Microstructural Design of Graphene Nanocomposites for Improved Electrical Conductivity

Author(s):  
Audrey Gbaguidi ◽  
Sirish Namilae ◽  
Daewon Kim

Abstract The electrical conductivity and percolation onset of graphene-based nanocomposites are studied by varying both planar and transversal aspect ratios of graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) fillers using a three-dimensional stochastic percolation-based model. The graphene nanoplatelets are modeled as elliptical fillers to enable aspect ratio variations. We find that decreasing the graphite's thickness results in an exponential performance improvement of the nanocomposites, in contrast to a linear improvement obtained when the planar aspect ratio is increased, for same filler volume. Furthermore, we show that hybrid nanocomposites fabricated with partial replacement of GNP by carbon nanotube (CNT) may improve the electrical performance of the GNP monofiller composites. Improvement or deterioration of the electrical properties is mainly based on the morphology and content of the fillers mixed in the hybrids. Nonetheless, using a minimal amount of CNT for substitution always leads to the highest improvement in conductivity, while additional CNTs only leads to smaller improvement at best or even deterioration. The results are validated by comparing with experimental works and offer useful insights for the fabrication of highly conductive nanocomposites.

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bok-Cheol Sim ◽  
Abdelfattah Zebib

Abstract Three-dimensional, time-dependent thermocapillary convection in open cylindrical containers is investigated numerically. Results for aspect ratios (Ar) of 1, 2.5, 8, and 16 and a Prandtl number of 6.84 are obtained to compare the results of numerical simulations with ongoing experiments. Convection is steady and axisymmetric at sufficiently low values of the Reynolds number (Re). Transition to oscillatory states occurs at critical values of Re which depend on Ar. With Ar = 1.0 and 2.5, we observe, respectively, 5 and 9 azimuthal wavetrains travelling clockwise at the free surface near the critical Re. With Ar = 8.0 and 16.0, there are substantially more, but pulsating waves near the critical Re. In the case of Ar = 16.0, which approaches the conditions in an infinite layer, our results are in good agreement with linear theory. While the critical Reynolds number decreases with increasing aspect ratio in the case of azimuthal rotating waves, it increases with increasing aspect ratio in the case of azimuthal pulsating waves. The critical frequency of temperature oscillations is found to decrease linearly with increasing Ar. We have also computed supercritical time-dependent states and find that while the frequency increases with increasing Re near the critical region, the frequency of supercritical convection decreases with Re.


1995 ◽  
Vol 117 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Papadopoulos ◽  
M. V. O¨tu¨gen

The incompressible turbulent flow over a backward-facing step in a rectangular duct was investigated experimentally. The side wall effects on the core flow were determined by varying the aspect ratio (defined as the step span-to-height ratio) from 1 to 28. The Reynolds number, based on the step height and the oncoming free-stream velocity, was 26,500. Detailed velocity measurements were made, including the turbulent stresses, in a region which extended past the flow reattachment zone. Wall static pressure was also measured on both the step and flat walls. In addition, surface visualizations were obtained on all four walls surrounding the separated flow to supplement near-wall velocity measurements. The results show that the aspect ratio has an influence on both the velocity and wall pressure even for relatively large aspect ratios. For example, in the redevelopment region downstream of reattachment, the recovery pressure decreases with smaller aspect ratios. The three-dimensional side wall effects tend to slow down the relaxation downstream of reattachment for smaller aspect ratios as evidenced by the evolution of the velocity field. For the two smallest aspect ratios investigated, higher centerplane streamwise and transverse velocities were obtained which indicate a three-dimensional mean flow structure along the full span of the duct.


