An experimental study of boundary-layer transition induced vibrations on a hydrofoil

This paper aims at characterizing experimentally laminar to turbulent transition induced vibrations. Here, the transition is known to be triggered by a Laminar Separation Bubble that results from a laminar separation of the boundary-layer flow on a hydrofoil. In this study we consider two NACA66312 (Mod) laminar hydrofoils at low angles of incidence (mostly 2° and 4°) and Reynolds numbers ranging from Re=450 000 to 1 200 000, in order to get transitional regimes. The first hydrofoil, made of steel (E=2.1×1011 Pa), is referred to as the rigid hydrofoil, although it is seen to vibrate under the action of the LSB. To better understand the possible interaction between the flow and the foil vibrations, vibration measurements are repeated using a flexible hydrofoil (E=3×109 Pa) of same geometry (under zero loading) and in close configurations. The experiments are carried out at the French Naval Academy Research Institute (IRENav, France). Wall pressure and flow velocity measurements enable a characterization of the laminar separation bubble and the identification of a vortex shedding at a given frequency. It is hence shown that the boundary-layer transition induces important foil vibrations, whose characteristics in terms of frequency and amplitude depend on the vortex shedding frequency, and can be coupled with natural frequencies of the hydrofoils

From multifragmentation to supernovae and neutron stars

The thermodynamics properties of globally neutral dense stellar matter are analyzed both in terms of mean field instabilities and structures beyond the mean field. The mean field response to finite wavelenght fluctuations is calculated with the realistic Sly230a effective interaction. A Monte Carlo simulation of a schematic lattice Hamiltonian shows the importance of calculations beyond the mean field to calculate the phase diagram of stellar matter. The analogies and differences respect to the thermodynamics of nuclear matter and finite nuclei are stressed.Comment: To be published in Acta Phys. Hung.

Core-crust transition in neutron stars: predictivity of density developments

The possibility to draw links between the isospin properties of nuclei and the structure of compact stars is a stimulating perspective. In order to pursue this objective on a sound basis, the correlations from which such links can be deduced have to be carefully checked against model dependence. Using a variety of nuclear effective models and a microscopic approach, we study the relation between the predictions of a given model and those of a Taylor density development of the corresponding equation of state: this establishes to what extent a limited set of phenomenological constraints can determine the core-crust transition properties. From a correlation analysis we show that a) the transition density $\rho_t$ is mainly correlated with the symmetry energy slope $L$, b) the proton fraction $Y_{p,t}$ with the symmetry energy and symmetry energy slope $(J,L)$ defined at saturation density, or, even better, with the same quantities defined at $\rho=0.1$ fm$^{-3}$, and c) the transition pressure $P_t$ with the symmetry energy slope and curvature $(J,K_{\rm sym})$ defined at $\rho=0.1$ fm$^{-3}$

Galclaim: A tool to identify host galaxy of astrophysical transient sources

The Galclaim software is designed to identify association between astrophysical transient sources and host galaxy by computing the probability of chance alignment. It is distributed as an open source Python software. It is already used to identify, confirm or reject host galaxy candidates of GRBs and to validate or invalidate transient candidates in astrophysical observations. Such tools are also very useful to characterise archived transient candidates in large sky survey telescopes

Cavity induced vibration of flexible hydrofoils

The objective of this work is to investigate the influence of cavity-induced vibrations on the dynamic response and stability of a NACA66 hydrofoil at 8° angle of attack at Re=750 000 via combined experimental measurements and numerical simulations. The rectangular, cantilevered hydrofoil is assumed to be rigid in the chordwise direction, while the spanwise bending and twisting deformations are represented using a two-degrees-of-freedom structural model. The multiphase flow is modeled with an incompressible, unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes solver with the k–ω Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence closure model, while the phase evolutions are modeled with a mass-transport equation based cavitation model. The numerical predictions are compared with experimental measurements across a range of cavitation numbers for a rigid and a flexible hydrofoil with the same undeformed geometries. The results showed that foil flexibility can lead to: (1) focusing – locking – of the frequency content of the vibrations to the nearest sub-harmonics of the foil׳s wetted natural frequencies, and (2) broadening of the frequency content of the vibrations in the unstable cavitation regime, where amplifications are observed in the sub-harmonics of the foil natural frequencies. Cavitation was also observed to cause frequency modulation, as the fluid density, and hence fluid induced (inertial, damping, and disturbing) forces fluctuated with unsteady cavitation.The authors gratefully acknowledge Ms. Kelly Cooper (program manager) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR), for their financial support through Grant nos. N00014-11-1-0833 and N0014-12-C-0585, as well as ONR Global and Dr. Woei-Min Lin (program manager) through grant no. N62909-12-1-7076

Giant Pulsar Glitches and the Inertia of Neutron-Star Crusts

Giant pulsar frequency glitches as detected in the emblematic Vela pulsar have long been thought to be the manifestation of a neutron superfluid permeating the inner crust of a neutron star. However, this superfluid has been recently found to be entrained by the crust, and as a consequence it does not carry enough angular momentum to explain giant glitches. The extent to which pulsar-timing observations can be reconciled with the standard vortex-mediated glitch theory is studied considering the current uncertainties on dense-matter properties. To this end, the crustal moment of inertia of glitching pulsars is calculated employing a series of different unified dense-matter equations of state.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, submitted to PR

Nuclear symmetry energy and core-crust transition in neutron stars: a critical study

The slope of the nuclear symmetry energy at saturation density $L$ is pointed out as a crucial quantity to determine the mass and width of neutron-star crusts. This letter clarifies the relation between $L$ and the core-crust transition. We confirm that the transition density is soundly correlated with $L$ despite differences between models, and we propose a clear understanding of this correlation based on a generalised liquid drop model. Using a large number of nuclear models, we evaluate the dispersion affecting the correlation between the transition pressure $P_t$ and $L$. From a detailed analysis it is shown that this correlation is weak due to a cancellation between different terms. The correlation between the isovector coefficients $K_{\rm sym}$ and $L$ plays a crucial role in this discussion

Isospin fractionation : equilibrium versus spinodal decomposition

This paper focuses on the isospin properties of the asymmetric nuclear-matter liquid-gas phase transition analyzed in a mean-field approach, using Skyrme effective interactions. We compare two different mechanisms of phase separation for low-density matter: equilibrium and spinodal decomposition. The isospin properties of the phases are deduced from the free-energy curvature, which contains information both on the average isospin content and on the system fluctuations. Some implications on experimentally accessible isospin observables are presented

Cluster formation in asymmetric nuclear matter: semi-classical and quantal approaches

The nuclear-matter liquid-gas phase transition induces instabilities against finite-size density fluctuations. This has implications for both heavy-ion-collision and compact-star physics. In this paper, we study the clusterization properties of nuclear matter in a scenario of spinodal decomposition, comparing three different approaches: the quantal RPA, its semi-classical limit (Vlasov method), and a hydrodynamical framework. The predictions related to clusterization are qualitatively in good agreement varying the approach and the nuclear interaction. Nevertheless, it is shown that i) the quantum effects reduce the instability zone, and disfavor short-wavelength fluctuations; ii) large differences appear bewteen the two semi-classical approaches, which correspond respectively to a collisionless (Vlasov) and local equilibrium description (hydrodynamics); iii) the isospin-distillation effect is stronger in the local equilibrium framework; iv) important variations between the predicted time-scales of cluster formation appear near the borders of the instability region.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures, Submitted to Nuclear Physics A, Nuclear Physics A In press (2008