Small Element Size Research Articles

Massively parallel axisymmetric fluid model for streamer discharges

A highly parallelizable fluid plasma simulation tool based upon the first-order drift-diffusion equations is discussed. Atmospheric pressure plasmas have densities and gradients that require small element sizes in order to accurately simulate the plasm resulting in computational meshes on the order of millions to tens of millions of elements for realistic size plasma reactors. To enable simulations of this nature, parallel computing is required and must be optimized for the particular problem. Here, a finite-volume, electrostatic drift-diffusion implementation for low-temperature plasma is discussed. The implementation is built upon the Message Passing Interface (MPI) library in C++ using Object Oriented Programming. The underlying numerical method is outlined in detail and benchmarked against simple streamer formation from other streamer codes. Electron densities, electric field, and propagation speeds are compared with the reference case and show good agreement. Convergence studies are also performed showing a minimal space step of approximately 4 μm required to reduce relative error to below 1% during early streamer simulation times and even finer space steps are required for longer times. Additionally, strong and weak scaling of the implementation are studied and demonstrate the excellent performance behavior of the implementation up to 100 million elements on 1024 processors. Finally, different advection schemes are compared for the simple streamer problem to analyze the influence of numerical diffusion on the resulting quantities of interest.

A micro-meso coupled model for coral reef rocks based on CT Scanning

The coral reef rock has a rich porous structure, and establishing an entity model with a realistic porous structure will do great good to study the mechanical behavior and its mechanisms. However, the pore's characterized size of coral rocks spans four orders of magnitude from micro to meso scales (1 μm to 10 mm). This requires a large specimen size and a very small element size in the model, which leads to extremely high computational costs. To overcome this fundamental challenge, this paper uses CT to scan a macro coral specimen to obtain an entity model and establishes a micro-meso scale coupled model: (1) retaining pore’s equivalent diameter larger than 1mm in the overall CT entity, and regarding the rest part as a uniformly dense matrix material with unknown material’s properties, which is called the meso model; (2) extracting a small entity containing pore’s equivalent diameter less than 1mm from the CT entity, which is called the micro model also with unknown matrix material properties; (3) the unknown matrix material parameters in meso model are derived from mechanical response of the micro model, and the unknown matrix material parameters in micro model are confined by that meso model's mechanical responses should be coincident with that of a real coral specimen. Comparing with the uniaxial compression test result, this micro-meso coupled model has high precision and retains the influence of pores at various scales. The computational result shows that it can reduce the computational complexity of a single CT entity model by four orders of magnitude. It provides a new approach for studying similar materials' mechanical behavior and mechanisms under complex loading conditions.

A Multiplexed 32 × 32 2D Matrix Array Transducer for Flexible Sub-Aperture Volumetric Ultrasound Imaging.

A fully-sampled two-dimensional (2D) matrix array ultrasonic transducer is essential for fast and accurate three-dimensional (3D) volumetric ultrasound imaging. However, these arrays, usually consisting of thousands of elements, not only face challenges of poor performance and complex wiring due to high-density elements and small element sizes but also put high requirements for electronic systems. Current commercially available fully-sampled matrix arrays, dividing the aperture into four fixed sub-apertures to reduce system channels through multiplexing are widely used. However, the fixed sub-aperture configuration limits imaging flexibility and the gaps between sub-apertures lead to reduced imaging quality. In this study, we propose a high-performance multiplexed matrix array by the design of 1-3 piezocomposite and gapless sub-aperture configuration, as well as optimized matching layer materials. Furthermore, we introduce a sub-aperture volumetric imaging method based on the designed matrix array, enabling high-quality and flexible 3D ultrasound imaging with a low-cost 256-channel system. The influence of imaging parameters, including the number of sub-apertures and steering angle on imaging quality was investigated by simulation, in vitro and in vivo imaging experiments. The fabricated matrix array has a center frequency of 3.4 MHz and a -6 dB bandwidth of above 70%. The proposed sub-aperture volumetric imaging method demonstrated a 10% improvement in spatial resolution, a 19% increase in signal-to-noise ratio, and a 57.7% increase in contrast-to-noise ratio compared with the fixed sub-aperture array imaging method. This study provides a new strategy for high-quality volumetric ultrasound imaging with a low-cost system.

