Loading aircraft for military operations

In this paper, we describe an aircraft loading problem submitted by the French military agency (DGA) as part of a more general military airlift planning problem. It can be viewed as a kind of bi-dimensional bin-packing problem, with heterogeneous bins and several additional constraints. We introduce two-phase methods for solving this NP-hard problem. The first phase consists in building good initial solutions, thanks to two fast algorithms: a list-based heuristic and a loading pattern generation method. Both algorithms call a constraint-based subroutine, able to determine quickly if the items already loaded can be reshuffled to accommodate a new object. The second phase improves these preliminary solutions using local search techniques. Results obtained on real data sets are presented.     

Banana-shaped mesogens: a new homologous series of compounds exhibiting the B7 mesophase

The synthesis and characterization of a new homologous series of compounds, the 2-cyano-1,3-phenylene bis[4-(4-n-alkoxyphenyliminomethyl)benzoates] derived from 2-cyanoresorcinol is reported. All the compounds are enantiotropic mesogens and exhibit the fascinating B₇ mesophase. The characterization of the mesophase was performed using polarizing optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and electro-optical studies.     

Detecting instabilities in flows of viscoelastic fluids

There is a growing interest in developing numerical tools to investigate the onset of physical instabilities observed in experiments involving viscoelastic flows, which is a difficult and challenging task as the simulations are very sensitive to numerical instabilities. Following a recent linear stability analysis carried out in order to better understand qualitatively the origin of numerical instabilities occurring in the simulation of flows viscoelastic fluids, the present paper considers a possible extension for more complex flows. This promising method could be applied to track instabilities in complex (i.e. essentially non‐parallel) flows. In addition, results related to transient growth mechanism indicate that it might be responsible for the development of numerical instabilities in the simulation of viscoelastic fluids. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Methods for implementing the stream boundary condition in DSMC computations

In the direct simulation Monte‐Carlo (DSMC) method for simulating rarefied gas flows, the velocities of simulator particles that cross a simulation boundary and enter the simulation space are typically generated using the acceptance–rejection procedure that samples the velocities from a truncated theoretical velocity distribution that excludes low and high velocities. This paper analyses an alternative technique, where the velocities of entering particles are obtained by extending the simulation procedures to a region adjacent to the simulation space, and considering the movement of particles generated within that region during the simulation time step. The alternative method may be considered as a form of acceptance–rejection procedure, and permits the generation of all possible velocities, although the population of high velocities is depleted with respect to the theoretical distribution. Nevertheless, this is an improvement over the standard acceptance–rejection method. Previous implementations of the alternative method gave a number flux lower than the theoretical number required. Two methods for obtaining the correct number flux are presented. For upstream boundaries in high‐speed flows, the alternative method is more computationally efficient than the acceptance–rejection method. However, for downstream boundaries, the alternative method is extremely inefficient. The alternative method, with the correct theoretical number flux, should therefore be used in DSMC computations in favour of the acceptance–rejection method for upstream boundaries in high‐speed flows. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A numerical and experimental investigation of the interactions between a non‐uniform planar array of incompressible free jets

The interaction between multiple incompressible air jets has been studied numerically and experimentally. The numerical predictions have been first validated using experimental data for a single jet configuration. The spreading features of five unequal jets in the configuration of one larger central jet surrounded by four smaller equi‐distant jets, have been studied, for different lateral spacing ratios of 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 and a central jet Reynolds number of 1.24×105 (corresponding to a Mach number of 0.16). Flow of five equal jets has also been simulated, for the sake of comparison. The jet interactions commence at an axial distance of about 3–4 diameters and complete by an axial distance of about 10 diameters for the lowest spacing ratio of 1.5. For larger spacing ratios, the length required for the start and completion of jet interaction increase. Peripheral jets bend more towards the central jet and merge at a smaller distance, when their sizes are smaller than that of the central jet. The entrainment ratio for multiple jets is higher than that for a single jet. Excellent agreement is observed between the experimental data and theoretical predictions for both mean flow field and turbulent quantities, at regions away from the jet inlet. The potential core length and initial jet development, however, are not predicted very accurately due to differences in the assumed and actual velocity profiles at the jet inlet. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of two‐equation turbulence modelling for high Reynolds number hydrofoil flows

This paper presents an evaluation of the capability of turbulence models available in the commercial CFD code FLUENT 6.0 for their application to hydrofoil turbulent boundary layer separation flow at high Reynolds numbers. Four widely applied two‐equation RANS turbulence models were assessed through comparison with experimental data at Reynolds numbers of 8.284×106 and 1.657×107. They were the standard k–εmodel, the realizable k–εmodel, the standard k–ωmodel and the shear‐stress‐transport (SST) k–ωmodel. It has found that the realizable k–εturbulence model used with enhanced wall functions and near‐wall modelling techniques, consistently provides superior performance in predicting the flow characteristics around the hydrofoil. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Particle correlations in e + e − → W + W − events

Preliminary results are reported on the two-particle correlation function R(Q) in hadronic Z decays, fully hadronic WW decays, and mixed hadronic-leptonic WW decays using data collected by the DELPHI detector at LEP at energies between 189 and 206 GeV. Evidence for Bose-Einstein correlations was observed in all three cases. The event mixing technique was used to determine correlations between particles arisingfrom different W bosons in fully hadronic WW decays. An excess of like-sign particle pairs with low four-momentum difference in fully hadronic WW events is observed, consistent with the effect expected from correlations between identical particles from different W bosons.     

Attenuation of electromagnetic waves in a semiconductor superlattice in a magnetic field

Magnetoplasma waves and inhomogeneous (complex) waves in an infinite semiconductor superlattice in a magnetic field are studied, and dispersion curves are obtained. It is shown analytically and numerically that, in periodic structures, among inhomogeneous waves, there are many complex waves for which the imaginary part of the wave vector is greater than the real part. The effect of dissipation in a medium on the dispersion curves of magnetoplasma waves is examined. The dependence of the minimum phase velocity on the collision frequency and the magnetic field strength is studied.