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Over the past decades, attention has been brought to the importance of indoor air quality and the serious threat of bio-aerosol contamination towards human health. A novel idea to transport hazardous particles away from sensitive areas is to automatically control bio-aerosol concentrations, by utilising airflows from ventilation systems. Regarding this, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) may be employed to investigate the dynamical behaviour of airborne particles, and data-driven methods may be used to estimate and control the complex flow simulations. This thesis presents a methodology for machine-learning based control of particle concentrations in turbulent gas-solid flow. The aim is to reduce concentration levels at a 90 degree corner, through systematic manipulation of underlying two-phase flow dynamics, where an energy constrained inlet airflow rate is used as control variable. A CFD experiment of turbulent gas-solid flow in a two-dimensional corner geometry is simulated using the SST k-omega turbulence model for the gas phase, and drag force based discrete random walk for the solid phase. Validation of the two-phase methodology is performed against a backwards facing step experiment, with a 12.2% error correspondence in maximum negative particle velocity downstream the step. Based on simulation data from the CFD experiment, a linear auto-regressive with exogenous inputs (ARX) model and a non-linear ARX based neural network (NN) is used to identify the temporal relationship between inlet flow rate and corner particle concentration. The results suggest that NN is the preferred approach for output predictions of the two-phase system, with roughly four times higher simulation accuracy compared to ARX. The identified NN model is used in a model predictive control (MPC) framework with linearisation in each time step. It is found that the output concentration can be minimised together with the input energy consumption, by means of tracking specified target trajectories. Control signals from NN-MPC also show good performance in controlling the full CFD model, with improved particle removal capabilities, compared to randomly generated signals. In terms of maximal reduction of particle concentration, the NN-MPC scheme is however outperformed by a manually constructed sine signal. In conclusion, CFD based NN-MPC is a feasible methodology for efficient reduction of particle concentrations in a corner area; particularly, a novel application for removal of indoor bio-aerosols is presented. More generally, the results show that NN-MPC may be a promising approach to turbulent multi-phase flow control.

NOWADAYS, a number of studies keep on demonstrating the existence of a strong relation between high concentrations of particulate matter (PM) and the prevalence of human morbidity and mortality. Large particles can be filtered in the nose or in the throat, while fine particles (about10 micrometer) can settle in the bronchi and lungs, leading to more serious consequences. According to Karagulian et al. the major sources of urban air pollution are traffic (25%), combustion and agriculture (22%), domestic fuel burning (20%), natural dust (18%) and industrial activities (15%).As a consequence, the detailed study of dispersion phenomena within the urban canopy becomes a target of great interest. To this end, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can be successfully employed to predict turbulence and dispersion patterns, accounting for a detailed characterization of the pollutant sources, complex obstacles and atmospheric stability classes.Despite being intrinsically different phenomena, turbulence and dispersion are closely related. It is universally accepted that, to reach accurate prediction of the concentration field, it is necessary to properly reproduce the turbulence one. For this reason, the present PhD thesis is split into two main Sections: one focused on turbulence modelling and the subsequent, centered on the dispersion modelling.Thanks to its good compromise between accuracy of results and calculation time, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) still represents a valid alternative to more resource-demanding methods. However, focusing on the models’ performance in urban studies, Large Eddy Simulation (LES) generally outperforms RANS results, even if the former is at least one order of magnitude more expensive. Stemming from this consideration, the aim of this work is to propose a variety of approaches meant to solve some of the major limitations linked to standard RANS simulation and to further improve its accuracy in disturbed flow fields, without renouncing to its intrinsic feasibility. The proposed models are suitable for the urban context, being capable of automatically switching from a formulation proper for undisturbed flow fields to one suitable for disturbed areas. For neutral homogeneous atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), a comprehensive approach is adopted, solving the issue of the erroneous stream-wise gradients affecting the turbulent profiles and able to correctly represent the various roughness elements. Around obstacles, more performing closures are employed. The transition between the two treatments is achieved through the definition of a Building Influence Area (BIA). The finalgoal is to offer more affordable alternatives to LES simulations without sacrificing a good grade of accuracy.Focusing on the dispersion modelling framework, there exists a number of parameters which have to be properly specified. In particular, the definition of the turbulent Schmidt number Sct, expressing the ratio of turbulent viscosity to turbulent mass diffusivity, is imperative. Despite its relevance, the literature does not report a clear guideline on the definition of this quantity. Nevertheless, the importance of Sct with respect to dispersion is undoubted and further demonstrated in the works of different authors. For atmospheric boundary layer flows, typical constant values range between 0.2 and 1.3. As a matter of fact, the local variability of Sct is supported by experimental evidence and by direct numerical simulations (DNS). These observations further suggest that the turbulent Schmidt number should be prescribed as a dynamic variable. Following these observations a variable turbulent Schmidt number formulation is proposed in this work. The latter stems from the same hypothesis of the variable formulation developed by Gorlé et al. Moreover, the relevant uncertain model parameters are optimized through uncertainty quantification (UQ). This formulation further increased the accuracy of the predictions, and was successfully verified by Di Bernardino et al. However, the turbulent Schmidt number resulting from this formulation is still intrinsically linked to the turbulence model employed, i.e. to the Cμ coefficient. To overcome this constraint, the nature and the dependencies of Sct were further analyzed through correlation studies and employing principal component analysis (PCA) on data obtained through the proposed ABL RANS model. Subsequently, the same data-driven technique was employed based on the high-fidelity outcomes of a delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (dDES) to derive a generalized turbulentSchmidt number formulation. The latter can be employed within a wide range of turbulence models, without limiting its variability. / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur et technologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

