Turbulence-airfoil interaction noise reduction using wavy leading edge: an experimental and numerical study

International audiencePassive treatments aiming at reducing turbofan broadband noise have been recently studied in the framework of European Project FLOCON. A concept based on a sinusoidal variation of the leading edge of a single airfoil expected to decrease interaction noise has been investigated by ONERA. Turbulence-airfoil interaction mechanism is achieved using a turbulence grid located upstream of a NACA airfoil tested in ISVR anechoic open wind tunnel. High noise reductions are obtained (3-4 dB) for all studied flow speeds. Experimental work is supplemented by numerical simulations using RANS/LES and CAA Euler-based approaches to predict the acoustic response of the wing. Isentropic turbulence is synthetically injected by means of a suited inflow boundary condition. Unsteady simulations are restricted to the baseline case (without treatment) and the present paper focuses on direct Euler methodology which provides reliable power spectrum density comparing to experiment. Effect of leading edge serrations on aerodynamics and noise is emphasized using Amiet thin airfoil theory, RANS solutions and available measurements

Numerical simulation of turbulence interaction noise applied to a serrated airfoil

International audienceTurbulent wakes generated by turbofan blades and interacting with the outlet guide vanes are known to be mainly contributing to broadband noise emission of aero-engines at approach conditions. Analytical approaches, such as the well-known Amiet model can be adopted to estimate the noise generated by turbulent flows impacting thin airfoils, but they are limited by the flat-plate assumptions. The development of numerical methods allowing more complex geometries and realistic flows is required. The method described in the present paper, is based on a CAA code solving the nonlinear Euler equations. The upstream turbulence is synthesized from a stochastic model and injected into the computational domain through an adapted boundary condition. It is first validated in 2D and 3D against academic flat plate configurations by comparison with Amiet solutions (exact in such cases). Then, 3D computations are applied to simulate the effect of a passive treatment (leading edge serrations) aiming at reducing turbulence interaction noise of an isolated airfoil studied in the framework of European project FLOCON. First calculations on baseline conditions are shown to be able to reproduce the measured spectra and far-field directivities, and the acoustic performances of the serrations (3-4 dB PWL reduction) are fairly well assessed too

Sensibilité du coeur à l'ischémie-reperfusion et stratégie de cardioprotection par l'exercice (rôle spécifique de la eNOS myocardique)