An adaptive multi-patch isogeometric phase-field model for fatigue fracture

Fatigue fracture is one of the main causes of structural failure under cyclic loading, so accurate evaluation of fatigue fracture is very important for the design of structures subjected to cyclic loading. In this work, we propose an adaptive fatigue phase-field model within the framework of multi-patch isogeometric analysis to simulate crack nucleation and propagation in brittle materials under cyclic loading. Multiple non-uniform rational B-splines (NURBS) patches are used to exactly represent complex structures, and the Nitsche’s method is adopted to enforce the compatibility of the displacements, stresses and phase-field variables between two patches. The coupled governing equations of fatigue phase-field model are established based on the Nitsche’s method, and the selection of Nitsche’s parameters are determined from numerical experiments. A refinement-correction adaptive approach based on locally refined non-uniform rational B-splines (LR NURBS) structured mesh refinement strategy is developed to alleviate the computational burden caused by the requirement of small element size around crack surface and the large number of fatigue loading. The proposed multi-patch isogeometric phase-field model can deal with the coupling between equal/unequal length interfaces, thus the fatigue crack propagation simulation in arbitrary complex structure can be implemented. Several numerical examples are investigated to verify the practicality of the multi-patch isogeometric phase-field model and the effectiveness of the adaptive scheme.

Increasing the Q-factor of Fabry-Perot etalons using focused Bessel beam illumination.

Sensing and filtering applications often require Fabry-Perot (FP) etalons with an Interferometer Transfer Function (ITF) having high visibility, narrow Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM), and high sensitivity. For the ITF to have these characteristics, the illumination beam must be matched to the modes of the FP cavity. This is challenging when a small illumination element size is needed, as typical focused beams are not matched to the FP cavity modes. Bessel beams are a potential alternative as their structure resembles the FP cavity modes while possessing a focused core. To study the feasibility of using Bessel beam illumination, in this Letter, ITFs of an FP etalon were measured using Bessel and Gaussian illumination beams. A Bessel beam with core size of 28 µm provided an ITF with visibility 3.0 times higher, a FWHM 0.3 times narrower, and a sensitivity 2.2 times higher than a Gaussian beam with waist 32 µm. The results show that Bessel beam illumination can provide ITFs similar to that of collimated beam illumination while also having with a focused core.

Design of single‐layer bandstop fractal frequency selective surface based on WLAN applications

AbstractIn this letter, we present a new frequency selective surface (FSS) for shielding 2.4–2.5 and 4.98–5.825 GHz wireless local area network (WLAN) bands. This FSS structure is based on the traditional Sierpinski octagon and we improve it. Compared with the traditional structure, the improved one has a smaller element size and better angular stability. The design is realized on float glass with a relative permittivity () of 8, and the unit cell size is 0.1152λ0 × 0.1152λ0 (λ0 is the free space wavelength at the first resonant frequency). Wide rejection bandwidths (−10 dB) of 910 and 1630 MHz are obtained at 2.4–2.5 and 4.98–5.825 GHz, respectively. The surface current distribution and the equivalent circuit model are illustrated to explain the resonance behavior of the proposed FSS. Furthermore, this FSS exhibits stable frequency response to incident angles of 0°–80° under transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarizations. Finally, this FSS structure was fabricated and measured. The measured results demonstrate that this FSS structure has good performance in WLAN applications.

Impact of super-resolution and image acquisition on the detection of calcifications in digital breast tomosynthesis.

