Journal Of Applied Fluid Mechanics
Volume:16 Issue: 12, Dec 2023

Nonlinear acoustic oscillations of large amplitude created in a gas-filled tube under the action of two pistons located at the ends of the pipe are numerically investigated. The pistons oscillate according to the harmonic law at one of the natural frequencies and with different values of phase shift. The movement of the gas is described by mathematical equations of conservation for the main determining relations for the flow, which are estimated by applying the finite volume method based on OpenFOAM package. The non-stationary forced oscillatory motion of a gas inside an axisymmetric tube from a state of rest to a periodic steady motion is investigated. The features of nonlinear acoustic fluctuations of gas in cylindrical duct under the action of two pistons are found. The effect of the phase shift value has a strong effect on the oscillation amplitude of gas, when pistons oscillating at equal natural frequencies, in turn, when the pistons oscillate at different natural frequencies, the effect is very small. In particular, resonant oscillations are detected when the pistons vibrate at the same frequency values equal to odd values of their own higher harmonics in the absence of a phase shift value. In the case when the frequency values are equal to even values of the natural harmonics, resonant oscillations occur when the pistons move in anti-phase. The numerical method appears to work well and would be hoped for practical computations of different resonators.

The purpose of this study is to numerically analyze the effect of vortex generators that are shaped like vanes in enhancing the mixing of subsonic and sonic jet and to determine the best design which yields maximum reduction in jet potential core length and minimum thrust loss at the nozzle exit.  Four different nozzle designs namely, models A, B, C and D are designed and compared with a base nozzle which is a plain circular nozzle without any vanes. The simulation is performed in ANSYS Fluent using the S-A turbulence model. The centerline pressure decay and radial pressure decay from models A to D are compared with that of the base nozzle to determine the ability of the vane to enhance the jet mixing characteristics. To evaluate the thrust loss, the total pressure at the exit plane of models A to D is measured and compared with that of the base nozzle. When comparing all the designs, it is observed that Model B produces the highest reduction in potential core length which is 66.4% at Mach no. 1 and Model D produces minimum total pressure loss which is 0.47% at Mach no. 0.4. In contrast to the conventional method, this design introduces a novel approach by placing the vanes parallel to the flow instead of the usual perpendicular arrangement. This unique configuration allows the vanes to redirect the flow rather than hinder it, resulting in a total pressure loss of less than 3%.

The aim of this study was to accurately quantify the emission characteristics of pollutants at different altitudes. We used an intake and exhaust altitude simulation system that could simulate the intake and exhaust pressures of a national sixth vehicle diesel engine at different altitudes. Experimental research was conducted on the World Harmonized Transient Cycle (WHTC) and World Harmonized Steady State Cycle (WHSC) of the diesel engine. The results showed that carbon monoxide (CO) emissions increased with the altitude at full load, but their rates were significantly reduced at low speed (800 rpm), increasing by 0.0084–0.665 ppm/m. Hydrocarbon (HC) emissions showed an initial decreasing and then increasing trend, with a rise of up to 30%. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) showed a linear decreasing trend, especially at low speed. With the increase in altitude, the cycle work of the diesel engine decreased in a non-linear manner, and the decrease became more pronounced above 3000 m. The raw emission results of the WHTC and WHSC tests also revealed that CO increased exponentially, NOx decreased slightly and then increased rapidly, HC increased linearly, and the emissions of all pollutants deteriorated significantly above 3000 m. The exhaust emission results of the WHTC and WHSC tests showed that the CO emission showed an initial decreasing and then increasing trend with the elevation of the altitude, approximately 15 ± 5 mg/kWh. HC emissions showed an increasing trend, with HC emissions of 3 – 6 mg/kWh for the WHTC and 1 – 2 mg/kWh for the WHSC. NOx emissions did not follow any obvious rule, while the particulate matter (PM) tended to increase and then decrease with the elevation of the altitude. In relation to the current emission standards, the limit value margin for CO and HC exhaust emissions is greater than 95% and the limit value margin for PM emissions is greater than 88% at an altitude of 4000 m. The NOx emission limit is greater than 87% (within 3000 m), but there is a risk of exceeding the limit above 3000 m. The second sampling data from the WHTC and WHSC showed that the raw emissions of the engine were higher in the high-altitude area than in the low-altitude area, but the change law of the exhaust emissions was not obvious, and the levels of both emissions were low.

