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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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.

A solution algorithm for fluid–particle flows across all flow regimes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kong, Bo; Fox, Rodney O.

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 closepacked 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 themore » 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.« less

System-focused environmental flow regime prescription, monitoring and adaptive management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hetherington, David; Lexartza Artza, Irantzu

2016-04-01

The definition of appropriate environmental flow regimes through hydropower schemes and water storage reservoirs is key part of mitigation. Insufficient (magnitude and variability) environmental flows can result in much environmental harm with negative impacts being encountered by morphological, ecological and societal systems. Conventionally, environmental flow regimes have been determined by using generic protocols and guidance such as the Tennant method of environmental flow estimation. It is generally accepted that such approaches to minimum environmental flow definition, although being a useful starting point, are not universally applicable across catchment typologies and climatic regions. Such approaches will not always produce conditions that would be associated with 'Good Ecological Status' under the Water framework Directive (or equivalent). Other similar approaches to minimum environmental flow estimation are used that are specific to geographies, yet still the associated guidance rarely thoroughly covers appropriate definition for healthy holistic systems across the flow regime. This paper draws on experience of system-focused environmental flow regime determination in the UK and the Georgian Caucasus Mountains, which allowed for a critical analysis of more conventional methods to be undertaken. The paper describes a recommended approach for determining appropriate environmental flow regimes based on analysis of the impacted geomorphological, ecological and societal systems in a way which is sensitive to the local holistic environment and associated complexities and interactions. The paper suggests that a strong understanding of the local geomorphology in key in predicting how flows will manifest habitat differently across the flow regime, and be spatially dynamic. Additionally, an understanding of the geomorphological system allows the flow of course and fine sediment to be factored into the initial suggested environmental flow regime. It is suggested that more peripheral influencing factors should be given serious consideration when developing environmental flow regimes. These factors could include the development of ice, non-fluvial geomorphic processes such as landslides, connectivity with groundwater and provision for local cottage industries. Even with a thorough appreciation of the holistic system, the value of detailed environmental monitoring and adaptive management plans cannot be underestimated as a means of further managing risk and uncertainty in complex systems. It is suggested that by taking a more holistic and system-focused approach to environmental flow definition, that environmental flow regimes can be tailored to the specificity and complexity of any given location. By improving the way that environmental flow regimes and associated physical mitigation are prescribed, monitored and managed it should be possible to develop more sustainable forms of energy production whilst minimising environmental harm as far as possible.

Scaling analysis of gas-liquid two-phase flow pattern in microgravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Jinho

1993-01-01

A scaling analysis of gas-liquid two-phase flow pattern in microgravity, based on the dominant physical mechanism, was carried out with the goal of predicting the gas-liquid two-phase flow regime in a pipe under conditions of microgravity. The results demonstrated the effect of inlet geometry on the flow regime transition. A comparison of the predictions with existing experimental data showed good agreement.

Predicting streamflow regime metrics for ungauged streamsin Colorado, Washington, and Oregon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanborn, Stephen C.; Bledsoe, Brian P.

2006-06-01

Streamflow prediction in ungauged basins provides essential information for water resources planning and management and ecohydrological studies yet remains a fundamental challenge to the hydrological sciences. A methodology is presented for stratifying streamflow regimes of gauged locations, classifying the regimes of ungauged streams, and developing models for predicting a suite of ecologically pertinent streamflow metrics for these streams. Eighty-four streamflow metrics characterizing various flow regime attributes were computed along with physical and climatic drainage basin characteristics for 150 streams with little or no streamflow modification in Colorado, Washington, and Oregon. The diverse hydroclimatology of the study area necessitates flow regime stratification and geographically independent clusters were identified and used to develop separate predictive models for each flow regime type. Multiple regression models for flow magnitude, timing, and rate of change metrics were quite accurate with many adjusted R2 values exceeding 0.80, while models describing streamflow variability did not perform as well. Separate stratification schemes for high, low, and average flows did not considerably improve models for metrics describing those particular aspects of the regime over a scheme based on the entire flow regime. Models for streams identified as 'snowmelt' type were improved if sites in Colorado and the Pacific Northwest were separated to better stratify the processes driving streamflow in these regions thus revealing limitations of geographically independent streamflow clusters. This study demonstrates that a broad suite of ecologically relevant streamflow characteristics can be accurately modeled across large heterogeneous regions using this framework. Applications of the resulting models include stratifying biomonitoring sites and quantifying linkages between specific aspects of flow regimes and aquatic community structure. In particular, the results bode well for modeling ecological processes related to high-flow magnitude, timing, and rate of change such as the recruitment of fish and riparian vegetation across large regions.

Simulating rotating fluid bodies: When is vorticity generation via density-stratification important?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evonuk, M.; Samuel, H.

2012-04-01

Differential rotation is one of the key components needed to maintain a magnetic dynamo, therefore it is important to understand the processes that generate differential rotation in rotating bodies. In a rotating density-stratified fluid, local vorticity generation occurs as fluid parcels move radially, expanding or contracting with respect to the background density stratification. The convergence of this vorticity forms zonal flow structures as a function of the radius and the slope of the background density profile. While this effect is thought to be of importance in bodies that are quickly rotating and highly turbulent with large density stratifications such as Jupiter, it is generally neglected in bodies such as the Earth's outer core, where the density change is small. Simulations of thermal convection in the 2D rotating equatorial plane are conducted to determine the parameter regime where local vorticity generation plays a significant role in organizing the fluid flow. Three regimes are found: a dipolar flow regime, where the flow is not organized by the rotation, a transitional flow regime, and a differential flow regime, where the flow is strongly organized into differential rotation with multiple jets. A scaling law is determined based on the convective Rossby number and the density contrast across the equatorial plane, providing a simple way to determine in which regime a given body lies. While a giant planet such as Jupiter lies firmly in the differential flow regime as expected, the Earth's outer core is also found to lie in the differential flow regime indicating that, even in the Earth's outer core, where the density contrast is small, vorticity contributions via fluid movement through the density stratification may be non-negligible.

Simulating rotating fluid bodies: When is vorticity generation via density-stratification important?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evonuk, M.; Samuel, H.

2012-12-01

Differential rotation is one of the key components needed to maintain a magnetic dynamo, therefore it is important to understand the processes that generate differential rotation in rotating bodies. In a rotating density-stratified fluid, local vorticity generation occurs as fluid parcels move radially, expanding or contracting with respect to the background density stratification. The convergence of this vorticity forms zonal flow structures as a function of the radius and the slope of the background density profile. While this effect is thought to be of importance in bodies that are quickly rotating and highly turbulent with large density stratifications such as Jupiter, it is generally neglected in bodies such as the Earth's outer core, where the density change is small. Simulations of thermal convection in the 2D rotating equatorial plane are conducted to determine the parameter regime where local vorticity generation plays a significant role in organizing the fluid flow. Three regimes are found: a dipolar flow regime, where the flow is not organized by the rotation, a transitional flow regime, and a differential flow regime, where the flow is strongly organized into differential rotation with multiple jets. A scaling law is determined based on the convective Rossby number and the density contrast across the equatorial plane, providing a simple way to determine in which regime a given body lies. While a giant planet such as Jupiter lies firmly in the differential flow regime as expected, the Earth's outer core is also found to lie in the differential flow regime indicating that, even in the Earth's outer core, where the density contrast is small, vorticity contributions via fluid movement through the density stratification may be non-negligible.

Simulating rotating fluid bodies: When is vorticity generation via density-stratification important?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evonuk, M.; Samuel, H.

2012-02-01

Differential rotation is one of the key components needed to maintain a magnetic dynamo, therefore it is important to understand the processes that generate differential rotation in rotating bodies. In a rotating density-stratified fluid, local vorticity generation occurs as fluid parcels move radially, expanding or contracting with respect to the background density stratification. The convergence of this vorticity forms zonal flow structures as a function of the radius and the slope of the background density profile. While this effect is thought to be of importance in bodies that are quickly rotating and highly turbulent with large density stratifications such as Jupiter, it is generally neglected in bodies such as the Earth's outer core, where the density change is small. Simulations of thermal convection in the 2D rotating equatorial plane are conducted to determine the parameter regime where local vorticity generation plays a significant role in organizing the fluid flow. Three regimes are found: a dipolar flow regime, where the flow is not organized by the rotation, a transitional flow regime, and a differential flow regime, where the flow is strongly organized into differential rotation with multiple jets. A scaling law is determined based on the convective Rossby number and the density contrast across the equatorial plane, providing a simple way to determine in which regime a given body lies. While a giant planet such as Jupiter lies firmly in the differential flow regime as expected, the Earth's outer core is also found to lie in the differential flow regime indicating that, even in the Earth's outer core, where the density contrast is small, vorticity contributions via fluid movement through the density stratificationmay be non-negligible.

Prediction of gas-liquid two-phase flow regime in microgravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Jinho; Platt, Jonathan A.

1993-01-01

An attempt is made to predict gas-liquid two-phase flow regime in a pipe in a microgravity environment through scaling analysis based on dominant physical mechanisms. Simple inlet geometry is adopted in the analysis to see the effect of inlet configuration on flow regime transitions. Comparison of the prediction with the existing experimental data shows good agreement, though more work is required to better define some physical parameters. The analysis clarifies much of the physics involved in this problem and can be applied to other configurations.

Hydrological and hydroclimatic regimes in the Ouergha watershed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Msatef, Karim; Benaabidate, Lahcen; Bouignane, Aziz

2018-05-01

This work consists in studying the hydrological and hydroclimatic regime of the Ouergha watershed and frequency analysis of extreme flows and extreme rainfall for peak estimation and return periods, in order to prevention and forecasting against risks (flood...). Hydrological regime analysis showed a regime of the rain type, characterized by rainfed abundance with very high winter flows, so strong floods. The annual module and the different coefficients show hydroclimatic fluctuations in relation to a semihumid climate. The water balance has highlighted the importance of the volumes of water conveyed upstream than downstream, thus confirming the morphometric parameters of watershed and the lithological nature. Frequency study of flows and extreme rainfall showed that these flows governed by dissymmetrical laws based on methods Gumbel, GEV, Gamma and Log Pearson III.

A Risk-Based Ecohydrological Approach to Assessing Environmental Flow Regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mcgregor, Glenn B.; Marshall, Jonathan C.; Lobegeiger, Jaye S.; Holloway, Dean; Menke, Norbert; Coysh, Julie

2018-03-01

For several decades there has been recognition that water resource development alters river flow regimes and impacts ecosystem values. Determining strategies to protect or restore flow regimes to achieve ecological outcomes is a focus of water policy and legislation in many parts of the world. However, consideration of existing environmental flow assessment approaches for application in Queensland identified deficiencies precluding their adoption. Firstly, in managing flows and using ecosystem condition as an indicator of effectiveness, many approaches ignore the fact that river ecosystems are subjected to threatening processes other than flow regime alteration. Secondly, many focus on providing flows for responses without considering how often they are necessary to sustain ecological values in the long-term. Finally, few consider requirements at spatial-scales relevant to the desired outcomes, with frequent focus on individual places rather than the regions supporting sustainability. Consequently, we developed a risk-based ecohydrological approach that identifies ecosystem values linked to desired ecological outcomes, is sensitive to flow alteration and uses indicators of broader ecosystem requirements. Monitoring and research is undertaken to quantify flow-dependencies and ecological modelling is used to quantify flow-related ecological responses over an historical flow period. The relative risk from different flow management scenarios can be evaluated at relevant spatial-scales. This overcomes the deficiencies identified above and provides a robust and useful foundation upon which to build the information needed to support water planning decisions. Application of the risk assessment approach is illustrated here by two case studies.

Two-phase flow characterization based on advanced instrumentation, neural networks, and mathematical modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mi, Ye

1998-12-01

The major objective of this thesis is focused on theoretical and experimental investigations of identifying and characterizing vertical and horizontal flow regimes in two-phase flows. A methodology of flow regime identification with impedance-based neural network systems and a comprehensive model of vertical slug flow have been developed. Vertical slug flow has been extensively investigated and characterized with geometric, kinematic and hydrodynamic parameters. A multi-sensor impedance void-meter and a multi-sensor magnetic flowmeter were developed. The impedance void-meter was cross-calibrated with other reliable techniques for void fraction measurements. The performance of the impedance void-meter to measure the void propagation velocity was evaluated by the drift flux model. It was proved that the magnetic flowmeter was applicable to vertical slug flow measurements. Separable signals from these instruments allow us to unearth most characteristics of vertical slug flow. A methodology of vertical flow regime identification was developed. Supervised neural network and self-organizing neural network systems were employed. First, they were trained with results from an idealized simulation of impedance in a two-phase mixture. The simulation was mainly based on Mishima and Ishii's flow regime map, the drift flux model, and the newly developed model of slug flow. Then, these trained systems were tested with impedance signals. The results showed that the neural network systems were appropriate classifiers of vertical flow regimes. The theoretical models and experimental databases used in the simulation were reliable. Furthermore, this approach was applied successfully to horizontal flow identification. A comprehensive model was developed to predict important characteristics of vertical slug flow. It was realized that the void fraction of the liquid slug is determined by the relative liquid motion between the Taylor bubble tail and the Taylor bubble wake. Relying on this understanding and experimental results, a special relationship was built for the void fraction of the liquid slug. The prediction of the void fraction of the liquid slug was considerably improved. Experimental characterization of vertical slug flows was performed extensively with the impedance void-meter and the magnetic flowmeter. The theoretical predictions were compared with the experimental results. The agreements between them are very satisfactory.

Informed Decision Making Process for Managing Environmental Flows in Small River Basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Padikkal, S.; Rema, K. P.

2013-03-01

Numerous examples exist worldwide of partial or complete alteration to the natural flow regime of river systems as a consequence of large scale water abstraction from upstream reaches. The effects may not be conspicuous in the case of very large rivers, but the ecosystems of smaller rivers or streams may be completely destroyed over a period of time. While restoration of the natural flow regime may not be possible, at present there is increased effort to implement restoration by regulating environmental flow. This study investigates the development of an environmental flow management model at an icon site in the small river basin of Bharathapuzha, west India. To determine optimal environmental flow regimes, a historic flow model based on data assimilated since 1978 indicated a satisfactory minimum flow depth for river ecosystem sustenance is 0.907 m (28.8 m3/s), a value also obtained from the hydraulic model; however, as three of the reservoirs were already operational at this time a flow depth of 0.922 m is considered a more viable estimate. Analysis of daily stream flow in 1997-2006, indicated adequate flow regimes during the monsoons in June-November, but that sections of the river dried out in December-May with alarming water quality conditions near the river mouth. Furthermore, the preferred minimum `dream' flow regime expressed by stakeholders of the region is a water depth of 1.548 m, which exceeds 50 % of the flood discharge in July. Water could potentially be conserved for environmental flow purposes by (1) the de-siltation of existing reservoirs or (2) reducing water spillage in the transfer between river basins. Ultimately environmental flow management of the region requires the establishment of a co-ordinated management body and the regular assimilation of water flow information from which science based decisions are made, to ensure both economic and environmental concerns are adequately addressed.

Flow regimes and mechanistic modeling of critical heat flux under subcooled flow boiling conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Corre, Jean-Marie

Thermal performance of heat flux controlled boiling heat exchangers are usually limited by the Critical Heat Flux (CHF) above which the heat transfer degrades quickly, possibly leading to heater overheating and destruction. In an effort to better understand the phenomena, a literature review of CHF experimental visualizations under subcooled flow boiling conditions was performed and systematically analyzed. Three major types of CHF flow regimes were identified (bubbly, vapor clot and slug flow regime) and a CHF flow regime map was developed, based on a dimensional analysis of the phenomena and available data. It was found that for similar geometric characteristics and pressure, a Weber number (We)/thermodynamic quality (x) map can be used to predict the CHF flow regime. Based on the experimental observations and the review of the available CHF mechanistic models under subcooled flow boiling conditions, hypothetical CHF mechanisms were selected for each CHF flow regime, all based on a concept of wall dry spot overheating, rewetting prevention and subsequent dry spot spreading. It is postulated that a high local wall superheat occurs locally in a dry area of the heated wall, due to a cyclical event inherent to the considered CHF two-phase flow regime, preventing rewetting (Leidenfrost effect). The selected modeling concept has the potential to span the CHF conditions from highly subcooled bubbly flow to early stage of annular flow. A numerical model using a two-dimensional transient thermal analysis of the heater undergoing nucleation was developed to mechanistically predict CHF in the case of a bubbly flow regime. In this type of CHF two-phase flow regime, the high local wall superheat occurs underneath a nucleating bubble at the time of bubble departure. The model simulates the spatial and temporal heater temperature variations during nucleation at the wall, accounting for the stochastic nature of the boiling phenomena. The model has also the potential to evaluate the post-DNB heater temperature up to the point of heater melting. Validation of the proposed model was performed using detailed measured wall boiling parameters near CHF, thereby bypassing most needed constitutive relations. It was found that under limiting nucleation conditions; a peak wall temperature at the time of bubble departure can be reached at CHF preventing wall cooling by quenching. The simulations show that the resulting dry patch can survive the surrounding quenching event, preventing further nucleation and leading to a fast heater temperature increase. For more practical applications, the model was applied at known CHF conditions in simple geometry coupled with one-dimensional and three-dimensional (CFD) codes. It was found that, in the case where CHF occurs under bubbly flow conditions, the local wall superheat underneath nucleating bubbles is predicted to reach the Leidenfrost temperature. However, a better knowledge of statistical variations in wall boiling parameters would be necessary to correctly capture the CHF trends with mass flux (or Weber number). In addition, consideration of relevant parameter influences on the Leidenfrost temperature and consideration of interfacial microphysics at the wall would allow improved simulation of the wall rewetting prevention and subsequent dry patch spreading.

Linking water quality and quantity in environmental flow assessment in deteriorated ecosystems: a food web view.

PubMed

Chen, He; Ma, Lekuan; Guo, Wei; Yang, Ying; Guo, Tong; Feng, Cheng

2013-01-01

Most rivers worldwide are highly regulated by anthropogenic activities through flow regulation and water pollution. Environmental flow regulation is used to reduce the effects of anthropogenic activities on aquatic ecosystems. Formulating flow alteration-ecological response relationships is a key factor in environmental flow assessment. Traditional environmental flow models are characterized by natural relationships between flow regimes and ecosystem factors. However, food webs are often altered from natural states, which disturb environmental flow assessment in such ecosystems. In ecosystems deteriorated by heavy anthropogenic activities, the effects of environmental flow regulation on species are difficult to assess with current modeling approaches. Environmental flow management compels the development of tools that link flow regimes and food webs in an ecosystem. Food web approaches are more suitable for the task because they are more adaptive for disordered multiple species in a food web deteriorated by anthropogenic activities. This paper presents a global method of environmental flow assessment in deteriorated aquatic ecosystems. Linkages between flow regimes and food web dynamics are modeled by incorporating multiple species into an ecosystem to explore ecosystem-based environmental flow management. The approach allows scientists and water resources managers to analyze environmental flows in deteriorated ecosystems in an ecosystem-based way.

Modeling the Evolution of Riparian Woodlands Facing Climate Change in Three European Rivers with Contrasting Flow Regimes

PubMed Central

Rivaes, Rui P.; Rodríguez-González, Patricia M.; Ferreira, Maria Teresa; Pinheiro, António N.; Politti, Emilio; Egger, Gregory; García-Arias, Alicia; Francés, Felix

2014-01-01

Global circulation models forecasts indicate a future temperature and rainfall pattern modification worldwide. Such phenomena will become particularly evident in Europe where climate modifications could be more severe than the average change at the global level. As such, river flow regimes are expected to change, with resultant impacts on aquatic and riparian ecosystems. Riparian woodlands are among the most endangered ecosystems on earth and provide vital services to interconnected ecosystems and human societies. However, they have not been the object of many studies designed to spatially and temporally quantify how these ecosystems will react to climate change-induced flow regimes. Our goal was to assess the effects of climate-changed flow regimes on the existing riparian vegetation of three different European flow regimes. Cases studies were selected in the light of the most common watershed alimentation modes occurring across European regions, with the objective of appraising expected alterations in the riparian elements of fluvial systems due to climate change. Riparian vegetation modeling was performed using the CASiMiR-vegetation model, which bases its computation on the fluvial disturbance of the riparian patch mosaic. Modeling results show that riparian woodlands may undergo not only at least moderate changes for all flow regimes, but also some dramatic adjustments in specific areas of particular vegetation development stages. There are circumstances in which complete annihilation is feasible. Pluvial flow regimes, like the ones in southern European rivers, are those likely to experience more pronounced changes. Furthermore, regardless of the flow regime, younger and more water-dependent individuals are expected to be the most affected by climate change. PMID:25330151

Implicit gas-kinetic unified algorithm based on multi-block docking grid for multi-body reentry flows covering all flow regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Ao-Ping; Li, Zhi-Hui; Wu, Jun-Lin; Jiang, Xin-Yu

2016-12-01

Based on the previous researches of the Gas-Kinetic Unified Algorithm (GKUA) for flows from highly rarefied free-molecule transition to continuum, a new implicit scheme of cell-centered finite volume method is presented for directly solving the unified Boltzmann model equation covering various flow regimes. In view of the difficulty in generating the single-block grid system with high quality for complex irregular bodies, a multi-block docking grid generation method is designed on the basis of data transmission between blocks, and the data structure is constructed for processing arbitrary connection relations between blocks with high efficiency and reliability. As a result, the gas-kinetic unified algorithm with the implicit scheme and multi-block docking grid has been firstly established and used to solve the reentry flow problems around the multi-bodies covering all flow regimes with the whole range of Knudsen numbers from 10 to 3.7E-6. The implicit and explicit schemes are applied to computing and analyzing the supersonic flows in near-continuum and continuum regimes around a circular cylinder with careful comparison each other. It is shown that the present algorithm and modelling possess much higher computational efficiency and faster converging properties. The flow problems including two and three side-by-side cylinders are simulated from highly rarefied to near-continuum flow regimes, and the present computed results are found in good agreement with the related DSMC simulation and theoretical analysis solutions, which verify the good accuracy and reliability of the present method. It is observed that the spacing of the multi-body is smaller, the cylindrical throat obstruction is greater with the flow field of single-body asymmetrical more obviously and the normal force coefficient bigger. While in the near-continuum transitional flow regime of near-space flying surroundings, the spacing of the multi-body increases to six times of the diameter of the single-body, the interference effects of the multi-bodies tend to be negligible. The computing practice has confirmed that it is feasible for the present method to compute the aerodynamics and reveal flow mechanism around complex multi-body vehicles covering all flow regimes from the gas-kinetic point of view of solving the unified Boltzmann model velocity distribution function equation.

Numerical investigation of flow past 17-cylinder array of square cylinders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shams-ul-Islam, Nazeer, Ghazala; Ying, Zhou Chao

2018-06-01

In this work, flow past 17-cylinder array is simulated using the two-dimensional lattice Boltzmann method. Effect of gap spacings (0.5 ≤ gx* ≤ 3, 0.5 ≤ gy* ≤ 3) and Reynolds number (Re = 75 - 150) is analyzed in details. Results are presented in the form of vorticity contours plots, time-histories of drag and lift coefficients and power spectrum of lift coefficient. Six distinct flow regimes are identified for different gap spacings and Reynolds numbers: steady flow regime, single bluff body flow regime, non-fully developed flow regime, chaotic flow regime, quasi-periodic-I flow regime and quasi-periodic-II flow regime. Chaotic flow regime is the mostly observed flow regime while the single bluff body flow regime rarely occurs for this configuration. It is observed that drag force along each cylinder in 17-cylinder array decreases in the streamwise direction for fixed Reynold number and gap spacing. C1 and C2 cylinders experience the maximum drag at small gap spacing and Reynolds number. Also the Reynolds number is found to be more effective on flow characteristics as compared to gap spacings.

Lava Fountaining Discharge Regime driven by Slug-to-Churn Flow Transition. (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ripepe, M.; Pioli, L.; Marchetti, E.; Ulivieri, G.

2013-12-01

Lava fountaining episodes at Etna volcano appear characterized by the transition between Strombolian and Hawaiian end-member eruptive styles. There is no evidence for this transition in the seismic (i.e. seismic tremor) signal. However, infrasonic records provide unprecedented evidence on this flow transition. Each eruptive episode is characterized by distinctive common trend in the amplitude, waveform and frequency content of the infrasonic wavefield, which evidences the shift from discrete, and transient, strombolian to sustained, and oscillatory, lava fountain dynamics. Large scale experiments on the dynamics of two-phase flow of basaltic magmas show how the transition between different regimes mainly depends on gas volume flow, which in turn controls pressure distribution within the conduit and also magma vesicularity. In particular, while regular large bubble bursting is associated with slug flow regime, large amplitude and low frequency column oscillations are associated with churn flow. In large pipes, transition from slug to churn flow regime is independent on conduit diameter and it is reached at high superficial gas velocity. Lava fountaining episodes at Etna can be thus interpreted as induced by the transition from the slug (discrete strombolian) to churn flow (sustained lava fountain) regimes that is reflecting an increase in the gas discharge rate. Based on laboratory experiments, we calculate that transition between these two end-member explosive regimes at Etna occurs when gas superficial velocity is 76 m/s for near-the-vent stagnant magma conditions.

The Role of Forests in Regulating the River Flow Regime of Large Basins of the World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salazar, J. F.; Villegas, J. C.; Mercado-Bettin, D. A.; Rodríguez, E.

2016-12-01

Many natural and social phenomena depend on river flow regimes that are being altered by global change. Understanding the mechanisms behind such alterations is crucial for predicting river flow regimes in a changing environment. Here we explore potential linkages between the presence of forests and the capacity of river basins for regulating river flows. Regulation is defined here as the capacity of river basins to attenuate the amplitude of the river flow regime, that is to reduce the difference between high and low flows. We first use scaling theory to show how scaling properties of observed river flows can be used to classify river basins as regulated or unregulated. This parsimonious classification is based on a physical interpretation of the scaling properties (particularly the scaling exponents) that is novel (most previous studies have focused on the interpretation of the scaling exponents for floods only), and widely-applicable to different basins (the only assumption is that river flows in a given river basin exhibit scaling properties through well-known power laws). Then we show how this scaling framework can be used to explore global-change-induced temporal variations in the regulation capacity of river basins. Finally, we propose a conceptual hypothesis (the "Forest reservoir concept") to explain how large-scale forests can exert important effects on the long-term water balance partitioning and regulation capacity of large basins of the world. Our quantitative results are based on data analysis (river flows and land cover features) from 22 large basins of the world, with emphasis in the Amazon river and its main tributaries. Collectively, our findings support the hypothesis that forest cover enhances the capacity of large river basins to maintain relatively high mean river flows, as well as to regulate (ameliorate) extreme river flows. Advancing towards this quantitative understanding of the relation between forest cover and river flow regimes is crucial for water management- and land cover-related decisions.

The Role of Forests in Regulating the River Flow Regime of Large Basins of the World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salazar, J. F.; Villegas, J. C.; Mercado-Bettin, D. A.; Rodríguez, E.

2017-12-01

Many natural and social phenomena depend on river flow regimes that are being altered by global change. Understanding the mechanisms behind such alterations is crucial for predicting river flow regimes in a changing environment. Here we explore potential linkages between the presence of forests and the capacity of river basins for regulating river flows. Regulation is defined here as the capacity of river basins to attenuate the amplitude of the river flow regime, that is to reduce the difference between high and low flows. We first use scaling theory to show how scaling properties of observed river flows can be used to classify river basins as regulated or unregulated. This parsimonious classification is based on a physical interpretation of the scaling properties (particularly the scaling exponents) that is novel (most previous studies have focused on the interpretation of the scaling exponents for floods only), and widely-applicable to different basins (the only assumption is that river flows in a given river basin exhibit scaling properties through well-known power laws). Then we show how this scaling framework can be used to explore global-change-induced temporal variations in the regulation capacity of river basins. Finally, we propose a conceptual hypothesis (the "Forest reservoir concept") to explain how large-scale forests can exert important effects on the long-term water balance partitioning and regulation capacity of large basins of the world. Our quantitative results are based on data analysis (river flows and land cover features) from 22 large basins of the world, with emphasis in the Amazon river and its main tributaries. Collectively, our findings support the hypothesis that forest cover enhances the capacity of large river basins to maintain relatively high mean river flows, as well as to regulate (ameliorate) extreme river flows. Advancing towards this quantitative understanding of the relation between forest cover and river flow regimes is crucial for water management- and land cover-related decisions.

Thin liquid film in polymer tubing : dynamics and dewetting in partial wetting condition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayoun, Pascaline; Letailleur, Alban; Teisseire, Jérémie; Verneuil, Emilie; Lequeux, François; Barthel, Etienne

2015-11-01

Polymers such as PVC and Silicone are low cost materials widely used in industry to produce tubing for fluid transport. Most of these applications involve repeated, intermittent flow of liquids which can lead to unwanted contamination. This study aims at better understanding contamination mechanisms during intermittent flow in polymer tubing, and at elucidating the relation between flow, wetting and contamination. We experimentally and theoretically investigate, flow regimes as well as dewetting process at the triple line induced by gravity flow of a vertical liquid slug in a cylindrical geometry. Our results for Newtonian fluids evidence a succession of thick film formation, hydraulic jump creation in the thickness profile, oscillatory regime and destabilization leading to substrate contamination. In order to understand theoretically the flow, one crucial quantity to assess is the film thickness in the inside of the tube. Based on an absorption measurement method, we provide explanations for behaviors and flow regimes observed experimentally.

Fishy Business: Response of Stream Fish Assemblages to Small Hydro-power Plant Induced Flow Alteration in the Western Ghats, Karnataka

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rao, S. T.; Krishnaswamy, J.; Bhalla, R. S.

2017-12-01

Alteration of natural flow regimes is considered as a major threat to freshwater fish assemblages as it disturbs the water quality and micro-habitat features of rivers. Small hydro-power (SHP), which is being promoted as a clean and green substitute for large hydro-power generation, alters the natural flow regime of head-water streams by flow diversion and regulation. The effects of altered flow regime on tropical stream fish assemblages, driven by seasonality induced perturbations to water quality and microhabitat parameters are largely understudied. My study examined the potential consequences of flow alteration by SHPs on fish assemblages in two tributaries of the west-flowing Yettinahole River which flows through the reserved forests of Sakleshpur in the Western Ghats of Karnataka. The flow in one of the tributaries followed natural flow regime while the other comprised three regimes: a near-natural flow regime above the dam, rapidly varying discharge below the dam and a dewatered regime caused by flow diversion. The study found that the altered flow regime differed from natural flow regime in terms of water quality, microhabitat heterogeneity and fish assemblage response, each indicative of the type of flow alteration. Fish assemblage in the natural flow regime was characterized by a higher catch per site, a strong association of endemic and trophic specialist species. The flow regime above the dam was found to mimic some components of the natural flow regime, both ecological and environmental. Non endemic, generalist and pool tolerant species were associated with the dewatered regime. There was a lack of strong species-regime association and an overall low catch per site for the flow regulated regime below the dam. This study highlights the consequences of altered flows on the composition of freshwater fish assemblages and portrays the potential of freshwater fish as indicators of the degree and extent of flow alteration. The study recommends the need for maintaining continuous flow data records to model ecological data with hydrological measurements. In the light of rapid SHP development, the study also suggests environmental / cumulative impact assessments of SHPs on the river basin.

Flow Regime Based Climatologies of Lightning Probabilities for Spaceports and Airports

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauman, William H., III; Sharp, David; Spratt, Scott; Lafosse, Richard A.

2008-01-01

The objective of this work was to provide forecasters with a tool to indicate the warm season climatological probability of one or more lightning strikes within a circle at a site within a specified time interval. This paper described the AMU work conducted in developing flow regime based climatologies of lightning probabilities for the SLF and seven airports in the NWS MLB CWA in east-central Florida. The paper also described the GUI developed by the AMU that is used to display the data for the operational forecasters. There were challenges working with gridded lightning data as well as the code that accompanied the gridded data. The AMU modified the provided code to be able to produce the climatologies of lightning probabilities based on eight flow regimes for 5-, 10-, 20-, and 30-n mi circles centered on eight sites in 1-, 3-, and 6-hour increments.

SVM-based multisensor data fusion for phase concentration measurement in biomass-coal co-combustion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiaoxin; Hu, Hongli; Jia, Huiqin; Tang, Kaihao

2018-05-01

In this paper, the electrical method combines the electrostatic sensor and capacitance sensor to measure the phase concentration of pulverized coal/biomass/air three-phase flow through data fusion technology. In order to eliminate the effects of flow regimes and improve the accuracy of the phase concentration measurement, the mel frequency cepstrum coefficient features extracted from electrostatic signals are used to train the Continuous Gaussian Mixture Hidden Markov Model (CGHMM) for flow regime identification. Support Vector Machine (SVM) is introduced to establish the concentration information fusion model under identified flow regimes. The CGHMM models and SVM models are transplanted on digital signal processing (DSP) to realize on-line accurate measurement. The DSP flow regime identification time is 1.4 ms, and the concentration predict time is 164 μs, which can fully meet the real-time requirement. The average absolute value of the relative error of the pulverized coal is about 1.5% and that of the biomass is about 2.2%.

The imperative for controlled mechanical stresses in unraveling cellular mechanisms of mechanotransduction

PubMed Central

Anderson, Eric J; Falls, Thomas D; Sorkin, Adam M; Tate, Melissa L Knothe

2006-01-01

Background In vitro mechanotransduction studies are designed to elucidate cell behavior in response to a well-defined mechanical signal that is imparted to cultured cells, e.g. through fluid flow. Typically, flow rates are calculated based on a parallel plate flow assumption, to achieve a targeted cellular shear stress. This study evaluates the performance of specific flow/perfusion chambers in imparting the targeted stress at the cellular level. Methods To evaluate how well actual flow chambers meet their target stresses (set for 1 and 10 dyn/cm2 for this study) at a cellular level, computational models were developed to calculate flow velocity components and imparted shear stresses for a given pressure gradient. Computational predictions were validated with micro-particle image velocimetry (μPIV) experiments. Results Based on these computational and experimental studies, as few as 66% of cells seeded along the midplane of commonly implemented flow/perfusion chambers are subjected to stresses within ±10% of the target stress. In addition, flow velocities and shear stresses imparted through fluid drag vary as a function of location within each chamber. Hence, not only a limited number of cells are exposed to target stress levels within each chamber, but also neighboring cells may experience different flow regimes. Finally, flow regimes are highly dependent on flow chamber geometry, resulting in significant variation in magnitudes and spatial distributions of stress between chambers. Conclusion The results of this study challenge the basic premise of in vitro mechanotransduction studies, i.e. that a controlled flow regime is applied to impart a defined mechanical stimulus to cells. These results also underscore the fact that data from studies in which different chambers are utilized can not be compared, even if the target stress regimes are comparable. PMID:16672051

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burkholder, Michael B.; Litster, Shawn, E-mail: litster@andrew.cmu.edu

In this study, we analyze the stability of two-phase flow regimes and their transitions using chaotic and fractal statistics, and we report new measurements of dynamic two-phase pressure drop hysteresis that is related to flow regime stability and channel water content. Two-phase flow dynamics are relevant to a variety of real-world systems, and quantifying transient two-phase flow phenomena is important for efficient design. We recorded two-phase (air and water) pressure drops and flow images in a microchannel under both steady and transient conditions. Using Lyapunov exponents and Hurst exponents to characterize the steady-state pressure fluctuations, we develop a new, measurablemore » regime identification criteria based on the dynamic stability of the two-phase pressure signal. We also applied a new experimental technique by continuously cycling the air flow rate to study dynamic hysteresis in two-phase pressure drops, which is separate from steady-state hysteresis and can be used to understand two-phase flow development time scales. Using recorded images of the two-phase flow, we show that the capacitive dynamic hysteresis is related to channel water content and flow regime stability. The mixed-wettability microchannel and in-channel water introduction used in this study simulate a polymer electrolyte fuel cell cathode air flow channel.« less

A numerical investigation into the effects of Reynolds number on the flow mechanism induced by a tubercled leading edge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rostamzadeh, Nikan; Kelso, Richard M.; Dally, Bassam

2017-02-01

Leading-edge modifications based on designs inspired by the protrusions on the pectoral flippers of the humpback whale (tubercles) have been the subject of research for the past decade primarily due to their flow control potential in ameliorating stall characteristics. Previous studies have demonstrated that, in the transitional flow regime, full-span wings with tubercled leading edges outperform unmodified wings at high attack angles. The flow mechanism associated with such enhanced loading traits is, however, still being investigated. Also, the performance of full-span tubercled wings in the turbulent regime is largely unexplored. The present study aims to investigate Reynolds number effects on the flow mechanism induced by a full-span tubercled wing with the NACA-0021 cross-sectional profile in the transitional and near-turbulent regimes using computational fluid dynamics. The analysis of the flow field suggests that, with the exception of a few different flow features, the same underlying flow mechanism, involving the presence of transverse and streamwise vorticity, is at play in both cases. With regard to lift-generation characteristics, the numerical simulation results indicate that in contrast to the transitional flow regime, where the unmodified NACA-0021 undergoes a sudden loss of lift, in the turbulent regime, the baseline foil experiences gradual stall and produces more lift than the tubercled foil. This observation highlights the importance of considerations regarding the Reynolds number effects and the stall characteristics of the baseline foil, in the industrial applications of tubercled lifting bodies.

Effects of flow dynamics on the aquatic-terrestrial transition zone (ATTZ) of lower Missouri river sandbars with implications for selected biota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tracy-Smith, Emily; Galat, David L.; Jacobson, Robert B.

2012-01-01

Sandbars are an important aquatic terrestrial transition zone (ATTZ) in the active channel of rivers that provide a variety of habitat conditions for riverine biota. Channelization and flow regulation in many large rivers have diminished sandbar habitats and their rehabilitation is a priority. We developed sandbar-specific models of discharge-area relationships to determine how changes in flow regime affect the area of different habitat types within the submerged sandbar ATTZ (depth) and exposed sandbar ATTZ (elevation) for a representative sample of Lower Missouri River sandbars. We defined six different structural habitat types within the sandbar ATTZ based on depth or exposed elevation ranges that are important to different biota during at least part of their annual cycle for either survival or reproduction. Scenarios included the modelled natural flow regime, current managed flow regime and two environmental flow options, all modelled within the contemporary river active channel. Thirteen point and wing-dike sandbars were evaluated under four different flow scenarios to explore the effects of flow regime on seasonal habitat availability for foraging of migratory shorebirds and wading birds, nesting of softshell turtles and nursery of riverine fishes. Managed flows provided more foraging habitat for shorebirds and wading birds and more nursery habitat for riverine fishes within the channelized reach sandbar ATTZ than the natural flow regime or modelled environmental flows. Reduced summer flows occurring under natural and environmental flow alternatives increased exposed sandbar nesting habitat for softshell turtle hatchling emergence. Results reveal how management of channelized and flow regulated large rivers could benefit from a modelling framework that couples hydrologic and geomorphic characteristics to predict habitat conditions for a variety of biota.

Online recognition of the multiphase flow regime and study of slug flow in pipeline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liejin, Guo; Bofeng, Bai; Liang, Zhao; Xin, Wang; Hanyang, Gu

2009-02-01

Multiphase flow is the phenomenon existing widely in nature, daily life, as well as petroleum and chemical engineering industrial fields. The interface structure among multiphase and their movement are complicated, which distribute random and heterogeneously in the spatial and temporal scales and have multivalue of the flow structure and state[1]. Flow regime is defined as the macro feature about the multiphase interface structure and its distribution, which is an important feature to describe multiphase flow. The energy and mass transport mechanism differ much for each flow regimes. It is necessary to solve the flow regime recognition to get a clear understanding of the physical phenomena and their mechanism of multiphase flow. And the flow regime is one of the main factors affecting the online measurement accuracy of phase fraction, flow rate and other phase parameters. Therefore, it is of great scientific and technological importance to develop new principles and methods of multiphase flow regime online recognition, and of great industrial background. In this paper, the key reasons that the present method cannot be used to solve the industrial multiphase flow pattern recognition are clarified firstly. Then the prerequisite to realize the online recognition of multiphase flow regime is analyzed, and the recognition rules for partial flow pattern are obtained based on the massive experimental data. The standard templates for every flow regime feature are calculated with self-organization cluster algorithm. The multi-sensor data fusion method is proposed to realize the online recognition of multiphase flow regime with the pressure and differential pressure signals, which overcomes the severe influence of fluid flow velocity and the oil fraction on the recognition. The online recognition method is tested in the practice, which has less than 10 percent measurement error. The method takes advantages of high confidence, good fault tolerance and less requirement of single sensor performance. Among various flow patterns of gas-liquid flow, slug flow occurs frequently in the petroleum, chemical, civil and nuclear industries. In the offshore oil and gas field, the maximum slug length and its statistical distribution are very important for the design of separator and downstream processing facility at steady state operations. However transient conditions may be encountered in the production, such as operational upsets, start-up, shut-down, pigging and blowdown, which are key operational and safety issues related to oil field development. So it is necessary to have an understanding the flow parameters under transient conditions. In this paper, the evolution of slug length along a horizontal pipe in gas-liquid flow is also studied in details and then an experimental study of flowrate transients in slug flow is provided. Also, the special gas-liquid flow phenomena easily encountered in the life span of offshore oil fields, called severe slugging, is studied experimentally and some results are presented.

Response of Tropical Stream Fish Assemblages to Small Hydropower Induced Flow Alteration in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, India.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rao, S. T.

2016-12-01

Alteration of natural flow regime is considered as one of the major threats to tropical stream fish assemblages as it alters the physio-chemical and micro-habitat features of the river. Flow alteration induced by Small hydro-power (SHP) plants disrupts the flow regime by flow diversion and regulation. The effects of flow alteration on tropical stream fish assemblages, especially in the Western Ghats of India is largely understudied. Such a knowledge is imperative to set limits on flow alteration as SHPs in the Western Ghats are being planned at an unprecedented rate with exemption from environment impact assessments and backing in the form of government subsidies and carbon credits. This study aimed to understand the response of fish assemblages to SHP induced flow alteration in a regulated and unregulated tributary of the Yettinahole River in the Western Ghats of Karnataka. The study intended to quantify the natural and altered flow regime using automated periodic depth measurements, its effect on micro-habitats and environmental variables and finally, understand how fish assemblages respond to such changes. The response of fish assemblage was measured in terms of catch-per-site, species-regime associations and ecological distance between the regimes. The study used a space for time substitution approach and found that the altered flow regime dampened the diurnal and seasonal patterns of natural flow regime. The altered flow regime influenced variations in water quality, micro-habitat heterogeneity and fish assemblage response, each characteristic of the type of flow alteration. The natural flow regime was found to have a higher catch-per-site and strong associations with endemic and niche-specific taxa. Compositional dissimilarities, in terms of ecological distance were observed between the altered and the natural flow regime. Dewatered or flow diverted regime contained species with lentic affinities while an overall low catch-per-site and weak species-regime association was found in the flow regulated regime. The study highlights the importance of natural flow regime in maintaining native biodiversity and suggests the need for cumulative impact assessments for setting limits on flow alteration.

A modeling approach to establish environmental flow threshold in ungauged semidiurnal tidal river

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akter, A.; Tanim, A. H.

2018-03-01

Due to shortage of flow monitoring data in ungauged semidiurnal river, 'environmental flow' (EF) determination based on its key component 'minimum low flow' is always difficult. For EF assessment this study selected a reach immediately after the Halda-Karnafuli confluence, a unique breeding ground for Indian Carp fishes of Bangladesh. As part of an ungauged tidal river, EF threshold establishment faces challenges in changing ecological paradigms with periodic change of tides and hydrologic alterations. This study describes a novel approach through modeling framework comprising hydrological, hydrodynamic and habitat simulation model. The EF establishment was conceptualized according to the hydrologic process of an ungauged semi-diurnal tidal regime in four steps. Initially, a hydrologic model coupled with a hydrodynamic model to simulate flow considering land use changes effect on streamflow, seepage loss of channel, friction dominated tidal decay as well as lack of long term flow characteristics. Secondly, to define hydraulic habitat feature, a statistical analysis on derived flow data was performed to identify 'habitat suitability'. Thirdly, to observe the ecological habitat behavior based on the identified hydrologic alteration, hydraulic habitat features were investigated. Finally, based on the combined habitat suitability index flow alteration and ecological response relationship was established. Then, the obtained EF provides a set of low flow indices of desired regime and thus the obtained discharge against maximum Weighted Usable Area (WUA) was defined as EF threshold for the selected reach. A suitable EF regime condition was obtained within flow range 25-30.1 m3/s i.e., around 10-12% of the mean annual runoff of 245 m3/s and these findings are within researchers' recommendation of minimum flow requirement. Additionally it was observed that tidal characteristics are dominant process in semi-diurnal regime. However, during the study period (2010-2015) the validated model with those reported observations can provide guidance for the decision support system (DSS) to maintain EF range in an ungauged tidal river.

Assessment of nonequilibrium radiation computation methods for hypersonic flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sharma, Surendra

1993-01-01

The present understanding of shock-layer radiation in the low density regime, as appropriate to hypersonic vehicles, is surveyed. Based on the relative importance of electron excitation and radiation transport, the hypersonic flows are divided into three groups: weakly ionized, moderately ionized, and highly ionized flows. In the light of this division, the existing laboratory and flight data are scrutinized. Finally, an assessment of the nonequilibrium radiation computation methods for the three regimes in hypersonic flows is presented. The assessment is conducted by comparing experimental data against the values predicted by the physical model.

Flow Regime Based Climatologies of Lightning Probabilities for Spaceports and Airports

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauman, William H., III; Volmer, Matthew; Sharp, David; Spratt, Scott; Lafosse, Richard A.

2007-01-01

Objective: provide forecasters with a "first guess" climatological lightning probability tool (1) Focus on Space Shuttle landings and NWS T AFs (2) Four circles around sites: 5-, 10-, 20- and 30 n mi (4) Three time intervals: hourly, every 3 hr and every 6 hr It is based on: (1) NLDN gridded data (2) Flow regime (3) Warm season months of May-Sep for years 1989-2004 Gridded data and available code yields squares, not circles Over 850 spread sheets converted into manageable user-friendly web-based GUI

Advancing towards functional environmental flows for temperate floodplain rivers.

PubMed

Hayes, Daniel S; Brändle, Julia M; Seliger, Carina; Zeiringer, Bernhard; Ferreira, Teresa; Schmutz, Stefan

2018-08-15

Abstraction, diversion, and storage of flow alter rivers worldwide. In this context, minimum flow regulations are applied to mitigate adverse impacts and to protect affected river reaches from environmental deterioration. Mostly, however, only selected instream criteria are considered, neglecting the floodplain as an indispensable part of the fluvial ecosystem. Based on essential functions and processes of unimpaired temperate floodplain rivers, we identify fundamental principles to which we must adhere to determine truly ecologically-relevant environmental flows. Literature reveals that the natural flow regime and its seasonal components are primary drivers for functions and processes of abiotic and biotic elements such as morphology, water quality, floodplain, groundwater, riparian vegetation, fish, macroinvertebrates, and amphibians, thus preserving the integrity of floodplain river ecosystems. Based on the relationship between key flow regime elements and associated environmental components within as well as adjacent to the river, we formulate a process-oriented functional floodplain flow (ff-flow) approach which offers a holistic conceptual framework for environmental flow assessment in temperate floodplain river systems. The ff-flow approach underlines the importance of emulating the natural flow regime with its seasonal variability, flow magnitude, frequency, event duration, and rise and fall of the hydrograph. We conclude that the ecological principles presented in the ff-flow approach ensure the protection of floodplain rivers impacted by flow regulation by establishing ecologically relevant environmental flows and guiding flow restoration measures. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An integrated model for the natural flow regime in the Cerro Prieto hydrothermal system based upon petrological and isotope geochemical criteria

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elders, W.A.; Williams, A.E.; Hoagland, J..

1981-01-01

Studies of cuttings and cores at Cerro Prieto have now been extended to more than 50 boreholes. The aims of this petrological and isotopic work are to determine the shape of the reservoir, its physical properties, and its temperature distribution and flow regime before the steam field was produced.

Impacts of Land Use Change on the Natural Flow Regime: A Case Study in the Meramec River Watershed in Eastern Missouri, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, C. L.; Knouft, J.; Chu, M.

2017-12-01

The natural flow regime within a watershed can be considered as the expected temporal patterns of streamflow variation in the absence of human impacts. While ecosystems have evolved to function under these conditions, the natural flow regime of most rivers has been significantly altered by human activities. Land use change, including the development of agriculture and urbanization, is a primary cause of the loss of natural flow regimes. These changes have altered discharge volume, timing, and variability, and consequently affected the structure and functioning of river ecosystems. The Meramec River watershed is located in east central Missouri and changes in land use have been the primary factor impacting flow regimes across the watershed. In this study, a watershed model, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), was developed to simulate a long-term time series of streamflow (1978-2014) within the watershed. Model performance was evaluated using statistical metrics and graphical technique including R-squared, Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency, cumulative error, and 1:1-ratio comparison between observed and simulated variables. The calibrated and validated SWAT model was then used to quantify the responses of the watershed when it was a forested natural landscape. An Indicator of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) approach was applied to characterize the flow regime under the current landcover conditions as well as the simulated natural flow regime under the no land use change scenario. Differences in intra- and inter-annual ecologically relevant flow metrics were then compared using SWAT model outputs in conjunction with the IHA approach based on model outputs from current and no land use change conditions. This study provides a watershed-scale understanding of effects of land use change on a river's flow variability and provides a framework for the development of restoration plans for heavily altered watersheds.

Boolean logic analysis for flow regime recognition of gas-liquid horizontal flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramskill, Nicholas P.; Wang, Mi

2011-10-01

In order to develop a flowmeter for the accurate measurement of multiphase flows, it is of the utmost importance to correctly identify the flow regime present to enable the selection of the optimal method for metering. In this study, the horizontal flow of air and water in a pipeline was studied under a multitude of conditions using electrical resistance tomography but the flow regimes that are presented in this paper have been limited to plug and bubble air-water flows. This study proposes a novel method for recognition of the prevalent flow regime using only a fraction of the data, thus rendering the analysis more efficient. By considering the average conductivity of five zones along the central axis of the tomogram, key features can be identified, thus enabling the recognition of the prevalent flow regime. Boolean logic and frequency spectrum analysis has been applied for flow regime recognition. Visualization of the flow using the reconstructed images provides a qualitative comparison between different flow regimes. Application of the Boolean logic scheme enables a quantitative comparison of the flow patterns, thus reducing the subjectivity in the identification of the prevalent flow regime.

Validating alternative methodologies to estimate the regime of temporary rivers when flow data are unavailable.

PubMed

Gallart, F; Llorens, P; Latron, J; Cid, N; Rieradevall, M; Prat, N

2016-09-15

Hydrological data for assessing the regime of temporary rivers are often non-existent or scarce. The scarcity of flow data makes impossible to characterize the hydrological regime of temporary streams and, in consequence, to select the correct periods and methods to determine their ecological status. This is why the TREHS software is being developed, in the framework of the LIFE Trivers project. It will help managers to implement adequately the European Water Framework Directive in this kind of water body. TREHS, using the methodology described in Gallart et al. (2012), defines six transient 'aquatic states', based on hydrological conditions representing different mesohabitats, for a given reach at a particular moment. Because of its qualitative nature, this approach allows using alternative methodologies to assess the regime of temporary rivers when there are no observed flow data. These methods, based on interviews and high-resolution aerial photographs, were tested for estimating the aquatic regime of temporary rivers. All the gauging stations (13) belonging to the Catalan Internal Catchments (NE Spain) with recurrent zero-flow periods were selected to validate this methodology. On the one hand, non-structured interviews were conducted with inhabitants of villages near the gauging stations. On the other hand, the historical series of available orthophotographs were examined. Flow records measured at the gauging stations were used to validate the alternative methods. Flow permanence in the reaches was estimated reasonably by the interviews and adequately by aerial photographs, when compared with the values estimated using daily flows. The degree of seasonality was assessed only roughly by the interviews. The recurrence of disconnected pools was not detected by flow records but was estimated with some divergences by the two methods. The combination of the two alternative methods allows substituting or complementing flow records, to be updated in the future through monitoring by professionals and citizens. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comprehensive assessment of dam impacts on flow regimes with consideration of interannual variations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yongyong; Shao, Quanxi; Zhao, Tongtiegang

2017-09-01

Assessing the impact of human intervention on flow regimes is important in policy making and resource management. Previous impact assessments of dam regulation on flow regimes have focused on long-term average patterns, but interannual variations, which are important characteristics to be considered, have been ignored. In this study, the entire signatures of hydrograph variations of Miyun Reservoir in northern China were described by forty flow regime metrics that incorporate magnitude, variability and frequency, duration, timing, and rate of change for flow events based on a long-term synchronous observation series of inflow and outflow. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used to reduce the multidimensionality of the metrics and time and to determine impact patterns and their interannual shifts. Statistically significant driving factors of impact pattern variations were identified. We found that dam regulation resulted in four main impact classes on the flow regimes and that the regulated capacity was interannually attenuated from 1973 to 2010. The impact patterns alternated between the highly regulated class with extremely decreasing flow magnitude, slight variability, and extreme intermittency and the slightly regulated class with extremely increasing flow magnitude, slight variability, and extreme intermittency from 1973 to 1987 and then stabilized in the latter class from 1988 to 2001. After 2001, the pattern gradually changed from the moderately regulated class with moderately decreasing flow magnitude, extreme variability, and extreme intermittency to the slightly regulated class with slightly decreasing flow magnitude, slight variability, and no intermittency. Decreasing precipitation and increasing drought were the primary drivers for the interannual variations of the impact patterns, and inflow variability was the most significant factor affecting the patterns, followed by flow event frequency and duration, magnitude, and timing. This study shows that the use of interannual characteristics can help to gain more insight into the impact of dam regulation on flow regimes and will provide important information to scientifically guide the multi-purpose regulation of dams.

A novel method for flow pattern identification in unstable operational conditions using gamma ray and radial basis function.

PubMed

Roshani, G H; Nazemi, E; Roshani, M M

2017-05-01

Changes of fluid properties (especially density) strongly affect the performance of radiation-based multiphase flow meter and could cause error in recognizing the flow pattern and determining void fraction. In this work, we proposed a methodology based on combination of multi-beam gamma ray attenuation and dual modality densitometry techniques using RBF neural network in order to recognize the flow regime and determine the void fraction in gas-liquid two phase flows independent of the liquid phase changes. The proposed system is consisted of one 137 Cs source, two transmission detectors and one scattering detector. The registered counts in two transmission detectors were used as the inputs of one primary Radial Basis Function (RBF) neural network for recognizing the flow regime independent of liquid phase density. Then, after flow regime identification, three RBF neural networks were utilized for determining the void fraction independent of liquid phase density. Registered count in scattering detector and first transmission detector were used as the inputs of these three RBF neural networks. Using this simple methodology, all the flow patterns were correctly recognized and the void fraction was predicted independent of liquid phase density with mean relative error (MRE) of less than 3.28%. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lyapunov exponents, covariant vectors and shadowing sensitivity analysis of 3D wakes: from laminar to chaotic regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qiqi; Rigas, Georgios; Esclapez, Lucas; Magri, Luca; Blonigan, Patrick

2016-11-01

Bluff body flows are of fundamental importance to many engineering applications involving massive flow separation and in particular the transport industry. Coherent flow structures emanating in the wake of three-dimensional bluff bodies, such as cars, trucks and lorries, are directly linked to increased aerodynamic drag, noise and structural fatigue. For low Reynolds laminar and transitional regimes, hydrodynamic stability theory has aided the understanding and prediction of the unstable dynamics. In the same framework, sensitivity analysis provides the means for efficient and optimal control, provided the unstable modes can be accurately predicted. However, these methodologies are limited to laminar regimes where only a few unstable modes manifest. Here we extend the stability analysis to low-dimensional chaotic regimes by computing the Lyapunov covariant vectors and their associated Lyapunov exponents. We compare them to eigenvectors and eigenvalues computed in traditional hydrodynamic stability analysis. Computing Lyapunov covariant vectors and Lyapunov exponents also enables the extension of sensitivity analysis to chaotic flows via the shadowing method. We compare the computed shadowing sensitivities to traditional sensitivity analysis. These Lyapunov based methodologies do not rely on mean flow assumptions, and are mathematically rigorous for calculating sensitivities of fully unsteady flow simulations.

Analysis of land use and climate change impacts by comparing river flow records for headwaters and lowland reaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fazel, Nasim; Torabi Haghighi, Ali; Kløve, Bjørn

2017-11-01

The natural flow regime of rivers has been strongly altered world-wide, resulting in ecosystem degradation and lakes drying up, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Determining whether this is due mainly to climate change or to water withdrawal for direct human use (e.g. irrigation) is difficult, particularly for saline lake basins where hydrology data are scarce. In this study, we developed an approach for assessing climate and land use change impacts based on river flow records for headwater and lowland reaches of rivers, using the case of Lake Urmia basin, in north-westen Iran. Flow regimes at upstream and downstream stations were studied before and after major dam construction and irrigation projects. Data from 57 stations were used to establish five different time intervals representing 10 different land use development periods (scenarios) for upstream (not impacted) and downstream (impacted) systems. An existing river impact (RI) index was used to assess changes in three main characteristics of flow (magnitude, timing and, intra-annual variability). The results showed that irrigation was by far the main driving force for river flow regime changes in the lake basin. All stations close to the lake and on adjacent plains showed significantly higher impacts of land use change than headwaters. As headwaters are relatively unaffected by agriculture, the non-significant changes observed in headwater flow regimes indicate a minor effect of climate change on river flows in the region. The benefit of the method developed is clear interpretation of results based on river flow records, which is useful in communicating land use and climate change information to decision makers and lake restoration planners.

Numerical modeling of flow focusing: Quantitative characterization of the flow regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mamet, V.; Namy, P.; Dedulle, J.-M.

2017-09-01

Among droplet generation technologies, the flow focusing technique is a major process due to its control, stability, and reproducibility. In this process, one fluid (the continuous phase) interacts with another one (the dispersed phase) to create small droplets. Experimental assays in the literature on gas-liquid flow focusing have shown that different jet regimes can be obtained depending on the operating conditions. However, the underlying physical phenomena remain unclear, especially mechanical interactions between the fluids and the oscillation phenomenon of the liquid. In this paper, based on published studies, a numerical diphasic model has been developed to take into consideration the mechanical interaction between phases, using the Cahn-Hilliard method to monitor the interface. Depending on the liquid/gas inputs and the geometrical parameters, various regimes can be obtained, from a steady state regime to an unsteady one with liquid oscillation. In the dispersed phase, the model enables us to compute the evolution of fluid flow, both in space (size of the recirculation zone) and in time (period of oscillation). The transition between unsteady and stationary regimes is assessed in relation to liquid and gas dimensionless numbers, showing the existence of critical thresholds. This model successfully highlights, qualitatively and quantitatively, the influence of the geometry of the nozzle, in particular, its inner diameter.

Quantifying Anthropogenic Stress on Groundwater Resources.

PubMed

Ashraf, Batool; AghaKouchak, Amir; Alizadeh, Amin; Mousavi Baygi, Mohammad; R Moftakhari, Hamed; Mirchi, Ali; Anjileli, Hassan; Madani, Kaveh

2017-10-10

This study explores a general framework for quantifying anthropogenic influences on groundwater budget based on normalized human outflow (h out ) and inflow (h in ). The framework is useful for sustainability assessment of groundwater systems and allows investigating the effects of different human water abstraction scenarios on the overall aquifer regime (e.g., depleted, natural flow-dominated, and human flow-dominated). We apply this approach to selected regions in the USA, Germany and Iran to evaluate the current aquifer regime. We subsequently present two scenarios of changes in human water withdrawals and return flow to the system (individually and combined). Results show that approximately one-third of the selected aquifers in the USA, and half of the selected aquifers in Iran are dominated by human activities, while the selected aquifers in Germany are natural flow-dominated. The scenario analysis results also show that reduced human withdrawals could help with regime change in some aquifers. For instance, in two of the selected USA aquifers, a decrease in anthropogenic influences by ~20% may change the condition of depleted regime to natural flow-dominated regime. We specifically highlight a trending threat to the sustainability of groundwater in northwest Iran and California, and the need for more careful assessment and monitoring practices as well as strict regulations to mitigate the negative impacts of groundwater overexploitation.

Numerical analysis of flow resistance and heat transfer in the transitional regime of pipe flow with twisted-tape turbulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rossi, R.; Cattani, L.; Mocerino, A.; Bozzoli, F.; Rainieri, S.; Caminati, R.; Pagliarini, G.

2017-11-01

In this paper, we present the numerical analysis of the fully developed ow and heat transfer in pipes equipped with twisted-tape inserts in the laminar to transitional flow regime. The flow Reynolds number ranges from 210 to 3100 based on the pipe diameter, whereas the Prandtl number of the working fluid, a 40% mixture of water and ethylene glycol, is about 45 at the average film temperature. The numerical study is carried out via Scale Adaptive Simulations (SAS) where the k-ω SST model is employed for turbulence modeling. Using SAS and low-dissipation discretization schemes, the present study shows that it is possible to capture the transition from the laminar regime to the pulsating or pseudo-laminar flow regime induced by the twisted-tape at low Reynolds numbers, as well as the transition to moderate turbulent regime at the higher, yet non-turbulent for smooth pipes, range of Reynolds numbers. Numerical results, validated against experiments performed in a dedicated test rig, show very good agreement with measured data and an increase of the friction factor and Nusselt number in the range of 4 to 7 times and 6 to 15 times, respectively, of the values for an empty pipe.

Organizing Environmental Flow Frameworks to Meet Hydropower Mitigation Needs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McManamay, Ryan A.; Brewer, Shannon K.; Jager, Henriette I.; Troia, Matthew J.

2016-09-01

The global recognition of the importance of natural flow regimes to sustain the ecological integrity of river systems has led to increased societal pressure on the hydropower industry to change plant operations to improve downstream aquatic ecosystems. However, a complete reinstatement of natural flow regimes is often unrealistic when balancing water needs for ecosystems, energy production, and other human uses. Thus, stakeholders must identify a prioritized subset of flow prescriptions that meet ecological objectives in light of realistic constraints. Yet, isolating aspects of flow regimes to restore downstream of hydropower facilities is among the greatest challenges of environmental flow science due, in part, to the sheer volume of available environmental flow tools in conjunction with complex negotiation-based regulatory procedures. Herein, we propose an organizational framework that structures information and existing flow paradigms into a staged process that assists stakeholders in implementing environmental flows for hydropower facilities. The framework identifies areas where regulations fall short of the needed scientific process, and provide suggestions for stakeholders to ameliorate those situations through advanced preparation. We highlight the strengths of existing flow paradigms in their application to hydropower settings and suggest when and where tools are most applicable. Our suggested framework increases the effectiveness and efficiency of the e-flow implementation process by rapidly establishing a knowledge base and decreasing uncertainty so more time can be devoted to filling knowledge gaps. Lastly, the framework provides the structure for a coordinated research agenda to further the science of environmental flows related to hydropower environments.

Organizing environmental flow frameworks to meet hydropower mitigation needs

USGS Publications Warehouse

McManamay, Ryan A.; Brewer, Shannon K.; Jager, Henriette; Troia, Matthew J.

2016-01-01

The global recognition of the importance of natural flow regimes to sustain the ecological integrity of river systems has led to increased societal pressure on the hydropower industry to change plant operations to improve downstream aquatic ecosystems. However, a complete reinstatement of natural flow regimes is often unrealistic when balancing water needs for ecosystems, energy production, and other human uses. Thus, stakeholders must identify a prioritized subset of flow prescriptions that meet ecological objectives in light of realistic constraints. Yet, isolating aspects of flow regimes to restore downstream of hydropower facilities is among the greatest challenges of environmental flow science due, in part, to the sheer volume of available environmental flow tools in conjunction with complex negotiation-based regulatory procedures. Herein, we propose an organizational framework that structures information and existing flow paradigms into a staged process that assists stakeholders in implementing environmental flows for hydropower facilities. The framework identifies areas where regulations fall short of the needed scientific process, and provide suggestions for stakeholders to ameliorate those situations through advanced preparation. We highlight the strengths of existing flow paradigms in their application to hydropower settings and suggest when and where tools are most applicable. Our suggested framework increases the effectiveness and efficiency of the e-flow implementation process by rapidly establishing a knowledge base and decreasing uncertainty so more time can be devoted to filling knowledge gaps. Lastly, the framework provides the structure for a coordinated research agenda to further the science of environmental flows related to hydropower environments.

Organizing Environmental Flow Frameworks to Meet Hydropower Mitigation Needs.

PubMed

McManamay, Ryan A; Brewer, Shannon K; Jager, Henriette I; Troia, Matthew J

2016-09-01

The global recognition of the importance of natural flow regimes to sustain the ecological integrity of river systems has led to increased societal pressure on the hydropower industry to change plant operations to improve downstream aquatic ecosystems. However, a complete reinstatement of natural flow regimes is often unrealistic when balancing water needs for ecosystems, energy production, and other human uses. Thus, stakeholders must identify a prioritized subset of flow prescriptions that meet ecological objectives in light of realistic constraints. Yet, isolating aspects of flow regimes to restore downstream of hydropower facilities is among the greatest challenges of environmental flow science due, in part, to the sheer volume of available environmental flow tools in conjunction with complex negotiation-based regulatory procedures. Herein, we propose an organizational framework that structures information and existing flow paradigms into a staged process that assists stakeholders in implementing environmental flows for hydropower facilities. The framework identifies areas where regulations fall short of the needed scientific process, and provide suggestions for stakeholders to ameliorate those situations through advanced preparation. We highlight the strengths of existing flow paradigms in their application to hydropower settings and suggest when and where tools are most applicable. Our suggested framework increases the effectiveness and efficiency of the e-flow implementation process by rapidly establishing a knowledge base and decreasing uncertainty so more time can be devoted to filling knowledge gaps. Lastly, the framework provides the structure for a coordinated research agenda to further the science of environmental flows related to hydropower environments.

Hydrologic regimes as potential drivers of morphologic divergence in fish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bruckerhoff, Lindsey; Magoulick, Daniel D.

2017-01-01

Fishes often exhibit phenotypic divergence across gradients of abiotic and biotic selective pressures. In streams, many of the known selective pressures driving phenotypic differentiation are largely influenced by hydrologic regimes. Because flow regimes drive so many attributes of lotic systems, we hypothesized fish exhibit phenotypic divergence among streams with different flow regimes. We used a comparative field study to investigate the morphological divergence of Campostoma anomalom (central stonerollers) among streams characterized by highly variable, intermittent flow regimes and streams characterized by relatively stable, groundwater flow regimes. We also conducted a mesocosm experiment to compare the plastic effects of one component of flow regimes, water velocity, on morphology of fish from different flow regimes. We observed differences in shape between flow regimes likely driven by differences in allometric growth patterns. Although we observed differences in morphology across flow regimes in the field, C. anomalum did not exhibit morphologic plasticity in response to water velocity alone. This study contributes to the understanding of how complex environmental factors drive phenotypic divergence and may provide insight into the evolutionary consequences of disrupting natural hydrologic patterns, which are increasingly threatened by climate change and anthropogenic alterations.

Theory, methods and tools for determining environmental flows for riparian vegetation: Riparian vegetation-flow response guilds

USGS Publications Warehouse

Merritt, D.M.; Scott, M.L.; Leroy, Poff N.; Auble, G.T.; Lytle, D.A.

2010-01-01

Riparian vegetation composition, structure and abundance are governed to a large degree by river flow regime and flow-mediated fluvial processes. Streamflow regime exerts selective pressures on riparian vegetation, resulting in adaptations (trait syndromes) to specific flow attributes. Widespread modification of flow regimes by humans has resulted in extensive alteration of riparian vegetation communities. Some of the negative effects of altered flow regimes on vegetation may be reversed by restoring components of the natural flow regime. 2. Models have been developed that quantitatively relate components of the flow regime to attributes of riparian vegetation at the individual, population and community levels. Predictive models range from simple statistical relationships, to more complex stochastic matrix population models and dynamic simulation models. Of the dozens of predictive models reviewed here, most treat one or a few species, have many simplifying assumptions such as stable channel form, and do not specify the time-scale of response. In many cases, these models are very effective in developing alternative streamflow management plans for specific river reaches or segments but are not directly transferable to other rivers or other regions. 3. A primary goal in riparian ecology is to develop general frameworks for prediction of vegetation response to changing environmental conditions. The development of riparian vegetation-flow response guilds offers a framework for transferring information from rivers where flow standards have been developed to maintain desirable vegetation attributes, to rivers with little or no existing information. 4. We propose to organise riparian plants into non-phylogenetic groupings of species with shared traits that are related to components of hydrologic regime: life history, reproductive strategy, morphology, adaptations to fluvial disturbance and adaptations to water availability. Plants from any river or region may be grouped into these guilds and related to hydrologic attributes of a specific class of river using probabilistic response curves. 5. Probabilistic models based on riparian response guilds enable prediction of the likelihood of change in each of the response guilds given projected changes in flow, and facilitate examination of trade-offs and risks associated with various flow management strategies. Riparian response guilds can be decomposed to the species level for individual projects or used to develop flow management guidelines for regional water management plans. ?? 2009 Published.

Circumventing Imprecise Geometric Information and Development of a Unified Modeling Technique for Various Flow Regimes in Capillary Tubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbasi, Bahman

2012-11-01

Owing to their manufacturability and reliability, capillary tubes are the most common expansion devices in household refrigerators. Therefore, investigating flow properties in the capillary tubes is of immense appeal in the said business. The models to predict pressure drop in two-phase internal flows invariably rely upon highly precise geometric information. The manner in which capillary tubes are manufactured makes them highly susceptible to geometric imprecisions, which renders geometry-based models unreliable to the point of obsoleteness. Aware of the issue, manufacturers categorize capillary tubes based on Nitrogen flow rate through them. This categorization method presents an opportunity to substitute geometric details with Nitrogen flow data as the basis for customized models. The simulation tools developed by implementation of this technique have the singular advantage of being applicable across flow regimes. Thus the error-prone process of identifying compatible correlations is eliminated. Equally importantly, compressibility and chocking effects can be incorporated in the same model. The outcome is a standalone correlation that provides accurate predictions, regardless of any particular fluid or flow regime. Thereby, exploratory investigations for capillary tube design and optimization are greatly simplified. Bahman Abbasi, Ph.D., is Lead Advanced Systems Engineer at General Electric Appliances in Louisville, KY. He conducts research projects across disciplines in the household refrigeration industry.

Effect of Stagger on the Vibroacoustic Loads from Clustered Rockets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rojo, Raymundo; Tinney, Charles E.; Ruf, Joseph H.

2016-01-01

The effect of stagger startup on the vibro-acoustic loads that form during the end- effects-regime of clustered rockets is studied using both full-scale (hot-gas) and laboratory scale (cold gas) data. Both configurations comprise three nozzles with thrust optimized parabolic contours that undergo free shock separated flow and restricted shock separated flow as well as an end-effects regime prior to flowing full. Acoustic pressure waveforms recorded at the base of the nozzle clusters are analyzed using various statistical metrics as well as time-frequency analysis. The findings reveal a significant reduction in end- effects-regime loads when engine ignition is staggered. However, regardless of stagger, both the skewness and kurtosis of the acoustic pressure time derivative elevate to the same levels during the end-effects-regime event thereby demonstrating the intermittence and impulsiveness of the acoustic waveforms that form during engine startup.

New results in gravity dependent two-phase flow regime mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurwitz, Cable; Best, Frederick

2002-01-01

Accurate prediction of thermal-hydraulic parameters, such as the spatial gas/liquid orientation or flow regime, is required for implementation of two-phase systems. Although many flow regime transition models exist, accurate determination of both annular and slug regime boundaries is not well defined especially at lower flow rates. Furthermore, models typically indicate the regime as a sharp transition where data may indicate a transition space. Texas A&M has flown in excess of 35 flights aboard the NASA KC-135 aircraft with a unique two-phase package. These flights have produced a significant database of gravity dependent two-phase data including visual observations for flow regime identification. Two-phase flow tests conducted during recent zero-g flights have added to the flow regime database and are shown in this paper with comparisons to selected transition models. .

Oil-flow separation patterns on an ogive forebody

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keener, E. R.

1981-01-01

Oil flow patterns on a symmetric tangent ogive forebody having a fineness ratio of 3.5 are presented for angles of attack up to 88 deg at a transitional Reynolds number of 8 million (based on base diameter) and a Mach number of 0.25. Results show typical surface flow separation patterns, the magnitude of surface flow angles, and the extent of laminar and turbulent flow for symmetric, asymmetric, and wakelike flow regimes.

The Friction Factor in the Forchheimer Equation for Rock Fractures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Jia-Qing; Hu, Shao-Hua; Chen, Yi-Feng; Wang, Min; Zhou, Chuang-Bing

2016-08-01

The friction factor is an important dimensionless parameter for fluid flow through rock fractures that relates pressure head loss to average flow velocity; it can be affected by both fracture geometry and flow regime. In this study, a theoretical formula form of the friction factor containing both viscous and inertial terms is formulated by incorporating the Forchheimer equation, and a new friction factor model is proposed based on a recent phenomenological relation for the Forchheimer coefficient. The viscous term in the proposed formula is inversely proportional to Reynolds number and represents the limiting case in Darcy flow regime when the inertial effects diminish, whereas the inertial term is a power function of the relative roughness and represents a limiting case in fully turbulent flow regime when the fracture roughness plays a dominant role. The proposed model is compared with existing friction factor models for fractures through parametric sensitivity analyses and using experimental data on granite fractures, showing that the proposed model has not only clearer physical significance, but also better predictive performance. By accepting proper percentages of nonlinear pressure drop to quantify the onset of Forchheimer flow and fully turbulent flow, a Moody-type diagram with explicitly defined flow regimes is created for rock fractures of varying roughness, indicating that rougher fractures have a large friction factor and are more prone to the Forchheimer flow and fully turbulent flow. These findings may prove useful in better understanding of the flow behaviors in rock fractures and improving the numerical modeling of non-Darcy flow in fractured aquifers.

Application of effective discharge analysis to environmental flow decision-making

USGS Publications Warehouse

McKay, S. Kyle; Freeman, Mary C.; Covich, A.P.

2016-01-01

Well-informed river management decisions rely on an explicit statement of objectives, repeatable analyses, and a transparent system for assessing trade-offs. These components may then be applied to compare alternative operational regimes for water resource infrastructure (e.g., diversions, locks, and dams). Intra- and inter-annual hydrologic variability further complicates these already complex environmental flow decisions. Effective discharge analysis (developed in studies of geomorphology) is a powerful tool for integrating temporal variability of flow magnitude and associated ecological consequences. Here, we adapt the effectiveness framework to include multiple elements of the natural flow regime (i.e., timing, duration, and rate-of-change) as well as two flow variables. We demonstrate this analytical approach using a case study of environmental flow management based on long-term (60 years) daily discharge records in the Middle Oconee River near Athens, GA, USA. Specifically, we apply an existing model for estimating young-of-year fish recruitment based on flow-dependent metrics to an effective discharge analysis that incorporates hydrologic variability and multiple focal taxa. We then compare three alternative methods of environmental flow provision. Percentage-based withdrawal schemes outcompete other environmental flow methods across all levels of water withdrawal and ecological outcomes.

Application of Effective Discharge Analysis to Environmental Flow Decision-Making.

PubMed

McKay, S Kyle; Freeman, Mary C; Covich, Alan P

2016-06-01

Well-informed river management decisions rely on an explicit statement of objectives, repeatable analyses, and a transparent system for assessing trade-offs. These components may then be applied to compare alternative operational regimes for water resource infrastructure (e.g., diversions, locks, and dams). Intra- and inter-annual hydrologic variability further complicates these already complex environmental flow decisions. Effective discharge analysis (developed in studies of geomorphology) is a powerful tool for integrating temporal variability of flow magnitude and associated ecological consequences. Here, we adapt the effectiveness framework to include multiple elements of the natural flow regime (i.e., timing, duration, and rate-of-change) as well as two flow variables. We demonstrate this analytical approach using a case study of environmental flow management based on long-term (60 years) daily discharge records in the Middle Oconee River near Athens, GA, USA. Specifically, we apply an existing model for estimating young-of-year fish recruitment based on flow-dependent metrics to an effective discharge analysis that incorporates hydrologic variability and multiple focal taxa. We then compare three alternative methods of environmental flow provision. Percentage-based withdrawal schemes outcompete other environmental flow methods across all levels of water withdrawal and ecological outcomes.

