Resolution Of Length Scales Research Articles

Multi-Harmonic Electrothermal Spectroscopy (METS), a New Technique for Spatially Resolved Electrochemical Measurements

In this work, we introduce a new electrochemical technique, Multi-harmonic ElectroThermal Spectroscopy (METS) based on frequency dependent temperature sensing. We show that the thermal signatures generated at different harmonics when an Alternating Current (AC) is passed through an electrochemical cell can be used to extract thermodynamic (entropic), kinetic (charge transfer rate) and transport (charge and mass transport) properties associated with the electrochemical cell. From the frequency dependence of the thermal penetration depth, the spatial origin of the effect can be located within a resolution of a few microns, thereby enabling the attribution of the effect to a particular electrode. A four-point probe RTD sensor acting as a METS sensor is employed on the exterior of the current collector, which non-invasively provides spatially resolved information about the electrochemical processes in the cell. Through this work, we are able to, for the first time, determine the entropy change of a single charge transfer reaction in an electrode and spatially resolve the heat generation in a single Li-ion cell, with a length-scale resolution of a microns.

A dual-mesh hybrid Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes/Large eddy simulation study of the buoyant flow between coaxial cylinders

This study is concerned with the investigation of the suitability of the dual-mesh method for the buoyancy driven flow inside a cylindrical annulus with one internal cylinder. This flow situation can occur, for instance, in gas cooled nuclear reactors and is characterized by complex features, including a buoyant plume and a negatively buoyant wall-jet. The buoyancy forces in this flow are generated by the temperature difference between the inner and outer cylinders. The dual-mesh approach is a hybrid RANS-LES method in which an unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulation and a coarse Large eddy simulation (i.e. an LES that is under-resolved near walls) are run simultaneously on two different grids. In this approach, a criterion is used to determine the locations at which each simulation is expected to perform better than the other. Consequently, at every location the less accurate simulation is forced and corrected towards the more accurate one. This correction is done using source terms that are included in the equations of the flow and thermal fields of the two simultaneous simulations. It is observed that the buoyancy-extended lengthscale resolution criterion behaves satisfactorily in defining the regions where the LES is corrected towards the RANS and vice versa. Moreover, both quantitative and qualitative analyses of the results are conducted using quasi direct numerical simulation results from the literature. It is shown that the dual-mesh method has the potential to yield results that are better than the results of the pure RANS and the pure coarse LES simulations.

A Review on In Situ Mechanical Testing of Coatings

Real-time evaluation of materials’ mechanical response is crucial to further improve the performance of surfaces and coatings because the widely used post-processing evaluation techniques (e.g., fractography analysis) cannot provide deep insight into the deformation and damage mechanisms that occur and changes in coatings’ material corresponding to the dynamic thermomechanical loading conditions. The advanced in situ examination methods offer deep insight into mechanical behavior and material failure with remarkable range and resolution of length scales, microstructure, and loading conditions. This article presents a review on the in situ mechanical testing of coatings under tensile and bending examinations, highlighting the commonly used in situ monitoring techniques in coating testing and challenges related to such techniques.

Darkening of Laser‐Induced Graphene in Wet for Readable In Situ Real Time Sweating Rate Analysis

AbstractDeveloping a simple technique for in situ monitoring of sweating rate can provide real time feedback of individual's dehydration status and further assist in human health management. This work demonstrates the visible darkening of laser‐induced graphene (LIG) after wetting and its wearable practicability in monitoring sweating rate. LIGs with various porous morphologies are generated and their color differences are quantitatively assessed with hue‐saturation‐value model, correlated with the sheet resistance and the porous architecture. Embedding LIG pattern within microchannel enables the direct readout of water‐filled region and arranging length scale marks along microchannel allows direct readout of fluid volume with human eye for more simple measurements. Flexible design of length scale resolution can balance the detection frequency (i.e., real time ability) and its accuracy. The in situ and real time flow rate monitoring performance is successfully adopted on‐body for sweating rate analysis with reasonable accuracy. Apart from the simplicity and low cost, compared to other flow rate sensing methods, the proposed platform is reusable with no special cleaning needed for the microchannel but just drying, and no visible decline of the performance occurs. LIG's darkening strategy endows an avenue for the development of powerful in situ and real time sweating analytical platform.

