Drag reduction within radial turbine rotor passages using riblets

In this paper, reducing the friction losses in a radial inflow turbine rotor surface by adding engineered features (riblets) is explored. Initially, computational fluid dynamics analysis was used to study the operating mechanism of riblets and to test their ability to reduce drag within the rotor passage when running the turbine at the design point. Thereafter, riblets with different heights and spacing have been implemented at the rotor hub to study the effect of riblets geometry and arrangement on the drag reduction, which leads to determine the riblet geometry where the maximum benefit on turbine performance can be achieved. The effect of riblets on boundary layer development and on the secondary flow generation within the rotor passage has been examined. It was found that the introduction of riblets could reduce the wall shear stress at the hub surface, and on the other hand, they contribute to increasing the stream-wise vorticity within the rotor passage. The maximum wall shear reduction was achieved with riblet with relative height hrel = 2.5% equivalent to 19.3 wall units, while the maximum performance happens when using riblets with hrel = 1.5% equivalent to 11.8 wall units as the later contributes less in secondary flow generation within the passage. For riblets with height more than 19.3 wall units, the overall effect is negative, as they cause an increase in drag and give rise to secondary flow leading to lower turbine performance

cuIBM -- A GPU-accelerated Immersed Boundary Method

A projection-based immersed boundary method is dominated by sparse linear algebra routines. Using the open-source Cusp library, we observe a speedup (with respect to a single CPU core) which reflects the constraints of a bandwidth-dominated problem on the GPU. Nevertheless, GPUs offer the capacity to solve large problems on commodity hardware. This work includes validation and a convergence study of the GPU-accelerated IBM, and various optimizations.Comment: Extended paper post-conference, presented at the 23rd International Conference on Parallel Computational Fluid Dynamics (http://www.parcfd.org), ParCFD 2011, Barcelona (unpublished

The living aortic valve: From molecules to function.

The aortic valve lies in a unique hemodynamic environment, one characterized by a range of stresses (shear stress, bending forces, loading forces and strain) that vary in intensity and direction throughout the cardiac cycle. Yet, despite its changing environment, the aortic valve opens and closes over 100,000 times a day and, in the majority of human beings, will function normally over a lifespan of 70-90 years. Until relatively recently heart valves were considered passive structures that play no active role in the functioning of a valve, or in the maintenance of its integrity and durability. However, through clinical experience and basic research the aortic valve can now be characterized as a living, dynamic organ with the capacity to adapt to its complex mechanical and biomechanical environment through active and passive communication between its constituent parts. The clinical relevance of a living valve substitute in patients requiring aortic valve replacement has been confirmed. This highlights the importance of using tissue engineering to develop heart valve substitutes containing living cells which have the ability to assume the complex functioning of the native valve

Idiopathic Epicardial Ventricular Arrhythmias: Diagnosis and Ablation Technique from the Aortic Sinus of Valsalva

Idiopathic outflow tract arrhythmias (ventricular tachycardias or symptomatic premature ventricular contractions; OT-VT/PVCs) can originate from the left ventricular (LV) epicardium (Epi-VT/PVCs), and radiofrequency (RF) energy applications from the aortic sinus of Valsalva can eliminate Epi-VT/PVCs in selected patients. Among the various ECG findings, the R-wave duration index and R/S amplitude index in leads V1 or V2 are useful for identifying Epi-VT/PVCs, and the Q-wave ratio of leads aVL to aVR and S-wave amplitude in lead V1 are useful for differentiating between an Epi-VT/PVC originating from the LV epicardium remote from the left sinus of Valsalva (LSV) and that from the LSV. Tissue tracking imaging is a promising modality for identifying the origin of OT-VT/PVCs and for differentiating between an Epi-VT/PVC originating from the LV epicardium remote from the LSV and that from the LSV. If the origin of the Epi-VT/PVC is identified within the LSV, coronary and aortic angiography should be performed to assess the anatomic relationships between the Epi-VT/PVC origin and coronary arteries and aortic valve before the RF energy delivery. To avoid potential complications, RF ablation should be performed at the LSV using a maximum power of 35 watts and maximum temperature of 55°C. Epicardial mapping through the coronary venous system and the presence of potentials recorded from the ablation site within the LSV and their changes before and after the RF energy applications may be useful for diagnosing Epi-VT/PVCs or predicting a successful catheter ablation from the LSV