DNS and modeling of the turbulent boundary layer over an evaporating liquid film

In this paper, Direct Numercial Simulation (DNS) is used to study the boundary layer above an evaporating liquid film in the fully developed turbulent channel flow configuration. First, the numerical results of an isothermal flow are compared to the reference results of Kim et al. [1] to check the validity and the accuracy of the present approach. Next, the calculations are repeated for an anisothermal case where hot gas is flowing between cold walls. The numerical results corroborate those of Nicoud [2] and Huang & Coleman [3], introducing modified dimensionless variables. Finally, an evaporating liquid film is added at the walls. The complexity of the interaction between the evaporation process and the boundary layer structure, as well as its strong dependence on the transient thermophysical properties of the mixture are highlighted. As in the anisothermal case, the classical wall units are no longer adapted to build wall functions and new dimensionless variables are proposed. In addition a wall function must be developed for the evaporating species mass fraction, using a new dimensionless wall variable. It is shown that using these new variables allows to derive new wall functions for momentum, temperature and mass that lead to a correct description of the boundary layer when compared to DNS. These new wall functions may be directly implemented in CFD codes to take into account the impact of an evaporating liquid film

Advisory Opinion: A bridge between the CLCS and the ITLOS

The purpose of this thesis is to try to establish a mechanism that will enable the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to get access to legal interpretation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The mandate of the Commission is to validate the outer limits line delineated by coastal States. For that, the Commission has to apply provisions of the Convention. The use of legal provisions necessitates interpretation. It is submitted that the Commission has to interpret some provisions of the Convention in order to perform its mandate. Yet, its interpretative attribute is limited to the assessment of its technical functions. When it cannot interpret, the Commission cannot fulfil its mandate and the outer edge of the continental margin cannot be established. To avoid maritime boundaries staying in an impasse, the Commission has to ask competent bodies to seek an advisory opinion from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The author reviews the possible mechanisms opened to the International Seabed Authority and international agreements, and promote a liberal interpretation of these provisions to open the scope of their availability. The possibility to open the advisory procedure to the Meeting of States Parties and States, acting under the umbrella of an international agreement or acting as individual States, is discussed and encouraged. In fact, States are the cornerstone between the advisory opinion and the Commission. Their will and sovereign power in terms of implementation of the Convention are the means through which the CLCS can be granted access to legal interpretation

Stabilization of a supercritical hydrogen / oxygen flame behind a splitter plate

The numerical simulation of fluid dynamics and combustion in cryogenic rocket engines is addressed in this paper, with the intent to elucidate flame stabilization mechanisms. A model configuration is devised to allow a fully resolved simulation, both for the dynamics and the flame structure: a two-dimensional splitter plate represents the lip of an injector and the operating point is typical of a real engine. The non-reacting flow field is first scrutinized to evaluate the impact of the large density gradients between the fuel (hydrogen) and oxidizer (oxygen) streams. It is found that the turbulence generated by the splitter is very intense and strongly distorts the high-density-gradient front at both small and large scales. Under reacting conditions, the flame stabilizes right at the lip of the injector, which is a common feature of hydrogen / oxygen flames under these conditions. A particularly complex flame structure is evidenced at the anchoring point, with turbulent transport playing an important role

Finite Element Modelling of Micro-cantilevers Used as Chemical Sensors

Nowadays, silicon micro-cantilevers with different geometrical shapes are widely used as micro-electro-mechanical systems and, more recently, as force sensor probes in atomic force microscopy (AFM). During the last ten years, several applications, which include these AFM micrometer-sized cantilevers as mass probes in microbalances or as chemical sensors in chemical micro-system devices, were developed. In the case of complex shapes of cantilevers, where the cross-section is not constant along the cantilever length (case of “V-shaped” micro-cantilevers), their resonant frequencies can not be analytically calculated. Firstly, in order to validate the accuracy of our FEM approach, we carried out a comparison between analytical, experimental and FEM-computed values of the resonant frequencies for homogenous rectangular shaped micro-cantilevers. Then, we performed a modeling of silicon beams coated with a thin sensitive layer (50 nm of Gold). To precisely calculate the resonant frequencies of these multilayer-cantilevers, the influence of the mesh parameters on the calculated frequencies was strongly investigated. Secondly, the sensitivity of different “V-shaped” silicon cantilevers was estimated, as a function of their geometrical dimensions and of their mechanical parameters (Young modulus, density). The resonant frequencies of uncoated cantilevers were calculated and compared with the values experimentally determined. Then, a similar approach was employed to predict the sensitivities of such cantilevers recovered with a sensitive layer

