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Sample records for interface reconstruction DA PLIC molten metal flow accuracy volume of fluid method

  1. A novel technique for including surface tension in PLIC-VOF methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meier, M.; Yadigaroglu, G. [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Nuclear Engineering Lab. ETH-Zentrum, CLT, Zurich (Switzerland); Smith, B. [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland). Lab. for Thermal-Hydraulics

    2002-02-01

    Various versions of Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) methods have been used successfully for the numerical simulation of gas-liquid flows with an explicit tracking of the phase interface. Of these, Piecewise-Linear Interface Construction (PLIC-VOF) appears as a fairly accurate, although somewhat more involved variant. Including effects due to surface tension remains a problem, however. The most prominent methods, Continuum Surface Force (CSF) of Brackbill et al. and the method of Zaleski and co-workers (both referenced later), both induce spurious or 'parasitic' currents, and only moderate accuracy in regards to determining the curvature. We present here a new method to determine curvature accurately using an estimator function, which is tuned with a least-squares-fit against reference data. Furthermore, we show how spurious currents may be drastically reduced using the reconstructed interfaces from the PLIC-VOF method. (authors)

  2. A volume of fluid method based on multidimensional advection and spline interface reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lopez, J.; Hernandez, J.; Gomez, P.; Faura, F.

    2004-01-01

    A new volume of fluid method for tracking two-dimensional interfaces is presented. The method involves a multidimensional advection algorithm based on the use of edge-matched flux polygons to integrate the volume fraction evolution equation, and a spline-based reconstruction algorithm. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method are analyzed using different tests, and the results are compared with those obtained recently by other authors. Despite its simplicity, the proposed method represents a significant improvement, and compares favorably with other volume of fluid methods as regards the accuracy and efficiency of both the advection and reconstruction steps

  3. An improved method for calculation of interface pressure force in PLIC-VOF methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sefollahi, M.; Shirani, E.

    2004-08-01

    Conventional methods for the modeling of surface tension force in Piecewise Linear Interface Calculation-Volume of Fluid (PLIC-VOF) methods, such as Continuum Surface Force (CSF), Continuum Surface Stress (CSS) and also Meier's method, convert the surface tension force into a body force. Not only do they include the force in the interfacial cells but also in the neighboring cells. Thus they produce spurious currents. Also the pressure jump, due to the surface tension, is not calculated accurately in these methods. In this paper a more accurate method for the application of interface force in the computational modeling of free surfaces and interfaces which use PLIC-VOF methods is developed. This method is based on the evaluation of the surface tension force only in the interfacial cells and not the neighboring cells. Also the normal and the interface surface area needed for the calculation of the surface tension force is calculated more accurately. The present method is applied to a two-dimensional motionless drop of liquid and a bubble of gas as well as a non-circular two-dimensional drop, which oscillates due to the surface tension force, in an initially stagnant fluid with no gravity force. The results are compared with the results of the cases when CSF, CSS and Meier's methods are used. It is shown that the present method calculates pressure jump at the interface more accurately and produces less spurious currents comparing to CSS an CSF models. (author)

  4. Cellwise conservative unsplit advection for the volume of fluid method

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Comminal, Raphaël; Spangenberg, Jon; Hattel, Jesper Henri

    2015-01-01

    We present a cellwise conservative unsplit (CCU) advection scheme for the volume of fluid method (VOF) in 2D. Contrary to other schemes based on explicit calculations of the flux balances, the CCU advection adopts a cellwise approach where the pre-images of the control volumes are traced......-overlapping donating regions and pre-images with conforming edges to their neighbors, resulting in the conservativeness and the boundedness (liquid volume fraction inside the interval [0, 1]) of the CCU advection scheme. Finally, the update of the liquid volume fractions is computed from the intersections of the pre......-image polygons with the reconstructed interfaces. The CCU scheme is tested on several benchmark tests for the VOF advection, together with the standard piecewise linear interface calculation (PLIC). The geometrical errors of the CCU compare favorably with other unsplit VOF-PLIC schemes. Finally, potential...

  5. Second-order accurate volume-of-fluid algorithms for tracking material interfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pilliod, James Edward; Puckett, Elbridge Gerry

    2004-01-01

    We introduce two new volume-of-fluid interface reconstruction algorithms and compare the accuracy of these algorithms to four other widely used volume-of-fluid interface reconstruction algorithms. We find that when the interface is smooth (e.g., continuous with two continuous derivatives) the new methods are second-order accurate and the other algorithms are first-order accurate. We propose a design criteria for a volume-of-fluid interface reconstruction algorithm to be second-order accurate. Namely, that it reproduce lines in two space dimensions or planes in three space dimensions exactly. We also introduce a second-order, unsplit, volume-of-fluid advection algorithm that is based on a second-order, finite difference method for scalar conservation laws due to Bell, Dawson and Shubin. We test this advection algorithm by modeling several different interface shapes propagating in two simple incompressible flows and compare the results with the standard second-order, operator-split advection algorithm. Although both methods are second-order accurate when the interface is smooth, we find that the unsplit algorithm exhibits noticeably better resolution in regions where the interface has discontinuous derivatives, such as at corners

  6. A mixed markers and volume-of-fluid method for the reconstruction and advection of interfaces in two-phase and free-boundary flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aulisa, Eugenio; Manservisi, Sandro; Scardovelli, Ruben

    2003-01-01

    In this work we present a new mixed markers and volume-of-fluid (VOF) algorithm for the reconstruction and advection of interfaces in the two-dimensional space. The interface is described by using both the volume fraction function C, as in VOF methods, and surface markers, which locate the interface within the computational cells. The C field and the markers are advected by following the streamlines. New markers are determined by computing the intersections of the advected interface with the grid lines, then other markers are added inside each cut cell to conserve the volume fraction C. A smooth motion of the interface is obtained, typical of the marker approach, with a good volume conservation, as in standard VOF methods. In this article we consider a few typical two-dimensional tests and compare the results of the mixed algorithm with those obtained with VOF methods. Translations, rotations and vortex tests are performed showing that many problems of the VOF technique can be solved and a good accuracy in the geometrical motion and mass conservation can be achieved

  7. A numerical model of two-phase flow at the micro-scale using the volume-of-fluid method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shams, Mosayeb; Raeini, Ali Q.; Blunt, Martin J.; Bijeljic, Branko

    2018-03-01

    This study presents a simple and robust numerical scheme to model two-phase flow in porous media where capillary forces dominate over viscous effects. The volume-of-fluid method is employed to capture the fluid-fluid interface whose dynamics is explicitly described based on a finite volume discretization of the Navier-Stokes equations. Interfacial forces are calculated directly on reconstructed interface elements such that the total curvature is preserved. The computed interfacial forces are explicitly added to the Navier-Stokes equations using a sharp formulation which effectively eliminates spurious currents. The stability and accuracy of the implemented scheme is validated on several two- and three-dimensional test cases, which indicate the capability of the method to model two-phase flow processes at the micro-scale. In particular we show how the co-current flow of two viscous fluids leads to greatly enhanced flow conductance for the wetting phase in corners of the pore space, compared to a case where the non-wetting phase is an inviscid gas.

  8. A method of measuring a molten metal liquid pool volume

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, G.V.; Carlson, N.M., Donaldson, A.D.

    1990-12-12

    A method of measuring a molten metal liquid pool volume and in particular molten titanium liquid pools, including the steps of (a) generating an ultrasonic wave at the surface of the molten metal liquid pool, (b) shining a light on the surface of a molten metal liquid pool, (c) detecting a change in the frequency of light, (d) detecting an ultrasonic wave echo at the surface of the molten metal liquid pool, and (e) computing the volume of the molten metal liquid. 3 figs.

  9. A PLIC-VOF-Based Simulation of Water-Organic Slug Flow Characteristics in a T-Shaped Microchannel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xian Wang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A water-organic slug flow in a T-shaped microchannel was numerically studied due to its importance in the microreactor system. Various factors affecting the flow mode were studied, for example, channel width, fluid viscosity, interfacial tension, and inlet velocity. The volume of fluid (VOF method was used to track the liquid-liquid interface, and the piecewise-liner interface construction (PLIC technique was adopted to get a sharp interface. The interfacial tension was simulated with continuum surface force (CSF, model and the wall adhesion boundary condition was taken into consideration. The results show that strong vortexes appear in both phases at the meeting sites of main and lateral channels where an organic slug is producing. Inlet velocity influences the slug length and flow mode greatly. The ratio between the slug lengths of two phases in the main channel is almost equal to the ratio between their inlet velocities. If the slug is produced, the interfacial tension and organic viscosity have less effect on the slug length for 200 μm microchannel. The slug producing rate is much higher in a narrow channel than that in a wide channel.

  10. Effect of thermodiffusion on the fluid flow, heat transfer, and solidification of molten metal alloys

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Jafar-Salehi

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a transient Finite Element (FE method has been employed to solve the transport equations to investigate the heat transfer and fluid flow and the effect of thermodiffusion on vertical solidification of a binary molten metal alloy, forming a rod. The binary system considered in this study is SnBi composed of 65% Sn and 35% Bi subjected to bottom cooling. It is found that the flow of molten metal at the boundary of the mushy region plays an important role in the shape and geometry of the zone. The presence of thermodiffusion shows considerable difference in the composition of the solidified rod, compared with the one without considering the effect of thermodiffusion. Thermodiffusion also causes a faster solidification and a more uniform concentration distribution. The results of this study may be extended to similar binary and multicomponent systems in which a temperature gradient exists and the Soret coefficient is large enough so as to affect the fluid flow and concentration of the species.

  11. Class of reconstructed discontinuous Galerkin methods in computational fluid dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luo, Hong; Xia, Yidong; Nourgaliev, Robert

    2011-01-01

    A class of reconstructed discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods is presented to solve compressible flow problems on arbitrary grids. The idea is to combine the efficiency of the reconstruction methods in finite volume methods and the accuracy of the DG methods to obtain a better numerical algorithm in computational fluid dynamics. The beauty of the resulting reconstructed discontinuous Galerkin (RDG) methods is that they provide a unified formulation for both finite volume and DG methods, and contain both classical finite volume and standard DG methods as two special cases of the RDG methods, and thus allow for a direct efficiency comparison. Both Green-Gauss and least-squares reconstruction methods and a least-squares recovery method are presented to obtain a quadratic polynomial representation of the underlying linear discontinuous Galerkin solution on each cell via a so-called in-cell reconstruction process. The devised in-cell reconstruction is aimed to augment the accuracy of the discontinuous Galerkin method by increasing the order of the underlying polynomial solution. These three reconstructed discontinuous Galerkin methods are used to compute a variety of compressible flow problems on arbitrary meshes to assess their accuracy. The numerical experiments demonstrate that all three reconstructed discontinuous Galerkin methods can significantly improve the accuracy of the underlying second-order DG method, although the least-squares reconstructed DG method provides the best performance in terms of both accuracy, efficiency, and robustness. (author)

  12. Variant of a volume-of-fluid method for surface tension-dominant two ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2013-12-27

    Dec 27, 2013 ... face tension-dominant two-phase flows are explained. ... for one particular fluid inside a cell as its material volume divided by the total ... the reconstructed interface and the velocity field, and the final part ..... Welch S W J and Wilson J 2000 A volume of fluid based method for fluid flows with phase change. J.

  13. Curvature computation in volume-of-fluid method based on point-cloud sampling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kassar, Bruno B. M.; Carneiro, João N. E.; Nieckele, Angela O.

    2018-01-01

    This work proposes a novel approach to compute interface curvature in multiphase flow simulation based on Volume of Fluid (VOF) method. It is well documented in the literature that curvature and normal vector computation in VOF may lack accuracy mainly due to abrupt changes in the volume fraction field across the interfaces. This may cause deterioration on the interface tension forces estimates, often resulting in inaccurate results for interface tension dominated flows. Many techniques have been presented over the last years in order to enhance accuracy in normal vectors and curvature estimates including height functions, parabolic fitting of the volume fraction, reconstructing distance functions, coupling Level Set method with VOF, convolving the volume fraction field with smoothing kernels among others. We propose a novel technique based on a representation of the interface by a cloud of points. The curvatures and the interface normal vectors are computed geometrically at each point of the cloud and projected onto the Eulerian grid in a Front-Tracking manner. Results are compared to benchmark data and significant reduction on spurious currents as well as improvement in the pressure jump are observed. The method was developed in the open source suite OpenFOAM® extending its standard VOF implementation, the interFoam solver.

  14. Diffuse interface immersed boundary method for multi-fluid flows with arbitrarily moving rigid bodies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Jitendra Kumar; Natarajan, Ganesh

    2018-05-01

    We present an interpolation-free diffuse interface immersed boundary method for multiphase flows with moving bodies. A single fluid formalism using the volume-of-fluid approach is adopted to handle multiple immiscible fluids which are distinguished using the volume fractions, while the rigid bodies are tracked using an analogous volume-of-solid approach that solves for the solid fractions. The solution to the fluid flow equations are carried out using a finite volume-immersed boundary method, with the latter based on a diffuse interface philosophy. In the present work, we assume that the solids are filled with a "virtual" fluid with density and viscosity equal to the largest among all fluids in the domain. The solids are assumed to be rigid and their motion is solved using Newton's second law of motion. The immersed boundary methodology constructs a modified momentum equation that reduces to the Navier-Stokes equations in the fully fluid region and recovers the no-slip boundary condition inside the solids. An implicit incremental fractional-step methodology in conjunction with a novel hybrid staggered/non-staggered approach is employed, wherein a single equation for normal momentum at the cell faces is solved everywhere in the domain, independent of the number of spatial dimensions. The scalars are all solved for at the cell centres, with the transport equations for solid and fluid volume fractions solved using a high-resolution scheme. The pressure is determined everywhere in the domain (including inside the solids) using a variable coefficient Poisson equation. The solution to momentum, pressure, solid and fluid volume fraction equations everywhere in the domain circumvents the issue of pressure and velocity interpolation, which is a source of spurious oscillations in sharp interface immersed boundary methods. A well-balanced algorithm with consistent mass/momentum transport ensures robust simulations of high density ratio flows with strong body forces. The

  15. Fluid Mechanics Of Molten Metal Droplets In Additive Manufacturing

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Tesař, Václav; Šonský, Jiří

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 4, č. 4 (2016), s. 403-412 ISSN 2046-0546 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-23046S Institutional support: RVO:61388998 Keywords : additive manufacturing * droplets * molten metal Subject RIV: BK - Fluid Dynamics http://www.witpress.com/elibrary/cmem-volumes/4/4/1545

  16. Heat transfer on liquid-liquid interface of molten-metal and water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanaka, T.; Saito, Yasushi; Mishima, Kaichiro

    2001-01-01

    Molten-core pool had been formed in the lower-head of TMI-2 pressure vessel at the severe accident. The lower head, however, didn't receive any damage by reactor core cooling. Heat transfer at outside of the lower head and boiling heat transfer at liquid-liquid interface of molten-metal and water, however, are important for initial cooling process of the molten-core pool. The heat transfer experiments for the liquid-liquid interface of molten-metal and water are carried out over the range of natural convection to film boiling region. Phenomenon on the heat transfer experiments are visualized by using of high speed video camera. Wood's metal and U-alloy 78 are used as molten-metal. The test section of the experiments consists of a copper block with heater, wood's metal, and water. Three thermocouple probes are used for temperature measurement of water side and the molten-metal side. Stability of the liquid-liquid interface is depended on the wetness of container wall for molten metal and the temperature distribution of the interface. Entrainment phenomena of molten-metal occurs by a fluctuation of the interface after boiling on the container wall surface. The boiling curves obtained from the liquid-liquid interface experiments are agree with the nucleate boiling and the film boiling correlations of solid-liquid system. (Suetake, M.)

  17. A ghost fluid method for sharp interface simulations of compressible multiphase flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Majidi, Sahand; Afshari, Asghar

    2016-01-01

    A ghost fluid based computational tool is developed to study a wide range of compressible multiphase flows involving strong shocks and contact discontinuities while accounting for surface tension, viscous stresses and gravitational forces. The solver utilizes constrained reinitialization method to predict the interface configuration at each time step. Surface tension effect is handled via an exact interface Riemann problem solver. Interfacial viscous stresses are approximated by considering continuous velocity and viscous stress across the interface. To assess the performance of the solver several benchmark problems are considered: One-dimensional gas-water shock tube problem, shock-bubble interaction, air cavity collapse in water, underwater explosion, Rayleigh-Taylor Instability, and ellipsoidal drop oscillations. Results obtained from the numerical simulations indicate that the numerical methodology performs reasonably well in predicting flow features and exhibit a very good agreement with prior experimental and numerical observations. To further examine the accuracy of the developed ghost fluid solver, the obtained results are compared to those by a conventional diffuse interface solver. The comparison shows the capability of our ghost fluid method in reproducing the experimentally observed flow characteristics while revealing more details regarding topological changes of the interface.

  18. A ghost fluid method for sharp interface simulations of compressible multiphase flows

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Majidi, Sahand; Afshari, Asghar [University of Tehran, Teheran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2016-04-15

    A ghost fluid based computational tool is developed to study a wide range of compressible multiphase flows involving strong shocks and contact discontinuities while accounting for surface tension, viscous stresses and gravitational forces. The solver utilizes constrained reinitialization method to predict the interface configuration at each time step. Surface tension effect is handled via an exact interface Riemann problem solver. Interfacial viscous stresses are approximated by considering continuous velocity and viscous stress across the interface. To assess the performance of the solver several benchmark problems are considered: One-dimensional gas-water shock tube problem, shock-bubble interaction, air cavity collapse in water, underwater explosion, Rayleigh-Taylor Instability, and ellipsoidal drop oscillations. Results obtained from the numerical simulations indicate that the numerical methodology performs reasonably well in predicting flow features and exhibit a very good agreement with prior experimental and numerical observations. To further examine the accuracy of the developed ghost fluid solver, the obtained results are compared to those by a conventional diffuse interface solver. The comparison shows the capability of our ghost fluid method in reproducing the experimentally observed flow characteristics while revealing more details regarding topological changes of the interface.

  19. A pure Eulerian method for multi-material fluid flows in dimension 1,2 and 3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Braeunig, J.Ph.

    2007-12-01

    The method described in this report is designed to simulate multi-material fluid flows, by solving compressible Euler equations with sharp interface capturing, in dimension 2 and 3. Materials are supposed to be non-miscible and to follow different equations of state. The main purpose of this work is to design an interface reconstruction method with no diffusion at all between materials of any Eulerian quantity. One novelty of our approach is the use of a pure Eulerian finite volume scheme in an interface reconstruction method. A new concept is introduced, the 'condensate', which allows to handle mixed cells containing two or more materials and to calculate the evolution of the interface on the fixed Eulerian grid. Moreover, this method allows a free sliding of materials on each others. The accuracy of the method is evaluated on academic 1D benchmarks and its robustness is tested with severe 2D benchmarks. (author)

  20. A pure Eulerian method for multi-material fluid flows in dimension 1,2 and 3; Sur la simulation d'ecoulements multi-materiaux par une methode eulerienne directe avec capture d'interfaces en dimensions 1,2 et 3

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Braeunig, J.Ph

    2007-12-15

    The method described in this report is designed to simulate multi-material fluid flows, by solving compressible Euler equations with sharp interface capturing, in dimension 2 and 3. Materials are supposed to be non-miscible and to follow different equations of state. The main purpose of this work is to design an interface reconstruction method with no diffusion at all between materials of any Eulerian quantity. One novelty of our approach is the use of a pure Eulerian finite volume scheme in an interface reconstruction method. A new concept is introduced, the 'condensate', which allows to handle mixed cells containing two or more materials and to calculate the evolution of the interface on the fixed Eulerian grid. Moreover, this method allows a free sliding of materials on each others. The accuracy of the method is evaluated on academic 1D benchmarks and its robustness is tested with severe 2D benchmarks. (author)

  1. Simulation of the two-fluid model on incompressible flow with Fractional Step method for both resolved and unresolved scale interfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hou, Xiaofei; Rigola, Joaquim; Lehmkuhl, Oriol; Oliva, Assensi

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Two phase flow with free surface is solved by means of two-fluid model (TFM). • Fractional Step method and finite volume technique is used to solve TFM. • Conservative Level Set method reduces interface sharpening diffusion problem. • Cases including high density ratios and high viscosities validate the models. - Abstract: In the present paper, the Fractional Step method usually used in single fluid flow is here extended and applied for the two-fluid model resolution using the finite volume discretization. The use of a projection method resolution instead of the usual pressure-correction method for multi-fluid flow, successfully avoids iteration processes. On the other hand, the main weakness of the two fluid model used for simulations of free surface flows, which is the numerical diffusion of the interface, is also solved by means of the conservative Level Set method (interface sharpening) (Strubelj et al., 2009). Moreover, the use of the algorithm proposed has allowed presenting different free-surface cases with or without Level Set implementation even under coarse meshes under a wide range of density ratios. Thus, the numerical results presented, numerically verified, experimentally validated and converged under high density ratios, shows the capability and reliability of this resolution method for both mixed and unmixed flows

  2. Coulombic Fluids Bulk and Interfaces

    CERN Document Server

    Freyland, Werner

    2011-01-01

    Ionic liquids have attracted considerable interest in recent years. In this book the bulk and interfacial physico-chemical characteristics of various fluid systems dominated by Coulomb interactions are treated which includes molten salts, ionic liquids as well as metal-molten salt mixtures and expanded fluid metals. Of particular interest is the comparison of the different systems. Topics in the bulk phase concern the microscopic structure, the phase behaviour and critical phenomena, and the metal-nonmetal transition. Interfacial phenomena include wetting transitions, electrowetting, surface freezing, and the electrified ionic liquid/ electrode interface. With regard to the latter 2D and 3D electrochemical phase formation of metals and semi-conductors on the nanometer scale is described for a number of selected examples. The basic concepts and various experimental methods are introduced making the book suitable for both graduate students and researchers interested in Coulombic fluids.

  3. Freezing controlled penetration of molten metals flowing through stainless steel tubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sienicki, J.J.; Spencer, B.W.; Vetter, D.L.; Wesel, R.H.

    1985-01-01

    The freezing controlled penetration potential of molten metals flowing within stainless steel structure is important to the safety assessment of hypothetical severe accidents in liquid metal reactors. A series of scoping experiments has been performed in which molten stainless steel and nickel at various initial temperatures and driving pressures were injected downward and upward into 6.4 and 3.3 mm ID stainless steel tubes filled with argon gas and initially at room temperature. In all tests, there was no evidence that the solid tube wall was wetted by the molten metals. The penetration phenomena are markedly different for downward versus upward injections. The dependency upon tube orientation is explained in terms of the absence of wetting. Complete plugs were formed in all experiments halting the continued injection of melt. Calculations with a fluid dynamics/heat transfer computer code show that the injected masses limited by plugging are consistent with freezing through the growth of a stable solidified layer (crust) of metal upon the solid tube wall. 23 refs., 5 figs., 2 tabs

  4. Free surface modelling with two-fluid model and reduced numerical diffusion of the interface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strubelj, Luka; Tiselj, Izrok

    2008-01-01

    Full text of publication follows: The free surface flows are successfully modelled with one of existing free surface models, such as: level set method, volume of fluid method (with/without surface reconstruction), front tracking, two-fluid model (two momentum equations) with modified interphase force and others. The main disadvantage of two-fluid model used for simulations of free surface flows is numerical diffusion of the interface, which can be significantly reduced using the method presented in this paper. Several techniques for reduction of numerical diffusion of the interface have been implemented in the volume of fluid model and are based on modified numerical schemes for advection of volume fraction near the interface. The same approach could be used also for two-fluid method, but according to our experience more successful reduction of numerical diffusion of the interface can be achieved with conservative level set method. Within the conservative level set method, continuity equation for volume fraction is solved and after that the numerical diffusion of the interface is reduced in such a way that the thickness of the interface is kept constant during the simulation. Reduction of the interface diffusion can be also called interface sharpening. In present paper the two-fluid model with interface sharpening is validated on Rayleigh-Taylor instability. Under assumptions of isothermal and incompressible flow of two immiscible fluids, we simulated a system with the fluid of higher density located above the fluid of smaller density in two dimensions. Due to gravity in the system, fluid with higher density moves below the fluid with smaller density. Initial condition is not a flat interface between the fluids, but a sine wave with small amplitude, which develops into a mushroom-like structure. Mushroom-like structure in simulation of Rayleigh-Taylor instability later develops to small droplets as result of numerical dispersion of interface (interface sharpening

  5. Conservative and bounded volume-of-fluid advection on unstructured grids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivey, Christopher B.; Moin, Parviz

    2017-12-01

    This paper presents a novel Eulerian-Lagrangian piecewise-linear interface calculation (PLIC) volume-of-fluid (VOF) advection method, which is three-dimensional, unsplit, and discretely conservative and bounded. The approach is developed with reference to a collocated node-based finite-volume two-phase flow solver that utilizes the median-dual mesh constructed from non-convex polyhedra. The proposed advection algorithm satisfies conservation and boundedness of the liquid volume fraction irrespective of the underlying flux polyhedron geometry, which differs from contemporary unsplit VOF schemes that prescribe topologically complicated flux polyhedron geometries in efforts to satisfy conservation. Instead of prescribing complicated flux-polyhedron geometries, which are prone to topological failures, our VOF advection scheme, the non-intersecting flux polyhedron advection (NIFPA) method, builds the flux polyhedron iteratively such that its intersection with neighboring flux polyhedra, and any other unavailable volume, is empty and its total volume matches the calculated flux volume. During each iteration, a candidate nominal flux polyhedron is extruded using an iteration dependent scalar. The candidate is subsequently intersected with the volume guaranteed available to it at the time of the flux calculation to generate the candidate flux polyhedron. The difference in the volume of the candidate flux polyhedron and the actual flux volume is used to calculate extrusion during the next iteration. The choice in nominal flux polyhedron impacts the cost and accuracy of the scheme; however, it does not impact the methods underlying conservation and boundedness. As such, various robust nominal flux polyhedron are proposed and tested using canonical periodic kinematic test cases: Zalesak's disk and two- and three-dimensional deformation. The tests are conducted on the median duals of a quadrilateral and triangular primal mesh, in two-dimensions, and on the median duals of a

  6. Evaluation of two-phase flow solvers using Level Set and Volume of Fluid methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilger, C.; Aboukhedr, M.; Vogiatzaki, K.; Cant, R. S.

    2017-09-01

    Two principal methods have been used to simulate the evolution of two-phase immiscible flows of liquid and gas separated by an interface. These are the Level-Set (LS) method and the Volume of Fluid (VoF) method. Both methods attempt to represent the very sharp interface between the phases and to deal with the large jumps in physical properties associated with it. Both methods have their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, the VoF method is known to be prone to excessive numerical diffusion, while the basic LS method has some difficulty in conserving mass. Major progress has been made in remedying these deficiencies, and both methods have now reached a high level of physical accuracy. Nevertheless, there remains an issue, in that each of these methods has been developed by different research groups, using different codes and most importantly the implementations have been fine tuned to tackle different applications. Thus, it remains unclear what are the remaining advantages and drawbacks of each method relative to the other, and what might be the optimal way to unify them. In this paper, we address this gap by performing a direct comparison of two current state-of-the-art variations of these methods (LS: RCLSFoam and VoF: interPore) and implemented in the same code (OpenFoam). We subject both methods to a pair of benchmark test cases while using the same numerical meshes to examine a) the accuracy of curvature representation, b) the effect of tuning parameters, c) the ability to minimise spurious velocities and d) the ability to tackle fluids with very different densities. For each method, one of the test cases is chosen to be fairly benign while the other test case is expected to present a greater challenge. The results indicate that both methods can be made to work well on both test cases, while displaying different sensitivity to the relevant parameters.

  7. Convective heat transfer the molten metal pool heated from below and cooled by two-phase flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, J. S.; Suh, K. Y.; Chung, C. H.; Park, R. J.; Kim, S. B.

    1998-01-01

    During a hypothetical servere accident in the nuclear power plant, a molten core material may form stratified fluid layers. These layers may be composed of high temperature molten debris pool and water coolant in the lower plenum of the reactor vessel or in the reactor cavity. This study is concerned with the experimental test and numerical analysis on the heat transfer and solidification of the molten metal pool with overlying coolant with boiling. This work examines the crust formation and the heat transfer characteristics of the molten metal pool immersed in the boiling coolant. The metal pool is heated from the bottom surface and coolant is injected onto the molten metal pool. The simulant molten pool material is tin (Sn) with the melting temperature of 232 .deg. C. Demineralized water is used as the working coolant. Tests were performed under the condition of the bottom surface heating in the test section and the forced convection of the coolant being injected onto the molten metal pool. The constant temperature and constant heat flux conditions are adopted for the bottom heating. The test parameters included the heated bottom surface temperature of the molten metal pool, the input power to the heated bottom surface of the test section, and the coolant injection rate. Numerical analyses were simultaneously performed in a two-dimensional rectangular domain of the molten metal pool to check on the measured data. The numerical program has been developed using the enthalpy method, the finite volume method and the SIMPLER algorithm. The experimental results of the heat transfer show general agreement with the calculated values. In this study, the relationship between the Nusselt number and Rayleigh number in the molten metal pool region was estimated and compared with the dry experiment without coolant nor solidification of the molten metal pool, and with the crust formation experiment with subcooled coolant, and against other correlations. In the experiments, the

  8. Second Order Volume of Fluid Interface Reconstruction Method in Three Dimensions%三维空间二阶精度流体体积界面重构方法

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    梁仙红

    2013-01-01

    给出三维空间网格模板含81个单元的最小二乘流体体积界面重构方法,并和Youngs方法及网格模板含125个单元的最小二乘流体体积界面重构方法进行比较.静态和动态的测试例子均表明:该方法能精确重构任意方向的平面界面,对C2光滑曲面它能达到二阶收敛精度.和网格模板含125个单元的最小二乘流体体积界面重构方法相比,在达到同样网格精度的条件下,减少了计算量,节省了计算时间,提高了计算效率.%A second order least squares volume of fluid interface reconstruction algorithm with 81 cells in mesh stencil is introduced.The algorithm is compared with Youngs algorithm and a second order least squares volume of fluid interface reconstruction algorithm with 125 cells in mesh stencil.L∞ criteria function in three dimensions is used to measure stationary interface reconstruction errors.Stationary and advecting tests show that the algorithm can track any oriented plane exactly and it is second order accurate.Compared with second order least squares volume of fluid interface reconstruction algorithm with 125 cells in mesh stencil,calculation amount of the algoritm is much smaller.Thus CPU time is saved and computing efficiency is improved.

  9. Numerical Modelling of Three-Fluid Flow Using The Level-set Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hongying; Lou, Jing; Shang, Zhi

    2014-11-01

    This work presents a numerical model for simulation of three-fluid flow involving two different moving interfaces. These interfaces are captured using the level-set method via two different level-set functions. A combined formulation with only one set of conservation equations for the whole physical domain, consisting of the three different immiscible fluids, is employed. Numerical solution is performed on a fixed mesh using the finite volume method. Surface tension effect is incorporated using the Continuum Surface Force model. Validation of the present model is made against available results for stratified flow and rising bubble in a container with a free surface. Applications of the present model are demonstrated by a variety of three-fluid flow systems including (1) three-fluid stratified flow, (2) two-fluid stratified flow carrying the third fluid in the form of drops and (3) simultaneous rising and settling of two drops in a stationary third fluid. The work is supported by a Thematic and Strategic Research from A*STAR, Singapore (Ref. #: 1021640075).

  10. Viscous Flow with Large Fluid-Fluid Interface Displacement

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Henrik Koblitz; Hassager, Ole; Saasen, Arild

    1998-01-01

    The arbitrary Lagrange-Euler (ALE) kinematic description has been implemented in a 3D transient finite element program to simulate multiple fluid flows with fluid-fluid interface or surface displacements. The description of fluid interfaces includes variable interfacial tension, and the formulation...... is useful in the simulation of low and intermediate Reynolds number viscous flow. The displacement of two immiscible Newtonian fluids in a vertical (concentric and eccentric) annulus and a (vertical and inclined)tube is simulated....

  11. An Embedded Ghost-Fluid Method for Compressible Flow in Complex Geometry

    KAUST Repository

    Almarouf, Mohamad Abdulilah Alhusain Alali

    2016-06-03

    We present an embedded ghost-fluid method for numerical solutions of the compressible Navier Stokes (CNS) equations in arbitrary complex domains. The PDE multidimensional extrapolation approach of Aslam [1] is used to reconstruct the solution in the ghost-fluid regions and impose boundary conditions at the fluid-solid interface. The CNS equations are numerically solved by the second order multidimensional upwind method of Colella [2] and Saltzman [3]. Block-structured adaptive mesh refinement implemented under the Chombo framework is utilized to reduce the computational cost while keeping high-resolution mesh around the embedded boundary and regions of high gradient solutions. Numerical examples with different Reynolds numbers for low and high Mach number flow will be presented. We compare our simulation results with other reported experimental and computational results. The significance and advantages of our implementation, which revolve around balancing between the solution accuracy and implementation difficulties, are briefly discussed as well. © 2016 Trans Tech Publications.

  12. An Embedded Ghost-Fluid Method for Compressible Flow in Complex Geometry

    KAUST Repository

    Almarouf, Mohamad Abdulilah Alhusain Alali; Samtaney, Ravi

    2016-01-01

    We present an embedded ghost-fluid method for numerical solutions of the compressible Navier Stokes (CNS) equations in arbitrary complex domains. The PDE multidimensional extrapolation approach of Aslam [1] is used to reconstruct the solution in the ghost-fluid regions and impose boundary conditions at the fluid-solid interface. The CNS equations are numerically solved by the second order multidimensional upwind method of Colella [2] and Saltzman [3]. Block-structured adaptive mesh refinement implemented under the Chombo framework is utilized to reduce the computational cost while keeping high-resolution mesh around the embedded boundary and regions of high gradient solutions. Numerical examples with different Reynolds numbers for low and high Mach number flow will be presented. We compare our simulation results with other reported experimental and computational results. The significance and advantages of our implementation, which revolve around balancing between the solution accuracy and implementation difficulties, are briefly discussed as well. © 2016 Trans Tech Publications.

  13. A Two-Phase Flow Solver for Incompressible Viscous Fluids, Using a Pure Streamfunction Formulation and the Volume of Fluid Technique

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Comminal, Raphaël; Spangenberg, Jon; Hattel, Jesper Henri

    Accurate multi-phase flow solvers at low Reynolds number are of particular interest for the simulation of interface instabilities in the co-processing of multilayered material. We present a two-phase flow solver for incompressible viscous fluids which uses the streamfunction as the primary variable...... of the flow. Contrary to fractional step methods, the streamfunction formulation eliminates the pressure unknowns, and automatically fulfills the incompressibility constraint by construction. As a result, the method circumvents the loss of temporal accuracy at low Reynolds numbers. The interface is tracked...

  14. A Two-Phase Flow Solver for Incompressible Viscous Fluids, Using a Pure Streamfunction Formulation and the Volume of Fluid Technique

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Comminal, Raphaël; Spangenberg, Jon; Hattel, Jesper Henri

    2014-01-01

    Accurate multi-phase flow solvers at low Reynolds number are of particular interest for the simulation of interface instabilities in the co-processing of multilayered material. We present a two-phase flow solver for incompressible viscous fluids which uses the streamfunction as the primary variable...... of the flow. Contrary to fractional step methods, the streamfunction formulation eliminates the pressure unknowns, and automatically fulfills the incompressibility constraint by construction. As a result, the method circumvents the loss of temporal accuracy at low Reynolds numbers. The interface is tracked...

  15. A sharp interface Cartesian grid method for viscous simulation of shocked particle-laden flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Pratik; Sen, Oishik; Jacobs, Gustaaf; Udaykumar, H. S.

    2017-09-01

    A Cartesian grid-based sharp interface method is presented for viscous simulations of shocked particle-laden flows. The moving solid-fluid interfaces are represented using level sets. A moving least-squares reconstruction is developed to apply the no-slip boundary condition at solid-fluid interfaces and to supply viscous stresses to the fluid. The algorithms developed in this paper are benchmarked against similarity solutions for the boundary layer over a fixed flat plate and against numerical solutions for moving interface problems such as shock-induced lift-off of a cylinder in a channel. The framework is extended to 3D and applied to calculate low Reynolds number steady supersonic flow over a sphere. Viscous simulation of the interaction of a particle cloud with an incident planar shock is demonstrated; the average drag on the particles and the vorticity field in the cloud are compared to the inviscid case to elucidate the effects of viscosity on momentum transfer between the particle and fluid phases. The methods developed will be useful for obtaining accurate momentum and heat transfer closure models for macro-scale shocked particulate flow applications such as blast waves and dust explosions.

  16. A comparison of interface tracking methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kothe, D.B.; Rider, W.J.

    1995-01-01

    In this Paper we provide a direct comparison of several important algorithms designed to track fluid interfaces. In the process we propose improved criteria by which these methods are to be judged. We compare and contrast the behavior of the following interface tracking methods: high order monotone capturing schemes, level set methods, volume-of-fluid (VOF) methods, and particle-based (particle-in-cell, or PIC) methods. We compare these methods by first applying a set of standard test problems, then by applying a new set of enhanced problems designed to expose the limitations and weaknesses of each method. We find that the properties of these methods are not adequately assessed until they axe tested with flows having spatial and temporal vorticity gradients. Our results indicate that the particle-based methods are easily the most accurate of those tested. Their practical use, however, is often hampered by their memory and CPU requirements. Particle-based methods employing particles only along interfaces also have difficulty dealing with gross topology changes. Full PIC methods, on the other hand, do not in general have topology restrictions. Following the particle-based methods are VOF volume tracking methods, which are reasonably accurate, physically based, robust, low in cost, and relatively easy to implement. Recent enhancements to the VOF methods using multidimensional interface reconstruction and improved advection provide excellent results on a wide range of test problems

  17. ESR hollows molten metal/slag interface detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harris, B.; Klein, H.J.

    1983-01-01

    A system for detecting the location of a molten metal/slag interface during the casting of electroslag remelted hollows includes a gamma ray radiation source and a scintillation counter. The source and counter reside outside the casting mould and are held in fixed spatial relationships with respect to one another and with respect to the mandrel. The radiation from the source is directed chordally through the mould and through the annular casting zone, defined between the sidewalls of the upwardly driven mandrel and the mould without contacting said mandrel. The counter provides an electrical signal responsive to the rate of radiation events detected thereby. (author)

  18. A computational method for sharp interface advection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bredmose, Henrik; Jasak, Hrvoje

    2016-01-01

    We devise a numerical method for passive advection of a surface, such as the interface between two incompressible fluids, across a computational mesh. The method is called isoAdvector, and is developed for general meshes consisting of arbitrary polyhedral cells. The algorithm is based on the volume of fluid (VOF) idea of calculating the volume of one of the fluids transported across the mesh faces during a time step. The novelty of the isoAdvector concept consists of two parts. First, we exploit an isosurface concept for modelling the interface inside cells in a geometric surface reconstruction step. Second, from the reconstructed surface, we model the motion of the face–interface intersection line for a general polygonal face to obtain the time evolution within a time step of the submerged face area. Integrating this submerged area over the time step leads to an accurate estimate for the total volume of fluid transported across the face. The method was tested on simple two-dimensional and three-dimensional interface advection problems on both structured and unstructured meshes. The results are very satisfactory in terms of volume conservation, boundedness, surface sharpness and efficiency. The isoAdvector method was implemented as an OpenFOAM® extension and is published as open source. PMID:28018619

  19. A computational method for sharp interface advection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roenby, Johan; Bredmose, Henrik; Jasak, Hrvoje

    2016-11-01

    We devise a numerical method for passive advection of a surface, such as the interface between two incompressible fluids, across a computational mesh. The method is called isoAdvector, and is developed for general meshes consisting of arbitrary polyhedral cells. The algorithm is based on the volume of fluid (VOF) idea of calculating the volume of one of the fluids transported across the mesh faces during a time step. The novelty of the isoAdvector concept consists of two parts. First, we exploit an isosurface concept for modelling the interface inside cells in a geometric surface reconstruction step. Second, from the reconstructed surface, we model the motion of the face-interface intersection line for a general polygonal face to obtain the time evolution within a time step of the submerged face area. Integrating this submerged area over the time step leads to an accurate estimate for the total volume of fluid transported across the face. The method was tested on simple two-dimensional and three-dimensional interface advection problems on both structured and unstructured meshes. The results are very satisfactory in terms of volume conservation, boundedness, surface sharpness and efficiency. The isoAdvector method was implemented as an OpenFOAM ® extension and is published as open source.

  20. Numerical Simulation of Multiphase Magnetohydrodynamic Flow and Deformation of Electrolyte-Metal Interface in Aluminum Electrolysis Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hua, Jinsong; Rudshaug, Magne; Droste, Christian; Jorgensen, Robert; Giskeodegard, Nils-Haavard

    2018-06-01

    A computational fluid dynamics based multiphase magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow model for simulating the melt flow and bath-metal interface deformation in realistic aluminum reduction cells is presented. The model accounts for the complex physics of the MHD problem in aluminum reduction cells by coupling two immiscible fluids, electromagnetic field, Lorentz force, flow turbulence, and complex cell geometry with large length scale. Especially, the deformation of bath-metal interface is tracked directly in the simulation, and the condition of constant anode-cathode distance (ACD) is maintained by moving anode bottom dynamically with the deforming bath-metal interface. The metal pad deformation and melt flow predicted by the current model are compared to the predictions using a simplified model where the bath-metal interface is assumed flat. The effects of the induced electric current due to fluid flow and the magnetic field due to the interior cell current on the metal pad deformation and melt flow are investigated. The presented model extends the conventional simplified box model by including detailed cell geometry such as the ledge profile and all channels (side, central, and cross-channels). The simulations show the model sensitivity to different side ledge profiles and the cross-channel width by comparing the predicted melt flow and metal pad heaving. In addition, the model dependencies upon the reduction cell operation conditions such as ACD, current distribution on cathode surface and open/closed channel top, are discussed.

  1. Numerical study on modeling of liquid film flow under countercurrent flow limitation in volume of fluid method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Watanabe, Taro, E-mail: watanabe_t@qe.see.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp [Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1, Yamadaoka, Suita-shi, Osaka 565-7895 (Japan); Takata, Takashi, E-mail: takata.takashi@jaea.go.jp [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 4002 Narita-chou, Oarai-machi, Higashi-Ibaraki-gun, Ibaraki 331-1393 (Japan); Yamaguchi, Akira, E-mail: yamaguchi@n.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 2-22 Shirakata-Shirane, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki 319-1188 (Japan)

    2017-03-15

    Highlights: • Thin liquid film flow under CCFL was modeled and coupled with the VOF method. • The difference of the liquid flow rate in experiments of CCFL was evaluated. • The proposed VOF method can quantitatively predict CCFL with low computational cost. - Abstract: Countercurrent flow limitation (CCFL) in a heat transfer tube at a steam generator (SG) of pressurized water reactor (PWR) is one of the important issues on the core cooling under a loss of coolant accident (LOCA). In order to improve the prediction accuracy of the CCFL characteristics in numerical simulations using the volume of fluid (VOF) method with less computational cost, a thin liquid film flow in a countercurrent flow is modeled independently and is coupled with the VOF method. The CCFL characteristics is evaluated analytically in condition of a maximizing down-flow rate as a function of a void fraction or a liquid film thickness considering a critical thickness. Then, we have carried out numerical simulations of a countercurrent flow in a vertical tube so as to investigate the CCFL characteristics and compare them with the previous experimental results. As a result, it has been concluded that the effect of liquid film entrainment by upward gas flux will cause the difference in the experiments.

  2. Method of measuring a liquid pool volume

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, G.V.; Carlson, N.M.; Donaldson, A.D.

    1991-03-19

    A method of measuring a molten metal liquid pool volume and in particular molten titanium liquid pools is disclosed, including the steps of (a) generating an ultrasonic wave at the surface of the molten metal liquid pool, (b) shining a light on the surface of a molten metal liquid pool, (c) detecting a change in the frequency of light, (d) detecting an ultrasonic wave echo at the surface of the molten metal liquid pool, and (e) computing the volume of the molten metal liquid. 3 figures.

  3. Heat and fluid flow during rapid solidification of non-equilibrium materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Negli, S.C.; Eddingfield, D.L.; Brower, W.E. Jr.

    1990-01-01

    Rapid solidification technology (RST) is an advanced solidification process which is being utilized to produce non-equilibrium structures with properties not previously available with conventionally cast materials. An iron based alloy rapidly quenched to form a metallic glass is being installed on a large scale in electric power transformers where it cuts heat losses dramatically. The formation of a non-equilibrium structure usually requires a cooling rate of at least a million degrees per second. Achieving this high a cooling rate depends not only on the heat transfer conditions during the quenching process, but also on the fluid flow conditions in the molten metal before and during solidification. This paper presents a model of both heat and fluid flow during RST by the hammer and anvil method. The symmetry of two sided cooling permits analysis which is still applicable to the one sided cooling that occurs during melt spinning, the prevalent method of RST. The heat flow is modeled as one dimensional, normal to the quench surface. Previous models have shown the heat flow in the plane of the quench surface not to be significant. The fluid flow portion of the model utilizes the squeeze film solution for flow between two parallel flat plates. The model predicts the effects of superheat of the melt and of the quench hammer speed upon cooling rate during the formation of nonequilibrium phases. An unexpected result is that increased superheat results in much higher cooling rates, due to fluid flow before a potential transformation would take place; this enhanced liquid metal flow results in a thinner section casting which in turn has a dominant effect on the cooling rate. The model also predicts an expanded regime of Newtonian (interface controlled) cooling by about a factor of ten as compared to previous model of RST

  4. Measurement of emittance of metal interface in molten salt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Araki, N.; Makino, A.; Nakamura, Y.

    1995-01-01

    A new technique for measuring the total normal emittance of a metal in a semi-transparent liquid has been proposed and this technique has been applied to measure the emittance of stainless steel (SUS304), nickel, and gold in molten potassium nitrate KNO 3 . These emittance data are indispensable to analyzing the radiative heat transfer between a metal and a semitransparent liquid, such as a molten salt

  5. General method of synthesis by PLIC/FPGA digital devices to ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A general method is proposed to synthesize digital devices in order to perform discrete orthogonal transformations (DOT) on programmable logic integrated circuits (PLIC) of FPGA class. The basic and the most "slow" operation during DOT performance is the operation of multiplying by a constant factor (constant) - OMC.

  6. Development of interface tracking method. Two-phase flows applications; Developpement d'une methode de suivi d'interface. Applications aux ecoulements diphasiques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tanguy, S.

    2004-11-15

    Spray formation mechanisms study from a liquid-gas flow is a fundamental research subject, which industrial applications are large, especially in combustion and propulsion field. Numerical simulation of such flows appear as an essential complement to experimental and theoretical studies, for comprehension and accurate prediction of such physical processes. In this study we developed an numerical interface tracking technique with a Navier-Stokes solver to study accurately the liquid-gas interface dynamics. We describe Level Set method which has been used to track interface motion, and numerical methods for solving Navier-Stokes equations. Different numerical schemes have been tested to improve the computation accuracy. Ghost Fluid Method enables a robust and accurate treatment of discontinuities across the liquid-gas interface. The codes developed (2D, 3D, parallelization MPI) are then used to study droplets collisions. Comparisons with experimental results show that simulations are realistic and predictive. Next, feasibility studies are done on more complex configurations. Droplets spray formation from primary atomization of a liquid jet seems to be especially a promising investigation field for such simulations. Finally, reactive interfaces propagation, as liquid vaporization and premixed combustion have also been studied using Ghost Fluid Method to impose specific jump conditions. (author)

  7. Simulation of biological flow and transport in complex geometries using embedded boundary/volume-of-fluid methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trebotich, David

    2007-01-01

    We have developed a simulation capability to model multiscale flow and transport in complex biological systems based on algorithms and software infrastructure developed under the SciDAC APDEC CET. The foundation of this work is a new hybrid fluid-particle method for modeling polymer fluids in irregular microscale geometries that enables long-time simulation of validation experiments. Both continuum viscoelastic and discrete particle representations have been used to model the constitutive behavior of polymer fluids. Complex flow environment geometries are represented on Cartesian grids using an implicit function. Direct simulation of flow in the irregular geometry is then possible using embedded boundary/volume-of-fluid methods without loss of geometric detail. This capability has been used to simulate biological flows in a variety of application geometries including biomedical microdevices, anatomical structures and porous media

  8. Effect of crust increase on natural convection heat transfer in the molten metal pool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Rae Joon; Kim, Sang Baik; Kim, Hee Dong; Choi, Sang Min

    1999-01-01

    An experimental study has been performed on natural convection heat transfer with a rapid crust formation in the molten metal pool of a low Prandtl number fluid. Two types of steady state tests, a low and high geometric aspect ratio cases in the molten metal pool, were performed. The crust thickness by solidification was measured as a function of boundary surface temperatures. The experimental results on the relationship between the Nusselt number and Rayleigh number in the molten metal pool with a crust formation were compared with existing correlations. The experimental study has shown that the bottom surface temperature of the molten metal layer, in all experiments, is the major influential parameter in the crust formation, due to the natural convection flow. The Nusselt number of the case without a crust formation in the molten metal pool is greater than that of the case with the crust formation at the same Rayleigh number. The present experimental results on the relationship between the Nusselt number and Rayleigh number in the molten metal pool match well with Globe and Dropkin's correlation. From the experimental results, a new correlation between the Nusselt number and Rayleigh number in the molten metal pool with the crust formation was developed as Nu=0.0923 (Ra) 0.0923 (2 X 10 4 7 ). (author)

  9. Diffuse-Interface Capturing Methods for Compressible Two-Phase Flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saurel, Richard; Pantano, Carlos

    2018-01-01

    Simulation of compressible flows became a routine activity with the appearance of shock-/contact-capturing methods. These methods can determine all waves, particularly discontinuous ones. However, additional difficulties may appear in two-phase and multimaterial flows due to the abrupt variation of thermodynamic properties across the interfacial region, with discontinuous thermodynamical representations at the interfaces. To overcome this difficulty, researchers have developed augmented systems of governing equations to extend the capturing strategy. These extended systems, reviewed here, are termed diffuse-interface models, because they are designed to compute flow variables correctly in numerically diffused zones surrounding interfaces. In particular, they facilitate coupling the dynamics on both sides of the (diffuse) interfaces and tend to the proper pure fluid-governing equations far from the interfaces. This strategy has become efficient for contact interfaces separating fluids that are governed by different equations of state, in the presence or absence of capillary effects, and with phase change. More sophisticated materials than fluids (e.g., elastic-plastic materials) have been considered as well.

  10. Accuracy analysis of the thermal diffusivity measurement of molten salts by stepwise heating method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kato, Yoshio; Furukawa, Kazuo

    1976-11-01

    The stepwise heating method for measuring thermal diffusivity of molten salts is based on the electrical heating of a thin metal plate as a plane heat source in the molten salt. In this method, the following estimations on error are of importance: (1) thickness effect of the metal plate, (2) effective length between the plate and a temperature measuring point and (3) effect of the noise on the temperature rise signal. In this report, a measuring apparatus is proposed and measuring conditions are suggested on the basis of error estimations. The measurements for distilled water and glycerine were made first to test the performance; the results agreed well with standard values. The thermal diffusivities of molten NaNO 3 at 320-380 0 C and of molten Li 2 BeF 4 at 470-700 0 C were measured. (auth.)

  11. Application of GPU to Multi-interfaces Advection and Reconstruction Solver (MARS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagatake, Taku; Takase, Kazuyuki; Kunugi, Tomoaki

    2010-01-01

    In the nuclear engineering fields, a high performance computer system is necessary to perform the large scale computations. Recently, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) has been developed as a rendering computational system in order to reduce a Central Processing Unit (CPU) load. In the graphics processing, the high performance computing is needed to render the high-quality 3D objects in some video games. Thus the GPU consists of many processing units and a wide memory bandwidth. In this study, the Multi-interfaces Advection and Reconstruction Solver (MARS) which is one of the interface volume tracking methods for multi-phase flows has been performed. The multi-phase flow computation is very important for the nuclear reactors and other engineering fields. The MARS consists of two computing parts: the interface tracking part and the fluid motion computing part. As for the interface tracking part, the performance of GPU (GTX280) was 6 times faster than that of the CPU (Dual-Xeon 5040), and in the fluid motion computing part the Poisson Solver by the GPU (GTX285) was 22 times faster than that by the CPU(Core i7). As for the Dam Breaking Problem, the result of GPU-MARS showed slightly different from the experimental result. Because the GPU-MARS was developed using the single-precision GPU, it can be considered that the round-off error might be accumulated. (author)

  12. A 3D, fully Eulerian, VOF-based solver to study the interaction between two fluids and moving rigid bodies using the fictitious domain method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pathak, Ashish; Raessi, Mehdi

    2016-04-01

    We present a three-dimensional (3D) and fully Eulerian approach to capturing the interaction between two fluids and moving rigid structures by using the fictitious domain and volume-of-fluid (VOF) methods. The solid bodies can have arbitrarily complex geometry and can pierce the fluid-fluid interface, forming contact lines. The three-phase interfaces are resolved and reconstructed by using a VOF-based methodology. Then, a consistent scheme is employed for transporting mass and momentum, allowing for simulations of three-phase flows of large density ratios. The Eulerian approach significantly simplifies numerical resolution of the kinematics of rigid bodies of complex geometry and with six degrees of freedom. The fluid-structure interaction (FSI) is computed using the fictitious domain method. The methodology was developed in a message passing interface (MPI) parallel framework accelerated with graphics processing units (GPUs). The computationally intensive solution of the pressure Poisson equation is ported to GPUs, while the remaining calculations are performed on CPUs. The performance and accuracy of the methodology are assessed using an array of test cases, focusing individually on the flow solver and the FSI in surface-piercing configurations. Finally, an application of the proposed methodology in simulations of the ocean wave energy converters is presented.

  13. Natural convection heat transfer in the molten metal pool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, R.J.; Kim, S.B.; Kim, H.D.; Choi, S.M.

    1997-01-01

    Analytical studies using the FLOW-3D computer program have been performed on natural convection heat transfer of a high density molten metal pool, in order to evaluate the coolability of the corium pool. The FLOW-3D results on the temperature distribution and the heat transfer rate in the molten metal pool region have been compared and evaluated with the experimental data. The FLOW-3D results have shown that the developed natural convection flow contributes to the solidified crust formation of the high density molten metal pool. The present FLOW-3D results, on the relationship between the Nusselt number and the Rayleigh number in the molten metal pool region, are more similar to the calculated results of Globe and Dropkin's correlation than any others. The natural convection heat transfer in the low aspect ratio case is more substantial than that in the high aspect ratio case. The FLOW-3D results, on the temperature profile and on the heat transfer rate in the molten metal pool region, are very similar to the experimental data. The heat transfer rate of the internal heat generation case is higher than that of the bottom heating case at the same heat supply condition. (author)

  14. An accurate conservative level set/ghost fluid method for simulating turbulent atomization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Desjardins, Olivier; Moureau, Vincent; Pitsch, Heinz

    2008-01-01

    This paper presents a novel methodology for simulating incompressible two-phase flows by combining an improved version of the conservative level set technique introduced in [E. Olsson, G. Kreiss, A conservative level set method for two phase flow, J. Comput. Phys. 210 (2005) 225-246] with a ghost fluid approach. By employing a hyperbolic tangent level set function that is transported and re-initialized using fully conservative numerical schemes, mass conservation issues that are known to affect level set methods are greatly reduced. In order to improve the accuracy of the conservative level set method, high order numerical schemes are used. The overall robustness of the numerical approach is increased by computing the interface normals from a signed distance function reconstructed from the hyperbolic tangent level set by a fast marching method. The convergence of the curvature calculation is ensured by using a least squares reconstruction. The ghost fluid technique provides a way of handling the interfacial forces and large density jumps associated with two-phase flows with good accuracy, while avoiding artificial spreading of the interface. Since the proposed approach relies on partial differential equations, its implementation is straightforward in all coordinate systems, and it benefits from high parallel efficiency. The robustness and efficiency of the approach is further improved by using implicit schemes for the interface transport and re-initialization equations, as well as for the momentum solver. The performance of the method is assessed through both classical level set transport tests and simple two-phase flow examples including topology changes. It is then applied to simulate turbulent atomization of a liquid Diesel jet at Re=3000. The conservation errors associated with the accurate conservative level set technique are shown to remain small even for this complex case

  15. Optical absorption of dilute solutions of metals in molten salts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Senatore, G.; Parrinello, M.; Tosi, M.P. (Trieste Univ. (Italy). Ist. di Fisica Teorica; Gruppo Nazionale di Struttura dell material del CNR, Trieste (Italy); International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste (Italy))

    1978-12-23

    The theory of liquid structure for fluids of charged hard spheres is applied to an evaluation of the F-centre model for valence electrons in metal-molten salt solutions at high dilution. Minimization of the free energy yields the groundstate radius of the elctron bubble and hence the optical excitation energy in a Franck-Condon transition, the shift and broadening of the transition due to fluctuations in the bubble radius, the volume of mixing, and the activity of the salt in the solution.

  16. Analysis of molten salt thermal-hydraulics using computational fluid dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamaji, B.; Csom, G.; Aszodi, A.

    2003-01-01

    To give a good solution for the problem of high level radioactive waste partitioning and transmutation is expected to be a pro missing option. Application of this technology also could extend the possibilities of nuclear energy. Large number of liquid-fuelled reactor concepts or accelerator driven subcritical systems was proposed as transmutors. Several of these consider fluoride based molten salts as the liquid fuel and coolant medium. The thermal-hydraulic behaviour of these systems is expected to be fundamentally different than the behaviour of widely used water-cooled reactors with solid fuel. Considering large flow domains three-dimensional thermal-hydraulic analysis is the method seeming to be applicable. Since the fuel is the coolant medium as well, one can expect a strong coupling between neutronics and thermal-hydraulics too. In the present paper the application of Computational Fluid Dynamics for three-dimensional thermal-hydraulics simulations of molten salt reactor concepts is introduced. In our past and recent works several calculations were carried out to investigate the capabilities of Computational Fluid Dynamics through the analysis of different molten salt reactor concepts. Homogenous single region molten salt reactor concept is studied and optimised. Another single region reactor concept is introduced also. This concept has internal heat exchanges in the flow domain and the molten salt is circulated by natural convection. The analysis of the MSRE experiment is also a part of our work since it may form a good background from the validation point of view. In the paper the results of the Computational Fluid Dynamics calculations with these concepts are presented. In the further work our objective is to investigate the thermal-hydraulics of the multi-region molten salt reactor (Authors)

  17. Apparatus and Method for Increasing the Diameter of Metal Alloy Wires Within a Molten Metal Pool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartman, Alan D.; Argetsinger, Edward R.; Hansen, Jeffrey S.; Paige, Jack I.; King, Paul E.; Turner, Paul C.

    2002-01-29

    In a dip forming process the core material to be coated is introduced directly into a source block of coating material eliminating the need for a bushing entrance component. The process containment vessel or crucible is heated so that only a portion of the coating material becomes molten, leaving a solid portion of material as the entrance port of, and seal around, the core material. The crucible can contain molten and solid metals and is especially useful when coating core material with reactive metals. The source block of coating material has been machined to include a close tolerance hole of a size and shape to closely fit the core material. The core material moves first through the solid portion of the source block of coating material where the close tolerance hole has been machined, then through a solid/molten interface, and finally through the molten phase where the diameter of the core material is increased. The crucible may or may not require water-cooling depending upon the type of material used in crucible construction. The system may operate under vacuum, partial vacuum, atmospheric pressure, or positive pressure depending upon the type of source material being used.

  18. Novel waste printed circuit board recycling process with molten salt.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riedewald, Frank; Sousa-Gallagher, Maria

    2015-01-01

    The objective of the method was to prove the concept of a novel waste PCBs recycling process which uses inert, stable molten salts as the direct heat transfer fluid and, simultaneously, uses this molten salt to separate the metal products in either liquid (solder, zinc, tin, lead, etc.) or solid (copper, gold, steel, palladium, etc.) form at the operating temperatures of 450-470 °C. The PCB recovery reactor is essentially a U-shaped reactor with the molten salt providing a continuous fluid, allowing molten salt access from different depths for metal recovery. A laboratory scale batch reactor was constructed using 316L as suitable construction material. For safety reasons, the inert, stable LiCl-KCl molten salts were used as direct heat transfer fluid. Recovered materials were washed with hot water to remove residual salt before metal recovery assessment. The impact of this work was to show metal separation using molten salts in one single unit, by using this novel reactor methodology. •The reactor is a U-shaped reactor filled with a continuous liquid with a sloped bottom representing a novel reactor concept.•This method uses large PCB pieces instead of shredded PCBs as the reactor volume is 2.2 L.•The treated PCBs can be removed via leg B while the process is on-going.

  19. Novel waste printed circuit board recycling process with molten salt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riedewald, Frank; Sousa-Gallagher, Maria

    2015-01-01

    The objective of the method was to prove the concept of a novel waste PCBs recycling process which uses inert, stable molten salts as the direct heat transfer fluid and, simultaneously, uses this molten salt to separate the metal products in either liquid (solder, zinc, tin, lead, etc.) or solid (copper, gold, steel, palladium, etc.) form at the operating temperatures of 450–470 °C. The PCB recovery reactor is essentially a U-shaped reactor with the molten salt providing a continuous fluid, allowing molten salt access from different depths for metal recovery. A laboratory scale batch reactor was constructed using 316L as suitable construction material. For safety reasons, the inert, stable LiCl–KCl molten salts were used as direct heat transfer fluid. Recovered materials were washed with hot water to remove residual salt before metal recovery assessment. The impact of this work was to show metal separation using molten salts in one single unit, by using this novel reactor methodology. • The reactor is a U-shaped reactor filled with a continuous liquid with a sloped bottom representing a novel reactor concept. • This method uses large PCB pieces instead of shredded PCBs as the reactor volume is 2.2 L. • The treated PCBs can be removed via leg B while the process is on-going. PMID:26150977

  20. Numerical investigation on lateral migration and lift force of single bubble in simple shear flow in low viscosity fluid using volume of fluid method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhongchun, Li; Xiaoming, Song; Shengyao, Jiang; Jiyang, Yu

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • A VOF simulation of bubble in low viscosity fluid was conducted. • Lift force in different viscosity fluid had different lateral migration characteristics. • Bubble with different size migrated to different direction. • Shear stress triggered the bubble deformation process and the bubble deformation came along with the oscillation behaviors. - Abstract: Two phase flow systems have been widely used in industrial engineering. Phase distribution characteristics are vital to the safety operation and optimization design of two phase flow systems. Lift force has been known as perpendicular to the bubbles’ moving direction, which is one of the mechanisms of interfacial momentum transfer. While most widely used lift force correlations, such as the correlation of Tomiyama et al. (2002), were obtained by experimentally tracking single bubble trajectories in high viscosity glycerol–water mixture, the applicability of these models into low viscosity fluid, such as water in nuclear engineering system, needs to be further evaluated. In the present paper, bubble in low viscosity fluid in shear flow was investigated in a full 3D numerical simulation and the volume of fluid (VOF) method was applied to capture the interface. The fluid parameter: fluid viscosity, bubble parameter: diameter and external flow parameters: shear stress magnitude and liquid velocity were examined. Comparing with bubble in high viscosity shear flow and bubble in low viscosity still flow, relative large bubble in low viscosity shear flow keep an oscillation way towards the moving wall and experienced a shape deformation process. The oscillation amplitude increased as the viscosity of fluid decreased. Small bubble migrated to the static wall in a line with larger migration velocity than that in high viscosity fluid and no deformation occurred. The shear stress triggered the oscillation behaviors while it had no direct influence with the behavior. The liquid velocity had no effect on

  1. The nonmetal-metal transition in solutions of metals in molten salts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tosi, M.P.

    1997-04-01

    Solutions of metals in molten salts present a rich phenomenology: localization of electrons in disordered ionic media, activated electron transport increasing with metal concentration towards a nonmetal-metal (NM-M) transition, and liquid-liquid phase separation. A brief review of progress in the study of these systems is given in this article, with main focus on the NM-M transition. After recalling the known NM-M behaviour of the component elements in the case of expanded fluid alkali metals and mercury and of solid halogens under pressure, the article focuses on liquid metal - molten salt solutions and traces the different NM-M behaviours of the alkalis in their halides and of metals added to polyvalent metal halides. (author). 51 refs, 2 figs

  2. Investigation of film flow of a conducting fluid in a transverse magnetic field, (1)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oshima, Shuzo; Yamane, Ryuichiro; Mochimaru, Yoshihiro; Sudo, Kouzo.

    1985-01-01

    Accompanying the development of large electromagnetic pumps transporting liquid metals used as the heat transfer media for nuclear power plants and the electromagnetic flow meters of large capacity, many researches have been carried out on the flow of liquid metals under the action of magnetic field. The utilization of electromagnetic force for continuous casting facilities seems very effective for the total processes from refining to solidification. Hereafter, it will be a technologically important problem to clarify the behavior of electro-conductive fluid with free surface under the action of magnetic field concerning the non-contact control of the interface form of molten metals as well as the cooling problem in nuclear fusion reactors. In this study, first the flow phenomena of MHD liquid film flow in a magnetic field with intensity gradient was analytically examined, and the effect of magnetic field gradient exerted on liquid film thickness and liquid surface form was clarified. Next, the experiment using mercury was carried out. For liquid film flow, magnetic field gradient acted as a kind of non-contact weir. (Kako, I.)

  3. A new method for ultrasound detection of interfacial position in gas-liquid two-phase flow.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coutinho, Fábio Rizental; Ofuchi, César Yutaka; de Arruda, Lúcia Valéria Ramos; Neves, Flávio; Morales, Rigoberto E M

    2014-05-22

    Ultrasonic measurement techniques for velocity estimation are currently widely used in fluid flow studies and applications. An accurate determination of interfacial position in gas-liquid two-phase flows is still an open problem. The quality of this information directly reflects on the accuracy of void fraction measurement, and it provides a means of discriminating velocity information of both phases. The algorithm known as Velocity Matched Spectrum (VM Spectrum) is a velocity estimator that stands out from other methods by returning a spectrum of velocities for each interrogated volume sample. Interface detection of free-rising bubbles in quiescent liquid presents some difficulties for interface detection due to abrupt changes in interface inclination. In this work a method based on velocity spectrum curve shape is used to generate a spatial-temporal mapping, which, after spatial filtering, yields an accurate contour of the air-water interface. It is shown that the proposed technique yields a RMS error between 1.71 and 3.39 and a probability of detection failure and false detection between 0.89% and 11.9% in determining the spatial-temporal gas-liquid interface position in the flow of free rising bubbles in stagnant liquid. This result is valid for both free path and with transducer emitting through a metallic plate or a Plexiglas pipe.

