Teaching Fluid Mechanics for Undergraduate Students in Applied Industrial Biology: from Theory to Atypical Experiments

EBI is a further education establishment which provides education in applied industrial biology at level of MSc engineering degree. Fluid mechanics at EBI was considered by students as difficult who seemed somewhat unmotivated. In order to motivate them, we applied a new play-based pedagogy. Students were asked to draw inspiration from everyday life situations to find applications of fluid mechanics and to do experiments to verify and validate some theoretical results obtained in course. In this paper, we present an innovative teaching/learning pedagogy which includes the concept of learning through play and its implications in fluid mechanics for engineering. Examples of atypical experiments in fluid mechanics made by students are presented. Based on teaching evaluation by students, it is possible to know how students feel the course. The effectiveness of this approach to motivate students is presented through an analysis of students' teaching assessment. Learning through play proved a great success in fluid mechanics where course evaluations increased substantially. Fluid mechanics has been progressively perceived as interesting, useful, pleasant and easy to assimilate. It is shown that this pedagogy which includes educational gaming presents benefits for students. These experiments seem therefore to be a very effective tool for improving teaching/learning activities in higher education

A simple eddy viscosity formulation for turbulent boundary layers near smooth walls

The aim of this study is to improve the prediction of near-wall mean streamwise velocity profile $U^+$ by using a simple method. The $U^+$ profile is obtained by solving the momentum equation which is written as an ordinary differential equation. An eddy viscosity formulation based on a near-wall turbulent kinetic energy $k^+$ function (R. Absi, Analytical solutions for the modeled $k$-equation, ASME J. Appl. Mech. \textbf{75}, 044501, 2008) and the van Driest mixing length equation (E.R. van Driest, On turbulent flow near a wall, J. Aero. Sci. \textbf{23}, 1007, 1956) is used. The parameters obtained from the $k^+$ profiles are used for the computation of $U^+$ (variables with the superscript of + are those nondimensionalized by the wall friction velocity $u_\tau$ and the kinematic viscosity $\nu$). Comparisons with DNS data of fully-developed turbulent channel flows for $109 < Re_{\tau} < 2003$ show good agreement (where $Re_{\tau}$ denotes the friction Reynolds number defined by $u_\tau$, $\nu$ and the channel half-width $\delta$)

Mujeres de prostíbulo : los avatares bolivianos del reglamentarismo

Este artículo analiza la coexistencia contradictoria de los lenocinios legales con la adhesión de Bolivia a las principales convenciones abolicionistas internacionales. El examen de las leyes, pero también de los modos de reclutamiento así como de las relaciones sociales dentro de los locales, pone de manifiesto una configuración original en la que lo que a primera vista parece ser la persistencia formal del reglamentarismo coercitivo del siglo XIX, se ha vuelto más complejo

Oscillatory and pulsatile flows in environmental, biological and industrial applications

International audienceThe understanding of oscillatory and pulsatile flows is of high interest for different environmental/coastal, biological/health and industrial applications. Marine and coastal environment is dominated by waves. The related oscillatory turbulent boundary layers are involved in different coastal engineering applications. In the circulatory system, the study of the pulsatile flow of blood is indispensable for the better comprehension of many cardiovascular diseases. In bio-industries, pulsed flows are used in the cleaning of fouling deposits in different equipment. These different flows require deep understanding of advanced concepts in fluid mechanics and need an adequate quantification of the involved parameters such as wall shear stress (WSS). This study shows interdisciplinary knowledge from different communities: Environment/Coastal engineering, Health/Medicine and Bio-Industries/Chemical engineering. The knowledge acquired within a specialty could be of interest to others. It is important to share and use knowledge beyond disciplines especially in fluid mechanics which is at the crossroads of different applications. This study aims transdisciplinary research strategies toward a holistic approach

Concentration profiles for fine and coarse sediments suspended by waves over ripples: An analytical study with the 1-DV gradient diffusion model

Field and laboratory measurements of suspended sediments over wave ripples show, for time-averaged concentration profiles in semi-log plots, a contrast between upward convex profiles for fine sand and upward concave profiles for coarse sand. Careful examination of experimental data for coarse sand shows a near-bed upward convex profile beneath the main upward concave profile. Available models fail to predict these two profiles for coarse sediments. The 1-DV gradient diffusion model predicts the main upward concave profile for coarse sediments thanks to a suitable $\beta$(y)-function (where $\beta$ is the inverse of the turbulent Schmidt number and y is the distance from the bed). In order to predict the near-bed upward convex profile, an additional parameter {\alpha} is needed. This parameter could be related to settling velocity ($\alpha$ equal to inverse of dimensionless settling velocity) or to convective sediment entrainment process. The profiles are interpreted by a relation between second derivative of the logarithm of concentration and derivative of the product between sediment diffusivity and $\alpha$

Engineered T-cell therapy: State of the science

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ANN for Predicting Temperature and Humidity in the Surrounding Environment

Abstract: In this research, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model was developed and tested to predict temperature in the surrounding environment. A number of factors were identified that may affect temperature or humidity. Factors such as the nature of the surrounding place, proximity or distance from water surfaces, the influence of vegetation, and the level of rise or fall below sea level, among others, as input variables for the ANN model. A model based on multi-layer concept topology was developed and trained using data from several regions in the surrounding environment. The evaluation of testing the dataset shows that the ANN model is capable of correctly predicting the temperature with 100% accuracy