<p>  </p> <p>In gas turbines, the hot gas exiting the combustor can be as high as 2000 ^oC, and some of this hot gas enter into the space between the stator and rotor disks (wheelspace). Since the hot gas entering with its high temperatures could damage the disks, hot-gas ingestion must be minimized. This is done by using rim seals and by introducing a flow of cooler air from the compressor (sealing flow) into the wheelspace. </p> <p>Ingress and egress into rim seals are driven by the stator vanes, the rotor and its rotation, and the rotor blades. This study focuses on the first-stage turbine, where ingress could cause the most damage and has two parts. The first part focuses on understanding ingress and egress driven by the rotor and its rotation, known as rotationally-induced ingress, by studying ingress about an axial seal in a stator-rotor configuration without vanes and without blades. The second part focuses on understanding ingress and egress driven by stator vanes, known as externally-induced ingress, by studying a stator-rotor configuration with vanes but no blades, where the ratio of the external Reynolds number to the rotational Reynolds number is 0.538. For both parts, solutions were generated by wall-resolved large-eddy simulation (LES) based on the WALE subgrid model and by Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) based on the SST model. For both stator-rotor configurations, the grid-independent solutions obtained were compared with available experimental data.   </p> <p>Results obtained for the configuration without vanes and blades show Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) to form even without swirl from the hot-gas flow and to create a wavy shear layer on the rotor. Also, Vortex shedding (VS) occurs on the backward-facing side of the seal and impinges on the rotor side of the seal. The KHI and VS produce alternating regions of high and low pressures about the rotor-side of the axial seal, which cause ingress to start on the rotor side of the seal. Results obtained for the configuration with vanes but no blades show both LES and RANS to correctly predict the coefficient of pressure, C_p, upstream of the axial seal. However, only LES was able to correctly predict the sealing effectiveness. This shows C_p by itself maybe is inadequate in quantifying externally-induced ingress. One reason why RANS was unable to predict sealing effectiveness is significantly under predicting the pressure drop on the rotor surface, which affected the pressure variation along the hot-gas path and hence the pressure difference across the axial seal, which ultimately drives ingress. </p>

<p>  </p> <p>Recent developments in radiative cooling paints have shown significant promise towards commercialization of the technology. Therefore, questions have been asked as to how the durability of these paints could be evaluated and improved, as well as how these paints could impact energy use and global climate change. In this work, a paint formulation was developed using nanoplatelet hBN pigments with an MP-101 binder from SDC Technologies, Inc. This formulation shows similar reflective properties to that of an hBN acrylic formulation (97.5% and 97.9% reflectance, respectively) while boosting a water droplet contact angle of as much as 120°, proving hydrophobicity and therefore self-cleaning properties. Additionally, a comprehensive study was conducted to understand the potential impact of the radiative cooling paints on the changing global climate. Three potential impacts of the paint were discussed, including capture and utilization of CO2 into the CaCO3 paint, the reduction of HVAC usage on buildings painted with the RC paints, and net cooling of the earth due to the solar reflection and thermal emission of the paint into deep space. It was discovered that all three parts had a positive impact on the global climate, regardless of which US climate zone the representative building was in. Additionally, it was found that the paints could reduce as much as an equivalent 539 lbs CO2eq from the atmosphere for each m2 of the paint applied.</p>

[pt] A interface solo-rocha é de difícil determinação e permanece essencialmente desconhecida na maioria das encostas brasileiras. Nesta tese, apresentamos um modelo analítico para a predição espacial da espessura de solo com base na teoria do controle ascendente do maciço rochoso e topografia de alta resolução. A maioria dos parâmetros do modelo possui significado físico, possibilitando medições em campo ou laboratório. O modelo inclui um termo que simula a perda de regolito devido a movimentos de massa estocásticos e outro termo que reproduz a forma do maciço rochoso ao longo de canais de drenagem. Reconciliamos nosso modelo com dados de campo obtidos a partir de sondagens com penetrômetro dinâmico leve no maciço da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. Usamos inferência Bayesiana, com amostragem da distribuição posterior de parâmetros através de simulação Monte Carlo via cadeia de Markov, a qual forneceu parâmetros do modelo que melhor honram os dados de campo bem como a incerteza preditiva estratigráfica. Para testar os resultados da inferência Bayesiana em estabilidade de encostas, desenvolvemos um programa computacional para a integração de simulações de fluxo não-saturado, o qual proporciona a