Organizing environmental flow frameworks to meet hydropower mitigation needs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McManamay, Ryan A.; Brewer, Shannon K.; Jager, Henriette I.

The global recognition of the importance of natural flow regimes to sustain the ecological integrity of river systems has led to increased societal pressure on the hydropower industry to change plant operations to improve downstream aquatic ecosystems. However, a complete reinstatement of natural flow regimes is often unrealistic when balancing water needs for ecosystems, energy production, and other human uses. Thus, stakeholders must identify a prioritized subset of flow prescriptions that meet ecological objectives in light of realistic constraints. Yet, isolating aspects of flow regimes to restore downstream of hydropower facilities is among the greatest challenges of environmental flow sciencemore » due, in part, to the sheer volume of available environmental flow tools in conjunction with complex negotiation-based regulatory procedures. Here, we propose an organizational framework that structures information and existing flow paradigms into a staged process that assists stakeholders in implementing environmental flows for hydropower facilities. The framework identifies areas where regulations fall short of the needed scientific process, and provide suggestions for stakeholders to ameliorate those situations through advanced preparation. We highlight the strengths of existing flow paradigms in their application to hydropower settings and suggest when and where tools are most applicable. In conclusion, our suggested framework increases the effectiveness and efficiency of the e-flow implementation process by rapidly establishing a knowledge base and decreasing uncertainty so more time can be devoted to filling knowledge gaps. As a result, the framework provides the structure for a coordinated research agenda to further the science of environmental flows related to hydropower environments.« less

Organizing environmental flow frameworks to meet hydropower mitigation needs

DOE PAGES

McManamay, Ryan A.; Brewer, Shannon K.; Jager, Henriette I.; ...

2016-06-25

The global recognition of the importance of natural flow regimes to sustain the ecological integrity of river systems has led to increased societal pressure on the hydropower industry to change plant operations to improve downstream aquatic ecosystems. However, a complete reinstatement of natural flow regimes is often unrealistic when balancing water needs for ecosystems, energy production, and other human uses. Thus, stakeholders must identify a prioritized subset of flow prescriptions that meet ecological objectives in light of realistic constraints. Yet, isolating aspects of flow regimes to restore downstream of hydropower facilities is among the greatest challenges of environmental flow sciencemore » due, in part, to the sheer volume of available environmental flow tools in conjunction with complex negotiation-based regulatory procedures. Here, we propose an organizational framework that structures information and existing flow paradigms into a staged process that assists stakeholders in implementing environmental flows for hydropower facilities. The framework identifies areas where regulations fall short of the needed scientific process, and provide suggestions for stakeholders to ameliorate those situations through advanced preparation. We highlight the strengths of existing flow paradigms in their application to hydropower settings and suggest when and where tools are most applicable. In conclusion, our suggested framework increases the effectiveness and efficiency of the e-flow implementation process by rapidly establishing a knowledge base and decreasing uncertainty so more time can be devoted to filling knowledge gaps. As a result, the framework provides the structure for a coordinated research agenda to further the science of environmental flows related to hydropower environments.« less

Effects of cylinder Reynolds number on the turbulent horseshoe vortex system and near wake of a surface-mounted circular cylinder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirkil, Gokhan; Constantinescu, George

2014-11-01

The turbulent horseshoe vortex (HV) system and the near-wake flow past a circular cylinder mounted on a flat bed in an open channel are investigated based on results of eddy-resolving simulations and supporting flow visualizations. Of particular interest are the changes in the mean flow and turbulence statistics within the HV region as the necklace vortices wrap around the cylinder's base and the variation of the mean flow and turbulence statistics in the near wake, in between the channel bed and the free surface. While it is well known that the drag crisis induces important changes in the flow past infinitely-long circular cylinders, the changes are less understood and more complex for the case of flow past a surface-mounted cylinder. A detailed discussion of the changes in the flow physics between cylinder Reynolds numbers at which the flow in the upstream part of the separated shear layers (SSLs) is laminar (Re = 16,000, subcritical flow regime) and Reynolds numbers at which transition occurs inside the attached boundary layers away from the bed and the flow within the SSLs is turbulent (Re = 500,000, supercritical flow regime). The changes between the two regimes in the dynamics and level of coherence of the large-scale coherent structures (necklace vortices, vortex tubes shed in the SSLs and roller vortices shed in the wake) and their capacity to induce high-magnitude bed friction velocities in the mean and instantaneous flow fields and to amplify the near-bed turbulence are analyzed.

Gas flow through rough microchannels in the transition flow regime.

PubMed

Deng, Zilong; Chen, Yongping; Shao, Chenxi

2016-01-01

A multiple-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann model of Couette flow is developed to investigate the rarified gas flow through microchannels with roughness characterized by fractal geometry, especially to elucidate the coupled effects of roughness and rarefaction on microscale gas flow in the transition flow regime. The results indicate that the surface roughness effect on gas flow behavior becomes more significant in rarefied gas flow with the increase of Knudsen number. We find the gas flow behavior in the transition flow regime is more sensitive to roughness height than that in the slip flow regime. In particular, the influence of fractal dimension on rarefied gas flow behavior is less significant than roughness height.

An experimental study of the elastic theory for granular flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Tongtong; Campbell, Charles S.

2016-08-01

This paper reports annular shear cell measurements granular flows with an eye towards experimentally confirming the flow regimes laid out in the elastic theory of granular flow. Tests were carried out on four different kinds of plastic spherical particles under both constant volume flows and constant applied stress flows. In particular, observations were made of the new regime in that model, the elastic-inertial regime, and the predicted transitions between the elastic-inertial and both the elastic-quasistatic and pure inertial regimes.

Comparing observations and morphodynamic numerical modeling of upper-flow-regime bedforms in fjords and outcrop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hubbard, Stephen; Kostic, Svetlana; Englert, Rebecca; Coutts, Daniel; Covault, Jacob

2017-04-01

Recent bathymetric observations of fjord prodeltas in British Columbia, Canada, reveal evidence for multi-phase channel erosion and deposition. These processes are interpreted to be related to the upstream migration of upper-flow-regime bedforms, namely cyclic steps. We integrate data from high-resolution bathymetric surveys and monitoring to inform morphodynamic numerical models of turbidity currents and associated bedforms in the Squamish prodelta. These models are applied to the interpretation of upper-flow-regime bedforms, including cyclic steps, antidunes, and/or transitional bedforms, in Late Cretaceous submarine conduit strata of the Nanaimo Group at Gabriola Island, British Columbia. In the Squamish prodelta, as bedforms migrate, >90% of the deposits are reworked, making morphology- and facies-based recognition challenging. Sedimentary bodies are 5-30 m long, 0.5-2 m thick and <30 m wide. The Nanaimo Group comprises scour fills of similar scale composed of structureless sandstone, with laminated siltstone locally overlying basal erosion surfaces. Backset stratification is locally observed; packages of 2-4 backset beds, each of which are up to 60 cm thick and up to 15 m long (along dip), commonly share composite basal erosion surfaces. Numerous scour fills are recognized over thin sections (<4 m), indicating limited aggradation and preservation of the bedforms. Preliminary morphodynamic numerical modeling indicates that Squamish and Nanaimo bedforms could be transitional upper-flow-regime bedforms between cyclic steps and antidunes. It is likely that cyclic steps and related upper-flow-regime bedforms are common in strata deposited on high gradient submarine slopes. Evidence for updip-migrating cyclic step and related deposits inform a revised interpretation of a high gradient setting dominated by supercritical flow, or alternating supercritical and subcritical flow in the Nanaimo Group. Integrating direct observations, morphodynamic numerical modeling, and outcrop characterization better constrains fundamental processes that operate in deep-water depositional systems; our analyses aims to further deduce the stratigraphy and preservation potential of upper flow-regime bedforms.

Characterizing flow regimes for floodplain forest conservation: An assessment of factors affecting sapling growth and survivorship on three cold desert rivers

USGS Publications Warehouse

Andersen, D.C.

2005-01-01

I analyzed annual height growth and survivorship of Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii S. Watson) saplings on three floodplains in Colorado and Utah to assess responses to interannual variation in flow regime and summer precipitation. Mammal exclosures, supplemented with an insecticide treatment at one site, were used to assess flow regime – herbivore interactions. Multiple regression analyses on data collected over 7–11 years indicated that growth of continuously injury-free saplings was positively related to either peak discharge or the maximum 30-day discharge but was not related to interannual decline in the late-summer river stage (ΔWMIN) or precipitation. Growth was fastest where ΔWMIN was smallest and depth to the late-summer water table moderate (≤1.5 m). Survivorship increased with ΔWMIN where the water table was at shallow depths. Herbivory reduced long-term height growth and survivorship by up to 60% and 50%, respectively. The results support the concept that flow history and environmental context determine whether a particular flow will have a net positive or negative influence on growth and survivorship and suggest that the flow regime that best promotes sapling growth and survival along managed rivers features a short spring flood pulse and constant base flow, with no interannual variation in the hydrograph. Because environmental contexts vary, interannual variation may be necessary for best overall stand performance.

Ventilation Inception and Washout, Scaling, and Effects on Hydrodynamic Performance of a Surface Piercing Strut

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harwood, Casey; Young, Yin Lu; Ceccio, Steven

2014-11-01

High-lift devices that operate at or near a fluid free surface (such as surface-piercing or shallowly-submerged propellers and hydrofoils) are prone to a multiphase flow phenomenon called ventilation, wherein non-condensable gas is entrained in the low-pressure flow, forming a cavity around the body and dramatically altering the global hydrodynamic forces. Experiments are being conducted at the University of Michigan's towing tank using a canonical surface-piercing strut to investigate atmospheric ventilation. The goals of the work are (i) to gain an understanding of the dominant physics in fully wetted, partially ventilated, and fully ventilated flow regimes, (ii) to quantify the effects of governing dimensionless parameters on the transition between flow regimes, and (iii) to develop scaling relations for the transition between flow regimes. Using theoretical arguments and flow visualization techniques, new criteria are developed for classifying flow regimes and transition mechanisms. Unsteady transition mechanisms are described and mapped as functions of the governing non-dimensional parameters. A theoretical scaling relationship is developed for ventilation washout, which is shown to adequately capture the experimentally-observed washout boundary. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Student Research Fellowship under Grant No. DGE 1256260. Support also comes from the Naval Engineering Education Center (Award No. N65540-10-C-003).

Nozzle Free Jet Flows Within the Strong Curved Shock Regime

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shih, Tso-Shin

1975-01-01

A study based on inviscid analysis was conducted to examine the flow field produced from a convergent-divergent nozzle when a strong curved shock occurs. It was found that a certain constraint is imposed on the flow solution of the problem which is the unique feature of the flow within this flow regime, and provides the reason why the inverse method of calculation cannot be employed for these problems. An approximate method was developed to calculate the flow field, and results were obtained for two-dimensional flows. Analysis and calculations were performed for flows with axial symmetry. It is shown that under certain conditions, the vorticity generated at the jet boundary may become infinite and the viscous effect becomes important. Under other conditions, the asymptotic free jet height as well as the corresponding shock geometry were determined.

Two-phase damping and interface surface area in tubes with vertical internal flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Béguin, C.; Anscutter, F.; Ross, A.; Pettigrew, M. J.; Mureithi, N. W.

2009-01-01

Two-phase flow is common in the nuclear industry. It is a potential source of vibration in piping systems. In this paper, two-phase damping in the bubbly flow regime is related to the interface surface area and, therefore, to flow configuration. Experiments were performed with a vertical tube clamped at both ends. First, gas bubbles of controlled geometry were simulated with glass spheres let to settle in stagnant water. Second, air was injected in stagnant alcohol to generate a uniform and measurable bubble flow. In both cases, the two-phase damping ratio is correlated to the number of bubbles (or spheres). Two-phase damping is directly related to the interface surface area, based on a spherical bubble model. Further experiments were carried out on tubes with internal two-phase air-water flows. A strong dependence of two-phase damping on flow parameters in the bubbly flow regime is observed. A series of photographs attests to the fact that two-phase damping in bubbly flow increases for a larger number of bubbles, and for smaller bubbles. It is highest immediately prior to the transition from bubbly flow to slug or churn flow regimes. Beyond the transition, damping decreases. It is also shown that two-phase damping increases with the tube diameter.

Effects of cylinder Reynolds number on the turbulent horseshoe vortex system and near wake of a surface-mounted circular cylinder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirkil, Gokhan; Constantinescu, George

2015-07-01

The turbulent horseshoe vortex (HV) system and the near-wake flow past a circular cylinder mounted on a flat bed in an open channel are investigated based on the results of eddy-resolving simulations and supporting flow visualizations. Of particular interest are the changes in the mean flow and turbulence statistics within the HV region as the necklace vortices wrap around the cylinder's base and the variation of the mean flow and turbulence statistics in the near wake, in between the channel bed and the free surface. While it is well known that the drag crisis induces important changes in the flow past infinitely long circular cylinders, the changes are less understood and more complex for the case of flow past a surface-mounted cylinder. This is because even at very high cylinder Reynolds numbers, ReD, the flow regime remains subcritical in the vicinity of the bed surface due to the reduction of the incoming flow velocity within the bottom boundary layer. The paper provides a detailed discussion of the changes in the flow physics between cylinder Reynolds numbers at which the flow in the upstream part of the separated shear layers (SSLs) is laminar (ReD = 16 000, subcritical flow regime) and Reynolds numbers at which the transition occurs inside the attached boundary layers away from the bed and the flow within the SSLs is turbulent (ReD = 5 ∗ 105, supercritical flow regime). The changes between the two regimes in the dynamics and level of coherence of the large-scale coherent structures (necklace vortices, vortex tubes shed in the SSLs and roller vortices shed in the wake) and their capacity to induce high-magnitude bed friction velocities in the mean and instantaneous flow fields and to amplify the near-bed turbulence are analyzed. Being able to quantitatively and qualitatively describe these changes is critical to understand Reynolds-number-induced scale effects on sediment erosion mechanisms around cylinders mounted on a loose bed, which is a problem of great practical relevance (e.g., for pier scour studies).

Three-dimensional investigations of the threading regime in a microfluidic flow-focusing channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gowda, Krishne; Brouzet, Christophe; Lefranc, Thibault; Soderberg, L. Daniel; Lundell, Fredrik

2017-11-01

We study the flow dynamics of the threading regime in a microfluidic flow-focusing channel through 3D numerical simulations and experiments. Making strong filaments from cellulose nano-fibrils (CNF) could potentially steer to new high-performance bio-based composites competing with conventional glass fibre composites. CNF filaments can be obtained through hydrodynamic alignment of dispersed CNF by using the concept of flow-focusing. The aligned structure is locked by diffusion of ions resulting in a dispersion-gel transition. Flow-focusing typically refers to a microfluidic channel system where the core fluid is focused by the two sheath fluids, thereby creating an extensional flow at the intersection. In this study, threading regime corresponds to an extensional flow field generated by the water sheath fluid stretching the dispersed CNF core fluid and leading to formation of long threads. The experimental measurements are performed using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and 3D numerical simulations with OpenFOAM. The prime focus is laid on the 3D characteristics of thread formation such as wetting length of core fluid, shape, aspect ratio of the thread and velocity flow-field in the microfluidic channel.

Design of Environmental Flows Below Diversion Hydropower Dams: Is There Benefit to Advanced Streamflow Prediction in Sparse Data Landscapes?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kibler, K. M.; Alipour, M.

2017-12-01

Diversion hydropower has been shown to significantly alter river flow regimes by dewatering diversion bypass reaches. Data scarcity is one of the foremost challenges to establishing environmental flow regimes below diversion hydropower dams, especially in regions of sparse hydro-meteorological observation. Herein, we test two prediction strategies for generating daily flows in rivers developed with diversion hydropower: a catchment similarity model, and a rainfall-runoff model selected by multi-objective optimization based on soft data. While both methods are designed for ungauged rivers embedded within large regions of sparse hydrologic observation, one is more complex and computationally-intensive. The objective of this study is to assess the benefit of using complex modeling tools in data-sparse landscapes to support design of environmental flow regimes. Models were tested in gauged catchments and then used to simulate a 28-year record of daily flows in 32 ungauged rivers. After perturbing flows with the hydropower diversion, we detect alteration using Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) metrics and compare outcomes of the two modeling approaches. The catchment similarity model simulates low flows well (Nash-Sutcliff efficiency (NSE) = 0.91), but poorly represents moderate to high flows (overall NSE = 0.25). The multi-objective rainfall-runoff model performs well overall (NSE = 0.72). Both models agree that flow magnitudes and variability consistently decrease following diversion as temporally-dynamic flows are replaced by static minimal flows. Mean duration of events sustained below the pre-diversion Q75 and mean hydrograph rise and fall rates increase. While we see broad areas of agreement, significant effects and thresholds vary between models, particularly in the representation of moderate flows. Thus, use of simplified streamflow models may bias detected alterations or inadequately characterize pre-regulation flow regimes, providing inaccurate information as a basis for flow regime design. As an alternative, the multi-objective framework can be applied globally, and is robust to common challenges of flow prediction in ungauged rivers, such as equifinality and hydrologic dissimilarity of reference catchments.

Situational Lightning Climatologies for Central Florida: Phase IV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauman, William H., III

2009-01-01

The threat of lightning is a daily concern during the warm season in Florida. Research has revealed distinct spatial and temporal distributions of lightning occurrence that are strongly influenced by large-scale atmospheric flow regimes. Previously, the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) calculated the gridded lightning climatologies based on seven flow regimes over Florida for 1-, 3- and 6-hr intervals in 5-, 10-,20-, and 30-NM diameter range rings around the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) and eight other airfields in the National Weather Service in Melbourne (NWS MLB) county warning area (CWA). In this update to the work, the AMU recalculated the lightning climatologies for using individual lightning strike data to improve the accuracy of the climatologies. The AMU included all data regardless of flow regime as one of the stratifications, added monthly stratifications, added three years of data to the period of record and used modified flow regimes based work from the AMU's Objective Lightning Probability Forecast Tool, Phase II. The AMU made changes so the 5- and 10-NM radius range rings are consistent with the aviation forecast requirements at NWS MLB, while the 20- and 30-NM radius range rings at the SLF assist the Spaceflight Meteorology Group in making forecasts for weather Flight Rule violations during Shuttle landings. The AMU also updated the graphical user interface with the new data.

Urban base flow with low impact development

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bhaskar, Aditi; Hogan, Dianna M.; Archfield, Stacey A.

2016-01-01

A novel form of urbanization, low impact development (LID), aims to engineer systems that replicate natural hydrologic functioning, in part by infiltrating stormwater close to the impervious surfaces that generate it. We sought to statistically evaluate changes in a base flow regime because of urbanization with LID, specifically changes in base flow magnitude, seasonality, and rate of change. We used a case study watershed in Clarksburg, Maryland, in which streamflow was monitored during whole-watershed urbanization from forest and agricultural to suburban residential development using LID. The 1.11-km2 watershed contains 73 infiltration-focused stormwater facilities, including bioretention facilities, dry wells, and dry swales. We examined annual and monthly flow during and after urbanization (2004–2014) and compared alterations to nearby forested and urban control watersheds. We show that total streamflow and base flow increased in the LID watershed during urbanization as compared with control watersheds. The LID watershed had more gradual storm recessions after urbanization and attenuated seasonality in base flow. These flow regime changes may be because of a reduction in evapotranspiration because of the overall decrease in vegetative cover with urbanization and the increase in point sources of recharge. Precipitation that may once have infiltrated soil, been stored in soil moisture to be eventually transpired in a forested landscape, may now be recharged and become base flow. The transfer of evapotranspiration to base flow is an unintended consequence to the water balance of LID.

Modeling the transition between upper plane bed regime and sheet flow without an active layer formulation. Preliminary results.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viparelli, E.; Hernandez Moreira, R. R.; Blom, A.

2015-12-01

A perusal of the literature on bedload transport revealed that, notwithstanding the large number of studies on bedform morphology performed in the past decades, the upper plane bed regime has not been thoroughly investigated and the distinction between the upper plane bed and sheet flow transport regimes is still poorly defined. Previous experimental work demonstrated that the upper plane bed regime is characterized by long wavelength and small amplitude bedforms that migrate downstream. These bedforms, however, were not observed in experiments on sheet flow transport suggesting that the upper plane bed and the sheet flow are two different regimes. We thus designed and performed experiments in a sediment feed flume in the hydraulic laboratory of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Carolina at Columbia to study the transition from upper plane bed to sheet flow regime. Periodic measurements of water surface and bed elevation, bedform geometry and thicknesses of the bedload layer were performed by eyes, and with cameras, movies and a system of six ultrasonic probes that record the variations of bed elevation at a point over time. We used the time series of bed elevations to determine the probability functions of bed elevation. These probability functions are implemented in a continuous model of river morphodynamics, i.e. a model that does not use the active layer approximation to describe the sediment fluxes between the bedload and the deposit and that should thus be able to capture the details of the vertical and streamwise variation of the deposit grain size distribution. This model is validated against the experimental results for the case of uniform material. We then use the validated model in the attempt to study if and how the spatial distribution of grain sizes in the deposit changes from upper plane bed regime to sheet flow and if these results are influenced by the imposed rates of base level rise.

Linear stability analysis of laminar flow near a stagnation point in the slip flow regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Essaghir, E.; Oubarra, A.; Lahjomri, J.

2017-12-01

The aim of the present contribution is to analyze the effect of slip parameter on the stability of a laminar incompressible flow near a stagnation point in the slip flow regime. The analysis is based on the traditional normal mode approach and assumes parallel flow approximation. The Orr-Sommerfeld equation that governs the infinitesimal disturbance of stream function imposed to the steady main flow, which is an exact solution of the Navier-Stokes equation satisfying slip boundary conditions, is obtained by using the powerful spectral Chebyshev collocation method. The results of the effect of slip parameter K on the hydrodynamic characteristics of the base flow, namely the velocity profile, the shear stress profile, the boundary layer, displacement and momentum thicknesses are illustrated and discussed. The numerical data for these characteristics, as well as those of the eigenvalues and the corresponding wave numbers recover the results of the special case of no-slip boundary conditions. They are found to be in good agreement with previous numerical calculations. The effects of slip parameter on the neutral curves of stability, for two-dimensional disturbances in the Reynolds-wave number plane, are then obtained for the first time in the slip flow regime for stagnation point flow. Furthermore, the evolution of the critical Reynolds number against the slip parameter is established. The results show that the critical Reynolds number for instability is significantly increased with the slip parameter and the flow turn out to be more stable when the effect of rarefaction becomes important.

Pre-Darcy Flow in Porous Media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dejam, Morteza; Hassanzadeh, Hassan; Chen, Zhangxin

2017-10-01

Fluid flow in porous media is very important in a wide range of science and engineering applications. The entire establishment of fluid flow application in porous media is based on the use of an experimental law proposed by Darcy (1856). There are evidences in the literature that the flow of a fluid in consolidated and unconsolidated porous media does not follow Darcy law at very low fluxes, which is called pre-Darcy flow. In this paper, the unsteady flow regimes of a slightly compressible fluid under the linear and radial pre-Darcy flow conditions are modeled and the corresponding highly nonlinear diffusivity equations are solved analytically by aid of a generalized Boltzmann transformation technique. The influence of pre-Darcy flow on the pressure diffusion for homogeneous porous media is studied in terms of the nonlinear exponent and the threshold pressure gradient. In addition, the pressure gradient, flux, and cumulative production per unit area are compared with the classical solution of the diffusivity equation based on Darcy flow. The presented results advance our understanding of fluid flow in low-permeability media such as shale and tight formations, where pre-Darcy is the dominant flow regime.

Experimental and analytical dynamic flow characteristics of an axial-flow fan from an air cushion landing system model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, W. C.; Boghani, A. B.; Leland, T. J. W.

1977-01-01

An investigation was conducted to compare the steady-state and dynamic flow characteristics of an axial-flow fan which had been used previously as the air supply fan for some model air cushion landing system studies. Steady-state flow characteristics were determined in the standard manner by using differential orifice pressures for the flow regime from free flow to zero flow. In this same regime, a correlative technique was established so that fan inlet and outlet pressures could be used to measure dynamic flow as created by a rotating damper. Dynamic tests at damper frequencies up to 5 Hz showed very different flow characteristics when compared with steady-state flow, particularly with respect to peak pressures and the pressure-flow relationship at fan stall and unstall. A generalized, rational mathematical fan model was developed based on physical fan parameters and a steady-state flow characteristic. The model showed good correlation with experimental tests at damper frequencies up to 5 Hz.

The role of the geophysical template and environmental regimes in controlling stream-living trout populations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Penaluna, Brooke E.; Railsback, Steve F.; Dunham, Jason B.; Johnson, S.; Bilby, Richard E.; Skaugset, Arne E.

2015-01-01

The importance of multiple processes and instream factors to aquatic biota has been explored extensively, but questions remain about how local spatiotemporal variability of aquatic biota is tied to environmental regimes and the geophysical template of streams. We used an individual-based trout model to explore the relative role of the geophysical template versus environmental regimes on biomass of trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii). We parameterized the model with observed data from each of the four headwater streams (their local geophysical template and environmental regime) and then ran 12 simulations where we replaced environmental regimes (stream temperature, flow, turbidity) of a given stream with values from each neighboring stream while keeping the geophysical template fixed. We also performed single-parameter sensitivity analyses on the model results from each of the four streams. Although our modeled findings show that trout biomass is most responsive to changes in the geophysical template of streams, they also reveal that biomass is restricted by available habitat during seasonal low flow, which is a product of both the stream’s geophysical template and flow regime. Our modeled results suggest that differences in the geophysical template among streams render trout more or less sensitive to environmental change, emphasizing the importance of local fish–habitat relationships in streams.

What Do They Have in Common? Drivers of Streamflow Spatial Correlation and Prediction of Flow Regimes in Ungauged Locations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Betterle, A.; Radny, D.; Schirmer, M.; Botter, G.

2017-12-01

The spatial correlation of daily streamflows represents a statistical index encapsulating the similarity between hydrographs at two arbitrary catchment outlets. In this work, a process-based analytical framework is utilized to investigate the hydrological drivers of streamflow spatial correlation through an extensive application to 78 pairs of stream gauges belonging to 13 unregulated catchments in the eastern United States. The analysis provides insight on how the observed heterogeneity of the physical processes that control flow dynamics ultimately affect streamflow correlation and spatial patterns of flow regimes. Despite the variability of recession properties across the study catchments, the impact of heterogeneous drainage rates on the streamflow spatial correlation is overwhelmed by the spatial variability of frequency and intensity of effective rainfall events. Overall, model performances are satisfactory, with root mean square errors between modeled and observed streamflow spatial correlation below 10% in most cases. We also propose a method for estimating streamflow correlation in the absence of discharge data, which proves useful to predict streamflow regimes in ungauged areas. The method consists in setting a minimum threshold on the modeled flow correlation to individuate hydrologically similar sites. Catchment outlets that are most correlated (ρ>0.9) are found to be characterized by analogous streamflow distributions across a broad range of flow regimes.

Comparison of Y-jet and OIL effervescent atomizers based on internal and external two-phase flow characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mlkvik, Marek; Zaremba, Matous; Jedelsky, Jan; Jicha, Miroslav

2016-03-01

Presented paper focuses on spraying of two viscous liquids (μ = 60 and 143 mPa·s) by two types of twinfluid atomizers with internal mixing. We compared the well-known Y-jet atomizer with the less known, "outside in liquid" (OIL), configuration of the effervescent atomizer. The required liquid viscosity was achieved by using the water-maltodextrin solutions of different concentrations. Both the liquids were sprayed at two gas inlet pressures (Δp = 0.14 and 0.28 MPa) and various gas-to-liquid ratios (GLR = 2.5%, 5%, 10% and 20%). The comparison was focused on four characteristics: liquid flow-rate (for the same working regimes, defined by Δp and GLR), internal flow regimes, Weber numbers of a liquid breakup (We) and droplet sizes. A high-speed camera and Malvern Spraytec laser diffraction system were used to obtain necessary experimental data. Comparing the results of our experiments, we can state that for both the liquids the OIL atomizer reached higher liquid flow-rates at corresponding working regimes, it was typical by annular internal flow and higher We in the near-nozzle region at all the working regimes. As a result, it produced considerably smaller droplets than the second tested atomizing device, especially for GLR < 10%.

Preliminary assessment of Eflows on Lucanian Rivers through IHA implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greco, Michele; Martino, Giovanni

2016-04-01

According to the WFD, the ecological flow (Eflow) is assumed to be the hydrological regime consistent with the achievement of the environmental objectives of "good quality status" in natural surface water bodies. As well known, the hydrological regime of natural flow plays a primary and crucial role influencing the physical conditions of habitats, which in turn determines the biotic composition and sustainability of aquatic ecosystems. Furthermore, the simple assumption to supply a minimum instream during dry periods is not enough anymore in order to protect the river environment. The recent hydro-ecological knowledge provides that all flow components must be included as operational targets for water quantitative management from base flows (including low flows) to high and flood regimes in terms of magnitude, frequency, duration, timing and rate of change. Several conceptual and numerical codes have been developed and applied on different case studies in order to define common tools to be implemented for the Eflow assessment. In such a frame, the work deals with the application of the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration methodology (IHA by TNC) to main Lucanian rivers to assess the ecological flow to be assumed in each monitoring cross section. The analyses have been carried on monthly discharge data derived through a simple rainfall-runoff applied at the basin scale and based on the precipitation measurements obtained by the regional rainfall gauge stations.

Braided river flow and invasive vegetation dynamics in the Southern Alps, New Zealand.

PubMed

Caruso, Brian S; Edmondson, Laura; Pithie, Callum

2013-07-01

In mountain braided rivers, extreme flow variability, floods and high flow pulses are fundamental elements of natural flow regimes and drivers of floodplain processes, understanding of which is essential for management and restoration. This study evaluated flow dynamics and invasive vegetation characteristics and changes in the Ahuriri River, a free-flowing braided, gravel-bed river in the Southern Alps of New Zealand's South Island. Sixty-seven flow metrics based on indicators of hydrologic alteration and environmental flow components (extreme low flows, low flows, high flow pulses, small floods and large floods) were analyzed using a 48-year flow record. Changes in the areal cover of floodplain and invasive vegetation classes and patch characteristics over 20 years (1991-2011) were quantified using five sets of aerial photographs, and the correlation between flow metrics and cover changes were evaluated. The river exhibits considerable hydrologic variability characteristic of mountain braided rivers, with large variation in floods and other flow regime metrics. The flow regime, including flood and high flow pulses, has variable effects on floodplain invasive vegetation, and creates dynamic patch mosaics that demonstrate the concepts of a shifting mosaic steady state and biogeomorphic succession. As much as 25 % of the vegetation cover was removed by the largest flood on record (570 m(3)/s, ~50-year return period), with preferential removal of lupin and less removal of willow. However, most of the vegetation regenerated and spread relatively quickly after floods. Some flow metrics analyzed were highly correlated with vegetation cover, and key metrics included the peak magnitude of the largest flood, flood frequency, and time since the last flood in the interval between photos. These metrics provided a simple multiple regression model of invasive vegetation cover in the aerial photos evaluated. Our analysis of relationships among flow regimes and invasive vegetation cover has implications for braided rivers impacted by hydroelectric power production, where increases in invasive vegetation cover are typically greater than in unimpacted rivers.

Calculation of detonation initiation in a hydrogen/oxygen/argon mixture in by a small-diameter spherical projectile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bedarev, I. A.; Temerbekov, V. M.; Fedorov, A. V.

2018-03-01

The initiation of detonation in a reactive mixture by a small-diameter spherical projectile launched at supersonic velocity was studied for a reduced kinetic scheme of chemical reactions. A mathematical technique based on the ANSYS Fluent package was developed for this purpose. Numerical and experimental data on the flow regimes and detonation cell sizes are compared. There is agreement between the calculated and experimental flow patterns and detonation cell sizes for each regime.

Characterizing effects of hydropower plants on sub-daily flow regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bejarano, María Dolores; Sordo-Ward, Álvaro; Alonso, Carlos; Nilsson, Christer

2017-07-01

A characterization of short-term changes in river flow is essential for understanding the ecological effects of hydropower plants, which operate by turning the turbines on or off to generate electricity following variations in the market demand (i.e., hydropeaking). The goal of our study was to develop an approach for characterizing the effects of hydropower plant operations on within-day flow regimes across multiple dams and rivers. For this aim we first defined ecologically meaningful metrics that provide a full representation of the flow regime at short time scales from free-flowing rivers and rivers exposed to hydropeaking. We then defined metrics that enable quantification of the deviation of the altered short-term flow regime variables from those of the unaltered state. The approach was successfully tested in two rivers in northern Sweden, one free-flowing and another regulated by cascades of hydropower plants, which were additionally classified based on their impact on short-term flows in sites of similar management. The largest differences between study sites corresponded to metrics describing sub-daily flow magnitudes such as amplitude (i.e., difference between the highest and the lowest hourly flows) and rates (i.e., rise and fall rates of hourly flows). They were closely followed by frequency-related metrics accounting for the numbers of within-day hourly flow patterns (i.e., rises, falls and periods of stability of hourly flows). In comparison, between-site differences for the duration-related metrics were smallest. In general, hydropeaking resulted in higher within-day flow amplitudes and rates and more but shorter periods of a similar hourly flow patterns per day. The impacted flow feature and the characteristics of the impact (i.e., intensity and whether the impact increases or decreases whatever is being described by the metric) varied with season. Our approach is useful for catchment management planning, defining environmental flow targets, prioritizing river restoration or dam reoperation efforts and contributing information for relicensing hydropower dams.

Effect of Ion Streaming on Diffusion of Dust Grains in Dissipative System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Begum, M.; Das, N.

2018-01-01

The presence of strong electric fields in the sheath region of laboratory complex plasma induces an ion drift and perturbs the field around dust grains. The downstream focusing of ions leads to the formation of oscillatory kind of attractive wake potential which superimpose with the normal Debye-Hückel (DH) potential. The structural properties of complex plasma and diffusion coefficient of dust grains in the presence of such a wake potential have been investigated using Langevin dynamics simulation in the subsonic regime of ion flow. The study reveals that the diffusion of dust grains is strongly affected by the ion flow, so that the diffusion changes its character in the wake potential to the DH potential dominant regimes. The dependence of the diffusion coefficient on the parameters, such as the neutral pressure, dust grain size, ion flow velocity, and Coulomb coupling parameter, have been calculated for the subsonic regime by using the Green-Kubo expression, which is based on the integrated velocity autocorrelation function. It is found that the diffusion and the structural property of the system is intimately connected with the interaction potential and significantly get affected in the presence of ion flow in the subsonic regime.

Quantifying alteration of river flow regime by large reservoirs in France

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cipriani, Thomas; Sauquet, Eric

2017-04-01

Reservoirs may highly modify river flow regime. Knowing the alterations is of importance to better understand the biological and physical patterns along the river network. However data are not necessary available to carry out an analysis of modifications at a national scale, e.g. due to industrial interests or to lack of measurements. The objective of this study is to quantify the changes in a set of hydrological indices due to large reservoirs in France combining different data sources. The analysis is based on a comparison between influenced discharges (observed discharges) and natural discharges available from: (i) gauging stations available upstream the dam, (ii) regionalization procedures (Sauquet et al., 2008; Sauquet et Catalogne, 2011; Cipriani et al., 2012), or (iii) historical data free from human influence close to the dam location. The impact of large reservoirs is assessed considering different facets of the river flow regime, including flood quantiles, low flow characteristics, quantiles from the flow duration curve and the twelve mean monthly discharges. The departures from the indice representative of natural conditions quantify the effect of the reservoir management on the river flow regime. The analysis is based on 62 study cases. Results show large spread in terms of impact depending on the purposes of the reservoirs and the season of interest. Results also point out inconsistencies in data (water balance between outflow and inflow, downstream of the dam is not warranted) due to uncertainties in mean monthly discharges and to the imperfect knowledge of inflows and outflows. Lastly, we suggest a typology of hydrological alterations based on the purposes of the reservoirs. Cipriani T., Toilliez T., Sauquet E. (2012). Estimating 10 year return period peak flows and flood durations at ungauged locations in France. La Houille Blanche, 4-5: 5-13, doi : 10.1051/lhb/2012024. Sauquet E., Catalogne C. (2011). Comparison of catchment grouping methods for flow duration curve estimation at ungauged sites in France. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 15: 2421-2435, doi:10.5194/hess-15-2421-2011. Sauquet E., Gottschalk L., Krasovskaïa I. (2008). Estimating mean monthly runoff at ungauged locations: an application to France. Hydrology Research, 39(5-6): 403-423.

Identifying environmental correlates of intraspecific genetic variation.

PubMed

Harrisson, K A; Yen, J D L; Pavlova, A; Rourke, M L; Gilligan, D; Ingram, B A; Lyon, J; Tonkin, Z; Sunnucks, P

2016-09-01

Genetic variation is critical to the persistence of populations and their capacity to adapt to environmental change. The distribution of genetic variation across a species' range can reveal critical information that is not necessarily represented in species occurrence or abundance patterns. We identified environmental factors associated with the amount of intraspecific, individual-based genetic variation across the range of a widespread freshwater fish species, the Murray cod Maccullochella peelii. We used two different approaches to statistically quantify the relative importance of predictor variables, allowing for nonlinear relationships: a random forest model and a Bayesian approach. The latter also accounted for population history. Both approaches identified associations between homozygosity by locus and both disturbance to the natural flow regime and mean annual flow. Homozygosity by locus was negatively associated with disturbance to the natural flow regime, suggesting that river reaches with more disturbed flow regimes may support larger, more genetically diverse populations. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that artificially induced perennial flows in regulated channels may provide greater and more consistent habitat and reduce the frequency of population bottlenecks that can occur frequently under the highly variable and unpredictable natural flow regime of the system. Although extensive river regulation across eastern Australia has not had an overall positive effect on Murray cod numbers over the past century, regulation may not represent the primary threat to Murray cod survival. Instead, pressures other than flow regulation may be more critical to the persistence of Murray cod (for example, reduced frequency of large floods, overfishing and chemical pollution).

Regimes of Two-Phase Flow in Short Rectangular Channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chinnov, Evgeny A.; Guzanov, Vladimir V.; Cheverda, Vyacheslav; Markovich, Dmitry M.; Kabov, Oleg A.

2009-08-01

Experimental study of two-phase flow in the short rectangular horizontal channel with height 440 μm has been performed. Characteristics of liquid motion inside the channel have been registered and measured by the Laser Induced Fluorescence technique. New information has allowed determining more precisely the characteristics of churn regime and boundaries between different regimes of two-phase flow. It was shown that formation of some two-phase flow regimes and transitions between them are determined by instability of the flow in the lateral parts of the channel.

Investigation of Body Force Effects on Flow Boiling Critical Heat Flux

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhang, Hui; Mudawar, Issam; Hasan, Mohammad M.

2002-01-01

The bubble coalescence and interfacial instabilities that are important to modeling critical heat flux (CHF) in reduced-gravity systems can be sensitive to even minute body forces. Understanding these complex phenomena is vital to the design and safe implementation of two-phase thermal management loops proposed for space and planetary-based thermal systems. While reduced gravity conditions cannot be accurately simulated in 1g ground-based experiments, such experiments can help isolate the effects of the various forces (body force, surface tension force and inertia) which influence flow boiling CHF. In this project, the effects of the component of body force perpendicular to a heated wall were examined by conducting 1g flow boiling experiments at different orientations. FC-72 liquid was boiled along one wall of a transparent rectangular flow channel that permitted photographic study of the vapor-liquid interface at conditions approaching CHF. High-speed video imaging was employed to capture dominant CHF mechanisms. Six different CHF regimes were identified: Wavy Vapor Layer, Pool Boiling, Stratification, Vapor Counterflow, Vapor Stagnation, and Separated Concurrent Vapor Flow. CHF showed great sensitivity to orientation for flow velocities below 0.2 m/s, where very small CHF values where measured, especially with downflow and downward-facing heated wall orientations. High flow velocities dampened the effects of orientation considerably. Figure I shows representative images for the different CHF regimes. The Wavy Vapor Layer regime was dominant for all high velocities and most orientations, while all other regimes were encountered at low velocities, in the downflow and/or downward-facing heated wall orientations. The Interfacial Lift-off model was modified to predict the effects of orientation on CHF for the dominant Wavy Vapor Layer regime. The photographic study captured a fairly continuous wavy vapor layer travelling along the heated wall while permitting liquid contact only in wetting fronts, located in the troughs of the interfacial waves. CHF commenced when wetting fronts near the outlet were lifted off the wall. The Interfacial Lift-off model is shown to be an effective tool for predicting the effects of body force on CHF at high velocities.

Absorption Filter Based Optical Diagnostics in High Speed Flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Samimy, Mo; Elliott, Gregory; Arnette, Stephen

1996-01-01

Two major regimes where laser light scattered by molecules or particles in a flow contains significant information about the flow are Mie scattering and Rayleigh scattering. Mie scattering is used to obtain only velocity information, while Rayleigh scattering can be used to measure both the velocity and the thermodynamic properties of the flow. Now, recently introduced (1990, 1991) absorption filter based diagnostic techniques have started a new era in flow visualization, simultaneous velocity and thermodynamic measurements, and planar velocity measurements. Using a filtered planar velocimetry (FPV) technique, we have modified the optically thick iodine filter profile of Miles, et al., and used it in the pressure-broaden regime which accommodates measurements in a wide range of velocity applications. Measuring velocity and thermodynamic properties simultaneously, using absorption filtered based Rayleigh scattering, involves not only the measurement of the Doppler shift, but also the spectral profile of the Rayleigh scattering signal. Using multiple observation angles, simultaneous measurement of one component velocity and thermodynamic properties in a supersonic jet were measured. Presently, the technique is being extended for simultaneous measurements of all three components of velocity and thermodynamic properties.

An ecological economic assessment of flow regimes in a hydropower dominated river basin: the case of the lower Zambezi River, Mozambique.

PubMed

Fanaian, Safa; Graas, Susan; Jiang, Yong; van der Zaag, Pieter

2015-02-01

The flow regime of rivers, being an integral part of aquatic ecosystems, provides many important services benefiting humans in catchments. Past water resource developments characterized by river embankments and dams, however, were often dominated by one (or few) economic use(s) of water. This results in a dramatically changed flow regime negatively affecting the provision of other ecosystem services sustained by the river flow. This study is intended to demonstrate the value of alternative flow regimes in a river that is highly modified by the presence of large hydropower dams and reservoirs, explicitly accounting for a broad range of flow-dependent ecosystem services. In this study, we propose a holistic approach for conducting an ecological economic assessment of a river's flow regime. This integrates recent advances in the conceptualization and classification of ecosystem services (UK NEA, 2011) with the flow regime evaluation technique developed by Korsgaard (2006). This integrated approach allows for a systematic comparison of the economic values of alternative flow regimes, including those that are considered beneficial for aquatic ecosystems. As an illustration, we applied this combined approach to the Lower Zambezi Basin, Mozambique. Empirical analysis shows that even though re-operating dams to create environmentally friendly flow regimes reduces hydropower benefits, the gains to goods derived from the aquatic ecosystem may offset the forgone hydropower benefits, thereby increasing the total economic value of river flow to society. The proposed integrated flow assessment approach can be a useful tool for welfare-improving decision-making in managing river basins. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analytical flow duration curves for summer streamflow in Switzerland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos, Ana Clara; Portela, Maria Manuela; Rinaldo, Andrea; Schaefli, Bettina

2018-04-01

This paper proposes a systematic assessment of the performance of an analytical modeling framework for streamflow probability distributions for a set of 25 Swiss catchments. These catchments show a wide range of hydroclimatic regimes, including namely snow-influenced streamflows. The model parameters are calculated from a spatially averaged gridded daily precipitation data set and from observed daily discharge time series, both in a forward estimation mode (direct parameter calculation from observed data) and in an inverse estimation mode (maximum likelihood estimation). The performance of the linear and the nonlinear model versions is assessed in terms of reproducing observed flow duration curves and their natural variability. Overall, the nonlinear model version outperforms the linear model for all regimes, but the linear model shows a notable performance increase with catchment elevation. More importantly, the obtained results demonstrate that the analytical model performs well for summer discharge for all analyzed streamflow regimes, ranging from rainfall-driven regimes with summer low flow to snow and glacier regimes with summer high flow. These results suggest that the model's encoding of discharge-generating events based on stochastic soil moisture dynamics is more flexible than previously thought. As shown in this paper, the presence of snowmelt or ice melt is accommodated by a relative increase in the discharge-generating frequency, a key parameter of the model. Explicit quantification of this frequency increase as a function of mean catchment meteorological conditions is left for future research.

Dam regulation and riverine food-web structure in a Mediterranean river.

PubMed

Mor, Jordi-René; Ruhí, Albert; Tornés, Elisabet; Valcárcel, Héctor; Muñoz, Isabel; Sabater, Sergi

2018-06-01

Flow regimes are a major driver of community composition and structure in riverine ecosystems, and flow regulation by dams often induces artificially-stable flow regimes downstream. This represents a major source of hydrological alteration, particularly in regions where biota is adapted to strong seasonal and interannual flow variability. We hypothesized that dam-induced hydrological stability should increase the availability of autochthonous resources at the base of the food web. This, in turn, should favour herbivorous over detritivorous strategies, increasing the diversity of primary consumers, and the food-web width and length. We tested this hypothesis by studying the longitudinal variation in food-web structure in a highly-seasonal Mediterranean river affected by an irrigation dam. We compared an unregulated reach to several reaches downstream of the dam. Hydrological and sedimentological stability increased downstream of the dam, and altered the type and quantity of available resources downstream, prompting a change from a detritus-based to an algae-based food web. The fraction of links between top and intermediate species also increased, and the food web became longer and wider at the intermediate trophic levels. Food-web structure did not recover 14km downstream of the dam, despite a partial restitution of the flow regime. Our results advance the notion that hydrologic alteration affects riverine food webs via additions/deletions of taxa and variation in the strength and distribution of food-web interactions. Thus, flow regulation by dams may not only impact individual facets of biodiversity, but also food-web level properties across river networks. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thermosolutal Marangoni convection short-time regimes - Proposals for drop tower experiments and real time computer simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polezhaev, V. I.; Ermakov, M. K.

1992-12-01

Results are presented of a parametrical study of flow patterns, heat transfer, and time scales of thermosolutal Marangoni convection in a cavity with temperature and solutal gradients along the free surface and adiabatic bottom for the case of zero gravity. Nusselt number, concentration difference across the cavity, and flow/temperature fields for the different regimes are presented; they show the possibility to use Drop Tower 'Bremen' for measuring the developed secondary flow and heat/mass transfer due to thermosolutal Marangoni convection as well as the possibility to analyze and plan the drop tower for such experiments using the COMGA PC-based system.

Modified unified kinetic scheme for all flow regimes.

PubMed

Liu, Sha; Zhong, Chengwen

2012-06-01

A modified unified kinetic scheme for the prediction of fluid flow behaviors in all flow regimes is described. The time evolution of macrovariables at the cell interface is calculated with the idea that both free transport and collision mechanisms should be considered. The time evolution of macrovariables is obtained through the conservation constraints. The time evolution of local Maxwellian distribution is obtained directly through the one-to-one mapping from the evolution of macrovariables. These improvements provide more physical realities in flow behaviors and more accurate numerical results in all flow regimes especially in the complex transition flow regime. In addition, the improvement steps introduce no extra computational complexity.

Laminar, turbulent, and inertial shear-thickening regimes in channel flow of neutrally buoyant particle suspensions.

PubMed

Lashgari, Iman; Picano, Francesco; Breugem, Wim-Paul; Brandt, Luca

2014-12-19

The aim of this Letter is to characterize the flow regimes of suspensions of finite-size rigid particles in a viscous fluid at finite inertia. We explore the system behavior as a function of the particle volume fraction and the Reynolds number (the ratio of flow and particle inertia to viscous forces). Unlike single-phase flows, where a clear distinction exists between the laminar and the turbulent states, three different regimes can be identified in the presence of a particulate phase, with smooth transitions between them. At low volume fractions, the flow becomes turbulent when increasing the Reynolds number, transitioning from the laminar regime dominated by viscous forces to the turbulent regime characterized by enhanced momentum transport by turbulent eddies. At larger volume fractions, we identify a new regime characterized by an even larger increase of the wall friction. The wall friction increases with the Reynolds number (inertial effects) while the turbulent transport is weakly affected, as in a state of intense inertial shear thickening. This state may prevent the transition to a fully turbulent regime at arbitrary high speed of the flow.

Hydrologic classification of rivers based on cluster analysis of dimensionless hydrologic signatures: Applications for environmental instream flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Praskievicz, S. J.; Luo, C.

2017-12-01

Classification of rivers is useful for a variety of purposes, such as generating and testing hypotheses about watershed controls on hydrology, predicting hydrologic variables for ungaged rivers, and setting goals for river management. In this research, we present a bottom-up (based on machine learning) river classification designed to investigate the underlying physical processes governing rivers' hydrologic regimes. The classification was developed for the entire state of Alabama, based on 248 United States Geological Survey (USGS) stream gages that met criteria for length and completeness of records. Five dimensionless hydrologic signatures were derived for each gage: slope of the flow duration curve (indicator of flow variability), baseflow index (ratio of baseflow to average streamflow), rising limb density (number of rising limbs per unit time), runoff ratio (ratio of long-term average streamflow to long-term average precipitation), and streamflow elasticity (sensitivity of streamflow to precipitation). We used a Bayesian clustering algorithm to classify the gages, based on the five hydrologic signatures, into distinct hydrologic regimes. We then used classification and regression trees (CART) to predict each gaged river's membership in different hydrologic regimes based on climatic and watershed variables. Using existing geospatial data, we applied the CART analysis to classify ungaged streams in Alabama, with the National Hydrography Dataset Plus (NHDPlus) catchment (average area 3 km2) as the unit of classification. The results of the classification can be used for meeting management and conservation objectives in Alabama, such as developing statewide standards for environmental instream flows. Such hydrologic classification approaches are promising for contributing to process-based understanding of river systems.

Condensation and single-phase heat transfer coefficient and flow regime visualization in microchannel tubes for HFC-134A

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wei-Wen William

This dissertation is to document experimental, local condensation and single-phase heat transfer and flow data of the minute diameter, microchannel tube and to develop correlation methods for optimizing the design of horizontal-microchannel condensers. It is essential to collect local data as the condensation progresses through several different flow patterns, since as more liquid is formed, the mechanism conducting heat transfer and flow is also changing. Therefore, the identification of the flow pattern is as important as the thermal and dynamic data. The experimental results were compared with correlation and flow regime maps from literature. The experiment using refrigerant HFC-134a in flat, multi-port aluminum tubing with 1.46mm hydraulic diameter was conducted. The characteristic of single-phase friction can be described with the analytical solution of square channel. The Gnielinski correlation provided good prediction of single-phase turbulent flow heat transfer. Higher mass fluxes and qualities resulted in increased condensation heat transfer and were more effective in the shear-dominated annular flow. The effect of temperature gradient from wall to refrigerant attributed profoundly in the gravity-dominated wavy/slug flow. Two correlation based on different flow mechanisms were developed for specified flow regimes. Finally, an asymptotic correlation was successfully proposed to account for the entire data regardless of flow patterns. Data taken from experiment and observations obtained from flow visualization, resulted in a better understanding of the physics in microchannel condensation, optimized designs in the microchannel condensers are now possible.

Assessing the effusion rate of lava flows from their thermal radiated energy: theoretical study and lab-scale experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garel, F.; Kaminski, E.; Tait, S.; Limare, A.

2010-12-01

A quantitative monitoring of lava flow is required to manage a volcanic crisis, in order to assess where the flow will go, and when will it stop. As the spreading of lava flows is mainly controlled by its rheology and the eruptive mass flux, the key question is how to evaluate them during the eruption (rather than afterwards.) A relationship between the lava flow temperature and the eruption rate is likely to exist, based on the first-order argument that higher eruption rates should correspond to larger energy radiated by a lava flow. The semi-empirical formula developed by Harris and co-workers (e.g. Harris et al., 2007) is used to estimate lava flow rate from satellite observations. However, the complete theoretical bases of this technique, especially its domain of validity, remain to be firmly established. Here we propose a theoretical study of the cooling of a viscous axisymmetric gravity current fed at constant flux rate to investigate whether or not this approach can and/or should be refined and/or modify to better assess flow rates. Our study focuses on the influence of boundary conditions at the surface of the flow, where cooling can occur both by radiation and convection, and at the base of the flow. Dimensionless numbers are introduced to quantify the relative interplay between the model parameters, such as the lava flow rate and the efficiency of the various cooling processes (conduction, convection, radiation.) We obtain that the thermal evolution of the flow can be described as a two-stage evolution. After a transient phase of dynamic cooling, the flow reaches a steady state, characterized by a balance between surface and base cooling and heat advection in the flow, in which the surface temperature structure is constant. The duration of the transient phase and the radiated energy in the steady regime are shown to be a function of the dimensionless numbers. In the case of lava flows, we obtain that the steady state regime is reached after a few days. In this regime, a thermal image provides a consistent estimate of the flow rate if the external cooling conditions are reasonably well constrained.

Numerical Investigation of Flow in a Centrifugal Compressor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grishin, Yu. A.; Bakulin, V. N.

2015-09-01

With the use of the domestic software suite of computational hydrodynamics Flow Vision based on application of the method of control volumes, numerical simulation of air composition and delivery by a centrifugal compressor employed for supercharging a piston engine has been carried out. The head-flow characteristics of the compressor, as well as the 3D fields of flow velocity and pressure distributions in the elements of the compressor flow passage, including the interblade channels of the impeller, have been obtained for various regimes. In the regimes of diminished air flow rate, surging phenomena are identified, characterized by a return flow. The application of the technique of numerical experiment will make it possible from here on to carry out design optimization of the compressor flow passage profile and thus to improve its basic characteristics — the degree of pressure increase, compressed air flow rate, and the efficiency — as well as to reduce the costs of the development and production of compressors.

Detrimental effects of a novel flow regime on the functional trajectory of an aquatic invertebrate metacommunity.

PubMed

Ruhi, Albert; Dong, Xiaoli; McDaniel, Courtney H; Batzer, Darold P; Sabo, John L

2018-04-17

Novel flow regimes resulting from dam operations and overallocation of freshwater resources are an emerging consequence of global change. Yet, anticipating how freshwater biodiversity will respond to surging flow regime alteration requires overcoming two challenges in environmental flow science: shifting from local to riverscape-level understanding of biodiversity dynamics, and from static to time-varying characterizations of the flow regime. Here, we used time-series methods (wavelets and multivariate autoregressive models) to quantify flow-regime alteration and to link time-varying flow regimes to the dynamics of multiple local communities potentially connected by dispersal (i.e., a metacommunity). We studied the Chattahoochee River below Buford dam (Georgia, U.S.A.), and asked how flow regime alteration by a large hydropower dam may control the long-term functional trajectory of the downstream invertebrate metacommunity. We found that seasonal variation in hydropeaking synchronized temporal fluctuations in trait abundance among the flow-altered sites. Three biological trait states describing adaptation to fast flows benefitted from flow management for hydropower, but did not compensate for declines in 16 "loser" traits. Accordingly, metacommunity-wide functional diversity responded negatively to hydropeaking intensity, and stochastic simulations showed that the risk of functional diversity collapse within the next 4 years would decrease by 17% if hydropeaking was ameliorated, or by 9% if it was applied every other season. Finally, an analysis of 97 reference and 23 dam-affected river sites across the U.S. Southeast suggested that flow variation at extraneous, human-relevant scales (12-hr, 24-hr, 1-week) is relatively common in rivers affected by hydropower dams. This study advances the notion that novel flow regimes are widespread, and simplify the functional structure of riverine communities by filtering out taxa with nonadaptive traits and by spatially synchronizing their dynamics. This is relevant in the light of ongoing and future hydrologic alteration due to climate non-stationarity and the new wave of dams planned globally. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

CFD simulations of the flow control performance applied for inlet of low drag high-bypass turbofan engine at cross flow regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kursakov, I. A.; Kazhan, E. V.; Lysenkov, A. V.; Savelyev, A. A.

2016-10-01

Paper describes the optimization procedure for low cruise drag inlet of high-bypass ratio turbofan engine (HBRE). The critical cross-flow velocity when the flow separation on the lee side of the inlet channel occurs is determined. The effciency of different flow control devices used to improve the flow parameters at inlet section cross flow regime is analyzed. Boundary layer suction, bypass slot and vortex generators are considered. It is shown that flow control devices enlarge the stability range of inlet performance at cross flow regimes.

Depth resolved granular transport driven by shearing fluid flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, Benjamin; Kudrolli, Arshad

2017-02-01

We investigate granular transport by a fluid flow under steady-state driving conditions, from the bed-load regime to the suspension regime, with an experimental system based on a conical rheometer. The mean granular volume fraction ϕg, the mean granular velocity ug, and the fluid velocity uf are obtained as a function of depth inside the bed using refractive index matching and particle-tracking techniques. A torque sensor is utilized to measure the applied shear stress to complement estimates obtained from measured strain rates high above the bed where ϕg≈0 . The flow is found to be transitional at the onset of transport and the shear stress required to transport grains rises sharply as grains are increasingly entrained by the fluid flow. A significant slip velocity between the fluid and the granular phases is observed at the bed surface before the onset of transport as well as in the bed-load transport regime. We show that ug decays exponentially deep into the bed for ϕg>0.45 with a decay constant which is described by a nonlocal rheology model of granular flow that neglects fluid stress. Further, we show that uf and ug can be described using the applied shear stress and the Krieger-Dougherty model for the effective viscosity in the suspension regime, where 0 <ϕg<0.45 and where ug≈uf .

Sharing the opportunity cost among power companies to support hydropower-to-environment water transfers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tilmant, Amaury; Marques, Guilherme

2016-04-01

Among the environmental impacts caused by dams, the alteration of flow regimes is one of the most critical to river ecosystems given its influence in long river reaches and its continuous pattern. Provided it is technically feasible, the reoperation of hydroelectric reservoir systems can, in principle, mitigate the impacts on degraded freshwater ecosystems by recovering some of the natural flow regime. The typical approach to implement hydropower-to-environment water transfers focuses on the reoperation of the dam located immediately upstream of the environmentally sensitive area, meaning that only one power station will bear the brunt of the benefits forgone for the power sector. By ignoring the contribution of upstream infrastructures to the alteration of the flow regime, the opportunity cost associated with the restoration of a flow regime is not equitably distributed among the power companies in the river basin, therefore slowing the establishment of environmental flow programs. Yet, there is no criterion, nor institutional mechanisms, to ensure a fair distribution of the opportunity cost among power stations. This paper addresses this issue by comparing four rules to redistribute the costs faced by the power sector when environmental flows must be implemented in a multireservoir system. The rules are based on the the installed capacity of the power plants, the live storage capacity of the reservoirs, the ratio between the incremental flows and the live storage capacity, and the extent of the storage services; that is, the volume of water effectively transferred by each reservoir. The analysis is carried out using the Parana River Basin (Brazil) as a case study.

Convection due to an unstable density difference across a permeable membrane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puthenveettil, Baburaj A.; Arakeri, Jaywant H.

We study natural convection driven by unstable concentration differences of sodium chloride (NaCl) across a horizontal permeable membrane at Rayleigh numbers (Ra) of 1010 to 1011 and Schmidt number (Sc)=600. A layer of brine lies over a layer of distilled water, separated by the membrane, in square-cross-section tanks. The membrane is permeable enough to allow a small flow across it at higher driving potentials. Based on the predominant mode of transport across the membrane, three regimes of convection, namely an advection regime, a diffusion regime and a combined regime, are identified. The near-membrane flow in all the regimes consists of sheet plumes formed from the unstable layers of fluid near the membrane. In the advection regime observed at higher concentration differences (Bb) show a common log-normal probability density function at all Ra. We propose a phenomenology which predicts /line{lambda}_b sqrt{Z_w Z_{V_i}}, where Zw and Z_{V_i} are, respectively, the near-wall length scales in Rayleighnard convection (RBC) and due to the advection velocity. In the combined regime, which occurs at intermediate values of C/2)4/3. At lower driving potentials, in the diffusion regime, the flux scaling is similar to that in turbulent RBC.

Effects of Gravity on Cocurrent Two-Phase Gas-Liquid Flows Through Packed Columns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Motil, Brian J.; Balakotaiah, Vemuri; Kamotani, Yasuhiro

2001-01-01

This work presents the experimental results of research on the influence of gravity on flow pattern transitions, pressure drop and flow characteristics for cocurrent gas-liquid two-phase flow through packed columns. The flow pattern transition data indicates that the pulse flow regime exists over a wider range of gas and liquid flow rates under reduced gravity conditions compared to normal gravity cocurrent down-flow. This is illustrated by comparing the flow regime transitions found in reduced gravity with the transitions predicted by Talmor. Next, the effect of gravity on the total pressure drop in a packed column is shown to depend on the flow regime. The difference is roughly equivalent to the liquid static head for bubbly flow but begins to decrease at the onset of pulse flow. As the spray flow regime is approached by increasing the gas to liquid ratio, the effect of gravity on pressure drop becomes negligible. Finally, gravity tends to suppress the amplitude of each pressure pulse. An example of this phenomenon is presented.

Definition of two-phase flow behaviors for spacecraft design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reinarts, Thomas R.; Best, Frederick R.; Miller, Katherine M.; Hill, Wayne S.

1991-01-01

Two-phase flow, thermal management systems are currently being considered as an alternative to conventional, single phase systems for future space missions because of their potential to reduce overall system mass, size, and pumping power requirements. Knowledge of flow regime transitions, heat transfer characteristics, and pressure drop correlations is necessary to design and develop two-phase systems. A boiling and condensing experiment was built in which R-12 was used as the working fluid. A two-phase pump was used to circulate a freon mixture and allow separate measurements of the vapor and liquid flow streams. The experimental package was flown five times aboard the NASA KC-135 aircraft which simulates zero-g conditions by its parabolic flight trajectory. Test conditions included stratified and annual flow regimes in 1-g which became bubbly, slug, or annular flow regimes on 0-g. A portion of this work is the analysis of adiabatic flow regimes. The superficial velocities of liquid and vapor have been obtained from the measured flow rates and are presented along with the observed flow regimes.

Air filtration in the free molecular flow regime: a review of high-efficiency particulate air filters based on carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Li, Peng; Wang, Chunya; Zhang, Yingying; Wei, Fei

2014-11-01

Air filtration in the free molecular flow (FMF) regime is important and challenging because a higher filtration efficiency and lower pressure drop are obtained when the fiber diameter is smaller than the gas mean free path in the FMF regime. In previous studies, FMF conditions have been obtained by increasing the gas mean free path through reducing the pressure and increasing the temperature. In the case of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with nanoscale diameters, it is possible to filtrate in the FMF regime under normal conditions. This paper reviews recent progress in theoretical and experimental studies of air filtration in the FMF regime. Typical structure models of high-efficiency particulate (HEPA) air filters based on CNTs are introduced. The pressure drop in air filters operated in the FMF regime is less than that predicted by the conventional air filtration theory. The thinnest HEPA filters fabricated from single-walled CNT films have an extremely low pressure drop. CNT air filters with a gradient nanostructure are shown to give a much better filtration performance in dynamic filtration. CNT air filters with a hierarchical structure and an agglomerated CNT fluidized bed air filter are also introduced. Finally, the challenges and opportunities for the application of CNTs in air filtration are discussed. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

An implicit scheme with memory reduction technique for steady state solutions of DVBE in all flow regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, L. M.; Shu, C.; Yang, W. M.; Wu, J.

2018-04-01

High consumption of memory and computational effort is the major barrier to prevent the widespread use of the discrete velocity method (DVM) in the simulation of flows in all flow regimes. To overcome this drawback, an implicit DVM with a memory reduction technique for solving a steady discrete velocity Boltzmann equation (DVBE) is presented in this work. In the method, the distribution functions in the whole discrete velocity space do not need to be stored, and they are calculated from the macroscopic flow variables. As a result, its memory requirement is in the same order as the conventional Euler/Navier-Stokes solver. In the meantime, it is more efficient than the explicit DVM for the simulation of various flows. To make the method efficient for solving flow problems in all flow regimes, a prediction step is introduced to estimate the local equilibrium state of the DVBE. In the prediction step, the distribution function at the cell interface is calculated by the local solution of DVBE. For the flow simulation, when the cell size is less than the mean free path, the prediction step has almost no effect on the solution. However, when the cell size is much larger than the mean free path, the prediction step dominates the solution so as to provide reasonable results in such a flow regime. In addition, to further improve the computational efficiency of the developed scheme in the continuum flow regime, the implicit technique is also introduced into the prediction step. Numerical results showed that the proposed implicit scheme can provide reasonable results in all flow regimes and increase significantly the computational efficiency in the continuum flow regime as compared with the existing DVM solvers.

Biological assessment of environmental flows for Oklahoma

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fisher, William L.; Seilheimer, Titus S.; Taylor, Jason M.

2012-01-01

Large-scale patterns in fish assemblage structure and functional groups are influenced by alterations in streamflow regime. In this study, we defined an objective threshold for alteration for Oklahoma streams using a combination of the expected range of 27 flow indices and a discriminant analysis to predict flow regime group. We found that fish functional groups in reference flow conditions had species that were more intolerant to flow alterations and preferences for stream habitat and faster flowing water. In contrast, altered sites had more tolerant species that preferred lentic habitat and slower water velocity. Ordination graphs of the presence and functional groups of species revealed an underlying geographical pattern roughly conforming to ecoregions, although there was separation between reference and altered sites within the larger geographical framework. Additionally, we found that reservoir construction and operation significantly altered fish assemblages in two different systems, Bird Creek in central Oklahoma and the Kiamichi River in southeastern Oklahoma. The Bird Creek flow regime shifted from a historically intermittent stream to one with stable perennial flows, and changes in fish assemblage structure covaried with changes in all five components of the flow regime. In contrast, the Kiamichi River flow regime did not change significantly for most flow components despite shifts in fish assemblage structure; however, most of the species associated with shifts in assemblage structure in the Kiamichi River system were characteristic of lentic environments and were likely related more to proximity of reservoirs in the drainage system than changes in flow. The spatial patterns in fish assemblage response to flow alteration, combined with different temporal responses of hydrology and fish assemblage structure at sites downstream of reservoirs, indicate that interactions between flow regime and aquatic biota vary depending on ecological setting. This supports the notion that regional variation in natural flow regimes could affect the development of flow recommendations.

Mathematical modeling of swirled flows in industrial applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dekterev, A. A.; Gavrilov, A. A.; Sentyabov, A. V.

2018-03-01

Swirled flows are widely used in technological devices. Swirling flows are characterized by a wide range of flow regimes. 3D mathematical modeling of flows is widely used in research and design. For correct mathematical modeling of such a flow, it is necessary to use turbulence models, which take into account important features of the flow. Based on the experience of computational modeling of a wide class of problems with swirling flows, recommendations on the use of turbulence models for calculating the applied problems are proposed.

Asymptotic behaviour of Stokes flow in a thin domain with a moving rough boundary

PubMed Central

Fabricius, J.; Koroleva, Y. O.; Tsandzana, A.; Wall, P.

2014-01-01

We consider a problem that models fluid flow in a thin domain bounded by two surfaces. One of the surfaces is rough and moving, whereas the other is flat and stationary. The problem involves two small parameters ϵ and μ that describe film thickness and roughness wavelength, respectively. Depending on the ratio λ=ϵ/μ, three different flow regimes are obtained in the limit as both of them tend to zero. Time-dependent equations of Reynolds type are obtained in all three cases (Stokes roughness, Reynolds roughness and high-frequency roughness regime). The derivations of the limiting equations are based on formal expansions in the parameters ϵ and μ. PMID:25002820

Lifecycle of miscible viscous fingering: onset to shutdown

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nijjer, Japinder S.; Hewitt, Duncan R.; Neufeld, Jerome A.

2017-11-01

When a viscous fluid is injected into a porous medium or Hele-Shaw cell that is initially saturated with a more viscous fluid, the flow can be unstable to viscous fingering. We investigate the long-time dynamics of miscible viscous fingering in a homogeneous, planar, two-dimensional porous medium using high-resolution numerical simulations. At late times, we identify a new flow regime which consists of a pair of counter-propagating fingers that diffuse and slow, leaving a linearly well-mixed interior. We derive an analytic solution for this regime, and show that, in contrast to previous suggestions, the flow always evolves to this regime irrespective of the viscosity ratio and Peclet number. As a consequence, we find the instability can only ever generate a finite amount of advective mixing. We also describe the full life-cycle of miscible viscous fingering, which can be partitioned into three regimes: an early-time linearly unstable regime, an intermediate-time non-linear regime, and a late-time exchange-flow regime. We identify, using linear stability theory, a critical Peclet number below which the flow is always stable, and derive a model for the evolution of the transversely averaged concentration in the intermediate-time regime, which extends previous empirical models.

Two Phase Flow Modeling: Summary of Flow Regimes and Pressure Drop Correlations in Reduced and Partial Gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balasubramaniam, R.; Rame, E.; Kizito, J.; Kassemi, M.

2006-01-01

The purpose of this report is to provide a summary of state-of-the-art predictions for two-phase flows relevant to Advanced Life Support. We strive to pick out the most used and accepted models for pressure drop and flow regime predictions. The main focus is to identify gaps in predictive capabilities in partial gravity for Lunar and Martian applications. Following a summary of flow regimes and pressure drop correlations for terrestrial and zero gravity, we analyze the fully developed annular gas-liquid flow in a straight cylindrical tube. This flow is amenable to analytical closed form solutions for the flow field and heat transfer. These solutions, valid for partial gravity as well, may be used as baselines and guides to compare experimental measurements. The flow regimes likely to be encountered in the water recovery equipment currently under consideration for space applications are provided in an appendix.

Explore the Impacts of River Flow and Water Quality on Fish Communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsai, W. P.; Chang, F. J.; Lin, C. Y.; Hu, J. H.; Yu, C. J.; Chu, T. J.

2015-12-01

Owing to the limitation of geographical environment in Taiwan, the uneven temporal and spatial distribution of rainfall would cause significant impacts on river ecosystems. To pursue sustainable water resources development, integrity and rationality is important to water management planning. The water quality and the flow regimes of rivers are closely related to each other and affect river ecosystems simultaneously. Therefore, this study collects long-term observational heterogeneity data, which includes water quality parameters, stream flow and fish species in the Danshui River of norther Taiwan, and aims to explore the complex impacts of water quality and flow regime on fish communities in order to comprehend the situations of the eco-hydrological system in this river basin. First, this study improves the understanding of the relationship between water quality parameters, flow regime and fish species by using artificial neural networks (ANNs). The Self-organizing feature map (SOM) is an unsupervised learning process used to cluster, analyze and visualize a large number of data. The results of SOM show that nine clusters (3x3) forms the optimum map size based on the local minimum values of both quantization error (QE) and topographic error (TE). Second, the fish diversity indexes are estimated by using the Adapted network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) based on key input factors determined by the Gamma Test (GT), which is a useful tool for reducing model dimension and the structure complexity of ANNs. The result reveals that the constructed models can effectively estimate fish diversity indexes and produce good estimation performance based on the 9 clusters identified by the SOM, in which RMSE is 0.18 and CE is 0.84 for the training data set while RMSE is 0.20 and CE is 0.80 for the testing data set.

Visualization of Flow in Pressurizer Spray Line Piping and Estimation of Thermal Stress Fluctuation Caused by Swaying of Water Surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oumaya, Toru; Nakamura, Akira; Onojima, Daisuke; Takenaka, Nobuyuki

The pressurizer spray line of PWR plants cools reactor coolant by injecting water into pressurizer. Since the continuous spray flow rate during commercial operation of the plant is considered insufficient to fill the pipe completely, there is a concern that a water surface exists in the pipe and may periodically sway. In order to identify the flow regimes in spray line piping and assess their impact on pipe structure, a flow visualization experiment was conducted. In the experiment, air was used substituted for steam to simulate the gas phase of the pressurizer, and the flow instability causing swaying without condensation was investigated. With a full-scale mock-up made of acrylic, flow under room temperature and atmospheric pressure conditions was visualized, and possible flow regimes were identified based on the results of the experiment. Three representative patterns of swaying of water surface were assumed, and the range of thermal stress fluctuation, when the surface swayed instantaneously, was calculated. With the three patterns of swaying assumed based on the visualization experiment, it was confirmed that the thermal stress amplitude would not exceed the fatigue endurance limit prescribed in the Japanese Design and Construction Code.

A probabilistic approach to quantifying spatial patterns of flow regimes and network-scale connectivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garbin, Silvia; Alessi Celegon, Elisa; Fanton, Pietro; Botter, Gianluca

2017-04-01

The temporal variability of river flow regime is a key feature structuring and controlling fluvial ecological communities and ecosystem processes. In particular, streamflow variability induced by climate/landscape heterogeneities or other anthropogenic factors significantly affects the connectivity between streams with notable implication for river fragmentation. Hydrologic connectivity is a fundamental property that guarantees species persistence and ecosystem integrity in riverine systems. In riverine landscapes, most ecological transitions are flow-dependent and the structure of flow regimes may affect ecological functions of endemic biota (i.e., fish spawning or grazing of invertebrate species). Therefore, minimum flow thresholds must be guaranteed to support specific ecosystem services, like fish migration, aquatic biodiversity and habitat suitability. In this contribution, we present a probabilistic approach aiming at a spatially-explicit, quantitative assessment of hydrologic connectivity at the network-scale as derived from river flow variability. Dynamics of daily streamflows are estimated based on catchment-scale climatic and morphological features, integrating a stochastic, physically based approach that accounts for the stochasticity of rainfall with a water balance model and a geomorphic recession flow model. The non-exceedance probability of ecologically meaningful flow thresholds is used to evaluate the fragmentation of individual stream reaches, and the ensuing network-scale connectivity metrics. A multi-dimensional Poisson Process for the stochastic generation of rainfall is used to evaluate the impact of climate signature on reach-scale and catchment-scale connectivity. The analysis shows that streamflow patterns and network-scale connectivity are influenced by the topology of the river network and the spatial variability of climatic properties (rainfall, evapotranspiration). The framework offers a robust basis for the prediction of the impact of land-use/land-cover changes and river regulation on network-scale connectivity.

Managing fish habitat for flow and temperature extremes ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Summer low flows and stream temperature maxima are key drivers affecting the sustainability of fish populations. Thus, it is critical to understand both the natural templates of spatiotemporal variability, how these are shifting due to anthropogenic influences of development and climate change, and how these impacts can be moderated by natural and constructed green infrastructure. Low flow statistics of New England streams have been characterized using a combination of regression equations to describe long-term averages as a function of indicators of hydrologic regime (rain- versus snow-dominated), precipitation, evapotranspiration or temperature, surface water storage, baseflow recession rates, and impervious cover. Difference equations have been constructed to describe interannual variation in low flow as a function of changing air temperature, precipitation, and ocean-atmospheric teleconnection indices. Spatial statistical network models have been applied to explore fine-scale variability of thermal regimes along stream networks in New England as a function of variables describing natural and altered energy inputs, groundwater contributions, and retention time. Low flows exacerbate temperature impacts by reducing thermal inertia of streams to energy inputs. Based on these models, we can construct scenarios of fish habitat suitability using current and projected future climate and the potential for preservation and restoration of historic habitat regimes th

Influence of channel morphology and flow regime on larval drift of pallid sturgeon in the Lower Missouri River

USGS Publications Warehouse

Erwin, Susannah O.; Jacobson, Robert B.

2015-01-01

The transition from drifting free embryo to exogenously feeding larvae has been identified as a potential life-stage bottleneck for the endangered Missouri River pallid sturgeon. Previous studies have indicated that river regulation and fragmentation may contribute to the mortality of larval pallid sturgeon by reducing the extent of free-flowing river available to free embryos to complete ontogenetic development. Calculations of total drift distance based on mean velocity, however, do not address the potential for complex channels and flow patterns to increase retention or longitudinal dispersion of free embryos. We use a one-dimensional advection–dispersion model to estimate total drift distance and employ the longitudinal dispersion coefficient as a metric to quantify the tendency towards dispersion or retention of passively drifting larvae. We describe the effects of different styles of channel morphology on larval dispersion and consider the implications of flow regime modifications on retention of free embryos within the Lower Missouri River. The results illustrate the complex interactions of local morphology, engineered structures, and hydraulics that determine patterns of dispersion in riverine environments and inform how changes to channel morphology and flow regime may alter dispersion of drifting organisms.

