Computers & Fluids最新文献

Bubble nucleation, growth and separation from cavities on the bottom of a microchannel for subcooled flow boiling are investigated by pseudo-potential lattice Boltzmann method. The influence of subcooling temperature, wall superheat, wettability, cavity size, and cavity number on the flow boiling heat transfer is systematically studied. The results show that the bubble equivalent diameter is 1.9 times larger at subcooling temperature 0.05$T_c$ than that at 0.15$T_c$, and the heat flux is also 8 % higher at subcooling temperature 0.05$T_c$ than that at 0.15$T_c$. It is found that the flow boiling changes from nucleate boiling to film boiling with the increase of wall superheat. When the wall wettability changes from the hydrophobic wall (θ = 120°) to the hydrophilic wall (θ = 30°), the average Nusselt number (Nu_av) is reduced by 23 %. We also optimize cavity height and the uniformly distributed cavity number in the microchannel. It is found that the Nu_av is increased by 9.7 % when the cavity height changes from h = 20lu (lattice unit) to h = 60lu. However, there exists an optimal cavity height about h = 60lu, where the heat transfer performance cannot be improved with the cavity height over this value. In addition, the number of cavities in the microchannel can improve the boiling heat transfer. When the cavity number changes from 1 to 4, the Nu_av is increased by 10 %.

The coalescence-induced jumping of nanodroplets on superhydrophobic surfaces has recently gained research attention due to its application in energy harvesting, self-cleaning, and cooling of nanoscale electronic devices. This study aims to investigate the jumping behavior of water nanodroplets in a high Ohnesorge number regime, where 0.45 $<$ Oh $<$ 1 and identify the critical size of droplets where jumping terminates. The study utilized molecular dynamics simulations to analyze the jumping characteristics of droplets ranging from 1.5 nm to 7 nm in radius. The findings of this research developed a universal jumping mechanism for droplets of all sizes, identified the lower limit of droplet size, below which coalescence-induced jumping does not occur, and explained a special phenomenon of jumping velocity becoming maximum before it approaches zero. The study also investigated how jumping terminates due to the size difference between droplets. These findings align well with prior micro-scale studies and experimental predictions. Surface energy, viscous dissipation, kinetic energy, and varying surface tension have been identified as the dominating factors influencing nanoscale droplet jumping at such a high Oh regime. The findings will provide insights for developing various applications at this scale.

We investigate the generation of free-stream perturbations at a relatively low characteristic Reynolds number of 1000 by means of direct numerical simulations using a synthetic turbulence generation method. This approach consists of generating turbulent fluctuations by means of digital filtering and a source term formulation in the Navier–Stokes equations. To assess its validity in the framework of decaying turbulence, we compare the results with those obtained with a physically-based, grid-induced turbulent flow in terms of spatial decay, evolution of characteristic length-scales and energy spectra. Also, we highlight relevant differences such as those in the streamwise development length and the anisotropy of the largest scales. Then, we characterize the generated perturbations when systematically varying the input parameters, namely the initial integral length-scale and turbulence intensity. Here, we notice differences in the streamwise decay of the turbulence intensity and the development length as we vary these parameters. By inspecting the evolution of the characteristic length-scales and the micro-scale Reynolds number, we also identify that the effective scale separation is highly sensitive to these variations.

The Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method was widely used to simulate low density gas flows with large Knudsen numbers. However, DSMC encounters limitations in the regime of lower Knudsen numbers ($\mathrm{Kn}<0.05$). In such cases, approaches from classical computational fluid dynamics (CFD) relying on the continuum assumption are preferred, offering accurate solutions at acceptable computational costs. In experiments aimed at imaging aerosolized nanoparticles in vacuo a wide range of Knudsen numbers occur, which motivated the present study on the analysis of the advantages and drawbacks of DSMC and CFD simulations of rarefied flows in terms of accuracy and computational effort. Furthermore, the potential of hybrid methods is evaluated. For this purpose, DSMC and CFD simulations of the flow inside a convergent–divergent nozzle (internal expanding flow) and the flow around a conical body (external shock generating flow) were carried out. CFD simulations utilize the software OpenFOAM and the DSMC solution is obtained using the software SPARTA. The results of these simulation techniques are evaluated by comparing them with experimental data (1), evaluating the time-to-solution (2) and the energy consumption (3), and assessing the feasibility of hybrid CFD-DSMC approaches (4).

