Visualization of respiratory flows from 3D reconstructed alveolar airspaces using X-ray tomographic microscopy

Abstract  

A deeper knowledge of the three-dimensional (3D) structure of the pulmonary acinus has direct applications in studies on acinar fluid dynamics and aerosol kinematics. To date, however, acinar flow simulations have been often based on geometrical models inspired by morphometrical studies; limitations in the spatial resolution of lung imaging techniques have prevented the simulation of acinar flows using 3D reconstructions of such small structures. In the present study, we use high-resolution, synchrotron radiation-based X-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM) images of the pulmonary acinus of a mouse to reconstruct 3D alveolar airspaces and conduct computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations mimicking rhythmic breathing motion. Respiratory airflows and Lagrangian (massless) particle tracking are visualized in two examples of acinar geometries with varying size and complexity, representative of terminal sacculi including their alveoli. The present CFD simulations open the path towards future acinar flow and aerosol deposition studies in complete and anatomically realistic multi-generation acinar trees using reconstructed 3D SRXTM geometries.     

Computational fluid-dynamics-based analysis of a ball valve performance in the presence of cavitation

In this paper, the ball valve performance is numerically simulated using an unstructured CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) code based on the finite volume method. Navier-Stokes equations in addition to a transport equation for the vapor volume fraction were coupled in the RANS solver. Separation is modeled very well with a modification of turbulent viscosity. The results of CFD calculations of flow through a ball valve, based on the concept of experimental data, are described and analyzed. Comparison of the flow pattern at several opening angles is investigated. Pressure drop behind the ball valve and formation of the vortex flow downstream the valve section are also discussed. As the opening of the valve decreases, the vortices grow and cause higher pressure drop. In other words, more energy is lost due to these growing vortices. In general, the valve opening plays very important roles in the performance of a ball valve.     

Visualization of the tip vortices in a wind turbine wake

Abstract  

In the present study, an experimental study was conducted to characterize the formation and the evolution of the helical tip vortices and turbulent flow structures in the wake of a horizontal axis wind turbine model placed in an atmospheric boundary layer wind. A high-resolution particle image velocimetry system was used to make detailed flow field measurements to quantify the time evolution of the helical tip vortices in relation to the position of the rotating turbine blades in order to elucidate the underlying physics associated with turbine power generation and fatigue loads acting on the wind turbines.     

Secondary instability of a swept-wing boundary layer disturbed by controlled roughness elements

Abstract  

Wind-tunnel data on velocity perturbations evolving in a laminar swept-wing flow under low subsonic conditions are reported. The focus of the present experiments are secondary disturbances of the boundary layer which is modulated by stationary streamwise vortices. Both the stationary vortices and the secondary oscillations of interest are generated in a controlled manner. The experimental data are obtained through hot-wire measurements. Thus, evolution of the vortices, either isolated or interacting with each other, is reconstructed in detail. As is found, the secondary disturbances, initiating the laminar-flow breakdown, are strongly affected by configuration of the stationary boundary-layer perturbation that may have an implication to laminar–turbulent transition control.     

Numerical simulation and flow visualization using soap film of the self-organized vortex structure in the wake of an array of cylinders

Abstract  

With the aid of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and simple flow visualization technique using flowing soap-film, we present here the wake structures behind an array of cylinders for Reynolds numbers corresponding to both laminar and turbulent flow regimes. The image results illustrate interesting vortex interactions past these equally spaced cylinders; for low Reynolds number flow, well-organized wake pattern persists and manifests unsteadily to different symmetry states. An increase of free stream flow velocity causes the wake transition, resulting in the formation of asymmetric flow wake with chaotic mixing at the far wake. Observations from both the numerical simulations and soap-film are in good agreement at least qualitatively.     

Micro-PIV measurement and CFD analysis of a thin liquid flow between rotating and stationary disks

Abstract  

A strongly sheared flow in a thin liquid layer between rotating and stationary disks is studied experimentally and numerically to clarify the characteristics of the flow in rotation-shearing chemical reactors. The disk diameter is 10 mm and the separation between the disks is 500 μm. The rotational speeds that are examined are 300, 500 and 700 rpm. The micro-PIV technique is used to measure the velocity in the liquid layer. A commercial CFD software is also used to obtain the results for the comparison and validation purposes. The overall velocity distributions revealed by the micro-PIV measurement are in good agreement with the CFD results. Both results show some interesting characteristics of the flow field, including the presence of a secondary flow and its influence on the tangential velocity profiles. The near-wall measurement in the micro-PIV technique is appreciably improved by the use of a simple digital, high-pass filtering technique that is applied to the acquired particle images. It is found that the flow characteristics in the thin liquid layer can be evaluated efficiently if the micro-PIV technique is used together with the high-pass filtering technique that is examined here.     

