Interaction of Multiple Gas Jets Horizontally Injected into a Vertical Water Stream

A gas jet injected horizontally into a descending vertical water flow has two stable states corresponding to the presence or absence of a gas pocket on the injection wall. Injecting multiple parallel jets gives rise to complex interactions dominated by two phenomena: the presence or absence of a gas pocket and the periodic movements of the jets. The very low frequency of these movements (approx. 1 Hz) is essentially correlated with crossflow velocity and jet spacing. Different types of interaction were observed over a wide range of experimental conditions. In particular, a zone of interdependence was evidenced where interaction between jets leads to the coexistence of jets with and without a gas pocket. The influence of different experimental parameters was defined. A better understanding of the mechanism of jet interaction is obtained, especially the conditions of movement of vortices and the significance of the water flow confined between the jets which modifies their mean dimensions (20 to 40% increase in length and height, decrease of width without coalescence). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Comparison of Two Mathematical Models for 3D Groundwater Flow: Block-Centered Heads and Edge-Based Stream Functions

Traditionally, groundwater flow models, as well as oil reservoir models, are based on the block-centered finite difference method. Well-known models based on this approach are MODFLOW (groundwater) and ECLIPSE (oil and gas). Such models are well proven and robust; their underlying principles are well understood by hydrologists and petroleum reservoir engineers. Nevertheless, the desire to improve the block-centered finite difference paradigm has always been alive, for instance, to be able to apply deformed grid blocks, or to model anisotropy that is not aligned along the coordinate axes. This article introduces the edge-based stream function as a potential alternative to the paradigmatic model, not only to mitigate the above mentioned limitations, but especially for its promise to inverse modeling. Computer programs have been developed for the discrete analog equations of the stream function method and the conventional method. The two methods are tested by using synthetic forward modeling problems of uniform and radial flow. The theoretical formulation and the numerical results show that the two methods are algebraically equivalent and yield the same flux output. However, for rectangular grid blocks and anisotropy aligned along the coordinate axes, the block-centered method is shown to be computationally more efficient than the edge-based stream function method. The major advantage of the stream function method is that it is linear in the resistivities, proving it an ideal candidate for direct inverse modeling. Moreover, any arbitrary specification of stream functions yields a solution that satisfies the mass balance.     

Boundary-Value Problem of Drainage in a Fresh Groundwater Fringe above Saline Groundwater

A multiparameter boundary-value problem of fresh infiltration water seepage in a drained fringe above quiescent saline water is solved in the direct statement and studied in detail.     

Models of the Interaction between a Laminar Boundary Layer and a Transonic Flow

Possible regimes of viscous-inviscid interaction at transonic external flow velocities are investigated. It is shown that different flow regimes can exist depending on the relation between such parameters as the disturbance amplitude and the Mach and Reynolds numbers. Corresponding mathematical models are formulated and the solutions of some problems describing linear regimes of disturbance development are obtained. The models developed make it possible to describe all the possible interaction regimes.     

The Interaction between a Compressible Synthetic Jet and a Laminar Hypersonic Boundary Layer

Numerical simulations have been performed of a synthetic jet interacting with a laminar hypersonic boundary layer. Two datum cases were also considered, no jet and steady jet. The simulations for the case of no jet are in agreement with available experimental data. Predicted flow features of the steady jet interaction are broadly consistent with previous studies. For the synthetic jet, the upstream and downstream separated regions are dramatically reduced in size, and the jet appears to lie closer to the surface, compared with the steady jet. It is also found that the synthetic jet induces a greater mixing rate than the steady jet. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Resistance of a circular pipe with pulsatory variation of the flow rate

The results of an experimental investigation of the hydraulic resistance of a circular pipe for turbulent flow with periodic flow rate fluctuations are presented. The presence of resonance phenomena in the pipe is revealed. It is established that, for hydrodynamic nonstationarity, the pipe resistance is a nonmonotonous function of the frequency of the imposed flow rate fluctuations and differs from the pipe resistance in the stationary flow regime. Under the conditions considered, to find the pipe resistance it is necessary to take into account the variation of the flow kinetic energy with respect to the phase of the imposed flow rate fluctuations due to the deformation of the velocity profile.     