Author(s):  
Joseph W. Hall ◽  
Daniel Ewing

The development of the large-scale structures in three-dimensional wall jets exiting rectangular nozzles with aspect-ratios of 1 and 4 was investigated using simultaneous measurements of the fluctuating wall pressure across the jet. The pressure fluctuations in the jets were asymmetric and caused the fluctuating wall pressure to be poorly correlated across the jet centerline. A Proper Orthogonal Decomposition analysis indicated that both the first and second modes make similar contributions to the variance of the fluctuating pressure, and were symmetric and antisymmetric, respectively, and the interplay between these modes caused the asymmetry in the instantaneous pressure fluctuations across the jet centreline. A wavelet analysis of the instantaneously reconstructed pressure fields indicated that the fluctuations were predominantly in two frequency bands near the jet centerline, but were only contained in one band on the outer lateral edges of the jet, indicating there were two different large-scale motions present. The development of large-scale structures in the two jets initially differed in the intermediate field with the antisymmetric mode being more prominent in the square jet and the symmetric mode being more prominent in the larger aspect-ratio jet. Further downstream, the symmetric mode was more prominent in both jets.


2014 ◽  
Vol 763 ◽  
pp. 302-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin S. Leontini ◽  
David Lo Jacono ◽  
Mark C. Thompson

AbstractThis paper presents the results of numerical stability analysis of the wake of an elliptical cylinder. Aspect ratios where the ellipse is longer in the streamwise direction than in the transverse direction are considered. The focus is on the dependence on the aspect ratio of the ellipse of the various bifurcations to three-dimensional flow from the two-dimensional Kármán vortex street. It is shown that the three modes present in the wake of a circular cylinder (modes A, B and QP) are present in the ellipse wake, and that in general they are all stabilized by increasing the aspect ratio of the ellipse. Two new pertinent modes are found: one long-wavelength mode with similarities to mode A, and a second that is only unstable for aspect ratios greater than approximately 1.75, which has similar spatiotemporal symmetries to mode B but has a distinct spatial structure. Results from fully three-dimensional simulations are also presented confirming the existence and growth of these two new modes in the saturated wakes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 986-987 ◽  
pp. 882-886
Author(s):  
Hong Yu Qi ◽  
Peng Chao Guo

External surface cracks can occur in cylindrical vessels due to damage and propagate in the manufacturing process and during service life. Most of research focuses on stress intensity factors for surface cracks with low aspect ratios, i.e., a/c ≤1.0. Situation may well arise where the aspect ratio of cracks is larger than one. An external longitudinal surface crack is assumed to be subjected to different types of hoop stress distributions acting perpendicular to the crack faces. The stress intensity factors (SIFs) along the crack front were determined through the three-dimensional finite element method. Then these results are used to compute approximate values of SIFs in the case of complex loadings by employing both the superposition principle and the power series expansions of the actual hoop stresses. It is found that the maximum stress intensity factor for external surface cracks with high aspect ratio occurs at different point to that with low aspect ratio.


2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Michael J. Hughes ◽  
Young T. Shen

The behavior of the force on a rudder changes significantly after the inception of stall, requiring different mathematical formulae to compute rudder forces prior-and poststall. Determining the inception angle at which stall occurs is important for predicting the rudder force on a maneuvering ship. A method to compute the inception angle of stall on a rudder is presented in this article. The theoretical formulation is based on a flow similarity approach, which relates three-dimensional rudder stall inception with two-dimensional airfoil data. Rudders are low-aspect ratio wings, and the three-dimensional lift is based on the low-aspect ratio wing theory. The two-dimensional airfoil stall data are obtained from National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) reports. The derived theory is first validated with wind tunnel data from foils with a NACA 0015 profile of aspect ratios 1, 2, and 3. The theory is also validated with data from foils with a NACA 0012 profile and an aspect ratio of 2, 3, and 6.


2011 ◽  
Vol 672 ◽  
pp. 521-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
STUART J. COGAN ◽  
KRIS RYAN ◽  
GREGORY J. SHEARD

