Convergence of Ginzburg–Landau Functionals in Three-Dimensional Superconductivity

In this paper we consider the asymptotic behavior of the Ginzburg–Landau model for superconductivity in three dimensions, in various energy regimes. Through an analysis via Γ-convergence, we rigorously derive a reduced model for the vortex density and deduce a curvature equation for the vortex lines. In the companion paper (Baldo et al. Commun. Math. Phys. 2012, to appear) we describe further applications to superconductivity and superfluidity, such as general expressions for the first critical magnetic field H _c1, and the critical angular velocity of rotating Bose–Einstein condensates.     

Quantization and Motion Law for Ginzburg–Landau Vortices

We study the vortex trajectories for the two-dimensional complex parabolic Ginzburg–Landau equation without a well-preparedness assumption. We prove that the trajectory set is rectifiable, and satisfies a weak motion law. In the case of degree  ±  1 vortices, the motion law is satisfied in the classical sense. Moreover, dissipation occurs only at a finite number of times. Away from these times, possible collisions and splittings of vortices are constrained by algebraic equations involving their topological degrees. Quantization properties of the energy and potential densities play a central role in the proofs.     

Study of Heat Transport in Bénard-Darcy Convection with g-Jitter and Thermo-Mechanical Anisotropy in Variable Viscosity Liquids

The effects of temperature-dependent viscosity, gravity modulation and thermo-mechanical anisotropies on heat transport in a low-porosity medium are studied using the Ginzburg–Landau model. The effect of gravity modulation is to decrease the Nusselt number, Nu and variable viscosity leads to increase in Nu. The thermo-mechanical anisotropies have opposite effect on Nu with thermal anisotropy decreasing the heat transport.     

On Asymptotic Stability of Kink for Relativistic Ginzburg–Landau Equations

We prove the asymptotic stability of kink for the nonlinear relativistic wave equations of the Ginzburg–Landau type in one space dimension: for any odd initial condition in a small neighborhood of the kink, the solution, asymptotically in time, is the sum of the kink and dispersive part described by the free Klein–Gordon equation. The remainder converges to zero in a global norm.     

Experimental investigation of liquid jet injection into Mach 6 hypersonic crossflow

The injection of a liquid jet into a crossing Mach 6 air flow is investigated. Experiments were conducted on a sharp leading edge flat plate with flush mounted injectors. Water jets were introduced through different nozzle shapes at relevant jet-to-air momentum–flux ratios. Sufficient temporal resolution to capture small scale effects was obtained by high-speed recording, while directional illumination allowed variation in field of view. Shock pattern and flow topology were visualized by Schlieren-technique. Correlations are proposed on relating water jet penetration height and lateral extension with the injection ratio and orifice diameter for circular injector jets. Penetration height and lateral extension are compared for different injector shapes at relevant jet-to-air momentum–flux ratios showing that penetration height and lateral extension decrease and increase, respectively, with injector’s aspect ratio. Probability density function analysis has shown that the mixing of the jet with the crossflow is completed at a distance of x/d _j  ~ 40, independent of the momentum–flux ratio. Mean velocity profiles related with the liquid jet have been extracted by means of an ensemble correlation PIV algorithm. Finally, frequency analyses of the jet breakup and fluctuating shock pattern are performed using a Fast Fourier algorithm and characteristic Strouhal numbers of St = 0.18 for the liquid jet breakup and of St = 0.011 for the separation shock fluctuation are obtained.     

