scholarly journals Glassy dynamics of landscape evolution

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (19) ◽  
pp. 4827-4832 ◽  
Author(s):  
Behrooz Ferdowsi ◽  
Carlos P. Ortiz ◽  
Douglas J. Jerolmack

Soil creeps imperceptibly downhill, but also fails catastrophically to create landslides. Despite the importance of these processes as hazards and in sculpting landscapes, there is no agreed-upon model that captures the full range of behavior. Here we examine the granular origins of hillslope soil transport by discrete element method simulations and reanalysis of measurements in natural landscapes. We find creep for slopes below a critical gradient, where average particle velocity (sediment flux) increases exponentially with friction coefficient (gradient). At critical gradient there is a continuous transition to a dense-granular flow rheology. Slow earthflows and landslides thus exhibit glassy dynamics characteristic of a wide range of disordered materials; they are described by a two-phase flux equation that emerges from grain-scale friction alone. This glassy model reproduces topographic profiles of natural hillslopes, showing its promise for predicting hillslope evolution over geologic timescales.

Author(s):  
Rodward L. Hewlin ◽  
John P. Kizito

The aim of this paper was to develop a capacitance based sensor capable of measuring void fraction in a continuous two-phase flow field. The design methodology and operation of the capacitance based void fraction sensor is discussed. Two designs of capacitance void fraction sensors were developed and tested. Some of the problems associated with the first were identified and a new sensor electrode configuration was developed which presented a more sensitive and repeatable response. Data was collected covering a wide range of void fraction measurements ranging from 0 to 1 for water as the working fluid. Calibration of the sensor required that the air gap or void capacitance (dry signal) be measured followed by an increase in liquid levels (wet signal) to obtain a range of void fraction measurements for static calibration. The static calibration data obtained was nonlinear for the full range of void fraction measurements for water. This paper covers the design requirements, calibration procedure and static calibration data obtained for the developed sensor, and dynamic void fraction data measurements. The sensor was tested in both a horizontal and vertical orientation and proved to be orientation insensitive. The experimental results are promising for water and verify successful operation for measuring void fraction in continuous two-phase flows.


2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 97-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dariusz Mikielewicz ◽  
Blanka Jakubowska

Abstract In the paper presented is the analysis of the results of calculations using a model to predict flow boiling of refrigerants such as R134a, R600a and R290. The latter two fluids were not used in the development of the model semiempirical correction. For that reason the model was verified with present experimental data. The experimental research was conducted for a full range of quality variation and a relatively wide range of mass velocity. The aim of the present study was also to test the sensitivity of developed model to a selection of the model of two-phase flow multiplier and the nonadiabatic effects. For that purpose two models have been analysed namely the one due to Muller-Steinhagen and Heck, and Friedel. In addition, the work shows the importance of taking surface tension into account in the calculation of the flow structure.


2018 ◽  
Vol 240 ◽  
pp. 01028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dariusz Mikielewicz ◽  
Blanka Jakubowska

In the paper are presented the results of follow on studies from [1]–[3] using authors own model to predict heat transfer coefficient during flow boiling. The model has been tested against a large selection of experimental data collected from various researchers to investigate the sensitivity of the in-house developed model. The collected experimental data came from various studies from literature and were conducted for the full range of quality variation and a wide range of mass velocity and saturation temperatures. In the work are presented the results of calculations obtained using the in-house developed semi empirical model on selected experimental flow boiling data of the refrigerants: R134a, R1234yf, R600a, R290, NH3, CO2, R236fa, R245fa, R152a and HFE7000. In the present study the particular attention was focused on the influence of reduced pressure on the predictions of the theoretical model. The results of calculations were to test the sensitivity of the flow boiling model with respect to selection of the appropriate two-phase flow multiplier, which is one of the distinctive elements of the in-house model. The main purpose of this paper however is to show the effect of the reduced pressure on the predictions of heat transfer during flow boiling.


Author(s):  
John Maynard Smith ◽  
Eors Szathmary

Over the history of life there have been several major changes in the way genetic information is organized and transmitted from one generation to the next. These transitions include the origin of life itself, the first eukaryotic cells, reproduction by sexual means, the appearance of multicellular plants and animals, the emergence of cooperation and of animal societies, and the unique language ability of humans. This ambitious book provides the first unified discussion of the full range of these transitions. The authors highlight the similarities between different transitions--between the union of replicating molecules to form chromosomes and of cells to form multicellular organisms, for example--and show how understanding one transition sheds light on others. They trace a common theme throughout the history of evolution: after a major transition some entities lose the ability to replicate independently, becoming able to reproduce only as part of a larger whole. The authors investigate this pattern and why selection between entities at a lower level does not disrupt selection at more complex levels. Their explanation encompasses a compelling theory of the evolution of cooperation at all levels of complexity. Engagingly written and filled with numerous illustrations, this book can be read with enjoyment by anyone with an undergraduate training in biology. It is ideal for advanced discussion groups on evolution and includes accessible discussions of a wide range of topics, from molecular biology and linguistics to insect societies.