This work develops, for the first time, a face-centred finite volume (FCFV) solver for the simulation of laminar and turbulent viscous incompressible flows. The formulation relies on the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations coupled with the negative Spalart–Allmaras (SA) model and three novel convective stabilisations, inspired by Riemann solvers, are derived and compared numerically. The resulting method achieves first-order convergence of the velocity, the velocity-gradient tensor and the pressure. FCFV accurately predicts engineering quantities of interest, such as drag and lift, on unstructured meshes and, by avoiding gradient reconstruction, the method is less sensitive to mesh quality than other FV methods, even in the presence of highly distorted and stretched cells. A monolithic and a staggered solution strategies for the RANS-SA system are derived and compared numerically. Numerical benchmarks, involving laminar and turbulent, steady and transient cases are used to assess the performance, accuracy and robustness of the proposed FCFV method.

In this study, we utilize the simplified lattice Boltzmann method (SLBM) to investigate numerically the motion of buoyancy-driven deformable ferrofluid droplets through the orifice of varying widths and depths in two-dimensional (2D) space. Positioned directly beneath a plate with a central hole, the magnetic fluid droplets undergo acceleration to meet the plate under the influence of buoyancy and magnetic forces. We investigate the impact of magnetic field strength (Bo_m), pore ratio (PR), plate thickness ratio (WR), droplet viscosity (Re), and the plate's wettability (contact angle) on the dynamic behavior of ferrofluid droplets ascending through the orifice. Our results reveal significant effects on the efficiency and morphology of ferrofluid droplets passing through the hole. The introduction of a magnetic field facilitates a larger volume of liquid droplets passing through the hole at PR = 0.25. Moreover, increasing magnetic field intensity leads to the generation of secondary droplets during passage through the orifice. In practical applications, to prevent the generation of secondary droplets, we recommend Bo_m < 3 when the pore ratio falls within 0.35 < PR < 0.45 and plate thickness ratio WR = 1. Additionally, with increasing obstacle thickness, ferrofluid droplets on the hydrophobic wall can pass through the orifice more easily. Furthermore, when the magnetic field strength exceeds a certain threshold (Bo_m = 6.08), the droplets can pass through the orifice regardless of the wall's hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity. For practical applications with the pore ratio PR = 0.25 and plate thickness ratio WR > 1, we suggest Bo_m > 3.

This work presents a procedure to solve the Euler equations by explicitly updating, in a conservative manner, a generic thermodynamic variable such as temperature, pressure or entropy instead of the total energy. The presented procedure is valid for any equation of state and spatial discretization. When using complex equations of state such as Span–Wagner, choosing the temperature as the generic thermodynamic variable yields great reductions in the computational costs associated to thermodynamic evaluations. Results computed with a state of the art thermodynamic model are presented, and computational times are analyzed. Particular attention is dedicated to the conservation of total energy, the propagation speed of shock waves and jump conditions. The procedure is thoroughly tested using the Span–Wagner equation of state through the CoolProp thermodynamic library and the Van der Waals equation of state, both in the ideal and non-ideal compressible fluid-dynamics regimes, by comparing it to the standard total energy update and analytical solutions where available.

Undulated biomimetic propulsion has gained an extensive attention with upsurge of bionic applications. However, its performance in different flow environments is rarely discussed. In this paper, hydrodynamic behavior of an undulated beam in flow environments is studied, as well as its routing problem. The previously proposed loosely coupled partitioned algorithm is adopted. Motion of an undulated beam in still water is simulated to validate this algorithm. And then, hydrodynamic behavior of beam in flow environments with different directions and velocities is studied. It is found that velocity of beam is linearly affected by longitudinal flow and symmetric vortex structure still keeps. While transverse flow leads to the unequal amplitudes of velocity valley and crest, and symmetric vortex structure is lost. The influence of oblique flow could be regard as the combination of longitudinal and transverse flow components. Flow details are analyzed to reveal the mechanism of those hydrodynamic changes. Transverse flow component plays an important role. It significantly changes the pressure difference around beam and promotes the mixture of vortex. Besides, performance of beam in different flows and routing problem indicate that the straight path between the beginning and ending points is not always the best choice.

