13,430 research outputs found
Simplex space-time meshes in thermally coupled two-phase flow simulations of mold filling
The quality of plastic parts produced through injection molding depends on
many factors. Especially during the filling stage, defects such as weld lines,
burrs, or insufficient filling can occur. Numerical methods need to be employed
to improve product quality by means of predicting and simulating the injection
molding process. In the current work, a highly viscous incompressible
non-isothermal two-phase flow is simulated, which takes place during the cavity
filling. The injected melt exhibits a shear-thinning behavior, which is
described by the Carreau-WLF model. Besides that, a novel discretization method
is used in the context of 4D simplex space-time grids [2]. This method allows
for local temporal refinement in the vicinity of, e.g., the evolving front of
the melt [10]. Utilizing such an adaptive refinement can lead to locally
improved numerical accuracy while maintaining the highest possible
computational efficiency in the remaining of the domain. For demonstration
purposes, a set of 2D and 3D benchmark cases, that involve the filling of
various cavities with a distributor, are presented.Comment: 14 pages, 11 Figures, 4 Table
Oscillation dynamics of embolic microspheres in flows with red blood cell suspensions
Dynamic nature of particle motion in blood flow is an important determinant of embolization based cancer therapy. Yet, the manner in which the presence of high volume fraction of red blood cells influences the particle dynamics remains unknown. Here, by investigating the motions of embolic microspheres in pressure-driven flows of red blood cell suspensions through capillaries, we illustrate unique oscillatory trends in particle trajectories, which are not observable in Newtonian fluid flows. Our investigation reveals that such oscillatory behavior essentially manifests when three simultaneous conditions, namely, the Reynolds number beyond a threshold limit, degree of confinement beyond a critical limit, and high hematocrit level, are fulfilled simultaneously. Given that these conditions are extremely relevant to fluid dynamics of blood or polymer flow, the observations reported here bear significant implications on embolization based cancer treatment as well as for complex multiphase fluidics involving particle
Approaches to integrated strategic/tactical forest planning
Traditionally forest planning is divided into a hierarchy of planning phases. Strategic planning is conducted to make decisions about sustainable harvest levels while taking into account legislation and policy issues. Within the frame of the strategic plan, the purpose of tactical planning is to schedule harvest operations to specific areas in the immediate few years and on a finer time scale than in the strategic plan. The operative phase focuses on scheduling harvest crews on a monthly or weekly basis, truck scheduling and choosing bucking instructions. Decisions at each level are to a varying degree supported by computerized tools. A problem that may arise when planning is divided into levels and that is noted in the literature focusing on decision support tools is that solutions at one level may be inconsistent with the results of another level. When moving from the strategic plan to the tactical plan, three sources of inconsistencies are often present; spatial discrepancies, temporal discrepancies and discrepancies due to different levels of constraint. The models used in the papers presented in this thesis approaches two of these discrepancies. To address the spatial discrepancies, the same spatial resolution has been used at both levels, i.e., stands. Temporal discrepancies are addressed by modelling the tactical and strategic issues simultaneously. Integrated approaches can yield large models. One way of circumventing this is to aggregate time and/or space. The first paper addresses the consequences of temporal aggregation in the strategic part of a mixed integer programming integrated strategic/tactical model. For reference, linear programming based strategic models are also used. The results of the first paper provide information on what temporal resolutions could be used and indicate that outputs from strategic and integrated plans are not particularly affected by the number of equal length strategic periods when more than five periods, i.e. about 20 year period length, are used. The approach used in the first paper could produce models that are very large, and the second paper provides a two-stage procedure that can reduce the number of variables and preserve the allocation of stands to the first 10 years provided by a linear programming based strategic plan, while concentrating tactical harvest activities using a penalty concept in a mixed integer programming formulation. Results show that it is possible to use the approach to concentrate harvest activities at the tactical level in a full scale forest management scenario. In the case study, the effects of concentration on strategic outputs were small, and the number of harvest tracts declined towards a minimum level. Furthermore, the discrepancies between the two planning levels were small
Microdevices for extensional rheometry of low viscosity elastic liquids : a review
Extensional flows and the underlying stability/instability mechanisms are of extreme relevance to the efficient operation of inkjet printing, coating processes and drug delivery systems, as well as for the generation of micro droplets. The development of an extensional rheometer to characterize the extensional properties of low viscosity fluids has therefore stimulated great interest of researchers, particularly in the last decade. Microfluidics has proven to be an extraordinary working platform and different configurations of potential extensional microrheometers have been proposed. In this review, we present an overview of several successful designs, together with a critical assessment of their capabilities and limitations
Brownian dynamics simulations of planar mixed flows of polymer solutions at finite concentrations
Periodic boundary conditions for planar mixed flows are implemented in the
context of a multi-chain Brownian dynamics simulation algorithm. The effect of
shear rate , and extension rate , on the size of
polymer chains, \left, and on the polymer contribution to
viscosity, , is examined for solutions of FENE dumbbells at finite
concentrations, with excluded volume interactions between the beads taken into
account. The influence of the mixedness parameter, , and flow strength,
, on \left and , is also examined, where
corresponds to pure shear flow, and
corresponds to pure extensional flow. It is shown that there exists a critical
value, , such that the flow is shear dominated for , and extension dominated for .Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures, to appear in Chemical Engineering Scienc
Planning horizons and end conditions for sustained yield studies in continuous cover forests
The contemporary forestry preoccupation with non-declining even-flow during
yield simulations detracts from more important questions about the constraints
that should bind the end of a simulation. Whilst long simulations help to
convey a sense of sustainability, they are inferior to stronger indicators such
as the optimal state and binding conditions at the end of a simulation.
Rigorous definitions of sustainability that constrain the terminal state should
allow flexibility in the planning horizon and relaxation of non-declining
even-flow, allowing both greater economic efficiency and better environmental
outcomes. Suitable definitions cannot be divorced from forest type and
management objectives, but should embrace concepts that ensure the anticipated
value of the next harvest, the continuity of growing stock, and in the case of
uneven-aged management, the adequacy of regeneration.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, 54 references, Ecological Indicators (2014
Spatial networks with wireless applications
Many networks have nodes located in physical space, with links more common
between closely spaced pairs of nodes. For example, the nodes could be wireless
devices and links communication channels in a wireless mesh network. We
describe recent work involving such networks, considering effects due to the
geometry (convex,non-convex, and fractal), node distribution,
distance-dependent link probability, mobility, directivity and interference.Comment: Review article- an amended version with a new title from the origina
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