Thermal Initial Conditions Research Articles

How Does the Tibetan Plateau Land Thermal Initial Condition Influence the Subseasonal Prediction of 2020 Record‐Breaking Mei‐Yu Rainfall

AbstractAccurate subseasonal prediction of heavy rainfall is helpful for disaster mitigation but challenging. The land thermal condition of Tibetan Plateau (TP), usually with climate memory ranging from weeks to seasons, has been seen as a potential predictability source for subseasonal prediction. Aiming at 2020 record‐breaking Mei‐yu rainfall, this study attempts to investigate whether and how the influence of initial TP surface thermal condition near late June influences the July rainfall prediction over the Middle and Lower Yangtze River Region (MLYR), based on two contrasting prediction experiments using a global climate ensemble prediction system. The results show that the most distinguishable change in the downstream prediction in July is the anomalous low‐tropospheric cyclone and the associated increased rainfall over MLYR corresponding to the warmer initial condition of surface TP. Influenced by the invasion of the positive potential vorticity (PV) center that generated over TP and propagated eastward, this low‐level cyclone anomaly over MLYR is formed within the first week of prediction, and persists for the next 3 weeks maintained by the positive feedback between the low‐level cyclone and middle‐tropospheric latent heating over MLYR in the prediction. This study confirmed the significant effect of TP initial thermal condition on downstream prediction ahead of 3 weeks during the Mei‐yu season (peak summer) with strong land–atmosphere coupling over TP.

Research on In-Plane Thermal Conductivity Detection of Fuel Cell Bipolar Plates Based on Laser Thermography.

The thermal properties of bipolar plates, being key elements of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, significantly affect their heat conduction and management. This study employed an innovative approach known as a heat flow loop integral method to experimentally assess the in-plane thermal conductivity of graphite bipolar plates, addressing the constraints of traditional methods that have strict demands for thermal stimulation, boundary or initial conditions, and sample size. This method employs infrared thermal imaging to gather information from the surface temperature field of the sample, which is induced by laser stimulation. An enclosed test loop on the infrared image of the sample's surface, situated between the heat source and the sample's boundary, is utilized to calculate the in-plane heat flow density by integrating the temperature at the sampling locations on the loop and the in-plane thermal conductivity can be determined based on Fourier's law of heat conduction. The numerical simulation analysis of the graphite models and the experimental tests with aluminum have confirmed the precision and practicality of this method. The results of 1060 aluminum and 6061 aluminum samples, each 1 and 2 mm in thickness, show a deviation between the reference and actual measurements of the in-plane thermal conductivity within 4.3% and repeatability within 2.7%. Using the loop integral method, the in-plane thermal conductivities of three graphite bipolar plates with thicknesses of 0.5 mm, 1 mm, and 1.5 mm were tested, resulting in 311.98 W(m·K)-1, 314.41 W(m·K)-1, and 323.48 W(m·K)-1, with repeatabilities of 0.9%, 3.0%, and 2.0%, respectively. A comparison with the reference value from the simulation model for graphite bipolar plates with the same thickness showed a deviation of 4.7%. The test results for three different thicknesses of graphite bipolar plates show a repeatability of 2.6%, indicating the high consistency and reliability of this measurement method. Consequently, as a supplement to existing technology, this method can achieve a rapid and nondestructive measurement of materials such as graphite bipolar plates' in-plane thermal conductivity.

A GPU-based 2D viscous flow model with variable density and heat exchange

Numerical simulation of unsteady viscous flow over variable topography under the influence of temperature changes is a challenge. In order to apply the model to large domains with complex topography, it becomes mandatory to reduce the model complexity from 3D to 2D by depth averaging the equations and to apply massive parallelization techniques for an efficient simulation. The depth averaged mass continuity, momentum and internal energy equations, combined with suitable friction laws, can be used for this type of flows. Variations in temperature can be accounted for from internal energy changes with density changing accordingly. The resulting system is solved using a finite volume technique on unstructured triangular grids well suited for problems over variable topography. A generic model applicable to a wide range of viscous fluids and validated with synthetic cases is presented to evaluate the performance of the numerical solution in presence of both external thermal forcing functions and discontinuous initial conditions. Finally, the model is applied to a realistic application and calibration to a particular case of lava flow taking into consideration variable density, viscosity and yield stress with temperature . A heat transfer with the air is included to consider the lava cooling. The numerical results of the lava front advance are compared to the Copernicus satellite observations at different dates. The efficiency of the GPU implementation allows to simulate a 11 day event in less than 1.7 h of simulation.