A Wingsuit is a Skydiving Jumpsuit that generates more lift for longer flights. This study examined the effects of side slip angles on a beginner wingsuit at 106 Reynolds number. Experimental tests were determined by using the length of the model scale at angles of attack ranging from 0° to 40° and sideslip angles of up to 20°. Force and moment coefficients were analyzed using variations in angles of attack and sideslip. Despite the absence of significant effects of sideslip angles on the lift and drag coefficients, side force and rolling/yawing moments were highly nonlinear. Flow structure visualization and numerical simulation show that surface stalls only occur on the lower side when slip angles are lower. In individual aviation sports, wingsuits are more advantageous when they have less sideslip. With Tuft visualization on the wingsuit model, the best aerodynamic coefficient under different flight conditions was determined by comparing the Response Surface Methodology performance under different flight conditions.

The performance a valve has been frequently estimated with numerical methods owing to limitations such as cost and place. In this study, for the triple-offset butterfly valves, the different sizes in various disc-opening cases was numerically conducted using different turbulence models of the two-equation turbulence models of k–ε, k-ω, and Reynolds stress model. The numerical calculations were validated against experimentally obtained valve flow test results. The numerical effect with the different turbulence models were analyzed with respect to the disc-opening cases. From the numerical analysis, the Reynolds stress model exhibits the most pronounced turbulence effects among the various turbulence models showing higher value of Reynolds normal stress near the valve disc region. The sensitivity of the turbulence model constants was examined using the 300 mm valve to observe the sensitivity of the turbulence model parameters in the two-equation turbulence models.

In this study, experimental and numerical flow analysis was performed on three different blade profiles with a chord length of 165 mm using passive flow control method. The first of the airfoil is the standard NACA 0018 profile. The second airfoil type has a NACA 0018 profile with a gap in the suction surface. The last airfoil is the NACA 0018 profile which is 66% of the trailing edge cut from the chord length. All airfoil profiles were analyzed at the Reynolds number, Re=2x104, and angles of attack α=0o, 5o, 10o, 12o and 14o in both experiment and numerical studies. The experiments were carried out using the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) method in a closed-loop open water channel, and the time-averaged velocity vectors, streamlines, and vorticity contours of the flow field were obtained. Subsequently, numerical analyses were performed using the ANSYS Fluent package program, one of the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) programs used frequently in the literature. The streamlines and pressure contours of the airfoil profiles have been compared visually at the same Re and different angles of attack. In addition, according to the angle of attack of the airfoil profiles, lift coefficient CL, drag coefficient CD, and the ratio of lift coefficient to drag coefficient CL/CD graphs were presented. It has been shown that the gap on the airfoil at high attack angles caused changes in lift (up to 0.7) and drag (up to 0.15). These features can allow these models to be used for different purposes in the aerodynamics field.

The unsteady hypersonic flow under finite amplitude pulse entropy perturbation at different freestream temperatures was calculated by direct numerical simulation. The flow response characteristics under the perturbation of entropy waves in freestreaming are analyzed. The temperature effect of freestreaming is studied based on the sensitivity of the boundary layer caused by pulse entropy perturbation. The results show that the higher freestream temperature promotes the first growth of the above third-order modes after leaving the head region, and strongly inhibits the first attenuation. The influence of the freestream temperature on the evolution of the induced disturbance wave is more significant than that on the development of the main flow disturbance waves. Low freestream temperature can suppress the attenuation of the modes below the second order. As the disturbance wave evolves downstream, the frequency band of the finite frequency disturbance wave gradually narrows, and the frequency band narrows faster when the temperature of freestreaming is low than when the temperature of freestreaming is high.

In this study we examine the flow of inelastic fluids with various shear properties in axisymmetric contractions with various contraction ratios are selected as 4:1, 6:1 and 8:1 with both rounded-corner and sharp. Particular attention is paid to the effect of shear thickening and shear thinning  upon the solution behavior. Power-law inelastic model is employed coupling with the conservation of momentum equation and continuity equation. The numerical simulation of such fluid is performed by using the Taylor Galerkin pressure correction (T-G/P-C) finite element algorithm.  The effects of geometry structure and many factors such as Reynolds number (Re) and the parameters of power law model are presented in this study. Particularly, in this study we are focused on the influence of these factors on the solution components and the level of convergence. This research was a comparative study between sharp and rounded-corner contraction geometries with a ratio of 4:1, and to another comparative study among sharp contraction geometries with ratios of 4:1, 6:1, and 8:1. The practical implications of this study focused on vortex length and the impact of varying the parameters of the power law model and the Reynolds number (Re) on it for 4:1 contraction flow.  The study dealt with the effect of different geometries on the rates of convergence of velocity and pressure as well as the characteristics of axial velocity and pressure on the axis of symmetry.

