Le crawl est actuellement la nage utilisée lors des épreuves de nage libre durant les compétitions de natation aux différentes allures de nage (sprint, demi-fond et fond). Les bras sont les segments corporels qui participent le plus à la propulsion. Les accélérations de ces segments, dans le milieu fluide au repos, génèrent un écoulement complexe qui est à l'origine des forces hydrodynamiques propulsives. L'analyse de cet écoulement est nécessaire pour en comprendre les principaux mécanismes. Dans ce cadre, des « paramètres cinématiques d'écoulement » (vitesse, accélération et orientation de la main, angles d'attaque et de sweepback) ont été définis afin d'analyser et comparer les différentes organisations gestuelles des nageurs et de leurs effets sur la propulsion. Deux des principaux axes d'investigation étaient de vérifier si ces paramètres variaient en fonction de l'allure, et aussi de déterminer quels paramètres cinématiques étaient les plus prépondérants dans la génération des mécanismes propulsifs. Pour cela, un système opto-électronique d'analyse cinématique, a permis de mesurer ces paramètres sur 17 nageurs experts. Par ailleurs, l'écoulement généré par le trajet des bras aux différentes allures a été simulé par résolution numérique instationnaire des équations de Navier-Stokes. Enfin, des mesures expérimentales d'effort ont été faites en nage attachée afin de connaître les forces propulsives.Il apparaît que l'augmentation de l'allure de nage peut davantage s'expliquer par la diminution des durées des phases non propulsives (entrée et allongement) plutôt que par l'augmentation des forces durant les phases les plus propulsives (balayages interne et externe). / Front crawl is a swimming stroke used at swimming competitions at freestyle different paces (sprint, middle distance and long distance). Propulsion in this stroke is achieved primarily by the forearm and hand. Accelerations of these segments, in a fluid at rest, generate complex flow that causes propulsive hydrodynamic forces. Analysis of this flow is necessary to understand the main mechanisms of propulsion. In this context, the "kinematic flow parameters" (velocity, acceleration and orientation of the hand, angles of attack and sweepback) have been defined to analyze and compare the different arm motions and their effects on propulsion. Two of the main axes of this investigation were to determine whether these parameters vary depending on the pace, and also to determine what kinematic parameters were most prominent in the generation of propulsive mechanisms. To this end, an optoelectronic system of motion capture was used to measure these parameters on 17 expert swimmers in free swimming. Furthermore, the flow generated by the experimentally acquired arm trajectory, at different swimming paces, was simulated by an unsteady numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations. Finally, tethered swimming experiments were carried out to measure the propulsive forces.The increase in forward velocity by increasing swimming pace can be explained by lower durations of non propulsive phases (entry and stretch) rather than by the generation of higher forces during the most propulsive phases (insweep and upsweep).

Normal shock problems in high enthalpy flows are of special interests to aerodynamicists and fluid dynamicists. When the shock Mach number become hypersonic and increasing further, the gas passing through the shock is compressed resulting in increase in temperature and pressure. As the Mach number increases the internal degrees of freedom of the diatomic molecules are activated to an increasing extent when it crosses the shock resulting dissociation especially for high enthalpy flows. Hence dissociation of diatomic molecules must be taken into account in the determination of some of the aerodynamic parameters. This thermal and chemical process can be divided into three types such as nearly frozen, non-equilibrium and nearly non-equilibrium depending on the rates of reaction and excitation. For typical re-entry conditions of spacecrafts into a planets atmosphere, dissociation reactions of the molecules is dominant in the stagnation flow. Further in the stagnation region of the flow field one of the most important parameter that characterizes the flow field is the shock stand-off distance. This parameter is often employed for validation purposes of numerical methods as well as for non-reactive and reactive gases. For high Mach number flows the shock is very close to the body hence experimental determination of shock stand-off distance is very difficult and there would