On mathematical models and numerical simulation of the fluidization of polydisperse suspensions

The well-known Masliyah–Lockett–Bassoon (MLB) model for sedimentation of small particles is extended to fluidization of polydisperse suspensions. For N particle species that differ in size and density, this model leads to a first-order system of N conservation laws, which in general is of mixed (in the case N = 2, hyperbolic–elliptic) type. By a simple algebraic steady-state analysis, we derive necessary compatibility conditions on the size and density parameters that admit the formation of stationary fluidized beds. We then proceed to determine the composition of polydisperse fluidized beds of given compatible species by varying the fluidization velocity and the initial composition of the suspensions, and prove that, within the framework of the MLB model combined with the Richardson–Zaki formula, the constructed bidisperse beds always cause the equations to be hyperbolic. This means that these states are always predicted to be stable. The transient behaviour of the MLB model applied to fluidization is illustrated by three numerical examples, in which the system of conservation laws is solved for N = 2, N = 3 and N = 5, respectively. These examples illustrate the effects of bed expansion and layer inversion caused by successively increasing the applied fluidization velocity and show that the predicted fluidized states are indeed attained.     

Formation patterns at the air-grain interfaces in spinning granular films at high rotation rates

Experimental and numerical studies are described in which a thin film of air-immersed grains is spun in vertical and tilted containers about their axis. At high rotation rates a steep depression appears around the axis of rotation. Interesting fractal type patterns with dimension D = 1.7 ± 0.05 are observed at the air-grain interfaces in the depression. By utilizing computer simulations, it is shown that the fractal-like patterns may be associated with a sharp deformation of the volume occupied by the particles within the depression hole due to turbulent diffusion.     

Computational modelling of fluid structure interaction at nano-scale boundaries with modified Maxwellian velocity distribution

The soft collisions among fluid–fluid and fluid-wall molecules are modeled from first principles. In particular, the assumption of Maxwellian distribution of velocities for thermalized molecules, in both parallel and perpendicular directions to the wall, has been re-evaluated with supporting experimental and/or numerical evidence.It is proposed that the normal component of molecular velocity post collision is conserved for all fluid molecules. The slip effect at the wall boundary, introduced by the surface roughness, is accounted by an accommodation coefficient f. A moving least square method is used to calculate macroscopic velocity values. The influence of molecular interaction on the macroscopic velocity distribution is investigated at 40 MPa and 300 K for slit pore, inclined and stepped wall configurations. The accommodation coefficient values f = 0, 0.07, 0.257, 0.45, 0.681 and 1; and acceleration values ranging from zero to 1 × 10¹¹ m/s² and 250 × 10¹¹ m/s² are used for comparison.The distribution of macroscopic velocity parallel to the wall is studied to observe the effect of the slip behaviour. The detailed study of average of velocity values at various magnitudes of acceleration has shown an evidence of characteristic low and high speed of molecular flows that is considered as significant and a comparison is sought with an equivalent laminar and turbulent flow style behaviour. The two dimensional vector and contour plots of macroscopic velocity provide further insights in understanding Continuum velocity distributions resulting from molecular fluid-wall interaction at nanoscale. The research has highlighted the need to develop molecular dynamics simulation techniques for non-periodic boundary conditions.     

Exact solutions for the rotational flow of a generalized Maxwell fluid between two circular cylinders

Unsteady flow of an incompressible generalized Maxwell fluid between two coaxial circular cylinders is studied by means of the Laplace and finite Hankel transforms. The motion of the fluid is produced by the rotation of cylinders around their common axis. The solutions that have been obtained, written in integral and series form in terms of the generalized G_a,b,c(·, t)-functions, are presented as a sum of the Newtonian solutions and the corresponding non-Newtonian contributions. They satisfy all imposed initial and boundary conditions and for λ → 0 reduce to the solutions corresponding to the Newtonian fluids performing the same solution. Furthermore, the corresponding solutions for ordinary Maxwell fluids are also obtained for β = 1. Finally, in order to reveal some relevant physical aspects of the obtained results, the diagrams of the velocity field ω(r, t) have been depicted against r and t for different values of the material and fractional parameters.     