Discretization limits of lattice‐Boltzmann methods for studying immiscible two‐phase flow in porous media

SummaryDigital images of porous media often include features approaching the image resolution length scale. The behavior of numerical methods at low resolution is therefore important even for well‐resolved systems. We study the behavior of the Shan‐Chen (SC) and Rothman‐Keller (RK) multicomponent lattice‐Boltzmann models in situations where the fluid‐fluid interfacial radius of curvature and/or the feature size of the medium approaches the discrete unit size of the computational grid. Various simple, small‐scale test geometries are considered, and a drainage test is also performed in a Bentheimer sandstone sample. We find that both RK and SC models show very high ultimate limits: in ideal conditions the models can simulate static fluid configuration with acceptable accuracy in tubes as small as three lattice units across for RK model (six lattice units for SC model) and with an interfacial radius of curvature of two lattice units for RK and SC models. However, the stability of the models is affected when operating in these extreme discrete limits: in certain circumstances the models exhibit behaviors ranging from loss of accuracy to numerical instability. We discuss the circumstances where these behaviors occur and the ramifications for larger‐scale fluid displacement simulations in porous media, along with strategies to mitigate the most severe effects. Overall we find that the RK model, with modern enhancements, exhibits fewer instabilities and is more suitable for systems of low fluid‐fluid miscibility. The shortcomings of the SC model seem to arise predominantly from the high, strongly pressure‐dependent miscibility of the two fluid components.

Understanding flow-induced crystallization in polymers: A perspective on the role of molecular simulations

Flow-induced crystallization in polymers is an important problem in both fundamental polymer science and industrial polymer processing. The key process of flow-induced nucleation occurs on a very rapid time scale and on a highly localized lengthscale and so is extremely difficult to observe directly in experiments. However, recent advances in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations mean that flow-induced nucleation can be simulated at an achievable computational cost. Such studies offer unrivalled time and lengthscale resolution of the nucleation process. Nevertheless, the computational cost of MD places considerable constraints on the range of molecular weights, temperature, and polydispersity that can be studied. In this review, I will discuss recent progress, describe how future work might resolve or work around the constraints of molecular simulation, and examine how multiscale modeling could translate molecular insight into improved polymer processing.

A Study of the Organized in-Cylinder Motion by a Dynamic Adaptive Scale-Resolving Turbulence Model

The feasibility of using a scale-adaptive turbulence model for the simulation of the unsteady flow in Internal Combustion (IC) Engines is investigated. The original theory of the Dynamic Length-Scale Resolution Model (DLRM), which includes an adaptive rescaling procedure for the modeled turbulent length and time scales, has been trimmed and applied to the simulation of the flow field of a geometrically simplified square-piston engine working under motored conditions. The flow field exhibits a strong tumbling motion, which is a major characteristic of modern turbo-charged, direct-injection gasoline engines. Multiple consecutive cycles have been computed and turbulent statistics, including the ensemble mean and the variance of the velocity field, have been compared with both experimental measurements and simulation results predicted by URANS and conventional LES with identical numerical setups.

Depth-resolved chemical speciation of a W-B4C multilayer structure

We report results of simultaneous x-ray reflectivity and grazing incidence x-ray fluorescence measurements in combination with x-ray standing-wave-assisted depth-resolved near-edge x-ray absorption measurements to reveal new insights on chemical speciation of W in a ${\text{W-B}}_{4}\mathrm{C}$ multilayer structure. Interestingly, our results show the existence of various unusual electronic states for the W atoms especially those near to the surface and interface boundary of a thin film medium as compared to those of the bulk. These observations are found to be consistent with the results obtained using first-principles calculations. Unlike the conventional x-ray absorption measurements the present approach has an advantage that it permits the determination of the depth-resolved chemical nature of an element in the thin-layered materials at atomic length scale resolution.

Reduction of coherent artefacts in super-resolution fluorescence localisation microscopy.

SummarySuper‐resolution localisation microscopy techniques depend on uniform illumination across the field of view, otherwise the resolution is degraded, resulting in imaging artefacts such as fringes. Lasers are currently the light source of choice for switching fluorophores in PALM/STORM methods due to their high power and narrow bandwidth. However, the high coherence of these sources often creates interference phenomena in the microscopes, with associated fringes/speckle artefacts in the images. We quantitatively demonstrate the use of a polymer membrane speckle scrambler to reduce the effect of the coherence phenomena. The effects of speckle in the illumination plane, at the camera and after software localisation of the fluorophores, were characterised. Speckle phenomena degrade the resolution of the microscope at large length scales in reconstructed images, effects that were suppressed by the speckle scrambler, but the small length scale resolution is unchanged at ∼30 nm.