A virtual clinical trial (VCT) method is proposed to determine the limit of calcification detection in tomosynthesis. Breast anatomy, focal findings, image acquisition, and interpretation (n = 14 readers) were simulated using screening data (n = 660 patients). Calcifications (0.2-0.4 mm3) were inserted into virtual breast phantoms. Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) acquisitions were simulated assuming various acquisition geometries: source motion (continuous and step-and-shoot), detector element size (140 and 70µm), and reconstructed voxel size (35-140µm). VCT results were estimated using multiple-reader multiple-case analyses and d' statistics. Signal-to-noise (SNR) analyses were also performed using BR3D phantoms. Source motion and reconstructed voxel size demonstrated significant changes in the performance of imaging systems. Acquisition geometries that use 70µm reconstruction voxel size and step-and-shoot motion significantly improved calcification detection. Comparing 70 with 100µm reconstructed voxel size for step-and-shoot, the ΔAUC was 0.0558 (0.0647) and d' ratio was 1.27 (1.29) for 140µm (70µm) detector element size. Comparing step-and-shoot with a continuous motion for a 70µm reconstructed voxel size, the ΔAUC was 0.0863 (0.0434) and the d' ratio was 1.40 (1.19) for 140µm (70µm) detector element. Small detector element sizes (e.g., 70µm) did not significantly improve detection. The SNR results with the BR3D phantom show that calcification detection is dependent upon reconstructed voxel size anddetector element size, supporting VCT results with comparable agreement (ratios: d' = 1.16 ± 0.11, SNR = 1.34 ± 0.13). DBT acquisition geometries that use super-resolution (smaller reconstructed voxels than the detector element size) combined with step-and-shoot motion have the potential to improve the detection of calcifications. Calcifications may not always be discernable in tomosynthesis because of differences in acquisition and reconstruction methods. VCTs can identify strategies to optimize acquisition and reconstruction parameters for calcification detection in tomosynthesis, most notably through super-resolution in the reconstruction. • Super-resolution improves calcification detection and SNR in tomosynthesis; specifically, with the use of smaller reconstruction voxels. • Calcification detection using step-and-shoot motion is superior to that using continuous tube motion. • A detector element size of 70µm does not provide better detection than 140µm for small calcifications at the threshold of detectability.

Characterisation of hydrophone sensitivity with temperature using a broadband laser-generated ultrasound source

In this work, we present a novel method for characterising the relative variation in hydrophone sensitivity with temperature, addressing a key aspect of measurements in the field of ultrasound metrology. Our study focused on a selection of miniature ultrasonic hydrophones commonly used in medical applications. The method is based on using water as a temperature-sensitive laser-generated ultrasound (LGUS) source for calibration, allowing for flexible characterisation across a wide temperature range. The measurements were performed using both the LGUS method and the established self-reciprocity method. Our results demonstrate good agreement within 5% between the two methods, validating the effectiveness of the LGUS approach. We found that the sensitivity of the tested hydrophones exhibited low temperature dependence less than −0.2% per ∘C within the studied temperature range from 17 ∘C up to 50 ∘C. The presented LGUS method offers greater flexibility than current approaches as it allows for characterisation of membrane hydrophones with small element sizes and non-electrical transducers. By combining the relative sensitivity variation obtained through the LGUS method with the standard calibration at room temperature, absolute values of hydrophone sensitivity can be determined. The expanded uncertainty of our measurements, which was evaluated at temperature intervals of 8 ∘C, was determined to be on average 10%. Our work provides valuable insights into the temperature dependence of hydrophone sensitivity and lays the foundation for further investigations in this area. The LGUS method holds promise for future enhancements, such as increased bandwidth of the LGUS source and frequency domain analysis, to explore the frequency dependency of sensitivity variation with temperature.

Effect of Ultra-High-Resolution CT on Pseudoenhancement in Renal Cysts: A Phantom Experiment and Clinical Study.