Simulación numérica del flujo turbulento de aire con gotas dispersas de agua a través de separadores de torres de refrigeración

This work presents a numerical study on the turbulent flow of air with dispersed water droplets in separators of mechanical cooling towers. The averaged Navier-Stokes equations are discretised through a finite volume method, using the Fluent and Phoenics codes, and alternatively employing the turbulence models k ? ?, k ? ω and the Reynolds stress model, with low-Re version and wall enhanced treatment refinements. The results obtained are compared with numerical and experimental results taken from the literature. The degree of accuracy obtained with each of the considered models of turbulence is stated. The influence of considering whether or not the simulation of the turbulent dispersion of droplets is analyzed, as well as the effects of other relevant parameters on the collection efficiency and the coefficient of pressure drop. Focusing on four specific eliminators (‘Belgian wave’, ‘H1-V’, ‘L-shaped’ and ‘Zig-zag’), the following ranges of parameters are outlined: 1 ≤ U_e ≤ 5 m/s for the entrance velocity, 2 ≤ D_p ≤ 50 μm for the droplet diameter, 650 ≤ Re ≤ 8.500 for Reynolds number, and 0.05 ≤ P_i ≤ 5 for the inertial parameter. Results reached alternately with Fluent and Phoenics codes are compared. The best results correspond to the simulations performed with Fluent, using the SST k ? ω turbulence model, with values of the dimensionless scaled distance to wall y⁺ in the range 0.2 to 0.5. Finally, correlations are presented to predict the conditions for maximum collection efficiency (100 %), depending on the geometric parameter of removal efficiency of each of the separators, which is introduced in this work.     

Thermal noise engines

In this paper, electrical heat engines driven by the Johnson-Nyquist noise of resistors are introduced. They utilize Coulomb’s law and the fluctuation–dissipation theorem of statistical physics. In these engines, resistors, capacitors and switches are the building elements. For best performance, a large number of parallel engines must be integrated to run in a synchronized fashion, and the size of an elementary engine must be at the 10 nm scale. At room temperature, in the most idealistic case, a two-dimensional ensemble of engines of 25 nm size integrated on a 2.5 × 2.5 cm silicon wafer with 10 °C temperature difference between the warm-source and the cold-sink would produce a power of about 0.5 W. Regular and coherent (correlated-cylinder states) versions of these engines are shown and both of them can operate in either four-stroke or two-stroke modes. In the idealistic case, all these engines have Carnot efficiency, which is the highest efficiency possible in any heat engine without violating the second law of thermodynamics.     

Smoke flow phenomena and turbulence characteristics of tunnel fires

Gravity currents are similar in behavior with smoke flows. This work aims to provide evidence justifying the use of gravity current approach to model smoke flows downstream of the fire source. The turbulence solver available in almost all commercial CFD codes solves RANS for the flow field. To find out how well the nature of smoke flow be accurately modeled using RANS that is widely used for incompressible flows. The feasibility of using both Reynolds- and Favre-averaging schemes was numerically compared and examined in this paper. In this work, numerical simulations of a fire occurred in a 400-m longitudinally ventilated tunnel have been successfully performed using FDS version 4. Large eddy simulation is employed in this study. Although the ranges of fire size and ventilation velocity vary respectively from 0 MW to 100 MW and 0 m/s to 10 m/s, this paper focuses on the general flow and temperature fields and the turbulence characteristics. Furthermore, the turbulence kinetic energy levels of the flow in the tunnel at several locations were investigated. Since the flow field is generally induced by mechanical ventilation and combustion, the main contribution to the turbulence kinetic energy comes from its longitudinal, vertical, or their combination.     

