Fluids, Volume 7, Issue 1 (January 2022) – 41 articles

This work presents a numerical study of the collective motion of two freely-swimming swimmers by a hybrid method of the deep reinforcement learning method (DRL) and the immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann method (IB-LBM). An active control policy is developed by training a fish-like swimmer to swim at an average speed of 0.4 $L/T$ and an average orientation angle of 0${}^{\circ }$. After training, the swimmer is able to restore the desired swimming speed and orientation from moderate external perturbation. Then the control policy is adopted by two identical swimmers in the collective swimming. Stable side-by-side, in-line and staggered formations are achieved according to the initial positions. The stable side-by-side swimming area of the follower is concentrated to a small area left or right to the leader with an average distance of 1.35 L. The stable in-line area is concentrated to a small area about 0.25 L behind the leader. A detailed analysis shows that both the active control and passive self-organization play an important role in the emergence of the stable schooling formations, while the active control works for maintaining the speed and orientation in case the swimmers collide or depart from each other and the passive self-organization works for emerging a stable schooling configuration. The result supports the Lighthill conjecture and also highlights the importance of the active control. Full article

We study peristaltic flow in a C-shaped compliant tube representing the first section of the small intestine—the duodenum. A benchtop model comprising of a silicone tube filled with a glycerol-water mixture deformed by a rotating roller was created. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) was used to image flow patterns for deformations approximating conditions in the duodenum (contraction amplitude of 34% and wave speed 13 mm/s). Reversed flow was present underneath the roller with fluid moving opposite to the direction of the peristaltic wave propagation. Deformations of the tube were imaged and used to construct a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of flow with moving boundaries. The PIV and CFD vorticity and velocity fields were qualitatively similar. The vorticity field was integrated over the imaging region to compute the total circulation and there was on average a 22% difference in the total circulation between the experimental and numerical results. Higher shear rates were observed with water compared to the higher viscosity fluids. This model is a useful tool to study the effect of digesta properties, anatomical variations, and peristaltic contraction patterns on mixing and transport in the duodenum in health and disease. Full article

For safety and survival at sea and on the shore, wave predictions are essential for marine-related activities, such as harbor operations, naval navigation, and other coastal and offshore activities. In general, wave height predictions rely heavily on numerical simulations. The computational cost of such a simulation can be very high (and it can be time-consuming), especially when considering a complex coastal area, since these simulations require high-resolution grids. This study utilized a deep learning technique called bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) for wave forecasting to save computing time and to produce accurate predictions. The deep learning method was trained using wave data obtained by a continuous numerical wave simulation using the SWAN wave model over a 20-year period with ECMWF ERA-5 wind data. We utilized highly spatially correlated wind as input for the deep learning method to select the best feature for wave forecasting. We chose an area with a complex geometry as the study case, an area in Indonesia’s Java Sea. We also compared the results of wave prediction using BiLSTM with those of other methods, i.e., LSTM, support vector regression (SVR), and a generalized regression neural network (GRNN). The forecasting results using the BiLSTM were the best, with a correlation coefficient of 0.96 and an RMSE value of 0.06. Full article

Droplet splashing behaviors of water-ethanol binary mixture liquids on roughened solid surfaces were experimentally observed in order to investigate the effects of surface tension, viscosity, and wettability/surface roughness on the splashing occurrence. The range of the droplet volumes was from 1.7 μL to 32.6 μL. The ranges of the surface tension and the viscosity were from 21.1 mN/m to 71.9 mN/m, and from 1 mPas to 2.91 mPas, respectively. The surface roughness range was from 0.03 μm to 1.25 μm for R_a. The present experimental data were evaluated on the basis of the existing models. Resulting from these experiments, a simple model using the Ohnesorge number evaluated by the capillary length was proposed and the accuracy of the predicted critical values such as the critical Weber and Reynolds numbers were discussed. The result indicated that the liquid properties and the quantification of the surface condition such as surface roughness are important factors for the prediction of the splashing behavior. Full article

