Concave Curvature Research Articles

Exceptional X-ray activity in BL Lacertae

BL Lacertae is a unique blazar for which the X-ray band can cover either the synchrotron or the inverse Compton, or both parts of the broadband spectral energy distribution. In the latter case, when the spectral upturn is located in the X-ray range, it allows contemporaneous study of the low- and high-energy ends of the electron distribution function. In this work, we study spectral and temporal variability using X-ray and optical observations of the blazar performed with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from 2020 to 2023. The large set of observational data reveals intensive flaring activity, accompanied by spectral changes in both spectral branches. We conclude that the low-energy and high-energy ends of the particle distribution function are characterised by similar variability scales. Additionally, the hard X-ray observations of BL Lacertae performed with the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) confirm a concave spectral curvature for some epochs of the blazar activity and reveal that it can be shifted up to energies of as high as 8 keV. The time-resolved spectral analysis allows us to disentangle X-ray spectral variability features of the synchrotron from inverse Compton components. Despite significant variability of both spectral components, we find only small changes in the position of the spectral upturn. The different slopes and shapes of the X-ray spectrum of BL Lacertae demonstrate that the classification of this source is not constant, and BL Lacertae can exhibit features of either high-, intermediate-, or low-energy peaked blazar in different epochs of observation. This also indicates that the spectral upturn for this blazar can be located not only in the X-ray range of 0.3−10 keV, but also at lower or higher energies.

Thermal-Fluid study of curved tubes in cross-flow

Three-dimensional simulations have been performed to investigate thermal performance by the external surface of curved circular tubes provided with concave and convex curvatures. The simulations were performed in Ansys-fluent software and results has been validated against the available results. The tubes were placed in a uni-directional free stream of air at a Reynolds number of 35000 which is within subcritical range for circular tube. The heat transfer capabilities of curved tubes have been compared with that of a straight tube of same diameter and height. A constant-heat-flux condition over the external surface has been used. The curved tubes have been designed such that it has vertical extensions at the end and curvatures at the middle section with curvature ratios of 0.075, 0.15, 0.225 and 0.3. Plots of coefficients of pressure, drag and lift, Nusselt number, heat transfer ratio and contours of pathlines were utilized to investigate the thermal behaviour around the tube surface. Results show the highest augmenting thermal performance exhibited by convex curved tube with curvature ratio 0.15 followed by curvature ratio of 0.225. Other reasonably better augmented heat transfer exhibited by concave curved tube with curvature ratio of 0.3. The present study also identifies augmenting, mitigating and insignificant zones around the tubes based on heat transfer rates. The results show an improvement in heat transfer when curved tube is used instead of straight tube which can be utilised in waste heat recovery recuperators.

Design of magnetic field with high homogeneity for single-turn coil

Abstract Single-turn coil (STC) is a kind of destructive pulsed magnet aiming at ultra high magnetic field. In this study, the simple geometry optimization approach to improve the magnetic field homogeneity of STC is proposed. By making the conductor inner surface concave, the amplitude of the magnetic field is decreased by only 15%, while the space volume of the homogeneous magnetic field is increased by 200%–600%. Through three STC examples with different conductor inner diameters and different discharge currents, the effectiveness of this method is validated. In particular, it is theoretically proven that the volume of the homogeneous magnetic field increases as the inner surface concave curvature radius decreases. This geometry optimization method provides the theoretical support for homogeneous field design of STC.

The influence of wave curvature on the trajectory characteristics of a high-speed projectile vertical water entry

Abstract To study the ballistic characteristics of high-speed vertical impact of projectiles on wave liquid surfaces, the method of Detached-Eddy Simulation (DES) with elliptic-blending Reynolds stress model is adopted to numerically simulate the high-speed vertical water entry of projectiles under different fifth-order Stokes wave curvatures. Through experiments, the accuracy and reliability of the numerical method were verified. Based on the numerical simulation method, it is stipulated that the convex curvature of waves is positive and the concave curvature is negative, and the influence of different wave curvatures on water entry trajectories is studied. The research results show that under small curvature wave conditions, the curvature of the entry position has a negligible effect on the axial load during the water entry process; negative curvature positions delay the peak time of the axial load in the entry wave valley compared to positive curvature positions. When the projectile vertically impacts waves at the position with zero curvature at the same actual water entry angle, compared to entering a quiescent free surface, the projectile experiences slower velocity decay, larger axial body loads, earlier peak time of axial load, shorter water entry process, and the trajectory of the projectile is still influenced by the curvature around this position.