be relatively large errors. Therefore the theoretical determination of this parameter is of great significance in the discussion of this physical phenomenon. There are some works which presents how the dissociation behind shock affects the shock stand-off distance. Thus the dissociation behind the shock is a very important process which has great impact in aerodynamic flight and design. In this present work we studied how dissociation of diatoms occur behind a normal shock. Treanor and Marrone (1962) proposed CVD(coupled vibration-dissociation) model for diatoms by assuming diatom as a harmonic oscillator with a cut-off level. But actually diatoms are not harmonic oscillator, because spectroscopic data of energy level spacing is not like harmonic oscillator. For this reason, Treanor, Rich, and Rehm(1968) used anharmonic oscillator model for diatoms to study vibrational relaxation. Taking the anharmonicity of diatom, Philip Morse(1929) gave a formula for potential energy levels for diatoms, which is known to express the experimental values quite accurately. Unlike the energy levels of the harmonic oscillator potential, which are evenly spaced , the Morse potential level spacing decreases as the energy approaches the dissociation energy and then it is continuous. So it is quite accurate to take Morse oscillator theory for diatomic dissociation instead of harmonic oscillator with a cut-off level. We have used Morse oscillator theory to derive a dissociation-recombination reaction rate equation for diatom. To derive the rate equation we have used the transition probability between different vibrational energy levels . The rate equation is numerically solved to get the different flow variables behind the shock. The result of the present work has been compared with some of the previous work. Some of the flow variables are well matching with the previous work and some has discrepancy near the shock but well matching after few distance from the shock. We have also studied under what conditions the post shock flow shows self-similar behavior in its scaling relations. It is shown that as far as there is no dissociation, we could expect to obtain self-similar solutions. However, when there is dissociation, the non-equillibrium nature of the phenomenon disrupts the self-similar nature of the flow.

Voluntary coughs are used as a diagnostic tool to detect lung diseases. Understanding the mechanics of a cough is therefore crucial to accurately interpreting the test results. A cough is characterised by a dynamic compression of the airways, resulting in large flow velocities and producing transient peak expiratory flows. Existing models for pulmonary flow have one or more of the following limitations: 1) they assume quasi-steady flows, 2) they assume low speed flows, 3) they assume a symmetrical branching airway system. The main objective of this thesis is to develop a model for a cough in the branching pulmonary airway system. First, the time-dependent one-dimensional equations for flow in a compliant tube is used to simulate a cough in a single airway. Using anatomical and physiological data, the tube law coupling the fluid and airway mechanics is constructed to accurately mimic the airway behaviour in its inflated and collapsed states. Next, a novel model for air flow in an airway bifurcation is constructed. The model is the first to capture successfully subcritical and supercritical flows across the bifurcation and allows for free time evolution from one case to another. The model is investigated by simulating a cough in both symmetric and asymmetric airway bifurcations. Finally, a cough model for the complete branching airway system is developed. The model takes into account the key factors involved in a cough; namely, the compliance of the lungs and the airways, the coughing effort and the sudden opening of the glottis. The reliability of the model is assessed by comparing the model predictions with previous experimental results. The model captures the main characteristics of forced expiatory flows; namely, the flow limitation phenomenon (the flow out of the lungs becomes independent of the applied expiratory effort) and the negative effort dependence phenomenon (the flow out of the lungs decreases with increasing expiratory effort). The model also gives a good qualitative agreement with the measured values of airway resistance. The location of the collapsed airway segment during forced expiration is, however, inconsistent with previous experimental results. The effect of changing the model parameters on the model predictions is therefore discussed.

