11,895 research outputs found
Two equation modelling and the pseudo compressibility technique
The primary objective of the Center for Modelling of Turbulence and Transition (CMOTT) is to further the understanding of turbulence theory for engineering applications. One important foundation is the establishment of a data base encompassing the multitude of existing models as well as newly proposed ideas. The research effort described is a precursor to an extended survey of two equation turbulence models in the presence of a separated shear layer. Recently, several authors have examined the performance of two equation models in the context of the backward facing step flow. Conflicting results, however, demand that further attention is necessary to properly understand the behavior and limitations of this popular technique, especially the low Reynolds number formulations. The objective is to validate an incompressible Navier Stokes code for use as a numerical test-bed. In turn, this code will be used for analyzing the performance of several two equation models
A critical comparison of several low Reynolds number k-epsilon turbulence models for flow over a backward facing step
Turbulent backward-facing step flow was examined using four low turbulent Reynolds number k-epsilon models and one standard high Reynolds number technique. A tunnel configuration of 1:9 (step height: exit tunnel height) was used. The models tested include: the original Jones and Launder; Chien; Launder and Sharma; and the recent Shih and Lumley formulation. The experimental reference of Driver and Seegmiller was used to make detailed comparisons between reattachment length, velocity, pressure, turbulent kinetic energy, Reynolds shear stress, and skin friction predictions. The results indicated that the use of a wall function for the standard k-epsilon technique did not reduce the calculation accuracy for this separated flow when compared to the low turbulent Reynolds number techniques
Evaluating local correlation tracking using CO5BOLD simulations of solar granulation
Flows on the solar surface are linked to solar activity, and LCT is one of
the standard techniques for capturing the dynamics of these processes by
cross-correlating solar images. However, the link between contrast variations
in successive images to the underlying plasma motions has to be quantitatively
confirmed. Radiation hydrodynamics simulations of solar granulation
(e.g.,CO5BOLD) provide access to both the wavelength-integrated, emergent
continuum intensity and the 3D velocity field at various heights in the solar
atmosphere. Thus, applying LCT to continuum images yields horizontal proper
motions, which are then compared to the velocity field of the simulated
(non-magnetic) granulation. In this study, we evaluate the performance of an
LCT algorithm previously developed for bulk-processing Hinode G-band images,
establish it as a quantitative tool for measuring horizontal proper motions,
and clearly work out the limitations of LCT or similar techniques designed to
track optical flows. Horizontal flow maps and frequency distributions of the
flow speed were computed for a variety of LCT input parameters including the
spatial resolution, the width of the sampling window, the time cadence of
successive images, and the averaging time used to determine persistent flow
properties. Smoothed velocity fields from the hydrodynamics simulation at three
atmospheric layers (log tau=-1,0,and +1) served as a point of reference for the
LCT results. LCT recovers many of the granulation properties, e.g.,the shape of
the flow speed distributions, the relationship between mean flow speed and
averaging time, and also--with significant smoothing of the simulated velocity
field--morphological features of the flow and divergence maps. However, the
horizontal proper motions are grossly underestimated by as much as a factor of
three. The LCT flows match best the flows deeper in the atmosphere at log
tau=+1.Comment: 11 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Aggregation of Red Blood Cells: From Rouleaux to Clot Formation
Red blood cells are known to form aggregates in the form of rouleaux. This
aggregation process is believed to be reversible, but there is still no full
understanding on the binding mechanism. There are at least two competing
models, based either on bridging or on depletion. We review recent experimental
results on the single cell level and theoretical analyses of the depletion
model and of the influence of the cell shape on the binding strength. Another
important aggregation mechanism is caused by activation of platelets. This
leads to clot formation which is life saving in the case of wound healing but
also a major cause of death in the case of a thrombus induced stroke. We review
historical and recent results on the participation of red blood cells in clot
formation
(Im)possibilities of Autonomy: Social Movements In and Beyond Capital, the State and Development
Recently, we have witnessed the emergence of what appears to be a new set of claims in contemporary social movements based around the idea of autonomy. In this paper we interrogate this demand for autonomy. In order to do this, we first engage with existing literatures, identifying three main conceptions of autonomy: 1) autonomous practices vis-à-vis capital, or, what Negri calls, the ‘self-valorization’ of labour; 2) self-determination and independence from the state; and 3) alternatives to hegemonic discourses of development. We will then problematize and point out the central potentials, weaknesses and antagonisms at the heart of the concept of autonomy. We argue that social movements’ demands for autonomy point to, what Laclau and Mouffe call, the impossibility of society, the idea that society can never be complete. That is, there will always be resistances, such as those expressed by autonomous social movements. However, this also lets us understand the conception of autonomy to be incomplete. Autonomy itself is hence an impossibility. To point to these limits of the discourses of autonomy, we discuss how demands for autonomy are tied up with contemporary re-organizations of: 1) the capitalist workplace, characterized by discourses of autonomy, creativity and self-management; 2) the state, which increasingly outsources public services to independent, autonomous providers, which often have a more radical, social movement history; and 3) regimes of development, which today often emphasize local practices, participation and self-determination. Behind these critical reflections on the conception and practice of autonomy is the idea that autonomy should always be seen as something relational. That is, autonomy can never be fixed; there is no definite ground for demands for autonomy to stand on. Instead, social movements’ demands for autonomy are embedded in specific social, economic, political and cultural contexts, giving rise to possibilities as well as impossibilities of autonomous practices
The Anderson impurity model with a narrow-band host: from orbital physics to the Kondo effect
A particle-hole symmetric Anderson impurity model with a metallic host of
narrow bandwidth is studied within the framework of the local moment approach.
