Rheometric Flows of Concentrated Suspensions of Solid Particles

Journal of Applied Mechanics and Technical Physics - Publications on experimental and theoretical studies of the rheological properties of concentrated suspensions of solid particles have been...     

Assessment of Uncertainties in Modeling of Laminar to Turbulent Transition for Transonic Flows

The effect of physical variability and uncertainty in model correlations on laminar-turbulent transition in transonic flows is computed using two different Stochastic Collocation methods. Physical variability in the boundary conditions is first investigated for a flow over a flat plate with and without pressure gradient to quantify the uncertainties on the skin friction distribution along the plate surface. Since the laboratory conditions for the flat plate test cases are well defined and the applied transition model has been tuned for these cases, good agreement with experiments is achieved and the variability in the output is low. The second investigated cases exhibit boundary layer transition on the surface of a highly loaded turbine guide vane under transonic flow conditions. Comparisons between the predicted and measured wall heat transfer are used to quantify uncertainties in the free stream turbulence and the model correlations that accounts for compressibility effects on the onset and extension of the bypass transition. The computational results show that the uncertainties have a significant impact on the transition location for the turbine guide vane simulations and, consequently, on the reliability of the predictions for compressible flows. The output uncertainty accounts to a large extent for the difference between the deterministic simulation and the experiments. The results from the Simplex Stochastic Collocation method are computationally more efficient than those of the Stochastic Collocation based on Clenshaw–Curtis quadrature.     

Long-Time Asymptotics of a Multiscale Model for Polymeric Fluid Flows

In this paper, we investigate the long-time behavior of some micro-macro models for polymeric fluids (Hookean model and FENE model), in various settings (shear flow, general bounded domain with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions on the velocity, general bounded domain with non-homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions on the velocity). We use both probabilistic approaches (coupling methods) and analytic approaches (entropy methods).     

Vorticities in a LES Model for 3D Periodic Turbulent Flows

This paper is devoted to the study of a LES model to simulate turbulent 3D periodic flow. We focus our attention on the vorticity equation derived from this LES model for small values of the numerical grid size δ. We obtain entropy inequalities for the sequence of corresponding vorticities and corresponding pressures independent of δ, provided the initial velocity u₀ is in L_x² while the initial vorticity ω₀ = ∇ × u₀ is in L_x¹. When δ tends to zero, we show convergence, in a distributional sense, of the corresponding equations for the vorticities to the classical 3D equation for the vorticity.     

The Application of a Laminar Flamelet Model to Confined Explosion Hazards

The majority of computational studies of confined explosion hazards apply simple and inaccurate combustion models, requiring adhoc corrections to obtain realistic flame shapes and often predicting an order of magnitude error in the overpressures. This work describes the application of a laminar flamelet model to a series of two-dimensional test cases. The model is computationally efficient applying an algebraic expression to calculate the flame surface area, an empirical correlation for the laminar flame speed and a novel unstructured, solution adaptive numerical grid system which allows important features of the solution to be resolved close to the flame. Accurate flame shapes are predicted, the correct burning rate is predicted near the walls, and an improvement in the predicted overpressures is obtained. However, in these fully turbulent calculations the overpressures are still too high and the flame arrival times too low, indicating the need for a model for the early laminar burning phase. Due to the computational expense, it is unrealistic to model a laminar flame in the complex geometries involved and therefore a pragmatic approach is employed which constrains the flame to propagate at the laminar flame speed. Transition to turbulent burning occurs at a specified turbulent Reynolds number. With the laminar phase model included, the predicted flame arrival times increase significantly, but are still too low. However, this has no significant effect on the overpressures, which are predicted accurately for a baffled channel test case where rapid transition occurs once the flame reaches the first pair of baffles. In a channel with obstacles on the centreline, transition is more gradual and the accuracy of the predicted overpressures is reduced. However, although the accuracy is still less than desirable in some cases, it is much better than the order of magnitude error previously expected. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Large Eddy Simulation of Turbulent Confined Highly Swirling Annular Flows

The present paper discusses the Large Eddy Simulation of a confined non-reacting annular swirling jet. The configuration corresponds to a well investigated flow studied experimentally by Sheen (1993). The flow field is characterised by a high swirl number resulting in relatively complex features. The challenging behaviour of the flow is governed by the interaction of several recirculation zones. The central recirculation zone formed by the swirling jet is strongly affected by the cylindrical centre body which acts as a bluff body. The flow features coherent structures such as Precessing Vortex Cores (PVCs), which create regions with high velocity fluctuations. The simulations presented comprise a detailed investigation of the parameters controlling the inert flow and a thorough comparison with the experimental data.     

