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[pt] Volume of Fluid (VOF) é um método amplamente empregado na predição de escoamentos multifásicos devido à sua simplicidade, boas características de conservação de massa e natural tratamento de interfaces topologicamente complexas. No entanto, para escoamentos dominados por tensão interfacial, a literatura tem mostrado que a precisão nas estimativas da tensão interfacial ainda é um problema em questão, que pode levar a correntes parasíticas e previsão imprecisa da condição de salto de pressão através das interfaces. Isto ocorre principalmente devido às variações abruptas do campo de fração volumétrica através das interfaces, que leva a imprecisão no cálculo das curvaturas interfaciais. Portanto, diferentes abordagens têm sido apresentadas para mitigar este problema, incluindo funções-altura, suavização da fração volumétrica, ajuste parabólico, entre outros. Este trabalho propõe uma nova abordagem para estimativa de curvatura em VOF, mas não limitado a este, que lança uma nova luz a este problema persistente. A ideia é amostrar a interface por nuvens de pontos e normais na isosuperfície de nível 0.5 do campo de fração volumétrica e calcular a curvatura para cada ponto da nuvem por uma técnica de Computação Gráfica (ajuste de normais). As curvaturas são, então, projetadas na malha Euleriana de maneira tal como no método Front-Tracking. O novo método foi implementado no código padrão de VOF do OpenFOAM (interFoam) resultando em melhorias nas estimativas de salto de pressão e em significativa redução das correntes espúrias. Simulações numéricas foram realizadas e resultados comparados a dados de referência demonstrando a viabilidade da ideia. / [en] Volume of Fluid (VOF) is a widely employed method for multiphase flows prediction for its simplicity, good mass conservation characteristics and natural handling of topologically complex interfaces. For surface tension dominated flows, however, literature has shown that accuracy in surface tension estimations is still an issue, what may cause parasitic currents and inaccurate prediction of pressure jump condition across interfaces. It occurs mainly due to abrupt changes in the volume fraction field across the interfaces, which takes to inaccurate estimates of interfacial curvatures. Therefore, different approaches have been proposed to mitigate this problem including height-functions, volume fraction smoothing, parabolic fittings, among others. This work proposes a novel approach for curvature estimation in VOF, but not limited to it, that sheds a new light on this persistent problem. The idea is to sample the interfaces with clouds of points and normals at the 0.5 level isosurface of the volume fraction field and to compute the curvature for each point of the cloud by a Computer Graphics technique (normal fitting). The curvatures are then projected onto the Eulerian grid in a Front-Tracking fashion. The new method was implemented in the standard OpenFOAM VOF solver (interFoam) resulting in improvements on the pressure jump estimations and in significant reduction of spurious currents. Numerical simulations were performed and results compared to benchmark data showing the feasibility of the idea.

This thesis describes the current state of development of the Flexible Low-cost Automated Scaled Highway (FLASH) laboratory at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). The FLASH lab and the scale model cars contained therein provide a testbed for the small scale development stage of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). In addition, the FLASH lab serves as a home to the prototype display being developed for an educational museum exhibit. This thesis also gives details of the path following lateral controller implemented on the FLASH car. The controller was developed using the kinematic model for a wheeled robot. The global model is converted into the path coordinate model so that only local variables are needed. then the path coordinate model is converted into chained form and a controller is given to perform path following. The path coordinate model introduces a new parameter to the system: the curvature of the path. Thus, it is necessary to provide the path's curvature value to the controller. Because of the environment in which the car is operating, the curvature values are known a priori. Several online methods for determining the curvature are developed. A MATLAB simulation environment was created with which to test the above algorithms. The simulation uses the kinematic model to show the car's behavior and implements the sensors and controller as closely as possible to the actual system. The implementation of the lateral controller in hardware is discussed. The vehicle platform is described and the harware and software architecture detailed. The car described is capable of operating manually and autonomously. In autonomous mode, several sensors are utilized including: infrared, magnetic, ultrasound, and image based technology. The operation of each sensor type is described and the information received by the processor from each is discussed. / Master of Science

