There is a present need for simulation and measuring the inlet swirl distortion generated by airframe/engine system interactions to identify potential degradation in fan performance and operability in a full-scale, ground testing environment. Efforts are described to address this need by developing and characterizing methods for complex, prescribed distortion patterns. A relevant inlet swirl distortion profile that mimics boundary layer ingesting inlets was generated by a novel new method, dubbed the StreamVane method, and measured in a sub scale tunnel using stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (SPIV) as a precursor for swirl distortion generation and characterization in an operating turbofan research engine. Diagnostic development efforts for the distortion measurements within the research engine paralleled the StreamVane characterization. The system used for research engine PIV measurements is described. Data was obtained in the wake of a total pressure distortion screen for engine conditions at idle and 80% corrected fan speed, and of full-scale StreamVane screen at 50% corrected fan speed. The StreamVane screen was designed to generate a swirl distortion that is representative for hybrid wing body applications and was made of Ultem*9085 using additive manufacturing. Additional improvements to the StreamVane method are also described. Data reduction algorithms are put forth to reduce spurious velocity vectors. Uncertainty estimations specific to the inlet distortion test rig, including bias error due to mechanical vibration, are made. Results indicate that the methods develop may be used to both generate and characterize complex distortion profiles at the aerodynamic interface plane, providing new information about airframe/engine integration. / Master of Science

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) has become one of the most important tools for experimentally investigating the physics of fluid flows. In PIV, image-processing algorithms estimate flow velocity by measuring the displacements of flow-tracer particles suspended in a fluid. The fundamental operation in PIV is the cross correlation (CC), which measures the displacement between two similar patterns. These measurements can fail under circumstances that arise due to the nature of the underlying flow field (e.g., vortices and boundary layers, where particle patterns not only translate but also rotate, stretch, and shear) or of the images (e.g., X-ray images, with comparatively low signal to noise ratios). Despite these shortcomings, fairly little attention has been paid to fundamentally improving measurements at the level of the CC. The objective of this dissertation is to demonstrate specific modifications to the correlation kernel of PIV that increase its accuracy and in certain cases extend its utility to classes of flows and image types that were previously unresolvable. First, we present a new PIV correlation algorithm called the Fourier-Mellin correlation (FMC) that reduces velocity errors by an order of magnitude in rotating flows (chapter 1). Second, we develop a model of PIV cross correlations that explains the fundamental sources of several major drivers of error in these measurements. We show how the shapes of the tracer particles and the distributions of their individual displacements affect the correlation signal to noise ratio (SNR), whose effects have previously been described only heuristically. We use this insight to create an algorithm that automatically creates a Fourier-based weighting filter, and demonstrate that our algorithm reduces bias and RMS errors in multiple types of PIV experiments (chapter 2). Finally, we apply principles from our insights to measure blood flows in the hearts of grasshoppers using X-ray PIV, and discovered flow kinematics that were unexpected according to the current prevailing understanding of the heart as a peristaltic pump that produces directional flows. Our results suggest that flow production in insect hearts may be more complex than once thought (chapter 3). / Ph. D.

The interaction of an unsteady wake with a solid body can induce sizable loading of the structure, which has many detrimental side effects in both the structural and acoustic senses. These interactions are ubiquitous in nature and engineering. A flow control technique is sought to mitigate this interaction, thereby decreasing the level of structural vibration. This thesis investigates the effectiveness of steady leading-edge blowing (LEB) flow control for modifying the vortex induced vibrations on an airfoil in the wake of a circular cylinder. The airfoil was allowed to oscillate perpendicular to the fluid flow direction in response to the impinging Von-Karman vortex street. The flow field and airfoil vibrations were simultaneously captured using Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV) and accelerometer measurements in a time-resolved sense. The results indicate that LEB can significantly reduce the degree of unsteady loading due to the blade vortex interaction (BVI). In some cases, the LEB jet appears to break the coherency of a vortex incident on the airfoil, and in other cases the jet increase the mean stand-off distance of the vortex as it convects over the airfoil surface. It was also found that, for large circular cylinders, if the airfoil is within the mean closure point of the circular cylinder wake, the LEB can increase the level of BVI. The Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) was also used to analyze the DPIV data. POD is mathematically superior for reducing a data rich field into fundamental modes; a suitable basis function for the reduction is chosen mathematically and it is not left to the researcher to pick the basis function. A comparison of the energy in these modes is useful in ascertaining the dynamics of the BVI. For one of the two cases examined with POD, it was found for no LEB the fundamental (i.e. most energetic) mode is given by the vortex shedding of the circular cylinder upstream. The addition of LEB reduces the energy contained in this fundamental mode. Thus the LEB jet has the effect of reducing the flow field coherency; the structure of the large vortices is broken up into smaller vortices. For the other case, the LEB jet has the opposite effect: the jet has the ability to organize the circular cylinder wake into coherent structures. This acts to increase the coherency of the circular cylinder wake and increases the level of BVI. / Master of Science

