<p>Rising fuel costs and growing environmental concerns have forced gas turbine engine manufacturers to place high value on reducing fuel burn. This trend has pushed compressor technology into new design spaces that are not represented by historical experience. Specifically, centrifugal compressor diffusers are trending toward higher pressure recovery and smaller diameters. The internal fluid dynamics in these new flow regimes are not well understood and additional study is necessary. This work outlines detailed experimental and numerical observations of the flow field through a vaned diffuser for aeroengine applications.</p> <p>The experimental data consist of extensive Laser Doppler velocimetry measurements of the unsteady velocity field from the impeller trailing edge through the majority of the diffuser passage. These data were obtained non-intrusively and yielded all three components of the velocity vector field at approximately 2,000 geometric points. The correlation between fluctuations in the three velocity components were also observed at several key locations to determine the components of the local Reynolds stress tensor.</p> <p>These data indicated a jet/wake profile at the impeller exit represented by a consistent velocity deficit region from hub to shroud adjacent to the suction surface of the passage. This region was more prevalent adjacent to the splitter blade. The unsteady fluctuations due to the propagation of the jet and wake through the diffuser passage persist to 40% downstream of the throat. A complex secondary flow field was also observed with large axial velocities and a passage-spanning vortex developing through the diffuser passage. The velocity data and total-pressure data indicated a region of flow separation developing along the pressure surface of the vane near the hub due to the unsteady propagation of the jet and wake flow through the diffuser. Although this region was stable in time, its development arose due to unsteady aspects of the flow. Finally, the strong interconnection between the jet and wake flow, unsteady fluctuations, secondary velocities, incidence, and flow separation was demonstrated. </p> <p>Computationally, a “best-practice” methodology for the modelling of a centrifugal compressor was developed by a systematic analysis of various turbulence models and many modelling features. The SST and BSL-EARSM turbulence models with the inclusion of fillets, surface roughness, and non-adiabatic walls was determined to yield the best representation of the detailed flow development through the diffuser in steady (mixing-plane) simulations. The accurate modelling of fillets was determined to significantly impact the prediction of flow separation with the SST turbulence closure model. Additionally, the frozen rotor approach was shown to not accurately approximate the influence of unsteady effects on the flow development.</p> <p>Unsteady simulations were also compared to the detailed experimental data through the diffuser. The BSL-EARSM turbulence model best matched the experimentally observed flow field due to the SST model’s prediction of flow separation in the shroud-pressure side corner of the passage. In general, lower levels of axial velocity were predicted numerically that resulted in less spanwise mixing between the endwall and freestream flows. Additionally, the turbulent kinetic energy levels in the computational results showed little streamwise variation through the vaneless and semi-vaneless space. The large variation observed experimentally indicated that the production and dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy through this region was not accurately predicted in the two turbulence models implemented for the unsteady simulations.</p>

Thesis. 1975. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Nuclear Engineering. / Vita. / Includes bibliographical references. / Ph.D.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The purpose of this prospective, observational study was to determine if a technique used to detect early signs of small-fiber neuropathy (local skin heating) could detect signs of small-fiber taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy (TIPN) in breast cancer survivors (BCS) during the first 6 weeks of Taxol®. Aims of the study were to compare the mean size of (1) axon reflexes and (2) axon flares (both markers of small fiber nerve function) in BCS receiving Taxol® to the size of reflexes/flares in healthy female controls (HCs). A third aim was to determine whether the size of axon reflexes/flares correlated with (a) overall TIPN severity and (b) severity of individual signs/symptoms of TIPN during early Taxol®. Data for the study was collected from nine BCS and 20 HCs (N = 29). All BCS had first-time, non-metastatic cancer and received weekly or bi-weekly Taxol®. Data was collected at 3 time-points: Time 1 (day 0, before Taxol®), Time 2 (day 14), and Time 3 (day 42). Axon reflexes and flares were generated using a validated 40-minute skin heating protocol. Axon reflexes were measured using laser Doppler Flowmetry. Axon flares were measured using full-field laser perfusion imaging. TIPN was measured using the 5-item Short Form of the Total Neuropathy Score (Reduced Version). Results identified potential signs of small-fiber TIPN in BCS after 6 weeks of Taxol®. Contrary to expectation, axon reflexes were larger for BCS at Time 3 than HCs, suggesting that Taxol® may be associated with an increase in small-fiber nerve function like that seen in pre-clinical studies. Clinical signs/symptoms of TIPN were not significantly correlated with axon reflexes or axon flares at the same time point. Analyses of axon flare size were confounded by issues with the data. These results add to the growing body of evidence showing that Taxol® affects small-diameter sensory nerves and provides the first evidence in humans that changes in small-fiber nerve function may be detectable after just 6 weeks of Taxol® therapy. Studies in larger samples are needed to validate these findings.