The effects of Mach number on the skin friction and velocity fluctuations of the turbulent boundary layer are considered through a sonic eddy model. Originally proposed for free shear flows, the model assumes that the eddies responsible for momentum transfer have a rotation Mach number of unity, with the entrainment rate limited by acoustic signaling. Under this assumption, the model predicts that the skin friction coefficient should go as the inverse Mach number in a regime where the Mach number is larger than unity but smaller than the square root of the Reynolds number. The velocity fluctuations normalized by the friction velocity should be the inverse square root of the Mach number in the same regime. Turbulent transport is controlled by acoustic signaling. The density field adjusts itself such that the Reynolds stresses correspond to the momentum transport. In contrast, the conventional van Driest–Morkovin view is that the Mach number effects are due to density variations directly. A new experiment or simulation is proposed to test this model using different gases in an incompressible boundary layer, following the example of Brown and Roshko in the free shear layer. Full article

This paper presents a numerical comparison of viscoelastic shear-thinning fluid flow using a generalized Oldroyd-B model and Johnson–Segalman model under various settings. Results for the standard shear-thinning generalization of Oldroyd-B model are used as a reference for comparison with those obtained for the same flow cases using Johnson–Segalman model that has specific adjustment of convected derivative to assure shear-thinning behavior. The modeling strategy is first briefly described, pointing out the main differences between the generalized Oldroyd-B model (using the Cross model for shear-thinning viscosity) and the Johnson–Segalman model operating in shear-thinning regime. Then, both models are used for blood flow simulation in an idealized stenosed axisymmetric vessel under different flow rates for various model parameters. The simulations are performed using an in-house numerical code based on finite-volume discretization. The obtained results are mutually compared and discussed in detail, focusing on the qualitative assessment of the most distinct flow field differences. It is shown that despite all models sharing the same asymptotic viscosities, the behavior of the Johnson–Segalman model can be (depending on flow regime) quite different from the predictions of the generalized Oldroyd-B model. Full article

The development of secondary instabilities in a boundary layer over a backward-facing step is investigated numerically. Two step heights are considered, $h/{\delta }_o^{*}=0.5$ and $1.0$ (where ${\delta }_o^{*}$ is the displacement thickness at the step location), in addition to a reference flat-plate case. A case with a realistic freestream-velocity distribution is also examined. A controlled K-type transition is initiated using a narrow ribbon upstream of the step, which generates small and monochromatic perturbations by periodic blowing and suction. A well-resolved direct numerical simulation is performed. The step height and the imposed freestream-velocity distribution exert a significant influence on the transition process. The results for the $h/{\delta }_o^{*}=1.0$ case exhibit a rapid transition primarily due to the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability downstream of step; non-linear interactions already occur within the recirculation region, and the initial symmetry and periodicity of the flow are lost by the middle stage of transition. In contrast, case $h/{\delta }_o^{*}=0.5$ presents a transition road map in which transition occurs far downstream of the step, and the flow remains spatially symmetric and temporally periodic until the late stage of transition. A realistic freestream-velocity distribution (which induces an adverse pressure gradient) advances the onset of transition to turbulence, but does not fundamentally modify the flow features observed in the zero-pressure gradient case. Considering the budgets of the perturbation kinetic energy, both the step and the induced pressure-gradient increase, rather than modify, the energy transfer. Full article

This work focuses on the performance and validation of compressible turbulence models for the pressure-strain correlation. Considering the Launder Reece and Rodi (LRR) incompressible model for the pressure-strain correlation, Adumitroaie et al., Huang et al., and Marzougui et al., used different modeling approaches to develop turbulence models, taking into account compressibility effects for this term. Two numerical coefficients are dependent on the turbulent Mach number, and all of the remaining coefficients conserve the same values as in the original LRR model. The models do not correctly predict the compressible turbulence at a high-speed shear flow. So, the revision of these models is the major aim of this study. In the present work, the compressible model for the pressure-strain correlation developed by Khlifi−Lili, involving the turbulent Mach number, the gradient, and the convective Mach numbers, is used to modify the linear mean shear strain and the slow terms of the previous models. The models are tested in two compressible turbulent flows: homogeneous shear flow and the newly developed plane mixing layers. The predicted results of the proposed modifications of the Adumitroaie et al., Huang et al., and Marzougui et al., models and of its universal versions are compared with direct numerical simulation (DNS) and experiment data. The results show that the important parameters of compressibility in homogeneous shear flow and in the mixing layers are well predicted by the proposal models. Full article