L infarctus du myocarde constitue la première cause de mortalité cardiovasculaire. Ainsi, toute stratégie permettant de moduler la vulnérabilité du coeur à l ischémie-reperfusion (IR) peut représenter un intérêt majeur de santé publique. L exercice en endurance est reconnu comme une stratégie de cardioprotection efficace dont les mécanismes cellulaires restent néanmoins peu connus. Les objectifs de ce travail de thèse sont donc i) d évaluer le rôle préventif de l exercice sur le développement d un phénotype sensible à l IR myocardique, et ii) de tenter de mieux comprendre le rôle de la eNOS dans la radioprotection par l exercice. Dans la première partie de ce travail, nous avons mis en évidence que l exercice permet de prévenir le développement d un phénotype pathologique cardiomyocytaire,par une amélioration du statut antioxydant et un maintien de l homéostasie calcique cellulaire, et ainsi permet de normaliser la sensibilité du coeur à l IR chez une population à risque. Dans un second temps, les travaux réalisés ont permis de mettre en avant le rôle majeur de la eNOS dans la cardioprotection par l exercice. Cette cardioprotection est associée à une diminution du niveau de phosphorylation (Ser1177) et surtout de l état de découplage de cette enzyme au cours des premières minutes de reperfusion. Ces modifications, associées à l amélioration du statut antioxydant cardiaque par l exercice, sont à l origine d une diminution du stress nitro-oxydant au cours de la reperfusion,expliquée par une moindre synthèse de NO et une meilleure capacité à éliminer l O2.-, permettant ainsi de limiter la synthèse de ONOO-. L ensemble de ce travail de thèse a ainsi permis de mettre en évidence la complexité de la cardioprotection par l exercice, nécessitant l interaction entre différents mécanismes cellulaires tels que l amélioration du statut enzymatique antioxydant, le découplage de la eNOS au cours de la reperfusion précoce et la régulation de l homéostasie calcique intracellulaire. Ce travail à d autre part permis de mieux appréhender le rôle complexe de la voie de synthèse du NO parla eNOS dans la modulation de la vulnérabilité du coeur à un stress tel que l IRExercise training is recognized as an efficient way to protect the myocardium against ischemiareperfusion(IR). However, mechanisms responsible for such cardioprotection remain still unclear. Theaims of this work were then i) to evaluate the preventive effect of exercise on a model highly sensitiveto myocardial IR, and ii) to investigate the role of eNOS in exercise-induced cardioprotection. In a firstpart we showed that regular boots of exercise, by its beneficial effects on calcium handling andenzymatic antioxidant status, prevents the highly sensitive phenotypical remodeling of the heart andthen normalized heart vulnerability to IR. Then, in a second part of this work, we showed that exerciseinducedcardioprotection was associated with a decrease of eNOS phosphorylation at Ser1177 andespecially its uncoupling during early reperfusion. Such phenomenon, associated with increased heartantioxidant capacity was responsible for reduced nitro-oxidative stress. Indeed, reduced NOSdependentNO synthesis associated with the improved capacity to scavenge O2.- contribute to preventthe formation of ONOO-. Altogether, these results showed that exercise-induced cardioprotection is acomplex mechanism requiring interactions between antioxidant capacity improvement, eNOSuncoupling during reperfusion and intracellular calcium homeostasis. Finally, this work opens newperspectives regarding the role of NO synthesis modulation to impact heart sensitivity to IRAVIGNON-Bib. numérique (840079901) / SudocSudocFranceF

Turbulence-airfoil interaction noise reduction using wavy leading edge: an experimental and numerical study

International audiencePassive treatments aiming at reducing turbofan broadband noise have been recently studied in the framework of European Project FLOCON. A concept based on a sinusoidal variation of the leading edge of a single airfoil aiming at reducing interaction noise has been investigated by ONERA. Turbulence-airfoil interaction mechanism is achieved using a turbulence grid located upstream of a NACA airfoil tested in ISVR anechoic open wind tunnel. High noise reductions are obtained (3-4 dB) for all studied flow speeds. Moreover, aerodynamic performances are shown to be slightly increased by the treatment that tends to reduce the drag without modify the mean loading. Experimental work is supplemented by numerical simulations using Large Eddy Simulations (LES) and direct Euler approaches to predict the acoustic response of the wing. LES is chained to a FWH (Ffowcs-Williams and Hawkings) integral to assess the radiated field. Isentropic turbulence is synthetically injected by means of a suited inflow boundary condition. Present computations are focused on the reference case (without treatment). Numerical predictions are compared to the experiment, and to analytical solutions issued from Amiet theory

0012: Cardiac effects of a treatment with prolyl-hydroxylase inhibitors (PHI), used to improve exercise performance, in sedentary and trained rats

