Fluid Flow Field Research Articles

Hydrodynamic interactions in ion transport-Theory and simulation.

We present a hydrodynamic theory describing pair diffusion in systems with periodic boundary conditions, thereby generalizing earlier work on self-diffusion [B. Dünweg and K. Kremer, J. Chem. Phys. 99, 6983-6997 (1993) and I.-C. Yeh and G. Hummer, J. Phys. Chem. B 108, 15873-15879 (2004)]. Its predictions are compared with Molecular Dynamics simulations for a liquid carbonate electrolyte and two ionic liquids, for which we characterize the correlated motion between distinct ions. Overall, we observe good agreement between theory and simulation data, highlighting that hydrodynamic interactions universally dictate ion correlations. However, when summing over all ion pairs in the system to obtain the cross-contributions to the total cationic or anionic conductivity, the hydrodynamic interactions between ions with like and unlike charges largely cancel. Consequently, significant conductivity contributions only arise from deviations from a hydrodynamic flow field of an ideal fluid, which is from the local electrolyte structure as well as the relaxation processes in the subdiffusive regime. In the case of ionic liquids, the momentum-conservation constraint additionally is vital, which we study by employing different ionic masses in the simulations. Our formalism will likely also be helpful to estimate finite-size effects of the conductivity or of Maxwell-Stefan diffusivities in simulations.

A meshless generalized finite difference scheme for the stream function formulation of the Naiver-Stokes equations

In this study, a meshless numerical scheme, which is the combination of the generalized finite difference method, the fictitious-nodes technique, and the two-step Newton-Raphson method, was proposed to solve the stream function formulation of the Navier-Stokes equations. To reduce the numbers of unknowns and partial differential equations for the two-dimensional flow field of a viscous incompressible fluid, the stream function formulation, which is a fourth-order nonlinear partial differential equation with only one unknown variable, can be derived by introducing the definition of vorticity and stream function. By applying the generalized finite difference method, the derivatives in the stream function formulation can be simply expressed as a linear combination of functional data and weighting values at several nearest nodes. To deal with the two boundary conditions for the fourth-order partial differential equations, the fictitious-nodes technique was utilized to set up the fictitious nodes outside the computational domain, and cooperate with the generalized finite difference method to form a system of nonlinear algebraic equations. The aforementioned numerical procedure can yield a square Jacobian matrix, so the Newton-Raphson method can be adopted to efficiently acquire the numerical solutions. Several numerical examples were tested to verify the practicability of the proposed meshless numerical scheme.

Structure formation of rod-like fillers in a contraction flow

Rod-like fillers in a flow field of a viscous fluid may form complex structures after passing a sudden contraction. The rods start with a dilute distribution with random positions and orientations. Behind the contraction, a large amount of rods tumble in a spatially correlated way, such that orientations perpendicular to the flow field occur at regular distances along the channel. The correlated tumbling results from an interplay of several effects, the tumbling inferred by the space dependent shear flow, the accumulation of rods at a certain distance from the wall, and the rod alignment at the contraction. The system is studied numerically for rod-like fillers in a shear-thinning viscous fluid.

Effects of Liquid Density on the Gas-Liquid Interaction of the Ionic Liquid Compressor for Hydrogen Storage

As a new and promising compression technology for hydrogen gas, the ionic liquid compressor inherits the advantages of the ionic liquid and the hydraulic system. The liquid density is one of the key parameters influencing the fluid flow field, the sloshing of the bulk liquid, and the movement of droplets generated during the compressor operation. An appropriate selection of the liquid density is important for the compressor design, which would improve the thermodynamic performance of the compressor. However, the density of the ionic liquid varied significantly depending on the specific combination of the cation and anions. This paper proposed the methodology to select the optimal liquid density used in the ionic liquid compressor for hydrogen storage. The gas-liquid interaction in the compression chamber is analysed through numerical simulations under varied liquid density values. Results found that the increase in the liquid density promoted the detachment of the ionic liquid from the cylinder cover during the suction procedure and the contact of the bulk liquid on the compressor cover when the gas is compressed in the cylinder during the compression procedure. Both the droplet size and the dimension of the derived gas vortex decreased when the liquid density increased. The lowest mass transfer of hydrogen through the outlet was obtained at the density of 1150 kg/m3. The density of the ionic liquid from 1300 to 1450 kg/m3 is suggested to the hydrogen compressor, taking into account the transient two-phase flow characteristics, the mass transfer, and the total turbulent kinetic energy.

