Polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films, consisting of micro-sized domains of a liquid crystal dispersing in a polymer matrix, serve as the basis of a variety of high-efficiency electro-optical effects. The thermo-optical properties of the PDLCs were investigated in this thesis. The thermal properties and the morphologies of four low molar mass mesogens were studied by DSC and polarized optical microscope (POM). There were significant super cooling/heating effects on the first order phase transitions but not on the mesophase transitions. The structural effects on the transition temperature were investigated. Between the two 4-alkoxybenzoic acids mesogens, the clearing temperature of 4-(octyloxy)benzoic acid was higher than 4-(decyloxy)benzoic acid because of the increasing chain length. Trans-4-methoxycinnamic acid had the highest melting temperature among the four mesogens despite the molar mass because the carboxylic acid termini of trans-4-methoxycinnamic acid gave rise to strong intermolecular attractions. The smectic phases of 4-(octyloxy)benzoic acid were classified as head-to-head bilayer orientational smectic structures, SmA2 and SmC2, respectively, by wide angle X-ray diffraction through measuring the d spacing of the liquid crystal. The total solubility parameter was used to evaluate matching a polymer-LC-solvent combination. PDLC films were prepared by the solvent induced phase separation method and suitable morphologies were achieved by thermal induced phase separation. The phase transition temperatures of PDLCs were shifted to a lower temperature due to the polymer dispersion effects. Different mesophases were observed in PDLC films when LC exhibited different mesophases. The LC fractions in the droplets were calculated from the nematic to isotropic enthalpies through the Smith equation. Two factors, thermal cooling rate and the LC concentration, which affect the size of the droplet dispersed in the polymer matrix, were investigated in the PVC dispersed 4,4'-azoxyanisole. The phase transitions of pHEMA dispersed 4-(octyloxy)benzoic acid and PVC dispersed 4,4'-azoxyanisole were investigated by TMDSC and quasi-isothermal TMDSC. The TMDSC results were analysed by the two approaches, reversing and non-reversing heat flow and complex heat capacity. The results of the phase transitions of the two PDLCs illustrated that in the PDLCs it involved both non-reversing, melting, and reversing, clearing and the transition between two mesophases. In the non-reversing transition, the transition temperature would be affected by super cooling/heating and the results obtained in the experiments were dependent on the experimental conditions, such as the heating or cooling rate, sample size and purge gas flow rate. However, in the reversing transition process, there were no super cooling/heating effects observed and it seemed that the experimental conditions were not so critical. Results could be monitored by Lissajous figures obtained from the quasi-isothermal TMDSC. The plots of modulated heat flow versus the derivative of modulated temperature can be used to alert to unfavorable experimental conditions where loss of system linearity could be seen.

Gas turbines for military applications, when operating in harsh environments like deserts often encounter unexpected operation faults. Such performance deterioration of the gas turbine decreases the mission readiness of the Air Force and simultaneously increases the maintenance costs. Some of the major factors responsible for the reduced performance are ingestion of debris during take off and landing, distorted intake flows during low altitude maneuvers, and hot gas ingestion during artillery firing. The focus of this thesis is to study ingestion of debris; specifically sand. The region of interest being the internal cooling ribbed duct of the turbine blade. The presence of serpentine passages and strong localized cross flow components makes this region prone to deposition, erosion, and corrosion (DEC) by sand particles. A Lagrangian particle tracking technique was implemented in a generalized coordinate multi-block Navier-Stokes solver in a distributed parallel framework. The developed algorithm was validated by comparing the computed particle statistics for 28 microns lycopodium, 50 microns glass, and 70 microns copper with available data [2] for a turbulent channel flow at Ret=180. Computations were performed for a particle-laden turbulent flow through a stationary ribbed square duct (rib pitch / rib height = 10, rib height / hydraulic diameter = 0.1) using an Eulerian-Lagrangian framework. Particle sizes of 10, 50, and 100 microns with response times (normalized by friction velocity and hydraulic diameter) of 0.06875, 1.71875, and 6.875 respectively are considered. The calculations are performed for a nominal bulk Reynolds number of 20,000 under fully developed conditions. The carrier phase was solved using Large Eddy Simulation (LES) with Dynamic Smagorinsky Model [1]. Due to low volume fraction of the particles, one-way fluid-particle coupling was assumed. It is found that at any given instant in time about 40% of the total number of 10 micron particles are concentrated in the vicinity (within 0.05 Dh) of the duct surfaces, compared to 26% of the 50 and 100 micron particles. The 10 micron particles are more sensitive to the flow features and are prone to preferential concentration more so than the larger particles. At the side walls of the duct, the 10 micron particles exhibit a high potential to erode the region in the vicinity of the rib due to secondary flow impingement. The larger particles are more prone to eroding the area between the ribs and towards the center of the duct. At the ribbed walls, while the 10 micron particles exhibit a fairly uniform propensity for erosion, the 100 micron particles show a much higher tendency to erode the surface in the vicinity of the reattachment region. The rib face facing the flow is by far the most susceptible to erosion and deposition for all particle sizes. While the top of the rib does not exhibit a large propensity to be eroded, the back of the rib is as susceptible as the other duct surfaces because of particles which are entrained into the recirculation zone behind the rib. / Master of Science

