A discontinuous Galerkin method/HLLC solver for the Euler equations

This paper proposes a fully three‐dimensional non‐linear Euler methodology for solving aerodynamic and acoustic problems in the presence of strong shocks and rarefactions. It uses a discontinuous Galerkin method (DGM) within the element, and a Riemann solver (HLLC) at the boundaries to propagate rarefactions while preserving the entropy condition and capturing shocks with no spurious oscillations. This approach is thought to marry the best aspects of finite element and finite volume methods, achieving conservation while not requiring the solution of a large matrix. Examples in which shock and rarefaction waves are well captured are presented and the propagation of acoustic pulses is well demonstrated. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enthalpies of sorption of linear hydrocarbons (C2–C8) and chloroderivatives of methane and ethylene on the surface of hydrotalcite

Differential molar adsorption enthalpies (DMAE) were determined by gas chromatographic measurements of specific retention volume of vapors on the surface of two forms of Mg–Al hydrotalcite. A linear dependence of the DMAE on the number of the carbon atoms in hydrocarbons was observed for both form of hydrotalcite. The dependence of the differential molar adsorption enthalpies on the number of chlorine atoms in organic molecules is discussed. A linear dependence of DMAE on the molecular weight of chloroderivatives of methane and ethylene on the basic form in an order monochloromethane < dichloromethane < trichloromethane or vinylidene chloride < 1,1-dichloroethylene < trichloroethylene was found.     

Simulation of single‐ and two‐phase flows on sliding unstructured meshes using finite volume method

The paper presents an efficient finite volume method for unstructured grids with rotating sliding parts composed of arbitrary polyhedral elements for both single‐ and two‐phase flows. Mathematical model used in computations is based on the ensemble averaged conservation equations. These equations are solved for each phase and in case of single‐phase flow reduce to the transient Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes (TRANS) equations. Transient flow induced by rotating impellers is thus resolved in time. The use of unstructured grids allows an easy and flexible meshing for the entire flow domain. Polyhedral cell volumes are created on the arbitrary mesh interface placed between rotating and static parts. Cells within the rotating parts move each time step and the new faces are created on the arbitrary interfaces only, while the rest of the domain remain ‘topologically’ unchanged. Implicit discretization scheme allows a wide range of time‐step sizes, which further reduce the computational effort. Special attention is given to the interpolation practices used for the reconstruction of the face quantities. Mass fluxes are recalculated at the beginning of each time step by using an interpolation scheme, which enhances the coupling between the pressure and velocity fields. The model has been implemented into the commercially available CFD code AVL SWIFT (AVL AST, SWIFT Manual 3.1, AVL List GmbH, Graz, Austria, 2002). Single‐phase flow in a mixing vessel stirred by a six‐bladed Rushton‐type turbine and two‐phase flow in aerated stirred vessel with the four‐blade Rushton impeller are simulated. The results are compared with the available experimental data, and good agreement is observed. The proposed algorithm is proved to be both stable and accurate for single‐phase as well as for the two‐phase flows calculations. Copyright 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fully adaptive multiresolution finite volume schemes for conservation laws

The use of multiresolution decompositions in the context of finite volume schemes for conservation laws was first proposed by A. Harten for the purpose of accelerating the evaluation of numerical fluxes through an adaptive computation. In this approach the solution is still represented at each time step on the finest grid, resulting in an inherent limitation of the potential gain in memory space and computational time. The present paper is concerned with the development and the numerical analysis of fully adaptive multiresolution schemes, in which the solution is represented and computed in a dynamically evolved adaptive grid. A crucial problem is then the accurate computation of the flux without the full knowledge of fine grid cell averages. Several solutions to this problem are proposed, analyzed, and compared in terms of accuracy and complexity.

     

Efficient discretization of pressure‐correction equations on non‐orthogonal grids

An alternative discretization of pressure‐correction equations within pressure‐correction schemes for the solution of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations is introduced, which improves the convergence and robustness properties of such schemes for non‐orthogonal grids. As against standard approaches, where the non‐orthogonal terms usually are just neglected, the approach allows for a simplification of the pressure‐correction equation to correspond to 5‐point or 7‐point computational molecules in two or three dimensions, respectively, but still incorporates the effects of non‐orthogonality. As a result a wide range (including rather high values) of underrelaxation factors can be used, resulting in an increased overall performance of the underlying pressure‐correction schemes. Within this context, a second issue of the paper is the investigation of the accuracy to which the pressure‐correction equation should be solved in each pressure‐correction iteration. The scheme is investigated for standard test cases and, in order to show its applicability to practical flow problems, for a more complex configuration of a micro heat exchanger. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Specht modules and chromatic polynomials

An explicit formula for the chromatic polynomials of certain families of graphs, called bracelets', is obtained. The terms correspond to irreducible representations of symmetric groups. The theory is developed using the standard bases for the Specht modules of representation theory, and leads to an effective means of calculation.     

A new VOF‐based numerical scheme for the simulation of fluid flow with free surface. Part II: application to the cavity filling and sloshing problems

Finite element analysis of fluid flow with moving free surface has been performed in 2‐D and 3‐D. The new VOF‐based numerical algorithm that has been proposed by the present authors (Int. J. Numer. Meth. Fluids, submitted) was applied to several 2‐D and 3‐D free surface flow problems. The proposed free surface tracking scheme is based on two numerical tools; the orientation vector to represent the free surface orientation in each cell and the baby‐cell to determine the fluid volume flux at each cell boundary. The proposed numerical algorithm has been applied to 2‐D and 3‐D cavity filling and sloshing problems in order to demonstrate the versatility and effectiveness of the scheme. The proposed numerical algorithm resolved successfully the free surfaces interacting with each other. The simulated results demonstrated applicability of the proposed numerical algorithm to the practical problems of large free surface motion. It has been also demonstrated that the proposed free surface tracking scheme can be easily implemented in any irregular non‐uniform grid systems and can be extended to 3‐D free surface flow problems without additional efforts. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of oxygen in gamma irradiated aromatic polyesters in film

The effect of gamma irradiation in air is investigated on four thermoplastic polyesters (PET, PBT, PEN, PCT-co-ET) in films containing aromatic rings, in order to evaluate the influence of aromatic density and the role of oxygen on radiation resistance. Physical-chemical-nuclear analyses were used to this purpose. EPR measurements were carried out to detect radical stability against oxygen permeation. Viscometric investigations reported a very similar trend for all the investigated polyesters: a chain break effect that decreases at the highest doses. FT-IR analyses focused on the formation of oxidized species. Positron annihilation spectra pointed out a decrease of the intensity of ortho-positronium formation, while its lifetime remains unchanged with radiation dose.