Intelligent networks for MHD fluid flow in a thermally stratified medium between coaxial stretchable rotating disks

In this paper, magnetic field and heat transfer of viscous fluid flow between two rotating parallel disks (MHV-RPD) have been investigated by using the backpropagation Levenberg-Marquardt scheme with Artificial Neural Networks (BLMS-ANNs). The nonlinear PDEs are transformed into nonlinear ODEs by employing similarity variables. By changing parameters including the Reynolds Number , unsteadiness parameter , Hartman number , stretching parameter , rotation parameter , and the thermal stratification parameter , using the Homotopy Analysis Method (HAM), a collection of data for proposed BLMS-ANNs is constructed for various scenarios. To examine the estimated solution of particular cases, the BLMS-ANNs testing, validation, and training technique is applied, and the proposed model is compared for verification. The recommended BLMS-ANNs is then validated using regression analysis, MSE, and histogram studies. With a level of accuracy ranging from , the recommended approach is distinguishable from the proposed and reference outcomes.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Biological interactions between micro swimmers and cross fluid with inclined MHD effects in a complex wavy canal

The significance of studying biological interactions of micro swimmers in a complex wavy canal with MHD effects lies in its potential to provide insight into the behavior and dynamics of microorganisms in natural environments that contain complex fluid flow and magnetic fields. Current investigation explores the biological interactions between micro swimmers and Cross fluid with inclined MHD effects in a complex wavy canal. There are several factors of medium for micro swimmers like nature, magnetic field, liquid rheology and position. These interactions are hereby witnessed by utilizing the Cross fluid along with Taylor swimming sheet model under the influence of porous and inclined magnetic effect. Furthermore, two-dimensional complex wavy cervical canal is being utilized at inclined angle. By help of lubrication assumption, reduction of momentum equation is made and hence fourth-order differential equation associated with boundary conditions is obtained. Bvp4c command in Matlab is utilized for this boundary value problem. Obtained bvp4c solution is verified with finite difference method and found smooth agreement. Magnetic force enhances the swimming speed and reduction is seen for the power dissipation and effective role is seen for swimming motion with cross fluid rheology. The channel walls (peristaltic nature) and porous medium can be utilized as alternative factors to control the speed of the propeller.

In-situ flow visualization with Geo-Positron-Emission-Tomography in a granite fracture from Soultz-sous-Forêts, France

We investigate the fluid flow field in a fractured granite core sample. Sequential imaging with Positron-Emission-Tomography (PET) allows direct reconstruction of flow streamlines, thus providing a unique insight into the fluid dynamics of complex fractured crystalline materials. Pulse migration experiments using the positron-emitting radionuclide 18F− as tracer were conducted on a fractured granitic drill core, originating from a depth of 1958 m of the Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) reference site at Soultz-sous-Forêts, France. The flow field was analyzed as a function of in- and outlet positions across the fracture, as well as applied flow rates. Different flow path characteristics were identified. Both the fracture aperture variation and the topography of the fracture surface affect the flow field with consequences on flow channeling and preferential flow paths. Furthermore, pulse migration experiments were also numerically simulated with a 2.5D model using COMSOL Multiphysics®.While the higher flow rate experiments show wider and higher dispersion of the flow path, lower velocity results in more localized flow and channeling behavior. This type of study thus yields enhanced experimental insights into the hydrodynamics of fracture flow and its relation to the rough structure of a single fracture, compared to input-output experiments. It can help to validate model simulations and experimentally determine hydrodynamic parameters needed for reactive transport modeling that are otherwise estimated with a high degree of uncertainty.