We considered effective diffusion, characterized by magnitudes of effective diffusion coefficients, in order to quantify mass transport due to the onset and development of elastic instabilities. Effective diffusion coefficient magnitudes were determined using different analytic approaches, as they were applied to tracked visualizations of fluorescein dye front variations, as circumferential advection was imposed upon a flow environment produced using a rotating Couette flow arrangement. Effective diffusion coefficient results were provided for a range of flow shear rates, which were produced using different Couette flow rotation speeds and two different flow environment fluid depths. To visualize the flow behavior within the rotating Couette flow environment, minute amounts of fluorescein dye were injected into the center of the flow container using a syringe pump. This dye was then redistributed within the flow by radial diffusion only when no disk rotation was used, and by radial diffusion and by circumferential advection when disk rotation was present. Associated effective diffusion coefficient values, for the latter arrangement, were compared to coefficients values with no disk rotation, which were due to molecular diffusion alone, in order to quantify enhancements due to elastic instabilities. Experiments were conducted using viscoelastic fluids, which were based on a 65% sucrose solution, with different polymer concentrations ranging from 0 ppm to 300 ppm. Associated Reynolds numbers based on the fluid depth and radially averaged maximum flow velocity ranged from 0.00 to 0.5. The resulting effective diffusion coefficient values for different flow shear rates and polymer concentrations quantified the onset of elastic instabilities, as well as significant and dramatic changes to local mass transport magnitudes, which are associated with the further development of elastic instabilities. Full article

The study of separating different sizes of particles through a microchannel has been an interest in recent years and the primary attention of this study is to isolate the particles to the specific outlets. The present work highly focuses on the design and numerical analysis of a microchip and the microparticles capture using special structures like corrugated dragonfly wing structure and cilia walls. The special biomimetic structured corrugated wing is taken from the cross-sectional area of the dragonfly wing and cilia structure is obtained from the epithelium terminal bronchioles to the larynx from the human body. Parametric studies were conducted on different sizes of microchip scaled and tested up in the range between 2–6 mm and the thickness was assigned as 80 µm in both dragonfly wing structure and cilia walls. The microflow channel is a low Reynolds number regime and with the help of the special structures, the flow inside the microchannel is pinched and a sinusoidal waveform pattern is observed. The pinched flow with sinusoidal waveform carries the particles downstream and induces the particles trapped in desired outlets. Fluid particle interaction (FPI) with a time-dependent solver in COMSOL Multiphysics was used to carry out the numerical study. Two particle sizes of 5 µm and 20 µm were applied, the inlet velocity of 0.52 m/s with an inflow angle of 50° was used throughout the study and it suggested that: the microchannel length of 3 mm with corrugated dragonfly wing structure had the maximum particle capture rate of 20 µm at the mainstream outlet. 80% capture rate for the microchannel length of 3 mm with corrugated dragonfly wing structure and 98% capture rate for the microchannel length of 2 mm with cilia wall structure were observed. Numerical simulation results showed that the cilia walled microchip is superior to the corrugated wing structure as the mainstream outlet can conduct most of the 20 µm particles. At the same time, the secondary outlet can laterally capture most of the 5 µm particles. This biomimetic microchip design is expected to be implemented using the PDMS MEMS process in the future. Full article

This study introduces an algebraic model informed by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to investigate the performance of the assisted bidirectional Glenn (ABG) operation on a broad range of conditions. The performance of this operation, as measured by the superior vena cava (SVC) pressure, depends on the nozzle area in its ejector pump and the patient’s pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR). Using the developed algebraic model to explore this two-dimensional parameter space shows that the ejector pump can create a pressure difference between the pulmonary artery and the SVC as high as 5 mmHg. The lowest SVC pressure is produced at a nozzle area that decreases linearly with the PVR such that, at PVR $=4.2$ (Wood units-m²), there is no added benefit in utilizing the ejector pump effect (optimal nozzle area is zero, corresponding to the bidirectional Glenn circulation). At PVR $=2$ (Wood units-m²), the SVC pressure can be lowered to less than 4 mmHg by using an optimal nozzle area of $\approx 2.5$ mm². Regardless of the PVR, adding a 2 mm² nozzle to the baseline bidirectional Glenn boosts the oxygen saturation and delivery by at least 15%. The SVC pressure for that 2 mm² nozzle remains below 14 mmHg for all PVRs less than 7 Wood units-m². The mechanical efficiency of the optimal designs consistently remains below 30%, indicating the potential for improvement in the future. A good agreement is observed between the algebraic model and high-fidelity CFD simulations. Full article