Leptogenesis in SO(10) models with A4 modular symmetry

We study the prediction for leptogenesis in two renormalizable supersymmetric SO(10) × A4 modular models in which the neutrino mass is dominantly generated by the type I seesaw mechanism. The evolution of the lepton asymmetries are described in terms of the three-flavored density matrix equations for three heavy Majorana neutrinos, where both vanishing initial condition and thermal initial condition of the right-handed neutrinos are considered. We also present an analytical approximation based on the Boltzmann equations. We find regions of parameter space compatible with the measured fermion masses and mixing parameters as well as the baryon asymmetry of the Universe. The predictions for the light neutrino masses, the effective mass in neutrinoless double beta decay and the leptonic CP violation phases are discussed.

Non-Gaussian signatures of a thermal Big Bang

What if Big Bang was hot from its very inception? This is possible in a bimetric theory where the source of fluctuations is thermal, requiring the model to live on a critical boundary in the space of parameters and can be realized when an anti-DBI brane moves within an EAdS 2 × E 3 geometry. This setup renders the model unique, with sharp predictions for the scalar spectral index and its running. We investigate the non-Gaussian signatures of this thermal bimetric model, or “bi-thermal” for short. We adapt the standard calculation of non-Gaussianities for P(X,ϕ) models to the thermal nature of the model, emphasising how the bi-thermal peculiarities affect the calculation and alter results. This leads to precise predictions for the shape and amplitude of the three-point function of the bi-thermal model (at tree-level): f local NL = -3/2 and f equil NL = -2 + 4 √(3)π/9 ≃ 0.4. We also discover a new shape of flattened non-gaussianity ∝ (k 1 + k 2 - k 3)-3/2 + permutations, which is expected due to the excited thermal initial conditions. These results, along with our earlier predictions for the scalar power spectrum, provide sharp targets for the future generation of cosmological surveys.

Conjugate heat transfer simulation of sulfuric acid condensation in a large two-stroke marine engine - the effect of thermal initial condition

In the present study, conjugate heat transfer (CHT) calculations are applied in a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation to simultaneously solve the in-cylinder gas phase dynamics and the temperature field within the liner of the engine. The effects of different initial temperatures with linear profiles across the liner are investigated on the wall heat transfer as well as on the sulfuric acid formation and condensation. The temporal and spatial behavior of sulfuric acid condensation on the liner suggests the importance of CHT calculations under large two-stroke marine engine relevant conditions. Comparing the mean value of the heat transfer through the inner and outer sides of the liner, an initial temperature difference of 15 K with a linear profile is an appropriate initial condition to initiate the temperature within the liner. Moreover, the effect of the amount of water vapor in the air on the sulfuric acid formation and condensation is studied. The current results show that the sulfuric acid vapor formation is more sensitive to the variation of the water vapor amount than the sulfuric acid condensation.

Numerical studies on the self-heating phenomenon of elastomers based on finite thermoviscoelasticity

Due to their typical material characteristics, elastomer components are used in almost all areas of engineering. In many cases, these components are subject to large cyclic deformations which result in hysteresis and dissipation-induced self-heating. Further they are exposed to varying ambient temperatures. Increased component temperatures can lead to the loss of a function or to total failure. Therefore, it is important to understand the causes and influences of critical temperatures and to identify them early in the development process under the condition of efficient applicability. In addition to the calculation time and accuracy, this also includes the experimental effort required to identify the material parameters and perform validation measurements. Within this work, the phenomenon of dissipative heating in elastomers is investigated in a numerical study using a modified model of the finite thermoviscoelasticity. For this purpose, a sufficiently simple material model was formulated and implemented under the assumption of the quasi-incompressible material behaviour. Based on this, the type and the characteristic features of the self-heating effect are specifically considered, and its dependence on thermal and mechanical initial and boundary conditions is studied. Thus, a new suitable parameter is introduced, which is particularly useful to identify critical loads. Analogously, the identification of dissipation-sensitive temperature ranges is presented. The utility of the general steadystate equilibrium condition as initial condition is also shown. Furthermore, the influence of the material properties on the steadystate equilibrium is demonstrated for the first time through parameter studies. Based on these findings, recommendations for modelling, calculation and experimental parameterisation are proposed.