Liquid-in-gas droplet microfluidics; experimental characterization of droplet morphology, generation frequency, and monodispersity in a flow-focusing microfluidic device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tirandazi, Pooyan; Hidrovo, Carlos H.

2017-07-01

Microfluidic techniques for production of uniform droplets usually rely on the use of two immiscible liquids (e.g. water-in-oil emulsions). It has been shown recently that a continuous gas flow instead of a second liquid carrier can be used as an alternative approach in droplet microfluidics. In this work we experimentally investigate the generation of liquid water droplets within air in flow-focusing configurations. Over a wide range of flow conditions we identify six distinct flow regimes inside the microchannel: Co-flowing, Threading, Plugging, Dripping, Multi-Satellite Formation, and Jetting. Flow regimes and their transitions are plotted and characterized based on the Weber number (We) of the system. We further investigate the impact of liquid microchannel size on the flow maps. Generation frequency, morphology, and monodispersity of the droplets are characterized in more detail in the Dripping regime. Generation frequency can be related to the product of the liquid and gas flow rates. However, droplet morphology (length and width) is more dependent on the gas flow rate. We demonstrate the production of monodisperse droplets (d < 100 µm and σ/d < 5 %) up to kHz formation rates in liquid-gas microfluidic systems for the first time. The results of this work provide practical and useful guidelines for precise, oil-free delivery of ultra-small volumes of fluid which can be integrated in lab-on-a-chip systems for a variety of applications in biochemical research and material synthesis.

Determination of gas & liquid two-phase flow regime transitions in wellbore annulus by virtual mass force coefficient when gas cut

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qu, Junbo; Yan, Tie; Sun, Xiaofeng; Chen, Ye; Pan, Yi

2017-10-01

With the development of drilling technology to deeper stratum, overflowing especially gas cut occurs frequently, and then flow regime in wellbore annulus is from the original drilling fluid single-phase flow into gas & liquid two-phase flow. By using averaged two-fluid model equations and the basic principle of fluid mechanics to establish the continuity equations and momentum conservation equations of gas phase & liquid phase respectively. Relationship between pressure and density of gas & liquid was introduced to obtain hyperbolic equation, and get the expression of the dimensionless eigenvalue of the equation by using the characteristic line method, and analyze wellbore flow regime to get the critical gas content under different virtual mass force coefficients. Results show that the range of equation eigenvalues is getting smaller and smaller with the increase of gas content. When gas content reaches the critical point, the dimensionless eigenvalue of equation has no real solution, and the wellbore flow regime changed from bubble flow to bomb flow. When virtual mass force coefficients are 0.50, 0.60, 0.70 and 0.80 respectively, the critical gas contents are 0.32, 0.34, 0.37 and 0.39 respectively. The higher the coefficient of virtual mass force, the higher gas content in wellbore corresponding to the critical point of transition flow regime, which is in good agreement with previous experimental results. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether there is a real solution of the dimensionless eigenvalue of equation by virtual mass force coefficient and wellbore gas content, from which we can obtain the critical condition of wellbore flow regime transformation. It can provide theoretical support for the accurate judgment of the annular flow regime.

Experimental investigation on flow past nine cylinders in a square configuration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Lili; Gao, Yangyang; Guo, Zhen; Wang, Lizhong

2018-04-01

An experimental investigation on flow past nine cylinders in a square configuration was carried out using the particle image velocimetry technique and load cell in a water channel. The center-to-center spacing ratio L/D was in the range of 1.5-3.0 and the Reynolds number Re was varied from 1500 to 5000. The effects of spacing ratio and Reynolds number on the instantaneous time-averaged flow fields and force coefficients are investigated. The results show that three distinct flow regimes are categorized with variation of the spacing ratios and Reynolds numbers, namely, shielding flow regime, transition flow regime and vortex shedding flow regime. Depending on the interferences of shear layers around the nine cylinders, each flow regime is further divided into two types of flow patterns. An interesting feature of bistable flow pattern with different flow modes is observed at small spacing ratio L/D = 1.5. The non-dimensional vortex shedding frequencies appear to be more associated with the individual shear layers rather than the multiple cylinders. Moreover, force analysis, streamline topologies and Reynolds stress contours are presented to elucidate the effects of spacing ratio and Reynolds number on the complex wake interference among the nine cylinders. The flow characteristics and force coefficients are found to be more sensitive to L/D rather than Re.

Microfluidic step-emulsification in a cylindrical geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chakraborty, Indrajit; Leshansky, Alexander M.

2016-11-01

The model microfluidic device for high-throughput droplet generation in a confined cylindrical geometry is investigated numerically. The device comprises of core-annular pressure-driven flow of two immiscible viscous liquids through a cylindrical capillary connected co-axially to a tube of a larger diameter through a sudden expansion, mimicking the microfluidic step-emulsifier (1). To study this problem, the numerical simulations of axisymmetric Navier-Stokes equations have been carried out using an interface capturing procedure based on coupled level set and volume-of-fluid (CLSVOF) methods. The accuracy of the numerical method was favorably tested vs. the predictions of the linear stability analysis of core-annular two-phase flow in a cylindrical capillary. Three distinct flow regimes can be identified: the dripping (D) instability near the entrance to the capillary, the step- (S) and the balloon- (B) emulsification at the step-like expansion. Based on the simulation results we present the phase diagram quantifying transitions between various regimes in plane of the capillary number and the flow-rate ratio. MICROFLUSA EU H2020 project.

Multi-metric calibration of hydrological model to capture overall flow regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yongyong; Shao, Quanxi; Zhang, Shifeng; Zhai, Xiaoyan; She, Dunxian

2016-08-01

Flow regimes (e.g., magnitude, frequency, variation, duration, timing and rating of change) play a critical role in water supply and flood control, environmental processes, as well as biodiversity and life history patterns in the aquatic ecosystem. The traditional flow magnitude-oriented calibration of hydrological model was usually inadequate to well capture all the characteristics of observed flow regimes. In this study, we simulated multiple flow regime metrics simultaneously by coupling a distributed hydrological model with an equally weighted multi-objective optimization algorithm. Two headwater watersheds in the arid Hexi Corridor were selected for the case study. Sixteen metrics were selected as optimization objectives, which could represent the major characteristics of flow regimes. Model performance was compared with that of the single objective calibration. Results showed that most metrics were better simulated by the multi-objective approach than those of the single objective calibration, especially the low and high flow magnitudes, frequency and variation, duration, maximum flow timing and rating. However, the model performance of middle flow magnitude was not significantly improved because this metric was usually well captured by single objective calibration. The timing of minimum flow was poorly predicted by both the multi-metric and single calibrations due to the uncertainties in model structure and input data. The sensitive parameter values of the hydrological model changed remarkably and the simulated hydrological processes by the multi-metric calibration became more reliable, because more flow characteristics were considered. The study is expected to provide more detailed flow information by hydrological simulation for the integrated water resources management, and to improve the simulation performances of overall flow regimes.

A Green's function formulation for a nonlinear potential flow solution applicable to transonic flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baker, A. J.; Fox, C. H., Jr.

1977-01-01

Routine determination of inviscid subsonic flow fields about wing-body-tail configurations employing a Green's function approach for numerical solution of the perturbation velocity potential equation is successfully extended into the high subsonic subcritical flow regime and into the shock-free supersonic flow regime. A modified Green's function formulation, valid throughout a range of Mach numbers including transonic, that takes an explicit accounting of the intrinsic nonlinearity in the parent governing partial differential equations is developed. Some considerations pertinent to flow field predictions in the transonic flow regime are discussed.

Salix response to different flow regimes in controlled experiments: first results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorla, Lorenzo; Signarbieux, Constant; Buttler, Alexandre; Perona, Paolo

2013-04-01

Dams and water management for hydropower production, agriculture and other human activities alter the natural flow regime of rivers. The new river hydrograph components depend on the type of impoundment and the policy of regulation but such a different flow regime will likely affect the riparian environment. The main challenge in order to define sustainable flow releases is to quantify hydrological effects in terms of geomorphology and ecosystem response. A considerable lack of knowledge still affects the link hydrology-ecology and inadequate flow rules (e.g., minimal or residual flows) are consequently still widespread: further research in this direction is urgently required. We present an experiment, which aims to investigate the effects of different water stage regimes on riparian vegetation (salix Viminalis cuttings) development in a temperate region (Switzerland). This work describes the installation setup, together with the first results concerning the first of the two scheduled seasons of campaign. Sixty Salix cuttings were planted in non-cohesive sandy-gravel sediment within 1 meter tall plastic pots installed outside in the EPFL campus. After grouping them in three batteries, the water level within them has been varying following three river regimes simulated by adjusting the water level within the pots by means of an automatic hydraulic system. The three water level regimes reproduce a natural flow regime, a minimum residual flow policy, which only conserves peaks during flooding conditions, and an artificial regime conserving only low frequencies (e.g., seasonality) of the natural dynamic. The natural flow regime of the first battery has been applied for two months to the entire system; the three regimes above said started in June 2012. This triggered a plant response transitory regime, which we monitored by measuring plant growth, soil and atmospheric variables. Particularly, measures concern with branches development leaves photosynthesis and fluorescence, together with pictures of each plant. Sap flow was measured for thirty cuttings using a time resolution of thirty minutes, whereas psychrometers measuring the water potential were sampling data every fifteen minutes. Soil moisture and meteo data have also been collected as essential drivers of plant response: these data as well as sap flow measurements can be later compared to a similar field installation along Thur River (Switzerland). After the first season of measurement, in 2012, part of the cuttings have been carefully removed and further analyzed as far as the below ground biomass is concerned. Strong differences in terms of stress and growth performances were observed in correspondence of the transitional phase, following the alterations of the natural flow regime. A later adjustment in the roots distribution allowed survivors to re-sprout and to withstand new conditions.

Dual permeability flow behavior for modeling horizontal well production in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Jian-Chun; Nie, Ren-Shi; Jia, Yong-Lu

2012-09-01

SummaryFractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs are composed of by matrix, fracture, and vug systems. This paper is the first investigation into the dual permeability flow issue for horizontal well production in a fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoir. Considering dispersed vugs in carbonate reservoirs and treating media directly connected with horizontal wellbore as the matrix and fracture systems, a test analysis model of a horizontal well was created, and triple porosity and dual permeability flow behavior were modeled. Standard log-log type curves were drawn up by numerical simulation and flow behavior characteristics were thoroughly analyzed. Numerical simulations showed that type curves are dominated by external boundary conditions as well as the permeability ratio of the fracture system to the sum of fracture and matrix systems. The parameter κ is only relevant to the dual permeability model, and if κ is one, then the dual permeability model is equivalent to the single permeability model. There are seven main flow regimes with constant rate of horizontal well production and five flow regimes with constant wellbore pressure of horizontal well production; different flow regimes have different flow behavior characteristics. Early radial flow and linear flow regimes are typical characteristics of horizontal well production; duration of early radial flow regime is usually short because formation thickness is generally less than 100 m. Derivative curves are W-shaped, which is a reflection of inter-porosity flows between matrix, fracture, and vug systems. A distorted W-shape, which could be produced in certain situations, such as one involving an erroneously low time of inter-porosity flows, would handicap the recognition of a linear flow regime. A real case application was successfully implemented, and some useful reservoir parameters (e.g., permeability and inter-porosity flow factor) were obtained from well testing interpretation.

Defining And Employing Reference Conditions For Ecological Restoration Of The Lower Missouri River, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobson, R. B.; Elliott, C. M.; Reuter, J. M.

2008-12-01

Ecological reference conditions are especially challenging for large, intensively managed rivers like the Lower Missouri. Historical information provides broad understanding of how the river has changed, but translating historical information into quantitative reference conditions remains a challenge. Historical information is less available for biological and chemical conditions than for physical conditions. For physical conditions, much of the early historical condition is documented in date-specific measurements or maps, and it is difficult to determine how representative these conditions are for a river system that was characterized historically by large floods and high channel migration rates. As an alternative to a historically defined least- disturbed condition, spatial variation within the Missouri River basin provides potential for defining a best- attainable reference condition. A possibility for the best-attainable condition for channel morphology is an unchannelized segment downstream of the lowermost dam (rkm 1298 - 1203). This segment retains multiple channels and abundant sandbars although it has a highly altered flow regime and a greatly diminished sediment supply. Conversely, downstream river segments have more natural flow regimes, but have been narrowed and simplified for navigation and bank stability. We use two computational tools to compensate for the lack of ideal reference conditions. The first is a hydrologic model that synthesizes natural and altered flow regimes based on 100 years of daily inputs to the river (daily routing model, DRM, US Army Corps of Engineers, 1998); the second tool is hydrodynamic modeling of habitat availability. The flow-regime and hydrodynamic outputs are integrated to define habitat-duration curves as the basis for reference conditions (least-disturbed flow regime and least-disturbed channel morphology). Lacking robust biological response models, we use mean residence time of water and a habitat diversity index as generic ecosystem indicators.

Modeling flows of heterogeneous media in pipelines when substantiating operating conditions of hydrocarbon field transportation systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dudin, S. M.; Novitskiy, D. V.

2018-05-01

The works of researchers at VNIIgaz, Giprovostokneft, Kuibyshev NIINP, Grozny Petroleum Institute, etc., are devoted to modeling heterogeneous medium flows in pipelines under laboratory conditions. In objective consideration, the empirical relationships obtained and the calculation procedures for pipelines transporting multiphase products are a bank of experimental data on the problem of pipeline transportation of multiphase systems. Based on the analysis of the published works, the main design requirements for experimental installations designed to study the flow regimes of gas-liquid flows in pipelines were formulated, which were taken into account by the authors when creating the experimental stand. The article describes the results of experimental studies of the flow regimes of a gas-liquid mixture in a pipeline, and also gives a methodological description of the experimental installation. Also the article describes the software of the experimental scientific and educational stand developed with the participation of the authors.

Characterising the hydrological regime of an ungauged temporary river system: a case study.

PubMed

D'Ambrosio, Ersilia; De Girolamo, Anna Maria; Barca, Emanuele; Ielpo, Pierina; Rulli, Maria Cristina

2017-06-01

Temporary streams are characterised by specific hydrological regimes, which influence ecosystem processes, groundwater and surface water interactions, sediment regime, nutrient delivery, water quality and ecological status. This paper presents a methodology to characterise and classify the regime of a temporary river in Southern Italy based on hydrological indicators (HIs) computed with long-term daily flow records. By using a principal component analysis (PCA), a set of non-redundant indices were identified describing the main characteristics of the hydrological regime in the study area. The indicators identified were the annual maximum 30- and 90-day mean (DH4 and DH5), the number of zero flow days (DL6), flow permanence (MF) and the 6-month seasonal predictability of dry periods (SD6). A methodology was also tested to estimate selected HIs in ungauged river reaches. Watershed characteristics such as catchment area, gauging station elevation, mean watershed slope, mean annual rainfall, land use, soil hydraulic conductivity and available water content were derived for each site. Selected indicators were then linked to the catchment characteristics using a regression analysis. Finally, MF and SD6 were used to classify the river reaches on the basis of their degree of intermittency. The methodology presented in this paper constitutes a useful tool for ecologists and water resource managers in the Water Framework Directive implementation process, which requires a characterisation of the hydrological regime and a 'river type' classification for all water bodies.

Experimental and Computational Study of Multiphase Flow Hydrodynamics in 2D Trickle Bed Reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nadeem, H.; Ben Salem, I.; Kurnia, J. C.; Rabbani, S.; Shamim, T.; Sassi, M.

2014-12-01

Trickle bed reactors are largely used in the refining processes. Co-current heavy oil and hydrogen gas flow downward on catalytic particle bed. Fine particles in the heavy oil and/or soot formed by the exothermic catalytic reactions deposit on the bed and clog the flow channels. This work is funded by the refining company of Abu Dhabi and aims at mitigating pressure buildup due to fine deposition in the TBR. In this work, we focus on meso-scale experimental and computational investigations of the interplay between flow regimes and the various parameters that affect them. A 2D experimental apparatus has been built to investigate the flow regimes with an average pore diameter close to the values encountered in trickle beds. A parametric study is done for the development of flow regimes and the transition between them when the geometry and arrangement of the particles within the porous medium are varied. Liquid and gas flow velocities have also been varied to capture the different flow regimes. Real time images of the multiphase flow are captured using a high speed camera, which were then used to characterize the transition between the different flow regimes. A diffused light source was used behind the 2D Trickle Bed Reactor to enhance visualizations. Experimental data shows very good agreement with the published literature. The computational study focuses on the hydrodynamics of multiphase flow and to identify the flow regime developed inside TBRs using the ANSYS Fluent Software package. Multiphase flow inside TBRs is investigated using the "discrete particle" approach together with Volume of Fluid (VoF) multiphase flow modeling. The effect of the bed particle diameter, spacing, and arrangement are presented that may be used to provide guidelines for designing trickle bed reactors.

Modeling dam-break flows using finite volume method on unstructured grid

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Two-dimensional shallow water models based on unstructured finite volume method and approximate Riemann solvers for computing the intercell fluxes have drawn growing attention because of their robustness, high adaptivity to complicated geometry and ability to simulate flows with mixed regimes and di...

A paradigm for modeling and computation of gas dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Kun; Liu, Chang

2017-02-01

In the continuum flow regime, the Navier-Stokes (NS) equations are usually used for the description of gas dynamics. On the other hand, the Boltzmann equation is applied for the rarefied flow. These two equations are based on distinguishable modeling scales for flow physics. Fortunately, due to the scale separation, i.e., the hydrodynamic and kinetic ones, both the Navier-Stokes equations and the Boltzmann equation are applicable in their respective domains. However, in real science and engineering applications, they may not have such a distinctive scale separation. For example, around a hypersonic flying vehicle, the flow physics at different regions may correspond to different regimes, where the local Knudsen number can be changed significantly in several orders of magnitude. With a variation of flow physics, theoretically a continuous governing equation from the kinetic Boltzmann modeling to the hydrodynamic Navier-Stokes dynamics should be used for its efficient description. However, due to the difficulties of a direct modeling of flow physics in the scale between the kinetic and hydrodynamic ones, there is basically no reliable theory or valid governing equations to cover the whole transition regime, except resolving flow physics always down to the mean free path scale, such as the direct Boltzmann solver and the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. In fact, it is an unresolved problem about the exact scale for the validity of the NS equations, especially in the small Reynolds number cases. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is usually based on the numerical solution of partial differential equations (PDEs), and it targets on the recovering of the exact solution of the PDEs as mesh size and time step converging to zero. This methodology can be hardly applied to solve the multiple scale problem efficiently because there is no such a complete PDE for flow physics through a continuous variation of scales. For the non-equilibrium flow study, the direct modeling methods, such as DSMC, particle in cell, and smooth particle hydrodynamics, play a dominant role to incorporate the flow physics into the algorithm construction directly. It is fully legitimate to combine the modeling and computation together without going through the process of constructing PDEs. In other words, the CFD research is not only to obtain the numerical solution of governing equations but to model flow dynamics as well. This methodology leads to the unified gas-kinetic scheme (UGKS) for flow simulation in all flow regimes. Based on UGKS, the boundary for the validation of the Navier-Stokes equations can be quantitatively evaluated. The combination of modeling and computation provides a paradigm for the description of multiscale transport process.

Effects of flow regime on benthic algae and macroinvertebrates - A comparison between regulated and unregulated rivers.

PubMed

Schneider, Susanne C; Petrin, Zlatko

2017-02-01

Natural fluctuations in flow are important for maintaining the ecological integrity of riverine ecosystems. However, the flow regime of many rivers has been modified. We assessed the impact of water chemistry, habitat and streamflow characteristics on macroinvertebrates and benthic algae, comparing 20 regulated with 20 unregulated sites. Flow regime, calculated from daily averaged discharge over the five years preceding sampling, was generally more stable at regulated sites, with higher relative discharges in winter, lower relative discharges in spring and smaller differences between upper and lower percentiles. However, no consistent differences in benthic algal or macroinvertebrate structural and functional traits occurred between regulated and unregulated sites. When regulated and unregulated sites were pooled, overall flow regime, calculated as principal components of discharge characteristics over the five years preceding sampling, affected macroinvertebrate species assemblages, but not indices used for ecosystem status assessment or functional feeding groups. This indicates that, while species identity shifted with changing flow regime, the exchanged taxa had similar feeding habits. In contrast to macroinvertebrates, overall flow regime did not affect benthic algae. Our results indicate that overall flow regime affected the species pool of macroinvertebrates from which recolonization after extreme events may occur, but not of benthic algae. When individual components of flow regime were analyzed separately, high June (i.e. three months before sampling) flow maxima were associated with low benthic algal taxon richness, presumably due to scouring. Macroinvertebrate taxon richness decreased with lower relative minimum discharges, presumably due to temporary drying of parts of the riverbed. However, recolonization after such extreme events presumably is fast. Generally, macroinvertebrate and benthic algal assemblages were more closely related to water physico-chemical than to hydrological variables. Our results suggest that macroinvertebrate and benthic algal indices commonly used for ecological status assessment are applicable also in regulated rivers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Streamflow characteristics and benthic invertebrate assemblages in streams across the western United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brasher, Anne M.D.; Konrad, Chris P.; May, Jason T.; Edmiston, C. Scott; Close, Rebecca N.

2010-01-01

Hydrographic characteristics of streamflow, such as high-flow pulses, base flow (background discharge between floods), extreme low flows, and floods, significantly influence aquatic organisms. Streamflow can be described in terms of magnitude, timing, duration, frequency, and variation (hydrologic regime). These characteristics have broad effects on ecosystem productivity, habitat structure, and ultimately on resident fish, invertebrate, and algae communities. Increasing human use of limited water resources has modified hydrologic regimes worldwide. Identifying the most ecologically significant hydrographic characteristics would facilitate the development of water-management strategies.Benthic invertebrates include insects, mollusks (snails and clams), worms, and crustaceans (shrimp) that live on the streambed. Invertebrates play an important role in the food web, consuming other invertebrates and algae and being consumed by fish and birds. Hydrologic alteration associated with land and water use can change the natural hydrologic regime and may affect benthic invertebrate assemblage composition and structure through changes in density of invertebrates or taxa richness (number of different species).This study examined associations between the hydrologic regime and characteristics of benthic invertebrate assemblages across the western United States and developed tools to identify streamflow characteristics that are likely to affect benthic invertebrate assemblages.

Lagrangian motion, coherent structures, and lines of persistent material strain.

PubMed

Samelson, R M

2013-01-01

Lagrangian motion in geophysical fluids may be strongly influenced by coherent structures that support distinct regimes in a given flow. The problems of identifying and demarcating Lagrangian regime boundaries associated with dynamical coherent structures in a given velocity field can be studied using approaches originally developed in the context of the abstract geometric theory of ordinary differential equations. An essential insight is that when coherent structures exist in a flow, Lagrangian regime boundaries may often be indicated as material curves on which the Lagrangian-mean principal-axis strain is large. This insight is the foundation of many numerical techniques for identifying such features in complex observed or numerically simulated ocean flows. The basic theoretical ideas are illustrated with a simple, kinematic traveling-wave model. The corresponding numerical algorithms for identifying candidate Lagrangian regime boundaries and lines of principal Lagrangian strain (also called Lagrangian coherent structures) are divided into parcel and bundle schemes; the latter include the finite-time and finite-size Lyapunov exponent/Lagrangian strain (FTLE/FTLS and FSLE/FSLS) metrics. Some aspects and results of oceanographic studies based on these approaches are reviewed, and the results are discussed in the context of oceanographic observations of dynamical coherent structures.

Anthropogenic Water Uses and River Flow Regime Alterations by Dams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferrazzi, M.; Botter, G.

2017-12-01

Dams and impoundments have been designed to reconcile the systematic conflict between patterns of anthropogenic water uses and the temporal variability of river flows. Over the past seven decades, population growth and economic development led to a marked increase in the number of these water infrastructures, so that unregulated free-flowing rivers are now rare in developed countries and alterations of the hydrologic cycle at global scale have to be properly considered and characterized. Therefore, improving our understanding of the influence of dams and reservoirs on hydrologic regimes is going to play a key role in water planning and management. In this study, a physically based analytic approach is combined to extensive hydrologic data to investigate natural flow regime alterations downstream of dams in the Central-Eastern United States. These representative case studies span a wide range of different uses, including flood control, water supply and hydropower production. Our analysis reveals that the most evident effects of flood control through dams is a decrease in the intra-seasonal variability of flows, whose extent is controlled by the ratio between the storage capacity for flood control and the average incoming streamflow. Conversely, reservoirs used for water supply lead to an increase of daily streamflow variability and an enhanced inter-catchment heterogeneity. Over the last decades, the supply of fresh water required to sustain human populations has become a major concern at global scale. Accordingly, the number of reservoirs devoted to water supply increased by 50% in the US. This pattern foreshadows a possible shift in the cumulative effect of dams on river flow regimes in terms of inter-catchment homogenization and intra-annual flow variability.

Measurement of Flow Pattern Within a Rotating Stall Cell in an Axial Compressor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lepicovsky, Jan; Braunscheidel, Edward P.

2006-01-01

Effective active control of rotating stall in axial compressors requires detailed understanding of flow instabilities associated with this compressor regime. Newly designed miniature high frequency response total and static pressure probes as well as commercial thermoanemometric probes are suitable tools for this task. However, during the rotating stall cycle the probes are subjected to flow direction changes that are far larger than the range of probe incidence acceptance, and therefore probe data without a proper correction would misrepresent unsteady variations of flow parameters. A methodology, based on ensemble averaging, is proposed to circumvent this problem. In this approach the ensemble averaged signals acquired for various probe setting angles are segmented, and only the sections for probe setting angles close to the actual flow angle are used for signal recombination. The methodology was verified by excellent agreement between velocity distributions obtained from pressure probe data, and data measured with thermoanemometric probes. Vector plots of unsteady flow behavior during the rotating stall regime indicate reversed flow within the rotating stall cell that spreads over to adjacent rotor blade channels. Results of this study confirmed that the NASA Low Speed Axial Compressor (LSAC) while in a rotating stall regime at rotor design speed exhibits one stall cell that rotates at a speed equal to 50.6 percent of the rotor shaft speed.

Conceptual definition of porosity function for coarse granular porous media with fixed texture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shokri, Morteza

2018-06-01

Porous media's porosity value is commonly taken as a constant for a given granular texture free from any type of imposed loads. Although such definition holds for those media at hydrostatic equilibrium, it might not be hydrodynamically true for media subjected to the flow of fluids. This article casts light on an alternative vision describing porosity as a function of fluid velocity, though the media's solid skeleton does not undergo any changes and remain essentially intact. Carefully planned laboratory experiments support such as hypothesis and may help reducing reported disagreements between observed and actual behaviors of nonlinear flow regimes. Findings indicate that the so-called Stephenson relationship that enables estimating actual flow velocity is a case that holds true only for the Darcian conditions. In order to investigate the relationship, an accurate permeability should be measured. An alternative relationship, therefore, has been proposed to estimate actual pore flow velocity. On the other hand, with introducing the novel concept of effective porosity, that should be determined not only based on geotechnical parameters, but also it has to be regarded as a function of the flow regime. Such a porosity may be affected by the flow regime through variations in the effective pore volume and effective shape factor. In a numerical justification of findings, it is shown that unsatisfactory results, obtained from nonlinear mathematical models of unsteady flow, may be due to unreliable porosity estimates.

A Framework to Assess the Cumulative Hydrological Impacts of Dams on flow Regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Y.; Wang, D.

2016-12-01

In this study we proposed a framework to assess the cumulative impact of dams on hydrological regime, and the impacts of the Three Gorges Dam on flow regime in Yangtze River were investigated with the framework. We reconstructed the unregulated flow series to compare with the regulated flow series in the same period. Eco-surplus and eco-deficit and the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration parameters were used to examine the hydrological regime change. Among IHA parameters, Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Principal Components Analysis identified the representative indicators of hydrological alterations. Eco-surplus and eco-deficit showed that the reservoir also changed the seasonal regime of the flows in autumn and winter. Annual extreme flows and October flows changes lead to negative ecological implications downstream from the Three Gorges Dam. Ecological operation for the Three Gorges Dam is necessary to mitigate the negative effects on the river ecosystem in the middle reach of Yangtze River. The framework proposed here could be a robust method to assess the cumulative impacts of reservoir operation.

Inertial flow regimes of the suspension of finite size particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lashgari, Iman; Picano, Francesco; Brandt, Luca

2015-03-01

We study inertial flow regimes of the suspensions of finite size neutrally buoyant particles. These suspensions experience three different regimes by varying the Reynolds number, Re , and particle volume fraction, Φ. At low values of Re and Φ, flow is laminar-like where viscous stress is the dominating term in the stress budget. At high Re and relatively small Φ, the flow is turbulent-like where Reynolds stress has the largest contribution to the total stress. At high Φ, the flow regime is as a form of inertial shear-thickening characterized by a significant enhancement in the wall shear stress not due to the increment of Reynolds stress but to the particle stress. We further analyze the local behavior of the suspension in the three different regimes by studying the particle dispersion and collisions. Turbulent cases shows higher level of particle dispersion and higher values of the collision kernel (the radial distribution function times the particle relative velocity as a function of the distance between the particles) than those of the inertial shear-thickening regimes providing additional evidence of two different transport mechanisms in the Bagnoldian regime. Support from the European Research Council (ERC) is acknowledged.

An investigation of chaotic Kolmogorov flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Platt, N.; Sirovich, L.; Fitzmaurice, N.

1990-01-01

A two dimensional flow governed by the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with a steady spatially periodic forcing (known as the Kolmogorov flow) is numerically simulated. The behavior of the flow and its transition states as the Reynolds number (Re) varies is investigated in detail, as well as a number of the flow features. A sequence of bifurcations is shown to take place in the flow as Re varied. Two main regimes of the flow were observed: small and large scale structure regimes corresponding to different ranges of Re. Each of the regimes includes a number of quasiperiodic, chaotic, and relaminarization windows. In addition, each range contains a chaotic window with non-ergodic chaotic attractors. Spatially disordered, but temporally steady states were discovered in large scale structure regime. Features of the diverse cases are displayed in terms of the temporal power spectrum, Poincare sections and, where possible, Lyapunov exponents and Kaplan-Yorke dimension.

Propulsive jet simulation with air and helium in launcher wake flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stephan, Sören; Radespiel, Rolf

2017-06-01

The influence on the turbulent wake of a generic space launcher model due to the presence of an under-expanded jet is investigated experimentally. Wake flow phenomena represent a significant source of uncertainties in the design of a space launcher. Especially critical are dynamic loads on the structure. The wake flow is investigated at supersonic (M=2.9) and hypersonic (M=5.9) flow regimes. The jet flow is simulated using air and helium as working gas. Due to the lower molar mass of helium, higher jet velocities are realized, and therefore, velocity ratios similar to space launchers can be simulated. The degree of under-expansion of the jet is moderate for the supersonic case (p_e/p_∞ ≈ 5) and high for the hypersonic case (p_e/p_∞ ≈ 90). The flow topology is described by Schlieren visualization and mean-pressure measurements. Unsteady pressure measurements are performed to describe the dynamic wake flow. The influences of the under-expanded jet and different jet velocities are reported. On the base fluctuations at a Strouhal number, around St_D ≈ 0.25 dominate for supersonic free-stream flows. With air jet, a fluctuation-level increase on the base is observed for Strouhal numbers above St_D ≈ 0.75 in hypersonic flow regime. With helium jet, distinct peaks at higher frequencies are found. This is attributed to the interactions of wake flow and jet.

Early regimes of water capillary flow in slit silica nanochannels.

PubMed

Oyarzua, Elton; Walther, Jens H; Mejía, Andrés; Zambrano, Harvey A

2015-06-14

Molecular dynamics simulations are conducted to investigate the initial stages of spontaneous imbibition of water in slit silica nanochannels surrounded by air. An analysis is performed for the effects of nanoscopic confinement, initial conditions of liquid uptake and air pressurization on the dynamics of capillary filling. The results indicate that the nanoscale imbibition process is divided into three main flow regimes: an initial regime where the capillary force is balanced only by the inertial drag and characterized by a constant velocity and a plug flow profile. In this regime, the meniscus formation process plays a central role in the imbibition rate. Thereafter, a transitional regime takes place, in which, the force balance has significant contributions from both inertia and viscous friction. Subsequently, a regime wherein viscous forces dominate the capillary force balance is attained. Flow velocity profiles identify the passage from an inviscid flow to a developing Poiseuille flow. Gas density profiles ahead of the capillary front indicate a transient accumulation of air on the advancing meniscus. Furthermore, slower capillary filling rates computed for higher air pressures reveal a significant retarding effect of the gas displaced by the advancing meniscus.

Rheological equations in asymptotic regimes of granular flow

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chen, C.-L.; Ling, C.-H.

1998-01-01

This paper assesses the validity of the generalized viscoplastic fluid (GVF) model in light of the established constitutive relations in two asymptotic flow regimes, namely, the macroviscous and grain-inertia regimes. A comprehensive review of the literature on constitutive relations in both regimes reveals that except for some material constants, such as the coefficient of restitution, the normalized shear stress in both regimes varies only with the grain concentration, C. It is found that Krieger-Dougherty's relative viscosity, ??*(C), is sufficiently coherent among the monotonically nondecreasing functions of C used in describing the variation of the shear stress with C in both regimes. It not only accurately represents the C-dependent relative viscosity of a suspension in the macroviscous regime, but also plays a role of the radial distribution function that describes the statistics of particle collisions in the grain-inertia regime. Use of ??*(C) alone, however, cannot link the two regimes. Another parameter, the shear-rate number, N, is needed in modelling the rheology of neutrally buoyant granular flows in transition between the two asymptotic regimes. The GVF model proves compatible with most established relations in both regimes.

Explore the impacts of river flow and quality on biodiversity for water resources management by AI techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Fi-John; Tsai Tsai, Wen-Ping; Chang, Li-Chiu

2016-04-01

Water resources development is very challenging in Taiwan due to her diverse geographic environment and climatic conditions. To pursue sustainable water resources development, rationality and integrity is essential for water resources planning. River water quality and flow regimes are closely related to each other and affect river ecosystems simultaneously. This study aims to explore the complex impacts of water quality and flow regimes on fish community in order to comprehend the situations of the eco-hydrological system in the Danshui River of northern Taiwan. To make an effective and comprehensive strategy for sustainable water resources management, this study first models fish diversity through implementing a hybrid artificial neural network (ANN) based on long-term observational heterogeneity data of water quality, stream flow and fish species in the river. Then we use stream flow to estimate the loss of dissolved oxygen based on back-propagation neural networks (BPNNs). Finally, the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) is established for river flow management over the Shihmen Reservoir which is the main reservoir in this study area. In addition to satisfying the water demands of human beings and ecosystems, we also consider water quality for river flow management. The ecosystem requirement takes the form of maximizing fish diversity, which can be estimated by the hybrid ANN. The human requirement is to provide a higher satisfaction degree of water supply while the water quality requirement is to reduce the loss of dissolved oxygen in the river among flow stations. The results demonstrate that the proposed methodology can offer diversified alternative strategies for reservoir operation and improve reservoir operation strategies for producing downstream flows that could better meet both human and ecosystem needs as well as maintain river water quality. Keywords: Artificial intelligence (AI), Artificial neural networks (ANNs), Non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II), Sustainable water resources management, Flow regime, River ecosystem.

Ion-neutral Clustering of Bile Acids in Electrospray Ionization Across UPLC Flow Regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brophy, Patrick; Broeckling, Corey D.; Murphy, James; Prenni, Jessica E.

2018-02-01

Bile acid authentic standards were used as model compounds to quantitatively evaluate complex in-source phenomenon on a UPLC-ESI-TOF-MS operated in the negative mode. Three different diameter columns and a ceramic-based microfluidic separation device were utilized, allowing for detailed descriptions of bile acid behavior across a wide range of flow regimes and instantaneous concentrations. A custom processing algorithm based on correlation analysis was developed to group together all ion signals arising from a single compound; these grouped signals produce verified compound spectra for each bile acid at each on-column mass loading. Significant adduction was observed for all bile acids investigated under all flow regimes and across a wide range of bile acid concentrations. The distribution of bile acid containing clusters was found to depend on the specific bile acid species, solvent flow rate, and bile acid concentration. Relative abundancies of each cluster changed non-linearly with concentration. It was found that summing all MS level (low collisional energy) ions and ion-neutral adducts arising from a single compound improves linearity across the concentration range (0.125-5 ng on column) and increases the sensitivity of MS level quantification. The behavior of each cluster roughly follows simple equilibrium processes consistent with our understanding of electrospray ionization mechanisms and ion transport processes occurring in atmospheric pressure interfaces. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

The First Year of Solar-Wind Data From the GENESIS Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiens, R. C.; Barraclough, B. L.; Steinberg, J. T.; Reisenfeld, D. B.; Neugebauer, M.; Burnett, D. S.

2002-12-01

The GENESIS mission was launched in August, 2001, and has been in an L1 halo orbit for over a year. The primary purpose of the mission is to collect solar-wind samples that will be returned to Earth in 2004 for high-precision isotopic and elemental analyses. GENESIS uses conventional ion and electron spectrometers to record solar-wind conditions during collection, and to make real-time determinations of the solar-wind regimes to facilitate collection of separate samples of interstream (IS), coronal hole (CH), and coronal mass ejection (CME) flows. Of particular interest is the use of a bi-directional electron (BDE) index to determine the presence of CMEs. And although GENESIS lacks a magnetometer, the field vector, with sign ambiguity, is determined by the electron direction, and matches other spacecraft magnetometer data well. GENESIS in-situ data and on-board regime determinations are available on the web. The data from Fall, 2001 were characterized by numerous CME regimes (comprising 32% of the time in the 4th quarter, based on the on-board algorithm), with little CH flow (only 2%). A strong CH flow was observed every solar rotation from mid-January through late May. June was quiet, nearly all IS flow. The first and second quarters of 2002 were approximately 28% CME flow, with CH flow dropping from 18% to 6%. The discovery of unexpectedly noticeable BDE signals during CH flows at 1 AU (Steinberg et al., 2002) caused us early on to modify our regime selection algorithm to accommodate these. The on-board algorithm intentionally errs on the side of overestimating CME flows in order to keep the CH sample more pure. Comparisons have been made of various compositional parameters determined by Genesis (Barraclough et al., this meeting) and by ACE SWICS (Reisenfeld et al., this meeting) for times corresponding to the Genesis collection periods for each of the three regimes. The Genesis L1 halo orbit is ~0.8 x 0.25 million km radius, somewhat larger than the ~0.3 x 0.2 and ~0.7 x 0.2 million km orbits of ACE and SOHO, respectively, presenting excellent opportunities for multi-spacecraft observations at L1.

Gas-Liquid Packed Bed Reactors in Microgravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balakotaiah, Vemuri; Motil, Brian J.; McCready, Mark J.; Kamotani, Yasuhiro

2004-01-01

Flow regime and pressure drop data was obtained and analyzed. Pulse flow exists at lower liquid flow rates in 0-g compared to 1-g. 1-g flow regime maps do not apply in microgravity. Pressure drop is higher in microgravity (enhanced interfacial effects).

Shear thinning in non-Brownian suspensions.

PubMed

Chatté, Guillaume; Comtet, Jean; Niguès, Antoine; Bocquet, Lydéric; Siria, Alessandro; Ducouret, Guylaine; Lequeux, François; Lenoir, Nicolas; Ovarlez, Guillaume; Colin, Annie

2018-02-14

We study the flow of suspensions of non-Brownian particles dispersed into a Newtonian solvent. Combining capillary rheometry and conventional rheometry, we evidence a succession of two shear thinning regimes separated by a shear thickening one. Through X-ray radiography measurements, we show that during each of those regimes, the flow remains homogeneous and does not involve particle migration. Using a quartz-tuning fork based atomic force microscope, we measure the repulsive force profile and the microscopic friction coefficient μ between two particles immersed into the solvent, as a function of normal load. Coupling measurements from those three techniques, we propose that (1) the first shear-thinning regime at low shear rates occurs for a lubricated rheology and can be interpreted as a decrease of the effective volume fraction under increasing particle pressures, due to short-ranged repulsive forces and (2) the second shear thinning regime after the shear-thickening transition occurs for a frictional rheology and can be interpreted as stemming from a decrease of the microscopic friction coefficient at large normal load.

Obseration of flow regime transition in CFB riser using an LDV

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yue, Paul C.; Mei, Joseph S.; Shadle, Lawrence J.

2011-01-01

The solids flow in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) riser is often described to have a core-annular structure. For a given superficial gas velocity, at the initial introduction of solids into a riser a flow structure of dilute upflow regime exists. Continuing to increase the solids flow in the riser transitions the flow structure to the core-annular flow regime. However, with further increase of solids flow a condition is reached, depending on the superficial gas velocity, where all the solids across the riser cross section flow upwards, even those at the wall. When the solids flux, solids fraction and gasmore » velocity are relatively high, such a condition is described as the dense phase suspense upflow (DSU) regime. In this paper we report our observations of these flow regime transitions by using a laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV) to monitor the upward and downward particle flow velocities at and near the riser wall of the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s 30.4 centimeters diameter CFB cold flow model. The particles were high density polyethylene (PPE) spheres with a Sauter mean diameter of 861 micron and a density of 800 kg/m3. Three superficial gas velocities of 6.55 m/s, 10.67 m/s and 13.72 m/s were used in this study. For the case of superficial gas velocity 6.55 m/s, the experimental data show that the transition from dilute upflow to core-annular flow occurred when the solids flux was about 7 kg/m{sup 2}-s and the transition from core-annular flow to dense suspension upflow was about 147 kg/m{sup 2}-s. As the superficial gas velocity was increased to 10.67 m/s the corresponding flow regime transitions were at 34 kg/m{sup 2}-s and 205 kg/m{sup 2}-s, respectively. For the case of superficial gas velocity of 13.72 m/s the data showed no distinct transition of flow regimes. The particles were all upflow for the range of solids fluxes from 10 kg/m{sup 2}-s to 286 kg/m{sup 2}-s.« less

Evaluation of Spatial Pattern of Altered Flow Regimes on a River Network Using a Distributed Hydrological Model

PubMed Central

Ryo, Masahiro; Iwasaki, Yuichi; Yoshimura, Chihiro; Saavedra V., Oliver C.

2015-01-01

Alteration of the spatial variability of natural flow regimes has been less studied than that of the temporal variability, despite its ecological importance for river ecosystems. Here, we aimed to quantify the spatial patterns of flow regime alterations along a river network in the Sagami River, Japan, by estimating river discharge under natural and altered flow conditions. We used a distributed hydrological model, which simulates hydrological processes spatiotemporally, to estimate 20-year daily river discharge along the river network. Then, 33 hydrologic indices (i.e., Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration) were calculated from the simulated discharge to estimate the spatial patterns of their alterations. Some hydrologic indices were relatively well estimated such as the magnitude and timing of maximum flows, monthly median flows, and the frequency of low and high flow pulses. The accuracy was evaluated with correlation analysis (r > 0.4) and the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test (α = 0.05) by comparing these indices calculated from both observed and simulated discharge. The spatial patterns of the flow regime alterations varied depending on the hydrologic indices. For example, both the median flow in August and the frequency of high flow pulses were reduced by the maximum of approximately 70%, but these strongest alterations were detected at different locations (i.e., on the mainstream and the tributary, respectively). These results are likely caused by different operational purposes of multiple water control facilities. The results imply that the evaluation only at discharge gauges is insufficient to capture the alteration of the flow regime. Our findings clearly emphasize the importance of evaluating the spatial pattern of flow regime alteration on a river network where its discharge is affected by multiple water control facilities. PMID:26207997

Developing a novel approach to analyse the regimes of temporary streams and their controls on aquatic biota

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gallart, F.; Prat, N.; García-Roger, E. M.; Latron, J.; Rieradevall, M.; Llorens, P.; Barberá, G. G.; Brito, D.; de Girolamo, A. M.; Lo Porto, A.; Neves, R.; Nikolaidis, N. P.; Perrin, J. L.; Querner, E. P.; Quiñonero, J. M.; Tournoud, M. G.; Tzoraki, O.; Froebrich, J.

2011-10-01

Temporary streams are those water courses that undergo the recurrent cessation of flow or the complete drying of their channel. The biological communities in temporary stream reaches are strongly dependent on the temporal changes of the aquatic habitats determined by the hydrological conditions. The use of the aquatic fauna structural and functional characteristics to assess the ecological quality of a temporary stream reach can not therefore be made without taking into account the controls imposed by the hydrological regime. This paper develops some methods for analysing temporary streams' aquatic regimes, based on the definition of six aquatic states that summarize the sets of mesohabitats occurring on a given reach at a particular moment, depending on the hydrological conditions: flood, riffles, connected, pools, dry and arid. We used the water discharge records from gauging stations or simulations using rainfall-runoff models to infer the temporal patterns of occurrence of these states using the developed aquatic states frequency graph. The visual analysis of this graph is complemented by the development of two metrics based on the permanence of flow and the seasonal predictability of zero flow periods. Finally, a classification of the aquatic regimes of temporary streams in terms of their influence over the development of aquatic life is put forward, defining Permanent, Temporary-pools, Temporary-dry and Episodic regime types. All these methods were tested with data from eight temporary streams around the Mediterranean from MIRAGE project and its application was a precondition to assess the ecological quality of these streams using the current methods prescribed in the European Water Framework Directive for macroinvertebrate communities.

Effect of perforation on flow past a conic cylinder at \\varvec{Re} = 100 : wavy vortex and sign laws

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, L. M.; Zhong, X. F.; Wu, Y. X.

2018-04-01

In order to find the intrinsic physical mechanism of the original Kármán vortex wavily distorted across the span due to the introduction of three-dimensional (3-D) geometric disturbances, a flow past a peak-perforated conic shroud is numerically simulated at a Reynolds number of 100. Based on previous work by Meiburg and Lasheras (1988), the streamwise and vertical interactions with spanwise vortices are introduced and analyzed. Then vortex-shedding patterns in the near wake for different flow regimes are reinspected and illustrated from the view of these two interactions. Generally, in regime I, spanwise vortices are a little distorted due to the weak interaction. Then in regime II, spanwise vortices, even though curved obviously, are still shed synchronously with moderate streamwise and vertical interactions. But in regime III, violently wavy spanwise vortices in some vortex-shedding patterns, typically an Ω -type vortex, are mainly attributed to the strong vertical interactions, while other cases, such as multiple vortex-shedding patterns in sub-regime III-D, are resulted from complex streamwise and vertical interactions. A special phenomenon, spacial distribution of streamwise and vertical components of vorticity with specific signs in the near wake, is analyzed based on two models of streamwise and vertical vortices in explaining physical reasons of top and bottom shear layers wavily varied across the span. Then these two models and above two interactions are unified. Finally two sign laws are summarized: the first sign law for streamwise and vertical components of vorticity is positive in the upper shear layer, but negative in the lower shear layer, while the second sign law for three vorticity components is always negative in the wake.

Micro/Nano-pore Network Analysis of Gas Flow in Shale Matrix

PubMed Central

Zhang, Pengwei; Hu, Liming; Meegoda, Jay N.; Gao, Shengyan

2015-01-01

The gas flow in shale matrix is of great research interests for optimized shale gas extraction. The gas flow in the nano-scale pore may fall in flow regimes such as viscous flow, slip flow and Knudsen diffusion. A 3-dimensional nano-scale pore network model was developed to simulate dynamic gas flow, and to describe the transient properties of flow regimes. The proposed pore network model accounts for the various size distributions and low connectivity of shale pores. The pore size, pore throat size and coordination number obey normal distribution, and the average values can be obtained from shale reservoir data. The gas flow regimes were simulated using an extracted pore network backbone. The numerical results show that apparent permeability is strongly dependent on pore pressure in the reservoir and pore throat size, which is overestimated by low-pressure laboratory tests. With the decrease of reservoir pressure, viscous flow is weakening, then slip flow and Knudsen diffusion are gradually becoming dominant flow regimes. The fingering phenomenon can be predicted by micro/nano-pore network for gas flow, which provides an effective way to capture heterogeneity of shale gas reservoir. PMID:26310236

Micro/Nano-pore Network Analysis of Gas Flow in Shale Matrix.

PubMed

Zhang, Pengwei; Hu, Liming; Meegoda, Jay N; Gao, Shengyan

2015-08-27

The gas flow in shale matrix is of great research interests for optimized shale gas extraction. The gas flow in the nano-scale pore may fall in flow regimes such as viscous flow, slip flow and Knudsen diffusion. A 3-dimensional nano-scale pore network model was developed to simulate dynamic gas flow, and to describe the transient properties of flow regimes. The proposed pore network model accounts for the various size distributions and low connectivity of shale pores. The pore size, pore throat size and coordination number obey normal distribution, and the average values can be obtained from shale reservoir data. The gas flow regimes were simulated using an extracted pore network backbone. The numerical results show that apparent permeability is strongly dependent on pore pressure in the reservoir and pore throat size, which is overestimated by low-pressure laboratory tests. With the decrease of reservoir pressure, viscous flow is weakening, then slip flow and Knudsen diffusion are gradually becoming dominant flow regimes. The fingering phenomenon can be predicted by micro/nano-pore network for gas flow, which provides an effective way to capture heterogeneity of shale gas reservoir.

Computational fluid dynamics modeling of gas dispersion in multi impeller bioreactor.

PubMed

Ahmed, Syed Ubaid; Ranganathan, Panneerselvam; Pandey, Ashok; Sivaraman, Savithri

2010-06-01

In the present study, experiments have been carried out to identify various flow regimes in a dual Rushton turbines stirred bioreactor for different gas flow rates and impeller speeds. The hydrodynamic parameters like fractional gas hold-up, power consumption and mixing time have been measured. A two fluid model along with MUSIG model to handle polydispersed gas flow has been implemented to predict the various flow regimes and hydrodynamic parameters in the dual turbines stirred bioreactor. The computational model has been mapped on commercial solver ANSYS CFX. The flow regimes predicted by numerical simulations are validated with the experimental results. The present model has successfully captured the flow regimes as observed during experiments. The measured gross flow characteristics like fractional gas hold-up, and mixing time have been compared with numerical simulations. Also the effect of gas flow rate and impeller speed on gas hold-up and power consumption have been investigated. (c) 2009 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Classification of reaches in the Missouri and lower Yellowstone Rivers based on flow characteristics

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pegg, Mark A.; Pierce, Clay L.

2002-01-01

Several aspects of flow have been shown to be important determinants of biological community structure and function in streams, yet direct application of this approach to large rivers has been limited. Using a multivariate approach, we grouped flow gauges into hydrologically similar units in the Missouri and lower Yellowstone Rivers and developed a model based on flow variability parameters that could be used to test hypotheses about the role of flow in determining aquatic community structure. This model could also be used for future comparisons as the hydrological regime changes. A suite of hydrological parameters for the recent, post-impoundment period (1 October 1966–30 September 1996) for each of 15 gauges along the Missouri and lower Yellowstone Rivers were initially used. Preliminary graphical exploration identified five variables for use in further multivariate analyses. Six hydrologically distinct units composed of gauges exhibiting similar flow characteristics were then identified using cluster analysis. Discriminant analyses identified the three most influential variables as flow per unit drainage area, coefficient of variation of mean annual flow, and flow constancy. One surprising result was the relative similarity of flow regimes between the two uppermost and three lowermost gauges, despite large differences in magnitude of flow and separation by roughly 3000 km. Our results synthesize, simplify and interpret the complex changes in flow occurring along the Missouri and lower Yellowstone Rivers, and provide an objective grouping for future tests of how these changes may affect biological communities. 

Discrete unified gas kinetic scheme for all Knudsen number flows. III. Binary gas mixtures of Maxwell molecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yue; Zhu, Lianhua; Wang, Ruijie; Guo, Zhaoli

2018-05-01

Recently a discrete unified gas kinetic scheme (DUGKS) in a finite-volume formulation based on the Boltzmann model equation has been developed for gas flows in all flow regimes. The original DUGKS is designed for flows of single-species gases. In this work, we extend the DUGKS to flows of binary gas mixtures of Maxwell molecules based on the Andries-Aoki-Perthame kinetic model [P. Andries et al., J. Stat. Phys. 106, 993 (2002), 10.1023/A:1014033703134. A particular feature of the method is that the flux at each cell interface is evaluated based on the characteristic solution of the kinetic equation itself; thus the numerical dissipation is low in comparison with that using direct reconstruction. Furthermore, the implicit treatment of the collision term enables the time step to be free from the restriction of the relaxation time. Unlike the DUGKS for single-species flows, a nonlinear system must be solved to determine the interaction parameters appearing in the equilibrium distribution function, which can be obtained analytically for Maxwell molecules. Several tests are performed to validate the scheme, including the shock structure problem under different Mach numbers and molar concentrations, the channel flow driven by a small gradient of pressure, temperature, or concentration, the plane Couette flow, and the shear driven cavity flow under different mass ratios and molar concentrations. The results are compared with those from other reliable numerical methods. The results show that the proposed scheme is an effective and reliable method for binary gas mixtures in all flow regimes.

Modification of near-wall coherent structures in polymer drag reduced flow: simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubief, Yves; White, Christopher; Shaqfeh, Eric; Moin, Parviz; Lele, Sanjiva

2002-11-01

Polymer drag reduced flows are investigated through direct numerical simulations of viscoelastic flows. The solver for the viscoelastic model (FENE-P) is based on higher-order finite difference schemes and a novel implicit time integration method. Its robustness allows the simulation of all drag reduction (DR) regimes from the onset to the maximum drag reduction (MDR). It also permits the use of realistic polymer length and concentration. The maximum polymer extension in our simulation matches that of a polystyrene molecule of 10^6 molecular weight. Two distinct regimes of polymer drag reduced flows are observed: at low drag reduction (LDR, DR< 40-50%), the near-wall structure is essentially similar to Newtonian wall turbulence whereas the high drag reduction regime (HDR, DR from 40-50% to MDR) shows significant differences in the organization of the coherent structures. The 3D information provided by numerical simulations allows the determination of the interaction of polymers and near-wall coherent structures. To isolate the contribution of polymers in the viscous sublayer, the buffer and the outer region of the flow, numerical experiments are performed where the polymer concentration is varied in the wall-normal direction. Finally a mechanism of polymer drag reduction derived from our results and PIV measurements is discussed.

AI techniques for optimizing multi-objective reservoir operation upon human and riverine ecosystem demands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsai, Wen-Ping; Chang, Fi-John; Chang, Li-Chiu; Herricks, Edwin E.

2015-11-01

Flow regime is the key driver of the riverine ecology. This study proposes a novel hybrid methodology based on artificial intelligence (AI) techniques for quantifying riverine ecosystems requirements and delivering suitable flow regimes that sustain river and floodplain ecology through optimizing reservoir operation. This approach addresses issues to better fit riverine ecosystem requirements with existing human demands. We first explored and characterized the relationship between flow regimes and fish communities through a hybrid artificial neural network (ANN). Then the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) was established for river flow management over the Shihmen Reservoir in northern Taiwan. The ecosystem requirement took the form of maximizing fish diversity, which could be estimated by the hybrid ANN. The human requirement was to provide a higher satisfaction degree of water supply. The results demonstrated that the proposed methodology could offer a number of diversified alternative strategies for reservoir operation and improve reservoir operational strategies producing downstream flows that could meet both human and ecosystem needs. Applications that make this methodology attractive to water resources managers benefit from the wide spread of Pareto-front (optimal) solutions allowing decision makers to easily determine the best compromise through the trade-off between reservoir operational strategies for human and ecosystem needs.

Hydrological classification of natural flow regimes to support environmental flow assessments in intensively regulated Mediterranean rivers, Segura River Basin (Spain).

PubMed

Belmar, Oscar; Velasco, Josefa; Martinez-Capel, Francisco

2011-05-01

Hydrological classification constitutes the first step of a new holistic framework for developing regional environmental flow criteria: the "Ecological Limits of Hydrologic Alteration (ELOHA)". The aim of this study was to develop a classification for 390 stream sections of the Segura River Basin based on 73 hydrological indices that characterize their natural flow regimes. The hydrological indices were calculated with 25 years of natural monthly flows (1980/81-2005/06) derived from a rainfall-runoff model developed by the Spanish Ministry of Environment and Public Works. These indices included, at a monthly or annual basis, measures of duration of droughts and central tendency and dispersion of flow magnitude (average, low and high flow conditions). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicated high redundancy among most hydrological indices, as well as two gradients: flow magnitude for mainstream rivers and temporal variability for tributary streams. A classification with eight flow-regime classes was chosen as the most easily interpretable in the Segura River Basin, which was supported by ANOSIM analyses. These classes can be simplified in 4 broader groups, with different seasonal discharge pattern: large rivers, perennial stable streams, perennial seasonal streams and intermittent and ephemeral streams. They showed a high degree of spatial cohesion, following a gradient associated with climatic aridity from NW to SE, and were well defined in terms of the fundamental variables in Mediterranean streams: magnitude and temporal variability of flows. Therefore, this classification is a fundamental tool to support water management and planning in the Segura River Basin. Future research will allow us to study the flow alteration-ecological response relationship for each river type, and set the basis to design scientifically credible environmental flows following the ELOHA framework.

Mixing in a T-shaped micromixer at moderate Reynolds numbers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minakov, A. V.; Rudyak, V. Ya.; Gavrilov, A. A.; Dekterev, A. A.

2012-09-01

In the present work, the regimes of the flow and mixing of fluids in a T-shaped micromixer in the range of the Reynolds numbers from 1 to 1000 are investigated systematically with the aid of numerical modeling. The flow and mixing regimes are shown to alter substantially with increasing Reynolds numbers. Five different flow regimes have been identified in the total. The dependencies of the friction coefficient and mixing efficiency on the Reynolds number are obtained. A sharp increase in the mixing efficiency at a flow transition from the symmetric to asymmetric steady regime is shown. On the other hand, the mixing efficiency slightly drops in the laminar-turbulent transition region. A substantial influence of the slip presence on walls on flow structure in the channel and mixing efficiency has been revealed.

Study of gas-liquid flow in model porous media for heterogeneous catalysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Francois, Marie; Bodiguel, Hugues; Guillot, Pierre; Laboratory of the Future Team

2015-11-01

Heterogeneous catalysis of chemical reactions involving a gas and a liquid phase is usually achieved in fixed bed reactors. Four hydrodynamic regimes have been observed. They depend on the total flow rate and the ratio between liquid and gas flow rate. Flow properties in these regimes influence transfer rates. Rather few attempts to access local characterization have been proposed yet, though these seem to be necessary to better describe the physical mechanisms involved. In this work, we propose to mimic slices of reactor by using two-dimensional porous media. We have developed a two-dimensional system that is transparent to allow the direct observation of the flow and the phase distribution. While varying the total flow rate and the gas/liquid flow rate ratio, we observe two hydrodynamic regimes: at low flow rate, the gaseous phase is continuous (trickle flow), while it is discontinuous at higher flow rate (pulsed flow). Thanks to some image analysis techniques, we are able to quantify the local apparent liquid saturation in the system. Its fluctuations in time are characteristic of the transition between the two regimes: at low liquid flow rates, they are negligible since the liquid/gas interface is fixed, whereas at higher flow rates we observe an alternation between liquid and gas. This transition between trickle to pulsed flow is in relative good agreement with the existing state of art. However, we report in the pulsed regime important flow heterogeneities at the scale of a few pores. These heterogeneities are likely to have a strong influence on mass transfers. We acknowledge the support of Solvay.

A Study of Subseasonal Predictability of the Atmospheric Circulation Low-frequency Modes based on SL-AV forecasts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruglova, Ekaterina; Kulikova, Irina; Khan, Valentina; Tischenko, Vladimir

2017-04-01

The subseasonal predictability of low-frequency modes and the atmospheric circulation regimes is investigated based on the using of outputs from global Semi-Lagrangian (SL-AV) model of the Hydrometcentre of Russia and Institute of Numerical Mathematics of Russian Academy of Science. Teleconnection indices (AO, WA, EA, NAO, EU, WP, PNA) are used as the quantitative characteristics of low-frequency variability to identify zonal and meridional flow regimes with focus on control distribution of high impact weather patterns in the Northern Eurasia. The predictability of weekly and monthly averaged indices is estimated by the methods of diagnostic verification of forecast and reanalysis data covering the hindcast period, and also with the use of the recommended WMO quantitative criteria. Characteristics of the low frequency variability have been discussed. Particularly, it is revealed that the meridional flow regimes are reproduced by SL-AV for summer season better comparing to winter period. It is shown that the model's deterministic forecast (ensemble mean) skill at week 1 (days 1-7) is noticeably better than that of climatic forecasts. The decrease of skill scores at week 2 (days 8-14) and week 3( days 15-21) is explained by deficiencies in the modeling system and inaccurate initial conditions. It was noticed the slightly improvement of the skill of model at week 4 (days 22-28), when the condition of atmosphere is more determined by the flow of energy from the outside. The reliability of forecasts of monthly (days 1-30) averaged indices is comparable to that at week 1 (days 1-7). Numerical experiments demonstrated that the forecast accuracy can be improved (thus the limit of practical predictability can be extended) through the using of probabilistic approach based on ensemble forecasts. It is shown that the quality of forecasts of the regimes of circulation like blocking is higher, than that of zonal flow.

Dynamical criterion for a marginally unstable, quasi-linear behavior in a two-layer model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ebisuzaki, W.

1988-01-01

A two-layer quasi-geostrophic flow forced by meridional variations in heating can be in regimes ranging from radiative equilibrium to forced geostrophic turbulence. Between these extremes is a regime where the time-mean (zonal) flow is marginally unstable. Using scaling arguments, it is concluded that such a marginally unstable state should occur when a certain parameter, measuring the strength of wave-wave interactions relative to the beta effect and advection by the thermal wind, is small. Numerical simulations support this proposal. A transition from the marginally unstable regime to a more nonlinear regime is then examined through numerical simulations with different radiative forcings. It is found that transition is not caused by secondary instability of waves in the marginally unstable regime. Instead, the time-mean flow can support a number of marginally unstable normal modes. These normal modes interact with each other, and if they are of sufficient amplitude, the flow enters a more nonlinear regime.

Identifying hydrological regime and eco-flow threshold of small and medium flood of the Xiaoqing River in Jinan city

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yang; Cao, Sheng-Le

2017-06-01

It was known that hydrological regime was the main influencing factor of river ecosystem, but the regime of different flow rates of urban rivers was poorly understood. We collected daily inflows at the Huangtai station of the Xiaoqing River from 1960 to 2014 and divided the data into three periods. Then we calculated hydrological parameters by the method of EFCs (Environmental Flow Components) and analyzed the tendency and change rates of each component respectively in the three periods. Combined with the ecological significance of environmental flow components, we identified the small and medium flood had the greatest impact on the river regime and ecosystem. And then we used the hydraulic parameters in the good ecosystem period as control conditions, to calculate the ecological threshold of the flow component under the current situation. This study could provide technical support for restoring and improving hydrological regime and ecological environment of the Xiaoqing River in Jinan city.

Two-phase flow regimes in a horizontal microchannel with the height of 50 μm and width of 10 mm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fina, V. P.; Ronshin, F. V.

2017-11-01

Two-phase flows of distilled deionized nanofiltered water and nitrogen gas in a microchannel with a height of 50 μm and a width of 10 mm have been investigated experimentally. The schlieren method has been used to determine main features of the two-phase flow in the microchannel. This method allows detecting the liquid film on the lower and upper walls of the microchannel as well as droplets of various shapes and sizes or vertical liquid bridges. Two-phase flow regimes have been observed, and their boundaries precisely determined using post-processing of the recordings. The following flow regimes have been distinguished: bubble, churn, jet, stratified and annular. Comparison of regime maps for channels of different widths has been carried out, and this parameter showed to have a significant impact on the boundaries between the regimes in microchannels of a height of less than 100 μm.

Triaxial thermopile array geo-heat-flow sensor

DOEpatents

Carrigan, C.R.; Hardee, H.C.; Reynolds, G.D.; Steinfort, T.D.

1990-01-01

A triaxial thermopile array geothermal heat flow sensor is designed to measure heat flow in three dimensions in a reconstituted or unperturbed subsurface regime. Heat flow can be measured in conductive or permeable convective media. The sensor may be encased in protective pvc tubing and includes a plurality of thermistors and an array of heat flow transducers produce voltage proportional to heat flux along the subsurface regime and permit direct measurement of heat flow in the subsurface regime. The presence of the thermistor array permits a comparison to be made between the heat flow estimates obtained from the transducers and heat flow calculated using temperature differences and Fourier's Law. The device is extremely sensitive with an accuracy of less than 0.1 Heat Flow Units (HFU) and may be used for long term readings. 6 figs.

Full-flow-regime storage-streamflow correlation patterns provide insights into hydrologic functioning over the continental US

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Kuai; Shen, Chaopeng

2017-09-01

Interannual changes in low, median, and high regimes of streamflow have important implications for flood control, irrigation, and ecologic and human health. The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites record global terrestrial water storage anomalies (TWSA), providing an opportunity to observe, interpret, and potentially utilize the complex relationships between storage and full-flow-regime streamflow. Here we show that utilizable storage-streamflow correlations exist throughout vastly different climates in the continental US (CONUS) across low- to high-flow regimes. A panoramic framework, the storage-streamflow correlation spectrum (SSCS), is proposed to examine macroscopic gradients in these relationships. SSCS helps form, corroborate or reject hypotheses about basin hydrologic behaviors. SSCS patterns vary greatly over CONUS with climate, land surface, and geologic conditions. Data mining analysis suggests that for catchments with hydrologic settings that favor storage over runoff, e.g., a large fraction of precipitation as snow, thick and highly-permeable permeable soil, SSCS values tend to be high. Based on our results, we form the hypotheses that groundwater flow dominates streamflows in Southeastern CONUS and Great Plains, while thin soils in a belt along the Appalachian Plateau impose alimit on water storage. SSCS also suggests shallow water table caused by high-bulk density soil and flat terrain induces rapid runoff in several regions. Our results highlight the importance of subsurface properties and groundwater flow in capturing flood and drought. We propose that SSCS can be used as a fundamental hydrologic signature to constrain models and to provide insights thatlead usto better understand hydrologic functioning.

Fibrous filter efficiency and pressure drop in the viscous-inertial transition flow regime.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sanchez, Andres L.; Brockmann, John E.; Dellinger, Jennifer Gwynne

2011-10-01

Fibrous filter pressure drop and aerosol collection efficiency were measured at low air pressures (0.2 to 0.8 atm) and high face velocities (5 to 20 meters per second) to give fiber Reynolds numbers in the viscous-inertial transition flow regime (1 to 16). In this regime, contemporary filtration theory based on Kuwabara's viscous flow through an ensemble of fibers under-predicts single fiber impaction by several orders of magnitude. Streamline curvature increases substantially as inertial forces become dominant. Dimensionless pressure drop measurements followed the viscous-inertial theory of Robinson and Franklin rather than Darcy's linear pressure-velocity relationship (1972). Sodium chloride and iron nano-agglomeratemore » test aerosols were used to evaluate the effects of particle density and shape factor. Total filter efficiency collapsed when plotted against the particle Stokes and fiber Reynolds numbers. Efficiencies were then fitted with an impactor type equation where the cutpoint Stokes number and a steepness parameter described data well in the sharply increasing portion of the curve (20% to 80% efficiency). The cutpoint Stokes number was a linearly decreasing function of fiber Reynolds number. Single fiber efficiencies were calculated from total filter efficiencies and compared to contemporary viscous flow impaction theory (Stechkina et al. 1969), and numerical simulations from the literature. Existing theories under-predicted measured single fiber efficiencies although the assumption of uniform flow conditions for each successive layer of fibers is questionable; the common exponential relationship between single fiber efficiency and total filter efficiency may not be appropriate in this regime.« less

Supercritical bedforms and sedimentary structures from field and core studies, Middle Eocene deep-marine base-of-slope environment, Ainsa Basin, Spanish Pyrenees

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cornard, Pauline; Pickering, Kevin

2017-04-01

In recent years, many researchers have focussed on supercritical- and subcritical-flow deposits using flume-tank experiments (e.g., Cartigny el al., 2011; Postma et al., 2014; Postma and Cartigny, 2014), or from direct observations on presently active deep-water systems (e.g., Hughes et al., 2012). Using outcrop and core examples from a base-of-slope environment in the Middle Eocene Ainsa Basin, Spanish Pyrenees, and with published experimental work, a range of deposits are interpreted as upper-flow regime sedimentary structures. This contribution focusses on the interpretation of several supercritical bedforms (antidunes and chutes-and-pools) observed on the field and upper-flow regime sedimentary structures recognized in cores. The spatial distribution of supercritical-flow deposits obtained from an analysis of field outcrops and core sedimentary logs are evaluated in relation to the depositional environment (channel axis, off-axis, margin and interfan). The frequency distributions of the bed thicknesses are also analysed in relation to supercritical versus subcritical bed-thickness distributions.

Heat accumulation between scans during multi-pass cutting of carbon fiber reinforced plastics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kononenko, T. V.; Freitag, C.; Komlenok, M. S.; Weber, R.; Graf, T.; Konov, V. I.

2018-02-01

Matrix evaporation caused by heat accumulation between scans (HAS) was studied in the case of multi-pass scanning of a laser beam over the surface of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). The experiments were performed in two regimes, namely, in the process of CFRP cutting and in the regime of low-fluence irradiation avoiding ablation of carbon fibers. The feature of the ablation-free regime is that all absorbed energy remains in the material as heat, while in the cutting regime the fraction of residual heat is unknown. An analytical model based on two-dimensional (2D) heat flow was applied to predict the critical number of scans, after which the HAS effect causes a distinct growth of the matrix evaporation zone (MEZ). According to the model, the critical number of scans decreases exponentially with increasing laser power, while no dependence on the feed rate is expected. It was found that the model fits well to the experimental data obtained in the ablation-free regime where the heat input is well defined and known. In the cutting regime the measured significant reduction of the critical number of scans observed in deep grooves may be attributed to transformation of the heat flow geometry and to an expected increase of the residual heat fraction.

Regulation of snow-fed rivers affects flow regimes more than climate change.

PubMed

Arheimer, B; Donnelly, C; Lindström, G

2017-07-05

River flow is mainly controlled by climate, physiography and regulations, but their relative importance over large landmasses is poorly understood. Here we show from computational modelling that hydropower regulation is a key driver of flow regime change in snow-dominated regions and is more important than future climate changes. This implies that climate adaptation needs to include regulation schemes. The natural river regime in snowy regions has low flow when snow is stored and a pronounced peak flow when snow is melting. Global warming and hydropower regulation change this temporal pattern similarly, causing less difference in river flow between seasons. We conclude that in snow-fed rivers globally, the future climate change impact on flow regime is minor compared to regulation downstream of large reservoirs, and of similar magnitude over large landmasses. Our study not only highlights the impact of hydropower production but also that river regulation could be turned into a measure for climate adaptation to maintain biodiversity on floodplains under climate change.Global warming and hydropower regulations are major threats to future fresh-water availability and biodiversity. Here, the authors show that their impact on flow regime over a large landmass result in similar changes, but hydropower is more critical locally and may have potential for climate adaptation in floodplains.

Another look at zonal flows: Resonance, shearing, and frictionless saturation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, J. C.; Diamond, P. H.

2018-04-01

We show that shear is not the exclusive parameter that represents all aspects of flow structure effects on turbulence. Rather, wave-flow resonance enters turbulence regulation, both linearly and nonlinearly. Resonance suppresses the linear instability by wave absorption. Flow shear can weaken the resonance, and thus destabilize drift waves, in contrast to the near-universal conventional shear suppression paradigm. Furthermore, consideration of wave-flow resonance resolves the long-standing problem of how zonal flows (ZFs) saturate in the limit of weak or zero frictional drag, and also determines the ZF scale. We show that resonant vorticity mixing, which conserves potential enstrophy, enables ZF saturation in the absence of drag, and so is effective at regulating the Dimits up-shift regime. Vorticity mixing is incorporated as a nonlinear, self-regulation effect in an extended 0D predator-prey model of drift-ZF turbulence. This analysis determines the saturated ZF shear and shows that the mesoscopic ZF width scales as LZ F˜f3 /16(1-f ) 1 /8ρs5/8l03 /8 in the (relevant) adiabatic limit (i.e., τckk‖2D‖≫1 ). f is the fraction of turbulence energy coupled to ZF and l0 is the base state mixing length, absent ZF shears. We calculate and compare the stationary flow and turbulence level in frictionless, weakly frictional, and strongly frictional regimes. In the frictionless limit, the results differ significantly from conventionally quoted scalings derived for frictional regimes. To leading order, the flow is independent of turbulence intensity. The turbulence level scales as E ˜(γL/εc) 2 , which indicates the extent of the "near-marginal" regime to be γL<εc , for the case of avalanche-induced profile variability. Here, εc is the rate of dissipation of potential enstrophy and γL is the characteristic linear growth rate of fluctuations. The implications for dynamics near marginality of the strong scaling of saturated E with γL are discussed.

Numerical Study of Rarefied Hypersonic Flow Interacting with a Continuum Jet. Degree awarded by Pennsylvania State Univ., Aug. 1999

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glass, Christopher E.

2000-01-01

An uncoupled Computational Fluid Dynamics-Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (CFD-DSMC) technique is developed and applied to provide solutions for continuum jets interacting with rarefied external flows. The technique is based on a correlation of the appropriate Bird breakdown parameter for a transitional-rarefied condition that defines a surface within which the continuum solution is unaffected by the external flow-jet interaction. The method is applied to two problems to assess and demonstrate its validity; one of a jet interaction in the transitional-rarefied flow regime and the other in the moderately rarefied regime. Results show that the appropriate Bird breakdown surface for uncoupling the continuum and non-continuum solutions is a function of a non-dimensional parameter relating the momentum flux and collisionality between the two interacting flows. The correlation is exploited for the simulation of a jet interaction modeled for an experimental condition in the transitional-rarefied flow regime and the validity of the correlation is demonstrated. The uncoupled technique is also applied to an aerobraking flight condition for the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with attitude control system jet interaction. Aerodynamic yawing moment coefficients for cases without and with jet interaction at various angles-of-attack were predicted, and results from the present method compare well with values published previously. The flow field and surface properties are analyzed in some detail to describe the mechanism by which the jet interaction affects the aerodynamics.

On laminar-turbulent transition in nanofluid flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rudyak, V. Ya.; Minakov, A. V.; Guzey, D. V.; Zhigarev, V. A.; Pryazhnikov, M. I.

2016-09-01

The paper presents experimental data on the laminar-turbulent transition in the nanofluid flow in the pipe. The transition in the flows of such fluids is shown to have lower Reynolds numbers than in the base fluid. The degree of the flow destabilization increases with an increase in concentration of nanoparticles and a decrease in their size. On the other hand, in the turbulent flow regime, the presence of particles in the flow leads to the suppression of smallscale turbulent fluctuations. The correlation of the measured viscosity coefficient of considered nanofluids is presented.

Modeling the relations between flow regime components, species traits, and spawning success of fishes in warmwater streams

USGS Publications Warehouse

Craven, S.W.; Peterson, J.T.; Freeman, Mary C.; Kwak, T.J.; Irwin, E.

2010-01-01

Modifications to stream hydrologic regimes can have a profound influence on the dynamics of their fish populations. Using hierarchical linear models, we examined the relations between flow regime and young-of-year fish density using fish sampling and discharge data from three different warmwater streams in Illinois, Alabama, and Georgia. We used an information theoretic approach to evaluate the relative support for models describing hypothesized influences of five flow regime components representing: short-term high and low flows; short-term flow stability; and long-term mean flows and flow stability on fish reproductive success during fish spawning and rearing periods. We also evaluated the influence of ten fish species traits on fish reproductive success. Species traits included spawning duration, reproductive strategy, egg incubation rate, swimming locomotion morphology, general habitat preference, and food habits. Model selection results indicated that young-of-year fish density was positively related to short-term high flows during the spawning period and negatively related to flow variability during the rearing period. However, the effect of the flow regime components varied substantially among species, but was related to species traits. The effect of short-term high flows on the reproductive success was lower for species that broadcast their eggs during spawning. Species with cruiser swimming locomotion morphologies (e.g., Micropterus) also were more vulnerable to variable flows during the rearing period. Our models provide insight into the conditions and timing of flows that influence the reproductive success of warmwater stream fishes and may guide decisions related to stream regulation and management. ?? 2010 US Government.