Phenomenological Meniscus Model for Two-Phase Flows in Porous Media

A new macroscale model of a two-phase flow in porous media is suggested. It takes into consideration a typical configuration of phase distribution within pores in the form of a repetitive field of mobile menisci. These phase interfaces give rise to the appearance of a new term in the momentum balance equation, which describes a vectorial field of capillary forces. To derive the model, a phenomenological approach is developed, based on introducing a special continuum called the Meniscus-continuum. Its properties, such as a unique flow velocity, an averaged viscosity, a compensation mechanism and a duplication mechanism, are derived from a microscale analysis. The closure relations to the phenomenological model are obtained from a theoretical model of stochastic meniscus stream and from numerical simulations based on network models of porous media. The obtained transport equation remains hyperbolic even if the capillary forces are dominated, in contrast to the classic model which is parabolic. For the case of one space dimension, the analytical solutions are obtained, which manifest non-classical effects as double displacement fronts or counter-current fronts.     

A Matched Asymptotic Expansion Analysis of Highly Unsteady Porous Media Flows

The method of matched asymptotic expansions is used to analyse a mixture of wave and diffusive behaviours governing flow in a saturated porous medium inside an elastic pipe that is suddenly subjected to a large hydraulic gradient at its entrance. At early times and near the entrance, the head is a diffusing wave that can be reduced to the linear and non-linear telegrapher equations for the laminar and partially developed turbulent flows, respectively. At later times, laminar flows are diffusive and partially developed turbulent flows follow a ‘fast diffusion’ behaviour. In the case of fully developed turbulence, flows at later times follow a fast diffusion form which is complicated by advection at extremely high gradients. A matched asymptotic expansion approach is used to match flows at early times and near the entrance, with complementary forms that are away from the entrance and which occur at later times.     

A Local Model for the Energy Transfer in a Saturated Static Mixture

In the present work the transient energy transfer in a nonsaturated porous medium is studied, using a mixture theory viewpoint. The porous matrix is assumed homogeneous, rigid and isotropic, while the fluid is a Newtonian incompressible one and both are assumed static. Since the homogeneous matrix is not saturated, gradients of concentration are present. The porous medium and the fluid (a liquid) will be regarded as continuous constituents of a mixture that will have also a third constituent, an inert gas, assumed with zero mass density and thermal conductivity. The problem is described by a set of two partial differential equations which represent the energy balances for the fluid and the solid constituents. Isovalues for these two constituents are plotted, considering representative time instants and selected values for the energy equations coefficients and for the saturation.     

Elastic and Damage Longitudinal Shear Behavior of Highly Concentrated Long Fiber Composites

The elastic and damage longitudinal shear behavior of highly concentrated long fiber composites is analyzed by means of a simplified model where it is supposed that the fibers are rigid and touch each other in a regular hexagonal array. In the microscopic unit cell the problem is reduced to six similar problems of antiplane deformation on an equilateral circular triangle (see forthcoming Figure 2). These problems are solved in closed form by the complex variable method, and the solution is used to determine the longitudinal shear moduli, and to study their dependence on the microscopic damage caused by the circumferential debonding at the fiber–matrix interface. Subsequently, the damage evolution is investigated under the hypothesis that the microcracks propagate according to the Griffiths energy criterion. The elastic domain, where there is no damage propagation, is determined and it is shown that it is a polygonal convex set symmetric with respect to the origin. The overall damage evolution is discussed in detail and illustrated with some examples which highlight the very rich nature of the proposed model.     

Evaluation of a Modified Reynolds Stress Model for Turbulent Dispersed Two-Phase Flows Including Two-Way Coupling

A modified Reynolds stress turbulence model for the pressure rate of strain can be derived for dispersed two-phase flows taking into account gas-particle interaction. The transport equations for the Reynolds stresses as well as the equation for the fluctuating pressure can be derived starting from the multiphase Navier–Stokes equations. The unknown pressure rate of strain correlation in the Reynolds stress equations is then modelled by considering the multiphase equation for the fluctuating pressure. This leads to a multiphase pressure rate of strain model. The extra particle interaction source terms occurring in the model for the pressure rate of strain can be constructed easily, with no noticeable extra computational cost. Eulerian–Lagrangian simulation results of a turbulent dispersed two-phase jet are presented to show the differences in results with and without the new two-way coupling terms.     