Onset of unsteady axi-symmetric laminar natural convection in a vertical cylindrical enclosure heated at the wall

In the present study laminar transition to oscillatory convection of fluids having different Prandtl numbers in a laterally heated vertical cylindrical enclosure for different aspect ratios (melt height to crucible radius) of 2–4 is investigated numerically for 0.01 ≤ Pr ≤ 10. Numerical solution to two-dimensional axisymmetric transient Navier Stokes equations and energy equation were solved by finite volume method using SIMPLE algorithm. Numerical results illustrate that there exists a critical Rayleigh number for each Prandtl number beyond which sustained laminar oscillatory flow sets in. The oscillatory regime was characterised by the oscillation of the average kinetic energy and average thermal energy of the melt. For a given aspect ratio, critical Rayleigh number increases with Pr upto 1 and then flattens. It was observed that for low Prandtl number fluids, Pr < 1.0, critical Rayleigh number is found to increase with increase in aspect ratio while for high Prandtl number fluids, Pr ≥ 1.0, it is found to decrease with increase in aspect ratio. The influence of aspect ratio on the transient behaviour of the melt volume below and above the critical Rayleigh number was studied.     

On the First Critical Field in Ginzburg–Landau Theory for Thin Shells and Manifolds

In this article, we investigate the response of a thin superconducting shell to an arbitrary external magnetic field. We identify the intensity of the applied field that forces the emergence of vortices in minimizers, the so-called first critical field H _c1 in Ginzburg–Landau theory, for closed simply connected manifolds and arbitrary fields. In the case of a simply connected surface of revolution and vertical and constant field, we further determine the exact number of vortices in the sample as the intensity of the applied field is raised just above H _c1. Finally, we derive via Γ-convergence similar statements for three-dimensional domains of small thickness, where in this setting point vortices are replaced by vortex lines.     

Effect of Discrete Heating on Natural Convection in a Rectangular Porous Enclosure

The main objective of this article is to study the effect of discrete heating on free convection heat transfer in a rectangular porous enclosure containing a heat-generating substance. The left wall of the enclosure has two discrete heat sources and the right wall is isothermally cooled at a lower temperature. The top and bottom walls, and the unheated portions of the left wall are adiabatic. The vorticity–stream function formulation of the governing equations is numerically solved using an implicit finite difference method. The effects of aspect ratio, Darcy number, heat source length, and modified Rayleigh number on the flow and heat transfer are analyzed. The numerical results reveal that the rate of heat transfer increases as the modified Rayleigh number and the Darcy number increases, but decreases on increasing the aspect ratio. The average heat transfer rate is found to be higher at the bottom heater than at the top heater in almost all considered parameter cases except for ε = 0.5. Also, the maximum temperature takes place generally at the top heater except for the case ε = 0.5, where the maximum temperature is found at the bottom heater. Further, the numerical results reveal that the maximum temperature decreases with the modified Rayleigh number and increases with the aspect ratio.     

Unsteady natural convection in an enclosure with vertical wavy walls

In this paper, unsteady heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics in an enclosure are investigated. The enclosure consists of two vertical wavy and two horizontal straight walls. The top and the bottom walls are considered adiabatic. Two wavy walls are kept isothermal and their boundaries are approximated by a cosine function. Governing equations including continuity, momentum and energy were discretized using the finite-volume method and solved by SIMPLE method in curvilinear coordinate. Simulation was carried out for a range of Grashof number Gr = 10³–10⁶, Prandtl number Pr = 0.5–4.0, wave ratio A (defined by amplitude/wavelength) 0.0–0.35 and aspect ratio W (defined by average width/wavelength) 0.5–1.0. Streamlines and isothermal lines are presented to corresponding flow and thermal fields. Local and average Nusselt number distributions are presented. The obtained results are in good agreement with available numerical and experimental data.     

Effect of the surface thermal radiation on turbulent natural convection in tall cavities of façade elements

The effect of the surface thermal radiation in tall cavities with turbulent natural convection regime was analyzed and quantified numerically. The parameters considered were: the Rayleigh number 10⁹–10¹², the aspect ratio 20, 40 and 80 and the emmisivity 0.0–1.0. The percentage contribution of the radiative surface to the total heat transfer has a maximum value of  15.19% (Ra = 10⁹, A = 20) with emissivity equal to 1.0 and a minimum of 0.5% (Ra = 10¹², A = 80) with ε* = 0.2. The average radiative Nusselt number for a fixed emissivity is independent of the Rayleigh number, but for a fixed Rayleigh number diminishes with the increase of the aspect ratio. The results indicate that the surface thermal radiation does not modify significantly the flow pattern in the cavity, just negligible effects in the bottom and top of the cavity were observed. Two different temperature patterns were observed a conductive regime Ra = 10⁹ and a boundary layer regime Ra = 10¹².     

