Moisture Absorption in Capillary Active Materials: Analytical Solution for a Multiple Step Diffusivity Function

This paper deals with the double-constraint methodology for calibration of steady-state groundwater flow models. The methodology is based on updating the hydraulic conductivity of the model domain by comparing the results of two forward groundwater flow models: a model in which known fluxes are specified as boundary conditions and a model in which known heads are specified as boundary conditions. A new zone-integrated double-constraint approach is presented by partitioning the model domain in zones with presumed constant hydraulic conductivity (soft data), and the double-constraint methodology is reformulated accordingly. The feasibility of the method is illustrated by a practical case study involving a numerical steady-state groundwater flow model with about 3 million grid blocks, subdivided into four zones corresponding to the major hydrogeological formations. The results of the zone-integrated double-constraint method for estimating the horizontal and vertical hydraulic conductivities of the zones compare favourably with a classical model calibration based on minimisation of the differences between calculated and measured heads, while the double-constraint method proves to be more robust and computationally less cumbersome.     

Fluid Flow Through Single Fractures With Directional Shear Dislocations

This paper numerically investigates the fluid flow behavior through single fractures with directional shear dislocations. Synthetic fractures are generated with directional shear dislocations, and the lattice Boltzmann method is used to simulate the fracture flow. With an ignorance of tortuosity effect, a notable overestimation of hydraulic conductivity is observed when the simplified local cubic law is used. During the closure process, the decreasing rate of conductivity is found to be highly related to the roughness of fractures. The conductivity of smoother fractures decreases faster than that of rougher fractures. By conducting simulations on fractures with a constant shear displacement, the effective conductivity is found to vary with the shear directions. The results show that the conductivity of rougher fractures is less sensitive to the shear directions than that of smoother fractures. As fracture surfaces come into contact, a sharp decrease in effective conductivity is observed and the decreasing trend flattens as the contact ratio continues to increase. A new model is proposed based on the bottleneck model to predict the conductivity of sheared fractures. By integrating the tortuosity and channeling effects into the original model, the proposed new model shows a better performance in predicting the conductivity, especially for fractures with rougher surfaces.     

Effect of an Inserted Porous Layer Located at a Wall of a Parallel Plate Channel on Forced Convection Heat Transfer

A theoretical study is performed on heat and fluid flow in partially porous medium filled parallel plate channel. A uniform symmetrical heat flux is imposed onto the boundaries of the channel partially filled with porous medium. The dimensional forms of the governing equations are solved numerically for different permeability and effective thermal conductivity ratios. Then, the governing equations are made dimensionless and solved analytically. The results of two approaches are compared and an excellent agreement is observed, indicating correctness of the both solutions. An overall Nusselt number is defined based on overall thermal conductivity and difference between the average temperature of walls and mean temperature to compare heat transfer in different channels with different porous layer thickness, Darcy number, and thermal conductivity ratio. Moreover, individual Nusselt numbers for upper and lower walls are also defined and obtained. The obtained results show that the maximum overall Nusselt number is achieved for thermal conductivity ratio of 1. At specific values of Darcy number and thermal conductivity ratio, individual Nusselt numbers approach to infinity since the value of wall temperatures approaches to mean temperature.     

Numerical Study of Heat Transfer in a Rectangular Channel with Porous Covering Obstacles

A numerical study is performed to analyze steady laminar forced convection in a channel in which discrete heat sources covered with porous material are placed on the bottom wall. Hydrodynamic and heat transfer results are reported. The flow in the porous medium is modeled using the Darcy–Brinkman–Forchheimer model. A computer program based on control volume method with appropriate averaging for diffusion coefficient is developed to solve the coupling between solid, fluid, and porous region. The effects of parameters such as Reynolds number, Prandtl number, inertia coefficient, and thermal conductivity ratio are considered. The results reveal that the porous cover with high thermal conductivity enhances the heat transfer from the solid blocks significantly and decreases the maximum temperature on the heated solid blocks. The mean Nusselt number increases with increase of Reynolds number and Prandtl number, and decrease of inertia coefficient. The pressure drop along the channel increases rapidly with the increase of Reynolds number.     