Validating alternative methodologies to estimate the hydrological regime of temporary streams when flow data are unavailable

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Llorens, Pilar; Gallart, Francesc; Latron, Jérôme; Cid, Núria; Rieradevall, Maria; Prat, Narcís

2016-04-01

Aquatic life in temporary streams is strongly conditioned by the temporal variability of the hydrological conditions that control the occurrence and connectivity of diverse mesohabitats. In this context, the software TREHS (Temporary Rivers' Ecological and Hydrological Status) has been developed, in the framework of the LIFE Trivers project, to help managers for adequately implement the Water Framework Directive in this type of water bodies. TREHS, using the methodology described in Gallart et al (2012), defines six temporal 'aquatic states', based on the hydrological conditions representing different mesohabitats, for a given reach at a particular moment. Nevertheless, hydrological data for assessing the regime of temporary streams are often non-existent or scarce. The scarcity of flow data makes frequently impossible the characterization of temporary streams hydrological regimes and, as a consequence, the selection of the correct periods and methods to determine their ecological status. Because of its qualitative nature, the TREHS approach allows the use of alternative methodologies to assess the regime of temporary streams in the lack of observed flow data. However, to adapt the TREHS to this qualitative data both the temporal scheme (from monthly to seasonal) as well as the number of aquatic states (from 6 to 3) have been modified. Two alternatives complementary methodologies were tested within the TREHS framework to assess the regime of temporary streams: interviews and aerial photographs. All the gauging stations (13) belonging to the Catalan Internal Catchments (NE, Spain) with recurrent zero flows periods were selected to validate both methodologies. On one hand, non-structured interviews were carried out to inhabitants of villages and small towns near the gauging stations. Flow permanence metrics for input into TREHS were drawn from the notes taken during the interviews. On the other hand, the historical series of available aerial photographs (typically 10) were examined. In this case, flow permanence metrics were estimated as the proportion of photographs presenting stream flow. Results indicate that for streams being more than 25% of the time dry, interviews systematically underestimated flow, but the qualitative information given by inhabitants was of great interest to understand river dynamics. On the other hand, the use of aerial photographs gave a good estimation of flow permanence, but the seasonality was conditioned to the capture date of the aerial photographs. For these reasons, we recommend to use both methodologies together.

Observational changes to the natural flow regime in Lee Creek in relation to altered precipitation patterns and its implication for fishes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gatlin, Michael R.; Long, James M.; Turton, Donald J.

2015-01-01

The natural flow regime is important for structuring streams and their resident ichthyofauna and alterations to this regime can have cascading consequences. We sought to determine if changes in hydrology could be attributed to changes in precipitation in a minimally altered watershed (Lee Creek). The stream flow regime was analyzed using Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) software, and data from a nearby climate station were used to summarize concurrent precipitation patterns. We discovered that Lee Creek hydrology had become flashier (i.e., increased frequency of extreme events of shorter duration) since 1992 coincident with changes in precipitation patterns. Specifically, our results show fewer but more intense rain events within the Lee Creek watershed. Our research provides evidence that climate-induced changes to the natural flow regime are currently underway and additional research on its effects on the fish community is warranted.

Effect of Doppler flow meter position on discharge measurement in surcharged manholes.

PubMed

Yang, Haoming; Zhu, David Z; Liu, Yanchen

2018-02-01

Determining the proper installation location of flow meters is important for accurate measurement of discharge in sewer systems. In this study, flow field and flow regimes in two types of manholes under surcharged flow were investigated using a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code. The error in measuring the flow discharge using a Doppler flow meter (based on the velocity in a Doppler beam) was then estimated. The values of the corrective coefficient were obtained for the Doppler flow meter at different locations under various conditions. Suggestions for selecting installation positions are provided.

Impact of flow regulation and power plant effluents on the flow and temperature regimes of the Chattahoochee River; Atlanta to Whitesburg, Georgia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Faye, Robert E.; Jobson, Harvey E.; Land, Larry F.

1978-01-01

A calibrated and verified transient-flow temperature model was used to evaluate the effects of flow regulation and powerplant loadings on the natural temperature regime of the Chattahoochee River in northeast Georgia. Estimates were made of both instantaneous and average natural temperatures in the river during an 8-day period in August 1976. Differences between the computed average natural temperature and an independent estimateof natural temperature based on observed equilibrium temperatures were less than 0.5C. The combined thermal effects of flow regulation and powerplant effluents resulted in mean daily river temperatures downstreams of the powerplants about equal to or less than computed mean natural temperatures. The range and rates of change of computed natural diurnal temperature fluctuations were considerably less than those presently observed (1976) in the river. Except during periods of peak water-supply demand, differences between computed year 2000 river temperatures and observed present-day temperatures were less than 2C. (Woodard-USGS)

Physical aspects of computing the flow of a viscous fluid

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mehta, U. B.

1984-01-01

One of the main themes in fluid dynamics at present and in the future is going to be computational fluid dynamics with the primary focus on the determination of drag, flow separation, vortex flows, and unsteady flows. A computation of the flow of a viscous fluid requires an understanding and consideration of the physical aspects of the flow. This is done by identifying the flow regimes and the scales of fluid motion, and the sources of vorticity. Discussions of flow regimes deal with conditions of incompressibility, transitional and turbulent flows, Navier-Stokes and non-Navier-Stokes regimes, shock waves, and strain fields. Discussions of the scales of fluid motion consider transitional and turbulent flows, thin- and slender-shear layers, triple- and four-deck regions, viscous-inviscid interactions, shock waves, strain rates, and temporal scales. In addition, the significance and generation of vorticity are discussed. These physical aspects mainly guide computations of the flow of a viscous fluid.

Non-invasive classification of gas-liquid two-phase horizontal flow regimes using an ultrasonic Doppler sensor and a neural network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Musa Abbagoni, Baba; Yeung, Hoi

2016-08-01

The identification of flow pattern is a key issue in multiphase flow which is encountered in the petrochemical industry. It is difficult to identify the gas-liquid flow regimes objectively with the gas-liquid two-phase flow. This paper presents the feasibility of a clamp-on instrument for an objective flow regime classification of two-phase flow using an ultrasonic Doppler sensor and an artificial neural network, which records and processes the ultrasonic signals reflected from the two-phase flow. Experimental data is obtained on a horizontal test rig with a total pipe length of 21 m and 5.08 cm internal diameter carrying air-water two-phase flow under slug, elongated bubble, stratified-wavy and, stratified flow regimes. Multilayer perceptron neural networks (MLPNNs) are used to develop the classification model. The classifier requires features as an input which is representative of the signals. Ultrasound signal features are extracted by applying both power spectral density (PSD) and discrete wavelet transform (DWT) methods to the flow signals. A classification scheme of ‘1-of-C coding method for classification’ was adopted to classify features extracted into one of four flow regime categories. To improve the performance of the flow regime classifier network, a second level neural network was incorporated by using the output of a first level networks feature as an input feature. The addition of the two network models provided a combined neural network model which has achieved a higher accuracy than single neural network models. Classification accuracies are evaluated in the form of both the PSD and DWT features. The success rates of the two models are: (1) using PSD features, the classifier missed 3 datasets out of 24 test datasets of the classification and scored 87.5% accuracy; (2) with the DWT features, the network misclassified only one data point and it was able to classify the flow patterns up to 95.8% accuracy. This approach has demonstrated the success of a clamp-on ultrasound sensor for flow regime classification that would be possible in industry practice. It is considerably more promising than other techniques as it uses a non-invasive and non-radioactive sensor.

Insights on pumping well interpretation from flow dimension analysis: The learnings of a multi-context field database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferroud, Anouck; Chesnaux, Romain; Rafini, Silvain

2018-01-01

The flow dimension parameter n, derived from the Generalized Radial Flow model, is a valuable tool to investigate the actual flow regimes that really occur during a pumping test rather than suppose them to be radial, as postulated by the Theis-derived models. A numerical approach has shown that, when the flow dimension is not radial, using the derivative analysis rather than the conventional Theis and Cooper-Jacob methods helps to estimate much more accurately the hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer. Although n has been analysed in numerous studies including field-based studies, there is a striking lack of knowledge about its occurrence in nature and how it may be related to the hydrogeological setting. This study provides an overview of the occurrence of n in natural aquifers located in various geological contexts including crystalline rock, carbonate rock and granular aquifers. A comprehensive database is compiled from governmental and industrial sources, based on 69 constant-rate pumping tests. By means of a sequential analysis approach, we systematically performed a flow dimension analysis in which straight segments on drawdown-log derivative time series are interpreted as successive, specific and independent flow regimes. To reduce the uncertainties inherent in the identification of n sequences, we used the proprietary SIREN code to execute a dual simultaneous fit on both the drawdown and the drawdown-log derivative signals. Using the stated database, we investigate the frequency with which the radial and non-radial flow regimes occur in fractured rock and granular aquifers, and also provide outcomes that indicate the lack of applicability of Theis-derived models in representing nature. The results also emphasize the complexity of hydraulic signatures observed in nature by pointing out n sequential signals and non-integer n values that are frequently observed in the database.

Stability and sensitivity analyses of the engulfment regime in a three dimensional T-shaped micromixer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fani, Andrea; Camarri, Simone; Galletti, Chiara; Salvetti, Maria Vittoria

2012-11-01

The recent research in micro-fluidics has focused on the development of efficient passive micromixers, in which mixing is promoted without the help of any external power. One among the simplest designs of a passive micromixer is a T shape, in which the inlets join the main channel with T-shaped branches. The range of Reynolds numbers, Re , of interest for practical applications is such that the flow inside such a mixer is laminar but it is characterized by peculiar fluid-dynamics instabilities, which significantly enhance mixing but are poorly investigated in the literature. As Re is increased, the flow goes through a bifurcation which drives the system from a perfectly symmetric flow to a steady but asymmetric state, so enhancing mixing (engulfment regime). The onset of the engulfment has been found to be influenced by geometrical parameters and by inflow conditions. In the present work we characterize the engulfment instability by a global stability analysis on the 3D base flow in a T-mixer. Sensitivity analyses with respect to a structural perturbation of the linearized flow equations and to a base flow modification were carried out. Finally, we characterize the sensitivity of the considered instability with respect to a perturbation of the inlet velocity profile.

Triaxial thermopile array geo-heat-flow sensor

DOEpatents

Carrigan, Charles R.; Hardee, Harry C.; Reynolds, Gerald D.; Steinfort, Terry D.

1992-01-01

A triaxial thermopile array geothermal heat flow sensor is designed to measure heat flow in three dimensions in a reconstituted or unperturbed subsurface regime. Heat flow can be measured in conductive or permeable convective media. The sensor may be encased in protective pvc tubing and includes a plurality of thermistors and an array of heat flow transducers arranged in a vertical string. The transducers produce voltage proportional to heat flux along the subsurface regime and permit direct measurement of heat flow in the subsurface regime. The presence of the thermistor array permits a comparison to be made between the heat flow estimates obtained from the transducers and heat flow calculated using temperature differences and Fourier's Law. The device is extremely sensitive with an accuracy of less than 0.1 Heat Flow Units (HFU) and may be used for long term readings.

Liquid-Vapor Flow Regime Transitions for Spacecraft Heat Transfer Loops

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-12-01

effects of fluid properties on flow regime transitions. 5 A carnauba wax with no additives was used because it resists dissolution by oil. 19 4.2...importance of an annular flow entrance geometry and of waxing the tube wall to change its wetting properties (to prevent inverse annular flow) were

Discussion of production logging as an integral part of horizontal-well transient-pressure test

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Babu, D.K.; Odeh, A.S.

1994-09-01

Ahmed and Badry discussed the identification of flow regimes for a horizontal well. The well produces from an infinitely extending slab-like reservoir of finite thickness. The system allows a top and bottom boundary. Reference 1 indicates the possible existence of two early radial-flow periods and illustrates them in Figures. Kuchuk et al., and Daviau give the theoretical basis for the existence of such flow regimes. The flow is essentially 2D and in vertical planes. The authors agree that a second early radial-flow period could exist from a strictly theoretical viewpoint. However, certain important physical constraints, which were not explicitly mentionedmore » in the above works, must be met before it can occur and for a reliable and valid analysis of the pressure data. The authors will show that the second early radial-flow regime could exist only if the well were extremely close to a no-flow boundary and they quantify extremely close. Hence, an engineer must use extreme caution in conducting pressure analysis on the basis of a second early radial-flow regime.« less

Turbulence and turbulent drag reduction in swirling flow: Inertial versus viscous forcing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burnishev, Yuri; Steinberg, Victor

2015-08-01

We report unexpected results of a drastic difference in the transition to fully developed turbulent and turbulent drag reduction (TDR) regimes and in their properties in a von Karman swirling flow with counter-rotating disks of water-based polymer solutions for viscous (by smooth disks) as well as inertial (by bladed disks) forcing and by tracking just torque Γ (t ) and pressure p (t ) . For the viscous forcing, just a single TDR regime is found with the transition values of the Reynolds number (Re) Recturb=RecTDR≃(4.8 ±0.2 ) ×105 independent of ϕ , whereas for the inertial forcing two turbulent regimes are revealed. The first transition is to fully developed turbulence, and the second one is to the TDR regime with both Recturb and RecTDR depending on polymer concentration ϕ . Both regimes differ by the values of Cf and Cp, by the scaling exponents of the fundamental turbulent characteristics, by the nonmonotonic dependencies of skewness and flatness of the pressure PDFs on Re, and by the different frequency power spectra of p with the different dependencies of the main vortex peak frequency in the p power spectra on ϕ and Re. Thus our experimental results show the transition to the TDR regime in a von Karman swirling flow for the viscous and inertial forcings in a sharp contrast to the recent experiments [Phys. Fluids 10, 426 (1998), 10.1063/1.869532; Phys. Rev. E 47, R28(R) (1993), 10.1103/PhysRevE.47.R28; and J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 17, S1195 (2005), 10.1088/0953-8984/17/14/008] where the transition to TDR is observed in the same swirling flow with counter-rotating disks only for the viscous forcing. The latter result has led its authors to the wrong conclusion that TDR is a solely boundary effect contrary to the inertial forcing associated with the bulk effect, and this conception is currently rather widely accepted in literature.

Turbulence and turbulent drag reduction in swirling flow: Inertial versus viscous forcing.

PubMed

Burnishev, Yuri; Steinberg, Victor

2015-08-01

We report unexpected results of a drastic difference in the transition to fully developed turbulent and turbulent drag reduction (TDR) regimes and in their properties in a von Karman swirling flow with counter-rotating disks of water-based polymer solutions for viscous (by smooth disks) as well as inertial (by bladed disks) forcing and by tracking just torque Γ(t) and pressure p(t) . For the viscous forcing, just a single TDR regime is found with the transition values of the Reynolds number (Re) Re turb c =Re TDR c ≃(4.8±0.2)×10(5) independent of ϕ , whereas for the inertial forcing two turbulent regimes are revealed. The first transition is to fully developed turbulence, and the second one is to the TDR regime with both Re turb c and Re TDR c depending on polymer concentration ϕ . Both regimes differ by the values of C f and C p , by the scaling exponents of the fundamental turbulent characteristics, by the nonmonotonic dependencies of skewness and flatness of the pressure PDFs on Re, and by the different frequency power spectra of p with the different dependencies of the main vortex peak frequency in the p power spectra on ϕ and Re. Thus our experimental results show the transition to the TDR regime in a von Karman swirling flow for the viscous and inertial forcings in a sharp contrast to the recent experiments [Phys. Fluids 10, 426 (1998); Phys. Rev. E 47, R28(R) (1993); and J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 17, S1195 (2005)] where the transition to TDR is observed in the same swirling flow with counter-rotating disks only for the viscous forcing. The latter result has led its authors to the wrong conclusion that TDR is a solely boundary effect contrary to the inertial forcing associated with the bulk effect, and this conception is currently rather widely accepted in literature.

Characteristics of debris avalanche deposits inferred from source volume estimate and hummock morphology around Mt. Erciyes, central Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayakawa, Yuichi S.; Yoshida, Hidetsugu; Obanawa, Hiroyuki; Naruhashi, Ryutaro; Okumura, Koji; Zaiki, Masumi; Kontani, Ryoichi

2018-02-01

Debris avalanches caused by volcano sector collapse often form characteristic depositional landforms such as hummocks. Sedimentological and geomorphological analyses of debris avalanche deposits (DADs) are crucial to clarify the size, mechanisms, and emplacement of debris avalanches. We describe the morphology of hummocks on the northeastern flank of Mt. Erciyes in Kayseri, central Turkey, likely formed in the late Pleistocene. Using a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) and the structure-from-motion and multi-view stereo (SfM-MVS) photogrammetry, we obtained high-definition digital elevation model (DEM) and orthorectified images of the hummocks to investigate their geometric features. We estimated the source volume of the DAD by reconstructing the topography of the volcano edifice using a satellite-based DEM. We examined the topographic cross sections based on the slopes around the scar regarded as remnant topography. Spatial distribution of hummocks is anomalously concentrated at a certain distance from the source, unlike those that follow the distance-size relationship. The high-definition land surface data by RPAS and SfM revealed that many of the hummocks are aligned toward the flow direction of the debris avalanche, suggesting that the extensional regime of the debris avalanche was dominant. However, some displaced hummocks were also found, indicating that the compressional regime of the flow contributed to the formation of hummocks. These indicate that the flow and emplacement of the avalanche were constrained by the topography. The existing caldera wall forced the initial eastward flow to move northward, and the north-side caldera wall forced the flow into the narrow and steepened outlet valley where the sliding debris underwent a compressional regime, and out into the unconfined terrain where the debris was most likely emplaced on an extensional regime. Also, the estimated volume of 12-15 × 108 m3 gives a mean thickness of 60-75 m, which is much deeper than the reported cases of other DADs. This suggests that the debris avalanche must have flowed further downstream and beyond the current DAD extent. Assessments of the DAD incorporating the topographic constraints can provide further insights into the risk and mitigation of potential disasters in the study area.

Dynamic hydro-climatic networks in pristine and regulated rivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Botter, G.; Basso, S.; Lazzaro, G.; Doulatyari, B.; Biswal, B.; Schirmer, M.; Rinaldo, A.

2014-12-01

Flow patterns observed at-a-station are the dynamical byproduct of a cascade of processes involving different compartments of the hydro-climatic network (e.g., climate, rainfall, soil, vegetation) that regulates the transformation of rainfall into streamflows. In complex branching rivers, flow regimes result from the heterogeneous arrangement around the stream network of multiple hydrologic cascades that simultaneously occur within distinct contributing areas. As such, flow regimes are seen as the integrated output of a complex "network of networks", which can be properly characterized by its degree of temporal variability and spatial heterogeneity. Hydrologic networks that generate river flow regimes are dynamic in nature. In pristine rivers, the time-variance naturally emerges at multiple timescales from climate variability (namely, seasonality and inter-annual fluctuations), implying that the magnitude (and the features) of the water flow between two nodes may be highly variable across different seasons and years. Conversely, the spatial distribution of river flow regimes within pristine rivers involves scale-dependent transport features, as well as regional climatic and soil use gradients, which in small and meso-scale catchments (A < 103 km2) are usually mild enough to guarantee quite uniform flow regimes and high spatial correlations. Human-impacted rivers, instead, constitute hybrid networks where observed spatio-temporal patterns are dominated by anthropogenic shifts, such as landscape alterations and river regulation. In regulated rivers, the magnitude and the features of water flows from node to node may change significantly through time due to damming and withdrawals. However, regulation may impact river regimes in a spatially heterogeneous manner (e.g. in localized river reaches), with a significant decrease of spatial correlations and network connectivity. Provided that the spatial and temporal dynamics of flow regimes in complex rivers may strongly impact important biotic processes involved in the river food web (e.g. biofilm and riparian vegetation dynamics), the study of rivers as dynamic networks provides important clues to water management strategies and freshwater ecosystem studies.

Validation of the Chemistry Module for the Euler Solver in Unified Flow Solver

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-01

traveling through the atmosphere there are three types of flow regimes that exist; the first is the continuum regime, second is the rarified regime and...The second method has been used in a program called Unified Flow Solver (UFS). UFS is currently being developed under collaborative efforts the Air...thermal non-equilibrium case and finally to a thermo-chemical non- equilibrium case. The data from the simulations will be compared to a second code

Theoretical and numerical studies on physics and dynamics of orographic precipitation associated with tropical cyclones over mesoscale mountains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sever, Gokhan

A series of systematic two/three-dimensional (2D/3D) idealized numerical experiments were conducted to investigate the combined effects of dynamical and physical processes on orographic precipitation (OP) with varying incoming basic flow speed (U) and CAPE in a conditionally unstable uniform flow. The three moist flow regimes identified by Chu and Lin are reproduced using the CM1 model in low resolution (Deltax = 1 km) 2D simulations. A new flow regime, namely Regime IV (U > 36 m s-1) is characterized by gravity waves, heavy precipitation, lack of upper-level wave breaking and turbulence over the lee slope. The regime transition from III to IV at about 36 m s -1 can be explained by the transition from upward propagating gravity waves to evanescent flow, which can be predicted using a moist mountain wave theory. Although the basic features are captured well in low grid resolutions, high resolution (Deltax = 100 m) 2D/3D simulations are required to resolve precipitation distribution and intensity at higher basic winds (U > 30 m s -1). These findings may be applied to examine the performance of moist and turbulence parameterization schemes. Based on 3D simulations, gravity wave-induced severe downslope winds and turbulent mixing within hydraulic jump reduce OP in Regime III. Then in Regime IV, precipitation amount and spatial extent are intensified as the upper-level wave breaking vanishes and updrafts strengthen. Similar experiments were performed with a low CAPE sounding to assess the evolution of OP in an environment similar to that observed in tropical cyclones. These low CAPE simulations show that precipitation is nearly doubled at high wind speeds compared to high CAPE results. Based on a microphysics budget analysis, two factors are identified to explain this difference: 1) warm-rain formation processes (auto-conversion and accretion), which are more effective in low CAPE environment, and 2) even though rain production (via graupel and snow melting) is intense in high CAPE, strong downdrafts and advection induced evaporation tend to deplete precipitation before reaching the ground. Overall, both in 2D/3D high wind speed simulations, the pattern of the precipitation distribution resembles to the bell-shaped mountain profile with maximum located over the mountain peak. This result has a potential to simplify the parameterization of OP in terms of two control parameters and might applicable to global weather and climate modeling.

Evaluating the effects of monthly river flow trends on Environmental Flow allocation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torabi Haghighi, Ali; Klove, Bjorn

2010-05-01

The Natural river flow regime can be changed by the construction of hydraulic structures such as dams, hydropower plants, pump stations and so on. Due to the new river flow regime, some parts of water resources must be allocated to environmental flow (EF). There are more than 62 hydrological methods which have been proposed for calculating EF, although these methods don't have enough acceptability to be used in practical cases and The so other methods are preferred such as holistic,….. Most hydrological methods do not take basin physiography, climate, location of hydraulic structures, monthly river flow regime, historical trend of river (annually regime), purpose of hydraulic structures and so on, into consideration. In the present work, data from more than 180 rivers from Asia (71 rivers and 16 countries), Europe (79 Rivers and 23 countries), Americas (23 rivers and 10 countries) and Africa (12 rivers and 6 countries) were used to assess EF. The rivers were divided into 5 main groups of regular permanent rivers, semi regular permanent rivers, irregular permanent rivers, seasonal rivers and dry rivers, for each groups EF calculated by some hydrological methods and compared with the natural flow regime. The results showed that besides the amount of EF, the monthly distribution of flow is very important and should be considered in reservoir operation. In seasonal rivers and dry rivers, hydraulic structure construction can be useful for conserving aquatic ecosystems

Features of two-phase flow in a microchannel of 0.05×20 mm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ronshin, Fedor

2017-10-01

We have studied the two-phase flow in a microchannel with cross-section of 0.05×20 mm2. The following two-phase flow regimes have been registered: jet, bubble, stratified, annular, and churn ones. The main features of flow regimes in this channel such as formation of liquid droplets in all two-phase flows have been distinguished.

TREHS: An open-access software tool for investigating and evaluating temporary river regimes as a first step for their ecological status assessment.

PubMed

Gallart, Francesc; Cid, Núria; Latron, Jérôme; Llorens, Pilar; Bonada, Núria; Jeuffroy, Justin; Jiménez-Argudo, Sara-María; Vega, Rosa-María; Solà, Carolina; Soria, Maria; Bardina, Mònica; Hernández-Casahuga, Antoni-Josep; Fidalgo, Aránzazu; Estrela, Teodoro; Munné, Antoni; Prat, Narcís

2017-12-31

When the regime of a river is not perennial, there are four main difficulties with the use of hydrographs for assessing hydrological alteration: i) the main hydrological features relevant for biological communities are not quantitative (discharges) but qualitative (phases such as flowing water, stagnant pools or lack of surface water), ii) stream flow records do not inform on the temporal occurrence of stagnant pools, iii) as most of the temporary streams are ungauged, their regime has to be evaluated by alternative methods such as remote sensing or citizen science, and iv) the biological quality assessment of the ecological status of a temporary stream must follow a sampling schedule and references adapted to the flow- pool-dry regime. To overcome these challenges within an operational approach, the freely available software tool TREHS has been developed within the EU LIFE TRIVERS project. This software permits the input of information from flow simulations obtained with any rainfall-runoff model (to set an unimpacted reference stream regime) and compares this with the information obtained from flow gauging records (if available) and interviews with local people, as well as instantaneous observations by individuals and interpretation of ground-level or aerial photographs. Up to six metrics defining the permanence of water flow, the presence of stagnant pools and their temporal patterns of occurrence are used to determine natural and observed river regimes and to assess the degree of hydrological alteration. A new regime classification specifically designed for temporary rivers was developed using the metrics that measure the relative permanence of the three main phases: flow, disconnected pools and dry stream bed. Finally, the software characterizes the differences between the natural and actual regimes, diagnoses the hydrological status (degree of hydrological alteration), assesses the significance and robustness of the diagnosis and recommends the best periods for biological quality samplings. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mean flow produced by small-amplitude vibrations of a liquid bridge with its free surface covered with an insoluble surfactant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrión, Luis M.; Herrada, Miguel A.; Montanero, José M.; Vega, José M.

2017-09-01

As is well known, confined fluid systems subject to forced vibrations produce mean flows, called in this context streaming flows. These mean flows promote an overall mass transport in the fluid that has consequences in the transport of passive scalars and surfactants, when these are present in a fluid interface. Such transport causes surfactant concentration inhomogeneities that are to be counterbalanced by Marangoni elasticity. Therefore, the interaction of streaming flows and Marangoni convection is expected to produce new flow structures that are different from those resulting when only one of these effects is present. The present paper focuses on this interaction using the liquid bridge geometry as a paradigmatic system for the analysis. Such analysis is based on an appropriate post-processing of the results obtained via direct numerical simulation of the system for moderately small viscosity, a condition consistent with typical experiments of vibrated millimetric liquid bridges. It is seen that the flow patterns show a nonmonotone behavior as the Marangoni number is increased. In addition, the strength of the mean flow at the free surface exhibits two well-defined regimes as the forcing amplitude increases. These regimes show fairly universal power-law behaviors.

Modelling coupled turbulence - dissolved oxygen dynamics near the sediment-water interface under wind waves and sea swell.

PubMed

Chatelain, Mathieu; Guizien, Katell

2010-03-01

A one-dimensional vertical unsteady numerical model for diffusion-consumption of dissolved oxygen (DO) above and below the sediment-water interface was developed to investigate DO profile dynamics under wind waves and sea swell (high-frequency oscillatory flows with periods ranging from 2 to 30s). We tested a new approach to modelling DO profiles that coupled an oscillatory turbulent bottom boundary layer model with a Michaelis-Menten based consumption model. The flow regime controls both the mean value and the fluctuations of the oxygen mass transfer efficiency during a wave cycle, as expressed by the non-dimensional Sherwood number defined with the maximum shear velocity (Sh). The Sherwood number was found to be non-dependent on the sediment biogeochemical activity (mu). In the laminar regime, both cycle-averaged and variance of the Sherwood number are very low (Sh <0.05, VAR(Sh)<0.1%). In the turbulent regime, the cycle-averaged Sherwood number is larger (Sh approximately 0.2). The Sherwood number also has intra-wave cycle fluctuations that increase with the wave Reynolds number (VAR(Sh) up to 30%). Our computations show that DO mass transfer efficiency under high-frequency oscillatory flows in the turbulent regime are water-side controlled by: (a) the diffusion time across the diffusive boundary layer and (b) diffusive boundary layer dynamics during a wave cycle. As a result of these two processes, when the wave period decreases, the Sh minimum increases and the Sh maximum decreases. Sh values vary little, ranging from 0.17 to 0.23. For periods up to 30s, oxygen penetration depth into the sediment did not show any intra-wave fluctuations. Values for the laminar regime are small (

Characterization of Arcjet Flows Using Laser-Induced Fluorescence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bamford, Douglas J.; O'Keefe, Anthony; Babikian, Dikran S.; Stewart, David A.; Strawa, Anthony W.

1995-01-01

A sensor based on laser-induced fluorescence has been installed at the 20-MW NASA Ames Aerodynamic Heating Facility. The sensor has provided new, quantitative, real-time information about properties of the arcjet flow in the highly dissociated, partially ionized, nonequilibrium regime. Number densities of atomic oxygen, flow velocities, heavy particle translational temperatures, and collisional quenching rates have been measured. These results have been used to test and refine computational models of the arcjet flow. The calculated number densities, translational temperatures, and flow velocities are in moderately good agreement with experiment

Apparatus for monitoring two-phase flow

DOEpatents

Sheppard, John D.; Tong, Long S.

1977-03-01

A method and apparatus for monitoring two-phase flow is provided that is particularly related to the monitoring of transient two-phase (liquid-vapor) flow rates such as may occur during a pressurized water reactor core blow-down. The present invention essentially comprises the use of flanged wire screens or similar devices, such as perforated plates, to produce certain desirable effects in the flow regime for monitoring purposes. One desirable effect is a measurable and reproducible pressure drop across the screen. The pressure drop can be characterized for various known flow rates and then used to monitor nonhomogeneous flow regimes. Another useful effect of the use of screens or plates in nonhomogeneous flow is that such apparatus tends to create a uniformly dispersed flow regime in the immediate downstream vicinity. This is a desirable effect because it usually increases the accuracy of flow rate measurements determined by conventional methods.

Method and apparatus for monitoring two-phase flow. [PWR

DOEpatents

Sheppard, J.D.; Tong, L.S.

1975-12-19

A method and apparatus for monitoring two-phase flow is provided that is particularly related to the monitoring of transient two-phase (liquid-vapor) flow rates such as may occur during a pressurized water reactor core blow-down. The present invention essentially comprises the use of flanged wire screens or similar devices, such as perforated plates, to produce certain desirable effects in the flow regime for monitoring purposes. One desirable effect is a measurable and reproducible pressure drop across the screen. The pressure drop can be characterized for various known flow rates and then used to monitor nonhomogeneous flow regimes. Another useful effect of the use of screens or plates in nonhomogeneous flow is that such apparatus tends to create a uniformly dispersed flow regime in the immediate downstream vicinity. This is a desirable effect because it usually increases the accuracy of flow rate measurements determined by conventional methods.

Numerical studies of the polymer melt flow in the extruder screw channel and the forming tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ershov, S. V.; Trufanova, N. M.

2017-06-01

To date, polymer compositions based on polyethylene or PVC is widely used as insulating materials. These materials processing conjugate with a number of problems during selection of the rational extrusion regimes. To minimize the time and cost when determining the technological regime uses mathematical modeling techniques. The paper discusses heat and mass transfer processes in the extruder screw channel, output adapter and the cable head. During the study were determined coefficients for three rheological models based on obtained viscosity vs. shear rate experimental data. Also a comparative analysis of this viscosimetric laws application possibility for studying polymer melt flow during its processing on the extrusion equipment was held. As a result of numerical study the temperature, viscosity and shear rate fields in the extruder screw channel and forming tool were obtained.

Flow and form in rehabilitation of large-river ecosystems: an example from the Lower Missouri River

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jacobson, R.B.; Galat, D.L.

2006-01-01

On large, intensively engineered rivers like the Lower Missouri, the template of the physical habitat is determined by the nearly independent interaction of channel form and flow regime. We evaluated the interaction between flow and form by modeling four combinations of modern and historical channel form and modern and historical flow regimes. The analysis used shallow, slow water (shallow-water habitat, SWH, defined as depths between 0 and 1.5 m, and current velocities between 0 and 0.75 m/s) as an indicator of habitat that has been lost on many intensively engineered rivers and one that is thought to be especially important in rearing of young fishes. Two-dimensional hydrodynamic models for modern and historical channels of the Lower Missouri River at Hermann, Missouri, indicate substantial differences between the two channels in total availability and spatial characteristics of SWH. In the modern channel, SWH is maximized at extremely low flows and in overbank flows, whereas the historical channel had substantially more SWH at all discharges and SWH increased with increasing discharge. The historical channel form produced 3-7 times the SWH area of the modern channel regardless of flow regime. The effect of flow regime is evident in increased within-year SWH variability with the natural flow regime, including significant seasonal peaks of SWH associated with spring flooding. Comparison with other reaches along the Lower Missouri River indicates that a) channel form is the dominant control of the availability of habitat even in reaches where the hydrograph is more intensively altered, and b) rehabilitation projects that move toward the historical condition can be successful in increasing topographic diversity and thereby decreasing sensitivity of the availability of habitat to flow regime. The relative efficacy of managing flow and form in creating SWH is useful information toward achieving socially acceptable rehabilitation of the ecosystem in large river systems.

Charging and Transport Dynamics of a Flow-Through Electrode Capacitive Deionization System.

PubMed

Qu, Yatian; Campbell, Patrick G; Hemmatifar, Ali; Knipe, Jennifer M; Loeb, Colin K; Reidy, John J; Hubert, Mckenzie A; Stadermann, Michael; Santiago, Juan G

2018-01-11

We present a study of the interplay among electric charging rate, capacitance, salt removal, and mass transport in "flow-through electrode" capacitive deionization (CDI) systems. We develop two models describing coupled transport and electro-adsorption/desorption which capture salt removal dynamics. The first model is a simplified, unsteady zero-dimensional volume-averaged model which identifies dimensionless parameters and figures of merits associated with cell performance. The second model is a higher fidelity area-averaged model which captures both spatial and temporal responses of charging. We further conducted an experimental study of these dynamics and considered two salt transport regimes: (1) advection-limited regime and (2) dispersion-limited regime. We use these data to validate models. The study shows that, in the advection-limited regime, differential charge efficiency determines the salt adsorption at the early stage of the deionization process. Subsequently, charging transitions to a quasi-steady state where salt removal rate is proportional to applied current scaled by the inlet flow rate. In the dispersion-dominated regime, differential charge efficiency, cell volume, and diffusion rates govern adsorption dynamics and flow rate has little effect. In both regimes, the interplay among mass transport rate, differential charge efficiency, cell capacitance, and (electric) charging current governs salt removal in flow-through electrode CDI.

EFFECT OF FLOW REGIME ON FISH-HABITAT RELATIONSHIPS IN A MID-WESTERN RIVER

EPA Science Inventory

Numerous studies have shown interrelationships among stream fishes, habitat and land use, but it is unclear how flow regime affects these relationships. We hypothesized that habitat would better predict fishes in streams with stable flows. Habitat should be less predictive in u...

HYDROLOGIC REGIME CLASSIFICATION OF LAKE MICHIGAN COASTAL RIVERINE WETLANDS BASED ON WATERSHED CHARACTERISTICS

EPA Science Inventory

Classification of wetlands systems is needed not only to establish reference condition, but also to predict the relative sensitivity of different wetland classes. In the current study, we examined the potential for ecoregion- versus flow-based classification strategies to explain...

Design Rules and Issues with Respect to Rocket Based Combined Cycles

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

cause thrust augmentation due to the ejector effects, which in turn, can reduce the requirement for the rocket engine output. In the speed regime with...should produce sufficient thrust to takeoff and to overcome the drag at transonic regime. When embedded into a flow pass, the rocket exhaust can...between the ejector -jet operation and ramjet operation, between the ramjet operations at various flight conditions, and between the ramjet operation and

Modeling Food Delivery Dynamics For Juvenile Salmonids Under Variable Flow Regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrison, L.; Utz, R.; Anderson, K.; Nisbet, R.

2010-12-01

Traditional approaches for assessing instream flow needs for salmonids have typically focused on the importance of physical habitat in determining fish habitat selection. This somewhat simplistic approach does not account for differences in food delivery rates to salmonids that arise due to spatial variability in river morphology, hydraulics and temporal variations in the flow regime. Explicitly linking how changes in the flow regime influences food delivery dynamics is an important step in advancing process-based bioenergetic models that seek to predict growth rates of salmonids across various life-stages. Here we investigate how food delivery rates for juvenile salmonids vary both spatially and with flow magnitude in a meandering reach of the Merced River, CA. We utilize a two-dimensional (2D) hydrodynamic model and discrete particle tracking algorithm to simulate invertebrate drift transport rates at baseflow and a near-bankfull discharge. Modeling results indicate that at baseflow, the maximum drift density occurs in the channel thalweg, while drift densities decrease towards the channel margins due to the process of organisms settling out of the drift. During high-flow events, typical of spring dam-releases, the invertebrate drift transport pathway follows a similar trajectory along the high velocity core and the drift concentrations are greatest in the channel centerline, though the zone of invertebrate transport occupies a greater fraction of the channel width. Based on invertebrate supply rates alone, feeding juvenile salmonids would be expected to be distributed down the channel centerline where the maximum predicted food delivery rates are located in this reach. However, flow velocities in these channel sections are beyond maximum sustainable swimming speeds for most juvenile salmonids. Our preliminary findings suggest that a lack of low velocity refuge may prevent juvenile salmonids from deriving energy from the areas with maximum drift density in this reach. Future efforts will focus on integration of food delivery and bioenergetic models to account for conflicting demands of maximizing food intake while minimizing the energetic costs of swimming.

Influence of flow regime and channel morphology on larval drift and dispersion in a large regulated river

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erwin, S.; Jacobson, R. B.

2013-12-01

Larval drift is a critical phase of ontogenetic development for many species of lotic fishes. Downstream advection and dispersion of passively drifting larvae or eggs is controlled by the complex interaction of flow regime, channel planform, local channel morphology, and the resulting hydraulic gradients. In many regulated rivers, channel engineering and perturbations to the flow regime may disrupt natural drift processes and impact successful recruitment of native fishes. Here we explore the influence of flow regime and channel morphology on the downstream transport, dispersion, and retention of Pallid Sturgeon larvae, an endangered species endemic to the Mississippi River basin and the focus of significant conservation effort on the Missouri River. The transition from drifting free embryo to exogenously feeding larvae has been identified as a potential life stage bottleneck for the Pallid Sturgeon. Previous studies have indicated that river regulation and fragmentation may contribute to mortality of larval Pallid Sturgeon by reducing the extent of free-flowing river required by free embryos to complete the transition to exogenous feeding. Additionally, channelization may have increased the rate at which larvae are advected downstream out of the Missouri River basin. We describe the complex interactions and influence of morphologic and hydraulic factors on larval drift using an extensive library of hydroacoustic data collected along more than 1300 km of the Lower Missouri River. We use a one-dimensional advection-dispersion model to estimate total drift distance and employ the longitudinal dispersion coefficient as a measure to quantify the tendency towards dispersion or retention of passively drifting larvae in geomorphically distinct segments of river. We use a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model to evaluate the sensitivity of drift and dispersion to in-channel navigation structures and flood hydrology. Based on insights gained from the analysis of field data and modeling outputs, we interpret the effects of different styles of channel morphology on larval dispersion and consider the implications of flow regime modifications or channel re-engineering on the distribution and retention of free embryos within the Lower Missouri River.

Teasing apart the effects of natural and constructed green ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Summer low flows and stream temperature maxima are key drivers affecting the sustainability of fish populations. Thus, it is critical to understand both the natural templates of spatiotemporal variability, how these are shifting due to anthropogenic influences of development and climate change, and how these impacts can be moderated by natural and constructed green infrastructure. Low flow statistics of New England streams have been characterized using a combination of regression equations to describe long-term averages as a function of indicators of hydrologic regime (rain- versus snow-dominated), precipitation, evapotranspiration or temperature, surface water storage, baseflow recession rates, and impervious cover. Difference equations have been constructed to describe interannual variation in low flow as a function of changing air temperature, precipitation, and ocean-atmospheric teleconnection indices. Spatial statistical network models have been applied to explore fine-scale variability of thermal regimes along stream networks in New England as a function of variables describing natural and altered energy inputs, groundwater contributions, and retention time. Low flows exacerbate temperature impacts by reducing thermal inertia of streams to energy inputs. Based on these models, we can construct scenarios of fish habitat suitability using current and projected future climate and the potential for preservation and restoration of historic habitat regimes th

Ultrahigh throughput microfluidic platform for in-air production of microscale droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tirandazi, Pooyan; Healy, John; Hidrovo, Carlos H.

2017-11-01

In-air droplet formation inside microfluidic networks is an alternative technique to the conventional in-liquid systems for creating uniform, microscale droplets. Recent works have highlighted and quantified the use of a gaseous continuous phase for controlled generation of droplets in the Dripping regime in planar structures. Here we demonstrate a new class of non-planar droplet-based systems which rely on controlled breakup of a liquid microjet within a high speed flow of air inside a confined microfluidic flow-focusing PDMS channel. We investigate the physics of confined gas-liquid flows and the effect of geometry on the behavior of a liquid water jet in a gaseous flow. Droplet breakup in the Jetting regime is studied both numerically and experimentally and the results are compared. We show droplet production capability at rates higher than 100 KHz with droplets ranging from 15-30 μm in diameter and a polydispersity index of less than 15%. This work represents an important investigation into the Jetting regime in confined microchannels. The ability to control jet behavior, generation rate, and droplet size in gas-liquid microflows will further expand the potential applications of this system for high throughput operations in material synthesis and biochemical analysis. We acknowledge funding support from NSF CAREER Award Grant CBET-1522841.

Oscillating-flow loss test results in rectangular heat exchanger passages

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, J. Gary

1991-01-01

Test results of oscillating flow losses in rectangular heat exchanger passages of various aspect ratios are given. This work was performed in support of the design of a free-piston Stirling engine (FPSE) for a dynamic space power conversion system. Oscillating flow loss testing was performed using an oscillating flow rig, which was based on a variable stroke and variable frequency linear drive motor. Tests were run over a range of oscillating flow parameters encompassing the flow regimes of the proposed engine design. Test results are presented in both tabular and graphical form and are compared against analytical predictions.

Consistent lattice Boltzmann modeling of low-speed isothermal flows at finite Knudsen numbers in slip-flow regime: Application to plane boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, Goncalo; Semiao, Viriato

2017-07-01

The first nonequilibrium effect experienced by gaseous flows in contact with solid surfaces is the slip-flow regime. While the classical hydrodynamic description holds valid in bulk, at boundaries the fluid-wall interactions must consider slip. In comparison to the standard no-slip Dirichlet condition, the case of slip formulates as a Robin-type condition for the fluid tangential velocity. This makes its numerical modeling a challenging task, particularly in complex geometries. In this work, this issue is handled with the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), motivated by the similarities between the closure relations of the reflection-type boundary schemes equipping the LBM equation and the slip velocity condition established by slip-flow theory. Based on this analogy, we derive, as central result, the structure of the LBM boundary closure relation that is consistent with the second-order slip velocity condition, applicable to planar walls. Subsequently, three tasks are performed. First, we clarify the limitations of existing slip velocity LBM schemes, based on discrete analogs of kinetic theory fluid-wall interaction models. Second, we present improved slip velocity LBM boundary schemes, constructed directly at discrete level, by extending the multireflection framework to the slip-flow regime. Here, two classes of slip velocity LBM boundary schemes are considered: (i) linear slip schemes, which are local but retain some calibration requirements and/or operation limitations, (ii) parabolic slip schemes, which use a two-point implementation but guarantee the consistent prescription of the intended slip velocity condition, at arbitrary plane wall discretizations, further dispensing any numerical calibration procedure. Third and final, we verify the improvements of our proposed slip velocity LBM boundary schemes against existing ones. The numerical tests evaluate the ability of the slip schemes to exactly accommodate the steady Poiseuille channel flow solution, over distinct wall slippage conditions, namely, no-slip, first-order slip, and second-order slip. The modeling of channel walls is discussed at both lattice-aligned and non-mesh-aligned configurations: the first case illustrates the numerical slip due to the incorrect modeling of slippage coefficients, whereas the second case adds the effect of spurious boundary layers created by the deficient accommodation of bulk solution. Finally, the slip-flow solutions predicted by LBM schemes are further evaluated for the Knudsen's paradox problem. As conclusion, this work establishes the parabolic accuracy of slip velocity schemes as the necessary condition for the consistent LBM modeling of the slip-flow regime.

Consistent lattice Boltzmann modeling of low-speed isothermal flows at finite Knudsen numbers in slip-flow regime: Application to plane boundaries.

PubMed

Silva, Goncalo; Semiao, Viriato

2017-07-01

The first nonequilibrium effect experienced by gaseous flows in contact with solid surfaces is the slip-flow regime. While the classical hydrodynamic description holds valid in bulk, at boundaries the fluid-wall interactions must consider slip. In comparison to the standard no-slip Dirichlet condition, the case of slip formulates as a Robin-type condition for the fluid tangential velocity. This makes its numerical modeling a challenging task, particularly in complex geometries. In this work, this issue is handled with the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), motivated by the similarities between the closure relations of the reflection-type boundary schemes equipping the LBM equation and the slip velocity condition established by slip-flow theory. Based on this analogy, we derive, as central result, the structure of the LBM boundary closure relation that is consistent with the second-order slip velocity condition, applicable to planar walls. Subsequently, three tasks are performed. First, we clarify the limitations of existing slip velocity LBM schemes, based on discrete analogs of kinetic theory fluid-wall interaction models. Second, we present improved slip velocity LBM boundary schemes, constructed directly at discrete level, by extending the multireflection framework to the slip-flow regime. Here, two classes of slip velocity LBM boundary schemes are considered: (i) linear slip schemes, which are local but retain some calibration requirements and/or operation limitations, (ii) parabolic slip schemes, which use a two-point implementation but guarantee the consistent prescription of the intended slip velocity condition, at arbitrary plane wall discretizations, further dispensing any numerical calibration procedure. Third and final, we verify the improvements of our proposed slip velocity LBM boundary schemes against existing ones. The numerical tests evaluate the ability of the slip schemes to exactly accommodate the steady Poiseuille channel flow solution, over distinct wall slippage conditions, namely, no-slip, first-order slip, and second-order slip. The modeling of channel walls is discussed at both lattice-aligned and non-mesh-aligned configurations: the first case illustrates the numerical slip due to the incorrect modeling of slippage coefficients, whereas the second case adds the effect of spurious boundary layers created by the deficient accommodation of bulk solution. Finally, the slip-flow solutions predicted by LBM schemes are further evaluated for the Knudsen's paradox problem. As conclusion, this work establishes the parabolic accuracy of slip velocity schemes as the necessary condition for the consistent LBM modeling of the slip-flow regime.

Natural flow regimes, nonnative fishes, and native fish persistence in arid-land river systems.

PubMed

Propst, David L; Gido, Keith B; Stefferud, Jerome A

2008-07-01

Escalating demands for water have led to substantial modifications of river systems in arid regions, which coupled with the widespread invasion of nonnative organisms, have increased the vulnerability of native aquatic species to extirpation. Whereas a number of studies have evaluated the role of modified flow regimes and nonnative species on native aquatic assemblages, few have been conducted where the compounding effects of modified flow regimes and established nonnatives do not confound interpretations, particularly at spatial and temporal scales that are relevant to conservation of species at a range-wide level. By evaluating a 19-year data set across six sites in the relatively unaltered upper Gila River basin, New Mexico, USA, we tested how natural flow regimes and presence of nonnative species affected long-term stability of native fish assemblages. Overall, we found that native fish density was greatest during a wet period at the beginning of our study and declined during a dry period near the end of the study. Nonnative fishes, particularly predators, generally responded in opposite directions to these climatic cycles. Our data suggested that chronic presence of nonnative fishes, coupled with naturally low flows reduced abundance of individual species and compromised persistence of native fish assemblages. We also found that a natural flow regime alone was unlikely to ensure persistence of native fish assemblages. Rather, active management that maintains natural flow regimes while concurrently suppressing or excluding nonnative fishes from remaining native fish strongholds is critical to conservation of native fish assemblages in a system, such as the upper Gila River drainage, with comparatively little anthropogenic modification.

Numerical Study of the Transition Between Reentrant Jet and Twin Vortex Flow Regimes in Ventilated Cavitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adama Maiga, Mahamadou; Coutier-Delgosha, Olivier; Bois, Gérard

2018-06-01

Contrary to natural cavitation, ventilated cavitation is controllable and is not harmful. It is particularly used to reduce the drag of the hydraulic vehicles. The ventilated cavitation is characterized by various gas regimes. The mechanisms of ventilated cavitation are investigated in the present work with CFD based on a 2D solver. The attention is especially focused on the transition between the reentrant jet and twin vortex regimes. The results confirm that the product of ventilated cavitation number and Froude number is lower than 1 (σ c Fr < 1) in the twin vortex regime, while it is higher than 1 (σ c Fr > 1) in the reentrant jet regime, as reported in the literature. Further analysis shows that ventilated cavitation is significantly influenced by the natural cavitation number.

Assessment of catchments' flooding potential: a physically-based analytical tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Botter, G.; Basso, S.; Schirmer, M.

2016-12-01

The assessment of the flooding potential of river catchments is critical in many research and applied fields, ranging from river science and geomorphology to urban planning and the insurance industry. Predicting magnitude and frequency of floods is key to prevent and mitigate the negative effects of high flows, and has therefore long been the focus of hydrologic research. Here, the recurrence intervals of seasonal flow maxima are estimated through a novel physically-based analytic approach, which links the extremal distribution of streamflows to the stochastic dynamics of daily discharge. An analytical expression of the seasonal flood-frequency curve is provided, whose parameters embody climate and landscape attributes of the contributing catchment and can be estimated from daily rainfall and streamflow data. Only one parameter, which expresses catchment saturation prior to rainfall events, needs to be calibrated on the observed maxima. The method has been tested in a set of catchments featuring heterogeneous daily flow regimes. The model is able to reproduce characteristic shapes of flood-frequency curves emerging in erratic and persistent flow regimes and provides good estimates of seasonal flow maxima in different climatic regions. Performances are steady when the magnitude of events with return times longer than the available sample size is estimated. This makes the approach especially valuable for regions affected by data scarcity.

Great expectations: Flow restoration and sediment transport in the Waimea River, Kaua'i

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gomez, Basil

2018-04-01

Conventional and novel observations made in the Waimea River basin between 1960 and 1995 permit the total riverine mass flux to be estimated and the influence that flow restoration will have on sediment dynamics in the river's lower reaches to be assessed. Flows between the threshold for sediment transport ( 6.0 m3 s-1) and the most effective flow (80.7 m3 s-1) recur annually and transport 60% of the Waimea River's suspended sediment load. Discharges of this magnitude essentially were unaffected by plantation era agricultural diversions of 2.3 ± 0.7 m3 s-1. The modern-day mass flux from the Waimea River basin is 155 ± 38 t km-2 y-1, and comparison with an independent cosmogenic nuclide-based estimate implies that it has remained at about this level for the past 10 ky. Previous work indicated that: (i) most of the sand the Waimea River transports to the coast is derived from steep, rapidly eroding, sparsely vegetated, bedrock-dominated hillslopes; and (ii) the sediment transport regime of the Waimea River is supply-limited at very high discharges (recurrence interval > 2.5 years). Consequently, major floods tend to remove sand from the estuary. Climate change has caused a statewide decline in heavy rainfall, and a commensurate decline in the magnitude of peak flows in the basin's pristine, undiverted headwaters over the past 97 years. The effect this secular change in climate presently is having on streamflow was foreshadowed in the late 1970s by a naturally occurring, warm Pacific Decadal Oscillation phase reduction in the magnitude of flows with low exceedance probabilities. Additionally, the controlling base level at the river mouth has risen and been displaced seaward. Simple proportionality approximations show that, for a constant sediment supply, aggradation will occur if either the magnitude of flows with a low exceedance probability declines and/or base level rises. Thus, anthropogenic stresses on Waimea River's lower reaches are not derived from the within-basin influence agricultural diversions exert on the flow regime and will not be resolved by restoring flow to the river. These stresses primarily accrue from extrinsic factors that will continue to influence the river's hydrologic and sediment transport regimes until global, offsetting, climate-ameliorating measures are implemented.

Turbulence of polymer solutions.

PubMed

Balkovsky, E; Fouxon, A; Lebedev, V

2001-11-01

We investigate high-Reynolds-number turbulence in dilute polymer solutions. We show the existence of a critical value of the Reynolds number, which separates two different regimes. In the first regime, below the transition, the influence of the polymer molecules on the flow is negligible, so they can be regarded as passively embedded in the flow. This case admits a detailed investigation of the statistics of the polymer elongations. The second state is realized when the Reynolds number is larger than the critical value. This regime is characterized by the strong back reaction of polymers on the flow. We establish some properties of the statistics of the stress and velocity in this regime and discuss its relation to the drag reduction phenomenon.

Near-body vorticity dynamics of a square cylinder subjected to an inline pulsatile free stream flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krishnan, Hrisheekesh; Agrawal, Amit; Sharma, Atul; Sheridan, John

2016-09-01

In the present work, the effect of an inflow sinusoidal excitation that is superimposed over the mean flow on the vortex-shedding characteristics of a square cylinder is studied. The frequency of pulsation is varied around the natural vortex-shedding frequency, and the amplitude of pulsation is varied moderately in comparison to the cylinder diameter, at a fixed Reynolds number (=100). A flow regime map is prepared and compared with the experimental results, which are available for a circular cylinder that is subjected to inline excitation. We correlate the spectra to the corresponding flow regime. Visualization of the vorticity contours reveals that the significant interaction of the base-region vorticities with the main shear layer vorticities is important in the mechanism of formation of the several vortex-shedding modes. The strength and sign of base region vorticity with respect to the shear layers has a fundamental role to play in the mechanism of formation. It is hypothesized that the similarity in vortex-shedding modes across different excitation types, bluff body geometry, and for different parameters is due to the similarity in the underlying vorticity dynamics.

General slip regime permeability model for gas flow through porous media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Bo; Jiang, Peixue; Xu, Ruina; Ouyang, Xiaolong

2016-07-01

A theoretical effective gas permeability model was developed for rarefied gas flow in porous media, which holds over the entire slip regime with the permeability derived as a function of the Knudsen number. This general slip regime model (GSR model) is derived from the pore-scale Navier-Stokes equations subject to the first-order wall slip boundary condition using the volume-averaging method. The local closure problem for the volume-averaged equations is studied analytically and numerically using a periodic sphere array geometry. The GSR model includes a rational fraction function of the Knudsen number which leads to a limit effective permeability as the Knudsen number increases. The mechanism for this behavior is the viscous fluid inner friction caused by converging-diverging flow channels in porous media. A linearization of the GSR model leads to the Klinkenberg equation for slightly rarefied gas flows. Finite element simulations show that the Klinkenberg model overestimates the effective permeability by as much as 33% when a flow approaches the transition regime. The GSR model reduces to the unified permeability model [F. Civan, "Effective correlation of apparent gas permeability in tight porous media," Transp. Porous Media 82, 375 (2010)] for the flow in the slip regime and clarifies the physical significance of the empirical parameter b in the unified model.

Effects of climate change and anthropogenic modification on a disturbance-dependent species in a large riverine system

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zeigler, Sara; Catlin, Daniel H.; Bomberger Brown, M.; Fraser, J.D.; Dinan, Lauren R.; Hunt, Kelsi L.; Jorgensen, Joel G.; Karpanty, Sarah M.

2017-01-01

Humans have altered nearly every natural disturbance regime on the planet through climate and land-use change, and in many instances, these processes may have interacting effects. For example, projected shifts in temperature and precipitation will likely influence disturbance regimes already affected by anthropogenic fire suppression or river impoundments. Understanding how disturbance-dependent species respond to complex and interacting environmental changes is important for conservation efforts. Using field-based demographic and movement rates, we conducted a metapopulation viability analysis for piping plovers (Charadrius melodus), a threatened disturbance-dependent species, along the Missouri and Platte rivers in the Great Plains of North America. Our aim was to better understand current and projected future metapopulation dynamics given that natural disturbances (flooding or high-flow events) have been greatly reduced by river impoundments and that climate change could further alter the disturbance regime. Although metapopulation abundance has been substantially reduced under the current suppressed disturbance regime (high-flow return interval ~ 20 yr), it could grow if the frequency of high-flow events increases as predicted under likely climate change scenarios. We found that a four-year return interval would maximize metapopulation abundance, and all subpopulations in the metapopulation would act as sources at a return interval of 15 yr or less. Regardless of disturbance frequency, the presence of even a small, stable source subpopulation buffered the metapopulation and sustained a low metapopulation extinction risk. Therefore, climate change could have positive effects in ecosystems where disturbances have been anthropogenically suppressed when climatic shifts move disturbance regimes toward more historical patterns. Furthermore, stable source populations, even if unintentionally maintained through anthropogenic activities, may be critical for the persistence of metapopulations of early-successional species under both suppressed disturbance regimes and disturbance regimes where climate change has further altered disturbance frequency or scope.

Hydrological threats to riparian wetlands of international importance - a global quantitative and qualitative analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, Christof; Flörke, Martina; De Stefano, Lucia; Petersen-Perlman, Jacob D.

2017-06-01

Riparian wetlands have been disappearing at an accelerating rate. Their ecological integrity as well as their vital ecosystem services for humankind depend on regular patterns of inundation and drying provided by natural flow regimes. However, river hydrology has been altered worldwide. Dams cause less variable flow regimes and water abstractions decrease the amount of flow so that ecologically important flood pulses are often reduced. Given growing population pressure and projected climate change, immediate action is required. However, the implementation of counteractive measures is often a complex task. This study develops a screening tool for assessing hydrological threats to riparian wetlands on global scales. The approach is exemplified on 93 Ramsar sites, many of which are located in transboundary basins. First, the WaterGAP3 hydrological modeling framework is used to quantitatively compare current and future modified flow regimes to reference flow conditions. In our simulations current water resource management seriously impairs riparian wetland inundation at 29 % of the analyzed sites. A further 8 % experience significantly reduced flood pulses. In the future, eastern Europe, western Asia, as well as central South America could be hotspots of further flow modifications due to climate change. Second, a qualitative analysis of the 93 sites determined potential impact on overbank flows resulting from planned or proposed dam construction projects. They take place in one-third of the upstream areas and are likely to impair especially wetlands located in South America, Asia, and the Balkan Peninsula. Third, based on the existing legal/institutional framework and water resource availability upstream, further qualitative analysis evaluated the capacity to preserve overbank flows given future streamflow changes due to dam construction and climate change. Results indicate hotspots of vulnerability exist, especially in northern Africa and the Persian Gulf.

Granular avalanches down inclined and vibrated planes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaudel, Naïma; Kiesgen de Richter, Sébastien; Louvet, Nicolas; Jenny, Mathieu; Skali-Lami, Salaheddine

2016-09-01

In this article, we study granular avalanches when external mechanical vibrations are applied. We identify conditions of flow arrest and compare with the ones classically observed for nonvibrating granular flows down inclines [Phys. Fluids 11, 542 (1999), 10.1063/1.869928]. We propose an empirical law to describe the thickness of the deposits with the inclination angle and the vibration intensity. The link between the surface velocity and the depth of the flow highlights a competition between gravity and vibrations induced flows. We identify two distinct regimes: (a) gravity-driven flows at large angles where vibrations do not modify dynamical properties but the deposits (scaling laws in this regime are in agreement with the literature for nonvibrating granular flows) and (b) vibrations-driven flows at small angles where no flow is possible without applied vibrations (in this last regime, the flow behavior can be properly described by a vibration induced activated process). We show, in this study, that granular flows down inclined planes can be finely tuned by external mechanical vibrations.

Analysis of Future Streamflow Regimes under Global Change Scenarios in Central Chile for Ecosystem Sustainability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henriquez Dole, L. E.; Gironas, J. A.; Vicuna, S.

2015-12-01

Given the critical role of the streamflow regime for ecosystem sustainability, modeling long term effects of climate change and land use change on streamflow is important to predict possible impacts in stream ecosystems. Because flow duration curves are largely used to characterize the streamflow regime and define indices of ecosystem health, they were used to represent and analyze in this study the stream regime in the Maipo River Basin in Central Chile. Water and Environmental Assessment and Planning (WEAP) model and the Plant Growth Model (PGM) were used to simulate water distribution, consumption in rural areas and stream flows on a weekly basis. Historical data (1990-2014), future land use scenarios (2030/2050) and climate change scenarios were included in the process. Historical data show a declining trend in flows mainly by unprecedented climatic conditions, increasing interest among users on future streamflow scenarios. In the future, under an expected decline in water availability coupled with changes in crop water demand, water users will be forced to adapt by changing water allocation rules. Such adaptation actions would in turns affect the streamflow regime. Future scenarios for streamflow regime show dramatic changes in water availability and temporal distribution. Annual weekly mean flows can reduce in 19% in the worst scenario and increase in 3.3% in the best of them, and variability in streamflow increases nearly 90% in all scenarios under evaluation. The occurrence of maximum and minimum monthly flows changes, as June instead of July becomes the driest month, and December instead of January becomes the month with maximum flows. Overall, results show that under future scenarios streamflow is affected and altered by water allocation rules to satisfy water demands, and thus decisions will need to consider the streamflow regime (and habitat) in order to be sustainable.

Climate change impact assessment on flow regime by incorporating spatial correlation and scenario uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vallam, P.; Qin, X. S.

2017-07-01

Flooding risk is increasing in many parts of the world and may worsen under climate change conditions. The accuracy of predicting flooding risk relies on reasonable projection of meteorological data (especially rainfall) at the local scale. The current statistical downscaling approaches face the difficulty of projecting multi-site climate information for future conditions while conserving spatial information. This study presents a combined Long Ashton Research Station Weather Generator (LARS-WG) stochastic weather generator and multi-site rainfall simulator RainSim (CLWRS) approach to investigate flow regimes under future conditions in the Kootenay Watershed, Canada. To understand the uncertainty effect stemming from different scenarios, the climate output is fed into a hydrologic model. The results showed different variation trends of annual peak flows (in 2080-2099) based on different climate change scenarios and demonstrated that the hydrological impact would be driven by the interaction between snowmelt and peak flows. The proposed CLWRS approach is useful where there is a need for projection of potential climate change scenarios.

Flow regimes of adiabatic gas-liquid two-phase under rolling conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Chaoxing; Yan, Changqi; Sun, Licheng; Xing, Dianchuan; Wang, Yang; Tian, Daogui

2013-07-01

Characteristics of adiabatic air/water two-phase flow regimes under vertical and rolling motion conditions were investigated experimentally. Test sections are two rectangular ducts with the gaps of 1.41 and 10 mm, respectively, and a circular tube with 25 mm diameter. Flow regimes were recorded by a high speed CCD-camera and were identified by examining the video images. The experimental results indicate that the characteristics of flow patterns in 10 mm wide rectangular duct under vertical condition are very similar to those in circular tube, but different from the 1.41 mm wide rectangular duct. Channel size has a significant influence on flow pattern transition, boundary of which in rectangular channels tends asymptotically towards that in the circular tube with increasing the width of narrow side. Flow patterns in rolling channels are similar to each other, nevertheless, the effect of rolling motion on flow pattern transition are significantly various. Due to the remarkable influences of the friction shear stress and surface tension in the narrow gap duct, detailed flow pattern maps of which under vertical and rolling conditions are indistinguishable. While for the circular tube with 25 mm diameter, the transition from bubbly to slug flow occurs at a higher superficial liquid velocity and the churn flow covers more area on the flow regime map as the rolling period decreases.

Survey of literature on convective heat transfer coefficients and recovery factors for high atmosphere thermometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chung, S.

1973-01-01

Heat transfer phenomena of rarefied gas flows is discussed based on a literature survey of analytical and experimental rarefied gas dynamics. Subsonic flows are emphasized for the purposes of meteorological thermometry in the high atmosphere. The heat transfer coefficients for three basic geometries are given in the regimes of free molecular flow, transition flow, slip flow, and continuum flow. Different types of heat phenomena, and the analysis of theoretical and experimental data are presented. The uncertainties calculated from the interpolation rule compared with the available experimental data are discussed. The recovery factor for each geometry in subsonic rarefied flows is also given.

Isentropic fluid dynamics in a curved pipe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colombo, Rinaldo M.; Holden, Helge

2016-10-01

In this paper we study isentropic flow in a curved pipe. We focus on the consequences of the geometry of the pipe on the dynamics of the flow. More precisely, we present the solution of the general Cauchy problem for isentropic fluid flow in an arbitrarily curved, piecewise smooth pipe. We consider initial data in the subsonic regime, with small total variation about a stationary solution. The proof relies on the front-tracking method and is based on [1].

Flow Regime Identification of Horizontal Two Phase Refrigerant R-134a Flow Using Neural Networks (Postprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-11-01

Flows in Microchannels ," Heat Transfer Engineering, Vol. 27, No. 9, 2006, pp. 4-19. 2Kandlikar, S. G., " Heat Transfer Mechanisms During Flow...Boiling in Microchannels ," Journal of Heat Transfer , Vol. 126, No. 1, 2004, pp. 8-16. 3Kreitzer, P. J., Byrd, L., and Willebrand, B. J., "Initial...an integral aspect of modeling two phase flows as most pressure drop and heat transfer correlations rely on a priori knowledge of the flow regime for

Pathways and Hydrography in the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System Part 1: Circulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrillo, L.; Johns, E. M.; Smith, R. H.; Lamkin, J. T.; Largier, J. L.

2015-10-01

Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) measurements and surface drifters released from two oceanographic cruises conducted during March 2006 and January/February 2007 are used to investigate the circulation off the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (MBRS). We show that the MBRS circulation can be divided into two distinct regimes, a northern region dominated by the strong, northward-flowing Yucatan Current, and a southern region with weaker southward coastal currents and the presence of the Honduras Gyre. The latitude of impingement of the Cayman Current onto the coastline varies with time, and creates a third region, which acts as a boundary between the northern and southern circulation regimes. This circulation pattern yields two zones in terms of dispersal, with planktonic propagules in the northern region being rapidly exported to the north, whereas plankton in the southern and impingement regions may be retained locally or regionally. The latitude of the impingement region shifts interannually and intra-annually up to 3° in latitude. Sub-mesoscale features are observed in association with topography, e.g., flow bifurcation around Cozumel Island, flow wake north of Chinchorro Bank and separation of flow from the coast just north of Bahia de la Ascencion. This third feature is evident as cyclonic recirculation in coastal waters, which we call the Ascencion-Cozumel Coastal Eddy. An understanding of the implications of these different circulation regimes on water mass distributions, population connectivity, and the fate of land-based pollutants in the MBRS is critically important to better inform science-based resource management and conservation plans for the MBRS coral reefs.

Flow regimes in a T-mixer operating with a binary mixture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Camarri, Simone; Siconolfi, Lorenzo; Galletti, Chiara; Salvetti, Maria Vittoria

2015-11-01

Efficient mixing in small volumes is a key target in many processes. Among the most common micro-devices, passive T-shaped micro-mixers are widely used. For this reason, T-mixers have been studied in the literature and its working flow regimes have been identified. However, in most of the available theoretical studies it is assumed that only one working fluid is used, i.e. that the same fluid at the same thermodynamic conditions is entering the two inlet conduits of the mixer. Conversely, the practical use of micro-devices often involves the mixing of two different fluids or of the same fluid at different thermodynamic conditions. In this case flow regimes significantly different than those observed for a single working fluid may occur. The present work aims at investigating the flow regimes in a T-mixers when water at two different temperatures, i.e. having different viscosity and density, is entering the mixer. The effect of the temperature difference on the flow regimes in a 3D T-mixer is investigated by DNS and stability analysis and the results are compared to the case in which a single working fluid is employed.

Unjamming a granular hopper by vibration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janda, A.; Maza, D.; Garcimartín, A.; Kolb, E.; Lanuza, J.; Clément, E.

2009-07-01

We present an experimental study of the outflow of a hopper continuously vibrated by a piezoelectric device. Outpouring of grains can be achieved for apertures much below the usual jamming limit observed for non-vibrated hoppers. Granular flow persists down to the physical limit of one grain diameter, a limit reached for a finite vibration amplitude. For the smaller orifices, we observe an intermittent regime characterized by alternated periods of flow and blockage. Vibrations do not significantly modify the flow rates both in the continuous and the intermittent regime. The analysis of the statistical features of the flowing regime shows that the flow time significantly increases with the vibration amplitude. However, at low vibration amplitude and small orifice sizes, the jamming time distribution displays an anomalous statistics.

Pulsars Magnetospheres

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Timokhin, Andrey

2012-01-01

Current density determines the plasma flow regime. Cascades are non-stationary. ALWAYS. All flow regimes look different: multiple components (?) Return current regions should have particle accelerating zones in the outer magnetosphere: y-ray pulsars (?) Plasma oscillations in discharges: direct radio emission (?)

Error estimation for CFD aeroheating prediction under rarefied flow condition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Yazhong; Gao, Zhenxun; Jiang, Chongwen; Lee, Chunhian

2014-12-01

Both direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods have become widely used for aerodynamic prediction when reentry vehicles experience different flow regimes during flight. The implementation of slip boundary conditions in the traditional CFD method under Navier-Stokes-Fourier (NSF) framework can extend the validity of this approach further into transitional regime, with the benefit that much less computational cost is demanded compared to DSMC simulation. Correspondingly, an increasing error arises in aeroheating calculation as the flow becomes more rarefied. To estimate the relative error of heat flux when applying this method for a rarefied flow in transitional regime, theoretical derivation is conducted and a dimensionless parameter ɛ is proposed by approximately analyzing the ratio of the second order term to first order term in the heat flux expression in Burnett equation. DSMC simulation for hypersonic flow over a cylinder in transitional regime is performed to test the performance of parameter ɛ, compared with two other parameters, Knρ and MaṡKnρ.

Evolution of secondary whirls in thermoconvective vortices: Strengthening, weakening, and disappearance in the route to chaos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castaño, D.; Navarro, M. C.; Herrero, H.

2016-01-01

The appearance, evolution, and disappearance of periodic and quasiperiodic dynamics of fluid flows in a cylindrical annulus locally heated from below are analyzed using nonlinear simulations. The results reveal a route of the transition from a steady axisymmetric vertical vortex to a chaotic flow. The chaotic flow regime is reached after a sequence of successive supercritical Hopf bifurcations to periodic, quasiperiodic, and chaotic flow regimes. A scenario similar to the Ruelle-Takens-Newhouse scenario is verified in this convective flow. In the transition to chaos we find the appearance of subvortices embedded in the primary axisymmetric vortex, flows where the subvortical structure strengthens and weakens, that almost disappears before reforming again, leading to a more disorganized flow to a final chaotic regime. Results are remarkable as they connect to observations describing formation, weakening, and virtual disappearance before revival of subvortices in some atmospheric swirls such as dust devils.

Recognition and measurement gas-liquid two-phase flow in a vertical concentric annulus at high pressures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hao; Sun, Baojiang; Guo, Yanli; Gao, Yonghai; Zhao, Xinxin

2018-02-01

The air-water flow characteristics under pressure in the range of 1-6 MPa in a vertical annulus were evaluated in this report. Time-resolved bubble rising velocity and void fraction were also measured using an electrical void fraction meter. The results showed that the pressure has remarkable effect on the density, bubble size and rise velocity of the gas. Four flow patterns (bubble, cap-bubble, cap-slug, and churn) were also observed instead of Taylor bubble at high pressure. Additionally, the transition process from bubble to cap-bubble was investigated at atmospheric and high pressures, respectively. The results revealed that the flow regime transition criteria for atmospheric pressure do not work at high pressure, hence a new flow regime transition model for annular flow channel geometry was developed to predict the flow regime transition, which thereafter exhibited high accuracy at high pressure condition.

Flow regimes in a shallow rotating cylindrical annulus with temperature gradients imposed on the horizontal boundaries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hathaway, D. H.; Fowlis, W. W.

1986-01-01

Experimental flow regime diagrams are determined for a new rotating cylindrical annulus configuration which permits a measure of control over the internal vertical temperature gradient. The new annulus has radial temperature gradients imposed on plane horizontal thermally conducting endwalls (with the cylindrical sidewalls as insulators) and is considered to be more relevant to atmospheric dynamics studies than the classical cylindrical annulus. Observations have revealed that, in addition to the axisymmetric flow and nonaxisymmetric baroclinic wave flow which occur in the classical annulus, two additional nonaxisymmetric flow types occur in the new annulus: boundary-layer thermal convection and deep thermal convection. Flow regime diagrams for three different values of the imposed vertical temperature difference are presented, and explanations for the flow transitions are offered. The new annulus provides scientific backup for the proposed Atmospheric General Circulation Experiment for Spacelab. The apparatus diagram is included.

Gap Flows through Idealized Topography. Part I: Forcing by Large-Scale Winds in the Nonrotating Limit.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gabersek, Sasa.; Durran, Dale R.

2004-12-01

Gap winds produced by a uniform airstream flowing over an isolated flat-top ridge cut by a straight narrow gap are investigated by numerical simulation. On the scale of the entire barrier, the proportion of the oncoming flow that passes through the gap is relatively independent of the nondimensional mountain height , even over that range of for which there is the previously documented transition from a “flow over the ridge” regime to a “flow around” regime.The kinematics and dynamics of the gap flow itself were investigated by examining mass and momentum budgets for control volumes at the entrance, central, and exit regions of the gap. These analyses suggest three basic behaviors: the linear regime (small ) in which there is essentially no enhancement of the gap flow; the mountain wave regime ( 1.5) in which vertical mass and momentum fluxes play a crucial role in creating very strong winds near the exit of the gap; and the upstream-blocking regime ( 5) in which lateral convergence generates the strongest winds near the entrance of the gap.Trajectory analysis of the flow in the strongest events, the mountain wave events, confirms the importance of net subsidence in creating high wind speeds. Neglect of vertical motion in applications of Bernoulli's equation to gap flows is shown to lead to unreasonable wind speed predictions whenever the temperature at the gap exit exceeds that at the gap entrance. The distribution of the Bernoulli function on an isentropic surface shows a correspondence between regions of high Bernoulli function and high wind speeds in the gap-exit jet similar to that previously documented for shallow-water flow.

Study of the Mixing Regimes of a Fluid and a Nanofluid in a T-shaped Micromixer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lobasov, A. S.; Minakov, A. V.; Rudyak, V. Ya.

2018-01-01

In the present paper, the regimes of flow and mixing of water and a nanofluid with aluminum oxide nanoparticles in a T-shaped microchannel have been studied numerically. The Reynolds number was varied from 10 to 400, and the volume concentration of nanoparticles was varied from 0 to 10%. Nanofluids with mean sizes of particles from 50 to 150 nm were considered. The viscosity coefficient of the nanofluid was taken from experimental data. In all cases, it exceeded the viscosity coefficient of water and depended on not only the concentration of nanoparticles, but also on their sizes, and the viscosity of the nanofluid with smaller particles was higher than the viscosity of the nanofluid with large particles. It has been established that there exist regimes of steady irrotational flow, steady vortex flow with two horseshoe vortices, and steady flow with two vortices in the mixing channel. It has been shown that when the flow goes from the regime with horseshoe vortices to the flow conditions with two single vortices, the mixing efficiency increases several times. It has been established that the flow conditions and the mixing efficiency largely depend on the volume concentration of particles and their sizes.

Modeling of atomization and distribution of drop-liquid fuel in unsteady swirling flows in a combustion chamber and free space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sviridenkov, A. A.; Toktaliev, P. D.; Tretyakov, V. V.

2018-03-01

Numerical and experimental research of atomization and propagation of drop-liquid phase in swirling flow behind the frontal device of combustion chamber was performed. Numerical procedure was based on steady and unsteady Reynolds equations solution. It's shown that better agreement with experimental data could be obtained with unsteady approach. Fractional time step method was implemented to solve Reynolds equations. Models of primary and secondary breakup of liquid fuel jet in swirling flows are formulated and tested. Typical mean sizes of fuel droplets for base operational regime of swirling device and combustion chamber were calculated. Comparison of main features of internal swirling flow in combustion chamber with unbounded swirling flow was made.

Speed-resolution advantage of turbulent supercritical fluid chromatography in open tubular columns: II - Theoretical and experimental evidences.

