Oil film interferometry in high Reynolds number turbulent boundary layers

There is continuing debate regarding the validity of skin friction measurements that are dependent on the functional form of the mean velocity profile, for example, the Clauser chart method. This has brought about the need for independent and direct measures of wall shear stress, tw. Of the independent methods to measure tw, oil film interferometry is the most promising, and it has been extensively used recently at low and moderately high Reynolds number. The technique uses interferometry to measure the thinning rate of an oil film, which is linearly related to the level of shear stress acting on the oil film. In this paper we report on the use of this technique in a high Reynolds number boundary layer up to Rq = 50,000. Being an independent measure of tw, the oil film measurement can be used as a means to validate more conventional techniques, such as the Preston tube and Clauser chart at these high Reynolds numbers. The oil-film measurement is validated by making comparative measurements of tw in a large-scale fully-developed channel flow facility where the skin friction is known from the pressure gradient along the channe

High energy Coulomb-scattered electrons for relativistic particle beam diagnostics

A new system used for monitoring energetic Coulomb-scattered electrons as the main diagnostic for accurately aligning the electron and ion beams in the new Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) electron lenses is described in detail. The theory of electron scattering from relativistic ions is developed and applied to the design and implementation of the system used to achieve and maintain the alignment. Commissioning with gold and 3He beams is then described as well as the successful utilization of the new system during the 2015 RHIC polarized proton run. Systematic errors of the new method are then estimated. Finally, some possible future applications of Coulomb-scattered electrons for beam diagnostics are briefly discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 23 figure

Continuous measurement of global difference coupling using a phase-locked-loop tune meter in the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

We present a new technique to continuously measure and compensate the global difference coupling coefficient through the continuous measurements of eigenmode projection parameters, using a high resolution phase-locked-loop tune meter. First, four eigenmode projection parameters are defined as the observables for weak difference coupling. Then, their analytical expressions are obtained using the strict matrix treatment and the Hamiltonian perturbation theory of linear coupling. From these parameters, the complex global coupling coefficient can be fully determined and compensated. This method was successfully demonstrated in the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) 2006 run

Re-visit local coupling correction in the interaction regions of RHIC

In this article we will re-visit the local coupling correction in the interaction regions (IRs) of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). We will review the measurement data of triplet quadrupole rolls, the local coupling correction strengths in the RHIC control system, and the methods for the local coupling correction with local skew quadrupole correctors. Based on the in-turnnel measurement data of triplet roll errors in 2011, we will analytically calculate and simulate IR-bump method to find out the local skew correction strengths and compare them at store and at injection with the Blue and Yellow ring lattices in the 2011 polarized proton (p-p) and Au-Au runs. The vertical dispersion from the triplet roll errors, local and global coupling correction skew quadrupoles, and the vertical dipole correctors are calculated and discussed

Simultaneous tune and coupling feedback in the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, and possible implications for the Large Hadron Collider commissioning

Simultaneous tune and coupling feedback were successfully implemented during RHIC run 6. In this paper we describe the measurement and control hardware and software used to accomplish this, present some of the results, discuss areas that require further investigation, and finally offer a few comments on possible implications of these results for LHC commissioning

When the optimal is not the best: parameter estimation in complex biological models

Background: The vast computational resources that became available during the past decade enabled the development and simulation of increasingly complex mathematical models of cancer growth. These models typically involve many free parameters whose determination is a substantial obstacle to model development. Direct measurement of biochemical parameters in vivo is often difficult and sometimes impracticable, while fitting them under data-poor conditions may result in biologically implausible values. Results: We discuss different methodological approaches to estimate parameters in complex biological models. We make use of the high computational power of the Blue Gene technology to perform an extensive study of the parameter space in a model of avascular tumor growth. We explicitly show that the landscape of the cost function used to optimize the model to the data has a very rugged surface in parameter space. This cost function has many local minima with unrealistic solutions, including the global minimum corresponding to the best fit. Conclusions: The case studied in this paper shows one example in which model parameters that optimally fit the data are not necessarily the best ones from a biological point of view. To avoid force-fitting a model to a dataset, we propose that the best model parameters should be found by choosing, among suboptimal parameters, those that match criteria other than the ones used to fit the model. We also conclude that the model, data and optimization approach form a new complex system, and point to the need of a theory that addresses this problem more generally

Coriolis effect on centrifugal buoyancy-driven convection in a thin cylindrical shell

We study the effect of the Coriolis force on centrifugal buoyancy-driven convection in a rotating cylindrical shell with inner cold wall and outer hot wall. This is done by performing direct numerical simulations for increasing inverse Rossby number Ro−1 from zero (no Coriolis force) to 20 (very large Coriolis force) and for Rayleigh number Ra from 107 to 1010 and Prandtl number Pr=0.7, corresponding to air. We invoke the thin-shell limit, which neglects the curvature and radial variations of the centripetal acceleration. As Ro−1 increases from zero, the system forms an azimuthal bidirectional wind that reaches its maximum momentum at an optimal Ro−1opt, associated with a maximal skin-friction coefficient Cf and a minimal Nusselt number Nu. Just beyond Ro−1opt, the wind weakens and an axial, quasi-two-dimensional cyclone, corotating with the system, begins to form. A local ‘turbulence’ inverse Rossby number (non-dimensionalised by the eddy turnover time) determines the onset of cyclone formation for all Ra, when its value reaches approximately 4. At Ro−1≫Ro−1opt, the system falls into the geostrophic regime with a sudden drop in Nu. The bidirectional wind for Ro−1≤Ro−1opt is a feature of this system, as it hastens the boundary layer transition from laminar to turbulent, towards the ultimate regime. We see the onset of this transition at Ra=1010 and Ro−1≃Ro−1opt, although the mean flow profile has not yet fully collapsed on the Prandtl–von Kármán (logarithmic) law

Progress in Tune, Coupling, and Chromaticity Measurement and Feedback During Rhic Run 7

Tune feedback was first implemented in RHIC in 2002, as a specialist activity. The transition of the tune feedback system to full operational status was impeded by dynamic range problems, as well as by overall loop instabilities driven by large coupling. The dynamic range problem was solved by the CERN development of the Direct Diode Detection Analog Front End. Continuous measurement of all projections of the betatron eigenmodes made possible the world's first implementation of coupling feedback during beam acceleration, resolving the problem of overall loop instabilities. Simultaneous tune and coupling feedbacks were utilized as specialist activities for ramp development during the 2006 RHIC run. At the beginning of the 2007 RHIC run there remained two obstacles to making these feedbacks fully operational in RHIC - chromaticity measurement and control, and the presence of strong harmonics of the power line frequency in the betatron spectrum. We report on progress in tune, coupling, and chromaticity measurement and feedback, and discuss the relevance of our results to LHC commissioning