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Flow-induced vibration caused by fully developed pipe flow has been recognized, but not fully investigated under turbulent conditions. This thesis focuses on the development of a numerical Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) model that will help define the relationship between pipe wall vibration and the physical characteristics of turbulent flow. Commercial FSI software packages are based on Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) fluid models, which do not compute the instantaneous fluctuations in turbulent flow. This thesis presents an FSI approach based on Large Eddy Simulation (LES) flow models, which do compute the instantaneous fluctuations in turbulent flow. The results based on the LES models indicate that these fluctuations contribute to the pipe vibration. It is shown that there is a near quadratic relationship between the standard deviation of the pressure field on the pipe wall and the flow rate. It is also shown that a strong relationship between pipe vibration and flow rate exists. This research has a direct impact on the geothermal, nuclear, and other fluid transport industries.

In this thesis, we have evaluated a stochastic Lagrangian model for computing particle deposition rates with prospects to use for atmospheric deposition applications.  The model is one-dimensional and models the particle dynamics in the boundary layers near walls and obstacles by simulating the coherent turbulent structures and Brownian motion governing the wall-normal transport. The deposition model is used with a hybrid deterministic/stochastic particle dispersion model governing the dynamics in the turbulent bulk flow. We used a steady-state RANS k-ϵ turbulence model to simulate the turbulent fluid flow in a neutral atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) using the with inflow boundary conditions by Richards & Hoxey (1993). The turbulence model is solved with the SIMPLE algorithm using the OpenFOAM software. The mean-field characteristic of the turbulent flow in the computational domain is exported and used for the particle model. The particle model is a Lagrangian Langevin-type model, consisting of a system of stochastic differential equations. The particle model was solved using a weakly first order a-stable scheme. We evaluated the deposition model by computing the deposition rate for a range of particle sizes and compared our results with collected experimental wind tunnel data. The numerical experiment was done in a computational domain based on the ABL model by Hargreaves & Wright (2007), a rectangular domain with a logarithmic wind profile. We used a particle source near the inflow boundary with an instantaneously release at the initial time. Results showed disagreement with the experimental data and was only valid for medium sized particles. However, time restrictions led to the analysis being cut short and only a single simulation was conducted. A definite conclusion on the suitability of the method could not be made based solely on this single results. Some uncertainties were identified and discussed for further potential work on the evaluation of the method. However, one conclusion was drawn on the performance of the method. The computational cost was concluded to be too high with the first order particle scheme used and higher order schemes is required for any practical use of the method for atmospheric deposition applications.