PubMed

Gritti, Fabrice; Fogwill, Michael

2017-06-09

The potential advantage of turbulent supercritical fluid chromatography (TSFC) in open tubular columns (OTC) was evaluated on both theoretical and practical viewpoints. First, the dispersion model derived by Golay in 1958 and recently extended from laminar to turbulent flow regime is used for the predictions of the speed-resolution performance in TSFC. The average dispersion coefficient of matter in the turbulent flow regime was taken from the available experimental data over a range of Reynolds number from 2000 to 6000. Kinetic plots are built at constant pressure drop (ΔP=4500psi) and Schmidt number (Sc=15) for four inner diameters (10, 30, 100, and 300μm) of the OTC and for three retention factors (0, 1, and 10). Accordingly, in turbulent flow regime, for a Reynolds number of 4000 and a retention factor of 1 (the stationary film thickness is assumed to be negligible with respect to the OTC diameter), the theory projects that a 300μm i.d. OTC has the same speed-resolution power (200,000 theoretical plates; 2.4min hold-up time) as that of a 10μm i.d. OTC operated in laminar flow regime. Secondly, the experimental plate heights of n-butylbenzene are measured in laminar and turbulent flow regimes for a 180μm×4.8m fused silica capillary column using pure carbon dioxide as the mobile phase. The back pressure regulator was set at 1500psi, the temperature was uniform at 297K, and the flow rate was increased step-wise from 0.50 to 3.60mL/min so that the experimental Reynolds number increases from 700 to 5400. The experiments are in good agreement with the plate heights projected in TSFC at high flow rates and with those expected at low flow rates in a laminar flow regime. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Two-Phase Flow in Packed Columns and Generation of Bubbly Suspensions for Chemical Processing in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Motil, Brian J.; Green, R. D.; Nahra, H. K.; Sridhar, K. R.

2000-01-01

For long-duration space missions, the life support and In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) systems necessary to lower the mass and volume of consumables carried from Earth will require more sophisticated chemical processing technologies involving gas-liquid two-phase flows. This paper discusses some preliminary two-phase flow work in packed columns and generation of bubbly suspensions, two types of flow systems that can exist in a number of chemical processing devices. The experimental hardware for a co-current flow, packed column operated in two ground-based low gravity facilities (two-second drop tower and KC- 135 low-gravity aircraft) is described. The preliminary results of this experimental work are discussed. The flow regimes observed and the conditions under which these flow regimes occur are compared with the available co-current packed column experimental work performed in normal gravity. For bubbly suspensions, the experimental hardware for generation of uniformly sized bubbles in Couette flow in microgravity conditions is described. Experimental work was performed on a number of bubbler designs, and the capillary bubble tube was found to produce the most consistent size bubbles. Low air flow rates and low Couette flow produce consistent 2-3 mm bubbles, the size of interest for the "Behavior of Rapidly Sheared Bubbly Suspension" flight experiment. Finally the mass transfer implications of these two-phase flows is qualitatively discussed.

Fluctuation-induced shear flow and energy transfer in plasma interchange turbulence

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, B.; Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139; Sun, C. K.

2015-11-15

Fluctuation-induced E × B shear flow and energy transfer for plasma interchange turbulence are examined in a flux-driven system with both closed and open magnetic field lines. The nonlinear evolution of interchange turbulence shows the presence of two confinement regimes characterized by low and high E × B flow shear. In the first regime, the large-scale turbulent convection is dominant and the mean E × B shear flow is at a relatively low level. By increasing the heat flux above a certain threshold, the increased turbulent intensity gives rise to the transfer of energy from fluctuations to mean E ×more » B flows. As a result, a transition to the second regime occurs, in which a strong mean E × B shear flow is generated.« less

Theoretical flow regime diagrams for the AGCE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fowlis, W. W.; Miller, T. L.; Roberts, G. O.; Kopecky, K. J.

1984-01-01

The major criterion for the design of the Atmospheric General Circulation Experiment is that it be possible to realize strong baroclinic instability in the apparatus. A spherical annulus configuration which allows only steady basic state flows was chosen for the first set of stability analyses. Baroclinic instability was found for this configuration and few results suggest a regime diagram very different from the cylindrical annulus regime diagram.

Ground-Based Gas-Liquid Flow Research in Microgravity Conditions: State of Knowledge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McQuillen, J.; Colin, C.; Fabre, J.

1999-01-01

During the last decade, ground-based microgravity facilities have been utilized in order to obtain predictions for spacecraft system designers and further the fundamental understanding of two-phase flow. Although flow regime, pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient data has been obtained for straight tubes and a limited number of fittings, measurements of the void fraction, film thickness, wall shear stress, local velocity and void information are also required in order to develop general mechanistic models that can be utilized to ascertain the effects of fluid properties, tube geometry and acceleration levels. A review of this research is presented and includes both empirical data and mechanistic models of the flow behavior.

Viscoacoustic model for near-field ultrasonic levitation.

PubMed

Melikhov, Ivan; Chivilikhin, Sergey; Amosov, Alexey; Jeanson, Romain

2016-11-01

Ultrasonic near-field levitation allows for contactless support and transportation of an object over vibrating surface. We developed an accurate model predicting pressure distribution in the gap between the surface and levitating object. The formulation covers a wide range of the air flow regimes: from viscous squeezed flow dominating in small gap to acoustic wave propagation in larger gap. The paper explains derivation of the governing equations from the basic fluid dynamics. The nonreflective boundary conditions were developed to properly define air flow at the outlet. Comparing to direct computational fluid dynamics modeling our approach allows achieving good accuracy while keeping the computation cost low. Using the model we studied the levitation force as a function of gap distance. It was shown that there are three distinguished flow regimes: purely viscous, viscoacoustic, and acoustic. The regimes are defined by the balance of viscous and inertial forces. In the viscous regime the pressure in the gap is close to uniform while in the intermediate viscoacoustic and the acoustic regimes the pressure profile is wavy. The model was validated by a dedicated levitation experiment and compared to similar published results.

Viscoacoustic model for near-field ultrasonic levitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melikhov, Ivan; Chivilikhin, Sergey; Amosov, Alexey; Jeanson, Romain

2016-11-01

Ultrasonic near-field levitation allows for contactless support and transportation of an object over vibrating surface. We developed an accurate model predicting pressure distribution in the gap between the surface and levitating object. The formulation covers a wide range of the air flow regimes: from viscous squeezed flow dominating in small gap to acoustic wave propagation in larger gap. The paper explains derivation of the governing equations from the basic fluid dynamics. The nonreflective boundary conditions were developed to properly define air flow at the outlet. Comparing to direct computational fluid dynamics modeling our approach allows achieving good accuracy while keeping the computation cost low. Using the model we studied the levitation force as a function of gap distance. It was shown that there are three distinguished flow regimes: purely viscous, viscoacoustic, and acoustic. The regimes are defined by the balance of viscous and inertial forces. In the viscous regime the pressure in the gap is close to uniform while in the intermediate viscoacoustic and the acoustic regimes the pressure profile is wavy. The model was validated by a dedicated levitation experiment and compared to similar published results.

The Meandering Margin of the Meteorological Moist Tropics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mapes, Brian E.; Chung, Eui Seok; Hannah, Walter M.; Masunaga, Hirohiko; Wimmers, Anthony J.; Velden, Christopher S.

2018-01-01

Bimodally distributed column water vapor (CWV) indicates a well-defined moist regime in the Tropics, above a margin value near 48 kg m-2 in current climate (about 80% of column saturation). Maps reveal this margin as a meandering, sinuous synoptic contour bounding broad plateaus of the moist regime. Within these plateaus, convective storms of distinctly smaller convective and mesoscales occur sporadically. Satellite data composites across the poleward most margin reveal its sharpness, despite the crude averaging: precipitation doubles within 100 km, marked by both enhancement and deepening of cloudiness. Transported patches and filaments of the moist regime cause consequential precipitation events within and beyond the Tropics. Distinguishing synoptic flows that cross the margin from flows that move the margin is made possible by a novel satellite-based Lagrangian CWV tendency estimate. Climate models do not reliably reproduce the observed bimodal distribution, so studying the moist mode's maintenance processes and the margin-zone air mass transformations, guided by the Lagrangian tendency product, might importantly constrain model moist process treatments.

Inertia critical layers and their impacts on nongeostrophic baroclinic instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Bo-Wen

We investigate the effects of critical levels (CLs) on a baroclinic flow over mountains, nongeostrophic (NG) inertia critical layer instability, and NG baroclinic instability (BI) in a three-layer atmosphere with a small Richardson number (Ri) in the middle layer. We develop a numerical wave decomposition method in Chapter 2, which is found to be useful in determining the reflection coefficient (Ref) numerically when the flow system is too complicated to obtain Ref analytically. Effects of CLs on flow over mountains are studied both analytically and numerically in Chapter 3. We define the effective inertia critical level (ICL) as the height above which inertia-gravity waves attenuate significantly. Based on numerical simulations with a broad range of Rossby number (Ro) and Ri, four wave regimes are found: (a) Regime I: inertia- gravity waves. The flow behaves like unsheared inertia- gravity waves and the effective lower ICL plays a similar role as the classical critical level (CCL) does in a nonrotating flow. (b) Regime II: combined inertia-gravity waves and baroclinic lee waves. These waves behave like those in Regime I below the lower effective ICL, and like baroclinic lee waves near the CCL. (c) Regime III: combined evanescent and baroclinic lee waves. These waves still behave like baroclinic lee waves near the CCL, but are trapped near the surface. (d) Regime IV: transient waves. NG baroclinic instability exists, as evidenced by the positive domain-averaged north-south heat flux. Wave regime IV is further investigated in Chapter 5. We identify the NG baroclinic instability in Chapter 3 as an inertia critical layer (ICLY) instability. The role of the upper inertia critical level in this instability has been studied by choosing a periodic mountain. When only the CCL and upper ICL are present in the domain, the mesoscale ICLY instability tends to occur. For a periodic mountain ridge, the ICLY instability selects the mountain's tvavelength as its wavelength of maximum growth. For an isolated mountain ridge, the NG baroclinic lee wave is established in the beginning for flows with small Ri, which then develops its own upper ICL. The stability of Lindzen and Tung's (1976, hereafter LT76) type of three-layer nonrotating/rotating atmosphere is discussed in Chapter 6. We first investigate the transient dynamics of wave ducting by a numerical model. The adjustment time for waves to be ducted depends on the atmospheric structure and horizontal wavelength. Second, we study the effects of Coriolis force on LT76's wave ducting mechanism, and show that a wave with wavelength on the order of 100 km is hardly ducted. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Experimental observations of pressure oscillations and flow regimes in an analogue volcanic system

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lane, S.J.; Chouet, B.A.; Phillips, J.C.; Dawson, P.; Ryan, G.A.; Hurst, E.

2001-01-01

Gas-liquid flows, designed to be analogous to those in volcanic conduits, are generated in the laboratory using organic gas-gum rosin mixtures expanding in a vertically mounted tube. The expanding fluid shows a range of both flow and pressure oscillation behaviors. Weakly supersaturated source liquids produce a low Reynolds number flow with foam expanding from the top surface of a liquid that exhibits zero fluid velocity at the tube wall; i.e., the conventional "no-slip" boundary condition. Pressure oscillations, often with strong long-period characteristics and consistent with longitudinal and radial resonant oscillation modes, are detected in these fluids. Strongly supersaturated source liquids generate more energetic flows that display a number of flow regimes. These regimes include a static liquid source, viscous flow, detached flow (comprising gas-pockets-at-wall and foam-in-gas annular flow, therefore demonstrating strong radial heterogeneity), and a fully turbulent transonic fragmented or mist flow. Each of these flow regimes displays characteristic pressure oscillations that can be related to resonance of flow features or wall impact phenomena. The pressure oscillations are produced by the degassing processes without the need of elastic coupling to the confining medium or flow restrictors and valvelike features. The oscillatory behavior of the experimental flows is compared to seismoacoustic data from a range of volcanoes where resonant oscillation of the fluid within the conduit is also often invoked as controlling the observed oscillation frequencies. On the basis of the experimental data we postulate on the nature of seismic signals that may be measured during large-scale explosive activity. Copyright 2001 by the American Geophysical Union.

Improved adaptive genetic algorithm with sparsity constraint applied to thermal neutron CT reconstruction of two-phase flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Mingfei; Hu, Huasi; Otake, Yoshie; Taketani, Atsushi; Wakabayashi, Yasuo; Yanagimachi, Shinzo; Wang, Sheng; Pan, Ziheng; Hu, Guang

2018-05-01

Thermal neutron computer tomography (CT) is a useful tool for visualizing two-phase flow due to its high imaging contrast and strong penetrability of neutrons for tube walls constructed with metallic material. A novel approach for two-phase flow CT reconstruction based on an improved adaptive genetic algorithm with sparsity constraint (IAGA-SC) is proposed in this paper. In the algorithm, the neighborhood mutation operator is used to ensure the continuity of the reconstructed object. The adaptive crossover probability P c and mutation probability P m are improved to help the adaptive genetic algorithm (AGA) achieve the global optimum. The reconstructed results for projection data, obtained from Monte Carlo simulation, indicate that the comprehensive performance of the IAGA-SC algorithm exceeds the adaptive steepest descent-projection onto convex sets (ASD-POCS) algorithm in restoring typical and complex flow regimes. It especially shows great advantages in restoring the simply connected flow regimes and the shape of object. In addition, the CT experiment for two-phase flow phantoms was conducted on the accelerator-driven neutron source to verify the performance of the developed IAGA-SC algorithm.

Yang Baxter and anisotropic sigma and lambda models, cyclic RG and exact S-matrices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Appadu, Calan; Hollowood, Timothy J.; Price, Dafydd; Thompson, Daniel C.

2017-09-01

Integrable deformation of SU(2) sigma and lambda models are considered at the classical and quantum levels. These are the Yang-Baxter and XXZ-type anisotropic deformations. The XXZ type deformations are UV safe in one regime, while in another regime, like the Yang-Baxter deformations, they exhibit cyclic RG behaviour. The associ-ated affine quantum group symmetry, realized classically at the Poisson bracket level, has q a complex phase in the UV safe regime and q real in the cyclic RG regime, where q is an RG invariant. Based on the symmetries and RG flow we propose exact factorizable S-matrices to describe the scattering of states in the lambda models, from which the sigma models follow by taking a limit and non-abelian T-duality. In the cyclic RG regimes, the S-matrices are periodic functions of rapidity, at large rapidity, and in the Yang-Baxter case violate parity.

Analysis of the stochastic excitability in the flow chemical reactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bashkirtseva, Irina

2015-11-30

A dynamic model of the thermochemical process in the flow reactor is considered. We study an influence of the random disturbances on the stationary regime of this model. A phenomenon of noise-induced excitability is demonstrated. For the analysis of this phenomenon, a constructive technique based on the stochastic sensitivity functions and confidence domains is applied. It is shown how elaborated technique can be used for the probabilistic analysis of the generation of mixed-mode stochastic oscillations in the flow chemical reactor.

Analysis of the stochastic excitability in the flow chemical reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bashkirtseva, Irina

2015-11-01

A dynamic model of the thermochemical process in the flow reactor is considered. We study an influence of the random disturbances on the stationary regime of this model. A phenomenon of noise-induced excitability is demonstrated. For the analysis of this phenomenon, a constructive technique based on the stochastic sensitivity functions and confidence domains is applied. It is shown how elaborated technique can be used for the probabilistic analysis of the generation of mixed-mode stochastic oscillations in the flow chemical reactor.

Numerical simulation of velocity and temperature fields in natural circulation loop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sukomel, L. A.; Kaban'kov, O. N.

2017-11-01

Low flow natural circulation regimes are realized in many practical applications and the existence of the reliable engineering and design calculation methods of flows driven exclusively by buoyancy forces is an actual problem. In particular it is important for the analysis of start up regimes of passive safety systems of nuclear power plants. In spite of a long year investigations of natural circulation loops no suitable predicting recommendations for heat transfer and friction for the above regimes have been proposed for engineering practice and correlations for forced flow are commonly used which considerably overpredicts the real flow velocities. The 2D numerical simulation of velocity and temperature fields in circular tubes for laminar flow natural circulation with reference to the laboratory experimental loop has been carried out. The results were compared with the 1D modified model and experimental data obtained on the above loop. The 1D modified model was still based on forced flow correlations, but in these correlations the physical properties variability and the existence of thermal and hydrodynamic entrance regions are taken into account. The comparison of 2D simulation, 1D model calculations and the experimental data showed that even subject to influence of liquid properties variability and entrance regions on heat transfer and friction the use of 1D model with forced flow correlations do not improve the accuracy of calculations. In general, according to 2D numerical simulation the wall shear stresses are mainly affected by the change of wall velocity gradient due to practically continuous velocity profiles deformation along the whole heated zone. The form of velocity profiles and the extent of their deformation in its turn depend upon the wall heat flux density and the hydraulic diameter.

Water Reserves Program. An adaptation strategy to balance water in nature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopez Perez, M.; Barrios, E.; Salinas-Rodriguez, S.; Wickel, B.; Villon, R. A.

2013-05-01

Freshwater ecosystems occupy approximately 1% of the earth's surface yet possess about 12% of all known animal species. By virtue of their position in the landscape they connect terrestrial and coastal marine biomes and provide and sustain ecosystem services vital to the health and persistence of human communities. These services include the supply of water for food production, urban and ind ustrial consumption, among others. Over the past century many freshwater ecosystems around the world have been heavily modified or lost due to the alteration of flow regimes (e.g. due to damming, canalization, diversion, over-abstraction). The synergistic impacts of land use change, changes in flows, chemical deterioration, and climate change have left many systems and their species very little room to adjust to change, while future projections indicate a steady increase in water demand for food and energy production and water supply to suit the needs of a growing world population. In Mexico, the focus has been to secure water for human development and maximize economic growth, which has resulted in allocation of water beyond available amounts. As a consequence episodic water scarcity severely constrains freshwater ecosystems and the services they provide. Climatic change and variability are presenting serious challenges to a country that already is experiencing serious strain on its water resources. However, freshwater ecosystems are recognized by law as legitimate user of water, and mandate a flow allocation for the environment ("water reserve" or "environmental flows"). Based on this legal provision the Mexican government through the National Water Commission (Conagua), with support of the Alliance WWF - Fundación Gonzalo Río Arronte, and the Interamerican Development Bank, has launched a national program to identify and implement "water reserves": basins where environmental flows will be secured and allocated and where the flow regime is then protected before over-allocation takes place. The strategy is to identify and protect basins with an availability of water that is close to their natural flow regime and that also have a high conservation value (based on prior national conservation priority definitions such as protected areas, and biodiversity conservation gap analyses) in order to implement legal restrictions on water resource development. With such protection, these systems will be best positioned to adjust and respond to water shortages, and regime shifts. To date, 189 basins around the country were identified as potential water reserves. The next step will be the nomination of these water reserves to be integrated in the National Water Reserves Program. This program forms the core of the official Mexican government adaptation strategy towards climate prepared water management, which recognizes that water reserves are the buffer society needs to face uncertainty, and reduce water scarcity risk. The development of activities that alter the natural flow regime such as dams and levees are closely examined, and would potentially be restricted.

The path to COVIS: A review of acoustic imaging of hydrothermal flow regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bemis, Karen G.; Silver, Deborah; Xu, Guangyu; Light, Russ; Jackson, Darrell; Jones, Christopher; Ozer, Sedat; Liu, Li

2015-11-01

Acoustic imaging of hydrothermal flow regimes started with the incidental recognition of a plume on a routine sonar scan for obstacles in the path of the human-occupied submersible ALVIN. Developments in sonar engineering, acoustic data processing and scientific visualization have been combined to develop technology which can effectively capture the behavior of focused and diffuse hydrothermal discharge. This paper traces the development of these acoustic imaging techniques for hydrothermal flow regimes from their conception through to the development of the Cabled Observatory Vent Imaging Sonar (COVIS). COVIS has monitored such flow eight times a day for several years. Successful acoustic techniques for estimating plume entrainment, bending, vertical rise, volume flux, and heat flux are presented as is the state-of-the-art in diffuse flow detection.

Gas-solid fluidized bed reactors: Scale-up, flow regimes identification and hydrodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaid, Faraj Muftah

This research studied the scale-up, flow regimes identification and hydrodynamics of fluidized beds using 6-inch and 18- inch diameter columns and different particles. One of the objectives was to advance the scale-up of gas-solid fluidized bed reactors by developing a new mechanistic methodology for hydrodynamic similarity based on matching the radial or diameter profile of gas phase holdup, since gas dynamics dictate the hydrodynamics of these reactors. This has been successfully achieved. However, the literature reported scale-up methodology based on matching selected dimensionless groups was examined and it was found that it was not easy to match the dimensionless groups and hence, there was some deviation in the hydrodynamics of the studied two different fluidized beds. A new technique based on gamma ray densitometry (GRD) was successfully developed and utilized to on-line monitor the implementation of scale-up, to identify the flow regime, and to measure the radial or diameter profiles of gas and solids holdups. CFD has been demonstrated as a valuable tool to enable the implementation of the newly developed scale-up methodology based on finding the conditions that provide similar or closer radial profile or cross sectional distribution of the gas holdup. As gas velocity increases, solids holdup in the center region of the column decreases in the fully developed region of both 6 inch and 18 inch diameter columns. Solids holdup increased with the increase in the particles size and density. Upflowing particles velocity increased with the gas velocity and became steeper at high superficial gas velocity at all axial heights where the center line velocity became higher than that in the wall region. Smaller particles size and lower density gave larger upflowing particles velocity. Minimum fluidization velocity and transition velocity from bubbly to churn turbulent flow regimes were found to be lower in 18 inch diameter column compared to those obtained in 6 inch diameter column. Also the absolute fluctuation of upflowing particles velocity multiplied by solids holdups vś 3ś as one of the terms for solids mass flux estimation was found to be larger in 18-inch diameter column than that in 6-inch diameter column using same particles size and density.

Two-phase flow in short horizontal rectangular microchannels with a height of 300 μm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chinnov, E. A.; Ron'shin, F. V.; Kabov, O. A.

2015-09-01

The two-phase flow in a narrow short horizontal channel with a rectangular cross section is studied experimentally. The channel has a width of 10, 20, or 30 mm and a height of 300 μm. The specifics of formation of such two-phase flows are investigated. It is demonstrated that the regions of bubble and churn flow regimes grow and constrain the region of jet flow as the channel gets wider. The boundaries of the regions of annular and stratified flow regimes remain almost unaltered.

Situational Lightning Climatologies for Central Florida: Phase V

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauman, William H., III

2011-01-01

The AMU added three years of data to the POR from the previous work resulting in a 22-year POR for the warm season months from 1989-2010. In addition to the flow regime stratification, moisture and stability stratifications were added to separate more active from less active lighting days within the same flow regime. The parameters used for moisture and stability stratifications were PWAT and TI which were derived from sounding data at four Florida radiosonde sites. Lightning data consisted of NLDN CG lightning flashes within 30 NM of each airfield. The AMU increased the number of airfields from nine to thirty-six which included the SLF, CCAFS, PAFB and thirty-three airfields across Florida. The NWS MLB requested the AMU calculate lightning climatologies for additional airfields that they support as a backup to NWS TBW which was then expanded to include airfields supported by NWS JAX and NWS MFL. The updated climatologies of lightning probabilities are based on revised synoptic-scale flow regimes over the Florida peninsula (Lambert 2007) for 5-, 10-, 20- and 30-NM radius range rings around the thirty-six airfields in 1-, 3- and 6-hour increments. The lightning, flow regime, moisture and stability data were processed in S-PLUS software using scripts written by the AMU to automate much of the data processing. The S-PLUS data files were exported to Excel to allow the files to be combined in Excel Workbooks for easier data handling and to create the tables and charts for the Gill. The AMU revised the Gill developed in the previous phase (Bauman 2009) with the new data and provided users with an updated HTML tool to display and manipulate the data and corresponding charts. The tool can be used with most web browsers and is computer operating system independent. The AMU delivered two Gills - one with just the PWAT stratification and one with both the PWAT and TI stratifications due to insufficient data in some of the PWATITI stratification combinations. This will allow the forecasters to choose a moisture-only or moisture/stability stratification depending on the flow regime and available data.

Nonlinear Plasma Response to Resonant Magnetic Perturbation in Rutherford Regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Ping; Yan, Xingting; Huang, Wenlong

2017-10-01

Recently a common analytic relation for both the locked mode and the nonlinear plasma response in the Rutherford regime has been developed based on the steady-state solution to the coupled dynamic system of magnetic island evolution and torque balance equations. The analytic relation predicts the threshold and the island size for the full penetration of resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP). It also rigorously proves a screening effect of the equilibrium toroidal flow. In this work, we test the theory by solving for the nonlinear plasma response to a single-helicity RMP of a circular-shaped limiter tokamak equilibrium with a constant toroidal flow, using the initial-value, full MHD simulation code NIMROD. Time evolution of the parallel flow or ``slip frequency'' profile and its asymptotic approach to steady state obtained from the NIMROD simulations qualitatively agree with the theory predictions. Further comparisons are carried out for the saturated island size, the threshold for full mode penetration, as well as the screening effects of equilibrium toroidal flow in order to understand the physics of nonlinear plasma response in the Rutherford regime. Supported by National Magnetic Confinement Fusion Science Program of China Grants 2014GB124002 and 2015GB101004, the 100 Talent Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and U.S. Department of Energy Grants DE-FG02-86ER53218 and DE-FC02-08ER54975.

Sagnac-interferometer-based fresnel flow probe.

PubMed

Tselikov, A; Blake, J

1998-10-01

We used a near-diffraction-limited flow or light-wave-interaction pipe to produce a Sagnac-interferometer-based Fresnel drag fluid flowmeter capable of detecting extremely small flow rates. An optimized design of the pipe along with the use of a state-of-the-art Sagnac interferometer results in a minimum-detectable water flow rate of 2.4 nl/s [1 drop/(5 h)]. The flowmeter's capability of measuring the water consumption by a small plant in real time has been demonstrated. We then designed an automated alignment system that finds and maintains the optimum fiber-coupling regime, which makes the applications of the Fresnel-drag-based flowmeters practical, especially if the length of the interaction pipe is long. Finally, we have applied the automatic alignment technique to an air flowmeter.

Hemodynamic transition driven by stent porosity in sidewall aneurysms.

PubMed

Bouillot, Pierre; Brina, Olivier; Ouared, Rafik; Lovblad, Karl-Olof; Farhat, Mohamed; Pereira, Vitor Mendes

2015-05-01

The healing process of intracranial aneurysms (IAs) treated with flow diverter stents (FDSs) depends on the IA flow modifications and on the epithelization process over the neck. In sidewall IA models with straight parent artery, two main hemodynamic regimes with different flow patterns and IA flow magnitude were broadly observed for unstented and high porosity stented IA on one side, and low porosity stented IA on the other side. The hemodynamic transition between these two regimes is potentially involved in thrombosis formation. In the present study, CFD simulations and multi-time lag (MTL) particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) measurements were combined to investigate the physical nature of this transition. Measurable velocity fields and non-measurable shear stress and pressure fields were assessed experimentally and numerically in the aneurysm volume in the presence of stents with various porosities. The two main regimes observed in both PIV and CFD showed typical flow features of shear and pressure driven regimes. In particular, the waveform of the averaged IA velocities was matching both the shear stress waveform at IA neck or the pressure gradient waveform in parent artery. Moreover, the transition between the two regimes was controlled by stent porosity: a decrease of stent porosity leads to an increase (decrease) of pressure differential (shear stress) through IA neck. Finally, a good PIV-CFD agreement was found except in transitional regimes and low motion eddies due to small mismatch of PIV-CFD running conditions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

T-mixer operating with water at different temperatures: Simulation and stability analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siconolfi, L.; Camarri, S.; Salvetti, M. V.

2018-03-01

In this paper we investigate the transition from the vortex to the engulfment regime in a T-mixer when the two entering flows have different viscosity. In particular we consider as working fluid water entering the two inlet channels of the mixer at two different temperatures. Contrary to the isothermal case, at low Reynolds numbers the vortex regime shows only a single reflectional symmetry, due to the nonhomogeneous distribution of the viscosity. Increasing the Reynolds number, a symmetry-breaking bifurcation drives the system to a new steady flow configuration, usually called the engulfment regime, similar to what it is possible to observe in an isothermal case. This flow regime is associated with an increase of the mixing between the two inlet streams. It is shown by direct numerical simulation (DNS) and by stability analysis that the engulfment regime is promoted by the temperature difference. Starting from the DNSs, the resulting flow fields are analyzed in detail considering different temperature jumps between the two inlet boundaries. Furthermore, dedicated linear stability analyses are carried out to investigate the instability mechanism associated with the occurrence of the engulfment regime. In particular, similarly to the case without temperature differences, the onset of engulfment is driven by the momentum equation, and the temperature field does not lead to any additional instability mechanism. However, the existence of a temperature field leads to quantitative changes of the stability characteristics and of the resulting flow fields via a variation of the viscosity coefficient.

Natural streamflow simulation for two largest river basins in Poland: a baseline for identification of flow alterations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piniewski, Mikołaj

2016-05-01

The objective of this study was to apply a previously developed large-scale and high-resolution SWAT model of the Vistula and the Odra basins, calibrated with the focus of natural flow simulation, in order to assess the impact of three different dam reservoirs on streamflow using the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA). A tailored spatial calibration approach was designed, in which calibration was focused on a large set of relatively small non-nested sub-catchments with semi-natural flow regime. These were classified into calibration clusters based on the flow statistics similarity. After performing calibration and validation that gave overall positive results, the calibrated parameter values were transferred to the remaining part of the basins using an approach based on hydrological similarity of donor and target catchments. The calibrated model was applied in three case studies with the purpose of assessing the effect of dam reservoirs (Włocławek, Siemianówka and Czorsztyn Reservoirs) on streamflow alteration. Both the assessment based on gauged streamflow (Before-After design) and the one based on simulated natural streamflow showed large alterations in selected flow statistics related to magnitude, duration, high and low flow pulses and rate of change. Some benefits of using a large-scale and high-resolution hydrological model for the assessment of streamflow alteration include: (1) providing an alternative or complementary approach to the classical Before-After designs, (2) isolating the climate variability effect from the dam (or any other source of alteration) effect, (3) providing a practical tool that can be applied at a range of spatial scales over large area such as a country, in a uniform way. Thus, presented approach can be applied for designing more natural flow regimes, which is crucial for river and floodplain ecosystem restoration in the context of the European Union's policy on environmental flows.

Transient response of Salix cuttings to changing water level regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorla, L.; Signarbieux, C.; Turberg, P.; Buttler, A.; Perona, P.

2015-03-01

Sustainable water management requires an understanding of the effects of flow regulation on riparian ecomorphological processes. We investigated the transient response of Salix viminalis by examining the effect of water-level regimes on its above-ground and below-ground biomass. Four sets of Salix cuttings, three juveniles (in the first growing season) and one mature (1 year old), were planted and initially grown under the same water-level regime for 1 month. We imposed three different water-level regime treatments representing natural variability, a seasonal trend with no peaks, and minimal flow (characteristic of hydropower) consisting of a constant water level and natural flood peaks. We measured sap flux, stem water potential, photosynthesis, growth parameters, and final root architecture. The mature cuttings were not affected by water table dynamics, but the juveniles displayed causal relationships between the changing water regime, plant growth, and root distribution during a 2 month transient period. For example, a 50% drop in mean sap flux corresponded with a -1.5 Mpa decrease in leaf water potential during the first day after the water regime was changed. In agreement with published field observations, the cuttings concentrated their roots close to the mean water table of the corresponding treatment, allowing survival under altered conditions and resilience to successive stress events. Juvenile development was strongly impacted by the minimum flow regime, leading to more than 60% reduction of both above-ground and below-ground biomass, with respect to the other treatments. Hence, we suggest avoiding minimum flow regimes where Salix restoration is prioritized.

Effects of flow regime and pesticides on periphytic communities: evolution and role of biodiversity.

PubMed

Villeneuve, Aurélie; Montuelle, Bernard; Bouchez, Agnès

2011-04-01

The effects of chemical and physical factors on periphyton structure, diversity and functioning were investigated in an outdoor mesocosm experiment. Stream biofilms were subjected to a pesticide mix (diuron and azoxystrobin) under two different hydraulic regimes. The hydraulic regimes differed by spatial variations of flow conditions (turbulent with high variations vs. laminar with low variations). The effects of the hydraulic regime and pesticides were assessed at the level of the periphytic communities. We focused on the change in the biodiversity of these communities under the two hydraulic regimes, and on the role of these biodiversity changes in case of pesticide contamination. Changes in structural (biomass, cell density), diversity (community composition assessed by PCR-DGGE and microscopic analysis) and functional (bacterial and algal production, sensitivity to the herbicide) parameters were monitored throughout a 2-month experiment. The results showed that exposure to pesticides affected the phytobenthic community targeted by the herbicide, impacting on both its growth dynamics and its primary production. Conversely, the impact of the flow regime was greater than that of pesticides on the non-target bacterial community with higher bacterial density and production in laminar mesocosms (uniform regime). An interaction between flow and pollution effects was also observed. Communities that developed in turbulent mesocosms (heterogeneous regime) were more diversified, as a result of increased microhabitat heterogeneity due to high spatial variations. However, this higher biodiversity did not increase the ability of these biofilms to tolerate pesticides, as expected. On the contrary, the sensitivity of these communities to pesticide contamination was, in fact, increased. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Convection patterns in a liquid metal under an imposed horizontal magnetic field.

PubMed

Yanagisawa, Takatoshi; Hamano, Yozo; Miyagoshi, Takehiro; Yamagishi, Yasuko; Tasaka, Yuji; Takeda, Yasushi

2013-12-01

We performed laboratory experiments of Rayleigh-Bénard convection with liquid gallium under various intensities of a uniform imposed horizontal magnetic field. An ultrasonic velocity profiling method was used to visualize the spatiotemporal structure of the flows with simultaneous monitoring of the temperature fluctuations in the liquid gallium layer. The explored Rayleigh numbers Ra range from the critical value for onset of convection to 10(5); the Chandrasekhar number Q covers values up to 1100. A regime diagram of the convection patterns was established in relation to the Ra and Q values for a square vessel with aspect ratio 5. We identified five flow regimes: (I) a fluctuating large-scale pattern without rolls, (II) weakly constrained rolls with fluctuations, (III) a continuous oscillation of rolls, (IV) repeated roll number transitions with random reversals of the flow direction, and (V) steady two-dimensional (2D) rolls. These flow regimes are classified by the Ra/Q values, the ratio of the buoyancy to the Lorentz force. Power spectra from the temperature time series indicate that regimes I and II have the features of developed turbulence, while the other regimes do not. The region of steady 2D rolls (Busse balloon) extends to high Ra values in the present setting by a horizontal magnetic field and regime V is located inside the Busse balloon. Concerning the instabilities of the steady 2D rolls, regime III is the traveling wave convection developed from the oscillatory instability. Regime IV can be regarded as a state of phase turbulence, which is induced by intermittent occurrences of the skewed-varicose instability.

Transient solute transport with sorption in Poiseuille flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hesse, M. A.; Zhang, L.; Wang, M.

2016-12-01

Sorption onto the wall has been observed to both increase [Lungu and Moffatt, 1982] and decrease the average solute transport velocity [Golay, 1958], relative to the mean flow velocity. Similarly, opposite conclusion have been reached for the effect of sorption on dispersion. In this work, we study transient solute transport in Poiseuille flow with sorptive boundary and initial transversely uniform distribution (linear release) to reconcile the two different views on solute transport (figure 1) with sorption. Two-dimensional simulations in figure 2 show that there is a transition from fast transport dominated by a fast-moving pulse in the middle of the channel at early times, to slow transport at late times once desorption from the walls becomes important. A set of series solutions for zeroth, first and second longitudinal moment have been derived and we show that the zeroth-order term in the solution corresponds to the slow transport in the late regime, while the first-order term corresponds to the fast transport in the early regime (figure 3). Based on the analytical solution, the time scales for early regime and late regimes of both the velocity and the dispersion coefficient have been determined for an equilibrium sorption model and a kinetic linear sorption model. Furthermore, we give approximated analytical solution when both adsorption and desorption are slow. References M.J.E. Golay. Theory of chromatography in open and coated tubular columns iwth round and rectangular cross-sections. In D.H.Desty, editor, Gas Chromatography, pages 36-53, New York, 1958. Academic Press Inc. E.M. Lungu and H.K. Moffatt. the effect of wall conductance on heat diffusion in duct flow. Journal of Engineering Mathematics, 1692 ;121-136, 1982.

Potential effects of timber harvest and water management on streamflow dynamics and sediment transport

Treesearch

C. A. Troendle; W. K. Olsen

1994-01-01

The sustainability of aquatic and riparian ecological systems is strongly tied to the dynamics of the streamflow regime. Timber harvest can influence the flow regime by increasing total flow, altering peak discharge rate, and changing the duration of flows of differing frequency of occurrence. These changes in the energy and sediment transporting capability of the...

Flute Instability of Expanding Plasma Cloud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dudnikova, Galina; Vshivkov, Vitali

2000-10-01

The expansion of plasma against a magnetized background where collisions play no role is a situation common to many plasma phenomena. The character of interaction between expanding plasma and background plasma is depending of the ratio of the expansion velocity to the ambient Alfven velocity. If the expansion speed is greater than the background Alfven speed (super-Alfvenic flows) a collisionless shock waves are formed in background plasma. It is originally think that if the expansion speed is less than Alfvenic speed (sub-Alfvenic flows) the interaction of plasma flows will be laminar in nature. However, the results of laboratory experiments and chemical releases in magnetosphere have shown the development of flute instability on the boundary of expanding plasma (Rayleigh-Taylor instability). A lot of theoretical and experimental papers have been devoted to study the Large Larmor Flute Instability (LLFI) of plasma expanding into a vacuum magnetic field. In the present paper on the base of computer simulation of plasma cloud expansion in magnetizied background plasma the regimes of development and stabilization LLFI for super- and sub-Alfvenic plasma flows are investigated. 2D hybrid numerical model is based on kinetic Vlasov equation for ions and hydrodynamic approximation for electrons. The similarity parameters characterizing the regimes of laminar flows are founded. The stabilization of LLFI takes place with the transition from sub- to super-Alfvenic plasma cloud expansion. The results of the comparision between computer simulation and laboratory simulation are described.

Effects of Temperature and Strain Rate on Tensile Deformation Behavior of 9Cr-0.5Mo-1.8W-VNb Ferritic Heat-Resistant Steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Xiaofeng; Weng, Xiaoxiang; Jiang, Yong; Gong, Jianming

2017-09-01

A series of uniaxial tensile tests were carried out at different strain rate and different temperatures to investigate the effects of temperature and strain rate on tensile deformation behavior of P92 steel. In the temperature range of 30-700 °C, the variations of flow stress, average work-hardening rate, tensile strength and ductility with temperature all show three temperature regimes. At intermediate temperature, the material exhibited the serrated flow behavior, the peak in flow stress, the maximum in average work-hardening rate, and the abnormal variations in tensile strength and ductility indicates the occurrence of DSA, whereas the sharp decrease in flow stress, average work-hardening rate as well as strength values, and the remarkable increase in ductility values with increasing temperature from 450 to 700 °C imply that dynamic recovery plays a dominant role in this regime. Additionally, for the temperature ranging from 550 to 650 °C, a significant decrease in flow stress values is observed with decreasing in strain rate. This phenomenon suggests the strain rate has a strong influence on flow stress. Based on the experimental results above, an Arrhenius-type constitutive equation is proposed to predict the flow stress.

A study of two-phase flow in a reduced gravity environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, D.; Downing, Robert S.

1987-01-01

A test loop was designed and fabricated for observing and measuring pressure drops of two-phase flow in reduced gravity. The portable flow test loop was then tested aboard the NASA-JSC KC135 reduced gravity aircraft. The test loop employed the Sundstrand Two-Phase Thermal Management System (TPTMS) concept which was specially fitted with a clear two-phase return line and condenser cover for flow observation. A two-phase (liquid/vapor) mixture was produced by pumping nearly saturated liquid through an evaporator and adding heat via electric heaters. The quality of the two-phase flow was varied by changing the evaporator heat load. The test loop was operated on the ground before and after the KC135 flight tests to create a one-gravity data base. The ground testing included all the test points run during the reduced gravity testing. Two days of reduced gravity tests aboard the KC135 were performed. During the flight tests, reduced-gravity, one-gravity, and nearly two-gravity accelerations were experienced. Data was taken during the entire flight which provided flow regime and pressure drop data for the three operating conditions. The test results show that two-phase pressure drops and flow regimes can be accurately predicted in zero-gravity.

Situational Lightning Climatologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauman, William; Crawford, Winifred

2010-01-01

Research has revealed distinct spatial and temporal distributions of lightning occurrence that are strongly influenced by large-scale atmospheric flow regimes. It was believed there were two flow systems, but it has been discovered that actually there are seven distinct flow regimes. The Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) has recalculated the lightning climatologies for the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF), and the eight airfields in the National Weather Service in Melbourne (NWS MLB) County Warning Area (CWA) using individual lightning strike data to improve the accuracy of the climatologies. The software determines the location of each CG lightning strike with 5-, 10-, 20-, and 30-nmi (.9.3-, 18.5-, 37-, 55.6-km) radii from each airfield. Each CG lightning strike is binned at 1-, 3-, and 6-hour intervals at each specified radius. The software merges the CG lightning strike time intervals and distance with each wind flow regime and creates probability statistics for each time interval, radii, and flow regime, and stratifies them by month and warm season. The AMU also updated the graphical user interface (GUI) with the new data.

Regimes of Coriolis-Centrifugal Convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horn, Susanne; Aurnou, Jonathan M.

2018-05-01

Centrifugal buoyancy affects all rotating turbulent convection phenomena, but is conventionally ignored in rotating convection studies. Here, we include centrifugal buoyancy to investigate what we call Coriolis-centrifugal convection (C3 ), characterizing two so far unexplored regimes, one where the flow is in quasicyclostrophic balance (QC regime) and another where the flow is in a triple balance between pressure gradient, Coriolis and centrifugal buoyancy forces (CC regime). The transition to centrifugally dominated dynamics occurs when the Froude number Fr equals the radius-to-height aspect ratio γ . Hence, turbulent convection experiments with small γ may encounter centrifugal effects at lower Fr than traditionally expected. Further, we show analytically that the direct effect of centrifugal buoyancy yields a reduction of the Nusselt number Nu. However, indirectly, it can cause a simultaneous increase of the viscous dissipation and thereby Nu through a change of the flow morphology. These direct and indirect effects yield a net Nu suppression in the CC regime and a net Nu enhancement in the QC regime. In addition, we demonstrate that C3 may provide a simplified, yet self-consistent, model system for tornadoes, hurricanes, and typhoons.

Regimes of Coriolis-Centrifugal Convection.

PubMed

Horn, Susanne; Aurnou, Jonathan M

2018-05-18

Centrifugal buoyancy affects all rotating turbulent convection phenomena, but is conventionally ignored in rotating convection studies. Here, we include centrifugal buoyancy to investigate what we call Coriolis-centrifugal convection (C^{3}), characterizing two so far unexplored regimes, one where the flow is in quasicyclostrophic balance (QC regime) and another where the flow is in a triple balance between pressure gradient, Coriolis and centrifugal buoyancy forces (CC regime). The transition to centrifugally dominated dynamics occurs when the Froude number Fr equals the radius-to-height aspect ratio γ. Hence, turbulent convection experiments with small γ may encounter centrifugal effects at lower Fr than traditionally expected. Further, we show analytically that the direct effect of centrifugal buoyancy yields a reduction of the Nusselt number Nu. However, indirectly, it can cause a simultaneous increase of the viscous dissipation and thereby Nu through a change of the flow morphology. These direct and indirect effects yield a net Nu suppression in the CC regime and a net Nu enhancement in the QC regime. In addition, we demonstrate that C^{3} may provide a simplified, yet self-consistent, model system for tornadoes, hurricanes, and typhoons.

Zonostrophic turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galperin, Boris; Sukoriansky, Semion; Dikovskaya, Nadejda

2008-12-01

Geostrophic turbulence is a flow regime attained by turbulent, rotating, stably stratified fluids in near-geostrophic balance. When a small-scale forcing is present, flows in this regime may develop an inverse energy cascade. Geostrophic turbulence has been used in geophysical fluid dynamics as a relatively simple model of the large-scale planetary and terrestrial circulations. When the meridional variation of the Coriolis parameter (or a β-effect) is taken into account, the horizontal flow symmetry breaks down giving rise to the emergence of jet flows. In a certain parameter range, a new flow regime comes to life. Its main characteristics include strongly anisotropic kinetic energy spectrum and slowly evolving systems of alternating zonal jets. This regime is a subset of geostrophic turbulence and has been coined zonostrophic turbulence; it can develop both on a β-plane and on the surface of a rotating sphere. This regime was first discovered in computer simulations but later revealed in the laboratory experiments, in the deep terrestrial oceans, and on solar giant planets where it is believed to be the primary physical mechanism responsible for the generation and maintenance of the stable systems of alternating zonal jets. The hallmarks of zonostrophic turbulence are the anisotropic inverse energy cascade and complicated interaction between turbulence and Rossby-Haurwitz waves. Addressing the goals of the conference 'Turbulent Mixing and Beyond' that took place in August 2007 in Trieste, Italy, this paper exposes the regime of zonostrophic turbulence to a wide scientific community, provides a survey of this regime, elaborates its main characteristics, offers novel approaches to describe and understand this phenomenon, and discusses its applicability as a model of the large-scale planetary and terrestrial circulations.

On the definition of dominant force regimes for flow boiling heat transfer by using single mini-tubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baba, Soumei; Sawada, Kenichiro; Kubota, Chisato; Kawanami, Osamu; Asano, Hitoshi; Inoue, Koichi; Ohta, Haruhiko

Recent increase in the size of space platforms requires the management of larger amount of waste heat under high heat flux conditions and the transportation of it along a long distance to the radiator. Flow boiling applied to the thermal management system in space attracts much attention as promising means to realize high-performance heat transfer and transport because of large latent heat of vaporization. In microgravity two-phase flow phenomena are quite different from those under 1-g condition because buoyancy effects are significantly reduced and surface tension becomes dominant. By the similar reason, flow boiling characteristics in mini channels are not the same as those in channels of normal sizes. In the present stage, however, the boundary between the regimes of body force dominated and of surface tension dominated is not clear. The design of space thermal devices, operated under the conditions where no effect of gravity is expected, will improve the reliability of their ground tests, provided that the boundaries of dominant force regimes are clarified quantitatively in advance. In flow boiling in mini channels or in parallel channels, back flow could be occurred because of rapid growth of bubbles in a confined space, resulting flow rate fluctuation. Flow boiling heat transfer characteristics in mini channels can be changed considerably by the existence of inlet flow rate fluctuation. It is important to pay attention to experimental accuracy and to use a single circular mini-tube to compare heat transfer characteristics with those of normal size tubes. In the present paper, effects of tube orientations, i.e. vertical upward flow, vertical downward flow and horizontal flow, on flow boiling heat transfer characteristics is investigated for FC72 flowing in single mini-tubes with inner diameters of 0.13 and 0.51 mm to establish a reliable dominant force regime map. If the regime map is described by using dimensionless groups of Bond, Weber and Froude numbers, the boundary of dominant forces of inertia and body force is examined by using the mini-tube of the larger diameter at constant Bond number Bo = 0.51, and the boundary of inertia and surface tension by using the mini-tube of smaller diameter at Bo = 0.033. The influence of inertia is varied by the change of vapor quality, i.e. ratio of vapor mass flow rate to the total, under constant mass velocities, where the velocity of liquid-vapor mixtures is increased with increasing vapor quality. For the tube diameter of 0.51 mm, under low inertia conditions at Froude number Fr < 5, heat transfer coefficients were influenced by the tube orientation, while the heat transfer coefficients were almost independent of the orientation for Fr > 5. The results indicated that the boundary between the body force dominated and the inertia force dominated regimes was given by Froude number as Fr ˜ 5. On the other hand, for tube diameter of 0.13 mm, almost no effect of tube = orientation was observed for all combinations of mass velocity and vapor quality, and heat transfer coefficients were independent of vapor quality under low inertia conditions at Weber number We < 5, and vice versa. The results implied the boundary between the surface tension dominated and the inertia force dominated regimes was represented by We ˜ 5. = In addition, by the reflection of both results on the two-dimensional regime map, the boundary between the surface tension dominated and the body force dominated regimes was approx-imately evaluated as Bo ˜ 0.25 from the crossing point of two boundary lines. This value = located in the range of 0.033 < Bo < 0.51 is consistent with the boundaries between the sur-face tension dominated and the body force dominated regimes classified for the smaller and larger mini-tubes, respectively, under low inertia conditions.

Integration of Water Resource Models with Fayetteville Shale Decision Support and Information System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cothren, Jackson; Thoma, Greg; DiLuzio, Mauro

2013-06-30

Significant issues can arise with the timing, location, and volume of surface water withdrawals associated with hydraulic fracturing of gas shale reservoirs as impacted watersheds may be sensitive, especially in drought years, during low flow periods, or during periods of the year when activities such as irrigation place additional demands on the surface supply of water. Significant energy production and associated water withdrawals may have a cumulative impact to watersheds over the short-term. Hence, hydraulic fracturing based on water withdrawal could potentially create shifts in the timing and magnitude of low or high flow events or change the magnitude ofmore » river flow at daily, monthly, seasonal, or yearly time scales. These changes in flow regimes can result in dramatically altered river systems. Currently little is known about the impact of fracturing on stream flow behavior. Within this context the objective of this study is to assess the impact of the hydraulic fracturing on the water balance of the Fayetteville Shale play area and examine the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on river flow regime at subbasin scale. This project addressed that need with four unique but integrated research and development efforts: 1) Evaluate the predictive reliability of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model based at a variety of scales (Task/Section 3.5). The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was used to simulate the across-scale water balance and the respective impact of hydraulic fracturing. A second hypothetical scenario was designed to assess the current and future impacts of water withdrawals for hydraulic fracturing on the flow regime and on the environmental flow components (EFCs) of the river. The shifting of these components, which present critical elements to water supply and water quality, could influence the ecological dynamics of river systems. For this purpose, we combined the use of SWAT model and Richter et al.’s (1996) methodology to assess the shifting and alteration of the flow regime within the river and streams of the study area. 2) Evaluate the effect of measurable land use changes related to gas development (well-pad placement, access road completion, etc.) on surface water flow in the region (Task/Section 3.7). Results showed that since the upsurge in shale-gas related activities in the Fayetteville Shale Play (between 2006 and 2010), shale-gas related infrastructure in the region have increase by 78%. This change in land-cover in comparison with other land-cover classes such as forest, urban, pasture, agricultural and water indicates the highest rate of change in any land-cover category for the study period. A Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) flow model of the Little Red River watershed simulated from 2000 to 2009 showed a 10% increase in storm water runoff. A forecast scenario based on the assumption that 2010 land-cover does not see any significant change over the forecast period (2010 to 2020) also showed a 10% increase in storm water runoff. Further analyses showed that this change in the stream-flow regime for the forecast period is attributable to the increase in land-cover as introduced by the shale-gas infrastructure. 3) Upgrade the Fayetteville Shale Information System to include information on watershed status. (Tasks/Sections 2.1 and 2.2). This development occurred early in the project period, and technological improvements in web-map API’s have made it possible to further improve the map. The current sites (http://lingo.cast.uark.edu) is available but is currently being upgraded to a more modern interface and robust mapping engine using funds outside this project. 4) Incorporate the methodologies developed in Tasks/Sections 3.5 and 3.7 into a Spatial Decision Support System for use by regulatory agencies and producers in the play. The resulting system is available at http://fayshale.cast.uark.edu and is under review the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission.« less

Zero-G experiments in two-phase fluids flow regimes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heppner, D. B.; King, C. D.; Littles, J. W.

1975-01-01

The two-phase flows studied were liquid and gas mixtures in a straight flow channel of circular cross-section. Boundaries between flow regimes have been defined for normogravity on coordinates of gas quality and total mass velocity; and, when combined with boundary expressions having a Froude number term, an analytical model was derived predicting boundary shifts with changes in gravity level. Experiments with air and water were performed, first in the normogravity environment of a ground laboratory and then in 'zero gravity' aboard a KC-135 aircraft flying parabolic trajectories. Data reduction confirmed regime boundary shifts in the direction predicted, although the magnitude was a little less than predicted. Pressure drop measurements showed significant increases for the low gravity condition.

In Situ Spatiotemporal Mapping of Flow Fields around Seeded Stem Cells at the Subcellular Length Scale

PubMed Central

Song, Min Jae; Dean, David; Knothe Tate, Melissa L.

2010-01-01

A major hurdle to understanding and exploiting interactions between the stem cell and its environment is the lack of a tool for precise delivery of mechanical cues concomitant to observing sub-cellular adaptation of structure. These studies demonstrate the use of microscale particle image velocimetry (μ-PIV) for in situ spatiotemporal mapping of flow fields around mesenchymal stem cells, i.e. murine embryonic multipotent cell line C3H10T1/2, at the subcellular length scale, providing a tool for real time observation and analysis of stem cell adaptation to the prevailing mechanical milieu. In the absence of cells, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predicts flow regimes within 12% of μ-PIV measures, achieving the technical specifications of the chamber and the flow rates necessary to deliver target shear stresses at a particular height from the base of the flow chamber. However, our μ-PIV studies show that the presence of cells per se as well as the density at which cells are seeded significantly influences local flow fields. Furthermore, for any given cell or cell seeding density, flow regimes vary significantly along the vertical profile of the cell. Hence, the mechanical milieu of the stem cell exposed to shape changing shear stresses, induced by fluid drag, varies with respect to proximity of surrounding cells as well as with respect to apical height. The current study addresses a previously unmet need to predict and observe both flow regimes as well as mechanoadaptation of cells in flow chambers designed to deliver precisely controlled mechanical signals to live cells. An understanding of interactions and adaptation in response to forces at the interface between the surface of the cell and its immediate local environment may be key for de novo engineering of functional tissues from stem cell templates as well as for unraveling the mechanisms underlying multiscale development, growth and adaptation of organisms. PMID:20862249

Revisiting Maxwell’s accommodation coefficient: A study of nitrogen flow in a silica microtube across all flow regimes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lei, Wenwen, E-mail: wlei@physics.usyd.edu.au; McKenzie, David R., E-mail: d.mckenzie@physics.usyd.edu.au

2014-12-15

Gas flows have been studied quantitatively for more than a hundred years and have relevance in modern fields such as the control of gas inputs to processes, the measurement of leak rates and the separation of gaseous species. Cha and McCoy have derived a convenient formula for the flow of an ideal gas applicable across a wide range of Knudsen numbers (Kn) that approaches the Navier–Stokes equations at small Kn and the Smoluchowski extension of the Knudsen flow equation at large Kn. Smoluchowski’s result relies on the Maxwell definition of the tangential momentum accommodation coefficient α, recently challenged by Aryamore » et al. We measure the flow rate of nitrogen gas in a smooth walled silica tube across a wide range of Knudsen numbers from 0.0048 to 12.4583. We find that the nitrogen flow obeys the Cha and McCoy equation with a large value of α, unlike carbon nanotubes which show flows consistent with a small value of α. Silica capillaries are therefore not atomically smooth. The flow at small Kn has α=0.91 and at large Kn has α close to one, consistent with the redefinition of accommodation coefficient by Arya et al., which also resolves a problem in the literature where there are many observations of α of less than one at small Kn and many equal to one at large Kn. Silica capillaries are an excellent choice for an accurate flow control system. - Highlights: • First experimental study on flow rate across all flow regimes in a well-defined microtube. • Extend Cha and McCoy theory for molecular flow regime. • Demonstrate the Maxwell accommodation coefficient is different in the slip and molecular flow regimes.« less

The Effect of Fluid Properties on Two-Phase Regimes of Flow in a Wide Rectangular Microchannel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ronshin, F. V.; Cheverda, V. V.; Chinnov, E. A.; Kabov, O. A.

2018-04-01

We have experimentally studied a two-phase flow in a microchannel with a height of 150 μm and a width of 20 mm. Different liquids have been used, namely, a purified Milli-Q water, an 50% aqueous-ethanol solution, and FC-72. Before and after the experiment, the height of the microchannel was controlled, as well as the wettability of its walls and surface tension of liquids. Using the schlieren method, the main characteristics of two-phase flow in wide ranges of gas- and liquid-flow rates have been revealed. The flow regime-formation mechanism has been found to depend on the properties of the liquid used. The flow regime has been registered when the droplets moving along the microchannel are vertical liquid bridges. It has been shown that, when using FC-72 liquid, a film of liquid is formed on the upper channel wall in the whole range of gas- and liquid-flow rates.

Vertical two-phase flow regimes and pressure gradients under the influence of SDS surfactant

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Duangprasert, Tanabordee; Sirivat, Anuvat; Siemanond, Kitipat

2008-01-15

Two-phase gas/liquid flows in vertical pipes have been systematically investigated. Water and SDS surfactant solutions at various concentrations were used as the working fluids. In particular, we focus our work on the influence of surfactant addition on the flow regimes, the corresponding pressure gradients, and the bubble sizes and velocity. Adding the surfactant lowers the air critical Reynolds numbers for the bubble-slug flow and the slug flow transitions. The pressure gradients of SDS solutions are lower than those of pure water especially in the slug flow and the slug-churn flow regimes, implying turbulent drag reduction. At low Re{sub air}, themore » bubble sizes of the surfactant solution are lower than those of pure water due to the increase in viscosity. With increasing and at high Re{sub air}, the bubble sizes of the SDS solution become greater than those of pure water which is attributed to the effect of surface tension. (author)« less

Study of the Unsteady Flow Features on a Stalled Wing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yon, Steven A.; Katz, Joseph

1997-01-01

The occurrence of large scale structures in the post stall flow over a rectangular wing at high angles of attack was investigated in a small-scale subsonic wind tunnel. Mean and time dependent measurements within the separated flow field suggest the existence of two distinct angle of attack regimes beyond wing stall. The shallow stall regime occurs over a narrow range of incidence angles (2-3 deg.) immediately following the inception of leading edge separation. In this regime, the principal mean flow structures, termed stall cells, are manifested as a distinct spanwise periodicity in the chordwise extent of the separated region on the model surface with possible lateral mobility not previously reported. Within the stall cells and on the wing surface, large amplitude pressure fluctuations occur with a frequency much lower than anticipated for bluff body shedding, and with minimum effect in the far wake. In the deep stall regime, stall cells are not observed and the separated region near the model is relatively free of large amplitude pressure disturbances.

Geothermal regime and Jurassic source rock maturity of the Junggar basin, northwest China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nansheng, Qiu; Zhihuan, Zhang; Ershe, Xu

2008-01-01

We analyze the thermal gradient distribution of the Junggar basin based on oil-test and well-logging temperature data. The basin-wide average thermal gradient in the depth interval of 0-4000 m is 22.6 °C/km, which is lower than other sedimentary basins in China. We report 21 measured terrestrial heat flow values based on detailed thermal conductivity data and systematical steady-state temperature data. These values vary from 27.0 to 54.1 mW/m 2 with a mean of 41.8 ± 7.8 mW/m 2. The Junggar basin appears to be a cool basin in terms of its thermal regime. The heat flow distribution within the basin shows the following characteristics. (1) The heat flow decreases from the Luliang Uplift to the Southern Depression; (2) relatively high heat flow values over 50 mW/m 2 are confined to the northern part of the Eastern Uplift and the adjacent parts of the Eastern Luliang Uplift and Central Depression; (3) The lowest heat flow of smaller than 35 mW/m 2 occurs in the southern parts of the basin. This low thermal regime of the Junggar basin is consistent with the geodynamic setting, the extrusion of plates around the basin, the considerably thick crust, the dense lithospheric mantle, the relatively stable continental basement of the basin, low heat generation and underground water flow of the basin. The heat flow of this basin is of great significance to oil exploration and hydrocarbon resource assessment, because it bears directly on issues of petroleum source-rock maturation. Almost all oil fields are limited to the areas of higher heat flows. The relatively low heat flow values in the Junggar basin will deepen the maturity threshold, making the deep-seated widespread Permian and Jurassic source rocks in the Junggar basin favorable for oil and gas generation. In addition, the maturity evolution of the Lower Jurassic Badaowan Group (J 1b) and Middle Jurassic Xishanyao Group (J 2x) were calculated based on the thermal data and burial depth. The maturity of the Jurassic source rocks of the Central Depression and Southern Depression increases with depth. The source rocks only reached an early maturity with a R0 of 0.5-0.7% in the Wulungu Depression, the Luliang Uplift and the Western Uplift, whereas they did not enter the maturity window ( R0 < 0.5%) in the Eastern Uplift of the basin. This maturity evolution will provide information of source kitchen for the Jurassic exploration.

Flow regime, temperature, and biotic interactions drive differential declines of trout species under climate change [includes Supporting Information

Treesearch

Seth J. Wenger; Daniel J. Isaak; Charlie Luce; Helen M. Neville; Kurt D. Fausch; Jason B. Dunham; Daniel C. Dauwalter; Michael K. Young; Marketa M. Elsner; Bruce E. Rieman; Alan F. Hamlet; Jack E. Williams

2011-01-01

Broad-scale studies of climate change effects on freshwater species have focused mainly on temperature, ignoring critical drivers such as flow regime and biotic interactions. We use downscaled outputs from general circulation models coupled with a hydrologic model to forecast the effects of altered flows and increased temperatures on four interacting species of trout...

A method for characterizing late-season low-flow regime in the upper Grand Ronde River Basin, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kelly, Valerie J.; White, Seth

2016-04-19

This report describes a method for estimating ecologically relevant low-flow metrics that quantify late‑season streamflow regime for ungaged sites in the upper Grande Ronde River Basin, Oregon. The analysis presented here focuses on sites sampled by the Columbia River Inter‑Tribal Fish Commission as part of their efforts to monitor habitat restoration to benefit spring Chinook salmon recovery in the basin. Streamflow data were provided by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Oregon Water Resources Department. Specific guidance was provided for selection of streamgages, development of probabilistic frequency distributions for annual 7-day low-flow events, and regionalization of the frequency curves based on multivariate analysis of watershed characteristics. Evaluation of the uncertainty associated with the various components of this protocol indicates that the results are reliable for the intended purpose of hydrologic classification to support ecological analysis of factors contributing to juvenile salmon success. They should not be considered suitable for more standard water-resource evaluations that require greater precision, especially those focused on management and forecasting of extreme low-flow conditions.

E  ×  B flow shear drive of the linear low-n modes of EHO in the QH-mode regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, G. S.; Wan, B. N.; Wang, Y. F.; Wu, X. Q.; Chen, Xi; Peng, Y.-K. Martin; Guo, H. Y.; Burrell, K. H.; Garofalo, A. M.; Osborne, T. H.; Groebner, R. J.; Wang, H. Q.; Chen, R.; Yan, N.; Wang, L.; Ding, S. Y.; Shao, L. M.; Hu, G. H.; Li, Y. L.; Lan, H.; Yang, Q. Q.; Chen, L.; Ye, Y.; Xu, J. C.; Li, J.

2017-08-01

A new model for the edge harmonic oscillations (EHOs) in the quiescent H-mode regime has been developed, which successfully reproduces the recent observations in the DIII-D tokamak. In particular, at high E  ×  B flow shear only a few low-n kink modes remain unstable at the plasma edge, consistent with the EHO behavior, while at low E  ×  B flow shear, the unstable mode spectrum is significantly broadened, consistent with the low-n broadband electromagnetic turbulence behavior. The model is based on a new mechanism for destabilizing low-n kink/peeling modes by the E  ×  B flow shear, which underlies the EHOs, separately from the previously found Kelvin-Helmholtz drive. We find that the differential advection of mode vorticity by sheared E  ×  B flows modifies the 2D pattern of mode electrostatic potential perpendicular to the magnetic field lines, which in turn causes a radial expansion of the mode structure, an increase of field line bending away from the mode rational surface, and a reduction of inertial stabilization. This enhances the kink drive as the parallel wavenumber increases significantly away from the rational surface at the plasma edge where the magnetic shear is also strong. This destabilization is also shown to be independent of the sign of the flow shear, as observed experimentally, and has not been taken into account in previous pedestal linear stability analyses. Verification of the veracity of this EHO mechanism will require analysis of the nonlinear evolution of low-n kink/peeling modes so destabilized in the linear regime.

Dynamics of Cross-Shore Thermal Exchange Over Nonuniform Bathymetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Safaie, A.; Davis, K. A.; Pawlak, G. R.

2016-02-01

The hydrodynamics of cross-shelf circulation on the inner shelf influence coastal ecosystems through the transport of heat, salt, nutrients, and planktonic organisms. While cross-shelf exchange on wide continental shelves has received a fair amount of attention in literature, the mechanisms for cross-shelf exchange on narrow shelves with steep, rough, and highly irregular bathymetry, characteristic of coral reef shorelines, is not well understood. Previous observational studies from reefs at Eilat, Israel and Oahu, Hawaii, have demonstrated the importance of surface heat flux in driving cross-shore transport. While both sites experienced offshore surface flow during daytime warming periods and offshore flow near the bed during nighttime cooling, the phase differences between the surface heat fluxes and thermal responses at the two sites indicate different dynamic flow regimes based on momentum and thermal balances. This study examines the dynamical structure of thermally driven flows using numerical modeling to investigate the hypothesis that thermally driven baroclinic exchange is important to cross-shore circulation for tropical coastlines. We use the open-source Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS), a free-surface, three-dimensional circulation model, considering a simple wedge case with uniform bathymetry in the alongshore direction, and heat flux applied uniformly to the surface. We examine different flow regimes using scaling of the momentum and thermal balance equations. We also explore the parameter space for the momentum balance describing cross-shore thermal exchange, and thoroughly characterize the exchange structure by investigating the dominant forcing regimes, the mechanisms responsible for modulating thermal circulation, and the effects of temporal variations in vertical mixing and heating/cooling buoyancy flux. Results are compared against existing data sets to evaluate the ability of the model to represent these flows.

Estimating the Natural Flow Regime of Rivers With Long-Standing Development: The Northern Branch of the Rio Grande

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blythe, Todd L.; Schmidt, John C.

2018-02-01

An estimate of a river's natural flow regime is useful for water resource planning and ecosystem rehabilitation by providing insight into the predisturbance form and function of a river. The natural flow regime of most rivers has been perturbed by development during the 20th century and in some cases, before stream gaging began. The temporal resolution of natural flows estimated using traditional methods is typically not sufficient to evaluate cues that drive native ecosystem function. Additionally, these traditional methods are watershed specific and require large amounts of data to produce accurate results. We present a mass balance method that estimates natural flows at daily time step resolution for the northern branch of the Rio Grande, upstream from the Rio Conchos, that relies only on easily obtained streamflow data. Using an analytical change point method, we identified periods of the measured flow regime during the 20th century for comparison with the estimated natural flows. Our results highlight the significant deviation from natural conditions that occurred during the 20th century. The total annual flow of the northern branch is 95% lower than it would be in the absence of human use. The current 2 year flood has decreased by more than 60%, is shorter in duration, and peaks later in the year. When compared to unregulated flows estimated using traditional mass balance accounting methods, our approach provides similar results.

Bounds on the attractor dimension for magnetohydrodynamic channel flow with parallel magnetic field at low magnetic Reynolds number.

PubMed

Low, R; Pothérat, A

2015-05-01

We investigate aspects of low-magnetic-Reynolds-number flow between two parallel, perfectly insulating walls in the presence of an imposed magnetic field parallel to the bounding walls. We find a functional basis to describe the flow, well adapted to the problem of finding the attractor dimension and which is also used in subsequent direct numerical simulation of these flows. For given Reynolds and Hartmann numbers, we obtain an upper bound for the dimension of the attractor by means of known bounds on the nonlinear inertial term and this functional basis for the flow. Three distinct flow regimes emerge: a quasi-isotropic three-dimensional (3D) flow, a nonisotropic 3D flow, and a 2D flow. We find the transition curves between these regimes in the space parametrized by Hartmann number Ha and attractor dimension d(att). We find how the attractor dimension scales as a function of Reynolds and Hartmann numbers (Re and Ha) in each regime. We also investigate the thickness of the boundary layer along the bounding wall and find that in all regimes this scales as 1/Re, independently of the value of Ha, unlike Hartmann boundary layers found when the field is normal to the channel. The structure of the set of least dissipative modes is indeed quite different between these two cases but the properties of turbulence far from the walls (smallest scales and number of degrees of freedom) are found to be very similar.

Reorganization of Ice Sheet Flow Patterns in Arctic Canada Prior to the Mid-Pleistocene Transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Refsnider, K. A.; Miller, G. H.

2010-12-01

The Foxe sector of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) experienced a complex and dynamic interplay between cold-based, non-erosive ice on uplands, fast-moving outlet glaciers that carved deep fiords through the Arctic Cordillera, and even more erosive ice streams that occupied larger straits and sounds, transporting ice from the Foxe Dome to calving margins in Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea. The high topography of Baffin Island forms a broad barrier to the flow of ice to these calving margins and gradually has been dissected since the onset of Northern Hemisphere glaciation. However, evidence for the evolution of LIS erosion and basal thermal regime patterns during successive glaciations is poorly preserved in the geologic record. We use a new approach utilizing published till geochemistry and cosmogenic radionuclide (CRN) data to constrain the development of the fiorded coastline and the distribution of cold-based ice across central Baffin Island in both spatial and temporal domains over many glacial-interglacial cycles. The combination of till geochemistry data, which is used to characterize till weathering, and modeled CRN burial-exposure histories provides strong evidence for a shift in basal thermal regimes across the interior plateaux of Baffin Island between 1.9 and 1.2 Ma. While it may be coincidence that this time interval abuts the onset of the mid-Pleistocene transition (MPT), it has been hypothesized that changes in subglacial conditions were potentially an important mechanism in altering LIS dynamics across the MPT. Prior to this time, ice was likely wet-based and erosive across the majority of the Baffin Island interior, but by 1.9-1.2 Ma, some parts of the landscape became perpetually covered by cold-based ice during glaciations, a pattern that persisted through the last glacial cycle. The modern fiord system also must have developed by this time, and preferential channeling of ice flow into major fiords may have been sufficient to effectively shut off ice flow across the landscape between outlet glaciers. These results imply that there was a major shift in the basal thermal regime across the northeastern LIS, and the subsequent expansion of cold-based ice and the concentration of ice flow in fewer outlet systems across this region may help explain the cause of the MPT from 41- to 100-kyr glacial cycles.

A review of at rest droplet growth equations for condensing nitrogen in transonic cryogenic wind tunnels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, R. M.; Kramer, S. A.

1979-01-01

Droplet growth equations are reviewed in the free-molecular, transition, and continuum flow regimes with the assumption that the droplets are at rest with respect to the vapor. As comparison calculations showed, it was important to use a growth equation designed for the flow regime of interest. Otherwise, a serious over-prediction of droplet growth may result. The growth equation by Gyarmathy appeared to be applicable throughout the flow regimes and involved no iteration. His expression also avoided the uncertainty associated with selecting a mass accommodation coefficient and consequently involved less uncertainty in specifying adjustable parameters than many of the other growth equations.

A constitutive law for dense granular flows.

PubMed

Jop, Pierre; Forterre, Yoël; Pouliquen, Olivier

2006-06-08

A continuum description of granular flows would be of considerable help in predicting natural geophysical hazards or in designing industrial processes. However, the constitutive equations for dry granular flows, which govern how the material moves under shear, are still a matter of debate. One difficulty is that grains can behave like a solid (in a sand pile), a liquid (when poured from a silo) or a gas (when strongly agitated). For the two extreme regimes, constitutive equations have been proposed based on kinetic theory for collisional rapid flows, and soil mechanics for slow plastic flows. However, the intermediate dense regime, where the granular material flows like a liquid, still lacks a unified view and has motivated many studies over the past decade. The main characteristics of granular liquids are: a yield criterion (a critical shear stress below which flow is not possible) and a complex dependence on shear rate when flowing. In this sense, granular matter shares similarities with classical visco-plastic fluids such as Bingham fluids. Here we propose a new constitutive relation for dense granular flows, inspired by this analogy and recent numerical and experimental work. We then test our three-dimensional (3D) model through experiments on granular flows on a pile between rough sidewalls, in which a complex 3D flow pattern develops. We show that, without any fitting parameter, the model gives quantitative predictions for the flow shape and velocity profiles. Our results support the idea that a simple visco-plastic approach can quantitatively capture granular flow properties, and could serve as a basic tool for modelling more complex flows in geophysical or industrial applications.

Experimental investigation of the two-phase flow regimes and pressure drop in horizontal mini-size rectangular test section

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elazhary, Amr Mohamed; Soliman, Hassan M.

2012-10-01

An experimental study was conducted in order to investigate two-phase flow regimes and fully developed pressure drop in a mini-size, horizontal rectangular channel. The test section was machined in the form of an impacting tee junction in an acrylic block (in order to facilitate visualization) with a rectangular cross-section of 1.87-mm height on 20-mm width on the inlet and outlet sides. Pressure drop measurement and flow regime identification were performed on all three sides of the junction. Air-water mixtures at 200 kPa (abs) and room temperature were used as the test fluids. Four flow regimes were identified visually: bubbly, plug, churn, and annular over the ranges of gas and liquid superficial velocities of 0.04 ≤ JG ≤ 10 m/s and 0.02 ≤ JL ≤ 0.7 m/s, respectively, and a flow regime map was developed. Accuracy of the pressure-measurement technique was validated with single-phase, laminar and turbulent, fully developed data. Two-phase experiments were conducted for eight different inlet conditions and various mass splits at the junction. Comparisons were conducted between the present data and former correlations for the fully developed two-phase pressure drop in rectangular channels with similar sizes. Wide deviations were found among these correlations, and the correlations that agreed best with the present data were identified.

Phase diagram for inertial granular flows.

PubMed

DeGiuli, E; McElwaine, J N; Wyart, M

2016-07-01

Flows of hard granular materials depend strongly on the interparticle friction coefficient μ_{p} and on the inertial number I, which characterizes proximity to the jamming transition where flow stops. Guided by numerical simulations, we derive the phase diagram of dense inertial flow of spherical particles, finding three regimes for 10^{-4}≲I≲10^{-1}: frictionless, frictional sliding, and rolling. These are distinguished by the dominant means of energy dissipation, changing from collisional to sliding friction, and back to collisional, as μ_{p} increases from zero at constant I. The three regimes differ in their kinetics and rheology; in particular, the velocity fluctuations and the stress ratio both display nonmonotonic behavior with μ_{p}, corresponding to transitions between the three regimes of flow. We rationalize the phase boundaries between these regimes, show that energy balance yields scaling relations between microscopic properties in each of them, and derive the strain scale at which particles lose memory of their velocity. For the frictional sliding regime most relevant experimentally, we find for I≥10^{-2.5} that the growth of the macroscopic friction μ(I) with I is induced by an increase of collisional dissipation. This implies in that range that μ(I)-μ(0)∼I^{1-2b}, where b≈0.2 is an exponent that characterizes both the dimensionless velocity fluctuations L∼I^{-b} and the density of sliding contacts χ∼I^{b}.

Bistable flow occurrence in the 2D model of a steam turbine valve

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pavel, Procházka; Václav, Uruba

2017-09-01

The internal flow inside a steam turbine valve was investigated experimentally using PIV measurement. The valve model was proposed to be two-dimensional. The model was connected to the blow-down wind tunnel. The flow conditions were set by the different position of the valve plug. Several angles of the diffuser by diverse radii were investigated concerning flow separation and flow dynamics. It was found that the flow takes one of two possible bistable modes. The first regime is characterized by a massive flow separation just at the beginning of the diffuser section on the one side. The second regime is axisymmetric and the flow separation is not detected at all.

Electrokinetic micro-fluid mixer

DOEpatents

Paul, Phillip H.; Rakestraw, David J.

2000-01-01

A method and apparatus for efficiently and rapidly mixing liquids in a system operating in the creeping flow regime such as would be encountered in capillary-based systems. By applying an electric field to each liquid, the present invention is capable of mixing together fluid streams in capillary-based systems, where mechanical or turbulent stirring cannot be used, to produce a homogeneous liquid.

Numerical Simulation of a Spatially Evolving Supersonic Turbulent Boundary Layer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gatski, T. B.; Erlebacher, G.

2002-01-01

The results from direct numerical simulations of a spatially evolving, supersonic, flat-plate turbulent boundary-layer flow, with free-stream Mach number of 2.25 are presented. The simulated flow field extends from a transition region, initiated by wall suction and blowing near the inflow boundary, into the fully turbulent regime. Distributions of mean and turbulent flow quantities are obtained and an analysis of these quantities is performed at a downstream station corresponding to Re(sub x)= 5.548 x10(exp 6) based on distance from the leading edge.