Inlet and outlet boundary conditions (BCs) play an important role in newly emerged image-based computational hemodynamics for blood flows in human arteries anatomically extracted from medical images. We developed physiological inlet and outlet BCs based on patients’ medical data and integrated them into the volumetric lattice Boltzmann method. The inlet BC is a pulsatile paraboloidal velocity profile, which fits the real arterial shape, constructed from the Doppler velocity waveform. The BC of each outlet is a pulsatile pressure calculated from the three-element Windkessel model, in which three physiological parameters are tuned by the corresponding Doppler velocity waveform. Both velocity and pressure BCs are introduced into the lattice Boltzmann equations through Guo’s non-equilibrium extrapolation scheme. Meanwhile, we performed uncertainty quantification for the impact of uncertainties on the computation results. An application study was conducted for six human aortorenal arterial systems. The computed pressure waveforms have good agreement with the medical measurement data. A systematic uncertainty quantification analysis demonstrates the reliability of the computed pressure with associated uncertainties in the Windkessel model. With the developed physiological BCs, the image-based computation hemodynamics is expected to provide a computation potential for the noninvasive evaluation of hemodynamic abnormalities in diseased human vessels. Full article

In particle engineering, spray drying is an essential technique that depends on producing sprays, ideally made of equal-sized droplets. Ultrasonic sprays appear to be the best option to achieve it, and Faraday waves are the background mechanism of ultrasonic atomization. The characterization of sprays in this atomization strategy is commonly related to the relation between characteristic drop sizes and the capillary length produced by the forcing frequency of wavy patterns on thin liquid films. However, although this atomization approach is practical when the intended outcome is to produce sprays with droplets of the same size, drop sizes are diverse in real applications. Therefore, adequate characterization of drop size is paramount to establishing the relations between empirical approaches proposed in the literature and the outcome of ultrasonic atomization in actual operating conditions. In this sense, this work explores new approaches to spray characterization applied to ultrasonic sprays produced with different solvents. The first two introduced are the role of redundancy in drop size measurements to avoid resolution limitation in the measurement technique and compare using regular versus variable bin widths when building the histograms of drop size. Another spray characterization tool is the Drop Size Diversity to understand the limitations of characterizing ultrasonic sprays solely based on representative diameters or moments of drop size distributions. The results of ultrasonic spray characterization obtained emphasize: the lack of universality in the relation between a characteristic diameter and the capillary length associated with Faraday waves; the variability on drop size induced by both liquid properties and flow rate on the atomization outcome, namely, lower capillary lengths produce smaller droplets but less efficiently; the higher sensibility of the polydispersion and heterogeneity degrees in Drop Size Diversity when using variable bin widths to build the histograms of drop size; the higher drop size diversity for lower flow rates expressed by the presence of multiple clusters of droplets with similar characteristics leading to multimodal drop size distributions; and the gamma and log-normal mathematical probability functions are the ones that best describe the organization of drop size data in ultrasonic sprays. Full article

To explore hemodynamic interaction between the human respiratory system (RS) and cardiovascular system (CVS), here we propose an integrated computational model to predict the CVS hemodynamics with consideration of the respiratory fluctuation (RF). A submodule of the intrathoracic pressure (ITP) adjustment is developed and incorporated in a 0-1D multiscale hemodynamic model of the CVS specified for infant, adolescent, and adult individuals. The model is verified to enable reasonable estimation of the blood pressure waveforms accounting for the RF-induced pressure fluctuations in comparison with clinical data. The results show that the negative ITP caused by respiration increases the blood flow rates in superior and inferior vena cavae; the deep breathing improves the venous return in adolescents but has less influence on infants. It is found that a marked reduction in ITP under pathological conditions can excessively increase the flow rates in cavae independent of the individual ages, which may cause the hemodynamic instability and hence increase the risk of heart failure. Our results indicate that the present 0-1D multiscale CVS model incorporated with the RF effect is capable of providing a useful and effective tool to explore the physiological and pathological mechanisms in association with cardiopulmonary interactions and their clinical applications. Full article

