Period-doubling route to chaos in a two-degree-of-freedom flexibly-mounted rigid plate placed in water

Flow-induced instabilities of a flexibly-mounted rigid flat plate placed in water were investigated experimentally, when the plate had either one degree of freedom in the torsional direction or two degrees of freedom in the torsional and transverse directions. Tests were conducted in a re-circulating water tunnel and bifurcation diagrams were used to summarize the system behavior. The 1DoF system became unstable by divergence at a critical flow velocity after which the plate buckled. At higher flow velocities, periodic oscillations were observed and the amplitude of oscillations increased with increasing flow velocity. No other instability was observed at higher flow velocities. In the 1DoF system, the variations in the response frequency were related to the added mass moment of inertia. For the 2DoF system, the plate׳s original stability was lost at a critical flow velocity by divergence followed by a dynamic instability resulting in periodic oscillations, which in turn became unstable giving rise to period-2, period-4 and eventually chaotic oscillations.     

Modeling the effect of liquid movement on the center of gravity calculation of agricultural vehicles

Due to a high center of gravity (CG) location, agricultural vehicles are more vulnerable to overturns. The CG location can be calculated using the lifting axle method of ISO 16231-2:2015. But, as a vehicle is lifted, its liquid payloads are not entirely contained. The liquids will shift both in position and form, affecting the CG height calculation.A mathematical model was developed to predict the effect of liquid movement on the CG height calculation of a tilted vehicle. The model was validated using an agricultural utility tractor and a prototype. The developed model was applied to calculate the CG location considering the effect of the liquid shift.Results showed tilting produced a higher calculated center of gravity due to liquid movement, but by increasing the tilting angle, the calculated CG height decreased. The effect of the liquid shift on CG height measurement for the wagon with 16.0% liquid mass was 14.8% and for the tractor with 1.2% liquid mass was 0.41%. The model error was less than 1.3% for all tests. Considering the effect of the liquid shift in CG height calculation, the error in CG height calculation decreased from 11.9% to 2.6% for the wagon.     

Numerical simulation for the air entrainment of aerated flow with an improved multiphase SPH model

Aerated flow is a complex hydraulic phenomenon that exists widely in the field of environmental hydraulics. It is generally characterised by large deformation and violent fragmentation of the free surface. Compared to Euler methods (volume of fluid (VOF) method or rigid-lid hypothesis method), the existing single-phase Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method has performed well for solving particle motion. A lack of research on interphase interaction and air concentration, however, has affected the application of SPH model. In our study, an improved multiphase SPH model is presented to simulate aeration flows. A drag force was included in the momentum equation to ensure accuracy of the air particle slip velocity. Furthermore, a calculation method for air concentration is developed to analyse the air entrainment characteristics. Two studies were used to simulate the hydraulic and air entrainment characteristics. And, compared with the experimental results, the simulation results agree with the experimental results well.     

Effect of lateral interactions on tunnel diffusion of adsorbed particles

A way of calculating the chemical diffusion coefficient for tunnel diffusion is discussed. It is shown that the famous “jump rate” formula may be used to describe the tunnel diffusion of interacting particles in the region of coverages and temperatures where phase transitions in the adsorbed overlayer are absent. The dependence of the tunnel diffusion coefficient on coverage is calculated for the square lattice taking into consideration the repulsive lateral interactions of nearest-neighbour particles.     

Lift forces induced by phase lag between the vortex sheddings from two tandem bluff bodies