The Generation IV Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) design is being actively studied in various countries for application due to its inherent passive safe design, higher thermal efficiencies, and proposed capability of providing high temperature process heat. The pebble bed core is one of two core designs used in gas reactors. In the pebble bed core there are mechanisms present which can cause the flow to laminarize, thus reducing its heat transfer effectiveness. Wind tunnel experiments were conducted using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to investigate boundary layer laminarization due to flow acceleration and convex curvature effects. The flow was subject to acceleration and curvature both separately and together and the flow behavior characterized with velocity flow profiles, mean boundary layer parameters, and turbulence quantities. Laminarization was identified and the influence of acceleration and curvature was characterized. / Graduation date: 2013

Light field imaging, specifically synthetic aperture (SA) refocusing is a method used to combine images from an array of cameras to generate a single image with a narrow depth of field that can be positioned arbitrarily throughout the volume under investigation. Creating a stack of narrow depth of field images at varying locations generates a focal stack that can be used to find the location of objects in three dimensions. SA refocusing is particularly useful when reconstructing particle fields that are then used to determine the movement of the fluid they are entrained in, and it can also be used for shape reconstruction. This study applies SA refocusing to reacting flows and microscopic flows by performing shape reconstruction and 3D PIV on a flame, and 3D PIV on flow through a micro channel. The reacting flows in particular posed problems with the method. Reconstruction of the flame envelope was successful except for significant elongation in the optical axis caused by cameras viewing the flame from primarily one direction. 3D PIV on reacting flows suffered heavily from the index of refraction generated by the flame. The refocusing algorithm used assumed the particles were viewed through a constant refractive index (RI) and does not compensate for variations in the RI. This variation caused apparent motion in the particles that obscured their true locations making the 3D PIV prone to error. Microscopic PIV (µPIV) was performed on a channel containing a backward facing step. A microlens array was placed in the imaging section of the setup to capture a light field from the scene, which was then refocusing using SA refocusing. PIV on these volumes was compared to a CFD simulation on the same channel. Comparisons showed that error was most significant near the boundaries and the step of the channel. The axial velocity in particular had significant error near the step were the axial velocity was highest. Flow-wise velocity, though, appeared accurate with average flow-wise error approximately 20% throughout the channel volume.

Die moderne Gefäßchirurgie bedient sich bei hohen Stadien der pAVK, spezieller Gefäßrekonstruktionen in Form von distalen End-zu-Seit-Gefäßanastomosen. Das langfristige Versagen der Gefäßanastomose hängt primär von der Entstehung einer subendothelialen Intimahyperplasie (IH) ab. Diese IH-Gebiete befinden sich je nach Anastomosengeometrie im Gebiet der Hauben- und Fersenzone sowie am Boden der Anastomose. // Mit Hilfe der Particle Image Velocimetry-Technik wird eine Taylor-Patch-, eine Miller-Cuff-Anastomose und eine femoro-crurale Patch-Prothese bezüglich ihrer Flussmuster sowie ihrer hämodynamischen Eigenschaften wie Geschwindigkeit, Scherstress und Rotation in z-Richtung (Vorticity) untersucht. // In einem hydrodynamischen Kreislaufmodell werden elastische, transparente Silikonmodelle der Anastomosen hergestellt und mit einem blutanalogen Newtonschen Fluid (Glycerol-Wasser-Gemisch) unter Simulation der femorocruralen Druckkurve, pulsatil bei Variation der Strömungsbedingung perfundiert. Der periphere Widerstand beträgt 0,5 mmHg/ml/min (PRU) und die Phasenverschiebung -12 Grad (zwischen Druck- und Flusskurve). // Die Flussmuster variieren zwischen den unterschiedlichen Ausstromverhältnissen erheblich. Bei den unterschiedlichen Flussstärken hingegen ähneln sich die Flussmuster. Alle drei Modelle zeigen ausgeprägte Flussseparationszonen im Hauben- und Fersengebiet sowie geometrieabhängig auch eine Stagnationszone am Boden. Diese Bereiche wiesen die geringsten Fluidgeschwindigkeiten, deutlich unter normalem Wandscherstressniveau liegende Scherstressverhältnisse sowie geringe Vorticitywerte auf. Im Bereich der Übergangszonen finden sich hohe Scherstress- sowie Vorticitywerte. Geschwindigkeitsunterschiede des Fluids zeigten sich im Bereich der Ausstromsegmente. Variable Stressverteilungen zeigen sich auch innerhalb der Separationszonen. Eine Erklärung für die unterschiedlich beschriebenen Offenheitsraten der drei Anastomosenformen wird durch diese Arbeit nicht gefunden. / Modern vascular surgery uses special termino-lateral anastomoses for treating high levels of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Long term stenoses and occlusions of vascular anastomoses mostly depend on the development of subendothelial myointimal hyperplasia (MIH). There are characteristic areas within the anastomoses, where this process can be examined: The heel, the tow and the floor zone. // This examination observes local hemodynamics like velocity, shear stress and vorticity (rotation in z-direction) and flow patterns of a Taylor-Patch-, a Miller-Cuff-Anastomosis and a feroro-crural patch prothesis (FCPP) with the usage of a Particle Image Velocimetry. In a hydrodynamic circulation model various elastic, transparent silicon phantoms of termino-lateral anastomoses are perfused with a Newton fluid blood analogon (glycerol-water mixture) while simulating the femorocrural pressure curve in a pulsatile manner under variation of the flow conditions. The outflow resistance is 0.5 mmHg/ml/min (PRU, peripheral resistance units) and a phase shift of -12° between flow and pressure curve is simulated. // The flow patterns differed extremely in accordance of the various outflow ratios. Using different flow intensity, the flow patterns are very similar. // All three anastomoses show characteristic heel and toe separation zones. In the FCPP centre a stagnation zone on the floor can not be examined. Shear stress inside the flow separations was significantly lower than normal wall shear stress. High shear stress levels were found inside the transition zones between flow separation and high velocity mainstream. An explanation for the different stenoses and occlusions time of the three different anastomoses can not be found.