Flatness of wood composite panels, such as Laminated Veneer Lumber, is often difficult to control during the manufacturing process. Out-of-plane deformation, or warpage, of wood veneers caused by changes in moisture content affects the ability to press flat panels. To understand wood panel warpage, experimental methods are developed to create and measure moisture-induced deformation of wood veneers on five species of various thicknesses. Three moisture induction methods are investigated and evaluated to determine the increase in moisture content. Experiments are developed to produce moisture gradients of two concentrations in the veneers to examine the effect on warpage behavior. Additionally, the surface area of applied moisture and veneer thickness is also investigated. Three-dimensional scanning technology is used to measure warpage of veneers. A procedure using a structured-light scanner is developed to analyze the surface curvatures to observe the effect of moisture-induced warpage. After moisture-induction treatment of the veneer, surface deformation data is measured using the scanner and the data is converted into a 3D solid body model that is used for curvature comb analysis. The results show that curvature comb analysis can be used to analyze the geometry of moisture-induce warpage. The method can be used to analyze the effect of moisture gradient variables on warpage behavior including concentration, veneer thickness, and surface area. The experimental methods developed can be used by future researchers to validate theoretical warpage prediction models. / Master of Science / Flatness of wood composite panels, such as Laminated Veneer Lumber, is often difficult to control during the manufacturing process. Warpage of wood veneers is caused by changes in moisture content affecting manufacturers' ability to press flat panels. To understand wood panel warpage, experimental methods are developed to create and measure moisture-induced warpage of wood veneers on five species of various thicknesses. Three moisture induction methods are investigated and evaluated to determine the increase in moisture content. Experiments are developed to produce moisture gradients of two concentrations in the veneers to examine the effect on warpage behavior. Additionally, the surface area of applied moisture and veneer thickness is also investigated. Three-dimensional scanning technology is used to measure warpage of veneers. A procedure is developed to analyze the surface curvatures to observe the effect of moisture-induced warpage. After moisture-induction treatment of the veneer, surface deformation data is measured and converted into a 3D solid body model that is used to analyze curvature. The results show that moisture induction methods used to induce warpage can experience different geometries to analyze a veneer's curvature. The methods can be used to analyze warpage behavior of veneers by future researchers to validate warpage prediction model.