  4. Numerical simulation of heat transfer and fluid flow during double-sided laser beam welding of T-joints for aluminum aircraft fuselage panels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Zhibin; Tao, Wang; Li, Liqun; Chen, Yanbin; Shi, Chunyuan

    2017-06-01

    In comparison with conventional laser beam welding, double-sided laser beam welding has two laser heat sources simultaneously and symmetrically loaded from both sides makes it to be a more complicated coupled heat transport and fluid flow process. In this work, in order to understand the heat transfer and fluid flow, a three-dimensional model was developed and validated with the experimental results. The temperature field, fluid flow field, and keyhole characteristic were calculated using the developed model by FLUENT software. Calculated results indicated that the temperature and fluid flow fields were bilateral symmetry along the stringer center, and the molten pool maximum length was located near the keyhole intersection position. The skin side had higher temperature and faster cooling speed. Several characteristic flow patterns in the weld pool cross section, including the vortexes flows near the keyhole opening position, the convection flows above the keyhole intersection location, the regularity downward flows at the molten pool bottom. And in the lengthwise section, a distinct vortex flow below the keyhole, and the liquid metal behind the keyhole first flowed to near the molten pool maximum length location and then to the molten pool surface. Perpendicular to and along welding direction the keyhole liquid metal flowed to the weld molten pool surface and around the keyhole, respectively. The special temperature fields and fluid flow patterns were closely related to the effects of the double sides' laser energy coupling and enhancement. The calculated weld pool geometry basically in good agreement with the experimental results indicated that the developed model was validity and reasonable.

  5. Finite volume multigrid method of the planar contraction flow of a viscoelastic fluid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moatssime, H. Al; Esselaoui, D.; Hakim, A.; Raghay, S.

    2001-08-01

    This paper reports on a numerical algorithm for the steady flow of viscoelastic fluid. The conservative and constitutive equations are solved using the finite volume method (FVM) with a hybrid scheme for the velocities and first-order upwind approximation for the viscoelastic stress. A non-uniform staggered grid system is used. The iterative SIMPLE algorithm is employed to relax the coupled momentum and continuity equations. The non-linear algebraic equations over the flow domain are solved iteratively by the symmetrical coupled Gauss-Seidel (SCGS) method. In both, the full approximation storage (FAS) multigrid algorithm is used. An Oldroyd-B fluid model was selected for the calculation. Results are reported for planar 4:1 abrupt contraction at various Weissenberg numbers. The solutions are found to be stable and smooth. The solutions show that at high Weissenberg number the domain must be long enough. The convergence of the method has been verified with grid refinement. All the calculations have been performed on a PC equipped with a Pentium III processor at 550 MHz. Copyright

  6. Observation of the molten metal behaviors during the laser cutting of thick steel specimens using attenuated process images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tamura, Koji; Yamagishi, Ryuichiro

    2017-01-01

    Molten metal behaviors during the laser cutting of carbon steel and stainless steel specimens up to 300 mm in thickness were observed to dismantle large steel objects for the nuclear decommissioning, where attenuated process images from both steels were observed for detailed process analysis. Circular and rod-like molten metal structures were observed at the laser irradiated region depending on the assist gas flow conditions. Molten metal blow-off and flow processes were observed as cutting processes. The observations were explained by the aerodynamic interaction of the melted surface layer. The method is useful for the detailed observation of the molten metal behaviors, and the results are informative to understand and optimize the laser cutting process of very thick steel specimens. (author)

  7. An arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian method for interfacial flows with insoluble surfactants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Xiaofeng

    Interfacial flows, fluid flows involving two or more fluids that do not mix, are common in many natural and industrial processes such as rain drop formation, crude oil recovery, polymer blending, fuel spray formation, and so on. Surfactants (surface active substances) play an important role in such processes because they significantly change the interfacial dynamics. In this thesis, an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method has been developed to numerically simulate interfacial flows with insoluble surfactants. The interface is captured using a coupled level set and volume of fluid method. To evolve the surfactant concentration, the method directly tracks the surfactant mass and the interfacial area. The surfactant concentration, which determines the local surface tension through an equation of state, is then computed as surfactant mass per interfacial area. By directly tracking the surfactant mass, the method conserves the surfactant mass exactly. To accurately approximate the interfacial area, the fluid interface is reconstructed using piecewise parabolas. The evolution of the level set function, volume fraction, interfacial area, and the surfactant mass is performed using an ALE approach. The fluid flow is governed by Stokes equations, which are solved using a finite element method. The surface forces are included in the momentum equation using a continuum surface stress formulation. To efficiently resolve the complex interfacial dynamics, interfacial regions of high surface curvature, and near contact regions between two interacting interfaces, the grid near the interface is adaptively refined. The method is extendible to axisymmetric and 3D spaces, and can be coupled with other flow solvers, such as Navier-Stokes and viscoelastic flow solvers, as well. The method has been applied to study the effect of surfactants on drop deformation and breakup in an extensional flow. Drop deformation results are compared with available experimental and theoretical

  8. Visualization and Analysis-Oriented Reconstruction of Material Interfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Childs, Henry R.

    2010-03-05

    Reconstructing boundaries along material interfaces from volume fractions is a difficult problem, especially because the under-resolved nature of the input data allows for many correct interpretations. Worse, algorithms widely accepted as appropriate for simulation are inappropriate for visualization. In this paper, we describe a new algorithm that is specifically intended for reconstructing material interfaces for visualization and analysis requirements. The algorithm performs well with respect to memory footprint and execution time, has desirable properties in various accuracy metrics, and also produces smooth surfaces with few artifacts, even when faced with more than two materials per cell.

  9. SOLA-VOF, 2-D Transient Hydrodynamic Using Fractional Volume of Fluid Method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nichols, B.D.; Hirt, C.W.; Hotchkiss, R.S.

    1991-01-01

    1 - Description of problem or function: SOLA-VOF is a program for the solution of two-dimensional transient fluid flow with free boundaries, based on the concept of a fractional volume of fluid (VOF). Its basic mode of operation is for single fluid calculations having multiple free surfaces. However, SOLA-VOF can also be used for calculations involving two fluids separated by a sharp interface. In either case, the fluids may be treated as incompressible or as having limited compressibility. Surface tension forces with wall adhesion are permitted in both cases. Internal obstacles may be defined by blocking out any desired combination of cells in the mesh, which is composed of rectangular cells of variable size. 2 - Method of solution: The basis of the SOLA-VOF method is the fractional volume of fluid scheme for tracking free boundaries. In this technique, a function F(x,y,t) is defined whose value is unity at any point occupied by fluid and zero elsewhere. When averaged over the cells of a computational mesh, the average value of F in a cell is equal to the fractional volume of the cell occupied by fluid. In particular, a unit value of F corresponds to a cell full of fluid, whereas a zero value indicates that the cell contains no fluid. Cells with F values between zero and one contain a free surface. SOLA-VOF uses an Eulerian mesh of rectangular cells having variable sizes. The fluid equations solved are the finite difference approximations of the Navier-Stokes equations. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: The setting of array dimensions is controlled through PARAMETER statements

  10. Assessing the Accuracy of Ancestral Protein Reconstruction Methods

    OpenAIRE

    Williams, Paul D; Pollock, David D; Blackburne, Benjamin P; Goldstein, Richard A

    2006-01-01

    The phylogenetic inference of ancestral protein sequences is a powerful technique for the study of molecular evolution, but any conclusions drawn from such studies are only as good as the accuracy of the reconstruction method. Every inference method leads to errors in the ancestral protein sequence, resulting in potentially misleading estimates of the ancestral protein's properties. To assess the accuracy of ancestral protein reconstruction methods, we performed computational population evolu...

  11. Fast multiview three-dimensional reconstruction method using cost volume filtering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Seung Joo; Park, Min Ki; Jang, In Yeop; Lee, Kwan H.

    2014-03-01

    As the number of customers who want to record three-dimensional (3-D) information using a mobile electronic device increases, it becomes more and more important to develop a method which quickly reconstructs a 3-D model from multiview images. A fast multiview-based 3-D reconstruction method is presented, which is suitable for the mobile environment by constructing a cost volume of the 3-D height field. This method consists of two steps: the construction of a reliable base surface and the recovery of shape details. In each step, the cost volume is constructed using photoconsistency and then it is filtered according to the multiscale. The multiscale-based cost volume filtering allows the 3-D reconstruction to maintain the overall shape and to preserve the shape details. We demonstrate the strength of the proposed method in terms of computation time, accuracy, and unconstrained acquisition environment.

  12. Three-dimensional local ALE-FEM method for fluid flow in domains containing moving boundaries/objects interfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carrington, David Bradley [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Monayem, A. K. M. [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States); Mazumder, H. [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States); Heinrich, Juan C. [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2015-03-05

    A three-dimensional finite element method for the numerical simulations of fluid flow in domains containing moving rigid objects or boundaries is developed. The method falls into the general category of Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian methods; it is based on a fixed mesh that is locally adapted in the immediate vicinity of the moving interfaces and reverts to its original shape once the moving interfaces go past the elements. The moving interfaces are defined by separate sets of marker points so that the global mesh is independent of interface movement and the possibility of mesh entanglement is eliminated. The results is a fully robust formulation capable of calculating on domains of complex geometry with moving boundaries or devises that can also have a complex geometry without danger of the mesh becoming unsuitable due to its continuous deformation thus eliminating the need for repeated re-meshing and interpolation. Moreover, the boundary conditions on the interfaces are imposed exactly. This work is intended to support the internal combustion engines simulator KIVA developed at Los Alamos National Laboratories. The model's capabilities are illustrated through application to incompressible flows in different geometrical settings that show the robustness and flexibility of the technique to perform simulations involving moving boundaries in a three-dimensional domain.

  13. An evaluation of interface capturing methods in a VOF based model for multiphase flow of a non-Newtonian ceramic in tape casting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jabbari, Masoud; Bulatova, Regina; Hattel, Jesper Henri

    2014-01-01

    The aim of the present study is to evaluate the different interface capturing methods as well as to find the best approach for flow modeling of the ceramic slurry in the tape casting process. The conventional volume of fluid (VOF) method with three different interpolation methods for interface...... method for the free surface capturing during the flow of a ceramic slurry described by a constitutive power law equation in the tape casting process. First the developed model is tested against well-documented and relevant solutions from literature involving free surface tracking and subsequently...

  14. Numerical simulation of bubble deformation in magnetic fluids by finite volume method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamasaki, Haruhiko; Yamaguchi, Hiroshi

    2017-01-01

    Bubble deformation in magnetic fluids under magnetic field is investigated numerically by an interface capturing method. The numerical method consists of a coupled level-set and VOF (Volume of Fluid) method, combined with conservation CIP (Constrained Interpolation Profile) method with the self-correcting procedure. In the present study considering actual physical properties of magnetic fluid, bubble deformation under given uniform magnetic field is analyzed for internal magnetic field passing through a magnetic gaseous and liquid phase interface. The numerical results explain the mechanism of bubble deformation under presence of given magnetic field. - Highlights: • A magnetic field analysis is developed to simulate the bubble dynamics in magnetic fluid with two-phase interface. • The elongation of bubble increased with increasing magnetic flux intensities due to strong magnetic normal force. • Proposed technique explains the bubble dynamics, taking into account of the continuity of the magnetic flux density.

  15. Fluid-mechanic/thermal interaction of a molten material and a decomposing solid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larson, D.W.; Lee, D.O.

    1976-12-01

    Bench-scale experiments of a molten material in contact with a decomposing solid were conducted to gain insight into the expected interaction of a hot, molten reactor core with a concrete base. The results indicate that either of two regimes can occur: violent agitation and splattering of the melt or a very quiescent settling of the melt when placed in contact with the solid. The two regimes appear to be governed by the interface temperature condition. A conduction heat transfer model predicts the critical interface temperature with reasonable accuracy. In addition, a film thermal resistance model correlates well with the data in predicting the time for a solid skin to form on the molten material

  16. Analysis of a discrete element method and coupling with a compressible fluid flow method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Monasse, L.

    2011-01-01

    This work aims at the numerical simulation of compressible fluid/deformable structure interactions. In particular, we have developed a partitioned coupling algorithm between a Finite Volume method for the compressible fluid and a Discrete Element method capable of taking into account fractures in the solid. A survey of existing fictitious domain methods and partitioned algorithms has led to choose an Embedded Boundary method and an explicit coupling scheme. We first showed that the Discrete Element method used for the solid yielded the correct macroscopic behaviour and that the symplectic time-integration scheme ensured the preservation of energy. We then developed an explicit coupling algorithm between a compressible inviscid fluid and an un-deformable solid. Mass, momentum and energy conservation and consistency properties were proved for the coupling scheme. The algorithm was then extended to the coupling with a deformable solid, in the form of a semi implicit scheme. Finally, we applied this method to unsteady inviscid flows around moving structures: comparisons with existing numerical and experimental results demonstrate the excellent accuracy of our method. (author) [fr

  17. VOF Modeling and Analysis of the Segmented Flow in Y-Shaped Microchannels for Microreactor Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xian Wang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Microscaled devices receive great attention in microreactor systems for producing high renewable energy due to higher surface-to-volume, higher transport rates (heat or/and mass transfer rates, and other advantages over conventional-size reactors. In this paper, the two-phase liquid-liquid flow in a microchannel with various Y-shaped junctions has been studied numerically. Two kinds of immiscible liquids were injected into a microchannel from the Y-shaped junctions to generate the segment flow mode. The segment length was studied. The volume of fluid (VOF method was used to track the liquid-liquid interface and the piecewise-liner interface construction (PLIC technique was adopted to get a sharp interface. The interfacial tension was simulated with continuum surface force (CSF model and the wall adhesion boundary condition was taken into consideration. The simulated flow pattern presents consistence with our experimental one. The numerical results show that a segmented flow mode appears in the main channel. Under the same inlet velocities of two liquids, the segment lengths of the two liquids are the same and depend on the inclined angles of two lateral channels. The effect of inlet velocity is studied in a typical T-shaped microchannel. It is found that the ratio between the lengths of two liquids is almost equal to the ratio between their inlet velocities.

  18. Method of beam welding metallic parts together and apparatus for doing same

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewandowski, E.F.; Cassidy, D.A.; Sommer, R.G.

    1985-11-29

    This method provides for temporarily clamping a metallic piece to one side of a metallic plate while leaving the opposite side of the plate exposed, and providing a heat conductive heat sink body configured to engage the adjacent portions of such one side of the plate and the piece at all regions proximate to but not at the interface between these components. The exposed side of such plate is then subjected to an electron welding beam, in exact registry with but opposite to the piece. The electron welding beam is supplied with adequate energy for penetrating through the plate, across the interface, and into the piece, whereby the electron welding beam produces molten material from both the plate and the piece in the region of the interface. The molten material flows into any interstices that may exist in the interface, and upon cooling solidifies to provide a welded joint between the plate and piece, where the interface was, virtually without any interstices. The heat sink material prevents the molten material from extrucing beyond what was the interface, to provide a clean welded joint. The heat sink body also mechanically holds the plate and piece together prior to the actual welding.

  19. Diagnostic accuracy of the defining characteristics of the excessive fluid volume diagnosis in hemodialysis patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Isabel da Conceição Dias Fernandes

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective: to evaluate the accuracy of the defining characteristics of the excess fluid volume nursing diagnosis of NANDA International, in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Method: this was a study of diagnostic accuracy, with a cross-sectional design, performed in two stages. The first, involving 100 patients from a dialysis clinic and a university hospital in northeastern Brazil, investigated the presence and absence of the defining characteristics of excess fluid volume. In the second step, these characteristics were evaluated by diagnostic nurses, who judged the presence or absence of the diagnosis. To analyze the measures of accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated. Approval was given by the Research Ethics Committee under authorization No. 148.428. Results: the most sensitive indicator was edema and most specific were pulmonary congestion, adventitious breath sounds and restlessness. Conclusion: the more accurate defining characteristics, considered valid for the diagnostic inference of excess fluid volume in patients undergoing hemodialysis were edema, pulmonary congestion, adventitious breath sounds and restlessness. Thus, in the presence of these, the nurse may safely assume the presence of the diagnosis studied.

  20. The volume of fluid method in spherical coordinates

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janse, A.M.C.; Janse, A.M.C.; Dijk, P.E.; Kuipers, J.A.M.

    2000-01-01

    The volume of fluid (VOF) method is a numerical technique to track the developing free surfaces of liquids in motion. This method can, for example, be applied to compute the liquid flow patterns in a rotating cone reactor. For this application a spherical coordinate system is most suited. The novel

  1. SINDA/SINFLO computer routine, volume 1, revision A. [for fluid flow system analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oren, J. A.; Williams, D. R.

    1975-01-01

    The SINFLO package was developed to modify the SINDA preprocessor to accept and store the input data for fluid flow systems analysis and adding the FLOSOL user subroutine to perform the flow solution. This reduced and simplified the user input required for analysis of flow problems. A temperature calculation method, the flow-hybrid method which was developed in previous VSD thermal simulator routines, was incorporated for calculating fluid temperatures. The calculation method accuracy was improved by using fluid enthalpy rather than specific heat for the convective term of the fluid temperature equation. Subroutines and data input requirements are described along with user subroutines, flow data storage, and usage of the plot program.

  2. Experimental study on vapor explosion induced by pressure pulse in coarse mixing of hot molten metal and water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Inoue, A.; Tobita, Y.; Aritomi, M.; Takahashi, M.; Matsuzaki, M.

    2004-01-01

    An experimental study was done to investigate characteristics of metal-water interaction, when a mount of hot liquid metal is injected into the water. The test section is a vertical shock tube of 60mm in inner diameter and 1200mm in length. A special injector which is designed to inject hot metal of controlled volume and flow rate is attached at the top of the tube. When the hot metal is injected in the water and comes down at a position of the test vessel, a trigger pressure pulse is generated at the bottom of the test tube. Local transient pressures along the tube are measured by piezo pressure transducers. The following items were investigated in the experiment; 1) The criteria to cause a vapor explosion, 2) Transient behaviors and propagation characteristics of pressure wave in the mixing region. 3) Effects of triggering pulse, injection temperature and mass of hot molten metal on the peak pressure. The probability of the vapor explosion jumped when the interface temperature at the molten metal-water direct contact is higher than the homogeneous nucleation temperature of water and the triggering pulse becomes larger than 0.9MPa. Two types of the pressure propagation modes are observed, one is the detonative mode with a sharp rise and other is usual pressure mode with a mild rise. (author)

  3. Numerical modelling of thermal and fluid flow phenomena in the mould channel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Sowa

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available In the paper, a mathematical and a numerical model of the solidification of a cylindrical slender shaped casting, which take into account the process of filling the mould cavity with molten metal, has been proposed. Pressure and velocity fields were obtained by solving the momentum equations and the continuity equation, while the thermal fields were obtained by solving the heat conduction equation containing the convection term. Next, the numerical analysis of the solidification process of metals alloy in a cylindrical mould channel has been made. In the model one takes into account interdependence the heat transfer and fluid flow phenomena. Coupling of the thermal and fluid flow phenomena has been taken into consideration by the changes of the fluidity function and thermophysical parameters of alloy with respect to the temperature. The influence of the pressure and the temperature of metal pouring on the solid phase growth kinetics were estimated. The problem has been solved by the finite element method.

  4. Numerical analysis of fluid flow and heat transfer in molten zinc pot of continuous hot-dip galvanizing line

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Y.H.

    2000-07-01

    A numerical model adopting a partially staggered grid system for the location of dependent variables has been developed to analyze the fluid flow and temperature distributions in a molten zinc pot of No. 2 CGL of POSCO K wangyang strip mills. A control volume based finite difference procedure was employed to solve the conservation equations transformed by using the boundary-fitted-coordinate (BFC) system. The calculation results have shown that a change in the steel strip velocity has little influence on the overall flow pattern developed in the pot. The overall temperature distribution was rather uniform as predicted. However, charging cold ingots directly into the pot produced a non-uniform distribution of temperature. The local temperature fluctuations will promote the formation of intermetallic dross particles. It has been proposed that the non-uniform distribution of temperature could be reduced by selecting an appropriate channel inductor position as well as by optimizing the zinc ingot loading position. (author)

  5. Thermal conductivity of molten metals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peralta-Martinez, Maria Vita

    2000-02-01

    A new instrument for the measurement of the thermal conductivity of molten metals has been designed, built and commissioned. The apparatus is based on the transient hot-wire technique and it is intended for operation over a wide range of temperatures, from ambient up to 1200 K, with an accuracy approaching 2%. In its present form the instrument operates up to 750 K. The construction of the apparatus involved four different stages, first, the design and construction of the sensor and second, the construction of an electronic system for the measurement and storage of data. The third stage was the design and instrumentation of the high temperature furnace for the melting and temperature control of the sample, and finally, an algorithm was developed for the extraction of the thermal conductivity from the raw measurement data. The sensor consists of a cylindrical platinum-wire symmetrically sandwiched between two rectangular plane sheets of alumina. The rectangular sensor is immersed in the molten metal of interest and a voltage step is applied to the ends of the platinum wire to induce heat dissipation and a consequent temperature rise which, is in part, determined by the thermal conductivity of the molten metal. The process is described by a set of partial differential equations and appropriate boundary conditions rather than an approximate analytical solution. An electronic bridge configuration was designed and constructed to perform the measurement of the resistance change of the platinum wire in the time range 20 {mu}s to 1 s. The resistance change is converted to temperature change by a suitable calibration. From these temperature measurements as a function of time the thermal conductivity of the molten metals has been deduced using the Finite Element Method for the solution of the working equations. This work has achieved its objective of improving the accuracy of the measurement of the thermal conductivity of molten metals from {+-}20% to {+-}2%. Measurements

  6. High-resolution method for evolving complex interface networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Shucheng; Hu, Xiangyu Y.; Adams, Nikolaus A.

    2018-04-01

    In this paper we describe a high-resolution transport formulation of the regional level-set approach for an improved prediction of the evolution of complex interface networks. The novelty of this method is twofold: (i) construction of local level sets and reconstruction of a global level set, (ii) local transport of the interface network by employing high-order spatial discretization schemes for improved representation of complex topologies. Various numerical test cases of multi-region flow problems, including triple-point advection, single vortex flow, mean curvature flow, normal driven flow, dry foam dynamics and shock-bubble interaction show that the method is accurate and suitable for a wide range of complex interface-network evolutions. Its overall computational cost is comparable to the Semi-Lagrangian regional level-set method while the prediction accuracy is significantly improved. The approach thus offers a viable alternative to previous interface-network level-set method.

  7. Multiphase flow modeling of molten material-vapor-liquid mixtures in thermal nonequilibrium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Ik Kyu; Park, Goon Cherl; Bang, Kwang Hyun

    2000-01-01

    This paper presents a numerical model of multiphase flow of the mixtures of molten material-liquid-vapor, particularly in thermal nonequilibrium. It is a two-dimensional, transient, three-fluid model in Eulerian coordinates. The equations are solved numerically using the finite difference method that implicitly couples the rates of phase changes, momentum, and energy exchange to determine the pressure, density, and velocity fields. To examine the model's ability to predict an experimental data, calculations have been performed for tests of pouring hot particles and molten material into a water pool. The predictions show good agreement with the experimental data. It appears, however, that the interfacial heat transfer and breakup of molten material need improved models that can be applied to such high temperature, high pressure, multiphase flow conditions

  8. Scaling options for integral experiments for molten salt fluid mechanics and heat transfer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Philippe Bardet; Per F Peterson

    2005-01-01

    Full text of publication follows: Molten fluoride salts have potentially large benefits for use in high-temperature heat transport in fission and fusion energy systems, due to their very very low vapor pressures at high temperatures. Molten salts have high volumetric heat capacity compared to high-pressure helium and liquid metals, and have desirable safety characteristics due to their chemical inertness and low pressure. Therefore molten salts have been studied extensively for use in fusion blankets, as an intermediate heat transfer fluid for thermochemical hydrogen production in the Next Generation Nuclear Plant, as a primary coolant for the Advanced High Temperature Reactor, and as a solvent for fuel in the Molten Salt Reactor. This paper presents recent progress in the design and analysis of scaled thermal hydraulics experiments for molten salt systems. We have identified a category of light mineral oils that can be used for scaled experiments. By adjusting the length, velocity, average temperature, and temperature difference scales of the experiment, we show that it is possible to simultaneously match the Reynolds (Re), Froude (Fr), Prandtl (Pr) and Rayleigh (Ra) numbers in the scaled experiments. For example, the light mineral oil Penreco Drakesol 260 AT can be used to simulate the molten salt flibe (Li 2 BeF 4 ). At 110 deg. C, the oil Pr matches 600 deg. C flibe, and at 165 deg. C, the oil Pr matches 900 deg. C flibe. Re, Fr, and Ra can then be matched at a length scale of Ls/Lp = 0.40, velocity scale of U s /U p = 0.63, and temperature difference scale of ΔT s /ΔT p = 0.29. The Weber number is then matched within a factor of two, We s /We p = 0.7. Mechanical pumping power scales as Qp s /Qp p = 0.016, while heat inputs scale as Qh s /Qh p = 0.010, showing that power inputs to scaled experiments are very small compared to the prototype system. The scaled system has accelerated time, t s /t p = 0.64. When Re, Fr, Pr and Ra are matched, geometrically scaled

  9. A solution algorithm for fluid-particle flows across all flow regimes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Bo; Fox, Rodney O.

    2017-09-01

    Many fluid-particle flows occurring in nature and in technological applications exhibit large variations in the local particle volume fraction. For example, in circulating fluidized beds there are regions where the particles are close-packed as well as very dilute regions where particle-particle collisions are rare. Thus, in order to simulate such fluid-particle systems, it is necessary to design a flow solver that can accurately treat all flow regimes occurring simultaneously in the same flow domain. In this work, a solution algorithm is proposed for this purpose. The algorithm is based on splitting the free-transport flux solver dynamically and locally in the flow. In close-packed to moderately dense regions, a hydrodynamic solver is employed, while in dilute to very dilute regions a kinetic-based finite-volume solver is used in conjunction with quadrature-based moment methods. To illustrate the accuracy and robustness of the proposed solution algorithm, it is implemented in OpenFOAM for particle velocity moments up to second order, and applied to simulate gravity-driven, gas-particle flows exhibiting cluster-induced turbulence. By varying the average particle volume fraction in the flow domain, it is demonstrated that the flow solver can handle seamlessly all flow regimes present in fluid-particle flows.

  10. Viscoplastic sculpting in stable triple layer heavy oil transport flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarmadi, Parisa; Hormozi, Sarah; A. Frigaard, Ian

    2017-11-01

    In we introduced a novel methodology for efficient transport of heavy oil via a triple layer core-annular flow. Pumping pressures are significantly reduced by concentrating high shear rates to a lubricating layer, while ideas from Visco-Plastic Lubrication are used to eliminate interfacial instabilities. We purposefully position a shaped unyielded skin of a viscoplastic fluid between the transported oil and the lubricating fluid layer to balance the density difference between the fluids. Here we address the sculpting of the shaped skin within a concentric inflow manifold. We use the quasi-steady model to provide inputs to an axisymmetric triple layer computation, showing the development of the streamwise skin profile and establishment of the flow. For this, we use a finite element discretization with the augmented-Lagrangian method to represent the yield surface behaviour accurately and a PLIC method to track the interface motion.

  11. Communication: A method to compute the transport coefficient of pure fluids diffusing through planar interfaces from equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vermorel, Romain; Oulebsir, Fouad; Galliero, Guillaume

    2017-09-14

    The computation of diffusion coefficients in molecular systems ranks among the most useful applications of equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. However, when dealing with the problem of fluid diffusion through vanishingly thin interfaces, classical techniques are not applicable. This is because the volume of space in which molecules diffuse is ill-defined. In such conditions, non-equilibrium techniques allow for the computation of transport coefficients per unit interface width, but their weak point lies in their inability to isolate the contribution of the different physical mechanisms prone to impact the flux of permeating molecules. In this work, we propose a simple and accurate method to compute the diffusional transport coefficient of a pure fluid through a planar interface from equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, in the form of a diffusion coefficient per unit interface width. In order to demonstrate its validity and accuracy, we apply our method to the case study of a dilute gas diffusing through a smoothly repulsive single-layer porous solid. We believe this complementary technique can benefit to the interpretation of the results obtained on single-layer membranes by means of complex non-equilibrium methods.

  12. Compatibility tests between molten salts and metal materials (2)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shiina, Yasuaki

    2003-08-01

    Latent heat storage technology using molten salts can reduce temperature fluctuations of heat transfer fluid by latent heat for middle and high temperature regions. This enables us to operate several heat utilization systems in cascade connected to High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors (HTGRs) from high to low temperature range by setting the latent heat storage system after a heat utilization system to reduce thermal load after the heat utilization systems. This latent heat technology is expected to be used for effective use of heat such as equalization of electric load between night and daytime. In the application of the latent heat technology, compatibility between molten salts and metal materials is very important because molten salts are corrosive, and heat transfer pipes and vessels will contact with the molten salts. It will be necessary to prevail the latent heat storage technique that normal metal materials can be used for the pipes and vessels. However, a few studies have been reported of compatibility between molten salts and metals in middle and high temperature ranges. In this study, four molten salts, range of the melting temperature from 490degC to 800degC, are selected and five metals, high temperature and corrosion resistance steels of Alloy600, HastelloyB2, HastelloyC276, SUS310S and pure Nickel are selected for the test with the consideration of metal composition. Test was performed in an electric furnace by setting the molten salts and the metals in melting pots in an atmosphere of nitrogen. Results revealed excellent corrosion resistance of pure Nickel and comparatively low corrosion resistance of nickel base alloys such as Alloy600 and Hastelloys against Li 2 CO 3 . Corrosion resistance of SUS310S was about same as nickel based alloys. Therefore, if some amount of corrosion is permitted, SUS310S would be one of the candidate alloys for structure materials. These results will be used as reference data to select metals in latent heat technology

  13. Computed Tomography 3-D Imaging of the Metal Deformation Flow Path in Friction Stir Welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Judy; Beshears, Ronald; Nunes, Arthur C., Jr.

    2005-01-01

    In friction stir welding (FSW), a rotating threaded pin tool is inserted into a weld seam and literally stirs the edges of the seam together. To determine optimal processing parameters for producing a defect free weld, a better understanding of the resulting metal deformation flow path is required. Marker studies are the principal method of studying the metal deformation flow path around the FSW pin tool. In our study, we have used computed tomography (CT) scans to reveal the flow pattern of a lead wire embedded in a FSW weld seam. At the welding temperature of aluminum, the lead becomes molten and is carried with the macro-flow of the weld metal. By using CT images, a 3-dimensional (3D) image of the lead flow pattern can be reconstructed. CT imaging was found to be a convenient and comprehensive way of collecting and displaying tracer data. It marks an advance over previous more tedious and ambiguous radiographic/metallographic data collection methods.

  14. A combined volume-of-fluid method and low-Mach-number approach for DNS of evaporating droplets in turbulence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dodd, Michael; Ferrante, Antonino

    2017-11-01

    Our objective is to perform DNS of finite-size droplets that are evaporating in isotropic turbulence. This requires fully resolving the process of momentum, heat, and mass transfer between the droplets and surrounding gas. We developed a combined volume-of-fluid (VOF) method and low-Mach-number approach to simulate this flow. The two main novelties of the method are: (i) the VOF algorithm captures the motion of the liquid gas interface in the presence of mass transfer due to evaporation and condensation without requiring a projection step for the liquid velocity, and (ii) the low-Mach-number approach allows for local volume changes caused by phase change while the total volume of the liquid-gas system is constant. The method is verified against an analytical solution for a Stefan flow problem, and the D2 law is verified for a single droplet in quiescent gas. We also demonstrate the schemes robustness when performing DNS of an evaporating droplet in forced isotropic turbulence.

  15. Liquid metal batteries - materials selection and fluid dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weier, T.; Bund, A.; El-Mofid, W.; Horstmann, G. M.; Lalau, C.-C.; Landgraf, S.; Nimtz, M.; Starace, M.; Stefani, F.; Weber, N.

    2017-07-01

    Liquid metal batteries are possible candidates for massive and economically feasible large-scale stationary storage and as such could be key components of future energy systems based mainly or exclusively on intermittent renewable electricity sources. The completely liquid interior of liquid metal batteries and the high current densities give rise to a multitude of fluid flow phenomena that will primarily influence the operation of future large cells, but might be important for today’s smaller cells as well. The paper at hand starts with a discussion of the relative merits of using molten salts or ionic liquids as electrolytes for liquid metal cells and touches the choice of electrode materials. This excursus into electrochemistry is followed by an overview of investigations on magnetohydrodynamic instabilities in liquid metal batteries, namely the Tayler instability and electromagnetically excited gravity waves. A section on electro-vortex flows complements the discussion of flow phenomena. Focus of the flow related investigations lies on the integrity of the electrolyte layer and related critical parameters.

  16. Diffuse interface methods for multiphase flow modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jamet, D.

    2004-01-01

    Full text of publication follows:Nuclear reactor safety programs need to get a better description of some stages of identified incident or accident scenarios. For some of them, such as the reflooding of the core or the dryout of fuel rods, the heat, momentum and mass transfers taking place at the scale of droplets or bubbles are part of the key physical phenomena for which a better description is needed. Experiments are difficult to perform at these very small scales and direct numerical simulations is viewed as a promising way to give new insight into these complex two-phase flows. This type of simulations requires numerical methods that are accurate, efficient and easy to run in three space dimensions and on parallel computers. Despite many years of development, direct numerical simulation of two-phase flows is still very challenging, mostly because it requires solving moving boundary problems. To avoid this major difficulty, a new class of numerical methods is arising, called diffuse interface methods. These methods are based on physical theories dating back to van der Waals and mostly used in materials science. In these methods, interfaces separating two phases are modeled as continuous transitions zones instead of surfaces of discontinuity. Since all the physical variables encounter possibly strong but nevertheless always continuous variations across the interfacial zones, these methods virtually eliminate the difficult moving boundary problem. We show that these methods lead to a single-phase like system of equations, which makes it easier to code in 3D and to make parallel compared to more classical methods. The first method presented is dedicated to liquid-vapor flows with phase-change. It is based on the van der Waals' theory of capillarity. This method has been used to study nucleate boiling of a pure fluid and of dilute binary mixtures. We discuss the importance of the choice and the meaning of the order parameter, i.e. a scalar which discriminates one

  17. Online monitoring of corrosion behavior in molten metal using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeng, Qiang; Pan, Congyuan; Li, Chaoyang; Fei, Teng; Ding, Xiaokang; Du, Xuewei; Wang, Qiuping

    2018-04-01

    The corrosion behavior of structure materials in direct contact with molten metals is widespread in metallurgical industry. The corrosion of casting equipment by molten metals is detrimental to the production process, and the corroded materials can also contaminate the metals being produced. Conventional methods for studying the corrosion behavior by molten metal are offline. This work explored the application of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for online monitoring of the corrosion behavior of molten metal. The compositional changes of molten aluminum in crucibles made of 304 stainless steel were obtained online at 1000 °C. Several offline techniques were combined to determine the corrosion mechanism, which was highly consistent with previous studies. Results proved that LIBS was an efficient method to study the corrosion mechanism of solid materials in molten metal.

  18. A comparative study of lattice Boltzmann and volume of fluid method for two dimensional multiphase flows

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ryu, Seung Yeob [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Ko, Sung Ho [Dept. of Mechanical Design Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-08-15

    The volume of fluid (VOF) model of FLUENT and the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) are used to simulate two-phase flows. Both methods are validated for static and dynamic bubble test cases and then compared to experimental results. The VOF method does not reduce the spurious currents of the static droplet test and does not satisfy the Laplace law for small droplets at the acceptable level, as compared with the LBM. For single bubble flows, simulations are executed for various Eotvos numbers, Morton numbers and Reynolds numbers, and the results of both methods agree well with the experiments in the case of low Eotvos numbers. For high Eotvos numbers, the VOF results deviated from the experiments. For multiple bubbles, the bubble flow characteristics are related by the wake of the leading bubble. The coaxial and oblique coalescence of the bubbles are simulated successfully and the subsequent results are presented. In conclusion, the LBM performs better than the VOF method.

  19. Assessing the accuracy of ancestral protein reconstruction methods.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul D Williams

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available The phylogenetic inference of ancestral protein sequences is a powerful technique for the study of molecular evolution, but any conclusions drawn from such studies are only as good as the accuracy of the reconstruction method. Every inference method leads to errors in the ancestral protein sequence, resulting in potentially misleading estimates of the ancestral protein's properties. To assess the accuracy of ancestral protein reconstruction methods, we performed computational population evolution simulations featuring near-neutral evolution under purifying selection, speciation, and divergence using an off-lattice protein model where fitness depends on the ability to be stable in a specified target structure. We were thus able to compare the thermodynamic properties of the true ancestral sequences with the properties of "ancestral sequences" inferred by maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian methods. Surprisingly, we found that methods such as maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood that reconstruct a "best guess" amino acid at each position overestimate thermostability, while a Bayesian method that sometimes chooses less-probable residues from the posterior probability distribution does not. Maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony apparently tend to eliminate variants at a position that are slightly detrimental to structural stability simply because such detrimental variants are less frequent. Other properties of ancestral proteins might be similarly overestimated. This suggests that ancestral reconstruction studies require greater care to come to credible conclusions regarding functional evolution. Inferred functional patterns that mimic reconstruction bias should be reevaluated.

  20. Assessing the accuracy of ancestral protein reconstruction methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Paul D; Pollock, David D; Blackburne, Benjamin P; Goldstein, Richard A

    2006-06-23

    The phylogenetic inference of ancestral protein sequences is a powerful technique for the study of molecular evolution, but any conclusions drawn from such studies are only as good as the accuracy of the reconstruction method. Every inference method leads to errors in the ancestral protein sequence, resulting in potentially misleading estimates of the ancestral protein's properties. To assess the accuracy of ancestral protein reconstruction methods, we performed computational population evolution simulations featuring near-neutral evolution under purifying selection, speciation, and divergence using an off-lattice protein model where fitness depends on the ability to be stable in a specified target structure. We were thus able to compare the thermodynamic properties of the true ancestral sequences with the properties of "ancestral sequences" inferred by maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian methods. Surprisingly, we found that methods such as maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood that reconstruct a "best guess" amino acid at each position overestimate thermostability, while a Bayesian method that sometimes chooses less-probable residues from the posterior probability distribution does not. Maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony apparently tend to eliminate variants at a position that are slightly detrimental to structural stability simply because such detrimental variants are less frequent. Other properties of ancestral proteins might be similarly overestimated. This suggests that ancestral reconstruction studies require greater care to come to credible conclusions regarding functional evolution. Inferred functional patterns that mimic reconstruction bias should be reevaluated.

  1. Recent advances in quantitative analysis of fluid interfaces in multiphase fluid flow measured by synchrotron-based x-ray microtomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlueter, S.; Sheppard, A.; Wildenschild, D.

    2013-12-01

    Imaging of fluid interfaces in three-dimensional porous media via x-ray microtomography is an efficient means to test thermodynamically derived predictions on the relationship between capillary pressure, fluid saturation and specific interfacial area (Pc-Sw-Anw) in partially saturated porous media. Various experimental studies exist to date that validate the uniqueness of the Pc-Sw-Anw relationship under static conditions and with current technological progress direct imaging of moving interfaces under dynamic conditions is also becoming available. Image acquisition and subsequent image processing currently involves many steps each prone to operator bias, like merging different scans of the same sample obtained at different beam energies into a single image or the generation of isosurfaces from the segmented multiphase image on which the interface properties are usually calculated. We demonstrate that with recent advancements in (i) image enhancement methods, (ii) multiphase segmentation methods and (iii) methods of structural analysis we can considerably decrease the time and cost of image acquisition and the uncertainty associated with the measurement of interfacial properties. In particular, we highlight three notorious problems in multiphase image processing and provide efficient solutions for each: (i) Due to noise, partial volume effects, and imbalanced volume fractions, automated histogram-based threshold detection methods frequently fail. However, these impairments can be mitigated with modern denoising methods, special treatment of gray value edges and adaptive histogram equilization, such that most of the standard methods for threshold detection (Otsu, fuzzy c-means, minimum error, maximum entropy) coincide at the same set of values. (ii) Partial volume effects due to blur may produce apparent water films around solid surfaces that alter the specific fluid-fluid interfacial area (Anw) considerably. In a synthetic test image some local segmentation methods

  2. 2D modeling of direct laser metal deposition process using a finite particle method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anedaf, T.; Abbès, B.; Abbès, F.; Li, Y. M.

    2018-05-01

    Direct laser metal deposition is one of the material additive manufacturing processes used to produce complex metallic parts. A thorough understanding of the underlying physical phenomena is required to obtain a high-quality parts. In this work, a mathematical model is presented to simulate the coaxial laser direct deposition process tacking into account of mass addition, heat transfer, and fluid flow with free surface and melting. The fluid flow in the melt pool together with mass and energy balances are solved using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software NOGRID-points, based on the meshless Finite Pointset Method (FPM). The basis of the computations is a point cloud, which represents the continuum fluid domain. Each finite point carries all fluid information (density, velocity, pressure and temperature). The dynamic shape of the molten zone is explicitly described by the point cloud. The proposed model is used to simulate a single layer cladding.

  3. Streaming flows produced by oscillating interface of magnetic fluid adsorbed on a permanent magnet in alternating magnetic field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sudo, S.; Ito, M.; Ishimoto, Y.; Nix, S.

    2017-04-01

    This paper describes microstreaming flows generated by oscillating interface of magnetic fluid adsorbed on a circular cylindrical permanent magnet in alternating magnetic field. The interface of magnetic fluid adsorbed on the NdFeB magnet responds to the external alternating magnetic flied as harmonic oscillation. The directions of alternating magnetic field are parallel and antiparallel to the magnetic field of permanent magnet. The oscillation of magnetic fluid interface generates streaming flow around the magnet-magnetic fluid element in water. Microstreaming flows are observed with a high-speed video camera analysis system. The flow pattern generated by magnetic fluid motion depends on the Keulegan-Carpenter number and the Reynolds number.

  4. Metalcasting: Filtering Molten Metal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lauren Poole; Lee Recca

    1999-01-01

    A more efficient method has been created to filter cast molten metal for impurities. Read about the resulting energy and money savings that can accrue to many different industries from the use of this exciting new technology

  5. Numerical analysis of partially molten splat during thermal spray process using the finite element method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zirari, M.; Abdellah El-Hadj, A.; Bacha, N.

    2010-03-01

    A finite element method is used to simulate the deposition of the thermal spray coating process. A set of governing equations is solving by a volume of fluid method. For the solidification phenomenon, we use the specific heat method (SHM). We begin by comparing the present model with experimental and numerical model available in the literature. In this study, completely molten or semi-molten aluminum particle impacts a H13 tool steel substrate is considered. Next we investigate the effect of inclination of impact of a partially molten particle on flat substrate. It was found that the melting state of the particle has great effects on the morphologies of the splat.

  6. Molar Volume Analysis of Molten Ni-Al-Co Alloy by Measuring the Density

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    XIAO Feng; FANG Liang; FU Yuechao; YANG Lingchuan

    2004-01-01

    The density of molten Ni-Al-Co alloys was measured in the temperature range of 1714~1873K using a modified pycnometric method, and the molar volume of molten alloys was analyzed. The density of molten Ni-Al-Co alloys was found to decrease with increasing temperature and Co concentration in alloys. The molar volume of molten Ni-Al-Co alloys increases with increasing Co concentration in alloys. The molar volume of molten Ni-Al-Co alloys shows a negative deviation from the linear molar volume.

  7. Theoretical study of energetic interactions between high temperature molten materials and a low temperature fluid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, S.H.H.

    1984-01-01

    Analytical models are developed to predict the hydrodynamical transients resulting from the energetic interactions between a high temperature molten material and a low temperature liquid coolant. Initially, the molten material at high temperature and pressure is separated from the low temperature fluid by a solid metal barrier. Upon contact between the molten material and solid barrier, thermal attack occurs eventually resulting in a loss of barrier integrity. Subsequently, the molten material is injected into the liquid pool resulting in energetic interactions. The analytical models integrate a wide variety of potentially mutually-interacting transport phenomena which dominate the transient process into a deterministic scheme to predict the hydrodynamic transient process into a deterministic scheme to predict the hydrodynamic transient process. The model calculations are compared with the existing experimental results to show its engineering accuracy and adequacy in predicting such energetic interactions. Two models are formulated to bracket the transport of molten material to the rupture site for the reactor system. The stratified model minimized the rate of transport of material to the break location while the dispersed model maximized such transport. These two models are applied to a reference pressure tube reactor to evaluate the pressure transients and the potential structural damages as a result of a postulated severe primary coolant blockage in a power channel

  8. Numerical and theoretical aspects of the modelling of compressible two-phase flow by interface capture methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kokh, S.

    2001-01-01

    This research thesis reports the development of a numerical direct simulation of compressible two-phase flows by using interface capturing methods. These techniques are based on the use of an Eulerian fixed grid to describe flow variables as well as the interface between fluids. The author first recalls conventional interface capturing methods and makes the distinction between those based on discontinuous colour functions and those based on level set functions. The approach is then extended to a five equation model to allow the largest as possible choice of state equations for the fluids. Three variants are developed. A solver inspired by the Roe scheme is developed for one of them. These interface capturing methods are then refined, more particularly for problems of numerical diffusion at the interface. A last part addresses the study of dynamic phase change. Non-conventional thermodynamics tools are used to study the structures of an interface which performs phase transition [fr

  9. Simulation of Two-Fluid Flows by the Least-Squares Finite Element Method Using a Continuum Surface Tension Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Jie; Yu, Sheng-Tao; Jiang, Bo-nan

    1996-01-01

    In this paper a numerical procedure for simulating two-fluid flows is presented. This procedure is based on the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method proposed by Hirt and Nichols and the continuum surface force (CSF) model developed by Brackbill, et al. In the VOF method fluids of different properties are identified through the use of a continuous field variable (color function). The color function assigns a unique constant (color) to each fluid. The interfaces between different fluids are distinct due to sharp gradients of the color function. The evolution of the interfaces is captured by solving the convective equation of the color function. The CSF model is used as a means to treat surface tension effect at the interfaces. Here a modified version of the CSF model, proposed by Jacqmin, is used to calculate the tension force. In the modified version, the force term is obtained by calculating the divergence of a stress tensor defined by the gradient of the color function. In its analytical form, this stress formulation is equivalent to the original CSF model. Numerically, however, the use of the stress formulation has some advantages over the original CSF model, as it bypasses the difficulty in approximating the curvatures of the interfaces. The least-squares finite element method (LSFEM) is used to discretize the governing equation systems. The LSFEM has proven to be effective in solving incompressible Navier-Stokes equations and pure convection equations, making it an ideal candidate for the present applications. The LSFEM handles all the equations in a unified manner without any additional special treatment such as upwinding or artificial dissipation. Various bench mark tests have been carried out for both two dimensional planar and axisymmetric flows, including a dam breaking, oscillating and stationary bubbles and a conical liquid sheet in a pressure swirl atomizer.

  10. SU-F-T-441: Dose Calculation Accuracy in CT Images Reconstructed with Artifact Reduction Algorithm

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ng, C; Chan, S; Lee, F; Ngan, R [Queen Elizabeth Hospital (Hong Kong); Lee, V [University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, HK (Hong Kong)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: Accuracy of radiotherapy dose calculation in patients with surgical implants is complicated by two factors. First is the accuracy of CT number, second is the dose calculation accuracy. We compared measured dose with dose calculated on CT images reconstructed with FBP and an artifact reduction algorithm (OMAR, Philips) for a phantom with high density inserts. Dose calculation were done with Varian AAA and AcurosXB. Methods: A phantom was constructed with solid water in which 2 titanium or stainless steel rods could be inserted. The phantom was scanned with the Philips Brillance Big Bore CT. Image reconstruction was done with FBP and OMAR. Two 6 MV single field photon plans were constructed for each phantom. Radiochromic films were placed at different locations to measure the dose deposited. One plan has normal incidence on the titanium/steel rods. In the second plan, the beam is at almost glancing incidence on the metal rods. Measurements were then compared with dose calculated with AAA and AcurosXB. Results: The use of OMAR images slightly improved the dose calculation accuracy. The agreement between measured and calculated dose was best with AXB and image reconstructed with OMAR. Dose calculated on titanium phantom has better agreement with measurement. Large discrepancies were seen at points directly above and below the high density inserts. Both AAA and AXB underestimated the dose directly above the metal surface, while overestimated the dose below the metal surface. Doses measured downstream of metal were all within 3% of calculated values. Conclusion: When doing treatment planning for patients with metal implants, care must be taken to acquire correct CT images to improve dose calculation accuracy. Moreover, great discrepancies in measured and calculated dose were observed at metal/tissue interface. Care must be taken in estimating the dose in critical structures that come into contact with metals.

  11. Development and validation of a numerical method for computing two-phase flows without interface reconstruction. Application to Taylor bubbles dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benkenida, Adlene

    1999-01-01

    This work is devoted to the development and the use of a numerical code aimed to compute complex two-phase flows in which the topology of the interfaces evolves in time. The solution strategy makes use of a fixed grid on which interfaces evolve freely. The governing equations of the model (one-fluid model) are obtained by adding the local, instantaneous Navier-Stokes equations of each phase after a spatial filtering. The use of an Eulerian approach yields difficulties in estimating several of the two-phase quantities, especially the viscous stress tensor. This problem is overcome by deriving and validating an expression of the stress tensor valid for any Eulerian treatment and whatever the orientation of the interfaces with respect to the grid. To simplify the governing equations of the model, it is assumed that no phase change occurs, that no local slip exists between both phases, and that no small-scale turbulence is present. The possibility to remove some of these hypotheses is discussed, especially with the future aim of developing a large-eddy simulation approach of two-phase flows in which the motion and the effects of small-scale two-phase structures could be taken into account. Interface transport is performed by using a FCT front capturing method without any interface reconstruction procedure. It is shown through several tests that the version of Zalesak's (1979) algorithm in which each direction is treated independently yields the best results, even though a tendency for interfacial regions to thicken artificially is observed in regions with high stretching rates.The code is validated by performing simulations on some simple two-phase flows and by comparing numerical results with available analytical solutions, experiments, or previous computations. Among the results of these tests, those concerning the bouncing of a bubble on a rigid wall are the most original and shed new light on this phenomenon, especially by revealing the time evolution of the

  12. Interfacing a General Purpose Fluid Network Flow Program with the SINDA/G Thermal Analysis Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schallhorn, Paul; Popok, Daniel

    1999-01-01

    A general purpose, one dimensional fluid flow code is currently being interfaced with the thermal analysis program Systems Improved Numerical Differencing Analyzer/Gaski (SINDA/G). The flow code, Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program (GFSSP), is capable of analyzing steady state and transient flow in a complex network. The flow code is capable of modeling several physical phenomena including compressibility effects, phase changes, body forces (such as gravity and centrifugal) and mixture thermodynamics for multiple species. The addition of GFSSP to SINDA/G provides a significant improvement in convective heat transfer modeling for SINDA/G. The interface development is conducted in multiple phases. This paper describes the first phase of the interface which allows for steady and quasi-steady (unsteady solid, steady fluid) conjugate heat transfer modeling.

  13. A versatile embedded boundary adaptive mesh method for compressible flow in complex geometry

    KAUST Repository

    Almarouf, Mohamad Abdulilah Alhusain Alali

    2017-02-25

    We present an embedded ghost-fluid method for numerical solutions of the compressible Navier Stokes (CNS) equations in arbitrary complex domains. A PDE multidimensional extrapolation approach is used to reconstruct the solution in the ghost-fluid regions and imposing boundary conditions on the fluid-solid interface, coupled with a multi-dimensional algebraic interpolation for freshly cleared cells. The CNS equations are numerically solved by the second order multidimensional upwind method. Block-structured adaptive mesh refinement, implemented with the Chombo framework, is utilized to reduce the computational cost while keeping high resolution mesh around the embedded boundary and regions of high gradient solutions. The versatility of the method is demonstrated via several numerical examples, in both static and moving geometry, ranging from low Mach number nearly incompressible flows to supersonic flows. Our simulation results are extensively verified against other numerical results and validated against available experimental results where applicable. The significance and advantages of our implementation, which revolve around balancing between the solution accuracy and implementation difficulties, are briefly discussed as well.

  14. A versatile embedded boundary adaptive mesh method for compressible flow in complex geometry

    KAUST Repository

    Almarouf, Mohamad Abdulilah Alhusain Alali; Samtaney, Ravi

    2017-01-01

    We present an embedded ghost-fluid method for numerical solutions of the compressible Navier Stokes (CNS) equations in arbitrary complex domains. A PDE multidimensional extrapolation approach is used to reconstruct the solution in the ghost-fluid regions and imposing boundary conditions on the fluid-solid interface, coupled with a multi-dimensional algebraic interpolation for freshly cleared cells. The CNS equations are numerically solved by the second order multidimensional upwind method. Block-structured adaptive mesh refinement, implemented with the Chombo framework, is utilized to reduce the computational cost while keeping high resolution mesh around the embedded boundary and regions of high gradient solutions. The versatility of the method is demonstrated via several numerical examples, in both static and moving geometry, ranging from low Mach number nearly incompressible flows to supersonic flows. Our simulation results are extensively verified against other numerical results and validated against available experimental results where applicable. The significance and advantages of our implementation, which revolve around balancing between the solution accuracy and implementation difficulties, are briefly discussed as well.

  15. Numerical simulation on the explosive boiling phenomena on the surface of molten metal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Deqi; Peng Cheng; Wang Qinghua; Pan Liangming

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, numerical simulation was carried out to investigate the explosive boiling phenomenon on high temperature surface also the influence of vapor growth rate during explosive boiling, vapor condensation in sub-cooled water and the subsequent effect on flowing and heat transfer. The simulation result indicates that the steam on the molten metal surface grows with very high speed, and it pushes away the sub-cooled water around and causes severe flowing. The steam clusters which block the sub-cooled water to rewet the molten metal surface are appearing at the same time. During the growth, lifting off as well as condensation of the steam clusters, the sub-cooled water around is strongly disturbed, and obvious vortexes appear. Conversely, the vortex will influence the steam cluster detachment and cub-cooled water rewetting the metal surface. This simulation visually displays the complex explosive boiling phenomena on the molten metal surface with high temperature. (authors)

  16. Coupled numerical approach combining finite volume and lattice Boltzmann methods for multi-scale multi-physicochemical processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Li; He, Ya-Ling [Key Laboratory of Thermo-Fluid Science and Engineering of MOE, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shaanxi 710049 (China); Kang, Qinjun [Computational Earth Science Group (EES-16), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Tao, Wen-Quan, E-mail: wqtao@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Thermo-Fluid Science and Engineering of MOE, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shaanxi 710049 (China)

    2013-12-15

    A coupled (hybrid) simulation strategy spatially combining the finite volume method (FVM) and the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), called CFVLBM, is developed to simulate coupled multi-scale multi-physicochemical processes. In the CFVLBM, computational domain of multi-scale problems is divided into two sub-domains, i.e., an open, free fluid region and a region filled with porous materials. The FVM and LBM are used for these two regions, respectively, with information exchanged at the interface between the two sub-domains. A general reconstruction operator (RO) is proposed to derive the distribution functions in the LBM from the corresponding macro scalar, the governing equation of which obeys the convection–diffusion equation. The CFVLBM and the RO are validated in several typical physicochemical problems and then are applied to simulate complex multi-scale coupled fluid flow, heat transfer, mass transport, and chemical reaction in a wall-coated micro reactor. The maximum ratio of the grid size between the FVM and LBM regions is explored and discussed. -- Highlights: •A coupled simulation strategy for simulating multi-scale phenomena is developed. •Finite volume method and lattice Boltzmann method are coupled. •A reconstruction operator is derived to transfer information at the sub-domains interface. •Coupled multi-scale multiple physicochemical processes in micro reactor are simulated. •Techniques to save computational resources and improve the efficiency are discussed.

  17. Flow characteristics of metallic powder grains for additive manufacturing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peters Bernhard

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Directed energy deposition technologies for additive manufacturing such as laser selective melting (SLM or electron beam melting (EBM is a fast growing technique mainly due to its flexibility in product design. However, the process is a complex interaction of multi-physics on multiple length scales that are still not entirely understood. A particular challenging task are the flow characteristics of metallic powder ejected as jets from a nozzle and shielded by an inert turbulent gas flow. Therefore, the objective is to describe numerically the complex interaction between turbulent flow and powder grains. In order to include both several physical processes and length scales an Euler-Lagrange technology is applied. Within this framework powder is treated by the Discrete-Element-Method, while gas flow is described by Euler approaches as found in classical Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD. The described method succeeded in delivering more accuracy and consistency than a standard approach based on the volume averaging technique and therefore, is suited for the solution of problems within an engineering framework.

  18. Numerical Study on Mass Transfer of a Vapor Bubble Rising in Very High Viscous Fluid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Kunugi

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This study focused on a bubble rising behavior in a molten glass because it is important to improve the efficiency of removal of bubbles from the molten glass. On the other hand, it is expected that some gas species which exists in a bubble are transferred into the molten glass through the bubble interface, i.e., the mass transfer, subsequently, it may cause a bubble contraction in the molten glass. In this paper, in order to understand the bubble rising behavior with its contraction caused by the mass transfer through the bubble interface in the very high viscous fluid such as the molten glass, a bubble contraction model has been developed. The direct numerical simulations based on the MARS (Multi-interface Advection and Reconstruction Solver coupled with the mass transfer equation and the bubble contraction model regarding the mass transfer from the rising bubble in very high viscous fluid have been performed. Here, the working fluids were water vapor as the gas species and the molten glass as the very high viscous fluid. Also, the jump conditions at the bubble interface for the mass transfer were examined. Furthermore, the influence of the bubble contraction for the bubble rising compared to that in the water as a normal viscous fluid was investigated. From the result of the numerical simulations, it was found that the bubble rising behavior was strongly affected not only by the viscosity of the working fluid but also by the bubble contraction due to the mass transfer through the bubble interface.

  19. Capillary Flow of Liquid Metals in Brazing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dehsara, Mohammad

    Capillary flow is driven or controlled by capillary forces, exerted at the triple line where the fluid phases meet the solid boundary. Phase field (PF) models naturally accommodate diffusive triple line motion with variable contact angle, thus allowing for the no-slip boundary condition without the stress singularities. Moreover, they are uniquely suited for modeling of topological discontinuities which often arise during capillary flows. In this study, we consider diffusive triple line motion within two PF models: the compositionally compressible (CC) and the incompressible (IC) models. We derive the IC model as a systematic approximation to the CC model, based on a suitable choice of continuum velocity field. The CC model, applied to the fluids of dissimilar mass densities, exhibits a computational instability at the triple line. The IC model perfectly represents the analytic equilibria. We develop the parameter identification procedure and show that the triple line kinetics can be well represented by the IC model's diffusive boundary condition. The IC model is first tested by benchmarking the phase-field and experimental kinetics of water, and silicone oil spreading over the glass plates in which two systems do not interact with the substrate. Then, two high-temperature physical settings involving spreading of the molten Al-Si alloy: one over a rough wetting substrate, the other over a non-wetting substrate are modeled in a T-joint structure which is a typical geometric configuration for many brazing and soldering applications. Surface roughness directly influences the spreading of the molten metal by causing break-ups of the liquid film and trapping the liquid away from the joint. In the early stages of capillary flow over non-wetting surface, the melting and flow are concurrent, so that the kinetics of wetting is strongly affected by the variations in effective viscosity of the partially molten metal. We define adequate time-dependent functions for the

  20. Parametric study of natural circulation flow in molten salt fuel in molten salt reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pauzi, Anas Muhamad, E-mail: Anas@uniten.edu.my [Centre of Nuclear Energy, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43000 Kajang, Selangor (Malaysia); Cioncolini, Andrea; Iacovides, Hector [School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Civil Engineering (MACE), University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL Manchester (United Kingdom)

    2015-04-29

    The Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) is one of the most promising system proposed by Generation IV Forum (GIF) for future nuclear reactor systems. Advantages of the MSR are significantly larger compared to other reactor system, and is mainly achieved from its liquid nature of fuel and coolant. Further improvement to this system, which is a natural circulating molten fuel salt inside its tube in the reactor core is proposed, to achieve advantages of reducing and simplifying the MSR design proposed by GIF. Thermal hydraulic analysis on the proposed system was completed using a commercial computation fluid dynamics (CFD) software called FLUENT by ANSYS Inc. An understanding on theory behind this unique natural circulation flow inside the tube caused by fission heat generated in molten fuel salt and tube cooling was briefly introduced. Currently, no commercial CFD software could perfectly simulate natural circulation flow, hence, modeling this flow problem in FLUENT is introduced and analyzed to obtain best simulation results. Results obtained demonstrate the existence of periodical transient nature of flow problem, hence improvements in tube design is proposed based on the analysis on temperature and velocity profile. Results show that the proposed system could operate at up to 750MW core power, given that turbulence are enhanced throughout flow region, and precise molten fuel salt physical properties could be defined. At the request of the authors and the Proceedings Editor the name of the co-author Andrea Cioncolini was corrected from Andrea Coincolini. The same name correction was made in the Acknowledgement section on page 030004-10 and in reference number 4. The updated article was published on 11 May 2015.

  1. Microfocal X-ray computed tomography post-processing operations for optimizing reconstruction volumes of stented arteries during 3D computational fluid dynamics modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ladisa, John F; Olson, Lars E; Ropella, Kristina M; Molthen, Robert C; Haworth, Steven T; Kersten, Judy R; Warltier, David C; Pagel, Paul S

    2005-08-01

    Restenosis caused by neointimal hyperplasia (NH) remains an important clinical problem after stent implantation. Restenosis varies with stent geometry, and idealized computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models have indicated that geometric properties of the implanted stent may differentially influence NH. However, 3D studies capturing the in vivo flow domain within stented vessels have not been conducted at a resolution sufficient to detect subtle alterations in vascular geometry caused by the stent and the subsequent temporal development of NH. We present the details and limitations of a series of post-processing operations used in conjunction with microfocal X-ray CT imaging and reconstruction to generate geometrically accurate flow domains within the localized region of a stent several weeks after implantation. Microfocal X-ray CT reconstruction volumes were subjected to an automated program to perform arterial thresholding, spatial orientation, and surface smoothing of stented and unstented rabbit iliac arteries several weeks after antegrade implantation. A transfer function was obtained for the current post-processing methodology containing reconstructed 16 mm stents implanted into rabbit iliac arteries for up to 21 days after implantation and resolved at circumferential and axial resolutions of 32 and 50 microm, respectively. The results indicate that the techniques presented are sufficient to resolve distributions of WSS with 80% accuracy in segments containing 16 surface perturbations over a 16 mm stented region. These methods will be used to test the hypothesis that reductions in normalized wall shear stress (WSS) and increases in the spatial disparity of WSS immediately after stent implantation may spatially correlate with the temporal development of NH within the stented region.

  2. Fluid Force-Induced Detachment Criteria for Nonmetallic Inclusions Adhered to a Refractory/Molten Steel Interface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dieguez Salgado, Uxia; Weiß, Christian; Michelic, Susanne K.; Bernhard, Christian

    2018-05-01

    Since nonmetallic inclusions (NMIs) in steel cannot be completely avoided, a greater understanding of their development and evolution during the steelmaking process is required. In particular, this includes the adhesion of microinclusions to the refractory/steel interface in the flow control system between the tundish and the mold. This phenomenon, commonly referred to as clogging, causes losses in productivity and product quality. Inclusions transported from the bulk melt to the boundary layer may adhere to the refractory/steel interface due to formation of a fluid cavity. A detailed model was derived for the detachment of NMIs adhering to a nozzle wall and is based on the local hydrodynamic conditions combined with the specific interfacial properties in the system consisting of the inclusions, the refractories, and the steel. The model is evaluated for three different application-oriented cases. This study has been focused on providing a better understanding of fluid flow in the near-wall region in order to reduce clogging during steelmaking.

  3. Numerical Investigation on the Impact of Anode Change on Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow in Aluminum Smelting Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qiang; Gosselin, Louis; Fafard, Mario; Peng, Jianping; Li, Baokuan

    2016-04-01

    In order to understand the impact of anode change on heat transfer and magnetohydrodynamic flow in aluminum smelting cells, a transient three-dimensional (3D) coupled mathematical model has been developed. The solutions of the mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations were simultaneously implemented by the finite volume method with full coupling of the Joule heating and Lorentz force through solving the electrical potential equation. The volume of fluid approach was employed to describe the two-phase flow. The phase change of molten electrolyte (bath) as well as molten aluminum (metal) was modeled by an enthalpy-based technique, where the mushy zone is treated as a porous medium with a porosity equal to the liquid fraction. The effect of the new anode temperature on recovery time was also analyzed. A reasonable agreement between the test data and simulated results is obtained. The results indicate that the temperature of the bath under cold anodes first decreases reaching the minimal value and rises under the effect of increasing Joule heating, and finally returns to steady state. The colder bath decays the velocity, and the around ledge becomes thicker. The lowest temperature of the bath below new anodes increases from 1118 K to 1143 K (845 °C to 870 °C) with the new anode temperature ranging from 298 K to 498 K (25°C to 225°C), and the recovery time reduces from 22.5 to 20 hours.

