Tuning Process for the Modified Magnussen Combustion Model

In the application of CFD to turbulent reacting flows, one of the main limitations to predictive accuracy is the chemistry model. Using a full or skeletal kinetics model may provide good predictive ability, however, at considerable computational cost. Adding the ability to account for the interaction between turbulence and chemistry improves the overall fidelity of a simulation but adds to this cost. An alternative is the use of simple models, such as the Magnussen model, which has negligible computational overhead, but lacks general predictive ability except for cases that can be tuned to the flow being solved. In this paper, a technique will be described that allows the tuning of the Magnussen model for an arbitrary fuel and flow geometry without the need to have experimental data for a particular case. The tuning is based on comparing the results of the Magnussen model and full finite-rate chemistry when applied to perfectly and partially stirred reactor sim- ulations. In addition, a modification to the Magnussen model is proposed that allows the upper kinetic limit for the reaction rate to be set, giving better physical agreement with full kinetic mechanisms. In order to improve the agreement with flame temperatures, the thermal properties of the product species is adjusted to better match the mixture proper- ties of the full mechanism. The combustion model is then applied to the simulation of a representative scramjet flowpath, and the results compared to experimental data and other kinetic models. This procedure allows a simple reacting model to be used in a predictive manner, and affords significant savings in computational costs for CFD simulations

What Determines NFL Ticket Prices?

This paper studies the demand-side factors that determine NFL teams’ ticket prices from 2009 to 2012 using a panel model. Our model specifies NFL teams’ average ticket prices as a function of GDP per capita, number of competing professional sports teams, stadium renovation within the last two years, the average winning percentage from the previous three seasons, and Pro Bowl players each team had from the previous year. We find that a team’s winning percentage and having a stadium renovation has the largest impact on average ticket prices. We also find that the number of Pro Bowl players is an insignificant determinant of NFL teams’ ticket prices

Comment on ``Method to analyze electromechanical stability of dielectric elastomers" [Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 061921 (2007)]

The model of Zhao and Suo can be readily generalized to predict the critical breakdown electric field $E_c$ value of elastomers with arbitrary elastic strain energy function. An explicit expression for $E_c$ is presented for elastomeric thin films under biaxial strain and comparisons are made with experimental data using a two term Ogden rubber elasticity model. Simplified results for uniaxial and for equi-biaxial stress provide further insight into the findings of Zhao and Suo.Comment: 2 page

The Deep Diffuse Extragalactic Radio Sky at 1.75 GHz

We present a study of diffuse extragalactic radio emission at $1.75\,$GHz from part of the ELAIS-S1 field using the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The resulting mosaic is $2.46\,$deg$^2$, with a roughly constant noise region of $0.61\,$deg$^2$ used for analysis. The image has a beam size of $150 \times60\,$arcsec and instrumental $\langle\sigma_{\rm n}\rangle= (52\pm5)\, \mu$Jy beam$^{-1}$. Using point-source models from the ATLAS survey, we subtract the discrete emission in this field for $S \ge 150\, \mu$Jy beam$^{-1}$. Comparison of the source-subtracted probability distribution, or \pd, with the predicted distribution from unsubtracted discrete emission and noise, yields an excess of $(76 \pm 23) \, \mu$Jy beam$^{-1}$. Taking this as an upper limit on any extended emission we constrain several models of extended source counts, assuming $\Omega_{\rm source} \le 2\,$arcmin. The best-fitting models yield temperatures of the radio background from extended emission of $T_{\rm b}=(10\pm7) \,$mK, giving an upper limit on the total temperature at $1.75\,$GHz of $(73\pm10)\,$mK. Further modelling shows that our data are inconsistent with the reported excess temperature of ARCADE2 to a source-count limit of $1\, \mu$Jy. Our new data close a loop-hole in the previous constraints, because of the possibility of extended emission being resolved out at higher resolution. Additionally, we look at a model of cluster halo emission and two WIMP dark matter annihilation source-count models, and discuss general constraints on any predicted counts from such sources. Finally, we report the derived integral count at $1.4\,$GHz using the deepest discrete count plus our new extended-emission limits, providing numbers that can be used for planning future ultra-deep surveys.Comment: 18 pages, 15 figures, 7 tables, Accepted by MNRA

Algebraic Turbulence-Chemistry Interaction Model

The results of a series of Perfectly Stirred Reactor (PSR) and Partially Stirred Reactor (PaSR) simulations are compared to each other over a wide range of operating conditions. It is found that the PaSR results can be simulated by a PSR solution with just an adjusted chemical reaction rate. A simple expression has been developed that gives the required change in reaction rate for a PSR solution to simulate the PaSR results. This expression is the basis of a simple turbulence-chemistry interaction model. The interaction model that has been developed is intended for use with simple one-step global reaction mechanisms and for steady-state flow simulations. Due to the simplicity of the model there is very little additional computational cost in adding it to existing CFD codes