Durch die intraoperative Anwendung der extrakorporalen Bypassflow-Messung wurde zum ersten Mal die Messung und Berechnung der hydraulischen Impedanz möglich. Von den in der vorgelegten Untersuchung berücksichtigten Variablen des hydraulischen Impedanzkonzeptes zeigte sich, dass die Phasenverschiebung zwischen Druck- und Flusskurven, gemessen als erster Impedanzphasenwinkel, die größte klinische Bedeutung hatte. Mit Hilfe der Phasenverschiebung wurde die Langzeitprognose von femoro-poplitealen und insbesondere cruralen Bypässen eindeutig vorhersagbar. Sämtliche Bypässe zu Ausstromgebieten, die einen hohen Wellenwiderstand von < -40° aufwiesen, waren innerhalb von 16 Monaten nach der Operation verschlossen. Das Verhalten der Impedanzparameter nach Prostaglandinapplikation bestätigte die bisherigen tierexperimentellen Erfahrungen. Durch die induzierte Vasodilatation kam es neben der Senkung des linearen Strömungswiderstandes auch zu einem deutlichen Abfall des pulsatilen Wellenwiderstandes. Es zeigte sich, dass die isolierte Prostaglandinreaktion ein weiterer Prognosefaktor von cruralen Bypässen war. Sämtliche Rekonstruktionen, die zu Anschlussgefässen geführt wurden, welche keine Prostaglandinreaktion mehr zeigten, waren innerhalb von 9 Monaten postoperativ verschlossen. Hierdurch konnte die Genauigkeit der Vorhersagbarkeit von Bypassverschlüssen noch verbessert werden. Es zeigte sich außerdem in der vorgelegten Studie, dass konventionelle Angiographien weder mit der Prognose der peripheren Rekonstruktionen noch mit den intraoperativ gemessenen linearen oder pulsatilen Widerständen korrelierten. Dieses ist um so mehr von Bedeutung, da die Operationsplanung in der Regel anhand der Angiographien erfolgt. In kritischen Fällen, in denen der periphere Abstrom aufgrund einer schwachen Kontrastierung der Anschlussgefässe nicht sicher zu bestimmen ist, sollten aus diesem Grund zusätzliche dynamische Untersuchungen, wie die farbkodierte Duplexsonographie oder Magnetresonanz-Angiographie erfolgen. Der hohe lineare und pulsatile Widerstand ist zusammen mit der Anastomosengeometrie weiterhin dafür verantwortlich, dass es innerhalb der Anastomosen zu ausgeprägten Flussseparationen kommt. Wie mit Hilfe der Particle Image Velocimetry-Untersuchung gezeigt wurde, finden diese sich innerhalb der klassischen End-zu-Seit-Anastomosen im Bereich der Haube und der Fersenregionen. Darüber hinaus kommt es in Abhängigkeit von der Geometrie zu einer Stagnationszone auf dem Boden der Anastomose. Innerhalb dieser Flussablösungszonen fanden sich Scherstressmuster, die deutlich unterhalb des normalen Wandscherstressniveaus lagen. Zwischen dem Zentralstrom und den Separationszonen ließen sich darüber hinaus Übergangszonen mit deutlich höherem Scherstress nachweisen. Diese Befunde unterstützen die sogenannte low-shear Theorie, welche zur Erklärung der subendothelialen Intimahyperplasie herangezogen wird. Die räumliche Korrelation der typischen Prädilektionsstellen der Intimahyperplasie mit den durch PIV nachgewiesenen Flussablösungen zeigte eine sehr hohe Übereinstimmung. Neben den Hauben- und Fersenseparationen entwickelte sich eine Stagnationszone am Boden des Empfängergefässes. Ein weiterer wichtiger Aspekt in diesem Zusammenhang war der erstmals erhobene Befund, dass in der Übergangszone zwischen Zentralstrom und Separationen normale Wandscherbedingungen vorlagen. Hierbei könnte es sich um das erforderliche Stopsignal für die Endothelzellen handeln, die Stimulation der subendothelialen Myozyten einzustellen. / The intraoperative use of the extracorporeal bypass flow method allowed for the first time measurement and calculation of hydraulic impedance. The phase shift between flow and pressure waves, as represented by the first phase angle, showed a strong correlation to graft patency. All grafts presenting with high impedance values of < -40°, were occluded within 16 month after the operation. The reaction of the impedance parameters following application of prostaglandin E1 correlated with the previously known experimental results. The induced vasodilation led to a significant decrease of the first phase angle. The prostaglandin reaction itself also proved to be a valuable prognostic factor. All reconstructions to a vasculature with a negative prostaglandin reaction were occluded within 9 months after the operation. The prostaglandin response therefore provided an enhancement of the prognostic tools associated with graft patency. In addition it was shown, that the conventional angiographies did not correlate with graft prognosis. This is particularly important, since angiographies are used for the preoperative planning of the operation. In critical cases, additional assessment of runoff by means of duplex sonography or magnetic resonance angiography is necessary. The high pulsatile resistance is responsible for flow separation inside distal anastomoses of peripheral bypasses. Using Particle Image Velocimetry it was shown, that significant separation areas were present at the heel, the hood and the floor of the anastomoses. The shear stress inside these areas was significantly lower than normal wall shear stresses. At the transition between separation and mainstream very high shear stresses were present, which could provide the stop signal for the signal cascades, leading to subendothelial hyperplasia, which leads to graft stenoses.