The development of an organism starting from a fertilized egg involves the self-organized formation of patterns and the generation of shape. Patterns and shapes are characterized by their geometry, i.e. angles and distances between features. In this thesis, we set out to understand how the given geometry of pattern and shape of a living system feeds back into the evolution of this geometry. We focus on two fundamental developmental processes: axis specification and gastrulation. Both processes rely on the directed movements of cells and molecules driven by molecular force generation. Here, we ask how the geometry of an embryo guides such active flows. Active flows are often confined to the surface of a cell or embryo which is usually curved. We use the hydrodynamic theory of active surfaces to investigate how this curvature impacts on flows that are driven by patterns of mechanical activity. Using a minimal model of the cell cortex, we find that active cortical stresses can drive a rotation of the cell that aligns the chemical pattern of the stress regulator with the geometry of the cell surface. In particular, we find that active tension in the cytokinetic ring ensures that a cell divides along its longest axes, a common phenomenon known as Hertwig’s rule. As a consequence, the body axes of the C. elegans embryo are aligned with the geometry of the egg shell. We next set out to understand the impact of surface geometry on flows and patterns in more complex geometries. We focus in particular on localized sources of mechanical activity in curved fluid films. Such active particles act as sensors of the surface geometry, as the viscosity relates the local flow field to the large-scale geometry of the fluid film. We find that the impact of an anisotropic surface geometry on the flow field can generally be understood in terms of effective gradients of friction and viscosity. With this, we show that contractile points in a fluid film are attracted by protrusions and saddle geometries where the contractile point is surrounded by a maximal amount of surface area within the hydrodynamic length. Furthermore, we find that anisotropic active particles move towards or away from a saddle of the surface depending on whether they are extensile or contractile. To understand the process of gastrulation and left-right symmetry breaking in the avian embryo, we develop a hydrodynamic theory of the primitive streak, a line of mechanically active material. With this theory of an active viscous crack, we analyze experimental data from quail embryos. We find that the embryo-scale cell movements during gastrulation are driven by mechanical activity at the streak, while the surrounding epithelium behaves like a homogeneous fluid film. With this mechanical model, we find that streak elongation does not require extensile forces along the streak. Instead, streak elongation results from the flux of tissue into the streak, the viscosity of the surrounding tissue and the polar geometry of the streak. During avian left-right symmetry breaking, a chiral flow of tissue emerges at the tip of the streak, the so called Hensen’s node. We find that this flow results from an active torque that drives a counter-rotation of tissue layers. Thus, avian left-right symmetry breaking is facilitated by the mechanical coupling of tissue layers that the structure of node and streak provides. Finally, we study how the geometry of a surface impacts on such chiral flows. We find that chiral flows at the avian node as well as in the cell cortex can be recapitulated as the result of molecular torque dipoles that are aligned with the tangential plane of the cell or tissue surface. Only when the surface is curved, such in-plane torques drive in-plane flows. Thus, the geometry of the avian node and the cytokinetic furrow may facilitate the chiral flows that are driven by these structures. Taken together, we find that the geometry of an embryo is crucial to the flows and patterns that emerge in such a mechanically active system, because the geometry defines how forces and torques are transmitted.:1 Introduction 1.1 Embryogenesis from a geometric viewpoint 1.2 Hydrodynamic theory of active fluid films 1.3 Understanding active surfaces with complex numbers 1.4 Overview of this thesis 2 Crack mechanics of avian gastrulation 2.1 The primitive streak as a crack in a fluid film 2.2 Hydrodynamic theory of active viscous cracks 2.3 The primitive streak as a branch cut 2.4 Advective crack propagation 2.5 Discussion 3 Pattern formation guided by surface geometry 3.1 Minimal model of guided symmetry breaking 3.2 Diffusion on a curved surface 3.3 Pattern formation in an active fluid model of the cell cortex 3.4 Discussion 4 Geometry sensing by active flows 4.1 Geometry sensing by an active isotropic fluid 4.2 Deformation response of active flow in general surface geometries 4.3 Geometry sensing by a contractile point 4.4 Pattern formation guided by the geometric potential 4.5 Geometry sensing by active p-atic particles 4.6 Discussion 5 Chiral flows controlled by embryo geometry 5.1 Mechanical model of avian left-right symmetry breaking 5.2 Chiral flows facilitated by curvature gradients 5.3 Discussion 6 Conclusion and Outlook

The contribution of present research work is to experimentally investigate the effects of blowing ratio and mainstream Mach number/Reynolds number (from 0.6/8.5X10⁵ to 1.0/1.4X10⁶) on the performance of the fan-shaped hole injected turbine blade and vane. The study was operated with high freestream turbulence intensity (12% at the inlet) and large turbulence length scales (0.26 for blade, 0.28 for vane, normalized by the cascade pitch of 58.4mm and 83.3mm respectively). Both convective heat transfer coefficient, in terms of Nusselt number, and adiabatic effectiveness are provided in the results. Present research work also numerically investigates the shock/film cooling interaction. A detailed analysis on the physics of the shock/film cooling interaction in the blade cascade is provided. The results of present research suggests the following major conclusions. Compared to the showerhead only vane, the addition of fan-shaped hole injection on the turbine Nozzle Guide Vane (NGV) increases the Net Heat Flux Reduction (NHFR) 2.6 times while consuming 1.6 times more coolant. For the blade, combined with the surface curvature effect, the increase of Mach number/Reynolds number results in an improved film cooling effectiveness on the blade suction side, but a compromised cooling performance on the blade pressure side. A quick drop of cooling effectiveness occurs at the shock impingement on the blade suction side near the trailing edge. The CFD results indicate that this adiabatic effectiveness drop was caused by the strong secondary flow after shock impingement, which lifts coolant away from the SS surface, and increases the mixing. This secondary flow is related to the spanwise non-uniform of the shock impingement. / Ph. D.