Non-Newtonian fluid flow in pipe bends is inevitable in industrial applications. Previous researchers have extensively explored Newtonian flow through curved ducts. However, the non-Newtonian counterpart gets little attention. We study the turbulent flow of shear-dependent fluids obeying the Power-Law model in a pipe manifold containing an in-plane double bend. Ostwald–de Waele's power law is used to model the fluid's rheology. We utilize computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to solve Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations with the k-ε turbulence model. We validate our numerical results with previous experimental results. The in-plane double bend perturbs the flow in the pipe manifold to develop a Prandtl's secondary flow of the first kind. A fully developed flow at the bend upstream is disturbed due to the bend's curvature and regains its fully developed characteristics upon a certain downstream length after the exit of the bend. We study the rheological characteristics of the secondary flow within the bend and the evolution of fluid flow at the bend downstream. We demonstrate that the centrifugal force-dominated secondary flow increases with a decrease of the non-Newtonian power-law index. We capture the camel's-back-shaped velocity profiles within the bend due to accelerating-decelerating flow. The study reveals that the average flow velocity increases along the bend with a corresponding pressure head loss. We quantify this velocity rise by a newly introduced non-dimensional number, viz. enhancement ratio. The double bend's enhancement ratio decreases with an increase in n.

The serpentine nozzle effectively suppresses infrared radiation and radar signals from advanced aero-engine exhaust system. However, the extreme operating environment of thermal–solid interaction complicates the heat transfer of the flow inside the serpentine nozzle and the structural response of the nozzle itself. In this study, the internal flow heat transfer and the structural response of the serpentine nozzle were investigated numerically. Further, the parameter influence law of wall thickness was explored. The results show that the mechanism of the thermal-solid interaction is formed through the data transfer of the heat flux and the temperature at the interface between the flow field and structure field. The heat flux distribution of the nozzle under the bending configuration is non-uniform. The upper wall surface at the first bend and the lower wall surface at the second bend exhibit the highest heat flux. In the structural response, the temperature extremes appear on the upper wall at the first bend and the lower wall at the second bend. Subsequently, they shift to the inlet. The stress in the nozzle with a thickness of 3 mm first increases and then decreases, with a maximum stress of 139.43 MPa at t = 51.20 s. For nozzles of different thicknesses, the positions of the maximum stresses all appear at the outlet and the moments concentrate in approximately 50 s. However, with the increase in thickness, the maximum stress of nozzle increases continuously, and the maximum increases by 93% compared with the minimum.

The aerodynamic interaction between the wake flow structure behind a single spire with a smooth wall boundary layer at a long streamwise location was observed in a wind tunnel experiment. The application of a single spire is intended to generate a wake flow similar to the one generated behind a skyscraper. A quarter elliptic wedge spire was used and a long streamwise distance of up to 26 times the spire’s height was adopted to ensure the development of the boundary layer and the wake recovery. To grasp how the smooth wall boundary layer interacts with the wake as well as how the wake recovers downstream, vertical and lateral velocity profiles were examined. Despite only one spire being utilized, it was found that the role of the spire as a vortex generator was confirmed the boundary layer height in the with-spire case increased compared to that of the without-spire case. Moreover, the velocity deficit recovery process was observed vertically and streamwise. However, within the boundary layer, the recovery rate in the streamwise direction was lower compared to the above it. This finding indicates that within the boundary, the turbulence generated can sustain the wake caused by the spire, reducing the recovery rate. Based on the current lateral velocity analysis, the final streamwise distance required by the wake to fully recover could not be predicted due to the large velocity deviation of 2.15% at the end of the streamwise distance.

This study investigates numerical simulation for fluid-structure interaction in wind turbine blades, emphasizing the influence of dimensionless numbers. Utilizing OpenFoam, the Navier-Stokes equation is accurately solved with the PISO algorithm, ensuring proper interface conditions. The icoFsiFoam solver is validated through dynamic testing, demonstrating its effectiveness. In contrast to the widely adopted Blade Element Momentum Theory (BEMT), our approach focuses on analyzing blade deformation and resonance phenomena, capturing intricate deformations and stress concentrations. Our investigation explores the impact of reduced velocity on blade behavior across a range of 0.105 to 0.145, while consistently maintaining crucial dimensionless numbers such as Reynolds number (Re = 10⁶), Froude number (Fr = 4.93), and Cauchy number ( Cy = 10-5). The outcomes of this study significantly contribute to the understanding of fluid-structure interaction in wind turbine blades. By examining the oscillatory behavior of the blades, we observe trends similar to those predicted by BEMT. However, our approach surpasses BEMT by providing additional insights into stress concentrations and deformation modes. This advancement enables superior performance optimization and facilitates advanced blade analysis. The implications of our research are paramount for optimizing blade design and performance under varying reduced velocities. By incorporating the findings of this study, blade designers can make well-informed decisions to enhance the efficiency and durability of wind turbine technologies. The presented methodology and results provide a comprehensive investigation into the fluid-structure interaction of wind turbine blades, highlighting the importance of dimensionless numbers and their influence on blade behavior. Overall, this study offers valuable insights for improving wind turbine design and performance.

