DNS of Turbulent Flows in Ducts with Complex Shape

We carry out Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of flows in closed straight ducts with complex peripheral shape. To perform the simulations the Navier-Stokes equations in cylindrical coordinates are discretized by a second-order finite difference scheme, and the immersed-boundary technique is used to resolve the flow close to walls of complex shape. The basic geometry is a circular pipe of radius R, with imposed sinusoidal perturbations of the type \(\eta R \sin (N_{w}\theta )\). Simulations by varying N _w at fixed η were performed to investigate the effect of the perturbation wavenumber. Additional simulations by fixing N _w and varying η also allow to investigate the influence of the amplitude of the wall corrugations. The modifications of the near-wall structures due to change in the shape of the walls are well depicted through contour plots of the radial component of the vorticity. The presence of geometrical disturbances anchors the structures at the locations where curvature changes, and the shape of the structures is strongly linked to the amplitude of the wall corrugation. Our interest is also in understanding the influence of the shape of the surface on wall friction. We were expecting some changes in the profile of the total stress with respect to that of the circular pipe, which instead were not found. This is a first indication that changes in the near-wall region do not affect the outer region, and that Townsend’s similarity hypothesis holds.     

Anion effect on the conformational equilibrium of sulfamide and its N,N′‐diindolyl derivative: Insights on anion transportation

The relatively high acidity of the sulfamide hydrogens suggests a potential for the development of sulfamide derivatives as novel anion receptors. The interactions of sulfamide with F^?, Cl^?, CH₃COO^?, and H₂PO₄^? anions were spectroscopically (¹H and ¹⁹F NMR) and theoretically (density functional theory) analyzed, and the complexation through hydrogen bonds was confirmed by changes in the NMR signals and theoretical calculations. The replacement of 2 sulfamide hydrogens with indolyl groups yields the N,N′‐diindolylsulfamide ( DIS , N‐1H‐indol‐4‐yl‐N′‐1H‐indol‐7‐ylsulfuric diamide), whose bond rotations allow the interaction of 4 H(N) atoms with anions. The conformational preferences of DIS change upon the presence of anions, but they are practically insensitive to the anion type. According to the quantum theory of atoms in molecules, natural bond orbital analysis, and NMR chemical shifts, as well as to a thermodynamic cycle, the complex with fluoride is the most stable, followed by the oxoanion‐derived models.     

Nanoparticle decoration with surfactants: Molecular interactions,assembly, and applications

Nanostructures of diverse chemical nature are used as biomarkers, therapeutics, catalysts, and structural reinforcements. The decoration with surfactants has a long history and is essential to introduce specific functions. The definition of surfactants in this review is very broad, following its lexical meaning “surface active agents”, and therefore includes traditional alkyl modifiers, biological ligands, polymers, and other surface active molecules. The review systematically covers covalent and non-covalent interactions of such surfactants with various types of nanomaterials, including metals, oxides, layered materials, and polymers as well as their applications. The major themes are (i) molecular recognition and noncovalent assembly mechanisms of surfactants on the nanoparticle and nanocrystal surfaces, (ii) covalent grafting techniques and multi-step surface modification, (iii) dispersion properties and surface reactions, (iv) the use of surfactants to influence crystal growth, as well as (v) the incorporation of biorecognition and other material-targeting functionality. For the diverse materials classes, similarities and differences in surfactant assembly, function, as well as materials performance in specific applications are described in a comparative way. Major factors that lead to differentiation are the surface energy, surface chemistry and pH sensitivity, as well as the degree of surface regularity and defects in the nanoparticle cores and in the surfactant shell. The review covers a broad range of surface modifications and applications in biological recognition and therapeutics, sensors, nanomaterials for catalysis, energy conversion and storage, the dispersion properties of nanoparticles in structural composites and cement, as well as purification systems and classical detergents. Design principles for surfactants to optimize the performance of specific nanostructures are discussed. The review concludes with challenges and opportunities.     

Stability and modal analysis of shock/boundary layer interactions

The dynamics of oblique shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interactions is analyzed by mining a large-eddy simulation (LES) database for various strengths of the incoming shock. The flow dynamics is first analyzed by means of dynamic mode decomposition (DMD), which highlights the simultaneous occurrence of two types of flow modes, namely a low-frequency type associated with breathing motion of the separation bubble, accompanied by flapping motion of the reflected shock, and a high-frequency type associated with the propagation of instability waves past the interaction zone. Global linear stability analysis performed on the mean LES flow fields yields a single unstable zero-frequency mode, plus a variety of marginally stable low-frequency modes whose stability margin decreases with the strength of the interaction. The least stable linear modes are grouped into two classes, one of which bears striking resemblance to the breathing mode recovered from DMD and another class associated with revolving motion within the separation bubble. The results of the modal and linear stability analysis support the notion that low-frequency dynamics is intrinsic to the interaction zone, but some continuous forcing from the upstream boundary layer may be required to keep the system near a limit cycle. This can be modeled as a weakly damped oscillator with forcing, as in the early empirical model by Plotkin (AIAA J 13:1036–1040, 1975).     

A three-dimensional constitutive model for shape memory alloys

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are materials that, among other characteristics, have the ability to present high deformation levels when subjected to mechanical loading, returning to their original form after a temperature change. Literature presents numerous constitutive models that describe the phenomenological features of the thermomechanical behavior of SMAs. The present paper introduces a novel three-dimensional constitutive model that describes the martensitic phase transformations within the scope of standard generalized materials. The model is capable of describing the main features of the thermomechanical behavior of SMAs by considering four macroscopic phases associated with austenitic phase and three variants of martensite. A numerical procedure is proposed to deal with the nonlinearities of the model. Numerical simulations are carried out dealing with uniaxial and multiaxial single-point tests showing the capability of the introduced model to describe the general behavior of SMAs. Specifically, uniaxial tests show pseudoelasticity, shape memory effect, phase transformation due to temperature change and internal subloops due to incomplete phase transformations. Concerning multiaxial tests, the pure shear stress and hydrostatic tests are discussed showing qualitatively coherent results. Moreover, other tensile–shear tests are conducted modeling the general three-dimensional behavior of SMAs. It is shown that the multiaxial results are qualitative coherent with the related data presented in the literature.     

Quantum metrology: dynamics versus entanglement

A parameter whose coupling to a quantum probe of n constituents includes all two-body interactions between the constituents can be measured with an uncertainty that scales as 1/n3/2, even when the constituents are initially unentangled. We devise a protocol that achieves the 1/n3/2 scaling without generating any entanglement among the constituents, and we suggest that the protocol might be implemented in a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate.     

Genus Four Superstring Measures

A main issue in superstring theory are the superstring measures. D’Hoker and Phong showed that for genus two these reduce to measures on the moduli space of curves which are the product of modular forms of weight eight and the bosonic measure. They also suggested a generalisation to higher genus. We showed that their approach works, with a minor modification, in genus three and we announced a positive result also in genus four. Here we give the modular form in genus four explicitly. Recently, S. Grushevsky published this result as part of a more general approach.     

A guide on FIB preparation of samples containing stress corrosion crack tips for TEM and atom-probe analysis

The preparation of samples containing stress corrosion crack tips for 3D atom-probe tomography and transmission electron microscopy is of ultimate importance for understanding the mechanisms controlling crack propagation. In this paper, it will be shown that a focused ion beam machine equipped with an in situ micromanipulator is an ideal tool to systematically prepare such demanding samples. The methodology is described and discussed in detail, and several results are presented to demonstrate the potential of the technique.