Influence of Operating Conditions on the Mass Activity Characteristics and Performance of Carbon-Free Pt Black Electrodes for PEFC

In recent years, the development of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) has been progressing. To expand their application to heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs), enhancing the power density and heat dissipation efficiency of PEFCs through high-temperature operation has become essential. Therefore, there is a need for high durability to enable the high-temperature operation of electrodes. In this context, we focused on carbon-free ionomer-free electrodes utilizing unsupported catalysts such as Pt black and low-Pt yet highly durable platinum nanosheets (Pt-ns). These electrodes offer high durability by avoiding the use of carbon and ionomer, which are factors contributing to performance degradation. Moreover, these electrodes have a different proton conduction pathway compared to conventional electrodes, relying on water on the Pt surface. Therefore, water management becomes crucial, considering the characteristics of carbon-ionomer-free electrodes. This study aims to elucidate the characteristics of the performance in the low-current region of Pt black electrodes and the effect of operating conditions on power generation characteristics.The performance of ionomer-free Pt black electrodes and ionomer-added Pt black electrodes was compared in terms of their IV characteristics. In the high-current region (>1000 mA) where concentration overpotential dominates, ionomer-free Pt black electrodes exhibited a gentler slope, indicating superior gas diffusion compared to ionomer-added Pt black electrodes. Conversely, in the low-current region (<100 mA), ionomer-free Pt black electrodes showed higher power generation performance, attributed to ionomer-induced catalyst poisoning reported in literature.Additionally, the IV characteristics of ionomer-free electrodes using different types of unsupported Pt catalysts, Pt black, and Pt particles were examined. Ionomer-free Pt particle electrodes displayed lower performance across the entire current range compared to ionomer-free Pt black electrodes, with a convex curvature of the IV curve indicating concentration overpotential. Analysis of electrochemical surface area (ECSA) and mass activity (MA) showed that ionomer-free Pt particle electrodes exhibited lower ECSA and MA compared to ionomer-free Pt black electrodes, indicating a lack of effective reaction sites, likely due to limited proton conduction.The IV characteristics of ionomer-free and ionomer-added Pt black electrodes at different relative humidities were investigated. Ionomer-free Pt black electrodes demonstrated consistent performance across relative humidities in the range of 1 to 10 mA, but as humidity increased, the curvature of the IV curve steepened, indicating higher activation overpotential. In the region above 100 mA, the curvature of the IV curve became concave with increasing current under low humidity, suggesting localized current density distribution due to proton conduction resistance as electrolyte water increased.AcknowledgmentsPart of this paper is based on results obtained from a project, JPNP20003, subsidized by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

Numerical investigation of the refractive properties of near-horizontal rocky shore platforms and their effects on harmonic and stationary wave patterns

Near-horizontal shore platforms display highly irregular plan shapes, but little is known about the way in which these irregularities influence the significant wave height (Hŝ) on the platforms and the frequency components of the nearshore wavefield. As ocean waves share akin refractive properties to light rays, it can be assumed that, similarly to optical lenses, shore platforms can separate waves according to their frequency depending on their geometry. Thus, we use a non-linear Boussinesq wave model to conduct harmonic and bispectral mode decomposition analyses to study the control of concave and convex platform edges over wind waves (WW: 0.125–0.33 Hz), swell waves (SW: 0.05–0.125 Hz) and infragravity (IG: 0.008–0.05 Hz) waves frequencies. For breaking and non-breaking waves, increasing the platform edge concavity intensified wave divergence and subsequent attenuation of SW and IG across the outer platforms, reducing Hŝ by up to 25 %. Increasing the platform edge convexity intensified focusing and amplification of SW and WW over the outer platforms, increasing Hŝ by up to 18 % and 55 % for breaking and non-breaking waves. In the presence of breaking, IG amplification was affected by wave divergence across the inner platform, a condition determined by a critical convex curvature threshold (K=1.8) balancing wave focusing from refraction and defocusing from breaking. We find that convex curvature can determine the relative dominance of WW, SW and IG across platforms. Alongshore, coherent wave interactions governed IG stationary patterns defined by a node near the platform centreline and two antinodes on either side of concave edges. A node was generated at the platform centreline, and two antinodes were observed on either side of the convex edges for K>1.8, with the opposite pattern observed for K<1.8. Such patterns likely result in alongshore variations in wave-generated currents and erosion shaping rock coasts.

