Simulation of oscillatory flow in an aortic bifurcation using FVM and FEM: A comparative study of implementation strategies

Cardiovascular diseases are one of the major causes of long‐term morbidity and mortality in human beings. The nearly epidemic increase in prevalence of such diseases poses a serious threat to public health and calls for efficient methods of diagnosis and treatment. Non‐invasive diagnostic procedures such as MRI are often used in this context; however, these are limited in terms of spatial and temporal resolution and do not provide information on time‐dependent pressures and wall shear stresses—key quantities considered to be partially responsible for the formation and development of related pathologies. The present study is concerned with the numerical simulation of oscillatory flow through the abdominal aortic bifurcation. Computational fluid dynamics simulation of oscillatory flow in a branched geometry at high Reynolds numbers poses considerable challenges. The present study reports a detailed comparison of simulations performed with a finite volume and a finite element method, two approaches with significant differences in their discretization strategy, treatment of boundary conditions and other numerical aspects. Both solvers were parallelized, using loop parallelization of the BiCGStab linear solver for the finite volume and domain decomposition based on the Schur complement method for the finite element technique. The experience gained with these two approaches for the solution of flow in a bifurcation forms the focus of this study. Although similar results were obtained for both methods, the computation time required for convergence was found to be significantly smaller for the finite element approach. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hard X-ray generation from microdroplets in intense laser fields

Microdroplets of 15-μm diameter are subjected to ultra-short laser pulses of intensities up to 10¹⁵Wcm⁻² to produce hot dense plasma. The hot electrons produced in the microdroplet plasma result in efficient generation of hard X-rays in the range 50–150keV at an irradiance as low as 8×10¹⁴Wcm⁻². The X-ray source efficiency is estimated to be about 2 ×10⁻⁷%. A prepulse that is about 11ns ahead of the main pulse strongly influences the droplet plasma and the resulting X-ray emission. For a similar laser prepulse and intensity, no measurable hard X-ray emission is observed when the laser is focused on a solid target of similar composition and this indicates that liquid droplet targets are best suited for hard X-ray generation in laser–plasma interactions.     

On the acceleration of ions from exploding clusters

An overview is provided of the rich dynamics that underlie the interaction of large, gas-phase clusters with intense optical radiation, resulting in the formation of highly charged clusters that subsequently undergo Coulomb explosion. We focus on those facets of the dynamics that determine the energies and yields of charged particles that are produced upon Coulomb explosion with a perspective on exercising control so as to explore the feasibility of schemes for table-top acceleration of charged particles. Illustrative examples are provided from recent work on atomic clusters, molecular clusters, and doped heteronuclear clusters.     

Intergranular magnetoresistance in Sr2FeMoO6 from a magnetic tunnel barrier mechanism across grain boundaries

We present magnetization (M) and magnetoresistance (MR) data for a series of Sr2FeMoO6 samples with independent control on antisite defect and grain-boundary densities, which reveal several unexpected features, including a novel switching-like behavior of MR with M. These, in conjunction with model calculations, establish that the MR in Sr2FeMoO6 is dominantly controlled by a new mechanism, derived from the magnetic polarization of grain-boundary regions acting like spin valves, leading to behavior qualitatively different from that usually encountered in tunneling MR. We show that a simple and useful experimental signature for the presence of this spin-valve-type MR (SVMR) is a wider hysteresis in MR compared to that in M.     

Study of basic patterns of light scattering in aqueous solution of milling yellow

Basic characteristics of light scattering in an aqueous solution of milling yellow are presented in a form of relations between the scattered radiant power, states of polarization of primary radiation and scattered radiation, observation angle and azimuthal angle.It is found that the state of polarization of the scattered light in milling-yellow solution can be utilized as a foundation of reliable photoelastic scattered-light techniques for flow analysis. However, Rayleight's model of scattering is nnt directly applicable.Paper contains data on major parameters of light scattering, knowledge of which is necessary to correctly design flowbirefringence experiments. In particular, these data can be used to develop a set of conditions and constraints for designing of particular scattered-light flow-birefringence experiments, and of corresponding transfer functions.     

