Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography, 1981. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science. / Bibliography: leaves 63-65. / by Steven John Ghan. / M.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Meteorology, 1979. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science. / Bibliography: leaves 136-137. / by John Newell McHenry. / M.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Meteorology, 1979. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science. / Bibliography : leaf 83. / by Richard St. Pierre. / M.S.

Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of bluff body stabilized premixed and partially premixed combustion close to the flammability limit is carried out in this thesis. The LES algorithm has no ad-hoc adjustable model parameters and is able to respond automatically to variations in the inflow conditions. Algorithm validation is achieved by comparison with reactive and non-reactive experimental data. In the reactive flow, two scalar closure models, Eddy Break-Up (EBULES) and Linear Eddy Mixing (LEMLES), are used and compared. Over important regions, the flame lies in the Broken Reaction Zone regime. Here, the EBU model assumptions fail. The flame thickness predicted by LEMLES is smaller and the flame is faster to respond to turbulent fluctuations, resulting in a more significant wrinkling of the flame surface. As a result, LEMLES captures better the subtle effects of the flame-turbulence interaction. Three premixed (equivalence ratio = 0.6, 0.65, and 0.75) cases are simulated. For the leaner case, the flame temperature is lower, the heat release is reduced and vorticity is stronger. As a result, the flame in this case is found to be unstable. In the rich case, the flame temperature is higher, and the spreading rate of the wake is increased due to the higher amount of heat release Partially premixed combustion is simulated for cases where the transverse profile of the inflow equivalence ratio is variable. The simulations show that for mixtures leaner in the core the vortical pattern tends towards anti-symmetry and the heat release decreases, resulting also in instability of the flame. For mixtures richer in the core, the flame displays sinusoidal flapping resulting in larger wake spreading. More accurate predictions of flame stability will require the use of detailed chemistry, raising the computational cost of the simulation. To address this issue, a novel algorithm for training Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) for prediction of the chemical source terms has been implemented and tested. Compared to earlier methods, the main advantages of the ANN method are in CPU time and disk space and memory reduction.

This thesis examines the development and validation of Canadian Land Surface Scheme (CLASS) for various wetland landscapes individually, along with an evaluation of modelled results over a heterogeneous surface with airborne observations. A further statistical analysis of the effects of land surface classification procedures over the study area and their influence on modelled results is performed. CLASS is tested over individual wetland types: bog, fen and marsh in a stand-alone (non-GCM coupled) mode. Atmospheric conditions are provided for the eight site locations from tower measured data, while each surface is parameterized within the model from site specific measurements. Resulting model turbulent and radiative flux output is then statistically evaluated against observed tower data. Findings show that while CLASS models vascular dominated wetland areas (fen and marsh) quite well, non-vascular wetlands (bogs) are poorly represented, even with improved soil descriptions. At times when the water table is close to the surface, evaporation is greatly overestimated, whereas lowered water tables generate a vastly underestimated latent heat flux. Because CLASS does not include a moisture transfer scheme applicable for non-vascular vegetation, the description of this vegetation type as either a vascular plant or bare soil appears inappropriate. / CLASS was then tuned for a specific bog location found in the Hudson Bay Lowland (HBL) during the Northern Wetlands Study (NOWES). With bog surfaces better described within the model, testing of CLASS over a highly heterogeneous 169 km2 HBL region is then undertaken. The model is first modified for lake and pond surfaces and then separate runs for bog, fen, lake and tree/shrub categories is undertaken. Using a GIS, the test region under which airborne flux measurements are available is divided into 104 grid cells and proportions of each surface type are calculated within each cell. Findings indicate that although the modelled grid average radiation and flux values are reasonably well reproduced (4% error for net radiation, 10% for latent heat flux and 30% for sensible heat flux), spatial agreement between modelled and observed grid cells is disappointing. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

No description available.