538 research outputs found
Numerical Simulation for Droplet Combustion Using Lagrangian Hydrodynamics
A predictive model of spray combustion must incorporate models for the wide variety of physical environments in a practical combustor. In regions where droplets are closely spaced, combustion resembles a diffusion flame; where they are well separated, an envelope or wake flame results. The relative velocity field between the fuel droplets and oxidizer in influences boundary layer development about the droplet, recirculating flow patterns, and droplet shape and stability. A model must encompass these interacting temporal and spatial effects as well as complicated combustor boundaries. The objective of the current work is to develop the triangular gridding method for describing the individual and collective properties of vaporizing and burning fuel droplets
Numerical simulations of fuel droplet flows using a Lagrangian triangular mesh
The incompressible, Lagrangian, triangular grid code, SPLISH, was converted for the study of flows in and around fuel droplets. This involved developing, testing and incorporating algorithms for surface tension and viscosity. The major features of the Lagrangian method and the algorithms are described. Benchmarks of the algorithms are given. Several calculations are presented for kerosene droplets in air. Finally, extensions which make the code compressible and three dimensional are discussed
Auroral Plasma Lines: A First Comparison of Theory and Experiment
In this preliminary report on low-energy (0.3 to 3 eV) secondary electrons in the auroral E layer (90 to 150 km), we compare intensities of plasma lines observed with the Chatanika radar to theoretical predictions obtained from a detailed numerical model. The model calculations are initiated with a flux of energetic auroral primary electrons which enter the atmosphere and lose energy to electrons, ions, and neutrals through a combination of elastic and inelastic collisions. This flux is chosen in order that the total calculated ionization rate matches one that is deduced from the radar measurements. From these same calculations the steady state secondary electron flux is deduced as a function of altitude, energy, and pitch angle. This flux is used to calculate plasma line intensities which are then compared with observed intensities. Initial comparisons suggest that the plasma line theory, when applied to low altitudes, must include the effect of electron-neutral collisions. When this is done, the good agreement obtained between theory and experiment indicates the promise of this approach for the study of low-energy auroral electrons
Jet-Induced Explosions of Core Collapse Supernovae
We numerically studied the explosion of a supernova caused by supersonic jets
present in its center. The jets are assumed to be generated by a
magneto-rotational mechanism when a stellar core collapses into a neutron star.
We simulated the process of the jet propagation through the star, jet
breakthrough, and the ejection of the supernova envelope by the lateral shocks
generated during jet propagation. The end result of the interaction is a highly
nonspherical supernova explosion with two high-velocity jets of material moving
in polar directions, and a slower moving, oblate, highly distorted ejecta
containing most of the supernova material. The jet-induced explosion is
entirely due to the action of the jets on the surrounding star and does not
depend on neutrino transport or re-acceleration of a stalled shock. The jet
mechanism can explain the observed high polarization of Type Ib,c and Type II
supernovae, pulsar kicks, very high velocity material observed in supernova
remnants, indications that radioactive material was carried to the
hydrogen-rich layers in SN1987A, and some others observations that are very
difficult or impossible to explain by the neutrino energy deposition mechanism.
The breakout of the jet from a compact, hydrogen- deficient core may account
for the gamma-ray bursts and radio outburst associated with SN1998bw/GRB980425.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX, aaspp4.sty, epsf.sty, submitted to ApJ Let
Thermonuclear Supernovae: Simulations of the Deflagration Stage and Their Implications
Large-scale three-dimensional numerical simulations of the deflagration stage
of a thermonuclear supernova explosion show the formation and evolution of a
highly convoluted turbulent flame in a gravitational field of an expanding
carbon-oxygen white dwarf. The flame dynamics is dominated by the
gravity-induced Rayleigh-Taylor instability that controls the burning rate. The
thermonuclear deflagration releases enough energy to produce a healthy
explosion. The turbulent flame, however, leaves large amounts of unburnt and
partially burnt material near the star center, whereas observations imply these
materials only in outer layers. This disagreement could be resolved if the
deflagration triggers a detonation.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures. To appear in Science, January 200
Baryon number segregation at the end of the cosmological quark-hadron transition
One of the most interesting questions regarding a possible first order
cosmological quark--hadron phase transition concerns the final fate of the
baryon number contained within the disconnected quark regions at the end of the
transition. We here present a detailed investigation of the hydrodynamical
evolution of an evaporating quark drop, using a multi-component fluid
description to follow the mechanisms of baryon number segregation. With this
approach, we are able to take account of the simultaneous effects of baryon
number flux suppression at the phase interface, entropy extraction by means of
particles having long mean-free-paths, and baryon number diffusion. A range of
computations has been performed to investigate the permitted parameter-space
and this has shown that significant baryon number concentrations, perhaps even
up to densities above that of nuclear matter, represent an inevitable outcome
within this scenario.Comment: 33 pages, Latex file, 6 postscript figures included in the text
(psfig.tex). To appear in Phys. Rev. D1
Spontaneous Transition of Turbulent Flames to Detonations in Unconfined Media
Deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) can occur in environments ranging
from experimental and industrial systems to astrophysical thermonuclear (type
Ia) supernovae explosions. Substantial progress has been made in explaining the
nature of DDT in confined systems with walls, internal obstacles, or
pre-existing shocks. It remains unclear, however, whether DDT can occur in
unconfined media. Here we use direct numerical simulations (DNS) to show that
for high enough turbulent intensities unconfined, subsonic, premixed, turbulent
flames are inherently unstable to DDT. The associated mechanism, based on the
nonsteady evolution of flames faster than the Chapman-Jouguet deflagrations, is
qualitatively different from the traditionally suggested spontaneous reaction
wave model, and thus does not require the formation of distributed flames.
Critical turbulent flame speeds, predicted by this mechanism for the onset of
DDT, are in agreement with DNS results.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; accepted to Physical Review Letter
Rayleigh-Taylor Shock Waves
Beginning from a state of hydrostatic equilibrium, in which a heavy gas rests atop a light gas in a constant gravitational field, Rayleigh-Taylor instability at the interface will launch a shock wave into the upper fluid. The rising bubbles of lighter fluid act like pistons, compressing the heavier fluid ahead of the fronts and generating shocklets. These shocklets coalesce in multidimensional fashion into a strong normal shock, which increases in strength as it propagates upwards. Large-eddy simulations demonstrate that the shock Mach number increases faster in three dimensions than it does in two dimensions. The generation of shocks via Rayleigh-Taylor instability could have profound implications for astrophysical flows
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