LES/PDF for premixed combustion in the DNS limit

We investigated the behaviour of the composition probability density function (PDF) model equations used in a large-eddy simulation (LES) of turbulent combustion in the direct numerical simulation (DNS) limit; that is, in the limit of the LES resolution length scale Δ (and the numerical mesh spacing h) being small compared to the smallest flow length scale, so that the resolution is sufficient to perform a DNS. The correct behaviour of a PDF model in the DNS limit is that the resolved composition fields satisfy the DNS equations, and there are no residual fluctuations (i.e. the PDF is everywhere a delta function). In the DNS limit, the treatment of molecular diffusion in the PDF equations is crucial, and both the ‘random-walk’ and ‘mean-drift’ models for molecular diffusion are investigated. Two test cases are considered, both of premixed laminar flames (of thickness δL). We examine the solutions of the model PDF equations for these test cases as functions of Δ/δL and h/δL. Each of the two PDF models has advantages and disadvantages. The mean-drift model behaves correctly in the DNS limit, but it is more difficult to implement and computationally more expensive. The random-walk model does not have the correct behaviour in the DNS limit in that it produces non-zero residual fluctuations. However, if the specified mixing rate Ω normalised by the reaction timescale τc is sufficiently large (Ωτc ≳ 1), then the residual fluctuations are less than 10% and the observed flame speed and thickness are close to their laminar values. Away from the DNS limit (i.e. h/δL ≳ 1), the observed flame thickness scales with the mesh spacing h, and the flame speed scales with Ωh. For this case it is possible to construct a non-general specification of the mixing rate Ω such that the flame speed matches the laminar flame speed.

Thermomechanical discrete dislocation–transformation model of single-crystal shape memory alloy

The interaction between martensitic phase transformation and plastic deformation affects the response of shape memory alloys (SMAs) during cyclic loading, in particular in terms of their pseudoelasticity characteristics and the shape memory effect. This interaction, which occurs at a sub-micron length scale inside single crystal grains, influences the reversibility and the actuation capacity of SMAs. In order to capture the sub-grain interactions while keeping the simulations tractable, a suitable modeling compromise between length scale resolution and computational effort is required. To this end, a model originally developed for multiphase steels assisted by transformation-induced plasticity is extended for shape memory alloys. Two new features, relevant for shape memory alloys, are introduced in the model, namely (i) the modeling of crystallographically reversible transformations and (ii) the thermal contribution in the free energy and the thermal effects on the transformation driving force. The two-dimensional model uses discrete dislocations to simulate plastic deformation due to slip and discrete regions to explicitly take into account the evolution of the martensitic phase. Through representative numerical simulations, the microscale coupling between phase transformation and plasticity is investigated with a view of elucidating (i) the effect of dislocations on the martensitic transformation, (ii) the effect of the phase transformation on dislocation slip and (iii) the interaction of both phenomena on the total reversibility of SMAs during cyclic loading. The results provide valuable information for the understanding of the interaction mechanism in shape memory alloys at the level of single crystals, which may be extended to an aggregate of grains.

Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) of Spray Transients: Start and End of Injection Phenomena

This work reports investigations on Diesel spray transients, accounting for internal nozzle flow and needle motion, and demonstrates how seamless calculations of internal flow and external jet can be accomplished in a Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) framework using an Eulerian mixture model. Sub-grid stresses are modeled with the Dynamic Structure (DS) model, a non-viscosity based one-equation LES model. Two problems are studied with high level of spatial and temporal resolution. The first one concerns an End-Of-Injection (EOI) case where gas ingestion, cavitation, and dribble formation are resolved. The second case is a Start-Of-Injection (SOI) simulation that aims at analyzing the effect of residual gas trapped inside the injector sac on spray penetration and rate of fuel injection. Simulation results are compared against experiments carried out at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) using synchrotron X-ray. A mesh sensitivity analysis is conducted to assess the quality of the LES approach by evaluating the resolved turbulent kinetic energy budget and comparing the outcomes with a length-scale resolution index. LES of both EOI and SOI processes have been carried out on a single hole Diesel injector, providing insights in to the physics of the processes, with internal and external flow details, and linking the phenomena at the end of an injection event to those at the start of a new injection. Concerning the EOI, the model predicts ligament formation and gas ingestion, as observed experimentally, and the amount of residual gas in the nozzle sac matches with the available data. The fast dynamics of the process is described in detail. The simulation provides unique insights into the physics at the EOI. Similarly, the SOI simulation shows how gas is ejected first, and liquid fuel starts being injected with a delay. The simulation starts from a very low needle lift and is able to predict the actual Rate-Of-Injection (ROI) and jet penetration, based only on the prescribed needle motion. Finally, guidelines and future improvements of the model are discussed concerning the simulation of the transient injection phases.

