Toward a General Theory for Multiphase Turbulence Part I: Development and Gauging of the Model Equations

A formalism for developing multiphase turbulence models is introduced by analogy to the phenomenological method used for single-phase turbulence. A sample model developed using the formalism is given in detail. The procedure begins with ensemble averaging of the exact conservation equations, with closure accomplished by using a combination of analytical and experimental results from the literature. The resulting model is applicable to a wide range of common multiphase flows including gas-solid, liquid-solid and gas-liquid (bubbly) flows. The model is positioned for ready extension to three-phase turbulence, or for use in two-phase turbulence in which one phase is accounted for in multiple size classes, representing polydispersivity. The formalism is expected to suggest directions toward a more fundamentally based theory, similar to the way that early work in single-phase turbulence has led to the spectral theory. The approach is unique in that a portion of the total energy decay rate is ascribed to each phase, as is dictated by the exact averaged equations, and results in a transport equation for energy decay rate associated with each phase. What follows is a straightforward definition of a turbulent viscosity for each phase, and accounts for the effect of exchange of fluctuational energy among phases on the turbulent shear viscosity. The model also accounts for the effect of slip momentum transfer among the phases on the production of turbulence kinetic energy and on the tensor character of the Reynolds stress. Collisional effects, when appropriate, are included by superposition. The model reduces to a standard form in limit of a single, pure material, and is expected to do a credible job of describing multiphase turbulent flows in a wide variety of regimes using a single set of coefficients

Development of predictive simulation capability for reactive multiphase flow

This is the final report of a Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The objective of the project was to develop a self-sustained research program for advanced computer simulation of industrial reactive multiphase flows. The prototype research problem was a three-phase alumina precipitator used in the Bayer process, a key step in aluminum refining. Accomplishments included the development of an improved reaction mechanism of the alumina precipitation growth process, the development of an efficient methods for handling particle size distribution in multiphase flow simulation codes, the incorporation of precipitation growth and agglomeration kinetics in LANL's CFDLIB multiphase flow code library and the evaluation of multiphase turbulence closure models for bubbly flow simulations

Classical analogy for the deflection of flux avalanches by a metallic layer

Sudden avalanches of magnetic flux bursting into a superconducting sample undergo deflections of their trajectories when encountering a conductive layer deposited on top of the superconductor. Remarkably, in some cases flux is totally excluded from the area covered by the conductive layer. We present a simple classical model that accounts for this behaviour and considers a magnetic monopole approaching a semi-infinite conductive plane. This model suggests that magnetic braking is an important mechanism responsible for avalanche deflection.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

Optimization of air-sparged plutonium oxalate/hydroxide precipitators

The high cost of waste management and experimental work makes numerical modeling an inexpensive and attractive tool for optimizing and understanding complex chemical processes. Multiphase {open_quotes}bubble{close_quotes} columns are used extensively at the Los Alamos Plutonium Facility for a variety of different applications. No moving parts and efficient mixing characteristics allow them to be used in glovebox operations. Initially, a bubble column for oxalate precipitations is being modeled to identify the effect of various design parameters such as, draft tube location, air sparge rate and vessel geometry. Two-dimensional planar and axisymmetric models have been completed and successfully compared to literature data. Also, a preliminary three-dimensional model has been completed. These results are discussed in this report along with future work

Random matrix models for phase diagrams

We describe a random matrix approach that can provide generic and readily soluble mean-field descriptions of the phase diagram for a variety of systems ranging from QCD to high-T_c materials. Instead of working from specific models, phase diagrams are constructed by averaging over the ensemble of theories that possesses the relevant symmetries of the problem. Although approximate in nature, this approach has a number of advantages. First, it can be useful in distinguishing generic features from model-dependent details. Second, it can help in understanding the `minimal' number of symmetry constraints required to reproduce specific phase structures. Third, the robustness of predictions can be checked with respect to variations in the detailed description of the interactions. Finally, near critical points, random matrix models bear strong similarities to Ginsburg-Landau theories with the advantage of additional constraints inherited from the symmetries of the underlying interaction. These constraints can be helpful in ruling out certain topologies in the phase diagram. In this Key Issue, we illustrate the basic structure of random matrix models, discuss their strengths and weaknesses, and consider the kinds of system to which they can be applied.Comment: 29 pages, 2 figures, uses iopart.sty. Author's postprint versio

Random matrix model for chiral symmetry breaking and color superconductivity in QCD at finite density