Three-Dimensional Analysis of the Thermal Behavior of Alumina-Water Nanofluid Inside Hexagonal and Octagonal Enclosed Domain

The current work focused on the study of the laminar and steady free convection of Aluminum Oxide / Water nanofluid inside cavities. Two different cavities have the same volume but different overall surface area and count of walls are studied. These cavities are heated differentially on the vertical square side walls which of identical area and dimensions for both cavities. The other vertical walls of these cavities have hexagonal and octagonal shapes. The first cavity has eight walls while the second has ten walls. The study accomplished for solid particles volume fraction and Rayleigh number ranges of (φ = 0.01, 0.03, 0.05) and (103 ≤ Ra ≤ 106). The study interested highly by the effect of the cavity geometry parameters including the lateral cross section, the height, the number of walls on the flow and heat transfer. Other flow parameters are recognized on the fluid flow and heat transfer fields like the nanoparticles volume fraction and the Rayleigh number. The results indicated that the surface area increase by means the additional walls has an observed effect on guiding the results. Where the octagonal cavity has better enhancement in heat transfer especially at (Ra=104 and 105). The percent increase in Nu over the hexagonal cavity is (0.6, 0.8, 0.7, 0.3) for the specified Ra range.

Numerical and experimental investigation on the effect of surface curvature and slope angle on the material removal characteristics in fluid jet polishing

Fluid jet polishing (FJP) has been extensively utilized in the ultra-precision manufacturing of freeform optical components and molds. The form accuracy is mainly improved by controlling the polishing dwell time at different positions, which is determined by the deconvolution of the initial form error and tool influence function (TIF). However, in previous studies, the erosion-induced TIF is considered constant without accounting for the freeform surfaces' curvature and slope angle variations. Due to the deviation of TIF, it is still a challenge to achieve a high form accuracy for freeform surface polishing. In this paper, the TIFs in freeform surface polishing have been modeled by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. A series of spot polishing experiments subsequently were conducted on the surfaces with different curvature radii and slope angles. The experimentally measured data including cross-section profiles of polishing spots, Peak-to-valley (PV) value, and material removal rate are found to agree well with the model simulation results, which verified the effectiveness of the CFD model. The effect of surface curvature and slope angle on the material erosion distribution was investigated and revealed by the fluid flow field distribution, abrasive impact, and abrasive trajectories. This paper not only provides a deep scientific understanding of the material erosion characteristics in FJP of freeform surfaces, but also offers a simple and cost-effective solution to build the database of TIFs on freeform surfaces under various conditions, which is beneficial for the ultra-precision form control during FJP of freeform surfaces.

Non-equilibrium effect modeling and particle velocity estimation for particulate flow in porous media

The complex dynamics of fluid and particles flowing through pore space demands some relaxation time for particles to catch up with fluid velocity, which manifest themselves as non-equilibrium (NE) effects. Previous studies have shown that NE effects in particle transport can have significant consequences when relaxation time is comparable to the characteristic time associated with the fluid flow field. However, the existing models are lacking to account for this complicated relation between particles and fluid. In this paper, we adapt the general form of the harmonic oscillation equation to describe NE effects in the particulate flow system. The NE effect is evaluated by solving coupled mass balance equations with computational fluid dynamic (CFD) techniques using COMSOL Multiphysics®. A simplified straight-tube model, periodic converging–diverging tube model, and SEM image of a real pore network are applied in NE analyses. The results indicate that the time variation of the NE effect complies with the theory of stability. Two key parameters of the oscillator equation are amplitude (A) and damping ratio (ζ), where the former represents the magnitude of NE and the latter is an indication of flow path geometry. The velocity equations for particle transport in different flow path geometries are derived from the proposed NE equation, offering a quick estimation of particle velocity in the particulate flow. By conducting simulation on the SEM image of a real pore structure, the equivalent radii of the pores where particles move through were obtained. The outcome of this work can shed light on explaining the complex NE effects in porous media. The generalized equation to model NE can help temporarily decouple particle transport equations from fluid equations, facilitating much advanced particulate flow modeling problems in the large-scale problems.