Interaction of Spontaneous Vortex Structure with a Flame Front

Spontaneous vortex formation in combustion products near a flame front propagating in a combustible mixture down a vertical tube has been studied experimentally. It is shown that under certain conditions, free convection suppresses or stimulates vortex perturbations at the flame front. It is found that periodic changes in vortex intensity depend on oscillations of the flame front. This dependence is controlled by the rate of heat exchange among the flame front, combustion products, and pipe walls. The vortex flow structure depends on the shape of the closed trajectory along which the leading point of the flame moves in the coordinate system attached to the vortex.     

Interaction of an internal gravity current with a submerged circular cylinder

The problem of hydrodynamic loads due to the interaction of a gravity current propagating over a bottom channel with a submerged circular cylinder is studied experimentally. It was shown that in the examined range of parameters, the hydrodynamic loads are simulated after Froude. The hydrodynamic loads are maximal if the cylinder lies on the bottom, and they decrease rapidly with increase in the distance from the cylinder to the channel bottom. The effects of mixing and entrainment on the nature of the hydrodynamic loads are considered.Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 81–90, March–April, 2005.     

Relation between the quasi-cylindrical approximation and the critical classification for swirling flow

It is shown that under the assumption of the quasi-cylindrical approximation with viscous effect the critical flow corresponds to a singularity, as flows approach the critical state from both sides, the radial components of velocity go separately to positive and negative infinity, and that for inviscid flow solution of the quasi-cylindrical approximation can only be trivial solution, i.e. strictly cylindrical flow. It is also shown that in subcritical range the iterative procedure accounting for non-linear effect of equations diverges necessarily. Projects Supported by the Science Fund of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.     

Instabilities in two-liquid layers subject to a horizontal temperature gradient

We study theoretically the stability of two superposed fluid layers heated laterally. The fluids are supposed to be immiscible, the interface undeformable and of infinite horizontal extension. Combined thermocapillary and buoyancy forces give rise to a basic flow when a temperature difference is applied. The calculations are performed for a melt of GaAs under a layer of molten B₂O₃, a configuration of considerable technological importance. Four different flow patterns and five temperature configurations are found for the basic state in this system. A linear stability analysis shows that the basic state may be destabilized by oscillatory motions leading to the so-called hydrothermal waves. Depending on the relative height of the two layers these hydrothermal waves propagate parallel or perpendicular to the temperature gradient. This analysis reveals that these perturbations can alter significantly the liquid flow in the liquid-encapsulated crystal growth techniques. PACS 47.20.Dz, 47.20.Bp, 47.54.+r, 47.27.Te, 44.25.+f, 47.20.Ma     

Experimental Investigation of the Interaction between an Electric Arc and a Gas Flow

The results of investigating the shape of an electric arc carrying an electric current of less than 100 A and exposed to an air, nitrogen, or argon stream at a stream velocity of from zero to 20 m/s, when the interelectrode gap is less than 20 mm, are reported. The shape of the arc is qualitatively investigated as a function of the gas type, blowing velocity, and interelectrode gap. It is shown that an arc burning in a channel with insulated walls is much more stable under these conditions than an arc with the same parameters burning in free space.     

Experimental Study of the Linear Stability of a Falling Liquid Film in the Presence of a Turbulent Gas Stream

Using the local electrical conductivity method, the parameters of the linear waves generated on the surface of a falling liquid film in the presence of a co- or counter-current gas stream are measured. The Reynolds numbers of the fluid and the gas were varied from 24 to 125 and from 0 to 8000, respectively. The results are presented in the form of dispersion relations. In the case of the absence of a gas stream, the results are compared with calculations based on a linear integral theory. It is shown that a gas stream increases the instability of the film and a counter-current gas flow has a greater effect on the wave phase velocity than a co-current flow.     

Groundwater Fluctuations in Sloping Aquifers Induced by Time-Varying Replenishment and Seepage from a Uniformly Rising Stream

This paper analyses the classical problem of transient surface?Cgroundwater interaction in a stream?Caquifer system under rather realistic conditions. The downward sloping unconfined aquifer is in contact with a constant water level at one end, and a fully penetrating stream at the other end whose water level is rising at a uniform speed. Furthermore, the aquifer is replenished by a vertical time-varying recharge. Closed form analytical expressions for hydraulic head and flow rate in the aquifer are obtained by solving the linearized Boussinesq equation using Laplace transform method. Effects of aquifer parameters on transient water table and flow rate are illustrated with a numerical example. To assess the efficiency of the linearization method, analytical solutions are compared with numerical solutions of the corresponding non-linear equation.     