Numerical simulation of blood flow and interstitial fluid pressure in solid tumor microcirculation based on tumor-induced angiogenesis

A coupled intravascular–transvascular–interstitial fluid flow model is developed to study the distributions of blood flow and interstitial fluid pressure in solid tumor microcirculation based on a tumor-induced microvascular network. This is generated from a 2D nine-point discrete mathematical model of tumor angiogenesis and contains two parent vessels. Blood flow through the microvascular network and interstitial fluid flow in tumor tissues are performed by the extended Poiseuille’s law and Darcy’s law, respectively, transvascular flow is described by Starling’s law; effects of the vascular permeability and the interstitial hydraulic conductivity are also considered. The simulation results predict the heterogeneous blood supply, interstitial hypertension and low convection on the inside of the tumor, which are consistent with physiological observed facts. These results may provide beneficial information for anti-angiogenesis treatment of tumor and further clinical research. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10372026).     

Time‐domain BEM solution of convection–diffusion‐type MHD equations

The two‐dimensional convection–diffusion‐type equations are solved by using the boundary element method (BEM) based on the time‐dependent fundamental solution. The emphasis is given on the solution of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) duct flow problems with arbitrary wall conductivity. The boundary and time integrals in the BEM formulation are computed numerically assuming constant variations of the unknowns on both the boundary elements and the time intervals. Then, the solution is advanced to the steady‐state iteratively. Thus, it is possible to use quite large time increments and stability problems are not encountered. The time‐domain BEM solution procedure is tested on some convection–diffusion problems and the MHD duct flow problem with insulated walls to establish the validity of the approach. The numerical results for these sample problems compare very well to analytical results. Then, the BEM formulation of the MHD duct flow problem with arbitrary wall conductivity is obtained for the first time in such a way that the equations are solved together with the coupled boundary conditions. The use of time‐dependent fundamental solution enables us to obtain numerical solutions for this problem for the Hartmann number values up to 300 and for several values of conductivity parameter. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The classification of orthogonal electromagneto-fluid-dynamic flows

A theoretical analysis based on the equations of electromagneto-fluid-dynamics is undertaken in order to completely classify the flow geometries admitted by these equations. The steady two-dimensional flow of a viscous incompressible fluid of finite electrical conductivity and non-zero electric charge density is considered. The flow equations are formulated in terms of the streamfunction and magnetic flux function as independent variables. The exact analytical solution of the resulting equations is obtained when the magnetic field and the velocity field are everywhere orthogonal to each other. It is shown that the only possible flow is a uniform parallel flow.     

Flow of colloidal suspension and irreversibility analysis with aggregation kinematics of nanoparticles in a microchannel

The current exploration focuses on the ethylene glycol (EG) based nanoliquid flow in a microchannel. The effectiveness of the internal heat source and linear radiation is reflected in the present investigation. The estimation of suitable thermal conductivity model has affirmative impact on the convective heat transfer phenomenon. The examination is conceded with the nanoparticle aggregation demonstrated by the MaxwellBruggeman and Krieger-Dougherty models which tackle the formation of nanolayer. These models effectively describe the thermal conductivity and viscosity correspondingly. The dimensionless mathematical expressions are solved numerically by the Runge Kutta Fehlberg approach. A higher thermal field is attained for the Bruggeman model due to the formation of thermal bridge. A second law analysis is carried out to predict the sources of irreversibility associated with the thermal system. It is remarked that lesser entropy generation is obtained for the aggregation model. The entropy generation rate declines with the slip flow and the thermal heat flux. A notable enhancement in the Bejan number is attained by increasing the Biot number. It is established that the nanoparticle aggragation model exhibits a higher Bejan number in comparision with the usual flow model.     

Experimental Study of the Linear Stability of a Falling Liquid Film in the Presence of a Turbulent Gas Stream

Using the local electrical conductivity method, the parameters of the linear waves generated on the surface of a falling liquid film in the presence of a co- or counter-current gas stream are measured. The Reynolds numbers of the fluid and the gas were varied from 24 to 125 and from 0 to 8000, respectively. The results are presented in the form of dispersion relations. In the case of the absence of a gas stream, the results are compared with calculations based on a linear integral theory. It is shown that a gas stream increases the instability of the film and a counter-current gas flow has a greater effect on the wave phase velocity than a co-current flow.     

Principles of the analytic description of fluid flow in network models of porous media

A method of calculating the conductivity of capillary networks which combines percolation concepts of conductivity in the neighborhood of the flow threshold with the results obtained using the effective medium model is proposed. The conductivity calculated theoretically is compared with experimental data. Water and oil phase permeabilities for combined flow through a capillary network are determined as an example of the use of the relations obtained. Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 79–83, January–February, 2000.