Characterization and modeling of aperiodic pressure oscillations in combustion chambers

Classification of the long-term dynamical behavior of pressure oscillations in a laboratory combustion chamber has been performed using methods of modern dynamical systems theory. The method involves the construction of a phase-space representation from a single pressure record or time series using the time-delay embedding method. The pointwise correlation dimension of the resulting attractor in phase-space provides a lower bound on the number of modes that participate in the oscillations. The results show that the oscillations are quasiperiodic with a dimension near two over an order of magnitude of amplitudes. Quasiperiodicity is a result of the incommensurate frequencies of the system acoustic modes. A model for the dynamics is constructed by converting the governing equations to a kicked-oscillator model. When compared with the experimental data, the model results have similar pressure and velocity spectra and the attractor dimension verifies that quasiperiodic oscillations are present

Learning stable and predictive structures in kinetic systems: Benefits of a causal approach

Learning kinetic systems from data is one of the core challenges in many fields. Identifying stable models is essential for the generalization capabilities of data-driven inference. We introduce a computationally efficient framework, called CausalKinetiX, that identifies structure from discrete time, noisy observations, generated from heterogeneous experiments. The algorithm assumes the existence of an underlying, invariant kinetic model, a key criterion for reproducible research. Results on both simulated and real-world examples suggest that learning the structure of kinetic systems benefits from a causal perspective. The identified variables and models allow for a concise description of the dynamics across multiple experimental settings and can be used for prediction in unseen experiments. We observe significant improvements compared to well established approaches focusing solely on predictive performance, especially for out-of-sample generalization

Effect of mesh distortion on the accuracy of high order vorticity-velocity CFD approaches

The numerical solution of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations offers an alternative to experimental analysis of fluid-structure interaction (FSI). We would save a lot of time and effort and help cut back on costs, if we are able to accurately model systems by these numerical solutions. These advantages are even more obvious when considering huge structures like bridges, high rise buildings or even wind turbine blades with diameters as large as 200 meters. The modeling of such processes, however, involves complex multiphysics problems along with complex geometries. This thesis focuses on a novel vorticity-velocity formulation called the Kinematic Laplacian Equation (KLE) to solve the incompressible Navier-stokes equations for such FSI problems. This scheme allows for the implementation of robust adaptive ordinary differential equations (ODE) time integration schemes, allowing us to tackle each problem as a separate module. The current algortihm for the KLE uses an unstructured quadrilateral mesh, formed by dividing each triangle of an unstructured triangular mesh into three quadrilaterals for spatial discretization. This research deals with determining a suitable measure of mesh quality based on the physics of the problems being tackled. This is followed by exploring methods to improve the quality of quadrilateral elements obtained from the triangles and thereby improving the overall mesh quality. A series of numerical experiments were designed and conducted for this purpose and the results obtained were tested on different geometries with varying degrees of mesh density

Thermoacoustic instability - a dynamical system and time domain analysis

This study focuses on the Rijke tube problem, which includes features relevant to the modeling of thermoacoustic coupling in reactive flows: a compact acoustic source, an empirical model for the heat source, and nonlinearities. This thermo-acoustic system features a complex dynamical behavior. In order to synthesize accurate time-series, we tackle this problem from a numerical point-of-view, and start by proposing a dedicated solver designed for dealing with the underlying stiffness, in particular, the retarded time and the discontinuity at the location of the heat source. Stability analysis is performed on the limit of low-amplitude disturbances by means of the projection method proposed by Jarlebring (2008), which alleviates the linearization with respect to the retarded time. The results are then compared to the analytical solution of the undamped system, and to Galerkin projection methods commonly used in this setting. This analysis provides insight into the consequences of the various assumptions and simplifications that justify the use of Galerkin expansions based on the eigenmodes of the unheated resonator. We illustrate that due to the presence of a discontinuity in the spatial domain, the eigenmodes in the heated case, predicted by using Galerkin expansion, show spurious oscillations resulting from the Gibbs phenomenon. By comparing the modes of the linear to that of the nonlinear regime, we are able to illustrate the mean-flow modulation and frequency switching. Finally, time-series in the fully nonlinear regime, where a limit cycle is established, are analyzed and dominant modes are extracted. The analysis of the saturated limit cycles shows the presence of higher frequency modes, which are linearly stable but become significant through nonlinear growth of the signal. This bimodal effect is not captured when the coupling between different frequencies is not accounted for.Comment: Submitted to Journal of Fluid Mechanic