An unstructured conservative level-set algorithm coupled with dynamic mesh adaptation for the computation of liquid-gas flows

International audienceAccurate and efficient simulations of 3D liquid-gas flows are of first importance in many industrial applications, such as fuel injection in aeronautical combustion chambers. In this context, it is mandatory to handle complex geometries. The use of unstructured grids for two-phase flow modeling fulfills this requirement and paves the way to isotropic adaptive mesh refinement. This work presents a narrow-band conservative level-set algorithm implemented in the YALES2 incompressible flow solver, which is combined to dynamic mesh adaptation. This strategy enables resolving the small physical scales at the liquid-gas interface at a moderate cost. It is applied to predicting the outcome of a droplet collision with reflexive separation. In the accurate conservative level set framework, the interface is represented using a hyperbolic tangent profile, which is advected by the fluid, and then reshaped using a reinitialization equation. The classical signed-distance function is reconstructed at nodes in the narrow band around the interface using a geometric projection/marker method (GPMM), to calculate the smallest distance to the interface. The interface normal and curvature are computed using this signed-distance function. Within a mesh cell, the interface is approximated by a segment (2D) or one or several triangles (3D). The distance at the nodes is simply obtained by projection to the closest surface elements. If a node is connected to n elements containing interface fragments, it has a n-marker list (a marker contains the coordinates of the crossing points and the distance). To speed-up the algorithm, the markers stored at each node are sorted based on their distance. Markers are propagated from one band to another: each node compares its markers to its neighbors' and keeps the closest only. The GPMM approach for the reconstruction of the level-set signed-distance function used in conjunction with the reinitialization of Chiodi et al. (2017) leads to significant improvement in the interface quality and overall accuracy compared to the reinitialization of Desjardins et al. (2008) in the calculations performed on unstructured grids. Since the accuracy of the interface normal and curvature directly depends on the signed-distance function reconstruction, less spurious currents occur on the implicit surface. The improved level-set algorithm leads to accurate predictions of the outcome of a droplet collision with reflexive separation, and is validated against the experimental results of Ashgriz et al. (1990). Introduction Two-phase flows are ubiquitous in nature and in industrial systems. The understanding of the various phenomena occurring in liquid-gas flows is crucial for aeronautical combustors, in which a fuel is injected in liquid form, goes under an atomization process, evaporation, mixing with air and eventually combustion. Understanding the atomization process and the resulting droplet distribution is of first importance for aircraft engine performance and operability. The prediction of the atomization process is complex, due to many non-linear phenomena such as interface break-up, droplet convection, or droplet collision. Atomization also involves a wide range of time and space scales, which leads to important calculation costs. Thus, the use of dynamic mesh adaptation for unstructured meshes is particularly helpful for simulating industrial liquid-gas flow problems, as it allows implicit interface dynamics calculation in complex geometries at a reasonable cost [1]. To capture the interface, the conservative level set method is used, which accurately predicts the interface dynamics while conserving liquid mass [2]. This article presents a method to compute the signed-distance function on unstructured grids, and an implementation of the reinitialization of [3], adapted to unstructured meshes. Classic test cases are run to check the overall accuracy and robustness of the method, and a droplet collision case is simulated to validate the global algorithm with a front merging scenario against the experimental results of [4]

Dynamic mesh adaptation for moving fronts and interfaces: application to the modeling of premixed flames and primary atomization

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Experimental and numerical investigation of the response of a swirled flame to flow modulations in a non-adiabatic combustor

