A compressible near-wall turbulence model for boundary layer calculations

A compressible near-wall two-equation model is derived by relaxing the assumption of dynamical field similarity between compressible and incompressible flows. This requires justifications for extending the incompressible models to compressible flows and the formulation of the turbulent kinetic energy equation in a form similar to its incompressible counterpart. As a result, the compressible dissipation function has to be split into a solenoidal part, which is not sensitive to changes of compressibility indicators, and a dilational part, which is directly affected by these changes. This approach isolates terms with explicit dependence on compressibility so that they can be modeled accordingly. An equation that governs the transport of the solenoidal dissipation rate with additional terms that are explicitly dependent on the compressibility effects is derived similarly. A model with an explicit dependence on the turbulent Mach number is proposed for the dilational dissipation rate. Thus formulated, all near-wall incompressible flow models could be expressed in terms of the solenoidal dissipation rate and straight-forwardly extended to compressible flows. Therefore, the incompressible equations are recovered correctly in the limit of constant density. The two-equation model and the assumption of constant turbulent Prandtl number are used to calculate compressible boundary layers on a flat plate with different wall thermal boundary conditions and free-stream Mach numbers. The calculated results, including the near-wall distributions of turbulence statistics and their limiting behavior, are in good agreement with measurements. In particular, the near-wall asymptotic properties are found to be consistent with incompressible behavior; thus suggesting that turbulent flows in the viscous sublayer are not much affected by compressibility effects

A near-wall two-equation model for compressible turbulent flows

A near-wall two-equation turbulence model of the K - epsilon type is developed for the description of high-speed compressible flows. The Favre-averaged equations of motion are solved in conjunction with modeled transport equations for the turbulent kinetic energy and solenoidal dissipation wherein a variable density extension of the asymptotically consistent near-wall model of So and co-workers is supplemented with new dilatational models. The resulting compressible two-equation model is tested in the supersonic flat plate boundary layer - with an adiabatic wall and with wall cooling - for Mach numbers as large as 10. Direct comparisons of the predictions of the new model with raw experimental data and with results from the K - omega model indicate that it performs well for a wide range of Mach numbers. The surprising finding is that the Morkovin hypothesis, where turbulent dilatational terms are neglected, works well at high Mach numbers, provided that the near wall model is asymptotically consistent. Instances where the model predictions deviate from the experiments appear to be attributable to the assumption of constant turbulent Prandtl number - a deficiency that will be addressed in a future paper

A review of near-wall Reynolds-stress

The advances made in second-order near-wall turbulence closures are summarized. All closures examined are based on some form of high Reynolds number models for the Reynolds stress and the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate equations. Consequently, most near-wall closures proposed to data attempt to modify the high Reynolds number models for the dissipation rate equation so that the resultant models are applicable all the way to the wall. The near-wall closures are examined for their asymptotic behavior so that they can be compared with the proper near-wall behavior of the exact equations. A comparison of the closure's performance in the calculation of a low Reynolds number plane channel flow is carried out. In addition, the closures are evaluated for their ability to predict the turbulence statistics and the limiting behavior of the structure parameters compared to direct simulation data

Extended Optical Model Analyses of Elastic Scattering, Direct Reaction, and Fusion Cross Sections for the 9Be + 208Pb System at Near-Coulomb-Barrier Energies

Based on the extended optical model approach in which the polarization potential is decomposed into direct reaction (DR) and fusion parts, simultaneous $\chi^{2}$ analyses are performed for elastic scattering, DR, and fusion cross section data for the $^{9}$Be+$^{208}$Pb system at near-Coulomb-barrier energies. Similar $\chi^{2}$ analyses are also performed by only taking into account the elastic scattering and fusion data as was previously done by the present authors, and the results are compared with those of the full analysis including the DR cross section data as well. We find that the analyses using only elastic scattering and fusion data can produce very consistent and reliable predictions of cross sections particularly when the DR cross section data are not complete. Discussions are also given on the results obtained from similar analyses made earlier for the $^{9}$Be+$^{209}$Bi system.Comment: 5 figure

Frequent use of paracetamol and risk of allergic disease among women in an Ethiopian population