distribuição de poro pressões, e um código de análise limite numérica, que fornece o fator de segurança (FS), ambos em três-dimensões. Propagamos a incerteza estratigráfica no programa desenvolvido para quantificar a variabilidade do FS e a probabilidade de ruptura de uma encosta natural não-saturada existente na região de estudo. Finalmente, salientamos a importância da quantificação da topografia da interface solo-rocha em análises de estabilidade geotécnica. / [en] Soil-bedrock interface is difficult to determine and remains essentially unknown in most Brazilian slopes. In this thesis, we present an analytic model for the spatial prediction of regolith depth built on the bottomup control on fresh bedrock topography hypothesis and high-resolution topographic data. Most of the parameters of the model represent physical entities that can be measured directly in the laboratory or field. The model includes a term which simulates the loss of regolith due to stochastic mass movements and another term that mimic the bedrock-valley morphology. We reconcile our model with field observations from boreholes using a light dynamic penetrometer at Tijuca massif, Rio de Janeiro. We use Bayesian inference, with Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation to summarize the posterior distribution of the parameters, which led to model parameters that best honor our field data as well as the stratigraphic predictive uncertainty. To test the results of the Bayesian inference in slope stability, we develop a software to integrate unsaturated flow simulations, which provide the pressure head distributions and a numerical limit analysis code, that generates the factor of safety (FS), both in three dimensions. We propagate the stratigraphic uncertainty through the developed program to quantify the FS variability and the probability of failure of a natural unsaturated hillslope in the study region. Finally, we emphasize the importance of bedrock topography in slope stability analysis.

<p>  </p> <p>With economies shifting towards net-zero carbon emissions, there is an increased interest in carbon-free energy carriers. Hydrogen is a potential carbon-free energy source. However, it poses several production, infrastructural, and safety challenges. Ammonia blends have been identified as a potential hydrogen carrier and fuel for gas turbine combustion. Partially cracked ammonia mixtures consist of large quantities of hydrogen that help overcome the disadvantages of pure ammonia combustion. The presence of nitrogen in the fuel blends leads to increased NO_x emissions, and therefore lean premixed combustion is necessary to curb these emissions. Understanding the flame features, precursors, and dynamics of blowout of such blends due to lean conditions is essential for stable operation, lean blowout prediction, and control. </p> <p><br></p> <p>In this study, high-fidelity large eddy simulations for turbulent premixed ammonia/hydrogen/nitrogen-air flames in an axisymmetric, unconfined, bluff-body stabilized burner are performed to gain insights into lean blowout dynamics. Partially cracked ammonia (40% NH₃, 45% H₂, and 15% N₂, by volume) is chosen as fuel since its laminar burning velocity is comparable to CH4-air mixtures. A finite rate chemistry model with a detailed chemical kinetic mechanism (36 species and 247 reactions) is utilized to capture characteristics of various species during blowout. A comprehensive study of the flow field and flame structure for a weakly stable burning at an equivalence ratio of 0.5 near the blowout limit is presented. Further, the effects of blowout on the heat release rate, vorticity, distribution of major species, and ignition radicals are studied at four time instances at blowout velocity of 70 m/s. Since limited data is available on turbulent premixed combustion of partially cracked ammonia, such studies are essential in understanding flame behavior and uncertainties with regard to blowout.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Boiling processes have long had an important role in power generation and air conditioning applications. The efficient and reliable heat dissipation afforded through the phase change process in the boiling has led to their generation of a substantial body of work in this field over several decades. Despite decades of efforts, the heat transfer performance prediction in boiling has been highly empirical with models working only for a narrow range of surface/fluids or other operating conditions. The limitation in these models is a result of a lack of mechanistic understanding of the underlying heat and mass transfer process. Surface dryout or boiling crisis is a process wherein there is a spontaneous formation of vapor film on top of the surface causing a catastrophic increase in surface temperature. The heat flux at which this formation of vapor film occurs is called critical heat flux (CHF). The CHF demarcates the upper limit to the regime of stable nucleating bubbles called nucleate boiling. The mechanism causing dryout is under debate for over half a century and several conflicting theories that cause dryout have been suggested since the 1950s including hydrodynamic, irreversible dryspot expansion, macrolayer dryout/liftoff, critical bubble distributions, vapor-recoil based theories and more. The lack of consensus is due to limitation in the information collected on the dynamic multiscale and chaotic bubble interactions. Recent advances in high-fidelity spatiotemporal phase, temperature, and heat flux measurements now enable diagnostic tools that can be leveraged to understand the complex heat transfer processes emerging from bubble-surface interaction on the boiling surface. In this work, we develop such techniques to understand various transport mechanisms underlying boiling and its crisis.