\text{ CO}_{2}$ rich phase and the aqueous phase. When a prescribed $\text{ CO}_{2}$ mass flow rate is injected, $\text{ CO}_{2}$ advances initially through the top portion of the aquifer. As $\text{ CO}_{2}$ is being injected, the $\text{ CO}_{2}$ plume advances not only laterally, but also vertically downwards. However, the $\text{ CO}_{2}$ plume does not necessarily occupy the whole thickness of the aquifer. We found that even in the cases in which the $\text{ CO}_{2}$ plume reaches the bottom of the aquifer, most of the injected $\text{ CO}_{2}$ enters the aquifer through the layers at the top. Both $\text{ CO}_{2}$ plume position and fluid pressure compare well with numerical simulations. This solution permits quick evaluations of the $\text{ CO}_{2}$ plume position and fluid pressure distribution when injecting supercritical $\text{ CO}_{2}$ in a deep saline aquifer.