This work develops a new monolithic finite-element-based strategy for magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) involving a compressible fluid based on a continuous velocity–pressure formulation. The entire formulation is within a nodal finite element framework, and is directly in terms of physical variables. The exact linearization of the variational formulation ensures a quadratic rate of convergence in the vicinity of the solution. Both steady-state and transient formulations are presented for two- and three-dimensional flows. Several benchmark problems are presented, and comparisons are carried out against analytical solutions, experimental data, or against other numerical schemes for MHD. We show a good coarse-mesh accuracy and robustness of the proposed strategy, even at high Hartmann numbers. Full article

A flight device for insect-inspired flapping wing nano air vehicles (FWNAVs), which consists of the micro wings, the actuator, and the transmission, can use the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) to create the characteristic motions of the flapping wings. This design will be essential for further miniaturization of FWNAVs, since it will reduce the mechanical and electrical complexities of the flight device. Computational approaches will be necessary for this biomimetic concept because of the complexity of the FSI. Hence, in this study, a computational approach for the FSI design of insect-inspired micro flapping wings is proposed. This approach consists of a direct numerical modeling of the strongly coupled FSI, the dynamic similarity framework, and the design window (DW) search. The present numerical examples demonstrated that the dynamic similarity framework works well to make different two FSI systems with the strong coupling dynamically similar to each other, and this framework works as the guideline for the systematic investigation of the effect of characteristic parameters on the FSI system. Finally, an insect-inspired micro flapping wing with the 2.5-dimensional structure was designed using the proposed approach such that it can create the lift sufficient to support the weight of small insects. The existing area of satisfactory design solutions or the DW increases the fabricability of this wing using micromachining techniques based on the photolithography in the micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology. Hence, the proposed approach will contribute to the further miniaturization of FWNAVs. Full article

In this work, we outline a methodology for determining optimal helical flagella placement and phase shift that maximize fluid pumping through a rectangular flow meter above a simulated bacterial carpet. This method uses a Genetic Algorithm (GA) combined with a gradient-based method, the Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno (BFGS) algorithm, to solve the optimization problem and the Method of Regularized Stokeslets (MRS) to simulate the fluid flow. This method is able to produce placements and phase shifts for small carpets and could be adapted for implementation in larger carpets and various fluid tasks. Our results show that given identical helices, optimal pumping configurations are influenced by the size of the flow meter. We also show that intuitive designs, such as uniform placement, do not always lead to a high-performance carpet. Full article

We explore the Carleman linearization of the collision term of the lattice Boltzmann formulation, as a first step towards formulating a quantum lattice Boltzmann algorithm. Specifically, we deal with the case of a single, incompressible fluid with the Bhatnagar Gross and Krook equilibrium function. Under this assumption, the error in the velocities is proportional to the square of the Mach number. Then, we showcase the Carleman linearization technique for the system under study. We compute an upper bound to the number of variables as a function of the order of the Carleman linearization. We study both collision and streaming steps of the lattice Boltzmann formulation under Carleman linearization. We analytically show why linearizing the collision step sacrifices the exactness of streaming in lattice Boltzmann, while also contributing to the blow up in the number of Carleman variables in the classical algorithm. The error arising from Carleman linearization has been shown analytically and numerically to improve exponentially with the Carleman linearization order. This bodes well for the development of a corresponding quantum computing algorithm based on the lattice Boltzmann equation. Full article

This paper reviews existing studies relating to the assessment of sediment concentration profiles within various flow conditions due to their importance in representing pollutant propagation. The effects of sediment particle size, flow depth, and velocity were considered, as well as the eddy viscosity and Rouse number influence on the drag of the particle. It is also widely considered that there is a minimum threshold velocity required to increase sediment concentration within a flow above the washload. The bursting effect has also been investigated within this review, in which it presents the mechanism for sediment to be entrained within the flow at low average velocities. A review of the existing state-of-the-art literature has shown there are many variables to consider, i.e., particle density, flow velocity, and turbulence, when assessing the suspended sediment characteristics within flow; this outcome further evidences the complexity of suspended sediment transport modelling. Full article

