Numerical simulation of the noise generated by a low Mach number, low Reynolds number jet

In this paper we study the sound field produced by a turbulent round jet with a Mach number of 0.6 based on the centerline velocity and the ambient speed of sound c_∞. The turbulent flow field is found by solving the fully compressible Navier–Stokes equations with help of high-order compact finite difference schemes. It is shown that the simulated flow field is in good agreement with experiments. The corresponding sound field has been obtained with help of the Lighthill equation using two different formulations for the Lighthill stress tensor T_ij. In the first formulation of T_ij the fluctuating density is taken into account. In the second formulation the density is assumed to be constant. As an additional check we have also performed an acoustic calculation using a formulation in which a homogeneous wave equation is solved. The boundary conditions for this homogeneous wave equation are obtained from the numerical simulation of the Navier–Stokes equation. The results obtained with both formulations of the Lighthill stress tensor are nearly identical. This implies that an incompressible formulation of the conservations laws could be used to predict jet noise at low Mach numbers.     

An Immersed Boundary Method for Complex Flow and Heat Transfer

The need to predict flow and heat transfer problems requires a flexible and fast tool able to simulate complex geometries without increasing the complexity of the flow solver architecture. Here we use a finite volume code that uses a direct solver with pressure correction. A new immersed boundary method (IBM) is used for a geometry consisting of a square body in a flow. The method is applied to flow cases with and without heat transfer. The obstacle simulated in the domain is implemented by local forcing of the flow with a procedure that adjusts locally the shear stress at the position of the object in conjunction with a non-penetration condition on the body walls. This approach has already been successfully applied by Breugem and Boersma (Phys. Fluids 17:15, 2005). We extend it for the case of heat transfer between body and flow. Comparison with other methods has been carried out as well. However, the proposed method can not be simply extended to immersed boundaries not aligned with the grid.     

Modular and Versatile Trans-Encoded Genetic Switches

Current bacterial RNA switches suffer from lack of versatile inputs and are difficult to engineer. We present versatile and modular RNA switches that are trans-encoded and based on tRNA-mimicking structures (TMSs). These switches provide a high degree of freedom for reengineering and can thus be designed to accept a wide range of inputs, including RNA, small molecules, and proteins. This powerful approach enables control of the translation of protein expression from plasmid and genome DNA.     

PIV quantification of the flow induced by an ultrasonic horn and numerical modeling of the flow and related processing times

The flow in a confined container induced by an ultrasonic horn is measured by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). This flow is caused by acoustic streaming and highly influenced by the presence of cavitation. The jet-like experimentally observed flow is compared with the available theoretical solution for a turbulent free round jet. The similarity between both flows enables a simplified numerical model to be made, whilst the phenomenon is very difficult to simulate otherwise. The numerical model requires only two parameters, i.e. the flow momentum and turbulent kinetic energy at the position of the horn tip. The simulated flow is used as a basis for the calculation of the time required for the entire liquid volume to pass through the active cavitation region.     

The Laminar Boundary Layer over a Permeable Wall

An analysis is given of the laminar boundary layer over a permeable/porous wall. The porous wall is passive in the sense that no suction or blowing velocity is imposed. To describe the flow inside and above the porous wall a continuum approach is employed based on the Volume-Averaging Method (S. Whitaker The method of volume averaging). With help of an order-of-magnitude analysis the boundary-layer equations are derived. The analysis is constrained by: (a) a low wall permeability; (b) a low Reynolds number for the flow inside the porous wall; (c) a sufficiently high Reynolds number for the freestream flow above the porous wall. Two boundary layers lying on top of each other can be distinguished: the Prandtl boundary layer above the porous wall, and the Brinkman boundary layer inside the porous wall. Based on the analytical solution for the Brinkman boundary layer in combination with the momentum transfer model of Ochoa-Tapia and Whitaker (Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 38 (1995) 2635). for the interface region, a closed set of equations is derived for the Prandtl boundary layer. For the stream function a power series expansion in the perturbation parameter is adopted, where is proportional to ratio of the Brinkman to the Prandtl boundary-layer thickness. A generalization of the Falkner–Skan equation for boundary-layer flow past a wedge is derived, in which wall permeability is incorporated. Numerical solutions of the Falkner–Skan equation for various wedge angles are presented. Up to the first order in wall permeability causes a positive streamwise velocity at the interface and inside the porous wall, but a wall-normal interface velocity is a second-order effect. Furthermore, wall permeability causes a decrease in the wall shear stress when the freestream flow accelerates, but an increase in the wall shear stress when the freestream flow decelerates. From the latter it follows that separation, as indicated by zero wall shear stress, is delayed to a larger positive pressure gradient.     

Events of High Polymer Activity in Drag Reducing Flows

The mechanism of drag reduction in turbulent flows due to polymers has been investigated with help of a direct numerical simulation. In particular, we consider the interaction between turbulent velocity fluctuations and polymers in terms of elastic energy that can be stored in the polymer. To this end all the terms of the elastic energy budget have been computed. The most interesting term is the production of elastic energy due to turbulent fluctuations, because it describes the interaction between polymers and turbulence. Although this term appears to be small in the average, it turns out that it can reach very large values instantaneously and intermittently, and the energy transfer from polymer to turbulence is located in very well defined areas inside the channel. This implies that locally there is a strong interaction between the polymer and the turbulent flow structure, and this strong interaction is mostly seen in areas of high velocity fluctuations.     

Direct numerical simulation of a turbulent axisymmetric jet with buoyancy induced acceleration

Direct numerical simulations of an axisymmetric jet with off-source volumetric heat addition are presented in this paper. The system solved here involves a three-way coupling between velocity, concentration and temperature. The computations are performed on a spherical coordinate system, and application of a traction free boundary condition at the lateral edges allows physical entrainment into the computational domain. The Reynolds and Richardson numbers based on local scales employed in the simulations are 1000 and 12 respectively. A strong effect of heat addition on the jet is apparent. Heating causes acceleration of the jet, and an increased dilution due to an increase in entrainment. Further, the streamwise velocity profile is distorted, and the cross-stream velocity is inward for all radial locations for the heated jet. Interestingly, the maximum temperature is realized off-axis and a short distance upstream of the exit of the heat injection zone (HIZ). The temperature width is intermediate between the scalar and velocity widths in the HIZ. Normalized rms of the concentration and temperature increases in the HIZ, whereas that of streamwise, cross-stream and tangential velocities increases rapidly after decreasing. Both mass flux and entrainment are larger for the heated jet as compared to their unheated counterparts. The buoyancy flux increases monotonically in the HIZ, and subsequently remains constant.