Table-top rotating turbulence : an experimental insight through Particle Tracking

The influence of the Earth background rotation on oceanic and atmospheric currents, as well as the effects of a rapid rotation on the flow inside industrial machineries like mixers, turbines, and compressors, are only the most typical examples of fluid flows affected by rotation. Despite the Coriolis acceleration term appears in the Navier-Stokes equations with a straightforward transformation of coordinates from the inertial system to the rotating non-inertial one, the physical mechanisms of the Coriolis acceleration are subtle and not fully understood. Several fluid flows affected by rotation have been studied by means of numerical simulations and analytical models, but the experimental data available is scarce and purely of Eulerian nature. The present work addresses experimentally the topic, focusing on a class of fluid flows of utmost importance: confined and continuously forced rotating turbulence. Experiments of the same turbulent flow (maximum Re ¿¿ 110 for O = 0) subjected to different background rotation rates ( O ¿ {0; 0.2; 0.5; 1.0; 2.0; 5.0} rad/s) are performed, visualised by optical means, and measured quantitatively with Particle Tracking Velocimetry. The measurement system is designed and implemented around the experimental setup, using innovative solutions. The data collected is processed in the Lagrangian frame, where the trajectories are filtered and the 3D time-dependent signals of position, velocity, acceleration, temporal velocity derivatives, and full velocity gradient tensor are extracted. The data is further interpolated over a regular grid, in order to analyse it in the Eulerian frame. The background rotation is found to decrease the kinetic energy and the energy dissipation of the turbulent field, and to damp the coupling between large-scale flow and small-scale turbulence. Interesting large-scale features of the flow field are revealed: the increase of rotation rate induces vertical coherency of the fluid motion (in terms of velocity, velocity derivatives, Eulerian spatial and temporal auto-correlations of velocity), till at the maximum rotation rate of 5 rad/s a quasi-2D flow is measured, dominated by stable counter-rotating vertical tubes of vorticity. Exception is the 2 rad/s run, for which an anomalous behaviour of all the investigated flow features is observed: at this rotation rate, the vertical vortex tubes fluctuate in the measurement domain with much higher amplitude and on a longer time scale than for any other run. The estimated values for the critical Rossby number indicate that the stability of the large-scale anticyclonic vortices may be compromised for 1.0 <O <5.0 rad/s. No indications of resonant oscillations in the container, triggered by inertial waves, are instead recognised in the data. Further investigations are necessary to explain the anomaly measured for this run, but the present data suggest the possibility that anticyclone instabilities significantly alter the large-scale flow. The (non-)rotating turbulent flow is also investigated in terms of Eulerian spatial correlations of the velocity field, and – for the first time – of Lagrangian correlations of the velocity, acceleration, and vorticity vectors extracted along fluid particle trajectories. The increase of vertical (parallel to the rotation vector) and horizontal velocity correlations induced by rotation is measured in the Eulerian and the Lagrangian frames. Rotation is seen to strongly enhance the correlation of the vertical vorticity component, characteristic of a flow dominated by columnar vortex structures. It is also seen to enhance the longitudinal horizontal acceleration component, confirming the direct role played by the Coriolis acceleration in the amplification of the Lagrangian acceleration correlations in turbulence. In the same Lagrangian frame, the turbulent dispersion process at short times in the presence of rotation is investigated. The data permits to describe the initial ballistic dispersion regime, and the beginning of the inertial range regime. A more pronounced effect is observed on single-particle dispersion statistics, which are influenced by rotation in a non-monotonic way, strongly anisotropic only for the fastest rotating runs. Two-particle dispersion is monotonically reduced with increasing rotation rate, and the anisotropy is revealed only for maximum rotation rate. Some of the results presented in this thesis are completely new. Other results confirmed well-known features of rotating turbulent flows, further quantifying them on the basis of state-of-the-art Particle Tracking experimental data. Surely this work opened new questions. Concluding remarks give suggestions about possible future measurements in the same turbulence setup, as well as in view of the design of a new experimental setup specifically devoted to Lagrangian flow analysis and/or to the investigation of rotating steady turbulence. The results obtained in this study have been presented at international conferences and workshops, and will be submitted for publication to international journals