Application of Kirchhoff’s equations of motion to the dynamically coupled system of a rigid body with a completely-liquid-filled cavity

This paper considers the dynamical problem of a rigid body with a cavity that is completely filled by a liquid. The dynamically coupled motion of the rigid body and the liquid is examined in the absence of any external forces or torques. This problem is not new, but the paper draws attention to the fact that Kirchhoff’s equation of motion, which was derived for the dynamically coupled motion of a homogeneous rigid body fully immersed in a liquid, applies to this problem as well. The methodology is explained. Details of a simple, idealized planar example, in which a vorticity field in the form of a single point vortex is also added to the fluid flow field, are presented. In principle, this simple model could be extended to an elastodynamic model to study the dynamically coupled motion of an elastic body and a cavity completely filled with liquid in the framework of linear elasticity.

Effects of stress histories and drainage conditions on inception of strain localization in unsaturated soils

A diagnostic method to detect the inception of strain localization, which is based on the singularity of a total acoustic tensor, was developed for variably saturated soils. The effective stress approach was used to establish coupling between the multiphase fluid flow and deformation fields, while isotropic hardening/softening due to changes in suction and plastic volumetric strain were accounted for. To this end, several fundamental testing conditions were investigated, including Conventional Triaxial Compression (CTC) and Extension (CTE), Plane Strain Compression (PSC) and Extension (PSE) under drained, constant water content, and undrained loadings. It was found that, for the silty soil and stress histories considered, suction can completely prevent the onset of strain localization in undrained CTE tests and partially prevent the onset in constant water content and drained CTE tests. Furthermore, while suction can significantly affect the inception of strain localization in all PSC tests, it has almost no effect on the onset of strain localization in all PSE tests. Finally, suction affects more significantly the orientation and mode of shear bands at the inception of strain localization in extension tests than in compression tests.

Statistical Analysis of Non-Newtonian Couple Stress Fluid Induced in Stretching Cylinder

The paper provides the impact of suction and injection on convection laminar incompressible couple stress fluid flow and magnetic field using spectral quasi linearization methods as the major novelty of our work. This work is to addresed heat transfer is an important process in many engineering, industrial, residential, and commercial buildings. Thus, this study aims to analyze the effect of MHD and non-Newtonian couple stress fluid runs over a permeable stretched cylinder. The leading formulation is transmuted into ordinary differential equations via similarity functions. The coupled equations with non-linearly terms are resolved numerically through utilization of MATLAB code for spectal quasi linearization methods (SQLM). Convergence regions for solutions are discussed. Graphical results illustrating the impacts of various emerging parameters are presented in discussion. The statistical declaration and probable error for skin friction and Nusselt number are numerically computed and discussed through Tables. From obtained outcomes it is concluded that magnitude of skin friction increases at the cylindrical surface for higher values of couple stress parameter and Reynolds number. Nusselt number or heat transfer rate also enhances at the surface of cylinder in the presence of Reynolds number.

Prediction of internal and external flow with sparse convolution neural network: A computationally effective reduced-order model

This paper presents a novel reduced-order model for internal and external flow field estimations based on a sparse convolution neural network. Since traditional convolution neural network requires “rectangular” matrixes as input, the convolutional operation is computationally inefficient when applied to these problems with input matrix having sparse information. In our approach, we innovatively introduce a sparse convolution neural network (SCNN) to collect spatial information on geometries that are inherently sparse, e.g., the flow in thin pipelines in a much larger domain or the pipelines with random branches. Different from the traditional convolution neural network (CNN) model, the SCNN only collects features from areas with flow information for both the input matrix and each convolutional layer, which not only reduces the consumption of computational resources but also significantly increases network attention to flow area. The model learns the mapping relationship between geometries and the physical field of fluid flow, and the spatial positions of geometry are represented using the nearest wall signed distance function. The proposed SCNN model has the promising adaptability to arbitrary geometry and less computational resource cost compared to the traditional CNN model: the mean error of the SCNN is less than 5.4% (while the CNN is 7.1%) for the internal flow and less than 6.5% (while the CNN is 8.1%) for the external flow. Moreover, the SCNN has 72% less GPU resource usage and 52% less random access memory cost than the CNN for internal flow. For the first time, our framework introduces the sparse convolution network to flow field prediction, and the SCNN shows outstanding performance on prediction accuracy and computational resource saving for the flow problems with a sparse input information.