The present study examines flow through Bi-Leaflet Mechanical Heart Valves (BMHV) at physiological conditions considering both Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluid models for blood rheology. It is well known that the non-Newtonian effects of blood are pronounced in small diameter arteries. Most of the earlier works on Mechanical Heart Valves (MHV) have considered blood as a Newtonian fluid as the flow involves large-diameter artery such as the aorta. In this work, we have reported the predicted parameters, such as leaflet kinematics, vortex structures, wall shear stress, and blood damage index for both blood models. It is found that the leaflet attributes smaller asynchronous motion in the case of non-Newtonian Carreau fluid model with slightly reduced angular velocity compared to the Newtonian assumption. Predictions on the blood damage index suggest a 21% higher damage while using non-Newtonian model than Newtonian model, which may be attributed to higher levels of mechanical stress within the fluid. However, vortex structures, time-averaged wall shear stress (TAWSS), and oscillatory shear index (OSI) are found to be similar in predictions using both the fluid models. We have used an in-house sharp interface immersed boundary method with fluid–structure interaction to simulate the coupled action of moving valves and pulsatile blood flow. Our findings suggest that the general consensus of using Newtonian model in large arteries may not be appropriate for prediction of leaflet kinematics and blood damage index in Mechanical heart valves.

Hybrid Eulerian–Lagrangian solvers have gained increasing attention in the field of external aerodynamics, particularly when dealing with strong body–vortex interactions. This approach effectively combines the strengths of the Eulerian component, which accurately resolves boundary layer phenomena, and the Lagrangian component, which efficiently evolves the wake downstream. This study builds on our team’s previous work by enhancing the capabilities of a two-dimensional hybrid Eulerian–Lagrangian solver. We aim to upgrade our solver which was initially designed for static cases, to now also simulate cases involving moving objects. To ensure the reliability and applicability of a new solver, it is essential to validate its performance in complex cases. Here, the solver is validated across the case of a traveling cylinder and the case of a rotating cylinder in two different rotational speeds at low Reynolds numbers. In the realm of Eulerian solvers, such as OpenFOAM (utilized for the Eulerian component of this hybrid approach), traditional techniques include the use of morphing meshes, overset meshes, and Arbitrary Mesh Interfaces (AMI) to model body motion. The proposed methodology involves extending the Eulerian mesh up to a short distance from the solid boundary and moving it entirely as a solid entity. Then the Lagrangian solver is responsible for calculating the updated boundary conditions, thereby completing the hybrid solver’s functionality. This approach is very similar to the overset mesh technique. However, unlike the traditional method where an Eulerian mesh moves on top of a static one, our method involves the motion of an Eulerian mesh over a Lagrangian grid. We compared the results from our hybrid solver with those from a purely Eulerian solver, specifically OpenFOAM. The comparison demonstrates that our solver can replicate OpenFOAM’s results with high accuracy. Another interesting point highlighted in this study is the presence of high-frequency oscillations in the body forces in hybrid solvers that incorporate the redistribution of Lagrangian particles and do not utilize surface elements such as vortex panels, specifically when dealing with dynamic mesh simulations. When the Eulerian mesh travels on top of the Lagrangian grid of particles, the positions of the particles with respect to the Eulerian mesh continuously change. This results in a constant shift of particles near the solid body, where the highest vorticity is observed. Particles that are close to the solid boundary at one time step may find themselves inside the boundary at the next time step, leading to their removal. This pattern continuously changes during the simulation, causing fluctuations in the boundary conditions of the Eulerian solver and manifesting as oscillations in the forces acting on the body. It is shown that this issue can be alleviated either by increasing the spatial resolution of the Lagrangian solver or by synchronizing the movement of the Lag