Stabilization of the Hypoxia Inducible Factor (HIF) using prolyl-hydroxylase inhibitors (PHI) leads to an EPO synthesis which is suspected to be used as a doping practice. Such a treatment is suspected to improve endurance performance by increasing oxygen transport. However the effects of a PHI treatment on heart morphology and function has never been investigated. Therefore the aim of this study was to evaluate whether potential effects of PHI on cardiac function could contribute to explain its beneficial effect on aerobic performance.We tested the effects of a 1 week treatment with a PHI (DMOG, 150mg.kg–1, I.P.) or a placebo (NaCl) on both sedentary (Sed) and trained rats (Ex; trained during 5 weeks before treatment started; 40min at 25m.min–1 per day; 5days/week). Our first result was that PHI increased running performance (+12%, p<0,05) in both Sed and Ex groups. This increased performance was associated with a major increase in total hemoglobin in PHI-treated animals (+13% p<0,05). However, regarding cardiac function and cardiac remodeling no beneficial effect of PHI was observed. Indeed, in hearts of sedentary as well as exercised rats no significal change in any morphological parameters (LVEDs, LVEDd, AWTd, PWTd and RWT) was found. Moreover, no change in systolic function likely to explain enhanced exercise performance was observed in PHI-treated hearts, when evaluated by intraventricular pressure probe (Millar®). Finally it is interesting to note that in sedentary rat hearts an impairment of diastolic function characterized by an altered E/A and dp/dtmin ratios was found when they were challenged with isoproterenol (0,5mg.kg-1). These last results obtained in sedentary hearts could suggest that a more prolonged treatment with such PHI could have deleterious consequences on heart health and point out the danger of such a doping strategy; however, this point remains to be more precisely investigated

Normalized GNSS Interference Pattern Technique

It is well known that water level and snow height can be monitored with the ground reflectometry GNSS-R approach [1, 2]. In this approach the antenna situated on a mast, receives a direct GNSS signal coming from the satellite and a nadir signal reflected by the observed surface. Assuming that the antenna position is known we can compute the position of the surface of reflection. For water level monitoring and snow determination, this approach provides precise localization and dating of the measures that allows to process spatio-temporal comparison of water level and snow cover, respectively. These parameters are very important for flood monitoring, avalanche prevention, as well as for hydroelectic companies. Furthermore the approach is noninvasive and can be easily implemented on a portable instrument and embedded in a vehicle with a mast. The Interference Pattern Technique considers the behavior of the SNR of the received GNSS signal as a function of the satellite elevation [1]. The received signal is indeed the integration by the antenna of the direct and nadir reflected GNSS signals. Due to their different phase variations, the SNR oscillates at a rate proportional to the height between the antenna and the surface of specular reflection. Unfortunately the measurement is typically very long because it needs to process the SNR for high satellite elevation variations. We indeed need to observe a sufficient number of SNR oscillations to estimate the frequency and derive the surface height. In order to reduce the estimation time to a fraction of one period of the SNR variation, we propose to normalize the measures. The normalization consists in varying the antenna height of a value dh in order to read the minimum and maximum value of SNR for a given satellite elevation, and then in processing with these values the SNR measured for different satellite elevations. We show in this paper that the normalization allows to compute the cosine of the phase delay between the direct and reflected signals and to estimate the signal frequency on a fraction of a period. We also derive the minimum antenna variation range dh as a function of the satellite elevation. We deduce from this function the minimum time of observation as a function of the satellite elevation rate. We derive the exact evolution of the SNR as a function of the signals parameters (Doppler frequency, code delay, CN0) of the visible satellites [3]. The proposed method is assessed on real and synthetic signals

Universal-SBAS: A worldwide multimodal standard

This paper describes a generalisation of the aeronautical GNSS Space Based Augmentation System (SBAS) air interface, in a true worldwide multimodal standard named Universal S-BAS. Examples of usages of this multifrequency future standard are presented in the area of science and precise positioning, timing, security, robust positioning, maritime and reflectometry applications

Crystallographic and Molecular Dynamics Analysis of Loop Motions Unmasking the Peptidoglycan-Binding Site in Stator Protein MotB of Flagellar Motor

