Detached-Eddy Simulation of a Louver-Cooling Scheme for Turbine Blades

The performance of a louver-cooling scheme on a flat plate was analyzed using a detached-eddy-simulation turbulence model. It was assumed that the louver-cooling scheme was tested in a wind tunnel with the mainstream flow velocity of 20 m/s, equivalent to a Reynolds number of 16,200, based on the jet diameter. Turbulence closure was achieved by a realizable k-e-based detached-eddy-simulation turbulence model. Solutions of two blowing ratios of 0.5 and 1 were successfully obtained by running parallel on 16 nodes on a computer cluster. The flowfields were found to be highly unsteady and oscillatory in nature, with the maximum fluctuation of the adiabatic effectiveness as high as 15% of the time-averaged value. It is shown that the fluctuations in the adiabatic effectiveness are mainly caused by the spanwise fluctuation of the coolant jet and the unsteady vortical structures created by the interaction of the jet and the mainstream.

State detection of bond wires in IGBT modules using eddy current pulsed thermography

Insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules are important safety critical components in electrical power systems. Bond wire lift-off, a plastic deformation between wire bond and adjacent layers of a device caused by repeated power/thermal cycles, is the most common failure mechanism in IGBT modules. For the early detection and characterization of such failures, it is important to constantly detect or monitor the health state of IGBT modules, and the state of bond wires in particular. This paper introduces eddy current pulsed thermography (ECPT), a nondestructive evaluation technique, for the state detection and characterization of bond wire lift-off in IGBT modules. After the introduction of the experimental ECPT system, numerical simulation work is reported. The presented simulations are based on the 3-D electromagnetic-thermal coupling finite-element method and analyze transient temperature distribution within the bond wires. This paper illustrates the thermal patterns of bond wires using inductive heating with different wire statuses (lifted-off or well bonded) under two excitation conditions: nonuniform and uniform magnetic field excitations. Experimental results show that uniform excitation of healthy bonding wires, using a Helmholtz coil, provides the same eddy currents on each, while different eddy currents are seen on faulty wires. Both experimental and numerical results show that ECPT can be used for the detection and characterization of bond wires in power semiconductors through the analysis of the transient heating patterns of the wires. The main impact of this paper is that it is the first time electromagnetic induction thermography, so-called ECPT, has been employed on power/electronic devices. Because of its capability of contactless inspection of multiple wires in a single pass, and as such it opens a wide field of investigation in power/electronic devices for failure detection, performance characterization, and health monitoring. 

The PRIME 1996 cruise: an overview

The UK PRIME cruise, June-July 1996 in the NE Atlantic, consisted of two legs. During the first, detailed chemical and biological observations were made in time-series mode adjacent to the centre of a cold-core eddy in the vicinity of 59 degreesN 20 degreesW using SF6 tracer techniques as the basis for the Lagrangian study. The eddy, which appeared to have been formed the previous winter, remained coherent over the 9 days of the survey and advected only slowly. The phytoplankton community in the eddy was dominated by the coccolithophorid Coccolithus huxleyi. High microzooplankton grazing rates indicated minimal export losses from the surface layer. Significant shifts in many, but not all, of the chemical and biological properties measured were observed over the course of the experiment, especially after the passage of a storm event, which resulted in considerable deepening of the mixed layer followed by a return to fully stratified conditions. The second leg consisted of a transect from 59 degreesN 20 degreesW to 37 degreesN 19 degreesW, with a further Lagrangian time-series study based on a drogue marker initiated at the southern end of the transect. Maximal biological activity was generally encountered in the region between two fronts located at 52.5 degreesN and 48 degreesN, while to the south of 48 degreesN oligotrophic conditions prevailed. At the southern Lagrangian site, a deep chlorophyll maximum was present and high column new production was recorded as a result of the euphotic zone extending below the depth of the nutricline. Microzooplankton grazing rates were lower at this location than at the northern eddy site. The influx of a warm, saline water body into the upper layers during the southern survey led to a major shift in many of the biological and chemical properties being measured. At both the northern and southern Lagrangian sites, the biomass of the mesozooplankton exceeded that of the microzooplankton. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparisons of plankton at 59 degrees N and 37 degrees N during two Lagrangian drift experiments in the North Atlantic in June and July 1996

Data are summarised for two Lagrangian experiments in the North Atlantic in early summer 1996. At 59 degreesN 20 degreesW, plankton dynamics was studied in an SF, tracer release experiment within a mesoscale eddy over a 9-day period. At 37 degreesN 20 degreesW, a second experiment followed a drifting buoy for 7 days. The data obtained in these two experiments have been averaged for 3 depth strata; the euphotic zone, the surface mixed layer (SML), and the seasonal thermocline immediately beneath the surface mixed layer. At 59 degreesN, the euphotic zone was only marginally deeper than the SML, but at 37 degreesN the SML was ca 30 m and the euphotic depth was ca 110 m. At 37 degreesN, nutrient concentrations in the SML were low but significant new production occurred in the thermocline because of light penetration into the nutricline. The particulate organic carbon (POC) concentration of the SML at 59 degreesN was 13-15 mu mol C kg(-1), but at 37 degreesN POC concentrations were 4 mu mol C kg(-1). These POC measurements include biota and detritus. As a way of investigating latitudinal differences in the plankton communities, estimates have been made of the carbon and nitrogen content of phytoplankton, bacterioplankton, microzooplankton and mesozooplankton. At both 59 degreesN and 37 degreesN, phytoplankton was the largest component, accounting for ca 50% of the planktonic biomass in the SML. At 59 degreesN, microzooplankton was 16% of the planktonic carbon, but at 37 degreesN this reduced to 8% of the total. Mesozooplankton was a relatively constant proportion (ca 20%) of the planktonic carbon in the SML at both 59 degreesN and 37 degreesN. Bacterioplankton was 14% of the biomass at 59 degreesN, increasing to 24% in the microbial loop-dominated system at 37 degreesN. Mean carbon fixation rate in the oligotrophic southern station was 24% of that at the north, with more carbon fixation below the SML at 37 degreesN than at 59 degreesN. Respiration rates showed little variation with latitude, and the rates at 37 degreesN were 80% of those at 59 degreesN. Nitrate and ammonium uptake rates were very low in the oligotrophic conditions in the SML at 37 degreesN, but nitrate uptake in the euphotic zone was comparable to that at 59 degreesN. Ammonium uptake by phytoplankton was also significantly greater at 37 degreesN, in both the euphotic zone and thermocline, but uptake in the SML was only 20% of that in the SML at 59 degreesN. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vasculogenic and osteogenesis-enhancing potential of human umbilical cord blood endothelial colony-forming cells

