Mucus and ciliated cells of human lung : splitting strategies for particle methods and 3D stokes flows

Lung walls are covered by a film of mucus, whose motility is fundamental for a healthy behavior. Indeed, mucus traps inhaled aerosols (bacteria, dust, ...), and moves from smallest to largest airways, until it reaches esophagus where is it swallowed or expectorated. A lot of biological parameters are responsible for mucus motion [6], such as the vibrations of ciliated cells covering lung walls (cilia height, frequency, ...), mucus/air interaction, water saturation in mucin network, mucus thickness

Multi-scale problems, high performance computing and hybrid numerical methods

International audienceThe turbulent transport of a passive scalar is an important and challenging problem in many applications in fluid mechanics. It involves different range of scales in the fluid and in the scalar and requires important computational resources. In this work we show how hybrid numerical methods, combining Eulerian and Lagrangian schemes, are natural tools to address this multi-scale problem. One in particular shows that in homogeneous turbulence experiments at various Schmidt numbers these methods allow to recover the theoretical predictions of universal scaling at a minimal cost. We also outline hybrid methods can take advantage of heterogeneous platforms combining CPU and GPU processors

The hybrid grid implemented DSMC method used in 2D triangular micro cavity flows

This paper was presented at the 3rd Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2011), which was held at the Makedonia Palace Hotel, Thessaloniki in Greece. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Italian Union of Thermofluiddynamics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of Thessaly, IPEM, the Process Intensification Network, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Heat Transfer Society, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group, and the Energy Institute.In this study a new hybrid grid is implemented in a 2D DSMC solver to be used in 2D triangular micro cavity flows. Currently DSMC is the prominent method to analyze micro scale gas flows which are rarefied. Because of the computational cost, DSMC solvers are generally used in rarefied gas conditions in which continuum based solvers are useless. If the efficiency of DSMC solvers is improved, the application range of these solvers can be increased further where the continuum based solvers dominate. Indexing the particles according to their cells is one of the main steps in the DSMC method. Either the particles are traced cell-by-cell along their trajectories or coordinate transformation techniques are used in this step. The first option requires complex trigonometric operations and search algorithms which are computationally expensive. But it can be used in both structured and unstructured grids. Although the second option is computationally more efficient, it demands specially tailored structured grids which are more geometry dependent compared to the unstructured grids. Here it is shown that a novel hybrid grid structure can be used successfully in 2D DSMC solver to analyze triangular shaped lid-driven micro cavity flows. Hybrid grids used in this study are much less dependent of the geometry like unstructured grids. Additionally, hybrid grids like structured grids facilitate coordinate transformation techniques in order to increase the efficiency of the particle indexing step in the DSMC method

Simulations of propelling and energy harvesting articulated bodies via vortex particle-mesh methods

The emergence and understanding of new design paradigms that exploit flow induced mechanical instabilities for propulsion or energy harvesting demands robust and accurate flow structure interaction numerical models. In this context, we develop a novel two dimensional algorithm that combines a Vortex Particle-Mesh (VPM) method and a Multi-Body System (MBS) solver for the simulation of passive and actuated structures in fluids. The hydrodynamic forces and torques are recovered through an innovative approach which crucially complements and extends the projection and penalization approach of Coquerelle et al. and Gazzola et al. The resulting method avoids time consuming computation of the stresses at the wall to recover the force distribution on the surface of complex deforming shapes. This feature distinguishes the proposed approach from other VPM formulations. The methodology was verified against a number of benchmark results ranging from the sedimentation of a 2D cylinder to a passive three segmented structure in the wake of a cylinder. We then showcase the capabilities of this method through the study of an energy harvesting structure where the stocking process is modeled by the use of damping elements

Permeability estimation using vortex-based method and synthetic samples from X-ray micro-CT

International audienc

Advances in modelling of biomimetic fluid flow at different scales

The biomimetic flow at different scales has been discussed at length. The need of looking into the biological surfaces and morphologies and both geometrical and physical similarities to imitate the technological products and processes has been emphasized. The complex fluid flow and heat transfer problems, the fluid-interface and the physics involved at multiscale and macro-, meso-, micro- and nano-scales have been discussed. The flow and heat transfer simulation is done by various CFD solvers including Navier-Stokes and energy equations, lattice Boltzmann method and molecular dynamics method. Combined continuum-molecular dynamics method is also reviewed