A Hybrid Boundary/Finite Element Method for Simulating Viscous Flows and Shapes of Droplets in Electric Fields

A mixed boundary element and finite element numerical algorithm for the simultaneous prediction of the electric fields, viscous flow fields, thermal fields and surface deformation of electrically conducting droplets in an electrostatic field is described in this paper. The boundary element method is used for the computation of the electric potential distribution. This allows the boundary conditions at infinity to be directly incorporated into the boundary integral formulation, thereby obviating the need for discretization at infinity. The surface deformation is determined by solving the normal stress balance equation using the weighted residuals method. The fluid flow and thermal fields are calculated using the mixed finite element method. The computational algorithm for the simultaneous prediction of surface deformation and fluid flow involves two iterative loops, one for the electric field and surface deformation and the other for the surface tension driven viscous flows. The two loops are coupled through the droplet surface shapes for viscous fluid flow calculations and viscous stresses for updating the droplet shapes. Computing the surface deformation in a separate loop permits the freedom of applying different types of elements without complicating procedures for the internal flow and thermal calculations. Tests indicate that the quadratic, cubic spline and spectral boundary elements all give approximately the same accuracy for free surface calculations; however, the quadratic elements are preferred as they are easier to implement and also require less computing time. Linear elements, however, are less accurate. Numerical simulations are carried out for the simultaneous solution of free surface shapes and internal fluid flow and temperature distributions in droplets in electric fields under both microgravity and earthbound conditions. Results show that laser heating may induce a non-uniform temperature distribution in the droplets. This non-uniform thermal field results in a variation of surface tension along the surface of the droplet, which in turn produces a recirculating fluid flow in the droplet. The viscous stresses cause additional surface deformation by squeezing the surface areas above and below the equator plane.     

Finite Element study of fracture initiation in flaws subject to internal fluid pressure and vertical stress

Hydraulic fracturing is a method used routinely in oil and gas exploitation and in engineered geothermal systems. While used frequently, there are many aspects of hydraulic fracturing, such as the direction of propagation of the newly-created fractures, which are not very well understood. Even though it is known that the local stress field plays a fundamental role in the orientation of the new fractures, there may be other factors, such as the geometry of the existing fractures and the magnitude of the hydraulic pressure applied, that may play a major role in the path that a new fracture follows when pressurized.The main goal of this study is to numerically analyze the effect of the ratio between a vertical load, or stress, and the hydraulic pressure applied in existing flaws on the stress field in the vicinity of the flaw tips. For that purpose, a double flaw geometry 2a-30-30 was modeled in the Finite Element code ABAQUS, and different vertical loads and internal flaw pressures were applied to the model. The variation of the maximum principal stresses and maximum shear stresses around the flaw tips were analyzed and related to fracture initiation.The study showed that the ratio between the water pressure applied in the flaws and the vertical load/stress (WP/VL) plays a crucial role in the magnitude and shape of the stress field around a flaw tip, and therefore in the location of tensile and shear fracture initiation. As WP/VL increases, the location of initiation of new tensile fractures shifts from the upper face of the studied flaw towards the region right ahead of the flaw tip; simultaneously, the location of initiation of new shear fractures shifts from the region ahead of the flaw tip to the upper face of the analyzed tip.     

杂交元本征应力模式和应力子空间的性质研究

详细讨论了有限元本征应力模式和应力子空间的性质，并着重讨论和进一步完善了与杂交应力有限元应力子空间有关的一些定理，为提出新方法提供了理论基础，主要包括：（1）证明了杂交元特征值不大于对应位移元的特征值；（2）证明了矩阵H非奇异的充分必要条件是假设应力模式线性无关；（3）证明了杂交元所对应位移元的本征应力模式形成的杂交元与该位移元相同；（4）证明了等价假设应力模式形成相同的杂交元；（5）证明了确定杂交元本征应力模式的充分必要条件是其范数平方等于所形成杂交元的变形模态特征值；（6）证明了杂交元假设应力模式与变形模态的能量一一对应的充分必要条件是假设应力模式彼此正交且与所对应位移元的本征应力模式除了一一对应者之外都正交。     

涡量修正方法在切向炉内流场数值模拟中的应用

涡量是流体运动的一个基本物理量，旋涡是流体运动中常见的一种基本形态，又是湍流的一种基本结构，它在理论上和工程实践中占有相当重要的位置。本文在吴镇远（Ｊ．Ｃ．Ｗｕ）方法的基础上，提出了一种新的数值计算方法——涡量修正方法。对炉内速度场及涡量场进行了计算，其速度场的计算结果与实验基本符合，在网格划分基本相同的条件下与ＳＩＭＰＬＥ算法所得结果相比，涡量修正算法更接近于实验结果，为流场的数值模拟提供了一条新的途径。     

Application of a POD-Galerkin based method to time resolved and time unresolved data for the determination of the Convective Velocity of Large-Scale Coherent Structures in High Speed Flows

Motivated by the aero-acoustic feedback loop phenomenon in high speed free jets and impinging jets, a thorough examination of a POD (Proper Orthogonal Decomposition)-Galerkin method to determine the average convection velocity of coherent structures in the shear layer is presented in this paper. The technique is shown to be applicable to both time resolved as well as time unresolved data, if the data set meets certain requirements. Using a detailed sensitivity analysis on a synthetic data set, a quantitative estimate on the required time resolution for the technique has been found, which can be useful for both experimental, as well as numerical studies investigating the aero-acoustic feedback loop in high speed flows. Moreover, some innovative ways to apply the technique are also demonstrated using a simulated data set, showing the effectiveness of the technique to any general problem in supersonic jets, heat transfer, combustion or other areas in fluid mechanics, where an advection process can be identified.     

采用改进的SHPB方法对泡沫铝动态力学性能的研究

本文改进了传统的分离式霍布金森压杆(SHPB)技术，采用夹在透射杆中的PVDF压电计直接测量透射杆中的应力时程．同时，采用输入波形整形技术，通过调整加载波形，使试样加载过程中保证均匀变形及应力平衡．利用此改进了的SHPB技术对泡沫铝进行了高应变率下的动态压缩实验．实验结果表明：泡沫铝的动态应力应变曲线具有泡沫材料的应力应变曲线的“三阶段”特征(elastic region，collapse region and densification region)，并且应变率对其力学性能影响明显．