Flexible and Transparent Electrovibration-Based Haptic Display with Low Driving Voltage.

Electrovibration haptic technology, which provides tactile feedback to users by swiping the surface with a finger via electroadhesion, shows promise as a haptic feedback platform for displays owing to its simple structure, ease of integration with existing displays, and simple driving mechanism. However, without electrical grounding on a user's body, the frequent requirement of a high driving voltage near 50 V limits the use of electrovibration haptic technology in practical display applications. This study introduces materials and fabrication strategies that considerably reduce the driving voltage. We used a transparent poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) thin film deposited on transparent conductive polymers through a simple spin-coating process, thereby enabling easy integration with existing display technologies. The high dielectric constant characteristics of PVDF enabled the production of tactile cues at low voltages (approximately 15 V), which are within the safety limits of common electronics. We verified the feasibility of our electrovibration haptic feedback system on the basis of the absolute threshold voltage through two-alternative forced choice psychological tests. The results revealed that the PVDF dielectric layer exhibited a relatively lower absolute threshold than commonly used polymer films, which possess a relatively lower dielectric constant. To validate the tactile attributes, a Likert five-point scale survey was conducted, considering flat, concave, and convex curvatures. The results indicated that our haptic device can render diverse surface textures, such as "hairy" and "groovy", on the fingertips through the control of applied pulse width modulated voltage signals.

MODELING GROWTH AND VISCOUS FLOW OF OXIDE ON CYLINDRICAL SILICON SURFACES INCLUDING PIEZOVISCOUS INHIBITION

Abstract A baseline constant-parameters non-dimensional cylindrical oxidation model was first revisited, normalizing oxide thickness to oxidant diffusivity/reaction rate ratio instead of original cylinder radius, allowing this radius to remain evident in model output, which in this baseline case predicted oxides increasingly thicker for convex surfaces of decreasing radius as compared to that on flat surface, with oxide thicknesses on concave surfaces instead predicted to decrease with decreasing radius from the flat case. As this convex behavior conflicts with reported experiment, where oxide thickness on convex surfaces rather decrease with decreasing radius from the flat case though less strongly than for concave surfaces, potential stress-dependent kinetics parameters were investigated, with stresses determined from viscous treatment of oxide flow during growth to accommodate its molecular volume exceeding that of the silicon consumed in its production. While oxidant diffusivity and solubility both considered to increase with increasing hydrostatic pressure instead cause model predictions to further deviate from experimental observation, the rate of its volume-producing reaction with the silicon considered to decrease with increasingly compressive radial stress across their interface successfully brought model predictions of convex curvatures into agreement with reported experiments. In conjunction with such stress-dependent reaction rate, additional consideration of viscosity as increasing with hydrostatic pressure can also contribute towards bringing convex modeling closer to experimental observation, though it also introduces a potential piezoviscous inhibition where concave cases of smaller curvature radius become predicted incapable of even initiating oxidation.

Concave/Convex Curvature of Anisotropic Grooves Differentially Alters Cellular Morphology, Adhesion, and Proliferation.

Curvature is an integral part of the complex in vivo tissue architecture across various length scales. Therefore, several in vitro models with a patterned curvature in different length scales have been developed to understand the role of this in cellular behavior. At the subcellular scale, wavy patterns have been reported wherein concave and convex grooves are adjacently present. However, the independent effect of continuous subcellular concave and convex shapes has not been reported, mainly owing to the limitations in fabricating such patterns. In this study, we developed continuous concave and convex grooves on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using a Dracaena sanderiana (bamboo) leaf as a template. The first (negative) replica from the abaxial side of the bamboo leaf, which imparted concave grooves on PDMS, was subsequently used as a template to fabricate a positive replica of the leaf, resulting in convex grooves of the same size and arrangement as the concave grooves. We examined the influence of the groove curvature on the morphology of bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal stem cells (BM-hMSCs) and skeletal muscle cells (C2C12). BM-hMSCs and C2C12 cells aligned on both concave and convex grooves as compared to the random orientation on a flat substrate. The significant difference was observed in the morphology of both cells, in terms of area, aspect ratio, number, and length of protrusions on concave and convex patterns. We found that the number of protrusions was also dependent on the ratio of cell to pattern length scale for convex-shaped grooves but independent of length scale for concave-shaped grooves. The proliferation of BM-hMSCs was also found to be different on concave and convex shapes. Therefore, this study shows the importance of (1) convex and concave curvatures of the subcellular length scale in cellular response, (2) dependence on the ratio of cell and curvature length scale, and (3) use of natural templates for overcoming fabrication challenges.