Turbulent combustion models for Large Eddy Simulation (LES) aims at predicting the flame dynamics. So far, they have been proven to predict correctly the mean flow and flame properties in a wide range of configurations. A way to challenge these models in unsteady situations is to test their ability to recover turbulent flames submitted to harmonic flow modulations. In this study, the Flame Transfer Function (FTF) of a CH4/H2/air premixed swirled-stabilized flame submitted to harmonic flowrate modulations in a non-adiabatic combustor is compared to the response computed using the Filtered TAbulated Chemistry for LES (F-TACLES) formalism. Phase averaged analysis of the perturbed flow field and flame response reveal that the velocity field determined with Particle Image Velocimetry measurements, the heat release distribution inferred from OH* images and the probability of presence of burnt gases deduced from OH-Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence measure- ments are qualitatively well reproduced by the simulations. However, noticeable differences between experiments and simulations are also observed in a narrow frequency range. A detailed close-up view of the flow field highlight differences in experimental OH* and numerical volumetric heat release rate distributions which are at the origin of the differences observed between the numerical and experimental FTF. These differences mainly originate from the outer shear layer of the swirling jet where a residual reaction layer takes place in the simulations which is absent in the experiments. Consequences for turbulent combustion modeling are suggested by examining the evolution of the perturbed flame brush envelope along the downstream distance of the perturbed flames. It is shown that changing the grid resolution and the flame subgrid scale wrinkling factor in these regions does not alter the numerical results. It is finally concluded that the combined effects of strain rate and enthalpy defect due to heat losses are the main factors leading to small but sizable differences of the flame response to coherent structures synchronized by the acoustic forcing in the outer shear layer of the swirling flow. These small differences in flame response lead in turn to a misprediction of the FTF at specific forcing frequencies

Calenge par Bertrand, parcours de lecture dans le Carnet d’un bibliothécaire

Nous sommes tous redevables à Bertrand Calenge, bibliothécaire de renom, théoricien et praticien des bibliothèques, disparu en 2016. Un collectif de bibliothécaires fait revivre cet auteur, en proposant un parcours de lecture à travers son blog Carnet de notes. Ces parcours thématiques et transversaux recontextualisent les billets selon les principaux sujets traités par l’auteur – collections, médiation, évaluation, métier, numérique, etc. – autant dire toutes les questions vives des bibliothèques. Ce livre expérimente une mise en book du blog d’un professionnel, pour nous inviter, comme l\u27écrit Martine Poulain dans sa préface, « à penser, échanger, proposer »

High precision astrometry mission for the detection and characterization of nearby habitable planetary systems with the Nearby Earth Astrometric Telescope (NEAT)

(abridged) A complete census of planetary systems around a volume-limited sample of solar-type stars (FGK dwarfs) in the Solar neighborhood with uniform sensitivity down to Earth-mass planets within their Habitable Zones out to several AUs would be a major milestone in extrasolar planets astrophysics. This fundamental goal can be achieved with a mission concept such as NEAT - the Nearby Earth Astrometric Telescope. NEAT is designed to carry out space-borne extremely-high-precision astrometric measurements sufficient to detect dynamical effects due to orbiting planets of mass even lower than Earth's around the nearest stars. Such a survey mission would provide the actual planetary masses and the full orbital geometry for all the components of the detected planetary systems down to the Earth-mass limit. The NEAT performance limits can be achieved by carrying out differential astrometry between the targets and a set of suitable reference stars in the field. The NEAT instrument design consists of an off-axis parabola single-mirror telescope, a detector with a large field of view made of small movable CCDs located around a fixed central CCD, and an interferometric calibration system originating from metrology fibers located at the primary mirror. The proposed mission architecture relies on the use of two satellites operating at L2 for 5 years, flying in formation and offering a capability of more than 20,000 reconfigurations (alternative option uses deployable boom). The NEAT primary science program will encompass an astrometric survey of our 200 closest F-, G- and K-type stellar neighbors, with an average of 50 visits. The remaining time might be allocated to improve the characterization of the architecture of selected planetary systems around nearby targets of specific interest (low-mass stars, young stars, etc.) discovered by Gaia, ground-based high-precision radial-velocity surveys.Comment: Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy. The full member list of the NEAT proposal and the news about the project are available at http://neat.obs.ujf-grenoble.fr. The final publication is available at http://www.springerlink.co

Geographical dispersal of mobile communication networks

In this paper, we analyze statistical properties of a communication network constructed from the records of a mobile phone company. The network consists of 2.5 million customers that have placed 810 millions of communications (phone calls and text messages) over a period of 6 months and for whom we have geographical home localization information. It is shown that the degree distribution in this network has a power-law degree distribution $k^{-5}$ and that the probability that two customers are connected by a link follows a gravity model, i.e. decreases like $d^{-2}$, where $d$ is the distance between the customers. We also consider the geographical extension of communication triangles and we show that communication triangles are not only composed of geographically adjacent nodes but that they may extend over large distances. This last property is not captured by the existing models of geographical networks and in a last section we propose a new model that reproduces the observed property. Our model, which is based on the migration and on the local adaptation of agents, is then studied analytically and the resulting predictions are confirmed by computer simulations.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figure