No description available.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Turbulent boundary layers over rough surfaces are a common, yet often overlooked, problem of practical engineering importance. Development of correlations between boundary layer parameters that can be used in turbulence models and the surface geometry is the only practical option for solving these problems. Experiments have been performed on a two-dimensional zero pressure gradient turbulent boundary layer over sparsely spaced hemispherical roughness elements of 2 mm diameter. Laser Doppler velocimetry was used to measure all three components of velocity. The friction velocity was calculated using an integral momentum balance. Comparisons were made with various fitting methods that assume the von Kármán constant is appropriate for rough walls. Results indicate that this is not the case, and that the slope of the semi-logarithmic portion of the mean streamwise profile may be a function of the ratio of inner and outer length scales. Comparisons were also made between various correlations that relate the surface geometry to the behavior of the mean velocity profile. In general, the existing correlations achieved a reasonable agreement with the data within the estimated uncertainties. A detailed study of the local turbulent structure around the roughness elements was performed. It was found that, in contrast to `sharper-edged' elements such as cylinders, an elevated region of TKE and Reynolds shear stress was found downstream of the element below the peak. This can be explained by the delay in separation of the flow coming over the top of the element due to the smooth curvature of the element. Surface pressure fluctuation measurements were made as well using a dual microphone noise reduction technique. There have only been a few past experiments on the surface pressure fluctuations under rough wall boundary layers. However, it has been shown that the spectra of the wall fluctuations can be used to predict the far-field noise spectrum [1,2]. Therefore it is been the goal of this research to verify existing correlations between the surface pressure fluctuation spectrum and the surface geometry as well as develop new correlations that provide insight into the interactions between the turbulent motions in the flow surface pressure. / Ph. D.

Measurements were made in two-dimensional zero pressure gradient turbulent boundary layers over 5 geometries of three-dimensional densely distributed surface roughness. A 3-velocity component laser Doppler velocimeter was used to measure instantaneous velocities. These measurements permitted an independent estimate of skin friction on the surfaces using a momentum balance approach, and the validity of the von Karman constant for rough walls was tested. Five roughness fetches were evaluated: three sandpaper roughness fetches of varying grit size and two cases of uniformly distributed hemispheres of different spacing. Optical surface profilometry was used to characterize the geometry of the sandgrain surfaces. It was found that the smooth wall von Karman constant can not be assumed for densely distributed rough wall flows in order to determine the skin friction for these flows. This requires an independent measure of skin friction using more than a single boundary layer profile. Near wall flow structure measurements found that the hemispherical elements do not have high TKE or Reynolds shearing stress regions at the trailing edge of elements as had been shown for sparsely spaced cylindrical elements. This is likely due to the sharp trailing corner of the cylindrical elements, as opposed to an effect of spacing. Rather, hemispherical roughness has a periodically occurring high stress and TKE region located between two element centers in the stream-wise direction at a height of approximately 1.5 times the roughness element height. The periodic nature of the near wall flow extends to approximately 4 roughness element heights. The traditional roughness function f(&#955;) did not correlate well with &#955; or the modified &#923; for the experimental data. However, it was found that the friction coefficient for the current dense roughness cases is a constant 0.004, within the experimental uncertainty. Traditional inner wall scalings, outer wall scalings, and roughness scalings were not able to collapse surface pressure fluctuation spectra for the various rough wall surfaces tested. However, the data do collapse for individual geometries based on Reynolds number. This gives rise to the ability to predict pressure fluctuation spectra at other Reynolds numbers. / Ph. D.