The resultant single-particle spectra are compared to unrestricted
Hartree-Fock, second order perturbation theory about the noninteracting limit,
and Lanczos spectra by Hofstetter and Kehrein. Rather accurate analytical
results explain the spectral evolution over almost the entire range of
interactions. These encompass, in particular, a rationale for the four-peak
structure observed in the low-energy sector of the Lanczos spectra in the
moderate-coupling regime. In weak coupling, the spectral evolution is governed
by orbital effects, while in the strong coupling Kondo limit, the model is
shown to connect smoothly to the generic Anderson impurity with a flat and
infinitely wide hybridization band.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figure
The evolution of planetary nebulae VII. Modelling planetary nebulae of distant stellar systems
By means of hydrodynamical models we do the first investigations of how the
properties of planetary nebulae are affected by their metal content and what
can be learned from spatially unresolved spectrograms of planetary nebulae in
distant stellar systems. We computed a new series of 1D radiation-hydrodynamics
planetary nebulae model sequences with central stars of 0.595 M_sun surrounded
by initial envelope structures that differ only by their metal content. At
selected phases along the evolutionary path, the hydrodynamic terms were
switched off, allowing the models to relax for fixed radial structure and
radiation field into their equilibrium state with respect to energy and
ionisation. The analyses of the line spectra emitted from both the dynamical
and static models enabled us to systematically study the influence of
hydrodynamics as a function of metallicity and evolution. We also recomputed
selected sequences already used in previous publications, but now with
different metal abundances. These sequences were used to study the expansion
properties of planetary nebulae close to the bright cut-off of the planetary
nebula luminosity function. Our simulations show that the metal content
strongly influences the expansion of planetary nebulae: the lower the metal
content, the weaker the pressure of the stellar wind bubble, but the faster the
expansion of the outer shell because of the higher electron temperature. This
is in variance with the predictions of the interacting-stellar-winds model (or
its variants) according to which only the central-star wind is thought to be
responsible for driving the expansion of a planetary nebula. Metal-poor objects
around slowly evolving central stars become very dilute and are prone to depart
from thermal equilibrium because then adiabatic expansion contributes to gas
cooling. ...abridged abstract.Comment: 35 pages, 43 figures, accepted for publication by A&
On the Procrustean analogue of individual differences scaling (INDSCAL)
In this paper, individual differences scaling (INDSCAL) is revisited, considering
INDSCAL as being embedded within a hierarchy of individual difference scaling
models. We explore the members of this family, distinguishing (i) models, (ii) the
role of identification and substantive constraints, (iii) criteria for fitting models and (iv) algorithms to optimise the criteria. Model formulations may be based either on data that are in the form of proximities or on configurational matrices. In its configurational version, individual difference scaling may be formulated as a form of generalized Procrustes analysis. Algorithms are introduced for fitting the new
models. An application from sensory evaluation illustrates the performance of the
methods and their solutions
Jet-cloud interations and the brightening of the narrow line region in Seyfert galaxies
We study the kinematical and brightness evolution of emission line clouds in
the narrow line region (NLR) of Seyfert galaxies during the passage of a jet.
We derive a critical density above which a cloud remains radiative after
compression by the jet cocoon. The critical density depends mainly on the
cocoon pressure. Super-critical clouds increase in emission line brightness,
while sub-critical clouds generally are highly overheated reducing their
luminosity below that of the inter-cloud medium. Due to the pressure
stratification in the bow-shock of the jet, a cylindrical structure of nested
shells develops around the jet. The most compact and brightest compressed
clouds surround the cloud-free channel of the radio jet. To support our
analytical model we present a numerical simulation of a supersonic jet
propagating into a clumpy NLR. The position-velocity diagram of the simulated
H_alpha emission shows total line widths of the order of 500 km/s with
large-scale variations in the radial velocities of the clouds due to the
stratified pressure in the bow-shock region of the jet. Most of the luminosity
is concentrated in a few dense clouds surrounding the jet. These morphological
and kinematic signatures are all found in the well observed NLR of NGC1068 and
other Seyfert galaxies.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journal Letter
- …