A computational investigation was undertaken to examine techniques for predicting supersonic dynamic flows, involving unsteadiness over fixed and moving surfaces. The fixed geometries examined were cylinder-flares and compression ramps, and the moving body geometries a pitching aerofoil and a rapidly deployed flap. Investigation into the characteristics of incipient separation of a supersonic cylinder-flare flow revealed that the separated length varied with a power of the flare angle and that the variation in height of the separated region varies in a bi-modal manner with flare angle. For small-scale separations (flare angles less than those which would traditionally have been expected to induce separation) the height of the separated region was seen to vary slowly with flare angle. For larger flare angles, the separation bubble was found to grow rapidly in height and length with increasing flare angle and produce significant deflection of the external flow. Computations of a Mach 5, compression ramp induced unsteady shock boundary layer interaction exhibited self-sustained oscillations at frequencies and amplitudes consistent with experimental data. Large dynamic structures (up to 1.7 boundary layer thicknesses in extent) were observed, and their production, propagation and deformation illustrated. By modifying the turbulent viscosities produced by a non-dimensional implementation of the Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model (using under- relaxation) a turbulence model was produced which accurately predicted separation lengths for a series of Mach 6.85 compression ramp flows encompassing laminar, transitional and turbulent flow regimes (dependent on ramp angle). A technique was developed to enable efficient computation of dynamically moving and/or deforming body flows. This technique was based on hierarchical, adaptive mesh refinement coupled with automatic generation of body surfaces, in which mesh adaption was used to capture the body geometry to within a specified accuracy. This, in conjunction with automatic cell creation and destruction, enabled the derivation of steady and unsteady, time accurate, conservative boundary conditions. This algorithm was used to compute a quasi-steady laminar supersonic pitching aerofoil flow, and an unsteady turbulent supersonic flap deployment. In both cases agreement with experiment was found to be good.

As modern gas turbines implement more and more complex geometry to increase life and efficiency, attention to unsteady aerodynamic behavior becomes more important. Computational optimization schemes are contributing to advanced geometries in order to reduce aerodynamic losses and increase the life of components. These advanced geometries are less representative of cylinder and backward facing steps which have been used as analogous geometries for most aerodynamic unsteadiness research. One region which contains a high degree of flow unsteadiness and a direct influence on engine performance is that of the MidFrame. The MidFrame (or combustor-diffuser system) is the region encompassing the main gas path from the exit of the compressor to the inlet of the first stage turbine. This region contains myriad flow scenarios including diffusion, bluff bodies, direct impingement, high degree of streamline curvature, separated flow, and recirculation. This represents the most complex and diverse flow field in the entire engine. The role of the MidFrame is to redirect the flow from the compressor into the combustion system with minimal pressure loss while supplying high pressure air to the secondary air system. Various casing geometries, compressor exit diffuser shapes, and flow conditioning equipment have been tested to reduce pressure loss and increase uniformity entering the combustors. Much of the current research in this area focuses on aero propulsion geometries with annular combustors or scaled models of the power generation geometries. Due to the complexity and size of the domain accessibility with physical probe measurements becomes challenging. The current work uses additional measurement techniques to measure flow unsteadiness in the domain. The methodology for identifying and quantifying the sources of unsteadiness are iv developed herein. Sensitivity of MidFrame unsteadiness to compressor exit conditions is shown for three different velocity profiles. The result is an extensive database of measurements which can serve as a benchmark for radical new designs to ensure that the unsteadiness levels do not supersede previous successful levels.