BACKGROUND. Ultra-high-resolution CT (UHRCT) allows acquisition using a small detector element size, in turn allowing very high spatial resolutions. The high resolution may reduce partial-volume averaging and thereby renal cyst pseudoenhancement. OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article was to assess the impact of UHRCT on renal cyst pseudoenhancement. METHODS. A phantom was constructed that contained 7-, 15-, and 25-mm simulated cysts within compartments simulating unenhanced and nephrographic phase renal parenchyma. The phantom underwent two UHRCT acquisitions using 0.25- and 0.5-mm detector elements, with reconstruction at varying matrices and slice thicknesses. A retrospective study was performed of 36 patients (24 men, 12 women; mean age, 75.7 ± 9.4 [SD] years) with 118 renal cysts who underwent renal-mass protocol CT using UHRCT and the 0.25-mm detector element, with reconstruction at varying matrices and slice thicknesses; detector element size could not be retrospectively adjusted. ROIs were placed to measure cysts' attenuation increase from unenhanced to nephrographic phases (to reflect pseudoenhancement) and SD of unenhanced phase attenuation (to reflect image noise). RESULTS. In the phantom, attenuation increase was lower for the 0.25- than 0.5-mm detector element for the 15-mm cyst (4.6 ± 2.7 HU vs 6.8 ± 2.9 HU, p = .03) and 25-mm cyst (2.3 ± 1.4 HU vs 3.8 ± 1.2 HU, p = .02), but not the 7-mm cyst (p = .72). Attenuation increase was not different between 512 × 512 and 1024 × 1024 matrices for any cyst size in the phantom or patients (p > .05). Attenuation increase was not associated with slice thickness for any cyst size in the phantom or in patients for cysts that were between 5 mm and less than 10 mm and those that were 10 mm and larger (p > .05). For cysts smaller than 5 mm in patients, attenuation increase showed decreases with thinner slices, though there was no significant difference between 0.5-mm and 0.25-mm (3-mm slice: 23.7 ± 22.5 HU; 2-mm slice: 20.2 ± 22.7 HU; 0.5-mm slice: 11.6 ± 17.5 HU; 0.25-mm slice: 12.6 ± 19.7 HU; p < .001). Smaller detector element size, increased matrix size, and thinner slices all increased image noise for cysts of all sizes in the phantom and patients (p < .05). CONCLUSION. UHRCT may reduce renal cyst pseudoenhancement through a smaller detector element size and, for cysts smaller than 5 mm, very thin slices; however, these adjustments result in increased noise. CLINICAL IMPACT. Although requiring further clinical evaluation, UHRCT may facilitate characterization of small cystic renal lesions, thereby reducing equivocal interpretations and follow-up recommendations.

Numerical simulation of sound propagation in and around ducts using thin boundary elements

Investigating the sound field in and around ducts is an important topic in acoustics, e.g. when simulating musical instruments or the human vocal tract. In this paper a method that is based on the boundary element method in 3D combined with a formulation for infinitely thin elements is presented. The boundary integral equations for these elements are presented, and numerical experiments are used to illustrate the behavior of the thin elements. Using the example of a closed benchmark duct, boundary element solutions for thin elements and surface elements are compared with the analytic solution, and the accuracy of the boundary element method as function of element size is investigated. As already shown for surface elements in the literature, an accumulation of the error along the duct can also be found for thin elements, but in contrast to surface elements this effect is not as big and a damping of the amplitude cannot be seen. In a second experiment, the impedance at the open end of a half open duct is compared with formulas for the radiation impedance of an unflanged tube, and a good agreement is shown. Finally, resonance frequencies of a tube open at both ends are calculated and compared with measured spectra. For sufficiently small element sizes frequencies for lower harmonics agree very well, for higher frequencies a difference of a few Hertz can be observed, which may be explained by the fact that the method does not consider dampening effects near the duct walls. The numerical experiments also suggest, that for duct simulations the usual six to eight elements per wavelength rule is not enough for accurate results.