With steadily increasing computational power, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can be applied to unsteady problems such as seakeeping simulations. Therefore, a good balance between accuracy and computational speed is required. This thesis investigates the application of CFD to seakeeping performance predictions and aims to propose a best-practice procedure for efficient seakeeping simulations. The widely used KVLCC2 research vessel serves as a test case for this thesis and FINEŠ/Marine software package is used for CFD computations. In order to validate the simulations, results are compared to recent experimental data from SSPA as well as predictions with potential ˛ow code SHIPFLOW® Motions. As for the calm water simulations, both inviscid and viscous ˛ow computations are performed in combination with three mesh refinement levels. Seakeeping simulations with regular head waves of different wavelengths are set-up correspondingly. Furthermore, different strategies for time discretization are investigated. With the given computational resources, it is not feasible to complete seakeeping simulations with a ˝ne mesh. However, already the coarse meshes give good agreement to experiments and SHIPFLOW® Motions' predictions. Viscous ˛ow simulations turn out to be more robust than Euler ˛ow computations and thus should be preferred. Regarding the time discretization, a fixed time discretization of 150 steps per wave period has shown the best balance between accuracy and speed. Based on these findings, a best-practice procedure for seakeeping performance predictions in FINEŠ/Marine is established. Taking the most efficient settings obtained from head wave simulations, the vessel is subjected to oblique waves with 160° encounter angle. Under similar wave conditions, CFD predictions of a similar thesis show close agreement in terms of added wave resistance. Compared to the previous head wave conditions of this study, added resistance in 160° oblique waves is found to be significantly higher. This underlines that oblique bow quartering waves represent a relevant case for determining the maximum required power of a ship. CFD and potential ˛ow show similar accuracy with respect to ship motions and added wave resistance, albeit potential ˛ow outperforms CFD in terms of computational speed. Hence, CFD should be applied in cases where viscous effects are known to have large influence on a vessel's seakeeping behavior. This can be the case if motion control and damping devices are to be evaluated, for instance. / Tack vare den stadigt ökande beräkningskraften kan beräkningsuiddynamik (CFD) idag användas på beräkningsintensiva problem som sjöegenskapssimulationer. Den här rapporten undersöker användning av CFD på sjöegenskapsprestanda och syftar till att foreslå ett best-practice förfaringssätt för effektiv sjöegenskapssimulationer. Forskningsskrovet KVLCC2 fungerar som ett testfall för denna rapport och FINE—/Marine-mjukvarupaketet används för CFD-beräkningar. Viktiga parametrar, såsom ödestyp, beräkningsnät och tidssteg varierars systematiskt. Resultaten jämförs med experiment gjorda vid SSPA. Baserat på resultaten förelås en best-practice. Den föreslagna best-practice användas vidare för berökningar av sjöegenskaper i sneda vågor. Jämförelse av resultaten med liknande studier visar god överensstämmelse. Genom att använda det föreslagna förfarandet för best-practice kan CFD-sjöegenskapssimulationer användas på fall där viskösa krafter måste beaktas, till exempel rörelseregleringsanordningar.

High speed planing hulls are currently widely used for example in recreational and emergency vessel applications. However, very little CFD research has been done for planing vessels, especially for those with stepped hulls. A validated CFD method for planing stepped hulls could be a valuable improvement for the design phase of such hulls. In this thesis, a CFD method for stepped hulls, with a primary focus on two-step hulls, is developed using STAR-CCM+. As a secondary objective, porpoising instability of two-step hulls is investigated. The simulations are divided into two parts: In the first part a method is developed and validated with existing experimental and numerical data for a simple model scale planing hull with one step. In the second part the method is applied for two two-step hulls provided with Hydrolift AS. A maximum two degrees of freedom, trim and heave, are used, as well as RANS based k-w SST turbulence model and Volume of Fluid (VOF) as a free surface model. The results for the one-step hull mostly corresponded well with the validation data. For the two-step hulls, validation data did not exists and they were first simulated with a fixed trim and sinkage and compered between each other. In the simulations with free trim and heave both hulls experienced unstable porpoising behavior.

<p dir="ltr">This thesis concentrates on the improvement of the quality of shock-dominated flows in supersonic inlets by controlling shock wave / boundary layer interactions (SWBLIs). SWBLI flow control has been a major issue relevant to scramjet-associated endeavors for many years. The ultimate goal of this study is to numerically investigate SWBLI flow control through the application of steady-state thermal sources --- which were defined to replicate the Joule heating effect produced by Quasi-DC electric discharges --- and compare the results with data obtained from previous experiments.</p><p dir="ltr">Numerical solutions were obtained using both a three-dimensional, unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver with a Spalart-Allmaras (SA) Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) turbulence modeling method and also a simple three-dimensional, compressible RANS solver with a SA turbulence model. Computations employed an ideal gas thermodynamic model. The numerical code is Stanford University Unstructured (SU2), an open-source, unstructured grid, computational fluid dynamics code. The SU2 code was modified to include volumetric thermal source terms to represent the Joule heating effect of electric current flowing through the gas. The computational domain, source term configuration, and flow conditions were defined in accordance with experiments carried out at the University of Notre Dame. Mach 2 flow enters the three-dimensional test domain with a stagnation pressure of 1.7 bar. The test domain is contained by four isothermal side walls maintained at room temperature, as well as an inlet and outlet. A shock wave (SW) generator, a symmetric 10 degree wedge, is positioned on the upper surface of the test domain. The overall length of the test sections is 910 mm and inlet length of the computational domain is increased prior to the location of shock wave generator in order to allow for adequate boundary layer growth. Volumetric heating source terms were positioned on the lower surface of the test domain in the reflected SW region.</p><p dir="ltr">Experimental results show that the thermal sources create a new shock train within the duct and do not initiate significant additional pressure losses. What remains to be explored is the overall characterization of the 3D flow features and dynamics of the thermally induced SW and the effect of gas heating on total pressure losses in the test section.</p><p dir="ltr">Numerical solutions validate what is observed experimentally, and offer the ability to gather more temporally and spatially-resolved measurements to better understand and characterize shock-dominated flow control in a supersonic inlet or duct. Although thermally driven SWBLI flow control requires additional research, this study alleviates the dependency on experimentally driven data and adds insight into the nature of the complex unsteady, three-dimensional flowfield.</p>

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