Comprehensive assessment of rock glaciers in the Himachal Himalayas: Updated inventory and labelling

Rock glaciers are geomorphological features often used as a visible expression of mountain permafrost. These are creeping ice-debris with distinct ridge and furrow structures on the surface with a steep frontal slope. Rock glaciers, being the valuable past permafrost indicators, also have utmost hydrological significance in near future. Therefore, mapping of rock glaciers is an important step in order to understand permafrost regimes better. The Himalayas have large occurrences of these features and this study in Himachal Himalayas complied 789 rock glaciers, covering an area of about 336.2 km2. Different labels based on genesis, location, shape, form, surface relief and activity revealed rock glaciers were mainly derived from talus slopes (239) and exhibited tongue shape (377), primarily found in cirques (531). Most of them were classified as simple units (603) with well-developed surface relief (387), and they were found to be predominantly intact (760). The topographical parameters suggest majority of the rock glaciers are located between 4000 and 4800 m with mean elevation to be 4635 m. These rock glaciers are present at gentle to steep slope gradient (0 to 45°) with curvature ranging between −3.5 and 4.5, and majority showing convex curvature. The slope aspect conducive for formation of rock glaciers in Himachal is northerly (N, NW, NE). Principal geology for these rock glaciers belongs to slate, phyllite, quartzarenite, limestone and meta basics. The climatic parameters and indices also affect the rock glaciers occurrence significantly. The mean land surface temperature (LST) for majority rock glaciers lies between 0 and −15°C. While, the mean NDSI of all the rock glaciers varies from 0.04 to 0.68 and mean NDVI varies from −0.06 to 0.08. Overall, the inventory along with labels is a valuable database for understanding the distribution and characteristics of rock glaciers in the Himachal Himalayas.

Measurements of Natural Turbulence During the BOLT II Flight Experiment

A Mach 6.0 flight experiment was performed to characterize the turbulent skin friction and heat flux associated with natural transition for vehicle-length Reynolds numbers up to 45 million. This boundary-layer turbulence flight, termed BOLT II, was the second in a series coordinated by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Surface heat flux, skin friction, and pressure fluctuation spectra were acquired to characterize the transition process. The test geometry used concave curvature and swept leading edges to introduce a boundary layer with stationary laminar vortex streaks, competing transition mechanisms, and complex early turbulence. The analyses also showed that the spatial evolution of turbulence varied with respect to the location of the vortex heating streaks. Prominent overshoots were observed in the early turbulence within the streak. Turbulence data was collected for Reynolds numbers ReL up to 45×106. A common Rex=12×106 was identified as the start of equilibrium turbulence for the data presented. Conjugate heat transfer simulations, both laminar and turbulent, agreed well with the experimental data, including the laminar leading edge. The Reynolds analogy ratios based on the curve fits to the data, including compressibility, were generally between 0.9 and 1.0. The observed variations were likely the result of the spatial separation of the sensors and different definitions of Stanton number normalization between flight and theory.

Flood Susceptibility Mapping for Kedah State, Malaysia: Geographics Information System-Based Machine Learning Approach

ABSTRACT Background: The world economy is significantly impacted by floods. Identifying flood risk is essential to flood mitigation techniques. Aim: The primary goal of this study is to create a geographic information system (GIS)-based flood susceptibility map for the study area. Methods: Ten flood-influencing factors from a geospatial database were taken into account when mapping the flood-prone areas. Every element demonstrated a robust relationship with the probability of flooding. Results: The highest contributing elements for the flood disaster in the study region were drainage density, distance, and the curvature. Flood susceptibility models’ performance was validated using standard statistical measures and AUC. The ROC curves demonstrated that all ensemble models had good performance on the validation data sets (AUC = &gt;0.97) with high accuracy scores of 0.80. Based on the flood susceptibility maps, most of the northwest regions of the study area are more likely to flood because of low land areas, areas with a lower gradient slope, linear and concave shape curvature, high drainage density with high rainfall, more “water bodies,” “crops land,” and “built areas,” abundance on sea and surface water, and Quaternary types of soil feature and so on. The very high flood susceptibility class accounts for 18.2% of the study area, according to the RF-embedding model, whereas the high, moderate, low, and very low susceptibility classes were found at about 20.0%, 24.6%, 24.3%, and 12.9%, respectively. Conclusion: In comparison with other commonly used applied approaches, this research presents a novel modeling approach for flood susceptibility that integrates machine learning and geospatial data. It has been found to be stronger and more efficient, highly accurate, has good prediction performance, and is less biased. Overall, our research into machine learning-based solutions points in a positive path technologically and can serve as a reference manual for future research and applications for academic specialists and decision-makers.

