Application of the exact regularized point particle method (ERPP) to particle laden turbulent shear flows in the two-way coupling regime

The Exact Regularized Point Particle method (ERPP), which is a new inter-phase momentum coupling ap- proach, is extensively used for the first time to explore the response of homogeneous shear turbulence in presence of different particle populations. Particle suspensions with different Stokes number and/or mass loading are considered. Particles with Kolmogorov Stokes number of order one suppress turbulent kinetic energy when the mass loading is increased. In contrast, heavier particles leave this observable almost un- changed with respect to the reference uncoupled case. Turbulence modulation is found to be anisotropic, leaving the streamwise velocity fluctuations less affected by unitary Stokes number particles whilst it is increased by heavier particles. The analysis of the energy spectra shows that the turbulence modulation occurs throughout the entire range of resolved scales leading to non-trivial augmentation/depletion of the energy content among the different velocity components at different length-scales. In this regard, the ERPP approach is able to provide convergent statistics up to the smallest dissipative scales of the flow, giving the opportunity to trust the ensuing results. Indeed, a substantial modification of the turbu- lent fluctuations at the smallest-scales, i.e. at the level of the velocity gradients, is observed due to the particle backreaction. Small scale anisotropies are enhanced and fluctuations show a greater level of in- termittency as measured by the probability distribution function of the longitudinal velocity increments and by the corresponding flatness

Superhydrophobic surfaces to reduce form drag in turbulent separated flows

The drag force acting on a body moving in a fluid has two components, friction drag due to fluid viscosity and form drag due to flow separation behind the body. When present, form drag is usually the most significant between the two, and in many applications, streamlining efficiently reduces or prevents flow separation. As studied here, when the operating fluid is water, a promising technique for form drag reduction is to modify the walls of the body with superhydrophobic surfaces. These surfaces entrap gas bubbles in their asperities, avoiding the direct contact of the liquid with the wall. Superhydrophobic surfaces have been vastly studied for reducing friction drag. We show they are also effective in reducing flow separation in turbulent flow and therefore in reducing the form drag. Their conceptual effectiveness is demonstrated by performing direct numerical simulations of turbulent flow over a bluff body, represented by a bump inside a channel, which is modified with different superhydrophobic surfaces. The approach shown here contributes to new and powerful techniques for drag reduction on bluff bodies

Spatially evolving cascades in temporal planar jets

Starting from an alternative decomposition of the turbulent field, a multi-dimensional statistical formalism for the description and understanding of turbulence in free-shear flows is proposed and applied to the symmetries of planar temporal jets. The theoretical framework is based on the exact equation for the second-order moment of the two-point velocity increment and allows us to trace, for the first time, the spatially evolving cascade processes at the basis of turbulence mixing and entrainment. Fascinating reverse energy cascade mechanisms are found to be responsible for the generation of long and wide structures in the interface region. Analogously to two-dimensional turbulence, the energy provided by these spatially ascending reverse cascades is found to be eventually dissipated by viscosity at large scales through friction shearing processes involving a thin cross-flow layer of these large-scale structures. Finally, the external non-turbulent region of the jet is also found to be active from an energetic point of view. It is found that pressure-mediated non-local phenomena of displacement of almost quiescent fluid give rise to non-turbulent fluctuations that in time, through transitional mechanisms, would contribute to the growth of the turbulent jet. Overall, the unexpected paths taken by the scale-energy flux in the combined physical/scale space, which are a substantial novelty with respect to known descriptions of turbulent mixing and entrainment, may have major repercussions on our theoretical understanding and modelling, as anticipated here by reduced equations capable of giving a simple scale-dependent description of the rich dynamics of the flow

Structure of turbulence in temporal planar jets

A detailed analysis of the structure of turbulence in a temporal planar turbulent jet is reported. Instantaneous snapshots of the flow and three-dimensional spatial correlation functions are considered. It is found that the flow is characterized by large-scale spanwise vortices whose motion is felt in the entire flow field. Superimposed to this large-scale motion, a hierarchy of turbulent structures is present. The most coherent ones take the form of quasi-streamwise vortices and high and low streamwise velocity streaks. The topology of these interacting structures is analyzed by quantitatively addressing their shape and size in the different flow regions. Such information is recognized to be relevant for a structural description of the otherwise disorganized motion in turbulent free-shear flows and can be used for the assessment of models based on coherent structure assumptions. Finally, the resulting scenario provides a phenomenological description of the elementary processes at the basis of turbulence in free-shear flows

Superhydrophobic surfaces to reduce form drag in turbulent separated flows

The drag force acting on a body moving in a fluid has two components, friction drag due to fluid viscosity and form drag due to flow separation behind the body. When present, form drag is usually the most significant between the two and in many applications, streamlining efficiently reduces or prevents flow separation. As studied here, when the operating fluid is water, a promising technique for form drag reduction is to modify the walls of the body with superhydrophobic surfaces. These surfaces entrap gas bubbles in their asperities, avoiding the direct contact of the liquid with the wall. Superhydrophobic surfaces have been vastly studied for reducing friction drag. We show they are also effective in reducing flow separation in turbulent flow and therefore in reducing the form drag. Their conceptual effectiveness is demonstrated by studying numerical simulations of turbulent flow over a bluff body, represented by a bump inside a channel, which is modified with different superhydrophobic surfaces. The approach shown here contributes to new and powerful techniques for drag reduction on bluff bodies.peer-reviewe

