Underwater Acoustics and Cavitating Flow of Water Entry

The fluid mechanics of water entry is studied through investigating the underwater acoustics and the supercavitation. Underwater acoustic signals in water entry are extensively measured at about 30 different positions by using a PVDF needle hydrophone. From the measurements we obtain (1) the primary shock wave caused by the impact of the blunt body on free surface; (2) the vapor pressure inside the cavity; (3) the secondary shock wave caused by pulling away of the cavity from free surface; and so on. The supercavitation induced by the blunt body is observed by using a digital high-speed video camera as well as the single shot photography. The periodic and 3 dimensional motion of the supercavitation is revealed. The experiment is carried out at room temperature.

Rheological effect on thermocapillary flow of a liquid film jet painted on a moving boundary

In the present paper, a liquid (or melt) film of relatively high temperature ejected from a vessel and painted on the-moving solid film is analyzed by using the second-order fluid model of the non-Newtonian fluid. The thermocapillary flow driven by the temperature gradient on the free surface of a Newtonian liquid film was discussed before. The effect of rheological fluid on thermocapillary flow is considered in the present paper. The analysis is based on the approximations of lubrication theory and perturbation theory. The equation of liquid height and the process of thermal hydrodynamics of the non-Newtonian liquid film are obtained, and the case of weak effect of the rheological fluid is solved in detail.

Smaller Deborah number inducing more serrated plastic flow of metallic glass

Spherical nano-indentations of Cu46Zr54 bulk metallic glass (BMG) model systems were performed using molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations, focusing specifically on the physical origin of serrated plastic flow. The results demonstrate that there is a direct correlation between macroscopic flow serration and underlying irreversible rearrangement of atoms, which is strongly dependent on the loading (strain) rate and the temperature. The serrated plastic flow is, therefore, determined by the magnitude of such irreversible rearrangement that is inhomogeneous temporally. A dimensionless Deborah number is introduced to characterize the effects of strain rate and temperature on serrations. Our simulations are shown to compare favorably with the available experimental observations.

Non-modal instabilities of two-dimensional disturbances in plane Couette flow of a power-law fluid

Instabilities of fluid flows have traditionally been investigated by normal mode analysis, i.e. by linearizing the equations of flow and testing for unstable eigenvalues of the linearized problem. However, the results of eigenvalue analysis agree poorly in many cases with experiments, especially for shear flows. In this paper we study the instabilities of two-dimensional Couette flow of a polymeric fluid in the framework of non-modal stability theory rather than normal mode analysis. A power-law model is used to describe the polymeric liquid. We focus on the response to external excitations and initial conditions by examining the pseudospectra structures and the transient energy growths. For both Newtonian and non-Newtonian flows, the results show that there can be a rather large transient growth even though the linear operator of Couette flow has no unstable eigenvalue. The effects of non-Newtonian viscosity on the transient behaviors are examined in this study. The results show that the "shear-thinning/shear-thickening" effect increases/decreases the amplitude of responses to external excitations and initial conditions. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Unidirectional current flow of reversible redox couples on a MoO3 film-modified microelectrode

In this paper, we have investigated the reactivity of the molybdenum oxide film toward some standard redox systems (e.g., ferrocene (Fc) and its derivatives) and observed a few interesting phenomena. The results demonstrate that the electrochemical behaviour of Fc and its derivatives at the oxide-modified carbon fiber (CF) microelectrode differs from that at a bare CF microelectrode, The conductivity of the molybdenum oxide film is seriously affected by the range and the direction of the potential scan, which influences the electrochemical behaviour of these redox systems at the film electrode. If the cycling potential is more positive than the reduction potential of the molybdenum oxide film, the reduction and oxidation peak currents of Fc and its derivatives could not be observed. The result indicates that the molybdenum oxide film on a microelectrode surface cannot transfer electrons between the surface of the electrode and Fc or its derivatives due to the existence of a high resistance between the interface in these potential ranges. On the other hand, if the lower limit of the scan potential was extended to a potential more negative than the reduction peak potential of the film, the oxidation peak of Fc or its derivatives appeared at about the potential relative to E-0 of Fc or its derivatives on the bare electrode, and the peak current is proportional to the concentration of these couples in the electrolyte. To our surprise, the peak height on the modified electrode is much larger than that on the bare CF microelectrode under the same conditions in the range of low concentration of these couples, and the oxidation peak potential of these couples is more negative than that on the bare CF microelectrode. On the basis of the experimental observation, we propose that these redox couples may undergo an interaction with the reduction state of the molybdenum oxide film. The new phenomena that we observed have been explained by using this interaction. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.

Slug to annular flow transition of microgravity two-phase flow

A new model is developed for predicting the transition from the slug to annular flow of adiabatic two-phase gas/liquid flow in microgravity (mu g) environment. This model is based on the analyses of the effects of the surface tension and the gas inertia in a sense of more physical approach. The drift-flux model is applied to determine the gas void fraction near the transition region. The new model is compared with previous models and experimental data, and the results show the improvement in explanation of the experimental results.

Intrinsic correlation between dilatation and pressure sensitivity of plastic flow in metallic glasses

Taking shear-induced dilatation into consideration in shear transformation zone (STZ) operations, we derive a new yield criterion that reflects the pressure sensitivity in plastic flow in metallic glasses (MGs), which agrees well with experiments. Furthermore, an intrinsic theoretical correlation between the pressure sensitivity coefficient and the dilatation factor is revealed. It is found that the pressure sensitivity of plastic flow of MGs originates in the dilatation of microscale STZs.

