8,654 research outputs found
Measurement of entropy production rate in compressible turbulence
The rate of change of entropy is measured for a system of particles
floating on the surface of a fluid maintained in a turbulent steady state. The
resulting coagulation of the floaters allows one to relate to the
velocity divergence and to the Lyapunov exponents characterizing the behavior
of this system. The quantities measured from experiments and simulations are
found to agree well with the theoretical predictions.Comment: 7 Pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl
Lagrangian temperature, velocity and local heat flux measurement in Rayleigh-Benard convection
We have developed a small, neutrally buoyant, wireless temperature sensor.
Using a camera for optical tracking, we obtain simultaneous measurements of
position and temperature of the sensor as it is carried along by the flow in
Rayleigh-B\'enard convection, at . We report on statistics of
temperature, velocity, and heat transport in turbulent thermal convection. The
motion of the sensor particle exhibits dynamics close to that of Lagrangian
tracers in hydrodynamic turbulence. We also quantify heat transport in plumes,
revealing self-similarity and extreme variations from plume to plume.Comment: 4 page
Adhesion and detachment fluxes of micro-particles from a permeable wall under turbulent flow conditions
We report a numerical investigation of the deposition and re-entrainment of Brownian particles from a permeable plane wall. The tangential flow was turbulent. The suspension dynamics were obtained through direct numerical simulation of the Navier–Stokes equations coupled to the Lagrangian tracking of individual particles. Physical phenomena acting on the particles such as flow transport, adhesion, detachment and re-entrainment were considered. Brownian diffusion was accounted for in the trajectory computations by a stochastic model specifically adapted for use in the vicinity of the wall. Interactions between the particles and the wall such as adhesion forces and detachment were modeled. Validations of analytical solutions for simplified cases and comparisons with theoretical predictions are presented as well. Results are discussed focusing on the interplay between the distinct mechanisms occurring in the fouling of filtration devices. Particulate fluxes towards and away from the permeable wall are analyzed under different adhesion strengths
Elimination of the reaction rate 'scale effect': application of the Lagrangian reactive particle-tracking method to simulate mixing-limited, field-scale biodegradation at the Schoolcraft (MI, USA) site
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: [Ding, D., Benson, D. A., Fernàndez‐Garcia, D., Henri, C. V., Hyndman, D. W., Phanikumar, M. S., & Bolster, D. (2017). Elimination of the reaction rate “scale effect”: Application of the Lagrangian reactive particle‐tracking method to simulate mixing‐limited, field‐scale biodegradation at the Schoolcraft (MI, USA) site. Water Resources Research, 53, 10,411–10,432. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017WR021103], which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/2017WR021103. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.Measured (or empirically fitted) reaction rates at groundwater remediation sites are typically much lower than those found in the same material at the batch or laboratory scale. The reduced rates are commonly attributed to poorer mixing at the larger scales. A variety of methods have been proposed to account for this scaling effect in reactive transport. In this study, we use the Lagrangian particle-tracking and reaction (PTR) method to simulate a field bioremediation experiment at the Schoolcraft, MI site. A denitrifying bacterium, Pseudomonas Stutzeri strain KC (KC), was injected to the aquifer, along with sufficient substrate, to degrade the contaminant, carbon tetrachloride (CT), under anaerobic conditions. The PTR method simulates chemical reactions through probabilistic rules of particle collisions, interactions, and transformations to address the scale effect (lower apparent reaction rates for each level of upscaling, from batch to column to field scale). In contrast to a prior Eulerian reaction model, the PTR method is able to match the field-scale experiment using the rate coefficients obtained from batch experiments.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft
Numerical simulations of aggregate breakup in bounded and unbounded turbulent flows
Breakup of small aggregates in fully developed turbulence is studied by means
of direct numerical simulations in a series of typical bounded and unbounded
flow configurations, such as a turbulent channel flow, a developing boundary
layer and homogeneous isotropic turbulence. The simplest criterion for breakup
is adopted, whereas aggregate breakup occurs when the local hydrodynamic stress
, with being the energy dissipation
at the position of the aggregate, overcomes a given threshold
, which is characteristic for a given type of aggregates.
Results show that the breakup rate decreases with increasing threshold. For
small thresholds, it develops a universal scaling among the different flows.
For high thresholds, the breakup rates show strong differences between the
different flow configurations, highlighting the importance of non-universal
mean-flow properties. To further assess the effects of flow inhomogeneity and
turbulent fluctuations, theresults are compared with those obtained in a smooth
stochastic flow. Furthermore, we discuss the limitations and applicability of a
set of independent proxies.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, Refinded discussion in Section 2.1, results
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Models of quintessence coupled to the electromagnetic field and the cosmological evolution of alpha
We study the change of the effective fine structure constant in the
cosmological models of a scalar field with a non-vanishing coupling to the
electromagnetic field. Combining cosmological data and terrestrial observations
we place empirical constraints on the size of the possible coupling and explore
a large class of models that exhibit tracking behavior. The change of the fine
structure constant implied by the quasar absorption spectra together with the
requirement of tracking behavior impose a lower bound of the size of this
coupling. Furthermore, the transition to the quintessence regime implies a
narrow window for this coupling around in units of the inverse Planck
mass. We also propose a non-minimal coupling between electromagnetism and
quintessence which has the effect of leading only to changes of alpha
determined from atomic physics phenomena, but leaving no observable
consequences through nuclear physics effects. In doing so we are able to
reconcile the claimed cosmological evidence for a changing fine structure
constant with the tight constraints emerging from the Oklo natural nuclear
reactor.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, RevTex, new references adde
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