The motion of shock waves is important in many fields of engineering and increasingly so with medical applications and applications to inertial confinement fusion technologies. The flow structures that moving shock waves create when they encounter a change in area is complex and can be difficult to understand. Previousresearchers have carried out experimental studies and many numerical studies looking at this problem in more detail. There has been a discrepancy between numerical and experimental work which had remained unanswered. One of the aims of this project is to try and resolve the discrepancy between numerical and experimental work and try to investigate what experimental techniques are suitable for work of this type and the exact way in which they should be applied. Most previous work has focused on sharp changes in geometry which induce immediate flow separation. In this project rounded corners will also be investigated and the complex flow features will be analyzed.Two geometries, namely a sharp 172 degree knife-edge and a 2.8 mm radius rounded corner will be investigated at three experimental pressure ratios of 4, 8 and 12 using air as the driver gas. This yields experimental shock Mach numbers of 1.28, 1.46 and 1.55. High-speed schlieren and shadowgraph photography with varying levels of sensitivity were used to qualitatively investigate the wave structures. Particle image velocimetry (PIV), pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) and traditional pressure transducers were used to quantify the flow field. Numerical simulations were performed using the commercial package Fluent to investigate the effect of numerical schemes on the flow field produced and for comparison with the experimental results. The sharp geometry was simulated successfully using an inviscid simulation while the rounded geometry required the addition of laminar viscosity. Reynolds number effects will be only sparsely referred to in this project as the flows under investigation show largely inviscid characteristics. As the flow is developing in time rather than in space, quotation of a distance-based Reynolds number is not entirely appropriate; however, Reynolds number based on the same spatial location but varying in time will be mentioned. The density-based diagnostics in this project were designed to have a depth of field appropriate to the test under consideration. This approach has been used relatively few times despite its easy setup and significant impact on the results. This project contains the first quantative use of PIV and PSP to shock wave diffraction. Previous studies have almost exclusively used density-based diagnostics which, although give the best impression of the flow field, do not allow for complete analysis and explanation of all of the flow features present. PIV measurements showed a maximum uncertainty of 5% while the PSP measurements showed an uncertainty of approximately 10%.The shock wave diffraction process, vortex formation, shear layer structure, secondary and even tertiary expansions and the shock vortex interaction were investigate. The experimental results have shown that using one experimental technique in isolation can give misleading results. Only by using a combination of experimental techniques can we achieve a complete understanding of the flow field and draw conclusions on the validity of the numerical results. Expanding the range of the experimental techniques currently in use is vital for experimental aerodynamic testing to remain relevant in an industry increasingly dominated by numerical research. To this end, significant research work has been carried out on extending the range of the PSP technique to allow for the capture of shock wave diffraction, one of the fastest transient fluid processes, and for applications to low-speed flow (< 20 ms−1).

La détermination du champ de pression dans un écoulement et/ou des efforts sur un profil en mouvement à partir de mesures de vitesses effectuées dans le milieu fluide est une problématique actuelle qui intéresse de nombreux domaines de recherche en mécanique des fluides. On pourrait citer en particulier, les systèmes de récupération d'énergie (éolienne, hydrolienne) ou bien les systèmes de contrôle optimal d'aubes de guidage de turbine, etc…Dans ce mémoire, nous apportons notre contribution à ce problème en proposant dans un premier temps, une méthode originale qui permet, à partir de champs de vitesses instationnaires obtenus par mesure optiques PIV, d'approcher ces champs dans l'ensemble du milieu (profil inclus) en utilisant la théorie des polynômes orthogonaux de Legendre. L'équation de Navier-Stokes permet alors d'obtenir des gradients de pression polynomiaux dans l'ensemble du milieu fluide et de pouvoir ainsi calculer le champ de pression dans l'écoulement et ensuite, en utilisant l'équation de bilan de mouvement dans un domaine de référence judicieusement choisi, de déterminer les efforts sur un profil mobile en oscillation. Cette méthode est alors validée sur un profil fixe à partir de données simulées numériquement et de données expérimentales.Dans un deuxième temps, après une série de mesures optiques PIV sur un profil NACA0015 soumis à différents types d'oscillations, nous appliquons la méthode décrite précédemment pour reconstruire les champs de pressions instationnaires et évaluer les efforts instantanées et moyens sur le profil. L'étude d'un certain nombres de plages de fréquences et d'amplitudes permet de comparer nos résultats, pour la recherche d'une meilleure efficacité. / The determination of the pressure field in a flow and/or forces on a moving profile from measurements of velocities carried out in the fluid is a current problem that is of interest to many domains of research in fluid mechanics like the energy recovery systems (wind, hydro) or the speed control of hydraulic turbines, etc…In this PhD thesis, we make a contribution to this problem by initially proposing an original method which allows us to approach unsteady velocity fields in the whole of the flow obtained by PIV optical measurements (including the profile) using Legendre's orthogonal polynomial theory. The Navier-Stokes equations then make it possible to obtain polynomial pressure gradients in the whole of the fluid and thus to be able to calculate the pressure field in the flow by using the momentum balance equation in a judiciously chosen reference range, to determine the forces on an oscillating mobile profile. This method is then validated on a fixed profile using numerically simulated data and experimental data.In a second step, from series of flow PIV measurements on a NACA0015 profile subjected to different types of oscillations, we apply the method described above to reconstruct the unsteady pressure fields and to evaluate the instantaneous and average forces on the profile. The study of a certain number of ranges of frequencies and amplitudes makes it possible to compare our results, in order to seek a better efficiency.