Effects of roughness elements on bypass transition induced by a circular cylinder wake

Abstract  

The bypass transition of flat-plate boundary layer induced by a circular cylinder wake under the influence of roughness elements is experimentally investigated. The hydrogen-bubble visualization results show that the boundary layer separation occurs upstream of the roughness, and the separated shear layer is incised by roughness to different extent, resulting in different kinds of secondary vortices formed immediately downstream of the roughness. During the evolution of the secondary vortex, two types of instabilities are observed, which are denoted as large- and small-scale instabilities, respectively, according to different spatial scale of the hairpin vortices formed afterward. A merging process of hairpin vortices is also observed when the secondary vortices undergo the small-scale instability, and a potential new transition control strategy based on the present observation is proposed.     

Directed motion of vortices in a current-driven Josephson junction network

Dynamics of directed motion of vortices in a Josephson junction network (JJN) with a ladder structure is studied using a numerical simulation. By applying spatial and temporal modulation of external bias currents, directed motion of vortices occurs in the absence of a ratchet-type asymmetric potential. In the present system, the asymmetry of the directed motion emerges as a dynamical effect due to the modulated bias current. Some dynamical effects such as mode-locking and vortex–antivortex excitation are relevant to the directed dynamics. We clarify the details of the directed motion of vortices in the JJN.     

On the vortex formation at the moving front of lightweight granular particles

The formation of vortices at a moving front of lightweight granular particles is investigated experimentally. The particles used in this study are made of polystyrene foam with three different diameters of nearly uniform size. Pairs of vortices are found to emerge at the moving front at regular intervals, thereby forming a wavy pattern. Once the vortices are produced, the flow velocity tends to increase. A simple analysis suggests the existence of a velocity boundary layer at the moving front, whose thickness increases with increasing particle diameter. The frontal radius of each vortex pair is about the size of this boundary layer; when the radius exceeds this size, the front tends to bifurcate into a train of vortices with the size of the boundary layer. The formation of twin vortices leads to a reduction in the air drag force exerted on the system, and thereby the system attains a higher flow velocity, i.e., a higher conversion rate of gravitational potential energy to the kinetic energy of the particle motion. The higher conversion rate of potential energy thus feeds back to the development of the vortex motion, resulting in the twin vortex formation.     

金融街地下交通工程通风系统流动特性分析

采用计算流体力学的方法,对金融街地下交通工程通风系统的流场特性进行了数值分析,研究了各分系统流场的均匀特性、各通风管道内部流场细节和各分系统可靠性.结果表明:排风系统各风口的风速很不均匀,且高速风口处形成明显的气幕效应和旋涡区;在风道内形成明显的低速区.在送风系统中,各风口的风速基本均匀,风机的风压可满足要求;但在风道内也存在了明显的低速区或旋涡区.需要对该通风系统进行等风量设计,并对系统的内部气流组织进行改进设计,以提高通风系统的可靠性并降低能耗.     

Symbiotic relationship between brain structure and dynamics

Background  

Brain structure and dynamics are interdependent through processes such as activity-dependent neuroplasticity. In this study, we aim to theoretically examine this interdependence in a model of spontaneous cortical activity. To this end, we simulate spontaneous brain dynamics on structural connectivity networks, using coupled nonlinear maps. On slow time scales structural connectivity is gradually adjusted towards the resulting functional patterns via an unsupervised, activity-dependent rewiring rule. The present model has been previously shown to generate cortical-like, modular small-world structural topology from initially random connectivity. We provide further biophysical justification for this model and quantitatively characterize the relationship between structure, function and dynamics that accompanies the ensuing self-organization.     

On Vortex Dynamics in the Self-Dual Chern–Simons–Higgs System

The dynamics of n vortices in the self-dual Chern–Simons–Higgs system defined on the infinite plane is investigated. In adiabatic approximation, the vortex dynamics is determined by considering a rigid motion of a vortex configuration and a motion around a fixed center of mass. A motion of two vortices is studied in detail.     

Unsteady wake vortices in jets in cross-flow

Abstract  

The current flow visualization study investigates unsteady wake vortices of jets in cross-flow in order to (1) advance the understanding of their origin and characteristics and (2) explore various excitation techniques for organizing and accentuating them. An isolated circular jet passed through a nozzle and entered the cross-flow normal to the wall. Free stream velocities up to 5 m/s and jet-to-cross-flow velocity ratio range between 1 and 10 were covered. While mechanical perturbation did not result in any significant periodic organization of the wake vortices, the database obtained for the unperturbed flow provided further insight into their behavior. The key finding was that the wake vortices always originated from the lee-side of the jet where the jet efflux boundary layer and the wall boundary layer intersected. In no case these vortices were seen to form either from the wall boundary layer or the jet shear layer at downstream locations. After formation the wake vortex twists and stretches as it convects downstream with the base still attached to the near-wall region on the jet’s lee side. The top remains connected to the underside of the jet where the tracer particles dissipate due to high turbulence in the shear layer.     