A comprehensive numerical study on flow-induced vibrations with various groove structures: Suppression or enhancing energy scavenging

This paper focuses on the enhancement or suppression effect of flow-induced vibration (FIV) caused by symmetrically installed groove structures with different shapes under high Reynolds numbers. The fluid flow field is simulated using the non-constant two-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (2D-RANS) equation and the SST k-ω turbulence model. A cylinder attached to four different groove shapes (square, triangular, semicircular, and two quarter-circle splices) is simulated for each shape of the groove with five mounting angles. The oscillatory amplitude, frequency response, displacement time history curve, vortex shedding mode, and energy harvesting characteristics are analyzed for each working condition at 2 < U* < 14 and 2.02 × 104 <Re < 1.44 × 105. The results show that the cylinder with different groove shapes and installation angles have different dynamic responses. The oscillatory amplitude of the square groove bluff body with α = 30°, 60°, and 150° is basically enhanced compared to the smooth cylinder, and the working bandwidth is increased as well. For the square groove placed at α = 60°, the oscillatory amplitude increases by 100% compared to the smooth cylinder, and the working bandwidth of the square groove at α = 90° is reduced by 50%. For the square groove body with α = 120°, the amplitude is enhanced, but the working bandwidth is reduced. The working bandwidth of the triangular groove is widened at all five angles, with the α = 60° groove being optimal, widening by 75%. Except for the triangular groove with α = 90°, the amplitude is improved to some extent compared with the smooth cylinder. The working bandwidths of the semicircular grooves are widened, and the improvement effect of α = 150° is the smallest of the five angles. For the two quarter-circle splices grooves, the grooves arranged at α = 30°, 90°, 120°, and 150° have a decrease in amplitude when U* = 6, and more pronounced at 90° and 120°. Two quarter-circle spliced groove cylinders with α = 120° have the best amplitude enhancement effect.

Bejan’s heatline and mulitphysics analysis of double diffusive free convection in a doubly stratified non-Darcian porous enclosure with heat generation

The current article illustrates the characteristics of the MHD free convective transport phenomenon in the thermal and mass stratified fluid-saturated Darcy-Forchheimer porous square cavity under the action of the cross-diffusion (Soret and Dufour effects) heat generation and chemical reaction effects. To acquire the spatial distribution of thermal fluxes along with directional propagation in chemically reactive and heat generative non-Darcy fluid flow, a newly developed heatline model for multi-force effect following the heat function theory is proposed in this study. In addition to the thermal profile visualization tools, the solutal free convective fluid flow fields are visually demonstrated by the massline contours curves using a novel mass-function model analogous to the heat function methodology. On the other hand, for the numerical solution of the non-dimensional form of the partial differential equations governing the study, the finite element method is applied. Moreover, the non-Darcy fluid flow attributes subjected to the multiple forces are graphically portrayed by the streamlines, isotherms, iso-concentrations, cumulative Nusselt/Sherwood number plots, heatlines, and masslines for the related dimensionless parameter. Here, these visuals delineate the contra-rotating fluid flow transition under both the thermal and concentration stratification forces. Especially, forceful retardation in both the thermal and concentration flux’s movements is noticed when magnetic forces are intensified. An upward geometrical shift of the higher concentration region is seen with increasing chemical reaction parameter.