Estimation of Temperatures in Geothermal Wells During Circulation and Shut-in in the Presence of Lost Circulation

The estimation of temperatures in and around a geothermal well during circulation, and during shut-in conditions in the presence of lost circulation is presented in this work. Estimated temperatures are compared with temperature logs measured during drilling stoppages. Temperatures were estimatted using a computer code specifically developed to account for the transient convective heat transfer due to lost circulation in the rock surrounding a well. This feature of the present code is important since wellbore simulators normally consider the heat transfer process in the rock as a merely conductive problem. The code is capable of accounting for these losses at any point in the well and application was made to the study of two Mexican geothermal wells(well LV-3 from the Las Tres Vírgenes field and well EAZ-2 from the Los Azufres field). The results show that the effect of lost circulation on the shut-in temperature profiles can be modelled satisfactorily. Research is under way to improve the present methodology.     

Characteristics of the critical heat flux for downward flow in a vertical tube at low flow rate and low pressure conditions

The characteristics of the critical heat flux (CHF) for downward flow were studied experimentally with an Inconel 600 circular tube test section in a water test loop at low-flow rate (0 200 kg/m²s) and low-pressure (0.1 0.7 MPa) conditions. The attention was given to the effects of upstream conditions—upper plenum and inlet throttling. Two totally different kinds of CHF behaviors were observed. It seems appropriate to interpret them as flooding-type CHF and dryout in annular flow. The CHF in downward flow may vary from extremely unstable flow CHF as low as near the flooding CHF value to stable flow CHF as high as that of upflow, depending on the upstream conditions of the test section. The CHF correlation by Mishima and that by Weber were proposed for the presentation of the lower and upper limits of the CHF for downward flow in a vertical tube at low-flow rate and low-pressure conditions.     

Stability of the Hypersonic Shock Layer on a Flat Plate

The stability of hypersonic viscous gas flow in a shock layer in the neighborhood of a flat plate is considered. The stability of the velocity, temperature, density, and pressure profiles calculated on the basis of the complete viscous shock layer equations is investigated within the framework of the linear stability theory with allowance for the shock wave relations. The calculated perturbation growth rates and phase velocities are compared with the experimental data obtained by means of electron-beam fluorescence.     

Vibrational hydrodynamic interaction between a sphere and the boundaries of a cavity

A new type of vibrational lift force [1] acting on a spherical body oscillating in a viscous fluid near a rigid boundary is experimentally investigated. The interaction between the body and the cavity boundary creates a repulsion force which is capable of holding a heavy body in the gravity field at a certain distance from the floor and a light body at a certain distance from the ceiling. The repulsion force appears at a distance comparable with the Stokesian boundary layer thickness and increases as the surface is approached. Outside the viscous interaction range, the repulsion force is replaced by an attraction force which decays with distance. Dimensionless parameters governing the vibrational interaction are found and threshold curves, corresponding to the transition of bodies of different densities to the “suspended” state, are plotted as functions of a dimensionless frequency. The dependence of the repulsion and attraction forces on the distance between the body and the wall is studied.     

Controlling the disturbances in a hypersonic flat-plate shock layer by unsteady action from the surface

The results of a wind-tunnel experiment on the joint action of periodic acoustic fast-mode disturbances of the outer flow and disturbances generated at the leading edge of a plate on the hypersonic (M_∞ = 21) viscous shock layer on the plate are presented. The possibility of positively controlling the intensity of density fluctuations in the plate shock layer by means of disturbances introduced from the leading edge is shown. Direct numerical simulation of the suppression (enhancement) of disturbances under the simultaneous action on the shock layer of the two-dimensional fast-mode acoustic waves in the outer flow and the source of two-dimensional suction/injection disturbances near the leading edge of the plate is performed under the experimental conditions. The experimental and calculated results are shown to be in good agreement.     

滑滚表面间的流体膜壁面滑移和流体动力学

经典雷诺润滑理论建立在无壁面滑移的假设基础之上。近年来许多试验报告了发生在流体膜流动的壁面滑移证据。本文研究了两固体表面间的流体膜流动特性和流体动力学,发现壁面滑移显著影响膜的流体动力学问题,流体动压力不仅受黏度和几何间隙的影响,而且还由壁面滑移和表面运动强力控制,通过控制表面的吸附性质,甚至可以得到零摩擦表面。另一方面,如果两个表面具有相同的滑移特性,存在一个临界滑动速度使得流体动压效应完全消失;但是在纯滚动条件下,即使界面极限剪应力很小,仍然有相当可观的流体动压效应。