A streamline coordinate analysis of a turbulent boundary layer subject to pressure gradients and curvature on the windward side of a bump

Direct numerical simulation (DNS) of a turbulent boundary layer over the Gaussian (Boeing) bump is performed. This boundary layer exhibits a series of adverse and favourable pressure gradients and convex and concave curvature effects before separating. These effects on turbulent boundary layers are characterised and compared with a lower-Reynolds-number flow over the same geometry. The momentum budgets are analysed in the streamline-aligned coordinate system upstream of the separation region. These momentum budgets allow the simplification of equations to facilitate an integral analysis. Integral-analysis-based approximations for Reynolds stresses in the inner and outer regions of the boundary layer are also formulated. The shear and wall-normal Reynolds stress profiles normalised by these approximations exhibit a better collapse compared with friction velocity and Zagarola–Smits normalisations in the strong favourable pressure gradient region and in the mild adverse pressure region that precedes it in this flow. Simplification of these Reynolds stress approximations along with results from the DNS are used to obtain semi-empirical approximations that are able to provide stress closure in terms of wall solution fields for the turbulent boundary layer under consideration.

Droplet evaporation on curved surfaces: transients of internal and external transport phenomena

We explore the transient evolution of thermo-fluid-dynamics of evaporating sessile droplets over curved substrates in the liquid and gaseous domains. A computational model using the Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian framework is adopted. The governing equations in both liquid and gaseous domains are solved in a fully coupled manner, considering coupled effects of evaporative cooling and heat advection due to bulk fluid motion. This bulk motion in the liquid domain is caused by natural advection due to thermal actuations such as thermal Marangoni flow and buoyancy-driven convection. For the gaseous domain, the additional effects of solutal convection (due to vapour-concentration variation), Stefan flow and interfacial viscous stresses are also considered. To depict a generalized role of substrate curvature, both concave and convex surfaces with curvatures over a wide range are studied. The surface wettability effects are also explored by varying the true contact angle of the droplets. Computational predictions on evaporation rate and internal flow field are validated against experimental results from literature. The interplay of wetting state and substrate curvature is noted to substantially affect the evaporation process and its thermo-fluidics. The convex curvature significantly augments internal advection while the same is weakened over concave substrates due to altered mass loss rate. Consequently, the duration of multi-vortex Marangoni flows in the development stages of evaporation and the advection in the external gaseous domain is markedly different for different curvatures. Further, on superhydrophobic curved surfaces, the effects of re-distributed evaporative fluxes play a major role. In such cases, the reduced mass flux over a large interfacial area near the periphery expedites the stable state Marangoni and external flow features.

Anisotropic plates with architected tendon network

We synthesize geometrically tailorable anisotropic plates by combining button shaped fish-scale like features on soft substrates, then lacing them with high-stiffness strings. This creates a new type of biomimetic architectured structure with multiple broken symmetries. First, the tendons and substrate together break the symmetry of the bending response between the concave and convex curvature. Next, the weave pattern of the tendons further breaks symmetry along the two directors of plates. The anisotropy is clearly evident in 3-point bending experiments. Motivated by these experiments and the need for design, we formulate an analytical energy-based model to quantify the anisotropic elasticity. The derived architecture-property relationships can be used to design architected tendon plates with desirable properties.