The daily regulation and anti-regulation of upstream and downstream power stations, respectively, frequently alter the river flow regime, velocity, and surface gradient, thus resulting in unsteady flow characteristics of the river and hindering shipping, waterway maintenance, and wharf operations. This study investigated the influence of daily regulation on the navigation conditions in the deep reservoir by taking the rivers between the Three Gorges Dam and the Gezhouba Dam as the research object. Prototype observations and a depth-averaged 2-D model were used to determine the main factors affecting the propagation law of unsteady flow. The propagation pattern of unsteady flow and channel navigational conditions and measures of the power station were analyzed systematically. The results showed that the water level amplitude was affected primarily by the peak amplitude and duration of the peak shaving. Additionally, the base flow significantly influenced time spatial distributions of the water level amplitude. Impacted by the reservoir storage capacity, a threshold for the duration of peak shaving was noted; this may result in maximum water level variation. As the peak shaving duration increased, the amplitude of the water level decreased. The research results can provide theoretical support for the optimization of hub shipping.

This study investigates supersonic flow characteristics over circular and elliptic cones at various angles of attack. Simulations were conducted on the cones with the same base area and length-to-diameter ratio. The elliptic cones considered had axis ratios of 1.5 and 3. The angle of attack varied from 0o to 50o, with two different Mach numbers (1.97 and 2.94) employed for the analysis. The numerical results were compared with the experimental and theoretical findings from existing literature. The results revealed that increasing the ellipticity ratio of the cones resulted in higher lift generation. The pressure distributions on the windward and leeward sides of the cones were also examined. The results demonstrated that elliptic cones outperformed circular cones in terms of lift production, and this advantage increased with higher ellipticity ratios. Specifically, when the ellipticity ratio was increased from 1 to 3, the maximum increase in lift coefficient was 96% and 100% at Mach numbers 2.94 and 1.97, respectively. Additionally, by changing the ellipticity ratio from 1 to 1.5, the maximum gain in the lift-drag ratio was 16% and 22% at Mach numbers 1.97 and 2.94, respectively. Notably, an elliptic cone with an ellipticity ratio of 3 achieved a remarkable 46% gain in lift-to-drag ratio compared to a circular cone. However, as the angle of attack increased, a primary bow shock formed on the windward side of the cone, with an embedded shock appearing on the leeward side.

This study uses three turbulence model variations, i.e., S - A, k - ε, and k – ω turbulence models. In addition, there are two variations of cell shape and three variations of cell number. The number of cells is 500, 5000, 50000, and 100000. Verification is carried out in the mesh refinement study and validated by aerodynamic performances. Based on the mesh refinement study, quadrilateral cells with the k - ε are in the asymptotic convergence range. Based on the Cl, it can be concluded that the quadrilateral mesh with 50000 and 100000 cells simulated using the k-ε turbulence model shows very low errors, namely 4.1151% and 3.8643%, respectively. It shows consistency based on the quadrilaterals Cd mesh data with the k-ε and k-ω turbulence models. However, k-ε shows the lowest error with the number of cells 50000 and 100000, i.e., 127.7682% and 110.4175%, respectively. However, choosing mesh 50000 cells are advisable because it only takes 23 minutes 48 seconds in computation, while mesh 100000 cells take 1 hour 17 minutes 21 seconds. Only Cm from quadrilateral mesh with the turbulence model k-ω shows consistency. An error of mesh 50000 cells is 22.0717%, and the error value for 100000 cells is 18.1630%. By considering computation time, mesh 50000 cells are preferable because it only takes 27 minutes 16 seconds, which is faster 43 minutes 14 seconds than 100000 cells.