Alternate bars are large-scale bedforms characterised by an ordered sequence of scour zones and depositional diagonal fronts alternating along channel banks, which are typical of straight channelized rivers. Due to their high relief and migration properties, they represent a problem in river management, because they affect navigation, increase the flooding risk and interact with instream structures. For this reason, in the last decades many studies took the challenge of defining suitable criteria able to describe their morphometric properties. Theoretical, experimental and numerical works have clearly demonstrated that bar occurrence is a threshold process governed by the width-to-depth ratio of the channel, β. If this parameter exceeds a critical threshold, βcr, an instability mechanism amplifies the riverbed perturbations occurring due to the effect of the turbulent flow on the cohesionless riverbed, leading to the spontaneous growth of finite amplitude bars. Under steady flow conditions, alternate bars achieve an equilibrium configuration, whose amplitude value is related to the difference β-βcr. Much less information is available to describe bar characteristics under variable flow conditions, when the width-to-depth ratio changes in time and the amplitude of bars evolves depending on the duration and the shape of the hydrograph. The effect of a single idealized flood on bar amplitude evolution was successfully described by the weakly nonlinear model of Tubino (1991), which was able to capture the trajectory of bar amplitude during different stages of the flood. Supported by experimental results, he found that the response of bars crucially depends on the ratio between the flood duration and the bar-growth timescale. Nevertheless, the effect of a complex flow regime, characterised by a sequence of flow events, is to a large extent unexplored. Specifically, (i) the definition of a criterion to predict the average response of alternate bars in a river reach subject to an hydrological flow regime and (ii) the quantification of bar amplitude evolution due to a complex flow regime are still to a large extent unexplored. The goals of this work are: (i) to investigate the dependence of bar properties to variable discharge conditions; (ii) to analyse the effect of flow unsteadiness in terms of duration and sequencing of flood events and derive the main hydrological characteristics that primarily control the average response of bar amplitude; (iii) to determine the long-term bar geometry and define the "bar-forming'' discharge, which is the theoretical discharge that if maintained indefinitely would produce the same long-term bar response as the natural hydrograph; (iv) to analyse the effect that a sequence of flood events composing a complex flow series has on the evolution of bar amplitude. To pursue these purposes, we adopted a methodology primary based on theoretical models, then supported and validated through the analysis of laboratory experiments and field data. The methodology and the key results for the different parts of this thesis can be summarized as follows: 1. First, the response of bar topography to different flow stages has been investigated both theoretically and through the analysis of experimental data, observing the dependence of alternate bars to peculiar threshold conditions. The validity of weakly nonlinear model of Colombini et al. (1987), originally defined in the neighborhood of the critical condition βcr, has been extended taking into account the emersion of bars for low flows. 2. Subsequently, the average response of bars to idealized flow series has been analysed, exploring their dependence on the duration and sequencing of flood events. The probability density function has been found to be the essential hydrological information of the flow series required to determine the long-term response of bar amplitude, while the integral scale of flow sequence is a suitable metric to quantify the unsteadiness of a flow regime. 3. Then, an innovative approach has been introduced to define an occurrence criterion for alternate bars in straightened river reaches that accounts for the hydrological regime, and to determine the average bar state, with the corresponding "bar-forming'' discharge. The key novelty with respect to the classical methods adopted so far to predict the long-term equilibrium channel geometry is that in this case the morphodynamical work acted on river bars by relatively low-flow stages enhancing their formation can be reversed by high-flow stages that suppress them. Therefore, both the occurrence criterion and the average state are found from a balance between the cumulative effects of bar-forming and bar-suppressing events. 4. Finally, the weakly nonlinear model of Colombini et al. (1987), originally defined to predict the evolution of bars under steady flow conditions, has been extended to reproduce a natural flow series by considering the basic flow varying in time. This approach allows us to (i) statistically investigate the effect of flood magnitude and duration on the variations of bar amplitude and (ii) to simulate the morphological response of a river to alterations of the hydrological regime.The long-term analysis of bar amplitude, as such as its evolution subject to the hydrological flow regime, have been applied to four different study cases, each of them characterised by a distinctive average bar response: two reaches of the Alpine Rhine River, upstream and downstream the confluence of the River Ill (Switzerland), respectively, the Adige River near Trento (Italy) and the Isère River near Montmèlian (France). The theoretical model is able to capture both qualitatively and quantitatively the observed bed response. Specifically, it predicts the occurrence of high-relief bars for the upstream reach of the Alpine Rhine River and for the Isère River, while a plane configuration is predicted for the Adige River. Also the intermediate response of the downstream reach of the Alpine Rhine River is reproduced, showing a predominant flat bed morphology with sporadic low-relief bars.

The mean flowfield and time-dependent characteristics of a Mach 5 cylinder-induced transitional shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction have been studied experimentally. The objectives of the study were to: (i) provide a detailed description of the mean flow structure of the interaction, and (ii) characterize the unsteadiness of the interaction based on fluctuating pressure measurements. / text

Film cooling is vital for the cooling of the blades and vanes in the high temperature environment of a jet engine high pressure turbine stage. Previous research into film cooling has typically concentrated on its time-mean performance. However, results from other studies upon more simplified geometries, suggest that coherent unsteadiness is likely to also be present in film cooling flows. The research presented in this thesis, therefore, aims to characterise what coherent unsteadiness, if any, is present within film cooling flows. Cylindrical and shaped cooling holes, located upon the pressure surface of a turbine blade within a large scale linear cascade, have been investigated. A blowing ratio range of 0.5 to 2.0 has been investigated, with either a plenum or perpendicular crossflow at the cooling hole inlet. Particle Image Velocimetry, high speed photography and Hot Wire Anemometry have been used to investigate the jet downstream of both cooling holes. The impact of crossflow at the hole inlet upon the flowfield inside both cooling holes has been investigated using Hot Wire Anemometry and a further numerical model solved by applying TBLOCK. The results presented in the current thesis, show the existence of two coherent unsteady structures in the jet downstream of both the cylindrical and the shaped holes. These structures are called shear layer vortices and hairpin vortices, and their formation is dependent on the velocity difference across the jet shear layer. Inside the cooling hole coherent hairpin vortices also appear to occur, with their formation dependent on the direction and magnitude of the crossflow at the hole inlet. The coherent unsteadiness presented here is shown for the first time for film cooling flows, and recommendations to build on the current study, in what is potentially an interesting research area, are made at the end of this thesis.