This paper presents the results of a numerical simulation to determine the hydraulic resistance for a transverse flow through the bundle of hexagonal rods. The calculations were carried out using the precision CFD code CONV-3D, intended for direct numerical simulation of the flow of an incompressible fluid (DNS-approximation) in the parts of fast reactors cooled by liquid metal. The obtained dependencies of the pressure drop and the coefficient of anisotropy of friction on the Reynolds number can be used in the thermal-hydraulic codes that require modeling of the flow in similar structures and, in particular, in the inter-wrapper space of the reactor core. Full article

The possibility of extracting large amounts of electrical power from turbofan engines is becoming increasingly desirable from an aircraft perspective. The power consumption of a future fighter aircraft is expected to be much higher than today’s fighter aircraft. Previous work in this area has concentrated on the study of power extraction for high bypass ratio engines. This motivates a thorough investigation of the potential and limitations with regards to performance of a low bypass ratio mixed flow turbofan engine. A low bypass ratio mixed flow turbofan engine was modeled, and key parts of a fighter mission were simulated. The investigation shows how power extraction from the high-pressure turbine affects performance of a military engine in different parts of a mission within the flight envelope. An important conclusion from the analysis is that large amounts of power can be extracted from the turbofan engine at high power settings without causing too much penalty on thrust and specific fuel consumption, if specific operating conditions are fulfilled. If the engine is operating (i) at, or near its maximum overall pressure ratio but (ii) further away from its maximum turbine inlet temperature limit, the detrimental effect of power extraction on engine thrust and thrust specific fuel consumption will be limited. On the other hand, if the engine is already operating at its maximum turbine inlet temperature, power extraction from the high-pressure shaft will result in a considerable thrust reduction. The results presented will support the analysis and interpretation of fighter mission optimization and cycle design for future fighter engines aimed for large power extraction. The results are also important with regards to aircraft design, or more specifically, in deciding on the best energy source for power consumers of the aircraft. Full article

Air entrainment phenomena have a strong influence on the hydraulic operation of a plunging drop shaft. An insufficient air intake from the outside can lead to poor operating conditions, with the onset of negative pressures inside the drop shaft, and the choking or backwater effects of the downstream and upstream flows, respectively. Air entrainment phenomena are very complex; moreover, it is impossible to define simple functional relationships between the airflow and the hydrodynamic and geometric variables on which it depends. However, this problem can be correctly addressed using prediction models based on machine learning (ML) algorithms, which can provide reliable tools to tackle highly nonlinear problems concerning experimental hydrodynamics. Furthermore, hybrid models can be developed by combining different machine learning algorithms. Hybridization may lead to an improvement in prediction accuracy. Two different models were built to predict the overall entrained airflow using data obtained during an extensive experimental campaign. The models were based on different combinations of predictors. For each model, four different hybrid variants were developed, starting from the three individual algorithms: KStar, random forest, and support vector regression. The best predictions were obtained with the model based on the largest number of predictors. Moreover, across all variants, the one based on all three algorithms proved to be the most accurate. Full article

Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) simulations were performed to capture the long-period dynamics within the wake of a realistic DrivAer fastback model with stationary and rotating wheels. The simulations showed that the wake developed as a low-pressure torus regardless of whether the wheels were rotating. This torus shrank in size on the base in the case of rotating wheels, leading to a reduction in the low-pressure footprint on the base, and consequently a $7\%$ decrease in the total vehicle drag in comparison to the stationary wheels case. Furthermore, the lateral vortex shedding experienced a long-period switching associated with the bi-stability in both the stationary and rotating wheels cases. This bi-stability contributed to low-frequency side force oscillations (<1 Hz) in alignment with the peak motion-sickness-inducing frequency (0.2 Hz). Full article