Deviation of a Jet at a T junction at low Reynolds number

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panizza, Pascal; Engl, Wilfried; Ohata, Kouske; Colin, Annie

2006-03-01

We study the hydrodynamic behaviour of a laminar jet flowing through a channel when it reaches a junction. We observe the existence of two possible flow regimes, namely the splitting and deviation of a jet in the most simple microfluidic configuration, namely a T junction. The transition between the two regimes is not monitored by the shape of the T junction nor by capillary effects, but can be easily anticipated in terms of the hydrodynamic properties of the flow. We present a simple hydrodynamic model which is in very good agreement with observed experimental jet behaviour. The transition between both regime acts as a flow or viscosity comparator. We show how this effect can be used for the design of digital and integrated microfluidic devices

Buoyant miscible displacement flows in a nonuniform Hele-Shaw cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walling, E.; Mollaabbasi, R.; Taghavi, S. M.

2018-03-01

Miscible displacement flows within the gap of a nonuniform Hele-Shaw cell are considered, theoretically and experimentally. The cell is vertical and it can be diverging or converging. A light fluid displaces a heavy fluid downwards. The displacement imposed velocity is sufficiently large so that diffusive effects are negligible within our time scale of interest. For certain flow parameters, the displacement flow is characterized by a symmetric, two-dimensional penetration of the light fluid into the heavy one, for which a lubrication approximation approach is developed to simplify the governing equations and find a semianalytical solution for the flux functions. The solutions reveal how the cell nonuniformity may affect the propagation of the interface between the two fluids, versus the other flow parameters, i.e., the viscosity ratio (m ) and a buoyancy number (χ ), for which a detailed flow regime classification is presented. Our results demonstrate that the presence of nonuniformity adds a unique spatiotemporal nature to these displacements which is not the case for uniform cell flows. The combination of the model and experiments reveals the existence of self-spreading, spike, and unstable (viscous fingering) flow regimes, which may occur at various spatial positions within the cell. A converging cell may allow a transition from spike to self-spreading or unstable regime, whereas a diverging cell may offer a transition from self-spreading or unstable to spike regime. Our work demonstrates that the novel spatiotemporal nature of nonuniform cell flows must be considered through the numerical solution of the interface propagation equation, to yield accurate predictions about the flow behaviors at various spatial positions.

Lattice Boltzmann simulation of shear-induced particle migration in plane Couette-Poiseuille flow: Local ordering of suspension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chun, Byoungjin; Kwon, Ilyoung; Jung, Hyun Wook; Hyun, Jae Chun

2017-12-01

The shear-induced migration of concentrated non-Brownian monodisperse suspensions in combined plane Couette-Poiseuille (C-P) flows is studied using a lattice Boltzmann simulation. The simulations are mainly performed for a particle volume fraction of ϕbulk = 0.4 and H/a = 44.3, 23.3, where H and a denote the channel height and radius of suspended particles, respectively. The simulation method is validated in two simple flows, plane Poiseuille and plane Couette flows. In the Poiseuille flow, particles migrate to the mid-plane of the channel where the local concentration is close to the limit of random-close-packing, and a random structure is also observed at the plane. In the Couette flow, the particle distribution remains in the initial uniform distribution. In the combined C-P flows, the behaviors of migration are categorized into three groups, namely, Poiseuille-dominant, Couette-dominant, and intermediate regimes, based on the value of a characteristic force, G, where G denotes the relative magnitude of the body force (P) against the wall-driving force (C). With respect to the Poiseuille-dominant regime, the location of the maximum concentration is shifted from the mid-plane to the lower wall moving in the same direction as the external body force, when G decreases. With respect to the Couette-dominant regime, the behavior is similar to that of a simple shear flow with the exception that a slightly higher concentration of particles is observed near the lower wall. However, with respect to the intermediate value of G, several layers of highly ordered particles are unexpectedly observed near the lower wall where the plane of maximum concentration is located. The locally ordered structure is mainly due to the lateral migration of particles and wall confinement. The suspended particles migrate toward a vanishingly small shear rate at the wall, and they are consequently layered into highly ordered two-dimensional structures at the high local volume fraction.

A fast iterative scheme for the linearized Boltzmann equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Lei; Zhang, Jun; Liu, Haihu; Zhang, Yonghao; Reese, Jason M.

2017-06-01

Iterative schemes to find steady-state solutions to the Boltzmann equation are efficient for highly rarefied gas flows, but can be very slow to converge in the near-continuum flow regime. In this paper, a synthetic iterative scheme is developed to speed up the solution of the linearized Boltzmann equation by penalizing the collision operator L into the form L = (L + Nδh) - Nδh, where δ is the gas rarefaction parameter, h is the velocity distribution function, and N is a tuning parameter controlling the convergence rate. The velocity distribution function is first solved by the conventional iterative scheme, then it is corrected such that the macroscopic flow velocity is governed by a diffusion-type equation that is asymptotic-preserving into the Navier-Stokes limit. The efficiency of this new scheme is assessed by calculating the eigenvalue of the iteration, as well as solving for Poiseuille and thermal transpiration flows. We find that the fastest convergence of our synthetic scheme for the linearized Boltzmann equation is achieved when Nδ is close to the average collision frequency. The synthetic iterative scheme is significantly faster than the conventional iterative scheme in both the transition and the near-continuum gas flow regimes. Moreover, due to its asymptotic-preserving properties, the synthetic iterative scheme does not need high spatial resolution in the near-continuum flow regime, which makes it even faster than the conventional iterative scheme. Using this synthetic scheme, with the fast spectral approximation of the linearized Boltzmann collision operator, Poiseuille and thermal transpiration flows between two parallel plates, through channels of circular/rectangular cross sections and various porous media are calculated over the whole range of gas rarefaction. Finally, the flow of a Ne-Ar gas mixture is solved based on the linearized Boltzmann equation with the Lennard-Jones intermolecular potential for the first time, and the difference between these results and those using the hard-sphere potential is discussed.

Near-field entrainment in black smoker plumes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, J. E.; Germanovich, L. N.; Lowell, R. P.

2013-12-01

In this work, we study the entrainment rate of the ambient fluid into a plume in the extreme conditions of hydrothermal venting at ocean floor depths that would be difficult to reproduce in the laboratory. Specifically, we investigate the flow regime in the lower parts of three black smoker plumes in the Main Endeavour Field on the Juan de Fuca Ridge discharging at temperatures of 249°C, 333°C, and 336°C and a pressure of 21 MPa. Such flow conditions are typical for ocean floor hydrothermal venting but would be difficult to reproduce in the laboratory. The centerline temperature was measured at several heights in the plume above the orifice. Using a previously developed turbine flow meter, we also measured the mean flow velocity at the orifice. Measurements were conducted during dives 4452 and 4518 on the submersible Alvin. Using these measurements, we obtained a range of 0.064 - 0.068 for values of the entrainment coefficient α, which is assumed constant near the orifice. This is half the value of α ≈ 0.12 - 0.13 that would be expected for plume flow regimes based on the existing laboratory results and field measurements in lower temperature and pressure conditions. In fact, α = 0.064 - 0.068 is even smaller than the value of α ≈ 0.075 characteristic of jet flow regimes and appears to be the lowest reported in the literature. Assuming that the mean value α = 0.066 is typical for hydrothermal venting at ocean floor depths, we then characterized the flow regimes of 63 black smoker plumes located on the Endeavor Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Work with the obtained data is ongoing, but current results indicate that approximately half of these black smokers are lazy in the sense that their plumes exhibit momentum deficits compared to the pure plume flow that develops as the plume rises. The remaining half produces forced plumes that show the momentum excess compared to the pure plumes. The lower value of the entrainment coefficient has important implications for measurements of mass and heat output at mid-oceanic ridges. For example, determining heat output based on the maximum height of plume rise has become a common method of measuring heat flux produced by hydrothermal circulation at mid-oceanic ridges. The fundamental theory for the rise and spreading of turbulent buoyant plumes suggests that the heat output in this method is proportional to α2 and is, therefore, sensitive to the value of α. The considerably different entrainment rates in lazy and forced black smoker plumes may be important for understanding larvae transport mechanism in the life cycle of macrofauna near hydrothermal vents.

Determination and characterization by numerical simulations of flow mixing due to electrokinetic instabilities in cross-shaped microchannels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guerrero, Esteban; Chen, Daming; Hageman, Logan; Guzman, Amador

2017-11-01

This article describes a computational study of flow mixing in microchannels due to electrokinetic instabilities that are compared to experimental results obtained in a cross- microchannel with an ionic solution of potassium chloride with two different ionic concentrations, with the purpose of determining the parameter combinations to produce the onset of flow mixing and its characteristics. For the numerical simulation process carried out using a finite element method-based commercial code, we applied a typical zeta potential used in other articles as a boundary condition for the microchannel walls. For the experiments, we used a commercial silicon glass (Caliper NS95) microchannel. For determining a flow mixing regime, we use the concept of ``mixing index'' established by (Fu et al., 2005) for an electrical conductivity ratio range of 18 to 52 with an electric field range of 1100 to 1900 V/cm. From our numerical simulation results we have found a threshold for the electrical Rayleigh number for starting a flow mixing regime, and a minimum microchannel characteristic length for achieving a 90% of flow mixing that will allow us to significantly reduce the mixing time. Vicerrectoria de Investigacion y Departamento de Ingeniera Mecánica y Metalúrgica Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile.

Pressures Around an Inclined Ogive Cylinder with Laminar, Transitional, or Turbulent Separation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lamont, P. J.

1982-01-01

This paper reports results From comprehensive pressure tests on an ogive cylinder in the low-turbulence 12-ft pressure wind tunnel at Ames Research Center. The results consist of detailed pressure distributions over a wide range of Reynolds numbers (0.2 x 10(exp 6) to 4.0 x 10(exp 6)) and angles of attack (20 to 90 deg). Most important, the tests encompassed a complete coverage of different roll orientations. This variation of roll orientation is shown to be essential in order to fully define all the possible flow conditions. When the various roll-angle results are combined, it is possible to interpret correctly the effects of changing angle of attack or Reynolds number. Two basic mechanisms for producing asymmetric flow are identified. One mechanism operates in both the laminar and the fully turbulent separation regimes; this mechanism Is the one qualitatively described by the impulsive flow analogy. The other mechanism occurs only in the transitional separation regime. This asymmetric flow has the same form as that found in the two-dimensional cross flow on a circular cylinder in the transitional flow regime. Finally, these results make it possible to draw up critical Reynolds number boundaries between the laminar, transitional, and fully turbulent separation regimes throughout the angle-of-attack range from 20 to 90 deg.

Big data analytics : predicting traffic flow regimes from simulated connected vehicle messages using data analytics and machine learning.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-12-25

The key objectives of this study were to: 1. Develop advanced analytical techniques that make use of a dynamically configurable connected vehicle message protocol to predict traffic flow regimes in near-real time in a virtual environment and examine ...

Dynamic domains of the Derviche Tourneur sodium experiment: Simulations of a spherical magnetized Couette flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaplan, E. J.; Nataf, H.-C.; Schaeffer, N.

2018-03-01

The Derviche Tourneur sodium experiment, a spherical Couette magnetohydrodynamics experiment with liquid sodium as the medium and a dipole magnetic field imposed from the inner sphere, recently underwent upgrades to its diagnostics to better characterize the flow and induced magnetic fields with global rotation. In tandem with the upgrades, a set of direct numerical simulations were run to give a more complete view of the fluid and magnetic dynamics at various rotation rates of the inner and outer spheres. These simulations reveal several dynamic regimes, determined by the Rossby number. At positive differential rotation there is a regime of quasigeostrophic flow, with low levels of fluctuations near the outer sphere. Negative differential rotation shows a regime of what appear to be saturated hydrodynamic instabilities at low negative differential rotation, followed by a regime where filamentary structures develop at low latitudes and persist over five to ten differential rotation periods as they drift poleward. We emphasize that all these coherent structures emerge from turbulent flows. At least some of them seem to be related to linear instabilities of the mean flow. The simulated flows can produce the same measurements as those that the physical experiment can take, with signatures akin to those found in the experiment. This paper discusses the relation between the internal velocity structures of the flow and their magnetic signatures at the surface.

Flow Visualization of Liquid Hydrogen Line Chilldown Tests

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rame, Enrique; Hartwig, Jason W.; McQuillen John B.

2014-01-01

We present experimental measurements of wall and fluid temperature during chill-down tests of a warm cryogenic line with liquid hydrogen. Synchronized video and fluid temperature measurements are used to interpret stream temperature profiles versus time. When cold liquid hydrogen starts to flow into the warm line, a sequence of flow regimes, spanning from all-vapor at the outset to bubbly with continuum liquid at the end can be observed at a location far downstream of the cold inlet. In this paper we propose interpretations to the observed flow regimes and fluid temperature histories for two chilldown methods, viz. trickle (i.e. continuous) flow and pulse flow. Calculations of heat flux from the wall to the fluid versus wall temperature indicate the presence of the transition/nucleate boiling regimes only. The present tests, run at typical Reynolds numbers of approx O(10 (exp 5)), are in sharp contrast to similar tests conducted at lower Reynolds numbers where a well-defined film boiling region is observed.

Water Reserves Program. An adaptation strategy to prevent imbalance of water in nature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salinas-Rodriguez, S. A.; López Pérez, M.; Barrios Ordóñez, J.; Wickel, B.; Villón Bracamonte, R. A.

2013-12-01

Freshwater ecosystems occupy approximately 1% of the earth's surface yet possess about 12% of all known animal species. By virtue of their position in the landscape they connect terrestrial and coastal marine biomes and provide and sustain ecosystem services vital to the health and persistence of human communities. These services include the supply of water for food production, urban and industrial consumption, among others. Over the past century many freshwater ecosystems around the world have been heavily modified or lost due to the alteration of flow regimes (e.g. damming, canalization, diversion, over-abstraction). The synergistic impacts of land use change, changes in flows, chemical deterioration, and climate change have left many systems and their species very little room to adjust to change, while future projections indicate a steady increase imbalance in water demand for food and energy production and water supply to suit the needs of a growing world population. In Mexico, the focus has been to secure water for human development and maximize economic growth, which has resulted in allocation of water beyond available amounts, and that in many river basins has led imbalance of water in nature. As a consequence episodic water scarcity severely constrains freshwater ecosystems and the services they provide. Climatic change and variability are presenting serious challenges to a country that already is experiencing serious strain on its water resources. However, freshwater ecosystems are recognized by law as legitimate user of water, and mandate a flow allocation for the environment ('water reserve' or 'environmental flows'). Based on this legal provision the Mexican government through the National Water Commission (Conagua), with support of the Alliance WWF - Fundación Gonzalo Río Arronte, and the Interamerican Development Bank, has launched a national program to identify and implement 'water reserves': basins where environmental flows will be secured and allocated, and where the flow regime is then protected before over-allocation takes place. The strategy has been to identify and protect basins with an availability of water that is close to their natural flow regime and that also have a high conservation value (based on prior national conservation priority definitions such as protected areas, and biodiversity conservation gap analyses) in order to implement legal restrictions on water resource development. With such protection, these systems will be best positioned to adjust and respond to water shortages, and regime shifts. To date, 189 basins around the country were identified as potential water reserves. The next step will be the nomination of these water reserves to be integrated in the National Water Reserves Program. This program forms the core of the official Mexican government adaptation strategy towards climate prepared water management, which recognizes that water reserves are the buffer society needs to face uncertainty, imbalance of the man-made, global changes, and thus to reduce water scarcity risk. The development of activities that alter the natural flow regime such as dams and levees are closely examined, and would potentially be restricted.

Thermodynamic Analysis of Dual-Mode Scramjet Engine Operation and Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riggins, David; Tacket, Regan; Taylor, Trent; Auslender, Aaron

2006-01-01

Recent analytical advances in understanding the performance continuum (the thermodynamic spectrum) for air-breathing engines based on fundamental second-law considerations have clarified scramjet and ramjet operation, performance, and characteristics. Second-law based analysis is extended specifically in this work to clarify and describe the performance characteristics for dual-mode scramjet operation in the mid-speed range of flight Mach 4 to 7. This is done by a fundamental investigation of the complex but predictable interplay between heat release and irreversibilities in such an engine; results demonstrate the flow and performance character of the dual mode regime and of dual mode transition behavior. Both analytical and computational (multi-dimensional CFD) studies of sample dual-mode flow-fields are performed in order to demonstrate the second-law capability and performance and operability issues. The impact of the dual-mode regime is found to be characterized by decreasing overall irreversibility with increasing heat release, within the operability limits of the system.

CFD simulation of simultaneous monotonic cooling and surface heat transfer coefficient

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mihálka, Peter, E-mail: usarmipe@savba.sk; Matiašovský, Peter, E-mail: usarmat@savba.sk

The monotonic heating regime method for determination of thermal diffusivity is based on the analysis of an unsteady-state (stabilised) thermal process characterised by an independence of the space-time temperature distribution on initial conditions. At the first kind of the monotonic regime a sample of simple geometry is heated / cooled at constant ambient temperature. The determination of thermal diffusivity requires the determination rate of a temperature change and simultaneous determination of the first eigenvalue. According to a characteristic equation the first eigenvalue is a function of the Biot number defined by a surface heat transfer coefficient and thermal conductivity ofmore » an analysed material. Knowing the surface heat transfer coefficient and the first eigenvalue the thermal conductivity can be determined. The surface heat transport coefficient during the monotonic regime can be determined by the continuous measurement of long-wave radiation heat flow and the photoelectric measurement of the air refractive index gradient in a boundary layer. CFD simulation of the cooling process was carried out to analyse local convective and radiative heat transfer coefficients more in detail. Influence of ambient air flow was analysed. The obtained eigenvalues and corresponding surface heat transfer coefficient values enable to determine thermal conductivity of the analysed specimen together with its thermal diffusivity during a monotonic heating regime.« less

Pulsating flow past a tube bundle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molochnikov, V. M.; Mikheev, N. I.; Vazeev, T. A.; Paereliy, A. A.

2017-11-01

Visualization of the pulsating cross-flow past the in-line and staggered tube bundles has been performed. The frequency and amplitude of forced flow pulsations and the tube pitch in the bundle varied in the experiments. The main attention was focused on the flow pattern in the near wake of the third-row tube. The most indicative regimes of flow past a tube in a bundle have been revealed depending on forced flow unsteadiness parameters. The obtained data have been generalized in the flow maps in the space of dimensionless frequency (Strouhal number, St) and relative pulsation amplitude, β, individually for the in-line and staggered tube arrangement. Three most indicative regimes of pulsating flow past the tubes in a bundle have been singled out in each flow map.

Characterizing Strength of Chaotic Dynamics and Numerical Simulation Relevant to Modified Taylor-Couette Flow with Hourglass Geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, Yu; Kowalski, Adam; Schroder, Kjell; Halmstad, Andrew; Olsen, Thomas; Wiener, Richard

2006-05-01

We characterize the strength of chaos in two different regimes of Modified Taylor-Couette flow with Hourglass Geometry: the formation of Taylor Vortices with laminar flow and with turbulent flow. We measure the strength of chaos by calculating the correlation dimension and the Kaplan-Yorke dimension based upon the Lyapunov Exponents of each system. We determine the reliability of our calculations by considering data from a chaotic electronic circuit. In order to predict the behavior of the Modified Taylor-Couette flow system, we employ simulations based upon an idealized Reaction-Diffusion model with a third order non-linearity in the reaction rate. Variation of reaction rate with length corresponds to variation of the effective Reynolds Number along the Taylor-Couette apparatus. We present preliminary results and compare to experimental data.

Elastic turbulence in entangled semi-dilute DNA solutions measured with optical coherence tomography velocimetry.

PubMed

Malm, A V; Waigh, T A

2017-04-26

The flow instabilities of solutions of high molecular weight DNA in the entangled semi-dilute concentration regime were investigated using optical coherence tomography velocimetry, a technique that provides high spatial (probe volumes of 3.4 pL) and temporal resolution (sub μs) information on the flow behaviour of complex fluids in a rheometer. The velocity profiles of the opaque DNA solutions (high and low salt) were measured as a function of the distance across the gap of a parallel plate rheometer, and their evolution over time was measured. At lower DNA concentrations and low shear rates, the velocity fluctuations were well described by Gaussian functions and the velocity gradient was uniform across the rheometer gap, which is expected for Newtonian flows. As the DNA concentration and shear rate were increased there was a stable wall slip regime followed by an evolving wall slip regime, which is finally followed by the onset of elastic turbulence. Strain localization (shear banding) is observed on the boundaries of the flows at intermediate shear rates, but decreases in the high shear elastic turbulence regime, where bulk strain localization occurs. A dynamic phase diagram for non-linear flow was created to describe the different behaviours.

Modeling of turbulent chemical reaction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, J.-Y.

1995-01-01

Viewgraphs are presented on modeling turbulent reacting flows, regimes of turbulent combustion, regimes of premixed and regimes of non-premixed turbulent combustion, chemical closure models, flamelet model, conditional moment closure (CMC), NO(x) emissions from turbulent H2 jet flames, probability density function (PDF), departures from chemical equilibrium, mixing models for PDF methods, comparison of predicted and measured H2O mass fractions in turbulent nonpremixed jet flames, experimental evidence of preferential diffusion in turbulent jet flames, and computation of turbulent reacting flows.

Turbulence accelerates the growth of drinking water biofilms.

PubMed

Tsagkari, E; Sloan, W T

2018-06-01

Biofilms are found at the inner surfaces of drinking water pipes and, therefore, it is essential to understand biofilm processes to control their formation. Hydrodynamics play a crucial role in shaping biofilms. Thus, knowing how biofilms form, develop and disperse under different flow conditions is critical in the successful management of these systems. Here, the development of biofilms after 4 weeks, the initial formation of biofilms within 10 h and finally, the response of already established biofilms within 24-h intervals in which the flow regime was changed, were studied using a rotating annular reactor under three different flow regimes: turbulent, transition and laminar. Using fluorescence microscopy, information about the number of microcolonies on the reactor slides, the surface area of biofilms and of extracellular polymeric substances and the biofilm structures was acquired. Gravimetric measurements were conducted to characterise the thickness and density of biofilms, and spatial statistics were used to characterise the heterogeneity and spatial correlation of biofilm structures. Contrary to the prevailing view, it was shown that turbulent flow did not correlate with a reduction in biofilms; turbulence was found to enhance both the initial formation and the development of biofilms on the accessible surfaces. Additionally, after 24-h changes of the flow regime it was indicated that biofilms responded to the quick changes of the flow regime. Overall, this work suggests that different flow conditions can cause substantial changes in biofilm morphology and growth and specifically that turbulent flow can accelerate biofilm growth in drinking water.

A physically based analytical model of flood frequency curves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basso, S.; Schirmer, M.; Botter, G.

2016-09-01

Predicting magnitude and frequency of floods is a key issue in hydrology, with implications in many fields ranging from river science and geomorphology to the insurance industry. In this paper, a novel physically based approach is proposed to estimate the recurrence intervals of seasonal flow maxima. The method links the extremal distribution of streamflows to the stochastic dynamics of daily discharge, providing an analytical expression of the seasonal flood frequency curve. The parameters involved in the formulation embody climate and landscape attributes of the contributing catchment and can be estimated from daily rainfall and streamflow data. Only one parameter, which is linked to the antecedent wetness condition in the watershed, needs to be calibrated on the observed maxima. The performance of the method is discussed through a set of applications in four rivers featuring heterogeneous daily flow regimes. The model provides reliable estimates of seasonal maximum flows in different climatic settings and is able to capture diverse shapes of flood frequency curves emerging in erratic and persistent flow regimes. The proposed method exploits experimental information on the full range of discharges experienced by rivers. As a consequence, model performances do not deteriorate when the magnitude of events with return times longer than the available sample size is estimated. The approach provides a framework for the prediction of floods based on short data series of rainfall and daily streamflows that may be especially valuable in data scarce regions of the world.

Condensation of nano-refrigerant inside a horizontal tube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Darzi, Milad; Sadoughi, M. K.; Sheikholeslami, M.

2018-05-01

In this paper, condensing pressure drop of refrigerant-based nanofluid inside a tube is studied. Isobutene was selected as the base fluid while CuO nanoparticles were utilized to prepare nano-refrigerant. However, for the feasibility of nanoparticle dispersion into the refrigerant, Polyester oil (POE) was utilized as lubricant oil and added to the pure refrigerant by 1% mass fraction. Various values of mass flux, vapor quality, concentration of nanoparticle are investigated. Results indicate that adding nanoparticles leads to enhance frictional pressure drop. Nanoparticles caused larger pressure drop penalty at relatively lower vapor qualities which may be attributed to the existing condensation flow pattern such that annular flow is less influenced by nanoparticles compared to intermittent flow regime.

Regular flow reversals in Rayleigh-Bénard convection in a horizontal magnetic field.

PubMed

Tasaka, Yuji; Igaki, Kazuto; Yanagisawa, Takatoshi; Vogt, Tobias; Zuerner, Till; Eckert, Sven

2016-04-01

Magnetohydrodynamic Rayleigh-Bénard convection was studied experimentally using a liquid metal inside a box with a square horizontal cross section and aspect ratio of five. Systematic flow measurements were performed by means of ultrasonic velocity profiling that can capture time variations of instantaneous velocity profiles. Applying a horizontal magnetic field organizes the convective motion into a flow pattern of quasi-two-dimensional rolls arranged parallel to the magnetic field. The number of rolls has the tendency to decrease with increasing Rayleigh number Ra and to increase with increasing Chandrasekhar number Q. We explored convection regimes in a parameter range, at 2×10^{3}

Noise fluctuations and drive dependence of the skyrmion Hall effect in disordered systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reichhardt, Charles; Olson Reichhardt, Cynthia Jane

Using a particle-based simulation model, we show that quenched disorder creates a drive-dependent skyrmion Hall effect as measured by the change in the ratiomore » $$R={V}_{\\perp }/{V}_{| | }$$ of the skyrmion velocity perpendicular (V ⊥) and parallel ($${V}_{| | }$$) to an external drive. R is zero at depinning and increases linearly with increasing drive, in agreement with recent experimental observations. At sufficiently high drives where the skyrmions enter a free flow regime, R saturates to the disorder-free limit. In addition, this behavior is robust for a wide range of disorder strengths and intrinsic Hall angle values, and occurs whenever plastic flow is present. For systems with small intrinsic Hall angles, we find that the Hall angle increases linearly with external drive, as also observed in experiment. In the weak pinning regime where the skyrmion lattice depins elastically, R is nonlinear and the net direction of the skyrmion lattice motion can rotate as a function of external drive. We show that the changes in the skyrmion Hall effect correlate with changes in the power spectrum of the skyrmion velocity noise fluctuations. The plastic flow regime is associated with $1/f$ noise, while in the regime in which R has saturated, the noise is white with a weak narrow band signal, and the noise power drops by several orders of magnitude. Finally, at low drives, the velocity noise in the perpendicular and parallel directions is of the same order of magnitude, while at intermediate drives the perpendicular noise fluctuations are much larger.« less

Noise fluctuations and drive dependence of the skyrmion Hall effect in disordered systems

DOE PAGES

Reichhardt, Charles; Olson Reichhardt, Cynthia Jane

2016-09-29

Using a particle-based simulation model, we show that quenched disorder creates a drive-dependent skyrmion Hall effect as measured by the change in the ratiomore » $$R={V}_{\\perp }/{V}_{| | }$$ of the skyrmion velocity perpendicular (V ⊥) and parallel ($${V}_{| | }$$) to an external drive. R is zero at depinning and increases linearly with increasing drive, in agreement with recent experimental observations. At sufficiently high drives where the skyrmions enter a free flow regime, R saturates to the disorder-free limit. In addition, this behavior is robust for a wide range of disorder strengths and intrinsic Hall angle values, and occurs whenever plastic flow is present. For systems with small intrinsic Hall angles, we find that the Hall angle increases linearly with external drive, as also observed in experiment. In the weak pinning regime where the skyrmion lattice depins elastically, R is nonlinear and the net direction of the skyrmion lattice motion can rotate as a function of external drive. We show that the changes in the skyrmion Hall effect correlate with changes in the power spectrum of the skyrmion velocity noise fluctuations. The plastic flow regime is associated with $1/f$ noise, while in the regime in which R has saturated, the noise is white with a weak narrow band signal, and the noise power drops by several orders of magnitude. Finally, at low drives, the velocity noise in the perpendicular and parallel directions is of the same order of magnitude, while at intermediate drives the perpendicular noise fluctuations are much larger.« less

Liquid slip over gas nanofilms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramisetti, Srinivasa B.; Borg, Matthew K.; Lockerby, Duncan A.; Reese, Jason M.

2017-08-01

We propose the rarefied-gas-cushion model (r-GCM), as an extended version of the gas-cushion model (GCM), to estimate the apparent slip of water flowing over a gas layer trapped at a solid surface. Nanobubbles or gas nanofilms may manifest rarefied-gas effects and the r-GCM incorporates kinetic boundary conditions for the gas component in the slip Knudsen regime. These enable an apparent hydrodynamic slip length to be calculated given the gas thickness, the Knudsen number, and the bulk fluid viscosities. We assess the r-GCM through nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations of shear-driven liquid flow over an infinite gas nanofilm covering a solid surface, from the gas slip regime to the early transition regime, beyond which NEMD is computationally impractical. We find that, over the flow regimes examined, the r-GCM provides better predictions of the apparent liquid slip and retrieves both the GCM and the free-molecular behavior in the appropriate limits.

The natural sediment regime in rivers: broadening the foundation for ecosystem management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wohl, Ellen E.; Bledsoe, Brian P.; Jacobson, Robert B.; Poff, N. LeRoy; Rathburn, Sara L.; Walters, David M.; Wilcox, Andrew C.

2015-01-01

Water and sediment inputs are fundamental drivers of river ecosystems, but river management tends to emphasize flow regime at the expense of sediment regime. In an effort to frame a more inclusive paradigm for river management, we discuss sediment inputs, transport, and storage within river systems; interactions among water, sediment, and valley context; and the need to broaden the natural flow regime concept. Explicitly incorporating sediment is challenging, because sediment is supplied, transported, and stored by nonlinear and episodic processes operating at different temporal and spatial scales than water and because sediment regimes have been highly altered by humans. Nevertheless, managing for a desired balance between sediment supply and transport capacity is not only tractable, given current geomorphic process knowledge, but also essential because of the importance of sediment regimes to aquatic and riparian ecosystems, the physical template of which depends on sediment-driven river structure and function.

Numerical and analytical modelling of the MHD buoyancy-driven flow in a Bridgman crystal growth configuration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davoust, L.; Moreau, R.; Cowley, M. D.; Tanguy, P. A.; Bertrand, F.

1997-10-01

We present analytical and numerical models of magnetohydrodynamic(MHD) buoyancy-driven flow within the liquid pool of a horizontal Bridgman crystal growth furnace, under the influence of a uniform vertical magnetic field B0. A horizontal differentially heated cylinder, whose aspect ratio (radius to length) is small enough for a fully developed regime to be established in the central core, is considered. With Hartmann layers remaining electrically inactive, a modified Rayleigh number RaG, which is the ration of the ordinary Rayleigh number to the square of the Hartmann number, is found to control the MHD reorganisation of the flow. This modified Rayleigh number is a measure of the importance of thermal convection relative to diffusion if velocity is estimated from the balance between the torques of buoyancy and the Laplace force. When RaG is much smaller than unity (quasi-diffusive regime), an analytical modelling of the flow, based on a power series of RaG, demonstrates that this balance requires secondary vortices within vertical mid-planes of the cylinder, both within the core flow and near the end walls. A 3-D numerical calculation of the flow provides evidence of the transition from a convective MHD flow (when RaG is still of the order of unity) to the quasi-diffusive flow, analytically studied. Indeed, this transition takes the form of a rather complex 3-D MHD organisation of the flow which is due to the nonuniformity of the axial temperature gradient along the cylinder.

Sensitivity of Regulated Flow Regimes to Climate Change in the Western United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Tian; Voisin, Nathalie; Leng, Guoyong

Water management activities or flow regulations modify water fluxes at the land surface and affect water resources in space and time. We hypothesize that flow regulations change the sensitivity of river flow to climate change with respect to unmanaged water resources. Quantifying these changes in sensitivity could help elucidate the impacts of water management at different spatiotemporal scales and inform climate adaptation decisions. In this study, we compared the emergence of significant changes in natural and regulated river flow regimes across the Western United States from simulations driven by multiple climate models and scenarios. We find that significant climate change-inducedmore » alterations in natural flow do not cascade linearly through water management activities. At the annual time scale, 50% of the Hydrologic Unit Code 4 (HUC4) sub-basins over the Western U.S. regions tend to have regulated flow regime more sensitive to the climate change than natural flow regime. Seasonality analyses show that the sensitivity varies remarkably across the seasons. We also find that the sensitivity is related to the level of water management. For 35% of the HUC4 sub-basins with the highest level of water management, the summer and winter flows tend to show a heightened sensitivity to climate change due to the complexity of joint reservoir operations. We further demonstrate that the impacts of considering water management in models are comparable to those that arises from uncertainties across climate models and emission scenarios. This prompts further climate adaptation studies research about nonlinearity effects of climate change through water management activities.« less

Uncertainty in low-flow data from three streamflow-gaging stations on the upper Verde River, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Anning, D.W.; ,

2004-01-01

The evaluation of uncertainty in low-flow data collected from three streamflow-gaging stations on the upper Verde River, Arizona, was presented. In downstream order, the stations are Verde River near Paulden, Verde River near Clarkdale, and Verde River near Camp Verde. A monitoring objective of the evaluation was to characterize discharge of the lower flow regime through a variety of procedures such as frequency analysis and base-flow analysis. For Verde River near Paulden and near Camp Verde, the uncertainty of daily low flows can be reduced by decreasing the uncertainty of discharge-measurement frequency, or building an artificial control that would have a stable stage-discharge relation over time.

Pressure driven laminar flow of a power-law fluid in a T-channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dyakova, O. A.; Frolov, O. Yu

2017-10-01

Planar flow of a non-Newtonian fluid in a T-channel is investigated. The viscosity is determined by the Ostwald-de Waele power law. Motion of the fluid is caused by pressure drop given in boundary sections of the T-channel. On the solid walls, the no slip boundary condition is used. The problem is numerically solved with using a finite difference method based on the SIMPLE procedure. As a result of this study, characteristic flow regimes have been found. Influence of main parameters on the flow pattern has been demonstrated. Criteria dependences describing basic characteristics of the flow under conditions of the present work have been shown.

Experimental and Model Studies on Loading Path-Dependent and Nonlinear Gas Flow Behavior in Shale Fractures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Honglian; Lu, Yiyu; Zhou, Lei; Tang, Jiren; Han, Shuaibin; Ao, Xiang

2018-01-01

Interest in shale gas as an energy source is growing worldwide. Because the rock's natural fracture system can contribute to gas production, it is important to understand the flow behavior of natural fractures in shale. Previous studies on the flow characteristics in shale fractures were limited and did not consider the effect of nonlinearity. To understand the basic mechanics of the gas flow behavior in shale fractures, laboratory investigations with consideration of the fluid pressure gradient, the confining stress, the loading history and the fracture geometry were conducted in this paper. Izbash's equation was used to analyze the nonlinearity of the flow. The results show that the behavior of the friction factors is similar to that shown in flow tests in smooth and rough pipes. The increase of the confining stress and the irreversible damage to the shale decreased the hydraulic aperture and increased the relative roughness. Thus, turbulent flow could appear at a low Reynolds number, resulting in a significant pressure loss. The limits of the cubic law and the existing correction factor for transmissivity are discussed. It is found that the previous friction models overestimate the friction factor in the laminar regime and underestimate the friction factor in the turbulent regime. For this reason, a new friction model based on a linear combination of the Reynolds number and the relative roughness was developed.

Numerical implementation, verification and validation of two-phase flow four-equation drift flux model with Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov method

DOE PAGES

Zou, Ling; Zhao, Haihua; Zhang, Hongbin

2016-08-24

This study presents a numerical investigation on using the Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov (JFNK) method to solve the two-phase flow four-equation drift flux model with realistic constitutive correlations (‘closure models’). The drift flux model is based on Isshi and his collaborators’ work. Additional constitutive correlations for vertical channel flow, such as two-phase flow pressure drop, flow regime map, wall boiling and interfacial heat transfer models, were taken from the RELAP5-3D Code Manual and included to complete the model. The staggered grid finite volume method and fully implicit backward Euler method was used for the spatial discretization and time integration schemes, respectively. Themore » Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov method shows no difficulty in solving the two-phase flow drift flux model with a discrete flow regime map. In addition to the Jacobian-free approach, the preconditioning matrix is obtained by using the default finite differencing method provided in the PETSc package, and consequently the labor-intensive implementation of complex analytical Jacobian matrix is avoided. Extensive and successful numerical verification and validation have been performed to prove the correct implementation of the models and methods. Code-to-code comparison with RELAP5-3D has further demonstrated the successful implementation of the drift flux model.« less

A Laminar Flow-Based Microfluidic Tesla Pump via Lithography Enabled 3D Printing.

PubMed

Habhab, Mohammed-Baker; Ismail, Tania; Lo, Joe Fujiou

2016-11-23

Tesla turbine and its applications in power generation and fluid flow were demonstrated by Nicholas Tesla in 1913. However, its real-world implementations were limited by the difficulty to maintain laminar flow between rotor disks, transient efficiencies during rotor acceleration, and the lack of other applications that fully utilize the continuous flow outputs. All of the aforementioned limits of Tesla turbines can be addressed by scaling to the microfluidic flow regime. Demonstrated here is a microscale Tesla pump designed and fabricated using a Digital Light Processing (DLP) based 3D printer with 43 µm lateral and 30 µm thickness resolutions. The miniaturized pump is characterized by low Reynolds number of 1000 and a flow rate of up to 12.6 mL/min at 1200 rpm, unloaded. It is capable of driving a mixer network to generate microfluidic gradient. The continuous, laminar flow from Tesla turbines is well-suited to the needs of flow-sensitive microfluidics, where the integrated pump will enable numerous compact lab-on-a-chip applications.

Hydrological regime modifications induced by climate change in Mediterranean area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pumo, Dario; Caracciolo, Domenico; Viola, Francesco; Valerio Noto, Leonardo

2015-04-01

The knowledge of river flow regimes has a capital importance for a variety of practical applications, in water resource management, including optimal and sustainable use. Hydrological regime is highly dependent on climatic factors, among which the most important is surely the precipitation, in terms of frequency, seasonal distribution and intensity of rainfall events. The streamflow frequency regime of river basins are often summarized by flow duration curves (FDCs), that offer a simple and comprehensive graphical view of the overall historical variability associated with streamflow, and characterize the ability of the basin to provide flows of various magnitudes. Climate change is likely to lead shifts in the hydrological regime, and, consequently, in the FDCs. Staring from this premise, the primary objective of the present study is to explore the effects of potential climate changes on the hydrological regime of some small Mediterranean basins. To this aim it is here used a recent hydrological model, the ModABa model (MODel for Annual flow duration curves assessment in ephemeral small BAsins), for the probabilistic characterization of the daily streamflows in small catchments. The model has been calibrated and successively validated in a unique small catchment, where it has shown a satisfactory accuracy in reproducing the empirical FDC starting from easily derivable parameters arising from basic ecohydrological knowledge of the basin and commonly available climatic data such as daily precipitation and temperatures. Thus, this work also represents a first attempt to apply the ModABa to basins different from that used for its preliminary design in order to testing its generality. Different case studies are selected within the Sicily region; the model is first calibrated at the sites and then forced by future climatic scenarios, highlighting the principal differences emerging from the current scenario and future FDCs. The future climate scenarios are generated using a stochastic downscaling technique based on the weather generator, AWE-GEN. This methodology allows for the downscaling of an ensemble of climate model outputs deriving the frequency distribution functions of factors of change for several statistics of temperature and precipitation from outputs of General Circulation Models (GCMs). The stochastic downscaling is carried out using simulations of GCMs adopted in the IPCC 5AR, for the future periods of 2046-2065 and 2081-2100.

Flow and axial dispersion in a sinusoidal-walled tube: Effects of inertial and unsteady flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richmond, Marshall C.; Perkins, William A.; Scheibe, Timothy D.; Lambert, Adam; Wood, Brian D.

2013-12-01

In this work, we consider a sinusoidal-walled tube (a three-dimensional tube with sinusoidally-varying diameter) as a simplified conceptualization of flow in porous media. Direct numerical simulation using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods was used to compute velocity fields by solving the Navier-Stokes equations, and also to numerically solve the volume averaging closure problem, for a range of Reynolds numbers (Re) spanning the low-Re to inertial flow regimes, including one simulation at Re=449 for which unsteady flow was observed. The longitudinal dispersion observed for the flow was computed using a random walk particle tracking method, and this was compared to the longitudinal dispersion predicted from a volume-averaged macroscopic mass balance using the method of volume averaging; the results of the two methods were consistent. Our results are compared to experimental measurements of dispersion in porous media and to previous theoretical results for both the low-Re, Stokes flow regime and for values of Re representing the steady inertial regime. In the steady inertial regime, a power-law increase in the effective longitudinal dispersion (DL) with Re was found, and this is consistent with previous results. This rapid rate of increase is caused by trapping of solute in expansions due to flow separation (eddies). One unsteady (but non-turbulent) flow case (Re=449) was also examined. For this case, the rate of increase of DL with Re was smaller than that observed at lower Re. Velocity fluctuations in this regime lead to increased rates of solute mass transfer between the core flow and separated flow regions, thus diminishing the amount of tailing caused by solute trapping in eddies and thereby reducing longitudinal dispersion. The observed tailing was further explored through analysis of concentration skewness (third moment) and its assymptotic convergence to conventional advection-dispersion behavior (skewness = 0). The method of volume averaging was applied to develop a skewness model, and demonstrated that the skewness decreases as a function of inverse square root of time. Our particle tracking simulation results were shown to conform to this theoretical result in most of the cases considered.

Interpretation of massive sandstones in ephemeral fluvial settings: A case study from the Upper Candelária Sequence (Upper Triassic, Paraná Basin, Brazil)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horn, Bruno Ludovico Dihl; Goldberg, Karin; Schultz, Cesar Leandro

2018-01-01

Ephemeral rivers display a wide range of upper- and lower-flow regime structures due to great flow-velocity changes during the floods. The development of flow structures in these setting is yet to be understood, especially in the formation of thick, massive sandstones. The Upper Triassic of Southern Gondwana was marked by a climate with great seasonal changes, yet there is no description of river systems with seasonal characteristics in Southern Gondwana. This work aims to characterize a ephemeral alluvial system of the Upper Triassic of the Paraná Basin. The characteristics of the deposits are discussed in terms of depositional processes through comparison with similar deposits from literature, flow characteristics and depositional signatures compared to flume experiments. The alluvial system is divided in four facies associations: (1) channels with wanning fill, characterized by low width/thickness ratio, tabular bodies, scour-and-fill structures with upper- and lower-flow regime bedforms; (2) channels with massive fill, characterized by low w/t ratio, sheet-like bodies, scour-and-fill structures with massive sandstones; (3) proximal sheetfloods, characterized by moderate w/t ratio, sheet-like bodies with upper- and lower-flow regime bedforms and (4) distal sheetfloods, characterized by high w/t ratio, sheet-like bodies with lower-flow regime bedforms. Evidence for the seasonal reactivation of the riverine system includes the scarcity of well-developed macroforms and presence of in-channel mudstones, thick intraformational conglomerates, and the occurrence of well- and poorly-preserved vertebrate bones in the same beds. The predominantly massive sandstones indicate deposition from a hyperconcentrated flow during abrupt changes in flow speed, caused by de-confinement or channel avulsion, whereas turbulent portions of the flow formed the upper- and lower-flow regime bedforms after the deposition of the massive layers. The upper portion of the Candelária Sequence records a good example of strongly ephemeral alluvial systems, where the predominance of massive sandstones is a particular characteristic.

Numerical simulation of liquid droplet breakup in supersonic flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Nan; Wang, Zhenguo; Sun, Mingbo; Wang, Hongbo; Wang, Bing

2018-04-01

A five-equation model based on finite-difference frame was utilized to simulate liquid droplet breakup in supersonic flows. To enhance the interface-capturing quality, an anti-diffusion method was introduced as a correction of volume-fraction after each step of calculation to sharpen the interface. The robustness was guaranteed by the hybrid variable reconstruction in which the second-order and high-order method were respectively employed in discontinuous and continuous flow fields. According to the recent classification of droplet breakup regimes, the simulations lay in the shear induced entrainment regime. Comparing to the momentum of the high-speed air flows, surface tension and viscid force were negligible in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional simulations. The inflow conditions were set as Mach 1.2, 1.5 and 1.8 to reach different dynamic pressure with the liquid to gas density ratio being 1000 initially. According to the results of simulations, the breakup process was divided into three stages which were analyzed in details with the consideration of interactions between gas and liquid. The shear between the high-speed gas flow and the liquid droplet was found to be the sources of surface instabilities on windward, while the instabilities on the leeward side were originated by vortices. Movement of the liquid mass center was studied, and the unsteady acceleration was observed. In addition, the characteristic breakup time was around 1.0 based on the criterion of either droplet thickness or liquid volume fraction.

Study of the Transition Flow Regime using Monte Carlo Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hassan, H. A.

1999-01-01

This NASA Cooperative Agreement presents a study of the Transition Flow Regime Using Monte Carlo Methods. The topics included in this final report are: 1) New Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) procedures; 2) The DS3W and DS2A Programs; 3) Papers presented; 4) Miscellaneous Applications and Program Modifications; 5) Solution of Transitional Wake Flows at Mach 10; and 6) Turbulence Modeling of Shock-Dominated Fows with a k-Enstrophy Formulation.

Large Amplitude Oscillatory Shear (LAOS) of Acrylic Emulsion-Based Pressure Sensitive Adhesives (PSAs)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Sipei; Nakatani, Alan; Griffith, William

Large Amplitude Oscillatory Shear (LAOS) testing has recently taken on renewed interest in the rheological community. It is a very useful tool to probe the viscoelastic response of materials in the non-linear regime. Much of the discussion on polymers in the LAOS field has focused on melts in or near the terminal flow regime. Here we present a LAOS study conducted on a commercial rheometer for acrylic emulsion-based pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) films in the plateau regime. The films behaved qualitatively similar over an oscillation frequency range of 0.5-5 rad/s. From Fourier transform analysis, the fifth or even the seventh order harmonic could be observed at large applied strains. From stress decomposition analysis or Lissajous curves, inter-cycle elastic softening, or type I behavior, was observed for all films as the strain increases, while intra-cycle strain hardening occurred at strains in the LAOS regime. Overall, as acid content increases, it was found that the trend in elasticity under large applied strains agreed very well with the trend in cohesive strength of the films.

Improving the mixing performance of side channel type micromixers using an optimal voltage control model.

PubMed

Wu, Chien-Hsien; Yang, Ruey-Jen

2006-06-01

Electroosmotic flow in microchannels is restricted to low Reynolds number regimes. Since the inertia forces are extremely weak in such regimes, turbulent conditions do not readily develop, and hence species mixing occurs primarily as a result of diffusion. Consequently, achieving a thorough species mixing generally relies upon the use of extended mixing channels. This paper aims to improve the mixing performance of conventional side channel type micromixers by specifying the optimal driving voltages to be applied to each channel. In the proposed approach, the driving voltages are identified by constructing a simple theoretical scheme based on a 'flow-rate-ratio' model and Kirchhoff's law. The numerical and experimental results confirm that the optimal voltage control approach provides a better mixing performance than the use of a single driving voltage gradient.

Numerical investigation of the effect of sphere dimples on the drag crisis and the Magnus effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jing; Tsubokura, Makoto; Tsunoda, Masaya

2015-11-01

The present study investigates the flow over a golf ball and a smooth sphere around the critical Reynolds numbers under both stationary and self-spinning conditions by conducting Large-eddy simulations (LES) based on high resolution unstructured grids. For the stationary cases, the present calculation results validate the promotion of the drag crisis at a relatively lower Reynolds number due to the golf ball dimples. It also shows that the golf ball dimples have a limited effect on the time-dependent lateral force development in the subcritical regime, whereas the dimples are beneficial in suppressing the lateral force oscillations in the supercritical regimes. With spin parameter Γ = 0.1, the drag coefficients for the spinning smooth sphere increase slightly in all Reynolds number regimes when compared to the stationary cases, whereas for the spinning golf ball, the drag force decreases in the critical regime and increases in the supercritical regime. For both spinning models, the inverse Magnus effect was reproduced in the critical regime, whereas in the supercritical regime the ordinary Magnus force was generated. Relatively weaker lift forces were also observed in the cases of the spinning golf balls when compared to the spinning smooth spheres.

Impacts of urbanization on river flow frequency: A controlled experimental modeling-based evaluation approach

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Changes in land use are likely to cause a non-linear response in watershed hydrology. Specifically, small increases in urban expansion may greatly increase surface runoff while decreasing infiltration, impacting aquifer recharge and changing streamflow regimes. Quantifying the effects of urbanizatio...

THE HYDROLOGIC SYSTEM: GEOMORPHIC AND HYDROGEOLOGIC CONTROLS ON SURFACE AND SUBSURFACE FLOW REGIMES IN RIPARIAN MEADOW ECOSYSTEMS IN THE CENTRAL GREAT BASIN

EPA Science Inventory

Riparian corridors in upland watersheds in the Great Basin of central Nevada contain the majority of the region's biodiversity. Water, in both surface and subsurface flow regimes, is an important resource sustaining these sensitive ecosystems and other similar riparian ecosystem...

Drop coalescence and liquid flow in a single Plateau border

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, Alexandre; Fraysse, Nathalie; Raufaste, Christophe

2015-05-01

We report a comprehensive study of the flow of liquid triggered by injecting a droplet into a liquid foam microchannel, also called a Plateau border. This drop-injected experiment reveals an intricate dynamics for the liquid redistribution, with two contrasting regimes observed, ruled either by inertia or viscosity. We devoted a previous study [A. Cohen et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 218303 (2014), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.218303] to the inertial imbibition regime, unexpected at such small length scales. Here we report other features of interest of the drop-injected experiment, related to the coalescence of the droplet with the liquid microchannel, to both the inertial and viscous regimes, and to the occurrence of liquid flow through the soap films as well as effects of the interfacial rheology. The transition between the two regimes is investigated and qualitatively accounted for. The relevance of our results to liquid foam drainage is tackled by considering the flow of liquid at the nodes of the network of interconnected microchannels. Extensions of our study to liquid foams are discussed.

Observations of two-phase flow patterns in a horizontal circular channel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ewing, M.E.; Weinandy, J.J.; Christensen, R.N.

1999-01-01

Horizontal two-phase flow patterns were observed in a transparent circular channel (1.90 cm I.D.) using adiabatic mixtures of air and water. Visual identification of the flow regimes was supplemented with photographic data and the results were plotted on the flow regime map which has been proposed by Breber et al. for condensation applications. The results indicate general consistency between the observations and the predictions of the map, and, by providing data for different fluids and conditions from which the map was developed, support its general applicability.

Use of physically-based models and Soil Taxonomy to identify soil moisture classes: Problems and proposals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonfante, A.; Basile, A.; de Mascellis, R.; Manna, P.; Terribile, F.

2009-04-01

Soil classification according to Soil Taxonomy include, as fundamental feature, the estimation of soil moisture regime. The term soil moisture regime refers to the "presence or absence either of ground water or of water held at a tension of less than 1500 kPa in the soil or in specific horizons during periods of the year". In the classification procedure, defining of the soil moisture control section is the primary step in order to obtain the soil moisture regimes classification. Currently, the estimation of soil moisture regimes is carried out through simple calculation schemes, such as Newhall and Billaux models, and only in few cases some authors suggest the use of different more complex models (i.e., EPIC) In fact, in the Soil Taxonomy, the definition of the soil moisture control section is based on the wetting front position in two different conditions: the upper boundary is the depth to which a dry soil will be moistened by 2.5 cm of water within 24 hours and the lower boundary is the depth to which a dry soil will be moistened by 7.5 cm of water within 48 hours. Newhall, Billaux and EPIC models don't use physical laws to describe soil water flows, but they use a simple bucket-like scheme where the soil is divided into several compartments and water moves, instantly, only downward when the field capacity is achieved. On the other side, a large number of one-dimensional hydrological simulation models (SWAP, Cropsyst, Hydrus, MACRO, etc..) are available, tested and successfully used. The flow is simulated according to pressure head gradients through the numerical solution of the Richard's equation. These simulation models can be fruitful used to improve the study of soil moisture regimes. The aims of this work are: (i) analysis of the soil moisture control section concept by a physically based model (SWAP); (ii) comparison of the classification obtained in five different Italian pedoclimatic conditions (Mantova and Lodi in northern Italy; Salerno, Benevento and Caserta in southern Italy) applying the classical models (Newhall e Billaux) and the physically-based models (CropSyst e SWAP), The results have shown that the Soil Taxonomy scheme for the definition of the soil moisture regime is unrealistic for the considered Mediterranean soil hydrological conditions. In fact, the same classifications arise irrespective of the soil type. In this respect some suggestions on how modified the section control boundaries were formulated. Keywords: Soil moisture regimes, Newhall, Swap, Soil Taxonomy

Origin of the inertial deviation from Darcy's law: An investigation from a microscopic flow analysis on two-dimensional model structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agnaou, Mehrez; Lasseux, Didier; Ahmadi, Azita

2017-10-01

Inertial flow in porous media occurs in many situations of practical relevance among which one can cite flows in column reactors, in filters, in aquifers, or near wells for hydrocarbon recovery. It is characterized by a deviation from Darcy's law that leads to a nonlinear relationship between the pressure drop and the filtration velocity. In this work, this deviation, also known as the nonlinear, inertial, correction to Darcy's law, which is subject to controversy upon its origin and dependence on the filtration velocity, is studied through numerical simulations. First, the microscopic flow problem was solved computationally for a wide range of Reynolds numbers up to the limit of steady flow within ordered and disordered porous structures. In a second step, the macroscopic characteristics of the porous medium and flow (permeability and inertial correction tensors) that appear in the macroscale model were computed. From these results, different flow regimes were identified: (1) the weak inertia regime where the inertial correction has a cubic dependence on the filtration velocity and (2) the strong inertia (Forchheimer) regime where the inertial correction depends on the square of the filtration velocity. However, the existence and origin of those regimes, which depend also on the microstructure and flow orientation, are still not well understood in terms of their physical interpretations, as many causes have been conjectured in the literature. In the present study, we provide an in-depth analysis of the flow structure to identify the origin of the deviation from Darcy's law. For accuracy and clarity purposes, this is carried out on two-dimensional structures. Unlike the previous studies reported in the literature, where the origin of inertial effects is often identified on a heuristic basis, a theoretical justification is presented in this work. Indeed, a decomposition of the convective inertial term into two components is carried out formally allowing the identification of a correlation between the flow structure and the different inertial regimes. These components correspond to the curvature of the flow streamlines weighted by the local fluid kinetic energy on the one hand and the distribution of the kinetic energy along these lines on the other hand. In addition, the role of the recirculation zones in the occurrence and in the form of the deviation from Darcy's law was thoroughly analyzed. For the porous structures under consideration, it is shown that (1) the kinetic energy lost in the vortices is insignificant even at high filtration velocities and (2) the shape of the flow streamlines induced by the recirculation zones plays an important role in the variation of the flow structure, which is correlated itself to the different flow regimes.

A mixture theory approach to model co- and counter-current two-phase flow in porous media accounting for viscous coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiao, Y.; Andersen, P. Ø.; Evje, S.; Standnes, D. C.

2018-02-01

It is well known that relative permeabilities can depend on the flow configuration and they are commonly lower during counter-current flow as compared to co-current flow. Conventional models must deal with this by manually changing the relative permeability curves depending on the observed flow regime. In this paper we use a novel two-phase momentum-equation-approach based on general mixture theory to generate effective relative permeabilities where this dependence (and others) is automatically captured. In particular, this formulation includes two viscous coupling effects: (i) Viscous drag between the flowing phases and the stagnant porous rock; (ii) viscous drag caused by momentum transfer between the flowing phases. The resulting generalized model will predict that during co-current flow the faster moving fluid accelerates the slow fluid, but is itself decelerated, while for counter-current flow they are both decelerated. The implications of these mechanisms are demonstrated by investigating recovery of oil from a matrix block surrounded by water due to a combination of gravity drainage and spontaneous imbibition, a situation highly relevant for naturally fractured reservoirs. We implement relative permeability data obtained experimentally through co-current flooding experiments and then explore the model behavior for different flow cases ranging from counter-current dominated to co-current dominated. In particular, it is demonstrated how the proposed model seems to offer some possible interesting improvements over conventional modeling by providing generalized mobility functions that automatically are able to capture more correctly different flow regimes for one and the same parameter set.

Putting the "ecology" into environmental flows: ecological dynamics and demographic modelling.

PubMed

Shenton, Will; Bond, Nicholas R; Yen, Jian D L; Mac Nally, Ralph

2012-07-01

There have been significant diversions of water from rivers and streams around the world; natural flow regimes have been perturbed by dams, barriers and excessive extractions. Many aspects of the ecological 'health' of riverine systems have declined due to changes in water flows, which has stimulated the development of thinking about the maintenance and restoration of these systems, which we refer to as environmental flow methodologies (EFMs). Most existing EFMs cannot deliver information on the population viability of species because they: (1) use habitat suitability as a proxy for population status; (2) use historical time series (usually of short duration) to forecast future conditions and flow sequences; (3) cannot, or do not, handle extreme flow events associated with climate variability; and (4) assume process stationarity for flow sequences, which means the past sequences are treated as good indicators of the future. These assumptions undermine the capacity of EFMs to properly represent risks associated with different flow management options; assumption (4) is untenable given most climate-change predictions. We discuss these concerns and advocate the use of demographic modelling as a more appropriate tool for linking population dynamics to flow regime change. A 'meta-species' approach to demographic modelling is discussed as a useful step from habitat based models towards modelling strategies grounded in ecological theory when limited data are available on flow-demographic relationships. Data requirements of demographic models will undoubtedly expose gaps in existing knowledge, but, in so doing, will strengthen future efforts to link changes in river flows with their ecological consequences.

Putting the "Ecology" into Environmental Flows: Ecological Dynamics and Demographic Modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shenton, Will; Bond, Nicholas R.; Yen, Jian D. L.; Mac Nally, Ralph

2012-07-01

There have been significant diversions of water from rivers and streams around the world; natural flow regimes have been perturbed by dams, barriers and excessive extractions. Many aspects of the ecological `health' of riverine systems have declined due to changes in water flows, which has stimulated the development of thinking about the maintenance and restoration of these systems, which we refer to as environmental flow methodologies (EFMs). Most existing EFMs cannot deliver information on the population viability of species because they: (1) use habitat suitability as a proxy for population status; (2) use historical time series (usually of short duration) to forecast future conditions and flow sequences; (3) cannot, or do not, handle extreme flow events associated with climate variability; and (4) assume process stationarity for flow sequences, which means the past sequences are treated as good indicators of the future. These assumptions undermine the capacity of EFMs to properly represent risks associated with different flow management options; assumption (4) is untenable given most climate-change predictions. We discuss these concerns and advocate the use of demographic modelling as a more appropriate tool for linking population dynamics to flow regime change. A `meta-species' approach to demographic modelling is discussed as a useful step from habitat based models towards modelling strategies grounded in ecological theory when limited data are available on flow-demographic relationships. Data requirements of demographic models will undoubtedly expose gaps in existing knowledge, but, in so doing, will strengthen future efforts to link changes in river flows with their ecological consequences.

Incompressible variable-density turbulence in an external acceleration field

DOE PAGES

Gat, Ilana; Matheou, Georgios; Chung, Daniel; ...

2017-08-24

Dynamics and mixing of a variable-density turbulent flow subject to an externally imposed acceleration field in the zero-Mach-number limit are studied in a series of direct numerical simulations. The flow configuration studied consists of alternating slabs of high- and low-density fluid in a triply periodic domain. Density ratios in the range ofmore » $$1.05\\leqslant R\\equiv \\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{1}/\\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{2}\\leqslant 10$$are investigated. The flow produces temporally evolving shear layers. A perpendicular density–pressure gradient is maintained in the mean as the flow evolves, with multi-scale baroclinic torques generated in the turbulent flow that ensues. For all density ratios studied, the simulations attain Reynolds numbers at the beginning of the fully developed turbulence regime. An empirical relation for the convection velocity predicts the observed entrainment-ratio and dominant mixed-fluid composition statistics. Two mixing-layer temporal evolution regimes are identified: an initial diffusion-dominated regime with a growth rate$${\\sim}t^{1/2}$$followed by a turbulence-dominated regime with a growth rate$${\\sim}t^{3}$$. In the turbulent regime, composition probability density functions within the shear layers exhibit a slightly tilted (‘non-marching’) hump, corresponding to the most probable mole fraction. In conclusion, the shear layers preferentially entrain low-density fluid by volume at all density ratios, which is reflected in the mixed-fluid composition.« less

Incompressible variable-density turbulence in an external acceleration field

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gat, Ilana; Matheou, Georgios; Chung, Daniel

Dynamics and mixing of a variable-density turbulent flow subject to an externally imposed acceleration field in the zero-Mach-number limit are studied in a series of direct numerical simulations. The flow configuration studied consists of alternating slabs of high- and low-density fluid in a triply periodic domain. Density ratios in the range ofmore » $$1.05\\leqslant R\\equiv \\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{1}/\\unicode[STIX]{x1D70C}_{2}\\leqslant 10$$are investigated. The flow produces temporally evolving shear layers. A perpendicular density–pressure gradient is maintained in the mean as the flow evolves, with multi-scale baroclinic torques generated in the turbulent flow that ensues. For all density ratios studied, the simulations attain Reynolds numbers at the beginning of the fully developed turbulence regime. An empirical relation for the convection velocity predicts the observed entrainment-ratio and dominant mixed-fluid composition statistics. Two mixing-layer temporal evolution regimes are identified: an initial diffusion-dominated regime with a growth rate$${\\sim}t^{1/2}$$followed by a turbulence-dominated regime with a growth rate$${\\sim}t^{3}$$. In the turbulent regime, composition probability density functions within the shear layers exhibit a slightly tilted (‘non-marching’) hump, corresponding to the most probable mole fraction. In conclusion, the shear layers preferentially entrain low-density fluid by volume at all density ratios, which is reflected in the mixed-fluid composition.« less

Flow and axial dispersion in a sinusoidal-walled tube: Effects of inertial and unsteady flows

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Richmond, Marshall C.; Perkins, William A.; Scheibe, Timothy D.

2013-12-01

Dispersion in porous media flows has been the subject of much experimental, theoretical and numerical study. Here we consider a wavy-walled tube (a three-dimensional tube with sinusoidally-varying diameter) as a simplified conceptualization of flow in porous media, where constrictions represent pore throats and expansions pore bodies. A theoretical model for effective (macroscopic) longitudinal dispersion in this system has been developed by volume averaging the microscale velocity field. Direct numerical simulation using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods was used to compute velocity fields by solving the Navier-Stokes equations, and also to numerically solve the volume averaging closure problem, for a rangemore » of Reynolds numbers (Re) spanning the low-Re to inertial flow regimes, including one simulation at Re = 449 for which unsteady flow was observed. Dispersion values were computed using both the volume averaging solution and a random walk particle tracking method, and results of the two methods were shown to be consistent. Our results are compared to experimental measurements of dispersion in porous media and to previous theoretical results for the low-Re, Stokes flow regime. In the steady inertial regime we observe an power-law increase in effective longitudinal dispersion (DL) with Re, consistent with previous results. This rapid rate of increase is caused by trapping of solute in expansions due to flow separation (eddies). For the unsteady case (Re = 449), the rate of increase of DL with Re was smaller than that observed at lower Re. Velocity fluctuations in this regime lead to increased rates of solute mass transfer between the core flow and separated flow regions, thus diminishing the amount of tailing caused by solute trapping in eddies and thereby reducing longitudinal dispersion.« less

Separated two-phase flow and basaltic eruptions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vergniolle, Sylvie; Jaupart, Claude

1986-11-01

Fluid dynamical models of volcanic eruptions are usually made in the homogeneous approximation where gas and liquid are constrained to move at the same velocity. Basaltic eruptions exhibit the characteristics of separated flows, including transitions in their flow regime, from bubbly to slug flow in Strombolian eruptions and from bubbly to annular flow in Hawaiian ones. These regimes can be characterized by a parameter called the melt superficial velocity, or volume flux per unit cross section, which takes values between 10-3 and 10-2 m/s for bubbly and slug flow, and about 1 m/s for annular flow. We use two-phase flow equations to determine under which conditions the homogeneous approximation is not valid. In the bubbly regime, in which many bubbles rise through the moving liquid, there are large differences between the two-phase and homogeneous models, especially in the predictions of gas content and pressure. The homogeneous model is valid for viscous lavas such as dacites because viscosity impedes bubble motion. It is not valid for basaltic lavas if bubble sizes are greater than 1 cm, which is the case. Accordingly, basaltic eruptions should be characterized by lower gas contents and lower values of the exit pressure, and they rarely erupt in the mist and froth regimes, which are a feature of more viscous lavas. The two-phase flow framework allows for the treatment of different bubble populations, including vesicles due to exsolution by pressure release in the volcanic conduit and bubbles from the magma chamber. This yields information on poorly constrained parameters including the effective friction coefficient for the conduit, gas content, and bubble size in the chamber. We suggest that the observed flow transitions record changes in the amount and size of gas bubbles in the magma chamber at the conduit entry.

The Paradox of Restoring Native River Landscapes and Restoring Native Ecosystems in the Colorado River System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidt, J. C.

2014-12-01

Throughout the Colorado River basin (CRb), scientists and river managers collaborate to improve native ecosystems. Native ecosystems have deteriorated due to construction of dams and diversions that alter natural flow, sediment supply, and temperature regimes, trans-basin diversions that extract large amounts of water from some segments of the channel network, and invasion of non-native animals and plants. These scientist/manager collaborations occur in large, multi-stakeholder, adaptive management programs that include the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program, and the Upper Colorado River Endangered Species Recovery Program. Although a fundamental premise of native species recovery is that restoration of predam flow regimes inevitably leads to native species recovery, such is not the case in many parts of the CRb. For example, populations of the endangered humpback chub (Gila cypha) are largest in the sediment deficit, thermally altered conditions of the Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam, but these species occur in much smaller numbers in the upper CRb even though the flow regime, sediment supply, and sediment mass balance are less perturbed. Similar contrasts in the physical and biological response of restoration of predam flow regimes occurs in floodplains dominated by nonnative tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) where reestablishment of floods has the potential to exacerbate vertical accretion processes that disconnect the floodplain from the modern flow regime. A significant challenge in restoring segments of the CRb is to describe this paradox of physical and biological response to reestablishment of pre-dam flow regimes, and to clearly identify objectives of environmentally oriented river management. In many cases, understanding the nature of the perturbation to sediment mass balance caused by dams and diversions and understanding the constraints imposed by societal commitments to provide assured water supplies and hydroelectricity constrains the opportunities for rehabilitation and limits the management objectives to focus either on restoring predam physical processes or recovering native fish fauna and/or recovering native plant communities.

The natural flow regime of Hawaíi streams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsang, Y. P.; Strauch, A. M.; Clilverd, H. M.

2016-12-01

Freshwater is a critical, but limited natural resource on tropical islands; sustaining agriculture, industry, hydropower, urban development, and domestic water supply. The hydrology of Hawaíi islands is largely influenced by the health of mountain forests, which capture and absorb rain and fog drip, recharging aquifers and sustaining stream flow. Forests in Hawaíi are being degraded through the replacement of native vegetation with introduced species or conversion to another land use. Streams in the tropics frequently experience flash flooding due to extreme rainfall-runoff events and low flows due to seasonal drought. These patterns drive habitat availability for freshwater fauna, as well as sediment and nutrient export to near-shore ecosystems. Flow regimes can be used to characterize the frequency and magnitude of extreme high and low flows and are influenced by watershed climate, geology, land cover and soil composition. We examined the effect of climate extremes on stream flow from Hawaiian forests using historical flow data to characterize the spatial and temporal patterns in surface water resources. By defining flow regimes from forests we can improve our understanding of climate extremes on water resource availability across tropical island landscapes.

Petroleum hydrogeology of the Great Hungarian Plain, Eastern Pannonian Basin, Hungary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Almasi, Istvan

The results of a regional scale hydrogeological investigation conducted in the Great Hungarian Plain, Eastern Pannonian Basin, for the purposes of petroleum exploration are presented. Two regional aquitards and three regional aquifers were determined in the poorly-to-well consolidated clastic basin fill of the Neogene-Quaternary age and the indurated basement of the Pre-Neogene age. The fluid-potential field was mapped using measured values of stabilised water level and pore-pressure. Two regional fluid flow regimes were recognised: an upper gravity-driven flow regime, and a lower overpressured regime, where super-hydrostatic pore pressures of 1--35 MPa are encountered. The transition between the two flow regimes does not correlate with any particular hydrostratigraphic boundary or elevation range. Apparently, its position and nature are controlled by the morphology of the rigid basement, and locally by the permeability contrasts within the overlying hydrostratigraphic units. Local hydrostratigraphic breaches and conduit faults facilitate hydraulic communication across the regional aquitards. The basin is hydraulically continuous. The mapped groundwater flow directions do not match the predictions of compactional flow models. At two gas-fields, up to 10 MPa overpressures are probably caused by buoyancy forces. Transient overpressures can not be maintained over geologic time in the basin, due to the rock's low hydraulic resistance. Regional tectonic compressive stress, probably with a Recent increase in intensity, offers a new and plausible explanation for the distribution pattern of overpressures in the Great Hungarian Plain. Gravity-driven groundwater flow plays a determinant role in petroleum migration and entrapment. Compactional flow models can explain the present-day position of several known petroleum accumulations within the overpressured regime. However, most accumulations are also associated with particular fluid-potential anomaly-patterns of the actual flow field, which also suggest the possibility of petroleum remigration toward the graben centres and upward. The geothermal characteristics show that pure conduction is the dominant regional heat transfer mechanism within the entire basin. The encountered advective thermal anomalies correlate well with fluid potential anomalies observed in both fluid flow regimes, as well as with certain petroleum accumulations. Toth's (1980) hydraulic theory of petroleum migration was found applicable in a deforming Neogene sedimentary basin, the Great Hungarian Plain.* *This dissertation includes a CD that is compound (contains both a paper copy and a CD as part of the dissertation). The CD requires the following applications: Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Office.

Tile drainage as karst: Conduit flow and diffuse flow in a tile-drained watershed

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schilling, K.E.; Helmers, M.

2008-01-01

The similarity of tiled-drained watersheds to karst drainage basins can be used to improve understanding of watershed-scale nutrient losses from subsurface tile drainage networks. In this study, short-term variations in discharge and chemistry were examined from a tile outlet collecting subsurface tile flow from a 963 ha agricultural watershed. Study objectives were to apply analytical techniques from karst springs to tile discharge to evaluate water sources and estimate the loads of agricultural pollutants discharged from the tile with conduit, intermediate and diffuse flow regimes. A two-member mixing model using nitrate, chloride and specific conductance was used to distinguish rainwater versus groundwater inputs. Results indicated that groundwater comprised 75% of the discharge for a three-day storm period and rainwater was primarily concentrated during the hydrograph peak. A contrasting pattern of solute concentrations and export loads was observed in tile flow. During base flow periods, tile flow consisted of diffuse flow from groundwater sources and contained elevated levels of nitrate, chloride and specific conductance. During storm events, suspended solids and pollutants adhered to soil surfaces (phosphorus, ammonium and organic nitrogen) were concentrated and discharged during the rapid, conduit flow portion of the hydrograph. During a three-day period, conduit flow occurred for 5.6% of the time but accounted for 16.5% of the total flow. Nitrate and chloride were delivered primarily with diffuse flow (more than 70%), whereas 80-94% of total suspended sediment, phosphorus and ammonium were exported with conduit and intermediate flow regimes. Understanding the water sources contributing to tile drainage and the manner by which pollutant discharge occurs from these systems (conduit, intermediate or diffuse flow) may be useful for designing, implementing and evaluating non-point source reduction strategies in tile-drained landscapes. ?? 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Scaling of the flow-stiffness relationship in weakly correlated single fractures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrovitch, Christopher L.

The remote characterization of the hydraulic properties of fractures in rocks is important in many subsurface projects. Fractures create uncertainty in the hydraulic properties of the subsurface in that their topology controls the amount of flow that can occur in addition to that from the matrix. In turn, the fracture topology is also affected by stress which alters the topology as the stress changes directly. This alteration of fracture topology with stress is captured by fracture specific stiffness. The specific stiffness of a single fracture can be remotely probed from the attenuation and velocity of seismic waves. The hydromechanical coupling of single fractures, i.e. the relationship between flow and stiffness, holds the key to finding a method to remotely characterize a fractures hydraulic properties. This thesis is separated into two parts: (1) a description of the hydromechanical coupling of fractures based on numerical models used to generate synthetic fractures, compute the flow through a fracture, and deform fracture topologies to unravel the scaling function that is fundamental to the hydromechanical coupling of single fractures; (2) a Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method was developed to accurately simulate the scattered seismic waves from realistic fracture topologies. The scaling regimes of fluid flow and specific stiffness in weakly correlated fractures are identified by using techniques from Percolation Theory and initially treating the two processes separately. The fixed points associated with fluid flow were found to display critical scaling while the fixed points for specific stiffness were trivial. The two processes could be indirectly related because the trivial scaling of the mechanical properties allowed the specific stiffness to be used as surrogate to the void area fraction. The dynamic transport exponent was extracted at threshold by deforming fracture geometries within the effective medium regime (near the ``cubic law'' regime) to the critical regime. From this, a scaling function was defined for the hydromechanical coupling. This scaling function provides the link between fluid flow and fracture specific stiffness so that seismic waves may be used to remotely probe the hydraulic properties of fractures. Then, the DG method is shown to be capable of measuring such fracture specific stiffnesses by numerically measuring the velocity of interface waves when propagated across laboratory measured fracture geometries of Austin Chalk.

Conduit Stability and Collapse in Explosive Volcanic Eruptions: Coupling Conduit Flow and Failure Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mullet, B.; Segall, P.

2017-12-01

Explosive volcanic eruptions can exhibit abrupt changes in physical behavior. In the most extreme cases, high rates of mass discharge are interspaced by dramatic drops in activity and periods of quiescence. Simple models predict exponential decay in magma chamber pressure, leading to a gradual tapering of eruptive flux. Abrupt changes in eruptive flux therefore indicate that relief of chamber pressure cannot be the only control of the evolution of such eruptions. We present a simplified physics-based model of conduit flow during an explosive volcanic eruption that attempts to predict stress-induced conduit collapse linked to co-eruptive pressure loss. The model couples a simple two phase (gas-melt) 1-D conduit solution of the continuity and momentum equations with a Mohr-Coulomb failure condition for the conduit wall rock. First order models of volatile exsolution (i.e. phase mass transfer) and fragmentation are incorporated. The interphase interaction force changes dramatically between flow regimes, so smoothing of this force is critical for realistic results. Reductions in the interphase force lead to significant relative phase velocities, highlighting the deficiency of homogenous flow models. Lateral gas loss through conduit walls is incorporated using a membrane-diffusion model with depth dependent wall rock permeability. Rapid eruptive flux results in a decrease of chamber and conduit pressure, which leads to a critical deviatoric stress condition at the conduit wall. Analogous stress distributions have been analyzed for wellbores, where much work has been directed at determining conditions that lead to wellbore failure using Mohr-Coulomb failure theory. We extend this framework to cylindrical volcanic conduits, where large deviatoric stresses can develop co-eruptively leading to multiple distinct failure regimes depending on principal stress orientations. These failure regimes are categorized and possible implications for conduit flow are discussed, including cessation of eruption.

Aperiodic pressure pulsation under non optimal hydraulic turbine regimes at low swirl number

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skripkin, S. G.; Tsoy, M. A.; Kuibin, P. A.; Shtork, S. I.

2017-09-01

Off-design operating conditions of hydraulic turbines is hindered by pressure fluctuations in the draft tube of the turbine. A precessing helical vortex rope develops, which imperils the mechanical structure and limits the operation flexibility of hydropower station. Understanding of the underlying instabilities of precessing vortex rope at low swirl number is incomplete. In this paper flow regimes with different residual swirl is analysed, particular attention is paid to the regime with a small swirl parameter. Study defines upper and low boundaries of regime where aperiodic pressure surge is observed. Flow field at the runner exit is investigated by Laser Doppler Velocimetry and high-speed visualizations, which are complemented draft tube wall pressure measurements.

