529 research outputs found
Local spectroscopy and atomic imaging of tunneling current, forces and dissipation on graphite
Theory predicts that the currents in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and
the attractive forces measured in atomic force microscopy (AFM) are directly
related. Atomic images obtained in an attractive AFM mode should therefore be
redundant because they should be \emph{similar} to STM. Here, we show that
while the distance dependence of current and force is similar for graphite,
constant-height AFM- and STM images differ substantially depending on distance
and bias voltage. We perform spectroscopy of the tunneling current, the
frequency shift and the damping signal at high-symmetry lattice sites of the
graphite (0001) surface. The dissipation signal is about twice as sensitive to
distance as the frequency shift, explained by the Prandtl-Tomlinson model of
atomic friction.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted at Physical Review Letter
Turbulent Friction in Rough Pipes and the Energy Spectrum of the Phenomenological Theory
The classical experiments on turbulent friction in rough pipes were performed
by J. Nikuradse in the 1930's. Seventy years later, they continue to defy
theory. Here we model Nikuradse's experiments using the phenomenological theory
of Kolmog\'orov, a theory that is widely thought to be applicable only to
highly idealized flows. Our results include both the empirical scalings of
Blasius and Strickler, and are otherwise in minute qualitative agreement with
the experiments; they suggest that the phenomenological theory may be relevant
to other flows of practical interest; and they unveil the existence of close
ties between two milestones of experimental and theoretical turbulence.Comment: Accepted for publication in PRL; 4 pages, 4 figures; revised versio
Equation level matching: An extension of the method of matched asymptotic expansion for problems of wave propagation
We introduce an alternative to the method of matched asymptotic expansions.
In the "traditional" implementation, approximate solutions, valid in different
(but overlapping) regions are matched by using "intermediate" variables. Here
we propose to match at the level of the equations involved, via a "uniform
expansion" whose equations enfold those of the approximations to be matched.
This has the advantage that one does not need to explicitly solve the
asymptotic equations to do the matching, which can be quite impossible for some
problems. In addition, it allows matching to proceed in certain wave situations
where the traditional approach fails because the time behaviors differ (e.g.,
one of the expansions does not include dissipation). On the other hand, this
approach does not provide the fairly explicit approximations resulting from
standard matching. In fact, this is not even its aim, which to produce the
"simplest" set of equations that capture the behavior
Anomalous Scaling of Structure Functions and Dynamic Constraints on Turbulence Simulations
The connection between anomalous scaling of structure functions
(intermittency) and numerical methods for turbulence simulations is discussed.
It is argued that the computational work for direct numerical simulations (DNS)
of fully developed turbulence increases as , and not as
expected from Kolmogorov's theory, where is a large-scale Reynolds number.
Various relations for the moments of acceleration and velocity derivatives are
derived. An infinite set of exact constraints on dynamically consistent subgrid
models for Large Eddy Simulations (LES) is derived from the Navier-Stokes
equations, and some problems of principle associated with existing LES models
are highlighted.Comment: 18 page
How does flow in a pipe become turbulent?
The transition to turbulence in pipe flow does not follow the scenario
familiar from Rayleigh-Benard or Taylor-Couette flow since the laminar profile
is stable against infinitesimal perturbations for all Reynolds numbers.
Moreover, even when the flow speed is high enough and the perturbation
sufficiently strong such that turbulent flow is established, it can return to
the laminar state without any indication of the imminent decay. In this
parameter range, the lifetimes of perturbations show a sensitive dependence on
initial conditions and an exponential distribution. The turbulence seems to be
supported by three-dimensional travelling waves which appear transiently in the
flow field. The boundary between laminar and turbulent dynamics is formed by
the stable manifold of an invariant chaotic state. We will also discuss the
relation between observations in short, periodically continued domains, and the
dynamics in fully extended puffs.Comment: for the proceedings of statphys 2
A Fixed-Wing Biplane MAV for Low Speed Missions
Practical MAVs missions, such as outdoor urban environment recognitions, simultaneously require a capability of both dashing to escape enemy fire and slowly loitering over a target in order to capture and transmit clear images to a ground station. Since an MAV intrinsically offers better payload and endurance capabilities than a rotorcraft of an equal size, fixed-wing MAVs can be considered as promising platforms to start with. The objective of this study is to investigate the possibility of developing a fixed-wing MAV which can both perform rapid translations and low-speed flights through urban canyons. Alow-speed wind tunnel testing is conducted to compare several powered configurations including monoplane, biplane and tandem wing combinations. The testing also focuses on wing-propeller interactions. Results indicate that a positive stagger biplane configuration powered by counter-rotating propellers placed in pusher position provides the best trade-off between a high-speed performance and a low-speed capability with a limited electric consumption. Consequently, a 30 cm span MAV biplane prototype, named TYTO-30, has been designed and built. TYTO-30 is equipped with a 110g-payload which includes a video camera, navigation and autopilot system and has been flight tested successfully
Closer look at the flight dynamics of wings with non-elliptic lift distributions
Prandtl’s alternative solution for wings with minimum induced drag opens another route for improving aircraft performance especially at the conceptual design phase. In this work, the lateral-directional characteristics of such wings are studied for a glider use case from a per-spective that focuses on pro verse yaw and handling qualities. The authors propose an aileron design methodology that ensures roll authority and proverse yaw characteristics. The resultsshow that these conditions cannot be satisfied by a conventional Elliptic configuration, whereaswings with non-elliptic distributions provide several solutions. Non-linear flight dynamic mod-els of the configurations that provided maximum proverse yaw were assessed in an engineering simulator and compared against the baseline Elliptic case. Proverse yaw was observed in thesimulation data and pilot feedback indicated improved handling qualities in the non-elliptic cases. However, the inherent directional instability combined with other lateral-directional coupling effects masked the observations from the pilot’s perspective
Numerical simulation of turbulent sediment transport, from bed load to saltation
Sediment transport is studied as a function of the grain to fluid density
ratio using two phase numerical sim- ulations based on a discrete element
method (DEM) for particles coupled to a continuum Reynolds averaged description
of hydrodynamics. At a density ratio close to unity (typically under water),
vertical velocities are so small that sediment transport occurs in a thin layer
at the surface of the static bed, and is called bed load. Steady, or
'saturated' transport is reached when the fluid borne shear stress at the
interface between the mobile grains and the static grains is reduced to its
threshold value. The number of grains transported per unit surface is therefore
limited by the flux of horizontal momentum towards the surface. However, the
fluid velocity in the transport layer remains almost undisturbed so that the
mean grain velocity scales with the shear velocity u\ast. At large density
ratio (typically in air), the vertical velocities are large enough to make the
transport layer wide and dilute. Sediment transport is then called saltation.
In this case, particles are able to eject others when they collide with the
granular bed, a process called splash. The number of grains transported per
unit surface is selected by the balance between erosion and deposition and
saturation is reached when one grain is statistically replaced by exactly one
grain after a collision, which has the consequence that the mean grain velocity
remains independent of u\ast. The influence of the density ratio is
systematically studied to reveal the transition between these two transport
regimes. Based on the mechanisms identified in the steady case, we discuss the
transient of saturation of sediment transport and in particular the saturation
time and length. Finally, we investigate the exchange of particles between the
mobile and static phases and we determine the exchange time of particles.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, submitted to Physics of Fluid
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