Mutual impact of thermal radiations and temperature dependent thermal conductivity on non-Newtonian multiple flow regimes

The transfer of thermal energy is a specialized discipline of thermal engineering and hence own practical applications in an industrial thermal systems like refineries, air-conditioning plants, automotive engines, power plants, jet engines, refrigeration, food processing, and chemical processing plants to mention just a few. Owning such importance we have reported the collective impact of thermal radiations and temperature-dependent thermal conductivity for heat transfer in stagnation point magnetized Casson fluid flow field. The thermal flow regime of Casson fluid is manifested with a viscous dissipation effect as well. The flow equations are tackled numerically by the use of the shooting method. The outcomes are debated comparatively by considering various flow regimes namely (I) Thermal flow regime with thermal radiations (II) Thermal flow regime without thermal radiations (III) Heat flow with heat generation and (IV) Heat flow in the absence of heat generation. We believe that the present thermal comparative analysis will be helpful for the preceding studies which own thermal engineering standpoints for the transfer of thermal energy by means of fluid flow.

Investigation of the Heat Storage Capacity and Storage Dynamics of a Novel Polymeric Macro-Encapsulated Core-Shell Particle Using a Paraffinic Core

Thermal energy storages represent important devices for the decarbonisation of heat; hence, enabling a circular economy. Hereby, important tasks are the optimisation of thermal losses and providing a tuneable storage capacity, as well as tuneable storage dynamics for thermal energy storage modules which are composed of either sensible or phase change-based heat storage materials. The thermal storage capacity and the storage dynamics behaviour are crucial for fulfilling certain application requirements. In this work, a novel macro-encapsulated and spherical heat storage core-shell structure is presented and embedded in a supercritical ammonia working fluid flow field. The core of the macro-capsule is built by an organic low molecular weight substance showing a solid–liquid phase transition in a respective temperature zone, where the shell structure is made of polyvinylidene fluoride. Due to the direct coupling of computational fluid dynamics and the simulation of the phase transition of the core material, the influence of the working fluid flow field and shell thickness on the time evolution of temperature, heat transfer coefficients, and accumulated heat storage is investigated for this newly designed material system. It is shown that due to the mixed sensible and phase change storage character, the shell architecture and the working fluid flow field, the heat storage capacity and the storage dynamics can be systematically tuned.

Numerical study of beam oscillation and its effect on the solidification parameters and grain morphology in remote laser welding of high-strength aluminium alloys

This study investigated the effect of beam oscillation on the solidification behaviour during laser welding of Al-5754 to Al-6061 alloy. In this study, a finite element model has been developed to simulate temperature and fluid flow fields by implementing different combinations of volumetric heat source models. Solidification parameters such as temperature gradient (G), solidification rate (R), cooling rate (G × R) and G/R are evaluated to understand the mechanism of microstructure formation. It was found that beam oscillation improves the tensile strength by 21.4% for full penetration welding due to an increase in the percentage of formation of equiaxed grains. Modelling results revealed that the cooling rate increases with an increase in oscillation frequency. However, tensile strength followed a parabolic distribution with a peak at the oscillation frequency of 300 Hz.

Analysis on the Quenching Deformation Characteristics of Light Cast Aluminum Alloy Wheels and Their Control Strategies

The purpose of this paper is to develop a new technology for controlling the quenching deformation of light cast aluminum alloy wheels. First, based on the existing wheel heat treatment process, a gas–liquid–solid multi-phase flow coupling model was established through the ANSYS Workbench platform to analyze the gas–liquid phase change, heat exchange on wheel surface and quenching deformation characteristics during the process of wheel immersion into the water. The results show that heat exchange characteristics of the wheel surface are comprehensively affected by wheel structure, quenching fluid flow field and gas–liquid phase transition. There are a lot of non-uniform heat exchange areas in the outer rim, spoke area and center area, which affect the overall deformation characteristics. Affected by spoke structure, the maximum deformation occurs at the outer and inner rim end faces farthest away from the wheel. Based on the above research, this paper independently develops a new deformation control strategy of spray and water immersion composite step process. Through spraying, the influence of spoke structural stiffness on the overall deformation characteristics of the wheel is effectively reduced, and the wheel deformation control is realized by meeting the mechanical properties of the wheel, with the maximum deformation reduction of 39.2%. This study provides a new option for the integrated control of deformation and mechanical properties of aluminum alloy wheels.