Dissociation in strong field: A quantum analysis of the relation between angular momentum and angular distribution of fragments

An ab initio simulation of strong-field photodissociation of diatomic molecules was developed, inspired by recent dissociation experiments of F2-. The transition between electronic states was modeled with thermal initial conditions. Carefully designed absorbing boundary conditions were applied to describe the boundary conditions of the experiment. We studied the influence of field intensity on the direction of the outcoming fragments and laboratory-fixed axis, defined by the field polarization. At high intensities, the angular distribution became more peaked with a marginal influence on kinetic energy release. The study is the first step in a complete simulation of strong field control of photodissociation.

Experimental and numerical investigation of the thermo-mechanical behaviour of an energy sheet pile wall

One-of-a-kind experimental and numerical investigation is provided in this paper about energy sheet pile walls: earth retaining structures that embed heat exchanger probes within piles for the exploitation of shallow geothermal energy. The study resorts to the results of full-scale in situ tests and coupled three-dimensional thermo-mechanical finite element analyses of an energy sheet pile wall constructed in an underground station. In this context, an investigation about the influence of thermal boundary and initial conditions on thermo-mechanical behaviour of the energy sheet pile wall is performed. The addressed thermal boundary conditions are associated with the thermal load imposed on the considered foundation by the field environment and the geothermal operation of some energy piles constituting the wall. The addressed thermal initial conditions are associated with the undisturbed ground temperature field of the considered site. Based on a comparison between the experimental and numerical results, and the development of numerical sensitivity analyses, criticalities associated with the analysis and modelling of the thermo-mechanical behaviour of energy sheet pile walls are denoted. The results highlight that: a marked non-uniformity of the temperature field can characterise real applications of energy sheet pile walls, representing a significant challenge to capture numerically at all spatial locations; a comparable influence denotes thermal loads that derive from the field environment and the geothermal operation of energy sheet pile walls, deserving attention when modelling the behaviour of such geostructures; and a critical role of the initial thermal conditions is connected to the satisfactory understanding and prediction of the thermo-mechanical behaviour of energy sheet pile walls, requiring careful consideration for analysis and design purposes.

РЕАЛЬНИЙ ВАРІАНТ ОДНОВИМІРНОЇ ЗАДАЧІ ТЕПЛОПРОВІДНОСТІ ДЛЯ СУЦІЛЬНОГО НЕОБМЕЖЕНОГО СТАЛЕВОГО ЦИЛІНДРА

Сучасний етап розвитку методів проведення наукових досліджень характеризується широким використанням засобів обчислювальної техніки та чисельного моделювання. Ці потужні обчислювальні засоби суттєво збільшують можливості нової методології наукових досліджень, а саме, встановлюють більш тісну взаємодію експериментальних та теоретичних досліджень. В умовах промислового виробництва особливо велике значення має скорочення матеріальних та часових ресурсів при розробці нових технологій та освоєнні нового сортаменту продукції та нових сталей. Для термічної обробки металовиробів ці питання можна вирішити за допомогою сучасних методів моделювання та розрахунків, які при мінімальних витратах часу та матеріальних засобів дозволяють досліджувати різні технологічні процеси, проводити їх розробку та оптимізацію для різних матеріалів з отриманням конкретних рішень.

Relativistic and spectator effects in leptogenesis with heavy sterile neutrinos

For leptogenesis with heavy sterile neutrinos above the electroweak scale, asymmetries produced at early times (in the relativistic regime) are relevant, if they are protected from washout. This can occur for weak washout or when the asymmetry is partly protected by being transferred to spectator fields. We thus study the relevance of relativistic effects for leptogenesis in a minimal seesaw model with two sterile neutrinos in the strongly hierarchical limit. Starting from first principles, we derive a set of momentum-averaged fluid equations to calculate the final B − L asymmetry as a function of the washout strength and for different initial conditions at order one accuracy. For this, we take the leading fluid approximation for the relativistic CP-even and odd rates. Assuming that spectator fields remain in chemical equilibrium, we find that for weak washout, relativistic corrections lead to a sign flip and an enhancement of the asymmetry for a vanishing initial abundance of sterile neutrinos. As an example for the effect of partially equilibrated spectators, we consider bottom-Yukawa and weak-sphaleron interactions in leptogenesis driven by sterile neutrinos with masses ≳ 5 × 1012 GeV. For a vanishing initial abundance of sterile neutrinos, this can give rise to another flip and an absolute enhancement of the final asymmetry in the strong washout regime by up to two orders of magnitude relative to the cases either without spectators or with fully equilibrated ones. These effects are less pronounced for thermal initial conditions for the sterile neutrinos. The CP-violating source in the relativistic regime at early times is important as it is proportional to the product of lepton-number violating and lepton-number conserving rates, and therefore less suppressed than an extrapolation of the nonrelativistic approximations may suggest.