Improved 3D MR Image Acquisition and Processing in Congenital Heart Disease

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common type of birth defect, affecting about 1% of the population. MRI is an essential tool in the assessment of CHD, including diagnosis, intervention planning and follow-up. Three-dimensional MRI can provide particularly rich visualization and information. However, it is often complicated by long scan times, cardiorespiratory motion, injection of contrast agents, and complex and time-consuming postprocessing. This thesis comprises four pieces of work that attempt to respond to some of these challenges. The first piece of work aims to enable fast acquisition of 3D time-resolved cardiac imaging during free breathing. Rapid imaging was achieved using an efficient spiral sequence and a sparse parallel imaging reconstruction. The feasibility of this approach was demonstrated on a population of 10 patients with CHD, and areas of improvement were identified. The second piece of work is an integrated software tool designed to simplify and accelerate the development of machine learning (ML) applications in MRI research. It also exploits the strengths of recently developed ML libraries for efficient MR image reconstruction and processing. The third piece of work aims to reduce contrast dose in contrast-enhanced MR angiography (MRA). This would reduce risks and costs associated with contrast agents. A deep learning-based contrast enhancement technique was developed and shown to improve image quality in real low-dose MRA in a population of 40 children and adults with CHD. The fourth and final piece of work aims to simplify the creation of computational models for hemodynamic assessment of the great arteries. A deep learning technique for 3D segmentation of the aorta and the pulmonary arteries was developed and shown to enable accurate calculation of clinically relevant biomarkers in a population of 10 patients with CHD

Fundamentals and Applications of N-pulse Particle Image Velocimetry-accelerometry: Towards Advanced Measurements of Complex Flows and Turbulence

abstract: Over the past three decades, particle image velocimetry (PIV) has been continuously growing to become an informative and robust experimental tool for fluid mechanics research. Compared to the early stage of PIV development, the dynamic range of PIV has been improved by about an order of magnitude (Adrian, 2005; Westerweel et al., 2013). Further improvement requires a breakthrough innovation, which constitutes the main motivation of this dissertation. N-pulse particle image velocimetry-accelerometry (N-pulse PIVA, where N>=3) is a promising technique to this regard. It employs bursts of N pulses to gain advantages in both spatial and temporal resolution. The performance improvement by N-pulse PIVA is studied using particle tracking (i.e. N-pulse PTVA), and it is shown that an enhancement of at least another order of magnitude is achievable. Furthermore, the capability of N-pulse PIVA to measure unsteady acceleration and force is demonstrated in the context of an oscillating cylinder interacting with surrounding fluid. The cylinder motion, the fluid velocity and acceleration, and the fluid force exerted on the cylinder are successfully measured. On the other hand, a key issue of multi-camera registration for the implementation of N-pulse PIVA is addressed with an accuracy of 0.001 pixel. Subsequently, two applications of N-pulse PTVA to complex flows and turbulence are presented. A novel 8-pulse PTVA analysis was developed and validated to accurately resolve particle unsteady drag in post-shock flows. It is found that the particle drag is substantially elevated from the standard drag due to flow unsteadiness, and a new drag correlation incorporating particle Reynolds number and unsteadiness is desired upon removal of the uncertainty arising from non-uniform particle size. Next, the estimation of turbulence statistics utilizes the ensemble average of 4-pulse PTV data within a small domain of an optimally determined size. The estimation of mean velocity, mean velocity gradient and isotropic dissipation rate are presented and discussed by means of synthetic turbulence, as well as a tomographic measurement of turbulent boundary layer. The results indicate the superior capability of the N-pulse PTV based method to extract high-spatial-resolution high-accuracy turbulence statistics.Dissertation/ThesisAnimation of N-pulse PIVA measurement of flow-structure interactionDoctoral Dissertation Mechanical Engineering 201