Near-ground tornado-like vortex structure resolved by particle image velocimetry (PIV)

The near-ground flow structure of tornadoes is of utmost interest because it determines how and to what extent civil structures could get damaged in tornado events. We simulated tornado-like vortex flow at the swirl ratios of S = 0.03–0.3 (vane angle θ_v = 15°–60°), using a laboratory tornado simulator and investigated the near-ground-vortex structure by particle imaging velocimetry. Complicated near-ground flow was measured in two orthogonal views: horizontal planes at various elevations (z = 11, 26 and 53 mm above the ground) and the meridian plane. We observed two distinct vortex structures: a single-celled vortex at the lowest swirl ratio (S = 0.03, θ_v = 15°) and multiple suction vortices rotating around the primary vortex (two-celled vortex) at higher swirl ratios (S = 0.1–0.3, θ_v = 30°–60°). We quantified the effects of vortex wandering on the mean flow and found that vortex wandering was important and should be taken into account in the low swirl ratio case. The tangential velocity, as the dominant velocity component, has the peak value about three times that of the maximum radial velocity regardless of the swirl ratio. The maximum velocity variance is about twice at the high swirl ratio (θ_v = 45°) that at the low swirl ratio (θ_v = 15°), which is contributed significantly by the multiple small-scale secondary vortices. Here, the results show that not only the intensified mean flow but greatly enhanced turbulence occurs near the surface in the tornado-like vortex flow. The intensified mean flow and enhanced turbulence at the ground level, correlated with the ground-vortex interaction, may cause dramatic damage of the civil structures in tornadoes. This work provides detailed characterization of the tornado-like vortex structure, which has not been fully revealed in previous field studies and laboratory simulations. It would be helpful in improving the understanding of the interaction between the tornado-like vortex structure and the ground surface, ultimately leading to better predictions of tornado-induced wind loads on civil structures.     

Analyticity and Decay Estimates of the Navier–Stokes Equations in Critical Besov Spaces

In this paper, we establish analyticity of the Navier–Stokes equations with small data in critical Besov spaces . The main method is Gevrey estimates, the choice of which is motivated by the work of Foias and Temam (Contemp Math 208:151–180, 1997). We show that mild solutions are Gevrey regular, that is, the energy bound holds in , globally in time for p < ∞. We extend these results for the intricate limiting case p = ∞ in a suitably designed E _∞ space. As a consequence of analyticity, we obtain decay estimates of weak solutions in Besov spaces. Finally, we provide a regularity criterion in Besov spaces.     

Direct simulation of isolated elliptic vortices and of their radiated noise

The aerodynamic evolution and the acoustic radiation of elliptic vortices with various aspect ratios and moderate Mach numbers are investigated by solving numerically the full compressible Navier–Stokes equations. Three behaviours are observed according to the aspect ratio σ = a/b where a and b are the major and minor semi-axes of the vortices. At the small aspect ratio σ = 1.2, the vortex rotates at a constant angular velocity and radiates like a rotating quadrupole. At the moderate aspect ratio σ = 5, the vortex is initially unstable. However the growth of instability waves is inhibited by the return to axisymmetry which decreases its aspect ratio. The noise level becomes lower with time and the radiation frequency increases. For vortices with larger aspect ratios σ ≥ 6, the return to axisymmetry does not occur quickly enough to stop the growth of instabilities, which splits the vortices. Various mergers are then found to occur. For instance in the case σ = 6, several successive switches between an elliptic state and a configuration of two co-rotating vortices are observed. The present results show that the initial value of the aspect ratio yields the relative weight between the return to axisymmetry which stabilizes the vortex and the growth of instabilities which tends to split it. Moreover the noise generated by the vortices is also calculated using the analytical solution derived by Howe (J. Fluid Mech. 71:625–673, 1975) and is compared with the reference solution provided by the direct computation. This solution is found to be valid for σ = 1.2. An extended solution is proposed for higher aspect ratios. Finally, the pressure field appears weakly affected by the switches between the two unstable configurations in the case σ = 6, which underlines the difficulty to detect the split or the merger of vortices from the radiated pressure. This study also shows that elliptic vortices can be used as a basic configuration of aerodynamic noise generation.      

