A Lattice Boltzmann Model to Study Sedimentation Phenomena in Irrigation Canals

Fresh water is one of the most significant resources for human activities and survival, and irrigation is among the most important uses of water. The sustainibility and performance of irrigation canals can be greatly affected by sediment transport and deposition. In our previous works, we proposed a Lattice Boltzmann model for simulating a free surface flow in an irrigation canal, as an alternative to more traditional models mainly based on shallow water equations. Here we introduce the sedimentation phenomenon into our model by adding a new algorithm, based on the earlier work by B. Chopard, A. Dupuis and A. Masselot [9,11,12,27]. Transport, erosion, deposition and toppling of sediments are taken into account and enable the global sedimentation algorithm to simulate different transport modes such as bed load and suspended load. In the present work, we study both the behaviour of a sediment deposit located at an underflow submerged gate (depending on the gate opening and the flow discharge) and the influence of the presence of such a deposit on the flow. Both numerical and experimental validations have been performed. The experiments were realized on the micro-canal of the LCIS laboratory at Valence, France. The comparisons between simulations and experiments give good qualitative agreemen

Advances in Hydraulics and Hydroinformatics Volume 2

This Special Issue reports on recent research trends in hydraulics, hydrodynamics, and hydroinformatics, and their novel applications in practical engineering. The Issue covers a wide range of topics, including open channel flows, sediment transport dynamics, two-phase flows, flow-induced vibration and water quality. The collected papers provide insight into new developments in physical, mathematical, and numerical modelling of important problems in hydraulics and hydroinformatics, and include demonstrations of the application of such models in water resources engineering

Flutter Instability in an Internal Flow Energy Harvester

Vibration-based flow energy harvesting enables robust, in-situ energy extraction for low-power applications, such as distributed sensor networks. Fluid-structure instabilities dictate a harvester's viability since the structural response to the flow determines its power output. Previous work on a flextensional-based flow energy harvester demonstrated that an elastic member within a converging-diverging channel is susceptible to the aeroelastic flutter. This work explores the mechanism driving flutter through experiments and simulations. A model is then developed based on channel flow-rate modulation and considering the effects of both normal and spanwise flow confinement on the instability. Linear stability analysis of the model replicates flutter onset, critical frequency, and mode shapes observed in experiments. The model suggests that flow modulation through the channel throat is the principal mechanism for the fluid-induced vibration. The generalized model presented can serve as the foundation of design parameter exploration for energy harvesters, perhaps leading to more powerful devices in the future, but also to other similar flow geometries where the flutter instability arises in an elastic member within a narrow flow passage

Pore-scale modelling of electrochemically reactive flow

Electrochemistry, a field revolving around charge transport, is omnipresent in our every-day life. It is found in batteries, water treatment, medicine, and food processing, to name a few. Water dissolves more substances than any other liquid and is consequently easily polluted. Self-evidently, drinking water quality is crucial to our health. Water disinfection refers to any process that removes pathogens from drinking water. Electrochemical treatments are one of the processes used for water disinfection and are advantageous wherewith required chemicals are formed in situ, while needing less and in some cases no other additional chemicals. Porous electrodes are becoming increasingly prevalent in electrochemical systems due to enhanced features such as reaction kinetics and mass transport. The arising complexity of the electrochemical processes at the pore-scale, involving multicomponent reactive flow, poses numerous challenges to the currently available experimental methods and the macro-continuum mathematical models. This work is aimed at the development of pore-scale numerical model using the Lattice Boltzmann Method and focuses on anodic oxidation under the aqueous condition. Historically, iodine has been used as a disinfectant for wounds as well as water. Excess consumption however can have adverse health effects such as thyroid disease. Using potassium iodide for water disinfection allows for iodine to be produced via anodic oxidation and then consumed through cathodic reduction. The relationship between concentrations, flow rates and potentials are investigated in a flow-through porous electrode. [...

Smart Flow Control Processes in Micro Scale

In recent years, microfluidic devices with a large surface-to-volume ratio have witnessed rapid development, allowing them to be successfully utilized in many engineering applications. A smart control process has been proposed for many years, while many new innovations and enabling technologies have been developed for smart flow control, especially concerning “smart flow control” at the microscale. This Special Issue aims to highlight the current research trends related to this topic, presenting a collection of 33 papers from leading scholars in this field. Among these include studies and demonstrations of flow characteristics in pumps or valves as well as dynamic performance in roiling mill systems or jet systems to the optimal design of special components in smart control systems

Tracing back the source of contamination

From the time a contaminant is detected in an observation well, the question of where and when the contaminant was introduced in the aquifer needs an answer. Many techniques have been proposed to answer this question, but virtually all of them assume that the aquifer and its dynamics are perfectly known. This work discusses a new approach for the simultaneous identification of the contaminant source location and the spatial variability of hydraulic conductivity in an aquifer which has been validated on synthetic and laboratory experiments and which is in the process of being validated on a real aquifer

Flutter Instability in an Internal Flow Energy Harvester

Vibration-based flow energy harvesting enables robust, in-situ energy extraction for low-power applications, such as distributed sensor networks. Fluid-structure instabilities dictate a harvester's viability since the structural response to the flow determines its power output. Previous work on a flextensional-based flow energy harvester demonstrated that an elastic member within a converging-diverging channel is susceptible to the aeroelastic flutter. This work explores the mechanism driving flutter through experiments and simulations. A model is then developed based on channel flow-rate modulation and considering the effects of both normal and spanwise flow confinement on the instability. Linear stability analysis of the model replicates flutter onset, critical frequency, and mode shapes observed in experiments. The model suggests that flow modulation through the channel throat is the principal mechanism for the fluid-induced vibration. The generalized model presented can serve as the foundation of design parameter exploration for energy harvesters, perhaps leading to more powerful devices in the future, but also to other similar flow geometries where the flutter instability arises in an elastic member within a narrow flow passage