This thesis presents a preconditioned solenoidal basis method to solve the algebraic system arising from the linearization and discretization of primitive variable formulations of Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible fluid flows. The system is restricted to a discrete divergence-free space which is constructed from the incompressibility constraint. This research work extends an earlier work on the solenoidal basis method for two-dimensional flows and three-dimensional flows that involved the construction of the solenoidal basis P using circulating flows or vortices on a uniform mesh. A localized algebraic scheme for constructing P is detailed using mixed finite elements on an unstructured mesh. A preconditioner which is motivated by the analysis of the reduced system is also presented. Benchmark simulations are conducted to analyze the performance of the proposed approach.

The effect of an imposed magnetic field on the thermal convection between rigid plates heated from below under the influence of gravity is numerically simulated in a computational domain with periodic horizontal extent. The numerical technique is based on solenoidal basis functions satisfying the boundary conditions for both velocity and induced magnetic field. The expansion bases for the thermal field are also constructed to satisfy the boundary conditions. The governing partial differential equations are reduced to a system of ordinary differential equations governing the time evolution of the expansion coefficients under Galerkin projection onto the subspace spanned by the dual bases. In the process, the pressure term in the momentum equation is eliminated. The system validated in the linear regime is then used for some numerical experiments in the nonlinear regime.

abstract: Divergence-free vector field interpolants properties are explored on uniform and scattered nodes, and also their application to fluid flow problems. These interpolants may be applied to physical problems that require the approximant to have zero divergence, such as the velocity field in the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations and the magnetic and electric fields in the Maxwell's equations. In addition, the methods studied here are meshfree, and are suitable for problems defined on complex domains, where mesh generation is computationally expensive or inaccurate, or for problems where the data is only available at scattered locations. The contributions of this work include a detailed comparison between standard and divergence-free radial basis approximations, a study of the Lebesgue constants for divergence-free approximations and their dependence on node placement, and an investigation of the flat limit of divergence-free interpolants. Finally, numerical solvers for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in primitive variables are implemented using discretizations based on traditional and divergence-free kernels. The numerical results are compared to reference solutions obtained with a spectral method. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Applied Mathematics 2016

This thesis investigates the disparities in losses between 2D-based design simulations and a 3D realization of solenoidal inductors featuring distributed gaps. The inductor geometry entails a solenoidal copper winding enveloped by sintered ferrite rings and end caps, with the air gap required for energy storage distributed over multiple smaller discrete gaps. The simulated 3D structure possesses higher losses than its 2D cross-section due to inherent structural features. The research culminates in two contributions. First, a practical two-variable design approach is presented, leveraging matrix algebra to succinctly represent the decision quantities as functions of the two most important variables to the application. The procedure results yield several informative plots that assist in selecting a design that meets the efficiency and thermal limits. Second, a detailed explanation is provided on the 3D loss effects, along with the recommended design considerations and a method to estimate the dominant 3D loss effect using simple 2D simulations. The design recommendations address a 26-fold increase in the core loss of the outer ferrite rings. They also reduce the copper loss due to the termination effect by 55% using spacer ferrite layers. A simple 2D simulation method is proposed to accurately predict the increased 3D copper loss due to the axial shift of the winding to within 3% and runs 60 times faster than the equivalent 3D simulation. Additionally, a derived equation for the optimal turn spacing aligns with the simulation results with <6% error, offering practical insights for design optimization. These results enable the design of a low-loss solenoidal inductor and accurate loss estimations without running lengthy and complicated 3D simulations. A 13 µH, 150 Arms solenoidal inductor prototype for operation in a 10 kV-to-400 V, 50 kW converter cell serves as empirical validation, corroborating the efficacy of the proposed analysis and design methodology. / Master of Science / It is common to rely on a 2D cross-section of the structure to facilitate the design procedure for inductors, essential components used in electronic circuits to control and convert energy. Two-dimensional simulations of inductors are preferred due to their modeling simplicity, running speed, and low processing power requirement compared to 3D simulations. This thesis investigates the disparities in losses between 2D-based design simulations and a 3D realization of solenoidal inductors featuring distributed gaps. The inductor geometry entails a helical copper winding enveloped by rings and end caps made of a magnetic material. There are multiple small air gaps between the magnetic rings that are required for energy storage, and having multiple small gaps instead of a single large one is referred to as "distributed gaps". The simulated 3D structure possesses higher losses than its 2D cross-section due to inherent structural features. The research culminates in two contributions. First, a practical two-variable design approach is presented, leveraging matrix algebra to succinctly represent the decision quantities as functions of the two most important variables to the application. The procedure results yield several informative plots that assist in selecting a design that meets the efficiency and thermal limits. Second, a detailed explanation is provided on the 3D loss effects, along with the recommended design considerations and a method to estimate the dominant 3D loss effect using simple 2D simulations. The design recommendations address a 26-fold increase in the loss of the outer rings and reduce the copper loss by 55%. A simple 2D simulation method is proposed to accurately predict the increased 3D copper loss to within 3% and runs 60 times faster than the equivalent 3D simulation. Additionally, a derived equation for the optimal turn spacing aligns with the simulation results with <6% error, offering practical insights for design optimization. These results enable the design of a low-loss solenoidal inductor and accurate loss estimations without running lengthy and complicated 3D simulations. A 13 µH, 150 Arms solenoidal inductor prototype for operation in a 10 kV-to-400 V, 50 kW converter cell serves as empirical validation, corroborating the efficacy of the proposed analysis and design methodology.