A mesoscopic theory of dislocation and disclination fields for grain boundary-mediated crystal plasticity

A coarse-grained extension of a recent nanoscale elasto-plastic model of polar dislocation and disclination density fields is developed to model grain boundary-mediated plasticity in polycrystals. At a small resolution length scale, the polar dislocation/disclination densities render continuously the discontinuities of the elastic displacements/rotations across grain boundaries. When the resolution length scale increases, the net polarities of a crystal defect ensemble decrease, perhaps to the point where no strain/curvature incompatibility is left in the body. The defect densities are then labeled “statistical”. However both polar and statistical dislocation/disclination densities contribute to plastic flow, and a coarse-grained mesoscopic plastic curvature rate needs to be defined. In addition, whereas it is overlooked at nanoscale where grain boundaries are seen as continua, tangential continuity of the elastic/plastic curvature/strain rates across grain boundaries needs to be considered at mesoscale, because the latter are seen as singular discontinuity interfaces. It induces long-range, grain-to-grain, elastic/plastic interactions across interfaces. The mesoscale model allow preserving the essential features of the lower scale approach. In particular, it is shown that it allows accounting for such plastic deformation mechanisms as grain boundary migration and grain boundary misorientation variation by disclination motion and concurrent dislocation nucleation, when plasticity by dislocation glide is unavailable. Accumulation of polar defect densities in the vicinity of the grain boundaries and triple lines, leading to long-range inter-granular activation of slip and grain size effects, are also predicted by the model.

Numerical study of turbulent liquid‐liquid dispersions

A numerical approach is developed to gain fundamental insight in liquid‐liquid dispersion formation under well‐controlled turbulent conditions. The approach is based on a free energy lattice Boltzmann equation method, and relies on detailed resolution of the interaction of the dispersed and continuous phase at the microscopic level, including drop breakup and coalescence. The capability of the numerical technique to perform direct numerical simulations of turbulently agitated liquid‐liquid dispersions is assessed. Three‐dimensional simulations are carried out in fully periodic cubic domains with grids of size . The liquids are of equal density. Viscosity ratios (dispersed phase over continuous phase) are in the range 0.3–1.0. The dispersed phase volume fraction varies from 0.001 to 0.2. The process of dispersion formation is followed and visualized. The size of each drop in the dispersion is measured in‐line with no disturbance of the flow. However, the numerical method is plagued by numerical dissolution of drops that are smaller than 10 times the lattice spacing. It is shown that to mitigate this effect it is necessary to increase the resolution of the Kolmogorov scales, such as to have a minimum drop size in the range 20–30 lattice units [lu]. Four levels of Kolmogorov length scale resolution have been considered , 2.5, 5, and 10 [lu]. In addition, the numerical dissolution reduces if the concentration of the dispersed phase is increased. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 2618–2633, 2015

Dynamic Evaluation of Mesh Resolution and Its Application in Hybrid LES/RANS Methods

In this work, we investigate a resolution evaluation criterion based on the ratio between turbulent length-scales and grid spacing within the context of dynamic resolution evaluation in hybrid LES/RANS simulations. A modified version of the commonly used length-scale criterion is adopted. The modified length-scale criterion is evaluated for a plane channel flow and compared to the criterion based on two-point correlations. Simulation results show qualitative agreement between the two criteria and physical predictions from both resolution indicators. These observations are confirmed by simulations of flows over periodic hills. It is further demonstrated that the length-scale based criterion is relatively less sensitive on variation of model parameters compared to criteria based on resolved percentage of turbulent quantities. The improved resolution criterion is applied in a dual-mesh hybrid LES/RANS solver. Numerical simulations with the hybrid solver suggest that the interactions between the length-scale resolution indicator and the solution are moderate, and that favorable comparisons with benchmark results are obtained. In summary, we demonstrate that the modified length-scale based resolution indicator performs satisfactorily in both pure LES and hybrid simulations. Therefore, it is selected as a promising candidate to provide reliable predictions of resolution adequacy for individual cells in hybrid LES/RANS simulations.

