Time-averaged flow characteristics and mixing properties of double-concentric jets

We examined the flow behaviors and mixing characteristics of double-concentric jets using laser-assisted smoke flow visualization method to analyze typical flow patterns and binary boundary detection technique to investigate jet spread width. Time-averaged velocity vectors, streamline patterns, velocity distributions, turbulence properties, and vorticity contours were analyzed using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). Topological flow patterns were analyzed to interpret the vortical flow structures. Mixing properties were investigated using a tracer-gas concentration detection method. Four characteristic modes were observed: annular flow dominated mode, transition mode, central jet dominated mode-low shear, and central jet dominated mode-high shear. The jets’ mixing properties were enhanced by two major phenomena: the merging of annular flow and central jet at the centerline and the large turbulence fluctuations produced in the flow field. The merging of the jets induced stagnation points on the central axis in the annular flow dominated mode, which caused reverse flow on the central axis and drastic turbulence fluctuations of the near field region. When the central jet penetrated the recirculation region in the other three modes, the stagnation points on the central axis and the reverse flow vanished. Therefore, the mixing behaviors were prominently enhanced in the annular flow dominated mode.     

More efficient time integration for Fourier pseudospectral DNS of incompressible turbulence

Time integration of Fourier pseudospectral DNS is usually performed using the classical fourth-order accurate Runge-Kutta method or other second- or third-order methods, with a fixed step size. We investigate the use of higher-order Runge-Kutta pairs and automatic step size control based on local error estimation. We find that the fifth-order accurate Runge-Kutta pair of Bogacki and Shampine gives much greater accuracy at a significantly reduced computational cost. Specifically, we demonstrate speedups of 2× to 10× for the same accuracy. Numerical tests (including the Taylor-Green vortex, Rayleigh-Taylor instability, and homogeneous isotropic turbulence) confirm the reliability and efficiency of the method. We also show that adaptive time stepping provides a significant computational advantage for some problems (like the development of a Rayleigh-Taylor instability) without compromising accuracy.     

Downstream evolution of junction flow three-component velocity fluctuations through the lens of the diagnostic plot

Experimental measurements of the streamwise and transverse velocity components have been acquired in three spanwise/wall-normal planes in the wakes of both a streamlined ‘wing’ and a bluff ‘wing’ junction. The ‘extended’ diagnostic plot introduced by Alfredsson et al. (2011) (see figure 3 therein) is used as a benchmark to locally evaluate the departure of turbulent wing-body junction flow wakes from ‘equilibrium’ boundary layers. Both obstacles produce a secondary flow of Prandtl’s first kind, which disrupts the equilibrium implied by the universality of the extended diagnostic plot. The plane wake of the obstacle itself (away from the junction) also disrupts this equilibrium. It is found that with downstream development the boundary layer eventually recovers to the base zero-pressure-gradient ‘equilibrium’, and that this recovery process emanates from the near-wall region. The transverse velocity components are also examined in “extended diagnostic” form, revealing that the wall-normal fluctuations recover to the zero-pressure-gradient case near the wall more rapidly than the wall-parallel components.     

Experimental study of the cavitation noise and vibration induced by the choked flow in a Venturi reactor

In this paper, the cavitation performance and corresponding pressure pulsation, noise and vibration induced by the choked cavitating flow in a Venturi reactor are investigated experimentally under different cavitation conditions by using high-speed camera and high frequency sensors. Based on the instantaneous continuous cavitation images, the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD), a tool to analyze the large-scale cavitation flow structure, is applied to investigate the choked cavitating flow dynamics. The POD results show that two mechanisms, re-entrant jet flow mechanism and shock wave mechanism, govern the shedding and collapse of cavitation cloud at different pressure ratios. These mechanisms contribute to the variation of pressure pulsation, noise and vibration at different pressure ratios. The pressure pulsation spectrum behaves differently in various cavitation regions induced by the choked cavitating flow. Due to the existence of low pressure in re-entrant region, the influence of high frequency fluctuation on pressure pulsation caused by re-entrant flow is small. Moreover, with the increase of pressure ratio, the induced noise and vibration intensity decreases gradually, then increases and reaches a maximum value. Finally, it drops to a low and stable level. Despite different inlet pressures, the intensity of cavitation noise and vibration reaches the maximum value at the same pressure ratio. Specifically, the FFT analysis of noise and vibration signals indicates that low frequency component prevails at small pressure ratio owing to the re-entrant jet mechanism, while high frequency component prevails at large pressure ratio owing to the shock wave mechanism. The relationship between the choked cavitation dynamics and the induced pressure pulsation, noise and vibration in the Venturi reactor is highlighted. The results can provide guidance for the optimal operation condition of the Venturi reactor for cavitation applications such as water treatment.     

Hydrodynamic instability of premixed flame propagating in narrow planar channel in the presence of gas flow

The paper analyses the hydrodynamic instability of a flame propagating in the space between two parallel plates in the presence of gas flow. The linear analysis was performed in the framework of a two-dimensional model that describes the averaged gas flow in the space between the plates and the perturbations development of two-dimensional combustion wave. The model includes the parametric dependences of the flame front propagation velocity on its local curvature and on the combustible gas velocity averaged along the height of the channel. It is assumed that the viscous gas flow changes the surface area of the flame front and thereby affects the propagation velocity of the two-dimensional combustion wave. In the absence of the influence of the channel walls on the gas flow, the model transforms into the Darrieus–Landau model of flame hydrodynamic instability. The dependences of the instability growth rate on the wave vector of disturbances, the velocity of the unperturbed gas flow, the viscous friction coefficients and other parameters of the problem are obtained. It is shown that the viscous gas flow in the channel can lead, in some cases, to a significant increase in instability compared with a flame propagating in free space. In particular, the instability increment depends on the direction of the gas flow with respect direction of the flame propagation. In the case when the gas flow moves in the opposite direction to the direction of the flame propagation, the pulsating instability can appear.     

