Bending curvatures of subducting plates: old versus young slabs

2021 ◽  
Vol 225 (3) ◽  
pp. 1963-1981
Author(s):  
Ritabrata Dasgupta ◽  
Joyjeet Sen ◽  
Nibir Mandal

SUMMARY By combining scaled laboratory experiments and numerical simulations, this study presents a quantitative analysis of the bending radius (RB) of subducting slabs within the upper mantle, taking into account the effects of age (A). Based on a half-space cooling model, we constrain the density (ρ), viscosity (η) and thickness (h) of slabs as a function of A, and develop representative models to estimate RB for different A. Laboratory subduction models produce visually contrasting bending curvatures for young (A = 10 Ma), intermediate (A = 70 Ma) and old (A = 120 Ma) slabs. Young slabs undergo rollback, resulting in a small bending radius (scaled up RB ∼ 150 km), whereas old slabs subduct along a uniformly dipping trajectory with large bending radius (RB ∼ 500 km). Equivalent real scale computational fluid dynamic simulations reproduce similar bending patterns of the subducting slabs, and yield RB versus A relations fairly in agreement with the laboratory results. We balance the buoyancy driven bending, flexural-resistive moments and viscous flow induced suction moment to theoretically evaluate the rate of slab bending. The analytical solution suggests an inverse relation of the bending rate with A, which supports our experimental findings. Finally, slab geometries of selected natural subduction zones, derived from high-resolution seismic tomographic images have been compiled to validate the experimental RB versus A regression. We also discuss the subduction settings in which this regression no longer remains valid.

2021 ◽  
pp. 073490412199344
Author(s):  
Wolfram Jahn ◽  
Frane Sazunic ◽  
Carlos Sing-Long

Synthesising data from fire scenarios using fire simulations requires iterative running of these simulations. For real-time synthesising, faster-than-real-time simulations are thus necessary. In this article, different model types are assessed according to their complexity to determine the trade-off between the accuracy of the output and the required computing time. A threshold grid size for real-time computational fluid dynamic simulations is identified, and the implications of simplifying existing field fire models by turning off sub-models are assessed. In addition, a temperature correction for two zone models based on the conservation of energy of the hot layer is introduced, to account for spatial variations of temperature in the near field of the fire. The main conclusions are that real-time fire simulations with spatial resolution are possible and that it is not necessary to solve all fine-scale physics to reproduce temperature measurements accurately. There remains, however, a gap in performance between computational fluid dynamic models and zone models that must be explored to achieve faster-than-real-time fire simulations.


Author(s):  
Giulia Scampone ◽  
Raul Pirovano ◽  
Stefano Mascetti ◽  
Giulio Timelli

AbstractThis research aimed to study the formation and distribution of oxide-related defects in the gravity die casting process of an AlSi7Cu0.5Mg alloy by using experimental and numerical investigations. Metallographic and image analysis techniques were conducted to map the distribution of oxide inclusions inside the casting at the microscopic level. Numerical simulations were used to analyse the filling and solidification stages, and to foresee the turbulence of the melt and the formation of the oxide defects. The results show that most of the defects were correlated with the oxide layers or bubbles entrained inside the liquid metal. The accuracy of the numerical code in simulating the metal fluid-dynamic behaviour and the heat transfer was verified, and the results were in agreement with the experimental findings. The numerical distribution of defects was consistent with the experimental results, proving that the model successfully predicted the formation of oxide-related defects.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3561
Author(s):  
Antti Uusitalo ◽  
Aki Grönman

The losses of supercritical CO2 radial turbines with design power scales of about 1 MW were investigated by using computational fluid dynamic simulations. The simulation results were compared with loss predictions from enthalpy loss correlations. The aim of the study was to investigate how the expansion losses are divided between the stator and rotor as well as to compare the loss predictions obtained with the different methods for turbine designs with varying specific speeds. It was observed that a reasonably good agreement between the 1D loss correlations and computational fluid dynamics results can be obtained by using a suitable set of loss correlations. The use of different passage loss models led to high deviations in the predicted rotor losses, especially with turbine designs having the highest or lowest specific speeds. The best agreement in respect to CFD results with the average deviation of less than 10% was found when using the CETI passage loss model. In addition, the other investigated passage loss models provided relatively good agreement for some of the analyzed turbine designs, but the deviations were higher when considering the full specific speed range that was investigated. The stator loss analysis revealed that despite some differences in the predicted losses between the methods, a similar trend in the development of the losses was observed as the turbine specific speed was changed.


Fuel ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efim Korytnyi ◽  
Roman Saveliev ◽  
Miron Perelman ◽  
Boris Chudnovsky ◽  
Ezra Bar-Ziv

2017 ◽  
Vol 118 (5) ◽  
pp. 2770-2788 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Coppola ◽  
Brittaney E. Ritchie ◽  
Brent A. Craven

The spatial distribution of receptors within sensory epithelia (e.g., retina and skin) is often markedly nonuniform to gain efficiency in information capture and neural processing. By contrast, odors, unlike visual and tactile stimuli, have no obvious spatial dimension. What need then could there be for either nearest-neighbor relationships or nonuniform distributions of receptor cells in the olfactory epithelium (OE)? Adrian (Adrian ED. J Physiol 100: 459–473, 1942; Adrian ED. Br Med Bull 6: 330–332, 1950) provided the only widely debated answer to this question when he posited that the physical properties of odors, such as volatility and water solubility, determine a spatial pattern of stimulation across the OE that could aid odor discrimination. Unfortunately, despite its longevity, few critical tests of the “sorption hypothesis” exist. Here we test the predictions of this hypothesis by mapping mouse OE responses using the electroolfactogram (EOG) and comparing these response “maps” to computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of airflow and odorant sorption patterns in the nasal cavity. CFD simulations were performed for airflow rates corresponding to quiet breathing and sniffing. Consistent with predictions of the sorption hypothesis, water-soluble odorants tended to evoke larger EOG responses in the central portion of the OE than the peripheral portion. However, sorption simulation patterns along individual nasal turbinates for particular odorants did not correlate with their EOG response gradients. Indeed, the most consistent finding was a rostral-greater to caudal-lesser response gradient for all the odorants tested that is unexplained by sorption patterns. The viability of the sorption and related olfactory “fovea” hypotheses are discussed in light of these findings. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Two classical ideas concerning olfaction’s receptor-surface two-dimensional organization—the sorption and olfactory fovea hypotheses—were found wanting in this study that afforded unprecedented comparisons between electrophysiological recordings in the mouse olfactory epithelium and computational fluid dynamic simulations of nasal airflow. Alternatively, it is proposed that the olfactory receptor layouts in macrosmatic mammals may be an evolutionary contingent state devoid of the functional significance found in other sensory epithelia like the cochlea and retina.


2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 59-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Mollica ◽  
Eugenio Giacomazzi ◽  
Marco di

In this article a combustor burning hydrogen and air in mild regime is numerically studied by means of computational fluid dynamic simulations. All the numerical results show a good agreement with experimental data. It is seen that the flow configuration is characterized by strong exhaust gas recirculation with high air preheating temperature. As a consequence, the reaction zone is found to be characteristically broad and the temperature and concentrations fields are sufficiently homogeneous and uniform, leading to a strong abatement of nitric oxide emissions. It is also observed that the reduction of thermal gradients is achieved mainly through the extension of combustion in the whole volume of the combustion chamber, so that a flame front no longer exists ('flameless oxidation'). The effect of preheating, further dilution provided by inner recirculation and of radiation model for the present hydrogen/air mild burner are analyzed.


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