Low-Sidelobe-Level Circularly Polarized Short Leaky-Wave Antenna With A-Shaped Element Based on Substrate Integrated Image Guide

In this letter, a low-sidelobe-level (SLL) circularly polarized (CP) leaky-wave antenna with A-shaped elements is proposed based on substrate integrated image guide (SIIG). The A-shaped CP radiating element consists of a horizontal linearly polarized (LP) structure and a vertical LP structure. The horizontal LP wave and the vertical LP wave can be excited by a pair of inclined transversal metal strip patches and a longitudinal metal strip patch, respectively. Their phases are orthogonal and amplitudes can be controlled to be equal by adjusting the tilted angle of the horizontal LP structure and the length of the vertical LP structure. Moreover, the longitudinal metal strip patch is modified to the V-shaped strip patch, which can realize the field cancellation, thereby achieving the boresight radiation for such a leaky-wave antenna. Furthermore, a low SLL is realized by controlling the aperture-field distribution to obtain the desired amplitude distribution and the relatively small axial ratio. In addition, because of the short waveguide wavelength of the SIIG, this feedline can be used to achieve the small interelement spacing and element size, thereby realizing the short length of the array. The measured peak gain of this antenna is 12.3 dBic, the SLL is &#x2013;19.1 dB and the efficiency is 92.3&#x0025; at the center frequency of 14 GHz.

Assessment of the cartesian and layered tetrahedral mesh strategies in the thermomechanical simulation of the selective laser melting process

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is an Additive Manufacturing (AM) process aimed for the fabrication of complex metallic parts. Due to the inherent to the process rapid thermal cycles and the developed high temperature gradients, residual stresses are formed which result to part distortion and may lead to preliminary failure during its building. Current thermomechanical modelling methods of the SLM process aim at the prediction of residual stress and strain fields in an efficient manner. Meshing schemes such as uniform or adaptive cartesian and layered tetrahedral meshing have been utilized in thermomechanical modelling but their accuracy has not been evaluated yet. The present study quantitively assess the meshing strategies in the simulation of SLM process with the focus placed on the characteristics of layered tetrahedral meshing. Although it is shown both meshing strategies lead to accurate results for a relatively small element size, layered tetrahedral meshing strategy can achieve convergence with relative coarse mesh and better discretization of curvature regions.

No need to detune transmitters in 32-channel receiver arrays at 7 T.

Ultrahigh field magnetic resonance imaging facilitates high spatiotemporal resolution that benefits from increasing the number of receiver elements. Because high‐density receiver arrays have a relatively small element size compared with the transmitter, a side effect is that such setups cause low flux coupling between the transmitter and receiver. Moreover, when transmitters are designed in a multitransmit configuration, their relative size is much smaller than the sample, reducing coupling to the sample and thereby potentially also the coupling to the receivers. Transmitters are traditionally detuned during reception. In this study, we investigate, for a 32‐channel receiver head array at 7 T, if transmitter detuning of a quadrature birdcage or of an eight‐channel transmit coil can be omitted without substantially sacrificing signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR). The transmit elements are operated once with and once without detuning and, in the latter, the received signals are either merged with the array or excluded for image reconstruction. For each of the three measurements, SNR and 1/g‐factor maps are investigated. The tuning of the quadrature and eight‐channel transmit coils during signal reception introduced a 10.1% and 6.5% penalty in SNR, respectively, relative to the SNR received with detuned transmitters. When also incorporating the signal of the transmit coils, the SNR was regained to 98.5% or 101.4% for the quadrature and eight‐channel coil, respectively, relative to the detuned transmitters, while the 1/g‐factor maps improved slightly. For the 32‐channel receive coil used the SNR penalty can become negligible when omitting detuning of the transmit coils. This not only simplifies transmit coil designs, potentially increasing their efficiency, but also enables the transmitters to be used as receivers in parallel to the receiver array, thus increasing parallel imaging performance.

Deep learning-based reconstruction in ultra-high-resolution computed tomography: Can image noise caused by high definition detector and the miniaturization of matrix element size be improved?