Résumé confidentiel / Résumé confidentiel

Celui-ci a pour objectif de valider l'ensemble des modèles physiques utilisés dans un code de simulation numérique pour simuler un écoulement de type annulaire dispersé en conduite rencontré lors d'une procédure de lavage à eau utilisé dans les raffineries. Pour ce faire une banque de données expérimentale est mise en place sur des configurations représentatives de celles utilisées en condition industrielle. La géométrie retenue comporte une zone horizontale d'injection rectiligne avec un injecteur central, suivi d'un coude à 90° situé dans un plan vertical. Différentes conditions expérimentales permettent d'étudier l'influence de la vitesse du gaz, de la condition d'injection du brouillard et de la pression sur les différents processus physiques. Ces résultats comprenant des visualisations du brouillard et du film pariétale, des mesures de taille et de distribution de gouttes,des mesures de débit et d'épaisseur de film, sont analysés pour faire ressortir les principaux mécanismes d'interaction entre le gaz et la phase dispersée, le gaz et le film liquide pariétal et la phase dispersée et le film pariétal. En parallèle, des premières simulations, avec une approche RANS, sont réalisées avec le code CEDRE de l'ONERA et les résultats sont confrontés aux mesures. / This work has been realised within a CIFRE contract with TOTAL. Its aim was to validate all the physical models used in a computation, which simulates an annular dispersed flow through a pipe used in a water washing process in refinery plants. That is why, a whole set of data has been gathered using experimental boundary conditions which are representative to those used in industrial configurations. The geometry is made of a horizontal pipe with a centred nozzle followed by a 90º elbow in the vertical plane. Several experimental boundary conditions enable one to study the influence of the gas velocity, the type of the spray injection and the pressure on the different physical phenomena. These results including spray and liquid film visualisations, droplets distribution and size measurements as well as liquid film thickness and mass flow measurements were analysed in order to extract the main interaction mechanism between the gas and the dispersed phase, the gas and the liquid film, and the dispersed phase and the annular liquid film. Meanwhile, simulations using a RANS approach were realized with the ONERA code named CEDRE and its results were compared to the gathered measurements.

Les écoulements diphasiques jouent un rôle prépondérant dans les moteurs-fusées à ergols liquides cryogéniques, équipant par exemple les lanceurs de la famille Ariane. L'étude expérimentale de tels engins propulsifs étant complexe et onéreuse, disposer d'outils numériques à même de simuler fidèlement leur fonctionnement se révèle être un objectif aussi important qu'ambitieux. La difficulté majeure réside dans le caractère fortement multi-échelles du problème, si bien qu’aucune approche numérique existante n'est capable à elle seule de décrire parfaitement l'ensemble des échelles liquides. Partant de ce constat, les travaux présentés dans cette thèse visent à mettre en place une stratégie de couplage entre des modèles bien adaptés aux différentes topologies d'écoulement diphasique, et ce dans le cadre de la plateforme logicielle multi-physique CEDRE développée par l'ONERA. La démarche adoptée consiste précisément à coupler un modèle à interface diffuse de type ``4 équations'' pour les zones à phases séparées, et un modèle cinétique eulérien pour la phase dispersée, rendant ainsi possible la description de l’atomisation primaire. Par ailleurs, les conditions sévères qui règnent dans les moteurs cryotechniques, où de forts gradients de température, vitesse et densité sont rencontrés, mettent à l'épreuve la robustesse des méthodes numériques. Une nouvelle méthode MUSCL multipente pour maillages non structurés généraux a ainsi été développée, permettant d’améliorer la robustesse et la précision des schémas de discrétisation spatiale. L’ensemble de la stratégie de couplage est finalement appliquée à la simulation du banc Mascotte de l'ONERA pour la combustion cryotechnique. / Two-phase flows play a significant role for the proper functioning of cryogenic liquid-propellant rocketengines, such as those that equip the launchers of the Ariane family. Since the experimental investigationof such propulsion devices is complex and expensive, developing numerical tools able to accuratelysimulate their functioning, is a crucial but nonetheless ambitious objective. The major difficulty is due tothe multiscale nature of the problem, as a result of which there is currently no numerical approach ableto perfectly describe all the liquid scales on its own. Based on this observation the work presented in thisthesis aims at setting up a coupling strategy between models well-adapted to each two-phase flowtopology, in the framework of the ONERA’s multiphysics CEDRE software. The approach adoptedprecisely consists in coupling a 4-equation diffuse interface model for the separated phases and aeulerian kinetic model for the dispersed phase, thus making it possible to describe primary atomization.Besides, the harsh conditions within cryogenic rocket engines, where large temperature, velocity anddensity gradients are encountered, severely challenge the robustness of numerical methods. A newmultislope MUSCL method for general unstructured meshes is thus developed in order to improve therobustness and accuracy of space discretization schemes. The whole coupling strategy is finally appliedto the numerical simulation of the ONERA’s Mascotte test bench for cryogenic combustion research.