Thesis (M.S.)--Worcester Polytechnic Institute. / Keywords: CFD; computational fluid dynamics; plume; nozzle; DSMC; numerical modelling. Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-86).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Institute of Paper Chemistry, 1943. / Bibliography: leaf 79.

Inter-turbine burners are useful devices for increasing engine power. To reduce the size of these combustion devices, ultra-compact combustor (UCC) concepts are necessary. One such UCC concept is the centrifugal-force based high-g combustor design. Here, a model ultra-compact combustor (UCC) with fuel spray injection is simulated using large eddy simulation (LES) and Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) methodologies to understand mixing and spray dispersion inside centrifugal-based combustion systems. Both non-evaporating and evaporating droplet simulations were carried, as well as the tracking of a passive scalar, to explore this multiphase system. Simulation results show that mixing of fuel and oxidizer is based on a jet-in-crossflow system, with the fuel jet issuing into a circulating oxidizer flow stream. It is seen that a a high velocity vortex-like ring develops in the inner core of the combustor, which has enough momentum to obstruct the path of combustion products. There is minimal fuel droplet and vapor segregation inside the combustor and enhanced turbulent mixing is seen at mid-radius. / text

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In this thesis, we consider soltions to the two-dimensional Euler equations with uniformly continuous initial vorticity in a critical or subcritical Besov space. We use paradifferential calculus to show that the solution will lose an arbitrarily small amount of smoothness over any fixed finite time interval. This result is motivated by a theorem of Bahouri and Chemin which states that the Sobolev exponent of a solution to the two-dimensional Euler equations in a critical or subcritical Sobolev space may decay exponentially with time. To prove our result, one can use methods similar to those used by Bahouri and Chemin for initial vorticity in a Besov space with Besov exponent between 0 and 1; however, we use different methods to prove a result which applies for any Sobolev exponent between 0 and 2. The remainder of this thesis is based on joint work with J. Kelliher. We study the vanishing viscosity limit of solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations to solutions of the Euler equations in the plane assuming initial vorticity is in a variant Besov space introduced by Vishik. Our methods allow us to extend a global in time uniqueness result established by Vishik for the two-dimensional Euler equations in this space. / text

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This work develops a nonlinear, three-dimensional spectral collocation method for the simulation of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations for geophysical and environmental flows. These flows are often driven by the interaction of stratified fluid with topography, which is accurately accounted for in this model using a mapped coordinate system. The spectral collocation method used here evaluates derivatives with a Fourier trigonometric or Chebyshev polynomial expansion as appropriate, and it evaluates the nonlinear terms directly on a collocated grid. The coordinate mapping renders ineffective fast solution methods that rely on separation of variables, so to avoid prohibitively expensive matrix solves this work develops a low-order finite-difference preconditioner for the implicit solution steps. This finite-difference preconditioner is itself too expensive to apply directly, so it is solved pproximately with a geometric multigrid method, using semicoarsening and line relaxation to ensure convergence with locally anisotropic grids. The model is discretized in time with a third-order method developed to allow variable timesteps. This multi-step method explicitly evaluates advective terms and implicitly evaluates pressure and viscous terms. The model’s accuracy is demonstrated with several test cases: growth rates of Kelvin-Helmholtz billows, the interaction of a translating dipole with no-slip boundaries, and the generation of internal waves via topographic interaction. These test cases also illustrate the model’s use from a high-level programming perspective. Additionally, the results of several large-scale simulations are discussed: the three-dimensional dipole/wall interaction, the evolution of internal waves with shear instabilities, and the stability of the bottom boundary layer beneath internal waves. Finally, possible future developments are discussed to extend the model’s capabilities and optimize its performance within the limits of the underlying numerical algorithms.

Fluids such as smoke, water and fire are simulated for both Computer Graphics applications and engineering fields such as Mechanical Engineering. Generally, Fluid Dynamics is used for the achievement of realistic-looking fluid simulations. However, the complexity of these calculations makes it difficult to achieve high performance. With the advances in graphics hardware, it has been possible to provide programmability both at the vertex and the fragment level, which allows for faster simulations of complex fluids and other events. In this thesis, one gaseous fluid, smoke is simulated in three dimensions by solving Navier-Stokes Equations (NSEs) using a semi-Lagrangian unconditionally stable method. Simulation is performed both on Central Processing Unit (CPU) and Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). For the programmability at the vertex and the fragment level, C for Graphics (Cg), a platform-independent and architecture neutralshading language, is used. Owing to the advantage of programmability and parallelism of GPU, smoke simulation on graphics hardware runs significantly faster than the corresponding CPU implementation. The test results prove the higher performance of GPU over CPU for running three dimensional fluid simulations.

In this thesis, high order accurate discretization schemes for partial differential equations are investigated. In the first paper, the linearized two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations are considered. A special formulation of the boundary conditions is used and estimates for the solution to the continuous problem in terms of the boundary conditions are derived using a normal mode analysis. Similar estimates are achieved for the discretized equations. For the discretization, a second order finite difference scheme on a staggered mesh is used. In Paper II, the analysis for the second order scheme is used to develop a fourth order scheme for the fully nonlinear Navier-Stokes equations. The fully nonlinear incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in two space dimensions are considered on an orthogonal curvilinear grid. Numerical tests are performed with a fourth order accurate Padé type spatial finite difference scheme and a semi-implicit BDF2 scheme in time. In Papers III-V, a class of high order accurate time-discretization schemes based on the deferred correction principle is investigated. The deferred correction principle is based on iteratively eliminating lower order terms in the local truncation error, using previously calculated solutions, in each iteration obtaining more accurate solutions. It is proven that the schemes are unconditionally stable and stability estimates are given using the energy method. Error estimates and smoothness requirements are derived. Special attention is given to the implementation of the boundary conditions for PDE. The scheme is applied to a series of numerical problems, confirming the theoretical results. In the sixth paper, a time-compact fourth order accurate time discretization for the one- and two-dimensional wave equation is considered. Unconditional stability is established and fourth order accuracy is numerically verified. The scheme is applied to a two-dimensional wave propagation problem with discontinuous coefficients.

A weakly nonlinear stability analysis was conducted for the flow induced in an incompressible, Newtonian, viscous fluid lying between two infinite parallel plates which form a channel. The plates are oscillating synchronously in simple harmonic motion. The disturbed velocity of the flow was written in the form of a series in powers of a parameter which is a measure of the distance away from the linear theory neutral conditions. The individual terms of this series were decomposed using Floquet theory and Fourier series in time. The equations at second order and third order in were derived, and solutions for the Fourier coefficients were found using pseudospectral methods for the spatial variables. Various alternative methods of computation were applied to check the validity of the results obtained. The Landau equation for the amplitude of the disturbance was obtained, and the existence of equilibrium amplitude solutions inferred. The values of the coefficients in the Landau equation were calculated for the nondimensional channel half-widths h for the cases h = 5, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16. It was found that equilibrium amplitude solutions exist for points in wavenumber Reynolds number space above the smooth portion of the previously determined linear stability neutral curve in all the cases examined. Similarly, Landau coefficients were calculated on a special feature of the neutral curve (called a ???finger???) for the case h = 12. Equilibrium amplitude solutions were found to exist at points inside the finger, and in a particular region outside near the top of the finger. Traces of the x-components of the disturbance velocities have been presented for a range of positions across the channel, together with the size of the equilibrium amplitude at these positions. As well, traces of the x-component of the velocity of the disturbed flow and traces of the velocity of the basic flow have been given for comparison at a particular position in the channel.