  4. A comparative study of the lattice Boltzmann and volume of fluid method for the rising bubble flows

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ryu, Seung Yeob; Park, Cheon Tae; Choi, Suhn [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2010-10-15

    Recently, the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) has gained much attention for its ability to simulate fluid flows, and for its potential advantages over a conventional CFD method. The key advantages of LBM are, (1) suitability for parallel computations, (2) absence of the need to solve the time-consuming Poisson equation for a pressure, and (3) an ease with the way multiphase flows, complex geometries and interfacial dynamics may be treated. Nevertheless, the LBM is considered as a mere alternative CFD tools, not a promising approach. The motion of the bubbles in a liquid has been the focus of both academic and practical interest. The central problem is the relationship between the rise velocity, bubble shape due to the interface deformation and flow field. The buoyancy effect due to density difference in the two phase flows is characterized with Eotvos and Morton numbers. In this study, a single bubble rising under a buoyancy is simulated with LBM and VOF based on conventional CFD method. The two simulation results are compared with the previous experiments. The main objective of the present work is to establish the lattice Boltzmann method as a viable tool for the simulation of multiphase or multi-component flows

  5. A comparative study of the lattice Boltzmann and volume of fluid method for the rising bubble flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ryu, Seung Yeob; Park, Cheon Tae; Choi, Suhn

    2010-01-01

    Recently, the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) has gained much attention for its ability to simulate fluid flows, and for its potential advantages over a conventional CFD method. The key advantages of LBM are, (1) suitability for parallel computations, (2) absence of the need to solve the time-consuming Poisson equation for a pressure, and (3) an ease with the way multiphase flows, complex geometries and interfacial dynamics may be treated. Nevertheless, the LBM is considered as a mere alternative CFD tools, not a promising approach. The motion of the bubbles in a liquid has been the focus of both academic and practical interest. The central problem is the relationship between the rise velocity, bubble shape due to the interface deformation and flow field. The buoyancy effect due to density difference in the two phase flows is characterized with Eotvos and Morton numbers. In this study, a single bubble rising under a buoyancy is simulated with LBM and VOF based on conventional CFD method. The two simulation results are compared with the previous experiments. The main objective of the present work is to establish the lattice Boltzmann method as a viable tool for the simulation of multiphase or multi-component flows

  6. Analysis on the reconstruction accuracy of the Fitch method for inferring ancestral states

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grünewald Stefan

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background As one of the most widely used parsimony methods for ancestral reconstruction, the Fitch method minimizes the total number of hypothetical substitutions along all branches of a tree to explain the evolution of a character. Due to the extensive usage of this method, it has become a scientific endeavor in recent years to study the reconstruction accuracies of the Fitch method. However, most studies are restricted to 2-state evolutionary models and a study for higher-state models is needed since DNA sequences take the format of 4-state series and protein sequences even have 20 states. Results In this paper, the ambiguous and unambiguous reconstruction accuracy of the Fitch method are studied for N-state evolutionary models. Given an arbitrary phylogenetic tree, a recurrence system is first presented to calculate iteratively the two accuracies. As complete binary tree and comb-shaped tree are the two extremal evolutionary tree topologies according to balance, we focus on the reconstruction accuracies on these two topologies and analyze their asymptotic properties. Then, 1000 Yule trees with 1024 leaves are generated and analyzed to simulate real evolutionary scenarios. It is known that more taxa not necessarily increase the reconstruction accuracies under 2-state models. The result under N-state models is also tested. Conclusions In a large tree with many leaves, the reconstruction accuracies of using all taxa are sometimes less than those of using a leaf subset under N-state models. For complete binary trees, there always exists an equilibrium interval [a, b] of conservation probability, in which the limiting ambiguous reconstruction accuracy equals to the probability of randomly picking a state. The value b decreases with the increase of the number of states, and it seems to converge. When the conservation probability is greater than b, the reconstruction accuracies of the Fitch method increase rapidly. The reconstruction

  7. A non-oscillatory energy-splitting method for the computation of compressible multi-fluid flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Xin; Li, Jiequan

    2018-04-01

    This paper proposes a new non-oscillatory energy-splitting conservative algorithm for computing multi-fluid flows in the Eulerian framework. In comparison with existing multi-fluid algorithms in the literature, it is shown that the mass fraction model with isobaric hypothesis is a plausible choice for designing numerical methods for multi-fluid flows. Then we construct a conservative Godunov-based scheme with the high order accurate extension by using the generalized Riemann problem solver, through the detailed analysis of kinetic energy exchange when fluids are mixed under the hypothesis of isobaric equilibrium. Numerical experiments are carried out for the shock-interface interaction and shock-bubble interaction problems, which display the excellent performance of this type of schemes and demonstrate that nonphysical oscillations are suppressed around material interfaces substantially.

  8. Ipsilesional motor-evoked potential absence in pediatric hemiparesis impacts tracking accuracy of the less affected hand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cassidy, Jessica M; Carey, James R; Lu, Chiahao; Krach, Linda E; Feyma, Tim; Durfee, William K; Gillick, Bernadette T

    2015-12-01

    This study analyzed the relationship between electrophysiological responses to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), finger tracking accuracy, and volume of neural substrate in children with congenital hemiparesis. Nineteen participants demonstrating an ipsilesional motor-evoked potential (MEP) were compared with eleven participants showing an absent ipsilesional MEP response. Comparisons of finger tracking accuracy from the affected and less affected hands and ipsilesional/contralesional (I/C) volume ratio for the primary motor cortex (M1) and posterior limb of internal capsule (PLIC) were done using two-sample t-tests. Participants showing an ipsilesional MEP response demonstrated superior tracking performance from the less affected hand (p=0.016) and significantly higher I/C volume ratios for M1 (p=0.028) and PLIC (p=0.005) compared to participants without an ipsilesional MEP response. Group differences in finger tracking accuracy from the affected hand were not significant. These results highlight differentiating factors amongst children with congenital hemiparesis showing contrasting MEP responses: less affected hand performance and preserved M1 and PLIC volume. Along with MEP status, these factors pose important clinical implications in pediatric stroke rehabilitation. These findings may also reflect competitive developmental processes associated with the preservation of affected hand function at the expense of some function in the less affected hand. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Interaction of calcium oxide with molten alkali metal chlorides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Volkovich, A.V.; Zhuravlev, V.I.; Ermakov, D.S.; Magurina, M.V.

    1999-01-01

    Calcium oxide solubility in molten lithium, sodium, potassium, cesium chlorides and their binary mixtures is determined in a temperature range of 973-1173 K by the method of isothermal saturation. Mechanisms of calcium oxide interaction with molten alkali metal chlorides are proposed

  10. Moving interface problems and applications in fluid dynamics

    CERN Document Server

    Khoo, Boo Cheong; Lin, Ping

    2008-01-01

    This volume is a collection of research papers presented at the program on Moving Interface Problems and Applications in Fluid Dynamics, which was held between January 8 and March 31, 2007 at the Institute for Mathematical Sciences (IMS) of the National University of Singapore. The topics discussed include modeling and simulations of biological flow coupled to deformable tissue/elastic structure, shock wave and bubble dynamics and various applications including biological treatments with experimental verification, multi-medium flow or multi-phase flow and various applications including cavitation/supercavitation, detonation problems, Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluid, and many other areas. Readers can benefit from some recent research results in these areas.

  11. Direct numerical simulation of interfacial instabilities: A consistent, conservative, all-speed, sharp-interface method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Chih-Hao; Deng, Xiaolong; Theofanous, Theo G.

    2013-06-01

    We present a conservative and consistent numerical method for solving the Navier-Stokes equations in flow domains that may be separated by any number of material interfaces, at arbitrarily-high density/viscosity ratios and acoustic-impedance mismatches, subjected to strong shock waves and flow speeds that can range from highly supersonic to near-zero Mach numbers. A principal aim is prediction of interfacial instabilities under superposition of multiple potentially-active modes (Rayleigh-Taylor, Kelvin-Helmholtz, Richtmyer-Meshkov) as found for example with shock-driven, immersed fluid bodies (locally oblique shocks)—accordingly we emphasize fidelity supported by physics-based validation, including experiments. Consistency is achieved by satisfying the jump discontinuities at the interface within a conservative 2nd-order scheme that is coupled, in a conservative manner, to the bulk-fluid motions. The jump conditions are embedded into a Riemann problem, solved exactly to provide the pressures and velocities along the interface, which is tracked by a level set function to accuracy of O(Δx5, Δt4). Subgrid representation of the interface is achieved by allowing curvature of its constituent interfacial elements to obtain O(Δx3) accuracy in cut-cell volume, with attendant benefits in calculating cell- geometric features and interface curvature (O(Δx3)). Overall the computation converges at near-theoretical O(Δx2). Spurious-currents are down to machine error and there is no time-step restriction due to surface tension. Our method is built upon a quadtree-like adaptive mesh refinement infrastructure. When necessary, this is supplemented by body-fitted grids to enhance resolution of the gas dynamics, including flow separation, shear layers, slip lines, and critical layers. Comprehensive comparisons with exact solutions for the linearized Rayleigh-Taylor and Kelvin-Helmholtz problems demonstrate excellent performance. Sample simulations of liquid drops subjected to

  12. Volume-of-fluid algorithm on a non-orthogonal grid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jang, W.; Lien, F.S.; Ji, H.

    2005-01-01

    In the present study, a novel VOF method on a non-orthogonal grid is proposed and tested for several benchmark problems, including a simple translation test, a reversed single vortex flow and a shearing flow, with the objective to demonstrate the feasibility and accuracy of the present approach. Excellent agreement between the solutions obtained on both orthogonal and non-orthogonal meshes is achieved. The sensitivity of various methods to the L 1 error in evaluating the interface normal and volume flux at each face of a non-orthogonal cell is examined. Time integration methods based on the operator-splitting approach in curvilinear coordinates, including the explicit-implicit (EX-IM) and explicit-explicit (EX-EX) combinations, are tested. (author)

  13. Insertable fluid flow passage bridgepiece and method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Daniel O.

    2000-01-01

    A fluid flow passage bridgepiece for insertion into an open-face fluid flow channel of a fluid flow plate is provided. The bridgepiece provides a sealed passage from a columnar fluid flow manifold to the flow channel, thereby preventing undesirable leakage into and out of the columnar fluid flow manifold. When deployed in the various fluid flow plates that are used in a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell, bridgepieces of this invention prevent mixing of reactant gases, leakage of coolant or humidification water, and occlusion of the fluid flow channel by gasket material. The invention also provides a fluid flow plate assembly including an insertable bridgepiece, a fluid flow plate adapted for use with an insertable bridgepiece, and a method of manufacturing a fluid flow plate with an insertable fluid flow passage bridgepiece.

  14. Fluid flow solidification simulation of molten alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaschnitz, E.

    1997-01-01

    In an effort to minimize costs and to obtain optimum designs, computer simulation of shape casting processes is more and more used as a development tool. Accurate predictions are possible by means of three dimensional fluid flow and solidification modelling. The bases of the model are the transient laminar Navier-Stokes-equations for a Newtonian fluid including the tracking of the free surface. They are describing the melt flow pattern during the mold filling sequence. Simultaneously, the temperature development in the alloy and mold is calculated using Fourier's heat transfer equation. At OEGI, a commercial software package (MAGMAsoft) with a finite difference equation solver is used for improvement of casting processes. Different examples of industrial applications will be shown. (author)

  15. Interface model coupling in fluid dynamics: application to two-phase flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galie, Th.

    2009-03-01

    This thesis is devoted to the study of interface model coupling problems in space between different models of compressible flows. We consider one-dimensional problems where the interface is sharp, fixed and separating two regions of space corresponding to the two coupled models. Our goal is to define a coupling condition at the interface and to solve numerically the coupling problem with this condition. After a state of art on the interface model coupling of hyperbolic systems of conservation laws, we propose a new coupling condition by adding in the equations of the coupled problem a measure source term at the interface. We first suppose a given constant weight associated to this source term. Two Riemann solvers are developed and one of them is based on a relaxation approach preserving equilibrium solutions of the coupled problem. This relaxation method is then used in an optimization problem, defined by several motivations at the interface, which permits to calculate a time dynamical weight. In a second part, we develop an approached Riemann solver for a two-phase two-pressure model in the particular case of a two-phase isentropic flow. Such a model contains non conservative terms that we write under the form of measure source terms. The previous relaxation method is thus extended to the case of the two-phase two-pressure model with an a priori estimation of the non conservative term contributions. The method allows us to solve, in the next and last chapter, the coupling problem of a two-fluid two-pressure model with a drift-flux model thanks to the father model approach. (authors)

  16. Taylor-Couette fluid flow with force oscillation in the inner-cylinder using the immersed boundary method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Borges, Jonatas Emmanuel; Lourenco, Marcos Antonio de Souza; Padilla, Elie Luis Martinez; Silveira Neto, Aristeu da [Federal University of Uberlandia , MG (Brazil)], e-mails: lourenco@mecanica.ufu.br, epadilla@mecanica.ufu.br, aristeus@mecanica.ufu.br; Leibsohn, Andre Martins [CENPES/Petrobras, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)], e-mail: aleibsohn@petrobras.com

    2010-07-01

    As new challenges arise in the exploration of deep and ultra-deep water oil fields by PETROBRAS more knowledge and research are needed, so that tools could be developed to assist in the critical operations and make things practicable. In the context of the drilling process, the complexity of the fluid flow inside the riser is associated with the nature of the non-Newtonian flow, immersed solid particles, variable eccentricity and the superimposed traveling azimuthal waves on the inflow and outflow boundaries of the Taylor vortices. This work presents the numerical three-dimensional results of the following simplified fluid flows: Taylor-Couette, Taylor-Couette with varying imposed eccentricity and Taylor-Couette with forced oscillation in the inner cylinder. Using the Navier-Stokes equations, a finite volume method discretization with second order accuracy in both time and space was utilized to simulate the Newtonian, single-phase incompressible fluid flow in the three cases. The circular walls of the inner and outer cylinders are represented by the immersed boundary method, with the direct multi-forcing model. The determined results allow to evidence the flow structures in the three cases in a very qualitative way, even so in the presence of the inner cylinder oscillation. (author)

  17. Numerical solution of viscous and viscoelastic fluids flow through the branching channel by finite volume scheme

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keslerová, Radka; Trdlička, David

    2015-09-01

    This work deals with the numerical modelling of steady flows of incompressible viscous and viscoelastic fluids through the three dimensional channel with T-junction. The fundamental system of equations is the system of generalized Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible fluids. This system is based on the system of balance laws of mass and momentum for incompressible fluids. Two different mathematical models for the stress tensor are used for simulation of Newtonian and Oldroyd-B fluids flow. Numerical solution of the described models is based on cetral finite volume method using explicit Runge-Kutta time integration.

  18. A New Method to Simulate Free Surface Flows for Viscoelastic Fluid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Cao

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Free surface flows arise in a variety of engineering applications. To predict the dynamic characteristics of such problems, specific numerical methods are required to accurately capture the shape of free surface. This paper proposed a new method which combined the Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE technique with the Finite Volume Method (FVM to simulate the time-dependent viscoelastic free surface flows. Based on an open source CFD toolbox called OpenFOAM, we designed an ALE-FVM free surface simulation platform. In the meantime, the die-swell flow had been investigated with our proposed platform to make a further analysis of free surface phenomenon. The results validated the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed method for free surface simulation in both Newtonian fluid and viscoelastic fluid.

  19. [Application of N-isopropyl-p-[123I] iodoamphetamine quantification of regional cerebral blood flow using iterative reconstruction methods: selection of the optimal reconstruction method and optimization of the cutoff frequency of the preprocessing filter].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asazu, Akira; Hayashi, Masuo; Arai, Mami; Kumai, Yoshiaki; Akagi, Hiroyuki; Okayama, Katsuyoshi; Narumi, Yoshifumi

    2013-05-01

    In cerebral blood flow tests using N-Isopropyl-p-[123I] Iodoamphetamine "I-IMP, quantitative results of greater accuracy than possible using the autoradiography (ARG) method can be obtained with attenuation and scatter correction and image reconstruction by filtered back projection (FBP). However, the cutoff frequency of the preprocessing Butterworth filter affects the quantitative value; hence, we sought an optimal cutoff frequency, derived from the correlation between the FBP method and Xenon-enhanced computed tomography (XeCT)/cerebral blood flow (CBF). In this study, we reconstructed images using ordered subsets expectation maximization (OSEM), a method of successive approximation which has recently come into wide use, and also three-dimensional (3D)-OSEM, a method by which the resolution can be corrected with the addition of collimator broad correction, to examine the effects on the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) quantitative value of changing the cutoff frequency, and to determine whether successive approximation is applicable to cerebral blood flow quantification. Our results showed that quantification of greater accuracy was obtained with reconstruction employing the 3D-OSEM method and using a cutoff frequency set near 0.75-0.85 cycles/cm, which is higher than the frequency used in image reconstruction by the ordinary FBP method.

  20. Application of N-isopropyl-p-[123I] iodoamphetamine quantification of regional cerebral blood flow using iterative reconstruction methods. Selection of the optimal reconstruction method and optimization of the cutoff frequency of the preprocessing filter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asazu, Akira; Hayashi, Masuo; Arai, Mami; Kumai, Yoshiaki; Akagi, Hiroyuki; Okayama, Katsuyoshi; Narumi, Yoshifumi

    2013-01-01

    In cerebral blood flow tests using N-Isopropyl-p-[ 123 I] Iodoamphetamine 123 I-IMP, quantitative results of greater accuracy than possible using the autoradiography (ARG) method can be obtained with attenuation and scatter correction and image reconstruction by filtered back projection (FBP). However, the cutoff frequency of the preprocessing Butterworth filter affects the quantitative value; hence, we sought an optimal cutoff frequency, derived from the correlation between the FBP method and Xenon-enhanced computed tomography (XeCT)/cerebral blood flow (CBF). In this study, we reconstructed images using ordered subsets expectation maximization (OSEM), a method of successive approximation which has recently come into wide use, and also three-dimensional (3D)-OSEM, a method by which the resolution can be corrected with the addition of collimator broad correction, to examine the effects on the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) quantitative value of changing the cutoff frequency, and to determine whether successive approximation is applicable to cerebral blood flow quantification. Our results showed that quantification of greater accuracy was obtained with reconstruction employing the 3D-OSEM method and using a cutoff frequency set near 0.75-0.85 cycles/cm, which is higher than the frequency used in image reconstruction by the ordinary FBP method. (author)

  1. Numerical analysis of the thermal and fluid flow phenomena of the fluidity test

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Sowa

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available In the paper, two mathematical and numerical models of the metals alloy solidification in the cylindrical channel of fluidity test, which take into account the process of filling the mould cavity with molten metal, has been proposed. Velocity and pressure fields were obtained by solving the momentum equations and the continuity equation, while the thermal fields were obtained by solving the heat conduction equation containing the convection term. Next, the numerical analysis of the solidification process of metals alloy in the cylindrical mould channel has been made. In the models one takes into account interdependence of the thermal and dynamical phenomena. Coupling of the heat transfer and fluid flow phenomena has been taken into consideration by the changes of the fluidity function and thermophysical parameters of alloy with respect to the temperature. The influence of the velocity or the pressure and the temperature of metal pouring on the solid phase growth kinetics were estimated. The problem has been solved by the finite element method.

  2. Fluid Flow Behaviour under Different Gases and Flow Rate during Gas Metal Arc Welding

    OpenAIRE

    Jaison Peter

    2013-01-01

    Gas metal arc welding (GMAW) is a highly efficient and fast process for fabricating high quality weld. High quality welds are fabricated by proper selection of consumable includes gas and filler metals. The optimum flow rate of gas will ensure the proper quality of weld. In this project, a fluid flow behavior of different flow rate is modeled and the change quality will be studied.

  3. Analysis of fluid fuel flow to the neutron kinetics on molten salt reactor FUJI-12

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aji, Indarta Kuncoro; Waris, Abdul; Permana, Sidik

    2015-01-01

    Molten Salt Reactor is a reactor are operating with molten salt fuel flowing. This condition interpret that the neutron kinetics of this reactor is affected by the flow rate of the fuel. This research analyze effect by the alteration velocity of the fuel by MSR type Fuji-12, with fuel composition LiF-BeF 2 -ThF 4 - 233 UF 4 respectively 71.78%-16%-11.86%-0.36%. Calculation process in this study is performed numerically by SOR and finite difference method use C programming language. Data of reactivity, neutron flux, and the macroscopic fission cross section for calculation process obtain from SRAC-CITATION (Standard thermal Reactor Analysis Code) and JENDL-4.0 data library. SRAC system designed and developed by JAEA (Japan Atomic Energy Agency). This study aims to observe the effect of the velocity of fuel salt to the power generated from neutron precursors at fourth year of reactor operate (last critical condition) with number of multiplication effective; 1.0155

  4. A volatile fluid assisted thermo-pneumatic liquid metal energy harvester

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tang, Jianbo, E-mail: zhouyuan@mail.ipc.ac.cn, E-mail: jianbotang@mail.ipc.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of Cryogenics, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Wang, Junjie; Liu, Jing; Zhou, Yuan, E-mail: zhouyuan@mail.ipc.ac.cn, E-mail: jianbotang@mail.ipc.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of Cryogenics, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China)

    2016-01-11

    A close-cycle self-driving thermal energy harvester using liquid metal as energy carrier fluid has been proposed. The driving force that pushes the liquid metal against flow resistance and gravity is provided by a resistively heated volatile fluid based on thermo-pneumatic principle. The tested harvester prototype demonstrated its capability to extract thermal energy between small temperature gradient, at a scale of 10 °C. During a 5-h operation, it further demonstrated robust liquid metal recirculating performance at a time-average volume flow rate of 14 ml/min with a 12.25 W heating load. The prototype also managed to self-adjust to variable working conditions which indicated the reliability of this method. Advantages of this method include simple-structural design, rigid-motion free operation, and low-temperature actuation. These advantages make it uniquely suited for solar energy and low-grade heat harvesting, high heat flux electronics cooling, as well as autonomous machines actuating.

  5. Metal Production by Molten Salt Electrolysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grjotheim, K.; Kvande, H.; Qingfeng, Li

    Chemistry and electrochemistry of molten salts are reviewed. Technological aspects of electrolytic production of aluminium, magnesium, and other metals are comprehensively surveyed.......Chemistry and electrochemistry of molten salts are reviewed. Technological aspects of electrolytic production of aluminium, magnesium, and other metals are comprehensively surveyed....

  6. An improved CFD tool to simulate adiabatic and diabatic two-phase flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nichita, B. A.

    2010-09-01

    contact lines. For such cases a dynamic contact angle scheme should be implemented. In this study, FLUENT was used to model adiabatic and diabatic, time dependent two-phase flows. Since FLUENT already contains a VOF method, a LS method was implemented and coupled with VOF into FLUENT via UDFs. Furthermore, since the LS function, used to compute the surface tension force, ceases to be a signed distance to the interface even after one time step, a re-initialization equation was solved after each time step. This involved using a fifth order WENO (Weighted Essentially Non Oscillatory) scheme to discretize the space derivatives (otherwise oscillations of the interface occurred), and a first order Euler method for the time integration. In another part of the study, a 3D dynamic contact angle model based on volume fraction, interface reconstruction, and experimentally available advancing and receding static contact angles was also developed and implemented into FLUENT via UDFs. Several validations for the developed CLSVOF method and dynamic contact angle model are presented in this thesis, these includes a static bubble, a bubble rising in a stagnant liquid for Morton numbers ranging from 10 2 to 10 -11 , droplet deformation due to a vortex flow field, droplets spreading over a wall under the gravity effect and droplets sliding over a wall due to gravity. These validations demonstrated the high accuracy and the stability of our methods for modeling these phenomena. A heat and mass transfer model was also implemented into the commercial CFD code FLUENT for simulating of boiling (and condensation) heat transfer. Several simulations were presented with water and R134a as working fluids. The influence of the contact angle and the wall superheat was also studied. (author)

  7. Flow simulation of a Pelton bucket using finite volume particle method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vessaz, C; Jahanbakhsh, E; Avellan, F

    2014-01-01

    The objective of the present paper is to perform an accurate numerical simulation of the high-speed water jet impinging on a Pelton bucket. To reach this goal, the Finite Volume Particle Method (FVPM) is used to discretize the governing equations. FVPM is an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian method, which combines attractive features of Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics and conventional mesh-based Finite Volume Method. This method is able to satisfy free surface and no-slip wall boundary conditions precisely. The fluid flow is assumed weakly compressible and the wall boundary is represented by one layer of particles located on the bucket surface. In the present study, the simulations of the flow in a stationary bucket are investigated for three different impinging angles: 72°, 90° and 108°. The particles resolution is first validated by a convergence study. Then, the FVPM results are validated with available experimental data and conventional grid-based Volume Of Fluid simulations. It is shown that the wall pressure field is in good agreement with the experimental and numerical data. Finally, the torque evolution and water sheet location are presented for a simulation of five rotating Pelton buckets

  8. A single photon emission computed tomograph based on a limited dumber of detectors for fluid flow visualization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Legoupil, S.

    1999-01-01

    We present in this work a method for fluid flow visualization in a system using radioactive tracers. The method is based on single photon emission computed tomography techniques, applied to a limited number of discrete detectors. We propose in this work a method for the estimation of the transport matrix of photons, associated to the acquisition system. This method is based on the modelization of profiles acquired for a set of point sources located in the imaged volume. Monte Carlo simulations allow to separate scattered photons from those directly collected by the system. The influence of the energy tracer is exposed. The reconstruction method is based on the maximum likelihood - expectation maximization algorithm. An experimental device, based on 36 detectors was realised for the visualization of water circulation in a vessel. A video monitoring allows to visualize the dye water tracer. Dye and radioactive tracers are injected simultaneously in a water flow circulating in the vessel. Reconstructed and video images are compared. Quantitative and qualitative analysis show that fluid flow visualization is feasible with a limited number of detectors. This method can be applied for system involving circulations of fluids. (author)

  9. Advances in Computational Fluid-Structure Interaction and Flow Simulation Conference

    CERN Document Server

    Takizawa, Kenji

    2016-01-01

    This contributed volume celebrates the work of Tayfun E. Tezduyar on the occasion of his 60th birthday. The articles it contains were born out of the Advances in Computational Fluid-Structure Interaction and Flow Simulation (AFSI 2014) conference, also dedicated to Prof. Tezduyar and held at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan on March 19-21, 2014. The contributing authors represent a group of international experts in the field who discuss recent trends and new directions in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and fluid-structure interaction (FSI). Organized into seven distinct parts arranged by thematic topics, the papers included cover basic methods and applications of CFD, flows with moving boundaries and interfaces, phase-field modeling, computer science and high-performance computing (HPC) aspects of flow simulation, mathematical methods, biomedical applications, and FSI. Researchers, practitioners, and advanced graduate students working on CFD, FSI, and related topics will find this collection to be a defi...

  10. Towards a sharp-interface volume-of-fluid methodology for modeling evaporation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pathak, Ashish; Raessi, Mehdi

    2017-11-01

    In modeling evaporation, the diffuse-interface (one-domain) formulation yields inaccurate results. Recent efforts approaching the problem via a sharp-interface (two-domain) formulation have shown significant improvements. The reasons behind their better performance are discussed in the present work. All available sharp-interface methods, however, exclusively employ the level-set. In the present work, we develop a sharp-interface evaporation model in a volume-of-fluid (VOF) framework in order to leverage its mass-conserving property as well as its ability to handle large topographical changes. We start with a critical review of the assumptions underlying the mathematical equations governing evaporation. For example, it is shown that the assumption of incompressibility can only be applied in special circumstances. The famous D2 law used for benchmarking is valid exclusively to steady-state test problems. Transient is present over significant lifetime of a micron-size droplet. Therefore, a 1D spherical fully transient model is developed to provide a benchmark transient solution. Finally, a 3D Cartesian Navier-Stokes evaporation solver is developed. Some preliminary validation test-cases are presented for static and moving drop evaporation. This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the Department of Defense, Tank and Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center, under Award Number DEEE0007292.

  11. Particles at fluid-fluid interfaces: A new Navier-Stokes-Cahn-Hilliard surface- phase-field-crystal model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aland, Sebastian; Lowengrub, John; Voigt, Axel

    2012-10-01

    Colloid particles that are partially wetted by two immiscible fluids can become confined to fluid-fluid interfaces. At sufficiently high volume fractions, the colloids may jam and the interface may crystallize. The fluids together with the interfacial colloids form an emulsion with interesting material properties and offer an important route to new soft materials. A promising approach to simulate these emulsions was presented in Aland et al. [Phys. Fluids 23, 062103 (2011)], where a Navier-Stokes-Cahn-Hilliard model for the macroscopic two-phase fluid system was combined with a surface phase-field-crystal model for the microscopic colloidal particles along the interface. Unfortunately this model leads to spurious velocities which require very fine spatial and temporal resolutions to accurately and stably simulate. In this paper we develop an improved Navier-Stokes-Cahn-Hilliard-surface phase-field-crystal model based on the principles of mass conservation and thermodynamic consistency. To validate our approach, we derive a sharp interface model and show agreement with the improved diffuse interface model. Using simple flow configurations, we show that the new model has much better properties and does not lead to spurious velocities. Finally, we demonstrate the solid-like behavior of the crystallized interface by simulating the fall of a solid ball through a colloid-laden multiphase fluid.

  12. Liquid metal Flow Meter - Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andersen, C.; Hoogendoom, S.; Hudson, B.; Prince, J.; Teichert, K.; Wood, J.; Chase, K.

    2007-01-30

    Measuring the flow of liquid metal presents serious challenges. Current commercially-available flow meters use ultrasonic, electromagnetic, and other technologies to measure flow, but are inadequate for liquid metal flow measurement because of the high temperatures required by most liquid metals. As a result of the reactivity and high temperatures of most liquid metals, corrosion and leakage become very serious safety concerns. The purpose of this project is to develop a flow meter for Lockheed Martin that measures the flow rate of molten metal in a conduit.

  13. Transformation and fragmentation behavior of molten metal drop in sodium pool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishimura, Satoshi; Kinoshita, Izumi; Zhang, Zhi-gang; Sugiyama, Ken-ichiro

    2006-01-01

    In order to clarify the fragmentation mechanism of a metallic alloy (U-Pu-Zr) fuel on liquid phase formed by metallurgical reactions (liquefaction temperature =650degC), which is important in evaluating the sequence of core disruptive accidents for metallic fuel fast reactors, a series of experiments was carried out using molten aluminum (m.p.=660degC) and sodium mainly under the condition that the boiling of sodium does not occur. When the instantaneous contact interface temperature (T i ) between molten aluminum drop and sodium is lower than the boiling point of sodium (T c,bp ), the molten aluminum drop can be fragmented and the mass median diameter (D m ) of aluminum fragments becomes small with increasing T i . When T i is roughly equivalent to or higher than T c,bp , the fragmentation of aluminum drop is promoted by thermal interaction caused by the boiling of sodium on the surface of the drop. Furthermore, even under the condition that the boiling of sodium does not occur and the solid crust is formed on the surface of the drop, it is found from an analytical evaluation that the thermal fragmentation of molten aluminum drop with solid crust is caused by the transient pressurization within the melt confined by the crust. These results indicate the possibility that the metallic alloy fuel on liquid phase formed by the metallurgical reactions can be fragmented without occurring the boiling of sodium on the surface of the melt. (author)

  14. Development of high-frame rate neutron radiography and quantitative measurement method for multiphase flow research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mishima, K.; Hibiki, T.

    1998-01-01

    Neutron radiography (NR) is one of the radiographic techniques which makes use of the difference in attenuation characteristics of neutrons in materials. Fluid measurement using the NR technique is a non-intrusive method which enables visualization of dynamic images of multiphase flow of opaque fluids and/or in a metallic duct. To apply the NR technique to multiphase flow research, high frame-rate NR was developed by combining up-to-date technologies for neutron sources, scintillator, high-speed video and image intensifier. This imaging system has several advantages such as a long recording time (up to 21 minutes), high-frame-rate (up to 1000 frames/s) imaging and there is no need for a triggering signal. Visualization studies of air-water two-phase flow in a metallic duct and molten metal-water interaction were performed at recording speeds of 250, 500 and 1000 frames/s. The qualities of the consequent images were sufficient to observe the flow pattern and behavior. It was also demonstrated that some characteristics of two-phase flow could be measured from these images in collaboration with image processing techniques. By utilizing geometrical information extracted from NR images, data on flow regime, bubble rise velocity, and wave height and interfacial area in annular flow were obtained. By utilizing attenuation characteristics of neutrons in materials, measurements of void profile and average void fraction were performed. It was confirmed that this new technique may have significant advantages both in visualizing and measuring high-speed fluid phenomena when other methods, such as an optical method and X-ray radiography, cannot be applied. (author)

  15. Lagrangian particle method for compressible fluid dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samulyak, Roman; Wang, Xingyu; Chen, Hsin-Chiang

    2018-06-01

    A new Lagrangian particle method for solving Euler equations for compressible inviscid fluid or gas flows is proposed. Similar to smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH), the method represents fluid cells with Lagrangian particles and is suitable for the simulation of complex free surface/multiphase flows. The main contributions of our method, which is different from SPH in all other aspects, are (a) significant improvement of approximation of differential operators based on a polynomial fit via weighted least squares approximation and the convergence of prescribed order, (b) a second-order particle-based algorithm that reduces to the first-order upwind method at local extremal points, providing accuracy and long term stability, and (c) more accurate resolution of entropy discontinuities and states at free interfaces. While the method is consistent and convergent to a prescribed order, the conservation of momentum and energy is not exact and depends on the convergence order. The method is generalizable to coupled hyperbolic-elliptic systems. Numerical verification tests demonstrating the convergence order are presented as well as examples of complex multiphase flows.

  16. Novel waste printed circuit board recycling process with molten salt

    OpenAIRE

    Riedewald, Frank; Sousa-Gallagher, Maria

    2015-01-01

    The objective of the method was to prove the concept of a novel waste PCBs recycling process which uses inert, stable molten salts as the direct heat transfer fluid and, simultaneously, uses this molten salt to separate the metal products in either liquid (solder, zinc, tin, lead, etc.) or solid (copper, gold, steel, palladium, etc.) form at the operating temperatures of 450?470??C. The PCB recovery reactor is essentially a U-shaped reactor with the molten salt providing a continuous fluid, a...

  17. Process for recovering tritium from molten lithium metal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maroni, Victor A.

    1976-01-01

    Lithium tritide (LiT) is extracted from molten lithium metal that has been exposed to neutron irradiation for breeding tritium within a thermonuclear or fission reactor. The extraction is performed by intimately contacting the molten lithium metal with a molten lithium salt, for instance, lithium chloride - potassium chloride eutectic to distribute LiT between the salt and metal phases. The extracted tritium is recovered in gaseous form from the molten salt phase by a subsequent electrolytic or oxidation step.

  18. Accuracy and Sources of Error for an Angle Independent Volume Flow Estimator

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jonas; Olesen, Jacob Bjerring; Hansen, Peter Møller

    2014-01-01

    This paper investigates sources of error for a vector velocity volume flow estimator. Quantification of the estima tor’s accuracy is performed theoretically and investigated in vivo . Womersley’s model for pulsatile flow is used to simulate velo city profiles and calculate volume flow errors....... A BK Medical UltraView 800 ultrasound scanner with a 9 MHz linear array transducer is used to obtain Vector Flow Imaging sequences of a superficial part of the fistulas. Cross-sectional diameters of each fistu la are measured on B-mode images by rotating the scan plane 90 degrees. The major axis...

  19. CFD analysis on heat transfer in low Prandtl number fluid flows

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Borgohain, A.; Maheshwari, N.K.; Vijayan, P.K.; Sinha, R.K., E-mail: bananta@barc.gov.in [Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Reactor Engineering Div., Trombay, Mumbai (India)

    2011-07-01

    Use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code is helpful for designing liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor systems. Before using any CFD code proper evaluation of the code is essential for simulation of heat transfer in liquid metal flow. In this paper, a review of the literature on the correlations for liquid metal heat transfer is carried out and a comparison with experimental results is performed. CFD analysis is carried out using PHOENICS-3.6 code on heat transfer in molten Lead Bismuth Eutectic (LBE) flowing through tube. Turbulent flow analyses are carried out for the evaluation of the CFD code. The CFD results are compared with the available correlations. Assessment of various turbulence models and correlations for turbulent Prandtl number in the tube geometry are carried out. From the analysis it is found that, the CFD prediction can be improved with modified turbulent Prandtl number in the turbulence models. (author)

  20. Contribution to numerical methods for all Mach flow regimes and to fluid-porous coupling for the simulation of homogeneous two-phase flows in nuclear reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zaza, Chady

    2015-01-01

    The numerical simulation of steam generators of pressurized water reactors is a complex problem, involving different flow regimes and a wide range of length and time scales. An accidental scenario may be associated with very fast variations of the flow with an important Mach number. In contrast in the nominal regime the flow may be stationary, at low Mach number. Moreover whatever the regime under consideration, the array of U-tubes is modelled by a porous medium in order to avoid taking into account the complex geometry of the steam generator, which entails the issue of the coupling conditions at the interface with the free-fluid. We propose a new pressure-correction scheme for cell-centered finite volumes for solving the compressible Navier-Stokes and Euler equations at all Mach number. The existence of a discrete solution, the consistency of the scheme in the Lax sense and the positivity of the internal energy were proved. Then the scheme was extended to the homogeneous two-phase flow models of the GENEPI code developed at CEA. Lastly a multigrid-AMR algorithm was adapted for using our pressure-correction scheme on adaptive grids. Regarding the second issue addressed in this work, the numerical simulation of a fluid flow over a porous bed involves very different length scales. Macroscopic interface models - such as Ochoa-Tapia-Whitaker or Beavers-Joseph law for a viscous flow - represent the transition region between the free-fluid and the porous region by an interface of discontinuity associated with specific transmission conditions. An extension to the Beavers-Joseph law was proposed for the convective regime. By introducing a jump in the kinetic energy at the interface, we recover an interface condition close to the Beavers-Joseph law but with a non-linear slip coefficient, which depends on the free-fluid velocity at the interface and on the Darcy velocity. The validity of this new transmission condition was assessed with direct numerical simulations at

  1. A cut-cell finite volume - finite element coupling approach for fluid-structure interaction in compressible flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasquariello, Vito; Hammerl, Georg; Örley, Felix; Hickel, Stefan; Danowski, Caroline; Popp, Alexander; Wall, Wolfgang A.; Adams, Nikolaus A.

    2016-02-01

    We present a loosely coupled approach for the solution of fluid-structure interaction problems between a compressible flow and a deformable structure. The method is based on staggered Dirichlet-Neumann partitioning. The interface motion in the Eulerian frame is accounted for by a conservative cut-cell Immersed Boundary method. The present approach enables sub-cell resolution by considering individual cut-elements within a single fluid cell, which guarantees an accurate representation of the time-varying solid interface. The cut-cell procedure inevitably leads to non-matching interfaces, demanding for a special treatment. A Mortar method is chosen in order to obtain a conservative and consistent load transfer. We validate our method by investigating two-dimensional test cases comprising a shock-loaded rigid cylinder and a deformable panel. Moreover, the aeroelastic instability of a thin plate structure is studied with a focus on the prediction of flutter onset. Finally, we propose a three-dimensional fluid-structure interaction test case of a flexible inflated thin shell interacting with a shock wave involving large and complex structural deformations.

  2. A free-surface lattice Boltzmann method for modelling the filling of expanding cavities by Bingham fluids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginzburg, Irina; Steiner, Konrad

    2002-03-15

    The filling process of viscoplastic metal alloys and plastics in expanding cavities is modelled using the lattice Boltzmann method in two and three dimensions. These models combine the regularized Bingham model for viscoplastic fluids with a free-interface algorithm. The latter is based on a modified immiscible lattice Boltzmann model in which one species is the fluid and the other one is considered to be a vacuum. The boundary conditions at the curved liquid-vacuum interface are met without any geometrical front reconstruction from a first-order Chapman-Enskog expansion. The numerical results obtained with these models are found in good agreement with available theoretical and numerical analysis.

  3. Numerical evaluation of fluid mixing phenomena in boiling water reactor using advanced interface tracking method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshida, Hiroyuki; Takase, Kazuyuki

    2008-01-01

    Thermal-hydraulic design of the current boiling water reactor (BWR) is performed with the subchannel analysis codes which incorporated the correlations based on empirical results including actual-size tests. Then, for the Innovative Water Reactor for Flexible Fuel Cycle (FLWR) core, an actual size test of an embodiment of its design is required to confirm or modify such correlations. In this situation, development of a method that enables the thermal-hydraulic design of nuclear reactors without these actual size tests is desired, because these tests take a long time and entail great cost. For this reason, we developed an advanced thermal-hydraulic design method for FLWRs using innovative two-phase flow simulation technology. In this study, a detailed Two-Phase Flow simulation code using advanced Interface Tracking method: TPFIT is developed to calculate the detailed information of the two-phase flow. In this paper, firstly, we tried to verify the TPFIT code by comparing it with the existing 2-channel air-water mixing experimental results. Secondary, the TPFIT code was applied to simulation of steam-water two-phase flow in a model of two subchannels of a current BWRs and FLWRs rod bundle. The fluid mixing was observed at a gap between the subchannels. The existing two-phase flow correlation for fluid mixing is evaluated using detailed numerical simulation data. This data indicates that pressure difference between fluid channels is responsible for the fluid mixing, and thus the effects of the time average pressure difference and fluctuations must be incorporated in the two-phase flow correlation for fluid mixing. When inlet quality ratio of subchannels is relatively large, it is understood that evaluation precision of the existing two-phase flow correlations for fluid mixing are relatively low. (author)

  4. Refractory thermowell for continuous high temperature measurement of molten metal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thiesen, T.J.

    1992-01-01

    This patent describes a vessel for handling molten metal having an interior refractory lining, apparatus for continuous high temperature measurement of the molten metal. It comprises a thermowell; the thermowell containing a multiplicity of thermocouples; leads being coupled to a means for continuously indicating the temperature of the molten metal in the vessel

  5. Analysis of fluid fuel flow to the neutron kinetics on molten salt reactor FUJI-12

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aji, Indarta Kuncoro, E-mail: indartaaji@s.itb.ac.id [Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jl. Ganesa 10 Bandung 40132 (Indonesia); Waris, Abdul, E-mail: awaris@fi.itb.ac.id; Permana, Sidik [Nuclear Physics & Biophysics Research Division, Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jl. Ganesa 10 Bandung 40132 (Indonesia)

    2015-09-30

    Molten Salt Reactor is a reactor are operating with molten salt fuel flowing. This condition interpret that the neutron kinetics of this reactor is affected by the flow rate of the fuel. This research analyze effect by the alteration velocity of the fuel by MSR type Fuji-12, with fuel composition LiF-BeF{sub 2}-ThF{sub 4}-{sup 233}UF{sub 4} respectively 71.78%-16%-11.86%-0.36%. Calculation process in this study is performed numerically by SOR and finite difference method use C programming language. Data of reactivity, neutron flux, and the macroscopic fission cross section for calculation process obtain from SRAC-CITATION (Standard thermal Reactor Analysis Code) and JENDL-4.0 data library. SRAC system designed and developed by JAEA (Japan Atomic Energy Agency). This study aims to observe the effect of the velocity of fuel salt to the power generated from neutron precursors at fourth year of reactor operate (last critical condition) with number of multiplication effective; 1.0155.

  6. Diffuse-Interface Methods in Fluid Mechanics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, D. M.; McFadden, G. B.; Wheeler, A. A.

    1997-01-01

    The authors review the development of diffuse-interface models of hydrodynamics and their application to a wide variety of interfacial phenomena. The authors discuss the issues involved in formulating diffuse-interface models for single-component and binary fluids. Recent applications and computations using these models are discussed in each case. Further, the authors address issues including sharp-interface analyses that relate these models to the classical free-boundary problem, related computational approaches to describe interfacial phenomena, and related approaches describing fully-miscible fluids.

  7. Waste-aware fluid volume assignment for flow-based microfluidic biochips

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schneider, Alexander Rüdiger; Pop, Paul; Madsen, Jan

    2017-01-01

    complex Fluidic Units (FUs) such as switches, micropumps, mixers and separators can be constructed. When running a biochemical application on a FBMB, fluid volumes are dispensed from input reservoirs and used by the FUs. Given a biochemical application and a biochip, we are interested in determining...... the fluid volume assignment for each operation of the application, such that the FUs volume requirements are satisfied, while over- and underflow are avoided and the total volume of fluid used is minimized. We propose an algorithm for this fluid assignment problem. Compared to previous work, our method...

  8. Electromagnetic confinement for vertical casting or containing molten metal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lari, Robert J.; Praeg, Walter F.; Turner, Larry R.

    1991-01-01

    An apparatus and method adapted to confine a molten metal to a region by means of an alternating electromagnetic field. As adapted for use in the present invention, the alternating electromagnetic field given by B.sub.y =(2.mu..sub.o .rho.gy).sup.1/2 (where B.sub.y is the vertical component of the magnetic field generated by the magnet at the boundary of the region; y is the distance measured downward form the top of the region, .rho. is the metal density, g is the acceleration of gravity and .mu..sub.o is the permeability of free space) induces eddy currents in the molten metal which interact with the magnetic field to retain the molten metal with a vertical boudnary. As applied to an apparatus for the continuous casting of metal sheets or rods, metal in liquid form can be continuously introduced into the region defined by the magnetic field, solidified and conveyed away from the magnetic field in solid form in a continuous process.

  9. Numerical Simulation of Molten Flow in Directed Energy Deposition Using an Iterative Geometry Technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vincent, Timothy J.; Rumpfkeil, Markus P.; Chaudhary, Anil

    2018-06-01

    The complex, multi-faceted physics of laser-based additive metals processing tends to demand high-fidelity models and costly simulation tools to provide predictions accurate enough to aid in selecting process parameters. Of particular difficulty is the accurate determination of melt pool shape and size, which are useful for predicting lack-of-fusion, as this typically requires an adequate treatment of thermal and fluid flow. In this article we describe a novel numerical simulation tool which aims to achieve a balance between accuracy and cost. This is accomplished by making simplifying assumptions regarding the behavior of the gas-liquid interface for processes with a moderate energy density, such as Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS). The details of the implementation, which is based on the solver simpleFoam of the well-known software suite OpenFOAM, are given here and the tool is verified and validated for a LENS process involving Ti-6Al-4V. The results indicate that the new tool predicts width and height of a deposited track to engineering accuracy levels.

  10. Numerical Simulation of Molten Flow in Directed Energy Deposition Using an Iterative Geometry Technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vincent, Timothy J.; Rumpfkeil, Markus P.; Chaudhary, Anil

    2018-03-01

    The complex, multi-faceted physics of laser-based additive metals processing tends to demand high-fidelity models and costly simulation tools to provide predictions accurate enough to aid in selecting process parameters. Of particular difficulty is the accurate determination of melt pool shape and size, which are useful for predicting lack-of-fusion, as this typically requires an adequate treatment of thermal and fluid flow. In this article we describe a novel numerical simulation tool which aims to achieve a balance between accuracy and cost. This is accomplished by making simplifying assumptions regarding the behavior of the gas-liquid interface for processes with a moderate energy density, such as Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS). The details of the implementation, which is based on the solver simpleFoam of the well-known software suite OpenFOAM, are given here and the tool is verified and validated for a LENS process involving Ti-6Al-4V. The results indicate that the new tool predicts width and height of a deposited track to engineering accuracy levels.

  11. Thermal Stress and Heat Transfer Coefficient for Ceramics Stalk Having Protuberance Dipping into Molten Metal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noda, Nao-Aki; Hendra; Li, Wenbin; Takase, Yasushi; Ogura, Hiroki; Higashi, Yusuke

    Low pressure die casting is defined as a net shape casting technology in which the molten metal is injected at high speeds and pressure into a metallic die. The low pressure die casting process plays an increasingly important role in the foundry industry as a low-cost and high-efficiency precision forming technique. In the low pressure die casting process is that the permanent die and filling systems are placed over the furnace containing the molten alloy. The filling of the cavity is obtained by forcing the molten metal, by means of a pressurized gas, to rise into a ceramic tube having protuberance, which connects the die to the furnace. The ceramics tube, called stalk, has high temperature resistance and high corrosion resistance. However, attention should be paid to the thermal stress when the stalk having protuberance is dipped into the molten aluminum. It is important to reduce the risk of fracture that may happen due to the thermal stresses. In this paper, thermo-fluid analysis is performed to calculate surface heat transfer coefficient. The finite element method is applied to calculate the thermal stresses when the stalk having protuberance is dipped into the crucible with varying dipping speeds. It is found that the stalk with or without protuberance should be dipped into the crucible slowly to reduce the thermal stress.

  12. Transformation and fragmentation behavior of molten metal drop in sodium pool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishimura, Satoshi; Zhang Zhigang; Sugiyama, Ken-Ichiro; Kinoshita, Izumi

    2007-01-01

    In order to clarify the fragmentation mechanism of a metallic alloy (U-Pu-Zr) fuel on liquid phase formed by metallurgical reactions (liquefaction temperature = 650 deg. C), which is important in evaluating the sequence of core disruptive accidents for metallic fuel fast reactors, a series of experiments was carried out using molten aluminum (melting point 660 deg. C) and sodium mainly under the condition that the boiling of sodium does not occur. When the instantaneous contact interface temperature (T i ) between molten aluminum drop and sodium is lower than the boiling point of sodium (T c,bp ), the molten aluminum drop can be fragmented and the mass median diameter (D m ) of aluminum fragments becomes small with increasing T i . When T i is roughly equivalent to or higher than T c,bp , the fragmentation of aluminum drop is promoted by thermal interaction caused by the boiling of sodium on the surface of the drop. Furthermore, even under the condition that the boiling of sodium does not occur and the solid crust is formed on the surface of the drop, it is confirmed from an analytical evaluation that the thermal fragmentation of molten aluminum drop with solid crust has a potential to be caused by the transient pressurization within the melt confined by the crust. These results indicate the possibility that the metallic alloy fuel on liquid phase formed by the metallurgical reactions can be fragmented without occurring the boiling of sodium on the surface of the melt

  13. Flow rate impacts on capillary pressure and interface curvature of connected and disconnected fluid phases during multiphase flow in sandstone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herring, Anna L.; Middleton, Jill; Walsh, Rick; Kingston, Andrew; Sheppard, Adrian

    2017-09-01

    We investigate capillary pressure-saturation (PC-S) relationships for drainage-imbibition experiments conducted with air (nonwetting phase) and brine (wetting phase) in Bentheimer sandstone cores. Three different flow rate conditions, ranging over three orders of magnitude, are investigated. X-ray micro-computed tomographic imaging is used to characterize the distribution and amount of fluids and their interfacial characteristics. Capillary pressure is measured via (1) bulk-phase pressure transducer measurements, and (2) image-based curvature measurements, calculated using a novel 3D curvature algorithm. We distinguish between connected (percolating) and disconnected air clusters: curvatures measured on the connected phase interfaces are used to validate the curvature algorithm and provide an indication of the equilibrium condition of the data; curvature and volume distributions of disconnected clusters provide insight to the snap-off processes occurring during drainage and imbibition under different flow rate conditions.

  14. Method and apparatus for removal of gaseous, liquid and particulate contaminants from molten metals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hobson, D.O.; Alexeff, I.; Sikka, V.K.

    1987-08-10

    Method and apparatus for removal of nonelectrically-conducting gaseous, liquid, and particulate contaminants from molten metal compositions by applying a force thereto. The force (commonly referred to as the Lorentz Force) exerted by simultaneous application of an electric field and a magnetic field on a molten conductor causes an increase, in the same direction as the force, in the apparent specific gravity thereof, but does not affect the nonconducting materials. This difference in apparent densities cause the nonconducting materials to ''float'' in the opposite direction from the Lorentz Force at a rapid rate. Means are further provided for removal of the contaminants and prevention of stirring due to rotational forces generated by the applied fields. 6 figs.

  15. Flow of a non-Newtonian fluid through channels with permeable wall

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martins-Costa, Maria Laura [Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niteroi, RJ (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Mecanica. Lab. de Matematica Teorica e Aplicada]. E-mail: laura@mec.uff.br; Gama, Rogerio M. Saldanha da [Laboratorio Nacional de Computacao Cientifica (LNCC), Petropolis, RJ (Brazil)]. E-mail: rsgama@domain.com.br; Frey, Sergio [Rio Grande do Sul Univ., Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Mecanica. Grupo de Estudos Termicos e Energeticos

    2000-07-01

    In the present work the momentum transport in two adjacent flow regions is described by means of a continuum theory of mixtures, specially developed to model multiphase phenomena. A generalized Newtonian fluid flows through the permeable wall channel, originating a pure fluid region and a mixture region - where the fluid saturates the porous matrix. The fluid and the porous matrix are treated as continuous constituents of a binary mixture coexisting superposed, each of them occupying simultaneously the whole volume of the mixture. An Ostwald-de Waele behavior is assumed for both the fluid constituent (in the mixture region) and the fluid (in the so-called pure fluid region), while the porous matrix, represented by the solid constituent, is assumed rigid, homogeneous, isotropic and at rest. Compatibility conditions at the interface (pure fluid-mixture) for momentum transfer are proposed and discussed. Assuming no flow across the interface, the velocity should be zero on the solid parts of the boundary and should match the fluid diffusing velocity on the fluid parts of the boundary. Also the shear stress at the pure fluid region is to be balanced by a multiple of the partial shear stress at the mixture region. A minimum principle for the above-described problem, assuming fully developed flow in both regions, is presented, providing an easy and reliable way for carrying out numerical simulations. (author)

  16. Finite Volume Methods for Incompressible Navier-Stokes Equations on Collocated Grids with Nonconformal Interfaces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kolmogorov, Dmitry

    turbine computations, collocated grid-based SIMPLE-like algorithms are developed for computations on block-structured grids with nonconformal interfaces. A technique to enhance both the convergence speed and the solution accuracy of the SIMPLE-like algorithms is presented. The erroneous behavior, which...... versions of the SIMPLE algorithm. The new technique is implemented in an existing conservative 2nd order finite-volume scheme flow solver (EllipSys), which is extended to cope with grids with nonconformal interfaces. The behavior of the discrete Navier-Stokes equations is discussed in detail...... Block LU relaxation scheme is shown to possess several optimal conditions, which enables to preserve high efficiency of the multigrid solver on both conformal and nonconformal grids. The developments are done using a parallel MPI algorithm, which can handle multiple numbers of interfaces with multiple...

  17. Iterative reconstruction technique with reduced volume CT dose index: diagnostic accuracy in pediatric acute appendicitis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Didier, Ryne A.; Vajtai, Petra L.; Hopkins, Katharine L.

    2015-01-01

    Iterative reconstruction technique has been proposed as a means of reducing patient radiation dose in pediatric CT. Yet, the effect of such reductions on diagnostic accuracy has not been thoroughly evaluated. This study compares accuracy of diagnosing pediatric acute appendicitis using contrast-enhanced abdominopelvic CT scans performed with traditional pediatric weight-based protocols and filtered back projection reconstruction vs. a filtered back projection/iterative reconstruction technique blend with reduced volume CT dose index (CTDI vol ). Results of pediatric contrast-enhanced abdominopelvic CT scans done for pain and/or suspected appendicitis were reviewed in two groups: A, 192 scans performed with the hospital's established weight-based CT protocols and filtered back projection reconstruction; B, 194 scans performed with iterative reconstruction technique and reduced CTDI vol . Reduced CTDI vol was achieved primarily by reductions in effective tube current-time product (mAs eff ) and tube peak kilovoltage (kVp). CT interpretation was correlated with clinical follow-up and/or surgical pathology. CTDI vol , size-specific dose estimates (SSDE) and performance characteristics of the two CT techniques were then compared. Between groups A and B, mean CTDI vol was reduced by 45%, and mean SSDE was reduced by 46%. Sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy were 96%, 97% and 96% in group A vs. 100%, 99% and 99% in group B. Accuracy in diagnosing pediatric acute appendicitis was maintained in contrast-enhanced abdominopelvic CT scans that incorporated iterative reconstruction technique, despite reductions in mean CTDI vol and SSDE by nearly half as compared to the hospital's traditional weight-based protocols. (orig.)

  18. Visualization study of molten metal-water interaction by using neutron radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mishima, K.; Hibiki, T.; Saito, Y.

    1999-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to visualize the behavior of molten metal dropped into water during the premixing process by means of neutron radiography which makes use of the difference in the attenuation characteristics of materials. For this purpose, a high-sensitive, high-frame-rate imaging system using neutron radiography was constructed and was applied to visualization of the behavior of molten metal dropped into water. The test rig consisted of a furnace and a test section. The furnace could heat the molten metal up to 650 C. The test section was a rectangular tank made of aluminum alloy. The tank was filled with heavy water and molten Wood's metal was dropped into heavy water. Visualization study was carried out with use of the high-frame-rate neutron radiography to see the breakup of molten metal jet or lump dropped into heavy water pool. In the images obtained, water, steam or air bubbles, molten metal jets or droplets, cloud of small particles of molten metal after atomization could be distinguished. The debris of Wood's metal was collected after the experiment, and the relation between the break-up behavior and the size and the shape of the debris particles was investigated. (orig.)

  19. The impact of reconstruction method on the quantification of DaTSCAN images

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dickson, John C.; Erlandsson, Kjell; Hutton, Brian F. [UCLH NHS Foundation Trust and University College London, Institute of Nuclear Medicine, London (United Kingdom); Tossici-Bolt, Livia [Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust, Department of Medical Physics, Southampton (United Kingdom); Sera, Terez [University of Szeged, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Euromedic Szeged, Szeged (Hungary); Varrone, Andrea [Psychiatry Section and Stockholm Brain Institute, Karolinska Institute, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Stockholm (Sweden); Tatsch, Klaus [EANM/European Network of Excellence for Brain Imaging, Vienna (Austria)

    2010-01-15

    Reconstruction of DaTSCAN brain studies using OS-EM iterative reconstruction offers better image quality and more accurate quantification than filtered back-projection. However, reconstruction must proceed for a sufficient number of iterations to achieve stable and accurate data. This study assessed the impact of the number of iterations on the image quantification, comparing the results of the iterative reconstruction with filtered back-projection data. A striatal phantom filled with {sup 123}I using striatal to background ratios between 2:1 and 10:1 was imaged on five different gamma camera systems. Data from each system were reconstructed using OS-EM (which included depth-independent resolution recovery) with various combinations of iterations and subsets to achieve up to 200 EM-equivalent iterations and with filtered back-projection. Using volume of interest analysis, the relationships between image reconstruction strategy and quantification of striatal uptake were assessed. For phantom filling ratios of 5:1 or less, significant convergence of measured ratios occurred close to 100 EM-equivalent iterations, whereas for higher filling ratios, measured uptake ratios did not display a convergence pattern. Assessment of the count concentrations used to derive the measured uptake ratio showed that nonconvergence of low background count concentrations caused peaking in higher measured uptake ratios. Compared to filtered back-projection, OS-EM displayed larger uptake ratios because of the resolution recovery applied in the iterative algorithm. The number of EM-equivalent iterations used in OS-EM reconstruction influences the quantification of DaTSCAN studies because of incomplete convergence and possible bias in areas of low activity due to the nonnegativity constraint in OS-EM reconstruction. Nevertheless, OS-EM using 100 EM-equivalent iterations provides the best linear discriminatory measure to quantify the uptake in DaTSCAN studies. (orig.)

  20. Quantum State-Resolved Collision Dynamics of Nitric Oxide at Ionic Liquid and Molten Metal Surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zutz, Amelia Marie

    Detailed molecular scale interactions at the gas-liquid interface are explored with quantum state-to-state resolved scattering of a jet-cooled beam of NO(2pi1/2; N = 0) from ionic liquid and molten metal surfaces. The scattered distributions are probed via laser-induced fluorescence methods, which yield rotational and spin-orbit state populations that elucidate the dynamics of energy transfer at the gas-liquid interface. These collision dynamics are explored as a function of incident collision energy, surface temperature, scattering angle, and liquid identity, all of which are found to substantially affect the degree of rotational, electronic and vibrational excitation of NO via collisions at the liquid surface. Rotational distributions observed reveal two distinct scattering pathways, (i) molecules that trap, thermalize and eventually desorb from the surface (trapping-desorption, TD), and (ii) those that undergo prompt recoil (impulsive scattering, IS) prior to complete equilibration with the liquid surface. Thermally desorbing NO molecules are found to have rotational temperatures close to, but slightly cooler than the surface temperature, indicative of rotational dependent sticking probabilities on liquid surfaces. Nitric oxide is a radical with multiple low-lying electronic states that serves as an ideal candidate for exploring nonadiabatic state-changing collision dynamics at the gas-liquid interface, which induce significant excitation from ground (2pi1/2) to excited (2pi 3/2) spin-orbit states. Molecular beam scattering of supersonically cooled NO from hot molten metals (Ga and Au, Ts = 300 - 1400 K) is also explored, which provide preliminary evidence for vibrational excitation of NO mediated by thermally populated electron-hole pairs in the hot, conducting liquid metals. The results highlight the presence of electronically nonadiabatic effects and build toward a more complete characterization of energy transfer dynamics at gas-liquid interfaces.

  1. Fluid mechanics experiments in oscillatory flow. Volume 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seume, J.; Friedman, G.; Simon, T.W.

    1992-03-01

    Results of a fluid mechanics measurement program is oscillating flow within a circular duct are present. The program began with a survey of transition behavior over a range of oscillation frequency and magnitude and continued with a detailed study at a single operating point. Such measurements were made in support of Stirling engine development. Values of three dimensionless parameters, Re max , Re W , and A R , embody the velocity amplitude, frequency of oscillation and mean fluid displacement of the cycle, respectively. Measurements were first made over a range of these parameters which included operating points of all Stirling engines. Next, a case was studied with values of these parameters that are representative of the heat exchanger tubes in the heater section of NASA's Stirling cycle Space Power Research Engine (SPRE). Measurements were taken of the axial and radical components of ensemble-averaged velocity and rms-velocity fluctuation and the dominant Reynolds shear stress, at various radial positions for each of four axial stations. In each run, transition from laminar to turbulent flow, and in reverse, were identified and sufficient data was gathered to propose the transition mechanism. Models of laminar and turbulent boundary layers were used to process the data into wall coordinates and to evaluate skin friction coefficients. Such data aids in validating computational models and is useful in comparing oscillatory flow characteristics to those of fully-developed steady flow. Data were taken with a contoured entry to each end of the test section and with flush square inlets so that the effects of test section inlet geometry on transition and turbulence are documented. The following is presented in two-volumes. Volume I contains the text of the report including figures and supporting appendices. Volume II contains data reduction program listings and tabulated data (including its graphical presentation)

  2. Nonmetal-metal transition in metal–molten-salt solutions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Silvestrelli, P.-L.; Alavi, A.; Parrinello, M.; Frenkel, D.

    1996-01-01

    The method of ab initio molecular dynamics, based on finite-temperature density-functional theory, is used to study the nonmetal-metal transition in two different metal–molten-salt solutions, Kx(KCl)1-x and Nax(NaBr)1-x. As the excess metal concentration is increased the electronic density becomes

  3. Fast intraslab fluid-flow events linked to pulses of high pore fluid pressure at the subducted plate interface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taetz, Stephan; John, Timm; Bröcker, Michael; Spandler, Carl; Stracke, Andreas

    2018-01-01

    A better understanding of the subduction zone fluid cycle and its chemical-mechanical feedback requires in-depth knowledge about how fluids flow within and out of descending slabs. Relicts of fluid-flow systems in exhumed rocks of fossil subduction zones allow for identification of the general relationships between dehydration reactions, fluid pathway formation, the dimensions and timescales of distinct fluid flow events; all of which are required for quantitative models for fluid-induced subduction zone processes. Two types of garnet-quartz-phengite veins can be distinguished in an eclogite-facies mélange block from the Pouébo Eclogite Mélange, New Caledonia. These veins record synmetamorphic internal fluid release by mineral breakdown reactions (type I veins), and infiltration of an external fluid (type II veins) with the associated formation of a reaction selvage. The dehydration and fluid migration documented by the type I veins likely occurred on a timescale of 105-106 years, based on average subduction rates and metamorphic conditions required for mineral dehydration and fluid flow. The timeframe of fluid-rock interaction between the external fluid and the wall-rock of the type II veins is quantified using a continuous bulk-rock Li-diffusion profile perpendicular to a vein and its metasomatic selvage. Differences in Li concentration between the internal and external fluid reservoirs resulted in a distinct diffusion profile (decreasing Li concentration and increasing δ7 Li) as the reaction front propagated into the host rock. Li-chronometric constraints indicate that the timescales of fluid-rock interaction associated with type II vein formation are on the order of 1 to 4 months (0.150-0.08+0.14 years). The short-lived, pulse-like character of this process is consistent with the notion that fluid flow caused by oceanic crust dehydration at the blueschist-to-eclogite transition contributes to or even dominates episodic pore fluid pressure increases at the

  4. A sharp interface method for compressible liquid–vapor flow with phase transition and surface tension

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fechter, Stefan, E-mail: stefan.fechter@iag.uni-stuttgart.de [Institut für Aerodynamik und Gasdynamik, Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 21, 70569 Stuttgart (Germany); Munz, Claus-Dieter, E-mail: munz@iag.uni-stuttgart.de [Institut für Aerodynamik und Gasdynamik, Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 21, 70569 Stuttgart (Germany); Rohde, Christian, E-mail: Christian.Rohde@mathematik.uni-stuttgart.de [Institut für Angewandte Analysis und Numerische Simulation, Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, 70569 Stuttgart (Germany); Zeiler, Christoph, E-mail: Christoph.Zeiler@mathematik.uni-stuttgart.de [Institut für Angewandte Analysis und Numerische Simulation, Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, 70569 Stuttgart (Germany)

    2017-05-01

    The numerical approximation of non-isothermal liquid–vapor flow within the compressible regime is a difficult task because complex physical effects at the phase interfaces can govern the global flow behavior. We present a sharp interface approach which treats the interface as a shock-wave like discontinuity. Any mixing of fluid phases is avoided by using the flow solver in the bulk regions only, and a ghost-fluid approach close to the interface. The coupling states for the numerical solution in the bulk regions are determined by the solution of local two-phase Riemann problems across the interface. The Riemann solution accounts for the relevant physics by enforcing appropriate jump conditions at the phase boundary. A wide variety of interface effects can be handled in a thermodynamically consistent way. This includes surface tension or mass/energy transfer by phase transition. Moreover, the local normal speed of the interface, which is needed to calculate the time evolution of the interface, is given by the Riemann solution. The interface tracking itself is based on a level-set method. The focus in this paper is the description of the two-phase Riemann solver and its usage within the sharp interface approach. One-dimensional problems are selected to validate the approach. Finally, the three-dimensional simulation of a wobbling droplet and a shock droplet interaction in two dimensions are shown. In both problems phase transition and surface tension determine the global bulk behavior.

  5. Metallurgical electrochemistry: the interface between materials science and molten salt chemistry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sadoway, D.R.

    1991-01-01

    Even though molten salt electrolysis finds application in the primary extraction of metals (electrowinning), the purification and recycling of metals (electrorefining), and in the formation of metal coatings (electroplating), the technology remains in many respects underexploited. Electrolysis in molten salts as well as other nonaqueous media has enormous potential for materials processing. First, owing to the special attributes of nonaqueous electrolytes electrochemical processing in these media has an important role to play in the generation of advanced materials, i.e., materials with specialized chemistries or tailored microstructures (electrosynthesis). Secondly, as environmental quality standards rise beyond the capabilities of classical metals extraction technologies to comply, molten salt electrolysis may prove to be the only acceptable route from ore to metal. Growing public awareness of pollution from the metals industry could stimulate a renaissance in molten salt electrochemistry. Challenges facing metallurgical electrochemistry as relates to the environment fall into two categories: (1) improving existing electrochemical technology, and (2) developing clean electrochemical technology to displace current nonelectrochemical technology. In both instances success hinges upon the discovery of advanced materials and the ecologically sound extraction of metals, the close coupling between materials science and molten salt chemistry is manifest. (author) 6 refs

  6. A two-dimensional continuum model of biofilm growth incorporating fluid flow and shear stress based detachment

    KAUST Repository

    Duddu, Ravindra; Chopp, David L.; Moran, Brian

    2009-01-01

    of the biofilm. The model considers fluid flow around the biofilm surface, the advection-diffusion and reaction of substrate, variable biomass volume fraction and erosion due to the interfacial shear stress at the biofilm-fluid interface. The key assumptions

  7. Iterative reconstruction technique with reduced volume CT dose index: diagnostic accuracy in pediatric acute appendicitis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Didier, Ryne A. [Oregon Health and Science University, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, DC7R, Portland, OR (United States); Vajtai, Petra L. [Oregon Health and Science University, Department of Pediatrics, Portland, OR (United States); Oregon Health and Science University, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, DC7R, Portland, OR (United States); Hopkins, Katharine L. [Oregon Health and Science University, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, DC7R, Portland, OR (United States); Oregon Health and Science University, Department of Pediatrics, Portland, OR (United States)

    2014-07-05

    Iterative reconstruction technique has been proposed as a means of reducing patient radiation dose in pediatric CT. Yet, the effect of such reductions on diagnostic accuracy has not been thoroughly evaluated. This study compares accuracy of diagnosing pediatric acute appendicitis using contrast-enhanced abdominopelvic CT scans performed with traditional pediatric weight-based protocols and filtered back projection reconstruction vs. a filtered back projection/iterative reconstruction technique blend with reduced volume CT dose index (CTDI{sub vol}). Results of pediatric contrast-enhanced abdominopelvic CT scans done for pain and/or suspected appendicitis were reviewed in two groups: A, 192 scans performed with the hospital's established weight-based CT protocols and filtered back projection reconstruction; B, 194 scans performed with iterative reconstruction technique and reduced CTDI{sub vol}. Reduced CTDI{sub vol} was achieved primarily by reductions in effective tube current-time product (mAs{sub eff}) and tube peak kilovoltage (kVp). CT interpretation was correlated with clinical follow-up and/or surgical pathology. CTDI{sub vol}, size-specific dose estimates (SSDE) and performance characteristics of the two CT techniques were then compared. Between groups A and B, mean CTDI{sub vol} was reduced by 45%, and mean SSDE was reduced by 46%. Sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy were 96%, 97% and 96% in group A vs. 100%, 99% and 99% in group B. Accuracy in diagnosing pediatric acute appendicitis was maintained in contrast-enhanced abdominopelvic CT scans that incorporated iterative reconstruction technique, despite reductions in mean CTDI{sub vol} and SSDE by nearly half as compared to the hospital's traditional weight-based protocols. (orig.)