On the stagnation-point flow towards a stretching sheet with homogeneous–heterogeneous reactions effects

The effects of homogeneous–heterogeneous reactions on the steady boundary layer flow near the stagnation point on a stretching surface is studied. The possible steady-states of this system are analyzed in the case when the diffusion coefficients of both reactant and auto catalyst are equal. The strength of this effect is represented by the dimensionless parameter K and K_s. It is shown that for a fluid of small kinematic viscosity, a boundary layer is formed when the stretching velocity is less than the free stream velocity and an inverted boundary layer is formed when the stretching velocity exceeds the free stream velocity. The uniqueness of this problem lies on the fact that the solutions are possible for all values of λ > 0 (stretching surface), while for λ < 0 (shrinking surface), solutions are possible only for its limited range.     

Two-dimensional interpolation-supplemented and Taylor-series expansion-based lattice Boltzmann method and its application

Two-dimensional interpolation-supplemented and Taylor-series expansion-based lattice Boltzmann method (ITLBM) is proposed to simulate flows in the non-uniform grids. The proposed method is based on the standard lattice Boltzmann method, interpolation-supplemented and Taylor-series expansion. The final formulation can be used on any mesh structure and lattice Boltzmann model. Numerical test of a two-dimensional channel flow around a square cylinder has been studied. The computational efficient and recirculation length at Re = 1, 15 are obtained. Comparing the results from the ITLBM with those from the standard LBM, it has been concluded that the proposed method has good prospects in the hydrodynamic and aerodynamic engineering applications.     

A cartographic study of the phase space of the elliptic restricted three body problem. Application to the Sun–Jupiter–Asteroid system

This work deals with numerical investigations of the phase space of the planar elliptic restricted three body model. The Sun–Jupiter–Asteroid system is considered and the fast Lyapunov indicator (FLI) is used as a tool to examine various types of orbits on which the infinitesimal mass can undergo. The FLI is computed on given grids of initial conditions regularly spaced in the domain 1.5 AU ? a ? 6 AU and 0 ? e ? 0.5 and for various choices of initial angles: the argument of perihelion ω and mean anomaly M. On the obtained charts the stability regions, the chaotic zones and the geography of resonances are clearly displayed. Moreover, the ‘V’ shaped layers associated with the mean motion resonances of low order with its chaotic zones due to separatrix splitting and libration regions are clearly distinguished. Their size is discussed as a function of the resonance order and the parameters entering into the perturbing function. The results are discussed and compared with analytical studies concerning the subject.     

Mathematical modeling of the movement of suspended particles subjected to acoustic and flow fields

When particles are subjected to an acoustic field particle trajectories depend on the particle and fluid compressibility and density values. Hence a combination of acoustic and flow fields on particles can be used to deflect and trap, or to segregate and/or fractionate fine particles in fluid suspensions. Using particle physics in an acoustic field, a mathematical model was developed to calculate trajectories of deflected particles due to the application of acoustic standing waves. The resulting second order ordinary differential equation was quite stiff and hence difficult to solve numerically and did not have a closed form solution. The analysis of the above equation showed that the basic problems with numerical solutions could not be ameliorated through the use of standard rescaling techniques. A combination of phase space and asymptotic analysis turns out to be far more useful in obtaining approximate solutions. An approximate solution was derived which enabled the calculation of the particle trajectories and concentration at collection planes in the acoustic field. Analysis of the solution showed that all the particles move toward the pressure node to which the particles are supposed to move. Particles with 2 μm diameter took approximately 20 s to reach that node. Then at the bench scale, the above technology was implemented by building a flow chamber with two transducers at opposite ends to generate an acoustic standing wave. SiC particle trajectories were tracked using captured digital images from a high-resolution microscope. The displacements of SiC particles due to an acoustic force were compared with the mathematical model predictions. For input power levels between 3.0 and 5.0 W, the experimental data were comparable to mathematical model predictions. Hence it was concluded that the proposed approximate solution was both quantitatively and qualitatively closer to experimental results than the simplified form ignoring the second order term reported in the literature.     