We consider a random matrix model which describes the competition between chiral symmetry breaking and the formation of quark Cooper pairs in QCD at finite density. We study the evolution of the phase structure in temperature and chemical potential with variations of the strength of the interaction in the quark-quark channel and demonstrate that the phase diagram can realize a total of six different topologies. A vector interaction representing single-gluon exchange reproduces a topology commonly encountered in previous QCD models, in which a low-density chiral broken phase is separated from a high-density diquark phase by a first-order line. The other five topologies either do not possess a diquark phase or display a new phase and new critical points. Since these five cases require large variations of the coupling constants away from the values expected for a vector interaction, we conclude that the phase diagram of finite density QCD has the topology suggested by single-gluon exchange and that this topology is robust.Comment: ReVTeX, 22 pages, 14 figures. An animated gif movie showing the evolution of the phase diagram with the coupling constants can be viewed at http://www.nbi.dk/~vdheyden/QCDpd.htm

Pulsed-field magnetization of drilled bulk high-temperature superconductors: flux front propagation in the volume and on the surface

We present a method for characterizing the propagation of the magnetic flux in an artificially drilled bulk high-temperature superconductor (HTS) during a pulsed-field magnetization. As the magnetic pulse penetrates the cylindrical sample, the magnetic flux density is measured simultaneously in 16 holes by means of microcoils that are placed across the median plane, i.e. at an equal distance from the top and bottom surfaces, and close to the surface of the sample. We discuss the time evolution of the magnetic flux density in the holes during a pulse and measure the time taken by the external magnetic flux to reach each hole. Our data show that the flux front moves faster in the median plane than on the surface when penetrating the sample edge; it then proceeds faster along the surface than in the bulk as it penetrates the sample further. Once the pulse is over, the trapped flux density inside the central hole is found to be about twice as large in the median plane than on the surface. This ratio is confirmed by modelling

Damping rate of plasmons and photons in a degenerate nonrelativistic plasma

A calculation is presented of the plasmon and photon damping rates in a dense nonrelativistic plasma at zero temperature, following the resummation program of Braaten-Pisarski. At small soft momentum $k$, the damping is dominated by $3 \to 2$ scattering processes corresponding to double longitudinal Landau damping. The dampings are proportional to $(\alpha/v_{F})^{3/2} k^2/m$, where $v_{F}$ is the Fermi velocity.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

Lifetime Effects in Color Superconductivity at Weak Coupling

Present computations of the gap of color superconductivity in weak coupling assume that the quarks which participate in the condensation process are infinitely long-lived. However, the quasiparticles in a plasma are characterized by having a finite lifetime. In this article we take into account this fact to evaluate its effect in the computation of the color gap. By first considering the Schwinger-Dyson equations in weak coupling, when one-loop self-energy corrections are included, a general gap equation is written in terms of the spectral densities of the quasiparticles. To evaluate lifetime effects, we then model the spectral density by a Lorentzian function. We argue that the decay of the quasiparticles limits their efficiency to condense. The value of the gap at the Fermi surface is then reduced. To leading order, these lifetime effects can be taken into account by replacing the coupling constant of the gap equation by a reduced effective one.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures; explanations on the role of the Meissner effect added; 2 references added; accepted for publication in PR

Nonequilibrium Dynamics of Optical Lattice-Loaded BEC Atoms: Beyond HFB Approximation

In this work a two-particle irreducible (2PI) closed-time-path (CTP) effective action is used to describe the nonequilibrium dynamics of a Bose Einstein condensate (BEC) selectively loaded into every third site of a one-dimensional optical lattice. The motivation of this work is the recent experimental realization of this system at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) where the placement of atoms in an optical lattice is controlled by using an intermediate superlattice. Under the 2PI CTP scheme with this initial configuration, three different approximations are considered: a) the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) approximation, b) the next-to-leading order 1/$\mathcal{N}$ expansion of the 2PI effective action up to second order in the interaction strength and c) a second order perturbative expansion in the interaction strength. We present detailed comparisons between these approximations and determine their range of validity by contrasting them with the exact many body solution for a moderate number of atoms and wells. As a general feature we observe that because the second order 2PI approximations include multi-particle scattering in a systematic way, they are able to capture damping effects exhibited in the exact solution that a mean field collisionless approach fails to produce. While the second order approximations show a clear improvement over the HFB approximation our numerical result shows that they do not work so well at late times, when interaction effects are significant.Comment: 34 pages, 7 figure