En ce qui concerne les problèmes de Dynamique des Fluides Numériques, l’adaptation du maillage est intéressante pour sa capacité à aborder la convergence asymptotique et à obtenir une prévision précise pour des flux complexes à moindre coût. La méthode d’adaptation de maillage anisotrope réduit le nombre de degrés de liberté nécessaires pour atteindre la précision d’une solution donnée, ce qui a un impact positif sur le temps de calcul. De plus, il réduit la dissipation du schéma numérique en tenant compte automatiquement de l'anisotropie des phénomènes physiques à l'intérieur du maillage. Deux approches principales existent dans la littérature. L'adaptation du maillage basée sur les caractéristiques géométriques, qui est principalement déduite d'une estimation de l'erreur d'interpolation utilisant la hessienne du senseur choisi, contrôle l'erreur d'interpolation du capteur sur l'ensemble du domaine de calcul. Une telle approche est facile à mettre en place et a un large éventail d’applications, mais elle ne prend pas en compte l’EDP considérée utilisée pour résoudre le problème. D'autre part, l'adaptation de maillage orientée fonctionnelle, qui se concentre sur une fonctionnelle scalaire, prend en compte à la fois la solution et l'EDP dans l'estimation d'erreur grâce à l'état adjoint. Mais, la conception de cette estimation d'erreur est beaucoup plus compliquée. Cette thèse présente les résultats obtenus avec différentes méthodes de Dynamique des Fluides Numériques: les solveurs de flux arbitrairement lagrangiens-eulériens (ALE) avec schémas explicites et implicites sont présentés et couplés au mouvement de maillage, l’adaptation de maillage feature-based instationnaire pour les géométries mobiles prend en compte les changements des connectivités de maillage durant toute la simulation, l'état adjoint est étendu aux problèmes de géométries mobiles et l'adaptation de maillage instationnaire orientée fonctionnelle pour les maillages mobiles est déduite d'une estimation d'erreur a priori. Plusieurs exemples numériques issus du secteur aéronautique et du domaine de sécurité civile sont considérés. / When dealing with CFD problems, mesh adaptation is interesting for its ability to approach the asymptotic convergence and to obtain an accurate prediction for complex flows at a lower cost. Anisotropic mesh adaptation method reduces the number of degrees of freedom required to reach a given solution accuracy, thus impact favorably the CPU time. Moreover, it reduces the numerical scheme dissipation by automatically taking into account the anisotropy of the physical phenomena inside the mesh. Two main approaches exist in the literature. Feature-based mesh adaptation which is mainly deduced from an interpolation error estimate using the Hessian of the chosen sensor controls the interpolation error of the sensor over the whole computational domain. Such approach is easy to set-up and has a wide range of application, but it does not take into account the considered PDE used to solve the problem. On the other hand, goal-oriented mesh adaptation, which focuses on a scalar output function, takes into consideration both the solution and the PDE in the error estimation thanks to the adjoint state. But, the design of such error estimate is much more complicated. This thesis presents the results obtained with different CFD methods : the Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) flow solvers with explicit and implicit schemes are presented and coupled to the moving mesh process, the feature-based unsteady mesh adaptation for moving geometries takes into account the changes of connectivites during the whole simulation, the adjoint state is extended to moving geometries problems and goal-oriented unsteady mesh adaptation for moving meshes is derived from an a priori error estimate. Several numerical examples are considered in the aeronautics sector and the field of civil security.