The blood is a complex fluid that contains, in addition to water, cells, macro-molecules and a large number of smaller molecules. The physical properties of the blood are therefore the result of non-linear interactions of its constituents, which are influenced by the local flow field conditions. Hence, the local blood viscosity is a function of the local concentration of the blood constituents and the local flow field itself. This study considers the flow of blood-like fluids in generalised 90-degree bifurcating pipes and patient-specific arterial bifurcations relevant to the large aortic branches in humans. It is shown that the Red Blood Cell (RBC) distribution in the region of bifurcations may lead to large changes in the viscosity, with implications on the concentrations of the various cells in the blood plasma. This in turn implies that the flow in the near wall regions is more difficult to estimate and predict than that under the assumption of a homogeneous fluid. The rheological properties of blood are complex and are difficult to measure, since the results depend on the measuring equipment and the inherent flow conditions. We attempt to model the viscosity of water containing different volume fractions of non-deforming RBC-like particles in tubes. The apparent viscosities of the mixtures obtained from these model experiments have been compared to the predictions of the different rheological models found in the literature. The same rheological models have also been used in the different simulations, where the local RBC concentration and local shear rate are used in the viscosity models. The flow simulations account for the non-linearity due to coupling between the flow and fluid rheology. Furthermore, from a physiological perspective, it is shown that oscillatory wall shear stresses are affected by changes in RBC concentration in the regions of the bifurcation associated with atherogenesis. The intrinsic shear thinning rheological property of the blood, in conjunction with stagnation in separated flows, may be responsible for elevated temporal wall shear stress gradients (TWSSG) influencing endothelial cell behaviour, which has been postulated to play a role in the development of atherosclerosis. The blood-like fluid properties along with variations in the RBC concentration could also lead to variations in the developing flow structures in the larger arteries that could influence the work the heart has to bear. / <p>QC 20131206</p>

Master thesis focused on the research of the effervescent atomizers. Effervescent atomizers belong to a group of two-phase atomizers, which are often used in combustion applications. Right there in combustion applications, the degree of the stability sprays has a significant impact on combustion efficiency and exhaust gas emissions. The main aim of this work was to asses the level of spray unsteadiness depending on the atomizer design and its operating mode. The effect of construction was studied on the diameter and length of mixing chamber, and then on the size, number and location of aeration holes. Seventeen specific variants of the atomizer were constructed by different combinations of these design parameters. Each of these variants was measured in three operating modes, which were represented by a liquid pressure at the inlet to the atomizer and gas-to-liquid mass flow ratio (GLR). To evaluate the level of spray unsteadiness was used a methodology, which compares the ideal element´s distribution into the interparticle time bin, defined for the ideal (stable) spray, with the experimentally observed distribution. The laser measurement system P/DPA (Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer) was used to determine the experimental interparticle distribution. The result of the comparison of the ideal and the experimental distribution was the parameter , which expresses the level of spray unsteadiness for a specific atomizer and operating mode. With that parameter it was possible to compare the individual atomizers and determinate to the benefit of various construction´s correction of the atomizer. The results showed the recommendation for the modifications of the atomizer, creating a spray with a minimum level of spray´s unsteadiness. For the surveyed atomizer and his individual costruction´s variations the drawing was made.

No description available.

Experimental studies on the coupled effects of transport properties and unsteady fluid dynamics have been conducted on laminar, acoustically forced, hydrogen jet diffusion flames diluted by argon and helium. The primary purpose of this research is to determine how the fuel Lewis number and the flow unsteadiness play a combined role in maximum flame temperature and affect NOx emission from jet diffusion flame. The fuel Lewis number is varied by increasing/decreasing the mole fraction of diluents in the fuel stream. Therefore, maximum flame temperatures and then NOx emission levels were expected to differ for Ar- and He-diluted flames. In an investigation of unsteady flames, two different frequencies (10 and 100 Hz) were applied to observe a behavior of NOx emission levels and flame lengths by changes of unsteady fluid dynamics and transport properties.

Local scour around bridge foundations has been recognized as one of the main causes of bridge failures. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationships among field, laboratory, and numerical data for the purpose of improving scour prediction methods for complex bridge piers. In this study, three field sites in Georgia were selected for continuous monitoring and associated laboratory models were fabricated with physical scale ratios that modeled the full river and bridge cross sections to consider the effect of river bathymetry and bridge geometry. Three different sizes of sediment and several geometric scales of the bridge pier models were used in this study to investigate the scaling effect of relative sediment size, which is defined as the ratio of the pier width to the median sediment size. The velocity field for each bridge model was measured by the acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) to explain the complicated hydrodynamics of the flow field around bridge piers as guided by the results from a numerical model. In each physical model with river bathymetry, the comparison between the results of laboratory experiments and the measurements of prototype bridge pier scour showed good agreement for the maximum pier scour depth at the nose of the pier as well as for the velocity distribution upstream of each bridge pier bent. Accepted scour prediction formulae were evaluated by comparison with extensive laboratory and field data. The effect of relative sediment size on the local pier scour depth was examined and a modified relationship between the local pier scour depth and the relative sediment size was presented. A useful methodology for designing physical models was developed to reproduce and predict local scour depth around complex piers considering Froude number similarity, flow intensity, and relative sediment size.