As one of the most important means of transportation, high-speed trains have a large capacity for carrying passengers. However, their narrow carriages can easily exacerbate the spread of respiratory diseases. Just like personalized ventilation in an airplane, ventilation in seat armrests of high-speed trains may increase comfort for passengers, but also influence the diffusion characteristics of respiratory pollutants. In this study, the effect of personalized ventilation in seat armrests, on the diffusion characteristics of respiratory pollutants in train carriages, is studied by means of the tracer gas method. Taking the ceiling air supply as the original ventilation system, comfortable temperature and pollutant diffusion characteristics of the personalized ventilation system, with 4 different air supply angles, are investigated. The 4 angles are 0°, 30°, 45° and 60°.  When the personalized ventilation with the above 4 angles is adopted, the fluctuation amplitudes of pollutants in the passenger breathing zone are reduced by 15.84%, 19.27%, 19.76% and 19.68%, respectively, compared with the original ventilation system. It indicates that the sensible use of personalized ventilation can effectively reduce the passengers’ contaminant concentrations in the breathing zone, thereby reducing the possibility of cross-contamination between passengers. In addition, the use of the personalized ventilation system leads to a slight improvement in the thermal comfort and flow uniformity in the carriage. Based on the results, personalized air supply with an angle of 45° is advised for use in high-speed trains.

Feedwater leakages due to excessive loads and cracking caused by corrosion or fatigue failure can affect the reliability of the production facilities. In the present work, a numerical study of a small leakage accident type SB-LOCA on the feed water pipeline was investigated using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Relap5 computer codes. The aim is to understand the behavior of the incompressible water flow and its effect on the relevant parameters at the leakage location vicinity, including the mass flow rate, velocity, pressure, and temperature. For this, a mathematical model was developed and validated to evaluate the release of water through the pipe, which is mainly based on the variables that may affect the leakage. The results of CFD show that the leakage has important effects on the distribution of main parameters of the water flow through the pipe, which has an identical outcome from the Relap5 code simulation. The change of fluid velocity only has a little impact on the flow behavior at the leakage region.

Temporal flow characteristics of a 3D centrifugal impeller suction system were numerically studied in vacuum conditions. The blockage of the high-speed rotating impeller appeared, which greatly dropped the suction of the layer suction device. The temporal flow characteristics of the 3D centrifugal impeller suction system were worthy of attention in vacuum conditions. Separation vortices were generated near the blade suction surface. The blocking mechanism of the passage was further analyzed at different extremely low flow rates through the time-space evolution of the streamline. The Q-criteria was introduced to analyze the vortex evolution within the fluid domain of the impeller. Vortex evolution law was captured—the vortices always generated near the suction surface of the blade and moved to the pressure surface of the adjacent blade in the same passage and disappeared. The uniform distribution of three stall cells was captured through the diagram of turbulent kinetic energy. The flow rate increased, and the vortex evolution period gradually decreased. The comparison of pressure fluctuations in different conditions further demonstrated the flow mechanism at the vacuum flow rate was different from that at low flow rates. The sharp increase of pressure fluctuations near the blade pressure surface was consistent with the phenomenon near the suction surface. The pressure fluctuation at extremely low flow was mainly composed of scattered fluctuations caused by fluid separation. The steady and unsteady characteristics described the internal flow characteristics of this suction system at vacuum-flow rates. Theresults provide a profound design for vacuum cleaners.

In order to reduce exit swirl and obtain the desired Mach number, axial exit guide vanes (EGV) are often employed in a centrifugal compressor. NASA CC3 compressor, with wedge vane diffuser and without EGV, is considered as the base model for the analysis and validation. An axial flow domain with exit guide vane is added to this base model after the diffuser outlet to study the effect on the compressor performance. The performance of exit guide vane with different profiles: flat plate, symmetric wedge, circular arc, and airfoil vane profiles by maintaining the same chord, number of vanes, and flow angle of the vanes are studied. Numerical simulations are carried out with 60 number of exit guide vanes for all four types of vanes. Among several combinations, when the centrifugal compressor is equipped with 60 circular arc vanes as EGV, the efficiency and pressure recovery values at the design point have increased by 6.5% and 8.9%, respectively.

The innovative bus designs, inspired by the whales, have been developed. The designs are confined to the frontal area of the buses. The new designs are named as the Beluga buses. Several variants of the models all mimicking Beluga whales are proposed. Both numerical analysis and experimental have been conducted to determine the drag coefficients of various models. The ANSYS CFD program was used for numerical simulations. WT tests were conducted to experimentally determine the drag coefficients. Both methods indicate that the beluga-inspired buses offer significant reductions in drag, which can lead to lower fuel consumption. The new beluga design is expected to reduce fuel consumption by 12.64%. Comparing the experimental and numerical results, a 6.4% discrepancy in the drag coefficients is observed at low Reynolds numbers, which became negligible at higher Reynolds numbers. The new geometry is expected to offer an economical solution for reducing fuel consumption.