Three-dimensional vortex visualization in stratified spin-up

Abstract  

We present the results of three-dimensional time-dependent numerical simulations of incremental spin-up of a thermally stratified fluid. The fluid inside a vertical cylindrical container of radius R and height 2H is water characterized by the kinematic viscosity ν and thermal diffusivity κ. Initially, its density (temperature) varies linearly with height and is characterized by a constant buoyancy frequency N, which is proportional to the density gradient. The system undergoes an abrupt change in the rotation rate from its initial value Ω_i, when the fluid is in a solid-body rotation state, to the final value Ω_f. The aim of this contribution is to show the formation of columnar vortices in a high Rossby number spin-up flow.     

Fluid particle advection in the vicinity of the Föppl vortex system

Fluid particle advection in the vicinity of the Föppl vortex system is considered. Due to periodic motion of vortices about the Föppl equilibrium, fluid particles within the vortex atmosphere, the fluid region with a velocity field being induced by the vortices, can move chaotic in the sense of exponential divergence of near trajectories. This chaotic motion leads to the vortex atmosphere particles to be carried away from the atmosphere to the exterior flow. In this Letter, the part of the carried away fluid particles is numerically assessed and the dynamics of the fluid release from the vortex atmosphere is demonstrated.     

Sediment transport mechanics upstream of an orifice

Abstract  

Mechanics of sediment transport, maximum scour depth, and scoured volume upstream of a circular orifice was explored under constant head condition. A high-speed camera was used to investigate the sediment transport mechanism. It was found that sediment transport had two distinct phases. In the first phase, the sediment transport was due to excess bed shear stress and occurred within an area that was elliptical in shape, and the mobilized sediment was transported out of the orifice. In the second stage, vortices appear in the area that was scoured during the first phase. The sediment particles were lifted up into the main flow by these vortices, which were then transported out of the orifice by the main flow. The scour depth and scoured volume were found to be dependent on sediment size and head over the orifice.     

Investigation on the flameholding mechanisms in supersonic flows: backward-facing step and cavity flameholder

Abstract  

As effective devices to extend the fuel residence time in supersonic flow and prolong the duration time for hypersonic vehicles cruising in the near-space with power, the backward-facing step and the cavity are widely employed in hypersonic airbreathing propulsive systems as flameholders. The two-dimensional coupled implicit RANS equations, the standard k-ε turbulence model, and the finite-rate/eddy-dissipation reaction model have been used to generate the flow field structures in the scramjet combustors with the backward-facing step and the cavity flameholders. The flameholding mechanism in the combustor has been investigated by comparing the flow field in the corner region of the backward-facing step with that around the cavity flameholder. The obtained results show that the numerical simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental data, and the different grid scales make only a slight difference to the numerical results. The vortices formed in the corner region of the backward-facing step, in the cavity and upstream of the fuel injector make a large difference to the enhancement of the mixing between the fuel and the free airstream, and they can prolong the residence time of the mixture and improve the combustion efficiency in the supersonic flow. The size of the recirculation zone in the scramjet combustor partially depends on the distance between the injection and the leading edge of the cavity. Further, the shock waves in the scramjet combustor with the cavity flameholder are much stronger than those that occur in the scramjet combustor with the backward-facing step, and this causes a large increase in the static pressure along the walls of the combustor.     

Dynamic analysis of bubble-driven liquid flows using time-resolved particle image velocimetry and proper orthogonal decomposition techniques

Abstract  

An experimental study to evaluate dynamic structures of flow motion and turbulence characteristics in bubble-driven water flow in a rectangular tank with a varying flow rate of compressed air is conducted. Liquid flow fields are measured by time-resolved particle image velocimetry (PIV) with fluorescent tracer particles to eliminate diffused reflections, and by an image intensifier to acquire enhanced clean particle images. By proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) analysis, the energy distributions of spatial and temporal modes are acquired. Time-averaged velocity and turbulent kinetic energy distributions are varied with the air flow rates. With increasing Reynolds number, bubble-induced turbulent motion becomes dominant rather than the recirculating flow near the side wall. Detailed spatial structures and the unsteady behavior of dominant dynamic modes associated with turbulent kinetic energy distributions are addressed.