Investigations of phase inversion and frictional pressure gradients in upward and downward oil–water flow in vertical pipes

The present study has attempted to investigate phase inversion and frictional pressure gradients during simultaneous vertical flow of oil and water two-phase through upward and downward pipes. The liquids selected were white oil (44 mPa s viscosity and 860 kg/m3 density) and water. The measurements were made for phase velocities varying from 0 to 1.24 m/s for water and from 0 to 1.87 m/s for oil, respectively. Experiments were carried either by keeping the mixture velocity constant and increasing the dispersed phase fraction or by keeping the continuous phase superficial velocity constant and increasing the dispersed phase superficial velocity. From the experimental results, it is shown that the frictional pressure gradient reaches to its lower value at the phase inversion point in this work. The points of phase inversion are always close to an input oil fraction of 0.8 for upward flow and of 0.75 for downward flow, respectively. A few models published in the literature are used to predict the phase inversion point and to compare the results with available experimental data. Suitable methods are suggested to predict the critical oil holdup at phase inversion based on the different viscosity ratio ranges. Furthermore, the frictional pressure gradient is analyzed with several suitable theoretical models according to the existing flow patterns. The analysis reveals that both the theoretical curves and the experimental data exhibit the same trend and the overall agreement of predicted values with experimental data is good, especially for a high oil fraction.

Investigation of High-Speed Combustible Gas Ignited by a Hot Gas Jet Produced in the Shock Tube

The high-speed combustible gas ignited by a hot gas jet, which is induced by shock focusing, was experimentally investigated. By use of the separation mode of shock tube, the test section of a single shock tube is split into two parts, which provide the high-speed flow of combustible gas and pilot flame of hot gas jet, respectively. In the interface of two parts of test sections the flame of jet was formed and spread to the high-speed combustible gas. Two kinds of the ignitions, 3-D “line-flame ignition” and 2-D “plane-flame ignition”, were investigated. In the condition of 3-D “lineflame ignition” of combustion, thicker hot gas jet than pure air jet, was observed in schlieren photos. In the condition of 2-D “plane-flame ignition” of combustion, the delay time of ignition and the angle of flame front in schlieren photos were measured, from which the velocity of flame propagation in the high-speed combustible gas is estimated in the range of 30–90 m/s and the delay time of ignition is estimated in the range of 0.12–0.29 ms.

On the mechanism of the formation of horizontal cracks in a vertical column of saturated sand

Extended horizontal cracks have! been observed experimentally in a vertical column of saturated sand when a flow of water is forced to percolate upward through it. This paper provides a theory for this phenomenon. It will be shown that the presence of inhomogeneity in permeability along the length of the column is essential for such cracks to develop. It will also be shown that small initial inhomogeneity may be magnified through the transport of the finer component of the sand by percolation. Under certain conditions liquefaction takes place at a section of the sand column causing a crack to initiate and grow there. This theory is found to be in good qualitative agreement with the experimental findings.

Microgravity Smoldering Combustion Of Flexible Polyurethane Foam With Central Ignition

Smoldering constitutes a significant fire risk both in normal gravity and in microgravity. This space experiment has been conducted aboard the China Recoverable Satellite SJ-8 to investigate smoldering characteristics of flexible polyurethane foam with central ignition in a forced flow of oxidizer. This configuration resulted in a combination of opposed and forward flow smolder. The microgravity experiment is rather unique in that it was performed at constant pressure, and with a relatively high ambient oxygen concentration (35% by volume). The smoldering characteristics are inferred from measurements of temperature histories at several locations along the foam sample. Particularly important is the discovery that there is a transition from smoldering to flaming near the sample end in the opposed smoldering. This transition seems to be caused by strong acceleration of the smoldering reaction. The observed transition serves to initiate a vigorous forward-propagating oxidation reaction in the char left behind by the smoldering reaction. The secondary char oxidation reaction propagates through the sample and consumes most of the remaining char. In forward flow smoldering, the oxidizer depletion by the upstream opposed smolder prevents an exothermic oxidation reaction from being established in the foam until this preceding reaction is completed. Once fresh oxidizer flows in the sample, the existing conditions are sufficient for a self-sustained forward smoldering reaction to take place.

Gain saturation in gas flow and chemical lasers

A theoretical model for gain saturation in gas flow and chemical lasers is presented. The theory is applicable to all possible numerical values of τ/τc, where τ is the characteristie flow time for the flowing gas to move across the laser action region and τc is the characteristic collision relaxation time. The saturation effects of the convection and the "source flow" of the inverted population are revealed. A general relation of gain coefficient and some new gain saturation laws are obtained. For the special case of τ/τc1, the present theoretical results agree with the experimental results on the "anomalous" saturation phenomena in the supersonic diffusion HF chemical laser determined recently by Gross and Coffer[8]. The theory also agrees with the measured results of saturation intensity varying with τ/τc in gas flow CO2 lasers[7]. For the special case of τ/τc1, the present theory is consistent with both the standard theory[1] for gas lasers where the gas has no macroscopic motion and the known gain saturation theory[2-5] for gas flow and chemical lasers.