Oxford Studies in Medieval Philosophy annually collects the best current work in the field of medieval philosophy. The various volumes print original essays, reviews, critical discussions, and editions of texts. The aim is to contribute to an understanding of the full range of themes and problems in all aspects of the field, from late antiquity into the Renaissance, and extending over the Jewish, Islamic, and Christian traditions. Volume 6 includes work on a wide range of topics, including Davlat Dadikhuda on Avicenna, Christopher Martin on Abelard’s ontology, Jeremy Skrzypek and Gloria Frost on Aquinas’s ontology, Jean‐Luc Solère on instrumental causality, Peter John Hartman on Durand of St.‐Pourçain, and Kamil Majcherek on Chatton’s rejection of final causality. The volume also includes an extended review of Thomas Williams of a new book on Aquinas’s ethics by Colleen McCluskey.


2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Téguewindé Sawadogo ◽  
Njuki Mureithi

Having previously verified the quasi-steady model under two-phase flow laboratory conditions, the present work investigates the feasibility of practical application of the model to a prototypical steam generator (SG) tube subjected to a nonuniform two-phase flow. The SG tube vibration response and normal work-rate induced by tube-support interaction are computed for a range of flow conditions. Similar computations are performed using the Connors model as a reference case. In the quasi-steady model, the fluid forces are expressed in terms of the quasi-static drag and lift force coefficients and their derivatives. These forces have been measured in two-phase flow over a wide range of void fractions making it possible to model the effect of void fraction variation along the tube span. A full steam generator tube subjected to a nonuniform two-phase flow was considered in the simulations. The nonuniform flow distribution corresponds to that along a prototypical steam-generator tube based on thermal-hydraulic computations. Computation results show significant and important differences between the Connors model and the two-phase flow based quasi-steady model. While both models predict the occurrence of fluidelastic instability, the predicted pre-instability and post instability behavior is very different in the two models. The Connors model underestimates the flow-induced negative damping in the pre-instability regime and vastly overestimates it in the post instability velocity range. As a result the Connors model is found to underestimate the work-rate used in the fretting wear assessment at normal operating velocities, rendering the model potentially nonconservative under these practically important conditions. Above the critical velocity, this model largely overestimates the work-rate. The quasi-steady model on the other hand predicts a more moderately increasing work-rate with the flow velocity. The work-rates predicted by the model are found to be within the range of experimental results, giving further confidence to the predictive ability of the model. Finally, the two-phase flow based quasi-steady model shows that fluidelastic forces may reduce the effective tube damping in the pre-instability regime, leading to higher than expected work-rates at prototypical operating velocities.


Author(s):  
Yogi Sheoran ◽  
Bruce Bouldin ◽  
P. Murali Krishnan

Inlet swirl distortion has become a major area of concern in the gas turbine engine community. Gas turbine engines are increasingly installed with more complicated and tortuous inlet systems, like those found on embedded installations on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). These inlet systems can produce complex swirl patterns in addition to total pressure distortion. The effect of swirl distortion on engine or compressor performance and operability must be evaluated. The gas turbine community is developing methodologies to measure and characterize swirl distortion. There is a strong need to develop a database containing the impact of a range of swirl distortion patterns on a compressor performance and operability. A recent paper presented by the authors described a versatile swirl distortion generator system that produced a wide range of swirl distortion patterns of a prescribed strength, including bulk swirl, twin swirl and offset swirl. The design of these swirl generators greatly improved the understanding of the formation of swirl. The next step of this process is to understand the effect of swirl on compressor performance. A previously published paper by the authors used parallel compressor analysis to map out different speed lines that resulted from different types of swirl distortion. For the study described in this paper, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is used to couple upstream swirl generator geometry to a single stage of an axial compressor in order to generate a family of compressor speed lines. The complex geometry of the analyzed swirl generators requires that the full 360° compressor be included in the CFD model. A full compressor can be modeled several ways in a CFD analysis, including sliding mesh and frozen rotor techniques. For a single operating condition, a study was conducted using both of these techniques to determine the best method given the large size of the CFD model and the number of data points that needed to be run to generate speed lines. This study compared the CFD results for the undistorted compressor at 100% speed to comparable test data. Results of this study indicated that the frozen rotor approach provided just as accurate results as the sliding mesh but with a greatly reduced cycle time. Once the CFD approach was calibrated, the same techniques were used to determine compressor performance and operability when a full range of swirl distortion patterns were generated by upstream swirl generators. The compressor speed line shift due to co-rotating and counter-rotating bulk swirl resulted in a predictable performance and operability shift. Of particular importance is the compressor performance and operability resulting from an exposure to a set of paired swirl distortions. The CFD generated speed lines follow similar trends to those produced by parallel compressor analysis.


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