Aerodynamics is an important factor affecting cyclist performance, as at the elite level 90% of rider energy is used to overcome aerodynamic drag. As such, much effort has been channeled into understanding the detailed flow around cyclists, since small gains can produce large rewards. Previous studies have shown that cycling aerodynamic drag is sensitive to leg position during the pedaling cycle; however, a systematic analysis comparing the impact of leg position between different riding postures is yet to be undertaken. To address this question, we compare the impact of leg position for two elite-level riding postures: the standard sprint and pursuit body positions. The comparison shows that the effect of leg position on drag is not consistent between the two riding postures, as the altered flow associated with different leg positions is influenced by the wakes from and proximity of other upstream or nearby components, such as the arms. This study reveals the inter-relationship between leg position and riding posture; and suggests that the flow associated with varied leg position should include surrounding geometrical components to obtain and understand the full aerodynamic impact. Practically, the results are valuable for optimizing the posture and improving skin-suit design for drag minimization. Full article

In cutting metals with solid-state lasers, a characteristic cutting edge structure is generated whose formation mechanisms still elude a consistent explanation. Several studies suggest a major contribution of the pressurized gas flow. Particular emphasis must be devoted to the gas boundary layer and its developing flow characteristics, since they determine the heat and momentum exchange between the cutting gas and the highly heated melt surface and thus the expulsion of the molten material from the kerf. The present study applies a CFD simulation model to analyze the gas flow during laser cutting with appropriate boundary conditions. Specifically, the gas boundary layer development is considered with a high spatial discretization of this zone in combination with a transition turbulence model. The results of the calculation reveal for the first time that the boundary layer is characterized by a quasi-stationary vortex structure composed of nearly horizontal geometry- and shock-induced separation zones and vertical vortices, which contribute to the transition to turbulent flow. Comparison of the results with the striation structure of experimental cut edges reveals a high agreement of the location, orientation, and size of the characteristic vortices with particular features of the striation structure of cut edges. Full article

One of the most important and complex effects in compressible fluid flow simulation is a shock-capturing mechanism. Numerous high-resolution Euler-type methods have been proposed to resolve smooth flow scales accurately and to capture the discontinuities simultaneously. One of the disadvantages of these methods is a numerical viscosity for shocks. In the shock, the flow parameters change abruptly at a distance equal to the mean free path of a gas molecule, which is much smaller than the cell size of the computational grid. Due to the numerical viscosity, the aforementioned Euler-type methods stretch the parameter change in the shock over few grid cells. We introduce a semi-Lagrangian Godunov-type method without numerical viscosity for shocks. Another well-known approach is a method of characteristics that has no numerical viscosity and uses the Riemann invariants or solvers for water hammer phenomenon modeling, but in its formulation the convective terms are typically neglected. We use a similar approach to solve the one-dimensional adiabatic gas dynamics equations, but we split the equations into parts describing convection and acoustic processes separately, with corresponding different time steps. When we are looking for the solution to the one-dimensional problem of the scalar hyperbolic conservation law by the proposed method, we additionally use the iterative Godunov exact solver, because the Riemann invariants are non-conserved for moderate and strong shocks in an ideal gas. The proposed method belongs to a group of particle-in-cell (PIC) methods; to the best of the author’s knowledge, there are no similar PIC numerical schemes using the Riemann invariants or the iterative Godunov exact solver. This article describes the application of the aforementioned method for the inviscid Burgers’ equation, adiabatic gas dynamics equations, and the one-dimensional scalar hyperbolic conservation law. The numerical analysis results for several test cases (e.g., the standard shock-tube problem of Sod, the Riemann problem of Lax, the double expansion wave problem, the Shu–Osher shock-tube problem) are compared with the exact solution and Harten’s data. In the shock for the proposed method, the flow properties change instantaneously (with an accuracy dependent on the grid cell size). The iterative Godunov exact solver determines the accuracy of the proposed method for flow discontinuities. In calculations, we use the iteration termination condition less than 10⁻⁵ to find the pressure difference between the current and previous iterations. Full article

Particle-Resolved simulations (PR-DNS) have been conducted using a second order implicit Viscous Penalty Method (VPM) to study the heat transfer between a set of particles and an incompressible carrier fluid. A Lagrange extrapolation coupled to a Taylor interpolation of a high order is utilized to the accurate estimate of heat transfer coefficients on an isolated sphere, a fixed Faced-Centered Cubic array of spheres, and a random pack of spheres. The simulated heat transfer coefficients are compared with success to various existing Nusselt laws of the literature. Full article