Unsteady magnetohydrodynamic Hartmann–Couette flow and heat transfer in a Darcian channel with Hall current,ionslip, viscous and Joule heating effects: Network numerical solutions

A theoretical study of unsteady magnetohydrodynamic viscous Hartmann–Couette laminar flow and heat transfer in a Darcian porous medium intercalated between parallel plates, under a constant pressure gradient is presented. Viscous dissipation, Joule heating, Hall current and ionslip current effects are included as is lateral mass flux at both plates. The dimensionless conservation equations for the primary (x¹-direction), secondary (z¹-direction) momentum and also energy conservation equation are derived and solved using a computational technique known as Network Simulation Methodology (NSM). Velocity distributions (u¹, w¹) and temperature distribution (T¹) at the channel centre (y¹ = 0) over time (t¹) are studied graphically for the effects of Darcy number (Da), Hartmann number (Ha), transpiration (N_t), Hall current parameter (Be), ionslip parameter (Bi), pressure gradient parameter (dP/dx¹) with Prandtl number prescribed at 7.0 (electrically conducting water), Eckert number held constant at 0.25 (heat convection from the plates to the fluid) and Reynolds number (Re) fixed at 5.0 (for Re < 10, Darcian model is generally valid). Increasing Darcy number causes an increase in temperature, T¹; values are however significantly reduced for the higher Hartmann number case (Ha = 10). For the case of low transpiration (i.e. N_t = 1 which corresponds to weak suction at the upper plate and weak injection at the lower plate), both primary velocity (u¹) and secondary velocity (w¹) are increased with a rise in Darcy number (owing to a simultaneous decrease in Darcian porous drag); temperature T¹ is also increased considerably with increasing Da. However, for stronger transpiration (N_t = 10), magnitudes of u¹, w¹ and T¹ are significantly reduced and also significant overshoots are detected prior to the establishment of steady state flow. With increasing Hall current parameter, Be, (for the purely fluid regime i.e. Da → ∞), primary velocity is considerably increased, whereas secondary velocity is reduced; temperatures are decreased in the early stages of flow but effectively increased in the steady state with increasing Be. With strong Darcian drag present (Da = 0.01 i.e. very low permeability), magnitudes of u¹, w¹ and T¹ are considerably reduced and temperatures are found to be reduced for all t¹, with increasing Hall current effect (Be). Increasing ionslip current parameter (Bi) increases primary velocity (u¹), decreases secondary velocity (w¹) and also temperature (T¹) for all time (t¹), in the infinite permeability case (Da → ∞). For weakly Darcian flow, ionslip parameter (Bi) has a much reduced effect on the velocity distributions. Temperature, T¹ is strongly increased with a rise in pressure gradient parameter, dP¹/dx¹, as is primary velocity (u¹); however, secondary velocity (w¹) is reduced. The present study has applications in hybrid magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) energy generators, materials processing, geophysical hydromagnetics, etc.     

Fractional dynamics of systems with long-range interaction

We consider one-dimensional chain of coupled linear and nonlinear oscillators with long-range powerwise interaction defined by a term proportional to 1/∣n − m∣^α+1. Continuous medium equation for this system can be obtained in the so-called infrared limit when the wave number tends to zero. We construct a transform operator that maps the system of large number of ordinary differential equations of motion of the particles into a partial differential equation with the Riesz fractional derivative of order α, when 0 < α < 2. Few models of coupled oscillators are considered and their synchronized states and localized structures are discussed in details. Particularly, we discuss some solutions of time-dependent fractional Ginzburg–Landau (or nonlinear Schrodinger) equation.     

Analytic integrability of the Bianchi class A cosmological models with 0 ⩽ k < 1

Many works study the integrability of the Bianchi class A cosmologies with k = 1, where k is the ratio between the pressure and the energy density of the matter. Here we characterize the analytic integrability of the Bianchi class A cosmological models when 0 ⩽ k < 1. We conclude that Bianchi types VI₀, VII₀, VIII and IX can exhibit chaos whereas Bianchi type I is not chaotic and Bianchi type II is at most partially chaotic.     