Effect of thermal boundary conditions on the response of thermally-activated floating piles in a cohesive material

The application of thermally-activated foundations has received significant attention in the last decade with a number of large- and small-scale tests having been undertaken. Alongside these physical studies, a number of investigations utilising numerical analysis have been undertaken. The majority of analyses are transient with durations from a few hours up to 10 years. A broad range of thermal boundary and initial conditions have been applied in these analyses, and only a limited number of studies have explicitly considered the surface boundary imposed by an overlying structure, let alone considered what effect variations in the operational temperatures of the structure might have on the foundations. The work presented in this paper had the objective of systematically examining these assumptions and the effect they have on the predicted response of a thermally-activated pile foundation, and if important, which is the most appropriate set of conditions to use.

Towards unraveling the sintering process of two polystyrene particles by numerical simulations

In this work, we study different rheological and thermal phenomena present during laser sintering of two polystyrene (PS) particles using fully resolved numerical simulations. In our analysis, we varied the laser power, the initial temperature and the thermal convection coefficient, used different rheological descriptions for the flow behavior and in addition studied the effect of the substrate (used in the experiments) on the temperature distribution of the system. Although we are not able to fully describe the results of the experiments with our simulations for the given parameter set, we obtained important insights in the significance of thermal initial and boundary conditions by systematically studying the sintering process.

Assimilation of water temperature and discharge data for ensemble water temperature forecasting

Recent work demonstrated the value of water temperature forecasts to improve water resources allocation and highlighted the importance of quantifying their uncertainty adequately. In this study, we perform a multisite cascading ensemble assimilation of discharge and water temperature on the Nechako River (Canada) using particle filters. Hydrological and thermal initial conditions were provided to a rainfall-runoff model, coupled to a thermal module, using ensemble meteorological forecasts as inputs to produce 5day ensemble thermal forecasts. Results show good performances of the particle filters with improvements of the accuracy of initial conditions by more than 65% compared to simulations without data assimilation for both the hydrological and the thermal component. All thermal forecasts returned continuous ranked probability scores under 0.8°C when using a set of 40 initial conditions and meteorological forecasts comprising 20 members. A greater contribution of the initial conditions to the total uncertainty of the system for 1-dayforecasts is observed (mean ensemble spread=1.1°C) compared to meteorological forcings (mean ensemble spread=0.6°C). The inclusion of meteorological uncertainty is critical to maintain reliable forecasts and proper ensemble spread for lead times of 2days and more. This work demonstrates the ability of the particle filters to properly update the initial conditions of a coupled hydrological and thermal model and offers insights regarding the contribution of two major sources of uncertainty to the overall uncertainty in thermal forecasts.

An upscale theory of thermal-mechanical coupling particle simulation for non-isothermal problems in two-dimensional quasi-static system

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an upscale theory of the thermal-mechanical coupling particle simulation for non-isothermal problems in two-dimensional quasi-static system, under which a small length-scale particle model can exactly reproduce the same mechanical and thermal results with that of a large length-scale one. Design/methodology/approach – The objective is achieved by extending the upscale theory of particle simulation for two-dimensional quasi-static problems from an isothermal system to a non-isothermal one. Findings – Five similarity criteria, namely geometric, material (mechanical and thermal) properties, gravity acceleration, (mechanical and thermal) time steps, thermal initial and boundary conditions (Dirichlet/Neumann boundary conditions), under which a small-length-scale particle model can exactly reproduce both the mechanical and thermal behavior with that of a large length-scale model for non-isothermal problems in a two-dimensional quasi-static system are proposed. Furthermore, to test the proposed upscale theory, two typical examples subjected to different thermal boundary conditions are simulated using two particle models of different length scale. Originality/value – The paper provides some important theoretical guidances to modeling thermal-mechanical coupled problems at both the engineering length scale (i.e. the meter scale) and the geological length scale (i.e. the kilometer scale) using the particle simulation method directly. The related simulation results from two typical examples of significantly different length scales (i.e. a meter scale and a kilometer scale) have demonstrated the usefulness and correctness of the proposed upscale theory for simulating non-isothermal problems in two-dimensional quasi-static system.