Umbilical cord blood-derived endothelial colony-forming cells (UCB-ECFC) show utility in neovascularization, but their contribution to osteogenesis has not been defined. Cocultures of UCB-ECFC with human fetal-mesenchymal stem cells (hfMSC) resulted in earlier induction of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (Day 7 vs. 10) and increased mineralization (1.9×; p <.001) compared to hfMSC monocultures. This effect was mediated through soluble factors in ECFC-conditioned media, leading to 1.8-2.2× higher ALP levels and a 1.4-1.5× increase in calcium deposition (p <.01) in a dose-dependent manner. Transcriptomic and protein array studies demonstrated high basal levels of osteogenic (BMPs and TGF-ßs) and angiogenic (VEGF and angiopoietins) regulators. Comparison of defined UCB and adult peripheral blood ECFC showed higher osteogenic and angiogenic gene expression in UCB-ECFC. Subcutaneous implantation of UCB-ECFC with hfMSC in immunodeficient mice resulted in the formation of chimeric human vessels, with a 2.2-fold increase in host neovascularization compared to hfMSC-only implants (p = .001). We conclude that this study shows that UCB-ECFC have potential in therapeutic angiogenesis and osteogenic applications in conjunction with MSC. We speculate that UCB-ECFC play an important role in skeletal and vascular development during perinatal development but less so in later life when expression of key osteogenesis and angiogenesis genes in ECFC is lower.

Unsteady Simulations of a Film Cooling Flow from an Inclined Cylindrical Jet

Film cooling is extensively used to provide protection against the severe thermal environment in gas turbine engines. Most of the computational studies on film cooling flow have been done using steady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes calculation procedures. However, the flowfield associated with a jet in a crossflow is highly unsteady and complex with different types of vortical structures. In this paper, a computational investigation about the unsteady phenomena of a jet in a crossflow is performed using detached eddy simulation. Detailed computation of a single row of 35 deg round holes on a flat plate has been obtained for a 1.0 blowing ratio and a 2.0 density ratio. First, time-step size, grid resolution, and computational domain tests for an unsteady simulation have been conducted. Comparison between the results of unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes calculation, detached eddy simulation, and large eddy simulation is also performed. Comparison of the time-averaged detached eddy simulation prediction with the measured film-cooling effectiveness shows that the detached eddy simulation prediction is reasonable. From present detached eddy simulations, the influential coherent vortical structures of a film cooling flow can be seen. The unsteady physics of jet in a crossflow interactions and a jet liftoff in film cooling flows have been explained.

Unsteady heat transfer analysis of a film cooling flow

Unsteady heat transfer in a turbine blade film cooling flow is studied using detached eddy simulation (DES). Detailed computation of a single row of 35 degree round holes on a flat plate has been obtained for a blowing ratio of 1.0 and a density ratio of 2.0. The instantaneous flow fields and heat transfer distributions are found to be highly unsteady and oscillatory in nature. The fluctuation of the adiabatic effectiveness and heat transfer coefficient, for example, can be as high as 15 and 50 percent of the time-averaged value, respectively. The correlation between the coherent vortical structures and the unsteady heat transfer is carefully examined. It is shown that the fluctuations in the adiabatic effectiveness and heat transfer coefficient are mainly caused by the spanwise fluctuation of the coolant jet and the thermal turbulent boundary layer accompanying the unsteady flow structures.

Effects of oscillatory flow on fertilization in the green sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis

Broadcast spawning invertebrates that live in shallow, high-energy coastal habitats are subjected to oscillatory water motion that creates unsteady flow fields above the surface of animals. The frequency of the oscillatory fluctuations is driven by the wave period, which will influence the stability of local flow structures and may affect fertilization processes. Using an oscillatory water tunnel, we quantified the percentage of eggs fertilized on or near spawning green sea urchins, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis. Eggs were sampled in the water column, wake eddy, substratum and aboral surface under a range of different periods (T = 4.5 – 12.7 s) and velocities of oscillatory flow. The root-mean-square wave velocity (rms(uw)) was a good predictor of fertilization in oscillatory flow, although the root-mean-square of total velocity (rms(u)), which incorporates all the components of flow (current, wave and turbulence), also provided significant predictions. The percentage of eggs fertilized varied between 50 – 85% at low flows (rms(uw) < 0.02 m s-1), depending on the location sampled, but declined to below 10% for most locations at higher rms(uw). The water column was an important location for fertilization with a relative contribution greater than that of the aboral surface, especially at medium and high rms(uw) categories. We conclude that gametes can be successfully fertilized on or near the parent under a range of oscillatory flow conditions.