Nonlinear Response of Iceberg Melting to Ocean Currents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cenedese, C.; FitzMaurice, A.; Straneo, F.

2017-12-01

Icebergs calving into Greenlandic Fjords frequently experience strongly sheared flows over their draft, but the impact of this flow past the iceberg on the melt plumes generated along the iceberg sides is not fully captured by existing parameterizations. We present a series of novel laboratory experiments to determine the dependence of side submarine melt rates on a background flow. We show, for the first time, that two distinct regimes of melting exist depending on the melt plume behavior (side-attached or side-detached). These two regimes produce a nonlinear dependence of melt rate on velocity, and different distributions of meltwater in the water column. Iceberg meltwater may either be confined to a thin surface layer, when the melt plumes are side-attached, or mixed down to the iceberg draft, when the melt plumes are side-detached. In a two-layer vertically sheared flow the average flow speed in existing melt parameterizations gives an underestimate of the submarine melt rate, in part due to the nonlinearity of the dependence of melt rate on flow speed, but also because vertical shear in the velocity profile fundamentally changes the flow splitting around the ice block and consequently the velocity felt by the ice surface. Including this nonlinear velocity dependence in melting parameterizations applied to observed icebergs increases iceberg side melt in the attached regime, improving agreement with observations of iceberg submarine melt rates. We show that both attached and detached plume regimes are relevant to icebergs observed in a Greenland fjord.

Analytic expression for poloidal flow velocity in the banana regime

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Taguchi, M.

The poloidal flow velocity in the banana regime is calculated by improving the l = 1 approximation for the Fokker-Planck collision operator [M. Taguchi, Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 30, 1897 (1988)]. The obtained analytic expression for this flow, which can be used for general axisymmetric toroidal plasmas, agrees quite well with the recently calculated numerical results by Parker and Catto [Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 54, 085011 (2012)] in the full range of aspect ratio.

No Snow No Flow: How Montane Stream Networks Respond to Drought

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grant, G.; Nolin, A. W.; Selker, J. S.; Lewis, S.; Hempel, L. A.; Jefferson, A.; Walter, C.; Roques, C.

2015-12-01

Hydrologic extremes, such as drought, offer an exceptional opportunity to explore how runoff generation mechanisms and stream networks respond to changing precipitation regimes. The winter of 2014-2015 was the warmest on record in western Oregon, US, with record low snowpacks, and was followed by an anomalously warm, dry spring, resulting in historically low streamflows. But a year like 2015 is more than an outlier meteorological year. It provides a unique opportunity to test fundamental hypotheses for how montane hydrologic systems will respond to anticipated changes in amount and timing of recharge. In particular, the volcanic Cascade Mountains represent a "landscape laboratory" comprised of two distinct runoff regimes: the surface-flow dominated Western Cascade watersheds, with flashy streamflow regimes, rapid baseflow recession, and very low summer flows; and (b) the spring-fed High Cascade watersheds, with a slow-responding streamflow regime, and a long and sustained baseflow recession that maintains late summer streamflow through deep-groundwater contributions to high volume, coldwater springs. We hypothesize that stream network response to the extremely low snowpack and recharge varies sharply in these two regions. In surface flow dominated streams, the location of channel heads can migrate downstream, contracting the network longitudinally; wetted channel width and depth contract laterally as summer recession proceeds and flows diminish. In contrast, in spring-fed streams, channel heads "jump" to the next downstream spring when upper basin spring flow diminishes to zero. Downstream of flowing springs, wetted channel width and depth contract laterally as flows recede. To test these hypotheses, we conducted a field campaign to measure changing discharge, hydraulic geometry, and channel head location in both types of watersheds throughout the summer and early fall. Multiple cross-section sites were established on 6 streams representing both flow regime types on either side of the Cascade crest. We also took Isotopic water samples to determine recharge elevations of receding streams. Taken together these measurements reveal the processes by which drainage networks contract as flows diminish - a fundamental property of montane stream systems both now and in the future.

Variation character of stagnation point heat flux for hypersonic pointed bodies from continuum to rarefied flow states and its bridge function study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhihui; Bao, Lin; Tong, Binggang

2009-12-01

This paper is a research on the variation character of stagnation point heat flux for hypersonic pointed bodies from continuum to rarefied flow states by using theoretical analysis and numerical simulation methods. The newly developed near space hypersonic cruise vehicles have sharp noses and wingtips, which desires exact and relatively simple methods to estimate the stagnation point heat flux. With the decrease of the curvature radius of the leading edge, the flow becomes rarefied gradually, and viscous interaction effects and rarefied gas effects come forth successively, which results in that the classical Fay-Riddell equation under continuum hypothesis will become invalid and the variation of stagnation point heat flux is characterized by a new trend. The heat flux approaches the free molecular flow limit instead of an infinite value when the curvature radius of the leading edge tends to 0. The physical mechanism behind this phenomenon remains in need of theoretical study. Firstly, due to the fact that the whole flow regime can be described by Boltzmann equation, the continuum and rarefied flow are analyzed under a uniform framework. A relationship is established between the molecular collision insufficiency in rarefied flow and the failure of Fourier’s heat conduction law along with the increasing significance of the nonlinear heat flux. Then based on an inspiration drew from Burnett approximation, control factors are grasped and a specific heat flux expression containing the nonlinear term is designed in the stagnation region of hypersonic leading edge. Together with flow pattern analysis, the ratio of nonlinear to linear heat flux W r is theoretically obtained as a parameter which reflects the influence of nonlinear factors, i.e. a criterion to classify the hypersonic rarefied flows. Ultimately, based on the characteristic parameter W r , a bridge function with physical background is constructed, which predicts comparative reasonable results in coincidence well with DSMC and experimental data in the whole flow regime.

Life history theory predicts fish assemblage response to hydrologic regimes.

PubMed

Mims, Meryl C; Olden, Julian D

2012-01-01

The hydrologic regime is regarded as the primary driver of freshwater ecosystems, structuring the physical habitat template, providing connectivity, framing biotic interactions, and ultimately selecting for specific life histories of aquatic organisms. In the present study, we tested ecological theory predicting directional relationships between major dimensions of the flow regime and life history composition of fish assemblages in perennial free-flowing rivers throughout the continental United States. Using long-term discharge records and fish trait and survey data for 109 stream locations, we found that 11 out of 18 relationships (61%) tested between the three life history strategies (opportunistic, periodic, and equilibrium) and six hydrologic metrics (two each describing flow variability, predictability, and seasonality) were statistically significant (P < or = 0.05) according to quantile regression. Our results largely support a priori hypotheses of relationships between specific flow indices and relative prevalence of fish life history strategies, with 82% of all significant relationships observed supporting predictions from life history theory. Specifically, we found that (1) opportunistic strategists were positively related to measures of flow variability and negatively related to predictability and seasonality, (2) periodic strategists were positively related to high flow seasonality and negatively related to variability, and (3) the equilibrium strategists were negatively related to flow variability and positively related to predictability. Our study provides important empirical evidence illustrating the value of using life history theory to understand both the patterns and processes by which fish assemblage structure is shaped by adaptation to natural regimes of variability, predictability, and seasonality of critical flow events over broad biogeographic scales.

Precipitation regimes over central Greenland inferred from 5 years of ICECAPS observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pettersen, Claire; Bennartz, Ralf; Merrelli, Aronne J.; Shupe, Matthew D.; Turner, David D.; Walden, Von P.

2018-04-01

A novel method for classifying Arctic precipitation using ground based remote sensors is presented. Using differences in the spectral variation of microwave absorption and scattering properties of cloud liquid water and ice, this method can distinguish between different types of snowfall events depending on the presence or absence of condensed liquid water in the clouds that generate the precipitation. The classification reveals two distinct, primary regimes of precipitation over the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS): one originating from fully glaciated ice clouds and the other from mixed-phase clouds. Five years of co-located, multi-instrument data from the Integrated Characterization of Energy, Clouds, Atmospheric state, and Precipitation at Summit (ICECAPS) are used to examine cloud and meteorological properties and patterns associated with each precipitation regime. The occurrence and accumulation of the precipitation regimes are identified and quantified. Cloud and precipitation observations from additional ICECAPS instruments illustrate distinct characteristics for each regime. Additionally, reanalysis products and back-trajectory analysis show different synoptic-scale forcings associated with each regime. Precipitation over the central GIS exhibits unique microphysical characteristics due to the high surface elevations as well as connections to specific large-scale flow patterns. Snowfall originating from the ice clouds is coupled to deep, frontal cloud systems advecting up and over the southeast Greenland coast to the central GIS. These events appear to be associated with individual storm systems generated by low pressure over Baffin Bay and Greenland lee cyclogenesis. Snowfall originating from mixed-phase clouds is shallower and has characteristics typical of supercooled cloud liquid water layers, and slowly propagates from the south and southwest of Greenland along a quiescent flow above the GIS.

CFD modelling of liquid-solid transport in the horizontal eccentric annuli

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sayindla, Sneha; Challabotla, Niranjan Reddy

2017-11-01

In oil and gas drilling operations, different types of drilling fluids are used to transport the solid cuttings in an annulus between drill pipe and well casing. The inner pipe is often eccentric and flow inside the annulus can be laminar or turbulent regime. In the present work, Eulerian-Eulerian granular multiphase CFD model is developed to systematically investigate the effect of the rheology of the drilling fluid type (Newtonian and non-Newtonian), drill pipe eccentricity and inner pipe rotation on the efficiency of cuttings transport. Both laminar and turbulent flow regimes were considered. Frictional pressure drop is computed and compared with the flow loop experimental results reported in the literature. The results confirm that the annular frictional pressure loss in a fully eccentric annulus are significantly lesser than the concentric annulus. Inner pipe rotation improve the efficiency of the cuttings transport in laminar flow regime. Cuttings transport velocity and concentration distribution were analysed to predict the different flow patterns such as stationary bed, moving bed, heterogeneous and homogeneous bed formation.

Persistent Step-Flow Growth of Strained Films on Vicinal Substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Wei; Lee, Ho Nyung; Yoon, Mina; Christen, Hans M.; Lowndes, Douglas H.; Suo, Zhigang; Zhang, Zhenyu

2005-08-01

We propose a model of persistent step flow, emphasizing dominant kinetic processes and strain effects. Within this model, we construct a morphological phase diagram, delineating a regime of step flow from regimes of step bunching and island formation. In particular, we predict the existence of concurrent step bunching and island formation, a new growth mode that competes with step flow for phase space, and show that the deposition flux and temperature must be chosen within a window in order to achieve persistent step flow. The model rationalizes the diverse growth modes observed in pulsed laser deposition of SrRuO3 on SrTiO3.

Dust dynamics and diagnostic applications in quasi-neutral plasmas and magnetic fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhehui; Ticos, Catalin M.; Si, Jiahe; Delzanno, Gian Luca; Lapenta, Gianni; Wurden, Glen

2007-11-01

Little is known about dust dynamics in highly ionized quasi-neutral plasmas with ca. 1.0 e+20 per cubic meter density and ion temperature at a few eV and above, including in magnetic fusion. For example, dust motion in fusion, better known as UFO's, has been observed since 1980's but not explained. Solid understanding of dust dynamics is also important to International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) because of concerns about safety and dust contamination of fusion core. Compared with well studied strongly-coupled dusty plasma regime, new physics may arise in the higher density quasi-neutral plasma regime because of at least four orders of magnitude higher density and two orders of magnitude hotter ion temperature. Our recent laboratory experiments showed that plasma-flow drag force dominates over other forces in a quasi-neutral flowing plasma. In contrast, delicate balance among different forces in dusty plasma has led to many unique phenomena, in particular, the formation of dust crystal. Based on our experiments, we argue that 1) dust crystal will not form in the highly ionized plasmas with flows; 2) the UFO's are moving dust dragged by plasma flows; 3) dust can be used to measure plasma flow. Two diagnostic applications using dust for laboratory quasi-neutral plasmas and magnetic fusion will also be presented.

Conductive heat flux in VC-1 and the thermal regime of Valles caldera, Jemez Mountains, New Mexico ( USA).

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sass, J.H.; Morgan, P.

1988-01-01

Over 5% of heat in the western USA is lost through Quaternary silicic volcanic centers, including the Valles caldera in N central New Mexico. These centers are the sites of major hydrothermal activity and upper crustal metamorphism, metasomatism, and mineralization, producing associated geothermal resources. Presents new heat flow data from Valles caldera core hole 1 (VC-1), drilled in the SW margin of the Valles caldera. Thermal conductivities were measured on 55 segments of core from VC-1, waxed and wrapped to preserve fluids. These values were combined with temperature gradient data to calculate heat flow. Above 335 m, which is probably unsaturated, heat flow is 247 + or - 16 mW m-2. Inteprets the shallow thermal gradient data and the thermal regime at VC-1 to indicate a long-lived hydrothermal (and magmatic) system in the southwestern Valles caldera that has been maintained through the generation of shallow magma bodies during the long postcollapse history of the caldera. High heat flow at the VC-1 site is interpreted to result from hot water circulating below the base of the core hole, and we attribute the lower heat flow in the unsaturated zone is attributed to hydrologic recharge. -from Authors

Fluid mechanical dispersion of airborne pollutants inside urban street canyons subjecting to multi-component ventilation and unstable thermal stratifications.

PubMed

Mei, Shuo-Jun; Liu, Cheng-Wei; Liu, Di; Zhao, Fu-Yun; Wang, Han-Qing; Li, Xiao-Hong

2016-09-15

The pedestrian level pollutant transport in street canyons with multiple aspect ratios (H/W) is numerically investigated in the present work, regarding of various unstable thermal stratification scenarios and plain surrounding. Non-isothermal turbulent wind flow, temperature field and pollutant spread within and above the street canyons are solved by the realizable k-ε turbulence model along with the enhanced wall treatment. One-vortex flow regime is observed for shallow canyons with H/W=0.5, whereas multi-vortex flow regime is observed for deep canyons with H/W=2.0. Both one-vortex and multi-vortex regimes could be observed for the street canyons with H/W=1.0, where the secondary vortex could be initiated by the flow separation and intensified by unstable thermal stratification. Air exchange rate (AER) and pollutant retention time are adopted to respectively evaluate the street canyon ventilation and pollutant removal performance. A second-order polynomial functional relationship is established between AER and Richardson number (Ri). Similar functional relationship could be established between retention time and Ri, and it is only valid for canyons with one-vortex flow regime. In addition, retention time could be prolonged abruptly for canyons with multi-vortex flow regime. Very weak secondary vortex is presented at the ground level of deep canyons with mild stratification, where pollutants are highly accumulated. However, with the decrease of Ri, pollutant concentration adjacent to the ground reduces accordingly. Present research could be applied to guide the urban design and city planning for enhancing pedestrian environment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Wall-modeled large eddy simulation of high-lift devices from low to post-stall angle of attacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bodart, Julien; Larsson, Johan; Moin, Parviz

2013-11-01

The flow around a McDonnell-Douglas 30P/30N multi-element airfoil at the flight Reynolds number of 9 million (based on chord) is computed using LES with an equilibrium wall-model with special treatment for transitional flows. Several different angles of attack are considered, up to and including stall, challenging the wall-model in several flow regimes. The maximum lift coefficient, which is generally difficult to predict with RANS approaches, is accurately predicted, as compared to experiments performed in the NASA LPT wind-tunnel. NASA grant: NNX11AI60A.

An assessment of computational fluid dynamic techniques in the analysis and design of turbomachinery - The 1990 Freeman Scholar Lecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lakshminarayana, B.

1991-01-01

Various computational fluid dynamic techniques are reviewed focusing on the Euler and Navier-Stokes solvers with a brief assessment of boundary layer solutions, and quasi-3D and quasi-viscous techniques. Particular attention is given to a pressure-based method, explicit and implicit time marching techniques, a pseudocompressibility technique for incompressible flow, and zonal techniques. Recommendations are presented with regard to the most appropriate technique for various flow regimes and types of turbomachinery, incompressible and compressible flows, cascades, rotors, stators, liquid-handling, and gas-handling turbomachinery.

Influence of pioneer vegetation on the morphodynamic evolution of a river bed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwarzwälder, Kordula; Cuchet, Matilde; Schlagenhauser, Mathias

2016-04-01

In a natural river the morphology and the evolution of the river bed is highly influenced by the vegetation in and along this river bed. To estimate these effects and influences, a pre-study was conducted in a lab-flume in the outside area of the Oskar-von-Miller-Institute of the TUM. In this flume an alternating flow regime with a change between floods and standard discharge was mimicking a natural flow regime. The experiment was started with an uniform and plane sand area were the flow regime should built a nature-like morphology. During the experiment, seeds of Alfalfa were added and the sprouting plants could influence the formation of the riverbed. The changes in the morphology were measured using photogrammetry and also a standard Kinect system. The results of the measurements shall be used as basis for a 3D numerical simulation. In addition we analyzed different plants and their sprouting behavior under different growing conditions to ensure the use of the most appropriate ones for this set-up. The experimental performance was based on the experiments of Tal and Paola 2010. Tal and Paola 2010: EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS;Earth Surf. Process. Landforms 35, 1014-1028 (2010); Copyright Published online 9 February 2010 in Wiley InterScience; (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/esp.1908

Decision Support System for Evaluation of Gunnison River Flow Regimes With Respect To Resources of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

USGS Publications Warehouse

Auble, Gregor T.; Wondzell, Mark; Talbert, Colin

2009-01-01

This report describes and documents a decision support system for the Gunnison River in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. It is a macro-embedded EXCEL program that calculates and displays indicators representing valued characteristics or processes in the Black Canyon based on daily flows of the Gunnison River. The program is designed to easily accept input from downloaded stream gage records or output from the RIVERWARE reservoir operations model being used for the upstream Aspinall Unit. The decision support system is structured to compare as many as eight alternative flow regimes, where each alternative is represented by a daily sequence of at least 20 calendar years of streamflow. Indicators include selected flow statistics, riparian plant community distribution, clearing of box elder by inundation and scour, several measures of sediment mobilization, trout fry habitat, and federal reserved water rights. Calculation of variables representing National Park Service federal reserved water rights requires additional secondary input files pertaining to forecast and actual basin inflows and storage levels in Blue Mesa reservoir. Example input files representing a range of situations including historical, reconstructed natural, and simulated alternative reservoir operations are provided with the software.

Biological relevance of streamflow metrics: Regional and national perspectives

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carlisle, Daren M.; Grantham, Theodore E.; Eng, Kenny; Wolock, David M.

2017-01-01

Protecting the health of streams and rivers requires identifying ecologically significant attributes of the natural flow regime. Streamflow regimes are routinely quantified using a plethora of hydrologic metrics (HMs), most of which have unknown relevance to biological communities. At regional and national scales, we evaluated which of 509 commonly used HMs were associated with biological indicators of fish and invertebrate community integrity. We quantified alteration of each HM by using statistical models to predict site-specific natural baseline values for each of 728 sites across the USA where streamflow monitoring data were available concurrent with assessments of invertebrate or fish community integrity. We then ranked HMs according to their individual association with biological integrity based on random forest models that included HMs and other relevant covariates, such as land cover and stream chemistry. HMs were generally the most important predictors of biological integrity relative to the covariates. At a national scale, the most influential HMs were measures of depleted high flows, homogenization of flows, and erratic flows. Unique combinations of biologically relevant HMs were apparent among regions. We discuss the implications of our findings to the challenge of selecting HMs for streamflow research and management.

Determination of the hypersonic-continuum/rarefied-flow drag coefficient of the Viking lander capsule 1 aeroshell from flight data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blanchard, R. C.; Walberg, G. D.

1980-01-01

Results of an investigation to determine the full scale drag coefficient in the high speed, low density regime of the Viking lander capsule 1 entry vehicle are presented. The principal flight data used in the study were from onboard pressure, mass spectrometer, and accelerometer instrumentation. The hypersonic continuum flow drag coefficient was unambiguously obtained from pressure and accelerometer data; the free molecule flow drag coefficient was indirectly estimated from accelerometer and mass spectrometer data; the slip flow drag coefficient variation was obtained from an appropriate scaling of existing experimental sphere data. Comparison of the flight derived drag hypersonic continuum flow regime except for Reynolds numbers from 1000 to 100,000, for which an unaccountable difference between flight and ground test data of about 8% existed. The flight derived drag coefficients in the free molecule flow regime were considerably larger than those previously calculated with classical theory. The general character of the previously determined temperature profile was not changed appreciably by the results of this investigation; however, a slightly more symmetrical temperature variation at the highest altitudes was obtained.

Scaling properties reveal regulation of river flows in the Amazon through a forest reservoir

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salazar, Juan Fernando; Villegas, Juan Camilo; María Rendón, Angela; Rodríguez, Estiven; Hoyos, Isabel; Mercado-Bettín, Daniel; Poveda, Germán

2018-03-01

Many natural and social phenomena depend on river flow regimes that are being altered by global change. Understanding the mechanisms behind such alterations is crucial for predicting river flow regimes in a changing environment. Here we introduce a novel physical interpretation of the scaling properties of river flows and show that it leads to a parsimonious characterization of the flow regime of any river basin. This allows river basins to be classified as regulated or unregulated, and to identify a critical threshold between these states. We applied this framework to the Amazon river basin and found both states among its main tributaries. Then we introduce the forest reservoir hypothesis to describe the natural capacity of river basins to regulate river flows through land-atmosphere interactions (mainly precipitation recycling) that depend strongly on the presence of forests. A critical implication is that forest loss can force the Amazonian river basins from regulated to unregulated states. Our results provide theoretical and applied foundations for predicting hydrological impacts of global change, including the detection of early-warning signals for critical transitions in river basins.

Density-based global sensitivity analysis of sheet-flow travel time: Kinematic wave-based formulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hosseini, Seiyed Mossa; Ataie-Ashtiani, Behzad; Simmons, Craig T.

2018-04-01

Despite advancements in developing physics-based formulations to estimate the sheet-flow travel time (tSHF), the quantification of the relative impacts of influential parameters on tSHF has not previously been considered. In this study, a brief review of the physics-based formulations to estimate tSHF including kinematic wave (K-W) theory in combination with Manning's roughness (K-M) and with Darcy-Weisbach friction formula (K-D) over single and multiple planes is provided. Then, the relative significance of input parameters to the developed approaches is quantified by a density-based global sensitivity analysis (GSA). The performance of K-M considering zero-upstream and uniform flow depth (so-called K-M1 and K-M2), and K-D formulae to estimate the tSHF over single plane surface were assessed using several sets of experimental data collected from the previous studies. The compatibility of the developed models to estimate tSHF over multiple planes considering temporal rainfall distributions of Natural Resources Conservation Service, NRCS (I, Ia, II, and III) are scrutinized by several real-world examples. The results obtained demonstrated that the main controlling parameters of tSHF through K-D and K-M formulae are the length of surface plane (mean sensitivity index T̂i = 0.72) and flow resistance (mean T̂i = 0.52), respectively. Conversely, the flow temperature and initial abstraction ratio of rainfall have the lowest influence on tSHF (mean T̂i is 0.11 and 0.12, respectively). The significant role of the flow regime on the estimation of tSHF over a single and a cascade of planes are also demonstrated. Results reveal that the K-D formulation provides more precise tSHF over the single plane surface with an average percentage of error, APE equal to 9.23% (the APE for K-M1 and K-M2 formulae were 13.8%, and 36.33%, respectively). The superiority of Manning-jointed formulae in estimation of tSHF is due to the incorporation of effects from different flow regimes as flow moves downgradient that is affected by one or more factors including high excess rainfall intensities, low flow resistance, high degrees of imperviousness, long surfaces, steep slope, and domination of rainfall distribution as NRCS Type I, II, or III.

Flow regimes during immiscible displacement

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Armstrong, Ryan T.; Mcclure, James; Berrill, Mark A.

Fractional ow of immiscible phases occurs at the pore scale where grain surfaces and phases interfaces obstruct phase mobility. However, the larger scale behavior is described by a saturation-dependent phenomenological relationship called relative permeability. As a consequence, pore-scale parameters, such as phase topology and/ or geometry, and details of the flow regime cannot be directly related to Darcy-scale flow parameters. It is well understood that relative permeability is not a unique relationship of wetting-phase saturation and rather depends on the experimental conditions at which it is measured. Herein we use fast X-ray microcomputed tomography to image pore-scale phase arrangements duringmore » fractional flow and then forward simulate the flow regimes using the lattice-Boltzmann method to better understand the underlying pore-scale flow regimes and their influence on Darcy-scale parameters. We find that relative permeability is highly dependent on capillary number and that the Corey model fits the observed trends. At the pore scale, while phase topologies are continuously changing on the scale of individual pores, the Euler characteristic of the nonwetting phase (NWP) averaged over a sufficiently large field of view can describe the bulk topological characteristics; the Euler characteristic decreases with increasing capillary number resulting in an increase in relative permeability. Lastly, we quantify the fraction of NWP that flows through disconnected ganglion dynamics and demonstrate that this can be a significant fraction of the NWP flux for intermediate wetting-phase saturation. Furthermore, rate dependencies occur in our homogenous sample (without capillary end effect) and the underlying cause is attributed to ganglion flow that can significantly influence phase topology during the fractional flow of immiscible phases.« less

Flow regimes during immiscible displacement

DOE PAGES

Armstrong, Ryan T.; Mcclure, James; Berrill, Mark A.; ...

2017-02-01

Fractional ow of immiscible phases occurs at the pore scale where grain surfaces and phases interfaces obstruct phase mobility. However, the larger scale behavior is described by a saturation-dependent phenomenological relationship called relative permeability. As a consequence, pore-scale parameters, such as phase topology and/ or geometry, and details of the flow regime cannot be directly related to Darcy-scale flow parameters. It is well understood that relative permeability is not a unique relationship of wetting-phase saturation and rather depends on the experimental conditions at which it is measured. Herein we use fast X-ray microcomputed tomography to image pore-scale phase arrangements duringmore » fractional flow and then forward simulate the flow regimes using the lattice-Boltzmann method to better understand the underlying pore-scale flow regimes and their influence on Darcy-scale parameters. We find that relative permeability is highly dependent on capillary number and that the Corey model fits the observed trends. At the pore scale, while phase topologies are continuously changing on the scale of individual pores, the Euler characteristic of the nonwetting phase (NWP) averaged over a sufficiently large field of view can describe the bulk topological characteristics; the Euler characteristic decreases with increasing capillary number resulting in an increase in relative permeability. Lastly, we quantify the fraction of NWP that flows through disconnected ganglion dynamics and demonstrate that this can be a significant fraction of the NWP flux for intermediate wetting-phase saturation. Furthermore, rate dependencies occur in our homogenous sample (without capillary end effect) and the underlying cause is attributed to ganglion flow that can significantly influence phase topology during the fractional flow of immiscible phases.« less

Implicit unified gas-kinetic scheme for steady state solutions in all flow regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Yajun; Zhong, Chengwen; Xu, Kun

2016-06-01

This paper presents an implicit unified gas-kinetic scheme (UGKS) for non-equilibrium steady state flow computation. The UGKS is a direct modeling method for flow simulation in all regimes with the updates of both macroscopic flow variables and microscopic gas distribution function. By solving the macroscopic equations implicitly, a predicted equilibrium state can be obtained first through iterations. With the newly predicted equilibrium state, the evolution equation of the gas distribution function and the corresponding collision term can be discretized in a fully implicit way for fast convergence through iterations as well. The lower-upper symmetric Gauss-Seidel (LU-SGS) factorization method is implemented to solve both macroscopic and microscopic equations, which improves the efficiency of the scheme. Since the UGKS is a direct modeling method and its physical solution depends on the mesh resolution and the local time step, a physical time step needs to be fixed before using an implicit iterative technique with a pseudo-time marching step. Therefore, the physical time step in the current implicit scheme is determined by the same way as that in the explicit UGKS for capturing the physical solution in all flow regimes, but the convergence to a steady state speeds up through the adoption of a numerical time step with large CFL number. Many numerical test cases in different flow regimes from low speed to hypersonic ones, such as the Couette flow, cavity flow, and the flow passing over a cylinder, are computed to validate the current implicit method. The overall efficiency of the implicit UGKS can be improved by one or two orders of magnitude in comparison with the explicit one.

Hydrograph monitoring and analysis for sustainable karst water management in Nyadeng Spring, East Borneo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Widyastuti, M.; Fatchurohman, H.; Fathoni, W. A.; Hakim, A. A.; Haryono, E.

2018-04-01

Karst aquifer stores abundant water resources within its matrix, conduits, and intergranular pores. Karst aquifer plays an important role in providing water supply, especially in the areas nearby that commonly dry and lack of surface water resources. Karst spring hydrograph analysis is very fundamental step to–assess and determines the condition of the catchment area in karst terrain. Recession curve is believed to be the most stable part in single flood hydrograph that represents the aquifer characteristics. Nyadeng is one of the most significant karst springs that located in Merabu Karst Area, East Borneo. Villagers in Merabu highly depend on Nyadeng Spring for fulfilled their freshwater need. Hydrograph monitoring has been initiated for one year in Nyadeng Spring as a preliminary action for karst water management in Merabu. Water level data series obtained using automatic water level data logger and then correlated with manual discharge measurement to generate stage-discharge rating curve. The stage-discharge rating curve formula for Nyadeng Spring calculated as y = 0,0102e5,8547x with r2 value = 0.8759. From the combination of several single flood events, Master Recession Curve (MRC) was generated to determine flow regime as the main consideration for karstification degree calculation. From the MRC result, flow regimes formula determined as Qt = 3.2-0.001t + 1.2(1-0.012t)+1.6(1-0.035t) indicated that one sub-regime with laminar flow and two sub-regimes with turbulent flow existed. From the MRC formula, the degree of karstification in Nyadeng Spring classified at seventh scale (developed karstification of the aquifer) based on Malik’s karstification degree (2012). The degree of karstification in Nyadeng Spring indicates that the aquifer formed by large conduit channels, fissures, and macro fissures which are able to provide significant water sources that can be utilized for multi purposes. Therefore, it is concluded that spring hydrograph monitoring provide essential information in order to establish a careful water resources management actions.

A novel approach to analysing the regimes of temporary streams in relation to their controls on the composition and structure of aquatic biota

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gallart, F.; Prat, N.; García-Roger, E. M.; Latron, J.; Rieradevall, M.; Llorens, P.; Barberá, G. G.; Brito, D.; De Girolamo, A. M.; Lo Porto, A.; Buffagni, A.; Erba, S.; Neves, R.; Nikolaidis, N. P.; Perrin, J. L.; Querner, E. P.; Quiñonero, J. M.; Tournoud, M. G.; Tzoraki, O.; Skoulikidis, N.; Gómez, R.; Sánchez-Montoya, M. M.; Froebrich, J.

2012-09-01

Temporary streams are those water courses that undergo the recurrent cessation of flow or the complete drying of their channel. The structure and composition of biological communities in temporary stream reaches are strongly dependent on the temporal changes of the aquatic habitats determined by the hydrological conditions. Therefore, the structural and functional characteristics of aquatic fauna to assess the ecological quality of a temporary stream reach cannot be used without taking into account the controls imposed by the hydrological regime. This paper develops methods for analysing temporary streams' aquatic regimes, based on the definition of six aquatic states that summarize the transient sets of mesohabitats occurring on a given reach at a particular moment, depending on the hydrological conditions: Hyperrheic, Eurheic, Oligorheic, Arheic, Hyporheic and Edaphic. When the hydrological conditions lead to a change in the aquatic state, the structure and composition of the aquatic community changes according to the new set of available habitats. We used the water discharge records from gauging stations or simulations with rainfall-runoff models to infer the temporal patterns of occurrence of these states in the Aquatic States Frequency Graph we developed. The visual analysis of this graph is complemented by the development of two metrics which describe the permanence of flow and the seasonal predictability of zero flow periods. Finally, a classification of temporary streams in four aquatic regimes in terms of their influence over the development of aquatic life is updated from the existing classifications, with stream aquatic regimes defined as Permanent, Temporary-pools, Temporary-dry and Episodic. While aquatic regimes describe the long-term overall variability of the hydrological conditions of the river section and have been used for many years by hydrologists and ecologists, aquatic states describe the availability of mesohabitats in given periods that determine the presence of different biotic assemblages. This novel concept links hydrological and ecological conditions in a unique way. All these methods were implemented with data from eight temporary streams around the Mediterranean within the MIRAGE project. Their application was a precondition to assessing the ecological quality of these streams.

The effect of neutrally buoyant finite-size particles on channel flows in the laminar-turbulent transition regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loisel, Vincent; Abbas, Micheline; Masbernat, Olivier; Climent, Eric

2013-12-01

The presence of finite-size particles in a channel flow close to the laminar-turbulent transition is simulated with the Force Coupling Method which allows two-way coupling with the flow dynamics. Spherical particles with channel height-to-particle diameter ratio of 16 are initially randomly seeded in a fluctuating flow above the critical Reynolds number corresponding to single phase flow relaminarization. When steady-state is reached, the particle volume fraction is homogeneously distributed in the channel cross-section (ϕ ≅ 5%) except in the near-wall region where it is larger due to inertia-driven migration. Turbulence statistics (intensity of velocity fluctuations, small-scale vortical structures, wall shear stress) calculated in the fully coupled two-phase flow simulations are compared to single-phase flow data in the transition regime. It is observed that particles increase the transverse r.m.s. flow velocity fluctuations and they break down the flow coherent structures into smaller, more numerous and sustained eddies, preventing the flow to relaminarize at the single-phase critical Reynolds number. When the Reynolds number is further decreased and the suspension flow becomes laminar, the wall friction coefficient recovers the evolution of the laminar single-phase law provided that the suspension viscosity is used in the Reynolds number definition. The residual velocity fluctuations in the suspension correspond to a regime of particulate shear-induced agitation.

Visualization studies of turbulent transition flows in a porous medium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bilardo, V. J.

1983-01-01

Results are reported for flow-visualization studies of the flow regimes of water passing through a porous medium consisting of cylindrical glass and plexiglas rods arranged in a complex and fixed three-dimensional geometry. The Reynolds number (Re) varied from 50 to 700; the flow was visualized by injecting a 5% potassium permanganate dye solution into the pores and photographing the resulting dye streaklines with both a still camera and a movie camera. The results indicate that four distinct flow regimes exist in the porous medium: (1) Darcy or creeping flow up to Re = 3; (2) steady inertia-dominated laminar flow for Re = 3-150; (3) unsteady transitional laminar flow for Re = 150-250; and (4) fully turbulent flow for Re greater than 250. It is concluded that a laminar wake instability mechanism typical of the external flow about bluff bodies may be responsible for the overall transition from laminar to turbulent flow in porous media.

Stability of Gas Hydrates on Continental Margins: Implications of Subsurface Fluid Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nunn, J. A.

2008-12-01

Gas hydrates are found at or just below the sediment-ocean interface in continental margins settings throughout the world. They are also found on land in high latitude regions such as the north slope of Alaska. While gas hydrate occurrence is common, gas hydrates are stable under a fairly restricted range of temperatures and pressures. In a purely conductive thermal regime, near surface temperatures depend on basal heat flow, thermal conductivity of sediments, and temperature at the sediment-water or sediment-air interface. Thermal conductivity depends on porosity and sediment composition. Gas hydrates are most stable in areas of low heat flow and high thermal conductivity which produce low temperature gradients. Older margins with thin continental crust and coarse grained sediments would tend to be colder. Another potentially important control on subsurface temperatures is advective heat transport by recharge/discharge of groundwater. Upward fluid flow depresses temperature gradients over a purely conductive regime with the same heat flow which would make gas hydrates more stable. Downward fluid flow would have the opposite effect. However, regional scale fluid flow may substantially increase heat flow in discharge areas which would destabilize gas hydrates. For example, discharge of topographically driven groundwater along the coast in the Central North Slope of Alaska has increased surface heat flow in some areas by more than 50% over a purely conductive thermal regime. Fluid flow also alters the pressure regime which can affect gas hydrate stability. Modeling results suggest a positive feedback between gas hydrate formation/disassociation and fluid flow. Disassociation of gas hydrates or permafrost due to global warming could increase permeability. This could enhance fluid flow and associated heat transport causing a more rapid and/or more spatially extensive gas hydrate disassociation than predicted solely from conductive propagation of temporal changes in surface or water bottom temperature. Model results from both the North Slope of Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico are compared.

Restoring ecological integrity of great rivers: Historical hydrographs aid in defining reference conditions for the Missouri River

USGS Publications Warehouse

Galat, D.L.; Lipkin, R.

2000-01-01

Restoring the ecological integrity of regulated large rivers necessitates characterizing the natural flow regime. We applied 'Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration' to assess the natural range of variation of the Missouri River's flow regime at 11 locations before (1929-1948) and after (1967-1996) mainstem impoundment. The 3768 km long Missouri River was divided into three sections: upper basin least-altered from flow regulation, including the lower Yellowstone River; middle basin inter-reservoir, and lower basin channelized. Flow regulation was associated with a reduction in magnitude and duration of the annual flood pulse, an increase in magnitude and duration of annual discharge minima, a reduction in frequency of annual low-flow pulses, earlier timing of March-October low-flow pulses, and a general increase in frequency of flow reversals with a reduction in the rate of change in river flows. Hydrologic alterations were smallest at two least-altered upper-basin sites and most frequent and severe in inter-reservoir and upper-channelized river sections. The influence of reservoir operations on depressing the annual flood pulse was partially offset by tributary inflow in the lower 600 km of river. Reservoir operations could be modified to more closely approximate the 1929-1948 flow regime to establish a simulated natural riverine ecosystem. For inter-reservoir and upper channelized-river sections, we recommend periodic controlled flooding through managed reservoir releases during June and July; increased magnitude, frequency and duration of annual high-flow pulses; and increased annual rates of hydrograph rises and falls. All of the regulated Missouri River would benefit from reduced reservoir discharges during August-February, modified timing of reservoir releases and a reduced number of annual hydrograph reversals. Assessment of ecological responses to a reregulation of Missouri River flows that more closely approximates the natural flow regime should then be used in an adaptive fashion to further adjust reservoir operations.

Run-of-river power plants in Alpine regions: Whither optimal capacity?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazzaro, G.; Botter, G.

2015-07-01

Although run-of-river hydropower represents a key source of renewable energy, it cannot prevent stresses on river ecosystems and human well-being. This is especially true in Alpine regions, where the outflow of a plant is placed several kilometers downstream of the intake, inducing the depletion of river reaches of considerable length. Here multiobjective optimization is used in the design of the capacity of run-of-river plants to identify optimal trade-offs between two contrasting objectives: the maximization of the profitability and the minimization of the hydrologic disturbance between the intake and the outflow. The latter is evaluated considering different flow metrics: mean discharge, temporal autocorrelation, and streamflow variability. Efficient and Pareto-optimal plant sizes are devised for two representative case studies belonging to the Piave river (Italy). Our results show that the optimal design capacity is strongly affected by the flow regime at the plant intake. In persistent regimes with a reduced flow variability, the optimal trade-off between economic exploitation and hydrologic disturbance is obtained for a narrow range of capacities sensibly smaller than the economic optimum. In erratic regimes featured by an enhanced flow variability, instead, the Pareto front is discontinuous and multiple trade-offs can be identified, which imply either smaller or larger plants compared to the economic optimum. In particular, large capacities reduce the impact of the plant on the streamflow variability at seasonal and interannual time scale. Multiobjective analysis could provide a clue for the development of policy actions based on the evaluation of the environmental footprint of run-of-river plants.

Flow regime, temperature, and biotic interactions drive differential declines of trout species under climate change

PubMed Central

Wenger, Seth J.; Isaak, Daniel J.; Luce, Charles H.; Neville, Helen M.; Fausch, Kurt D.; Dunham, Jason B.; Dauwalter, Daniel C.; Young, Michael K.; Elsner, Marketa M.; Rieman, Bruce E.; Hamlet, Alan F.; Williams, Jack E.

2011-01-01

Broad-scale studies of climate change effects on freshwater species have focused mainly on temperature, ignoring critical drivers such as flow regime and biotic interactions. We use downscaled outputs from general circulation models coupled with a hydrologic model to forecast the effects of altered flows and increased temperatures on four interacting species of trout across the interior western United States (1.01 million km2), based on empirical statistical models built from fish surveys at 9,890 sites. Projections under the 2080s A1B emissions scenario forecast a mean 47% decline in total suitable habitat for all trout, a group of fishes of major socioeconomic and ecological significance. We project that native cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii, already excluded from much of its potential range by nonnative species, will lose a further 58% of habitat due to an increase in temperatures beyond the species’ physiological optima and continued negative biotic interactions. Habitat for nonnative brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis and brown trout Salmo trutta is predicted to decline by 77% and 48%, respectively, driven by increases in temperature and winter flood frequency caused by warmer, rainier winters. Habitat for rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, is projected to decline the least (35%) because negative temperature effects are partly offset by flow regime shifts that benefit the species. These results illustrate how drivers other than temperature influence species response to climate change. Despite some uncertainty, large declines in trout habitat are likely, but our findings point to opportunities for strategic targeting of mitigation efforts to appropriate stressors and locations. PMID:21844354

Flow regime, temperature, and biotic interactions drive differential declines of trout species under climate change

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wenger, S.J.; Isaak, D.J.; Luce, C.H.; Neville, H.M.; Fausch, K.D.; Dunham, J.B.; Dauwalter, D.C.; Young, M.K.; Elsner, M.M.; Rieman, B.E.; Hamlet, A.F.; Williams, J.E.

2011-01-01

Broad-scale studies of climate change effects on freshwater species have focused mainly on temperature, ignoring critical drivers such as flow regime and biotic interactions. We use downscaled outputs from general circulation models coupled with a hydrologic model to forecast the effects of altered flows and increased temperatures on four interacting species of trout across the interior western United States (1.01 million km2), based on empirical statistical models built from fish surveys at 9,890 sites. Projections under the 2080s A1B emissions scenario forecast a mean 47% decline in total suitable habitat for all trout, a group of fishes of major socioeconomic and ecological significance. We project that native cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii, already excluded from much of its potential range by nonnative species, will lose a further 58% of habitat due to an increase in temperatures beyond the species' physiological optima and continued negative biotic interactions. Habitat for nonnative brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis and brown trout Salmo trutta is predicted to decline by 77% and 48%, respectively, driven by increases in temperature and winter flood frequency caused by warmer, rainier winters. Habitat for rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, is projected to decline the least (35%) because negative temperature effects are partly offset by flow regime shifts that benefit the species. These results illustrate how drivers other than temperature influence species response to climate change. Despite some uncertainty, large declines in trout habitat are likely, but our findings point to opportunities for strategic targeting of mitigation efforts to appropriate stressors and locations.

Mesoscale Dynamical Regimes in the Midlatitudes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Craig, G. C.; Selz, T.

2018-01-01

The atmospheric mesoscales are characterized by a complex variety of meteorological phenomena that defy simple classification. Here a full space-time spectral analysis is carried out, based on a 7 day convection-permitting simulation of springtime midlatitude weather on a large domain. The kinetic energy is largest at synoptic scales, and on the mesoscale it is largely confined to an "advective band" where space and time scales are related by a constant of proportionality which corresponds to a velocity scale of about 10 m s-1. Computing the relative magnitude of different terms in the governing equations allows the identification of five dynamical regimes. These are tentatively identified as quasi-geostrophic flow, propagating gravity waves, stationary gravity waves related to orography, acoustic modes, and a weak temperature gradient regime, where vertical motions are forced by diabatic heating.

Geo-Hydro Statistical Characterization of Preferential Flow and Transport Processes in Karst Groundwater Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anaya, A. A.; Padilla, I. Y.; Macchiavelli, R. E.

2011-12-01

Karst groundwater systems are highly productive and provide an important fresh water resource for human development and ecological integrity. Their high productivity is often associated with conduit flow and high matrix permeability. The same characteristics that make these aquifers productive also make them highly vulnerable to contamination and a likely for contaminant exposure. Of particular interest are chlorinated organic contaminants and phthalates derived from industrial solvents and plastic by-products. These chemicals have been identified as potential precursors of pre-term birth, a leading cause of neonatal complications with a significant health and societal cost. The general objectives of this work are to: (1) develop fundamental knowledge and determine the processes controlling the release, mobility, persistence, and possible pathways of contaminants in karst groundwater systems, and (2) characterize transport processes in conduit and diffusion-dominated flow under base flow and storm flow conditions. The work presented herein focuses on the development of geo-hydro statistical tools to characterize flow and transport processes under different flow regimes. Multidimensional, laboratory-scale Geo-Hydrobed models were developed and tested for this purpose. The models consist of stainless-steel tanks containing karstified limestone blocks collected from the karst aquifer formation of northern Puerto Rico. The models a network of sampling wells to monitor flow, pressure, and solute concentrations temporally and spatially. Experimental work entailed making a series of point injections in wells while monitoring the hydraulic response in other wells. Statistical mixed models were applied to spatial probabilities of hydraulic response and weighted injected volume data, and were used to determinate the best spatial correlation structure to represent paths of preferential flow in the limestone units under different groundwater flow regimes. Preliminary testing of the karstified models show that the system can be used to represent the variable transport regime characterized by conduit and diffuses flow in the karst systems. Initial hydraulic characterization indicates a highly heterogeneous system resulting in large preferential flow components. Future works involve characterization of dual porosity system using conservative tracers, fate and transport experiments using phthalates and chlorinated solvents, geo-temporal statistical modeling, and the testing of "green" remediation technologies in karst groundwater. This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Savannah River (Grant Award No. DE-FG09-07SR22571), and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS, Grant Award No. P42ES017198).

Effect of perforation on flow past a conic cylinder at Re = 100: vortex-shedding pattern and force history

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, L. M.; Zhong, X. F.; Wu, Y. X.

2017-09-01

The flow past a circular-section cylinder with a conic shroud perforated with four holes at the peak was simulated numerically at Re=100 , considering two factors, viz. the angle of attack and the diameter of the holes. The effects of the perforated conic shroud on the vortex shedding pattern in the near wake was mainly investigated, as well as the time history of the drag and lift forces. In the investigated parameter space, three flow regimes were generally identified, corresponding to weak, moderate, and strong disturbance effects. In regime I, the wake can mainly be described by alternately shedding Kármán or Kármán-like vortices. In regime II, the spanwise vortices are obviously disturbed along the span due to the appearance of additional vorticity components and their interactions with the spanwise vortices, but still shed in synchronization along the spanwise direction. In regime III, the typical Kármán vortices partially or totally disappear, and some new vortex shedding patterns appear, such as Ω -type, obliquely shedding, and crossed spanwise vortices with opposite sign. Corresponding to these complex vortex shedding patterns in the near wake, the fluid forces no longer oscillate regularly at a single vortex shedding frequency, but rather with a lower modulation frequency and multiple amplitudes. An overview of these flow regimes is presented.

NASA's hypersonic fluid and thermal physics program (Aerothermodynamics)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Graves, R. A.; Hunt, J. L.

1985-01-01

This survey paper gives an overview of NASA's hypersonic fluid and thermal physics program (recently renamed aerothermodynamics). The purpose is to present the elements of, example results from, and rationale and projection for this program. The program is based on improving the fundamental understanding of aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic flow phenomena over hypersonic vehicles in the continuum, transitional, and rarefied flow regimes. Vehicle design capabilities, computational fluid dynamics, computational chemistry, turbulence modeling, aerothermal loads, orbiter flight data analysis, orbiter experiments, laser photodiagnostics, and facilities are discussed.

Subcooled flow boiling critical heat flux (CHF) and its application to fusion energy components. Part II. A review of microconvective, experimental, and correlational aspects

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boyd, R.D.

Microconvective, instability, experimental, and correlational aspects of subcooled flow boiling critical heat flux (CHF) are summarized. The present understanding of CHF in subcooled flow boiling is reviewed and research directions that will permit the accommodation of higher heat fluxes are outlined. This survey (Parts I and II), which contains a representative coverage of the literature over the last 30 years, is concerned only with CHF in the subcooled flow boiling regime, and unless otherwise noted, all references to CHF are confined to that regime.

Axisymmetric Plume Simulations with NASA's DSMC Analysis Code

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stewart, B. D.; Lumpkin, F. E., III

2012-01-01

A comparison of axisymmetric Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) Analysis Code (DAC) results to analytic and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solutions in the near continuum regime and to 3D DAC solutions in the rarefied regime for expansion plumes into a vacuum is performed to investigate the validity of the newest DAC axisymmetric implementation. This new implementation, based on the standard DSMC axisymmetric approach where the representative molecules are allowed to move in all three dimensions but are rotated back to the plane of symmetry by the end of the move step, has been fully integrated into the 3D-based DAC code and therefore retains all of DAC s features, such as being able to compute flow over complex geometries and to model chemistry. Axisymmetric DAC results for a spherically symmetric isentropic expansion are in very good agreement with a source flow analytic solution in the continuum regime and show departure from equilibrium downstream of the estimated breakdown location. Axisymmetric density contours also compare favorably against CFD results for the R1E thruster while temperature contours depart from equilibrium very rapidly away from the estimated breakdown surface. Finally, axisymmetric and 3D DAC results are in very good agreement over the entire plume region and, as expected, this new axisymmetric implementation shows a significant reduction in computer resources required to achieve accurate simulations for this problem over the 3D simulations.

Improved analysis of transient temperature data from permanent down-hole gauges (PDGs)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yiqun; Zheng, Shiyi; Wang, Qi

2017-08-01

With the installation of permanent down-hole gauges (PDGs) during oil field development, large volumes of high resolution and continuous down-hole information are obtainable. The interpretation of these real-time temperature and pressure data can optimize well performance, provide information about the reservoir and continuously calibrate the reservoir model. Although the dynamic temperature data have been interpreted in practice to predict flow profiling and provide characteristic information of the reservoir, almost all of the approaches rely on established non-isothermal models which depend on thermodynamic parameters. Another problem comes from the temperature transient analysis (TTA), which is underutilized compared with pressure transient analysis (PTA). In this study, several model-independent methods of TTA were performed. The entire set of PDG data consists of many flow events. By utilizing the wavelet transform, the exact points of flow-rate changes can be located. The flow regime changes, for example, from early time linear flow to later time pseudo-radial flow, among every transient period with constant flow-rate. For the early time region (ETR) that is caused by flow-rate change operations, the TTA, along with the PTA can greatly reduce the uncertainties in flow regime diagnosis. Then, the temperature variations during ETR were examined to infer the true reservoir temperature history, and the relationships between the wavelet detailed coefficients and the flow-rate changes were analysed. For the scenarios with constant reservoir-well parameters, the detailed flow-rate history can be generated by calculating the coefficient of relationship in advance. For later times, the flow regime changes to pseudo-radial flow. An analytical solution was introduced to describe the sand-face temperature. The formation parameters, such as permeability and skin factor, were estimated with the previously calculated flow-rate. It is necessary to analyse temperature variation to overcome data limitation problems when information from other down-hole tools (e.g. expensive but unstable flow meters) is insufficient. This study shows the success in wellbore storage regime diagnosis, flow-rate history reconstruction, and formation parameters estimation using transient temperature data.

Design of a Data Catalogue for Perdigão-2017 Field Experiment: Establishing the Relevant Parameters, Post-Processing Techniques and Users Access

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palma, J. L.; Belo-Pereira, M.; Leo, L. S.; Fernando, J.; Wildmann, N.; Gerz, T.; Rodrigues, C. V.; Lopes, A. S.; Lopes, J. C.

2017-12-01

Perdigão is the largest of a series of wind-mapping studies embedded in the on-going NEWA (New European Wind Atlas) Project. The intensive observational period of the Perdigão field experiment resulted in an unprecedented volume of data, covering several wind conditions through 46 consecutive days between May and June 2017. For researchers looking into specific events, it is time consuming to scrutinise the datasets looking for appropriate conditions. Such task becomes harder if the parameters of interest were not measured directly, instead requiring their computation from the raw datasets. This work will present the e-Science platform developed by University of Porto for the Perdigao dataset. The platform will assist scientists of Perdigao and the larger scientific community in extrapolating the datasets associated to specific flow regimes of interest as well as automatically performing post-processing/filtering operations internally in the platform. We will illustrate the flow regime categories identified in Perdigao based on several parameters such as weather type classification, cloud characteristics, as well as stability regime indicators (Brunt-Väisälä frequency, Scorer parameter, potential temperature inversion heights, dimensionless Richardson and Froude numbers) and wind regime indicators. Examples of some of the post-processing techniques available in the e-Science platform, such as the Savitzky-Golay low-pass filtering technique, will be also presented.

Influence of polymer additives on turbulence in von Karman swirling flow between two disks. II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burnishev, Yuri; Steinberg, Victor

2016-03-01

We present the experimental studies of the influence of polymer additives on the statistical and scaling properties of the fully developed turbulent regime in a von Karman swirling flow driven either by the smooth or bladed disks using only the global measurements of torque Γ and pressure p fluctuations in water- and water-sugar-based solutions of different viscosities, or elasticity El, and different polymer concentrations ϕ as a function of Re in the same apparatus. There are three highlights achieved and reported in the paper: (i) An observation of turbulent drag reduction (TDR) at both the inertial and viscous flow forcing, in a contradiction to a currently accepted opinion that only the viscous forcing leads to TDR, and the unexpected drastic difference in the transition to the fully developed turbulent and TDR regimes in von Karman swirling flow of water-based polymer solutions depending on the way of the forcing; (ii) a continuous transition to TDR in both the normalized torque drop and the rms pressure fluctuations drop and universality in scaling behavior of Cf in an agreement with theoretical predictions; and (iii) the dramatic differences in the appearance of the frequency power spectra of Γ and in particular p due to the different ways of the forcing are also observed. We discuss and summarize further the results in accordance with these three main achievements. The main message of these studies is that both the inertial forcing and viscous forcing of von Karman swirling flow between two counter-rotating disks lead to TDR in the sharp contrast to the currently accepted opinion [O. Cadot et al., "Turbulent drag reduction in a closed flow system: Boundary layer versus bulk effects," Phys. Fluids 10, 426 (1998); D. Bonn et al., "From scale scales to large scales in three-dimensional turbulence: The effect of diluted polymers," Phys. Rev. E 47, R28 (1993); and D. Bonn et al., "Turbulent drag reduction by polymers," J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 17, S1195 (2005)] that TDR can be observed only at the viscous driving. In this observation, Cadot et al. and Bonn et al., relate to exclusively boundary effect, whereas the existence of TDR in both ways of the flow forcing suggests that both boundary and bulk effects are responsible for TDR. The unexpected result of the striking difference in the transition to the fully developed turbulent and TDR regimes and in their properties in von Karman swirling flow of water-based polymer solutions for the viscous and inertial forcing is reported. For the viscous forcing, just the single turbulent regime is found with the transition values R ec turb = R ec T D R ≃ ( 4 . 8 ± 0 . 2 ) × 1 0 5 independent of polymer concentration ϕ, while for the inertial forcing two turbulent regimes are revealed: fully developed turbulence and the TDR regime with the transition values R ec turb < R ec T D R and both depending on ϕ. Thus in the case of the viscous forcing, the onset to turbulence is not altered by the addition of polymers in the contrast to the inertial forcing, where early turbulence is found. Both regimes differ by the scaling exponents of the fundamental turbulent characteristics, by the dependence of skewness and flatness of probability density functions of p on Re, and by the drastically different frequency power spectra of Γ and p with the different dependencies of their frequency peaks on ϕ. It is also demonstrated that the transition to the TDR state is a continuous one for both Γ ¯ and prms in accord with theoretical arguments and simulations presented in the work of Boffetta et al. ["Drag reduction in the turbulent Kolmogorov flow," Phys. Rev. E 71, 036307 (2005)]. Indeed, Cf presented as a function of R e / R ec T D R for different El show impressive collapse of the data and universal behavior above Rc T D R with the functional dependencies in a full agreement with the prediction from the numerical simulations (Boffetta et al.). Moreover, the crucial issue for the existence of TDR followed from the analysis of stresses in the TDR model is also satisfied in the experiment (Boffetta et al.). As pointed out in the work of Boffetta et al., understanding the reasons of this inequality meaning that the larger effectiveness of the momentum transfer to velocity fluctuations than to elastic stress would reveal the TDR physical mechanism. The power spectra of both Γ and p in the case of the inertial forcing are characterized by the emerging pronounced peaks and their higher harmonics in parallel with up to two orders of magnitude reduction of low frequency fluctuation amplitudes in both the water- and water-sugar-based polymer solutions compared with the power spectra for the Newtonian solvents. The peaks appear at R e ≥ R ec T D R and their normalized peak frequency fp/frot = 0.43 ± 0.02 is independent of El, ϕ, and Re. These observations agree with the numerical results, where the enhancement of the main flow compared to the Newtonian case and the strong reduction of turbulent fluctuations were also observed and quantified. On the other hand, in the case of the viscous forcing, polymers do not alter the appearance of the power spectra of p compared with water, though the scaled peak frequencies fp/frot vary with Re for all ϕ from unity at smaller Re to fp/frot = 0.6 ± 0.02 independent of ϕ and Re in the turbulent regime. Thus the inertial forcing turns out to be much more effective in the pumping energy from turbulent fluctuations into the main vortex due to stronger polymer stretching in the TDR regime that also reveals in more pronounced TDR. We suggest an explanation of the observed effects.

[Low-Frequency Flow Oscillation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bragg, Michael B.

1997-01-01

The results of the research conducted under this grant are presented in detail in three Master theses, by Heinrich, Balow, and Broeren. Additional analysis of the experimental data can be found in two AIAA Journal articles and two conference papers. Citations for all of the studies' publications can be found in the bibliography which is attached. The objective of Heinrich's study was to document the low-frequency flow oscillation on the LRN-1007 airfoil, which had been previously observed at low Reynolds number, to determine its origin, and explore the phenomenon at higher Reynolds number. Heinrich performed detailed flow visualization on the airfoil using surface fluorescent oil and laser-sheet off-body visualization. A large leading-edge separation bubble and trailing-edge separation was identified on the airfoil just prior to the onset of the unsteady stall flow oscillation. From the laser-sheet data, the unsteady flow appeared as a massive boundary-layer separation followed by flow reattachment. Hot-wire data were taken in the wake to identify the presence of the flow oscillation and the dominant frequency. The oscillation was found in the flow from a Reynolds number of 0.3 to 1.3 x 10 exp 6. The Strouhal number based on airfoil projected height was nominally 0.02 and increased slightly with increasing Reynolds number and significantly with increasing airfoil angle of attack. Balow focused his research on the leading-edge separation bubble which was hypothesized to be the origin of the low-frequency oscillation. Initially, experimental measurements in the bubble at the onset of the low-frequency oscillation were attempted to study the characteristics of the bubble and explain possible relationships to the shear-layer-flapping phenomena. Unfortunately, the bubble proved to be extremely sensitive to the probe interference and it drastically reduced the size of the bubble. These detailed measurements were then abandoned by Balow. However, this led to a series of tests where the leading-edge bubble and trailing-edge separation were altered and the affect on the flow-oscillation studied. Balow found that by tripping the airfoil boundary-layer with "zigzag" tape ahead of bubble separation, the bubble was effectively eliminated mid the oscillation suppressed. Wake survey drag measurements showed a drastic reduction in airfoil drag when the bubble and oscillation were eliminated. Using the "zigzag" tape, the trailing-edge separation was moved downstream approximately 5 percent chord. This was found to reduce the amplitude of the oscillation, particularly in the onset stage at low angle of attack (around 14 degrees). Through detailed analysis of the wake behind the airfoil during the unsteady flow oscillation, Balow provided a better understanding of the wake flowfield. Broeren studied the oscillating flowfield in detail at Reynolds number equal 3 x 10 exp 5 and an angle of attack of 15 degrees using laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV). Two-dimensional LDV data were acquired at 687 grid points above the model upper surface while hot-wire data were taken simultaneously in the wake. Using the hot-wire signal, the LDV data were phase averaged into 24 bins to represent a single ensemble average of one oscillation cycle. The velocity data showed a flowfield oscillation that could be divided into three flow regimes. In the first regime, the flow over the airfoil was completely separated initially, the flowfield reattached from the leading edge and the reattachment point moved downstream with increasing time or phase. Broeren referred to this as the reattachment regime. The bubble development regime followed, where a leading-edge separation bubble formed at the leading edge and grew with increasing time. During the initial part of this regime the trailing-edge separation continued to move downstream. However, during the last 30 degrees of phase the trailing-edge separation moved rapidly forward and appeared to merge with the leading-edge bubble. During the third regime, the separation regime, the flow was segmented from the airfoil leading edge and did not reattach to the airfoil surface. The reverse flow was seen to grow in vertical extent up from the model surface as the phase increased. Next reattachment began again at the leading edge signaling the start of the reattachment regime, and so the cycle continued. From Broeren's work, the details of the unsteady flowfield over the airfoil were seen for the first time. From this research a great deal has been learned about the low-frequency flow oscillation which naturally occurs on the LRN-1007 airfoil near stall. The oscillation was seen to persist at higher Reynolds number, the dependence of the Strouhal number on angle of attack and Reynolds number were discovered, the critical role played by the laminar bubble was shown and the entire upper surface flowfield during a flow oscillation cycle was measured and analyzed. What still eludes understanding is the scaling of the flow oscillation and why certain airfoils, such as the LRN, have a very strong low-frequency mode and other airfoils exhibit no organized low-frequency oscillation at all.

Permafrost, heat flow, and the geothermal regime at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lachenbruch, A.H.; Sass, J.H.; Marshall, B.V.; Moses, T.H.

1982-01-01

Temperature measurements through permafrost in the oil field at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, combined with laboratory measurements of the thermal conductivity of drill cutting permit an evaluation of in situ thermal properties and an understanding of the general factors that control the geothermal regime. A sharp contrast in temperatire gradient at c600m represents a contrast in thermal conductivity caused by the downward change from interstitial ice to interstitial water at the base of permafrost under near steady state conditions. These results yield a heat flow of c1.3HFU, which is similar to other values on the Alaskan Arctic Coast: the anomalously deep permafrost is a result of the anomalously high conductivity of the siliceous ice-rich sediments. With confirmation of the permafrost configuration by offshore drilling, heat conduction models can yield reliable new information on the chronology of arctic shoreline. -from Authors

Spatial Correlation Of Streamflows: An Analytical Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Betterle, A.; Schirmer, M.; Botter, G.

2016-12-01

The interwoven space and time variability of climate and landscape properties results in complex and non-linear hydrological response of streamflow dynamics. Understanding how meteorologic and morphological characteristics of catchments affect similarity/dissimilarity of streamflow timeseries at their outlets represents a scientific challenge with application in water resources management, ecological studies and regionalization approaches aimed to predict streamflows in ungauged areas. In this study, we establish an analytical approach to estimate the spatial correlation of daily streamflows in two arbitrary locations within a given hydrologic district or river basin at seasonal and annual time scales. The method is based on a stochastic description of the coupled streamflow dynamics at the outlet of two catchments. The framework aims to express the correlation of daily streamflows at two locations along a river network as a function of a limited number of physical parameters characterizing the main underlying hydrological drivers, that include climate conditions, precipitation regime and catchment drainage rates. The proposed method portrays how heterogeneity of climate and landscape features affect the spatial variability of flow regimes along river systems. In particular, we show that frequency and intensity of synchronous effective rainfall events in the relevant contributing catchments are the main driver of the spatial correlation of daily discharge, whereas only pronounced differences in the drainage rate of the two basins bear a significant effect on the streamflow correlation. The topological arrangement of the two outlets also influences the underlying streamflow correlation, as we show that nested catchments tend to maximize the spatial correlation of flow regimes. The application of the method to a set of catchments in the South-Eastern US suggests the potential of the proposed tool for the characterization of spatial connections of flow regimes in the absence of discharge measurements.

Modelling white-water rafting suitability in a hydropower regulated Alpine River.

PubMed

Carolli, Mauro; Zolezzi, Guido; Geneletti, Davide; Siviglia, Annunziato; Carolli, Fabiano; Cainelli, Oscar

2017-02-01

Cultural and recreational river ecosystem services and their relations with the flow regime are still poorly investigated. We develop a modelling-based approach to assess recreational flow requirements and the spatially distributed river suitability for white-water rafting, a typical service offered by mountain streams, with potential conflicts of interest with hydropower regulation. The approach is based on the principles of habitat suitability modelling using water depth as the main attribute, with preference curves defined through interviews with local rafting guides. The methodology allows to compute streamflow thresholds for conditions of suitability and optimality of a river reach in relation to rafting. Rafting suitability response to past, present and future flow management scenarios can be predicted on the basis of a hydrological model, which is incorporated in the methodology and is able to account for anthropic effects. Rafting suitability is expressed through a novel metric, the "Rafting hydro-suitability index" (RHSI) which quantifies the cumulative duration of suitable and optimal conditions for rafting. The approach is applied on the Noce River (NE Italy), an Alpine River regulated by hydropower production and affected by hydropeaking, which influences suitability at a sub-daily scale. A dedicated algorithm is developed within the hydrological model to resemble hydropeaking conditions with daily flow data. In the Noce River, peak flows associated with hydropeaking support rafting activities in late summer, highlighting the dual nature of hydropeaking in regulated rivers. Rafting suitability is slightly reduced under present, hydropower-regulated flow conditions compared to an idealized flow regime characterised by no water abstractions. Localized water abstractions for small, run-of-the-river hydropower plants are predicted to negatively affect rafting suitability. The proposed methodology can be extended to support decision making for flow management in hydropower regulated streams, as it has the potential to quantify the response of different ecosystem services to flow regulation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Unified gas-kinetic scheme with multigrid convergence for rarefied flow study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Yajun; Zhong, Chengwen; Xu, Kun

2017-09-01

The unified gas kinetic scheme (UGKS) is based on direct modeling of gas dynamics on the mesh size and time step scales. With the modeling of particle transport and collision in a time-dependent flux function in a finite volume framework, the UGKS can connect the flow physics smoothly from the kinetic particle transport to the hydrodynamic wave propagation. In comparison with the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, the current equation-based UGKS can implement implicit techniques in the updates of macroscopic conservative variables and microscopic distribution functions. The implicit UGKS significantly increases the convergence speed for steady flow computations, especially in the highly rarefied and near continuum regimes. In order to further improve the computational efficiency, for the first time, a geometric multigrid technique is introduced into the implicit UGKS, where the prediction step for the equilibrium state and the evolution step for the distribution function are both treated with multigrid acceleration. More specifically, a full approximate nonlinear system is employed in the prediction step for fast evaluation of the equilibrium state, and a correction linear equation is solved in the evolution step for the update of the gas distribution function. As a result, convergent speed has been greatly improved in all flow regimes from rarefied to the continuum ones. The multigrid implicit UGKS (MIUGKS) is used in the non-equilibrium flow study, which includes microflow, such as lid-driven cavity flow and the flow passing through a finite-length flat plate, and high speed one, such as supersonic flow over a square cylinder. The MIUGKS shows 5-9 times efficiency increase over the previous implicit scheme. For the low speed microflow, the efficiency of MIUGKS is several orders of magnitude higher than the DSMC. Even for the hypersonic flow at Mach number 5 and Knudsen number 0.1, the MIUGKS is still more than 100 times faster than the DSMC method for obtaining a convergent steady state solution.

Applying chemical engineering concepts to non-thermal plasma reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pedro AFFONSO, NOBREGA; Alain, GAUNAND; Vandad, ROHANI; François, CAUNEAU; Laurent, FULCHERI

2018-06-01

Process scale-up remains a considerable challenge for environmental applications of non-thermal plasmas. Undersanding the impact of reactor hydrodynamics in the performance of the process is a key step to overcome this challenge. In this work, we apply chemical engineering concepts to analyse the impact that different non-thermal plasma reactor configurations and regimes, such as laminar or plug flow, may have on the reactor performance. We do this in the particular context of the removal of pollutants by non-thermal plasmas, for which a simplified model is available. We generalise this model to different reactor configurations and, under certain hypotheses, we show that a reactor in the laminar regime may have a behaviour significantly different from one in the plug flow regime, often assumed in the non-thermal plasma literature. On the other hand, we show that a packed-bed reactor behaves very similarly to one in the plug flow regime. Beyond those results, the reader will find in this work a quick introduction to chemical reaction engineering concepts.

Direct numerical simulation of a compressible boundary-layer flow past an isolated three-dimensional hump in a high-speed subsonic regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Grazia, D.; Moxey, D.; Sherwin, S. J.; Kravtsova, M. A.; Ruban, A. I.

2018-02-01

In this paper we study the boundary-layer separation produced in a high-speed subsonic boundary layer by a small wall roughness. Specifically, we present a direct numerical simulation (DNS) of a two-dimensional boundary-layer flow over a flat plate encountering a three-dimensional Gaussian-shaped hump. This work was motivated by the lack of DNS data of boundary-layer flows past roughness elements in a similar regime which is typical of civil aviation. The Mach and Reynolds numbers are chosen to be relevant for aeronautical applications when considering small imperfections at the leading edge of wings. We analyze different heights of the hump: The smaller heights result in a weakly nonlinear regime, while the larger result in a fully nonlinear regime with an increasing laminar separation bubble arising downstream of the roughness element and the formation of a pair of streamwise counterrotating vortices which appear to support themselves.

On angled bounce-off impact of a drop impinging on a flowing soap film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basu, Saikat; Yawar, Ali; Concha, Andres; Bandi, M. M.

2017-12-01

Small drops impinging obliquely on thin flowing soap films frequently demonstrate the rare emergence of bulk elastic effects working in-tandem with the more commonplace hydrodynamic interactions. Three collision regimes are observable: (a) drop piercing through the film, (b) it coalescing with the flow, and (c) it bouncing off the film surface. During impact, the drop deforms along with a bulk elastic deformation of the film. For impacts that are close-to-tangential, the bounce-off regime predominates. We outline a reduced order analytical framework assuming a deformable drop and a deformable three-dimensional film, and the idealization invokes a phase-based parametric study. Angular inclination of the film and the ratio of post and pre-impact drop sizes entail the phase parameters. We also perform experiments with vertically descending droplets (constituted from deionized water) impacting against an inclined soap film, flowing under constant pressure head. Model-predicted phase domain for bounce-off compares well to our experimental findings. Additionally, the experiments exhibit momentum transfer to the film in the form of shed vortex dipoles, along with propagation of free surface waves. On consulting prior published work, we note that for locomotion of water-walking insects using an impulsive action, the momentum distribution to the shed vortices and waves are both significant, taking up respectively 2/3 and 1/3 of the imparted streamwise momentum. Considering the visually similar impulse actions, this theory, despite its assumption of a quiescent liquid bath of infinite depth, is applied to the drop bounce-off experiments, and the resultant shed vortex dipole momenta are compared to the momenta of the coherent vortex structures computed from particle imaging velocimetry data. The magnitudes reveal identical order (10-7 N s), suggesting that notwithstanding the disparities, the bounce-off regime may be tapped as a toy analog for impulse-based interfacial biolocomotion.

A framework to assess the impacts of climate change on stream health indicators in Michigan watersheds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woznicki, S. A.; Nejadhashemi, A. P.; Tang, Y.; Wang, L.

2016-12-01

Climate change is projected to alter watershed hydrology and potentially amplify nonpoint source pollution transport. These changes have implications for fish and macroinvertebrates, which are often used as measures of aquatic ecosystem health. By quantifying the risk of adverse impacts to aquatic ecosystem health at the reach-scale, watershed climate change adaptation strategies can be developed and prioritized. The objective of this research was to quantify the impacts of climate change on stream health in seven Michigan watersheds. A process-based watershed model, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), was linked to adaptive neuro-fuzzy inferenced (ANFIS) stream health models. SWAT models were used to simulate reach-scale flow regime (magnitude, frequency, timing, duration, and rate of change) and water quality variables. The ANFIS models were developed based on relationships between the in-stream variables and sampling points of four stream health indicators: the fish index of biotic integrity (IBI), macroinvertebrate family index of biotic integrity (FIBI), Hilsenhoff biotic index (HBI), and number of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) taxa. The combined SWAT-ANFIS models extended stream health predictions to all watershed reaches. A climate model ensemble from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) was used to develop projections of changes to flow regime (using SWAT) and stream health indicators (using ANFIS) from a baseline of 1980-2000 to 2020-2040. Flow regime variables representing variability, duration of extreme events, and timing of low and high flow events were sensitive to changes in climate. The stream health indicators were relatively insensitive to changing climate at the watershed scale. However, there were many instances of individual reaches that were projected to experience declines in stream health. Using the probability of stream health decline coupled with the magnitude of the decline, maps of vulnerable stream ecosystems were developed, which can be used in the watershed management decision-making process.

Structural characteristics of a gas-liquid flow in a microchannel with a T-shaped mixer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuznetsov, V. V.; Kozulin, I. A.

2017-11-01

The results of experimental studies of the structural characteristics of a nitrogen-water mixture flow in a horizontal microchannel provided with a T-shaped mixer are presented. The experiments are performed in a channel with a rectangular cross section of 250 × 315 μm under the conditions of a dominating influence of capillary forces. Structural characteristics of the flow are determined using the two-beam laser scanning and high-speed video capture at a distance of 500 calibers from the inlet in a wide range of reduced gas- and liquid-flow rates. A new method for the identification of flow regimes is proposed based on the statistical treatment of the laser-scanning data, and a map of flow patterns is constructed.

Nanoscale simulation of shale transport properties using the lattice Boltzmann method: Permeability and diffusivity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Li; Zhang, Lei; Kang, Qinjun

Here, porous structures of shales are reconstructed using the markov chain monte carlo (MCMC) method based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of shale samples from Sichuan Basin, China. Characterization analysis of the reconstructed shales is performed, including porosity, pore size distribution, specific surface area and pore connectivity. The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is adopted to simulate fluid flow and Knudsen diffusion within the reconstructed shales. Simulation results reveal that the tortuosity of the shales is much higher than that commonly employed in the Bruggeman equation, and such high tortuosity leads to extremely low intrinsic permeability. Correction of the intrinsicmore » permeability is performed based on the dusty gas model (DGM) by considering the contribution of Knudsen diffusion to the total flow flux, resulting in apparent permeability. The correction factor over a range of Knudsen number and pressure is estimated and compared with empirical correlations in the literature. We find that for the wide pressure range investigated, the correction factor is always greater than 1, indicating Knudsen diffusion always plays a role on shale gas transport mechanisms in the reconstructed shales. Specifically, we found that most of the values of correction factor fall in the slip and transition regime, with no Darcy flow regime observed.« less

Nanoscale simulation of shale transport properties using the lattice Boltzmann method: Permeability and diffusivity

DOE PAGES

Chen, Li; Zhang, Lei; Kang, Qinjun; ...

2015-01-28

Here, porous structures of shales are reconstructed using the markov chain monte carlo (MCMC) method based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of shale samples from Sichuan Basin, China. Characterization analysis of the reconstructed shales is performed, including porosity, pore size distribution, specific surface area and pore connectivity. The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is adopted to simulate fluid flow and Knudsen diffusion within the reconstructed shales. Simulation results reveal that the tortuosity of the shales is much higher than that commonly employed in the Bruggeman equation, and such high tortuosity leads to extremely low intrinsic permeability. Correction of the intrinsicmore » permeability is performed based on the dusty gas model (DGM) by considering the contribution of Knudsen diffusion to the total flow flux, resulting in apparent permeability. The correction factor over a range of Knudsen number and pressure is estimated and compared with empirical correlations in the literature. We find that for the wide pressure range investigated, the correction factor is always greater than 1, indicating Knudsen diffusion always plays a role on shale gas transport mechanisms in the reconstructed shales. Specifically, we found that most of the values of correction factor fall in the slip and transition regime, with no Darcy flow regime observed.« less

Nanoscale simulation of shale transport properties using the lattice Boltzmann method: permeability and diffusivity

PubMed Central

Chen, Li; Zhang, Lei; Kang, Qinjun; Viswanathan, Hari S.; Yao, Jun; Tao, Wenquan

2015-01-01

Porous structures of shales are reconstructed using the markov chain monte carlo (MCMC) method based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of shale samples from Sichuan Basin, China. Characterization analysis of the reconstructed shales is performed, including porosity, pore size distribution, specific surface area and pore connectivity. The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is adopted to simulate fluid flow and Knudsen diffusion within the reconstructed shales. Simulation results reveal that the tortuosity of the shales is much higher than that commonly employed in the Bruggeman equation, and such high tortuosity leads to extremely low intrinsic permeability. Correction of the intrinsic permeability is performed based on the dusty gas model (DGM) by considering the contribution of Knudsen diffusion to the total flow flux, resulting in apparent permeability. The correction factor over a range of Knudsen number and pressure is estimated and compared with empirical correlations in the literature. For the wide pressure range investigated, the correction factor is always greater than 1, indicating Knudsen diffusion always plays a role on shale gas transport mechanisms in the reconstructed shales. Specifically, we found that most of the values of correction factor fall in the slip and transition regime, with no Darcy flow regime observed. PMID:25627247

A model-based evaluation of the impacts of urban expansion on flow variability and aquatic biodiversity in the Big River watershed in eastern Missouri (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knouft, J.; Chu, M. L.