Tuning the properties of a black TiO2-Ag visible light photocatalyst produced by a rapid one-pot chemical reduction

A highly efficient black TiO₂-Ag photocatalytic nanocomposite, active under both UV and visible light illumination, was synthesized by decorating the surface of 25 nm TiO₂ particles with Ag nanoparticles. The material was obtained via a rapid, one-pot, simple (surfactant and complexing agent free) chemical reduction method using silver nitrate and formaldehyde as a metal salt and reducing agent, respectively. The nanocomposite shows an increase of over 800% in the rate of photocatalytic methylene blue dye degradation, compared to commercial unmodified TiO_2, under UV-VIS illumination. Unlike pure TiO₂, the nanocomposite exhibits visible light activation, with a corresponding drop in optical reflectance from 100% to less than 10%. The photocatalytic properties were shown to be strongly enhanced by post-reduction annealing heat treatments in air, which were observed to decrease, rather than coarsen, silver particle size, and increase particle distribution. This, accompanied by a variation in the silver surface oxidation states, appear to dramatically affect the photocatalytic efficiency under both UV and visible light. This highly active photocatalyst could have wide ranging applications in water and air pollution remediation and solar fuel production.     

Characteristic relations of flow birefringence

This is the first of two closely related papers on the flow-birefringence response to the velocity vector field of a particular liquid representing a certain class of birefringent bodies.^* The flowing material under study was the aqueous solution of the compound known under the name NGS 1828 and commonly known as “milling yellow” or “acid yellow”. This solution appears to exhibit all three major mechanisms of birefringence. The physical parameters characterizing this material depend strongly on temperature, concentration and age and, therefore, it can be considered as representing a typical class of liquids used in flow-model experiments. The paper presents the experimental evidence that the flow birefringence cannot be explained and described by the simple mathematical model of birefringence in solid continuum which relates the changes of the components of dielectric tensor to the components of stress and strain tensors, or their derivatives, and which neglects the influence of the spectral frequency (wavelength of radiation). Results are presented for transmission birefringence (and for scattered-light birefringence in the second paper) in the visible and the infrared bands of radiation. It is shown that:

- the amount of birefringence depends strongly and non-monotonically on wavelength of radiation;

- the linear range of optical response to shear-strain rate depends on wavelengths of radiation;

- the directions of optic axes strongly depend both on the shear-strain rate and on the wavelength of radiation, even in the linear range of mechanical response.

It is further shown that there exists a relation between the absorption bands, the maximum transmittance, the dispersion of birefringence, the spectral dependence of optic-axes direction, and the linear range of optical response. Within the maximum transmittance band and the linear range of mechanical response the linear range of birefringence is maximum and the dispersion of birefringence is minimum with respect to the shear-strain rate; the corresponding dispersion of optic axis is also minimum. Samples of typical recordings are given in the visible and the infrared radiation for typical flow patterns. One of the practical conclusions is that to optimize the flow-birefringence studies of engineering problems it is advisable to choose the radiation in the near-infrared range. The evidence presented shows that the common trend in engineering research toward simplification of the model of the flow-birefringence response is not necessary.     

Performance analysis of single stage kanban controlled production systems using parametric decomposition

We present a new approach that permits efficient performance analysis of kanban systems with general demand processes, material arrival processes, and service times. The approach is based on parametric characterization of the traffic processes (arrival and departure) in the network and uses two-moment approximations to estimate performance measures at individual stations. We derive traffic flow constraints that are particular to closed queuing networks with synchronization stations and use these to establish relationships between the parameters characterizing arrival and departure processes at the stations in the network. The resultant set of non-linear equations is solved to estimate network performance measures. Numerical studies show that the approach is not only fast but also reasonably accurate when compared to simulation. These studies also provide insights with respect to the impact of different types of variability on the performance of a kanban system. This work also provides a fundamental building block that can be used in the analysis of multi-stage kanban systems. AMS Subject Classifications 68M20, 60K20, 90B05, 90B30     

Polyurethane-polyacrylamide IPNs. I. Synthesis and characterization

Hydrophobic-hydrophilic interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) of polyurethane and polyacrylamide have been synthesized. The IPNs have been characterized by IR, thermal, and mechanical studies. SEM studies indicate phase mixing of some IPNs. Solvent resistance and surface hydrophilicity as evidenced by contact angle measurements suggest that these IPNs could be used for biomedical applications.     

Magnetic phase transitions in the Fe1−xMnxSn2 alloys for 0≤x≤1.0: A Mössbauer and magnetization study

⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer study of the pseudo-Binary alloys Fe_1?xMn_xSn₂ for 0≤x≤1.0 reveal the antiferromagnetically ordered state at 79K for all the specimens of the series. The hyperfine field at Fe site decreases with increasing manganese concentration. Magnetic susceptibility measurements performed in the temperature range 80 K≤T≤300 K indicate that the Néel temperature decreases with increasing Mn concentration for the samples withx≤0.4 whereas it increases continuously for the specimens havingx>0.4 of the alloy series.