</p><p dir="ltr">In this work, an experimental technique for collecting synchronized through-substrate visual and infrared (IR) measurements of a boiling surface is developed. An IR and visually transparent sapphire substrate with an IR-opaque indium-tin-oxide (ITO) heater layer is used to measure the phase (liquid and vapor areas) and temperature of the ITO layer. The visual camera collects the light reflected off the substrate from a red LED and the images collected show a contrast between liquid and vapor areas that is used to generate binarized phase maps. The temperature from the IR camera is used as boundary condition to solve a conduction problem for heat fluxes going into the fluid. Four distinct heat flux signatures corresponding to liquid, contact line, vapor and rewetting regions are observed. A post-processing methodology utilizing synchronous phase measurements to identify and partition these regions is introduced. The high-fidelity phase measurements allow for detection of fine features that are not discernable using heat flux maps alone. Analysis of the heat flux and temperature maps of partitioned regions for HFE-7100 fluid on the ITO surface show qualitative agreement with the trends in mechanisms underlying those areas. The experiment and post-processing methodology introduced in this work is the first to provide partitioning of underlying heat transfer mechanisms for multi-bubbles throughout the entire range of the boiling curve during both steady and transient scenarios.</p><p dir="ltr">The technique developed is used to probe the mechanisms underlying the boiling crisis. Theories suggested in the literature for boiling crisis are carefully evaluated and evidence against hydrodynamic instability, macrolayer dryout, vapor recoil, irreversible expansion of dryspots, macrolayer liftoff model, and bifurcations from critical distributions is observed. The signature in the peak of the spatially averaged fluid heat flux is observed to precede any other signs of dryout. Beyond the peak heat flux an increase in superheat leads to reduced heat dissipated by boiling and further increases the temperature causing a thermal runaway in the substrate that eventually leads to dryout. Hence, the boiling crisis is found to be a consequence of a peak in the nucleate boiling curve. The cause for the peak in the boiling heat flux for the surface-fluid combination tested was due to degradation of heat transfer caused by the replacement of high-heat-transfer contact line region with lower-heat-transfer vapor covered regions, among the multiple competing mechanisms. Hence, we propose that mechanistically modeling the boiling crisis rests on prediction of the peak in the upper portion of the nucleate boiling curve by considering all underlying heat transfer mechanisms. A modeling framework based on heat flux partitioning, where the overall heat transferred during boiling is calculated as the sum of the heat transferred by individual mechanisms is demonstrated as potential pathway to predict the upper portion of the nucleate boiling curve and thereby critical heat flux. Based on the terms involved in summation for individual mechanisms, we propose that the boiling curve for any given surface be interpreted as a path on a multidimensional surface (boiling manifold). Estimation of such a boiling manifold allows for prediction of the boiling curve for any surface, given development of the relations between these parameters and surface-fluid properties, and can further be used to backtrack relevant thermophysical or nucleation properties for enhanced boiling performance.</p><p dir="ltr">Enhancement of pool boiling heat transfer performance using surface modifications is of major interest to applications and this work further delves into characterizing the boiling performance using traditional surface averaged measurements of microstructured surfaces using HFE-7100. We find that microlayer evaporation from the imbibed liquid layer underneath the growing vapor bubbles is the key mechanism of boiling heat transfer enhancement in microstructures. Further, this implies that characterization of microstructured surfaces for evaporative performance can serve as an important proxy to enable heat transfer coefficient enhancement prediction during pool boiling. Hence, we also developed an easily calculated Figure of Merit (FOM) that characterizes the efficacy of evaporation from microstructured surfaces.