Supersonic cooling film flow evolution on a curved wall under hypersonic flow

Curvature plays a crucial role in evolving supersonic cooling film flow-field structures. Flow-field structural images were captured using nanotracer-based planar laser scattering,, and wall pressure values were obtained using experimentally validated numerical simulations. A supersonic cooling film is tangentially injected at the Mach number of Maj = 2.3 into a laminar boundary layer at a mainstream of Ma = 6. The supersonic cooling film inhibits mixing-layer instability on the convex curved wall (CV) and promotes it on the concave curved wall (CC). After increasing the total incoming pressure, the reduction ratio of static pressure (RSP) between the supersonic cooling film and the mainstream flow causes a delay in the position of the mixing-layer instability, smaller-scale vortex structures, and decreased flow velocity of the typical vortex structures on the CC and CV. The wall pressure increases for the CV and decreases for the CC, indicating that the supersonic cooling film suppresses the changes in wall pressure due to curvature. The supersonic cooling film suppresses the decrease in the impulses for bulk dilatation (Ip) due to convex curvature and the increase in Ip due to concave curvature. The growth rate of Ip on the CC increases from −15% to −8% and decreases on the CV from 31% to 12% in the bending impulse (IΦ) range of |IΦ| = 1.337–3.624 for a total inlet pressure of 0.5 MPa. Increasing the RSP could control the Ip values on curved surfaces more effectively. The results of this study can be applied to cooling the infrared optics window on hypersonic vehicles.

Transformative Deep Neural Network Approaches in Kidney Ultrasound Segmentation: Empirical Validation with an Annotated Dataset.

Kidney ultrasound (US) images are primarily employed for diagnosing different renal diseases. Among them, one is renal localization and detection, which can be carried out by segmenting the kidney US images. However, kidney segmentation from US images is challenging due to low contrast, speckle noise, fluid, variations in kidney shape, and modality artifacts. Moreover, well-annotated US datasets for renal segmentation and detection are scarce. This study aims to build a novel, well-annotated dataset containing 44,880 US images. In addition, we propose a novel training scheme that utilizes the encoder and decoder parts of a state-of-the-art segmentation algorithm. In the pre-processing step, pixel intensity normalization improves contrast and facilitates model convergence. The modified encoder-decoder architecture improves pyramid-shaped hole pooling, cascaded multiple-hole convolutions, and batch normalization. The pre-processing step gradually reconstructs spatial information, including the capture of complete object boundaries, and the post-processing module with a concave curvature reduces the false positive rate of the results. We present benchmark findings to validate the quality of the proposed training scheme and dataset. We applied six evaluation metrics and several baseline segmentation approaches to our novel kidney US dataset. Among the evaluated models, DeepLabv3+ performed well and achieved the highest dice, Hausdorff distance 95, accuracy, specificity, average symmetric surface distance, and recall scores of 89.76%, 9.91, 98.14%, 98.83%, 3.03, and 90.68%, respectively. The proposed training strategy aids state-of-the-art segmentation models, resulting in better-segmented predictions. Furthermore, the large, well-annotated kidney US public dataset will serve as a valuable baseline source for future medical image analysis research.

Flow evolution of mixed layer on convex curvature wall under hypersonic conditions

With the continuous upgrading of hypersonic vehicles, a new requirement for designing imaging window i.e. conformal window for improving aerodynamic characteristics, is put forward, in which the supersonic cooling film and optical window are required to maintain the same curvature shape as the aircraft body. In this work, the mixed-layer flow evolution on a convex wall (CV) is investigated. A nanoparticle-based planar laser scattering technique is used to design the flow field structure of the mixed layer in &lt;i&gt;Ma&lt;/i&gt; = 6 hypersonic static wind tunnel, and the location of the mixed-layer instability is studied by combing fractal dimension. The results of pressure, and impulse of compression (&lt;i&gt;I&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;p&lt;/sub&gt;) evolution along the flow direction are obtained by numerical simulation, showing that the total incoming pressure (&lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;0&lt;/sub&gt;) has a significant effect on the flow evolution of the mixed layer: as &lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;0&lt;/sub&gt; increases, the ratio of static pressure (RSP) decreases, that the position of the mixed-layer instability is delayed, and that the flow velocity of the typical vortex structure increases. The favorable gradient existing at the CV wallleads the pressure to drop along the flow direction, and the pressure is enhanced when the supersonic air film along the tangential direction of the wall is under the operating condition. However, as &lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;0&lt;/sub&gt; increases, the RSP decreases, and the lifting effect of the pressure on the CV decreases. The flow field is affected by the expansion effect of the CV, and &lt;i&gt;I&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;p&lt;/sub&gt; decreases along the flow direction. The supersonic air film can weaken the expansion effect on the CV and thus suppressing the decrease of &lt;i&gt;I&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;p&lt;/sub&gt;. The change rate of &lt;i&gt;I&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;p&lt;/sub&gt; (Δ&lt;i&gt;I&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;p&lt;/sub&gt;) is significantly affected by &lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;0&lt;/sub&gt;, in a range of bending impulse |&lt;i&gt;I&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;Φ&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;| = 0.191–3.62, Δ&lt;i&gt;I&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;p&lt;/sub&gt; decreases from 178.67% to 12.02% when &lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;0&lt;/sub&gt; = 0.5 MPa, and Δ&lt;i&gt;I&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;p&lt;/sub&gt; decreases from 40.38% to 5.64% when &lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;0&lt;/sub&gt; = 1.0 MPa. Δ&lt;i&gt;I&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;p&lt;/sub&gt; decreases as |&lt;i&gt;I&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;&lt;i&gt;Φ&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;| increases, but the decrease becomes less as &lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;0&lt;/sub&gt; increases. The results reveal the flow evolution law of hypersonic mixed layer under the influence of convex curvature, and provide a certain reference for designing the shape of hypersonic vehicle to achieve aerodynamic drag reduction and thermal protection characteristics.