Aquesta tesi doctoral proposa formulacions de Galerkin discontinu (DG) d'alt ordre per fluxos viscosos incompressibles. Es desenvolupa un nou mètode de DG amb penalti interior (IPM-DG), que condueix a una forma feble simètrica i coerciva pel terme de difusió, i que permet assolir una aproximació espacial d'alt ordre. Aquest mètode s'aplica per resoldre les equacions de Stokes i Navier-Stokes. L'espai d'aproximació de la velocitat es descompon dins de cada element en una part solenoidal i una altra irrotacional, de manera que es pot dividir la forma dèbil IPM-DG en dos problemes desacoblats. El primer permet el càlcul de les velocitats i de les pressions híbrides, mentre que el segon calcula les pressions en l'interior dels elements. Aquest desacoblament permet una reducció important del número de graus de llibertat tant per velocitat com per pressió. S'introdueix també un paràmetre extra de penalti resultant en una formulació DG alternativa per calcular les velocitats solenoidales, on les pressions no apareixen. Les pressions es poden calcular com un post-procés de la solució de les velocitats. Es contemplen altres formulacions DG, com per exemple el mètode Compact Discontinuous Galerkin, i es comparen al mètode IPM-DG. Es proposen mètodes implícits de Runge-Kutta d'alt ordre per problemes transitoris incompressibles, permetent obtenir esquemes incondicionalment estables i amb alt ordre de precisió temporal. Les equacions de Navier-Stokes incompressibles transitòries s'interpreten com un sistema de Equacions Algebraiques Diferencials, és a dir, un sistema d'equacions diferencials ordinàries corresponent a la equació de conservació del moment, més les restriccions algebraiques corresponent a la condició d'incompressibilitat. Mitjançant exemples numèrics es mostra l'aplicabilitat de les metodologies proposades i es comparen la seva eficiència i precisió. / This PhD thesis proposes divergence-free Discontinuous Galerkin formulations providing high orders of accuracy for incompressible viscous flows. A new Interior Penalty Discontinuous Galerkin (IPM-DG) formulation is developed, leading to a symmetric and coercive bilinear weak form for the diffusion term, and achieving high-order spatial approximations. It is applied to the solution of the Stokes and Navier-Stokes equations. The velocity approximation space is decomposed in every element into a solenoidal part and an irrotational part. This allows to split the IPM weak form in two uncoupled problems. The first one solves for velocity and hybrid pressure, and the second one allows the evaluation of pressures in the interior of the elements. This results in an important reduction of the total number of degrees of freedom for both velocity and pressure. The introduction of an extra penalty parameter leads to an alternative DG formulation for the computation of solenoidal velocities with no presence of pressure terms. Pressure can then be computed as a post-process of the velocity solution. Other DG formulations, such as the Compact Discontinuous Galerkin method, are contemplated and compared to IPM-DG. High-order Implicit Runge-Kutta methods are then proposed to solve transient incompressible problems, allowing to obtain unconditionally stable schemes with high orders of accuracy in time. For this purpose, the unsteady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are interpreted as a system of Differential Algebraic Equations, that is, a system of ordinary differential equations corresponding to the conservation of momentum equation, plus algebraic constraints corresponding to the incompressibility condition. Numerical examples demonstrate the applicability of the proposed methodologies and compare their efficiency and accuracy.

A large area time of flight (TOF) detector based on multi-gap resistive plate chamber (MRPC) technology has been developed for the STAR (Solenoidal Tracker at RHIC) experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, New York. The TOF detector replaces STAR's Central Trigger Barrel detector with 120 trays, each with 32 MRPCs. Each MRPC has 6 channels. The TOF detector improves by a factor of about 2 STAR's particle identification reach in transverse momenta and enhances STARs physics research program.

