Condensation models for the water–steam interface and the volume of fluid method

We assess the quantitative capabilities of three condensation models. These models are: (1) Numerical iteration technique; (2) heat flux balance equation; (3) phase field. The numerical iteration technique introduces a mass and energy transfer at the interface, if the temperature of the corresponding cell differs from the saturation value. The second approach solves the heat flux balance equation at the interface, hence, the resolution of the thermal boundary layer around the liquid-vapor interface is necessary to obtain an accurate value for the condensation rate. The third technique is based on a recently derived phase field model for boiling and condensation phenomena. The models were implemented in FLUENT and the interface was tracked explicitly with the volume of fluid (VOF) method. The models were tested on the LAOKOON facility, which measured direct contact condensation in a horizontal duct. The results showed that the phase field model fit best the experimental results.     

An immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann flux solver and its applications to fluid–structure interaction problems

An immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann flux solver (IB–LBFS) for the simulation of two-dimensional fluid–structure interaction (FSI) problems is presented in this paper. The IB–LBFS applies the fractional-step method to split the overall solution process into the predictor step and the corrector step. In the predictor step, the intermediate flow field is predicted by applying the LBFS (lattice Boltzmann flux solver) without considering the presence of immersed object. The LBFS applies the finite volume method to solve N–S (Navier–Stokes) equations for the flow variables at cell centers. At each cell interface, the LBFS evaluates its viscous and inviscid fluxes simultaneously through local reconstruction of the LBE (lattice Boltzmann equation) solutions. In the corrector step, the intermediate flow field is corrected by the implicit boundary condition-enforced immersed boundary method (IBM) so that the no-slip boundary conditions can be accurately satisfied. The IB–LBFS effectively combines the advantages of the LBFS in solving the flow field and the flexibility of the IBM in dealing with boundary conditions. Consequently, the IB–LBFS presents a much simpler and more effective approach for simulating complex FSI problems on non-uniform grids. Several test cases, including flows past one and two cylinders with prescribed motions, are firstly simulated to examine the accuracy of present solver. After that, two strongly coupled fluid–structure interaction problems, i.e., particle sedimentations and vortex-induced vibrations of a circular cylinder are investigated. Good agreements between the present results and those in literature verify the capability and flexibility of IB–LBFS for simulating FSI problems.     

Two forms of continuum shape sensitivity method for fluid–structure interaction problems

Continuum Sensitivity Equation (CSE) methods for deriving and computing derivatives with respect to shape design variables are developed in two forms and compared in their application to fluid–structure interaction (FSI) problems. The local derivative form poses the CSEs in terms of the partial derivatives of the state variables with respect to shape parameters, while the CSEs in total derivative form are posed in terms of the total derivative, also known as the material or substantial derivative. In the literature CSEs are often posed in local form for fluids and total form for solids. The two forms are compared here for the purpose of applying a single form to both fluid and structure domains. The local form, also known as the boundary velocity method, requires design velocity only at the boundaries and interfaces of the domains to pose the CSEs. In contrast, the total form, also known as the domain velocity method, requires the design velocity in the whole domain. The local form requires higher-order spatial derivatives of the analysis solution than the total form, which affects the accuracy of its results. Higher order p-elements are shown to be a remedy to the inaccuracy of local form CSE seen in the literature for finite element solutions. The practicality, accuracy, and efficiency of these two CSE forms are compared based on the implementation and computed derivatives for three examples: a linear Timoshenko beam subject to a tip force, fluid flow around an airfoil, and an airfoil attached to a nonlinear joined beam subject to a gust load.     

Reference map technique for finite-strain elasticity and fluid–solid interaction

The reference map, defined as the inverse motion function, is utilized in an Eulerian-frame representation of continuum solid mechanics, leading to a simple, explicit finite-difference method for solids undergoing finite deformations. We investigate the accuracy and applicability of the technique for a range of finite-strain elasticity laws under various geometries and loadings. Capacity to model dynamic, static, and quasi-static conditions is shown. Specifications of the approach are demonstrated for handling irregularly shaped and/or moving boundaries, as well as shock solutions. The technique is also integrated within a fluid–solid framework using a level-set to discern phases and using a standard explicit fluid solver for the fluid phases. We employ a sharp-interface method to institute the interfacial conditions, and the resulting scheme is shown to efficiently capture fluid–solid interaction solutions in several examples.     

A new immersed boundary method for compressible Navier–Stokes equations

This paper presents an immersed boundary method for compressible Navier–Stokes equations in irregular domains, based on a local radial basis function approximation. This approach allows one to define a reconstruction of the radial basis functions on each irregular interface cell to treat both the Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions accurately on the immersed interfaces. Several numerical examples, including problems with available analytical solutions and the well-documented flow past an airfoil, are presented to test the proposed method. The numerical results demonstrate that the proposed method provides accurate solutions for viscous compressible flows.     