  8. Tracer technology modeling the flow of fluids

    CERN Document Server

    Levenspiel, Octave

    2012-01-01

    A vessel’s behavior as a heat exchanger, absorber, reactor, or other process unit is dependent upon how fluid flows through the vessel.  In early engineering, the designer would assume either plug flow or mixed flow of the fluid through the vessel.  However, these assumptions were oftentimes inaccurate, sometimes being off by a volume factor of 100 or more.  The result of this unreliable figure produced ineffective products in multiple reaction systems.   Written by a pioneering researcher in the field of chemical engineering, the tracer method was introduced to provide more accurate flow data.  First, the tracer method measured the actual flow of fluid through a vessel.  Second, it developed a suitable model to represent the flow in question.  Such models are used to follow the flow of fluid in chemical reactors and other process units, like in rivers and streams, or solid and porous structures.  In medicine, the tracer method is used to study the flow of chemicals—harmful  and harmless—in the...

  9. A unified monolithic approach for multi-fluid flows and fluid-structure interaction using the Particle Finite Element Method with fixed mesh

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becker, P.; Idelsohn, S. R.; Oñate, E.

    2015-06-01

    This paper describes a strategy to solve multi-fluid and fluid-structure interaction (FSI) problems using Lagrangian particles combined with a fixed finite element (FE) mesh. Our approach is an extension of the fluid-only PFEM-2 (Idelsohn et al., Eng Comput 30(2):2-2, 2013; Idelsohn et al., J Numer Methods Fluids, 2014) which uses explicit integration over the streamlines to improve accuracy. As a result, the convective term does not appear in the set of equations solved on the fixed mesh. Enrichments in the pressure field are used to improve the description of the interface between phases.

  10. The spectral volume method as applied to transport problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McClarren, Ryan G.

    2011-01-01

    We present a new spatial discretization for transport problems: the spectral volume method. This method, rst developed by Wang for computational fluid dynamics, divides each computational cell into several sub-cells and enforces particle balance on each of these sub-cells. Also, these sub-cells are used to build a polynomial reconstruction in the cell. The idea of dividing cells into many cells is a generalization of the simple corner balance and other similar schemes. The spectral volume method preserves particle conservation and preserves the asymptotic diffusion limit. We present results from the method on two transport problems in slab geometry using discrete ordinates and second through sixth order spectral volume schemes. The numerical results demonstrate the accuracy and preservation of the diffusion limit of the spectral volume method. Future work will explore possible bene ts of the scheme for high-performance computing and for resolving diffusive boundary layers. (author)

  11. Contact-free measurement of the flow field of a liquid metal inside a closed container

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heinicke Christiane

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The measurement of flow velocities inside metal melts is particularly challenging. Due to the high temperatures of the melts it is impossible to employ measurement techniques that require either mechanical contact with the melt or are only adaptable to translucent fluids. In the past years a number of electromagnetic techniques have been developed that allows a contact-free measurement of volume flows. One of these techniques is the so-called Lorentz Force Velocimetry (LFV in which the metal flow is exposed to an external, permanent magnetic field. The interaction between the metal and the magnet not only leads to a force on the fluid, but also on the magnet. The force can be measured and is proportional to the velocity of the melt. Moreover, by using a small permanent magnet it is possible to resolve spatial structures inside the flow.We will demonstrate this using a model experiment that has been investigated with different reference techniques previously. The experimental setup is a cylindrical vessel filled with a eutectic alloy which is liquid at room temperature. The liquid metal can be set into motion by means of a propeller at the top of the liquid. Depending on the direction of rotation of the propeller, the flow inside the vessel takes on different states. Beside the vessel, we place a Lorentz Force Flowmeter (LFF equipped with a small permanent magnet. By measuring the force on the magnet at different positions and different rotation speeds, we demonstrate that we can qualitatively and quantitatively reconstruct the flow field inside the vessel.

  12. Visual hull method for tomographic PIV measurement of flow around moving objects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adhikari, D.; Longmire, E.K. [University of Minnesota, Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, Minneapolis, MN (United States)

    2012-10-15

    Tomographic particle image velocimetry (PIV) is a recently developed method to measure three components of velocity within a volumetric space. We present a visual hull technique that automates identification and masking of discrete objects within the measurement volume, and we apply existing tomographic PIV reconstruction software to measure the velocity surrounding the objects. The technique is demonstrated by considering flow around falling bodies of different shape with Reynolds number {proportional_to}1,000. Acquired image sets are processed using separate routines to reconstruct both the volumetric mask around the object and the surrounding tracer particles. After particle reconstruction, the reconstructed object mask is used to remove any ghost particles that otherwise appear within the object volume. Velocity vectors corresponding with fluid motion can then be determined up to the boundary of the visual hull without being contaminated or affected by the neighboring object velocity. Although the visual hull method is not meant for precise tracking of objects, the reconstructed object volumes nevertheless can be used to estimate the object location and orientation at each time step. (orig.)

  13. An experimental validation of the influence of flow profiles and stratified two-phase flow to Lorentz force velocimetry for weakly conducting fluids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiederhold, Andreas; Ebert, Reschad; Resagk, Christian; Research Training Group: "Lorentz Force Velocimetry; Lorentz Force Eddy Current Testing" Team

    2016-11-01

    We report about the feasibility of Lorentz force velocimetry (LFV) for various flow profiles. LFV is a contactless non-invasive technique to measure flow velocity and has been developed in the last years in our institute. This method is advantageous if the fluid is hot, aggressive or opaque like glass melts or liquid metal flows. The conducted experiments shall prove an increased versatility for industrial applications of this method. For the force measurement we use an electromagnetic force compensation balance. As electrolyte salty water is used with an electrical conductivity in the range of 0.035 which corresponds to tap water up to 20 Sm-1. Because the conductivity is six orders less than that of liquid metals, here the challenging bottleneck is the resolution of the measurement system. The results show only a slight influence in the force signal at symmetric and strongly asymmetric flow profiles. Furthermore we report about the application of LFV to stratified two-phase flows. We show that it is possible to detect interface instabilities, which is important for the dimensioning of liquid metal batteries. Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG.

  14. Methods and models for accelerating dynamic simulation of fluid power circuits

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aaman, R.

    2011-07-01

    are proposed. Generally, in hydraulic power transmission systems the orifice flow is clearly in the turbulent area. The flow becomes laminar as the pressure drop over the orifice approaches zero only in rare situations. These are e.g. when a valve is closed, or an actuator is driven against an end stopper, or external force makes actuator to switch its direction during operation. This means that in terms of accuracy, the description of laminar flow is not necessary. But, unfortunately, when a purely turbulent description of the orifice is used, numerical problems occur when the pressure drop comes close to zero since the first derivative of flow with respect to the pressure drop approaches infinity when the pressure drop approaches zero. The second derivative becomes discontinuous, which causes numerical noise and an infinitely small integration step when a variable step integrator is used. A numerically efficient model for the orifice flow is proposed using a cubic spline function to describe the flow in the laminar and transition areas. Parameters for the cubic spline function are selected such that its first derivative is equal to the first derivative of the pure turbulent orifice flow model in the boundary condition. In the dynamic simulation of fluid power circuits, a tradeoff exists between accuracy and calculation speed. This investigation is made for the two-regime flow orifice model. Especially inside of many types of valves, as well as between them, there exist very small volumes. The integration of pressures in small fluid volumes causes numerical problems in fluid power circuit simulation. Particularly in realtime simulation, these numerical problems are a great weakness. The system stiffness approaches infinity as the fluid volume approaches zero. If fixed step explicit algorithms for solving ordinary differential equations (ODE) are used, the system stability would easily be lost when integrating pressures in small volumes. To solve the problem caused by

  15. The questions of liquid metal two-phase flow modelling in the FBR core channels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martsiniouk, D.Ye.; Sorokin, A.P.

    2000-01-01

    The two-fluid model representation for calculations of two-phase flow characteristics in the FBR fuel pin bundles with liquid metal cooling is presented and analysed. Two conservation equations systems of the mass, momentum and energy have been written for each phase. Components accounted the mass-, momentum- and heat transfer throughout the interface occur in the macro-field equations after the averaging procedure realisation. The pattern map and correlations for two-fluid model in vertical liquid metal flows are presented. The description of processes interphase mass- and heat exchange and interphase friction is determined by the two-phase flow regime. The opportunity of the liquid metal two-phase flow regime definition is analysed. (author)

  16. Preparation and characterization of molten salt based nanothermic fluids with enhanced thermal properties for solar thermal applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Madathil, Pramod Kandoth; Balagi, Nagaraj; Saha, Priyanka; Bharali, Jitalaxmi; Rao, Peddy V.C.; Choudary, Nettem V.; Ramesh, Kanaparthi

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Prepared and characterized inorganic ternary molten salt based nanothermic fluids. • MoS_2 and CuO nanoparticles incorporated ternary molten salts have been prepared. • Thermal properties enhanced by the addition of MoS_2 and CuO nanoparticles. • The amount of nanoparticles has been optimized. - Abstract: In the current energy scenario, solar energy is attracting considerable attention as a renewable energy source with ample research and commercial opportunities. The novel and efficient technologies in the solar energy are directed to develop methods for solar energy capture, storage and utilization. High temperature thermal energy storage systems can deal with a wide range of temperatures and therefore they are highly recommended for concentrated solar power (CSP) applications. In the present study, a systematic investigation has been carried out to identify the suitable inorganic nanoparticles and their addition in the molten salt has been optimized. In order to enhance the thermo-physical properties such as thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity of molten salt based HTFs, we report the utilization of MoS_2 and CuO nanoparticles. The enhancement in the above mentioned thermo-physical properties has been demonstrated for optimized compositions and the morphologies of nanoparticle-incorporated molten salts have been studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Nanoparticle addition to molten salts is an efficient method to prepare thermally stable molten salt based heat transfer fluids which can be used in CSP plants. It is also observed that the sedimentation of nanoparticles in molten salt is negligible compared to that in organic heat transfer fluids.

  17. Molten metal feed system controlled with a traveling magnetic field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Praeg, W.F.

    1991-01-01

    This patent describes a continuous metal casting system in which the feed of molten metal controlled by means of a linear induction motor capable of producing a magnetic traveling wave in a duct that connects a reservoir of molten metal to a caster. The linear induction motor produces a traveling magnetic wave in the duct in opposition to the pressure exerted by the head of molten metal in the reservoir

  18. Accuracy and Precision of a Plane Wave Vector Flow Imaging Method in the Healthy Carotid Artery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jonas; Villagómez Hoyos, Carlos Armando; Traberg, Marie Sand

    2018-01-01

    The objective of the study described here was to investigate the accuracy and precision of a plane wave 2-D vector flow imaging (VFI) method in laminar and complex blood flow conditions in the healthy carotid artery. The approach was to study (i) the accuracy for complex flow by comparing...... of laminar flow in vivo. The precision in vivo was calculated as the mean standard deviation (SD) of estimates aligned to the heart cycle and was highest in the center of the common carotid artery (SD = 3.6% for velocity magnitudes and 4.5° for angles) and lowest in the external branch and for vortices (SD...... the velocity field from a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation to VFI estimates obtained from the scan of an anthropomorphic flow phantom and from an in vivo scan; (ii) the accuracy for laminar unidirectional flow in vivo by comparing peak systolic velocities from VFI with magnetic resonance...

  19. Mathematical modeling of impact of two metal plates using two-fluid approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Utkin, P. S.; Fortova, S. V.

    2018-01-01

    The paper is devoted to the development of the two-fluid mathematical model and the computational algorithm for the modeling of two metal plates impact. In one-dimensional case the governing system of equations comprises seven equations: three conservation laws for each fluid and transfer equation for the volume fraction of one of the fluids. Both fluids are considered to be compressible and equilibrium on velocities. Pressures equilibrium is used as fluids interface condition. The system has hyperbolic type but could not be written in the conservative form because of nozzling terms in the right-hand side of the equations. The algorithm is based on the Harten-Lax-van Leer numerical flux function. The robust computation in the presence of the interface boundary is carried out due to the special pressure relaxation procedure. The problem is solved using stiffened gas equations of state for each fluid. The parameters in the equations of state are calibrated using the results of computations using wide-range equations of state for the metals. In simulations of metal plates impact we get two shocks after the initial impact that propagate to the free surfaces of the samples. The characteristics of shock waves are close (maximum relative error in characteristics of shocks is not greater than 7%) to the data from the wide-range equations of states computations.

  20. Modeling of heat and mass transfer in 2D and 3D molten pools. Progress and future trends

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tchoudanov, V.V.

    2001-01-01

    Under increasing of complexity of heat and mass transfer problems in molten pools (the three-dimensional complex geometries of molten pool, turbulence, variable properties of materials, phase changes under local non-equilibrium etc.) for us a need has arisen in more perfect algorithms and methods of solution. To solve computational fluid dynamics problems in domain of arbitrary shapes including the variable properties of materials the new effective finite-volume numerical algorithm is developed, which based on a using the orthogonal and Cartesian local refinement matching and/or non-matching grids constructed automatically for a multi-block decomposition of a complex computational domain. The developed algorithm is applied to the heat and fluid flow equations (i.e. Navier-Stokes equations with energy equation) in the primitive variables formulation. Validation of the developed approach is carried out on the set of test problems, namely forced convection (flow about complex objects), natural convection and fluid flows with melting. Good agreement is obtained between numerical predictions and experimental data via the new multi-block approach. New approach is implemented in CONV2D and 3D codes. (author)

  1. Fluid dynamics following flow shut-off in bottle filling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thete, Sumeet; Appathurai, Santosh; Gao, Haijing; Basaran, Osman

    2012-11-01

    Bottle filling is ubiquitous in industry. Examples include filling of bottles with shampoos and cleaners, engine oil and pharmaceuticals. In these examples, fluid flows out of a nozzle to fill bottles in an assembly line. Once the required volume of fluid has flowed out of the nozzle, the flow is shut off. However, an evolving fluid thread or string may remain suspended from the nozzle following flow shut-off and persist. This stringing phenomenon can be detrimental to a bottle filling operation because it can adversely affect line speed and filling accuracy by causing uncertainty in fill volume, product loss and undesirable marring of the bottles' exterior surfaces. The dynamics of stringing are studied numerically primarily by using the 1D, slender-jet approximation of the flow equations. A novel feature entails development and use of a new boundary condition downstream of the nozzle exit to expedite the computations. While the emphasis is on stringing of Newtonian fluids and use of 1D approximations, results will also be presented for situations where (a) the fluids are non-Newtonian and (b) the full set of equations are solved without invoking the 1D approximation. Phase diagrams will be presented that identify conditions for which stringing can be problematic.

  2. MINET, Transient Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer Power Plant Network Analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Tuyle, G.J.

    2002-01-01

    1 - Description of program or function: MINET (Momentum Integral Network) was developed for the transient analysis of intricate fluid flow and heat transfer networks, such as those found in the balance of plant in power generating facilities. It can be utilized as a stand-alone program or interfaced to another computer program for concurrent analysis. Through such coupling, a computer code limited by either the lack of required component models or large computational needs can be extended to more fully represent the thermal hydraulic system thereby reducing the need for estimating essential transient boundary conditions. The MINET representation of a system is one or more networks of volumes, segments, and boundaries linked together via heat exchangers only, i.e., heat can transfer between networks, but fluids cannot. Volumes are used to represent tanks or other volume components, as well as locations in the system where significant flow divisions or combinations occur. Segments are composed of one or more pipes, pumps, heat exchangers, turbines, and/or valves each represented by one or more nodes. Boundaries are simply points where the network interfaces with the user or another computer code. Several fluids can be simulated, including water, sodium, NaK, and air. 2 - Method of solution: MINET is based on a momentum integral network method. Calculations are performed at two levels, the network level (volumes) and the segment level. Equations conserving mass and energy are used to calculate pressure and enthalpy within volumes. An integral momentum equation is used to calculate the segment average flow rate. In-segment distributions of mass flow rate and enthalpy are calculated using local equations of mass and energy. The segment pressure is taken to be the linear average of the pressure at both ends. This method uses a two-plus equation representation of the thermal hydraulic behavior of a system of heat exchangers, pumps, pipes, valves, tanks, etc. With the

  3. The Impact of Solid Surface Features on Fluid-Fluid Interface Configuration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Araujo, J. B.; Brusseau, M. L. L.

    2017-12-01

    Pore-scale fluid processes in geological media are critical for a broad range of applications such as radioactive waste disposal, carbon sequestration, soil moisture distribution, subsurface pollution, land stability, and oil and gas recovery. The continued improvement of high-resolution image acquisition and processing have provided a means to test the usefulness of theoretical models developed to simulate pore-scale fluid processes, through the direct quantification of interfaces. High-resolution synchrotron X-ray microtomography is used in combination with advanced visualization tools to characterize fluid distributions in natural geologic media. The studies revealed the presence of fluid-fluid interface associated with macroscopic features on the surfaces of the solids such as pits and crevices. These features and respective fluid interfaces, which are not included in current theoretical or computational models, may have a significant impact on accurate simulation and understanding of multi-phase flow, energy, heat and mass transfer processes.

  4. Three-dimensional granular model of semi-solid metallic alloys undergoing solidification: Fluid flow and localization of feeding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sistaninia, M.; Phillion, A.B.; Drezet, J.-M.; Rappaz, M.

    2012-01-01

    A three-dimensional (3-D) granular model which simulates fluid flow within solidifying alloys with a globular microstructure, such as that found in grain refined Al alloys, is presented. The model geometry within a representative volume element (RVE) consists of a set of prismatic triangular elements representing the intergranular liquid channels. The pressure field within the liquid channels is calculated using a finite elements (FEs) method assuming a Poiseuille flow within each channel and flow conservation at triple lines. The fluid flow is induced by solidification shrinkage and openings at grain boundaries due to deformation of the coherent solid. The granular model predictions are validated against bulk data calculated with averaging techniques. The results show that a fluid flow simulation of globular semi-solid materials is able to reproduce both a map of the 3-D intergranular pressure and the localization of feeding within the mushy zone. A new hot cracking sensitivity coefficient is then proposed. Based on a mass balance performed over a solidifying isothermal volume element, this coefficient accounts for tensile deformation of the semi-solid domain and for the induced intergranular liquid feeding. The fluid flow model is then used to calculate the pressure drop in the mushy zone during the direct chill casting of aluminum alloy billets. The predicted pressure demonstrates that deep in the mushy zone where the permeability is low the local pressure can be significantly lower than the pressure predicted by averaging techniques.

  5. Some recent developments of the immersed interface method for flow simulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Sheng

    2017-11-01

    The immersed interface method is a general methodology for solving PDEs subject to interfaces. In this talk, I will give an overview of some recent developments of the method toward the enhancement of its robustness for flow simulation. In particular, I will present with numerical results how to capture boundary conditions on immersed rigid objects, how to adopt interface triangulation in the method, and how to parallelize the method for flow with moving objects. With these developments, the immersed interface method can achieve accurate and efficient simulation of a flow involving multiple moving complex objects. Thanks to NSF for the support of this work under Grant NSF DMS 1320317.

  6. Breakup Behavior of Molten Wood's Metal Jet in Subcooled Water

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heo, Hyo; Park, Seong Dae; Bang, In Cheol [Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of); Jerng, Dong Wook [Chung-Ang Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-10-15

    There are safety characteristics of the metal fueled sodium fast-cooled reactor (SFR), by identifying the possibility of early termination of severe accidents. If the molten fuel is ejected from the cladding, the ejected molten fuel can interact with the coolant in the reactor vessel. This phenomenon is called as fuel-coolant interaction (FCI). The FCI occurs at the initial phase leading to severe accidents like core disruptive accident (CDA) in the SFR. A part of the corium energy is intensively transferred to the coolant in a very short time during the FCI. The coolant vaporizes at high pressure and expands so results in steam explosion that can threat to the integrity of nuclear reactor. The intensity of steam explosion is determined by jet breakup and the fragmentation behavior. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the jet breakup between the molten fuel jet and the coolant in order to evaluate whether the steam explosion occurs or not. The liquid jet breakup has been studied in various areas, such as aerosols, spray and combustion. In early studies, small diameter jets of low density liquids were studied. The jet breakup for large density liquids has been studied in nuclear reactor field with respect to safety. The existence of vapor film layer between the melt and liquid fluid is only in case of large density breakup. This paper deals with the jet breakup experiment in non-boiling conditions in order to analyze hydraulic effect on the jet behavior. In the present study, the wood's metal was used as the jet material. It has similar properties to the metal fuel. The physical properties of molten materials and coolants are listed in Table I, respectively. It is easy to conduct the experiment due to low melting point of the wood's metal. In order to clarify the dominant factors determining jet breakup and size distribution of the debris, the experiment that the molten wood's metal was injected into the subcooled condition was conducted. The

  7. Numerical simulation of complex multi-phase fluid of casting process and its applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CHEN Li-liang

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available The fluid of casting process is a typical kind of multi-phase flow. Actually, many casting phenomena have close relationship with the multi-phase flow, such as molten metal filling process, air entrapment, slag movement, venting process of die casting, gas escaping of lost foam casting and so on. Obviously, in order to analyze these phenomena accurately, numerical simulation of the multi-phase fluid is necessary. Unfortunately, so far, most of the commercial casting simulation systems do not have the ability of multi-phase flow modeling due to the difficulty in the multi-phase flow calculation. In the paper, Finite Different Method (FDM technique was adopt to solve the multi-phase fluid model. And a simple object of the muiti-phase fluid was analyzed to obtain the fluid rates of the liquid phase and the entrapped air phase.

  8. Dissolution of Si in Molten Al with Gas Injection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seyed Ahmadi, Mehran

    Silicon is an essential component of many aluminum alloys, as it imparts a range of desirable characteristics. However, there are considerable practical difficulties in dissolving solid Si in molten Al, because the dissolution process is slow, resulting in material and energy losses. It is thus essential to examine Si dissolution in molten Al, to identify means of accelerating the process. This thesis presents an experimental study of the effect of Si purity, bath temperature, fluid flow conditions, and gas stirring on the dissolution of Si in molten Al, plus the results of physical and numerical modeling of the flow to corroborate the experimental results. The dissolution experiments were conducted in a revolving liquid metal tank to generate a bulk velocity, and gas was introduced into the melt using top lance injection. Cylindrical Si specimens were immersed into molten Al for fixed durations, and upon removal the dissolved Si was measured. The shape and trajectory of injected bubbles were examined by means of auxiliary water experiments and video recordings of the molten Al free surface. The gas-agitated liquid was simulated using the commercial software FLOW-3D. The simulation results provide insights into bubble dynamics and offer estimates of the fluctuating velocities within the Al bath. The experimental results indicate that the dissolution rate of Si increases in tandem with the melt temperature and bulk velocity. A higher bath temperature increases the solubility of Si at the solid/liquid interface, resulting in a greater driving force for mass transfer, and a higher liquid velocity decreases the resistance to mass transfer via a thinner mass boundary layer. Impurities (with lower diffusion coefficients) in the form of inclusions obstruct the dissolution of the Si main matrix. Finally, dissolution rate enhancement was observed by gas agitation. It is postulated that the bubble-induced fluctuating velocities disturb the mass boundary layer, which

  9. A new particle-like method for high-speed flows with chemical non-equilibrium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fábio Rodrigues Guzzo

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available The present work is concerned with the numerical simulation of hypersonic blunt body flows with chemical non-equilibrium. New theoretical and numerical formulations for coupling the chemical reaction to the fluid dynamics are presented and validated. The fluid dynamics is defined for a stationary unstructured mesh and the chemical reaction process is defined for “finite quantities” moving through the stationary mesh. The fluid dynamics is modeled by the Euler equations and the chemical reaction rates by the Arrhenius law. Ideal gases are considered. The thermodynamical data are based on JANNAF tables and Burcat’s database. The algorithm proposed by Liou, known as AUSM+, is implemented in a cell-centered based finite volume method and in an unstructured mesh context. Multidimensional limited MUSCL interpolation method is used to perform property reconstructions and to achieve second-order accuracy in space. The minmod limiter is used. The second order accuracy, five stage, Runge-Kutta time-stepping scheme is employed to perform the time march for the fluid dynamics. The numerical code VODE, which is part of the CHEMKIN-II package, is adopted to perform the time integration for the chemical reaction equations. The freestream reacting fluid is composed of H2 and air at the stoichiometric ratio. The emphasis of the present paper is on the description of the new methodology for handling the coupling of chemical and fluid mechanic processes, and its validation by comparison with the standard time-splitting procedure. The configurations considered are the hypersonic flow over a wedge, in which the oblique detonation wave is induced by an oblique shock wave, and the hypersonic flow over a blunt body. Differences between the solutions obtained with each formulation are presented and discussed, including the effects of grid refinement in each case. The primary objective of such comparisons is the validation of the proposed methodology. Moreover, for

  10. Molten salt/metal extractions for recovery of transuranic elements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chow, L.S.; Basco, J.K.; Ackerman, J.P.; Johnson, T.R.

    1992-01-01

    The integral fast reactor (EFR) is an advanced reactor concept that incorporates metallic driver and blanket fuels, an inherently safe, liquid-sodium-cooled, pool-type, reactor design, and on-site pyrochemical reprocessing (including electrorefining) of spent fuels and wastes. This paper describes a pyrochemical method that is being developed at Argonne National Laboratory to recover transuranic elements from the EFR electrorefiner process salt. The method uses multistage extractions between molten chloride salts and cadmium metal at high temperatures. The chemical basis of the salt extraction method, the test equipment, and a test plan are discussed

  11. A high-order relativistic two-fluid electrodynamic scheme with consistent reconstruction of electromagnetic fields and a multidimensional Riemann solver for electromagnetism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balsara, Dinshaw S.; Amano, Takanobu; Garain, Sudip; Kim, Jinho

    2016-01-01

    always divergence-free. This collocation also ensures that electromagnetic radiation that is propagating in a vacuum has both electric and magnetic fields that are exactly divergence-free. Coupled relativistic fluid dynamic equations are solved for the positively and negatively charged fluids. The fluids' numerical fluxes also provide a self-consistent current density for the update of the electric field. Our reconstruction strategy ensures that fluid velocities always remain sub-luminal. Our third innovation consists of an efficient design for several popular IMEX schemes so that they provide strong coupling between the finite-volume-based fluid solver and the electromagnetic fields at high order. This innovation makes it possible to efficiently utilize high order IMEX time update methods for stiff source terms in the update of high order finite-volume methods for hyperbolic conservation laws. We also show that this very general innovation should extend seamlessly to Runge–Kutta discontinuous Galerkin methods. The IMEX schemes enable us to use large CFL numbers even in the presence of stiff source terms. Several accuracy analyses are presented showing that our method meets its design accuracy in the MHD limit as well as in the limit of electromagnetic wave propagation. Several stringent test problems are also presented. We also present a relativistic version of the GEM problem, which shows that our algorithm can successfully adapt to challenging problems in high energy astrophysics.

  12. A high-order relativistic two-fluid electrodynamic scheme with consistent reconstruction of electromagnetic fields and a multidimensional Riemann solver for electromagnetism

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Balsara, Dinshaw S., E-mail: dbalsara@nd.edu [Physics Department, University of Notre Dame (United States); Amano, Takanobu, E-mail: amano@eps.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Garain, Sudip, E-mail: sgarain@nd.edu [Physics Department, University of Notre Dame (United States); Kim, Jinho, E-mail: jkim46@nd.edu [Physics Department, University of Notre Dame (United States)

    2016-08-01

    always divergence-free. This collocation also ensures that electromagnetic radiation that is propagating in a vacuum has both electric and magnetic fields that are exactly divergence-free. Coupled relativistic fluid dynamic equations are solved for the positively and negatively charged fluids. The fluids' numerical fluxes also provide a self-consistent current density for the update of the electric field. Our reconstruction strategy ensures that fluid velocities always remain sub-luminal. Our third innovation consists of an efficient design for several popular IMEX schemes so that they provide strong coupling between the finite-volume-based fluid solver and the electromagnetic fields at high order. This innovation makes it possible to efficiently utilize high order IMEX time update methods for stiff source terms in the update of high order finite-volume methods for hyperbolic conservation laws. We also show that this very general innovation should extend seamlessly to Runge–Kutta discontinuous Galerkin methods. The IMEX schemes enable us to use large CFL numbers even in the presence of stiff source terms. Several accuracy analyses are presented showing that our method meets its design accuracy in the MHD limit as well as in the limit of electromagnetic wave propagation. Several stringent test problems are also presented. We also present a relativistic version of the GEM problem, which shows that our algorithm can successfully adapt to challenging problems in high energy astrophysics.

  13. Some numerical methods for two-fluid two-phase flows in oil pipes; Quelques methodes numeriques pour les ecoulements diphasiques bi-fluide en conduites petrolieres

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Masella, J.M.

    1997-05-29

    This thesis is devoted to the numerical simulation of some two-fluid models describing gas-liquid two-phase flow in pipes. The numerical models developed here can be more generally used in the modelling of a wide class of physical models which can be put under an hyperbolic form. We introduce first two isothermal two-fluid models, composed of a mass balance equation and a momentum equation written in each phase, describing respectively a stratified two-phase flow and a dispersed two-phase flow. These models are hyperbolic under some physical assumptions and can be written under a nonconservative vectorial system. We define and analyse a new numerical finite volume scheme (v{integral}Roe) founded on a linearized Riemann solver. This scheme does not need any analytical calculation and gives good results in the tracking of shocks. We compare this new scheme with the classical Roe scheme. Then we propose and study some numerical models, with and without flux splitting method, which are adapted to the discretization of the two-fluid models. This numerical models are given by a finite volume integration of the equations, and lean on the v{integral} scheme. In order to reducing cpu time, due to the low Mach number of two-phase flows, acoustic waves are implicit. Afterwards we proposed a discretization of boundary conditions, which allows the generation of transient flows in pipe. Some numerical academic and more physical tests show the good behaviour of the numerical methods. (author) 77 refs.

  14. Visualization and void-fraction measurements in a molten metal bath

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Michael Charles

    In the experimental study of multiphase flow phenomena, including intense multiphase interactions, such as vapor explosions, the fluids are often opaque. To obtain images, suitable for quantitative analysis, of such phenomena requires the use of something other than visible light, such as x-rays or neutrons. In this study a unique flow visualization technique using a continuous high energy x-ray source to measure void fraction with good spatial and temporal resolution in pools of liquid metal has been developed. In the present experiments, 11 to 21 kg of molten tin at 360sp° C to 425sp° C is collected in a pre-heated stainless steel test section of rectangular cross section (18 x 10 cm). In the base of the test section are two injection ports for the introduction of nitrogen gas and water. Each port is composed of two coaxial tubes. Nitrogen gas flows through the annular region and either nitrogen gas or water flows through the central tube. The test section is imaged using a high energy x-ray source (Varian Linatron 3000A) with a peak energy of 9 MeV and a maximum on axis dose rate of 30 Gy/min. The transmitted x-rays are viewed with an imaging system composed of a high density silicate glass screen, a mirror, a lens coupled image intensifier, and a CCD camera. Two interchangeable CCD cameras allow for either high resolution imaging (1128 x 480 pixels) at a frame rate of 30 Hz or low resolution imaging (256 x 256 pixels) at a frame rate of 220 Hz. The collected images are digitally processed to obtain the chordal averaged local and volume integral void fractions. At the experimental conditions examined, estimated relative uncertainty using this measurement technique is 10% for worst case conditions. The upper bound on the relative systematic error due to void dynamics is estimated to be 20%. Reasonable agreement has been demonstrated between the data generated from the processed images, past integral void fraction experimental data, and a semi-empirical drift

  15. A finite volume procedure for fluid flow, heat transfer and solid-body stress analysis

    KAUST Repository

    Jagad, P. I.

    2018-04-12

    A unified cell-centered unstructured mesh finite volume procedure is presented for fluid flow, heat transfer and solid-body stress analysis. An in-house procedure (A. W. Date, Solution of Transport Equations on Unstructured Meshes with Cell-Centered Colocated Variables. Part I: Discretization, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 48 (6), 1117-1127, 2005) is extended to include the solid-body stress analysis. The transport terms for a cell-face are evaluated in a structured grid-like manner. The Cartesian gradients at the center of each cell-face are evaluated using the coordinate transformation relations. The accuracy of the procedure is demonstrated by solving several benchmark problems involving different boundary conditions, source terms, and types of loading.

  16. Unstructured Cartesian refinement with sharp interface immersed boundary method for 3D unsteady incompressible flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angelidis, Dionysios; Chawdhary, Saurabh; Sotiropoulos, Fotis

    2016-11-01

    A novel numerical method is developed for solving the 3D, unsteady, incompressible Navier-Stokes equations on locally refined fully unstructured Cartesian grids in domains with arbitrarily complex immersed boundaries. Owing to the utilization of the fractional step method on an unstructured Cartesian hybrid staggered/non-staggered grid layout, flux mismatch and pressure discontinuity issues are avoided and the divergence free constraint is inherently satisfied to machine zero. Auxiliary/hanging nodes are used to facilitate the discretization of the governing equations. The second-order accuracy of the solver is ensured by using multi-dimension Lagrange interpolation operators and appropriate differencing schemes at the interface of regions with different levels of refinement. The sharp interface immersed boundary method is augmented with local near-boundary refinement to handle arbitrarily complex boundaries. The discrete momentum equation is solved with the matrix free Newton-Krylov method and the Krylov-subspace method is employed to solve the Poisson equation. The second-order accuracy of the proposed method on unstructured Cartesian grids is demonstrated by solving the Poisson equation with a known analytical solution. A number of three-dimensional laminar flow simulations of increasing complexity illustrate the ability of the method to handle flows across a range of Reynolds numbers and flow regimes. Laminar steady and unsteady flows past a sphere and the oblique vortex shedding from a circular cylinder mounted between two end walls demonstrate the accuracy, the efficiency and the smooth transition of scales and coherent structures across refinement levels. Large-eddy simulation (LES) past a miniature wind turbine rotor, parameterized using the actuator line approach, indicates the ability of the fully unstructured solver to simulate complex turbulent flows. Finally, a geometry resolving LES of turbulent flow past a complete hydrokinetic turbine illustrates

  17. Diffraction of Elastic Waves in Fluid-Layered Solid Interfaces by an Integral Formulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. E. Basaldúa-Sánchez

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In the present communication, scattering of elastic waves in fluid-layered solid interfaces is studied. The indirect boundary element method is used to deal with this wave propagation phenomenon in 2D fluid-layered solid models. The source is represented by Hankel’s function of second kind and this is always applied in the fluid. Our method is an approximate boundary integral technique which is based upon an integral representation for scattered elastic waves using single-layer boundary sources. This approach is typically called indirect because the sources’ strengths are calculated as an intermediate step. In addition, this formulation is regarded as a realization of Huygens’ principle. The results are presented in frequency and time domains. Various aspects related to the different wave types that emerge from this kind of problems are emphasized. A near interface pulse generates changes in the pressure field and can be registered by receivers located in the fluid. In order to show the accuracy of our method, we validated the results with those obtained by the discrete wave number applied to a fluid-solid interface joining two half-spaces, one fluid and the other an elastic solid.

  18. Fundamental experiment on simulated molten core/concrete interaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toda, S.; Katsumura, Y.

    1994-01-01

    If a complete and prolonged failure of coolant flow were to occur in a LWR or FBR, fission product decay heat would cause the fuel to overheat. If no available action to cool the fuel were taken, it would eventually melt. Ibis could lead to slumping of the molten core material and to the failure of the reactor pressure vessel and deposition of these materials into the concrete reactor cavity. Consequently, the molten core could melt and decompose the concrete. Vigorous agitation of the molten core pool by concrete decomposition gases is expected to enhance the convective heat transfer process. Besides the decomposition gases, melting concrete (slag) generated under the molten core pool will be buoyed up, and will also affect the downward heat transfer. Though, in this way, the heat transfer process across the interface is complicated by the slag and the gases evolved from the decomposed concrete, it is very important to make its process clear for the safety evaluation of nuclear reactors. Therefore, in this study, fundamental experiments were performed using simulated materials to observe the behaviors of the hot pool, slag and gases at the interface. Moreover, from the experimental observation, a correlation without empirical constants was proposed to calculate the interface heat transfer. The heat transfer across the interface would depend on thermo-physical interactions between the pool, slag and concrete which are changed by their thermal properties and interface temperature and so on. For example, the molten concrete is miscible in molten oxidic core debris, but is immiscible in metallic core debris. If a contact temperature between the molten core pool and the concrete falls below the solidus of the pool, solidification of the pool will occur. In this study, the case of immiscible slag in the pool is treated and solidification of the pool does not occur. Thus, water, paraffin and air were selected as the simulated molten core pool, concrete, and decomposition

  19. Two Surface-Tension Formulations For The Level Set Interface-Tracking Method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shepel, S.V.; Smith, B.L.

    2005-01-01

    The paper describes a comparative study of two surface-tension models for the Level Set interface tracking method. In both models, the surface tension is represented as a body force, concentrated near the interface, but the technical implementation of the two options is different. The first is based on a traditional Level Set approach, in which the surface tension is distributed over a narrow band around the interface using a smoothed Delta function. In the second model, which is based on the integral form of the fluid-flow equations, the force is imposed only in those computational cells through which the interface passes. Both models have been incorporated into the Finite-Element/Finite-Volume Level Set method, previously implemented into the commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code CFX-4. A critical evaluation of the two models, undertaken in the context of four standard Level Set benchmark problems, shows that the first model, based on the smoothed Delta function approach, is the more general, and more robust, of the two. (author)

  20. Apparatus for efficient sidewall containment of molten metal with horizontal alternating magnetic fields utilizing low reluctance rims

    Science.gov (United States)

    Praeg, Walter F.

    1999-01-01

    A method and apparatus for casting sheets of metal from molten metal. The apparatus includes a containment structure having an open side, a horizontal alternating magnetic field generating structure and rollers including low reluctance rim structures. The magnetic field and the rollers help contain the molten metal from leaking out of the containment structure.

  1. Synthesis of CeS and interactions with molten metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krikorian, O.H.; Curtis, P.G.

    1988-01-01

    Hot-pressed and sintered discs of single-phase CeS were tested for interaction with molten aluminium, uranium, and iron to determine the conditions under which reaction first begins and the nature of the reaction. Aluminium begins to react with CeS at ∼ 1190 K, slowly dissolving cerium and forming a thin layer of Ce 3 S 4 at the reaction interface. At 1363 K, aluminium wets and spreads over the CeS surface and dissolves ∼ 01 at% Ce. Ce 3 Al 11 precipitates out in the aluminium phase on cooldown. Uranium does not react with CeS at 1673 K, but at 1873 K it wets and spreads on CeS and dissolves ∼ 100 atom ppm S, which precipitates out as US on cooldown. Iron wets CeS at 1873 K and 1973 K but does not spread or interact. Because of the desirable containment characteristics of CeS and similar sulfides for molten metals, we recommend their use in a number of applications. (author)

  2. Time-Dependent Thermally-Driven Interfacial Flows in Multilayered Fluid Structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haj-Hariri, Hossein; Borhan, A.

    1996-01-01

    A computational study of thermally-driven convection in multilayered fluid structures will be performed to examine the effect of interactions among deformable fluid-fluid interfaces on the structure of time-dependent flow in these systems. Multilayered fluid structures in two models configurations will be considered: the differentially heated rectangular cavity with a free surface, and the encapsulated cylindrical liquid bridge. An extension of a numerical method developed as part of our recent NASA Fluid Physics grant will be used to account for finite deformations of fluid-fluid interfaces.

  3. A two-phase debris-flow model that includes coupled evolution of volume fractions, granular dilatancy, and pore-fluid pressure

    Science.gov (United States)

    George, David L.; Iverson, Richard M.

    2011-01-01

    Pore-fluid pressure plays a crucial role in debris flows because it counteracts normal stresses at grain contacts and thereby reduces intergranular friction. Pore-pressure feedback accompanying debris deformation is particularly important during the onset of debrisflow motion, when it can dramatically influence the balance of forces governing downslope acceleration. We consider further effects of this feedback by formulating a new, depth-averaged mathematical model that simulates coupled evolution of granular dilatancy, solid and fluid volume fractions, pore-fluid pressure, and flow depth and velocity during all stages of debris-flow motion. To illustrate implications of the model, we use a finite-volume method to compute one-dimensional motion of a debris flow descending a rigid, uniformly inclined slope, and we compare model predictions with data obtained in large-scale experiments at the USGS debris-flow flume. Predictions for the first 1 s of motion show that increasing pore pressures (due to debris contraction) cause liquefaction that enhances flow acceleration. As acceleration continues, however, debris dilation causes dissipation of pore pressures, and this dissipation helps stabilize debris-flow motion. Our numerical predictions of this process match experimental data reasonably well, but predictions might be improved by accounting for the effects of grain-size segregation.

  4. Zonal methods and computational fluid dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Atta, E.H.

    1985-01-01

    Recent advances in developing numerical algorithms for solving fluid flow problems, and the continuing improvement in the speed and storage of large scale computers have made it feasible to compute the flow field about complex and realistic configurations. Current solution methods involve the use of a hierarchy of mathematical models ranging from the linearized potential equation to the Navier Stokes equations. Because of the increasing complexity of both the geometries and flowfields encountered in practical fluid flow simulation, there is a growing emphasis in computational fluid dynamics on the use of zonal methods. A zonal method is one that subdivides the total flow region into interconnected smaller regions or zones. The flow solutions in these zones are then patched together to establish the global flow field solution. Zonal methods are primarily used either to limit the complexity of the governing flow equations to a localized region or to alleviate the grid generation problems about geometrically complex and multicomponent configurations. This paper surveys the application of zonal methods for solving the flow field about two and three-dimensional configurations. Various factors affecting their accuracy and ease of implementation are also discussed. From the presented review it is concluded that zonal methods promise to be very effective for computing complex flowfields and configurations. Currently there are increasing efforts to improve their efficiency, versatility, and accuracy

  5. Study on electrolytic reduction with controlled oxygen flow for iron from molten oxide slag containing FeO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gao Y.M.

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A ZrO2-based solid membrane electrolytic cell with controlled oxygen flow was constructed: graphite rod /[O]Fe+C saturated / ZrO2(MgO/(FeO slag/iron crucible. The feasibility of extraction of iron from molten oxide slag containing FeO at an applied voltage was investigated by means of the electrolytic cell. The effects of some important process factors on the FeO electrolytic reduction with the controlled oxygen flow were discussed. The results show that: solid iron can be extracted from molten oxide slag containing FeO at 1450ºC and an applied potential of 4V. These factors, such as precipitation and growth of solid iron dendrites, change of the cathode active area on the inner wall of the iron crucible and ion diffusion flux in the molten slag may affect the electrochemical reaction rate. The reduction for Fe2+ ions mainly appears on new iron dendrites of the iron crucible cathode, and a very small amount of iron are also formed on the MSZ (2.18% MgO partially stabilized zirconia tube/slag interface due to electronic conductance of MSZ tube. Internal electronic current through MSZ tube may change direction at earlier and later electrolytic reduction stage. It has a role of promoting electrolytic reduction for FeO in the molten slag at the earlier stage, but will lower the current efficiency at the later stage. The final reduction ratio of FeO in the molten slag can achieve 99%. A novel electrolytic method with controlled oxygen flow for iron from the molten oxide slag containing FeO was proposed. The theory of electrolytic reduction with the controlled oxygen flow was developed.

  6. Method and Apparatus for Predicting Unsteady Pressure and Flow Rate Distribution in a Fluid Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majumdar, Alok K. (Inventor)

    2009-01-01

    A method and apparatus for analyzing steady state and transient flow in a complex fluid network, modeling phase changes, compressibility, mixture thermodynamics, external body forces such as gravity and centrifugal force and conjugate heat transfer. In some embodiments, a graphical user interface provides for the interactive development of a fluid network simulation having nodes and branches. In some embodiments, mass, energy, and specific conservation equations are solved at the nodes, and momentum conservation equations are solved in the branches. In some embodiments, contained herein are data objects for computing thermodynamic and thermophysical properties for fluids. In some embodiments, the systems of equations describing the fluid network are solved by a hybrid numerical method that is a combination of the Newton-Raphson and successive substitution methods.

  7. Method and apparatus for improved melt flow during continuous strip casting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Follstaedt, Donald W.; King, Edward L.; Schneider, Ken C.

    1991-11-12

    The continuous casting of metal strip using the melt overflow process is improved by controlling the weir conditions in the nozzle to provide a more uniform flow of molten metal across the width of the nozzle and reducing the tendency for freezing of metal along the interface with refractory surfaces. A weir design having a sloped rear wall and tapered sidewalls and critical gap controls beneath the weir has resulted in the drastic reduction in edge tearing and a significant improvement in strip uniformity. The floor of the container vessel is preferably sloped and the gap between the nozzle and the rotating substrate is critically controlled. The resulting flow patterns observed with the improved casting process have reduced thermal gradients in the bath, contained surface slag and eliminated undesirable solidification near the discharge area by increasing the flow rates at those points.

  8. Modeling of turbulent flows in porous media and at the interface with a free fluid medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chandesris, M.

    2006-12-01

    This work deals with the numerical simulation of turbulent flows in the whole nuclear reactor core, using multi-scale approaches. First, a macroscopic turbulence model is built, based on a porous media approach, to describe the flow in the fuel assemblies part of the nuclear core. Then, we study the jump conditions that have to be applied at a free fluid/porous interface. A thorough analytical study is carried out for laminar flows. This study allows to answer some fundamental questions about the physical meaning of the jump conditions, the values of the jump parameters and the location of the interface. Using these results, jump conditions for turbulent flows are proposed. The model is then applied to the simulation of a turbulent flow in a simplified model of a reactor core. (author)

  9. Molten metal feed system controlled with a traveling magnetic field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Praeg, Walter F.

    1991-01-01

    A continuous metal casting system in which the feed of molten metal is controlled by means of a linear induction motor capable of producing a magnetic traveling wave in a duct that connects a reservoir of molten metal to a caster. The linear induction motor produces a traveling magnetic wave in the duct in opposition to the pressure exerted by the head of molten metal in the reservoir so that p.sub.c =p.sub.g -p.sub.m where p.sub.c is the desired pressure in the caster, p.sub.g is the gravitational pressure in the duct exerted by the force of the head of molten metal in the reservoir, and p.sub.m is the electromagnetic pressure exerted by the force of the magnetic field traveling wave produced by the linear induction motor. The invention also includes feedback loops to the linear induction motor to control the casting pressure in response to measured characteristics of the metal being cast.

  10. Shroud leakage flow models and a multi-dimensional coupling CFD (computational fluid dynamics) method for shrouded turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zou, Zhengping; Liu, Jingyuan; Zhang, Weihao; Wang, Peng

    2016-01-01

    Multi-dimensional coupling simulation is an effective approach for evaluating the flow and aero-thermal performance of shrouded turbines, which can balance the simulation accuracy and computing cost effectively. In this paper, 1D leakage models are proposed based on classical jet theories and dynamics equations, which can be used to evaluate most of the main features of shroud leakage flow, including the mass flow rate, radial and circumferential momentum, temperature and the jet width. Then, the 1D models are expanded to 2D distributions on the interface by using a multi-dimensional scaling method. Based on the models and multi-dimensional scaling, a multi-dimensional coupling simulation method for shrouded turbines is developed, in which, some boundary source and sink are set on the interface between the shroud and the main flow passage. To verify the precision, some simulations on the design point and off design points of a 1.5 stage turbine are conducted. It is indicated that the models and methods can give predictions with sufficient accuracy for most of the flow field features and will contribute to pursue deeper understanding and better design methods of shrouded axial turbines, which are the important devices in energy engineering. - Highlights: • Free and wall attached jet theories are used to model the leakage flow in shrouds. • Leakage flow rate is modeled by virtual labyrinth number and residual-energy factor. • A scaling method is applied to 1D model to obtain 2D distributions on interfaces. • A multi-dimensional coupling CFD method for shrouded turbines is proposed. • The proposed coupling method can give accurate predictions with low computing cost.

  11. Decontamination method of contaminated metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawamura, Fumio; Ueda, Yoshihiro; Sato, Chikara; Komori, Itaru.

    1980-01-01

    Purpose: To effectively separate radioactive materials from molten metals in dry-processing method by heating metals contaminated with radioactive materials at a temperature below melting point to oxidize the surface thereof, then heating them to melt and include the radioactive materials into the oxides. Method: Metals contaminated with radioactive materials are heated at a temperature below the melting point thereof in an oxidizing atmosphere to oxidize the surface. Thereafter they are heated to melt at temperature above the melting point of the metals, and the molten metals are separated with the radioactive materials included in the oxides. For instance, radiation-contaminated aluminum pipe placed on the bed of an electrical heating furnace, and heated at 500 0 C which is lower than the melting point 660 0 C of aluminum for 1 - 2 hours while supplying air from an air pipe into the furnace, and an oxide film is formed on the surface of the aluminum pipe. Then, the furnace temperature is increased to 750 0 C wherein molten aluminum is flown down to a container and the oxide film is separated by floating it as the slug on the molten aluminum. (Horiuchi, T.)

  12. Three-dimensional reconstruction volume: a novel method for volume measurement in kidney cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durso, Timothy A; Carnell, Jonathan; Turk, Thomas T; Gupta, Gopal N

    2014-06-01

    The role of volumetric estimation is becoming increasingly important in the staging, management, and prognostication of benign and cancerous conditions of the kidney. We evaluated the use of three-dimensional reconstruction volume (3DV) in determining renal parenchymal volumes (RPV) and renal tumor volumes (RTV). We compared 3DV with the currently available methods of volume assessment and determined its interuser reliability. RPV and RTV were assessed in 28 patients who underwent robot-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for kidney cancer. Patients with a preoperative creatinine level of kidney pre- and postsurgery overestimated 3D reconstruction volumes by 15% to 102% and 12% to 101%, respectively. In addition, volumes obtained from 3DV displayed high interuser reliability regardless of experience. 3DV provides a highly reliable way of assessing kidney volumes. Given that 3DV takes into account visible anatomy, the differences observed using previously published methods can be attributed to the failure of geometry to accurately approximate kidney or tumor shape. 3DV provides a more accurate, reproducible, and clinically useful tool for urologists looking to improve patient care using analysis related to volume.

  13. Numerical simulation of turbulence flow in a Kaplan turbine -Evaluation on turbine performance prediction accuracy-

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ko, P; Kurosawa, S

    2014-01-01

    The understanding and accurate prediction of the flow behaviour related to cavitation and pressure fluctuation in a Kaplan turbine are important to the design work enhancing the turbine performance including the elongation of the operation life span and the improvement of turbine efficiency. In this paper, high accuracy turbine and cavitation performance prediction method based on entire flow passage for a Kaplan turbine is presented and evaluated. Two-phase flow field is predicted by solving Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations expressed by volume of fluid method tracking the free surface and combined with Reynolds Stress model. The growth and collapse of cavitation bubbles are modelled by the modified Rayleigh-Plesset equation. The prediction accuracy is evaluated by comparing with the model test results of Ns 400 Kaplan model turbine. As a result that the experimentally measured data including turbine efficiency, cavitation performance, and pressure fluctuation are accurately predicted. Furthermore, the cavitation occurrence on the runner blade surface and the influence to the hydraulic loss of the flow passage are discussed. Evaluated prediction method for the turbine flow and performance is introduced to facilitate the future design and research works on Kaplan type turbine

  14. Numerical simulation of turbulence flow in a Kaplan turbine -Evaluation on turbine performance prediction accuracy-

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ko, P.; Kurosawa, S.

    2014-03-01

    The understanding and accurate prediction of the flow behaviour related to cavitation and pressure fluctuation in a Kaplan turbine are important to the design work enhancing the turbine performance including the elongation of the operation life span and the improvement of turbine efficiency. In this paper, high accuracy turbine and cavitation performance prediction method based on entire flow passage for a Kaplan turbine is presented and evaluated. Two-phase flow field is predicted by solving Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations expressed by volume of fluid method tracking the free surface and combined with Reynolds Stress model. The growth and collapse of cavitation bubbles are modelled by the modified Rayleigh-Plesset equation. The prediction accuracy is evaluated by comparing with the model test results of Ns 400 Kaplan model turbine. As a result that the experimentally measured data including turbine efficiency, cavitation performance, and pressure fluctuation are accurately predicted. Furthermore, the cavitation occurrence on the runner blade surface and the influence to the hydraulic loss of the flow passage are discussed. Evaluated prediction method for the turbine flow and performance is introduced to facilitate the future design and research works on Kaplan type turbine.

  15. Investigation of molten metal droplet deposition and solidification for 3D printing techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Chien-Hsun; Tsai, Ho-Lin; Wu, Yu-Che; Hwang, Weng-Sing

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the transient transport phenomenon during the pile up of molten lead-free solder via the inkjet printing method. With regard to the droplet impact velocity, the distance from nozzle to substrate can be controlled by using the pulse voltage and distance control apparatus. A high-speed digital camera was used to record the solder impact and examine the accuracy of the pile up. These impact conditions correspond to We  =  2.1–15.1 and Oh  =  5.4  ×  10 −3 –3.8  ×  10 −3 . The effects of impact velocity and relative distance between two types of molten droplets on the shape of the impact mode are examined. The results show that the optimal parameters of the distance from nozzle to substrate and the spreading factor in this experiment are 0.5 mm and 1.33. The diameter, volume and velocity of the inkjet solder droplet are around 37–65 μ m, 25–144 picoliters, and 2.0–3.7 m s −1 , respectively. The vertical and inclined column structures of molten lead-free solder can be fabricated using piezoelectric ink-jet printing systems. The end-shapes of the 3D micro structure have been found to be dependent upon the distance from nozzle to substrate and the impact velocity of the molten lead-free solder droplet. (paper)

  16. Numerical simulations of natural or mixed convection in vertical channels: comparisons of level-set numerical schemes for the modeling of immiscible incompressible fluid flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, R.

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this research dissertation is at studying natural and mixed convections of fluid flows, and to develop and validate numerical schemes for interface tracking in order to treat incompressible and immiscible fluid flows, later. In a first step, an original numerical method, based on Finite Volume discretizations, is developed for modeling low Mach number flows with large temperature gaps. Three physical applications on air flowing through vertical heated parallel plates were investigated. We showed that the optimum spacing corresponding to the peak heat flux transferred from an array of isothermal parallel plates cooled by mixed convection is smaller than those for natural or forced convections when the pressure drop at the outlet keeps constant. We also proved that mixed convection flows resulting from an imposed flow rate may exhibit unexpected physical solutions; alternative model based on prescribed total pressure at inlet and fixed pressure at outlet sections gives more realistic results. For channels heated by heat flux on one wall only, surface radiation tends to suppress the onset of re-circulations at the outlet and to unify the walls temperature. In a second step, the mathematical model coupling the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations and the Level-Set method for interface tracking is derived. Improvements in fluid volume conservation by using high order discretization (ENO-WENO) schemes for the transport equation and variants of the signed distance equation are discussed. (author)

  17. Application of GPU to computational multiphase fluid dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagatake, T; Kunugi, T

    2010-01-01

    The MARS (Multi-interfaces Advection and Reconstruction Solver) [1] is one of the surface volume tracking methods for multi-phase flows. Nowadays, the performance of GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is much higher than the CPU (Central Processing Unit). In this study, the GPU was applied to the MARS in order to accelerate the computation of multi-phase flows (GPU-MARS), and the performance of the GPU-MARS was discussed. From the performance of the interface tracking method for the analyses of one-directional advection problem, it is found that the computing time of GPU(single GTX280) was around 4 times faster than that of the CPU (Xeon 5040, 4 threads parallelized). From the performance of Poisson Solver by using the algorithm developed in this study, it is found that the performance of the GPU showed around 30 times faster than that of the CPU. Finally, it is confirmed that the GPU showed the large acceleration of the fluid flow computation (GPU-MARS) compared to the CPU. However, it is also found that the double-precision computation of the GPU must perform with very high precision.

  18. A Pore Scale Flow Simulation of Reconstructed Model Based on the Micro Seepage Experiment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianjun Liu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Researches on microscopic seepage mechanism and fine description of reservoir pore structure play an important role in effective development of low and ultralow permeability reservoir. The typical micro pore structure model was established by two ways of the conventional model reconstruction method and the built-in graphics function method of Comsol® in this paper. A pore scale flow simulation was conducted on the reconstructed model established by two different ways using creeping flow interface and Brinkman equation interface, respectively. The results showed that the simulation of the two models agreed well in the distribution of velocity, pressure, Reynolds number, and so on. And it verified the feasibility of the direct reconstruction method from graphic file to geometric model, which provided a new way for diversifying the numerical study of micro seepage mechanism.

  19. Acute extracellular fluid volume changes increase ileocolonic resistance to saline flow in anesthetized dogs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Santiago Jr. A.T.

    1997-01-01

    Full Text Available We determined the effect of acute extracellular fluid volume changes on saline flow through 4 gut segments (ileocolonic, ileal, ileocolonic sphincter and proximal colon, perfused at constant pressure in anesthetized dogs. Two different experimental protocols were used: hypervolemia (iv saline infusion, 0.9% NaCl, 20 ml/min, volume up to 5% body weight and controlled hemorrhage (up to a 50% drop in mean arterial pressure. Mean ileocolonic flow (N = 6 was gradually and significantly decreased during the expansion (17.1%, P<0.05 and expanded (44.9%, P<0.05 periods while mean ileal flow (N = 7 was significantly decreased only during the expanded period (38%, P<0.05. Mean colonic flow (N = 7 was decreased during expansion (12%, P<0.05 but returned to control levels during the expanded period. Mean ileocolonic sphincter flow (N = 6 was not significantly modified. Mean ileocolonic flow (N = 10 was also decreased after hemorrhage (retracted period by 17% (P<0.05, but saline flow was not modified in the other separate circuits (N = 6, 5 and 4 for ileal, ileocolonic sphincter and colonic groups, respectively. The expansion effect was blocked by atropine (0.5 mg/kg, iv both on the ileocolonic (N = 6 and ileal (N = 5 circuits. Acute extracellular fluid volume retraction and expansion increased the lower gastrointestinal resistances to saline flow. These effects, which could physiologically decrease the liquid volume being supplied to the colon, are possible mechanisms activated to acutely balance liquid volume deficit and excess.

  20. Boostream: a dynamic fluid flow process to assemble nanoparticles at liquid interface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delléa, Olivier; Lebaigue, Olivier

    2017-12-01

    CEA-LITEN develops an original process called Boostream® to manipulate, assemble and connect micro- or nanoparticles of various materials, sizes, shapes and functions to obtain monolayer colloidal crystals (MCCs). This process uses the upper surface of a liquid film flowing down a ramp to assemble particles in a manner that is close to the horizontal situation of a Langmuir-Blodgett film construction. In presence of particles at the liquid interface, the film down-flow configuration exhibits an unusual hydraulic jump which results from the fluid flow accommodation to the particle monolayer. In order to master our process, the fluid flow has been modeled and experimentally characterized by optical means, such as with the moiré technique that consists in observing the reflection of a succession of periodic black-and-red fringes on the liquid surface mirror. The fringe images are deformed when reflected by the curved liquid surface associated with the hydraulic jump, the fringe deformation being proportional to the local slope of the surface. This original experimental setup allowed us to get the surface profile in the jump region and to measure it along with the main process parameters (liquid flow rate, slope angle, temperature sensitive fluid properties such as dynamic viscosity or surface tension, particle sizes). This work presents the experimental setup and its simple model, the different experimental characterization techniques used and will focus on the way the hydraulic jump relies on the process parameters.

  1. Partitioned fluid-solid coupling for cardiovascular blood flow: left-ventricular fluid mechanics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krittian, Sebastian; Janoske, Uwe; Oertel, Herbert; Böhlke, Thomas

    2010-04-01

    We present a 3D code-coupling approach which has been specialized towards cardiovascular blood flow. For the first time, the prescribed geometry movement of the cardiovascular flow model KaHMo (Karlsruhe Heart Model) has been replaced by a myocardial composite model. Deformation is driven by fluid forces and myocardial response, i.e., both its contractile and constitutive behavior. Whereas the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian formulation (ALE) of the Navier-Stokes equations is discretized by finite volumes (FVM), the solid mechanical finite elasticity equations are discretized by a finite element (FEM) approach. Taking advantage of specialized numerical solution strategies for non-matching fluid and solid domain meshes, an iterative data-exchange guarantees the interface equilibrium of the underlying governing equations. The focus of this work is on left-ventricular fluid-structure interaction based on patient-specific magnetic resonance imaging datasets. Multi-physical phenomena are described by temporal visualization and characteristic FSI numbers. The results gained show flow patterns that are in good agreement with previous observations. A deeper understanding of cavity deformation, blood flow, and their vital interaction can help to improve surgical treatment and clinical therapy planning.

  2. Method and apparatus for dissociating metals from metal compounds extracted into supercritical fluids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wai, Chien M.; Hunt, Fred H.; Smart, Neil G.; Lin, Yuehe

    2000-01-01

    A method for dissociating metal-ligand complexes in a supercritical fluid by treating the metal-ligand complex with heat and/or reducing or oxidizing agents is described. Once the metal-ligand complex is dissociated, the resulting metal and/or metal oxide form fine particles of substantially uniform size. In preferred embodiments, the solvent is supercritical carbon dioxide and the ligand is a .beta.-diketone such as hexafluoroacetylacetone or dibutyldiacetate. In other preferred embodiments, the metals in the metal-ligand complex are copper, silver, gold, tungsten, titanium, tantalum, tin, or mixtures thereof. In preferred embodiments, the reducing agent is hydrogen. The method provides an efficient process for dissociating metal-ligand complexes and produces easily-collected metal particles free from hydrocarbon solvent impurities. The ligand and the supercritical fluid can be regenerated to provide an economic, efficient process.

  3. A Schur complement method for compressible two-phase flow models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dao, Thu-Huyen; Ndjinga, Michael; Magoules, Frederic

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we will report our recent efforts to apply a Schur complement method for nonlinear hyperbolic problems. We use the finite volume method and an implicit version of the Roe approximate Riemann solver. With the interface variable introduced in [4] in the context of single phase flows, we are able to simulate two-fluid models ([12]) with various schemes such as upwind, centered or Rusanov. Moreover, we introduce a scaling strategy to improve the condition number of both the interface system and the local systems. Numerical results for the isentropic two-fluid model and the compressible Navier-Stokes equations in various 2D and 3D configurations and various schemes show that our method is robust and efficient. The scaling strategy considerably reduces the number of GMRES iterations in both interface system and local system resolutions. Comparisons of performances with classical distributed computing with up to 218 processors are also reported. (authors)

  4. Numerical Modeling of Porous Structure of Biomaterial and Fluid Flowing Through Biomaterial

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2005-01-01

    A Cellular Automata model of simulating body fluid flowing into porous bioceramic implants generated with stochastic methods is described, of which main parameters and evolvement rule are determined in terms of flow behavior of body fluid in porous biomaterials. The model is implemented by GUI( Graphical User Interface) program in MATLAB, and the results of numerical modeling show that the body fluid percolation is related to the size of pores and porosity.

  5. Laser cutting performances for thick steel specimens studied by molten metal removal conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tamura, Koji; Toyama, Shin'ichi

    2017-01-01

    Laser cutting performances for thick carbon steel and stainless steel specimens up to 300 mm in thickness were studied to dismantle large steel objects. The cutting performances were summarized based on the assist gas flow rate and the front kerf width, and the range for appropriate cutting conditions was shown. Gas pressure in the kerf region required for molten metal removal was estimated from the pressure loss on the kerf surface, which depended on the gas flow rate and the kerf width. The relation to keep sufficient gas pressure in the kerf well corresponded to the experimental relations for appropriate cutting. Drag force to the molten metal on the kerf surface was also estimated, which varied by the structures and materials. The behaviors such as cavity formation and its expansion in the kerf region at the unsuccessful cutting trials were well explained. The results are informative for the development of the laser cutting technology applied to the thick steel specimen for the nuclear decommissioning. (author)

  6. Convection in molten pool created by a concentrated energy flux on a solid metal target

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dikshit, B.; Zende, G. R.; Bhatia, M. S.; Suri, B. M.

    2009-01-01

    During surface evaporation of metals by use of a concentrated energy flux such as electron beam or lasers, a liquid metal pool having a very high temperature gradient is formed around the hot zone created by the beam. Due to temperature dependence of surface tension, density, and depression of the evaporating surface caused by back pressure of the emitted vapor in this molten pool, a strong convective current sets in the molten pool. A proposition is made that this convection may pass through three different stages during increase in the electron beam power depending upon dominance of the various driving forces. To confirm this, convective heat transfer is quantified in terms of dimensionless Nusselt number and its evolution with power is studied in an experiment using aluminum, copper, and zirconium as targets. These experimentally determined values are also compared to the theoretical values predicted by earlier researchers to test the validity of their assumptions and to know about the type of flow in the melt pool. Thus, conclusion about the physical characteristics of flow in the molten pool of metals could be drawn by considering the roles of surface tension and curvature of the evaporating surface on the evolution of convective heat transfer.

  7. Wetting and spreading behavior of molten brazing filler metallic alloys on metallic substrate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kogi, Satoshi; Kajiura, Tetsurou; Hanada, Yukiakira; Miyazawa, Yasuyuki

    2014-08-01

    Wetting and spreading of molten brazing filler material are important factors that influence the brazing ability of a joint to be brazed. Several investigations into the wetting ability of a brazing filler alloy and its surface tension in molten state, in addition to effects of brazing time and temperature on the contact angle, have been carried out. In general, dissimilar-metals brazing technology and high-performance brazed joint are necessities for the manufacturing field in the near future. Therefore, to address this requirement, more such studies on wetting and spreading of filler material are required for a deeper understanding. Generally, surface roughness and surface conditions affect spreading of molten brazing filler material during brazing. Wetting by and interfacial reactions of the molten brazing filler material with the metallic substrate, especially, affect strongly the spreading of the filler material. In this study, the effects of surface roughness and surface conditions on the spreading of molten brazing filler metallic alloys were investigated. Ag-(40-x)Cu-xIn and Ag- (40-x)Cu-xSn (x=5, 10, 15, 20, 25) alloys were used as brazing filler materials. A mild-steel square plate (S45C (JIS); side: 30 mm; thickness: 3mm) was employed as the substrate. A few surfaces with varying roughness were prepared using emery paper. Brazing filler material and metallic base plate were first washed with acetone, and then a flux was applied to them. The filler, 50 mg, was placed on the center of the metallic base with the flux. A spreading test was performed under Ar gas using an electrically heated furnace, after which, the original spreading area, defined as the sessile drop area, and the apparent spreading area, produced by the capillary grooves, were both evaluated. It was observed that the spreading area decreased with increasing In and Sn content.