Les collisions d'ions lourds ultra-relativistes sont produites expérimentalement dans le but d'observer la matière dense et chaude. Un des objectifs majeurs est de prouver l'existence du plasma de quarks et de gluons (QGP pour Quark Gluon Plasma) et de l'étudier. Cet état serait celui de la matière dans les conditions de température et de densité suffisamment élevées pour rompre le confinement des quarks à l'intérieur de hadrons. Ces conditions sont obtenues auprès des collisionneurs d'ions lourds travaillant dans les domaines d'énergies les plus élevées. Le RHIC (pour Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider) a notamment permis de réaliser des collisions p+p et Au+Au avec une énergie dans le centre de masse de $\sqrt(s_(NN))=$ 200 GeV. Cette thèse porte sur la production des $\Lambda (1520)$ dans ces deux systèmes grâce au dispositif expérimental de la collaboration STAR (pour Solenoid Tracker At RHIC). La production de cette résonance a été également mesurée dans les collisions du SPS (pour Super Proton Synchrotron) à une énergie égale à $\sqrt(s_(NN))=$ 17.3 GeV. Cette mesure a révélé une diminution importante du signal de $\Lambda (1520)$ observé dans les collisions d'ions lourds ultra-relativistes. Cette tendance est confirmée à RHIC grâce au calcul des rapports $\Lambda (1520)/\Lambda $ pour les collisions p+p et Au+Au à $\sqrt(s_(NN))=$ 200 GeV. Ce rapport diminue pour les collisions Au+Au par rapport aux collisions p+p et est par ailleurs surestimé par les modèles statistiques qui supposent une production de particules en équilibre thermique. Ces résultats constituent entre autres choses une forte présomption de l'existence d'un découplement des particules produites en deux étapes : un découplement chimique, à partir duquel les multiplicités sont fixées, suivi par un découplement thermique où cessent toutes les interactions. Cette conclusion constitue une étape importante dans notre compréhension des collisions d'ions lourds ultra-relativistes et du comportement de la matière dans ces conditions.

Numerical study of transition in the Rayleigh-B&#039 / enard problem of thermal convection between rigid plates heated from below under the influence of gravity with and without rotation is presented. The first numerical approach uses spectral element method with Fourier expansion for horizontal extent and Legendre polynomal for vertical extent for the purpose of generating a database for the subsequent analysis by using Karhunen-Lo&#039 / eve (KL) decomposition. KL decompositions is a statistical tool to decompose the dynamics underlying a database representing a physical phenomena to its basic components in the form of an orthogonal KL basis. The KL basis satisfies all the spatial constraints such as the boundary conditions and the solenoidal (divergence-free) character of the underlying flow field as much as carried by the flow database. The optimally representative character of the orthogonal basis is used to investigate the convective flow for different parameters, such as Rayleigh and Prandtl numbers. The second numerical approach uses divergence free basis functions that by construction satisfy the continuity equation and the boundary conditions in an expansion of the velocity flow field. The expansion bases for the thermal field are constructed to satisfy the boundary conditions. Both bases are based on the Legendre polynomials in the vertical direction in order to simplify the Galerkin projection procedure, while Fourier representation is used in the horizontal directions due to the horizontal extent of the computational domain taken as periodic. Dual bases are employed to reduce the governing Boussinesq equations to a dynamical system for the time dependent expansion coefficients. The dual bases are selected so that the pressure term is eliminated in the projection procedure. The resulting dynamical system is used to study the transitional regimes numerically. The main difference between the two approaches is the accuracy with which the solenoidal character of the flow is satisfied. The first approach needs a numerically or experimentally generated database for the generation of the divergence-free KL basis. The degree of the accuracy for the KL basis in satisfying the solenoidal character of the flow is limited to that of the database and in turn to the numerical technique used. This is a major challenge in most numerical simulation techniques for incompressible flow in literature. It is also dependent on the parameter values at which the underlying flow field is generated. However the second approach is parameter independent and it is based on analytically solenoidal basis that produces an almost exactly divergence-free flow field. This level of accuracy is especially important for the transition studies that explores the regions sensitive to parameter and flow perturbations.

In this study, which is numerical in nature, direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the pipe flow is performed. For the DNS a solenoidal spectral method is employed, this involves the expansion of the velocity using divergence free functions which also satisfy the prescribed boundary conditions, and a subsequent projection of the N-S equations onto the corresponding dual space. The solenoidal functions are formulated in Legendre polynomial space, which results in more favorable forms for the inner product integrals arising from the Petrov-Galerkin scheme employed. The developed numerical scheme is also used to investigate the effects of spanwise oscillations and phase randomization on turbulence statistics, and drag, in turbulent incompressible pipe flow for low to moderate Reynolds numbers (i.e. $mathrm{Re} sim 5000$) ).