Les simulations dépendant du temps sont toujours un challenge dans l'industrie, notamment à cause des problèmes posés par les géométries mobiles en termes de CPU et de précision. Cette thèse présente des contributions à certains aspects des simulations en géométrie mobile. Un algorithme de bouger de maillage fondé sur une déformation de maillage sur un grand pas de temps et des changements de connectivité (swaps) est étudié. Une méthode d'élasticité et une méthode d'interpolation directe sont comparées en 3D, démontrant l'efficacité de l'algorithme. Cet algorithme est couplé à un solver ALE, dont les schémas et l'implémentation en 3D sont décrits en détail. Une interpolation linéaire est utilisée pou traiter les swaps. Des cas de validation montrent que les swaps n'influent pas notablement sur la précision de la solution. Plusieurs examples complexes en 3D démontrent la puissance de cette approche, pour des mouvement imposés ou pour des problèmes d'Interaction Fluide-Structure. L'adaptation de maillage anisotrope a démontré son efficacité pour améliorer la précision des calculs stationnaires pour un coût raisonnable. On considère l'extension de ces méthodes aux problèmes instationnaires, en mettant à jour l'algorithme de point fixe précédent grâce à une ananlyse de l'erreur espace-temps fondée sur le modèle de maillage continu. Une parallélisation efficace permet de réaliser des simulations adaptatives instationnaires avec une précision inégalée. Cet algorithme est étendu au cas des géométries mobiles en corrigeant la métrique optimale instationnaire. Finalement, plusieurs exemples 3D de simulations adaptatives en géométries mobiles démontrent l'efficacité de l'approche. / Time dependent simulations are still a challenge for industry, notably due to problems raised by moving boundaries, both in terms of CPU cost and accuracy. This thesis presents contributions to several aspects of simulations with moving meshes. A moving-mesh algorithm based on a large deformation time step and connectivity changes (swaps) is studied. An elasticity method and an Inverse Distance Weighted interpolation method are compared on many 3D examples, demonstrating the efficiency of the algorithm in handling large geometry displacement without remeshing. This algorithm is coupled with an Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) solver, whose schemes and implementation in 3D are described in details. A linear interpolation scheme is used to handle swaps. Validation test cases showed that the use of swaps does not impact notably the accuracy of the solution, while several other complex 3D examples demonstrate the capabilities of the approach both with imposed motion and Fluid-Structure Interaction problems. Metric-based mesh adaptation has proved its efficiency in improving the accuracy of steady simulation at a reasonable cost. We consider the extension of these methods to unsteady problems, updating the previous fixed-point algorithm thanks to a new space-time error analysis based on the continuous mesh model. An efficient p-thread parallelization enables running 3D unsteady adaptative simulations with a new level of accuracy. This algorithm is extended to moving mesh problems, notably by correcting the optimal unsteady metric. Finally several 3D examples of adaptative moving mesh simulations are exhibited, that prove our concept by improving notably the accuracy of the solution for a reasonable time cost.

This master's thesis is focused on study of transport processes in hydrogels based on humic acids. For this purpose is used methods unsteady diffusion in cuvettes, which was studied the transport of organic dyes, specifically methylene blue and rhodamine 6G, in agarose hydrogel without the addition and with the addition of individual standards humic acids (Leonardite, Elliott Soil, Suwannee River II and Pahokee Peat). This method is based on spectrophotometric monitoring of concentration changes of dyes depending on space of the cuvette and on time. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the effects of interactions between diffusing dye and the particular type of gel to the resultant effective diffusion coefficient of dye. The experiments indicate that the presence of humic acid in the hydrogel greatly affects the transport of selected dyes.

Ziel dieser Arbeit war, die Auswirkungen von Clocking der Leitreihen eines mehrstufigen Axialverdichters auf Potentiale hinsichtlich der Beeinflussung instationärer und stationärer Effekte zu untersuchen und zum grundlegenden Verständnis der instationären Schaufelinteraktion beizutragen. Dazu wurden über 2000 Leitgitterkonfigurationen vermessen, so dass der Einfluss von Clocking auf den Wirkungsgrad entlang der Kennlinie bei Auslegungsdrehzahl, auf die Schaufelgrenzschichten und auf die Betriebsgrenzen untersucht und dokumentiert werden konnte. Vor allem wurde so eine erhebliche Beeinflussung der Pumpgrenze gefunden, während das Grenzschichtverhalten auf den Schaufeln und der Wirkungsgrad im praktisch relevanten Bereich der Kennlinie kaum verändert wurden. Hauptgegenstand der Untersuchungen war aber der Einfluss von Stator-Clocking auf die instationären Druckverteilungen und die resultierenden instationären Erregerkräfte an den Lauf- und Leitschaufeln. Die Vermessung der Auswirkungen der Positionierung jedes einzelnen Leitgitters wurde genutzt, um