Atomic Force Microscopy: A Promising Tool for Deciphering the Pathogenic Mechanisms of Fungi in Cystic Fibrosis

During the past decades, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has emerged as a powerful tool in microbiology. Although most of the works concerned bacteria, AFM also permitted major breakthroughs in the understanding of physiology and pathogenic mechanisms of some fungal species associated with cystic fibrosis. Complementary to electron microscopies, AFM offers unprecedented insights to visualize the cell wall architecture and components through three-dimensional imaging with nanometer resolution and to follow their dynamic changes during cell growth and division or following the exposure to drugs and chemicals. Besides imaging, force spectroscopy with piconewton sensitivity provides a direct means to decipher the forces governing cell-cell and cell-substrate interactions, but also to quantify specific and non-specific interactions between cell surface components at the single-molecule level. This nanotool explores new ways for a better understanding of the structures and functions of the cell surface components and therefore may be useful to elucidate the role of these components in the host-pathogen interactions as well as in the complex interplay between bacteria and fungi in the lung microbiome

WDM signal regeneration using a single all-optical device

Using the principle of quasi-continuous filtering in a non-linear fibre, we propose an optical device for the simultaneous regeneration of sevaral channels at 40 Gbit/s. Simulations predict an improvement of the signal quality for four channels by more than 6.8 dB

Embedded Software V&V using Virtual Platforms for Powertrain applications

International audienceCurrent development trends for automotive products are driven by time to market reduction, cost optimization, and quality improvement. Dual to these business constraints are demands for innovation and safety conformance which impose increasing complexity on embedded systems. To address these challenges impacting software and hardware to improve system dependability, new methodology and tools need to be set-up. The use of representative virtual platforms combining speed and accuracy allows earlier software development, improved system testing, and fault injection analysis, with a high potential for reuse of system IPs (including both hardware and software). In this paper, we will present investigation on new methods and associated results using a simplified virtual platform to test a powertrain application

Genotoxic and stress inductive potential of cadmium in Xenopus laevis larvae

The present investigation evaluates the toxic potential of Cd in larvae of the frog Xenopus laevis after 12 days of exposure to environmentally relevant contamination levels, close to those measured in the river Lot (France). Several genotoxic and detoxification mechanisms were analyzed in the larvae: clastogenic and/or aneugenic effects in the circulating blood by micronucleus (MN) induction, metallothionein (MT) production in whole larvae, gene analyses and Cd content in the liver and also in the whole larvae. The results show: (i) micronucleus induction at environmental levels of Cd contamination (2, 10, 30 μg L−1); (ii) an increased and concentration-dependent quantity of MT in the whole organism after contamination with 10 and 30 μg Cd L−1 (a three- and six-fold increase, respectively) although no significant difference was observed after contamination with 2 μg Cd L−1; (iii) Cd uptake by the whole organism and by the liver as a response to Cd exposure conditions; (4) up-regulation of the genes involved in detoxification processes and response to oxidative stress, while genes involved in DNA repair and apoptosis were repressed. The results confirm the relevance of the amphibian model and highlight the complementarity between a marker of genotoxicity, MT production, bioaccumulation and genetic analysis in the evaluation of the ecotoxicological impact

Diagnosis of turbulence radiation interaction in turbulent flames and implications for modeling in large Eddy simulation

International audienceAn a priori study of the turbulence radiation interaction (TRI) is performed on numerical data from Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of a turbulent flame. The influence of the various correlations that appear in the radiative emission is investigated and their impact is evaluated in the context of Large Eddy Simulation (LES). In LES, only filtered quantities are computed, where the filter is the grid. The radiative emission is reconstructed first from the exact, then filtered solution variables and the sensitivity to the filter size is evaluated. Three approaches are used to take into account the subgrid scale correlations: the no-TRI, partial TRI and full TRI approaches. Results show that the full TRI is exact compared to the reference emission and that the partial TRI performs worse than the no-TRI for the studied configuration. This indicates that in the studied case, the TRI must be considered in LES in a full formulation