Polymer Maximum Drag Reduction: A Unique Transitional State

The upper bound of polymer drag reduction is identified as a unique transitional state between laminar and turbulent flow corresponding to the onset of the nonlinear breakdown of flow instabilities

How members of the human gut microbiota overcome the sulfation problem posed by glycosaminoglycans

The human microbiota, which plays an important role in health and disease, uses complex carbohydrates as a major source of nutrients. Utilization hierarchy indicates that the host glycosaminoglycans heparin (Hep) and heparan sulfate (HS) are high-priority carbohydrates for Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, a prominent member of the human microbiota. The sulfation patterns of these glycosaminoglycans are highly variable, which presents a significant enzymatic challenge to the polysaccharide lyases and sulfatases that mediate degradation. It is possible that the bacterium recruits lyases with highly plastic specificities and expresses a repertoire of enzymes that target substructures of the glycosaminoglycans with variable sulfation or that the glycans are desulfated before cleavage by the lyases. To distinguish between these mechanisms, the components of the B. thetaiotaomicron Hep/HS degrading apparatus were analyzed. The data showed that the bacterium expressed a single-surface endo-acting lyase that cleaved HS, reflecting its higher molecular weight compared with Hep. Both Hep and HS oligosaccharides imported into the periplasm were degraded by a repertoire of lyases, with each enzyme displaying specificity for substructures within these glycosaminoglycans that display a different degree of sulfation. Furthermore, the crystal structures of a key surface glycan binding protein, which is able to bind both Hep and HS, and periplasmic sulfatases reveal the major specificity determinants for these proteins. The locus described here is highly conserved within the human gut Bacteroides, indicating that the model developed is of generic relevance to this important microbial community

On the mechanism of elasto-inertial turbulence

Elasto-inertial turbulence (EIT) is a new state of turbulence found in inertial flows with polymer additives. The dynamics of turbulence generated and controlled by such additives is investigated from the perspective of the coupling between polymer dynamics and flow structures. Direct numerical simulations of channel flow with Reynolds numbers ranging from 1000 to 6000 (based on the bulk and the channel height) are used to study the formation and dynamics of elastic instabilities and their effects on the flow. The flow topology of EIT is found to differ significantly from Newtonian wall-turbulence. Structures identified by positive (rotational flow topology) and negative (extensional/compressional flow topology) second invariant Qa isosurfaces of the velocity gradient are cylindrical and aligned in the spanwise direction. Polymers are significantly stretched in sheet-like regions that extend in the streamwise direction with a small upward tilt. The Qa cylindrical structures emerge from the sheets of high polymer extension, in a mechanism of energy transfer from the fluctuations of the polymer stress work to the turbulent kinetic energy. At subcritical Reynolds numbers, EIT is observed at modest Weissenberg number (Wi, ratio polymer relaxation time to viscous time scale). For supercritical Reynolds numbers, flows approach EIT at large Wi. EIT provides new insights on the nature of the asymptotic state of polymer drag reduction (maximum drag reduction), and explains the phenomenon of early turbulence, or onset of turbulence at lower Reynolds numbers than for Newtonian flows observed in some polymeric flows

An efficient flamelet-based combustion model for compressible flows

A combustion model based on a flamelet/progress variable approach for high-speed flows is introduced. In the proposed formulation, the temperature is computed from the transported total energy and tabulated species mass fractions. Only three additional scalar equations need to be solved for the combustion model. Additionally, a flamelet library is used that is computed in a pre-processing step. This approach is very efficient and allows for the use of complex chemical mechanisms. An approximation is also introduced to eliminate costly iterative steps during the temperature calculation. To better account for compressibility effects, the chemical source term of the progress variable is rescaled with the density and temperature. The compressibility corrections are analyzed in an a priori study. The model is also tested in both Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) and large-eddy simulation (LES) computations of a hydrogen jet in a supersonic transverse flow. Comparison with experimental measurements shows good agreement, particularly for the LES case. It is found that the disagreement between RANS results and experimental data is mostly due to the mixing model deficiencies and the presumed probability density functions used in the RANS formulation. A sensitivity study of the proposed model shows the importance of the compressibility corrections especially for the source term of the progress variable.PSAA