Evaluation of thermal comfort conditions in a classroom equipped with radiant cooling systems and subjected to uniform convective environment

The aim of this work is to evaluate numerically the human thermal response that 24 students and 1 teacher feel in a classroom equipped with radiant cooling systems and subjected to uniform convective environments, in lightly warm conditions. The evolution of thermal comfort conditions, using the PMV index, is made by the multi-nodal human thermal comfort model.In this numerical model, that works in transient or steady-state conditions and simulates simultaneously a group of persons, the three-dimensional body is divided in 24 cylindrical and 1 spherical elements. Each element is divided in four parts (core, muscle, fat and skin), sub-divided in several layers, and protected by several clothing layers. This numerical model is divided in six parts: human body thermal system, clothing thermal system, integral equations resolution system, thermoregulatory system, heat exchange between the body and the environment and thermal comfort evaluation.Seven different radiant systems are combined to three convective environments. In the radiant systems (1) no radiant system without warmed curtain, (2) no radiant system with warmed curtain, (3) radiant floors cooling system with warmed curtain, (4) radiant panels cooling system with warmed curtain, (5) radiant ceiling cooling system with warmed curtain, (6) radiant floor and panels cooling system with warmed curtain and (7) radiant ceiling and panels cooling system with warmed curtain are analysed, while in the convective environments (1) without air velocity field and with uniform air velocity field of (2) 0.2 m/s and (3) 0.6 m/s are also analysed. The internal air temperature and internal surfaces temperature are 28 °C, the radiant cooling surfaces temperature are 19 °C and the warmed internal curtains surfaces temperatures, subjected to direct solar radiation, are 40 °C.The numerical model calculates the Mean Radiant Temperature field, the human bodies’ temperatures field and the thermal comfort level, for the 25 occupants, for the 21 analysed situations.Without uniform air velocity field, when only one individual radiant cooling system is used, the Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied people is lowest when the radiant floor cooling system is applied and is highest when the radiant panel cooling system is applied. When are combined the radiant ceiling or the floor cooling systems with the radiant panel cooling system the Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied people decreases.When the uniform air velocity increases the thermal comfort level, that the occupants are subjected, increases. When the radiant floor cooling system or the combination of radiant floor and panel cooling systems without uniform air velocity field is applied, the Category C is verified for some occupants. However, with a convective uniform air velocity field of 0.2 m/s the Category B is verified and with a convective uniform air velocity field of 0.6 m/s the Category A is verify for some occupants. In the last situation the Category C is verified, in general, for all occupants.     

Dynamics of landslide model with time delay and periodic parameter perturbations

In present paper, we analyze the dynamics of a single-block model on an inclined slope with Dieterich–Ruina friction law under the variation of two new introduced parameters: time delay T_d and initial shear stress μ. It is assumed that this phenomenological model qualitatively simulates the motion along the infinite creeping slope. The introduction of time delay is proposed to mimic the memory effect of the sliding surface and it is generally considered as a function of history of sliding. On the other hand, periodic perturbation of initial shear stress emulates external triggering effect of long-distant earthquakes or some non-natural vibration source. The effects of variation of a single observed parameter, T_d or μ, as well as their co-action, are estimated for three different sliding regimes: β < 1, β = 1 and β > 1, where β stands for the ratio of long-term to short-term stress changes. The results of standard local bifurcation analysis indicate the onset of complex dynamics for very low values of time delay. On the other side, numerical approach confirms an additional complexity that was not observed by local analysis, due to the possible effect of global bifurcations. The most complex dynamics is detected for β < 1, with a complete Ruelle–Takens–Newhouse route to chaos under the variation of T_d, or the co-action of both parameters T_d and μ. These results correspond well with the previous experimental observations on clay and siltstone with low clay fraction. In the same regime, the perturbation of only a single parameter, μ, renders the oscillatory motion of the block. Within the velocity-independent regime, β = 1, the inclusion and variation of T_d generates a transition to equilibrium state, whereas the small oscillations of μ induce oscillatory motion with decreasing amplitude. The co-action of both parameters, in the same regime, causes the decrease of block’s velocity. As for β > 1, highly-frequent, limit-amplitude oscillations of initial stress give rise to oscillatory motion. Also for β > 1, in case of perturbing only the initial shear stress, with smaller amplitude, velocity of the block changes exponentially fast. If the time delay is introduced, besides the stress perturbation, within the same regime, the co-action of T_d (T_d < 0.1) and small oscillations of μ induce the onset of deterministic chaos.     