Testing of Model Equations for the Mean Dissipation using Kolmogorov Flows

Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of Kolmogorov flows are performed at three different Reynolds numbers Re _λ between 110 and 190 by imposing a mean velocity profile in y-direction of the form U(y) = F sin(y) in a periodic box of volume (2π)³. After a few integral times the turbulent flow turns out to be statistically steady. Profiles of mean quantities are then obtained by averaging over planes at constant y. Based on these profiles two different model equations for the mean dissipation ε in the context of two-equation RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes) modelling of turbulence are compared to each other. The high Reynolds number version of the k-ε-model (Jones and Launder, Int J Heat Mass Transfer 15:301–314, 1972), to be called the standard model and a new model by Menter et al. (2006), to be called the Menter–Egorov model, are tested against the DNS results. Both models are solved numerically and it is found that the standard model does not provide a steady solution for the present case, while the Menter–Egorov model does. In addition a fairly good quantitative agreement of the model solution and the DNS data is found for the averaged profiles of the kinetic energy k and the dissipation ε. Furthermore, an analysis based on flow-inherent geometries, called dissipation elements (Wang and Peters, J Fluid Mech 608:113–138, 2008), is used to examine the Menter–Egorov ε model equation. An expression for the evolution of ε is derived by taking appropriate moments of the equation for the evolution of the probability density function (pdf) of the length of dissipation elements. A term-by-term comparison with the model equation allows a prediction of the constants, which with increasing Reynolds number approach the empirical values.     

Computation of Compressible Flows using a Two-equation Turbulence Model on Unstructured Grids

This paper presents a numerical method for solving compressible turbulent flows using a k - l turbulence model on unstructured meshes. The flow equations and turbulence equations are solved in a loosely coupled manner. The flow equations are advanced in time using a multi-stage Runge-Kutta time stepping scheme, while the turbulence equations are advanced using a multi-stage point-implicit scheme. The positivity of turbulence variables is achieved using a simple change of dependent variables. The developed method is used to compute a variety of turbulent flow problems. The results obtained are in good agreement with theoretical and experimental data, indicating that the present method provides a viable and robust algorithm for computing turbulent flows on unstructured meshes.     

Existence of Weak Solutions for a Diffuse Interface Model for Two-Phase Flows of Incompressible Fluids with Different Densities

We prove existence of weak solutions for a diffuse interface model for the flow of two viscous incompressible Newtonian fluids in a bounded domain in two and three space dimensions. In contrast to previous works, we study a new model recently developed by Abels et al. for fluids with different densities, which leads to a solenoidal velocity field. The model is given by a non-homogeneous Navier–Stokes system with a modified convective term coupled to a Cahn–Hilliard system. The density of the mixture depends on an order parameter.     

On a Diffuse Interface Model for Two-Phase Flows of Viscous, Incompressible Fluids with Matched Densities

We study a diffuse interface model for the flow of two viscous incompressible Newtonian fluids of the same density in a bounded domain. The fluids are assumed to be macroscopically immiscible, but a partial mixing in a small interfacial region is assumed in the model. Moreover, diffusion of both components is taken into account. This leads to a coupled Navier–Stokes/Cahn–Hilliard system, which is capable of describing the evolution of droplet formation and collision during the flow. We prove the existence of weak solutions of the non-stationary system in two and three space dimensions for a class of physical relevant and singular free energy densities, which ensures—in contrast to the usual case of a smooth free energy density—that the concentration stays in the physical reasonable interval. Furthermore, we find that unique “strong” solutions exist in two dimensions globally in time and in three dimensions locally in time. Moreover, we show that for any weak solution the concentration is uniformly continuous in space and time. Because of this regularity, we are able to show that any weak solution becomes regular for large times and converges as t → ∞ to a solution of the stationary system. These results are based on a regularity theory for the Cahn–Hilliard equation with convection and singular potentials in spaces of fractional time regularity as well as on maximal regularity of a Stokes system with variable viscosity and forces in L ²(0, ∞; H ^s (Ω)), ${s \in [0, \frac12)}$ , which are new themselves.     

On an Inviscid Model for Incompressible Two-Phase Flows with Nonlocal Interaction

We consider a diffuse interface model which describes the motion of an ideal incompressible mixture of two immiscible fluids with nonlocal interaction in two-dimensional bounded domains. This model consists of the Euler equation coupled with a convective nonlocal Cahn-Hilliard equation. We establish the existence of globally defined weak solutions as well as well-posedness results for strong/classical solutions.     

Global Solutions to a Model for Exothermically Reacting,Compressible Flows with Large Discontinuous Initial Data

 We prove the global existence of solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations describing the dynamic combustion of a compressible, exothermically reacting fluid, and we study the large-time behavior of solutions, giving necessary and sufficient conditions for complete combustion in certain cases. The adiabatic constants and specific heats of the burned (product) and unburned (reactant) fluids may differ, and the initial data may be large and discontinuous. (Accepted August 31, 2002) Published online January 9, 2003 Communicated by C. M. Dafermos