Anterolateral Dual Plate Fixation for Distal Metaphyseal-Diaphyseal Junction Fractures of the Humerus: Biomechanical Finite Element Analysis with Clinical Results.

Distal metaphyseal-diaphyseal junction fractures of the humerus are a subset of injuries between humeral shaft fractures and distal intra-articular humerus fractures. A lack of space for distal fixation and the unique anatomy of concave curvature create difficulties during operative treatment. The closely lying radial nerve is another major concern. The aim of this study was to determine whether anterolateral dual plate fixation could be effective for a distal junctional fracture of the humerus both biomechanically and clinically. A right humerus 3-dimensional (3D) model was obtained based on plain radiographs and computed tomography data of patients. Two fractures, a spiral type and a spiral wedge type, were constructed. Three-dimensional models of locking compression plates and screws were constructed using materials provided by the manufacturer. The experiment was conducted by using COMSOL Multiphysics, a finite element analysis, solver, and simulation software package. For the clinical study, from July 2008 to March 2021, a total of 72 patients were included. Their medical records were retrospectively reviewed to obtain patient demographics, elbow range of motion, Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) scores, Mayo Elbow Performance Scores (MEPS), and hand grip strength. No fracture fixation construct completely restored stiffness comparable to the intact model in torsion or compression. Combinations of the 7-hole and 5-hole plates and the 8-hole and 6-hole plates showed superior structural stiffness and stress than those with single lateral plates. At least 3 screws (6 cortices) should be inserted into the lateral plate to reduce the load effectively. For the anterior plate, it was sufficient to purchase only the near cortex. Regarding clinical results of the surgery, the range of motion showed satisfactory results in elbow flexion, elbow extension, and forearm rotation. The average DASH score was 4.3 and the average MEPS was 88.2. Anterolateral dual plate fixation was biomechanically superior to the single-plate method in the finite element analysis of a distal junctional fracture of the humerus model. Anterolateral dual plate fixation was also clinically effective in a large cohort of patients with distal junctional fractures of the humerus.

Influence of the magnetic field curvature on the radial–azimuthal dynamics of a Hall thruster plasma discharge with different propellants

The topology of the applied magnetic field is an important design aspect of Hall thrusters. For modern Hall thrusters, the magnetic field topology most often features curved lines with a concave (negative) curvature upstream of the field's peak and a convex (positive) curvature downstream. Additionally, the advent of the magnetic shielding technique has resulted in Hall thruster designs with non-conventional field topologies that exhibit high degrees of concavity upstream of the field's peak. In this article, a detailed study is carried out on the effects that the magnetic field curvature has on the plasma discharge in a 2D configuration representative of a Hall thruster's radial–azimuthal cross section. The analyses are performed for discharges of three propellants of high applied interest: xenon, krypton, and argon. For each propellant, high-fidelity electrostatic reduced-order particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations are performed with various degrees of positive and negative curvatures of the magnetic field. Corresponding 1D radial PIC simulations are also performed for xenon to compare the observations against the 2D results. Most notably, it is observed that the instability spectra in the positive-curvature cases are mostly dominated by electron cyclotron drift instability, whereas the modified two stream instability is dominant in the negative-curvature cases. The distributions of electron and ion temperatures, in particular, as well as the contribution of various mechanisms to electrons’ cross-field transport show notable variations between the positive and negative curvature values. Finally, the field curvature is observed to majorly influence the ion beam divergence along the radial and azimuthal coordinates.