</p><p dir="ltr">To summarize, in this work we developed an experimental technique using synchronous through-substrate high-speed visual and IR imaging methods. New post-processing techniques for partitioning of different heat transfer mechanisms are proposed and used to analyze boiling on an ITO-coated sapphire substrate with HFE-7100 as the working fluid. We reveal thermal runaway in the substrate caused due to a negative-sloping boiling curve as the mechanism of dryout. Mechanistic modeling of the critical heat flux thus involves calculating the peak in the nucleate boiling curve. A framework to predict the nucleate boiling curve and subsequently critical heat flux is proposed based on the partitioning analysis. The experimental method developed lays the groundwork for measuring heat flux and superheats associated with various mechanisms, and hence, enables validation of future partitioning-based boiling heat transfer models that intrinsically enable prediction of the peak.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Addressing the pressing need for reduced carbon emissions, Turbulent Jet Ignition (TJI) emerges as a promising technology for ultra-lean combustion, offering enhanced thermal efficiencies and minimized cyclic variability in spark-ignited engines. To facilitate rapid testing and integration of this technology, a robust computational modeling framework is crucial. This study delves into the predictive capabilities of computational models for main-chamber ignition and premixed flame propagation using a single-cycle TJI rig measured by Biswas et al. (Applied Thermal Engineering, volume 106, 2016). Employing an open-source compressible flow simulation solver with Large Eddy Simulation (LES) for turbulence modeling, the investigation integrates the conventional Laminar Finite Rate Chemistry (LFRC) model alongside the transported Probability Density Method (PDF) for turbulence-chemistry interaction. A fully-consistent Eulerian Monte-Carlo Fields (EMCF) method is utilized to approximate the transported PDF, while Interaction by Exchange with Mean is employed to close micro-mixing terms in stochastic differential equations. A reduced chemical reaction mechanism with 21 species and 84 reactions (DRM-19) is used for solving chemical kinetics, and a double Gaussian energy deposition model is used to approximate the spark ignition in the pre-chamber. An unstructured O-grid mesh with 0.3 million cells in the pre-chamber and 1 million cells in the main chamber is employed. Results are divided into two phases: pre-chamber initialization and full TJI simulations. Validation of the predicted pre-chamber flame propagation and the lean ignition in the main-chamber is carried out by using available experimental data. Under quiescent conditions, both the LFRC and transported PDF methods largely underestimate the flame speed and subsequent pressure growth in the pre-chamber. A linear momentum forcing technique is applied to investigate the impact of initial turbulence in the pre-chamber, demonstrating a notable influence on flame propagation. Fine-tuning of the forcing coefficient reproduces the sudden pressure growth observed in the experiment. The experimentally validated pre-chamber simulation serves as the initial condition for the full TJI simulations. It is found that the LFRC model fails to predict lean-ignition in the main-chamber, resulting in a misfiring event. Incorporation of turbulence-chemistry interaction using the transported PDF method substantially improves the prediction of the ignition event in the main-chamber, achieving fair qualitative agreement and quantitative validation of combustion parameters within 10% of the reported experimental data. The rich simulation results consisting of a full set of statistical description of the thermo-chemical states enable us to gain deep insights into the ignition mechanisms in the main chamber, which is limited when done experimentally. A novel dual ignition phenomenon is revealed in the TJI rig for the first time. Initially, a primary ignition kernel is formed at a downstream location which eventually detaches from the main jet. As the jet momentum decreases, a secondary ignition event follows, this time at a more upstream location which eventually combines with the primary ignition kernel to form a single connected flame front. Investigation of these ignition sequences in chemical composition space reveal distinct differences between the two. The primary ignition event in the main-chamber is followed by a large concentration of active radicals from the pre-chamber jet, accelerating the chain-branching steps, characterizing what has been referred to as flame ignition. In contrast, the secondary ignition occurs in the absence of active radicals in the pre-chamber jet, hence characterized as jet ignition. Further analysis of the effect of pre-chamber jet characteristics on lean ignition in the main-chamber is conducted by setting up cases with different initial pressure ratios (p_r^o) between the two chambers, a non-dimensional parameter, ranging from 1.2 to 3.2. As the initial pressure ratio increases, jet momentum increases, with dual ignition observed in cases above p_r^o= 2.2. Case with p_r^o= 3.2 lead to misfiring. The effect of ignition sequence on global combustion characteristics of TJI is analyzed. Dual ignition events lead to non-monotonicity in combustion characteristics such as global reaction progress variable, flame penetration, and global heat release rate. In dual ignition events, although the rate of fuel consumption and global heat release rate is initially lower, the secondary ignition leads to a sudden increase in flame surface area, resulting in a sudden jump and promoting the overall performance of the TJI system.</p>