This study aimed to assess the noise characteristics of ultra-high-resolution computed tomography (UHRCT) with deep learning-based reconstruction (DLR). Two different diameters of water phantom were scanned with three different resolution acquisition modes. Images were reconstructed by filtered back projection (FBP), hybrid iterative reconstruction (hybrid-IR), and DLR. Image noise analysis was performed with noise magnitude, peak frequency (fp) of the noise power spectrum (NPS), and the square root of the area under the curve (√AUCNPS) for the NPS curve. The noise magnitude was up to 3.30 times higher for the FBP acquired in SHR mode than that for the NR mode. The fp values of the FBP were 0.20-0.21, 0.34-0.36, and 0.34-0.37 cycles/mm for normal resolution (NR), high resolution (HR), and super high resolution (SHR) mode, respectively. The fp of hybrid-IR was 0.16-0.19, 0.21-0.26, and 0.23-0.26 cycles/mm for NR, HR, and SHR mode, respectively. The fp of DLR was 0.21-0.32 and 0.22-0.33 cycles/mm for HR and SHR mode, respectively. √AUCNPS showed that the highest value in FBP images of the SHR mode was up to 1.89 times that of the NR mode. DLR in the HR and SHR modes showed high noise reduction while suppressing fp shift with respect to FBP. The new DLR algorithm could be a solution to the noise increase due to the high-definition detector elements and the small reconstruction matrix element size.

Prediction of Hydroplaning Potential Using Fully Coupled Finite Element-Computational Fluid Dynamics Tire Models

Abstract Hydroplaning is a phenomenon that occurs when a layer of water between the tire and pavement pushes the tire upward. The tire detaches from the pavement, preventing it from providing sufficient forces and moments for the vehicle to respond to driver control inputs such as breaking, accelerating, and steering. This work is mainly focused on the tire and its interaction with the pavement to address hydroplaning. Using a tire model that is validated based on results found in the literature, fluid–structure interaction (FSI) between the tire-water-road surfaces is investigated through two approaches. In the first approach, the coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian (CEL) formulation was used. The drawback associated with the CEL method is the laminar assumption and that the behavior of the fluid at length scales smaller than the smallest element size is not captured. To improve the simulation results, in the second approach, an FSI model incorporating finite element methods (FEMs) and the Navier–Stokes equations for a two-phase flow of water and air, and the shear stress transport k–ω turbulence model, was developed and validated, improving the prediction of real hydroplaning scenarios. With large computational and processing requirements, a grid dependence study was conducted for the tire simulations to minimize the mesh size yet retain numerical accuracy. The improved FSI model was applied to hydroplaning speed and cornering force scenarios.

A Hybrid Time Integration Scheme for the Discontinuous Galerkin Discretizations of Convection-Dominated Problems

Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method is a popular high-order accurate method for solving unsteady convection-dominated problems. After spatially discretizing the problem with the DG method, a time integration scheme is necessary for evolving the result. Owing to the stability-based restriction, the time step for an explicit scheme is limited by the smallest element size within the mesh, making the calculation inefficient. In this paper, a hybrid scheme comprising a three-stage, third-order accurate, and strong stability preserving Runge–Kutta (SSP-RK3) scheme and the three-stage, third-order accurate, L-stable, and diagonally implicit Runge–Kutta (LDIRK3) scheme is proposed. By dealing with the coarse and the refined elements with the explicit and implicit schemes, respectively, the time step for the hybrid scheme is free from the limitation of the smallest element size, making the simulation much more efficient. Numerical tests and comparison studies were made to show the performance of the hybrid scheme.

