A study of properties of adaptive quadratic grids for three-dimensional near-surface field computations

Curved geometries and the corresponding near-surface fields typically require a large number of linear computational elements. High-order numerical solvers have been primarily used with low-order meshes. There is a need for curved, high-order computational elements. Typical near-surface meshes consist of hexahedral and/or prismatic elements. The present work studies the employment of quadratic meshes that are relatively coarse for field simulations. Directionally quadratic high-order elements are proposed for the near-surface field regions. The quadratic meshes are compared with the conventional low-order ones in terms of accuracy and efficiency. The cases considered include closed surface volume calculations, as well as computation of gradients of several analytic fields. A special method of adaptive local quadratic meshes is proposed and evaluated. Truncation error analysis for quadratic grids yields comparison with the conventional linear hexahedral/prismatic meshes, which are subject to typical distortions such as stretching, skewness, and torsion.     

Boundary Layer Flow over a Curved Surface Imbedded in Porous Medium

This research is made to visualize the boundary layer flow by a curved stretching sheet embedded in porous medium. The geometry is bended(curved), therefore the curvilinear coordinates are used to model the present problem.Fluid is electrically conducting with the presence of uniform magnetic field. The governing non-linear partial differential equation reduces to non-linear ordinary differential equations by using the dimensionless suitable transformations. The numerical solutions are obtained by using the method bvp4c from MATLAB. The effects of curvature parameter, nondimensional magnetic parameter, and porosity parameter on the velocity field and skin friction coefficient are examined.The skin friction profile enhances with enhancing the values of porosity and magnetic parameter. Comparison of the present results with the existing results in the literature for the flat surface is also given.     

Electrochromic Detection of Latent Fingermarks on Metal Surface Using 1,1′-Dibenzyl-4,4′-bipyridinium Dichloride

The electrochromic detection of latent fingermarks on polished or unpolished, flat or curved metal surfaces is described using electrochromic material, 1,1’-dibenzyl-4,4’-bipyridinium dichloride. The surface area covered by fingermarks acts as an insulating mask, causing 1,1’-dibenzyl-4,4’-bipyridinium dichloride to change color and produce inversed images of the fingermark. By changing the applied potential, the optical properties of 1,1’-dibenzyl-4,4’-bipyridinium dichloride can be continuously and reversibly adjusted to optimize the visual contrast of fingermarks, so as to realize the detection of latent fingermarks on stainless steel surface. It is demonstrated that the fabricated electrochromic devices can detect the fingermarks on these types of surfaces within twenty seconds at −1.0∼−2.0 V. This work can qualify as a tangible improvement in fingermark detection of the natural fingermarks on the never-cleaned (more than 3 years) and curved surfaces of daily-used container, e. g. cup, and the handle of cleaning tool, mop.     

Bifurcation of flow and mass transport in a curved blood vessel

A numerical analysis of flow and concentration fields of macromolecules in a, slightly curved blood vessel was carried out. Based on these results, the effect of the bifurcation of a flow on the mass transport in a curved blood vessel was discussed. The macromolecules turned out to be easier to deposit in the inner part of the curved blood vessel near the critical Dean number. Once the Dean number is higher than the critical number, the bifurcation of the flow appears. This bifurcation can prevent macromolecules from concentrating in the inner part of the curved blood vessel. This result is helpful for understanding the possible correlations between the blood dynamics and atherosclerosis. The project supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (10002003), JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Foreign Researcher and Foundation for University Teachers, the Ministry of Education     

Secondary flows and particle centrifugation in slightly tilted rotating pipes

A theoretical analysis is presented of viscous incompressible laminar flow in a pipe which rotates around an axis held at small angle with respect to its symmetry-axis. Analogous to the results of Barua and Benton [1, 2], solutions in closed-form are given for circulatory flows in the cross-sectional plane of the pipe due to Coriolis forces in combination with Hagen-Poiseuille flow through the pipe. The solutions are used to derive analytical expressions for trajectories of solid or liquid particles entrained in the gas and being subject to centrifugation and the said secondary flows. It is shown that despite centrifugation, particles can be locked into circulatory trajectories thus remaining suspended in the gas flowing through the pipe.     

The development of an axisymmetric curved turbulent wall jet

An experimental study has been carried out of the low speed Coanda wall jet with both streamwise and axisymmetric curvature. A single component laser Doppler technique was used, and by taking several orientations at a given point, values of the three mean velocities and five of the six Reynolds stresses were obtained. The lateral divergence and convex streamwise curvature both enhanced the turbulence in the outer part of the jet compared with a plane two-dimensional wall jet. The inner layer exhibited a large separation of the positions of maximum velocity and zero shear stress. It was found that the streamwise mean velocity profile became established very rapidly downstream of the slot exit. The profile appeared fairly similar at later downstream positions, but the mean radial velocity and turbulence parameters showed the expected nonself preservation of the flow. Removal of the streamwise curvature resulted in a general return of the jet conditions toward those expected of a plane wall jet. The range and accuracy of the data may be used for developing turbulence models and computational techniques for this type of flow.     

Spontaneous excitation of a circularly accelerated atom coupled with vacuum Dirac field fluctuations

We study the spontaneous excitation of a circularly accelerated atom coupled with vacuum Dirac field fluctuations by separately calculating the contribution to the excitation rate of vacuum fluctuations and a cross term which involves both vacuum fluctuations and radiation reaction, and demonstrate that although the spontaneous excitation for the atom in its ground state would occur in vacuum, such atoms in circular motion do not perceive a pure thermal radiation as their counterparts in linear acceleration do since the transition rates of the atom do not contain the Planckian factor characterizing a thermal bath. We also find that the contribution of the cross term that plays the same role as that of radiation reaction in the scalar and electromagnetic fields cases differs for atoms in circular motion from those in linear acceleration. This suggests that the conclusion drawn for atoms coupled with the scalar and electromagnetic fields that the contribution of radiation reaction to the mean rate of change of atomic energy does not vary as the trajectory of the atom changes from linear acceleration to circular motion is not a general trait that applies to the Dirac field where the role of radiation reaction is played by the cross term.