257 research outputs found
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Mixing and chemical reaction in an idealized swirl chamber
A vorticity-based, low-Mach-number model for simulating combustion in closed chambers is constructed. Numerical scheme is based on a mixed finite-difference pseudo-spectral discretization of the governing equations. Discrete evolution equations are integrated in time using a predictor-corrector scheme, while discrete elliptic systems are inverted with the help of fast-Poisson solver. Scheme is applied to analyze mixing and combustion in an idealized swirl cavity, which consists of the annular space between a spinning inner cylinder and a stationary reaction. To this end, we assume that the oxidizer and fuel are initially separated by a thin mixed region, and carefully control mixing levels by varying the duration of the swirl-driven mixing period. The mixture is then ignited along the boundary of the inner cylinder. When pre-mixing is complete, an axisymmetric flame front is established, and the reactants are consumed as the front propagates radially outwards. When the charge is partially mixed, combustion in the early stages predominantly occurs within a non-uniform premixed front. As this non-uniform front approaches the outer cylinder, a transition to a distributed combustion regime occurs. Following the transition, the remaining fuel burns at a slow rate within non-premixed flames which wrap around the inner cylinder. Results show that the mixing time has substantial effects on the pressure rise within the cavity and on the evolution of the burnt fraction, and that these effects become more pronounced as the Damkoehler number increases
AMR, stability and higher accuracy
Efforts to achieve better accuracy in numerical relativity have so far
focused either on implementing second order accurate adaptive mesh refinement
or on defining higher order accurate differences and update schemes. Here, we
argue for the combination, that is a higher order accurate adaptive scheme.
This combines the power that adaptive gridding techniques provide to resolve
fine scales (in addition to a more efficient use of resources) together with
the higher accuracy furnished by higher order schemes when the solution is
adequately resolved. To define a convenient higher order adaptive mesh
refinement scheme, we discuss a few different modifications of the standard,
second order accurate approach of Berger and Oliger. Applying each of these
methods to a simple model problem, we find these options have unstable modes.
However, a novel approach to dealing with the grid boundaries introduced by the
adaptivity appears stable and quite promising for the use of high order
operators within an adaptive framework
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A numerical scheme for modelling reacting flow with detailed chemistry and transport.
An efficient projection scheme is developed for the simulation of reacting flow with detailed kinetics and transport. The scheme is based on a zero-Mach-number formulation of the compressible conservation equations for an ideal gas mixture. It is a modified version of the stiff operator-split scheme developed by Knio, Najm & Wyckoff (1999, J. Comput. Phys. 154, 428). Similar to its predecessor, the new scheme relies on Strang splitting of the discrete evolution equations, where diffusion is integrated in two half steps that are symmetrically distributed around a single stiff step for the reaction source terms. The diffusive half-step is integrated using an explicit single-step, multistage, Runge-Kutta-Chebyshev (RKC) method, which replaces the explicit, multi-step, fractional sub-step approach used in the previous formulation. This modification maintains the overall second-order convergence properties of the scheme and enhances the efficiency of the computations by taking advantage of the extended real-stability region of the RKC scheme. Two additional efficiency-enhancements are also explored, based on an extrapolation procedure for the transport coefficients and on the use of approximate Jacobian data evaluated on a coarse mesh. By including these enhancement schemes, performance tests using 2D computations with a detailed C{sub 1}C{sub 2} methane-air mechanism and a detailed mixture-averaged transport model indicate that speedup factors of about 15 are achieved over the previous split-stiff scheme
Toward a better definition of focal cortical dysplasia: An iterative histopathological and genetic agreement trial
Objective: Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is a major cause of difficult-to-treat epilepsy in children and young adults, and the diagnosis is currently based on microscopic review of surgical brain tissue using the International League Against Epilepsy classification scheme of 2011. We developed an iterative histopathological agreement trial with genetic testing to identify areas of diagnostic challenges in this widely used classification scheme. Methods: Four web-based digital pathology trials were completed by 20 neuropathologists from 15 countries using a consecutive series of 196 surgical tissue blocks obtained from 22 epilepsy patients at a single center. Five independent genetic laboratories performed screening or validation sequencing of FCD-relevant genes in paired brain and blood samples from the same 22 epilepsy patients. Results: Histopathology agreement based solely on hematoxylin and eosin stainings was low in Round 1, and gradually increased by adding a panel of immunostainings in Round 2 and the Delphi consensus method in Round 3. Interobserver agreement was good in Round 4 (kappa =.65), when the results of genetic tests were disclosed, namely, MTOR, AKT3, and SLC35A2 brain somatic mutations in five cases and germline mutations in DEPDC5 and NPRL3 in two cases. Significance: The diagnoses of FCD 1 and 3 subtypes remained most challenging and were often difficult to differentiate from a normal homotypic or heterotypic cortical architecture. Immunohistochemistry was helpful, however, to confirm the diagnosis of FCD or no lesion. We observed a genotype–phenotype association for brain somatic mutations in SLC35A2 in two cases with mild malformation of cortical development with oligodendroglial hyperplasia in epilepsy. Our results suggest that the current FCD classification should recognize a panel of immunohistochemical stainings for a better histopathological workup and definition of FCD subtypes. We also propose adding the level of genetic findings to obtain a comprehensive, reliable, and integrative genotype–phenotype diagnosis in the near future
ERK2 Suppresses Self-Renewal Capacity of Embryonic Stem Cells, but Is Not Required for Multi-Lineage Commitment
Activation of the FGF-ERK pathway is necessary for naïve mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells to exit self-renewal and commit to early differentiated lineages. Here we show that genetic ablation of Erk2, the predominant ERK isozyme expressed in ES cells, results in hyper-phosphorylation of ERK1, but an overall decrease in total ERK activity as judged by substrate phosphorylation and immediate-early gene (IEG) induction. Normal induction of this subset of canonical ERK targets, as well as p90RSK phosphorylation, was rescued by transgenic expression of either ERK1 or ERK2 indicating a degree of functional redundancy. In contrast to previously published work, Erk2-null ES cells exhibited no detectable defect in lineage specification to any of the three germ layers when induced to differentiate in either embryoid bodies or in defined neural induction conditions. However, under self-renewing conditions Erk2-null ES cells express increased levels of the pluripotency-associated transcripts, Nanog and Tbx3, a decrease in Nanog-GFP heterogeneity, and exhibit enhanced self-renewal in colony forming assays. Transgenic add-back of ERK2 is capable of restoring normal pluripotent gene expression and self-renewal capacity. We show that ERK2 contributes to the destabilization of ES cell self-renewal by reducing expression of pluripotency genes, such as Nanog, but is not specifically required for the early stages of germ layer specification
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