Pigeons simultaneously attend to static and dynamic features of complex displays

The simultaneous processing and attention to temporally dynamic and static features remains an open and important question in theories of avian visual cognition. Here, four pigeons (Columba livia) learned to discriminate complex displays involving concurrently available static and dynamic features. These displays consisted of 20 elements built from combinations of two, binary-valued, static visual dimensions: red vs. green element color, large vs. small element size; and two binary-valued dynamic dimensions; fast vs slow element motion, right vs up motion direction. One combination of these four features was reinforced on a VI schedule. The remaining 15 combinations of element color, size, speed and direction were never reinforced. During acquisition, all four dimensions were simultaneously discriminated. Varying the number of elements revealed that a single element was sufficient to support discrimination of all four dimensions. The pigeons agreed on the relative discriminability of stimuli within and across the different dimensions, with the difference in motion direction being the hardest for all birds. Redundant facilitation suggested rapid, perhaps parallel, processing of both dynamic and static features. No attentional trade-offs between dynamic or static dimensions were observed. These results agree with theories of avian vision employing the notion of multiple independent channels for different types of information.

Simulation of motion, deformation, break-up and deposition of copper droplets transported in internal compressible flow including phase change effects

In this work, the motion, deformation, break-up, and deposition of molten copper droplets transported by high speed, high pressure, and high temperature gas flow along a steel internal flow path are examined numerically using a volume of fluid based approach. The study of the related phenomena is motivated by the erosion and fouling patterns along flow paths caused by such droplets. Good correlation to literature was achieved for a single drop impact. Methods were applied to multiple drops moving with gas flow in a main flow channel with a by-pass with the strength of the flow varied by changing the initial pressure in the main channel gas by up to a factor of four. The amount of copper removed from the main flow path grows from 58% to 87% when the driving pressure is quadrupled. A greater portion of the copper in the by-pass section is solidified as well with 90% solidified for the higher pressure, compared to 60% at the lower pressure. Solidification of the copper and melting of the steel require the proper combination of the molten copper location, the temperatures in the copper, steel, and gas, and the velocity of the transporting gas flow. The knowledge gained from the study can be applied to mitigate the fouling and erosion that may develop along internal surfaces. Because of the need for a small element size to prevent copper mass loss, the use of this method with complex three dimensional geometries may be limited.

Nondestructive ultrasonic testing in rod structure with a novel numerical Laplace based wavelet finite element method

Abstract Rod structure has been widely used in aerospace engineering and civil engineering. Nondestructive testing is a very important method applied to detect unseen flaws in structures, ultrasonic wave nondestructive testing has been used in many areas. Finite Element Method is one of the most widely used numerical methods but would have a high cost when doing simulation on ultrasonic wave due to the requirement of small time interval and element size. Wavelet based finite element method could improve the spatial resolution with fewer elements needed but still needs very small time interval. Laplace transform could easily convert the time domain into frequency and then inverse to time domain. This paper presents an innovative method combining Laplace transform and B-spline wavelet on interval (BSWI) finite element method, which could not only decrease the element number but also increase the time integration interval. Moreover, this innovative method is applied to simulate the ultrasonic wave propagation in 1D rod structure as well as used for nondestructive testing of damages in rod structures.

Effects of distributed leading-edge roughness on aerodynamic performance of a low-Reynolds-number airfoil: an experimental study

ABSTRACT Distributed leading-edge (LE) roughness could have significant impact on the aerodynamic performance of a low-Reynolds-number (low-Re) airfoil, which has not yet been fully understood. In the present study, experiments were conducted to study the effects of distributed hemispherical roughness with different sizes and distribution patterns on the performance of a GA (W)-1 airfoil. Surface pressure and particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements were performed under various incident angles and different Re numbers. Significant reduction in lift and increase in drag were found for all cases with the LE roughness applied. Compared with the distribution pattern, the roughness height was found to be a more significant factor in determining the lift reduction and altering stall behaviors. It is also found while the larger roughness advances the aerodynamic stall, the smaller roughness tends to prevent deep stall at high incident angles. PIV results also suggest that staggered distribution pattern induces higher fluctuations in the wake flow than the aligned pattern does. Results imply that distributed LE roughness with large element sizes are particularly detrimental to aerodynamic performances, while those with small element sizes could potentially serve as a passive control mechanism to alleviate deep stall conditions at high incident angles.