Simulation of dynamic fluid–solid interactions with an improved direct-forcing immersed boundary method

Dynamic fluid–solid interactions are widely found in chemical engineering, such as in particle-laden flows, which usually contain complex moving boundaries. The immersed boundary method (IBM) is a convenient approach to handle fluid–solid interactions with complex geometries. In this work, Uhlmann's direct-forcing IBM is improved and implemented on a supercomputer with CPU–GPU hybrid architecture. The direct-forcing IBM is modified as follows: the Poisson's equation for pressure is solved before evaluation of the body force, and the force is only distributed to the Cartesian grids inside the immersed boundary. A multidirect forcing scheme is used to evaluate the body force. These modifications result in a divergence-free flow field in the fluid domain and the no-slip boundary condition at the immersed boundary simultaneously. This method is implemented in an explicit finite-difference fractional-step scheme, and validated by 2D simulations of lid-driven cavity flow, Couette flow between two concentric cylinders and flow over a circular cylinder. Finally, the method is used to simulate the sedimentation of two circular particles in a channel. The results agree very well with previous experimental and numerical data, and are more accurate than the conventional direct-forcing method, especially in the vicinity of a moving boundary.     

Gravity-elastic deformation and stability of fluid–fluid interface in porous media

A new generalized model is proposed to describe deformations of the mobile interface separating two immiscible weakly compressible fluids in a weakly deformable porous medium. It describes gravity non-equilibrium processes, including evolution of the gravitational instability, and represents a system of parabolic or anti-parabolic equations.     

A gas-kinetic theory based multidimensional high-order method for the compressible Navier–Stokes solutions

This paper presents a gas-kinetic theory based multidimensional high-order method for the compressible Naiver–Stokes solutions. In our previous study, a spatially and temporally dependent third-order flux scheme with the use of a third-order gas distribution function is employed.However, the third-order flux scheme is quite complicated and less robust than the second-order scheme. In order to reduce its complexity and improve its robustness, the secondorder flux scheme is adopted instead in this paper, while the temporal order of method is maintained by using a two stage temporal discretization. In addition, its CPU cost is relatively lower than the previous scheme. Several test cases in two and three dimensions, containing high Mach number compressible flows and low speed high Reynolds number laminar flows, are presented to demonstrate the method capacity.     

Efficient shape optimization for fluid–structure interaction problems

An approach for the shape optimization of fluid–structure interaction (FSI) problems is presented. It is based on a partitioned solution procedure for fluid–structure interaction, a shape representation with NURBS, and sequential quadratic programming approach for optimization within a parallel environment with MPI as direct coupling tool. The optimization procedure is accelerated by employing reduced order models based on a proper orthogonal decomposition method with snapshots and Kriging. After the verification of the FSI optimization, the functionality and efficiency of the reduced order modeling as well as the corresponding optimization procedure are investigated.     

Developing a cyber-physical fluid dynamics facility for fluid–structure interaction studies

In fluid–structure interaction studies, such as vortex-induced vibration, one needs to select essential parameters for the system, such as mass, spring stiffness, and damping. Normally, these parameters are set physically by the mechanical arrangement. However, our approach utilizes a combination of a physical system, comprises a fluid and a mechanical actuator, and a cyber system, taking the form of a computer-based force-feedback controller. This arrangement allows us to impose mass–spring–damping parameters in virtual space and in up to six degrees of freedom. [A similar concept, in one degree of freedom, was pioneered by a group at MIT (see Hover et al., 1998), in studies of vortex-induced vibration of cables.] Although the use of a cyber-physical system has clear advantages over using a purely physical experiment, there are serious challenges to overcome in the design of the governing control system. Our controller, based on a discretization of Newton's laws, makes it straightforward to add and modify any kind of nonlinear, time-varying, or directional force: it is virtually specified but imposed on a physical object. We implement this idea in both a first-generation and a second-generation facility. In this paper, we present preliminary applications of this approach in flow–structure interactions.     

A mesh-free radial basis function–based semi-Lagrangian lattice Boltzmann method for incompressible flows

In this paper, a local radial basis function–based semi-Lagrangian lattice Boltzmann method (RBF-SL-LBM) is proposed. This is a mesh-free method that can be used for the simulation of incompressible flows. In this method, the collision step is performed locally, which is the same as in the standard LBM. In the meanwhile, the steaming step is solved in a semi-Lagrangian framework. The distribution functions at the departure points, which may be not the grid points in general, are computed by the local radial basis function interpolation. Several numerical tests are conducted to validate the present method, including the lid-driven cavity flow, the steady and unsteady flow past a circular cylinder, and the flow past an NACA0012 airfoil. The present results are in good agreement with those published in the previous literature, which demonstrates the capability of RBF-SL-LBM for the simulation of incompressible flows.     