Introduction The hypothesis that paracetamol might increase the risk of asthma and other allergic diseases have gained support from a range of independent studies. However, in studies based in developed countries, the possibility that paracetamol and asthma are associated through aspirin avoidance is difficult to exclude. Objectives To explore this hypothesis among women in a developing country, where we have previously reported aspirin avoidance to be rare. Methods In 2005/6 a population based cohort of 1065 pregnant women was established in Butajira, Ethiopia and baseline demographic data collected. At 3 years post birth, an interview-based questionnaire administered to 945 (94%) of these women collected data on asthma, eczema, and hay fever in the past 12 month, frequency of paracetamol use and potential confounders. Allergen skin tests to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and cockroach were also performed. The independent effects of paracetamol use on allergic outcomes were determined using multiple logistic regression analysis. Findings The prevalence of asthma, eczema and hay fever was 1.7%, 0.9% and 3.8% respectively; of any one of these conditions 5.5%, and of allergen sensitization 7.8%. Paracetamol use in the past month was reported by 29%, and associations of borderline significance were seen for eczema (adjusted OR (95% CI) = 8.51 (1.68 to 43.19) for 1–3 tablets and 2.19 (0.36 to 13.38) for ≥4 tablets, compared to no tablets in the past month; overall p = 0.055) and for ‘any allergic condition’ (adjusted OR (95% CI) = 2.73 (1.22 to 6.11) for 1–3 tablets and 1.35 (0.67 to 2.70) for ≥4 tablets compared to 0 in the past month; overall p = 0.071). Conclusions This study provides further cross-sectional evidence that paracetamol use increases the risk of allergic disease

SKELETAL MUSCLE STRAIN RESULTING FROM FENCING COMPETITION IN ELITE FENCERS

Information about skeletal muscle strain in fencing is limited. The objective of this study was to examine the muscle strain resulting from fencing competition by monitoring plasma creatine kinase (CK). The heart rate (HR) and blood lactate during fencing competition were examined also. Twelve national level female fencers participated in the study. The results showed that the plasma CK activity significantly increased one day after competition (

Extended Optical Model Analyses of Elastic Scattering and Fusion Cross Sections for 6Li + 208Pb System at Near-Coulomb-Barrier Energies by using Folding Potential

Based on the extended optical model approach in which the polarization potential is decomposed into direct reaction (DR) and fusion parts, simultaneous $\chi^{2}$ analyses are performed for elastic scattering and fusion cross section data for the $^{6}$Li+$^{208}$Pb system at near-Coulomb-barrier energies. A folding potential is used as the bare potential. It is found that the real part of the resultant DR part of the polarization potential is repulsive, which is consistent with the results from the Continuum Discretized Coupled Channel (CDCC) calculations and the normalization factors needed for the folding potentials. Further, it is found that both DR and fusion parts of the polarization potential satisfy separately the dispersion relation.Comment: 6 figure

Detection of Sugar-Lectin Interactions by Multivalent Dendritic Sugar Functionalized Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

We show that single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) decorated with sugar functionalized poly (propyl ether imine) (PETIM) dendrimer is a very sensitive platform to quantitatively detect carbohydrate recognizing proteins, namely, lectins. The changes in electrical conductivity of SWNT in field effect transistor device due to carbohydrate - protein interactions form the basis of present study. The mannose sugar attached PETIM dendrimers undergo charge - transfer interactions with the SWNT. The changes in the conductance of the dendritic sugar functionalized SWNT after addition of lectins in varying concentrations were found to follow the Langmuir type isotherm, giving the concanavalin A (Con A) - mannose affinity constant to be 8.5 x 106 M-1. The increase in the device conductance observed after adding 10 nM of Con A is same as after adding 20 \muM of a non - specific lectin peanut agglutinin, showing the high specificity of the Con A - mannose interactions. The specificity of sugar-lectin interactions was characterized further by observing significant shifts in Raman modes of the SWNT.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

Birth weight, early childhood growth and lung function in middle to early old age: 1946 British birth cohort

Background Findings from previous studies investigating the relationship between birth weight and adult lung function have been inconsistent, and data on birth weight and adult lung function decline are lacking. Few studies have investigated the relation between early childhood growth and adult lung function. Methods FEV1 and FVC were measured at ages 43 years, 53 years and 60–64 years in the 1946 British birth cohort study. Multiple linear regression models were fitted to study associations with birth weight and weight gain at age 0–2 years. Multilevel models assessed how associations changed with age, with FEV1 and FVC as repeated outcomes. Results 3276 and 3249 participants were included in FEV1 and FVC analyses, respectively. In women, there was a decreasing association between birth weight and FVC with age. From the multilevel model, for every 1 kg higher birth weight, FVC was higher on average by 66.3 mL (95% CI 0.5 to 132) at 43 years, but significance was lost at 53 years and 60–64 years. Similar associations were seen with FEV1, but linear change (decline) from age 43 years lost statistical significance after full adjustment. In men, associations with birth weight were null in multilevel models. Higher early life weight gain was associated with higher FEV1 at age 43 years in men and women combined but not in each sex. Conclusions Birth weight is positively associated with adult lung function in middle age, particularly in women, but the association diminishes with age, potentially due to accumulating environmental influences over the life course

Specialized Vasculature in the Rostral Migratory Stream as a Neurogenic Niche and Scaffold for Neuroblast Migration

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