This thesis is a study of the effects of distributed roughness elements on a two-dimensional turbulent boundary layer. Measurements were taken on a total of ten rough wall configurations: four involving Gaussian spikes, and six with circular cylindrical posts. Rough wall flows are particularly suited to study with Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) due to the fact that measurements are required near a solid surface, as well has in highly turbulent fluid. The LDV system used in this study is a fine resolution (~50 micron), three-component, fiber optic system. All mean velocities, Reynolds stresses, and triple products are measured. This study is unique in the range and variety of roughness cases for which data was taken. The data show that the flow over a rough wall is characterized by high levels of turbulence near the roughness element peaks at the interface between low-speed, near-wall fluid and the higher speed fluid above. Behind an element, high-momentum fluid sweeps toward the wall, and there is a small region of ejection of low-momentum fluid. Cylindrical elements typically have larger magnitudes of turbulent stresses at their peaks compared to Gaussian elements. Trends in mean velocity profile parameters such as displacement height, roughness effect, and wake parameter are examined with respect to roughness element geometry and spacing. / Master of Science

Determination of particle slip is a major concern for particle based measurements in un- heated supersonic facilities, as it is a limiting factor for the instruments' frequency response. For the purpose of determining the particle deceleration through a stationary shock wave in a super sonic windtunnel, a novel 1-D Laser Doppler probe with an unique spatial range (~1.5 mm) is presented. The study first gives a short review of the physics of particle motion with respect to different drag models and flow regime encountered in super sonic flows. In the second part, the focus lies on the development of a new Laser Doppler probe using non Gaussian beams to obtain a prolonged measurement volume. This volume covers a major part of the particle lag after a shock wave. An experimental investigation on particle acceleration and drag, using different types and sizes of seeding material, including standardized microspheres is carried out in the Mâ = 2.0 super sonic facility. Three different types of particles with four different sizes are experimentally investigated. The experimental data provides mean velocity as a function of distance from the shock and reveals significant agglomeration and evaporation problems with Titanium Oxide and Polystyrene Latex spheres. Particle acceleration measurements are presented, proving the unique concept of the new Laser Doppler probe. Mean and instantaneous acceleration data is extracted from high SNR signals. The acceleration data obtained is consistent in magnitude and trend with the physical phenomena expected and shows the feasibility of the new instrument. / Master of Science

A three-component Laser Doppler Anemometer (LDA) instrument, an array of stationary thermocouples and a moving thermocouple were used to capture the three-dimensional flow and temperature fields for the system of two opposing axisymmetric turbulent jets. It was found that buoyancy-induced curvature of the hot jet resulted in cross shearing with the opposing jet. The following report will investigate the adequacy of the current experimental measurements for the identification of coherent structures and the characterization of their effects on the mean flow. Identification tools include the power spectra and conditional average velocity measurements based on the Window Average Gradient (WAG). It was determined that the low sampling and large spatial positions of the thermocouple measurements were not for the retrieval of quantitative turbulence data. For the velocity measurements, the LDA data were found to be adequate in regions of low turbulence intensities but degraded as the measurements approached the region where the two jet shear layers interacted. The detection of periodic structures from the power spectrum was inconclusive due to noise. The WAG algorithm was affected by the irregular sampling and required modification. For the events detected, an intermittency factor of 16.4% at the interaction region of two shear layers was observed. In addition, these results suggest that these events contribute 30% of the mean momentum transfer across the jet. Furthermore, the contribution of these events to the lateral component of the turbulent kinetic energy was nearly eight times larger than the contributions to the axial or transverse direction. / Thesis / Master of Engineering (ME)