  8. Performance Testing of Molten Regolith Electrolysis with Transfer of Molten Material for the Production of Oxygen and Metals on the Moon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sibille, Laurent; Sadoway, Donald; Tripathy, Prabhat; Standish, Evan; Sirk, Aislinn; Melendez, Orlando; Stefanescu, Doru

    2010-01-01

    Previously, we have demonstrated the production of oxygen by electrolysis of molten regolith simulants at temperatures near 1600 C. Using an inert anode and suitable cathode, direct electrolysis (no supporting electrolyte) of the molten silicate is carried out, resulting in the production of molten metallic products at the cathode and oxygen gas at the anode. Initial direct measurements of current efficiency have confirmed that the process offer potential advantages of high oxygen production rates in a smaller footprint facility landed on the moon, with a minimum of consumables brought from Earth. We now report the results of a scale-up effort toward the goal of achieving production rates equivalent to 1 metric ton O2/year, a benchmark established for the support of a lunar base. We previously reported on the electrochemical behavior of the molten electrolyte as dependent on anode material, sweep rate and electrolyte composition in batches of 20-200g and at currents of less than 0.5 A. In this paper, we present the results of experiments performed at currents up to 10 Amperes) and in larger volumes of regolith simulant (500 g - 1 kg) for longer durations of electrolysis. The technical development of critical design components is described, including: inert anodes capable of passing continuous currents of several Amperes, container materials selection, direct gas analysis capability to determine the gas components co-evolving with oxygen. To allow a continuous process, a system has been designed and tested to enable the withdrawal of cathodically-reduced molten metals and spent molten oxide electrolyte. The performance of the withdrawal system is presented and critiqued. The design of the electrolytic cell and the configuration of the furnace were supported by modeling the thermal environment of the system in an effort to realize a balance between external heating and internal joule heating. We will discuss the impact these simulations and experimental findings have

  9. A multilevel particle method for gas dynamics: application to multi-fluids simulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weynans, Lisl

    2006-12-01

    In inertial confinement fusion, laser implosions require to know hydrodynamic flow in presence of shocks. This work is devoted to the evaluation of the ability of a particle-mesh method, inspired from Vortex-In-Cell methods, to simulate gas dynamics, especially multi-fluids. First, we develop a particle method, associated with a conservative re-meshing step, which is performed with high order interpolating kernels. We study theoretically and numerically this method. This analysis gives evidence of a strong relationship between the particle method and high order Lax-Wendroff-like finite difference schemes. We introduce a new scheme for the advection of particles. Then we implement a multilevel technique, inspired from AMR, which allows us to increase locally the accuracy of the computations. Finally we develop a level set-like technique, discretized on the particles, to simulate the interface between compressible flows. We use the multilevel technique to improve the interface resolution and the conservation of partial masses. (author)

  10. Simulation based engineering in fluid flow design

    CERN Document Server

    Rao, J S

    2017-01-01

    This volume offers a tool for High Performance Computing (HPC). A brief historical background on the subject is first given. Fluid Statics dealing with Pressure in fluids at rest, Buoyancy and Basics of Thermodynamics are next presented. The Finite Volume Method, the most convenient process for HPC, is explained in one-dimensional approach to diffusion with convection and pressure velocity coupling. Adiabatic, isentropic and supersonic flows in quasi-one dimensional flows in axisymmetric nozzles is considered before applying CFD solutions. Though the theory is restricted to one-dimensional cases, three-dimensional CFD examples are also given. Lastly, nozzle flows with normal shocks are presented using turbulence models. Worked examples and exercises are given in each chapter. Fluids transport thermal energy for its conversion to kinetic energy, thus playing a major role that is central to all heat engines. With the advent of rotating machinery in the 20th century, Fluid Engineering was developed in the form o...

  11. A coupled analysis of fluid flow, heat transfer and deformation behavior of solidifying shell in continuously cast beam blank

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jung Eui; Yeo, Tae Jung; Oh, Kyu Hwan; Yoon, Jong Kyu [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul Nat` l Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Han, Heung Nam [Oxford Center for Advanced Materials and Composites, Department of Materials, Univ. of Oxford (United Kingdom)

    1998-12-31

    A mathematical model for a coupled analysis of fluid flow, heat transfer and deformation behavior in the continuously cast beam blank has been developed. The fluid flow, heat transfer and solidification in the mold region were analyzed with 3-dimensional finite difference method (FDM) based on control volume method. A body fitted coordinate system was introduced for the complex geometry of the beam blank. The effects of turbulence and natural convection of molten steel were taken into account in determining the fluid flow in the strand. The thermo-elasto-plastic deformation behavior in the cast strand and the formation of air gap between the solidifying shell and the mold were analyzed by the finite element method (FEM) using the 2-dimensional slice temperature profile calculated by the FDM. The heat flow between the strand and the mold was evaluated by the coupled analysis between the fluid flow-heat transfer analysis and the thermo-elasto-plastic stress analysis. In order to determine the solid fraction in the mushy zone, the microsegregation of solute element was assessed. The effects of fluid flow on the heat transfer, the solidification of steel and the distribution of shell thickness during the casting of the beam blank were simulated. The deformation behavior of the solidifying shell and the possibility of cracking of the strand were also investigated. The recirculating flows were developed in the regions of the web and the flange tip. The impinging of the inlet flow from the nozzle retarded the growing of solidifying shell in the regions of the fillet and the flange. The air gap between the strand and the mold was formed near the region of the corner of the flange tip. At the initial stage of casting, the probability of the surface cracking was high in the regions of the fillet and the flange tip. After the middle stage of casting, the internal cracking was predicted in the regions of the flange tip, and between the fillet and the flange tip. (author) 38

  12. A coupled analysis of fluid flow, heat transfer and deformation behavior of solidifying shell in continuously cast beam blank

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jung Eui; Yeo, Tae Jung; Oh, Kyu Hwan; Yoon, Jong Kyu [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul Nat`l Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Han, Heung Nam [Oxford Center for Advanced Materials and Composites, Department of Materials, Univ. of Oxford (United Kingdom)

    1997-12-31

    A mathematical model for a coupled analysis of fluid flow, heat transfer and deformation behavior in the continuously cast beam blank has been developed. The fluid flow, heat transfer and solidification in the mold region were analyzed with 3-dimensional finite difference method (FDM) based on control volume method. A body fitted coordinate system was introduced for the complex geometry of the beam blank. The effects of turbulence and natural convection of molten steel were taken into account in determining the fluid flow in the strand. The thermo-elasto-plastic deformation behavior in the cast strand and the formation of air gap between the solidifying shell and the mold were analyzed by the finite element method (FEM) using the 2-dimensional slice temperature profile calculated by the FDM. The heat flow between the strand and the mold was evaluated by the coupled analysis between the fluid flow-heat transfer analysis and the thermo-elasto-plastic stress analysis. In order to determine the solid fraction in the mushy zone, the microsegregation of solute element was assessed. The effects of fluid flow on the heat transfer, the solidification of steel and the distribution of shell thickness during the casting of the beam blank were simulated. The deformation behavior of the solidifying shell and the possibility of cracking of the strand were also investigated. The recirculating flows were developed in the regions of the web and the flange tip. The impinging of the inlet flow from the nozzle retarded the growing of solidifying shell in the regions of the fillet and the flange. The air gap between the strand and the mold was formed near the region of the corner of the flange tip. At the initial stage of casting, the probability of the surface cracking was high in the regions of the fillet and the flange tip. After the middle stage of casting, the internal cracking was predicted in the regions of the flange tip, and between the fillet and the flange tip. (author) 38

  13. Application of the finite volume method in the simulation of saturated flows of binary mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murad, M.A.; Gama, R.M.S. da; Sampaio, R.

    1989-12-01

    This work presents the simulation of saturated flows of an incompressible Newtonian fluid through a rigid, homogeneous and isotropic porous medium. The employed mathematical model is derived from the Continuum Theory of Mixtures and generalizes the classical one which is based on Darcy's Law form of the momentum equation. In this approach fluid and porous matrix are regarded as continuous constituents of a binary mixture. The finite volume method is employed in the simulation. (author) [pt

  14. Large interface simulation in an averaged two-fluid code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henriques, A.

    2006-01-01

    Different ranges of size of interfaces and eddies are involved in multiphase flow phenomena. Classical formalisms focus on a specific range of size. This study presents a Large Interface Simulation (LIS) two-fluid compressible formalism taking into account different sizes of interfaces. As in the single-phase Large Eddy Simulation, a filtering process is used to point out Large Interface (LI) simulation and Small interface (SI) modelization. The LI surface tension force is modelled adapting the well-known CSF method. The modelling of SI transfer terms is done calling for classical closure laws of the averaged approach. To simulate accurately LI transfer terms, we develop a LI recognition algorithm based on a dimensionless criterion. The LIS model is applied in a classical averaged two-fluid code. The LI transfer terms modelling and the LI recognition are validated on analytical and experimental tests. A square base basin excited by a horizontal periodic movement is studied with the LIS model. The capability of the model is also shown on the case of the break-up of a bubble in a turbulent liquid flow. The break-up of a large bubble at a grid impact performed regime transition between two different scales of interface from LI to SI and from PI to LI. (author) [fr

  15. Fluid mechanics experiments in oscillatory flow. Volume 1: Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seume, J.; Friedman, G.; Simon, T. W.

    1992-01-01

    Results of a fluid mechanics measurement program in oscillating flow within a circular duct are presented. The program began with a survey of transition behavior over a range of oscillation frequency and magnitude and continued with a detailed study at a single operating point. Such measurements were made in support of Stirling engine development. Values of three dimensionless parameters, Re(sub max), Re(sub w), and A(sub R), embody the velocity amplitude, frequency of oscillation and mean fluid displacement of the cycle, respectively. Measurements were first made over a range of these parameters which included operating points of all Stirling engines. Next, a case was studied with values of these parameters that are representative of the heat exchanger tubes in the heater section of NASA's Stirling cycle Space Power Research Engine (SPRE). Measurements were taken of the axial and radial components of ensemble-averaged velocity and rms-velocity fluctuation and the dominant Reynolds shear stress, at various radial positions for each of four axial stations. In each run, transition from laminar to turbulent flow, and its reverse, were identified and sufficient data was gathered to propose the transition mechanism. Models of laminar and turbulent boundary layers were used to process the data into wall coordinates and to evaluate skin friction coefficients. Such data aids in validating computational models and is useful in comparing oscillatory flow characteristics to those of fully-developed steady flow. Data were taken with a contoured entry to each end of the test section and with flush square inlets so that the effects of test section inlet geometry on transition and turbulence are documented. Volume 1 contains the text of the report including figures and supporting appendices. Volume 2 contains data reduction program listings and tabulated data (including its graphical presentation).

  16. A study to investigate viscous coupling effects on the hydraulic conductance of fluid layers in two-phase flow at the pore level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shams, Mosayeb; Raeini, Ali Q; Blunt, Martin J; Bijeljic, Branko

    2018-07-15

    This paper examines the role of momentum transfer across fluid-fluid interfaces in two-phase flow. A volume-of-fluid finite-volume numerical method is used to solve the Navier-Stokes equations for two-phase flow at the micro-scale. The model is applied to investigate viscous coupling effects as a function of the viscosity ratio, the wetting phase saturation and the wettability, for different fluid configurations in simple pore geometries. It is shown that viscous coupling effects can be significant for certain pore geometries such as oil layers sandwiched between water in the corner of mixed wettability capillaries. A simple parametric model is then presented to estimate general mobility terms as a function of geometric properties and viscosity ratio. Finally, the model is validated by comparison with the mobilities computed using direct numerical simulation. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Numerical Simulation of Two-Fluid Mingling Using the Particle Finite Element Method with Applications to Magmatic and Volcanic Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Mier, M.; Costa, F.; Idelsohn, S.

    2008-12-01

    Many magmatic and volcanic processes (e.g., magma differentiation, mingling, transport in the volcanic conduit) are controlled by the physical properties and flow styles of high-temperature silicate melts. Such processes can be experimentally investigated using analog systems and scaling methods, but it is difficult to find the suitable material and it is generally not possible to quantitatively extrapolate the results to the natural system. An alternative means of studying fluid dynamics in volcanic systems is with numerical models. We have chosen the Particle Finite Element Method (PFEM), which is based on a Delaunay mesh that moves with the fluid velocity, the Navier-Stokes equations in Lagrangian formulation, and linear elements for velocity, pressure, and temperature. Remeshing is performed when the grid becomes too distorted [E. Oñate et al., 2004. The Particle Finite Element Method: An Overview. Int. J. Comput. Meth. 1, 267-307]. The method is ideal for tracking material interfaces between different fluids or media. Methods based on Eulerian reference frames need special techniques, such as level-set or volume-of-fluid, to capture the interface position, and these techniques add a significant numerical diffusion at the interface. We have performed a series of two-dimensional simulations of a classical problem of fluid dynamics in magmatic and volcanic systems: intrusion of a basaltic melt in a silica-rich magma reservoir. We have used realistic physical properties and equations of state for the silicate melts (e.g., temperature, viscosity, and density) and tracked the changes in the system for geologically relevant time scales (up to 100 years). The problem is modeled by the low-Mach-number equations derived from an asymptotic analysis of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations that removes shock waves from the flow but allows however large variations of density due to temperature variations. Non-constant viscosity and volume changes are taken into account

  18. Moving Particle Semi-implicit method: a numerical method for thermal hydraulic analysis with topological deformations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koshizuka, S.; Oka, Y.

    1997-01-01

    Moving Particle Semi-implicit (MPS) method is presented. Partial differential operators in the governing equations, such as gradient and Laplacian, are modeled as particle interactions without grids. A semi-implicit algorithm is used for incompressible flow analysis. In the present study, calculation models of moving solids, thin structures and phase change between liquid and gas are developed. Interaction between breaking waves and a floating solid is simulated using the model of moving solids. Calculations of collapsing water with a vertical thin plate show that water spills out over the plate which is largely deformed. Impingement of water jets on a molten metal pool is analyzed to investigate fundamental processes of vapor explosions. Water, vapor and molten metal are simultaneously calculated with evaporation. This calculation reveals that filaments of the molten metal emerge as the fragmentation process of vapor explosions. The MPS method is useful for complex problems involving moving interfaces even if topological deformations occur. (author)

  19. Monte Carlo Method with Heuristic Adjustment for Irregularly Shaped Food Product Volume Measurement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joko Siswantoro

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Volume measurement plays an important role in the production and processing of food products. Various methods have been proposed to measure the volume of food products with irregular shapes based on 3D reconstruction. However, 3D reconstruction comes with a high-priced computational cost. Furthermore, some of the volume measurement methods based on 3D reconstruction have a low accuracy. Another method for measuring volume of objects uses Monte Carlo method. Monte Carlo method performs volume measurements using random points. Monte Carlo method only requires information regarding whether random points fall inside or outside an object and does not require a 3D reconstruction. This paper proposes volume measurement using a computer vision system for irregularly shaped food products without 3D reconstruction based on Monte Carlo method with heuristic adjustment. Five images of food product were captured using five cameras and processed to produce binary images. Monte Carlo integration with heuristic adjustment was performed to measure the volume based on the information extracted from binary images. The experimental results show that the proposed method provided high accuracy and precision compared to the water displacement method. In addition, the proposed method is more accurate and faster than the space carving method.

  20. Monte Carlo method with heuristic adjustment for irregularly shaped food product volume measurement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siswantoro, Joko; Prabuwono, Anton Satria; Abdullah, Azizi; Idrus, Bahari

    2014-01-01

    Volume measurement plays an important role in the production and processing of food products. Various methods have been proposed to measure the volume of food products with irregular shapes based on 3D reconstruction. However, 3D reconstruction comes with a high-priced computational cost. Furthermore, some of the volume measurement methods based on 3D reconstruction have a low accuracy. Another method for measuring volume of objects uses Monte Carlo method. Monte Carlo method performs volume measurements using random points. Monte Carlo method only requires information regarding whether random points fall inside or outside an object and does not require a 3D reconstruction. This paper proposes volume measurement using a computer vision system for irregularly shaped food products without 3D reconstruction based on Monte Carlo method with heuristic adjustment. Five images of food product were captured using five cameras and processed to produce binary images. Monte Carlo integration with heuristic adjustment was performed to measure the volume based on the information extracted from binary images. The experimental results show that the proposed method provided high accuracy and precision compared to the water displacement method. In addition, the proposed method is more accurate and faster than the space carving method.

  1. Direct reduction of uranium dioxide and few other metal oxides to corresponding metals by high temperature molten salt electrolysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohandas, K.S.

    2017-01-01

    Molten salt based electro-reduction processes, capable of directly converting solid metal oxides to metals with minimum intermediate steps, are being studied worldwide. Production of metals apart, the process assumes importance in nuclear technology in the context of pyrochemical reprocessing of spent oxide fuels, for it serves as an intermediate step to convert spent oxide fuel to a metal alloy, which in turn can be processed by molten salt electro-refining method to gain the actinides present in it. In the context of future metal fuel fast reactor programme, the electrochemical process was studied for conversion of solid UO_2 to U metal in LiCl-1wt.% Li_2O melt at 650 °C with platinum anode at the Metal Processing Studies Section, PMPD, IGCAR. A brief overview of the work is presented in the paper

  2. Metal-semiconductor interface in extreme temperature conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bulat, L.P.; Erofeeva, I.A.; Vorobiev, Yu.V.; Gonzalez-Hernandez, J.

    2008-01-01

    We present an investigation of electrons' and phonons' temperatures in the volume of a semiconductor (or metal) sample and at the interface between metal and semiconductor. Two types of mismatch between electrons' and phonons' temperatures take place: at metal-semiconductor interfaces and in the volume of the sample. The temperature mismatch leads to nonlinear terms in expressions for heat and electricity transport. The nonlinear effects should be taken into consideration in the study of electrical and heat transport in composites and in electronic chips

  3. Data-driven sensor placement from coherent fluid structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manohar, Krithika; Kaiser, Eurika; Brunton, Bingni W.; Kutz, J. Nathan; Brunton, Steven L.

    2017-11-01

    Optimal sensor placement is a central challenge in the prediction, estimation and control of fluid flows. We reinterpret sensor placement as optimizing discrete samples of coherent fluid structures for full state reconstruction. This permits a drastic reduction in the number of sensors required for faithful reconstruction, since complex fluid interactions can often be described by a small number of coherent structures. Our work optimizes point sensors using the pivoted matrix QR factorization to sample coherent structures directly computed from flow data. We apply this sampling technique in conjunction with various data-driven modal identification methods, including the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and dynamic mode decomposition (DMD). In contrast to POD-based sensors, DMD demonstrably enables the optimization of sensors for prediction in systems exhibiting multiple scales of dynamics. Finally, reconstruction accuracy from pivot sensors is shown to be competitive with sensors obtained using traditional computationally prohibitive optimization methods.

  4. Topological fluid dynamics of interfacial flows

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brøns, Morten

    1994-01-01

    The topological description of flows in the vicinity of a solid boundary, that is familiar from the aerodynamics literature, has recently been extended to the case of flow at a liquid–gas interface or a free surface by Lugt [Phys. Fluids 30, 3647 (1987)]. Lugt's work is revisited in a more general...... setting, including nonconstant curvature of the interface and gradients of surface tension, using tools of modern nonlinear dynamics. Bifurcations of the flow pattern occur at degenerate configurations. Using the theory of unfolding, this paper gives a complete description of the bifurcations that depend...... on terms up to the second order. The general theory of this paper is applied to the topology of streamlines during the breaking of a wave and to the flow below a stagnant surface film. Physics of Fluids is copyrighted by The American Institute of Physics....

  5. High-accuracy CFD prediction methods for fluid and structure temperature fluctuations at T-junction for thermal fatigue evaluation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qian, Shaoxiang, E-mail: qian.shaoxiang@jgc.com [EN Technology Center, Process Technology Division, JGC Corporation, 2-3-1 Minato Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama 220-6001 (Japan); Kanamaru, Shinichiro [EN Technology Center, Process Technology Division, JGC Corporation, 2-3-1 Minato Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama 220-6001 (Japan); Kasahara, Naoto [Nuclear Engineering and Management, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656 (Japan)

    2015-07-15

    Highlights: • Numerical methods for accurate prediction of thermal loading were proposed. • Predicted fluid temperature fluctuation (FTF) intensity is close to the experiment. • Predicted structure temperature fluctuation (STF) range is close to the experiment. • Predicted peak frequencies of FTF and STF also agree well with the experiment. • CFD results show the proposed numerical methods are of sufficiently high accuracy. - Abstract: Temperature fluctuations generated by the mixing of hot and cold fluids at a T-junction, which is widely used in nuclear power and process plants, can cause thermal fatigue failure. The conventional methods for evaluating thermal fatigue tend to provide insufficient accuracy, because they were developed based on limited experimental data and a simplified one-dimensional finite element analysis (FEA). CFD/FEA coupling analysis is expected as a useful tool for the more accurate evaluation of thermal fatigue. The present paper aims to verify the accuracy of proposed numerical methods of simulating fluid and structure temperature fluctuations at a T-junction for thermal fatigue evaluation. The dynamic Smagorinsky model (DSM) is used for large eddy simulation (LES) sub-grid scale (SGS) turbulence model, and a hybrid scheme (HS) is adopted for the calculation of convective terms in the governing equations. Also, heat transfer between fluid and structure is calculated directly through thermal conduction by creating a mesh with near wall resolution (NWR) by allocating grid points within the thermal boundary sub-layer. The simulation results show that the distribution of fluid temperature fluctuation intensity and the range of structure temperature fluctuation are remarkably close to the experimental results. Moreover, the peak frequencies of power spectrum density (PSD) of both fluid and structure temperature fluctuations also agree well with the experimental results. Therefore, the numerical methods used in the present paper are

  6. Effects of light refraction on the accuracy of camera calibration and reconstruction in underwater motion analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, Young-Hoo; Casebolt, Jeffrey B

    2006-07-01

    One of the most serious obstacles to accurate quantification of the underwater motion of a swimmer's body is image deformation caused by refraction. Refraction occurs at the water-air interface plane (glass) owing to the density difference. Camera calibration-reconstruction algorithms commonly used in aquatic research do not have the capability to correct this refraction-induced nonlinear image deformation and produce large reconstruction errors. The aim of this paper is to provide a thorough review of: the nature of the refraction-induced image deformation and its behaviour in underwater object-space plane reconstruction; the intrinsic shortcomings of the Direct Linear Transformation (DLT) method in underwater motion analysis; experimental conditions that interact with refraction; and alternative algorithms and strategies that can be used to improve the calibration-reconstruction accuracy. Although it is impossible to remove the refraction error completely in conventional camera calibration-reconstruction methods, it is possible to improve the accuracy to some extent by manipulating experimental conditions or calibration frame characteristics. Alternative algorithms, such as the localized DLT and the double-plane method are also available for error reduction. The ultimate solution for the refraction problem is to develop underwater camera calibration and reconstruction algorithms that have the capability to correct refraction.

  7. Accuracy and Numerical Stabilty Analysis of Lattice Boltzmann Method with Multiple Relaxation Time for Incompressible Flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pradipto; Purqon, Acep

    2017-07-01

    Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is the novel method for simulating fluid dynamics. Nowadays, the application of LBM ranges from the incompressible flow, flow in the porous medium, until microflows. The common collision model of LBM is the BGK with a constant single relaxation time τ. However, BGK suffers from numerical instabilities. These instabilities could be eliminated by implementing LBM with multiple relaxation time. Both of those scheme have implemented for incompressible 2 dimensions lid-driven cavity. The stability analysis has done by finding the maximum Reynolds number and velocity for converged simulations. The accuracy analysis is done by comparing the velocity profile with the benchmark results from Ghia, et al and calculating the net velocity flux. The tests concluded that LBM with MRT are more stable than BGK, and have a similar accuracy. The maximum Reynolds number that converges for BGK is 3200 and 7500 for MRT respectively.

  8. A study of metallic coatings obtained by electrolysis of molten salts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Broc, Michel.

    1978-06-01

    An appropriate technique has been developed for obtaining compact metallic coatings from electrolysis of molten salts. Through the use of this method, it has been possible to produce pure metal deposits which, until now, has been extremely difficult to do. The apparatus used and the main steps of the process such as dehydration of the solvant, degassing of the equipment, and starting of the electrolytic process, are first described. This is followed by a discussion of the deposits of the metals beryllium, uranium, tantalum and tungsten obtained from electrolysis of molten fluorides at temperatures between 600 and 800 0 C. The metal coatings so obtained are homogeneous and show continuity, their thicknesses varying from a few microns to a millimeter or more. They have been studied by measurements. As potential applications of this new technique, one can mention the growth of diffusion barriers and the production of cathodes for thermoionic emission. The method can also be used for electroforming. An intermetallic diffusion between the deposit and the substrate has been observed in some cases. The advantage of the technique of melt electrolysis in obtaining metal coatings of enhanced thicknesses is illustrated by taking the beryllium-nickel system as an example. It is shown that the thickness obtained is proportional to the square root of growth time and is about 6 to 8 times larger than that obtained by conventional techniques [fr

  9. Fluid flow control system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rion, Jacky.

    1982-01-01

    Fluid flow control system featuring a series of grids placed perpendicular to the fluid flow direction, characterized by the fact that it is formed of a stack of identical and continuous grids, each of which consists of identical meshes forming a flat lattice. The said meshes are offset from one grid to the next. This system applies in particular to flow control of the coolant flowing at the foot of an assembly of a liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor [fr

  10. Energy Dissipation Rate in an Agitated Crucible Containing Molten Metal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Tao; Shimasaki, Shin-ichi; Narita, Shunsuke; Taniguchi, Shoji

    2017-10-01

    The energy dissipation rate (EDR) is an important parameter for characterizing the behavior of inclusion coagulation in agitated molten metal. To clarify the inclusion coagulation mechanism, we review previous water model studies by particularly focusing on the relation between the impeller torque and the EDR of the fluid, which indicates the ratio of energy dissipated in the viscous medium to the energy inputted by the rotating impeller. In the present study, simulations coupled with experiments were performed to determine the relation between the torque and the effective EDR for water and liquid Al in crucibles with and without baffles.

  11. Robust and general method for determining surface fluid flow boundary conditions in articular cartilage contact mechanics modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pawaskar, Sainath Shrikant; Fisher, John; Jin, Zhongmin

    2010-03-01

    Contact detection in cartilage contact mechanics is an important feature of any analytical or computational modeling investigation when the biphasic nature of cartilage and the corresponding tribology are taken into account. The fluid flow boundary conditions will change based on whether the surface is in contact or not, which will affect the interstitial fluid pressurization. This in turn will increase or decrease the load sustained by the fluid phase, with a direct effect on friction, wear, and lubrication. In laboratory experiments or clinical hemiarthroplasty, when a rigid indenter or metallic prosthesis is used to apply load to the cartilage, there will not be any fluid flow normal to the surface in the contact region due to the impermeable nature of the indenter/prosthesis. In the natural joint, on the other hand, where two cartilage surfaces interact, flow will depend on the pressure difference across the interface. Furthermore, in both these cases, the fluid would flow freely in non-contacting regions. However, it should be pointed out that the contact area is generally unknown in advance in both cases and can only be determined as part of the solution. In the present finite element study, a general and robust algorithm was proposed to decide nodes in contact on the cartilage surface and, accordingly, impose the fluid flow boundary conditions. The algorithm was first tested for a rigid indenter against cartilage model. The algorithm worked well for two-dimensional four-noded and eight-noded axisymmetric element models as well as three-dimensional models. It was then extended to include two cartilages in contact. The results were in excellent agreement with the previous studies reported in the literature.

  12. Cilia induced cerebrospinal fluid flow in the third ventricle of brain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yong; Westendorf, Christian; Faubel, Regina; Eichele, Gregor; Bodenschatz, Eberhard

    2016-11-01

    Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) conveys many physiologically important signaling factors through the ventricles of the mammalian brain. The walls of the ventricles are covered with motile cilia that were thought to generate a laminar flow purely following the curvature of walls. However, we recently discovered that cilia of the ventral third ventricle (v3V) generate a complex flow network along the wall, leading to subdivision of the v3V. The contribution of such cilia induced flow to the overall three dimensional volume flow remains to be investigated by using numerical simulation, arguably the best approach for such investigations. The lattice Boltzmann method is used to study the CFS flow in a reconstructed geometry of the v3V. Simulation of CSF flow neglecting cilia in this geometry confirmed that the previous idea about pure confined flow does not reflect the reality observed in experiment. The experimentally recorded ciliary flow network along the wall was refined with the smoothed particle hydrodynamics and then adapted as boundary condition in simulation. We study the contribution of the ciliary network to overall CSF flow and identify site-specific delivery of CSF constituents with respect to the temporal changes.

  13. A finite volume method for density driven flows in porous media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hilhorst Danielle

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we apply a semi-implicit finite volume method for the numerical simulation of density driven flows in porous media; this amounts to solving a nonlinear convection-diffusion parabolic equation for the concentration coupled with an elliptic equation for the pressure. We compute the solutions for two specific problems: a problem involving a rotating interface between salt and fresh water and the classical but difficult Henry’s problem. All solutions are compared to results obtained by running FEflow, a commercial software package for the simulation of groundwater flow, mass and heat transfer in porous media.

  14. Modelling of the draining of a molten glass heated by induction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lima-Da-Silva, Marcio

    2014-01-01

    This thesis is part of the development of a new technology of oxides melting in a furnace heated by induction. The technology studied involves strong interactions between electromagnetic, thermal and hydrodynamic phenomena in a flow with physical properties strongly dependents of the temperature. The aim of the thesis is the modelling of the process by coupling closely the Joule heating, the mechanical stirring and the draining of the furnace. The modeling of the time evolution of the interface between glass and air during the emptying of the cold crucible was performed. Regarding the methodology, we chose to combine two scientific codes: Flux for the electromagnetic calculation and Fluent for thermal-hydraulics. The evolution of the free surface was treated by the multiphasic method 'Volume-Of-Fluid - VOF' and the mechanical stirring by the 'Moving Reference Frame' and the 'Sliding Mesh'. First of all, we considered the draining of a tank filled with a silicon oil of high-viscosity without mechanical stirring. This initial model took into account studies of hydraulic similarity between the silicon oil and the glass. Then we superimposed the forced flow creates by the mechanical stirrer, the thermal and the electromagnetic phenomena in order to model the flow of the molten glass. The final model can provide various parameters, including the time needed to drain the furnace, the heat transfer flux and the time evolution of the mass flow rate and of the temperature inside de furnace. (author) [fr

  15. Method for measuring particulate and gaseous metals in a fluid stream, device for measuring particulate and gaseous metals in a fluid stream

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farber, Paul S.; Huang, Hann-Shen

    2001-01-01

    A method for analyzing metal in a fluid is provided comprising maintaining a first portion of a continuous filter media substrate at a temperature coinciding with the phase in which the metal is to be analyzed; contacting the fluid to a first portion of said substrate to retain the metal on the first portion of said substrate; preventing further contact of the fluid to the first portion of substrate; and contacting the fluid to a second portion of said substrate to retain metal on the second portion of the said substrate while simultaneously analyzing the first portion for metal. Also provided is a device for the simultaneous monitoring and analysis of metal in a fluid comprising a continuous filter media substrate; means for maintaining a first portion of said filter media substrate at a temperature coinciding with the phase in which the metal is to be analyzed; a means for contacting the fluid to the first portion of said substrate; a means for preventing further contact of the fluid to the first portion of substrate; a means for contacting the fluid to a second portion of said substrate to retain metal on the second portion of the said substrate; and means for analyzing the first portion for metal.

  16. A Finite-Volume approach for compressible single- and two-phase flows in flexible pipelines with fluid-structure interaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daude, F.; Galon, P.

    2018-06-01

    A Finite-Volume scheme for the numerical computations of compressible single- and two-phase flows in flexible pipelines is proposed based on an approximate Godunov-type approach. The spatial discretization is here obtained using the HLLC scheme. In addition, the numerical treatment of abrupt changes in area and network including several pipelines connected at junctions is also considered. The proposed approach is based on the integral form of the governing equations making it possible to tackle general equations of state. A coupled approach for the resolution of fluid-structure interaction of compressible fluid flowing in flexible pipes is considered. The structural problem is solved using Euler-Bernoulli beam finite elements. The present Finite-Volume method is applied to ideal gas and two-phase steam-water based on the Homogeneous Equilibrium Model (HEM) in conjunction with a tabulated equation of state in order to demonstrate its ability to tackle general equations of state. The extensive application of the scheme for both shock tube and other transient flow problems demonstrates its capability to resolve such problems accurately and robustly. Finally, the proposed 1-D fluid-structure interaction model appears to be computationally efficient.

  17. Efficient 3D Volume Reconstruction from a Point Cloud Using a Phase-Field Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Darae Jeong

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available We propose an explicit hybrid numerical method for the efficient 3D volume reconstruction from unorganized point clouds using a phase-field method. The proposed three-dimensional volume reconstruction algorithm is based on the 3D binary image segmentation method. First, we define a narrow band domain embedding the unorganized point cloud and an edge indicating function. Second, we define a good initial phase-field function which speeds up the computation significantly. Third, we use a recently developed explicit hybrid numerical method for solving the three-dimensional image segmentation model to obtain efficient volume reconstruction from point cloud data. In order to demonstrate the practical applicability of the proposed method, we perform various numerical experiments.

  18. Neutron kinetics of fluid-fuel systems by the quasi-static method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dulla, S.; Ravetto, P.; Rostagno, M.M.

    2004-01-01

    The quasi-static method for the neutron kinetics of nuclear reactors is generalized for application to neutron multiplying systems fueled by a fluid multiplying material, typically a mixture of fissile molten salts. The method is derived by the application of factorization formulae for both the neutron density and the delayed precursor concentrations and the projection of the balance equations upon a weighting function. A physically meaningful weight can be assumed as the solution of the adjoint model, which is constructed for the situation considered, including delayed neutrons. The quasi-static scheme is then applied to calculations of some transients for a typical configuration of a molten-salt reactor, in a multigroup diffusion model with a one-dimensional slug-flow velocity field. The physical features associated to the motion of the fissile material are highlighted

  19. Flow Diode and Method for Controlling Fluid Flow Origin of the Invention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dyson, Rodger W (Inventor)

    2015-01-01

    A flow diode configured to permit fluid flow in a first direction while preventing fluid flow in a second direction opposite the first direction is disclosed. The flow diode prevents fluid flow without use of mechanical closures or moving parts. The flow diode utilizes a bypass flowline whereby all fluid flow in the second direction moves into the bypass flowline having a plurality of tortuous portions providing high fluidic resistance. The portions decrease in diameter such that debris in the fluid is trapped. As fluid only travels in one direction through the portions, the debris remains trapped in the portions.

  20. A Diffuse Interface Model for Incompressible Two-Phase Flow with Large Density Ratios

    KAUST Repository

    Xie, Yu; Wodo, Olga; Ganapathysubramanian, Baskar

    2016-01-01

    In this chapter, we explore numerical simulations of incompressible and immiscible two-phase flows. The description of the fluid–fluid interface is introduced via a diffuse interface approach. The two-phase fluid system is represented by a coupled Cahn–Hilliard Navier–Stokes set of equations. We discuss challenges and approaches to solving this coupled set of equations using a stabilized finite element formulation, especially in the case of a large density ratio between the two fluids. Specific features that enabled efficient solution of the equations include: (i) a conservative form of the convective term in the Cahn–Hilliard equation which ensures mass conservation of both fluid components; (ii) a continuous formula to compute the interfacial surface tension which results in lower requirement on the spatial resolution of the interface; and (iii) a four-step fractional scheme to decouple pressure from velocity in the Navier–Stokes equation. These are integrated with standard streamline-upwind Petrov–Galerkin stabilization to avoid spurious oscillations. We perform numerical tests to determine the minimal resolution of spatial discretization. Finally, we illustrate the accuracy of the framework using the analytical results of Prosperetti for a damped oscillating interface between two fluids with a density contrast.

  1. A Diffuse Interface Model for Incompressible Two-Phase Flow with Large Density Ratios

    KAUST Repository

    Xie, Yu

    2016-10-04

    In this chapter, we explore numerical simulations of incompressible and immiscible two-phase flows. The description of the fluid–fluid interface is introduced via a diffuse interface approach. The two-phase fluid system is represented by a coupled Cahn–Hilliard Navier–Stokes set of equations. We discuss challenges and approaches to solving this coupled set of equations using a stabilized finite element formulation, especially in the case of a large density ratio between the two fluids. Specific features that enabled efficient solution of the equations include: (i) a conservative form of the convective term in the Cahn–Hilliard equation which ensures mass conservation of both fluid components; (ii) a continuous formula to compute the interfacial surface tension which results in lower requirement on the spatial resolution of the interface; and (iii) a four-step fractional scheme to decouple pressure from velocity in the Navier–Stokes equation. These are integrated with standard streamline-upwind Petrov–Galerkin stabilization to avoid spurious oscillations. We perform numerical tests to determine the minimal resolution of spatial discretization. Finally, we illustrate the accuracy of the framework using the analytical results of Prosperetti for a damped oscillating interface between two fluids with a density contrast.

  2. Coupling two-phase fluid flow with two-phase darcy flow in anisotropic porous media

    KAUST Repository

    Chen, J.

    2014-06-03

    This paper reports a numerical study of coupling two-phase fluid flow in a free fluid region with two-phase Darcy flow in a homogeneous and anisotropic porous medium region. The model consists of coupled Cahn-Hilliard and Navier-Stokes equations in the free fluid region and the two-phase Darcy law in the anisotropic porous medium region. A Robin-Robin domain decomposition method is used for the coupled Navier-Stokes and Darcy system with the generalized Beavers-Joseph-Saffman condition on the interface between the free flow and the porous media regions. Obtained results have shown the anisotropic properties effect on the velocity and pressure of the two-phase flow. 2014 Jie Chen et al.

  3. Coupling Two-Phase Fluid Flow with Two-Phase Darcy Flow in Anisotropic Porous Media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jie Chen

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports a numerical study of coupling two-phase fluid flow in a free fluid region with two-phase Darcy flow in a homogeneous and anisotropic porous medium region. The model consists of coupled Cahn-Hilliard and Navier-Stokes equations in the free fluid region and the two-phase Darcy law in the anisotropic porous medium region. A Robin-Robin domain decomposition method is used for the coupled Navier-Stokes and Darcy system with the generalized Beavers-Joseph-Saffman condition on the interface between the free flow and the porous media regions. Obtained results have shown the anisotropic properties effect on the velocity and pressure of the two-phase flow.

  4. Molten material-containing vessel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akagawa, Katsuhiko

    1998-01-01

    The molten material-containing vessel of the present invention comprises a vessel main body having an entrance opened at the upper end, a lid for closing the entrance, an outer tube having an upper end disposed at the lower surface of the lid, extended downwardly and having an closed lower end and an inner tube disposed coaxially with the outer tube. When a molten material is charged from the entrance to the inside of the vessel main body of the molten material-containing vessel and the entrance is closed by the lid, the outer tube and the inner tube are buried in the molten material in the vessel main body, accordingly, a fluid having its temperature elevated by absorption of the heat of the molten material rises along the inner circumferential surface of the outer tube, abuts against the lower surface of the lid and cooled by exchanging heat with the lid and forms a circulating flow. Since the heat in the molten material is continuously absorbed by the fluid, transferred to the lid and released from the lid to the atmospheric air, heat releasing efficiency can be improved compared with conventional cases. (N.H.)

  5. Experimental investigation of a molten salt thermocline storage tank

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Xiaoping; Yang, Xiaoxi; Qin, Frank G. F.; Jiang, Runhua

    2016-07-01

    Thermal energy storage is considered as an important subsystem for solar thermal power stations. Investigations into thermocline storage tanks have mainly focused on numerical simulations because conducting high-temperature experiments is difficult. In this paper, an experimental study of the heat transfer characteristics of a molten salt thermocline storage tank was conducted by using high-temperature molten salt as the heat transfer fluid and ceramic particle as the filler material. This experimental study can verify the effectiveness of numerical simulation results and provide reference for engineering design. Temperature distribution and thermal storage capacity during the charging process were obtained. A temperature gradient was observed during the charging process. The temperature change tendency showed that thermocline thickness increased continuously with charging time. The slope of the thermal storage capacity decreased gradually with the increase in time. The low-cost filler material can replace the expensive molten salt to achieve thermal storage purposes and help to maintain the ideal gravity flow or piston flow of molten salt fluid.

  6. Study on corrosion of metal materials in nitrate molten salts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhai, Wei; Yang, Bo; Li, Maodong; Li, Shiping; Xin, Mingliang; Zhang, Shuanghong; Huang, Guojia

    2017-01-01

    High temperature molten salts as a heat transfer heat storage medium has been more widely used in the field of concentrated solar thermal power generation. In the thermal heat storage system, metal material stability and performance at high temperatures are of one major limitation in increasing this operating temperature. In this paper, study on corrosion of 321H, 304, 316L, P91 metal materials in modified solar two molten salts. The corrosion kinetics of 304, 316L, 321H, P91 metal material in the modified solar two molten salts at 450°C, 500°C is also investigated. Under the same condition it was found that 304, 321H corroded at a rate of 40% less than P91. Spallation of corrosion products was observed on P91 steel, while no obvious observed on other kinds of stainless steel. Corrosion rates of 304, 321H, and 316L slowly increased with temperature. Oxidation mechanisms little varied with temperature. Corrosion products of metal materials observed at 450°C, 500°C were primarily Fe oxide and Fe, Cr oxide.

  7. Imaging and quantification of anomaly volume using an eight-electrode 'hemiarray' EIT reconstruction method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadleir, R J; Zhang, S U; Tucker, A S; Oh, Sungho

    2008-08-01

    Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is particularly well-suited to applications where its portability, rapid acquisition speed and sensitivity give it a practical advantage over other monitoring or imaging systems. An EIT system's patient interface can potentially be adapted to match the target environment, and thereby increase its utility. It may thus be appropriate to use different electrode positions from those conventionally used in EIT in these cases. One application that may require this is the use of EIT on emergency medicine patients; in particular those who have suffered blunt abdominal trauma. In patients who have suffered major trauma, it is desirable to minimize the risk of spinal cord injury by avoiding lifting them. To adapt EIT to this requirement, we devised and evaluated a new electrode topology (the 'hemiarray') which comprises a set of eight electrodes placed only on the subject's anterior surface. Images were obtained using a two-dimensional sensitivity matrix and weighted singular value decomposition reconstruction. The hemiarray method's ability to quantify bleeding was evaluated by comparing its performance with conventional 2D reconstruction methods using data gathered from a saline phantom. We found that without applying corrections to reconstructed images it was possible to estimate blood volume in a two-dimensional hemiarray case with an uncertainty of around 27 ml. In an approximately 3D hemiarray case, volume prediction was possible with a maximum uncertainty of around 38 ml in the centre of the electrode plane. After application of a QI normalizing filter, average uncertainties in a two-dimensional hemiarray case were reduced to about 15 ml. Uncertainties in the approximate 3D case were reduced to about 30 ml.

  8. Study on numerical methods for transient flow induced by speed-changing impeller of fluid machinery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Dazhuan; Chen, Tao; Wang, Leqin; Cheng, Wentao; Sun, Youbo

    2013-01-01

    In order to establish a reliable numerical method for solving the transient rotating flow induced by a speed-changing impeller, two numerical methods based on finite volume method (FVM) were presented and analyzed in this study. Two-dimensional numerical simulations of incompressible transient unsteady flow induced by an impeller during starting process were carried out respectively by using DM and DSR methods. The accuracy and adaptability of the two methods were evaluated by comprehensively comparing the calculation results. Moreover, an intensive study on the application of DSR method was conducted subsequently. The results showed that transient flow structure evolution and transient characteristics of the starting impeller are obviously affected by the starting process. The transient flow can be captured by both two methods, and the DSR method shows a higher computational efficiency. As an application example, the starting process of a mixed-flow pump was simulated by using DSR method. The calculation results were analyzed by comparing with the experiment data.

  9. Method of producing homogeneous mixed metal oxides and metal-metal oxide mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quinby, T.C.

    1980-01-01

    A method for preparing particulate metal or metal oxide of controlled partile size comprises contacting an an aqueous solution containing dissolved metal values with excess urea at a temperature sufficient to cause urea to react with water to provide a molten urea solution containing the metal values; heating the molten urea solution to cause the metal values to precipitate, forming a mixture containing precipitated metal values; heating the mixture containing precipitated metal values to evaporate volatile material leaving a dry powder containing said metal values. The dry powder can be calcined to provide particulate metal oxide or reduced to provide particulate metal. Oxide mixtures are provided when the aqueous solution contains values of more than one metal. Homogeneousmetal-metal oxide mistures for preparing cermets can be prepared by selectively reducing at least one of the metal oxides. (auth)

  10. Multi-scale diffuse interface modeling of multi-component two-phase flow with partial miscibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kou, Jisheng; Sun, Shuyu

    2016-08-01

    In this paper, we introduce a diffuse interface model to simulate multi-component two-phase flow with partial miscibility based on a realistic equation of state (e.g. Peng-Robinson equation of state). Because of partial miscibility, thermodynamic relations are used to model not only interfacial properties but also bulk properties, including density, composition, pressure, and realistic viscosity. As far as we know, this effort is the first time to use diffuse interface modeling based on equation of state for modeling of multi-component two-phase flow with partial miscibility. In numerical simulation, the key issue is to resolve the high contrast of scales from the microscopic interface composition to macroscale bulk fluid motion since the interface has a nanoscale thickness only. To efficiently solve this challenging problem, we develop a multi-scale simulation method. At the microscopic scale, we deduce a reduced interfacial equation under reasonable assumptions, and then we propose a formulation of capillary pressure, which is consistent with macroscale flow equations. Moreover, we show that Young-Laplace equation is an approximation of this capillarity formulation, and this formulation is also consistent with the concept of Tolman length, which is a correction of Young-Laplace equation. At the macroscopical scale, the interfaces are treated as discontinuous surfaces separating two phases of fluids. Our approach differs from conventional sharp-interface two-phase flow model in that we use the capillary pressure directly instead of a combination of surface tension and Young-Laplace equation because capillarity can be calculated from our proposed capillarity formulation. A compatible condition is also derived for the pressure in flow equations. Furthermore, based on the proposed capillarity formulation, we design an efficient numerical method for directly computing the capillary pressure between two fluids composed of multiple components. Finally, numerical tests

  11. Multi-scale diffuse interface modeling of multi-component two-phase flow with partial miscibility

    KAUST Repository

    Kou, Jisheng

    2016-05-10

    In this paper, we introduce a diffuse interface model to simulate multi-component two-phase flow with partial miscibility based on a realistic equation of state (e.g. Peng-Robinson equation of state). Because of partial miscibility, thermodynamic relations are used to model not only interfacial properties but also bulk properties, including density, composition, pressure, and realistic viscosity. As far as we know, this effort is the first time to use diffuse interface modeling based on equation of state for modeling of multi-component two-phase flow with partial miscibility. In numerical simulation, the key issue is to resolve the high contrast of scales from the microscopic interface composition to macroscale bulk fluid motion since the interface has a nanoscale thickness only. To efficiently solve this challenging problem, we develop a multi-scale simulation method. At the microscopic scale, we deduce a reduced interfacial equation under reasonable assumptions, and then we propose a formulation of capillary pressure, which is consistent with macroscale flow equations. Moreover, we show that Young-Laplace equation is an approximation of this capillarity formulation, and this formulation is also consistent with the concept of Tolman length, which is a correction of Young-Laplace equation. At the macroscopical scale, the interfaces are treated as discontinuous surfaces separating two phases of fluids. Our approach differs from conventional sharp-interface two-phase flow model in that we use the capillary pressure directly instead of a combination of surface tension and Young-Laplace equation because capillarity can be calculated from our proposed capillarity formulation. A compatible condition is also derived for the pressure in flow equations. Furthermore, based on the proposed capillarity formulation, we design an efficient numerical method for directly computing the capillary pressure between two fluids composed of multiple components. Finally, numerical tests

  12. Modeling of Two-Phase Flow in Rough-Walled Fracture Using Level Set Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yunfeng Dai

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available To describe accurately the flow characteristic of fracture scale displacements of immiscible fluids, an incompressible two-phase (crude oil and water flow model incorporating interfacial forces and nonzero contact angles is developed. The roughness of the two-dimensional synthetic rough-walled fractures is controlled with different fractal dimension parameters. Described by the Navier–Stokes equations, the moving interface between crude oil and water is tracked using level set method. The method accounts for differences in densities and viscosities of crude oil and water and includes the effect of interfacial force. The wettability of the rough fracture wall is taken into account by defining the contact angle and slip length. The curve of the invasion pressure-water volume fraction is generated by modeling two-phase flow during a sudden drainage. The volume fraction of water restricted in the rough-walled fracture is calculated by integrating the water volume and dividing by the total cavity volume of the fracture while the two-phase flow is quasistatic. The effect of invasion pressure of crude oil, roughness of fracture wall, and wettability of the wall on two-phase flow in rough-walled fracture is evaluated.

  13. Implicit vessel surface reconstruction for visualization and CFD simulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schumann, Christian; Peitgen, Heinz-Otto; Neugebauer, Mathias; Bade, Ragnar; Preim, Bernhard

    2008-01-01

    Accurate and high-quality reconstructions of vascular structures are essential for vascular disease diagnosis and blood flow simulations.These applications necessitate a trade-off between accuracy and smoothness. An additional requirement for the volume grid generation for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations is a high triangle quality. We propose a method that produces an accurate reconstruction of the vessel surface with satisfactory surface quality. A point cloud representing the vascular boundary is generated based on a segmentation result. Thin vessels are subsampled to enable an accurate reconstruction. A signed distance field is generated using Multi-level Partition of Unity Implicits and subsequently polygonized using a surface tracking approach. To guarantee a high triangle quality, the surface is remeshed. Compared to other methods, our approach represents a good trade-off between accuracy and smoothness. For the tested data, the average surface deviation to the segmentation results is 0.19 voxel diagonals and the maximum equi-angle skewness values are below 0.75. The generated surfaces are considerably more accurate than those obtained using model-based approaches. Compared to other model-free approaches, the proposed method produces smoother results and thus better supports the perception and interpretation of the vascular topology. Moreover, the triangle quality of the generated surfaces is suitable for CFD simulations. (orig.)

  14. The effect of welding speed and molten metal peak temperature on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The effect of welding speed and molten metal peak temperature on thermal history of an arch - welded steel plate by numerical methods. SM Adedayo. Abstract. No Abstract. Journal of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology Vol. 1(1) 2001: 1-16. Full Text: EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL ...

  15. Cavitation and gas-liquid flow in fluid machinery and devices. FED-Volume 190

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Hern, T.J.; Kim, J.H.; Morgan, W.B.; Furuya, O.

    1994-01-01

    Cavitation and gas-liquid two-phase flow have remained important areas in many industrial applications and constantly provided challenges for academic researchers and industrial practitioners alike. Cavitation and two-phase flow commonly occur in fluid machinery such as pumps, propellers, and fluid devices such as orifices, valves, and diffusers. Cavitation not only degrades the performance of these machines and devices but deteriorates the materials. Gas-liquid two-phase flow has also been known to degrade the performance of pumps and propellers and can often induce an instability. The industrial applications of cavitation and two-phase flow can be found in power plants, ship propellers, hydrofoils, and aerospace equipment, to name but a few. The papers presented in this volume reflect the variety and richness of cavitation and gas-liquid two-phase flow in various flow transporting components and the increasing role they play in modern and conventional technologies. Separate abstracts were prepared for 35 papers in this book

  16. 1D and 2D Numerical Modeling for Solving Dam-Break Flow Problems Using Finite Volume Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Szu-Hsien Peng

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to model the flow movement in an idealized dam-break configuration. One-dimensional and two-dimensional motion of a shallow flow over a rigid inclined bed is considered. The resulting shallow water equations are solved by finite volumes using the Roe and HLL schemes. At first, the one-dimensional model is considered in the development process. With conservative finite volume method, splitting is applied to manage the combination of hyperbolic term and source term of the shallow water equation and then to promote 1D to 2D. The simulations are validated by the comparison with flume experiments. Unsteady dam-break flow movement is found to be reasonably well captured by the model. The proposed concept could be further developed to the numerical calculation of non-Newtonian fluid or multilayers fluid flow.

  17. Analysis of natural convection heat transfer with crust formation in the molten metal pool using CONV-2 and 3D computer codes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, R. J.; Kang, K. H.; Kim, S. B.; Kim, H. D.; Choi, S. M.

    1998-01-01

    Analytical studies have been performed on natural convection heat transfer with crust formation in a molten metal pool to validate and evaluate experimental data using the CONV-2 and 3D computer codes. Two types of steady state tests, a low and high geometric aspect ratio case in the molten metal pool, were performed to investigate crust thickness as a function of boundary conditions. The CONV-2 and 3D computer codes were developed under the OECD/NEA RASPLAV project to simulate two- and three-dimensional natural convection heat transfer with crust formation, respectively. The Rayleigh-Benard flow patterns in the molten metal pool contribute to the temperature distribution, which affects non-uniform crust formation. The CONV-2D results on crust thickness are a little higher than the experimental data because of heat loss during the test. In comparison of the CONV-3D results with the CONV-2D results on crust thickness, the three-dimensional results are higher than the two-dimensional results, because of three dimensional natural convection flow and wall effect

  18. Magnetic flux reconstruction methods for shaped tokamaks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsui, Chi-Wa.

    1993-12-01

    The use of a variational method permits the Grad-Shafranov (GS) equation to be solved by reducing the problem of solving the 2D non-linear partial differential equation to the problem of minimizing a function of several variables. This high speed algorithm approximately solves the GS equation given a parameterization of the plasma boundary and the current profile (p' and FF' functions). The author treats the current profile parameters as unknowns. The goal is to reconstruct the internal magnetic flux surfaces of a tokamak plasma and the toroidal current density profile from the external magnetic measurements. This is a classic problem of inverse equilibrium determination. The current profile parameters can be evaluated by several different matching procedures. Matching of magnetic flux and field at the probe locations using the Biot-Savart law and magnetic Green's function provides a robust method of magnetic reconstruction. The matching of poloidal magnetic field on the plasma surface provides a unique method of identifying the plasma current profile. However, the power of this method is greatly compromised by the experimental errors of the magnetic signals. The Casing Principle provides a very fast way to evaluate the plasma contribution to the magnetic signals. It has the potential of being a fast matching method. The performance of this method is hindered by the accuracy of the poloidal magnetic field computed from the equilibrium solver. A flux reconstruction package has been implemented which integrates a vacuum field solver using a filament model for the plasma, a multi-layer perception neural network as an interface, and the volume integration of plasma current density using Green's functions as a matching method for the current profile parameters. The flux reconstruction package is applied to compare with the ASEQ and EFIT data. The results are promising

  19. A finite volume procedure for fluid flow, heat transfer and solid-body stress analysis

    KAUST Repository

    Jagad, P. I.; Puranik, B. P.; Date, A. W.

    2018-01-01

    A unified cell-centered unstructured mesh finite volume procedure is presented for fluid flow, heat transfer and solid-body stress analysis. An in-house procedure (A. W. Date, Solution of Transport Equations on Unstructured Meshes with Cell

  20. Investigation of the fragmentation of molten metals dropped into cold water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shiralkar, G.S.

    1976-11-01

    The physical mechanism by which small quantities of molten metal fragment extensively when dropped into a pool of cold water was investigated. Since this subject has been the focus of considerable research in the past, some of the more prominent theories are briefly discussed. Experiments were conducted dropping small solid spheres at a high temperature instead of molten metal drops, and indicate a significant difference from the latter. Several hypotheses were proposed based on the hydrodynamics of the molten drop and tested analytically. The theory that the drop fragmentation is caused by the violent release of dissolved gas from within the drop was investigated experimentally and lead to the conclusion that tin fragmentation probably does not occur in this way. It is felt that a calculation of the dynamics of the vapor film that would be expected to surround the hot drop is needed. This calculation was not performed but several suggestions and estimates have been made. It would seem that the possibility of metal fragmentation by rapid vaporization of water entrapped within the metal drop is well worth investigating

  1. Development of a compressive surface capturing formulation for modelling free-surface flow by using the volume-of-fluid approach

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Heyns, Johan A

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available combines a blended higher resolution scheme with the addition of an artificial compressive term to the volume-of-fluid equation. This reduces the numerical smearing of the interface associated with explicit higher resolution schemes while limiting...

  2. Natural convection heat transfer characteristics of the molten metal pool with solidification by boiling coolant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cho, Jae Seon; Suh, Kune Yull; Chung, Chang Hyun [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Paark, Rae Joon; Kim, Sang Baik [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1998-12-31

    This paper presents results of experimental studies on the heat transfer and solidification of the molten metal pool with overlying coolant with boiling. The metal pool is heated from the bottom surface and coolant is injected onto the molten metal pool. Ad a result, the crust, which is a solidified layer, may form at the top of the molten metal pool. Heat transfer is accomplished by a conjugate mechanism, which consists of the natural convection of the molten metal pool, the conduction in the crust layer and the convective boiling heat transfer in the coolant. This work examines the crust formation and the heat transfer rate on the molten metal pool with boiling coolant. The simulant molten pool material is tin (Sn) with the melting temperature of 232 deg C. Demineralized water is used as the working coolant. The crust layer thickness was ostensibly varied by the heated bottom surface temperature of the test section, but not much affected by the coolant injection rate. The correlation between the Nusselt number and the Rayleigh number in the molten metal pool region of this study is compared against the crust formation experiment without coolant boiling and the literature correlations. The present experimental results are higher than those from the experiment without coolant boiling, but show general agreement with the Eckert correlation, with some deviations in the high and low ends of the Rayleigh number. This discrepancy is currently attributed to concurrent rapid boiling of the coolant on top of the metal layer. 10 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab. (Author)

  3. Natural convection heat transfer characteristics of the molten metal pool with solidification by boiling coolant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cho, Jae Seon; Suh, Kune Yull; Chung, Chang Hyun [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Paark, Rae Joon; Kim, Sang Baik [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1997-12-31

    This paper presents results of experimental studies on the heat transfer and solidification of the molten metal pool with overlying coolant with boiling. The metal pool is heated from the bottom surface and coolant is injected onto the molten metal pool. Ad a result, the crust, which is a solidified layer, may form at the top of the molten metal pool. Heat transfer is accomplished by a conjugate mechanism, which consists of the natural convection of the molten metal pool, the conduction in the crust layer and the convective boiling heat transfer in the coolant. This work examines the crust formation and the heat transfer rate on the molten metal pool with boiling coolant. The simulant molten pool material is tin (Sn) with the melting temperature of 232 deg C. Demineralized water is used as the working coolant. The crust layer thickness was ostensibly varied by the heated bottom surface temperature of the test section, but not much affected by the coolant injection rate. The correlation between the Nusselt number and the Rayleigh number in the molten metal pool region of this study is compared against the crust formation experiment without coolant boiling and the literature correlations. The present experimental results are higher than those from the experiment without coolant boiling, but show general agreement with the Eckert correlation, with some deviations in the high and low ends of the Rayleigh number. This discrepancy is currently attributed to concurrent rapid boiling of the coolant on top of the metal layer. 10 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab. (Author)

  4. Natural convection heat transfer characteristics of the molten metal pool with solidification by boiling coolant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Jae Seon; Suh, Kune Yull; Chung, Chang Hyun; Park, Rae Joon; Kim, Sang Baik

    1997-01-01

    This paper presents results of experimental studies on the heat transfer and solidifcation of the molten metal pool with overlying coolant with boiling. The metal pool is heated from the bottom surface and coolant is injected onto the molten metal pool. As a result, the crust, which is a solidified layer, may form at the top of the molten metal pool. Heat transfer is accomplished by a conjugate mechanism, which consists of the natural convection of the molten metal pool, the conduction in the crust layer and the convective boiling heat transfer in the coolant. This work examines the crust formation and the heat transfer rate on the molten metal pool with boiling coolant. The simulant molten pool material is tin (Sn) with the melting temperature of 232 .deg. C. Demineralized water is used as the working coolant. The crust layer thickness was ostensibly varied by the heated bottom surface temperature of the test section, but not much affected by the coolant injection rate. The correlation between the Nusselt number and the Rayleight number in the molten metal pool region of this study is compared against the crust formation experiment without coolant boiling and the literature correlations. The present experimental results are higher than those from the experiment without coolant boiling, but show general agreement with the Eckert correlation, with some deviations in the high and low ends of the Rayleigh number. This discrepancy is currently attributed to concurrent rapid boiling of the coolant on top of the metal layer

  5. Mutual inductance appliance for measuring the level of a molten metal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zbinden, Marc.

    1982-01-01

    The invention concerns an appliance for measuring the level of a molten metal of the kind using the variation of the mutual inductance between two imbricated windings depending on the level of the free area of the molten metal in the range of levels taken up by the windings. It has a particularly significant use in measuring the level of liquid sodium, especially in nuclear facilities where sodium is used as coolant [fr

  6. A Finite-Volume computational mechanics framework for multi-physics coupled fluid-stress problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bailey, C; Cross, M.; Pericleous, K.

    1998-01-01

    Where there is a strong interaction between fluid flow, heat transfer and stress induced deformation, it may not be sufficient to solve each problem separately (i.e. fluid vs. stress, using different techniques or even different computer codes). This may be acceptable where the interaction is static, but less so, if it is dynamic. It is desirable for this reason to develop software that can accommodate both requirements (i.e. that of fluid flow and that of solid mechanics) in a seamless environment. This is accomplished in the University of Greenwich code PHYSICA, which solves both the fluid flow problem and the stress-strain equations in a unified Finite-Volume environment, using an unstructured computational mesh that can deform dynamically. Example applications are given of the work of the group in the metals casting process (where thermal stresses cause elasto- visco-plastic distortion)

  7. Numerical simulation of compressible two-phase flow using a diffuse interface method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ansari, M.R.; Daramizadeh, A.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Compressible two-phase gas–gas and gas–liquid flows simulation are conducted. ► Interface conditions contain shock wave and cavitations. ► A high-resolution diffuse interface method is investigated. ► The numerical results exhibit very good agreement with experimental results. -- Abstract: In this article, a high-resolution diffuse interface method is investigated for simulation of compressible two-phase gas–gas and gas–liquid flows, both in the presence of shock wave and in flows with strong rarefaction waves similar to cavitations. A Godunov method and HLLC Riemann solver is used for discretization of the Kapila five-equation model and a modified Schmidt equation of state (EOS) is used to simulate the cavitation regions. This method is applied successfully to some one- and two-dimensional compressible two-phase flows with interface conditions that contain shock wave and cavitations. The numerical results obtained in this attempt exhibit very good agreement with experimental results, as well as previous numerical results presented by other researchers based on other numerical methods. In particular, the algorithm can capture the complex flow features of transient shocks, such as the material discontinuities and interfacial instabilities, without any oscillation and additional diffusion. Numerical examples show that the results of the method presented here compare well with other sophisticated modeling methods like adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) and local mesh refinement (LMR) for one- and two-dimensional problems

  8. Diffusion and viscosity of liquid metals on the base of volume quantization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Filippov, E.S.

    1978-01-01

    An attempt has been made to approach the problem of describing the atomic shifts in molten metals, by having recourse to the concept of volume quantization, the concept having been applied earlier to describing the diffusion processes taking place in the solid phase. It is admitted that the displacement of atoms is effected according to the microareas of statistical packing. The size of the characteristic cell in the region of statistical packing (V sub(s.p.)sup(1/3) is adopted as an elementary step of the atomic shift. By using those assumptions and theoretical results of the calculation of diffusion in the solid phase, the self-diffusion coefficient, the activation energy of self-diffusion, the activation energy of viscous flow, and the coefficient of dynamic viscosity, have been determined. The calculated and the experimental data on the lues of the coefficients of diffusion, viscosity, and activation energies of the viscous flow, have been compared. For a number of metals, the experimental data proved to be close to those calculated theoretically by the aid of the suggested euqation

  9. Development of electrolytic process in molten salt media for light rare-earth metals production. The metallic cerium electrodeposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Restivo, T.A.G.

    1994-01-01

    The development of molten salt process and the respective equipment aiming rare-earth metals recovery was described. In the present case, the liquid cerium metal electrodeposition in a molten electrolytes of cerium chloride and an equimolar mixture of sodium and potassium chlorides in temperatures near 800 C was studied. Due the high chemical reactivity of the rare-earth metals in the liquid state and their molten halides, an electrolytic cell was constructed with controlled atmosphere, graphite crucibles and anodes and a tungsten cathode. The electrolytic process variables and characteristics were evaluated upon the current efficiency and metallic product purity. Based on this evaluations, were suggested some alterations on the electrolytic reactor design and upon the process parameters. (author). 90 refs, 37 figs, 20 tabs

  10. Direct reduction of uranium oxide(U3O8) by Li metal and U-metal(Fe, Ni) alloy formation in molten LiCl medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Young Hwan; Kim, Tack Jin; Choi, In Kyu; Kim, Won Ho; Jee, Kwang Yong

    2004-01-01

    Molten salt based electrochemical processes are proposed as a promising method for the future nuclear programs and more specifically for spent fuel processing. The lithium reduction has been introduced to convert actinide oxides into corresponding actinide metal by using lithium metal as a reductant in molten LiCl medium. We have applied similar lab-scale experiments to reduce uranium oxide in an effort to gain additional information on rates and mechanisms

  11. Efficient numerical methods for simulating surface tension of multi-component mixtures with the gradient theory of fluid interfaces

    KAUST Repository

    Kou, Jisheng

    2015-08-01

    Surface tension significantly impacts subsurface flow and transport, and it is the main cause of capillary effect, a major immiscible two-phase flow mechanism for systems with a strong wettability preference. In this paper, we consider the numerical simulation of the surface tension of multi-component mixtures with the gradient theory of fluid interfaces. Major numerical challenges include that the system of the Euler-Lagrange equations is solved on the infinite interval and the coefficient matrix is not positive definite. We construct a linear transformation to reduce the Euler-Lagrange equations, and naturally introduce a path function, which is proven to be a monotonic function of the spatial coordinate variable. By using the linear transformation and the path function, we overcome the above difficulties and develop the efficient methods for calculating the interface and its interior compositions. Moreover, the computation of the surface tension is also simplified. The proposed methods do not need to solve the differential equation system, and they are easy to be implemented in practical applications. Numerical examples are tested to verify the efficiency of the proposed methods. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

  12. Wetting Behavior of Molten AZ61 Magnesium Alloy on Two Different Steel Plates Under the Cold Metal Transfer Condition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ZENG Cheng-zong

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The wetting behavior and interfacial microstructures of molten magnesium AZ61 alloy on the surface of two different Q235 and galvanized steel plates under the condition of cold metal transfer were investigated by using dynamic sessile drop method. The results show that the wetting behavior is closely related to the wire feed speed. Al-Fe intermetallic layer was observed whether the substrate is Q235 steel or galvanized steel, and the formation of Al-Fe intermetallic layer should satisfy the thermodynamic condition of such Mg-Al/Fe system. The wettability of molten AZ61 magnesium alloy is improved with the increase of wire feed speed whether on Q235 steel surface or on galvanized steel surface, good wettability on Q235 steel surface is due to severe interface reaction when wire feed speed increases, good wettability on galvanized steel surface is attributed to the aggravating zinc volatilization. When the wire feed speed is ≤10.5m·min-1, the wettability of Mg alloy on Q235 steel plate is better than on galvanized steel plate. However, Zn vapor will result in instability for metal transfer process.