A unifying model for fluid flow and elastic solid deformation: A novel approach for fluid–structure interaction

Fluid–structure coupling is addressed through a unified equation for compressible Newtonian fluid flow and elastic solid deformation. This is done by introducing thermodynamics within Cauchy׳s equation through the isothermal compressibility coefficient that is experimentally measurable for both fluids and solids. The vectorial resolution of the governing equation, where every component of velocity vectors and displacement variation vectors is calculated simultaneously in the overall multi-phase system, is characteristic of a monolithic resolution involving no iterative coupling. For system equation closure, mass density and pressure are both re-actualized from velocity vector divergence, when the shear stress tensor within the solid phase is re-actualized from the displacement variation vectors. This novel approach is first validated on a two-phase system, involving a plane fluid–solid interface, through the two following test cases: (i) steady-state compression and (ii) longitudinal and transverse elastic wave propagations. Then the 3D study of compressive fluid injection towards an elastic solid is analyzed from initial time to steady-state evolution.     

Development of a fully Lagrangian MPS-based coupled method for simulation of fluid–structure interaction problems

A fully Lagrangian particle-based method is developed for simulating the FSI (Fluid–Structure Interaction) problems corresponding to incompressible fluid flows and elastic structures. First, the developed elastic structure model is verified by static and dynamic tests corresponding to a simple cantilever beam. The simulation results are compared with analytical and other researchers׳ numerical solutions. Then, the structure model is carefully coupled with a fluid model comprising of the so-called PNU-MPS (Pusan-National-University-modified Moving Particle Simulation) method and several recently developed enhanced schemes. The coupled fluid–structure method is applied to a dam break with an elastic gate and a violent sloshing flow with a hanging rubber baffle. The results of simulations are compared with those of the experiments by Antoci et al. (2007) and Idelsohn et al. (2008).     

A fluid–structure interaction model for stability analysis of shells conveying fluid

In this paper, a fluid–structure interaction model for stability analysis of shells conveying fluid is developed. This model is developed for shells of arbitrary geometry and structure and is based on incompressible potential flow. The boundary element method is applied to model the potential flow. The fluid dynamics model is derived by using an inflow/outflow model along with the impermeability condition at the fluid–shell interface. This model is applied to obtain the flow modes and eigenvalues, which are used for the modal representation of the flow field in the shell. Based on the mode shapes and natural frequencies of the shell obtained from an FEM model, the modal analysis technique is used for structural modeling of the shell. Using the linearized Bernoulli equation for unsteady pressure on the fluid–shell interface in combination with the virtual work principle, the generalized structural forces are obtained in terms of the modal coordinates of the fluid flow and the coupled field equations of the fluid–structure are derived. The obtained model is validated by comparison with results in the literature, and very good agreement is demonstrated. Then, some examples are provided to demonstrate the application of the present model to determining the stability conditions of shells with arbitrary geometries.     

A stencil-like volume of fluid （VOF） method for tracking free interface

A stencil-like volume of fluid （VOF） method is proposed for tracking free interface. A stencil on a grid cell is worked out according to the normal direction of the interface, in which only three interface positions are possible in 2D cases, and the interface can be reconstructed by only requiring the known local volume fraction information. On the other hand, the fluid-occupying-length is defined on each side of the stencil, through which a unified fluid-occupying volume model and a unified algorithm can be obtained to solve the interface advection equation. The method is suitable for the arbitrary geometry of the grid cell, and is extendible to 3D cases. Typical numerical examples show that the current method can give ＂sharp＂ results for tracking free interface.     

Representation theorems and fundamental solutions for micropolar solid–fluid mixtures under steady state vibrations

The isothermal theory of binary micropolar solid–fluid mixture is considered in this paper. For the dynamical problem, a Galerkin type representation of the solution is established. Then, a fundamental solution is given for the three-dimensional partial differential system which describes the steady vibrations. Also, some basic properties of the fundamental solution and a direct application to the point load problem are presented.     

Development and elaboration of numerical method for simulating gas–liquid–solid three-phase flows based on particle method

A numerical method for simulating gas–liquid–solid three-phase flows based on the moving particle semi-implicit (MPS) approach was developed in this study. Computational instability often occurs in multiphase flow simulations if the deformations of the free surfaces between different phases are large, among other reasons. To avoid this instability, this paper proposes an improved coupling procedure between different phases in which the physical quantities of particles in different phases are calculated independently. We performed numerical tests on two illustrative problems: a dam-break problem and a solid-sphere impingement problem. The former problem is a gas–liquid two-phase problem, and the latter is a gas–liquid–solid three-phase problem. The computational results agree reasonably well with the experimental results. Thus, we confirmed that the proposed MPS method reproduces the interaction between different phases without inducing numerical instability.