Stable Configurations in Superconductivity: Uniqueness, Multiplicity, and Vortex‐Nucleation

. We find new stable solutions of the Ginzburg‐Landau equation for high κ superconductors with exterior magnetic field h _ex. First, we prove the uniqueness of the Meissner‐type solution. Then, we prove, in the case of a disc domain, the coexistence of branches of solutions with n vortices of degree one, for any n not too high and for a certain range of h _ex; and describe these branches. Finally, we give an estimate on the nucleation energy barrier, to pass continuously from a vortexless configuration to a configuration with a centered vortex. (Accepted October 29, 1998)     

Turbulent wall pressure fluctuation measurements on a towed model at high Reynolds numbers

Turbulent wall pressure fluctuation measurements were made in water on a towed model of length 129.8 (m) and diameter 3.8 (cm) for steady speeds from 6.2 (m/s) to 15.5 (m/s). The drag on the model was measured with a strut mounted load cell which provided estimates of the momentum thickness and friction velocity. Momentum thickness Reynolds numbers Re _θ varied from 4.8 × 10⁵ to 1.1 × 10⁶. The ratio of momentum thickness to viscous length scale is significantly greater than for flat plate cases at comparable Re _θ. The effectiveness of inner and outer velocity and length scales for collapsing the pressure spectra are discussed. The wavenumber–frequency spectra show a convective ridge at higher frequencies similar to flat plate boundary layers. At low frequencies, energy broad in wavenumber extends outside the convective ridge and acoustic cone, with no characteristic wave speed. Wall pressure cross-spectral levels scaled with similarity variables are shown to increase with increasing tow speed, and to follow decay constants consistent with flat plate cases. The convection velocities also display features similar to flat plate cases.     

Influence of elastic material compressibility on parameters of an expanding spherical stress wave

We investigated the influence of elastic material compressibility on parameters of an expanding spherical stress wave. The material compressibility is represented by Poisson’s ratio, ν, in this paper. The stress wave is generated by a pressure produced inside a spherical cavity surrounded by the isotropic elastic material. The analytical closed form formulae determining the dynamic state of the mechanical parameters (displacement, particle velocity, strains, stresses, and material density) in the material have been derived. These formulae were obtained for surge pressure p(t) = p ₀ = const inside the cavity. From analysis of these formulae, it is shown that the Poisson’s ratio substantially influences the course of material parameters in space and time. All parameters intensively decrease in space together with an increase of the Lagrangian coordinate, r. On the contrary, these parameters oscillate versus time around their static values. These oscillations decay in the course of time. We can mark out two ranges of parameter ν values in which vibrations of the parameters are “damped” at a different rate. Thus, Poisson’s ratio in the range below about 0.4 causes intense decay of parameter oscillations. On the other hand in the range 0.4 < ν < 0.5, i.e. in quasi-incompressible materials, the “damping” of parameter vibrations is very low. In the limiting case when ν = 0.5, i.e. in the incompressible material, “damping” vanishes, and the parameters harmonically oscillate around their static values. The abnormal behaviour of the material occurs in the range 0.4 < ν < 0.5. In this case, an insignificant increase of Poisson’s ratio causes a considerable increase of the parameter vibration amplitude and decrease of vibration “damping”.      