  13. A multiphase electrokinetic flow model for electrolytes with liquid/liquid interfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berry, J.D., E-mail: joe.d.berry@gmail.com; Davidson, M.R., E-mail: m.davidson@unimelb.edu.au; Harvie, D.J.E., E-mail: daltonh@unimelb.edu.au

    2013-10-15

    A numerical model for electrokinetic flow of multiphase systems with deformable interfaces is presented, based on a combined level set-volume of fluid technique. A new feature is a multiphase formulation of the Nernst–Planck transport equation for advection, diffusion and conduction of individual charge carrier species that ensures their conservation in each fluid phase. The numerical model is validated against the analytical results of Zholkovskij et al. (2002) [1], and results for the problem of two drops coalescing in the presence of mobile charge carriers are presented. The time taken for two drops containing ions to coalesce decreases with increasing ion concentration.

  14. On the use of adaptive multiresolution method with time-varying tolerance for compressible fluid flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soni, V.; Hadjadj, A.; Roussel, O.

    2017-12-01

    In this paper, a fully adaptive multiresolution (MR) finite difference scheme with a time-varying tolerance is developed to study compressible fluid flows containing shock waves in interaction with solid obstacles. To ensure adequate resolution near rigid bodies, the MR algorithm is combined with an immersed boundary method based on a direct-forcing approach in which the solid object is represented by a continuous solid-volume fraction. The resulting algorithm forms an efficient tool capable of solving linear and nonlinear waves on arbitrary geometries. Through a one-dimensional scalar wave equation, the accuracy of the MR computation is, as expected, seen to decrease in time when using a constant MR tolerance considering the accumulation of error. To overcome this problem, a variable tolerance formulation is proposed, which is assessed through a new quality criterion, to ensure a time-convergence solution for a suitable quality resolution. The newly developed algorithm coupled with high-resolution spatial and temporal approximations is successfully applied to shock-bluff body and shock-diffraction problems solving Euler and Navier-Stokes equations. Results show excellent agreement with the available numerical and experimental data, thereby demonstrating the efficiency and the performance of the proposed method.

  15. Fluid Mechanics of Taylor Bubbles and Slug Flows in Vertical Channels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anglart, Henryk; Podowski, Michael Z.

    2002-01-01

    Fluid mechanics of Taylor bubbles and slug flows is investigated in vertical, circular channels using detailed, three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics simulations. The Volume of Fluid model with the interface-sharpening algorithm, implemented in the commercial CFX4 code, is used to predict the shape and velocity of Taylor bubbles moving along a vertical channel. Several cases are investigated, including both a single Taylor bubble and a train of bubbles rising in water. It is shown that the potential flow solution underpredicts the water film thickness around Taylor bubbles. Furthermore, the computer simulations that are performed reveal the importance of properly modeling the three-dimensional nature of phenomena governing the motion of Taylor bubbles. Based on the present results, a new formula for the evaluation of bubble shape is derived. Both the shape of Taylor bubbles and the bubble rise velocity predicted by the proposed model agree well with experimental observations. Furthermore, the present model shows good promise in predicting the coalescence of Taylor bubbles

  16. The finite volume method in computational fluid dynamics an advanced introduction with OpenFOAM and Matlab

    CERN Document Server

    Moukalled, F; Darwish, M

    2016-01-01

    This textbook explores both the theoretical foundation of the Finite Volume Method (FVM) and its applications in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Readers will discover a thorough explanation of the FVM numerics and algorithms used for the simulation of incompressible and compressible fluid flows, along with a detailed examination of the components needed for the development of a collocated unstructured pressure-based CFD solver. Two particular CFD codes are explored. The first is uFVM, a three-dimensional unstructured pressure-based finite volume academic CFD code, implemented within Matlab. The second is OpenFOAM®, an open source framework used in the development of a range of CFD programs for the simulation of industrial scale flow problems. With over 220 figures, numerous examples and more than one hundred exercise on FVM numerics, programming, and applications, this textbook is suitable for use in an introductory course on the FVM, in an advanced course on numerics, and as a reference for CFD programm...

  17. A relaxation-projection method for compressible flows. Part I: The numerical equation of state for the Euler equations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saurel, Richard; Franquet, Erwin; Daniel, Eric; Le Metayer, Olivier

    2007-01-01

    A new projection method is developed for the Euler equations to determine the thermodynamic state in computational cells. It consists in the resolution of a mechanical relaxation problem between the various sub-volumes present in a computational cell. These sub-volumes correspond to the ones traveled by the various waves that produce states with different pressures, velocities, densities and temperatures. Contrarily to Godunov type schemes the relaxed state corresponds to mechanical equilibrium only and remains out of thermal equilibrium. The pressure computation with this relaxation process replaces the use of the conventional equation of state (EOS). A simplified relaxation method is also derived and provides a specific EOS (named the Numerical EOS). The use of the Numerical EOS gives a cure to spurious pressure oscillations that appear at contact discontinuities for fluids governed by real gas EOS. It is then extended to the computation of interface problems separating fluids with different EOS (liquid-gas interface for example) with the Euler equations. The resulting method is very robust, accurate, oscillation free and conservative. For the sake of simplicity and efficiency the method is developed in a Lagrange-projection context and is validated over exact solutions. In a companion paper [F. Petitpas, E. Franquet, R. Saurel, A relaxation-projection method for compressible flows. Part II: computation of interfaces and multiphase mixtures with stiff mechanical relaxation. J. Comput. Phys. (submitted for publication)], the method is extended to the numerical approximation of a non-conservative hyperbolic multiphase flow model for interface computation and shock propagation into mixtures

  18. Interface tracking simulations of bubbly flows in PWR relevant geometries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fang, Jun, E-mail: jfang3@ncsu.edu [Department of Nuclear Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 (United States); Rasquin, Michel, E-mail: michel.rasquin@colorado.edu [Aerospace Engineering Department, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States); Bolotnov, Igor A., E-mail: igor_bolotnov@ncsu.edu [Department of Nuclear Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 (United States)

    2017-02-15

    Highlights: • Simulations were performed for turbulent bubbly flows in PWR subchannel geometry. • Liquid turbulence is fully resolved by direct numerical simulation approach. • Bubble behavior is captured using level-set interface tracking method. • Time-averaged single- and two-phase turbulent flow statistical quantities are obtained. - Abstract: The advances in high performance computing (HPC) have allowed direct numerical simulation (DNS) approach coupled with interface tracking methods (ITM) to perform high fidelity simulations of turbulent bubbly flows in various complex geometries. In this work, we have chosen the geometry of the pressurized water reactor (PWR) core subchannel to perform a set of interface tracking simulations (ITS) with fully resolved liquid turbulence. The presented research utilizes a massively parallel finite-element based code, PHASTA, for the subchannel geometry simulations of bubbly flow turbulence. The main objective for this research is to demonstrate the ITS capabilities in gaining new insight into bubble/turbulence interactions and assisting the development of improved closure laws for multiphase computational fluid dynamics (M-CFD). Both single- and two-phase turbulent flows were studied within a single PWR subchannel. The analysis of numerical results includes the mean gas and liquid velocity profiles, void fraction distribution and turbulent kinetic energy profiles. Two sets of flow rates and bubble sizes were used in the simulations. The chosen flow rates corresponded to the Reynolds numbers of 29,079 and 80,775 based on channel hydraulic diameter (D{sub h}) and mean velocity. The finite element unstructured grids utilized for these simulations include 53.8 million and 1.11 billion elements, respectively. This has allowed to fully resolve all the turbulence scales and the deformable interfaces of individual bubbles. For the two-phase flow simulations, a 1% bubble volume fraction was used which resulted in 17 bubbles in

  19. Flow regime classification in air-magnetic fluid two-phase flow.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuwahara, T; De Vuyst, F; Yamaguchi, H

    2008-05-21

    A new experimental/numerical technique of classification of flow regimes (flow patterns) in air-magnetic fluid two-phase flow is proposed in the present paper. The proposed technique utilizes the electromagnetic induction to obtain time-series signals of the electromotive force, allowing us to make a non-contact measurement. Firstly, an experiment is carried out to obtain the time-series signals in a vertical upward air-magnetic fluid two-phase flow. The signals obtained are first treated using two kinds of wavelet transforms. The data sets treated are then used as input vectors for an artificial neural network (ANN) with supervised training. In the present study, flow regimes are classified into bubbly, slug, churn and annular flows, which are generally the main flow regimes. To validate the flow regimes, a visualization experiment is also performed with a glycerin solution that has roughly the same physical properties, i.e., kinetic viscosity and surface tension, as a magnetic fluid used in the present study. The flow regimes from the visualization are used as targets in an ANN and also used in the estimation of the accuracy of the present method. As a result, ANNs using radial basis functions are shown to be the most appropriate for the present classification of flow regimes, leading to small classification errors.

  20. Optical diffraction tomography: accuracy of an off-axis reconstruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kostencka, Julianna; Kozacki, Tomasz

    2014-05-01

    Optical diffraction tomography is an increasingly popular method that allows for reconstruction of three-dimensional refractive index distribution of semi-transparent samples using multiple measurements of an optical field transmitted through the sample for various illumination directions. The process of assembly of the angular measurements is usually performed with one of two methods: filtered backprojection (FBPJ) or filtered backpropagation (FBPP) tomographic reconstruction algorithm. The former approach, although conceptually very simple, provides an accurate reconstruction for the object regions located close to the plane of focus. However, since FBPJ ignores diffraction, its use for spatially extended structures is arguable. According to the theory of scattering, more precise restoration of a 3D structure shall be achieved with the FBPP algorithm, which unlike the former approach incorporates diffraction. It is believed that with this method one is allowed to obtain a high accuracy reconstruction in a large measurement volume exceeding depth of focus of an imaging system. However, some studies have suggested that a considerable improvement of the FBPP results can be achieved with prior propagation of the transmitted fields back to the centre of the object. This, supposedly, enables reduction of errors due to approximated diffraction formulas used in FBPP. In our view this finding casts doubt on quality of the FBPP reconstruction in the regions far from the rotation axis. The objective of this paper is to investigate limitation of the FBPP algorithm in terms of an off-axis reconstruction and compare its performance with the FBPJ approach. Moreover, in this work we propose some modifications to the FBPP algorithm that allow for more precise restoration of a sample structure in off-axis locations. The research is based on extensive numerical simulations supported with wave-propagation method.

  1. Numerical investigation of incompressible fluid flow and heat transfer across a bluff body in a channel flow

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taymaz Imdat

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The Lattice Boltzmann Method is applied to computationally investigate the laminar flow and heat transfer of an incompressible fluid with constant material properties in a two-dimensional channel with a built-in bluff body. In this study, a triangular prism is taken as the bluff body. Not only the momentum transport, but also the energy transport is modeled by the Lattice Boltzmann Method. A uniform lattice structure with a single time relaxation rule is used. For obtaining a higher flexibility on the computational grid, interpolation methods are applied, where the information is transferred from the lattice structure to the computational grid by Lagrange interpolation. The flow is investigated for different Reynolds numbers, while keeping the Prandtl number at the constant value of 0.7. The results show how the presence of a triangular prism effects the flow and heat transfer patterns for the steady-state and unsteady-periodic flow regimes. As an assessment of the accuracy of the developed Lattice Boltzmann code, the results are compared with those obtained by a commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics code. It is observed that the present Lattice Boltzmann code delivers results that are of similar accuracy to the well-established Computational Fluid Dynamics code, with much smaller computational time for the prediction of the unsteady phenomena.

  2. Characterization of the bone-metal implant interface by Digital Volume Correlation of in-situ loading using neutron tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Cann, Sophie; Tudisco, Erika; Perdikouri, Christina; Belfrage, Ola; Kaestner, Anders; Hall, Stephen; Tägil, Magnus; Isaksson, Hanna

    2017-11-01

    Metallic implants are commonly used as surgical treatments for many orthopedic conditions. The long-term stability of implants relies on an adequate integration with the surrounding bone. Unsuccessful integration could lead to implant loosening. By combining mechanical loading with high-resolution 3D imaging methods, followed by image analysis such as Digital Volume Correlation (DVC), we aim at evaluating ex vivo the mechanical resistance of newly formed bone at the interface. X-rays tomography is commonly used to image bone but induces artefacts close to metallic components. Utilizing a different interaction with matter, neutron tomography is a promising alternative but has not yet been used in studies of bone mechanics. This work demonstrates that neutron tomography during in situ loading is a feasible tool to characterize the mechanical response of bone-implant interfaces, especially when combined with DVC. Experiments were performed where metal screws were implanted in rat tibiae during 4 weeks. The screws were pulled-out while the samples were sequentially imaged in situ with neutron tomography. The images were analyzed to quantify bone ingrowth around the implants. DVC was used to track the internal displacements and calculate the strain fields in the bone during loading. The neutron images were free of metal-related artefacts, which enabled accurate quantification of bone ingrowth on the screw (ranging from 60% to 71%). DVC allowed successful identification of the deformation and cracks that occurred during mechanical loading and led to final failure of the bone-implant interface. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Contact-free measurement of the flow field of a liquid metal inside a closed container

    OpenAIRE

    Heinicke Christiane

    2014-01-01

    The measurement of flow velocities inside metal melts is particularly challenging. Due to the high temperatures of the melts it is impossible to employ measurement techniques that require either mechanical contact with the melt or are only adaptable to translucent fluids. In the past years a number of electromagnetic techniques have been developed that allows a contact-free measurement of volume flows. One of these techniques is the so-called Lorentz Force Velocimetry (LFV) in which the metal...

  4. Interface model conditions for a non-equilibrium heat transfer model for conjugate fluid/porous/solid domains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Betchen, L.J.; Straatman, A.G.

    2005-01-01

    A mathematical and numerical model for the treatment of conjugate fluid flow and heat transfer problems in domains containing pure fluid, porous, and pure solid regions has been developed. The model is general and physically reasoned, and allows for local thermal non-equilibrium in the porous region. The model is developed for implementation on a simple collocated finite volume grid. Of particular novelty are the conditions implemented at the interfaces between porous regions, and those containing a pure solid or pure fluid. The model is validated by simulation of a three-dimensional porous plug problem for which experimental results are available. (author)

  5. Uma nova metodologia para a simulação de escoamentos de fluidos viscoelásticos A new approach for simulation of viscoelastic fluid flows

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    André R. Muniz

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available É proposta neste trabalho uma nova metodologia para resolução das equações governantes de fluidos viscoelásticos, baseada no método dos volumes finitos, usando o arranjo co-localizado para as variáveis e malhas estruturadas. São utilizadas aproximações de alta ordem para os fluxos lineares e não-lineares médios nas interfaces dos volumes, e para os termos não-lineares que surgem da discretização das equações constitutivas. Nesta metodologia, os valores médios das variáveis nos volumes são usados durante todo o procedimento de resolução, e os valores pontuais são obtidos ao final, através da deconvolução dos valores médios. O sistema de equações discretizadas é resolvido de forma simultânea, pelo método de Newton. A metodologia é exemplificada para um problema clássico em mecânica de fluidos computacional, o escoamento stick-slip, usando como equação constitutiva o modelo de Oldroyd-B. As soluções obtidas apresentaram boa precisão, sendo livres de oscilações mesmo em regiões de grandes gradientes das variáveis.In this work, a new methodology to solve the governing equations of viscoelastic fluid flows is proposed. This methodology is based on the finite-volume method with co-located arrangement of the variables, using high-order approximations for the linear and nonlinear average fluxes in the interfaces and for the nonlinear terms resulting from the discretization of the constitutive equations. In this methodology, the average values of the variable in the volumes are used during the resolution, and the point values are recovered in the post-processing step by deconvolution of the average values. The nonlinear equations, resulting from the discretization technique, are solved simultaneously, using the Newton's method. The solutions obtained are oscillation-free and accurate, as can be seen in the solution of the stick-slip flow, used as an illustrative example.

  6. Effect of pressure on heat transfer coefficient at the metal/mold interface of A356 aluminum alloy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fardi Ilkhchy, A.; Jabbari, Masoud; Davami, P.

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to correlate interfacial heat transfer coefficient (IHTC) to applied external pressure, in which IHTC at the interface between A356 aluminum alloy and metallic mold during the solidification of casting under different pressures were obtained using the inverse heat...... conduction problem (IHCP) method. The method covers the expedient of comparing theoretical and experimental thermal histories. Temperature profiles obtained from thermocouples were used in a finite difference heat flow program to estimate the transient heat transfer coefficients. The new simple formula...... was presented for correlation between external pressure and heat transfer coefficient. Acceptable agreement with data in literature shows the accuracy of the proposed formula....

  7. Domain decomposition methods for flows in faulted porous media; Methodes de decomposition de domaine pour les ecoulements en milieux poreux failles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Flauraud, E.

    2004-05-01

    In this thesis, we are interested in using domain decomposition methods for solving fluid flows in faulted porous media. This study comes within the framework of sedimentary basin modeling which its aim is to predict the presence of possible oil fields in the subsoil. A sedimentary basin is regarded as a heterogeneous porous medium in which fluid flows (water, oil, gas) occur. It is often subdivided into several blocks separated by faults. These faults create discontinuities that have a tremendous effect on the fluid flow in the basin. In this work, we present two approaches to model faults from the mathematical point of view. The first approach consists in considering faults as sub-domains, in the same way as blocks but with their own geological properties. However, because of the very small width of the faults in comparison with the size of the basin, the second and new approach consists in considering faults no longer as sub-domains, but as interfaces between the blocks. A mathematical study of the two models is carried out in order to investigate the existence and the uniqueness of solutions. Then; we are interested in using domain decomposition methods for solving the previous models. The main part of this study is devoted to the design of Robin interface conditions and to the formulation of the interface problem. The Schwarz algorithm can be seen as a Jacobi method for solving the interface problem. In order to speed up the convergence, this problem can be solved by a Krylov type algorithm (BICGSTAB). We discretize the equations with a finite volume scheme, and perform extensive numerical tests to compare the different methods. (author)

  8. 3D code for simulations of fluid flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skandera, D.

    2004-01-01

    In this paper, a present status in the development of the new numerical code is reported. The code is considered for simulations of fluid flows. The finite volume approach is adopted for solving standard fluid equations. They are treated in a conservative form to ensure a correct conservation of fluid quantities. Thus, a nonlinear hyperbolic system of conservation laws is numerically solved. The code uses the Eulerian description of the fluid and is designed as a high order central numerical scheme. The central approach employs no (approximate) Riemann solver and is less computational expensive. The high order WENO strategy is adopted in the reconstruction step to achieve results comparable with more accurate Riemann solvers. A combination of the central approach with an iterative solving of a local Riemann problem is tested and behaviour of such numerical flux is reported. An extension to three dimensions is implemented using a dimension by dimension approach, hence, no complicated dimensional splitting need to be introduced. The code is fully parallelized with the MPI library. Several standard hydrodynamic tests in one, two and three dimensions were performed and their results are presented. (author)

  9. A Parallel, Finite-Volume Algorithm for Large-Eddy Simulation of Turbulent Flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bui, Trong T.

    1999-01-01

    A parallel, finite-volume algorithm has been developed for large-eddy simulation (LES) of compressible turbulent flows. This algorithm includes piecewise linear least-square reconstruction, trilinear finite-element interpolation, Roe flux-difference splitting, and second-order MacCormack time marching. Parallel implementation is done using the message-passing programming model. In this paper, the numerical algorithm is described. To validate the numerical method for turbulence simulation, LES of fully developed turbulent flow in a square duct is performed for a Reynolds number of 320 based on the average friction velocity and the hydraulic diameter of the duct. Direct numerical simulation (DNS) results are available for this test case, and the accuracy of this algorithm for turbulence simulations can be ascertained by comparing the LES solutions with the DNS results. The effects of grid resolution, upwind numerical dissipation, and subgrid-scale dissipation on the accuracy of the LES are examined. Comparison with DNS results shows that the standard Roe flux-difference splitting dissipation adversely affects the accuracy of the turbulence simulation. For accurate turbulence simulations, only 3-5 percent of the standard Roe flux-difference splitting dissipation is needed.

  10. Simulation of two-phase flow in horizontal fracture networks with numerical manifold method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, G. W.; Wang, H. D.; Fan, L. F.; Wang, B.

    2017-10-01

    The paper presents simulation of two-phase flow in discrete fracture networks with numerical manifold method (NMM). Each phase of fluids is considered to be confined within the assumed discrete interfaces in the present method. The homogeneous model is modified to approach the mixed fluids. A new mathematical cover formation for fracture intersection is proposed to satisfy the mass conservation. NMM simulations of two-phase flow in a single fracture, intersection, and fracture network are illustrated graphically and validated by the analytical method or the finite element method. Results show that the motion status of discrete interface significantly depends on the ratio of mobility of two fluids rather than the value of the mobility. The variation of fluid velocity in each fracture segment and the driven fluid content are also influenced by the ratio of mobility. The advantages of NMM in the simulation of two-phase flow in a fracture network are demonstrated in the present study, which can be further developed for practical engineering applications.

  11. Iterative solution of fluid flow in finned tubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Syed, S.K.; Tuphome, E.G.; Wood, S.A.

    2004-01-01

    A difference-based numerical algorithm is developed to efficiently solve a class of elliptic boundary value problems up to any desired order of accuracy. Through multi-level discretization the algorithm uses the multigrid concept of nested iterations to accelerate the convergence rate at higher discretization levels and exploits the advantages of extrapolation methods to achieve higher order accuracy with less computational work. The algorithm employs the SOR method to solve the discrete problem at each discretization level by using an estimated optimum value of the relaxation parameter. The advantages of the algorithm are shown through comparison with the simple discrete method for simulations of fluid flows in finned circular ducts. (author)

  12. An object-oriented and quadrilateral-mesh based solution adaptive algorithm for compressible multi-fluid flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, H. W.; Shu, C.; Chew, Y. T.

    2008-07-01

    In this paper, an object-oriented and quadrilateral-mesh based solution adaptive algorithm for the simulation of compressible multi-fluid flows is presented. The HLLC scheme (Harten, Lax and van Leer approximate Riemann solver with the Contact wave restored) is extended to adaptively solve the compressible multi-fluid flows under complex geometry on unstructured mesh. It is also extended to the second-order of accuracy by using MUSCL extrapolation. The node, edge and cell are arranged in such an object-oriented manner that each of them inherits from a basic object. A home-made double link list is designed to manage these objects so that the inserting of new objects and removing of the existing objects (nodes, edges and cells) are independent of the number of objects and only of the complexity of O( 1). In addition, the cells with different levels are further stored in different lists. This avoids the recursive calculation of solution of mother (non-leaf) cells. Thus, high efficiency is obtained due to these features. Besides, as compared to other cell-edge adaptive methods, the separation of nodes would reduce the memory requirement of redundant nodes, especially in the cases where the level number is large or the space dimension is three. Five two-dimensional examples are used to examine its performance. These examples include vortex evolution problem, interface only problem under structured mesh and unstructured mesh, bubble explosion under the water, bubble-shock interaction, and shock-interface interaction inside the cylindrical vessel. Numerical results indicate that there is no oscillation of pressure and velocity across the interface and it is feasible to apply it to solve compressible multi-fluid flows with large density ratio (1000) and strong shock wave (the pressure ratio is 10,000) interaction with the interface.

  13. Sythesis of rare earth metal - GIC graphite intercalation compound in molten chloride system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ito, Masafumi; Hagiwara, Rika; Ito, Yasuhiko

    1994-01-01

    Graphite intercalation compounds of ytterbium and neodymium have been prepared by interacting graphite and metals in molten chlorides. These rare earth metals can be suspended in molten chlorides in the presence of trichlorides via disproportionation reaction RE(0) + RE(III) = 2RE(II) at lower than 300 degC. Carbides-free compounds are obtained in these systems. (author)

  14. Compatibility of molten salt and structural materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawakami, Masahiro

    1994-01-01

    As the important factors for considering the compatibility of fuel salt and coolant salt with structural materials in molten salt reactors, there are the moisture remaining in molten salt and the fluorine potential in molten salt. In this study, as for the metals which are the main components of corrosion resistant alloys, the corrosion by the moisture remaining in molten salt and the dependence of the corrosion on fluorine potential were examined. As the molten salts, an eutectic molten salt LiF-BeF 2 was mainly used, and LiF-KF was used in combination. As the metallic materials, Cr, Ni and Cu which are the main components of corrosion resistant and heat resistant alloys, Hastelloy and Monel, were used. In the experiment, the metal pieces were immersed in the molten salt, and by sampling the molten salt, the change with time lapse of the concentration of the dissolved metals was examined. Besides, the electrochemical measurement was carried out for Cr, of which the corrosion was remarkable, and the change with time lapse of the dissolved ions was examined. The experimental setup, the experimental method, and the results of the immersion test and the electrochemical test are reported. The experiment on the corrosion of metals depending on fluorine potential is also reported. (K.I.)

  15. Influence of radiation dose and iterative reconstruction algorithms for measurement accuracy and reproducibility of pulmonary nodule volumetry: A phantom study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hyungjin; Park, Chang Min; Song, Yong Sub; Lee, Sang Min; Goo, Jin Mo

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the influence of radiation dose settings and reconstruction algorithms on the measurement accuracy and reproducibility of semi-automated pulmonary nodule volumetry. Materials and methods: CT scans were performed on a chest phantom containing various nodules (10 and 12 mm; +100, −630 and −800 HU) at 120 kVp with tube current–time settings of 10, 20, 50, and 100 mAs. Each CT was reconstructed using filtered back projection (FBP), iDose 4 and iterative model reconstruction (IMR). Semi-automated volumetry was performed by two radiologists using commercial volumetry software for nodules at each CT dataset. Noise, contrast-to-noise ratio and signal-to-noise ratio of CT images were also obtained. The absolute percentage measurement errors and differences were then calculated for volume and mass. The influence of radiation dose and reconstruction algorithm on measurement accuracy, reproducibility and objective image quality metrics was analyzed using generalized estimating equations. Results: Measurement accuracy and reproducibility of nodule volume and mass were not significantly associated with CT radiation dose settings or reconstruction algorithms (p > 0.05). Objective image quality metrics of CT images were superior in IMR than in FBP or iDose 4 at all radiation dose settings (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Semi-automated nodule volumetry can be applied to low- or ultralow-dose chest CT with usage of a novel iterative reconstruction algorithm without losing measurement accuracy and reproducibility

  16. Influence of radiation dose and iterative reconstruction algorithms for measurement accuracy and reproducibility of pulmonary nodule volumetry: A phantom study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Hyungjin, E-mail: khj.snuh@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, 101, Daehangno, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-744 (Korea, Republic of); Park, Chang Min, E-mail: cmpark@radiol.snu.ac.kr [Department of Radiology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, 101, Daehangno, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-744 (Korea, Republic of); Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University, 101, Daehangno, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-744 (Korea, Republic of); Song, Yong Sub, E-mail: terasong@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, 101, Daehangno, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-744 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Sang Min, E-mail: sangmin.lee.md@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, 101, Daehangno, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-744 (Korea, Republic of); Goo, Jin Mo, E-mail: jmgoo@plaza.snu.ac.kr [Department of Radiology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, 101, Daehangno, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-744 (Korea, Republic of); Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University, 101, Daehangno, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-744 (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-05-15

    Purpose: To evaluate the influence of radiation dose settings and reconstruction algorithms on the measurement accuracy and reproducibility of semi-automated pulmonary nodule volumetry. Materials and methods: CT scans were performed on a chest phantom containing various nodules (10 and 12 mm; +100, −630 and −800 HU) at 120 kVp with tube current–time settings of 10, 20, 50, and 100 mAs. Each CT was reconstructed using filtered back projection (FBP), iDose{sup 4} and iterative model reconstruction (IMR). Semi-automated volumetry was performed by two radiologists using commercial volumetry software for nodules at each CT dataset. Noise, contrast-to-noise ratio and signal-to-noise ratio of CT images were also obtained. The absolute percentage measurement errors and differences were then calculated for volume and mass. The influence of radiation dose and reconstruction algorithm on measurement accuracy, reproducibility and objective image quality metrics was analyzed using generalized estimating equations. Results: Measurement accuracy and reproducibility of nodule volume and mass were not significantly associated with CT radiation dose settings or reconstruction algorithms (p > 0.05). Objective image quality metrics of CT images were superior in IMR than in FBP or iDose{sup 4} at all radiation dose settings (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Semi-automated nodule volumetry can be applied to low- or ultralow-dose chest CT with usage of a novel iterative reconstruction algorithm without losing measurement accuracy and reproducibility.

  17. Free surface flow with moving rigid bodies. Part 1. Computational flow model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gubanov, O.I.; Mironova, L.A.; Kocabiyik, S.

    2005-01-01

    This paper was motivated by the study of Hirt and Sicilian, where the 'differential form' of the governing equations for the inviscid fluid flow (FAVOR equations) were obtained. We utilize mainly generalized differentiation to extend the Reynolds transport theorem over a control volume containing fluid interface for deriving the 'integral form' of governing equations for the incompressible viscous flow problems. This is done following the work by Farassat and the use of generalized function theory made this derivation straightforward, systematic and rigorous. The resulting equations are discretized by a finite-volume method using a staggered grid, after making use of the coarse-scale approximation. The resulting governing equations are valid for a class of flows including free surface flows with arbitrarily moving bodies and are consistent with Hirt and Sicilian's formulation in the inviscid fluid flow case. (author)

  18. LIFE Materails: Molten-Salt Fuels Volume 8

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moir, R; Brown, N; Caro, A; Farmer, J; Halsey, W; Kaufman, L; Kramer, K; Latkowski, J; Powers, J; Shaw, H; Turchi, P

    2008-12-11

    The goals of the Laser Inertial Fusion Fission Energy (LIFE) is to use fusion neutrons to fission materials with no enrichment and minimum processing and have greatly reduced wastes that are not of interest to making weapons. Fusion yields expected to be achieved in NIF a few times per day are called for with a high reliable shot rate of about 15 per second. We have found that the version of LIFE using TRISO fuel discussed in other volumes of this series can be modified by replacing the molten-flibe-cooled TRISO fuel zone with a molten salt in which the same actinides present in the TRISO particles are dissolved in the molten salt. Molten salts have the advantage that they are not subject to radiation damage, and hence overcome the radiation damage effects that may limit the lifetime of solid fuels such as TRISO-containing pebbles. This molten salt is pumped through the LIFE blanket, out to a heat exchanger and back into the blanket. To mitigate corrosion, steel structures in contact with the molten salt would be plated with tungsten or nickel. The salt will be processed during operation to remove certain fission products (volatile and noble and semi-noble fission products), impurities and corrosion products. In this way neutron absorbers (fission products) are removed and neutronics performance of the molten salt is somewhat better than that of the TRISO fuel case owing to the reduced parasitic absorption. In addition, the production of Pu and rare-earth elements (REE) causes these elements to build up in the salt, and leads to a requirement for a process to remove the REE during operation to insure that the solubility of a mixed (Pu,REE)F3 solid solution is not exceeded anywhere in the molten salt system. Removal of the REE will further enhance the neutronics performance. With molten salt fuels, the plant would need to be safeguarded because materials of interest for weapons are produced and could potentially be removed.

  19. LIFE Materails: Molten-Salt Fuels Volume 8

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moir, R.; Brown, N.; Caro, A.; Farmer, J.; Halsey, W.; Kaufman, L.; Kramer, K.; Latkowski, J.; Powers, J.; Shaw, H.; Turchi, P.

    2008-01-01

    The goals of the Laser Inertial Fusion Fission Energy (LIFE) is to use fusion neutrons to fission materials with no enrichment and minimum processing and have greatly reduced wastes that are not of interest to making weapons. Fusion yields expected to be achieved in NIF a few times per day are called for with a high reliable shot rate of about 15 per second. We have found that the version of LIFE using TRISO fuel discussed in other volumes of this series can be modified by replacing the molten-flibe-cooled TRISO fuel zone with a molten salt in which the same actinides present in the TRISO particles are dissolved in the molten salt. Molten salts have the advantage that they are not subject to radiation damage, and hence overcome the radiation damage effects that may limit the lifetime of solid fuels such as TRISO-containing pebbles. This molten salt is pumped through the LIFE blanket, out to a heat exchanger and back into the blanket. To mitigate corrosion, steel structures in contact with the molten salt would be plated with tungsten or nickel. The salt will be processed during operation to remove certain fission products (volatile and noble and semi-noble fission products), impurities and corrosion products. In this way neutron absorbers (fission products) are removed and neutronics performance of the molten salt is somewhat better than that of the TRISO fuel case owing to the reduced parasitic absorption. In addition, the production of Pu and rare-earth elements (REE) causes these elements to build up in the salt, and leads to a requirement for a process to remove the REE during operation to insure that the solubility of a mixed (Pu,REE)F3 solid solution is not exceeded anywhere in the molten salt system. Removal of the REE will further enhance the neutronics performance. With molten salt fuels, the plant would need to be safeguarded because materials of interest for weapons are produced and could potentially be removed.

  20. A high order compact least-squares reconstructed discontinuous Galerkin method for the steady-state compressible flows on hybrid grids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Jian; Zhang, Fan; Liu, Tiegang

    2018-06-01

    In this paper, a class of new high order reconstructed DG (rDG) methods based on the compact least-squares (CLS) reconstruction [23,24] is developed for simulating the two dimensional steady-state compressible flows on hybrid grids. The proposed method combines the advantages of the DG discretization with the flexibility of the compact least-squares reconstruction, which exhibits its superior potential in enhancing the level of accuracy and reducing the computational cost compared to the underlying DG methods with respect to the same number of degrees of freedom. To be specific, a third-order compact least-squares rDG(p1p2) method and a fourth-order compact least-squares rDG(p2p3) method are developed and investigated in this work. In this compact least-squares rDG method, the low order degrees of freedom are evolved through the underlying DG(p1) method and DG(p2) method, respectively, while the high order degrees of freedom are reconstructed through the compact least-squares reconstruction, in which the constitutive relations are built by requiring the reconstructed polynomial and its spatial derivatives on the target cell to conserve the cell averages and the corresponding spatial derivatives on the face-neighboring cells. The large sparse linear system resulted by the compact least-squares reconstruction can be solved relatively efficient when it is coupled with the temporal discretization in the steady-state simulations. A number of test cases are presented to assess the performance of the high order compact least-squares rDG methods, which demonstrates their potential to be an alternative approach for the high order numerical simulations of steady-state compressible flows.

  1. Conservative multigrid methods for Cahn-Hilliard fluids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Junseok; Kang, Kyungkeun; Lowengrub, John

    2004-01-01

    We develop a conservative, second-order accurate fully implicit discretization of the Navier-Stokes (NS) and Cahn-Hilliard (CH) system that has an associated discrete energy functional. This system provides a diffuse-interface description of binary fluid flows with compressible or incompressible flow components [R. Soc. Lond. Proc. Ser. A Math. Phys. Eng. Sci. 454 (1998) 2617]. In this work, we focus on the case of flows containing two immiscible, incompressible and density-matched components. The scheme, however, has a straightforward extension to multi-component systems. To efficiently solve the discrete system at the implicit time-level, we develop a nonlinear multigrid method to solve the CH equation which is then coupled to a projection method that is used to solve the NS equation. We demonstrate convergence of our scheme numerically in both the presence and absence of flow and perform simulations of phase separation via spinodal decomposition. We examine the separate effects of surface tension and external flow on the decomposition. We find surface tension driven flow alone increases coalescence rates through the retraction of interfaces. When there is an applied external shear, the evolution of the flow is nontrivial and the flow morphology repeats itself in time as multiple pinchoff and reconnection events occur. Eventually, the periodic motion ceases and the system relaxes to a global equilibrium. The equilibria we observe appears has a similar structure in all cases although the dynamics of the evolution is quite different. We view the work presented in this paper as preparatory for a detailed investigation of liquid-liquid interfaces with surface tension where the interfaces separate two immiscible fluids [On the pinchoff of liquid-liquid jets with surface tension, in preparation]. To this end, we also include a simulation of the pinchoff of a liquid thread under the Rayleigh instability at finite Reynolds number

  2. A novel finite volume discretization method for advection-diffusion systems on stretched meshes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merrick, D. G.; Malan, A. G.; van Rooyen, J. A.

    2018-06-01

    This work is concerned with spatial advection and diffusion discretization technology within the field of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). In this context, a novel method is proposed, which is dubbed the Enhanced Taylor Advection-Diffusion (ETAD) scheme. The model equation employed for design of the scheme is the scalar advection-diffusion equation, the industrial application being incompressible laminar and turbulent flow. Developed to be implementable into finite volume codes, ETAD places specific emphasis on improving accuracy on stretched structured and unstructured meshes while considering both advection and diffusion aspects in a holistic manner. A vertex-centered structured and unstructured finite volume scheme is used, and only data available on either side of the volume face is employed. This includes the addition of a so-called mesh stretching metric. Additionally, non-linear blending with the existing NVSF scheme was performed in the interest of robustness and stability, particularly on equispaced meshes. The developed scheme is assessed in terms of accuracy - this is done analytically and numerically, via comparison to upwind methods which include the popular QUICK and CUI techniques. Numerical tests involved the 1D scalar advection-diffusion equation, a 2D lid driven cavity and turbulent flow case. Significant improvements in accuracy were achieved, with L2 error reductions of up to 75%.

  3. Piecewise-parabolic methods for astrophysical fluid dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woodward, P.R.

    1983-01-01

    A general description of some modern numerical techniques for the simulation of astrophysical fluid flow is presented. The methods are introduced with a thorough discussion of the especially simple case of advection. Attention is focused on the piecewise-parabolic method (PPM). A description of the SLIC method for treating multifluid problems is also given. The discussion is illustrated by a number of advection and hydrodynamics test problems. Finally, a study of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability of supersonic jets using PPM with SLIC fluid interfaces is presented

  4. A two-dimensional continuum model of biofilm growth incorporating fluid flow and shear stress based detachment

    KAUST Repository

    Duddu, Ravindra

    2009-05-01

    We present a two-dimensional biofilm growth model in a continuum framework using an Eulerian description. A computational technique based on the eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) and the level set method is used to simulate the growth of the biofilm. The model considers fluid flow around the biofilm surface, the advection-diffusion and reaction of substrate, variable biomass volume fraction and erosion due to the interfacial shear stress at the biofilm-fluid interface. The key assumptions of the model and the governing equations of transport, biofilm kinetics and biofilm mechanics are presented. Our 2D biofilm growth results are in good agreement with those obtained by Picioreanu et al. (Biotechnol Bioeng 69(5):504-515, 2000). Detachment due to erosion is modeled using two continuous speed functions based on: (a) interfacial shear stress and (b) biofilm height. A relation between the two detachment models in the case of a 1D biofilm is established and simulated biofilm results with detachment in 2D are presented. The stress in the biofilm due to fluid flow is evaluated and higher stresses are observed close to the substratum where the biofilm is attached. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Novel ceramic coatings for containment of uranium and reactive molten metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sreekumar, K.P.; Satpute, R.U.; Ramanathan, S.; Thiyagarajan, T.K.; Padmanabhan, P.V.A.; Kutty, T.R.G.

    2005-01-01

    Plasma sprayed aluminium oxide coatings, which are currently used for casting uranium metal are, however, not suitable for long duration handling of molten uranium and is also unstable under reducing conditions. Yttrium oxide and rare earth phosphates are suggested as promising materials for prevention of high temperature corrosion by molten metals. The present paper reports research efforts directed towards development of plasma sprayed coatings of yttria and lanthanum phosphate. Thermal spray grade powders of yttrium oxide and lanthanum phosphate, synthesized using locally available raw materials have been used as feedstock powders for plasma spray deposition. The coatings have been deposited using the indigenously developed 40 kW atmospheric plasma spray system and have been characterized. Results of preliminary experiments on compatibility of yttria and lanthanum phosphate with molten uranium are quite encouraging. (author)

  6. Fluid mechanics experiments in oscillatory flow. Volume 2: Tabulated data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seume, J.; Friedman, G.; Simon, T. W.

    1992-01-01

    Results of a fluid mechanics measurement program in oscillating flow within a circular duct are presented. The program began with a survey of transition behavior over a range of oscillation frequency and magnitude and continued with a detailed study at a single operating point. Such measurements were made in support of Stirling engine development. Values of three dimensionless parameters, Re sub max, Re sub w, and A sub R, embody the velocity amplitude, frequency of oscillation, and mean fluid displacement of the cycle, respectively. Measurements were first made over a range of these parameters that are representative of the heat exchanger tubes in the heater section of NASA's Stirling cycle Space Power Research Engine (SPRE). Measurements were taken of the axial and radial components of ensemble-averaged velocity and rms velocity fluctuation and the dominant Reynolds shear stress, at various radial positions for each of four axial stations. In each run, transition from laminar to turbulent flow, and its reverse, were identified and sufficient data was gathered to propose the transition mechanism. Volume 2 contains data reduction program listings and tabulated data (including its graphics).

  7. Acceleration of coupled granular flow and fluid flow simulations in pebble bed energy systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Yanheng, E-mail: liy19@rpi.edu [Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy, NY (United States); Ji, Wei, E-mail: jiw2@rpi.edu [Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy, NY (United States)

    2013-05-15

    Highlights: ► Fast simulation of coupled pebble flow and coolant flow in PBR systems is studied. ► Dimension reduction based on axisymmetric geometry shows significant speedup. ► Relaxation of coupling frequency is investigated and an optimal range is determined. ► A total of 80% efficiency increase is achieved by the two fast strategies. ► Fast strategies can be applied to simulating other general fluidized bed systems. -- Abstract: Fast and accurate approaches to simulating the coupled particle flow and fluid flow are of importance to the analysis of large particle-fluid systems. This is especially needed when one tries to simulate pebble flow and coolant flow in Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR) energy systems on a routine basis. As one of the Generation IV designs, the PBR design is a promising nuclear energy system with high fuel performance and inherent safety. A typical PBR core can be modeled as a particle-fluid system with strong interactions among pebbles, coolants and reactor walls. In previous works, the coupled Discrete Element Method (DEM)-Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach has been investigated and applied to modeling PBR systems. However, the DEM-CFD approach is computationally expensive due to large amounts of pebbles in PBR systems. This greatly restricts the PBR analysis for the real time prediction and inclusion of more physics. In this work, based on the symmetry of the PBR geometry and the slow motion characteristics of the pebble flow, two acceleration strategies are proposed. First, a simplified 3D-DEM/2D-CFD approach is proposed to speed up the DEM-CFD simulation without loss of accuracy. Pebble flow is simulated by a full 3D DEM, while the coolant flow field is calculated with a 2D CFD simulation by averaging variables along the annular direction in the cylindrical and annular geometries. Second, based on the slow motion of pebble flow, the impact of the coupling frequency on the computation accuracy and efficiency is

  8. Acceleration of coupled granular flow and fluid flow simulations in pebble bed energy systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Yanheng; Ji, Wei

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Fast simulation of coupled pebble flow and coolant flow in PBR systems is studied. ► Dimension reduction based on axisymmetric geometry shows significant speedup. ► Relaxation of coupling frequency is investigated and an optimal range is determined. ► A total of 80% efficiency increase is achieved by the two fast strategies. ► Fast strategies can be applied to simulating other general fluidized bed systems. -- Abstract: Fast and accurate approaches to simulating the coupled particle flow and fluid flow are of importance to the analysis of large particle-fluid systems. This is especially needed when one tries to simulate pebble flow and coolant flow in Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR) energy systems on a routine basis. As one of the Generation IV designs, the PBR design is a promising nuclear energy system with high fuel performance and inherent safety. A typical PBR core can be modeled as a particle-fluid system with strong interactions among pebbles, coolants and reactor walls. In previous works, the coupled Discrete Element Method (DEM)-Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach has been investigated and applied to modeling PBR systems. However, the DEM-CFD approach is computationally expensive due to large amounts of pebbles in PBR systems. This greatly restricts the PBR analysis for the real time prediction and inclusion of more physics. In this work, based on the symmetry of the PBR geometry and the slow motion characteristics of the pebble flow, two acceleration strategies are proposed. First, a simplified 3D-DEM/2D-CFD approach is proposed to speed up the DEM-CFD simulation without loss of accuracy. Pebble flow is simulated by a full 3D DEM, while the coolant flow field is calculated with a 2D CFD simulation by averaging variables along the annular direction in the cylindrical and annular geometries. Second, based on the slow motion of pebble flow, the impact of the coupling frequency on the computation accuracy and efficiency is

  9. An Adaptive Threshold Image Reconstruction Algorithm of Oil-Water Two-Phase Flow in Electrical Capacitance Tomography System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qin, M; Chen, D Y; Wang, L L; Yu, X Y

    2006-01-01

    The subject investigated in this paper is the ECT system of 8-electrode oil-water two-phase flow, and the measuring principle is analysed. In ART image-reconstruction algorithm, an adaptive threshold image reconstruction is presented to improve quality of image reconstruction and calculating accuracy of concentration, and generally the measurement error is about 1%. Such method can well solve many defects that other measurement methods may have, such as slow speed, high cost, and poor security and so on. Therefore, it offers a new method for the concentration measurement of oil-water two-phase flow

  10. DEBRIS FLOW ACTIVITY RECONSTRUCTION USING DENDROGEOMORPHOLOGICAL METHODS. STUDY CASE (PIULE IORGOVANU MOUNTAINS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ROXANA VĂIDEAN

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Debris Flow Activity Reconstruction Using Dendrogeomorphological Methods. Study Case (Piule Iorgovanu Mountains. Debris flows are one of the most destructive mass-movements that manifest in the mountainous regions around the world. As they usually occur on the steep slopes of the mountain streams where human settlements are scarce, they are hardly monitored. But when they do interact with builtup areas or transportation corridors they cause enormous damages and even casualties. The rise of human pressure in the hazardous regions has led to an increase in the severity of the negative consequences related to debris flows. Consequently, a complete database for hazard assessment of the areas which show evidence of debris flow activity is needed. Because of the lack of archival records knowledge about their frequency remains poor. One of the most precise methods used in the reconstruction of past debris flow activity are dendrogeomorphological methods. Using growth anomalies of the affected trees, a valuable event chronology can be obtained. Therefore, it is the purpose of this study to reconstruct debris flow activity on a small catchment located on the northern slope of Piule Iorgovanu Mountains. The trees growing near the channel of transport and on the debris fan, exhibit different types of disturbances. A number of 98 increment cores, 19 cross-sections and 1 semi-transversal cross-section was used. Based on the growth anomalies identified in the samples there were reconstructed a number of 19 events spanning a period of almost a century.

  11. Monolithic multigrid method for the coupled Stokes flow and deformable porous medium system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, P.; Rodrigo, C.; Gaspar, F. J.; Oosterlee, C. W.

    2018-01-01

    The interaction between fluid flow and a deformable porous medium is a complicated multi-physics problem, which can be described by a coupled model based on the Stokes and poroelastic equations. A monolithic multigrid method together with either a coupled Vanka smoother or a decoupled Uzawa smoother is employed as an efficient numerical technique for the linear discrete system obtained by finite volumes on staggered grids. A specialty in our modeling approach is that at the interface of the fluid and poroelastic medium, two unknowns from the different subsystems are defined at the same grid point. We propose a special discretization at and near the points on the interface, which combines the approximation of the governing equations and the considered interface conditions. In the decoupled Uzawa smoother, Local Fourier Analysis (LFA) helps us to select optimal values of the relaxation parameter appearing. To implement the monolithic multigrid method, grid partitioning is used to deal with the interface updates when communication is required between two subdomains. Numerical experiments show that the proposed numerical method has an excellent convergence rate. The efficiency and robustness of the method are confirmed in numerical experiments with typically small realistic values of the physical coefficients.

  12. Fluid mechanics of environmental interfaces

    CERN Document Server

    Gualtieri, Carlo

    2012-01-01

    Preface Preface of the first editionBiographies of the authors Part one - Preliminaries1. Environmental fluid mechanics: Current issues and future outlook B. Cushman-Roisin, C. Gualtieri & D.T. MihailovicPart two - Processes at atmospheric interfaces2. Point source atmospheric diffusionB. Rajkovic, I. Arsenic & Z. Grsic3. Air-sea interaction V. Djurdjevic & B. Rajkovic4. Modelling of flux exchanges between heterogeneous surfaces and atmosphere D.T. Mihailovic & D. Kapor5. Desert dust uptake-transport and deposition mechanisms - impacts of dust on radiation, clouds and precipitation G. Kallos, P. Katsafados & C. SpyrouPart three - Processes at water interfaces6. Gas-transfer at unsheared free-surfaces C. Gualtieri & G. Pulci Doria7. Advective diffusion of air bubbles in turbulent water flows H. Chanson8. Exchanges at the bed sediments-water column interface F.A. Bombardelli & P.A. Moreno9. Surface water and streambed sediment interaction: The hyporheic exchange D. Tonina10. Environm...

  13. Method and apparatus for fabricating a composite structure consisting of a filamentary material in a metal matrix

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banker, J.G.; Anderson, R.C.

    1975-10-21

    A method and apparatus are provided for preparing a composite structure consisting of filamentary material within a metal matrix. The method is practiced by the steps of confining the metal for forming the matrix in a first chamber, heating the confined metal to a temperature adequate to effect melting thereof, introducing a stream of inert gas into the chamber for pressurizing the atmosphere in the chamber to a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure, confining the filamentary material in a second chamber, heating the confined filamentary material to a temperature less than the melting temperature of the metal, evacuating the second chamber to provide an atmosphere therein at a pressure, placing the second chamber in registry with the first chamber to provide for the forced flow of the molten metal into the second chamber to effect infiltration of the filamentary material with the molten metal, and thereafter cooling the metal infiltrated-filamentary material to form said composite structure.

  14. Method and apparatus for fabricating a composite structure consisting of a filamentary material in a metal matrix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banker, J.G.; Anderson, R.C.

    1975-01-01

    A method and apparatus are provided for preparing a composite structure consisting of filamentary material within a metal matrix. The method is practiced by the steps of confining the metal for forming the matrix in a first chamber, heating the confined metal to a temperature adequate to effect melting thereof, introducing a stream of inert gas into the chamber for pressurizing the atmosphere in the chamber to a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure, confining the filamentary material in a second chamber, heating the confined filamentary material to a temperature less than the melting temperature of the metal, evacuating the second chamber to provide an atmosphere therein at a pressure, placing the second chamber in registry with the first chamber to provide for the forced flow of the molten metal into the second chamber to effect infiltration of the filamentary material with the molten metal, and thereafter cooling the metal infiltrated-filamentary material to form said composite structure

  15. Flow rate measurement in a volume

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Galvez, Cristhian

    2018-04-17

    A system for measuring flow rate within a volume includes one or more transmission devices that transmit one or more signals through fluid contained within the volume. The volume may be bounded, at least in part, by an outer structure and by an object at least partially contained within the outer structure. A transmission device located at a first location of the outer structure transmits a first signal to a second location of the outer structure. A second signal is transmitted through the fluid from the second location to a third location of the outer structure. The flow rate of the fluid within the volume may be determined based, at least in part, on the time of flight of both the first signal and the second signal.

  16. Radiotracer techniques for measuring fluid flow and calibrating flow meters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cooper, E.L.

    1987-08-01

    Radiotracer techniques can be used to measure accurately both gas and liquid flow rates under operating conditions in a wide range of flow systems. They are ideally suited for calibrating flow meters as well as for measuring unmetered flows in industrial plants. Applications of these techniques range from measuring the flows of fuels and process fluids for energy and mass balance studies to measuring the flows of liquid and airborne effluents for pollution control. This report describes the various radiotracer techniques which can be used to measure fluid flows. The range of application and inherent accuracy of each technique is discussed

  17. Spectral CT metal artifact reduction with an optimization-based reconstruction algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilat Schmidt, Taly; Barber, Rina F.; Sidky, Emil Y.

    2017-03-01

    Metal objects cause artifacts in computed tomography (CT) images. This work investigated the feasibility of a spectral CT method to reduce metal artifacts. Spectral CT acquisition combined with optimization-based reconstruction is proposed to reduce artifacts by modeling the physical effects that cause metal artifacts and by providing the flexibility to selectively remove corrupted spectral measurements in the spectral-sinogram space. The proposed Constrained `One-Step' Spectral CT Image Reconstruction (cOSSCIR) algorithm directly estimates the basis material maps while enforcing convex constraints. The incorporation of constraints on the reconstructed basis material maps is expected to mitigate undersampling effects that occur when corrupted data is excluded from reconstruction. The feasibility of the cOSSCIR algorithm to reduce metal artifacts was investigated through simulations of a pelvis phantom. The cOSSCIR algorithm was investigated with and without the use of a third basis material representing metal. The effects of excluding data corrupted by metal were also investigated. The results demonstrated that the proposed cOSSCIR algorithm reduced metal artifacts and improved CT number accuracy. For example, CT number error in a bright shading artifact region was reduced from 403 HU in the reference filtered backprojection reconstruction to 33 HU using the proposed algorithm in simulation. In the dark shading regions, the error was reduced from 1141 HU to 25 HU. Of the investigated approaches, decomposing the data into three basis material maps and excluding the corrupted data demonstrated the greatest reduction in metal artifacts.

  18. A multi-scale network method for two-phase flow in porous media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khayrat, Karim, E-mail: khayratk@ifd.mavt.ethz.ch; Jenny, Patrick

    2017-08-01

    Pore-network models of porous media are useful in the study of pore-scale flow in porous media. In order to extract macroscopic properties from flow simulations in pore-networks, it is crucial the networks are large enough to be considered representative elementary volumes. However, existing two-phase network flow solvers are limited to relatively small domains. For this purpose, a multi-scale pore-network (MSPN) method, which takes into account flow-rate effects and can simulate larger domains compared to existing methods, was developed. In our solution algorithm, a large pore network is partitioned into several smaller sub-networks. The algorithm to advance the fluid interfaces within each subnetwork consists of three steps. First, a global pressure problem on the network is solved approximately using the multiscale finite volume (MSFV) method. Next, the fluxes across the subnetworks are computed. Lastly, using fluxes as boundary conditions, a dynamic two-phase flow solver is used to advance the solution in time. Simulation results of drainage scenarios at different capillary numbers and unfavourable viscosity ratios are presented and used to validate the MSPN method against solutions obtained by an existing dynamic network flow solver.

  19. A multi-scale network method for two-phase flow in porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khayrat, Karim; Jenny, Patrick

    2017-01-01

    Pore-network models of porous media are useful in the study of pore-scale flow in porous media. In order to extract macroscopic properties from flow simulations in pore-networks, it is crucial the networks are large enough to be considered representative elementary volumes. However, existing two-phase network flow solvers are limited to relatively small domains. For this purpose, a multi-scale pore-network (MSPN) method, which takes into account flow-rate effects and can simulate larger domains compared to existing methods, was developed. In our solution algorithm, a large pore network is partitioned into several smaller sub-networks. The algorithm to advance the fluid interfaces within each subnetwork consists of three steps. First, a global pressure problem on the network is solved approximately using the multiscale finite volume (MSFV) method. Next, the fluxes across the subnetworks are computed. Lastly, using fluxes as boundary conditions, a dynamic two-phase flow solver is used to advance the solution in time. Simulation results of drainage scenarios at different capillary numbers and unfavourable viscosity ratios are presented and used to validate the MSPN method against solutions obtained by an existing dynamic network flow solver.

  20. Numerical analysis on interactions between fluid flow and structure deformation in plate-fin heat exchanger by Galerkin method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jing-cheng; Wei, Xiu-ting; Zhou, Zhi-yong; Wei, Zhen-wen

    2018-03-01

    The fluid-structure interaction performance of plate-fin heat exchanger (PFHE) with serrated fins in large scale air-separation equipment was investigated in this paper. The stress and deformation of fins were analyzed, besides, the interaction equations were deduced by Galerkin method. The governing equations of fluid flow and heat transfer in PFHE were deduced by finite volume method (FVM). The distribution of strain and stress were calculated in large scale air separation equipment and the coupling situation of serrated fins under laminar situation was analyzed. The results indicated that the interactions between fins and fluid flow in the exchanger have significant impacts on heat transfer enhancement, meanwhile, the strain and stress of fins includes dynamic pressure of the sealing head and flow impact with the increase of flow velocity. The impacts are especially significant at the conjunction of two fins because of the non-alignment fins. It can be concluded that the soldering process and channel width led to structure deformation of fins in the exchanger, and degraded heat transfer efficiency.

  1. Compatibility of molten salt and structural materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kawakami, Masahiro [Toyohashi Univ. of Technology, Aichi (Japan)

    1994-12-01

    As the important factors for considering the compatibility of fuel salt and coolant salt with structural materials in molten salt reactors, there are the moisture remaining in molten salt and the fluorine potential in molten salt. In this study, as for the metals which are the main components of corrosion resistant alloys, the corrosion by the moisture remaining in molten salt and the dependence of the corrosion on fluorine potential were examined. As the molten salts, an eutectic molten salt LiF-BeF{sub 2} was mainly used, and LiF-KF was used in combination. As the metallic materials, Cr, Ni and Cu which are the main components of corrosion resistant and heat resistant alloys, Hastelloy and Monel, were used. In the experiment, the metal pieces were immersed in the molten salt, and by sampling the molten salt, the change with time lapse of the concentration of the dissolved metals was examined. Besides, the electrochemical measurement was carried out for Cr, of which the corrosion was remarkable, and the change with time lapse of the dissolved ions was examined. The experimental setup, the experimental method, and the results of the immersion test and the electrochemical test are reported. The experiment on the corrosion of metals depending on fluorine potential is also reported. (K.I.).

  2. Numerical investigation of micro-pore formation during substrate impact of molten droplets in spraying processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, H.; Lavernia, E.J.; Rangel, R.H.; Muehlberger, E.; Sickinger, A.

    1994-01-01

    The porosity that is commonly associated with discrete droplet processes, such as plasma spraying and spray deposition, effectively degrades the quality of the sprayed material. In the present study, micro-pore formation during the deformation and interaction of molten tungsten droplets impinging onto a flat substrate in spraying processes is numerically investigated. The numerical simulation is accomplished on the basis of the full Navier-Stokes equations and the Volume Of Fluid (VOF) function by using a 2-domain method for the thermal field and solidification problem and a two-phase flow continuum model for the flow problem with a growing solid layer. The possible mechanisms governing the formation of micro-pores are discussed. The effects of important processing parameters, such as droplet impact velocity, droplet temperature, substrate temperature, and droplet viscosity, on the micro-pore formation are addressed

  3. Flow modelling of a newtonian fluid by two regions- the region of pure fluid and porous region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sampaio, R.; Gama, R.M.S. da

    1983-01-01

    A model of flow with two regions is presented using mixture theory. One region contains only pure fluid and the other a mixture of fluid and porous rigid solid. Compatibility conditons on the pure fluid-mixture interface are carefully discussed. The theory is used to solve a problem of a flow induced by pressure gradient and helicoidal motion of an impermeable cylinder on two rings one of pure fluid and another of mixture. (Author) [pt

  4. Direct Numerical Simulation of Low Capillary Number Pore Scale Flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esmaeilzadeh, S.; Soulaine, C.; Tchelepi, H.

    2017-12-01

    The arrangement of void spaces and the granular structure of a porous medium determines multiple macroscopic properties of the rock such as porosity, capillary pressure, and relative permeability. Therefore, it is important to study the microscopic structure of the reservoir pores and understand the dynamics of fluid displacements through them. One approach for doing this, is direct numerical simulation of pore-scale flow that requires a robust numerical tool for prediction of fluid dynamics and a detailed understanding of the physical processes occurring at the pore-scale. In pore scale flows with a low capillary number, Eulerian multiphase methods are well-known to produce additional vorticity close to the interface. This is mainly due to discretization errors which lead to an imbalance of capillary pressure and surface tension forces that causes unphysical spurious currents. At the pore scale, these spurious currents can become significantly stronger than the average velocity in the phases, and lead to unphysical displacement of the interface. In this work, we first investigate the capability of the algebraic Volume of Fluid (VOF) method in OpenFOAM for low capillary number pore scale flow simulations. Afterward, we compare VOF results with a Coupled Level-Set Volume of Fluid (CLSVOF) method and Iso-Advector method. It has been shown that the former one reduces the VOF's unphysical spurious currents in some cases, and both are known to capture interfaces sharper than VOF. As the conclusion, we will investigate that whether the use of CLSVOF or Iso-Advector will lead to less spurious velocities and more accurate results for capillary driven pore-scale multiphase flows or not. Keywords: Pore-scale multiphase flow, Capillary driven flows, Spurious currents, OpenFOAM

  5. Two-fluid model with droplet size distribution for condensing steam flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wróblewski, Włodzimierz; Dykas, Sławomir

    2016-01-01

    The process of energy conversion in the low pressure part of steam turbines may be improved using new and more accurate numerical models. The paper presents a description of a model intended for the condensing steam flow modelling. The model uses a standard condensation model. A physical and a numerical model of the mono- and polydispersed wet-steam flow are presented. The proposed two-fluid model solves separate flow governing equations for the compressible, inviscid vapour and liquid phase. The method of moments with a prescribed function is used for the reconstruction of the water droplet size distribution. The described model is presented for the liquid phase evolution in the flow through the de Laval nozzle. - Highlights: • Computational Fluid Dynamics. • Steam condensation in transonic flows through the Laval nozzles. • In-house CFD code – two-phase flow, two-fluid monodispersed and polydispersed model.

  6. A finite-volume HLLC-based scheme for compressible interfacial flows with surface tension

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garrick, Daniel P. [Department of Aerospace Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA (United States); Owkes, Mark [Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT (United States); Regele, Jonathan D., E-mail: jregele@iastate.edu [Department of Aerospace Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA (United States)

    2017-06-15

    Shock waves are often used in experiments to create a shear flow across liquid droplets to study secondary atomization. Similar behavior occurs inside of supersonic combustors (scramjets) under startup conditions, but it is challenging to study these conditions experimentally. In order to investigate this phenomenon further, a numerical approach is developed to simulate compressible multiphase flows under the effects of surface tension forces. The flow field is solved via the compressible multicomponent Euler equations (i.e., the five equation model) discretized with the finite volume method on a uniform Cartesian grid. The solver utilizes a total variation diminishing (TVD) third-order Runge–Kutta method for time-marching and second order TVD spatial reconstruction. Surface tension is incorporated using the Continuum Surface Force (CSF) model. Fluxes are upwinded with a modified Harten–Lax–van Leer Contact (HLLC) approximate Riemann solver. An interface compression scheme is employed to counter numerical diffusion of the interface. The present work includes modifications to both the HLLC solver and the interface compression scheme to account for capillary force terms and the associated pressure jump across the gas–liquid interface. A simple method for numerically computing the interface curvature is developed and an acoustic scaling of the surface tension coefficient is proposed for the non-dimensionalization of the model. The model captures the surface tension induced pressure jump exactly if the exact curvature is known and is further verified with an oscillating elliptical droplet and Mach 1.47 and 3 shock-droplet interaction problems. The general characteristics of secondary atomization at a range of Weber numbers are also captured in a series of simulations.

  7. Fluid mechanics of additive manufacturing of metal objects by accretion of droplets - a survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tesař, Václav

    2016-03-01

    Paper presents a survey of principles of additive manufacturing of metal objects by accretion of molten metal droplets, focusing on fluid-mechanical problems that deserve being investigated. The main problem is slowness of manufacturing due to necessarily small size of added droplets. Increase of droplet repetition rate calls for basic research of the phenomena that take place inside and around the droplets: ballistics of their flight, internal flowfield with heat and mass transfer, oscillation of surfaces, and the ways to elimination of satellite droplets.

  8. Method of forming a ceramic superconducting composite wire using a molten pool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geballe, T.H.; Feigelson, R.S.; Gazit, D.

    1991-01-01

    This paper describes a method for making a flexible superconductive composite wire. It comprises: drawing a wire of noble metal through a molten material, formed by melting a solid formed by pressing powdered Bi 2 O 3 , CaCO 3 SrCO 3 and CuO in a ratio of components necessary for forming a Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductor, into the solid and sintering at a temperature in the range of 750 degrees - 800 degrees C. for 10-20 hours, whereby the wire is coated by the molten material; and cooling the coated wire to solidify the molten material to form the superconductive flexible composite wire without need of further annealing

  9. Analysis of the flow dynamics characteristics of an axial piston pump based on the computational fluid dynamics method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bin Zhang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available To improve its working performance, the flow ripple characteristics of an axial piston pump were investigated with software which uses computational fluid dynamics (CFD technology. The simulation accuracy was significantly optimized through the use of the improved compressible fluid model. Flow conditions of the pump were tested using a pump flow ripple test rig, and the simulation results of the CFD model showed good agreement with the experimental data. Additionally, the composition of the flow ripple was analyzed using the improved CFD model, and the results showed that the compression ripple makes up 88% of the flow ripple. The flow dynamics of the piston pump is mainly caused by the pressure difference between the intake and discharge ports of the valve plates and the fluid oil compressibility.

  10. Cracking of crude oil in the molten metals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marat A. Glikin

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available In this paper is investigated the process of crude oil and its individual fractions cracking in the molten metals medium to produce light petroleum products. Thermodynamic calculations demonstrate the possibility of using lead and tin including alloys thereof as the melt. The cracking of West Siberian crude oil is studied at temperatures 400-600 °C. It is detected that as the temperature increases there is increase of aromatic hydrocarbons and olefins content in gasoline while naphthenes, n- and i-paraffins content reduces. Optimal temperature for cracking in molten metals is ~500 °C. The use of a submerged nozzle increases the yield of light petroleum products by ~2%. The research octane number of gasoline produced is 82-87 points. It is determined that the yield of light petroleum products depending on the experimental conditions is increased from 46.9 to 55.1-61.3% wt.   

  11. A numerical simulation of the water vapor bubble rising in ferrofluid by volume of fluid model in the presence of a magnetic field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shafiei Dizaji, A.; Mohammadpourfard, M.; Aminfar, H.

