Fluid flow network simulation codes are commonly used as a design and analysis tool for many engineering problems such as gas distribution networks, power plants and heat pumps. Two formulations of conservation of momentum have been widely applied in fluid flow network simulation models namely those based on static pressure and those based on total pressure. The total pressure formulations are convenient in that they eliminate the difficulties associated with the calculation of the convective terms and components such as pipe junctions are treated in a straightforward manner based on total pressure losses. However, the different formulations of total pressure for compressible and incompressible flow require different formulations of the momentum conservation equation, which is inconvenient for implementation in a generic network simulation code. In this thesis a united total pressure formulation is first derived which is valid for all fluids and therefore eliminates the inconvenience of switching between the compressible and incompressible formulations. A non-iterative method for the solution of the non-isothermal discretised equations based on the total pressure formulation is then introduced and consistency is illustrated. The method appears to be very stable for subsonic flows, while rapid steady state convergence is observed. A systematic comparison is also done with traditional static pressure based methods and the similarities and differences between the two formulations are illuminated. The different time scales involved in the simulation of transient flow in fluid networks are problematic when conventional fixed time step methods are used for time-wise integration. The time scales associated with acoustic and kinematic wave phenomena as well as storage effects can differ by orders in magnitude. This thesis also presents a simple adaptive time step algorithm which can be readily used in conjunction with all the commonly used first order methods for fluid flow networks. Two test problems are selected to demonstrate the efficiency and savings obtained with this procedure. The adaptive time step algorithm correctly selects appropriate time steps for all phenomena and significant computational savings are observed for accurate integration. In addition, a procedure is implemented which automatically selects the appropriate integration method. The resulting algorithm is a fully adaptive algorithm which switches between a fully implicit method and a semi-implicit method. Two test problems are once again used to demonstrate the efficiency and savings. The fully adaptive algorithm correctly selects appropriate methods for all phenomena and significant additional computational savings are observed. / Thesis (PhD (Mechanical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Fluid flow network simulation codes are commonly used as a design and analysis tool for many engineering problems such as gas distribution networks, power plants and heat pumps. Two formulations of conservation of momentum have been widely applied in fluid flow network simulation models namely those based on static pressure and those based on total pressure. The total pressure formulations are convenient in that they eliminate the difficulties associated with the calculation of the convective terms and components such as pipe junctions are treated in a straightforward manner based on total pressure losses. However, the different formulations of total pressure for compressible and incompressible flow require different formulations of the momentum conservation equation, which is inconvenient for implementation in a generic network simulation code. In this thesis a united total pressure formulation is first derived which is valid for all fluids and therefore eliminates the inconvenience of switching between the compressible and incompressible formulations. A non-iterative method for the solution of the non-isothermal discretised equations based on the total pressure formulation is then introduced and consistency is illustrated. The method appears to be very stable for subsonic flows, while rapid steady state convergence is observed. A systematic comparison is also done with traditional static pressure based methods and the similarities and differences between the two formulations are illuminated. The different time scales involved in the simulation of transient flow in fluid networks are problematic when conventional fixed time step methods are used for time-wise integration. The time scales associated with acoustic and kinematic wave phenomena as well as storage effects can differ by orders in magnitude. This thesis also presents a simple adaptive time step algorithm which can be readily used in conjunction with all the commonly used first order methods for fluid flow networks. Two test problems are selected to demonstrate the efficiency and savings obtained with this procedure. The adaptive time step algorithm correctly selects appropriate time steps for all phenomena and significant computational savings are observed for accurate integration. In addition, a procedure is implemented which automatically selects the appropriate integration method. The resulting algorithm is a fully adaptive algorithm which switches between a fully implicit method and a semi-implicit method. Two test problems are once again used to demonstrate the efficiency and savings. The fully adaptive algorithm correctly selects appropriate methods for all phenomena and significant additional computational savings are observed. / Thesis (PhD (Mechanical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2017-03-06T19:49:56Z No. of bitstreams: 1 johnnymoreiragomes.pdf: 4938794 bytes, checksum: fb03990a45c2c77e8ff60eae73a2d21d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-03-06T20:27:17Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 johnnymoreiragomes.pdf: 4938794 bytes, checksum: fb03990a45c2c77e8ff60eae73a2d21d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-06T20:27:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 johnnymoreiragomes.pdf: 4938794 bytes, checksum: fb03990a45c2c77e8ff60eae73a2d21d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-24 / FAPEMIG - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais / Este trabalho compara diferentes esquemas numéricos para a solução de modelos modernos para a eletrofisiologia de miócitos cardíacos. Apresentamos o Método de Uniformização - amplamente utilizado para a solução de problemas estocásticos em ciência da computação - e mostramos que, quando aplicado na resolução numérica de modelos cardíacos baseados em Cadeias de Markov de Tempo contínuo, aumenta substancialmente a estabilidade numérica em relação a métodos explícitos tradicionalmente utilizados, como o Método de Rush-Larsen e o Método de Euler Explícito. A formulação em Cadeias de Markov para estruturas subcelulares - como os canais iônicos - permite a descrição detalhada do comportamento elétrico de células cardíacas para importantes aplicações experimentais, como a simulação dos efeitos de drogas e toxinas sobre a atividade elétrica da membrana celular. No entanto, as equações diferenciais associadas às Cadeias de Markov para canais iônicos frequentemente trazem problemas de estabilidade numérica, que limitam fortemente o passo de tempo utilizado por esquemas explícitos. Com a utilização do Método de Uniformização foi possível aumentar significativamente a magnitude dos passos de tempo utilizados em simulações de três modelos da eletrofisiologia cardíaca baseados em Cadeias de Markov. Neste trabalho mostramos como é possível associar o Método de Uniformização a outros esquemas explícitos para a solução numérica de tais modelos, e como tais técnicas melhoram significativamente o desempenho computacional em relação a métodos explícitos tradicionais. Além disso, propomos extensões do método de Rush-Larsen e do método de Uniformização com segunda ordem de precisão para o desenvolvimento de esquemas explícitos de passo de tempo adaptativo, visando reduzir ainda mais o custo computacional em simulações com tolerância numérica estrita. / This work compares different numerical schemes for the solution of modern electrophysiology models for cardiac myocytes. We present the Uniformization Method - frequently applied to stochastic problems in computer science - which significantly increase the numerical stability when used for the solution of cardiac models based on Continuous Time Markov Chains, with respect to traditional explicit schemes such as Rush-Larsen Method and Foward Euler Method. The Markov Chains formulation for subcellular structures, e.g. ionic channels, enables an accurate description of the electrical behaviour of cardiac cells for important experimental applications, for instance the simulation of the effects of drugs or toxins on the electrical activity of the cell's membrane. However, the differential equations associated with the Markov Chains for ionic channels frequently cause problems of numerical stability, which severely limits the time step used by explicit schemes. By using the Uniformization Method we could significantly increase the time steps size in simulations of three models of cardiac electrophysiology based on Markov Chains. In this work we show how the Uniformization Method can be used along with other foward numerical schemes for the solution of these models, and how these techniques significantly improve the computational performance with respect to traditional numerical methods. In adition, we propose extensions of the Rush-Larsen method and the Uniformization method with second-order accuracy for developing foward time-adaptive techniques, aiming to reduce the computational cost of simulations with strict numerical tolerances.