This dissertation introduces assembly of spherical particles as a novel topography-based anti-biofouling coating. It also provides new insights on the effects of surface topography, especially local curvature, on cell–surface and cell–cell interactions during the evolution of biofilms. I investigated the adhesion, colonization, and biofilm formation of the opportunistic human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa on a solid coated in close-packed spheres of polystyrene, using flat polystyrene sheets as a control. The results show that, whereas flat sheets are covered in large clusters after one day, a close-packed layer of 630–1550 nm monodisperse spheres prevents cluster formation. Moreover, the film of spheres reduces the density of P. aeruginosa adhered to the solid by 80%. Our data show that when P. aeruginosa adheres to the spheres, the distribution is not random. For 630 nm and larger particles, P. aeruginosa tends to position its body in the confined spaces between particles. After two days, 3D biofilm structures cover much of the flat polystyrene, whereas 3D biofilms rarely occur on a solid with a colloidal crystal coating of 1550 nm spheres. On 450 nm colloidal crystals, the bacterial growth was intermediate between the flat and 1550 nm spheres. The initial preference for P. aeruginosa to adhere to confined spaces is maintained on the second day, even when the cells form clusters: the cells remain in the confined spaces to form non-touching clusters. When the cells do touch, the contact is usually the pole, not the sides of the bacteria. The observations are rationalized based on the potential gains and costs associated with cell-sphere and cell-cell contacts. I concluded that the anti-biofilm property of the colloidal crystals is correlated with the ability to arrange the individual cells. I showed that a colloidal crystal coating delays P. aeruginosa cluster formation on a medical-grade stainless-steel needle. This suggests that a colloidal crystal approach to biofilm inhibition might be applicable to other materials and geometries. The results presented in appendix 1 suggest that colloidal crystals can also delay adhesion of Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) while it supports selective adhesion of this bacterium to the confined spaces. / Ph. D.

In this paper we study a methodology for the numerical simulation of stable structures of fluid membranes and vesicles in biological organisms. In particular, we discuss the effects of spontaneous curvature on vesicle cell membranes under the bending energy for given volume and surface area. The geometric modeling of the vesicle shapes are undertaken by means of surfaces generated as Partial Differential Equations (PDEs). We combine PDE based geometric modeling with numerical optimization in order to study the stable shapes adopted by the vesicle membranes. Thus, through the PDE method we generate a generic template of a vesicle membrane which is then efficiently parameterized. The parameterization is taken as a basis to set up a numerical optimization procedure which enables us to predict a series of vesicle shapes subject to given surface area and volume.

Tiling multiple monitors to increase the amount of screen space has become an area of great interest to researchers. While previous research has shown user performance benefits when tiling multiple monitors, little research has analyzed whether much larger high-resolution displays result in better user performance. The work in this paper evaluates user performance on an even larger, twenty-four monitor, high-resolution (96 DPI), high pixel-count (approximately 32 million pixels) display for single-users in both flat and curved forms. The first experiment compares user performance time, accuracy, and mental workload on multi-scale geospatial search, route tracing, and comparison tasks across one, twelve (4x3), and twenty-four (8x3) tiled monitor configurations. Using the same tasks, we evaluated conditions that uniformly curve the twelve and twenty-four monitor displays. Results show that, depending on the task, larger viewport sizes improve performance time with less user frustration. Findings also reveal that curving large displays improves performance time as users interacted with less strenuous physical navigation on the curved conditions. A second study sought to understand why curving the display, effectively bringing all pixels into visible range, improved performance so as to provide guidelines for using such large displays. The study tested for region biases, performance gaps in comparing virtually distant objects, and degree of detail of user insights while measuring the physical navigation required. Results clearly show that significantly less movement is required when physically navigating the curved display. Performance measures reveal that users favor the left regions of the flat display, while there appears to be no region bias on the curved display. Furthermore, user performance time increased as the virtual distance between objects increased, and there is a tradeoff in insight detail between the two forms. In conclusion, larger, high-resolution displays improve user performance, and curving such displays further improves performance, removing any biases towards regions of the display, potentially reducing the performance drop of virtually far apart objects, reducing the amount of physical navigation necessary, and enabling more detailed insights. Based on these findings, one should always curve multiple monitor displays for single users, and if space is an issue, start curving once the display reaches four or five monitors wide. / Master of Science