Investigating the domain of validity of the Gubser solution to the Boltzmann equation

We study the evolution of the one particle distribution function that solves exactly the relativistic Boltzmann equation within the relaxation time approximation for a conformal system undergoing simultaneously azimuthally symmetric transverse and boost-invariant longitudinal expansion. We show, for arbitrary values of the shear viscosity to entropy density ratio, that the distribution function can become negative in certain kinematic regions of the available phase space depending on the boundary conditions. For thermal equilibrium initial conditions, we determine numerically the physical boundary in phase space where the distribution function is always positive definite. The requirement of positivity of this particular exact solution restricts its domain of validity, and it imposes physical constraints on its applicability.

Initialization of hydrodynamics in relativistic heavy ion collisions with an energy-momentum transport model

A key ingredient of hydrodynamical modeling of relativistic heavy ion collisions is thermal initial conditions, an input that is the consequence of a pre-thermal dynamics which is not completely understood yet. In the paper we employ a recently developed energy-momentum transport model of the pre-thermal stage to study influence of the alternative initial states in nucleus-nucleus collisions on flow and energy density distributions of the matter at the starting time of hydrodynamics. In particular, the dependence of the results on isotropic and anisotropic initial states is analyzed. It is found that at the thermalization time the transverse flow is larger and the maximal energy density is higher for the longitudinally squeezed initial momentum distributions. The results are also sensitive to the relaxation time parameter, equation of state at the thermalization time, and transverse profile of initial energy density distribution: Gaussian approximation, Glauber Monte Carlo profiles, etc. Also, test results ensure that the numerical code based on the energy-momentum transport model is capable of providing both averaged and fluctuating initial conditions for the hydrodynamic simulations of relativistic nuclear collisions.

Spectator effects during Leptogenesis in the strong washout regime

By including spectator fields into the Boltzmann equations for Leptogenesis, we show that partially equilibrated spectator interactions can have a significant impact on the freeze-out value of the asymmetry in the strong washout regime. The final asymmetry is typically increased, since partially equilibrated spectators ''hide'' a part of the asymmetry from washout. We study examples with leptonic and non-leptonic spectator processes, assuming thermal initial conditions, and find up to 50% enhanced asymmetries compared to the limit of fully equilibrated spectators. Together with a comprehensive overview of the equilibration temperatures for various Standard Model processes, the numerical results indicate the ranges when the limiting cases of either fully equilibrated or negligible spectator fields are applicable and when they are not. Our findings also indicate an increased sensitivity to initial conditions and finite density corrections even in the strong washout regime.

Thermal tachyacoustic cosmology

An intriguing possibility that can address pathologies in both early universe cosmology (i.e. the horizon problem) and quantum gravity (i.e. non-renormalizability), is that particles at very high energies and/or temperatures could propagate arbitrarily fast. A concrete realization of this possibility for the early universe is the Tachyacoustic (or Speedy Sound) cosmology, which could also produce a scale-invariant spectrum for scalar cosmological perturbations. Here, we study Thermal Tachyacoustic Cosmology (TTC), i.e. this scenario with thermal initial conditions. We find that a phase transition in the early universe, around the scale of Grand Unified Theories (GUT scale; $T\sim 10^{15}$ GeV), during which the speed of sound drops by $25$ orders of magnitude within a Hubble time, can fit current CMB observations. We further discuss how production of primordial black holes constrains the cosmological acoustic history, while coupling TTC to Horava-Lifshitz gravity leads to a lower limit on the amplitude of tensor modes ($r \gtrsim 10^{-3}$), that are detectable by CMBPol (and might have already been seen by the BICEP-Keck collaboration).

Dynamical localization and eigenstate localization in trap models

The one-dimensional random trap model with a power-law distribution of mean sojourn times exhibits a phenomenon of dynamical localization in the case where diffusion is anomalous: The probability to find two independent walkers at the same site, as given by the participation ratio, stays constant and high in a broad domain of intermediate times. This phenomenon is absent in dimensions two and higher. In finite lattices of all dimensions the participation ratio finally equilibrates to a different final value. We numerically investigate two-particle properties in a random trap model in one and in three dimensions, using a method based on spectral decomposition of the transition rate matrix. The method delivers a very effective computational scheme producing numerically exact results for the averages over thermal histories and initial conditions in a given landscape realization. Only a single averaging procedure over disorder realizations is necessary. The behavior of the participation ratio is compared to other measures of localization, as for example to the states' gyration radius, according to which the dynamically localized states are extended. This means that although the particles are found at the same site with a high probability, the typical distance between them grows. Moreover the final equilibrium state is extended both with respect to its gyration radius and to its Lyapunov exponent. In addition, we show that the phenomenon of dynamical localization is only marginally connected with the spectrum of the transition rate matrix, and is dominated by the properties of its eigenfunctions which differ significantly in dimensions one and three.