durch eine einfache Optimierung zwei geometrische Konfigurationen aller Leitgitter zu entwickeln. Die eine Konfiguration führte zu geringen aerodynamischen Erregerkräften an den Laufschaufeln aller Stufen, während die andere Konfiguration eine gleichmäßig hohe instationäre Anregung zur Folge hatte. Die Unterschiede der instationären Erregerkräfte zwischen den Konfigurationen waren erheblich und über weite Bereiche der Kennlinie unabhängig vom Betriebspunkt, ohne das die Konfiguration der Leitgitter geändert wurde. Für eine umfassende Analyse der periodisch instationären, aerodynamischen Schaufelinteraktion wurden sowohl die Schaufeldruckverteilungen, als auch das Strömungsfeld in den axialen Schaufelzwischenräumen im Mittelschnitt der Beschaufelung für beide Clocking-Konfigurationen zeitgenau vermessen und vergleichend ausgewertet. Aus diesen Analysen konnte mithilfe der Wellenmechanik eine einfache analytische Beschreibung der instationären Interaktion der Potentialfelder der Beschaufelung entwickelt werden. Für eine einzelne Stufe wurde mit diesem Modell die experimentell bestimmte Phasendifferenz der Druckschwankungen auf Druck- und Saugseite auf sehr einfache Weise nachgewiesen. Damit liegt ein einfaches, analytisches Modell für die Beschreibung der komplexen Überlagerung der sich relativ zueinander bewegenden Druckfelder der Beschaufelung axialer Turbomaschinen vor, das für das physikalische Verständnis der instationären Schaufelinteraktion einen wertvollen Beitrag liefert.

<p>  </p> <p>As aviation fuel costs and consumption have continued to rise over recent decades, gas turbine engine manufacturers have sought methods to reduce fuel burn. Manufacturers plan to achieve this by reducing the specific fuel consumption of the machine by increasing the bypass ratio through a reduction of the diameter of the engine core. This presents an opportunity for implementing a centrifugal compressor as the final stage of the high-pressure compressor. The vaned diffuser in a centrifugal compressor stage maintains an integral role in determining the extents of the operating range as well as conditioning the flow for the downstream combustor. Thus, it is critical to understand the aerodynamics and performance of the vaned diffuser across the entire compressor operating range.</p> <p>This investigation focused on seven compressor operating points at the stage’s design corrected speed, which ranged from choked flow to the minimum mass flow rate before rotating stall. Steady-state and unsteady performance data were acquired to study the aerodynamics at each operating point as well as the steady-state performance of the vaned diffuser. Laser Doppler velocimetry, high-frequency pressure transducers, and additive manufacturing techniques were all implemented to acquire data in the research compressor.</p> <p>Unsteady velocity measurements were acquired in the vaneless space and were used to quantify the change in diffuser inlet incidence as the stage mass flow rate changes. The impeller exit jet and wake were compared at each operating point to understand the effect of these flow structures on the spanwise incidence profile. Steady-state performance metrics for the vaned diffuser were compared with the change in incidence to assess the effect of incidence on performance. Maximum static pressure recovery and minimum total pressure loss occurred at the maximum incidence operating point. </p> <p>The chordwise static pressure distribution is critical for health monitoring of the polymer, additive manufactured diffuser vanes. Steady-state and unsteady pressure measurements were acquired along the diffuser vane surface to assess the change in the aerodynamic lift force across the compressor operating range as well as the static pressure differential across the vane leading edge. The maximum unsteady lift on the diffuser vanes was up to 34% greater than the steady-state lift force. Unsteady static pressure differentials across the diffuser vane leading edge were similar to the steady-state values, but they were marginally greater across the entire examined operating range. These unsteady pressure measurements were acquired with high-frequency response pressure transducers installed along the diffuser vane surfaces. These transducers were also used to study the rotating stall and surge behavior of the investigated centrifugal compressor stage. This centrifugal compressor stage exhibits a spike-type rotating stall pattern at the onset of stage instability, which rapidly evolves into full flow reversal with several surge cycles. During these surge cycles, the diffuser vane leading edges are subject to a 20 psid static pressure differential. </p> <p>A computational model was used to predict the compressor flow at three different operating points. This model utilized the BSL-EARSM turbulence model, and it included surface roughness and an experimentally measured shroud thermal profile. The model accurately predicted the diffuser inlet flow angles near the shroud, but it predicted more radial flow near midspan. The diffuser vane leading edge static pressure differential was predicted within 1 psid at higher aerodynamic loading conditions. The differences between the computationally predicted and experimentally measured flow are attributed to difficulties associated with modelling the rate of mixing within the flow.</p>