Numerical simulation of orbitally shaken viscous fluids with free surface

Orbitally shaken bioreactors are an emerging alternative to stirred‐tank bioreactors for large‐scale mammalian cell culture, but their fluid dynamics is still not well defined. Among the theoretical and practical issues that remain to be resolved, the characterization of the liquid free surface during orbital shaking remains a major challenge because it is an essential aspect of gas transfer and mixing in these reactors. To simulate the fluid behavior and the free surface shape, we developed a numerical method based on the finite element framework. We found that the large density ratio between the liquid and the gas phases induced unphysical results for the free surface shape. We therefore devised a new pressure correction scheme to deal with large density ratios. The simulations operated with this new scheme gave values of wave amplitude similar to the ones measured experimentally. These simulations were used to calculate the shear stress and to study the mixing principle in orbitally shaken bioreactors. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Recent developments on Reactivity: Theoretical conceptualization and empirical verification

This paper seeks to enrich the literature of operations and supply chain management through the development of the concept of Reactivity and the introduction of related performance indicators. Reactivity explains the capability to perform operationally and economically under unexpected conditions. A qualitative investigation has aimed to identify useful managerial practices to be adopted to properly perform Reactivity, while an empirical analysis has tested the relevance of each practice as well as the economic benefits that Reactivity provides. The findings suggest that managers and practitioners should develop a Reactivity orientation because it benefits firms’ economic performance when an unexpected event occurs; in addition, several recommended managerial practices should be undertaken to ensure its correct implementation.     

Shockwave and spallation in silver and other materials by sub-ns laser pulse at 1016 W/cm2 intensity

The laser spallation effect due to intense shockwaves caused by a brief and intense laser pulse irradiating a target surface, 2 mm thick, has been investigated for silver and other materials. For 300 ps IR laser pulse, at intensities of the order of 10¹⁶ W/cm², the shockwave may produce deformations of the back-face in ductile materials, such as Ag, Cu and Al. In heavy materials with high tensile strength, such as Ta, the shockwave produces cracks in the bottom of the laser crater but not deformation in the back-face, while in brittle materials, such as monocrystalline Ge, it produces only superficial cracks and flaking, but not deformation and spallation of the back-face. In thick polymeric materials, such as high-density polyethylene, the ablated crater shape is well defined and the shockwave is strongly damped, and no deformation has been observed in the back-face. The laser ablation yield and the ion acceleration in the backward direction have been measured by mass lost and time-of-flight measurements. SEM microscopy of the different irradiated targets, showing details of the crater size, edges, flaking and deformation in the back-face, useful for a discussion on the shockwave propagation and shock pressure calculation, is presented.     

Pointwise Debreu Lexicographic Powers

A linear ordering is Debreu (respectively, pointwise Debreu) if each of its suborderings can be mapped into it with an order-preserving function that is both injective (respectively, locally injective) and continuous (respectively, locally continuous) with respect to the order topology on both spaces. Each Debreu linear ordering is pointwise Debreu, but the converse does not hold. In the context of utility representations in mathematical economics, it has been proved that any lexicographic power with an uncountable exponent fails to be Debreu. We sharpen this result by analyzing lexicographic powers that are pointwise Debreu.     

A linear implementation of PACMAN

PACMAN (Passive and Active Compensability Multicriteria ANalysis) is a multiple criteria methodology based on a decision maker oriented notion of compensation, called compensability. A basic step of PACMAN is the construction of compensatory functions, which model intercriteria relations for each pair of criteria on the basis of compensability. In this paper we examine a simplified version of PACMAN, which uses the so-called linear compensatory functions and consistently reduces the overall complexity of its implementation in practical cases. We use Mathematica® to develop a computer-aided graphical interface that eases the interaction among the actors of the decision process at each stage of PACMAN. We also propose the possibility to perform a sensitivity analysis in this simplified version of PACMAN as a nonlinear optimization problem.     

Isogeometric Analysis of a Phase Field Model for Darcy Flows with Discontinuous Data

The authors consider a phase field model for Darcy flows with discontinuous data in porous media; specifically,they adopt the Hele-Shaw-Cahn-Hillard equations of[Lee,Lowengrub,Goodman,Physics of Fluids,2002] to model flows in the Hele-Shaw cell through a phase field formulation which incorporates discontinuities of physical data,namely density and viscosity,across interfaces. For the spatial approximation of the problem,the authors use NURBS—based isogeometric analysis in the framework of the Galerkin method,a computational framework which is particularly advantageous for the solution of high order partial differential equations and phase field problems which exhibit sharp but smooth interfaces. In this paper,the authors verify through numerical tests the sharp interface limit of the phase field model which in fact leads to an internal discontinuity interface problem; finally,they show the efficiency of isogeometric analysis for the numerical approximation of the model by solving a benchmark problem,the so-called"rising bubble" problem.     

Numerical investigation of the Liebau phenomenon

The Liebau phenomenon is the occurrence of valveless pumping through the application of a periodic force at a place which lies asymmetric with respect to system configuration. This paper is concerned with two different physical configurations and respective models. Comparison and derivation among the models is discussed. Accurate numerical schemes which solve these models are presented. By means of numerical simulations it is investigated under which conditions valveless pumping takes place.     

Implementations of PACMAN

Passive and Active Compensability Multicriteria ANalysis (PACMAN) is a multiple criteria methodology based on a decision maker oriented notion of compensation, called compensability. An important feature of PACMAN is a possible asymmetry of the connected decision procedure, since compensability is determined for each ordered pair of criteria, distinguishing the compensating criterion from the compensated one. Here we give a notion of implementation of PACMAN, which allows a concrete modelization of a multiple criteria decision problem. We study regular implementations of PACMAN and their monotonicity properties. We also examine several regular implementations, which satisfy some additional properties. Particular emphasis is given to a regular implementation of PACMAN that produces the lexicographic ordering.