Planning and Control Strategies for Motion and Interaction of the Humanoid Robot COMAN+

Despite the majority of robotic platforms are still confined in controlled environments such as factories, thanks to the ever-increasing level of autonomy and the progress on human-robot interaction, robots are starting to be employed for different operations, expanding their focus from uniquely industrial to more diversified scenarios. Humanoid research seeks to obtain the versatility and dexterity of robots capable of mimicking human motion in any environment. With the aim of operating side-to-side with humans, they should be able to carry out complex tasks without posing a threat during operations. In this regard, locomotion, physical interaction with the environment and safety are three essential skills to develop for a biped. Concerning the higher behavioural level of a humanoid, this thesis addresses both ad-hoc movements generated for specific physical interaction tasks and cyclic movements for locomotion. While belonging to the same category and sharing some of the theoretical obstacles, these actions require different approaches: a general high-level task is composed of specific movements that depend on the environment and the nature of the task itself, while regular locomotion involves the generation of periodic trajectories of the limbs. Separate planning and control architectures targeting these aspects of biped motion are designed and developed both from a theoretical and a practical standpoint, demonstrating their efficacy on the new humanoid robot COMAN+, built at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia. The problem of interaction has been tackled by mimicking the intrinsic elasticity of human muscles, integrating active compliant controllers. However, while state-of-the-art robots may be endowed with compliant architectures, not many can withstand potential system failures that could compromise the safety of a human interacting with the robot. This thesis proposes an implementation of such low-level controller that guarantees a fail-safe behaviour, removing the threat that a humanoid robot could pose if a system failure occurred

Apollo Lightcraft Project

This second year of the NASA/USRA-sponsored Advanced Aeronautical Design effort focused on systems integration and analysis of the Apollo Lightcraft. This beam-powered, single-stage-to-orbit vehicle is envisioned as the shuttlecraft of the 21st century. The five person vehicle was inspired largely by the Apollo Command Module, then reconfigured to include a new front seat with dual cockpit controls for the pilot and co-pilot, while still retaining the 3-abreast crew accommodations in the rear seat. The gross liftoff mass is 5550 kg, of which 500 kg is the payload and 300 kg is the LH2 propellant. The round trip cost to orbit is projected to be three orders of magnitude lower than the current space shuttle orbiter. The advanced laser-driven 5-speed combined-cycle engine has shiftpoints at Mach 1, 5, 11 and 25+. The Apollo Lightcraft can climb into low Earth orbit in three minutes, or fly to any spot on the globe in less than 45 minutes. Detailed investigations of the Apollo Lightcraft Project this second year further evolved the propulsion system design, while focusing on the following areas: (1) man/machine interface; (2) flight control systems; (3) power beaming system architecture; (4) re-entry aerodynamics; (5) shroud structural dynamics; and (6) optimal trajectory analysis. The principal new findings are documented. Advanced design efforts for the next academic year (1988/1989) will center on a one meter+ diameter spacecraft: the Lightcraft Technology Demonstrator (LTD). Detailed engineering design and analyses, as well as critical proof-of-concept experiments, will be carried out on this small, near-term machine. As presently conceived, the LTD could be constructed using state of the art components derived from existing liquid chemical rocket engine technology, advanced composite materials, and high power laser optics

Modeling Acoustic Microfluidic Phenomena in Unconventional Geometries

In this work, the performance of a piezoelectrically-actuated ultrasonic droplet generator is analyzed by modeling the harmonic response of a two-dimensional representation of the device cross-section. Observed vibrational and acoustic resonances provide insight into optimal design conditions to achieve efficient, robust droplet ejection. Numerical simulations highlight the importance of the coupled electrical and mechanical behavior of the resonator assembly and show that elastic modes can effectively amplify or dampen acoustic modes within the fluid chamber. Experimentally-validated modeling results guide development of an optimization strategy to further improve device performance. In addition, the standing acoustic field that is the focus of the harmonic response model is incorporated into a custom simulation of the acoustophoretic migration of microparticles. Particles achieve terminal distributions at pressure nodes in the quiescent fluid, exhibiting remarkable agreement with experimental observations. The migratory speed of microparticles in a simple rectangular fluid chamber geometry has been shown to be inversely proportional to the square of the particle radius. Here, this relationship is confirmed for particle migration in more complex acoustic microfluidic geometries