2013-12-01

Natural flow regimes in aquatic systems sustain biodiversity and provide support for basic ecological processes. Nevertheless, the hydrology of aquatic systems is heavily impacted by human activities including land use changes associated with urbanization. Small increases in urban expansion can greatly increase surface runoff while decreasing infiltration. These changes in land use can also affect aquifer recharge and alter streamflow, thus impacting water quality, aquatic biodiversity, and ecosystem productivity. However, there are few studies predicting the effects of various levels of urbanization on flow regimes and the subsequent impacts of these flow alterations on ecosystem endpoints at the watershed scale. We quantified the potential effects of varying degrees of urban expansion on the discharge, velocity, and water depth in the Big River watershed in eastern Missouri using a physically-based watershed model, MIKE-SHE, and a 1D hydrodynamic river model, MIKE-11. Five land cover scenarios corresponding to increasing levels of urban expansion were used to determine the sensitivity of flow in the Big River watershed to increasing urbanization. Results indicate that the frequency of low flow events decreases as urban expansion increases, while the frequency of average and high-flow events increases as urbanization increases. We used current estimates of flow from the MIKE-SHE model to predict variation in fish species richness at 44 sites across the watershed based on standardized fish collections from each site. This model was then used with flow estimates from the urban expansion hydrological models to predict potential changes in fish species richness as urban areas increase. Responses varied among sites with some areas predicted to experience increases in species richness while others are predicted to experience decreases in species richness. Taxonomic identity of species also appeared to influence results with the number of species of Cyprinidae (minnows) expected to increase across the watershed, while the number of species of Centrachidae (bass and sunfish) is expected to decrease across the watershed.

Gas-kinetic unified algorithm for hypersonic flows covering various flow regimes solving Boltzmann model equation in nonequilibrium effect

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Zhihui; Ma, Qiang; Wu, Junlin

2014-12-09

Based on the Gas-Kinetic Unified Algorithm (GKUA) directly solving the Boltzmann model equation, the effect of rotational non-equilibrium is investigated recurring to the kinetic Rykov model with relaxation property of rotational degrees of freedom. The spin movement of diatomic molecule is described by moment of inertia, and the conservation of total angle momentum is taken as a new Boltzmann collision invariant. The molecular velocity distribution function is integrated by the weight factor on the internal energy, and the closed system of two kinetic controlling equations is obtained with inelastic and elastic collisions. The optimization selection technique of discrete velocity ordinatemore » points and numerical quadrature rules for macroscopic flow variables with dynamic updating evolvement are developed to simulate hypersonic flows, and the gas-kinetic numerical scheme is constructed to capture the time evolution of the discretized velocity distribution functions. The gas-kinetic boundary conditions in thermodynamic non-equilibrium and numerical procedures are studied and implemented by directly acting on the velocity distribution function, and then the unified algorithm of Boltzmann model equation involving non-equilibrium effect is presented for the whole range of flow regimes. The hypersonic flows involving non-equilibrium effect are numerically simulated including the inner flows of shock wave structures in nitrogen with different Mach numbers of 1.5-Ma-25, the planar ramp flow with the whole range of Knudsen numbers of 0.0009-Kn-10 and the three-dimensional re-entering flows around tine double-cone body.« less

N-S/DSMC hybrid simulation of hypersonic flow over blunt body including wakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zhonghua; Li, Zhihui; Li, Haiyan; Yang, Yanguang; Jiang, Xinyu

2014-12-01

A hybrid N-S/DSMC method is presented and applied to solve the three-dimensional hypersonic transitional flows by employing the MPC (modular Particle-Continuum) technique based on the N-S and the DSMC method. A sub-relax technique is adopted to deal with information transfer between the N-S and the DSMC. The hypersonic flows over a 70-deg spherically blunted cone under different Kn numbers are simulated using the CFD, DSMC and hybrid N-S/DSMC method. The present computations are found in good agreement with DSMC and experimental results. The present method provides an efficient way to predict the hypersonic aerodynamics in near-continuum transitional flow regime.

Instabilities and spin-up behaviour of a rotating magnetic field driven flow in a rectangular cavity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galindo, V.; Nauber, R.; Räbiger, D.; Franke, S.; Beyer, H.; Büttner, L.; Czarske, J.; Eckert, S.

2017-11-01

This study presents numerical simulations and experiments considering the flow of an electrically conducting fluid inside a cube driven by a rotating magnetic field (RMF). The investigations are focused on the spin-up, where a liquid metal (GaInSn) is suddenly exposed to an azimuthal body force generated by the RMF and the subsequent flow development. The numerical simulations rely on a semi-analytical expression for the induced electromagnetic force density in an electrically conducting medium inside a cuboid container with insulating walls. Velocity distributions in two perpendicular planes are measured using a novel dual-plane, two-component ultrasound array Doppler velocimeter with continuous data streaming, enabling long term measurements for investigating transient flows. This approach allows identifying the main emerging flow modes during the transition from stable to unstable flow regimes with exponentially growing velocity oscillations using the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition method. Characteristic frequencies in the oscillating flow regimes are determined in the super critical range above the critical magnetic Taylor number T ac≈1.26 ×1 05, where the transition from the steady double vortex structure of the secondary flow to an unstable regime with exponentially growing oscillations is detected. The mean flow structures and the temporal evolution of the flow predicted by the numerical simulations and observed in experiments are in very good agreement.

The non-Newtonian heat and mass transport of He 2 in porous media used for vapor-liquid phase separation. Ph.D. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yuan, S. W. K.

1985-01-01

This investigation of vapor-liquid phase separation (VLPS) of He 2 is related to long-term storage of cryogenic liquid. The VLPS system utilizes porous plugs in order to generate thermomechanical (thermo-osmotic) force which in turn prevents liquid from flowing out of the cryo-vessel (e.g., Infrared Astronomical Satellite). An apparatus was built and VLPS data were collected for a 2 and a 10 micrometer sintered stainless steel plug and a 5 to 15 micrometer sintered bronze plug. The VLPS data obtained at high temperature were in the nonlinear turbulent regime. At low temperature, the Stokes regime was approached. A turbulent flow model was developed, which provides a phenomenological description of the VLPS data. According to the model, most of the phase separation data are in the turbulent regime. The model is based on concepts of the Gorter-Mellink transport involving the mutual friction known from the zero net mass flow (ZNMF) studies. The latter had to be modified to obtain agreement with the present experimental VLPS evidence. In contrast to the well-known ZNMF mode, the VLPS results require a geometry dependent constant (Gorter-Mellink constant). A theoretical interpretation of the phenomenological equation for the VLPS data obtained, is based on modelling of the dynamics of quantized vortices proposed by Vinen. In extending Vinen's model to the VLPS transport of He 2 in porous media, a correlation between the K*(GM) and K(p) was obtained which permits an interpretation of the present findings. As K(p) is crucial, various methods were introduced to measure the permeability of the porous media at low temperatures. Good agreement was found between the room temperature and the low temperature K(p)-value of the plugs.

Sample design effects in landscape genetics

USGS Publications Warehouse

Oyler-McCance, Sara J.; Fedy, Bradley C.; Landguth, Erin L.

2012-01-01

An important research gap in landscape genetics is the impact of different field sampling designs on the ability to detect the effects of landscape pattern on gene flow. We evaluated how five different sampling regimes (random, linear, systematic, cluster, and single study site) affected the probability of correctly identifying the generating landscape process of population structure. Sampling regimes were chosen to represent a suite of designs common in field studies. We used genetic data generated from a spatially-explicit, individual-based program and simulated gene flow in a continuous population across a landscape with gradual spatial changes in resistance to movement. Additionally, we evaluated the sampling regimes using realistic and obtainable number of loci (10 and 20), number of alleles per locus (5 and 10), number of individuals sampled (10-300), and generational time after the landscape was introduced (20 and 400). For a simulated continuously distributed species, we found that random, linear, and systematic sampling regimes performed well with high sample sizes (>200), levels of polymorphism (10 alleles per locus), and number of molecular markers (20). The cluster and single study site sampling regimes were not able to correctly identify the generating process under any conditions and thus, are not advisable strategies for scenarios similar to our simulations. Our research emphasizes the importance of sampling data at ecologically appropriate spatial and temporal scales and suggests careful consideration for sampling near landscape components that are likely to most influence the genetic structure of the species. In addition, simulating sampling designs a priori could help guide filed data collection efforts.

Hydrodynamics of Packed Bed Reactor in Low Gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Motil, Brian J.; Nahra, Henry K.; Balakotaiah, Vemuri

2005-01-01

Packed bed reactors are well known for their vast and diverse applications in the chemical industry; from gas absorption, to stripping, to catalytic conversion. Use of this type of reactor in terrestrial applications has been rather extensive because of its simplicity and relative ease of operation. Developing similar reactors for use in microgravity is critical to many space-based advanced life support systems. However, the hydrodynamics of two-phase flow packed bed reactors in this new environment and the effects of one physiochemical process on another has not been adequately assessed. Surface tension or capillary forces play a much greater role which results in a shifting in flow regime transitions and pressure drop. Results from low gravity experiments related to flow regimes and two-phase pressure drop models are presented in this paper along with a description of plans for a flight experiment on the International Space Station (ISS). Understanding the packed bed hydrodynamics and its effects on mass transfer processes in microgravity is crucial for the design of packed bed chemical or biological reactors to be used for water reclamation and other life support processes involving water purification.

Flow regime alterations under changing climate in two river basins: Implications for freshwater ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gibson, C.A.; Meyer, J.L.; Poff, N.L.; Hay, L.E.; Georgakakos, A.

2005-01-01

We examined impacts of future climate scenarios on flow regimes and how predicted changes might affect river ecosystems. We examined two case studies: Cle Elum River, Washington, and Chattahoochee-Apalachicola River Basin, Georgia and Florida. These rivers had available downscaled global circulation model (GCM) data and allowed us to analyse the effects of future climate scenarios on rivers with (1) different hydrographs, (2) high future water demands, and (3) a river-floodplain system. We compared observed flow regimes to those predicted under future climate scenarios to describe the extent and type of changes predicted to occur. Daily stream flow under future climate scenarios was created by either statistically downscaling GCMs (Cle Elum) or creating a regression model between climatological parameters predicted from GCMs and stream flow (Chattahoochee-Apalachicola). Flow regimes were examined for changes from current conditions with respect to ecologically relevant features including the magnitude and timing of minimum and maximum flows. The Cle Elum's hydrograph under future climate scenarios showed a dramatic shift in the timing of peak flows and lower low flow of a longer duration. These changes could mean higher summer water temperatures, lower summer dissolved oxygen, and reduced survival of larval fishes. The Chattahoochee-Apalachicola basin is heavily impacted by dams and water withdrawals for human consumption; therefore, we made comparisons between pre-large dam conditions, current conditions, current conditions with future demand, and future climate scenarios with future demand to separate climate change effects and other anthropogenic impacts. Dam construction, future climate, and future demand decreased the flow variability of the river. In addition, minimum flows were lower under future climate scenarios. These changes could decrease the connectivity of the channel and the floodplain, decrease habitat availability, and potentially lower the ability of the river to assimilate wastewater treatment plant effluent. Our study illustrates the types of changes that river ecosystems might experience under future climates. Copyright ?? 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A hydromorphological framework for the evaluation of e-flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bussettini, Martina; Rinaldi, Massimo; Grant, Gordon

2017-04-01

Anthropogenic alteration of hydromorphological processes in rivers is a major factor that diminishes river health and undermines environmental objectives envisaged by river protection policies. Specifying environmental flows to address those impacts can be a key strategy for the maintenance of functional river processes and the achievement of those objectives. Environmental flows are determined by various methods and approaches, based primarily on hydrological and/or hydraulic evaluations, although holistic methodologies, considering the many interacting factors that structure aquatic ecosystems, including sediments, are increasingly used. Hydrological and geomorphological processes are highly coupled and any change in one typically affects the other. The coupling varies over different spatial and temporal scales, and changing either hydrological or geomorphological processes can result in alteration of river habitats, ultimately impacting ecological processes. In spite of these linkages, current restoration approaches typically focus only on changes on hydrological regime as a means promoting ecological enhancements. Neglecting sediment transport and its interaction with flow in shaping riverine habitats is likely to results not only in minor or no enhancements in the ecology, but may also increase the costs of water use. A more integrated view of how human activities jointly affect sediment regime, river morphology and river flows is therefore needed in order to determine the most effective actions to rehabilitate river processes to desired states. These states involve considerations of the combination of intrinsic ("natural") conditions (e.g. river sensitivity and morphological potential, off-site conditions) and socio-economic constraints. The evaluation of such factors, the analysis of different scenarios, and the selection of appropriate actions require the contextualization of river reaches within a wider spatial-temporal hydromorphological framework. Here we present such a general multiscale, process-based hydromorphological framework, and discuss its application to the problem of how best to analyse and estimate e-flows.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vernon, Christopher R.; Arntzen, Evan V.; Richmond, Marshall C.

Assessing the environmental benefits of proposed flow modification to large rivers provides invaluable insight into future hydropower project operations and relicensing activities. Providing a means to quantitatively define flow-ecology relationships is integral in establishing flow regimes that are mutually beneficial to power production and ecological needs. To compliment this effort an opportunity to create versatile tools that can be applied to broad geographic areas has been presented. In particular, integration with efforts standardized within the ecological limits of hydrologic alteration (ELOHA) is highly advantageous (Poff et al. 2010). This paper presents a geographic information system (GIS) framework for large rivermore » classification that houses a base geomorphic classification that is both flexible and accurate, allowing for full integration with other hydrologic models focused on addressing ELOHA efforts. A case study is also provided that integrates publically available National Hydrography Dataset Plus Version 2 (NHDPlusV2) data, Modular Aquatic Simulation System two-dimensional (MASS2) hydraulic data, and field collected data into the framework to produce a suite of flow-ecology related outputs. The case study objective was to establish areas of optimal juvenile salmonid rearing habitat under varying flow regimes throughout an impounded portion of the lower Snake River, USA (Figure 1) as an indicator to determine sites where the potential exists to create additional shallow water habitat. Additionally, an alternative hydrologic classification useable throughout the contiguous United States which can be coupled with the geomorphic aspect of this framework is also presented. This framework provides the user with the ability to integrate hydrologic and ecologic data into the base geomorphic aspect of this framework within a geographic information system (GIS) to output spatiotemporally variable flow-ecology relationship scenarios.« less

DC-biased AC-electroosmotic and AC-electrothermal flow mixing in microchannels.

PubMed

Ng, Wee Yang; Goh, Shireen; Lam, Yee Cheong; Yang, Chun; Rodríguez, Isabel

2009-03-21

This paper presents a novel approach of mixing two laminar flowing streams in microchannels. The mixer consists of a pair of electrodes disposed along a fluidic channel. By energizing the electrodes with a DC-biased (2.5 V) AC voltage (20 Vpp), an electrokinetic flow is induced with a flow profile perpendicular to that of the incoming laminar streams of liquids to be mixed. As a result, the flow lines of the incoming streams and the induced flow are forced to crossover and very efficient stirring and mixing at short mixing length can be achieved. The mixer can be operated from the AC-electroosmotic (ACEO) (sigma=1 mS/m, f=100 kHz) to the AC-electrothermal (ACET) (sigma=500 mS/m, f=500 kHz) flow regimes. The mixing efficiency in the ACEO regime was 92%, with a mixing length of 600 microm (Q=2 microL/min), an estimated mixing time of 69 ms and an induced ACEO flow velocity of approximately 725 microm/s. The mixing efficiency in the ACET regime was 65% for a mixing length of approximately 1200 microm. The mixer is efficient and suitable for mixing reagents in a fluid media from low to high conductivity as required in diverse microfluidic applications.

Preliminary Optimization for Spring-Run Chinook Salmon Environmental Flows in Lassen Foothill Watersheds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ta, J.; Kelsey, R.; Howard, J.; Hall, M.; Lund, J. R.; Viers, J. H.

2014-12-01

Stream flow controls physical and ecological processes in rivers that support freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity vital for services that humans depend on. This master variable has been impaired by human activities like dam operations, water diversions, and flood control infrastructure. Furthermore, increasing water scarcity due to rising water demands and droughts has further stressed these systems, calling for the need to find better ways to identify and allocate environmental flows. In this study, a linear optimization model was developed for environmental flows in river systems that have minimal or no regulation from dam operations, but still exhibit altered flow regimes due to surface water diversions and groundwater abstraction. Flow regime requirements for California Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) life history were used as a test case to examine how alterations to the timing and magnitude of water diversions meet environmental flow objectives while minimizing impact to local water supply. The model was then applied to Mill Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River, in northern California, and its altered flow regime that currently impacts adult spring-run Chinook spawning and migration. The resulting optimized water diversion schedule can be used to inform water management decisions that aim to maximize benefit for the environment while meeting local water demands.

Application of Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov method in implicitly solving two-fluid six-equation two-phase flow problems: Implementation, validation and benchmark

DOE PAGES

Zou, Ling; Zhao, Haihua; Zhang, Hongbin

2016-03-09

This work represents a first-of-its-kind successful application to employ advanced numerical methods in solving realistic two-phase flow problems with two-fluid six-equation two-phase flow model. These advanced numerical methods include high-resolution spatial discretization scheme with staggered grids (high-order) fully implicit time integration schemes, and Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov (JFNK) method as the nonlinear solver. The computer code developed in this work has been extensively validated with existing experimental flow boiling data in vertical pipes and rod bundles, which cover wide ranges of experimental conditions, such as pressure, inlet mass flux, wall heat flux and exit void fraction. Additional code-to-code benchmark with the RELAP5-3Dmore » code further verifies the correct code implementation. The combined methods employed in this work exhibit strong robustness in solving two-phase flow problems even when phase appearance (boiling) and realistic discrete flow regimes are considered. Transitional flow regimes used in existing system analysis codes, normally introduced to overcome numerical difficulty, were completely removed in this work. As a result, this in turn provides the possibility to utilize more sophisticated flow regime maps in the future to further improve simulation accuracy.« less

On the Motion of an Annular Film in Microgravity Gas-Liquid Flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McQuillen, John B.

2002-01-01

Three flow regimes have been identified for gas-liquid flow in a microgravity environment: Bubble, Slug, and Annular. For the slug and annular flow regimes, the behavior observed in vertical upflow in normal gravity is similar to microgravity flow with a thin, symmetrical annular film wetting the tube wall. However, the motion and behavior of this film is significantly different between the normal and low gravity cases. Specifically, the liquid film will slow and come to a stop during low frequency wave motion or slugging. In normal gravity vertical upflow, the film has been observed to slow, stop, and actually reverse direction until it meets the next slug or wave.

Validating the MFiX-DEM Model for Flow Regime Prediction in a 3D Spouted Bed

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Banerjee, Subhodeep; Guenther, Chris; Rogers, William A.

The spout-fluidized bed reactor with relatively large oxygen carrier particles offers several advantages in chemical looping combustion operation using solid fuels. The large difference in size and weight between the oxygen carrier particles and the smaller coal or ash particles allows the oxygen carrier to be easily segregated for recirculation; the increased solids mixing due to dynamic flow pattern in the spout-fluidization regime prevents agglomeration. The primary objective in this work is to determine the effectiveness of the MFiX-DEM model in predicting the flow regime in a spouted bed. Successful validation of the code will allow the user to finemore » tune the operating conditions of a spouted bed to achieve the desired operating condition.« less

Governance, Accountability and the Datafication of Early Years Education in England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts-Holmes, Guy; Bradbury, Alice

2016-01-01

In this paper we attempt to critically "make visible the flow and circulation of data" through analysing the datafication of the early years education sector in England (children aged 2-5). The concept of datafication is used to understand the processes and impacts of burgeoning data-based governance and accountability regimes. This…

Assessing and Predicting the Effectiveness of Stormwater BMPs on Water Quality, Flow, Thermal Regime, and Substrate Integrity in the Delaware River Basin

EPA Science Inventory

Assessments of the effectiveness of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) have focused on measurement of load or concentration reductions, which can be translated to predict biological impacts based on chemical water quality criteria. However, many of the impacts of develo...

Evaluating Effects of Pump-Storage Water Withdrawals Using an Individual-Based Metapopulation Model of a Benthic Fish Species

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-04-01

Bunn S. E. and Arthington A.H. 2002. Basic principles and ecological consequences of altered flow regimes on aquatic biodiversity . Environmental...cycling in streams: can fish create biogeochemical hotspots ? Ecology 89: 2335-2346. Matthews W.J. and Marsh-Matthews E. 2003. Effects of drought on

A computer code for multiphase all-speed transient flows in complex geometries. MAST version 1.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, C. P.; Jiang, Y.; Kim, Y. M.; Shang, H. M.

1991-01-01

The operation of the MAST code, which computes transient solutions to the multiphase flow equations applicable to all-speed flows, is described. Two-phase flows are formulated based on the Eulerian-Lagrange scheme in which the continuous phase is described by the Navier-Stokes equation (or Reynolds equations for turbulent flows). Dispersed phase is formulated by a Lagrangian tracking scheme. The numerical solution algorithms utilized for fluid flows is a newly developed pressure-implicit algorithm based on the operator-splitting technique in generalized nonorthogonal coordinates. This operator split allows separate operation on each of the variable fields to handle pressure-velocity coupling. The obtained pressure correction equation has the hyperbolic nature and is effective for Mach numbers ranging from the incompressible limit to supersonic flow regimes. The present code adopts a nonstaggered grid arrangement; thus, the velocity components and other dependent variables are collocated at the same grid. A sequence of benchmark-quality problems, including incompressible, subsonic, transonic, supersonic, gas-droplet two-phase flows, as well as spray-combustion problems, were performed to demonstrate the robustness and accuracy of the present code.

A Laminar Flow-Based Microfluidic Tesla Pump via Lithography Enabled 3D Printing

PubMed Central

Habhab, Mohammed-Baker; Ismail, Tania; Lo, Joe Fujiou

2016-01-01

Tesla turbine and its applications in power generation and fluid flow were demonstrated by Nicholas Tesla in 1913. However, its real-world implementations were limited by the difficulty to maintain laminar flow between rotor disks, transient efficiencies during rotor acceleration, and the lack of other applications that fully utilize the continuous flow outputs. All of the aforementioned limits of Tesla turbines can be addressed by scaling to the microfluidic flow regime. Demonstrated here is a microscale Tesla pump designed and fabricated using a Digital Light Processing (DLP) based 3D printer with 43 µm lateral and 30 µm thickness resolutions. The miniaturized pump is characterized by low Reynolds number of 1000 and a flow rate of up to 12.6 mL/min at 1200 rpm, unloaded. It is capable of driving a mixer network to generate microfluidic gradient. The continuous, laminar flow from Tesla turbines is well-suited to the needs of flow-sensitive microfluidics, where the integrated pump will enable numerous compact lab-on-a-chip applications. PMID:27886051

Operational Constraints on Hydropeaking and its Effects on the Hydrologic and Thermal Regime of a River in Central Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olivares, M. A.; Guzman, C.; Rossel, V.; De La Fuente, A.

2013-12-01

Hydropower accounts for about 44% of installed capacity in Chile's Central Interconnected System, which serves most of the Chilean population. Hydropower reservoir projects can affect ecosystems by changing the hydrologic regime and water quality. Given its volumen regulation capacity, low operation costs and fast response to demand fluctuations, reservoir hydropower plants commonly operate on a load-following or hydropeaking scheme. This short-term operational pattern produces alterations in the hydrologic regime downstream the reservoir. In the case of thermally stratified reservoirs, peaking operations can affect the thermal structure of the reservoir, as well as the thermal regime downstream. In this study, we assessed the subdaily hydrologic and thermal alteration donwstream of Rapel reservoir in Central Chile for alternative operational scenarios, including a base case and several scenarios involving minimum instream flow (Qmin) and maximum hourly ramping rates (ΔQmax). Scenarios were simulated for the stratification season of summer 2009-2012 in a grid-wide short-term economic dispatch model which prescribes hourly power production by every power plant on a weekly horizon. Power time series are then translated into time series of turbined flows at each hydropower plants. Indicators of subdaily hydrologic alteration (SDHA) were computed for every scenario. Additionally, turbined flows were used as input data for a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model (CWR-ELCOM) of the reservoir which simulated the vertical temperature profile in the reservoir and the outflow temperature. For the time series of outflow temperatures we computed several indicators of subdaily thermal alteration (SDTA). Operational constraints reduce the values of both SDHA and SDTA indicators with respect to the base case. When constraints are applied separately, the indicators of SDHA decrease as each type of constraint (Qmin or ΔQmax) becomes more stringent. However, ramping rate constraints proved more effective than minimun instream flows. Combined constraints produced even better results. Results for the indicators of SDTA follow a similar trend than that of SDHA. More restrictive operations result in lower values for the indicators. However, the impact of the different constraint scenarios is smaller, as results look alike for all scenarios. Moreover, due to the mixing conditions associated to the operational schemes, mean temperatures increased with respect to the unconstrained case.

The viscous to brittle transition in eruptions of clay suspensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmid, Diana; Scheu, Bettina; Wadsworth, Fabian B.; Kennedy, Ben; Jolly, Art; Dingwell, Donald B.

2017-04-01

The research is motivated by the early 2013 activity of White Island, New Zealand, which was characterized by frequent small phreatic activity through a fine grained mud rich shallow crater lake. Field observations demonstrate that the small eruptions were driven by bubble-burst events. Additionally, during the ongoing eruption, water vigorously evaporated, causing a shift in rheology of the crater lake liquid-solid suspension. Yet, the effect of water content on the eruptive behaviour of clay-bearing liquid suspensions is poorly understood. Here we investigate the influence of the solid to water ratio of the clay material erupted on the eruption characteristics. Kaolin was used as an analogue for the clay and was mixed with water in different proportions. We conducted experiments with different kaolin/water mixtures held at 120°C, in which they were decompressed from 2-4 bars to ambient conditions in a few milliseconds. During an experimental eruption, the velocity of the ejected material decreased, resulting in shifts in behaviour. Based on our experimental observations we established five different regimes that depend on the particle velocity relative to the gas velocity, and on the kaolin to water ratio of the mixture. In all experiments and for all kaolin to water ratios, regime 1 is one in which particles are ejected rapidly in an expanding high velocity gas jet. In the liquid-dominated system (low kaolin to water ratios), the jet phase evolves to the ejection of elongate fluidal structures (regime 2) and then to discrete droplets (regime 3) as the ejection velocity wanes. Contrastingly, in the solid-dominated system, the jet phase (regime 1) transitions to a mixed solid-fluid structures (regime 4) and then to individual angular ejecta (regime 5). On the basis of high speed image analysis, we establish a phase diagram separating these regimes based on kaolin/water mixing rations and the ejecta velocities observed. The dominant transition between fluidal and solid-like behaviour is a viscous to brittle transition and occurs between a kaolin mass fraction of 0.48 and 0.65, which is consistent with previous observations of the liquid and plastic rheological limits, respectively. We find that a Stokes' number balances the timescale of flow with the timescale of particle motion opposing flow. We suggest that the transition from regime 1 to regime 2 occurs when the relative velocity between the ejected material and the gas phase increases and the Stokes' number exceeds 1, leading to decoupling and shear-stresses at the ejected fluid interfaces. A capillary number characterizes the transition from elongated liquid structures (regime 2) to individual droplets (regime 3) in the liquid-dominated system when the relative velocity drops to a value at which surface tension can restore the droplets to spherical. Our results emphasize that the different rheology of muddy material exhibit different characteristic eruption styles and offers a way to classify them.

A contrast between nocturnal flow regimes: Observations and modeling simulations of katabatic intrusions in the Laramie Valley

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juliano, Timothy W.

Katabatic winds commonly occur in mountainous regions under statically stable conditions when a sufficient deficit exists in the net radiation budget. Observations of these stable boundary layer (SBL) downslope flows have extended back to the 1930s. Their interactions with other SBL processes, including cold air pools (CAPs) and mountain waves, are quite complex, however, and have only more recently been deeply investigated. The University of Wyoming (UW) wind tower (WT) and flux tower (WT), situated in the Laramie Valley, were utilized in examining a dataset spanning from 14 December 2011 to 12 September 2013. A set of criteria were developed to determine katabatic intrusion events, and establish a climatology of these events, at the WT. The 21-22 December 2012 nighttime period was then studied in detail using data from the aforementioned towers in addition to weather stations throughout the Laramie Valley and the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Both observations and modeling results indicated a competition between two strongly contrasting flow regimes: synoptic and katabatic. The synoptic regime was characterized by strong, southwesterly winds, warm temperatures, and turbulent flow, while the katabatic regime featured weaker, southeasterly winds, cooler temperatures, and intermittently turbulent flow. Sonic and propeller anemometers on the WT elucidated the chaotic transition between the regimes. At the WT, it was found that between regimes the wind speed decreased by up to 60%, wind direction often shifted over 120°, and potential temperature usually decreased more than 2°C. The katabatic wind depth was postulated to be variable in time and space, with its head sloping towards the trailing CAP. Topographically generated mountain waves and local terrain forcing are suspected to play an integral role in the development and evolution of the katabatic wind in the Laramie Valley. Results from this research yield promising insight into the intricate relationships between various SBL processes in complex terrain.

Jammed Clusters and Non-locality in Dense Granular Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kharel, Prashidha; Rognon, Pierre

We investigate the micro-mechanisms underpinning dense granular flow behaviour from a series of DEM simulations of pure shear flows of dry grains. We observe the development of transient clusters of jammed particles within the flow. Typical size of such clusters is found to scale with the inertial number with a power law that is similar to the scaling of shear-rate profile relaxation lengths observed previously. Based on the simple argument that transient clusters of size l exist in the dense flow regime, the formulation of steady state condition for non-homogeneous shear flow results in a general non-local relation, which is similar in form to the non-local relation conjectured for soft glassy flows. These findings suggest the formation of jammed clusters to be the key micro-mechanism underpinning non-local behaviour in dense granular flows. Particles and Grains Laboratory, School of Civil Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

Impacts of precipitation and temperature trends on different time scales on the water cycle and water resource availability in mountainous Mediterranean catchments.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

José Pérez-Palazón, María; Pimentel, Rafael; Herrero, Javier; José Polo, María

2017-04-01

Climatology trends, precipitation and temperature variations condition the hydrological evolution of the river flow response at basin and sub-basin scales. The link between both climate and flow trends is crucial in mountainous areas, where small variations in temperature can produce significant impacts on precipitation (occurrence as rainfall or snowfall), snowmelt and evaporation, and consequently very different flow signatures. This importance is greater in semiarid regions, where the high variability of the climatic annual and seasonal regimes usually amplifies this impact on river flow. The Sierra Nevada National Park (Southern Spain), with altitudes ranging from 2000 to 3500 m.a.s.l., is part of the global climate change observatories network and a clear example of snow regions in a semiarid environment. This mountain range is head of different catchments, being the Guadalfeo River Basin one of the most influenced by the snow regime. This study shows the observed 55-year (1961-2015) trends of annual precipitation and daily mean temperature, and the associated impacts on snowfall and snow persistence, and the resulting trend of the annual river flow in the Guadalfeo River Basin (Southern Spain), a semiarid abrupt mountainous area (up to 3450 m a.s.l.) facing the Mediterranean Sea where the Alpine and Mediterranean climates coexist in a domain highly influenced by the snow regime, and a significant seasonality in the flow regime. The annual precipitation and annual daily mean temperature experimented a decreasing trend of 2.05 mm/year and an increasing trend of 0.037 °C/year, respectively, during the study period, with a high variability on a decadal basis. However, the torrential precipitation events are more frequent in the last few years of the study period, with an apparently increasing associated dispersion. The estimated annual snowfall trend shows a decreasing trend of 0.24 mm/year, associated to the decrease of precipitation rather than to temperature increase. From the analyses of river flow observations and hydrological modelling, these trends result in an estimated decreasing annual trend of the mean river inflow to reservoirs of 0.091 m3/s, which is equivalent to a mean loss of 2.87 hm3/year during the study period. Nonetheless, these results are associated to a high variability of both extreme values and the annual and decadal values. Moreover, the decrease of the annual inflow is approximately a 25% higher than the loss of precipitation, due to the impact on the different water fluxes from the snowpack associated to the enhanced torrential behaviour of both snowfall/rainfall occurrence and snow persistence. The results show the complexity of hydrological processes in Mediterranean regions, especially under the snow influence, and point out to a significant shift in the precipitation and temperature regime, and thus on the snow-affected hydrological variables in the study area, with a decrease of the available water resource volume in the medium and long term. However, on an annual basis, years with an intense snowfall regime but mild and longer dry periods result in a significant increase of the annual river flow and water storage. Reservoir operation criteria and water allocation should undergo a revision based on hydrological modelling of the snow regions and scenario analysis.

Hydrograph Shape Controls Channel Morphology and Organization in a Sand-Gravel Flume

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hempel, L. A.; Grant, G.; Hassan, M. A.; Eaton, B. C.

2016-12-01

A fundamental research question in fluvial geomorphology is to understand what flows shape river channels. Historically, the prevailing view has been that channel dimensions adjust to a so-termed "dominant discharge", which is often approximated as the bankfull flow. But using a single flow to reference the geomorphic effectiveness of an entire flow regime discounts many observations showing that different flows control different channel processes. Some flows entrain fine sediment, some entrain the full size distribution of bed sediment; some destabilize or build bars, some erode the banks, and so forth. To explore the relation between the full flow regime and channel morphology, we conducted a series of flume experiments to examine how hydrographs with different shapes, durations, and magnitudes result in different degrees of channel organization, which we define in terms of the regularity, spacing and architecture of self-formed channel features, such as bed patches, geometry and spacing of bedforms, and channel planform. Our experiments were run in a 12m long adjustable-width flume that developed a self-formed meandering, pool-riffle pattern. We found that hydrograph shape does control channel organization. In particular, channels formed by hydrographs with slower rising limbs and broader peaks were more organized than those formed by flashier hydrographs. To become organized, hydrographs needed to exceed a minimum flow threshold, defined by the intensity of sediment transport; below which the channel lacked bedforms and a regular meander pattern. Above an upper flow threshold, bars became disorganized and the channel planform transitioned towards braiding. Field studies of channels with different flow regimes but located in a similar physiographic setting support our experimental findings. Taken together, this work points to the importance of the hydrograph as a fundamental control on channel morphology, and offers the prospect of better understanding how changing hydrologic regimes, either through climate, land use, or dams, translates into geomorphic changes.

Impacts of Land Use/Cover Uncertainty on Predictions of Ecologically Relevant Flow Metrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalin, L.; Dosdogru, F.

2016-12-01

Streamflow regimes are crucial parts of the ecological integrity in river systems. Although species are adopted to natural flow variability, permanent changes in flow regimes as a result of alterations in land use/cover of the watersheds can adversely impact ecosystem health. This study assessed the impacts of land use/cover (LULC) changes on ecologically relevant flow (ERF) metrics in the rapidly urbanizing upper Cahaba River basin in north-central Alabama. Cahaba River is the longest free-flowing river in the state of Alabama and is identified by the Nature Conservancy as one of the only eight "Hotspot of Biodiversity" in the contiguous United States. Cahaba River and its major tributaries support 69 rare and imperiled species, making it one of the most various aquatic ecosystems in the United States. SWAT model was used to generate daily streamflows, which were then fed into the Indicators of Hydrological Alterations (IHA) software to generate 38 key ERF metrics that capture high, low, and median flow, as well as flashiness, which are known to have significant impacts on flora and fauna. SWAT was calibrated and validated twice with two different sources of LULC. Model performances during calibration and validations were very good and were very similar with both LULC. The flow duration curves generated based on each LULC also look very similar. However, when we compared the ERF metrics significant differences were observed signifying the importance of LULC sources. The biggest differences were in Oct-Dec low flows, rise and fall rates of daily flows, annual maximum flow and average during month od October. This study shows that although model calibration can compensate for the differences in differences in LULC sources, when it comes to key ERF metrics the use of the most reliable LULC source is evident.

Transition regime analytical solution to gas mass flow rate in a rectangular micro channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dadzie, S. Kokou; Dongari, Nishanth

2012-11-01

We present an analytical model predicting the experimentally observed gas mass flow rate in rectangular micro channels over slip and transition regimes without the use of any fitting parameter. Previously, Sone reported a class of pure continuum regime flows that requires terms of Burnett order in constitutive equations of shear stress to be predicted appropriately. The corrective terms to the conventional Navier-Stokes equation were named the ghost effect. We demonstrate in this paper similarity between Sone ghost effect model and newly so-called 'volume diffusion hydrodynamic model'. A generic analytical solution to gas mass flow rate in a rectangular micro channel is then obtained. It is shown that the volume diffusion hydrodynamics allows to accurately predict the gas mass flow rate up to Knudsen number of 5. This can be achieved without necessitating the use of adjustable parameters in boundary conditions or parametric scaling laws for constitutive relations. The present model predicts the non-linear variation of pressure profile along the axial direction and also captures the change in curvature with increase in rarefaction.

Long-term affects of experimental flows on riverine biota below a reservoir

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, Chris; Ortlepp, Johannes

2010-05-01

Large dams have altered the flow regime of most rivers on the globe with consequent effects on riverine biota. Experimental flows (multiple floods per year) have been used on the regulated Spöl River below Livigno Reservoir for over 9 years to enhance the ecological condition of the river. The flow program has improved the brown trout fishery in the river as indicated by an increased number of redds. Floods have reset periphyton assemblages from a moss-dominated streambed to one dominated by diatoms and patches of filamentous algae. Zoobenthic assemblages have shown dramatic shifts in benthic structure in line with predictions from altered state models. Ecosystem regime shifts have been characterized with increases in parameter variances followed by periods of stable states. The system appears to be entering a second zoobenthic regime shift after year 8, perhaps in response to biotic interactions due to changes in the fishery. The response patterns clearly show that a long-term perspective must be in place when assessing biotic responses to changes in physical habitat properties resulting from flow experiments.

High-temperature synthesis of silica particles by the chloride method in the regime of counter flow jet quenching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kartaev, E. V.; Emel'kin, V. A.; Aul'chenko, S. M.

2017-10-01

The experimental and numerical investigations of synthesis of silica (SiO2) nanoparticles from premixed gaseous silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4) and oxygen of dry air in the high-temperature nitrogen flow of plasma-chemical reactor have been carried out. The regime of counter flow jet quenching of high-temperature heterogeneous flow has been utilized. The latter provided a rapid cooling of silica particles under nonequilibrium conditions with substantial temperature gradients. Synthesized silica particles were amorphous, with surface-average size being about 28 nm. The results of numerical calculations are found to agree qualitatively with experimental data.

Gravity-driven soap film dynamics in subcritical regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Auliel, M. I.; Castro, F.; Sosa, R.; Artana, G.

2015-10-01

We undertake the analysis of soap-film dynamics with the classical approach of asymptotic expansions. We focus our analysis in vertical soap film tunnels operating in subcritical regimes with elastic Mach numbers Me=O(10-1) . Considering the associated set of nondimensional numbers that characterize this flow, we show that the flow behaves as a two-dimensional (2D) divergence free flow with variable mass density. When the soap film dynamics agrees with that of a 2D and almost constant mass density flow, the regions where the second invariant of the velocity gradient is non-null correspond to regions where the rate of change of film thickness is non-negligible.

Numerical simulation of thermally induced near-surface flows over Martian terrain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parish, T. R.; Howard, A. D.

1993-01-01

Numerical simulations of the Martian near-surface wind regime using a mesoscale atmospheric model have shown that the thermally induced near-surface winds are analogous to terrestrial circulations. In particular, katabatic wind displays a striking similarity to flow observed over Antarctica. Introduction of solar radiation strongly perturbs the slope flows; anabatic conditions develop in middle to high latitudes during the daytime hours due to the solar heating of the sloping terrain. There appears to be a rapid transition from the katabatic to the anabatic flow regimes, emphasizing the primary importance of radiative exchanges at the surface in specifying the horizontal pressure gradient force.

Flow adjustment inside large finite-size wind farms approaching the infinite wind farm regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Ka Ling; Porté-Agel, Fernando

2017-04-01

Due to the increasing number and the growing size of wind farms, the distance among them continues to decrease. Thus, it is necessary to understand how these large finite-size wind farms and their wakes could interfere the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) dynamics and adjacent wind farms. Fully-developed flow inside wind farms has been extensively studied through numerical simulations of infinite wind farms. The transportation of momentum and energy is only vertical and the advection of them is neglected in these infinite wind farms. However, less attention has been paid to examine the length of wind farms required to reach such asymptotic regime and the ABL dynamics in the leading and trailing edges of the large finite-size wind farms. Large eddy simulations are performed in this study to investigate the flow adjustment inside large finite-size wind farms in conventionally-neutral boundary layer with the effect of Coriolis force and free-atmosphere stratification from 1 to 5 K/km. For the large finite-size wind farms considered in the present work, when the potential temperature lapse rate is 5 K/km, the wind farms exceed the height of the ABL by two orders of magnitude for the incoming flow inside the farms to approach the fully-developed regime. An entrance fetch of approximately 40 times of the ABL height is also required for such flow adjustment. At the fully-developed flow regime of the large finite-size wind farms, the flow characteristics match those of infinite wind farms even though they have different adjustment length scales. The role of advection at the entrance and exit regions of the large finite-size wind farms is also examined. The interaction between the internal boundary layer developed above the large finite-size wind farms and the ABL under different potential temperature lapse rates are compared. It is shown that the potential temperature lapse rate plays a role in whether the flow inside the large finite-size wind farms adjusts to the fully-developed flow regime. The flow characteristics of the wake of these large finite-size wind farms are reported to forecast the effect of large finite-size wind farms on adjacent wind farms. A power deficit as large as 8% is found at a distance of 10 km downwind from the large finite-size wind farms.

A numerical approach for assessing effects of shear on equivalent permeability and nonlinear flow characteristics of 2-D fracture networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Richeng; Li, Bo; Jiang, Yujing; Yu, Liyuan

2018-01-01

Hydro-mechanical properties of rock fractures are core issues for many geoscience and geo-engineering practices. Previous experimental and numerical studies have revealed that shear processes could greatly enhance the permeability of single rock fractures, yet the shear effects on hydraulic properties of fractured rock masses have received little attention. In most previous fracture network models, single fractures are typically presumed to be formed by parallel plates and flow is presumed to obey the cubic law. However, related studies have suggested that the parallel plate model cannot realistically represent the surface characters of natural rock fractures, and the relationship between flow rate and pressure drop will no longer be linear at sufficiently large Reynolds numbers. In the present study, a numerical approach was established to assess the effects of shear on the hydraulic properties of 2-D discrete fracture networks (DFNs) in both linear and nonlinear regimes. DFNs considering fracture surface roughness and variation of aperture in space were generated using an originally developed code DFNGEN. Numerical simulations by solving Navier-Stokes equations were performed to simulate the fluid flow through these DFNs. A fracture that cuts through each model was sheared and by varying the shear and normal displacements, effects of shear on equivalent permeability and nonlinear flow characteristics of DFNs were estimated. The results show that the critical condition of quantifying the transition from a linear flow regime to a nonlinear flow regime is: 10-4 〈 J < 10-3, where J is the hydraulic gradient. When the fluid flow is in a linear regime (i.e., J < 10-4), the relative deviation of equivalent permeability induced by shear, δ2, is linearly correlated with J with small variations, while for fluid flow in the nonlinear regime (J 〉 10-3), δ2 is nonlinearly correlated with J. A shear process would reduce the equivalent permeability significantly in the orientation perpendicular to the sheared fracture as much as 53.86% when J = 1, shear displacement Ds = 7 mm, and normal displacement Dn = 1 mm. By fitting the calculated results, the mathematical expression for δ2 is established to help choose proper governing equations when solving fluid flow problems in fracture networks.

Modelling the impact of the light regime on single tree transpiration based on 3D representations of plant architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bittner, S.; Priesack, E.

2012-04-01

We apply a functional-structural model of tree water flow to single old-growth trees in a temperate broad-leaved forest stand. Roots, stems and branches are represented by connected porous cylinder elements further divided into the inner heartwood cylinders surrounded by xylem and phloem. Xylem water flow is simulated by applying a non-linear Darcy flow in porous media driven by the water potential gradient according to the cohesion-tension theory. The flow model is based on physiological input parameters such as the hydraulic conductivity, stomatal response to leaf water potential and root water uptake capability and, thus, can reflect the different properties of tree species. The actual root water uptake is calculated using also a non-linear Darcy law based on the gradient between root xylem water potential and rhizosphere soil water potential and by the simulation of soil water flow applying Richards equation. A leaf stomatal conductance model is combined with the hydrological tree and soil water flow model and a spatially explicit three-dimensional canopy light model. The structure of the canopy and the tree architectures are derived by applying an automatic tree skeleton extraction algorithm from point clouds obtained by use of a terrestrial laser scanner allowing an explicit representation of the water flow path in the stem and branches. The high spatial resolution of the root and branch geometry and their connectivity makes the detailed modelling of the water use of single trees possible and allows for the analysis of the interaction between single trees and the influence of the canopy light regime (including different fractions of direct sunlight and diffuse skylight) on the simulated sap flow and transpiration. The model can be applied at various sites and to different tree species, enabling the up-scaling of the water usage of single trees to the total transpiration of mixed stands. Examples are given to reveal differences between diffuse- and ring-porous tree species and to simulate the diurnal dynamics of transpiration, stem sap flux, and root water uptake observed during the vegetation period in the year 2009.

Dune growth under multidirectional wind regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gadal, C.; Rozier, O.; Claudin, P.; Courrech Du Pont, S.; Narteau, C.

2017-12-01

Under unidirectional wind regimes, flat sand beds become unstable to produce periodic linear dunes, commonly called transverse dunes because their main ridges are oriented perpendicular to the air flow. In areas of low sediment availability, the same interactions between flow, transport and topography produce barchan dunes, isolated sand-pile migrating over long distances with a characteristic crescentic shape. For the last fifteen years, barchan dunes and the instability at the origin of transverse dunes have been the subject of numerous studies that have identified a set of characteristic length and time scales with respect to the physical properties of both grains and fluid. This is not the case for dunes developing under multidirectional wind regimes. Under these conditions, dune orientation is measured with respect to the direction of the resultant sand flux. Depending on the wind regime, dunes do not always line up perpendicularly to the resultant sand flux, but can also be at an oblique angle or even parallel to it. These oblique and longitudinal dunes are ubiquitous in all deserts on Earth and planetary bodies because of the seasonal variability of wind orientation. They are however poorly constrained by observations and there is still no complete theoretical framework providing a description of their orientation and initial wavelength. Here, we extend the linear stability analysis of a flat sand of bed done in two dimensions for a unidirectional flow to three dimensions and multidirectional flow regimes. We are able to recover transitions from transverse to oblique or longitudinal dune patterns according to changes in wind regimes. We besides give a prediction for the initial dune wavelength. Our results compare well to previous theory of dune orientation and to field, experimental and numerical data.

Hydrodynamic interaction of swimming organisms in an inertial regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Gaojin; Ostace, Anca; Ardekani, Arezoo M.

2016-11-01

We numerically investigate the hydrodynamic interaction of swimming organisms at small to intermediate Reynolds number regimes, i.e., Re˜O (0.1 -100 ) , where inertial effects are important. The hydrodynamic interaction of swimming organisms in this regime is significantly different from the Stokes regime for microorganisms, as well as the high Reynolds number flows for fish and birds, which involves strong flow separation and detached vortex structures. Using an archetypal swimmer model, called a "squirmer," we find that the inertial effects change the contact time and dispersion dynamics of a pair of pusher swimmers, and trigger hydrodynamic attraction for two pullers. These results are potentially important in investigating predator-prey interactions, sexual reproduction, and the encounter rate of marine organisms such as copepods, ctenophora, and larvae.

Two-dimensional electromagnetic Child-Langmuir law of a short-pulse electron flow

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, S. H.; Tai, L. C.; Liu, Y. L.

Two-dimensional electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulations were performed to study the effect of the displacement current and the self-magnetic field on the space charge limited current density or the Child-Langmuir law of a short-pulse electron flow with a propagation distance of {zeta} and an emitting width of W from the classical regime to the relativistic regime. Numerical scaling of the two-dimensional electromagnetic Child-Langmuir law was constructed and it scales with ({zeta}/W) and ({zeta}/W){sup 2} at the classical and relativistic regimes, respectively. Our findings reveal that the displacement current can considerably enhance the space charge limited current density as compared to the well-knownmore » two-dimensional electrostatic Child-Langmuir law even at the classical regime.« less

An edge-based solution-adaptive method applied to the AIRPLANE code

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Biswas, Rupak; Thomas, Scott D.; Cliff, Susan E.

1995-01-01

Computational methods to solve large-scale realistic problems in fluid flow can be made more efficient and cost effective by using them in conjunction with dynamic mesh adaption procedures that perform simultaneous coarsening and refinement to capture flow features of interest. This work couples the tetrahedral mesh adaption scheme, 3D_TAG, with the AIRPLANE code to solve complete aircraft configuration problems in transonic and supersonic flow regimes. Results indicate that the near-field sonic boom pressure signature of a cone-cylinder is improved, the oblique and normal shocks are better resolved on a transonic wing, and the bow shock ahead of an unstarted inlet is better defined.

Toward large eddy simulation of turbulent flow over an airfoil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Choi, Haecheon

1993-01-01

The flow field over an airfoil contains several distinct flow characteristics, e.g. laminar, transitional, turbulent boundary layer flow, flow separation, unstable free shear layers, and a wake. This diversity of flow regimes taxes the presently available Reynolds averaged turbulence models. Such models are generally tuned to predict a particular flow regime, and adjustments are necessary for the prediction of a different flow regime. Similar difficulties are likely to emerge when the large eddy simulation technique is applied with the widely used Smagorinsky model. This model has not been successful in correctly representing different turbulent flow fields with a single universal constant and has an incorrect near-wall behavior. Germano et al. (1991) and Ghosal, Lund & Moin have developed a new subgrid-scale model, the dynamic model, which is very promising in alleviating many of the persistent inadequacies of the Smagorinsky model: the model coefficient is computed dynamically as the calculation progresses rather than input a priori. The model has been remarkably successful in prediction of several turbulent and transitional flows. We plan to simulate turbulent flow over a '2D' airfoil using the large eddy simulation technique. Our primary objective is to assess the performance of the newly developed dynamic subgrid-scale model for computation of complex flows about aircraft components and to compare the results with those obtained using the Reynolds average approach and experiments. The present computation represents the first application of large eddy simulation to a flow of aeronautical interest and a key demonstration of the capabilities of the large eddy simulation technique.

Flow behaviour of negatively buoyant jets in immiscible ambient fluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geyer, A.; Phillips, J. C.; Mier-Torrecilla, M.; Idelsohn, S. R.; Oñate, E.

2012-01-01

In this paper we investigate experimentally the injection of a negatively buoyant jet into a homogenous immiscible ambient fluid. Experiments are carried out by injecting a jet of dyed fresh water through a nozzle in the base of a cylindrical tank containing rapeseed oil. The fountain inlet flow rate and nozzle diameter were varied to cover a wide range of Richardson Ri (8 × 10-4 < Ri < 1.98), Reynolds Re (467 < Re < 5,928) and Weber We (2.40 < We < 308.56) numbers. Based on the Re, Ri and We values for the experiments, we have determined a regime map to define how these values may control the occurrence of the observed flow types. Whereas Ri plays a stronger role when determining the maximum penetration height, the effect of the Reynolds number is stronger predicting the flow behaviour for a specific nozzle diameter and injection velocity.

Acoustic emission data assisted process monitoring.

PubMed

Yen, Gary G; Lu, Haiming

2002-07-01

Gas-liquid two-phase flows are widely used in the chemical industry. Accurate measurements of flow parameters, such as flow regimes, are the key of operating efficiency. Due to the interface complexity of a two-phase flow, it is very difficult to monitor and distinguish flow regimes on-line and real time. In this paper we propose a cost-effective and computation-efficient acoustic emission (AE) detection system combined with artificial neural network technology to recognize four major patterns in an air-water vertical two-phase flow column. Several crucial AE parameters are explored and validated, and we found that the density of acoustic emission events and ring-down counts are two excellent indicators for the flow pattern recognition problems. Instead of the traditional Fair map, a hit-count map is developed and a multilayer Perceptron neural network is designed as a decision maker to describe an approximate transmission stage of a given two-phase flow system.

Experimental response of Salix cuttings to different flow regimes due to human activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorla, Lorenzo; Signarbieux, Constant; Turberg, Pascal; Buttler, Alexandre; Perona, Paolo

2014-05-01

Hydropower production and other human activities change the natural flow regime of rivers, in turn impacting the riparian environment. The main challenge in order to define eco-sustainable flows is to quantify the effects in terms of geomorphology and ecosystem adaptation. We present 2-years controlled experiments to investigate riparian vegetation (Salix Viminalis) response to forced water table changing dynamics, from one water regime to another, in a temperate region (Switzerland). Three synthetic flow regimes have been simulated and applied to three batteries of Salix cuttings growing outdoor within plastic pots, each about 1 meter tall. In 2012 one treatment simulated a minimal flow policy for small run-of-river hydropower plants, which drastically impacts the low and the medium-low components of the hydrograph, but not the extremes. In 2013 we confirmed and completed some of 2012 results, by reproducing typical hydropeaking effects due to dam management and focusing on daily water table variations and offsets. For both the seasons, after an initial period where all pots undergone the same oscillations in order to uniform the plants initial conditions, the experiment started, and the water dynamic was changed. Cuttings transitory response dynamics has been quantified by continuous sap flow and water potential measurements, and by regularly collecting growth parameters, as well as leaves photosynthesis, fluorescence, and pictures of each plant. At the end of the experiment, all cuttings were carefully removed and the both above and below ground biomass analyzed in detail. Particularly, the 3D root structure was obtained by High Resolution Computer Tomography. Our analyses revealed a clear dependence between roots distribution and water regime reflecting the need for adaptation, in agreement with field observations of Pasquale et al. (2012). In particular, an initial strong difference in terms of stress and growth performances was then followed by a later adjustment in the roots system, notably detected from tomographic images. Macroscopic effects in terms of growth parameters at weekly time step have found correspondence at higher time resolution in terms of sap flow and stem pressure, strengthening our results interpretation. REFERENCES - Pasquale et al. "Effects of streamflow variability on the vertical root density distribution of willow cutting experiments." Ecological Engineering 40 (2012): 167-172. - Gorla et al., "Transient response of Salix cuttings to changing water level regimes", WRR, submitted.

Homogeneous purely buoyancy driven turbulent flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arakeri, Jaywant; Cholemari, Murali; Pawar, Shashikant

2010-11-01

An unstable density difference across a long vertical tube open at both ends leads to convection that is axially homogeneous with a linear density gradient. We report results from such tube convection experiments, with driving density caused by salt concentration difference or temperature difference. At high enough Rayleigh numbers (Ra) the convection is turbulent with zero mean flow and zero mean Reynolds shear stresses; thus turbulent production is purely by buoyancy. We observe different regimes of turbulent convection. At very high Ra the Nusselt number scales as the square root of the Rayleigh number, giving the so-called "ultimate regime" of convection predicted for Rayleigh-Benard convection in limit of infinite Ra. Turbulent convection at intermediate Ra, the Nusselt number scales as Ra^0.3. In both regimes, the flux and the Taylor scale Reynolds number are more than order of magnitude larger than those obtained in Rayleigh-Benard convection. Absence of a mean flow makes this an ideal flow to study shear free turbulence near a wall.

Sedimentological regimes for turbidity currents: Depth-averaged theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halsey, Thomas C.; Kumar, Amit; Perillo, Mauricio M.

2017-07-01

Turbidity currents are one of the most significant means by which sediment is moved from the continents into the deep ocean; their properties are interesting both as elements of the global sediment cycle and due to their role in contributing to the formation of deep water oil and gas reservoirs. One of the simplest models of the dynamics of turbidity current flow was introduced three decades ago, and is based on depth-averaging of the fluid mechanical equations governing the turbulent gravity-driven flow of relatively dilute turbidity currents. We examine the sedimentological regimes of a simplified version of this model, focusing on the role of the Richardson number Ri [dimensionless inertia] and Rouse number Ro [dimensionless sedimentation velocity] in determining whether a current is net depositional or net erosional. We find that for large Rouse numbers, the currents are strongly net depositional due to the disappearance of local equilibria between erosion and deposition. At lower Rouse numbers, the Richardson number also plays a role in determining the degree of erosion versus deposition. The currents become more erosive at lower values of the product Ro × Ri, due to the effect of clear water entrainment. At higher values of this product, the turbulence becomes insufficient to maintain the sediment in suspension, as first pointed out by Knapp and Bagnold. We speculate on the potential for two-layer solutions in this insufficiently turbulent regime, which would comprise substantial bedload flow with an overlying turbidity current.

Isothermal laminar fluid flow in spiral tube coils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patil, Rahul Harishchandra

2018-06-01

An experimental study is performed to measure pressure drop for Newtonian fluid flow through copper spirals of different geometries. The experimental friction factors obtained are presented and correlated with the different geometrical parameters of the spiral coils. Four spiral coils with (D_i/D) ratio ranging from 0.0178 to 0.028 and (L/D_i) ratio ranging from 527.5 to 2110.169 are investigated. A new dimensionless number, the R number is introduced which is found to characterize the fluid flow phenomenon in spiral coil tubes. An innovative approach to correlate Dean and R numbers with friction factor data of variable curvature coils for laminar flow regime is presented for the first time. The study will prove useful to bridge the gap between the straight tube flow and curved coil flow based on a single dimensionless number.

Channel evolution under changing hydrological regimes in anabranching reaches downstream of the Three Gorges Dam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Jianqiao; Zhang, Wei; Yuan, Jing; Fan, Yongyang

2018-03-01

Elucidating the influence of dams on fluvial processes can benefit river protection and basin management. Based on hydrological and topographical data, we analyzed channel evolution in anabranching reaches under changing hydrological regimes influenced by the Three Gorges Dam. The main conclusions are as follows: 1) the channels of specific anabranching reaches were defined as flood trend channels or low-flow trend channels according to the distribution of their flow characteristics. The anabranching reaches were classified as T1 or T2. The former is characterized by the correspondence between the flood trend and branch channels, and the latter is characterized by the correspondence between the flood trend and main channels; 2) on the basis of the new classification, the discrepant patterns of channel evolution seen in anabranching reaches were unified into a pattern that showed flood trend channels shrinking and low-flow trend channels expanding; 3) flood abatement and the increased duration of moderate flow discharges are the main factors that affect channel adjustments in anabranching reaches after dam construction; and 4) in the next few decades, the pattern of channel evolution will remain the same as that of the Three Gorges Dam operation. That is, the morphology will fully adapt to a flow with a low coefficient of variation. Our results are of interest in the management of the Yangtze River and other rivers influenced by dams.

Effect of spin transfer torque on domain wall motion regimes in [Co/Ni] superlattice wires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Gall, S.; Vernier, N.; Montaigne, F.; Thiaville, A.; Sampaio, J.; Ravelosona, D.; Mangin, S.; Andrieu, S.; Hauet, T.

2017-05-01

The combined effect of magnetic field and current on domain wall motion is investigated in epitaxial [Co/Ni] microwires. Both thermally activated and flow regimes are found to be strongly affected by current. All experimental data can be understood by taking into account both adiabatic and nonadiabatic components of the spin transfer torque, the parameters of which are extracted. In the precessional flow regime, it is shown that the domain wall can move in the electron flow direction against a strong applied field, as previously observed. In addition, for a large range of applied magnetic field and injected current, a stochastic domain wall displacement after each pulse is observed. Two-dimensional micromagnetic simulations, including some disorder, show a random fluctuation of the domain wall position that qualitatively matches the experimental results.

Dripping and jetting regimes in co-flowing capillary jets: unforced measurements and response to driving

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baroud, Charles; Cordero, Maria-Luisa; Gallaire, Francois

2011-11-01

We study the breakup of drops in a co-flowing jet, within the confinement of a microfluidic channel. The breakup can occur right after the nozzle (dripping) or through the generation of a liquid jet that breaks up a long distance from the nozzle (jetting). Traditionally, these two regimes have been considered to reflect an absolutely unstable jet or a convectively unstable jet, respectively. We first provide measurements of the frequency of oscillation and breakup of the liquid jet; the dispersion relation thus obtained compares well with existing theories for convective instabilities in the case of the jetting regime. However, the theories in the absolutely unstable mode fail to predict the evolution of the frequency and drop size in the dripping regime. We also test the jet response to an external forcing, using a focused laser to locally heat the jet. The dripping regime is found to be insensitive to the perturbation and the frequency of drop formation remains unaltered. In contrast, the jetting regime locks to the external frequency, which translates into a modification of the drop size in agreement with the dispersion relations. This confirms the convective nature of the jetting regime. Permanent address: Universidad de Chile.

Neutron imaging of diabatic two-phase flows relevant to air conditioning

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Geoghegan, Patrick J; Sharma, Vishaldeep

The design of the evaporator of an air conditioning system relies heavily on heat transfer coefficients and pressure drop correlations that predominantly involve an estimate of the changing void fraction and the underlying two-phase flow regime. These correlations dictate whether the resulting heat exchanger is oversized or not and the amount of refrigerant charge necessary to operate. The latter is particularly important when dealing with flammable or high GWP refrigerants. Traditional techniques to measure the void fraction and visualize the flow are either invasive to the flow or occur downstream of the evaporator, where some of the flow distribution willmore » have changed. Neutron imaging has the potential to visualize two-phase flow in-situ where an aluminium heat exchanger structure becomes essentially transparent to the penetrating neutrons. The subatomic particles are attenuated by the passing refrigerant flow. The resulting image may be directly related to the void fraction and the overall picture provides a clear insight into the flow regime present. This work presents neutron images of the refrigerant Isopentane as it passes through the flow channels of an aluminium evaporator at flowrates relevant to air conditioning. The flow in a 4mm square macro channel is compared to that in a 250 m by 750 m rectangular microchannel in terms of void fraction and regime. All neutron imaging experiments were conducted at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, an Oak Ridge National Laboratory facility« less

E × B flow shear drive of the linear low- n modes of EHO in the QH-mode regime [ E × B flow shear drive of EHO in the QH-mode regime

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, G. S.; Wan, B. N.; Wang, Y. F.

A new mechanism is identified for driving the edge harmonic oscillations (EHOs) in the quiescent H-mode (QH-mode) regime, where a strong E × B flow shear destabilizes low-n kink/peeling modes, separately from the previously found Kelvin-Helmholtz drive. We find that the differential advection of mode vorticity by sheared E × B flows modifies the two-dimensional pattern of mode electrostatic potential perpendicular to the magnetic field lines, which in turn causes a radial expansion of the mode structure, an increase of field line bending away from the mode rational surface, and a reduction of inertial stabilization. This enhances the kink drivemore » as the parallel wavenumber increases significantly away from the rational surface where the magnetic shear is also strong. A newly developed model reproduces the observations that at high E × B flow shear only a few low-n modes remain unstable, consistent with the EHO behavior, while at low E × B flow shear the unstable mode spectrum is significantly broadened, consistent with the low-n broadband electromagnetic turbulence behavior observed recently in the DIII-D tokamak. This destabilization is also shown to be independent of the sign of the flow shear, as observed experimentally, and has not been taken into 2 / 46 account in previous pedestal linear stability analyses. Verification of the veracity of this EHO mechanism will require analysis of the nonlinear evolution of low-n kink/peeling modes so destabilized in the linear regime.« less

E × B flow shear drive of the linear low- n modes of EHO in the QH-mode regime [ E × B flow shear drive of EHO in the QH-mode regime

DOE PAGES

Xu, G. S.; Wan, B. N.; Wang, Y. F.; ...

2017-07-18

A new mechanism is identified for driving the edge harmonic oscillations (EHOs) in the quiescent H-mode (QH-mode) regime, where a strong E × B flow shear destabilizes low-n kink/peeling modes, separately from the previously found Kelvin-Helmholtz drive. We find that the differential advection of mode vorticity by sheared E × B flows modifies the two-dimensional pattern of mode electrostatic potential perpendicular to the magnetic field lines, which in turn causes a radial expansion of the mode structure, an increase of field line bending away from the mode rational surface, and a reduction of inertial stabilization. This enhances the kink drivemore » as the parallel wavenumber increases significantly away from the rational surface where the magnetic shear is also strong. A newly developed model reproduces the observations that at high E × B flow shear only a few low-n modes remain unstable, consistent with the EHO behavior, while at low E × B flow shear the unstable mode spectrum is significantly broadened, consistent with the low-n broadband electromagnetic turbulence behavior observed recently in the DIII-D tokamak. This destabilization is also shown to be independent of the sign of the flow shear, as observed experimentally, and has not been taken into 2 / 46 account in previous pedestal linear stability analyses. Verification of the veracity of this EHO mechanism will require analysis of the nonlinear evolution of low-n kink/peeling modes so destabilized in the linear regime.« less

Thermal Regime of the Downstream Shoulder of Rockfill Dams (Termicheskii Regim Nizovoy Prizm Kamennona’Rosnoy Plotin),

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-02-01

conditi ons for machanical displacement . Hence a flow of air depending on the thermal regime of the dam itself is formed in the downstream should .w of a...The constant coefficients of basic finite—difference equations (33) , , — (34), (35), (38), and (40) were

A simple approximation for larval retention around reefs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cetina-Heredia, Paulina; Connolly, Sean R.

2011-09-01

Estimating larval retention at individual reefs by local scale three-dimensional flows is a significant problem for understanding, and predicting, larval dispersal. Determining larval dispersal commonly involves the use of computationally demanding and expensively calibrated/validated hydrodynamic models that resolve reef wake eddies. This study models variation in larval retention times for a range of reef shapes and circulation regimes, using a reef-scale three-dimensional hydrodynamic model. It also explores how well larval retention time can be estimated based on the "Island Wake Parameter", a measure of the degree of flow turbulence in the wake of reefs that is a simple function of flow speed, reef dimension, and vertical diffusion. The mean residence times found in the present study (0.48-5.64 days) indicate substantial potential for self-recruitment of species whose larvae are passive, or weak swimmers, for the first several days after release. Results also reveal strong and significant relationships between the Island Wake Parameter and mean residence time, explaining 81-92% of the variability in retention among reefs across a range of unidirectional flow speeds and tidal regimes. These findings suggest that good estimates of larval retention may be obtained from relatively coarse-scale characteristics of the flow, and basic features of reef geomorphology. Such approximations may be a valuable tool for modeling connectivity and meta-population dynamics over large spatial scales, where explicitly characterizing fine-scale flows around reef requires a prohibitive amount of computation and extensive model calibration.

Direct Numerical Simulations of a Full Stationary Wind-Turbine Blade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qamar, Adnan; Zhang, Wei; Gao, Wei; Samtaney, Ravi

2014-11-01

Direct numerical simulation of flow past a full stationary wind-turbine blade is carried out at Reynolds number, Re = 10,000 placed at 0 and 5 (degree) angle of attack. The study is targeted to create a DNS database for verification of solvers and turbulent models that are utilized in wind-turbine modeling applications. The full blade comprises of a circular cylinder base that is attached to a spanwise varying airfoil cross-section profile (without twist). An overlapping composite grid technique is utilized to perform these DNS computations, which permits block structure in the mapped computational space. Different flow shedding regimes are observed along the blade length. Von-Karman shedding is observed in the cylinder shaft region of the turbine blade. Along the airfoil cross-section of the blade, near body shear layer breakdown is observed. A long tip vortex originates from the blade tip region, which exits the computational plane without being perturbed. Laminar to turbulent flow transition is observed along the blade length. The turbulent fluctuations amplitude decreases along the blade length and the flow remains laminar regime in the vicinity of the blade tip. The Strouhal number is found to decrease monotonously along the blade length. Average lift and drag coefficients are also reported for the cases investigated. Supported by funding under a KAUST OCRF-CRG grant.

A Modeling Approach for Evaluating the Coupled Riparian Vegetation-Geomorphic Response to Altered Flow Regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manners, R.; Wilcox, A. C.; Merritt, D. M.

2016-12-01

The ecogeomorphic response of riparian ecosystems to a change in hydrologic properties is difficult to predict because of the interactions and feedbacks among plants, water, and sediment. Most riparian models of community dynamics assume a static channel, yet geomorphic processes strongly control the establishment and survival of riparian vegetation. Using a combination of approaches that includes empirical relationships and hydrodynamic models, we model the coupled vegetation-topographic response of three cross-sections on the Yampa and Green Rivers in Dinosaur National Monument, to a shift in the flow regime. The locations represent the variable geomorphology and vegetation composition of these canyon-bound rivers. We account for the inundation and hydraulic properties of vegetation plots surveyed over three years within International River Interface Cooperative (iRIC) Fastmech, equipped with a vegetation module that accounts for flexible stems and plant reconfiguration. The presence of functional groupings of plants, or those plants that respond similarly to environmental factors such as water availability and disturbance are determined from flow response curves developed for the Yampa River. Using field measurements of vegetation morphology, distance from the channel centerline, and dominant particle size and modeled inundation properties we develop an empirical relationship between these variables and topographic change. We evaluate vegetation and channel form changes over decadal timescales, allowing for the integration of processes over time. From our analyses, we identify thresholds in the flow regime that alter the distribution of plants and reduce geomorphic complexity, predominately through side-channel and backwater infilling. Simplification of some processes (e.g., empirically-derived sedimentation) and detailed treatment of others (e.g., plant-flow interactions) allows us to model the coupled dynamics of riparian ecosystems and evaluate the impact of small to large shifts in the flow regime. This approach will be useful to river managers and scientists, as they try to understand the potential changes to riparian ecosystems with uncertain changes to hydrologic regimes as a result of a changing climate and human demands.

Modeling the effects of land use and climate change on riverine smallmouth bass

USGS Publications Warehouse

Peterson, J.T.; Kwak, T.J.

1999-01-01

Anthropogenic changes in temperature and stream flow, associated with watershed land use and climate change, are critical influences on the distribution and abundance of riverine fishes. To project the effects of changing land use and climate, we modeled a smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) population in a midwestern USA, large river- floodplain ecosystem under historical (1915-1925), present (1977-1990), and future (2060, influenced by climate change) temperature and flow regimes. The age-structured model included parameters for temperature and river discharge during critical seasonal periods, fish population dynamics, and fishing harvest. Model relationships were developed from empirical field data collected over a 13-yr period. Sensitivity analyses indicated that discharge during the spawning/rearing period had a greater effect on adult density and fishing yield than did spawning/rearing temperature or winter discharge. Simulations for 100 years projected a 139% greater mean fish density under a historical flow regime (64.9 fish/ha) than that estimated for the present (27.1 fish/ha) with a sustainable fishing harvest under both flow regimes. Simulations under future climate-change-induced temperature and flow regimes with present land use projected a 69% decrease in mean fish density (8.5 fish/ha) from present and an unstable population that went extinct during 56% of the simulations. However, when simulated under a future climate-altered temperature and flow regime with historical land use, the population increased by 66% (45.0 fish/ha) from present and sustained a harvest. Our findings suggest that land-use changes may be a greater detriment to riverine fishes than projected climate change and that the combined effects of both factors may lead to local species extinction. However, the negative effects of increased temperature and precipitation associated with future global warming could be mitigated by river channel, floodplain, and watershed restoration.

Buoyant miscible displacement flow of shear-thinning fluids: Experiments and Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ale Etrati Khosroshahi, Seyed Ali; Frigaard, Ian

2017-11-01

We study displacement flow of two miscible fluids with density and viscosity contrast in an inclined pipe. Our focus is mainly on displacements where transverse mixing is not significant and thus a two-layer, stratified flow develops. Our experiments are carried out in a long pipe, covering a wide range of flow-rates, inclination angles and viscosity ratios. Density and viscosity contrasts are achieved by adding Glycerol and Xanthan gum to water, respectively. At each angle, flow rate and viscosity ratio are varied and density contrast is fixed. We identify and map different flow regimes, instabilities and front dynamics based on Fr , Re / Frcosβ and viscosity ratio m. The problem is also studied numerically to get a better insight into the flow structure and shear-thinning effects. Numerical simulations are completed using OpenFOAM in both pipe and channel geometries and are compared against the experiments. Schlumberger, NSERC.

Multiscale Sediment-Laden Flow Theory and Its Application in Flood Risk Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Z. X.; Pender, G.; Hu, P.

2011-09-01

Sediment-laden flows over erodible bed normally feature multiple time scales. The time scales of sediment transport and bed deformation relative to the flow essentially measure how fast sediment transport adapts to capacity regime in line with local flow scenario and the bed deforms as compared to the flow, which literally dictate if a capacity based and/or decoupled model is justified. This paper synthesizes the recently developed multiscale theory for sediment-laden flows over erodible bed, with bed load and suspended load transport respectively. It is unravelled that bed load transport can adapt to capacity sufficiently rapidly even under highly unsteady flows and thus a capacity model is mostly applicable, whereas a non-capacity model is critical for suspended sediment because of the lower rate of adaptation to capacity. Physically coupled modeling is critical for cases characterized by rapid bed variation. Applications are outlined on flash floods and landslide dam break floods.

Crossover of Dissipation Mechanism in Flowing Superfluid 3He-B Near the Tricritical Pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ling, Ren-Zhi; Betts, D. S.; Brewer, D. F.

1984-08-01

dc flow of superfluid 3He-B through a rectangular superleak exhibits two dissipative regimes and two critical currents with temperature dependence of the form Jc=b(1-TTc)a. At low pressures a~=32 and b increases with pressure. Around 21.5 bars a crossover occurs to a new dissipation regime with a~=2 and the prefactor b then decreases with pressure.

A multiple-scale turbulence model for incompressible flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duncan, B. S.; Liou, W. W.; Shih, T. H.

1993-01-01

A multiple-scale eddy viscosity model is described. This model splits the energy spectrum into a high wave number regime and a low wave number regime. Dividing the energy spectrum into multiple regimes simplistically emulates the cascade of energy through the turbulence spectrum. The constraints on the model coefficients are determined by examining decaying turbulence and homogeneous turbulence. A direct link between the partitioned energies and the energy transfer process is established through the coefficients. This new model was calibrated and tested for boundary-free turbulent shear flows. Calculations of mean and turbulent properties show good agreement with experimental data for two mixing layers, a plane jet and a round jet.

Agricultural modifications of hydrological flows create ecological surprises.

PubMed

Gordon, Line J; Peterson, Garry D; Bennett, Elena M

2008-04-01

Agricultural expansion and intensification have altered the quantity and quality of global water flows. Research suggests that these changes have increased the risk of catastrophic ecosystem regime shifts. We identify and review evidence for agriculture-related regime shifts in three parts of the hydrological cycle: interactions between agriculture and aquatic systems, agriculture and soil, and agriculture and the atmosphere. We describe the processes that shape these regime shifts and the scales at which they operate. As global demands for agriculture and water continue to grow, it is increasingly urgent for ecologists to develop new ways of anticipating, analyzing and managing nonlinear changes across scales in human-dominated landscapes.

PNS calculations for 3-D hypersonic corner flow with two turbulence models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Gregory E.; Liou, May-Fun; Benson, Thomas J.

1988-01-01

A three-dimensional parabolized Navier-Stokes code has been used as a testbed to investigate two turbulence models, the McDonald Camarata and Bushnell Beckwith model, in the hypersonic regime. The Bushnell Beckwith form factor correction to the McDonald Camarata mixing length model has been extended to three-dimensional flow by use of an inverse averaging of the resultant length scale contributions from each wall. Two-dimensional calculations are compared with experiment for Mach 18 helium flow over a 4-deg wedge. Corner flow calculations have been performed at Mach 11.8 for a Reynolds number of .67 x 10 to the 6th, based on the duct half-width, and a freestream stagnation temperature of 1750-deg Rankine.

Evaluating and Predicting the Effectiveness of Green Infrastructure on a Small Watershed Scale - Emphasis on Water Quality, Flow, Thermal Regime, Substrate Integrity, and Biological Condition

EPA Science Inventory

Assessments of the effectiveness of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) have focused on measurement of load or concentration reductions, which can be translated to predict biological impacts based on chemical water quality criteria. However, many of the impacts of develo...