    2018-03-01

    Multiphase flow is one of the most complicated problems, considering the multiplicity of the related parameters, especially the external factors influences. Thus, despite the recent developments more investigations are still required. The effect of a uniform magnetic field on the hydrodynamics behavior of a two-phase flow with different magnetic permeability is presented in this article. A single water vapor bubble which is rising inside a channel filled with ferrofluid has been simulated numerically. To capture the phases interface, the Volume of Fluid (VOF) model, and to solve the governing equations, the finite volume method has been employed. Contrary to the prior anticipations, while the consisting fluids of the flow are dielectric, uniform magnetic field causes a force acting normal to the interface toward to the inside of the bubble. With respect to the applied magnetic field direction, the bubble deformation due to the magnetic force increases the bubble rising velocity. Moreover, the higher values of applied magnetic field strength and magnetic permeability ratio resulted in the further increase of the bubble rising velocity. Also it is indicated that the flow mixing and the heat transfer rate is increased by a bubble injection and applying a magnetic field. The obtained results have been concluded that the presented phenomenon with applying a magnetic field can be used to control the related characteristics of the multiphase flows. Compared to the previous studies, implementing the applicable cases using the common and actual materials and a significant reduction of the CPU time are the most remarkable advantages of the current study.

  12. The Voronoi volume and molecular representation of molar volume: equilibrium simple fluids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunjan, Jagtar Singh; Eu, Byung Chan

    2010-04-07

    The Voronoi volume of simple fluids was previously made use of in connection with volume transport phenomena in nonequilibrium simple fluids. To investigate volume transport phenomena, it is important to develop a method to compute the Voronoi volume of fluids in nonequilibrium. In this work, as a first step to this goal, we investigate the equilibrium limit of the nonequilibrium Voronoi volume together with its attendant related molar (molal) and specific volumes. It is proved that the equilibrium Voronoi volume is equivalent to the molar (molal) volume. The latter, in turn, is proved equivalent to the specific volume. This chain of equivalences provides an alternative procedure of computing the equilibrium Voronoi volume from the molar volume/specific volume. We also show approximate methods of computing the Voronoi and molar volumes from the information on the pair correlation function. These methods may be employed for their quick estimation, but also provide some aspects of the fluid structure and its relation to the Voronoi volume. The Voronoi volume obtained from computer simulations is fitted to a function of temperature and pressure in the region above the triple point but below the critical point. Since the fitting function is given in terms of reduced variables for the Lennard-Jones (LJ) model and the kindred volumes (i.e., specific and molar volumes) are in essence equivalent to the equation of state, the formula obtained is a reduced equation state for simple fluids obeying the LJ model potential in the range of temperature and pressure examined and hence can be used for other simple fluids.

  13. Energetic Variational Approach to Multi-Component Fluid Flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirshtein, Arkadz; Liu, Chun; Brannick, James

    2017-11-01

    In this talk I will introduce the systematic energetic variational approach for dissipative systems applied to multi-component fluid flows. These variational approaches are motivated by the seminal works of Rayleigh and Onsager. The advantage of this approach is that we have to postulate only energy law and some kinematic relations based on fundamental physical principles. The method gives a clear, quick and consistent way to derive the PDE system. I will compare different approaches to three-component flows using diffusive interface method and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. The diffusive interface method is an approach for modeling interactions among complex substances. The main idea behind this method is to introduce phase field labeling functions in order to model the contact line by smooth change from one type of material to another. The work of Arkadz Kirshtein and Chun Liu is partially supported by NSF Grants DMS-141200 and DMS-1216938.

  14. Flow visualization through metal enclosures with neutron radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cimbala, J.M.; Sathianathan, D.; Cosgrove, S.A.

    1989-01-01

    Many practical fluid flow problems involve flow inside metal shrouds (valves, combustors, boilers, turbomachinery, etc.) where visual access is not available. For flows under extreme pressure or heat, glass or transparent plastic can not be used; a flow visualization technique which permits visualization through metal containers is needed in these cases. Since neutrons can penetrate metal casings, neutron radiography has been developed for application to fluid flow visualization. This technique involves imaging of neutron opaque tracer materials, such as solid or fluid particles or streaklines, as they convect in neutron transparent ambient fluids. Surface flow visualization is also possible by using neutron opaque tufts. An extension of the surface tuft technique has also been developed, enabling the visualization of flow a patterns away from solid surfaces. This paper presents a summary of the various flow visualization techniques developed in the authors' laboratory, along with examples which illustrate how these techniques may be applied to practical fluid flow problems. These include flow over a circular cylinder, the recirculation pattern formed by a jet exhausting into a tank, and the flow pattern inside a rotating automotive torque converter

  15. Computational fluid mechanics in R and D on uranium enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soubbaramayer, O.

    1988-01-01

    Uranium enrichment represents an essential link in the cycle of nuclear fuels for power production. There are many processes of uranium enrichment, but three of them dominate the nuclear history as well in the past (Gaseous diffusion and centrifugation) as in the present (Laser process). The important role played by the Numerical Fluid Mechanics in the three processes is pointed out. The type of problem raised by Gaseous Diffusion is Channel Flow with wall suction, by Centrifugation, flow of a Compressible gas in a strongly rotating cylinder (Stewartson and Ekman layers) and by Laser process, Thermocapillary-buoyancy flow of a molten metal in an evaporation crucible. The methods and results in these problems are reviewed. 18 refs, 11 figs

  16. Accuracy of using computer-aided rapid prototyping templates for mandible reconstruction with an iliac crest graft

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of surgical outcomes in free iliac crest mandibular reconstructions that were carried out with virtual surgical plans and rapid prototyping templates. Methods This study evaluated eight patients who underwent mandibular osteotomy and reconstruction with free iliac crest grafts using virtual surgical planning and designed guiding templates. Operations were performed using the prefabricated guiding templates. Postoperative three-dimensional computer models were overlaid and compared with the preoperatively designed models in the same coordinate system. Results Compared to the virtual osteotomy, the mean error of distance of the actual mandibular osteotomy was 2.06 ± 0.86 mm. When compared to the virtual harvested grafts, the mean error volume of the actual harvested grafts was 1412.22 ± 439.24 mm3 (9.12% ± 2.84%). The mean error between the volume of the actual harvested grafts and the shaped grafts was 2094.35 ± 929.12 mm3 (12.40% ± 5.50%). Conclusions The use of computer-aided rapid prototyping templates for virtual surgical planning appears to positively influence the accuracy of mandibular reconstruction. PMID:24957053

  17. Liquid metal flow measurement by neutron radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takenaka, N.; Ono, A.; Matsubayashi, M.; Tsuruno, A.

    1996-01-01

    Visualization of a liquid metal flow and image processing methods to measure the vector field are carried out by real-time neutron radiography. The JRR-3M real-time thermal neutron radiography facility in the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute was used. Lead-bismuth eutectic was used as a working fluid. Particles made from a gold-cadmium intermetallic compound (AuCd 3 ) were used as the tracer for the visualization. The flow vector field was obtained by image processing methods. It was shown that the liquid metal flow vector field was obtainable by real-time neutron radiography when the attenuation of neutron rays due to the liquid metal was less than l/e and the particle size of the tracer was larger than one image element size digitized for the image processing. (orig.)

  18. Compact, Lightweight Electromagnetic Pump for Liquid Metal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godfroy, Thomas; Palzin, Kurt

    2010-01-01

    A proposed direct-current electromagnetic pump for circulating a molten alkali metal alloy would be smaller and lighter and would demand less input power, relative to currently available pumps of this type. (Molten alkali metals are used as heat-transfer fluids in high-temperature stages of some nuclear reactors.) The principle of operation of this or any such pump involves exploitation of the electrical conductivity of the molten metal: An electric current is made to pass through the liquid metal along an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the flow channel, and a magnetic field perpendicular to both the longitudinal axis and the electric current is superimposed on the flowchannel region containing the electric current. The interaction between the electric current and the magnetic field produces the pumping force along the longitudinal axis. The advantages of the proposed pump over other such pumps would accrue from design features that address overlapping thermal and magnetic issues.

  19. Extension of local front reconstruction method with controlled coalescence model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajkotwala, A. H.; Mirsandi, H.; Peters, E. A. J. F.; Baltussen, M. W.; van der Geld, C. W. M.; Kuerten, J. G. M.; Kuipers, J. A. M.

    2018-02-01

    The physics of droplet collisions involves a wide range of length scales. This poses a challenge to accurately simulate such flows with standard fixed grid methods due to their inability to resolve all relevant scales with an affordable number of computational grid cells. A solution is to couple a fixed grid method with subgrid models that account for microscale effects. In this paper, we improved and extended the Local Front Reconstruction Method (LFRM) with a film drainage model of Zang and Law [Phys. Fluids 23, 042102 (2011)]. The new framework is first validated by (near) head-on collision of two equal tetradecane droplets using experimental film drainage times. When the experimental film drainage times are used, the LFRM method is better in predicting the droplet collisions, especially at high velocity in comparison with other fixed grid methods (i.e., the front tracking method and the coupled level set and volume of fluid method). When the film drainage model is invoked, the method shows a good qualitative match with experiments, but a quantitative correspondence of the predicted film drainage time with the experimental drainage time is not obtained indicating that further development of film drainage model is required. However, it can be safely concluded that the LFRM coupled with film drainage models is much better in predicting the collision dynamics than the traditional methods.

  20. MacCormack's technique-based pressure reconstruction approach for PIV data in compressible flows with shocks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Shun; Xu, Jinglei; Yu, Kaikai

    2017-06-01

    This paper proposes an improved approach for extraction of pressure fields from velocity data, such as obtained by particle image velocimetry (PIV), especially for steady compressible flows with strong shocks. The principle of this approach is derived from Navier-Stokes equations, assuming adiabatic condition and neglecting viscosity of flow field boundaries measured by PIV. The computing method is based on MacCormack's technique in computational fluid dynamics. Thus, this approach is called the MacCormack method. Moreover, the MacCormack method is compared with several approaches proposed in previous literature, including the isentropic method, the spatial integration and the Poisson method. The effects of velocity error level and PIV spatial resolution on these approaches are also quantified by using artificial velocity data containing shock waves. The results demonstrate that the MacCormack method has higher reconstruction accuracy than other approaches, and its advantages become more remarkable with shock strengthening. Furthermore, the performance of the MacCormack method is also validated by using synthetic PIV images with an oblique shock wave, confirming the feasibility and advantage of this approach in real PIV experiments. This work is highly significant for the studies on aerospace engineering, especially the outer flow fields of supersonic aircraft and the internal flow fields of ramjets.

  1. Heat transfer investigation of molten salts under laminar and turbulent flow regimes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Srivastava, A.K.; Vaidya, A.M.; Maheshwari, N.K.; Vijayan, P.K.

    2014-01-01

    High temperature reactor and solar thermal power plants use Molten Salt as a coolant, as it has low melting point and high boiling point, enabling us to operate the system at low pressure. Molten fluoride salt (eutectic mixture of LiF-NaF-KF) and molten nitrate salt (mixture of NaNO 3 and KNO 3 in 60:40 ratios by weight) are proposed as a candidate coolant for High Temperature Reactors (HTR) and solar power plant respectively. BARC is developing a 600 MWth pebble bed high temperature reactor, cooled by natural circulation of fluoride salt and capable of supplying process heat at 1000℃ to facilitate hydrogen production by splitting water. Beside this, BARC is also developing a 2MWe solar power tower system using molten nitrate salt as a primary coolant and storage medium. In order to design this, it is necessary to study the heat transfer characteristics of various molten salts. Most of the previous studies related to molten salts are based on the experimental works. These experiments essentially measured the physical properties of molten salts and their heat transfer characteristics. Ferri et al. introduced the property definitions for molten salts in the RELAP5 code to perform transient simulations at the ProvaCollettoriSolari (PCS) test facility. In this paper, a CFD analysis has been performed to study the heat transfer characteristics of molten fluoride salt and molten nitrate salt flowing in a circular pipe for various regimes of flow. Simulation is performed with the help of in-house developed CFD code, NAFA, acronym for Numerical Analysis of Flows in Axi-symmetric geometries. Uniform velocity and temperature distribution are set as the inlet boundary condition and pressure is employed at the outlet boundary condition. The inlet temperature for all simulation is set as 300℃ for nitrate salt and 500℃ for fluoride salt and the operating pressure is 1 atm in both the cases

  2. Method for producing metallic microparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, Jonathan; Perry, William L.; Kroenke, William J.

    2004-06-29

    Method for producing metallic particles. The method converts metallic nanoparticles into larger, spherical metallic particles. An aerosol of solid metallic nanoparticles and a non-oxidizing plasma having a portion sufficiently hot to melt the nanoparticles are generated. The aerosol is directed into the plasma where the metallic nanoparticles melt, collide, join, and spheroidize. The molten spherical metallic particles are directed away from the plasma and enter the afterglow where they cool and solidify.

  3. Melting-decontamination method for radioactive contaminated metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uda, Tatsuhiko; Tsuchiya, Hiroyuki; Miura, Noboru; Iba, Hajime.

    1985-01-01

    Purpose: To eliminate uranium components remaining in metals even after the uranium-contaminated metals are melted. Method: Metal wastes contaminated with actinide element or its compound as nuclear fuel substance are melted in a crucible. Molten metals are fallen through a filter disposed at the bottom of the crucible into another receiving crucible. Uranium compounds are still left in the molten metal fallen in the receiving crucible. The residual uranium compounds are concentrated by utilizing the principle of the zone-refining process. That is, a displaceable local-heating heater is disposed to the receiving crucible, by which metals once solidified in the receiving crucible is again heated locally to transfer from solid to molten phase in a quasi-equibilized manner. In this way, by eliminating the end of the metal rod at which the uranium is segregated, the contaminating coefficient can be improved. (Ikeda, J.)

  4. Flow dynamics of volume-heated boiling pools

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ginsberg, T.; Jones, O.C.; Chen, J.C.

    1979-01-01

    Safety analyses of fast breeder reactors require understanding of the two-phase fluid dynamic and heat transfer characteristics of volume-heated boiling pool systems. Design of direct contact three-phase boilers, of practical interest in the chemical industries also requires understanding of the fundamental two-phase flow and heat transfer behavior of volume boiling systems. Several experiments have been recently reported relevant to the boundary heat-loss mechanisms of boiling pool systems. Considerably less is known about the two-phase fluid dynamic behavior of such systems. This paper describes an experimental investigation of the steady-state flow dynamics of volume-heated boiling pool systems

  5. Computer simulations of magnetic fluids in laminar pipe flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramos, D.M.; Cunha, F.R.; Sobral, Y.D.; Fontoura Rodrigues, J.L.A.

    2005-01-01

    Finite volume method is adapted to simulate momentum and magnetic coupled equations of a laminar magnetic fluid flow. An evolution equation is used to calculate the fluid magnetization. Pressure-driven flow under steady and oscillatory magnetic field is investigated. The magnetostatic limit of the Maxwell's equations is treated in terms of a Poisson equation numerically integrated. The SIMPLE algorithm is used to calculate the pressure-velocity coupling when the pressure field is not prescribed. Suitable boundary conditions for velocity, magnetization and field intensity on the pipe wall are described. Results are obtained for velocity and pressure response under several conditions of the identified physical parameters of the flow. The simulations are verified by comparing numerical results and asymptotic theory, and they show a very good agreement

  6. On approximation of non-Newtonian fluid flow by the finite element method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Svácek, Petr

    2008-08-01

    In this paper the problem of numerical approximation of non-Newtonian fluid flow with free surface is considered. Namely, the flow of fresh concrete is addressed. Industrial mixtures often behaves like non-Newtonian fluids exhibiting a yield stress that needs to be overcome for the flow to take place, cf. [R.B. Bird, R.C. Armstrong, O. Hassager, Dynamics of Polymeric Liquids, vol. 1, Fluid Mechanics, Wiley, New York, 1987; R.P. Chhabra, J.F. Richardson, Non-Newtonian Flow in the Process Industries, Butterworth-Heinemann, London, 1999]. The main interest is paid to the mathematical formulation of the problem and to discretization with the aid of finite element method. The described numerical procedure is applied onto the solution of several problems.

  7. A single photon emission computed tomograph based on a limited dumber of detectors for fluid flow visualization; Tomographie d'emission gamma a partir d'un nombre limite de detecteurs appliquee a la visualisation d'ecoulements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Legoupil, S

    1999-07-01

    We present in this work a method for fluid flow visualization in a system using radioactive tracers. The method is based on single photon emission computed tomography techniques, applied to a limited number of discrete detectors. We propose in this work a method for the estimation of the transport matrix of photons, associated to the acquisition system.This method is based on the modelization of profiles acquired for a set of point sources located in the imaged volume. Monte Carlo simulations allow to separate scattered photons from those directly collected by the system. The influence of the energy tracer is exposed. The reconstruction method is based on the maximum likelihood - expectation maximization algorithm. An experimental device, based on 36 detectors was realised for the visualization of water circulation in a vessel. A video monitoring allows to visualize the dye water tracer. Dye and radioactive tracers are injected simultaneously in a water flow circulating in the vessel. Reconstructed and video images are compared. Quantitative and qualitative analysis show that fluid flow visualization is feasible with a limited number of detectors. This method can be applied for system involving circulations of fluids. (author)

  8. Experimental investigation of the MSFR molten salt reactor concept

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamaji, Bogdan; Aszodi, Attila [Budapest University of Technology and Economics (Hungary). Inst. of Nuclear Techniques

    2014-11-15

    In the paper experimental modelling and investigation of the MSFR concept will be presented. MSFR is a homogeneous, single region liquid fuelled fast reactor concept. In case of molten salt reactors the core neutron flux and fission distribution is determined by the flow field through distribution and transport of fissile material and delayed neutron precursors. Since the MSFR core is a single region homogeneous volume without internal structures, it is a difficult task to ensure stable flow field, which is strongly coupled to the volumetric heat generation. These considerations suggest that experimental modelling would greatly help to understand the flow phenomena in such geometry. A scaled and segmented experimental mock-up of MSFR was designed and built in order to carry out particle image velocimetry measurements. Basic flow behaviour inside the core region can be investigated and the measurement data can also provide resource for the validation of computational fluid dynamics models. Measurement results of steady state conditions will be presented and discussed.

  9. CFD to modeling molten core behavior simultaneously with chemical phenomena

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vladimir V Chudanov; Anna E Aksenova; Valerii A Pervichko

    2005-01-01

    Full text of publication follows: This paper deals with the basic features of a computing procedure, which can be used for modeling of destruction and melting of a core with subsequent corium retaining into the reactor vessel. The destruction and melting of core mean the account of the following phenomena: a melting, draining (moving of the melt through a porous layer of core debris), freezing with release of an energy, change of geometry, formation of the molten pool, whose convective intermixing and distribution influence on a mechanism of borders destruction. It is necessary to take into account that during of heating molten pool and development in it of convective fluxes a stratification of a multi-component melt on two layers of metal light and of oxide heavy components is observed. These layers are in interaction, they can exchange by the separate components as result of diffusion or oxidizing reactions. It can have an effect considerably on compositions, on a specific weight, and on properties of molten interacting phases, and on a structure of the molten stratified pool. In turn, the retaining of the formed molten masses in reactor vessel requires the solution of a matched heat exchange problem, namely, of a natural convection in a heat generating fluid in partially or completely molten corium and of heat exchange problem with taking into account of a melting of the reactor vessel. In addition, it is necessary to take into account phase segregation, caused by influence of local and of global natural convective flows and thermal lag of heated up boundaries. The mathematical model for simulation of the specified phenomena is based on the Navier-Stokes equations with variable properties together with the heat transfer equation. For modeling of a corium moving through a porous layer of core debris, the special computing algorithm to take into account density jump on interface between a melt and a porous layer of core debris is designed. The model was

  10. Investigation of Heat Transfer and Magnetohydrodynamic Flow in Electroslag Remelting Furnace Using Vibrating Electrode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Fang; Wang, Qiang; Lou, Yanchun; Chen, Rui; Song, Zhaowei; Li, Baokuan

    2016-01-01

    A transient three-dimensional (3D) coupled mathematical model has been developed to understand the effect of a vibrating electrode on the electromagnetic, two-phase flow and temperature fields as well as the solidification in the electroslag remelting (ESR) process. With the magnetohydrodynamic model, the Joule heating and Lorentz force, which are the source terms in the energy and momentum equations, are recalculated at each iteration as a function of the phase distribution. The influence of the vibrating electrode on the formation of the metal droplet is demonstrated by the volume of fluid approach. Additionally, the solidification of the metal is modeled by an enthalpy-based technique, in which the mushy zone is treated as a porous medium with porosity equal to the liquid fraction. The present work is the first attempt to investigate the innovative technology of the ESR process with a vibrating electrode by a transient 3D comprehensive model. A reasonable agreement between the experiment and simulation is obtained. The results indicate that the whole process is presented as a periodic activity. When the metal droplets fall from the tip of the electrode, the horizontal component of velocity will generate electrode vibration. This will lead to the distribution variation of the flow field in the slag layer. The variation of temperature distribution occurs regularly and is periodically accompanied by the behavior of the falling metal droplets. With the decreasing vibrating frequency and amplitude, the relative velocity of the electrode and molten slag increase accordingly. The diameter of the molten droplets, the maximum temperature and the depth of the molten pool gradually become smaller, lower and shallower.

  11. Combining discrete equations method and upwind downwind-controlled splitting for non-reacting and reacting two-fluid computations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang, K.

    2012-01-01

    When numerically investigating multiphase phenomena during severe accidents in a reactor system, characteristic lengths of the multi-fluid zone (non-reactive and reactive) are found to be much smaller than the volume of the reactor containment, which makes the direct modeling of the configuration hardly achievable. Alternatively, we propose to consider the physical multiphase mixture zone as an infinitely thin interface. Then, the reactive Riemann solver is inserted into the Reactive Discrete Equations Method (RDEM) to compute high speed combustion waves represented by discontinuous interfaces. An anti-diffusive approach is also coupled with RDEM to accurately simulate reactive interfaces. Increased robustness and efficiency when computing both multiphase interfaces and reacting flows are achieved thanks to an original upwind downwind-controlled splitting method (UDCS). UDCS is capable of accurately solving interfaces on multi-dimensional unstructured meshes, including reacting fronts for both deflagration and detonation configurations. (author)

  12. Analysis of two-phase flow inter-subchannel mass and momentum exchanges by the two-fluid model approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ninokata, H. [Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan); Deguchi, A. [ENO Mathematical Analysis, Tokyo (Japan); Kawahara, A. [Kumamoto Univ., Kumamoto (Japan)

    1995-09-01

    A new void drift model for the subchannel analysis method is presented for the thermohydraulics calculation of two-phase flows in rod bundles where the flow model uses a two-fluid formulation for the conservation of mass, momentum and energy. A void drift model is constructed based on the experimental data obtained in a geometrically simple inter-connected two circular channel test sections using air-water as working fluids. The void drift force is assumed to be an origin of void drift velocity components of the two-phase cross-flow in a gap area between two adjacent rods and to overcome the momentum exchanges at the phase interface and wall-fluid interface. This void drift force is implemented in the cross flow momentum equations. Computational results have been successfully compared to experimental data available including 3x3 rod bundle data.

  13. Interface physics in microporous media : LDRD final report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yaklin, Melissa A.; Knutson, Chad E.; Noble, David R.; Aragon, Alicia R.; Chen, Ken Shuang; Giordano, Nicholas J. (Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN); Brooks, Carlton, F.; Pyrak-Nolte, Laura J. (Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN); Liu, Yihong (Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN)

    2008-09-01

    This document contains a summary of the work performed under the LDRD project entitled 'Interface Physics in Microporous Media'. The presence of fluid-fluid interfaces, which can carry non-zero stresses, distinguishes multiphase flows from more readily understood single-phase flows. In this work the physics active at these interfaces has been examined via a combined experimental and computational approach. One of the major difficulties of examining true microporous systems of the type found in filters, membranes, geologic media, etc. is the geometric uncertainty. To help facilitate the examination of transport at the pore-scale without this complication, a significant effort has been made in the area of fabrication of both two-dimensional and three-dimensional micromodels. Using these micromodels, multiphase flow experiments have been performed for liquid-liquid and liquid-gas systems. Laser scanning confocal microscopy has been utilized to provide high resolution, three-dimensional reconstructions as well as time resolved, two-dimensional reconstructions. Computational work has focused on extending lattice Boltzmann (LB) and finite element methods for probing the interface physics at the pore scale. A new LB technique has been developed that provides over 100x speed up for steady flows in complex geometries. A new LB model has been developed that allows for arbitrary density ratios, which has been a significant obstacle in applying LB to air-water flows. A new reduced order model has been developed and implemented in finite element code for examining non-equilibrium wetting in microchannel systems. These advances will enhance Sandia's ability to quantitatively probe the rich interfacial physics present in microporous systems.

  14. Fluid mechanics of additive manufacturing of metal objects by accretion of droplets – a survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tesař Václav

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Paper presents a survey of principles of additive manufacturing of metal objects by accretion of molten metal droplets, focusing on fluid-mechanical problems that deserve being investigated. The main problem is slowness of manufacturing due to necessarily small size of added droplets. Increase of droplet repetition rate calls for basic research of the phenomena that take place inside and around the droplets: ballistics of their flight, internal flowfield with heat and mass transfer, oscillation of surfaces, and the ways to elimination of satellite droplets.

  15. Level-set-based reconstruction algorithm for EIT lung images: first clinical results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahmati, Peyman; Soleimani, Manuchehr; Pulletz, Sven; Frerichs, Inéz; Adler, Andy

    2012-05-01

    We show the first clinical results using the level-set-based reconstruction algorithm for electrical impedance tomography (EIT) data. The level-set-based reconstruction method (LSRM) allows the reconstruction of non-smooth interfaces between image regions, which are typically smoothed by traditional voxel-based reconstruction methods (VBRMs). We develop a time difference formulation of the LSRM for 2D images. The proposed reconstruction method is applied to reconstruct clinical EIT data of a slow flow inflation pressure-volume manoeuvre in lung-healthy and adult lung-injury patients. Images from the LSRM and the VBRM are compared. The results show comparable reconstructed images, but with an improved ability to reconstruct sharp conductivity changes in the distribution of lung ventilation using the LSRM.

  16. Level-set-based reconstruction algorithm for EIT lung images: first clinical results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahmati, Peyman; Adler, Andy; Soleimani, Manuchehr; Pulletz, Sven; Frerichs, Inéz

    2012-01-01

    We show the first clinical results using the level-set-based reconstruction algorithm for electrical impedance tomography (EIT) data. The level-set-based reconstruction method (LSRM) allows the reconstruction of non-smooth interfaces between image regions, which are typically smoothed by traditional voxel-based reconstruction methods (VBRMs). We develop a time difference formulation of the LSRM for 2D images. The proposed reconstruction method is applied to reconstruct clinical EIT data of a slow flow inflation pressure–volume manoeuvre in lung-healthy and adult lung-injury patients. Images from the LSRM and the VBRM are compared. The results show comparable reconstructed images, but with an improved ability to reconstruct sharp conductivity changes in the distribution of lung ventilation using the LSRM. (paper)

  17. Coolant material effect on the heat transfer rates of the molten metal pool with solidification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Jae Seon; Suh, Kune Y.; Chung, Chang Hyun; Park, Rae Joon; Kim, Sang Baik

    1998-01-01

    Experimental studies on heat transfer and solidification of the molten metal pool with overlying coolant with boiling were performed. The simulant molten pool material is tin (Sn) with the melting temperature of 232 degree C. Demineralized water and R113 are used as the working coolant. This work examines the crust formation and the heat transfer characteristics of the molten metal pool immersed in the boiling coolant. The Nusselt number and the Rayleigh number in the molten metal pool region of this study are compared between the water coolant case and the R113 coolant case. The experimental results for the water coolant are higher than those for R113. Also, the empirical relationship of the Nusselt number and the Rayleigh number is compared with the literature correlations measured from mercury. The present experimental results are higher than the literature correlations. It is believed that this discrepancy is caused by the effect of the heat loss to the environment on the natural convection heat transfer in the molten pool

  18. Viscosity Prediction for Petroleum Fluids Using Free Volume Theory and PC-SAFT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khoshnamvand, Younes; Assareh, Mehdi

    2018-04-01

    In this study, free volume theory ( FVT) in combination with perturbed-chain statistical associating fluid theory is implemented for viscosity prediction of petroleum reservoir fluids containing ill-defined components such as cuts and plus fractions. FVT has three adjustable parameters for each component to calculate viscosity. These three parameters for petroleum cuts (especially plus fractions) are not available. In this work, these parameters are determined for different petroleum fractions. A model as a function of molecular weight and specific gravity is developed using 22 real reservoir fluid samples with API grades in the range of 22 to 45. Afterward, the proposed model accuracy in comparison with the accuracy of De la Porte et al. with reference to experimental data is presented. The presented model is used for six real samples in an evaluation step, and the results are compared with available experimental data and the method of De la Porte et al. Finally, the method of Lohrenz et al. and the method of Pedersen et al. as two common industrial methods for viscosity calculation are compared with the proposed approach. The absolute average deviation was 9.7 % for free volume theory method, 15.4 % for Lohrenz et al., and 22.16 for Pedersen et al.

  19. Well balanced finite volume methods for nearly hydrostatic flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Botta, N.; Klein, R.; Langenberg, S.; Luetzenkirchen, S.

    2004-01-01

    In numerical approximations of nearly hydrostatic flows, a proper representation of the dominant hydrostatic balance is of crucial importance: unbalanced truncation errors can induce unacceptable spurious motions, e.g., in dynamical cores of models for numerical weather prediction (NWP) in particular near steep topography. In this paper we develop a new strategy for the construction of discretizations that are 'well-balanced' with respect to dominant hydrostatics. The classical idea of formulating the momentum balance in terms of deviations of pressure from a balanced background distribution is realized here through local, time dependent hydrostatic reconstructions. Balanced discretizations of the pressure gradient and of the gravitation source term are achieved through a 'discrete Archimedes' buoyancy principle'. This strategy is applied to extend an explicit standard finite volume Godunov-type scheme for compressible flows with minimal modifications. The resulting method has the following features: (i) It inherits its conservation properties from the underlying base scheme. (ii) It is exactly balanced, even on curvilinear grids, for a large class of near-hydrostatic flows. (iii) It solves the full compressible flow equations without reference to a background state that is defined for an entire vertical column of air. (iv) It is robust with respect to details of the implementation, such as the choice of slope limiting functions, or the particularities of boundary condition discretizations

  20. Account of volume heat capacity on interface in numerical solution of the Stephen problem using the strained coordinates method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Latynin, V.A.; Reshetov, V.A.; Karaseva, L.N.

    1988-01-01

    Numerical solution of the Stephen problem by the strained coordinate method is presented for an one-dimensional sphere. Differential formulae of heat fluxes from moving interfaces do not take into account volume heat capacities of the front nodes. Calculations, carried out according to these balanced formulae, as well as according to those usually used, have shown that the balanced formulae permit to reduce approximately by an order the number of nodes on the sphere radius, if similar accuracy of heat balance of the whole process of melting or crystallization is observed. 2 refs.; 1 fig

  1. A continuum treatment of sliding in Eulerian simulations of solid-solid and solid-fluid interfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subramaniam, Akshay; Ghaisas, Niranjan; Lele, Sanjiva

    2017-11-01

    A novel treatment of sliding is developed for use in an Eulerian framework for simulating elastic-plastic deformations of solids coupled with fluids. In this method, embedded interfacial boundary conditions for perfect sliding are imposed by enforcing the interface normal to be a principal direction of the Cauchy stress and appropriate consistency conditions ensure correct transmission and reflection of waves at the interface. This sliding treatment may be used either to simulate a solid-solid sliding interface or to incorporate an internal slip boundary condition at a solid-fluid interface. Sliding laws like the Coulomb friction law can also be incorporated with relative ease into this framework. Simulations of sliding interfaces are conducted using a 10th order compact finite difference scheme and a Localized Artificial Diffusivity (LAD) scheme for shock and interface capturing. 1D and 2D simulations are used to assess the accuracy of the sliding treatment. The Richmyer-Meshkov instability between copper and aluminum is simulated with this sliding treatment as a demonstration test case. Support for this work was provided through Grant B612155 from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, US Department of Energy.

  2. Riemann-problem and level-set approaches for two-fluid flow computations I. Linearized Godunov scheme

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    B. Koren (Barry); M.R. Lewis; E.H. van Brummelen (Harald); B. van Leer

    2001-01-01

    textabstractA finite-volume method is presented for the computation of compressible flows of two immiscible fluids at very different densities. The novel ingredient in the method is a two-fluid linearized Godunov scheme, allowing for flux computations in case of different fluids (e.g., water and

  3. An investigation of the fluid-structure interaction of piston/cylinder interface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelosi, Matteo

    The piston/cylinder lubricating interface represents one of the most critical design elements of axial piston machines. Being a pure hydrodynamic bearing, the piston/cylinder interface fulfills simultaneously a bearing and sealing function under oscillating load conditions. Operating in an elastohydrodynamic lubrication regime, it also represents one of the main sources of power loss due to viscous friction and leakage flow. An accurate prediction of the time changing tribological interface characteristics in terms of fluid film thickness, dynamic pressure field, load carrying ability and energy dissipation is necessary to create more efficient interface designs. The aim of this work is to deepen the understanding of the main physical phenomena defining the piston/cylinder fluid film and to discover the impact of surface elastic deformations and heat transfer on the interface behavior. For this purpose, a unique fully coupled multi-body dynamics model has been developed to capture the complex fluid-structure interaction phenomena affecting the non-isothermal fluid film conditions. The model considers the squeeze film effect due to the piston micro-motion and the change in fluid film thickness due to the solid boundaries elastic deformations caused by the fluid film pressure and by the thermal strain. The model has been verified comparing the numerical results with measurements taken on special designed test pumps. The fluid film calculated dynamic pressure and temperature fields have been compared. Further validation has been accomplished comparing piston/cylinder axial viscous friction forces with measured data. The model has been used to study the piston/cylinder interface behavior of an existing axial piston unit operating at high load conditions. Numerical results are presented in this thesis.

  4. Fluid Flow and Mixing Induced by AC Continuous Electrowetting of Liquid Metal Droplet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qingming Hu

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available In this work, we proposed a novel design of a microfluidic mixer utilizing the amplified Marangoni chaotic advection induced by alternating current (AC continuous electrowetting of a metal droplet situated in electrolyte solution, due to the linear and quadratic voltage-dependence of flow velocity at small or large voltages, respectively. Unlike previous researchers exploiting the unidirectional surface stress with direct current (DC bias at droplet/medium interface for pumping of electrolytes where the resulting flow rate is linearly proportional to the field intensity, dominance of another kind of dipolar flow pattern caused by local Marangoni stress at the drop surface in a sufficiently intense AC electric field is demonstrated by both theoretical analysis and experimental observation, which exhibits a quadratic growth trend as a function of the applied voltage. The dipolar shear stress merely appears at larger voltages and greatly enhances the mixing performance by inducing chaotic advection between the neighboring laminar flow. The mixer design developed herein, on the basis of amplified Marangoni chaotic advection around a liquid metal droplet at larger AC voltages, has great potential for chemical reaction and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS actuator applications because of generating high-throughput and excellent mixing performance at the same time.

  5. A Novel Quasi-3D Method for Cascade Flow Considering Axial Velocity Density Ratio

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Zhiqiang; Zhou, Ming; Xu, Quanyong; Huang, Xudong

    2018-03-01

    A novel quasi-3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method of mid-span flow simulation for compressor cascades is proposed. Two dimension (2D) Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) method is shown facing challenge in predicting mid-span flow with a unity Axial Velocity Density Ratio (AVDR). Three dimension (3D) RANS solution also shows distinct discrepancies if the AVDR is not predicted correctly. In this paper, 2D and 3D CFD results discrepancies are analyzed and a novel quasi-3D CFD method is proposed. The new quasi-3D model is derived by reducing 3D RANS Finite Volume Method (FVM) discretization over a one-spanwise-layer structured mesh cell. The sidewall effect is considered by two parts. The first part is explicit interface fluxes of mass, momentum and energy as well as turbulence. The second part is a cell boundary scaling factor representing sidewall boundary layer contraction. The performance of the novel quasi-3D method is validated on mid-span pressure distribution, pressure loss and shock prediction of two typical cascades. The results show good agreement with the experiment data on cascade SJ301-20 and cascade AC6-10 at all test condition. The proposed quasi-3D method shows superior accuracy over traditional 2D RANS method and 3D RANS method in performance prediction of compressor cascade.

  6. An innovative method of planning and displaying flap volume in DIEP flap breast reconstructions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hummelink, S; Verhulst, Arico C; Maal, Thomas J J; Hoogeveen, Yvonne L; Schultze Kool, Leo J; Ulrich, Dietmar J O

    2017-07-01

    Determining the ideal volume of the harvested flap to achieve symmetry in deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEP) flap breast reconstructions is complex. With preoperative imaging techniques such as 3D stereophotogrammetry and computed tomography angiography (CTA) available nowadays, we can combine information to preoperatively plan the optimal flap volume to be harvested. In this proof-of-concept, we investigated whether projection of a virtual flap planning onto the patient's abdomen using a projection method could result in harvesting the correct flap volume. In six patients (n = 9 breasts), 3D stereophotogrammetry and CTA data were combined from which a virtual flap planning was created comprising perforator locations, blood vessel trajectory and flap size. All projected perforators were verified with Doppler ultrasound. Intraoperative flap measurements were collected to validate the determined flap delineation volume. The measured breast volume using 3D stereophotogrammetry was 578 ± 127 cc; on CTA images, 527 ± 106 cc flap volumes were planned. The nine harvested flaps weighed 533 ± 109 g resulting in a planned versus harvested flap mean difference of 5 ± 27 g (flap density 1.0 g/ml). In 41 out of 42 projected perforator locations, a Doppler signal was audible. This proof-of-concept shows in small numbers that flap volumes can be included into a virtual DIEP flap planning, and transferring the virtual planning to the patient through a projection method results in harvesting approximately the same volume during surgery. In our opinion, this innovative approach is the first step in consequently achieving symmetric breast volumes in DIEP flap breast reconstructions. Copyright © 2017 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Efficient simulations of fluid flow coupled with poroelastic deformations in pleated filters

    KAUST Repository

    Calo, Victor M.; Iliev, Dimitar; Iliev, Oleg; Kirsch, Ralf; Lakdawala, Zahra; Printsypar, Galina

    2015-01-01

    model describes a free fluid flow coupled with a flow in porous media in a domain that contains the filtering media. To discretize the complex computational domain we use quadrilateral boundary fitted grids which resolve porous-fluid interfaces

  8. Acoustic propagation in viscous fluid with uniform flow and a novel design methodology for ultrasonic flow meter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yong; Huang, Yiyong; Chen, Xiaoqian

    2013-02-01

    Ultrasonic flow meter with non-invasive no-moving-parts construction has good prospective application for space on-orbit fluid gauging. In traditional pulse transit time flow meter, inconsistency of ultrasonic transducers leads to measurement error and plane wave theory, bases of transit time flow meter, is valuable only for low-frequency wave propagation in inviscid fluid and will lose feasibility when fluid viscosity is considered. In this paper, based on the hydrodynamics of viscous fluid, wave propagation with uniform flow profile is mathematically formulated and a novel solution for viscous fluid using potential theory is firstly presented. Then a novel design methodology of continuous ultrasonic flow meter is proposed, where high measurement rangeability and accuracy are guaranteed individually by solving the integral ambiguity using multi-tone wide laning strategy and the fractional phase shift using phase lock loop tracking method. A comparison with transit time ultrasonic flow meter shows the advantage of proposed methodology. In the end, parametric analysis of viscosity on wave propagation and ultrasonic flow meter is compressively investigated. Crown Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. An artificial compressibility CBS method for modelling heat transfer and fluid flow in heterogeneous porous materials

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Malan, AG

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available to modelling both forced convection as well as heat transfer and fluid flow through heterogeneous saturated porous materials via an edge-based finite volume discretization scheme. A volume-averaged set of local thermal disequilibrium governing equations...

  10. Method of producing homogeneous mixed metal oxides and metal--metal oxide mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quinby, T.C.

    1978-01-01

    Metal powders, metal oxide powders, and mixtures thereof of controlled particle size are provided by reacting an aqueous solution containing dissolved metal values with excess urea. Upon heating, urea reacts with water from the solution to leave a molten urea solution containing the metal values. The molten urea solution is heated to above about 180 0 C, whereupon metal values precipitate homogeneously as a powder. The powder is reduced to metal or calcined to form oxide particles. One or more metal oxides in a mixture can be selectively reduced to produce metal particles or a mixture of metal and metal oxide particles

  11. Numerical methods for two-phase flow with contact lines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Walker, Clauido

    2012-07-01

    This thesis focuses on numerical methods for two-phase flows, and especially flows with a moving contact line. Moving contact lines occur where the interface between two fluids is in contact with a solid wall. At the location where both fluids and the wall meet, the common continuum descriptions for fluids are not longer valid, since the dynamics around such a contact line are governed by interactions at the molecular level. Therefore the standard numerical continuum models have to be adjusted to handle moving contact lines. In the main part of the thesis a method to manipulate the position and the velocity of a contact line in a two-phase solver, is described. The Navier-Stokes equations are discretized using an explicit finite difference method on a staggered grid. The position of the interface is tracked with the level set method and the discontinuities at the interface are treated in a sharp manner with the ghost fluid method. The contact line is tracked explicitly and its dynamics can be described by an arbitrary function. The key part of the procedure is to enforce a coupling between the contact line and the Navier-Stokes equations as well as the level set method. Results for different contact line models are presented and it is demonstrated that they are in agreement with analytical solutions or results reported in the literature.The presented Navier-Stokes solver is applied as a part in a multiscale method to simulate capillary driven flows. A relation between the contact angle and the contact line velocity is computed by a phase field model resolving the micro scale dynamics in the region around the contact line. The relation of the microscale model is then used to prescribe the dynamics of the contact line in the macro scale solver. This approach allows to exploit the scale separation between the contact line dynamics and the bulk flow. Therefore coarser meshes can be applied for the macro scale flow solver compared to global phase field simulations

  12. Evaluation of the interface-capturing algorithm of OpenFoam for the simulation of incompressible immiscible two-phase flow

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Raees, F.; Van der Heul, D.R.; Vuik, C.

    2011-01-01

    The Mass-Conserving Level-Set method combines the efficiency of a Level-Set algorithm with the mass conserving properties of the Volume Of Fluid method. It avoids the work intensive interface construction of the former method and imposes a mass-conserving correction to the distance function of the

  13. Visualization and measurement of liquid velocity field of gas-liquid metal two-phase flow using neutron radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saito, Yasushi; Suzuki, Tohru; Matsubayashi, Masahito

    2000-01-01

    In a core melt accident of a fast breeder reactor, a possibility of re-criticality is anticipated in the molten fuel-steel mixture pool. One of the mechanisms to suppress the re-criticality is the boiling of steel in the molten fuel-steel mixture pool because of the negative void reactivity effect. To evaluate the reactivity change due to boiling, it is necessary to know the characteristics of gas-liquid two-phase flow in the molten fuel-steel mixture pool. For this purpose, boiling bubbles in a molten fuel-steel mixture pool were simulated by adiabatic gas bubbles in a liquid metal pool to study the basic characteristics of gas-liquid metal two-phase mixture. Visualization of the two-phase mixture and measurements of liquid phase velocity and void fraction were conducted by using neutron radiography and image processing techniques. From these measurements, the basic characteristics of gas-liquid metal two-phase mixture were clarified. (author)

  14. Method and Apparatus for Thermal Spraying of Metal Coatings Using Pulsejet Resonant Pulsed Combustion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paxson, Daniel E. (Inventor)

    2014-01-01

    An apparatus and method for thermal spraying a metal coating on a substrate is accomplished with a modified pulsejet and optionally an ejector to assist in preventing oxidation. Metal such as Aluminum or Magnesium may be used. A pulsejet is first initiated by applying fuel, air, and a spark. Metal is inserted continuously in a high volume of metal into a combustion chamber of the pulsejet. The combustion is thereafter controlled resonantly at high frequency and the metal is heated to a molten state. The metal is then transported from the combustion chamber into a tailpipe of said pulsejet and is expelled therefrom at high velocity and deposited on a target substrate.

  15. Computer Tomography 3-D Imaging of the Metal Deformation Flow Path in Friction Stir Welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Judy; Beshears, Ronald; Nunes, Arthur C., Jr.

    2004-01-01

    In friction stir welding, a rotating threaded pin tool is inserted into a weld seam and literally stirs the edges of the seam together. This solid-state technique has been successfully used in the joining of materials that are difficult to fusion weld such as aluminum alloys. To determine optimal processing parameters for producing a defect free weld, a better understanding of the resulting metal deformation flow path is required. Marker studies are the principal method of studying the metal deformation flow path around the FSW pin tool. In our study, we have used computed tomography (CT) scans to reveal the flow pattern of a lead wire embedded in a FSW weld seam. At the welding temperature of aluminum, the lead becomes molten and thus tracks the aluminum deformation flow paths in a unique 3-dimensional manner. CT scanning is a convenient and comprehensive way of collecting and displaying tracer data. It marks an advance over previous more tedious and ambiguous radiographic/metallographic data collection methods.

  16. Second order numerical method of two-fluid model of air-water flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tiselj, I.; Petelin, S.

    1995-01-01

    Model considered in this paper is six-equation two-fluid model used in computer code RELAP5. Air-water equations were taken in a code named PDE to avoid additional problems caused by condensation or vaporization. Terms with space derivatives were added in virtual mass term in momentum equations to ensure the hyperbolicity of the equations. Numerical method in PDE code is based on approximate Riemann solvers. Equations are solved on non-staggered grid with explicit time advancement and with upwind discretization of the convective terms in characteristic form of the equations. Flux limiters are used to find suitable combinations of the first (upwind) and the second order (Lax-Wendroff) discretization s which ensure second order accuracy on smooth solutions and damp oscillations around the discontinuities. Because of the small time steps required and because of its non-dissipative nature the scheme is suitable for the prediction of the fast transients: pressure waves, shock and rarefaction waves, water hammer or critical flow. Some preliminary results are presented for a shock tube problem and for Water Faucet problem - problems usually used as benchmarks for two-fluid computer codes. (author)

  17. Advanced numerical methods for three dimensional two-phase flow calculations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Toumi, I. [Laboratoire d`Etudes Thermiques des Reacteurs, Gif sur Yvette (France); Caruge, D. [Institut de Protection et de Surete Nucleaire, Fontenay aux Roses (France)

    1997-07-01

    This paper is devoted to new numerical methods developed for both one and three dimensional two-phase flow calculations. These methods are finite volume numerical methods and are based on the use of Approximate Riemann Solvers concepts to define convective fluxes versus mean cell quantities. The first part of the paper presents the numerical method for a one dimensional hyperbolic two-fluid model including differential terms as added mass and interface pressure. This numerical solution scheme makes use of the Riemann problem solution to define backward and forward differencing to approximate spatial derivatives. The construction of this approximate Riemann solver uses an extension of Roe`s method that has been successfully used to solve gas dynamic equations. As far as the two-fluid model is hyperbolic, this numerical method seems very efficient for the numerical solution of two-phase flow problems. The scheme was applied both to shock tube problems and to standard tests for two-fluid computer codes. The second part describes the numerical method in the three dimensional case. The authors discuss also some improvements performed to obtain a fully implicit solution method that provides fast running steady state calculations. Such a scheme is not implemented in a thermal-hydraulic computer code devoted to 3-D steady-state and transient computations. Some results obtained for Pressurised Water Reactors concerning upper plenum calculations and a steady state flow in the core with rod bow effect evaluation are presented. In practice these new numerical methods have proved to be stable on non staggered grids and capable of generating accurate non oscillating solutions for two-phase flow calculations.

  18. Advanced numerical methods for three dimensional two-phase flow calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toumi, I.; Caruge, D.

    1997-01-01

    This paper is devoted to new numerical methods developed for both one and three dimensional two-phase flow calculations. These methods are finite volume numerical methods and are based on the use of Approximate Riemann Solvers concepts to define convective fluxes versus mean cell quantities. The first part of the paper presents the numerical method for a one dimensional hyperbolic two-fluid model including differential terms as added mass and interface pressure. This numerical solution scheme makes use of the Riemann problem solution to define backward and forward differencing to approximate spatial derivatives. The construction of this approximate Riemann solver uses an extension of Roe's method that has been successfully used to solve gas dynamic equations. As far as the two-fluid model is hyperbolic, this numerical method seems very efficient for the numerical solution of two-phase flow problems. The scheme was applied both to shock tube problems and to standard tests for two-fluid computer codes. The second part describes the numerical method in the three dimensional case. The authors discuss also some improvements performed to obtain a fully implicit solution method that provides fast running steady state calculations. Such a scheme is not implemented in a thermal-hydraulic computer code devoted to 3-D steady-state and transient computations. Some results obtained for Pressurised Water Reactors concerning upper plenum calculations and a steady state flow in the core with rod bow effect evaluation are presented. In practice these new numerical methods have proved to be stable on non staggered grids and capable of generating accurate non oscillating solutions for two-phase flow calculations

  19. Thermal Marangoni convection in two-phase flow of dusty Casson fluid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahanthesh, B.; Gireesha, B. J.

    2018-03-01

    This paper deals with the thermal Marangoni convection effects in magneto-Casson liquid flow through suspension of dust particles. The transpiration cooling aspect is accounted. The surface tension is assumed to be fluctuating linearly with temperature. The fluid and dust particle's temperature of the interface is chosen as a quadratic function of interface arc length. The governing problem is modelled by conservation laws of mass, momentum and energy for fluid and dust particle phase. Stretching transformation technique is utilized to form ordinary differential equations from the partial differential equations. Later, the numerical solutions based on Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg method are established. The momentum and heat transport distributions are focused on the outcome of distinct governing parameters. The results of Nusselt number is also presented and discussed. It is established that the heat transfer rate is higher in the case of dusty non-Newtonian fluid than dusty Newtonian fluid. The rate of heat transfer can be enhanced by suspending dust particles in a base liquid.

  20. Metallic materials corrosion problems in molten salt reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chauvin, G.; Dixmier, J.; Jarny, P.

    1977-01-01

    The USA forecastings concerning the molten salt reactors are reviewed (mixtures of fluorides containing the fuel, operating between 560 and 700 0 C). Corrosion problems are important in these reactors. The effects of certain characteristic factors on corrosion are analyzed: humidity and metallic impurities in the salts, temperature gradients, speed of circulation of salts, tellurium from fission products, coupling. In the molten fluorides and experimental conditions, the materials with high Ni content are particularly corrosion resistant alloys (hastelloy N). The corrosion of this material is about 2.6 mg.cm -2 at 700 0 C [fr

  1. Proposed method for reconstructing velocity profiles using a multi-electrode electromagnetic flow meter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kollár, László E; Lucas, Gary P; Zhang, Zhichao

    2014-01-01

    An analytical method is developed for the reconstruction of velocity profiles using measured potential distributions obtained around the boundary of a multi-electrode electromagnetic flow meter (EMFM). The method is based on the discrete Fourier transform (DFT), and is implemented in Matlab. The method assumes the velocity profile in a section of a pipe as a superposition of polynomials up to sixth order. Each polynomial component is defined along a specific direction in the plane of the pipe section. For a potential distribution obtained in a uniform magnetic field, this direction is not unique for quadratic and higher-order components; thus, multiple possible solutions exist for the reconstructed velocity profile. A procedure for choosing the optimum velocity profile is proposed. It is applicable for single-phase or two-phase flows, and requires measurement of the potential distribution in a non-uniform magnetic field. The potential distribution in this non-uniform magnetic field is also calculated for the possible solutions using weight values. Then, the velocity profile with the calculated potential distribution which is closest to the measured one provides the optimum solution. The reliability of the method is first demonstrated by reconstructing an artificial velocity profile defined by polynomial functions. Next, velocity profiles in different two-phase flows, based on results from the literature, are used to define the input velocity fields. In all cases, COMSOL Multiphysics is used to model the physical specifications of the EMFM and to simulate the measurements; thus, COMSOL simulations produce the potential distributions on the internal circumference of the flow pipe. These potential distributions serve as inputs for the analytical method. The reconstructed velocity profiles show satisfactory agreement with the input velocity profiles. The method described in this paper is most suitable for stratified flows and is not applicable to axisymmetric flows in

  2. Metal artifact reduction image reconstruction algorithm for CT of implanted metal orthopedic devices: a work in progress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Patrick T.; Pavlicek, William P.; Peter, Mary B.; Roberts, Catherine C.; Paden, Robert G.; Spangehl, Mark J.

    2009-01-01

    Despite recent advances in CT technology, metal orthopedic implants continue to cause significant artifacts on many CT exams, often obscuring diagnostic information. We performed this prospective study to evaluate the effectiveness of an experimental metal artifact reduction (MAR) image reconstruction program for CT. We examined image quality on CT exams performed in patients with hip arthroplasties as well as other types of implanted metal orthopedic devices. The exam raw data were reconstructed using two different methods, the standard filtered backprojection (FBP) program and the MAR program. Images were evaluated for quality of the metal-cement-bone interfaces, trabeculae ≤1 cm from the metal, trabeculae 5 cm apart from the metal, streak artifact, and overall soft tissue detail. The Wilcoxon Rank Sum test was used to compare the image scores from the large and small prostheses. Interobserver agreement was calculated. When all patients were grouped together, the MAR images showed mild to moderate improvement over the FBP images. However, when the cases were divided by implant size, the MAR images consistently received higher image quality scores than the FBP images for large metal implants (total hip prostheses). For small metal implants (screws, plates, staples), conversely, the MAR images received lower image quality scores than the FBP images due to blurring artifact. The difference of image scores for the large and small implants was significant (p=0.002). Interobserver agreement was found to be high for all measures of image quality (k>0.9). The experimental MAR reconstruction algorithm significantly improved CT image quality for patients with large metal implants. However, the MAR algorithm introduced blurring artifact that reduced image quality with small metal implants. (orig.)

  3. Ultrasound guided electrical impedance tomography for 2D free-interface reconstruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Guanghui; Ren, Shangjie; Dong, Feng

    2017-07-01

    The free-interface detection problem is normally seen in industrial or biological processes. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a non-invasive technique with advantages of high-speed and low cost, and is a promising solution for free-interface detection problems. However, due to the ill-posed and nonlinear characteristics, the spatial resolution of EIT is low. To deal with the issue, an ultrasound guided EIT is proposed to directly reconstruct the geometric configuration of the target free-interface. In the method, the position of the central point of the target interface is measured by a pair of ultrasound transducers mounted at the opposite side of the objective domain, and then the position measurement is used as the prior information for guiding the EIT-based free-interface reconstruction. During the process, a constrained least squares framework is used to fuse the information from different measurement modalities, and the Lagrange multiplier-based Levenberg-Marquardt method is adopted to provide the iterative solution of the constraint optimization problem. The numerical results show that the proposed ultrasound guided EIT method for the free-interface reconstruction is more accurate than the single modality method, especially when the number of valid electrodes is limited.

  4. Ultrasound guided electrical impedance tomography for 2D free-interface reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liang, Guanghui; Ren, Shangjie; Dong, Feng

    2017-01-01

    The free-interface detection problem is normally seen in industrial or biological processes. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a non-invasive technique with advantages of high-speed and low cost, and is a promising solution for free-interface detection problems. However, due to the ill-posed and nonlinear characteristics, the spatial resolution of EIT is low. To deal with the issue, an ultrasound guided EIT is proposed to directly reconstruct the geometric configuration of the target free-interface. In the method, the position of the central point of the target interface is measured by a pair of ultrasound transducers mounted at the opposite side of the objective domain, and then the position measurement is used as the prior information for guiding the EIT-based free-interface reconstruction. During the process, a constrained least squares framework is used to fuse the information from different measurement modalities, and the Lagrange multiplier-based Levenberg–Marquardt method is adopted to provide the iterative solution of the constraint optimization problem. The numerical results show that the proposed ultrasound guided EIT method for the free-interface reconstruction is more accurate than the single modality method, especially when the number of valid electrodes is limited. (paper)

  5. Dynamic fluid connectivity during steady-state multiphase flow in a sandstone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynolds, Catriona A; Menke, Hannah; Andrew, Matthew; Blunt, Martin J; Krevor, Samuel

    2017-08-01

    The current conceptual picture of steady-state multiphase Darcy flow in porous media is that the fluid phases organize into separate flow pathways with stable interfaces. Here we demonstrate a previously unobserved type of steady-state flow behavior, which we term "dynamic connectivity," using fast pore-scale X-ray imaging. We image the flow of N 2 and brine through a permeable sandstone at subsurface reservoir conditions, and low capillary numbers, and at constant fluid saturation. At any instant, the network of pores filled with the nonwetting phase is not necessarily connected. Flow occurs along pathways that periodically reconnect, like cars controlled by traffic lights. This behavior is consistent with an energy balance, where some of the energy of the injected fluids is sporadically converted to create new interfaces.

  6. Apparatus for efficient sidewall containment of molten metal with horizontal alternating magnetic fields utilizing a ferromagnetic dam

    Science.gov (United States)

    Praeg, Walter F.

    1997-01-01

    An apparatus for casting sheets of metal from molten metal. The apparatus includes a containment structure having an open side, a horizontal alternating magnetic field generating structure and a ferromagnetic dam. The magnetic field and the ferromagnetic dam contain the molten metal from leaking out side portions of the open side of the containment structure.

  7. Heavy metal: Can molten metal technology turn toxic dross into gold? A study in alchemy, controversy, and green tech

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lerner, S.

    1995-12-31

    In a Massachusetts industrial park, inside a renovated helicopter factory, stands a giant, Rube Goldbergesque machine of metal boxes and pipes. Technicians in blue uniforms, hard hats, and safety glasses attend this contraption, watching over the fire at its heart: a cauldron of molten metal, usually iron, heated to some 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Hazardous wastes are injected into this molten bath. There, according to its inventor, the metal acts as a catalyst for a chemical reaction that instantly reduces compound molecules to their elemental components. A considerable portion for the wastes thus digested are spit out again in the form of industrial-grade materials, ready for reuse or resale. This article describes both the processing of hazardous wastes by using molten metal to drive reactions that would recover useful materials from hazardous waste and the future possibilities for its use.

  8. Lattice fluid dynamics from perfect discretizations of continuum flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Katz, E.; Wiese, U.

    1998-01-01

    We use renormalization group methods to derive equations of motion for large scale variables in fluid dynamics. The large scale variables are averages of the underlying continuum variables over cubic volumes and naturally exist on a lattice. The resulting lattice dynamics represents a perfect discretization of continuum physics, i.e., grid artifacts are completely eliminated. Perfect equations of motion are derived for static, slow flows of incompressible, viscous fluids. For Hagen-Poiseuille flow in a channel with a square cross section the equations reduce to a perfect discretization of the Poisson equation for the velocity field with Dirichlet boundary conditions. The perfect large scale Poisson equation is used in a numerical simulation and is shown to represent the continuum flow exactly. For nonsquare cross sections one can use a numerical iterative procedure to derive flow equations that are approximately perfect. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society

  9. ALE finite volume method for free-surface Bingham plastic fluids with general curvilinear coordinates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagai, Katsuaki; Ushijima, Satoru

    2010-01-01

    A numerical prediction method has been proposed to predict Bingham plastic fluids with free-surface in a two-dimensional container. Since the linear relationships between stress tensors and strain rate tensors are not assumed for non-Newtonian fluids, the liquid motions are described with Cauchy momentum equations rather than Navier-Stokes equations. The profile of a liquid surface is represented with the two-dimensional curvilinear coordinates which are represented in each computational step on the basis of the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method. Since the volumes of the fluid cells are transiently changed in the physical space, the geometric conservation law is applied to the finite volume discretizations. As a result, it has been shown that the present method enables us to predict reasonably the Bingham plastic fluids with free-surface in a container.

  10. ALE finite volume method for free-surface Bingham plastic fluids with general curvilinear coordinates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagai, Katsuaki; Ushijima, Satoru

    2010-06-01

    A numerical prediction method has been proposed to predict Bingham plastic fluids with free-surface in a two-dimensional container. Since the linear relationships between stress tensors and strain rate tensors are not assumed for non-Newtonian fluids, the liquid motions are described with Cauchy momentum equations rather than Navier-Stokes equations. The profile of a liquid surface is represented with the two-dimensional curvilinear coordinates which are represented in each computational step on the basis of the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method. Since the volumes of the fluid cells are transiently changed in the physical space, the geometric conservation law is applied to the finite volume discretizations. As a result, it has been shown that the present method enables us to predict reasonably the Bingham plastic fluids with free-surface in a container.

  11. Control and monitoring of oxygen content in molten metals. Application to lead and lead-bismuth melts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghetta, V.; Fouletier, J.; Henault, M.; Le Moulec, A.

    2002-01-01

    The sources of error in potentiometric measurements of the oxygen activity in molten metals and the methods proposed to reduce these measurements errors are described. Specific constraints related to low temperature measurements are emphasized. Two set-ups for control of the oxygen activity in molten lead and lead-bismuth were developed. They involve zirconia-based cells, i.e., an oxygen pump and an oxygen probe. The performance of the set-ups was characterized attempts to reduce the working temperature (T<450 deg C) are discussed. (authors)

  12. Behaviour of metals and alloys in molten fluoride media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fabre, St.

    2009-01-01

    Fluoride salts are contemplated for Generation IV nuclear systems which structural materials need to resist corrosion at high temperatures. Corrosion of metals in molten fluorides has been investigated in support of the Molten Salt Reactor's development and led to an optimized alloy, Hastelloy-N, but it lacked fundamentals data for the comprehension of materials' degradation mechanisms. The main objective of this work is then to help with the understanding of the corrosion behaviour of nickel and its alloys in fluoride salts. An experimental method was built up using electrochemical techniques and enabled to investigate the thermochemical conditions of the media and the influence of different parameters (media, temperature and quantity of impurities) on the behaviour of the materials. Most tests were performed in LiF-NaF mixtures between 800 and 1000 C. Pure metals can be classified as follows: Cr ≤ Fe ≤ Ni ≤ Mo ≤ W in increasing stability order and two specific behaviours were evidenced: Cr and Fe corrode in the melt, whereas Ni, Mo and W are stable, underlining the significance level of the redox couple controlling the reactions in the mixture. Moreover, corrosion current densities increase with temperature, fluoro-acidity and the quantity of dissolved oxide in the melt. Binary Ni-Cr alloys were also tested; selective attack of Cr is first observed before both elements are oxidized. Combining thermochemical calculations and experimental results enables to propose an approach to establish an optimized composition for a stable alloy. Immersion tests were finally achieved in addition to the electrochemical tests: interpretations of both methods were compared and completed. (author)

  13. Numerical Simulation of Transitional, Hypersonic Flows using a Hybrid Particle-Continuum Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verhoff, Ashley Marie

    Analysis of hypersonic flows requires consideration of multiscale phenomena due to the range of flight regimes encountered, from rarefied conditions in the upper atmosphere to fully continuum flow at low altitudes. At transitional Knudsen numbers there are likely to be localized regions of strong thermodynamic nonequilibrium effects that invalidate the continuum assumptions of the Navier-Stokes equations. Accurate simulation of these regions, which include shock waves, boundary and shear layers, and low-density wakes, requires a kinetic theory-based approach where no prior assumptions are made regarding the molecular distribution function. Because of the nature of these types of flows, there is much to be gained in terms of both numerical efficiency and physical accuracy by developing hybrid particle-continuum simulation approaches. The focus of the present research effort is the continued development of the Modular Particle-Continuum (MPC) method, where the Navier-Stokes equations are solved numerically using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques in regions of the flow field where continuum assumptions are valid, and the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is used where strong thermodynamic nonequilibrium effects are present. Numerical solutions of transitional, hypersonic flows are thus obtained with increased physical accuracy relative to CFD alone, and improved numerical efficiency is achieved in comparison to DSMC alone because this more computationally expensive method is restricted to those regions of the flow field where it is necessary to maintain physical accuracy. In this dissertation, a comprehensive assessment of the physical accuracy of the MPC method is performed, leading to the implementation of a non-vacuum supersonic outflow boundary condition in particle domains, and more consistent initialization of DSMC simulator particles along hybrid interfaces. The relative errors between MPC and full DSMC results are greatly reduced as a

  14. Multiphase Interface Tracking with Fast Semi-Lagrangian Contouring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiaosheng; He, Xiaowei; Liu, Xuehui; Zhang, Jian J; Liu, Baoquan; Wu, Enhua

    2016-08-01

    We propose a semi-Lagrangian method for multiphase interface tracking. In contrast to previous methods, our method maintains an explicit polygonal mesh, which is reconstructed from an unsigned distance function and an indicator function, to track the interface of arbitrary number of phases. The surface mesh is reconstructed at each step using an efficient multiphase polygonization procedure with precomputed stencils while the distance and indicator function are updated with an accurate semi-Lagrangian path tracing from the meshes of the last step. Furthermore, we provide an adaptive data structure, multiphase distance tree, to accelerate the updating of both the distance function and the indicator function. In addition, the adaptive structure also enables us to contour the distance tree accurately with simple bisection techniques. The major advantage of our method is that it can easily handle topological changes without ambiguities and preserve both the sharp features and the volume well. We will evaluate its efficiency, accuracy and robustness in the results part with several examples.

  15. Unified pipe network method for simulation of water flow in fractured porous rock

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Feng; Ma, Guowei; Wang, Yang; Li, Tuo; Zhu, Hehua

    2017-04-01

    Rock masses are often conceptualized as dual-permeability media containing fractures or fracture networks with high permeability and porous matrix that is less permeable. In order to overcome the difficulties in simulating fluid flow in a highly discontinuous dual-permeability medium, an effective unified pipe network method is developed, which discretizes the dual-permeability rock mass into a virtual pipe network system. It includes fracture pipe networks and matrix pipe networks. They are constructed separately based on equivalent flow models in a representative area or volume by taking the advantage of the orthogonality of the mesh partition. Numerical examples of fluid flow in 2-D and 3-D domain including porous media and fractured porous media are presented to demonstrate the accuracy, robustness, and effectiveness of the proposed unified pipe network method. Results show that the developed method has good performance even with highly distorted mesh. Water recharge into the fractured rock mass with complex fracture network is studied. It has been found in this case that the effect of aperture change on the water recharge rate is more significant in the early stage compared to the fracture density change.

  16. Accurate treatment of material interface dynamics in the calculation of one-dimensional two-phase flows by the integral method of characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shin, Y.W.; Wiedermann, A.H.

    1984-01-01

    Accurate numerical methods for treating the junction and boundary conditions needed in the transient two-phase flows of a piping network were published earlier by us; the same methods are used to formulate the treatment of the material interface as a moving boundary. The method formulated is used in a computer program to calculate sample problems designed to test the numerical methods as to their ability and the accuracy limits for calculation of the transient two-phase flows in the piping network downstream of a PWR pressurizer. Independent exact analytical solutions for the sample problems are used as the basis of a critical evaluation of the proposed numerical methods. The evaluation revealed that the proposed boundary scheme indeed generates very accurate numerical results. However, in some extreme flow conditions, numerical difficulties were experienced that eventually led to numerical instability. This paper discusses further a special technique to overcome the difficulty

  17. Effect of fluid friction on interstitial fluid flow coupled with blood flow through solid tumor microvascular network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sefidgar, Mostafa; Soltani, M; Raahemifar, Kaamran; Bazmara, Hossein

    2015-01-01

    A solid tumor is investigated as porous media for fluid flow simulation. Most of the studies use Darcy model for porous media. In Darcy model, the fluid friction is neglected and a few simplified assumptions are implemented. In this study, the effect of these assumptions is studied by considering Brinkman model. A multiscale mathematical method which calculates fluid flow to a solid tumor is used in this study to investigate how neglecting fluid friction affects the solid tumor simulation. The mathematical method involves processes such as blood flow through vessels and solute and fluid diffusion, convective transport in extracellular matrix, and extravasation from blood vessels. The sprouting angiogenesis model is used for generating capillary network and then fluid flow governing equations are implemented to calculate blood flow through the tumor-induced capillary network. Finally, the two models of porous media are used for modeling fluid flow in normal and tumor tissues in three different shapes of tumors. Simulations of interstitial fluid transport in a solid tumor demonstrate that the simplifications used in Darcy model affect the interstitial velocity and Brinkman model predicts a lower value for interstitial velocity than the values that Darcy model predicts.