Multi-Vortex Solutions to Ginzburg–Landau Equations with External Potential

We consider the existence of multi-vortex solutions to the Ginzburg–Landau equations with external potential on \mathbbR²{\mathbb{R}^2} . These equations model equilibrium states of superconductors and stationary states of the U(1) Higgs model of particle physics. In the former case, the external potential models impurities and defects. We show that if the external potential is small enough and the magnetic vortices are widely spaced, then one can pin one or an arbitrary number of vortices in the vicinity of a critical point of the potential. In addition, one can pin an arbitrary number of vortices near infinity if the potential is radially symmetric and of an algebraic order near infinity.     

DDT in a smooth tube filled with a hydrogen–oxygen mixture

Results of experimental study on DDT in a smooth tube filled with sensitive mixtures having detonation cell size from 1 to 3 orders of magnitude smaller than the tube diameter are presented. Stoichiometric hydrogen–oxygen mixtures were used in the tests with initial pressure ranging from 0.2 to 8 bar. A dependence of the run-up distance to DDT on the initial pressure is studied. This dependence is found to be close to the inverse proportionality. It is suggested that the flow ahead of the flame results in formation of the turbulent boundary layer. This boundary layer controls the scale of turbulent motions in the flow. A simple model to estimate the maximum scale of the turbulent pulsations (boundary layer thickness) at flame positions along the tube is presented. The largest scale of the turbulent motions at the location of the onset of detonation is shown to be 1 order of magnitude greater than the detonation cell widths, λ, in all the tests. It is suggested that the onset of detonation is triggered during flame acceleration as soon as the maximum scale of the turbulent pulsations increases up to about 10 λ. The model to estimate the maximum size of turbulent motions, δ, and the correlation δ≈ 10λ, give a basis for estimations of the run-up distances to DDT in tubes with internal diameter D > 20λ. PACS 47.40.-x; 47.27.Nz This paper was based on work that was presented at the 19th Inter-national Colloquium on the Dynamics of Explosions and Reactive Systems, Hakone, Japan, July 27 - August 1, 2003     

Existence of Traveling Waves of Invasion for Ginzburg–Landau-type Problems in Infinite Cylinders

We study a class of systems of reaction–diffusion equations in infinite cylinders which arise within the context of Ginzburg–Landau theories and describe the kinetics of phase transformation in second-order or weakly first-order phase transitions with non-conserved order parameters. We use a variational characterization to study the existence of a special class of traveling wave solutions which are characterized by a fast exponential decay in the direction of propagation. Our main result is a simple verifiable criterion for existence of these traveling waves under the very general assumptions of non-linearities. We also prove boundedness, regularity, and some other properties of the obtained solutions, as well as several sufficient conditions for existence or non-existence of such traveling waves, and give rigorous upper and lower bounds for their speed. In addition, we prove that the speed of the obtained solutions gives a sharp upper bound for the propagation speed of a class of disturbances which are initially sufficiently localized. We give a sample application of our results using a computer-assisted approach.     

Conjugate heat transfer study of incompressible turbulent offset jet flows

In the present case, the conjugate heat transfer involving a turbulent plane offset jet is considered. The bottom wall of the solid block is maintained at an isothermal temperature higher than the jet inlet temperature. The parameters considered are the offset ratio (OR), the conductivity ratio (K), the solid slab thickness (S) and the Prandtl number (Pr). The Reynolds number considered is 15,000 because the flow becomes fully turbulent and then it becomes independent of the Reynolds number. The ranges of parameters considered are: OR = 3, 7 and 11, K = 1–1,000, S = 1–10 and Pr = 0.01–100. High Reynolds number two-equation model (k–ε) has been used for turbulence modeling. Results for the solid–fluid interface temperature, local Nusselt number, local heat flux, average Nusselt number and average heat transfer have been presented and discussed.