A numerical investigation was conducted into the different flow states, and bifurcations leading to changes of state, found in open cylinders of medium to moderate depth driven by a constant rotation of the vessel base. A combination of linear stability analysis, for cylinders of numerous height-to-radius aspect ratios (H/R), and nonlinear stability analysis and three-dimensional simulations for a cylinder of aspect ratio 1.5, has been employed. Attention is focused on the breaking of SO(2) symmetry. A comprehensive map of transition Reynolds numbers as a function of aspect ratio is presented by combining a detailed stability analysis with the limited existing data from the literature. For all aspect ratios considered, the primary instabilities are identified as symmetry-breaking Hopf bifurcations, occurring at Reynolds numbers well below those of the previously reported axisymmetric Hopf transitions. It is revealed that instability modes with azimuthal wavenumbers m = 1, 3 and 4 are the most unstable in the range 1.0 < H/R < 4, and that numerous double Hopf bifurcation points exist. Critical Reynolds numbers generally increase with cylinder aspect ratio, though a decrease in stability occurs between aspect ratios 1.5 and 2.0, where a local minimum in critical Reynolds number occurs. For H/R = 1.5, a detailed characterisation of instability modes is given. It is hypothesized that the primary instability leading to transition from steady axisymmetric flow to unsteady three-dimensional flow is related to deformation of shear layers that are present in the flow, in particular at the interfacial region between the vortex breakdown bubble and the primary recirculation.


Author(s):  
Yan Li ◽  
Simen Å. Ellingsen

We analyze the interactions between a subsurface shear current of uniform vorticity and a moving surface disturbance of anisotropic shape which generates surface gravity waves. The problem extends previous analysis of ship waves in the presence of a shear current varying linearly with depth, now also accounting for the three dimensional shape of real ships, in order to study the interplay of aspect ratio and the shear current. Based on general solutions derived previously, we apply an elliptical Gaussian pressure disturbance at the surface moving at constant velocity as a model for a real “ship”. Wave contributions in the far field and expressions for the Mach angle (of maximum wave amplitude) based on asymptotic expressions for high Froude numbers, are derived thereafter. Through numerical calculations we present wave patterns, as well as Kelvin and Mach angles, at moderate Froude numbers under different shear strenghts and aspect ratios. Results show that the aspect ratio has negligible effect on the value of the critical shear vorticity and Kelvin angle, whereas a subtle interplay of aspect ratio and shear strenght is found to affect the Mach angle at moderate Froude numbers.


Author(s):  
S. Zhang ◽  
S. H. Winoto ◽  
H. T. Low

A three-dimensional (3-D) parametric model of Tesla-type valves is proposed. A geometrical relationship is derived for optimization study, and based on the model, performance investigations in terms of diodicity and pressure-flow rate characteristics of the valve are numerically carried out with same hydraulic diameter and different aspect ratios (of the model cross-sectional dimensions) ranging from 0.5 to 4. The 3-D computational simulations show that, for the same hydraulic diameter, the unity aspect ratio gives higher diodicity at Reynolds number less than 500 and higher will be achieved with bigger aspect ratio when the Reynolds number is above 500. Investigations of pressure-flow rate characteristics of the Tesla valve show that Tesla valve with high aspect ratio gives more flow control ability.


2019 ◽  
Vol 875 ◽  
pp. 929-960 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yendrew Yauwenas ◽  
Ric Porteous ◽  
Danielle J. Moreau ◽  
Con J. Doolan

This paper presents a combined experimental and large-eddy simulation study to characterise the effect of aspect ratio on the near-wake structure of a square finite wall-mounted cylinder (FWMC). The cylinder aspect ratios (span $L$ to width $W$) investigated in the experiments were $1.4\leqslant L/W\leqslant 21.4$ and the oncoming boundary-layer thicknesses were $1.3W$ and $0.9W$ at a Reynolds number based on cylinder width of $1.4\times 10^{4}$ and $1.1\times 10^{4}$, respectively. In complementary simulations, the cylinder aspect ratios investigated were 1.4, 4.3, 10 and 18.6. The cylinder wake structure was visualised in three-dimensional space using a vortex core detection method and decomposed to its oscillation modes using the spectral proper orthogonal decomposition (SPOD) technique. A parametric diagram is proposed to predict whether the time-averaged wake structure is a dipole or a quadrupole pattern, based on oncoming boundary-layer height and aspect ratio. Cellular shedding occurs when the aspect ratio is high with up to three shedding cells occurring across the span for aspect ratios $L/W>18$. Each of these cells sheds at a distinct frequency, as evidenced by the spectral content of the surface pressure measured on the side face and the near-wake velocity. Amplitude modulation is also observed in the vortex shedding, which explains the amplitude modulation of the acoustic pressure emitted by square FWMCs. SPOD is shown to be a viable method to identify the occurrence of cellular shedding in the wake.


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