Flood inundation and shoreline erosion have long occurred in Sayung, Demak area, the northern coast of Central Java Province, Indonesia. The people of Sayung planted mangroves to reduce the flood inundation and shoreline erosion in that area. They built the bamboo array to protect the juvenile mangroves from incoming waves. The bamboo acts as a breakwater and is considered an environmentally friendly permeable structure to reduce wave energy and stimulate sedimentation. This paper discusses three bamboo arrays’ effectiveness in wave reduction using Numerical Wave Tank (NWT). The interaction of regular waves with a permeable structure comprising a single row of vertical circular poles was conducted based on the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method. The effect of different waves and structural dimensions on the permeable structure was investigated based on the structure’s transmission coefficient (Kt) performance. The investigations have revealed that structures with the combination of Vertical-Horizontal formation (VH) attenuate more wave energy than Vertical Only (VO) and the combination of Vertical-Diagonal formation (VD). As the wave steepness increases, the transmission coefficient decreases. Likewise, the transmission coefficient (Kt) is decreasing when the wave height is increasing. On the other hand, the transmission coefficient (Kt) increases as the wave period increases. As the structure spacing ratio between end-to-end and center-to-center spacing (e/S) rises, the transmission coefficient (Kt) also increases. The diameter (D) has a slight effect on the transmission coefficient (Kt). However, the center-to-center spacing (S) has a more significant impact than the diameter on the transmission coefficient, affecting an inclination on the transmission coefficient (Kt) when center-to-center spacing (S) goes up. Full article

This work describes the development of a hybrid framework of Runge–Kutta (RK), discontinuous Galerkin (DG), level set (LS) and direct ghost fluid (DGFM) methods for the simulation of near-field and early-time underwater explosions (UNDEX) in early-stage ship design. UNDEX problems provide a series of challenging issues to be solved. The multi-dimensional, multi-phase, compressible and inviscid fluid-governing equations must be solved numerically. The shock front in the solution field must be captured accurately while maintaining the total variation diminishing (TVD) properties. The interface between the explosive gas and water must be tracked without letting the numerical diffusion across the material interface lead to spurious pressure oscillations and thus the failure of the simulation. The non-reflecting boundary condition (NRBC) must effectively absorb the wave and prevent it from reflecting back into the fluid. Furthermore, the CFD solver must have the capability of dealing with fluid–structure interactions (FSI) where both the fluid and structural domains respond with significant deformation. These issues necessitate a hybrid model. In-house CFD solvers (UNDEXVT) are developed to test the applicability of this framework. In this development, code verification and validation are performed. Different methods of implementing non-reflecting boundary conditions (NRBCs) are compared. The simulation results of single and multi-dimensional cases that possess near-field and early-time UNDEX features—such as shock and rarefaction waves in the fluid, the explosion bubble, and the variation of its radius over time—are presented. Continuing research on two-way coupled FSI with large deformation is introduced, and together with a more complete description of the direct ghost fluid method (DGFM) in this framework will be described in subsequent papers. Full article

Segregated flow, including stratified and annular flows, is commonly encountered in several practical applications such as chemical, nuclear, refrigeration, and oil and gas industries. Accurate prediction of liquid holdup and the pressure gradient is of great importance in terms of system design and optimization. The current most widely accepted model for segregated flow is a physics-based two-fluid model that treats gas and liquid phases separately by incorporating mass and momentum conservation equations. It requires empirically derived closure relationships that have the limitation of being applicable only under a narrow range of input parameters under which they were developed. In this paper, we proposed a more generalized machine learning augmented two-fluid model, using a database that spans the range of various flowing conditions and fluid properties. Machine learning algorithms such as random forest, neural networks, and gradient boosting were tested for the best performing data-driven predictive model. The new model proposed in this work successfully captures the complex, dynamic, and non-linear relationships between the friction factor and flowing conditions. A comprehensive model evaluation against nineteen existing correlations shows the best results from the proposed model. Full article