Flow-induced forces on two tandem circular cylinders of identical diameter are numerically studied at a Reynolds number of 200. The cylinder center-to-center spacing ratio is varied from 2 to 9. We focus on fluctuating (rms) lift coefficient of the upstream cylinder, vortex dynamics in the gap between cylinders, and phase lag between vortex shedding from the two cylinders. The phase lag was a linear function of the spacing ratio as known in the literature; but it is, as proved here, indeed a nonlinear function of the spacing ratio, Strouhal number and convection velocity of vortices in the gap between the cylinders. The shedding from the two cylinders turns out to be inphase and antiphase alternately as the spacing ratio increases. We unearth that both phase lag and spacing ratio influence the fluctuating lift of the upstream cylinder. With an increase in the spacing ratio, while the influence of the spacing ratio on fluctuating lift diminishes rapidly in an overdamped manner, that of the phase lag makes the fluctuating lift variation underdamped sinusoidal. The inphase and antiphase flows correspond to a local maximum and a local minimum, respectively, in the fluctuating lift variation. An equation is deduced, showing the relationship between the fluctuating lift, spacing ratio, and phase lag. The physics behind the damped-sinusoidal variation in the fluctuating lift is discussed. The investigation directs that the streamwise separation between two tandem wings of airplanes/submarines should be taken into account or optimized. It would also be interesting to see whether fish exploits phase-lag-induced lift to enhance its forward thrust.     

Vortex-induced vibrations of two mechanically coupled circular cylinders with asymmetrical stiffness in side-by-side arrangements

Vortex-induced vibrations of two mechanically coupled circular cylinders with asymmetrical stiffness in side-by-side arrangements are numerically investigated in a uniform flow at a low Reynolds number of 100. The oscillation system is restricted to the cross-flow direction, giving rise to a coupled two-degree-of-freedom response. Attention is placed on the two cylinders with a center-to-center gap ratio of 4 and a mass ratio of 10. The flow dynamics are described by the two-dimensional incompressible Navier–Stokes equations and resolved by the Characteristic-Based-Split finite element method. The stiffness of the first spring that connects the lower cylinder to the wall is chosen such that the vortex-induced vibration of the associated single cylinder with the same stiffness undergoes a pre-synchronization (state A), synchronization (state B) and post-synchronization (state C), respectively. In each state, the stiffness of the second spring connecting the lower and upper cylinders is varied to cover both synchronization and de-synchronization regimes. Numerical results show that the mechanically coupled system locks on the first-mode natural frequency in state A, while on the second-mode natural frequency in states B and C. In such a lock-in regime, the amplitude ratios of the two oscillating and coupled cylinders collapse well onto the corresponding first or second free-vibration mode. The overall coupling mechanism is further explained in terms of the hydrodynamic coefficients, frequency characteristics, wake patterns and effective added mass, quantifying the associated fluid-structure interactions against those governing a single-degree-of-freedom, single-cylinder system.     

Different non-radical oxidation processes of persulfate and peroxymonosulfate activation by nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon

Activated persulfate oxidation is an emerging advanced oxidation process for organic pollutant degradation. Own to different molecular structures and oxidation potentials, persulfate (PDS) and peroxymonosulfate (PMS) may show different degradation performances due to various catalytic mechanisms even by the same catalysts. In this study, the nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon (N-OMC) was applied to activate PDS and PMS for degrading a model organic pollutant phenol to reveal their activation mechanisms. Results show that both PDS and PMS could be efficiently activated by N-OMC. The degradation of phenol fitted well with pseudo-first-order kinetics, whose kinetic constants increased with the increase of pH, PDS/PMS dosage, and N-OMC dosage. Based on quenching experiments and electron spin resonance spin-trapping technique, the N-OMC was found to activate PDS and PMS via non-radical process of electron transfer and singlet oxygen formation, respectively, instead of the commonly observed radical process. This work will be useful to understand the activation processes of PDS and PMS, and benefit for the development of catalysts for pollutant degradation.     

Decontamination of heavy metal complexes by advanced oxidation processes: A review

Heavy metal complexes with high mobility are widely distributed in wastewater from modern industries, which are more stable and refractory than free heavy metal ions. Their removals from wastewater draw increasing attentions and various technologies have been developed, among which advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are more effectively and promising. Progresses on five representative types of AOPs, including Fenton (like) oxidation, electrochemical oxidation, photocatalytic oxidation, ozonation and discharge plasma oxidation for heavy metal complexes degradation are summarized in this review. Their rationales, advantages, applications, challenges and prospects are introduced independently. Combinations among these AOPs, such as electrochemical Fenton oxidation and photoelectrocatalytic oxidation, are also comprehensively highlighted. Future efforts should be made to reduce acid requirement and scale up for practical applications of AOPs for heavy metal complex degradation efficiently and cost-effectively.