A stacked microchannel heat sink was developed to provide efficient cooling for microelectronics devices at a relatively low pressure drop while maintaining chip temperature uniformity. Microfabrication techniques were employed to fabricate the stacked microchannel structure, and experiments were conducted to study its thermal performance. A total thermal resistance of less than 0.1 K/W was demonstrated for both counter flow and parallel flow configurations. The effects of flow direction and interlayer flow rate ratio were investigated. It was found that for the low flow rate range the parallel flow arrangement results in a better overall thermal performance than the counter flow arrangement; whereas, for the large flow rate range, the total thermal resistances for both the counter flow and parallel flow configurations are indistinguishable. On the other hand, the counter flow arrangement provides better temperature uniformity for the entire flow rate range tested. The effects of localized heating on the overall thermal performance were examined by selectively applying electrical power to the heaters. Numerical simulations were conducted to study the conjugate heat transfer inside the stacked microchannels. Negative heat flux conditions were found near the outlets of the microchannels for the counter flow arrangement. This is particularly evident for small flow rates. The numerical results clearly explain why the total thermal resistance for counter flow arrangement is larger than that for the parallel flow at low flow rates. In addition, laminar flow inside the microchannels were characterized using Micro-PIV techniques. Microchannels of different width were fabricated in silicon, the smallest channel measuring 34 mm in width. Measurements were conducted at various channel depths. Measured velocity profiles at these depths were found to be in reasonable agreement with laminar flow theory. Micro-PIV measurement found that the maximum velocity is shifted significantly towards the top of the microchannels due to the sidewall slope, a common issue faced with DRIE etching. Numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the effects of the sidewall slope on the flow and heat transfer. The results show that the effects of large sidewall slope on heat transfer are significant; whereas, the effects on pressure drop are not as pronounced.

Im Rahmen des Transferprojektes T01 „Textilbeschichtung mit hochviskosen Massen“ des Sonderforschungsbereiches 532 (SFB 532) wird die Realisierung und Bewertung eines integrierten Beschichtungskonzeptes zur nachhaltigen Verbesserung der Tragfähigkeit von textilbewehrten Betonbauteilen an der RWTH Aachen University untersucht. Dazu wird eine neue Auftragstechnik für hochviskose Beschichtungsmassen entwickelt, die eine vollständige Penetration von Multifilamentgarnen mit großen Garntitern und einer hohen Anzahl an Filamenten in textilen Gelegen erzielt. Des Weiteren werden aktive Beschichtungsmassen auf der Basis von Polyvinylalkohol-Zement-Compositen, die eine homogene Anbindung aller Einzelfilamente an die Zementmatrix ermöglichen, erforscht.

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