Towards the LES Simulation of IC Engines with Parallel Topologically Changing Meshes

Rare presented. The goal is to perform reliable cold flow LES simulations in complex geometries, such as in the cylinders of internal combustion engines. The implementation of a boundary condition for synthetic turbulence generation upstream of the valve port and of the compressible formulation of the Wall-Adapting Local Eddy-viscosity sgs model (WALE) is described. The WALE model is based on the square of the velocity gradient tensor and it accounts for the effects of both the strain and the rotation rate of the smallest resolved turbulent fluctuations and it recovers the proper y 3 near-wall scaling for the eddy viscosity without requiring dynamic procedure; hence, it is supposed to be a very reliable model for ICE simulation. Validation of the implemented models has been performed separately on two steady state flow benches, where experimental data were available: a backward facing step geometry and a simple IC engine geometry with one axed central valve. A method to evaluate the turbulence resolution of LES simulation based on a Length Scale Resolution (LSR) parameter has been proposed and a discussion about the completeness of the LES simulation (i.e. LES simulation quality) is presented. Finally, the implementation of a fully parallel algorithm for the management of topologically changing meshes in the OpenFOAM R

Modelling effects of subgrid-scale mixture fraction variance in LES of a piloted diffusion flame

A posteriori analysis of the statistics of two large-eddy simulation (LES) solutions describing a piloted methane–air (Sandia D) flame is performed on a series of grids with progressively increased resolution reaching about 10.5 million cells. Chemical compositions, density and temperature fields are modelled with a steady flamelet approach and parametrised by the mixture fraction. The difference between the LES solutions arises from a different numerical treatment of the subgrid scale (SGS) mixture fraction variance – an important quantity of interest in non-premixed combustion modelling. In the first case (model I), the variance transport equation is solved directly, while in the second (model II), an equation for the square of the mixture fraction is solved, and the variance is computed from its definition. The comparison of the LES solutions is based on the convergence properties of their statistics with respect to the turbulence resolution length scale. The dependence of the LES statistics is analysed for velocity and the mixture fraction fields, and tested for convergence. For the most part, the statistics converge for the finest grids, but the variance of the mixture fraction shows some residual grid dependence in the high-gradient regions of the jet near field. The SGS variance given by model I exhibits realisability everywhere, whereas in regions of the flame model II is non-realisable, predicting negative variances. Furthermore, the LES statistics of model I exhibit superior convergence behaviour.

Event distributions of polymer translocation

We present event distributions for the polymer translocation obtained by extensive Langevin dynamics simulations. Such distributions have not been reported previously and they provide new understanding of the stochastic characteristics of the process. We extract at a high length scale resolution distributions of polymer segments that continuously traverse through a nanoscale pore. The obtained log-normal distributions together with the characteristics of polymer translocation suggest that it is describable as a multiplicative stochastic process. In spite of its clear out-of-equilibrium nature the forced translocation is surprisingly similar to the unforced case. We find forms for the distributions almost unaltered with a common cut-off length. We show that the individual short-segment and short-time movements inside the pore give the scaling relations τ∼Nα and τ∼f-β for the polymer translocation.

Micropolar continuum mechanics of fractal media

This paper builds on the recently begun extension of continuum thermomechanics to fractal media which are specified by a fractional mass scaling law of the resolution length scale R. The focus is on pre-fractal media (i.e., those with lower and upper cut-offs) through a technique based on a dimensional regularization, in which the fractal dimension D is also the order of fractional integrals employed to state global balance laws. In effect, the governing equations are cast in forms involving conventional (integer-order) integrals, while the local forms are expressed through partial differential equations with derivatives of integer order but containing coefficients involving D and R, as well as a surface fractal dimension d. While the original formulation was based on a Riesz measure—and thus more suited to isotropic media—the new model is based on a product measure capable of describing local material anisotropy. This measure allows one to grasp the anisotropy of fractal dimensions on a mesoscale and the ensuing lack of symmetry of the Cauchy stress. This naturally leads to micropolar continuum mechanics of fractal media. Thereafter, the reciprocity, uniqueness and variational theorems are established.

Extremum and variational principles for elastic and inelastic media with fractal geometries

This paper further continues the recently begun extension of continuum mechanics and thermodynamics to fractal porous media which are specified by a mass (or spatial) fractal dimension D, a surface fractal dimension d, and a resolution lengthscale R. The focus is on pre-fractal media (i.e., those with lower and upper cut-offs) through a theory based on dimensional regularization, in which D is also the order of fractional integrals employed to state global balance laws. In effect, the global forms of governing equations may be cast in forms involving conventional (integer-order) integrals, while the local forms are expressed through partial differential equations with derivatives of integer order but containing coefficients involving D, d and R. Here we first generalize the principles of virtual work, virtual displacement and virtual stresses, which in turn allow us to extend the minimum energy theorems of elasticity theory. Next, we generalize the extremum principles of elasto-plastic and rigid-plastic bodies. In all the cases, the derived relations depend explicitly on D, d and R, and, upon setting D = 3 and d = 2, they reduce to conventional forms of governing equations for continuous media with Euclidean geometries.