Turbulence and secondary motions in square duct flow

We study turbulent flows in pressure-driven ducts with square cross-section through direct numerical simulation in a wide enough range of Reynolds number to reach flow conditions which are representative of fully developed turbulence. Numerical simulations are carried out over extremely long integration times to get adequate convergence of the flow statistics, and specifically high-fidelity representation of the secondary motions which arise. The intensity of the latter is found to be in the order of 1-2% of the bulk velocity, and unaffected by Reynolds number variations. The smallness of the mean convection terms in the streamwise vorticity equation points to a simple characterization of the secondary flows, which in the asymptotic high-Re regime are found to be approximated with good accuracy by eigenfunctions of the Laplace operator. Despite their effect of redistributing the wall shear stress along the duct perimeter, we find that secondary motions do not have large influence on the mean velocity field, which can be characterized with good accuracy as that resulting from the concurrent effect of four independent flat walls, each controlling a quarter of the flow domain. As a consequence, we find that parametrizations based on the hydraulic diameter concept, and modifications thereof, are successful in predicting the duct friction coefficient

On the relationship between drag and vertical velocity fluctuations in flow over riblets and liquid infused surfaces

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of flow over triangular and rectangular riblets in a wide range of size and Reynolds number have been carried out. The flow within the grooves is directly resolved by exploiting the immersed-boundary method. It is found that the drag reduction property is primarily associated with the capability of inhibiting vertical velocity fluctuations at the plane of the crests, as in liquid-infused surfaces (LIS) devices. This is mimicked in DNS through artificial suppression of the vertical velocity component, which yields large drag decrease, proportionate to the riblets size. A parametrization of the drag reduction effect in terms of the vertical velocity variance is found to be quite successful in accounting for variation of the controlling parameters. A Moody-like friction diagram is thus introduced which incorporates the effect of slip velocity and a single, geometry-dependent parameter. Reduced drag-reduction efficiency of LIS-like riblets is found as compared to cases with artificially imposed slip velocity. Last, we find that simple wall models of riblets and LIS-like devices are unlikely to provide accurate prediction of the flow phenomenon, and direct resolution of flow within the grooves in necessary

A variable delay integrated receiver for differential phase-shift keying optical transmission systems

An integrated variable delay receiver for DPSK optical transmission systems is presented. The device is realized in silicon-on-insulator technology and can be used to detect DPSK signals at any bit-rates between 10 and 15 Gbit/s

Investigation of Hamamatsu H8500 phototubes as single photon detectors

We have investigated the response of a significant sample of Hamamatsu H8500 MultiAnode PhotoMultiplier Tubes (MAPMTs) as single photon detectors, in view of their use in a ring imaging Cherenkov counter for the CLAS12 spectrometer at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. For this, a laser working at 407.2nm wavelength was employed. The sample is divided equally into standard window type, with a spectral response in the visible light region, and UV-enhanced window type MAPMTs. The studies confirm the suitability of these MAPMTs for single photon detection in such a Cherenkov imaging application

Energy minimizing maps with prescribed singularities and Gilbert-Steiner optimal networks

We investigate the relation between energy minimizing maps valued into spheres having topological singularities at given points and optimal networks connecting them (e.g., Steiner trees, Gilbert-Steiner irrigation networks). We show the equivalence of the corresponding variational problems, interpreting in particular the branched optimal transport problem as a homological Plateau problem for rectifiable currents with values in a suitable normed group. This generalizes the pioneering work by Brezis, Coron and Lieb [10]

Direct numerical simulations of turbulent pipe flow at high Reynolds number

This paper is associated with a video winner of a 2021 American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD) Gallery of Fluid Motion Award for work presented at the DFD Gallery of Fluid Motion. The original video is available online at the Gallery of Fluid Motion, https://doi.org/10.1103/APS.DFD.2021.GFM.V005