Elasto-inertial turbulence

The dissolution of minute concentration of polymers in wall-bounded flows is well-known for its unparalleled ability to reduce turbulent friction drag. Another phenomenon, elasto-inertial turbulence (EIT), has been far less studied even though elastic instabilities have already been observed in dilute polymer solutions before the discovery of polymer drag reduction. EIT is a chaotic state driven by polymer dynamics that is observed across many orders of magnitude in Reynolds number. It involves energy transfer from small elastic scales to large flow scales. The investigation of the mechanisms of EIT offers the possibility to better understand other complex phenomena such as elastic turbulence and maximum drag reduction. In this review, we survey recent research efforts that are advancing the understanding of the dynamics of EIT. We highlight the fundamental differences between EIT and Newtonian/inertial turbulence from the perspective of experiments, numerical simulations, instabilities, and coherent structures. Finally, we discuss the possible links between EIT and elastic turbulence and polymer drag reduction, as well as the remaining challenges in unraveling the self-sustaining mechanism of EIT

Convective instabilities in a laminar shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction

Linear stability analyses are performed to study the dynamics of linear convective instability mechanisms in a laminar shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction at Mach 1.7. In order to account for all two-dimensional gradients elliptically, we introduce perturbations into an initial-value problem that are found as solutions to an eigenvalue problem formulated in a moving frame of reference. We demonstrate that this methodology provides results that are independent of the numerical setup, frame speed, and type of eigensolutions used as initial conditions. The obtained time-integrated wave packets are then Fourier-transformed to recover individual-frequency amplification curves. This allows us to determine the dominant spanwise wavenumber and frequency yielding the largest amplification of perturbations in the shock-induced recirculation bubble. By decomposing the temporal wave-packet growth rate into the physical energy-production processes, we provide an in-depth characterization of the convective instability mechanisms in the shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction. For the particular case studied, the largest growth rate is achieved in the near-vicinity of the bubble apex due to the wall-normal (productive) and streamwise (destructive) Reynolds-stress energy-production terms. We also observe that the Reynolds heat-flux effects are similar but contribute to a smaller extent. </p

Convective instabilities in a laminar shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction

Linear stability analyses are performed to study the dynamics of linear convective instability mechanisms in a laminar shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction at Mach 1.7. In order to account for all two-dimensional gradients elliptically, we introduce perturbations into an initial-value problem that are found as solutions to an eigenvalue problem formulated in a moving frame of reference. We demonstrate that this methodology provides results that are independent of the numerical setup, frame speed, and type of eigensolutions used as initial conditions. The obtained time-integrated wave packets are then Fourier-transformed to recover individual-frequency amplification curves. This allows us to determine the dominant spanwise wavenumber and frequency yielding the largest amplification of perturbations in the shock-induced recirculation bubble. By decomposing the temporal wave-packet growth rate into the physical energy-production processes, we provide an in-depth characterization of the convective instability mechanisms in the shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction. For the particular case studied, the largest growth rate is achieved in the near-vicinity of the bubble apex due to the wall-normal (productive) and streamwise (destructive) Reynolds-stress energy-production terms. We also observe that the Reynolds heat-flux effects are similar but contribute to a smaller extent. Funding Information: The authors acknowledge the funding provided to Sébastien E.M. Niessen by the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique de Belgique (F.R.S.-FNRS) under Grant No. FC27285 and the computational resources provided by the Consortium des Équipements de Calcul Intensif (CÉCI), funded by the F.R.S.-FNRS under Grant No. 2.5020.11 and by the Walloon Region (Belgium). Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Author(s).Aerodynamic

Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Simulations of the HyShot II Scramjet

The internal flow in the HyShot II scramjet is investigated through numerical simulations. A computational infrastructure to solve the compressible Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations on unstructured meshes is introduced. A combustion model based on tabulated chemistry is considered to incorporate a detailed chemical kinetics mechanics while retaining a low computational cost. Both non-reactive and reactive simulations have been performed and results are compared with ground test measurements obtained at DLR. Different turbulence models were tested and the dependence on the mesh is assessed through grid refinement. The comparison with experimental data shows good agreement, although for the reactive case the computed heat fluxes at the wall are higher than measurements. A sensitivity analysis on the turbulent Schmidt and Prandtl numbers shows that the choice of these parameters has a strong influence on the results. In particular, variations of the turbulent Prandtl number lead to large changes in the heat flux at the walls. Finally, the inception of thermal choking is investigated by increasing the equivalence ratio, whereby a normal shock is created locally and moves upstream leading to a large increase in the maximum pressure. Nevertheless a large portion of the flow is still supersonic