<p dir="ltr">The brain is a dynamic tissue that is passively driven by a combination of the cardiac cycle, respiration, and slow wave oscillations. The function of the brain relies on its ability to maintain a normal homeostatic balance between its mechanical environment and metabolic demands, which can be greatly altered in the cases of neurodegeneration or traumatic brain injury. It has been a challenge in the field to quantify the dynamics of the tissue and cerebrospinal fluid flow in human subjects on a patient-specific basis over the many spatial and temporal scales that it relies upon. Non-invasive imaging tools like structural, functional, and dynamic MRI sequences provide modern researchers with an unprecedented view into the human brain. Our work leverages these sequences by developing novel, open-source pipelines to 1) quantify the biomechanical environment of the brain tissue over 133 functional brain regions, and 2) estimate real-time cerebrospinal fluid velocity from flow artifacts on functional MRI by employing breathing regimens to enhance fluid motion. These pipelines provide a comprehensive view of the macroscale tissue and fluid motion in a given patient. Additionally, we sought to understand how the transmission of macroscale forces, in the context of traumatic brain injury, contribute to neuronal damage by 3) developing a digital twin to simulate 30-200 g-force loading of 2D neuronal cultures and observing the morphological and electrophysiological consequences of these impacts in vitro by our collaborators. Taken together, we believe these works are a steppingstone that will enable future researchers to deeply understand the mechanical contributions that underly clinical neurological outcomes and perhaps lead to the development of earlier diagnostics, which is of dire need in the case of neurodegenerative diseases.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Transportation and energy production industries strongly rely on improvements in gas turbine performance. The quantification of these improvements is dependent on the accuracy of the measurements performed during testing. An increase of 0.5\% in efficiency is sufficient to secure a new development program worth millions of dollars, but in the case of temperature measurements, uncertainties below 0.5 K are required, which presents a challenge. This work selects heat flux estimation and total temperature measurement uncertainties as major contributors for efficiency uncertainty.</p><ul><li>Heat flux measurements are critical to evaluate the impact on the efficiency. Additionally, thermal fatigue in turbine airfoils defines the life cycle of the engine core. This work performs an estimation of the heat transfer via a simplified numerical model that uses infrared (IR) measurements in the surface of the casing to predict the temperature of the passage wall. The model is validated with real cool-down data of the turbine to yield results within a 10\% of the actual temperature.</li><li>Total temperature measurement suffers from errors due to heat transfer effects in the probe. Two dominant sources of errors are convection and conduction between the thermocouple wires, the probe support, and the flow. These effects can be treated in two different categories: the velocity error, created by a non-isentropic reduction of the flow velocity upstream the thermocouple junction, and the thermal equilibrium effects between the junction and the probe support, involving heat transfer through the wire to the shield and the probe stem due to temperature differences between each component (the so-called \emph{conduction error}). An open jet stand is used to evaluate the effects of velocity error at various Mach numbers. The conduction error is addressed with the design and manufacturing of dual-wire thermocouple probes. The readings from two wires with different length-to-diameter ratios are used to correct for the flow total temperature. This probe yielded a recovery factor of 0.99 +/- 0.01 at Mach 0.6.</li></ul><p></p>

Technological evolution and mass production is impacting the Earth daily due to global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions, where the biggest factor is the emission of carbon dioxide mostly caused by the burning of fossil fuel and industrial processes. Therefore, alternatives for substituting the use of fossil fuel in industries are extremely important. This thesis project investigates the method of using plasma technology using a plasma burner  which is electrically generated and could be an ideal solution for industrial metallurgical, chemical and mechanical processes due to its unique characteristics such as high energy densities, extremely high temperatures, rapid heating of surfaces and melting materials with a small installation size. Using the software COMSOL Multiphysics, a 2D model geometry is set up to simulate and investigate the behavior of the plasma burner by varying different parameters to improve the performance of the plasma burner. The results are based on simulations and no experiments were performed. However, we visited RISE ETC to observe and learn about the plasma burner model. At last, a geometry investigation was done by calculating the thermal efficiency to designate the most efficient geometry.

No description available.