  18. A numerical method for a model of two-phase flow in a coupled free flow and porous media system

    KAUST Repository

    Chen, Jie; Sun, Shuyu; Wang, Xiaoping

    2014-01-01

    In this article, we study two-phase fluid flow in coupled free flow and porous media regions. The model consists of coupled Cahn-Hilliard and Navier-Stokes equations in the free fluid region and the two-phase Darcy law in the porous medium region. We propose a Robin-Robin domain decomposition method for the coupled Navier-Stokes and Darcy system with the generalized Beavers-Joseph-Saffman condition on the interface between the free flow and the porous media regions. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of this method. © 2014 Elsevier Inc.

  19. A numerical method for a model of two-phase flow in a coupled free flow and porous media system

    KAUST Repository

    Chen, Jie

    2014-07-01

    In this article, we study two-phase fluid flow in coupled free flow and porous media regions. The model consists of coupled Cahn-Hilliard and Navier-Stokes equations in the free fluid region and the two-phase Darcy law in the porous medium region. We propose a Robin-Robin domain decomposition method for the coupled Navier-Stokes and Darcy system with the generalized Beavers-Joseph-Saffman condition on the interface between the free flow and the porous media regions. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of this method. © 2014 Elsevier Inc.

  20. Molten Fuel Mass Assessment for Channel Flow Blockage Event in CANDU6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Kwang Ho; Kim, Yong Bae; Choi, Hoon; Park, Dong Hwan

    2011-01-01

    In CANDU6, a fuel channel flow blockage causes a sudden reduction of flow through the blocked channel. Depending on the severity of the blockage, the reduced flow through the channel can result in severe heat up of the fuel, hence possibly leading to pressure tube and calandria tube failure. If the calandria tube does not fail the fuel and sheath would continue to heat up, and ultimately melting could occur. Eventually, molten material runs down onto the pressure tube. Even a thin layer of molten material in contact with the pressure tube causes the pressure tube and calandreia tube to heat up rapidly. The thermal transient is so rapid that failure temperatures are reached quickly. After channel failure, the contents of the channel, consisting of superheated coolant, fission products and possibly overheated of molten fuel, are rapidly discharged into the moderator. Fuel discharged into the moderator is quenched and cooled. The rapid discharge of hot fuel and coolant into the calandria causes the moderator pressure and temperature to increase, which may cause damage to some in-core components. Thus, the assessment results of molten fuel mass are inputs to the in-core damage analysis. In this paper, the analysis methodology and results of molten fuel mass assessment for the channel flow blockage event are presented

  1. Measurement and analyses of molten Ni-Co alloy density

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    XIAO Feng; K. MUKAI; FANG Liang; FU Ya; YANG Ren-hui

    2006-01-01

    With the advent of powerful mathematical modeling techniques for material phenomena, there is renewed interest in reliable data for the density of the Ni-based superalloys. Up to now, there has been few report on the density of molten Ni-Co alloy.In order to obtain more accurate density data for molten Ni-Co alloy, the density of molten Ni-Co alloy was measured with a modified sessile drop method, and the accommodation of different atoms in molten Ni-Co alloy was analyzed. The density of alloy is found to decrease with increasing temperature and Co concentration in the alloy. The molar volume of molten Ni-Co alloy increases with increasing Co concentration. The molar volume of Ni-Co alloy determined shows a positive deviation from the linear molar volume, and the deviation of molar volume from ideal mixing increases with increasing Co concentration over the experimental concentration range.

  2. A study on the reduction of uranium oxide to uranium metal in LiCl molten salt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seo, J. S.; Hur, J. M.; Lee, W. K.; Hong, S. S.; Kang, D. S.; Park, S. W.

    2002-01-01

    Research for the analysis on a metallization process of uranium oxide in LiCl-Li molten salt was carried out. Effect of a concentration of Li 2 O on the metallization process was also studied. The new concept, electrochemical reduction of uranium oxide in LiCl-Li 2 O molten salt was proposed. The concept is based on the integrated process of metallization of UO 2 with simultaneous electrochemical reduction of Li 2 O which is recycled in a closed system. In a LiCl-Li molten salt system, U 3 O 8 whose conversion ratio to U turns out to be 97.1%, showed a better metallization characteristic than UO 2 . It is verified that electrochemically reduced Li is well deposited on the UO 2 powder cathode through a porous magnesia filter in LiCl-Li 2 O molten salt. In that process Li 2 O was from by the reduction process of UO 2 to U. This electrochemical reduction process showed good results to covert UO 2 to U

  3. Molten salt reactor type

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1977-01-01

    This document is one of the three parts of a first volume devoted to the compilations of American data on the molten salt reactor concept. This part 'CIRCUITS' regroups under a condensed form - in French and using international units - the essential information contained in both basic documents of the American project for a molten-salt breeder power plant. This part is only dealing with things relating to the CEA-EDF workshop 'CIRCUITS'. It is not concerned with information on: the reactor and the moderator replacement, the primary and secondary salts, and the fuel salt reprocessing, that are dealt with in parts 'CORE' and 'CHEMISTRY' respectively. The possible evolutions in the data - and solutions - taken by the American designers for their successive projects (1970 to 1972) are shown. The MSBR power plant comprises three successive heat transfer circuits. The primary circuit (Hastelloy N), radioactive and polluted, containing the fuel salt, includes the reactor, pumps and exchangers. The secondary circuit (pipings made of modified Hastelloy N) contaminated in the exchanger, ensures the separation between the fuel and the fluid operating the turbo-alternator. The water-steam circuit feeds the turbine with steam. This steam is produced in the steam generator flowed by the secondary fluid. Some subsidiary circuits (discharge and storage of the primary and secondary salts, ventilation of the primary circuit ...) complete the three principal circuits which are briefly described. All circuits are enclosed inside the controlled-atmosphere building of the nuclear boiler. This building also ensures the biological protection and the mechanical protection against outer aggressions [fr

  4. Applications of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) in Molten Metal Processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudson, Shaymus W.; Craparo, Joseph; De Saro, Robert; Apelian, Diran

    2017-10-01

    In order for metals to meet the demand for critical applications in the automotive, aerospace, and defense industries, tight control over the composition and cleanliness of the metal must be achieved. The use of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for applications in metal processing has generated significant interest for its ability to perform quick analyses in situ. The fundamentals of LIBS, current techniques for deployment on molten metal, demonstrated capabilities, and possible avenues for development are reviewed and discussed.

  5. DOE Fundamentals Handbook: Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, and Fluid Flow, Volume 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-06-01

    The Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, and Fluid Flow Fundamentals Handbook was developed to assist nuclear facility operating contractors provide operators, maintenance personnel, and the technical staff with the necessary fundamentals training to ensure a basic understanding of the thermal sciences. The handbook includes information on thermodynamics and the properties of fluids; the three modes of heat transfer -- conduction, convection, and radiation; and fluid flow, and the energy relationships in fluid systems. This information will provide personnel with a foundation for understanding the basic operation of various types of DOE nuclear facility fluid systems

  6. DOE Fundamentals Handbook: Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, and Fluid Flow, Volume 3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-06-01

    The Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, and Fluid Flow Fundamentals Handbook was developed to assist nuclear facility operating contractors provide operators, maintenance personnel, and the technical staff with the necessary fundamentals training to ensure a basic understanding of the thermal sciences. The handbook includes information on thermodynamics and the properties of fluids; the three modes of heat transfer -- conduction, convection, and radiation; and fluid flow, and the energy relationships in fluid systems. This information will provide personnel with a foundation for understanding the basic operation of various types of DOE nuclear facility fluid systems

  7. DOE Fundamentals Handbook: Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, and Fluid Flow, Volume 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-06-01

    The Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, and Fluid Flow Fundamentals Handbook was developed to assist nuclear facility operating contractors provide operators, maintenance personnel, and the technical staff with the necessary fundamentals training to ensure a basic understanding of the thermal sciences. The handbook includes information on thermodynamics and the properties of fluids; the three modes of heat transfer -- conduction, convection, and radiation; and fluid flow, and the energy relationships in fluid systems. This information will provide personnel with a foundation for understanding the basic operation of various types of DOE nuclear facility fluid systems

  8. Network Flow Simulation of Fluid Transients in Rocket Propulsion Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bandyopadhyay, Alak; Hamill, Brian; Ramachandran, Narayanan; Majumdar, Alok

    2011-01-01

    Fluid transients, also known as water hammer, can have a significant impact on the design and operation of both spacecraft and launch vehicle propulsion systems. These transients often occur at system activation and shutdown. The pressure rise due to sudden opening and closing of valves of propulsion feed lines can cause serious damage during activation and shutdown of propulsion systems. During activation (valve opening) and shutdown (valve closing), pressure surges must be predicted accurately to ensure structural integrity of the propulsion system fluid network. In the current work, a network flow simulation software (Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program) based on Finite Volume Method has been used to predict the pressure surges in the feed line due to both valve closing and valve opening using two separate geometrical configurations. The valve opening pressure surge results are compared with experimental data available in the literature and the numerical results compared very well within reasonable accuracy (< 5%) for a wide range of inlet-to-initial pressure ratios. A Fast Fourier Transform is preformed on the pressure oscillations to predict the various modal frequencies of the pressure wave. The shutdown problem, i.e. valve closing problem, the simulation results are compared with the results of Method of Characteristics. Most rocket engines experience a longitudinal acceleration, known as "pogo" during the later stage of engine burn. In the shutdown example problem, an accumulator has been used in the feed system to demonstrate the "pogo" mitigation effects in the feed system of propellant. The simulation results using GFSSP compared very well with the results of Method of Characteristics.

  9. Large deformation analysis of adhesive by Eulerian method with new material model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maeda, K; Nishiguchi, K; Iwamoto, T; Okazawa, S

    2010-01-01

    The material model to describe large deformation of a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) is presented. A relationship between stress and strain of PSA includes viscoelasticity and rubber-elasticity. Therefore, we propose the material model for describing viscoelasticity and rubber-elasticity, and extend the presented material model to the rate form for three dimensional finite element analysis. After proposing the material model for PSA, we formulate the Eulerian method to simulate large deformation behavior. In the Eulerian calculation, the Piecewise Linear Interface Calculation (PLIC) method for capturing material surface is employed. By using PLIC method, we can impose dynamic and kinematic boundary conditions on captured material surface. The representative two computational examples are calculated to check validity of the present methods.

  10. Fluid Mechanics An Introduction to the Theory of Fluid Flows

    CERN Document Server

    Durst, Franz

    2008-01-01

    Advancements of fluid flow measuring techniques and of computational methods have led to new ways to treat laminar and turbulent flows. These methods are extensively used these days in research and engineering practise. This also requires new ways to teach the subject to students at higher educational institutions in an introductory manner. The book provides the knowledge to students in engineering and natural science needed to enter fluid mechanics applications in various fields. Analytical treatments are provided, based on the Navier-Stokes equations. Introductions are also given into numerical and experimental methods applied to flows. The main benefit the reader will derive from the book is a sound introduction into all aspects of fluid mechanics covering all relevant subfields.

  11. Method and apparatus for simultaneous determination of fluid mass flow rate, mean velocity and density

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamel, W.R.

    1984-01-01

    This invention relates to a new method and new apparatus for determining fluid mass flow rate and density. In one aspect of the invention, the fluid is passed through a straight cantilevered tube in which transient oscillation has been induced, thus generating Coriolis damping forces on the tube. The decay rate and frequency of the resulting damped oscillation are measured, and the fluid mass flow rate and density are determined therefrom. In another aspect of the invention, the fluid is passed through the cantilevered tube while an electrically powered device imparts steady-state harmonic excitation to the tube. This generates Coriolis tube-damping forces which are dependent on the mass flow rate of the fluid. Means are provided to respond to incipient flow-induced changes in the amplitude of vibration by changing the power input to the excitation device as required to sustain the original amplitude of vibration. The fluid mass flow rate and density are determined from the required change in power input. The invention provides stable, rapid, and accurate measurements. It does not require bending of the fluid flow

  12. From Pore Scale to Turbulent Flow with the Unstructured Lattice Boltzmann Method

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Matin, Rastin

    Abstract: The lattice Boltzmann method is a class of methods in computational fluid dynamics for simulating fluid flow. Implementations on unstructured grids are particularly relevant for various engineering applications, where geometric flexibility or high resolution near a body or a wall...... is required. The main topic of this thesis is to further develop unstructured lattice Boltzmann methods for simulations of Newtonian fluid flow in three dimensions, in particular porous flow. Two methods are considered in this thesis based on the finite volume method and finite element method, respectively...

  13. Thermo-fluid behaviour of periodic cellular metals

    CERN Document Server

    Lu, Tian Jian; Wen, Ting

    2013-01-01

    Thermo-Fluid Behaviour of Periodic Cellular Metals introduces the study of coupled thermo-fluid behaviour of cellular metals with periodic structure in response to thermal loads, which is an interdisciplinary research area that requires a concurrent-engineering approach.  The book, for the first time, systematically adopts experimental, numerical, and analytical approaches, presents the fluid flow and heat transfer in periodic cellular metals under forced convection conditions, aiming to establish structure-property relationships for tailoring material structures to achieve properties and performance levels that are customized for defined multifunctional applications. The book, as a textbook and reference book, is intended for both academic and industrial people, including graduate students, researchers and engineers. Dr. Tian Jian Lu is a professor at the School of Aerospace, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China. Dr. Feng Xu is a professor at the Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering o...

  14. Numerical methodologies for investigation of moderate-velocity flow using a hybrid computational fluid dynamics - molecular dynamics simulation approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ko, Soon Heum; Kim, Na Yong; Nikitopoulos, Dimitris E.; Moldovan, Dorel; Jha, Shantenu

    2014-01-01

    Numerical approaches are presented to minimize the statistical errors inherently present due to finite sampling and the presence of thermal fluctuations in the molecular region of a hybrid computational fluid dynamics (CFD) - molecular dynamics (MD) flow solution. Near the fluid-solid interface the hybrid CFD-MD simulation approach provides a more accurate solution, especially in the presence of significant molecular-level phenomena, than the traditional continuum-based simulation techniques. It also involves less computational cost than the pure particle-based MD. Despite these advantages the hybrid CFD-MD methodology has been applied mostly in flow studies at high velocities, mainly because of the higher statistical errors associated with low velocities. As an alternative to the costly increase of the size of the MD region to decrease statistical errors, we investigate a few numerical approaches that reduce sampling noise of the solution at moderate-velocities. These methods are based on sampling of multiple simulation replicas and linear regression of multiple spatial/temporal samples. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each technique in the perspective of solution accuracy and computational cost.

  15. Complex formation during dissolution of metal oxides in molten alkali carbonates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Qingfeng; Borup, Flemming; Petrushina, Irina

    1999-01-01

    Dissolution of metal oxides in molten carbonates relates directly to the stability of materials for electrodes and construction of molten carbonate fuel cells. In the present work the solubilities of PbO, NiO, Fe2O3,and Bi2O3 in molten Li/K carbonates have been measured at 650 degrees C under...... carbon dioxide atmosphere. It is found that the solubilities of NiO and PbO decrease while those of Fe2O3 and Bi2O3 remain approximately constant as the lithium mole fraction increases from 0.43 to 0.62 in the melt. At a fixed composition of the melt, NiO and PbO display both acidic and basic dissolution...

  16. Development of bubble-induced turbulence model for advanced two-fluid model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hosoi, Hideaki; Yoshida, Hiroyuki

    2011-01-01

    A two-fluid model can simulate two-phase flow by computational cost less than detailed two-phase flow simulation method such as interface tracking method. The two-fluid model is therefore useful for thermal hydraulic analysis in the large-scale domain such as rod bundles. However, since the two-fluid model includes a lot of constitutive equations verified by use of experimental results, it has problems that the result of analyses depends on accuracy of the constitutive equations. To solve these problems, an advanced two-fluid model has been developed by Japan Atomic Energy Agency. In this model, interface tracking method is combined with two-fluid model to accurately predict large interface structure behavior. Liquid clusters and bubbles larger than a computational cell are calculated using the interface tracking method, and those smaller than the cell are simulated by the two-fluid model. The constitutive equations to evaluate the effects of small bubbles or droplets on two-phase flow are also required in the advanced two-fluid model, just as with the conventional two-fluid model. However, the dependency of small bubbles and droplets on two-phase flow characteristics is relatively small, and fewer experimental results are required to verify the characteristics of large interface structures. Turbulent dispersion force model is one of the most important constitutive equations for the advanced two-fluid model. The turbulent dispersion force model has been developed by many researchers for the conventional two-fluid model. However, existing models implicitly include the effects of large bubbles and the deformation of bubbles, and are unfortunately not applicable to the advanced two-fluid model. In the previous study, the authors suggested the turbulent dispersion force model based on the analogy of Brownian motion. And the authors improved the turbulent dispersion force model in consideration of bubble-induced turbulence to improve the analysis results for small

  17. Advanced Fluid Reduced Order Models for Compressible Flow.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tezaur, Irina Kalashnikova [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Fike, Jeffrey A. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Carlberg, Kevin Thomas [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Barone, Matthew F. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Maddix, Danielle [Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Mussoni, Erin E. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Balajewicz, Maciej [Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)

    2017-09-01

    This report summarizes fiscal year (FY) 2017 progress towards developing and implementing within the SPARC in-house finite volume flow solver advanced fluid reduced order models (ROMs) for compressible captive-carriage flow problems of interest to Sandia National Laboratories for the design and qualification of nuclear weapons components. The proposed projection-based model order reduction (MOR) approach, known as the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD)/Least- Squares Petrov-Galerkin (LSPG) method, can substantially reduce the CPU-time requirement for these simulations, thereby enabling advanced analyses such as uncertainty quantification and de- sign optimization. Following a description of the project objectives and FY17 targets, we overview briefly the POD/LSPG approach to model reduction implemented within SPARC . We then study the viability of these ROMs for long-time predictive simulations in the context of a two-dimensional viscous laminar cavity problem, and describe some FY17 enhancements to the proposed model reduction methodology that led to ROMs with improved predictive capabilities. Also described in this report are some FY17 efforts pursued in parallel to the primary objective of determining whether the ROMs in SPARC are viable for the targeted application. These include the implemen- tation and verification of some higher-order finite volume discretization methods within SPARC (towards using the code to study the viability of ROMs on three-dimensional cavity problems) and a novel structure-preserving constrained POD/LSPG formulation that can improve the accuracy of projection-based reduced order models. We conclude the report by summarizing the key takeaways from our FY17 findings, and providing some perspectives for future work.

  18. Modeling of Compressible Flow with Friction and Heat Transfer Using the Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program (GFSSP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bandyopadhyay, Alak; Majumdar, Alok

    2007-01-01

    The present paper describes the verification and validation of a quasi one-dimensional pressure based finite volume algorithm, implemented in Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program (GFSSP), for predicting compressible flow with friction, heat transfer and area change. The numerical predictions were compared with two classical solutions of compressible flow, i.e. Fanno and Rayleigh flow. Fanno flow provides an analytical solution of compressible flow in a long slender pipe where incoming subsonic flow can be choked due to friction. On the other hand, Raleigh flow provides analytical solution of frictionless compressible flow with heat transfer where incoming subsonic flow can be choked at the outlet boundary with heat addition to the control volume. Nonuniform grid distribution improves the accuracy of numerical prediction. A benchmark numerical solution of compressible flow in a converging-diverging nozzle with friction and heat transfer has been developed to verify GFSSP's numerical predictions. The numerical predictions compare favorably in all cases.

  19. New digital measurement methods for left ventricular volume using real-time three-dimensional echocardiography: comparison with electromagnetic flow method and magnetic resonance imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, J. J.; Jones, M.; Shiota, T.; Greenberg, N. L.; Firstenberg, M. S.; Tsujino, H.; Zetts, A. D.; Sun, J. P.; Cardon, L. A.; Odabashian, J. A.; hide

    2000-01-01

    AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility and accuracy of using symmetrically rotated apical long axis planes for the determination of left ventricular (LV) volumes with real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE). METHODS AND RESULTS: Real-time 3DE was performed in six sheep during 24 haemodynamic conditions with electromagnetic flow measurements (EM), and in 29 patients with magnetic resonance imaging measurements (MRI). LV volumes were calculated by Simpson's rule with five 3DE methods (i.e. apical biplane, four-plane, six-plane, nine-plane (in which the angle between each long axis plane was 90 degrees, 45 degrees, 30 degrees or 20 degrees, respectively) and standard short axis views (SAX)). Real-time 3DE correlated well with EM for LV stroke volumes in animals (r=0.68-0.95) and with MRI for absolute volumes in patients (r-values=0.93-0.98). However, agreement between MRI and apical nine-plane, six-plane, and SAX methods in patients was better than those with apical four-plane and bi-plane methods (mean difference = -15, -18, -13, vs. -31 and -48 ml for end-diastolic volume, respectively, Pmethods of real-time 3DE correlated well with reference standards for calculating LV volumes. Balancing accuracy and required time for these LV volume measurements, the apical six-plane method is recommended for clinical use.

  20. Results of measurements of thermal interaction between molten metal and water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zyszkowski, W.

    1975-10-01

    The report describes results of an experimental investigation into thermal interaction of molten metals with water. The experiments were performed in two stages: the aim of the first stage was to study the general character of thermal interaction between molten metal and water and to measure the Leidenfrost temperature of the inverse Leidenfrost phenomenon. The second stage was directed to the experimental study of the triggering mechanism of thermal explosion. The experimental material gathered in this study includes: 1) transient temperature measurements in the hot material and in water, 2) measurements of pressure and reactive force combined with thermal explosion, 3) high-speed films of thermal interaction, 4) investigation results of thermal explosion debris (microscopic, mechanical, metallographical and chemical). The most significant observation is, that small jets from the main particle mass occuring 1 to 10 msec before, precede thermal explosion. (orig.) [de

  1. Efficient simulations of fluid flow coupled with poroelastic deformations in pleated filters

    KAUST Repository

    Calo, Victor M.

    2015-04-27

    Pleated filters are broadly used for various applications. In certain cases, especially in solid-liquid separation case, the filtering media may get deflected and that may change the overall performance characteristics of the filter. From the modeling point of view, this is a challenging multiphysics problem, namely the interaction of the fluid with a so-called poroelastic structure. This work focuses on the development of an algorithm for the simulation of the Fluid Porous Structure Interaction (FPSI) problem in the case of pleated filtering media. The first part of the work is concerned with the development of a robust and accurate numerical method for solving the Stokes-Brinkman system of equations on quadrilateral grids. The mathematical model describes a free fluid flow coupled with a flow in porous media in a domain that contains the filtering media. To discretize the complex computational domain we use quadrilateral boundary fitted grids which resolve porous-fluid interfaces. The Stokes-Brinkman system of equations is discretized here using a sophisticated finite volume method, namely multi-point flux approximation (MPFA) O-method. MPFA is widely used, e.g., in solving scalar elliptic equations with full tensor and highly varying coefficients and/or solving on heterogeneous non-orthogonalgrids. Up to the authors’ knowledge, there was no investigation of MPFA discretization for Stokes-Brinkman problems, and this study aims to fill this gap. Some numerical experiments are presented in order to demonstrate the robustness of the proposed numerical algorithm[1]. The second part of this study focuses on the coupling of the flow model with the deflection of the filtering media. For the consideration of the FPSI problem in 3D, the classical Biot system describes coupled flow and deformations in a porous body due to difference in the upstream and downstream pressures. Solving the Biot system of equations is complicated and requires a significant amount of

  2. Some problems in the magnetohydrodynamics of liquid metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moffatt, H.K.

    1978-01-01

    When electric currents are caused to flow in an electrically conducting fluid, either by the external application of time-periodic magnetic fields or by the application of large electric potential gradients at the boundary, the associated Lorentz force is in general rotational and a fluid motion, which may be laminar or turbulent, is in general established. Three prototype problems, on which some progress has been made over the last decade, are reviewed: (i) the problem of the generation of rotation in a liquid metal by the application of a rotating magnetic field; (ii) the generation of cellular motion by the application of an alternating field of fixed direction; and (iii) the problem of the generation of fluid motion by the injection of steady current at a point electrode on the fluid boundary. All three problems are of importance in molten metal technology. (author)

  3. Study of the pyrochemical treatment-recycling process of the Molten Salt Reactor fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boussier, H.; Heuer, D.

    2010-01-01

    The Separation Processes Studies Laboratory (Commissariat a l'energie Atomique) has made a preliminary assessment of the reprocessing system associated with Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR). The scheme studied in this paper is based on the principle of reductive extraction and metal transfer that constituted the core process designed for the Molten Salt Breeder Reactor (MSBR), although the flow diagram has been adapted to the current needs of the Molten Salt Reactor Fast (MSFR).

  4. Resolution of through tubing fluid flow and behind casing fluid flow in multiple completion wells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arnold, D.M.

    1977-01-01

    A method is provided for resolving undesired fluid flow in cement channels behind casing in one producing zone of a multi zone completion well operating on gas lift from the fluid flow from lower producing zones in the same well which is contained in production tubing passing through the producing zone being investigated. Gamma rays which are characteristic of the decay of the unstable isotope nitrogen 16 produced by activation of elemental oxygen nuclei comprising the molecular structure of both the tubing fluid flow and the undesired fluid flow are detected in at least two energy bonds at two longitudinally spaced detectors in a well borehole. By appropriately combining the four count rate signals so producing according to predetermined relationships the two fluid flow components in the same direction may be uniquely distinguished on the basis of their differing distances from the gamma ray detectors. 9 claims, 17 figures

  5. Permeability computation on a REV with an immersed finite element method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laure, P.; Puaux, G.; Silva, L.; Vincent, M.

    2011-01-01

    An efficient method to compute permeability of fibrous media is presented. An immersed domain approach is used to represent the porous material at its microscopic scale and the flow motion is computed with a stabilized mixed finite element method. Therefore the Stokes equation is solved on the whole domain (including solid part) using a penalty method. The accuracy is controlled by refining the mesh around the solid-fluid interface defined by a level set function. Using homogenisation techniques, the permeability of a representative elementary volume (REV) is computed. The computed permeabilities of regular fibre packings are compared to classical analytical relations found in the bibliography.

  6. Recovery of metal chlorides from their complexes by molten salt displacement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McLaughlin, D.F.; Stoltz, R.A.

    1989-01-01

    This patent describes a process for recovering zirconium or hafnium chloride from a complex of zirconium or hafnium tetrachloride and phosphorus oxychloride. The process comprising: introducing liquid complex of zirconium or hafnium tetrachloride and phosphorus oxychloride into an upper portion of a feed column containing zirconium or hafnium tetrachloride vapor and phosphorus oxychloride vapor. The liquid complex absorbing zirconium or hafnium tetrachloride vapor and producing a bottoms liquid and also producing a phosphorus oxychloride vapor stripped of zirconium or hafnium tetrachloride; introducing the bottoms liquid into a molten salt containing displacement reactor, the reactor containing molten salt comprising at least 30 mole percent lithium chloride and at least 30 mole percent of at least one other alkali metal chloride, the reactor being heated to 30-450 0 C to displace phosphorus oxychloride from the complex and product zirconium or hafnium tetrachloride vapor and phosphorus oxychloride vapor and zirconium or hafnium tetrachloride-containing molten salt; introducing the zirconium or hafnium tetrachloride vapor and the phosphorus oxychloride vapor into the feed column below the point of introduction of the liquid stream; introducing the zirconium or hafnium tetrachloride containing-molten salt into a recovery vessel where zirconium or hafnium tetrachloride is removed from the molten salt to produce zirconium or hafnium tetrachloride product and zirconium or hafnium chloride-depleted molten salt; and recycling the zirconium or hafnium tetachloride-depleted molten salt to the displacement reactor

  7. Interstitial solute transport in 3D reconstructed neuropil occurs by diffusion rather than bulk flow.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holter, Karl Erik; Kehlet, Benjamin; Devor, Anna; Sejnowski, Terrence J; Dale, Anders M; Omholt, Stig W; Ottersen, Ole Petter; Nagelhus, Erlend Arnulf; Mardal, Kent-André; Pettersen, Klas H

    2017-09-12

    The brain lacks lymph vessels and must rely on other mechanisms for clearance of waste products, including amyloid [Formula: see text] that may form pathological aggregates if not effectively cleared. It has been proposed that flow of interstitial fluid through the brain's interstitial space provides a mechanism for waste clearance. Here we compute the permeability and simulate pressure-mediated bulk flow through 3D electron microscope (EM) reconstructions of interstitial space. The space was divided into sheets (i.e., space between two parallel membranes) and tunnels (where three or more membranes meet). Simulation results indicate that even for larger extracellular volume fractions than what is reported for sleep and for geometries with a high tunnel volume fraction, the permeability was too low to allow for any substantial bulk flow at physiological hydrostatic pressure gradients. For two different geometries with the same extracellular volume fraction the geometry with the most tunnel volume had [Formula: see text] higher permeability, but the bulk flow was still insignificant. These simulation results suggest that even large molecule solutes would be more easily cleared from the brain interstitium by diffusion than by bulk flow. Thus, diffusion within the interstitial space combined with advection along vessels is likely to substitute for the lymphatic drainage system in other organs.

  8. Accuracy of cancellous bone volume fraction measured by micro-CT scanning

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ding, Ming; Odgaard, A; Hvid, I

    1999-01-01

    Volume fraction, the single most important parameter in describing trabecular microstructure, can easily be calculated from three-dimensional reconstructions of micro-CT images. This study sought to quantify the accuracy of this measurement. One hundred and sixty human cancellous bone specimens...... which covered a large range of volume fraction (9.8-39.8%) were produced. The specimens were micro-CT scanned, and the volume fraction based on Archimedes' principle was determined as a reference. After scanning, all micro-CT data were segmented using individual thresholds determined by the scanner...

  9. Study on mechanical interaction between molten alloy and water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishimura, Satoshi; Ueda, Nobuyuki; Nishi, Yoshihisa; Furuya, Masahiro; Kinoshita, Izumi

    1999-01-01

    Simulant experiments using low melting point molten alloy and water have been conducted to observe both fragmentation behavior of molten jet and boiling phenomena of water, and to measure both particle size and shape of fragmented solidified jet, focusing on post-pin-failure molten fuel-coolant interaction (FCl) which was important to evaluate the sequence of the initiating phase for metallic fueled FBR. In addition, characteristics of coolant boiling phenomena on FCIs have been investigated, focusing on the boiling heat transfer in the direct contact heat transfer mode. As a results, it is concluded that the fragmentation of poured molten alloy jet is affected by a degree of boiling of water and is classified into three modes by thermal conditions of both the instantaneous contact interface temperature of two liquids and subcooling of water. In the case of forced convection boiling in direct contact mode, it is found that the heat transfer performance is enhanced by increase of the heat transfer area, due to oscillation of the surface and fragmentation of molten alloy. As a results of preliminary investigation of FCI behavior for metallic fuel core based on these results, it is expected that the ejected molten fuel is fragmented into almost spherical particles due to the developed boiling of sodium. (author)

  10. Corrosion resistance of metals and alloys in molten alkalies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zarubitskij, O.G.; Dmitruk, B.F.; Minets, L.A.

    1979-01-01

    Literature data on the corrosion of non-ferrous and noble metals, iron and steels in the molten alkalis and mixtures of their base are presented. It is shown that zirconium, niobium and tantalum are characterized by high corrosion stability in the molten NaOH. Additions of NaOH and KOH to the alkali chloride melts result in a 1000 time decrease of zirconium corrosion rate at 850 deg. The data testify to the characteristic passivating properties of OH - ions; Mo and W do not possess an ability to selfpassivation in hydroxide melts. Corrosion resistance of carbon and chromium-nickel steels in hydroxide melts depends considerably on the temperature, electrolyte composition and atmosphere over them. At the temperatures up to 600 deg C chromium-nickel steel is corrosion resistant in the molten alkali only in the inert atmosphere. Corrosion rate of chromium-nickel alloy is the lower the less chromium and the more nickel it contains. For the small installations the 4Kh18N25S2 and Kh23N28M3D3T steels can be recommended

  11. Analysis of the laminar Newtonian fluid flow through a thin fracture modelled as a fluid-saturated sparsely packed porous medium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pazanin, Igor [Zagreb Univ. (Croatia). Dept. of Mathematics; Siddheshwar, Pradeep G. [Bangalore Univ., Bengaluru (India). Dept. of Mathematics

    2017-06-01

    In this article we investigate the fluid flow through a thin fracture modelled as a fluid-saturated porous medium. We assume that the fracture has constrictions and that the flow is governed by the prescribed pressure drop between the edges of the fracture. The problem is described by the Darcy-Lapwood-Brinkman model acknowledging the Brinkman extension of the Darcy law as well as the flow inertia. Using asymptotic analysis with respect to the thickness of the fracture, we derive the explicit higher-order approximation for the velocity distribution. We make an error analysis to comment on the order of accuracy of the method used and also to provide rigorous justification for the model.

  12. Numerical simulation methods for phase-transitional flow

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pecenko, A.

    2010-01-01

    The object of the present dissertation is a numerical study of multiphase flow of one fluid component. In particular, the research described in this thesis focuses on the development of numerical methods that are based on a diffuse-interface model (DIM). With this approach, the modeling problem

  13. Systems and methods for the detection of low-level harmful substances in a large volume of fluid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpenter, Michael V.; Roybal, Lyle G.; Lindquist, Alan; Gallardo, Vincente

    2016-03-15

    A method and device for the detection of low-level harmful substances in a large volume of fluid comprising using a concentrator system to produce a retentate and analyzing the retentate for the presence of at least one harmful substance. The concentrator system performs a method comprising pumping at least 10 liters of fluid from a sample source through a filter. While pumping, the concentrator system diverts retentate from the filter into a container. The concentrator system also recirculates at least part of the retentate in the container again through the filter. The concentrator system controls the speed of the pump with a control system thereby maintaining a fluid pressure less than 25 psi during the pumping of the fluid; monitors the quantity of retentate within the container with a control system, and maintains a reduced volume level of retentate and a target volume of retentate.

  14. A mass-conserving lattice Boltzmann method with dynamic grid refinement for immiscible two-phase flows

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fakhari, Abbas, E-mail: afakhari@nd.edu [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (United States); Geier, Martin [TU Braunschweig, Institute for Computational Modeling in Civil Engineering (iRMB), TU-Braunschweig, Pockelsstr. 3, 38106 Braunschweig (Germany); Lee, Taehun [Department of Mechanical Engineering, The City College of the City University of New York, New York, NY 10031 (United States)

    2016-06-15

    A mass-conserving lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for multiphase flows is presented in this paper. The proposed LBM improves a previous model (Lee and Liu, 2010 [21]) in terms of mass conservation, speed-up, and efficiency, and also extends its capabilities for implementation on non-uniform grids. The presented model consists of a phase-field lattice Boltzmann equation (LBE) for tracking the interface between different fluids and a pressure-evolution LBM for recovering the hydrodynamic properties. In addition to the mass conservation property and the simplicity of the algorithm, the advantages of the current phase-field LBE are that it is an order of magnitude faster than the previous interface tracking LBE proposed by Lee and Liu (2010) [21] and it requires less memory resources for data storage. Meanwhile, the pressure-evolution LBM is equipped with a multi-relaxation-time (MRT) collision operator to facilitate attainability of small relaxation rates thereby allowing simulation of multiphase flows at higher Reynolds numbers. Additionally, we reformulate the presented MRT-LBM on nonuniform grids within an adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) framework. Various benchmark studies such as a rising bubble and a falling drop under buoyancy, droplet splashing on a wet surface, and droplet coalescence onto a fluid interface are conducted to examine the accuracy and versatility of the proposed AMR-LBM. The proposed model is further validated by comparing the results with other LB models on uniform grids. A factor of about 20 in savings of computational resources is achieved by using the proposed AMR-LBM. As a more demanding application, the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI) of a shear-layer flow is investigated for both density-matched and density-stratified binary fluids. The KHI results of the density-matched fluids are shown to be in good agreement with the benchmark AMR results based on the sharp-interface approach. When a density contrast between the two fluids exists, a

  15. A mass-conserving lattice Boltzmann method with dynamic grid refinement for immiscible two-phase flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fakhari, Abbas; Geier, Martin; Lee, Taehun

    2016-01-01

    A mass-conserving lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for multiphase flows is presented in this paper. The proposed LBM improves a previous model (Lee and Liu, 2010 [21]) in terms of mass conservation, speed-up, and efficiency, and also extends its capabilities for implementation on non-uniform grids. The presented model consists of a phase-field lattice Boltzmann equation (LBE) for tracking the interface between different fluids and a pressure-evolution LBM for recovering the hydrodynamic properties. In addition to the mass conservation property and the simplicity of the algorithm, the advantages of the current phase-field LBE are that it is an order of magnitude faster than the previous interface tracking LBE proposed by Lee and Liu (2010) [21] and it requires less memory resources for data storage. Meanwhile, the pressure-evolution LBM is equipped with a multi-relaxation-time (MRT) collision operator to facilitate attainability of small relaxation rates thereby allowing simulation of multiphase flows at higher Reynolds numbers. Additionally, we reformulate the presented MRT-LBM on nonuniform grids within an adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) framework. Various benchmark studies such as a rising bubble and a falling drop under buoyancy, droplet splashing on a wet surface, and droplet coalescence onto a fluid interface are conducted to examine the accuracy and versatility of the proposed AMR-LBM. The proposed model is further validated by comparing the results with other LB models on uniform grids. A factor of about 20 in savings of computational resources is achieved by using the proposed AMR-LBM. As a more demanding application, the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI) of a shear-layer flow is investigated for both density-matched and density-stratified binary fluids. The KHI results of the density-matched fluids are shown to be in good agreement with the benchmark AMR results based on the sharp-interface approach. When a density contrast between the two fluids exists, a

  16. Influence of radiation dose and iterative reconstruction algorithms for measurement accuracy and reproducibility of pulmonary nodule volumetry: A phantom study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyungjin; Park, Chang Min; Song, Yong Sub; Lee, Sang Min; Goo, Jin Mo

    2014-05-01

    To evaluate the influence of radiation dose settings and reconstruction algorithms on the measurement accuracy and reproducibility of semi-automated pulmonary nodule volumetry. CT scans were performed on a chest phantom containing various nodules (10 and 12mm; +100, -630 and -800HU) at 120kVp with tube current-time settings of 10, 20, 50, and 100mAs. Each CT was reconstructed using filtered back projection (FBP), iDose(4) and iterative model reconstruction (IMR). Semi-automated volumetry was performed by two radiologists using commercial volumetry software for nodules at each CT dataset. Noise, contrast-to-noise ratio and signal-to-noise ratio of CT images were also obtained. The absolute percentage measurement errors and differences were then calculated for volume and mass. The influence of radiation dose and reconstruction algorithm on measurement accuracy, reproducibility and objective image quality metrics was analyzed using generalized estimating equations. Measurement accuracy and reproducibility of nodule volume and mass were not significantly associated with CT radiation dose settings or reconstruction algorithms (p>0.05). Objective image quality metrics of CT images were superior in IMR than in FBP or iDose(4) at all radiation dose settings (pvolumetry can be applied to low- or ultralow-dose chest CT with usage of a novel iterative reconstruction algorithm without losing measurement accuracy and reproducibility. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Quantification accuracy and partial volume effect in dependence of the attenuation correction of a state-of-the-art small animal PET scanner

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mannheim, Julia G; Judenhofer, Martin S; Schmid, Andreas; Pichler, Bernd J; Tillmanns, Julia; Stiller, Detlef; Sossi, Vesna

    2012-01-01

    Quantification accuracy and partial volume effect (PVE) of the Siemens Inveon PET scanner were evaluated. The influence of transmission source activities (40 and 160 MBq) on the quantification accuracy and the PVE were determined. Dynamic range, object size and PVE for different sphere sizes, contrast ratios and positions in the field of view (FOV) were evaluated. The acquired data were reconstructed using different algorithms and correction methods. The activity level of the transmission source and the total emission activity in the FOV strongly influenced the attenuation maps. Reconstruction algorithms, correction methods, object size and location within the FOV had a strong influence on the PVE in all configurations. All evaluated parameters potentially influence the quantification accuracy. Hence, all protocols should be kept constant during a study to allow a comparison between different scans. (paper)

  18. SOLA-VOF: a solution algorithm for transient fluid flow with multiple free boundaries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nichols, B.D.; Hirt, C.W.; Hotchkiss, R.S.

    1980-08-01

    In this report a simple, but powerful, computer program is presented for the solution of two-dimensional transient fluid flow with free boundaries. The SOLA-VOF program, which is based on the concept of a fractional volume of fluid (VOF), is more flexible and efficient than other methods for treating arbitrary free boundaries. SOLA-VOF has a variety of user options that provide capabilities for a wide range of applications. Its basic mode of operation is for single fluid calculations having multiple free surfaces. However, SOLA-VOF can also be used for calculations involving two fluids separated by a sharp interface. In either case, the fluids may be treated as incompressible or as having limited compressibility. Surface tension forces with wall adhesion are permitted in both cases. Internal obstacles may be defined by blocking out any desired combination of cells in the mesh, which is composed of rectangular cells of variable size. SOLA-VOF is an easy-to-use program. Its logical parts are isolated in separate subroutines, and numerous special features have been included to simplify its operation, such as an automatic time-step control, a flexible mesh generator, extensive output capabilities, a variety of optional boundary conditions, and instructive internal documentation

  19. An intravenous isotope method for measuring regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and volume (rCBV)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuikka, J.; Ahonen, A.; Koivula, A.; Kallanranta, T.; Laitinen, J.

    1977-01-01

    The regional cerebal blood flow (rCBF), initial slope index (ISI), transfer time (t - sub(h)) and volume (rCBV) were measured simultaneously in 43 hospital patients using a 133 Xe intravenous injection method and quantitative dynamic 99 Tcsup(m) brain scintigraphy. The measurements were made with a gamma camera and the data processing interfaced with a small digital computer. The mean values and standard deviations were obtained from 50 control hemispheres standardized to the age of 40 years. Good agreement was found between the blood flow values determined from the intra-arterial and intravenous injection techniques. (author)

  20. Effect of Temperature and Fluid Flow on Dendrite Growth During Solidification of Al-3 Wt Pct Cu Alloy by the Two-Dimensional Cellular Automaton Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Cheng; Wei, Yanhong; Liu, Renpei; Yu, Fengyi

    2017-12-01

    A two-dimensional cellular automaton-finite volume model was developed to simulate dendrite growth of Al-3 wt pct Cu alloy during solidification to investigate the effect of temperature and fluid flow on dendrite morphology, solute concentration distribution, and dendrite growth velocity. Different calculation conditions that may influence the results of the simulation, including temperature and flow, were considered. The model was also employed to study the effect of different undercoolings, applied temperature fields, and forced flow velocities on solute segregation and dendrite growth. The initial temperature and fluid flow have a significant impact on the dendrite morphologies and solute profiles during solidification. The release of energy is operated with solidification and results in the increase of temperature. A larger undercooling leads to larger solute concentration near the solid/liquid interface and solute concentration gradient at the same time-step. Solute concentration in the solid region tends to increase with the increase of undercooling. Four vortexes appear under the condition when natural flow exists: the two on the right of the dendrite rotate clockwise, and those on the left of the dendrite rotate counterclockwise. With the increase of forced flow velocity, the rejected solute in the upstream region becomes easier to be washed away and enriched in the downstream region, resulting in acceleration of the growth of the dendrite in the upstream and inhibiting the downstream dendrite growth. The dendrite perpendicular to fluid flow shows a coarser morphology in the upstream region than that of the downstream. Almost no secondary dendrite appears during the calculation process.

  1. Contribution to the study of techniques of measurement of interface surface area in bubble flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Veteau, Jean-Michel

    1981-01-01

    This research thesis addresses problems raised by the measurement of the interface area per volume unit in duct bubble flows. The author first reports a literature survey of existing methods (photographic, chemical and optical methods) which give access to the value of the parameter which is commonly named 'specific surface area'. He analyses under which conditions these methods lead to a rigorous determination of the SVIM (mean integral volume surface). The author highlights the theoretical contributions of models related to each of these methods which are indeed global methods as they allow the interface surface area to be directly obtained in a given volume of a two-phase mixture. Then, the author reports the development of an original technique based on the use of phase detecting local probes. In the next part, the author compares photographic and optical methods, on the one hand, and optical and local methods, on the other hand. Recommendations are made for the development of local methods [fr

  2. Thermal conversion of waste polyolefins to the mixture of hydrocarbons in the reactor with molten metal bed

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stelmachowski, M. [Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Lodz, 90-924 Lodz, Wolczanska 213 (Poland)

    2010-10-15

    Energy crisis and environmental degradation by polymer wastes have been imperative to find and propose technologies for recovery of raw materials and energy from non-conventional sources like organic wastes, plastic wastes, scrap tires, etc. A variety of methods and processes connected with global or national policies have been proposed worldwide. A new type of a tubular reactor with the molten metal bed is proposed for conversion of waste plastics to fuel-like mixture of hydrocarbons. The results of the thermal degradation of polyolefins in the laboratory scale set-up based on this reactor are presented in the paper. The melting and cracking processes were carried out in a single apparatus at the temperature 390-420 C. The problems with: disintegration of wastes, heat transfer from the wall to the particles of polymers, cooking at the walls of reactor, and mixing of the molten volume of wastes were significantly reduced. The final product consisted of gaseous stream (8-16 wt% of the input) and liquid (84-92 wt%) stream. No solid products were produced. The light, ''gasoline'' fraction of the liquid hydrocarbons mixture (C{sub 4}-C{sub 10}) made over 50% of the liquid product. It may by used for fuel production or electricity generation. (author)

  3. Thermal conversion of waste polyolefins to the mixture of hydrocarbons in the reactor with molten metal bed

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stelmachowski, M.

    2010-01-01

    Energy crisis and environmental degradation by polymer wastes have been imperative to find and propose technologies for recovery of raw materials and energy from non-conventional sources like organic wastes, plastic wastes, scrap tires, etc. A variety of methods and processes connected with global or national policies have been proposed worldwide. A new type of a tubular reactor with the molten metal bed is proposed for conversion of waste plastics to fuel like mixture of hydrocarbons. The results of the thermal degradation of polyolefins in the laboratory scale set-up based on this reactor are presented in the paper. The melting and cracking processes were carried out in a single apparatus at the temperature 390-420 deg. C. The problems with: disintegration of wastes, heat transfer from the wall to the particles of polymers, cooking at the walls of reactor, and mixing of the molten volume of wastes were significantly reduced. The final product consisted of gaseous stream (8-16 wt% of the input) and liquid (84-92 wt%) stream. No solid products were produced. The light, 'gasoline' fraction of the liquid hydrocarbons mixture (C 4 -C 10 ) made over 50% of the liquid product. It may by used for fuel production or electricity generation.

  4. Method of measuring the mass flow rate of a substance entering a cocurrent fluid stream

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cochran, H.D. Jr.

    1978-01-01

    An improved method of monitoring the mass flow rate of a substance entering a coherent fluid stream is described. The method very basically consists of heating equal sections of the fluid stream above and below the point of entry of the substance to be monitored, and measuring and comparing the resulting change in temperature of the sections. Advantage is taken of the difference in thermal characteristics of the fluid and the substance to be measured to correlate temperature differences in the sections above and below the substance feed point for providing an indication of the mass flow rate of the substance

  5. Noninvasive measurement of cerebrospinal fluid flow using an ultrasonic transit time flow sensor: a preliminary study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pennell, Thomas; Yi, Juneyoung L; Kaufman, Bruce A; Krishnamurthy, Satish

    2016-03-01

    OBJECT Mechanical failure-which is the primary cause of CSF shunt malfunction-is not readily diagnosed, and the specific reasons for mechanical failure are not easily discerned. Prior attempts to measure CSF flow noninvasively have lacked the ability to either quantitatively or qualitatively obtain data. To address these needs, this preliminary study evaluates an ultrasonic transit time flow sensor in pediatric and adult patients with external ventricular drains (EVDs). One goal was to confirm the stated accuracy of the sensor in a clinical setting. A second goal was to observe the sensor's capability to record real-time continuous CSF flow. The final goal was to observe recordings during instances of flow blockage or lack of flow in order to determine the sensor's ability to identify these changes. METHODS A total of 5 pediatric and 11 adult patients who had received EVDs for the treatment of hydrocephalus were studied in a hospital setting. The primary EVD was connected to a secondary study EVD that contained a fluid-filled pressure transducer and an in-line transit time flow sensor. Comparisons were made between the weight of the drainage bag and the flow measured via the sensor in order to confirm its accuracy. Data from the pressure transducer and the flow sensor were recorded continuously at 100 Hz for a period of 24 hours by a data acquisition system, while the hourly CSF flow into the drip chamber was recorded manually. Changes in the patient's neurological status and their time points were noted. RESULTS The flow sensor demonstrated a proven accuracy of ± 15% or ± 2 ml/hr. The flow sensor allowed real-time continuous flow waveform data recordings. Dynamic analysis of CSF flow waveforms allowed the calculation of the pressure-volume index. Lastly, the sensor was able to diagnose a blocked catheter and distinguish between the blockage and lack of flow. CONCLUSIONS The Transonic flow sensor accurately measures CSF output within ± 15% or ± 2 ml

  6. The electrochemical reduction processes of solid compounds in high temperature molten salts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Wei; Wang, Dihua

    2014-05-21

    Solid electrode processes fall in the central focus of electrochemistry due to their broad-based applications in electrochemical energy storage/conversion devices, sensors and electrochemical preparation. The electrolytic production of metals, alloys, semiconductors and oxides via the electrochemical reduction of solid compounds (especially solid oxides) in high temperature molten salts has been well demonstrated to be an effective and environmentally friendly process for refractory metal extraction, functional materials preparation as well as spent fuel reprocessing. The (electro)chemical reduction of solid compounds under cathodic polarizations generally accompanies a variety of changes at the cathode/melt electrochemical interface which result in diverse electrolytic products with different compositions, morphologies and microstructures. This report summarizes various (electro)chemical reactions taking place at the compound cathode/melt interface during the electrochemical reduction of solid compounds in molten salts, which mainly include: (1) the direct electro-deoxidation of solid oxides; (2) the deposition of the active metal together with the electrochemical reduction of solid oxides; (3) the electro-inclusion of cations from molten salts; (4) the dissolution-electrodeposition process, and (5) the electron hopping process and carbon deposition with the utilization of carbon-based anodes. The implications of the forenamed cathodic reactions on the energy efficiency, chemical compositions and microstructures of the electrolytic products are also discussed. We hope that a comprehensive understanding of the cathodic processes during the electrochemical reduction of solid compounds in molten salts could form a basis for developing a clean, energy efficient and affordable production process for advanced/engineering materials.

  7. Steady state investigation on neutronics of a molten salt reactor considering the flow effect of fuel salt

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    ZHANG Da-Lin; QIU Sui-Zheng; LIU Chang-Liang; SU Guang-Hui

    2008-01-01

    The Molten Salt Reactor (MSR),one of the‘Generation Ⅳ'concepts,is a liquid-fuel reactor,which is different from the conventional reactors using solid fissile materials due to the flow effect of fuel salt.The study on its neutronice considering the fuel salt flow,which is the base of the thermal-hydraulic calculation and safety analysis,must be done.In this paper,the theoretical model on neutronics under steady condition for a single-liquid-fueled MSR is conducted and calculated by numerical method.The neutronics model consists of two group neutron diffusion equations for fast and thermal neutron fluxes,and balance equations for six-group delayed neutron precursors considering the flow effect of fuel salt. The spatial discretization of the above models is based on the finite volume method,and the discretization equations are computed by the source iteration method.The distributions of neutron fluxes and the distributions of the delayed neutron precursors in the core are obtained.The numerical calculated results show that,the fuel salt flow has little effect on the distribution of fast and thermal neutron fluxes and the effective multiplication factor;however,it affects the distribution of the delayed neutron precursors significantly,especially the long-lived one.In addition,it could be found that the delayed neutron precursors influence the nentronics slightly under the steady condition.

  8. Steady state investigation on neutronics of a molten salt reactor considering the flow effect of fuel salt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Dalin; Qiu Suizheng; Su Guanghui; Liu Changliang

    2008-01-01

    The Molten Salt Reactor (MSR), one of the 'Generation IV' concepts, is a liquid-fuel reactor, which is different from the conventional reactors using solid fissile materials due to the flow effect of fuel salt. The study on its neutronics considering the fuel salt flow, which is the base of the thermal-hydraulic calculation and safety analysis, must be done. In this paper, the theoretical model on neutronics under steady condition for a single-liquid-fueled MSR is conducted and calculated by numerical method. The neutronics model consists of two group neutron diffusion equations for fast and thermal neutron fluxes, and balance equations for six-group delayed neutron precursors considering the flow effect of fuel salt. The spatial discretization of the above models is based on the finite volume method, and the discretization equations are computed by the source iteration method. The distributions of neutron fluxes and the distributions of the delayed neutron precursors in the core are obtained. The numerical calculated results show that, the fuel salt flow has little effect on the distribution of fast and thermal neutron fluxes and the effective multiplication factor; however, it affects the distribution of the delayed neutron precursors significantly, especially the long-lived one. In addition, it could be found that the delayed neutron precursors influence the neutronics slightly under the steady condition. (authors)

  9. Wetting of a Charged Surface of Glassy Carbon by Molten Alkali-Metal Chlorides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stepanov, V. P.

    2018-03-01

    Values of the contact angle of wetting of a surface of glassy carbon by molten chlorides of lithium, sodium, potassium, and cesium are measured by the meniscus weight method to determine the common factors of wettability of solid surfaces by ionic melts upon a change in the salt phase composition and a jump in electric potential. It is found that with a potential shift in the positive direction the shape of the curve of the contact angle's dependence on the potential varies upon substitution of one salt by another: the angle of wetting shrinks monotonously in lithium chloride but remains constant in molten cesium chloride. This phenomenon is explained by the hypothesis that the nature of the halide anion adsorption on the positively charged surface of an electrode is chemical and not electrostatic. It is shown that the adsorption process is accompanied by charge transfer through the interface, with covalent bonding between the adsorbent and adsorbate.

  10. Electrification of particulate entrained fluid flows-Mechanisms, applications, and numerical methodology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Wei; Gu, Zhaolin

    2015-10-01

    Particulates in natural and industrial flows have two basic forms: liquid (droplet) and solid (particle). Droplets would be charged in the presence of the applied electric field (e.g. electrospray). Similar to the droplet charging, particles can also be charged under the external electric field (e.g. electrostatic precipitator), while in the absence of external electric field, tribo-electrostatic charging is almost unavoidable in gas-solid two-phase flows due to the consecutive particle contacts (e.g. electrostatic in fluidized bed or wind-blown sand). The particle charging may be beneficial, or detrimental. Although electrostatics in particulate entrained fluid flow systems have been so widely used and concerned, the mechanisms of particulate charging are still lack of a thorough understanding. The motivation of this review is to explore a clear understanding of particulate charging and movement of charged particulate in two-phase flows, by summarizing the electrification mechanisms, physical models of particulate charging, and methods of charging/charged particulate entrained fluid flow simulations. Two effective methods can make droplets charged in industrial applications: corona charging and induction charging. The droplet charge to mass ratio by corona charging is more than induction discharge. The particle charging through collisions could be attributed to electron transfer, ion transfer, material transfer, and/or aqueous ion shift on particle surfaces. The charges on charged particulate surface can be measured, nevertheless, the charging process in nature or industry is difficult to monitor. The simulation method might build a bridge of investigating from the charging process to finally charged state on particulate surface in particulate entrained fluid flows. The methodology combining the interface tracking under the action of the applied electric with the fluid flow governing equations is applicable to the study of electrohydrodynamics problems. The charge

  11. Analytical solution of laminar-laminar stratified two-phase flows with curved interfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brauner, N.; Rovinsky, J.; Maron, D.M.

    1995-01-01

    The present study represents a complete analytical solution for laminar two-phase flows with curved interfaces. The solution of the Navier-Stokes equations for the two-phases in bipolar coordinates provides the 'flow monograms' describe the relation between the interface curvature and the insitu flow geometry when given the phases flow rates and viscosity ratios. Energy considerations are employed to construct the 'interface monograms', whereby the characteristic interfacial curvature is determined in terms of the phases insitu holdup, pipe diameter, surface tension, fluids/wall adhesion and gravitation. The two monograms are then combined to construct the system 'operational monogram'. The 'operational monogram' enables the determination of the interface configuration, the local flow characteristics, such as velocity profiles, wall and interfacial shear stresses distribution as well as the integral characteristics of the two-phase flow: phases insitu holdup and pressure drop

  12. Analytical solution of laminar-laminar stratified two-phase flows with curved interfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brauner, N.; Rovinsky, J.; Maron, D.M. [Tel-Aviv Univ. (Israel)

    1995-09-01

    The present study represents a complete analytical solution for laminar two-phase flows with curved interfaces. The solution of the Navier-Stokes equations for the two-phases in bipolar coordinates provides the `flow monograms` describe the relation between the interface curvature and the insitu flow geometry when given the phases flow rates and viscosity ratios. Energy considerations are employed to construct the `interface monograms`, whereby the characteristic interfacial curvature is determined in terms of the phases insitu holdup, pipe diameter, surface tension, fluids/wall adhesion and gravitation. The two monograms are then combined to construct the system `operational monogram`. The `operational monogram` enables the determination of the interface configuration, the local flow characteristics, such as velocity profiles, wall and interfacial shear stresses distribution as well as the integral characteristics of the two-phase flow: phases insitu holdup and pressure drop.

  13. A matrix-free implicit unstructured multigrid finite volume method for simulating structural dynamics and fluid structure interaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lv, X.; Zhao, Y.; Huang, X. Y.; Xia, G. H.; Su, X. H.

    2007-07-01

    A new three-dimensional (3D) matrix-free implicit unstructured multigrid finite volume (FV) solver for structural dynamics is presented in this paper. The solver is first validated using classical 2D and 3D cantilever problems. It is shown that very accurate predictions of the fundamental natural frequencies of the problems can be obtained by the solver with fast convergence rates. This method has been integrated into our existing FV compressible solver [X. Lv, Y. Zhao, et al., An efficient parallel/unstructured-multigrid preconditioned implicit method for simulating 3d unsteady compressible flows with moving objects, Journal of Computational Physics 215(2) (2006) 661-690] based on the immersed membrane method (IMM) [X. Lv, Y. Zhao, et al., as mentioned above]. Results for the interaction between the fluid and an immersed fixed-free cantilever are also presented to demonstrate the potential of this integrated fluid-structure interaction approach.

  14. The electrodeposition and rare earths reduction in the molten salt actinides recovery systems using liquid metal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shim, J-B.; Lee, J-H.; Kwon, S-W.; Ahn, B-G.; Woo, M-S.; Lee, B-J.; Kim, E-H.; Park, H-S.; Yoo, J-H.

    2005-01-01

    A pyrochemical partitioning system uses liquid metals such as cadmium and bismuth in order to recover the actinide metals from a molten salt mixture containing rare earth fission product metals. The liquid metals play roles as a cathode in the electrowinning or an extracting phase in the reductive extraction operation. The product resulting from the above operations is metal-cadmium or-bismuth alloy, which should contain the rare earth element amounts as low as possible for a transmutation purpose. In this study, the electrodeposition behaviours of uranium and lanthanide elements such as La, Ce and Nd were investigated for solid molybdenum and liquid cadmium electrodes in a molten LiCl-KCl eutectic salt. Electrochemical methods used are a cyclic voltammetry (CV) and a chronopotentiometry for monitoring the salt phase and recovering the metals, respectively. The CV graphs for monitoring the oxidizing agent CdCl 2 in the salt phase were obtained. These show a time dependently disappearance of the oxidizing agent corresponding to the formation of UCl 3 by inserting the uranium metal into the salt. Also, a sequential oxidation technique which is added at a controlled amount of the oxidizing agents into the salt phase was applied. It was found that this method is feasible for the selective reduction of the rare earths content in liquid metal alloys. (author)

  15. PVR: Patch-to-Volume Reconstruction for Large Area Motion Correction of Fetal MRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alansary, Amir; Rajchl, Martin; McDonagh, Steven G; Murgasova, Maria; Damodaram, Mellisa; Lloyd, David F A; Davidson, Alice; Rutherford, Mary; Hajnal, Joseph V; Rueckert, Daniel; Kainz, Bernhard

    2017-10-01

    In this paper, we present a novel method for the correction of motion artifacts that are present in fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the whole uterus. Contrary to current slice-to-volume registration (SVR) methods, requiring an inflexible anatomical enclosure of a single investigated organ, the proposed patch-to-volume reconstruction (PVR) approach is able to reconstruct a large field of view of non-rigidly deforming structures. It relaxes rigid motion assumptions by introducing a specific amount of redundant information that is exploited with parallelized patchwise optimization, super-resolution, and automatic outlier rejection. We further describe and provide an efficient parallel implementation of PVR allowing its execution within reasonable time on commercially available graphics processing units, enabling its use in the clinical practice. We evaluate PVR's computational overhead compared with standard methods and observe improved reconstruction accuracy in the presence of affine motion artifacts compared with conventional SVR in synthetic experiments. Furthermore, we have evaluated our method qualitatively and quantitatively on real fetal MRI data subject to maternal breathing and sudden fetal movements. We evaluate peak-signal-to-noise ratio, structural similarity index, and cross correlation with respect to the originally acquired data and provide a method for visual inspection of reconstruction uncertainty. We further evaluate the distance error for selected anatomical landmarks in the fetal head, as well as calculating the mean and maximum displacements resulting from automatic non-rigid registration to a motion-free ground truth image. These experiments demonstrate a successful application of PVR motion compensation to the whole fetal body, uterus, and placenta.

  16. Modeling of flow of particles in a non-Newtonian fluid using lattice Boltzmann method

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skocek, Jan; Svec, Oldrich; Spangenberg, Jon

    2011-01-01

    is necessary. In this contribution, the model at the scale of aggregates is introduced. The conventional lattice Boltzmann method for fluid flow is enriched with the immersed boundary method with direct forcing to simulate the flow of rigid particles in a non- Newtonian liquid. Basic ingredients of the model...

  17. Extended two-fluid model for simulating magneto-rheological fluid flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shivaram, A C

    2011-01-01

    The current practice of designing magneto-rheological (MR) fluid-based devices is, to a large extent, based on simple phenomenological models like the Bingham model. Though useful for initial force or torque estimation and sizing, these models lack the capability to predict performance degradation due to changes in the particle volume fraction distribution. The present work demonstrates the use of the two-fluid model for predicting the particle volume fraction distribution inside a device in the absence of a field and proposes a novel modeling scheme which can simulate the fluid flow in the presence of a field. This modeling scheme can be used to (a) visualize flow patterns inside a device under various operating conditions, (b) predict the spatial distribution of particles inside a device after multiple operating cycles, (c) assist in estimating the extent of performance degradation due to non-uniform particle distribution and (d) enable testing of various design strategies to mitigate such performance issues using simulations. This is illustrated through numerical examples of a few case studies of typical MR device configurations

  18. A multi-solver quasi-Newton method for the partitioned simulation of fluid-structure interaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Degroote, J; Annerel, S; Vierendeels, J

    2010-01-01

    In partitioned fluid-structure interaction simulations, the flow equations and the structural equations are solved separately. Consequently, the stresses and displacements on both sides of the fluid-structure interface are not automatically in equilibrium. Coupling techniques like Aitken relaxation and the Interface Block Quasi-Newton method with approximate Jacobians from Least-Squares models (IBQN-LS) enforce this equilibrium, even with black-box solvers. However, all existing coupling techniques use only one flow solver and one structural solver. To benefit from the large number of multi-core processors in modern clusters, a new Multi-Solver Interface Block Quasi-Newton (MS-IBQN-LS) algorithm has been developed. This algorithm uses more than one flow solver and structural solver, each running in parallel on a number of cores. One-dimensional and three-dimensional numerical experiments demonstrate that the run time of a simulation decreases as the number of solvers increases, albeit at a slower pace. Hence, the presented multi-solver algorithm accelerates fluid-structure interaction calculations by increasing the number of solvers, especially when the run time does not decrease further if more cores are used per solver.

  19. Mechanisms controlling the volume of pleural fluid and extravascular lung water

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Miserocchi

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Pleural and interstitial lung fluid volumes are strictly controlled and maintained at the minimum thanks to the ability of lymphatics to match the increase in filtration rate. In the pleural cavity, fluid accumulation is easily accommodated by retraction of lung and chest wall (high compliance of the pleural space; the increase of lymph flow per unit increase in pleural fluid volume is high due to the great extension of the parietal lymphatic. However, for the lung interstitium, the increase in lymph flow to match increased filtration does not need to be so great. In fact, increased filtration only causes a minor increase in extravascular water volume (<10% due to a marked increase in interstitial pulmonary pressure (low compliance of the extracellular matrix which, in turn, buffers further filtration. Accordingly, a less extended lymphatic network is needed. The efficiency of lymphatic control is achieved through a high lymphatic conductance in the pleural fluid and through a low interstitial compliance for the lung interstitium. Fluid volume in both compartments is so strictly controlled that it is difficult to detect initial deviations from the physiological state; thus, a great physiological advantage turns to be a disadvantage on a clinical basis as it prevents an early diagnosis of developing disease.

  20. Application of high-frame-rate neutron radiography to fluid measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mishima, Kaichiro; Hibiki, Takashi

    1997-01-01

    To apply Neutron radiography (NR) technique to multiphase flow research, high frame-rate NR was developed by assembling up-to-date technologies for neutron source, scintillator, high-speed video and image intensifier. This imaging system has several advantages such as a long recording time (up to 21 minutes), high-frame-rate (up to 1000 frames/s) imaging and no need for triggering signal. Visualization studies of air-water two-phase flow in a metallic duct and molten metal-water interaction were performed at the recording speeds of 250, 500 and 1000 frames/s. The qualities of those consecutive images were good enough to observe the flow pattern and behavior. It was demonstrated also that some characteristics of two-phase flow could be measured from those images in collaboration with image processing techniques. By utilizing geometrical information extracted from NR images, data on flow regime, rising velocity of bubbles, and wave height and interfacial area in annular flow could be obtained. By utilizing attenuation characteristics of neutrons in materials, measurements of void profile and average void fraction could be performed. For this purpose, a quantification method, i.e. Σ-scaling method, was proposed based upon the consideration on the effect of scattered neutrons. This method was tested against known void profiles and compared with existing measurement methods and a correlation for void fraction. It was confirmed that this new technique has significant advantages both in visualizing and measuring high-speed fluid phenomena. (J.P.N.)