Turbulence dynamics in separated flows : the generalised Kolmogorov equation for inhomogeneous anisotropic conditions

The generalised Kolmogorov equation is used to describe the scale-by-scale turbulence dynamics in the shear layer and in the separation bubble generated by a bulge at one of the walls in a turbulent channel flow. The second-order structure function, which is the basis of such an equation, is used as a proxy to define a scale-energy content, that is an interpretation of the energy associated with a given scale. Production and dissipation regions and the flux interchange between them, in both physical and separation space, are identified. Results show how the generalised Kolmogorov equation, a five-dimensional equation in our anisotropic and strongly inhomogeneous flow, can describe the turbulent flow behaviour and related energy mechanisms. Such complex statistical observables are linked to a visual inspection of instantaneous turbulent structures detected by means of the Q-criterion. Part of these turbulent structures are trapped in the recirculation where they undergo a pseudo-cyclic process of disruption and reformation. The rest are convected downstream, grow and tend to larger streamwise scales in an inverse cascade. The classical picture of homogeneous isotropic turbulence in which energy is fed at large scales and transferred to dissipate at small scales does not simply apply to this flow where the energy dynamics strongly depends on position, orientation and length scale.peer-reviewe

Role of vortical structures for enstrophy and scalar transport in flows with and without stable stratification

We investigate the enstrophy dynamics in relation to objective Eulerian coherent structures (OECSs) and their impact on the enstrophy and scalar transport near the turbulent/non-turbulent interface (TNTI) in flows with and without stable stratification. We confirm that vortex-stretching produces enstrophy inside the boundaries of the OECSs, while viscous diffusion transfers the enstrophy across the boundaries of the structures. Although often overlooked in the literature, viscous dissipation of enstrophy within the boundaries of vortical structures is significant. Conversely, for the weakly stratified flows also investigated here, the effect of the baroclinic torque is negligible. We provide evidence that the OECSs advect the passive/active scalar and redistribute it via molecular diffusion. Finally, we use conditional analysis to show that the typical profiles of the enstrophy and scalar transport equation terms across the TNTI are compatible with the presence of OECSs positioned at the edge between the turbulent sublayer and the turbulent core region. We show that when these profiles are further conditioned to the presence of OECSs, their magnitude is considerably higher

Progress in the development of the in-vessel transporter and the upper port cask for the remote replacement of the DEMO breeding blanket

The breeding blanket (BB) segments are by far the largest in-vessel components of DEMO. For their remote replacement through the upper vertical ports of the vacuum vessel (VV) recently a new concept has been developed. The concept minimizes the spread of contamination as all in-vessel operations are carried out from within a cask that is sealed to the VV and located within a sealed room providing a second confinement barrier inside the nuclear building. The removal of the BB segments from the VV is carried out by a BB transporter that is operated on the elevator system of the >20m higher cask. The limited available space makes the compact design solutions that have been developed critical to the overall concept. The BB transporter is designed according to nuclear design codes and for high payloads since the BB segments may weigh up to 180 tons. Due to the eccentric engagement points on the backside of the BB segments and due to seismic accelerations, that need to be considered, too, the BB transporter resists also to bending moments. It can carry out translational as well as tilting movements as required to disengage the BB segments from their supports and to remove them through the upper VV port. The main requirements regarding integration, BB manipulation and structural integrity have been verified. Next development steps need to include further design improvements, integration of in-vessel position survey, definition and control of motion actuations, supply cable routing, the development of rescue and recovery scenarios as well as the validation in relevant test facilities. This article describes the design of the BB lifting tools including several modifications following a set of analyses that were recently performed.peer-reviewe

Options for sampling and stratification for national forest inventories to implement REDD+ under the UNFCCC

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Developing countries that are willing to participate in the recently adopted (16^thSession of the Conference of Parties (COP) in Cancun) mitigation mechanism of Reducing emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation - and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+) - will have to establish a national forest monitoring system in order to assess anthropogenic forest-related greenhouse gas emissions by sources and removals by sinks. Such a system should support the Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) requirement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the REDD+ mechanism is results-based. A national forest inventory (NFI) is one potential key component of such an MRV system. Following the Decision adopted during the 15^thSession of the COP in Copenhagen, the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidance and Guidelines should be used as a basis for estimating anthropogenic forest-related greenhouse gas emissions by sources and removals by sinks and changes in forest carbon stocks and area.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>First, we present the key indispensable elements of the IPCC Guidance and Guidelines that have been developed to fulfil the UNFCCC reporting requirements. This is done in order to set the framework to develop the MRV requirement in which a NFI for REDD+ implementation could be developed. Second, within this framework, we develop and propose a novel scheme for the stratification of forest land for REDD+. Finally, we present some non-exhaustive optional elements within this framework that a country could consider to successfully operationalise and implement its REDD+ NFI.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Evidently, both the methodological guidance and political decisions on REDD+ under the UNFCCC will continue to evolve. Even so, and considering that there exists decades of experience in setting up traditional NFIs, developing a NFI that a country may use to directly support REDD+ activities under the UNFCCC represents the development of a new challenge in this field. It is therefore important that both the scientific community and national implementing agencies acquaint themselves with both the context and content of this challenge so that REDD+ mitigation actions may be implemented successfully and with environmental integrity. This paper provides important contributions to the subject through our proposal of the stratification of forest land for REDD+.</p