Development of whole-heart myocardial perfusion magnetic resonance imaging

Myocardial perfusion imaging is of huge importance for the detection of coronary artery disease (CAD), one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, as it can provide non-invasive detection at the early stages of the disease. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can assess myocardial perfusion by capturing the rst-pass perfusion (FPP) of a gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA), which is now a well-established technique and compares well with other modalities. However, current MRI methods are restricted by their limited coverage of the left ventricle. Interest has therefore grown in 3D volumetric \whole-heart" FPP by MRI, although many challenges currently limit this. For this thesis, myocardial perfusion assessment in general, and 3D whole-heart FPP in particular, were reviewed in depth, alongside MRI techniques important for achieving 3D FPP. From this, a 3D `stack-of-stars' (SOS) FPP sequence was developed with the aim of addressing some current limitations. These included the breath-hold requirement during GBCA rst-pass, long 3D shot durations corrupted by cardiac motion, and a propensity for artefacts in FPP. Parallel imaging and compressed sensing were investigated for accelerating whole-heart FPP, with modi cations presented to potentially improve robustness to free-breathing. Novel sequences were developed that were capable of individually improving some current sequence limits, including spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio, although with some sacri ces. A nal 3D SOS FPP technique was developed and tested at stress during free-breathing examinations of CAD patients and healthy volunteers. This enabled the rst known detection of an inducible perfusion defect with a free-breathing, compressed sensing, 3D FPP sequence; however, further investigation into the diagnostic performance is required. Simulations were performed to analyse potential artefacts in 3D FPP, as well as to examine ways towards further optimisation of 3D SOS FPP. The nal chapter discusses some limitations of the work and proposes opportunities for further investigation.Open Acces

Parallel Manipulators

In recent years, parallel kinematics mechanisms have attracted a lot of attention from the academic and industrial communities due to potential applications not only as robot manipulators but also as machine tools. Generally, the criteria used to compare the performance of traditional serial robots and parallel robots are the workspace, the ratio between the payload and the robot mass, accuracy, and dynamic behaviour. In addition to the reduced coupling effect between joints, parallel robots bring the benefits of much higher payload-robot mass ratios, superior accuracy and greater stiffness; qualities which lead to better dynamic performance. The main drawback with parallel robots is the relatively small workspace. A great deal of research on parallel robots has been carried out worldwide, and a large number of parallel mechanism systems have been built for various applications, such as remote handling, machine tools, medical robots, simulators, micro-robots, and humanoid robots. This book opens a window to exceptional research and development work on parallel mechanisms contributed by authors from around the world. Through this window the reader can get a good view of current parallel robot research and applications

Modeling Acoustic Microfluidic Phenomena in Unconventional Geometries

In this work, the performance of a piezoelectrically-actuated ultrasonic droplet generator is analyzed by modeling the harmonic response of a two-dimensional representation of the device cross-section. Observed vibrational and acoustic resonances provide insight into optimal design conditions to achieve efficient, robust droplet ejection. Numerical simulations highlight the importance of the coupled electrical and mechanical behavior of the resonator assembly and show that elastic modes can effectively amplify or dampen acoustic modes within the fluid chamber. Experimentally-validated modeling results guide development of an optimization strategy to further improve device performance. In addition, the standing acoustic field that is the focus of the harmonic response model is incorporated into a custom simulation of the acoustophoretic migration of microparticles. Particles achieve terminal distributions at pressure nodes in the quiescent fluid, exhibiting remarkable agreement with experimental observations. The migratory speed of microparticles in a simple rectangular fluid chamber geometry has been shown to be inversely proportional to the square of the particle radius. Here, this relationship is confirmed for particle migration in more complex acoustic microfluidic geometries