Background: The C-terminal domain of MotB (MotB-C) shows high sequence similarity to outer membrane protein A and related peptidoglycan (PG)-binding proteins. It is believed to anchor the power-generating MotA/MotB stator unit of the bacterial flagellar motor to the peptidoglycan layer of the cell wall. We previously reported the first crystal structure of this domain and made a puzzling observation that all conserved residues that are thought to be essential for PG recognition are buried and inaccessible in the crystal structure. In this study, we tested a hypothesis that peptidoglycan binding is preceded by, or accompanied by, some structural reorganization that exposes the key conserved residues. Methodology/Principal Findings: We determined the structure of a new crystalline form (Form B) of Helicobacter pylori MotB-C. Comparisons with the existing Form A revealed conformational variations in the petal-like loops around the carbohydrate binding site near one end of the b-sheet. These variations are thought to reflect natural flexibility at this site required for insertion into the peptidoglycan mesh. In order to understand the nature of this flexibility we have performed molecular dynamics simulations of the MotB-C dimer. The results are consistent with the crystallographic data and provide evidence that the three loops move in a concerted fashion, exposing conserved MotB residues that have previously been implicated in binding of the peptide moiety of peptidoglycan. Conclusion/Significance: Our structural analysis provides a new insight into the mechanism by which MotB inserts into th

Conformational changes during pore formation by the perforin-related protein pleurotolysin

Membrane attack complex/perforin-like (MACPF) proteins comprise the largest superfamily of pore-forming proteins, playing crucial roles in immunity and pathogenesis. Soluble monomers assemble into large transmembrane pores via conformational transitions that remain to be structurally and mechanistically characterised. Here we present an 11 Å resolution cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of the two-part, fungal toxin Pleurotolysin (Ply), together with crystal structures of both components (the lipid binding PlyA protein and the pore-forming MACPF component PlyB). These data reveal a 13-fold pore 80 Å in diameter and 100 Å in height, with each subunit comprised of a PlyB molecule atop a membrane bound dimer of PlyA. The resolution of the EM map, together with biophysical and computational experiments, allowed confident assignment of subdomains in a MACPF pore assembly. The major conformational changes in PlyB are a ~70° opening of the bent and distorted central β-sheet of the MACPF domain, accompanied by extrusion and refolding of two α-helical regions into transmembrane β-hairpins (TMH1 and TMH2). We determined the structures of three different disulphide bond-trapped prepore intermediates. Analysis of these data by molecular modelling and flexible fitting allows us to generate a potential trajectory of β-sheet unbending. The results suggest that MACPF conformational change is triggered through disruption of the interface between a conserved helix-turn-helix motif and the top of TMH2. Following their release we propose that the transmembrane regions assemble into β-hairpins via top down zippering of backbone hydrogen bonds to form the membrane-inserted β-barrel. The intermediate structures of the MACPF domain during refolding into the β-barrel pore establish a structural paradigm for the transition from soluble monomer to pore, which may be conserved across the whole superfamily. The TMH2 region is critical for the release of both TMH clusters, suggesting why this region is targeted by endogenous inhibitors of MACPF function

Crystal, Solution and In silico Structural Studies of Dihydrodipicolinate Synthase from the Common Grapevine

Dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHDPS) catalyzes the rate limiting step in lysine biosynthesis in bacteria and plants. The structure of DHDPS has been determined from several bacterial species and shown in most cases to form a homotetramer or dimer of dimers. However, only one plant DHDPS structure has been determined to date from the wild tobacco species, Nicotiana sylvestris (Blickling et al. (1997) J. Mol. Biol. 274, 608–621). Whilst N. sylvestris DHDPS also forms a homotetramer, the plant enzyme adopts a ‘back-to-back’ dimer of dimers compared to the ‘head-to-head’ architecture observed for bacterial DHDPS tetramers. This raises the question of whether the alternative quaternary architecture observed for N. sylvestris DHDPS is common to all plant DHDPS enzymes. Here, we describe the structure of DHDPS from the grapevine plant, Vitis vinifera, and show using analytical ultracentrifugation, small-angle X-ray scattering and X-ray crystallography that V. vinifera DHDPS forms a ‘back-to-back’ homotetramer, consistent with N. sylvestris DHDPS. This study is the first to demonstrate using both crystal and solution state measurements that DHDPS from the grapevine plant adopts an alternative tetrameric architecture to the bacterial form, which is important for optimizing protein dynamics as suggested by molecular dynamics simulations reported in this study