Cytotoxic dimeric half-sandwich Ru(II), Os(II) and Ir(III) complexes containing the 4,4′-biphenyl-based bridging ligands

A series of dinuclear half-sandwich Ru(II), Os(II) and Ir(III) complexes [Ru₂(μ-Lⁿ)(η⁶-pcym)₂Cl₂](PF₆)₂ ( 1 , 4 ), [Os₂(μ-Lⁿ)(η⁶-pcym)₂Cl₂](PF₆)₂ ( 2 , 5 ) and [Ir₂(μ-Lⁿ)(η⁵-Cp*)₂Cl₂](PF₆)₂ ( 3 , 6 ), based on 4,4′-biphenyl-based bridging Schiff base ligands N,N′-(biphenyl-4,4′-diyldimethylidyne)bis-2-(pyridin-2-yl)methanamine (L¹; for 1 – 3 ) and N,N′-(biphenyl-4,4′-diyldimethylidyne)bis-2-(pyridin-2-yl)ethanamine (L²; for 4 – 6 ) is reported; pcym = 1-methyl-4-(propan-2-yl)benzene, Cp* = pentamethylcyclopentadienyl. The complexes were characterized by relevant analytical techniques (i.e. elemental analysis, FT-IR, NMR, ESI-MS), and their in vitro cytotoxicity was assessed at six cancerous and two non-cancerous (healthy) human cell lines. Overall, complexes 4 – 6 , containing the L² bridging ligand, revealed higher cytotoxicity as compared with 1 – 3 and, thus, they were studied in greater detail. The best-performing complex 6 exceeded at least twice the in vitro cytotoxicity of cisplatin and showed high selectivity towards the cancer cells over the normal ones, including the primary culture of human hepatocytes. In contrast to cisplatin, complexes 4 – 6 did not induce the cell cycle modification of the treated A2780 human ovarian carcinoma cells (studied by flow cytometry and Western blot analysis). High levels of superoxide anion were induced by complexes 4 – 6 at the A2780 cells. The levels of activated forms of Caspase-3 and Caspase-8 at the A2780 cells treated by Ru(II) complex 4 were comparable with cisplatin, while complexes 5 and 6 had only a minor effect on activation of these caspases.     

Enrichment of HDL proteome and phospholipidome from human serum via IMAC/MOAC affinity

High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and are potentially cardio-protective. Defective HDL function is caused by alterations in both the proteome and lipidome of HDL particles. As potential biomarkers, the development of analytical methods is necessary for the enrichment of HDLs. Therefore, a method for selective enrichment of HDLs using immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) and metal oxide affinity chromatography (MOAC) is presented. SPE-based isolation of HDLs from whole serum is adopted as an alternative to traditional ultracentrifugation methods followed by SDS–PAGE. The enrichment mechanism relies on isoelectric points of lipoproteins and metal oxide. Negatively charged lipoprotein particles interact with positively charged metal oxides and IMAC affinity, which acts as a cation. Identified proteins from HDL through MALDI–MS analysis are apo AI, AII, AIV, CI, CIII, E, J, M, H, serum amyloid A and other nonapoproteins that are part of HDL particles and perform cellular functions. This serum-based proteomics approach gives insight into the functional role of HDL. HDL-associated phospholipids have also been analyzed by LDI–MS. Results suggest that the adopted analytical strategy is a feasible idea to extract lipoproteins from serum. A comparative study of healthy and diseased samples using this approach will provide valuable information in future.     

An estimated quantitative lateral flow immunoassay for determination of artesunate using monoclonal antibody

There have been reports of fake artesunate (ART), which has led to deaths from untreated malaria in South East Asia. To rapidly screen for fake and adulterated ART products in the drug market, a lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) based on a colloidal gold–monoclonal antibody probe for detection of ART within samples was developed. With this method, the calibration curve for ART was determined by the intensity ratio of the test and control bands at various ART concentrations. The linearity range was 12.5–200 μg/ml of ART. Samples were tested by the developed LFIA and can be calculated for ART contents. The levels of ART in the samples were also confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The results of the two methods were in good conformance. The proposed LFIA was demonstrated to be a simple and rapid analytical method for detecting ART in the pharmaceutical formulation.     

Flow Technology for the Genesis and Use of (Highly) Reactive Organometallic Reagents

In the field of organic synthesis, the advent of flow chemistry and flow microreactor technology represented a tremendous novelty in the way of thinking and performing chemical reactions, opening the doors to poorly explored or even impossible transformations using batch methods. In this Concept article, we would like to highlight the impact of flow chemistry for exploiting highly reactive organometallic reagents, and how, alongside the well-known advantages concerning safety, scalability, and productivity, flow chemistry makes possible processes that are impossible to control by using the traditional batch approach.