Environmental flows for the Yangtze Estuary based on salinity objectives

Environmental flows based on the salinity objectives for China’s Yangtze Estuary were quantified to assess the impacts of changing freshwater inflow on the estuarine ecosystem. The salinity objectives for three benthos habitats in the Yangtze Estuary were studied to determine their requirements during the most critical period of the year. The temporal variation in the natural monthly river discharge represented the temporal variation of the ecological objectives used to maintain natural flow regimes. A numerical model, coupled a hydrodynamic processes model with a salinity model and validated using field data of tidal height, current velocity, and salinity at different stations, was developed to simulate the spatial distribution of salinity as a function of the variation in freshwater inflows. The prediction results of the proposed model agreed well with the field data. Considering the salinity objectives for the different habitats, the environmental flow requirements for the Yangtze Estuary were determined. Annual environmental flows should be 9.63 × 10¹¹, 6.32 × 10¹¹, and 4.70 × 10¹¹ m³ for the high, medium, and minimum objectives, which are equivalent to 104%, 68%, and 50% of the annual river discharge, respectively. The periods from September to November should be considered as the critical seasons to maintain the minimum environmental flows in the Yangtze Estuary.     

A single server queueing system with two phases of service subject to server breakdown and Bernoulli vacation

This paper deals with a single server M/G/1 queue with two phases of heterogeneous service and unreliable server. We assume that customers arrive to the system according to a Poisson process with rate λ. After completion of two successive phases of service the server either goes for a vacation with probability p(0 ? p ? 1) or may continue to serve the next unit, if any, with probability q(=1 ? p). Otherwise it remains in the system until a customer arrives. While the server is working with any phase of service, it may breakdown at any instant and the service channel will fail for a short interval of time. For this model, we first derive the joint distribution of state of the server and queue size, which is one of the chief objectives of the paper. Secondly, we derive the probability generating function of the stationary queue size distribution at a departure epoch. Next, we derive Laplace Stieltjes transform of busy period distribution and waiting time distribution. Finally we obtain some important performance measures and reliability indices of this model.     

On generating (2 + 1)-dimensional hierarchies of evolution equations

Two isospectral problems are constructed with the help of a 6-dimensional Lie algebra. By using the Tu scheme, a (1 + 1)-dimensional expanding integrable couplings of the KdV hierarchy is obtained and the corresponding Hamiltonian structure is established. In addition, the 2-order matrix operators proposed by Tuguizhang are extended to the case where some 4-order matrices are given. Based on the extension, a new hierarchy of 2 + 1 dimensions is obtained by the Hamiltonian operator of the above (1 + 1)-dimensional case and the TAH scheme. The new hierarchy of 2 + 1 dimensions can be reduced to a coupled (2 + 1)-dimensional nonlinear equation and furthermore it can be reduced to the (2 + 1)-dimensional KdV equation which has important physics applications. The Hamiltonian structure for the (2 + 1)-dimensional hierarchy is derived with the aid of an extended trace identity. To the best of our knowledge, generating the (2 + 1)-dimensional equation hierarchies by virtue of the TAH scheme has not been studied in detail except to previous little work by Tu et al.     

Characterizations of PG(n − 1, q)\PG(k − 1, q) by Numerical and Polynomial Invariants

We show that the simple matroid PG(n − 1, q)\PG(k − 1, q), for n ≥ 4 and 1 ≤ k ≤ n − 2, is characterized by a variety of numerical and polynomial invariants. In particular, any matroid that has the same Tutte polynomial as PG(n − 1, q)\PG(k − 1, q) is isomorphic to PG(n − 1, q)\PG(k − 1, q).