Numerical Modeling of Spores Dispersal of Sphagnum Moss Using ANSYS FLUENT

Author(s):  
Dwight L. Whitaker ◽  
Robert Simsiman ◽  
Emily S. Chang ◽  
Samuel Whitehead ◽  
Hesam Sarvghad-Moghaddam

The common peat moss, Sphagnum, is able to explosively disperse its spores by producing a vortex ring from a pressurized sporophyte to carry a cloud of spores to heights over 15 cm where the turbulent boundary layer can lift and carry them indefinitely. While vortex ring production is fairly common in the animal kingdom (e.g. squid, jellyfish, and the human heart), this is the first report of vortex rings generated by a plant. In other cases of biologically created vortex rings, it has been observed that vortices are produced with a maximum formation number of L/D = 4, where L is the length of the piston stroke and D is the diameter of the outlet. At this optimal formation number, the circulation and thus impulse of the vortex ring is maximized just as the ring is pinched off. In the current study, we modeled this dispersal phenomenon for the first time using ANSYS FLUENT 17.2. The spore capsule at the time of burst was approximated as a cylinder with a thin cylindrical cap attached to it. They were then placed inside a very large domain representing the air in which the expulsion was modeled. Due to the symmetry of our model about the central axis, we performed a 2D axisymmetric simulation. Also, due the complexity of the fluid domain as a result of the capsule-cap interface, as well as the need for a dynamic mesh for simulating the motion of the cap, first a mesh study was performed to generate an efficient mesh in order to make simulations computationally cost-effective. The domain was discretized using triangular elements and the mesh was refined at the capsule-cap interface to accurately capture the ring vortices formed by the expulsed cap. The dispersal was modeled using a transient simulation by setting a pressure difference between inside of the capsule and the surrounding atmospheric air. Pressure and vorticity contours were recorded at different time instances. Our simulation results were interpreted and compared to high-speed video data of sporophyte expulsions to deduce the pressure within the capsule upon dispersal, as well as the formation number of resulting vortex rings. Vorticity contours predicted by our model were in agreement with the experimental results. We hypothesized that the vortex rings from Sphagnum are sub-optimal since a slower vortex bubble would carry spores more effectively than a faster one.

1998 ◽  
Vol 360 ◽  
pp. 121-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
MORTEZA GHARIB ◽  
EDMOND RAMBOD ◽  
KARIM SHARIFF

The formation of vortex rings generated through impulsively started jets is studied experimentally. Utilizing a piston/cylinder arrangement in a water tank, the velocity and vorticity fields of vortex rings are obtained using digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) for a wide range of piston stroke to diameter (L/D) ratios. The results indicate that the flow field generated by large L/D consists of a leading vortex ring followed by a trailing jet. The vorticity field of the leading vortex ring formed is disconnected from that of the trailing jet. On the other hand, flow fields generated by small stroke ratios show only a single vortex ring. The transition between these two distinct states is observed to occur at a stroke ratio of approximately 4, which, in this paper, is referred to as the ‘formation number’. In all cases, the maximum circulation that a vortex ring can attain during its formation is reached at this non-dimensional time or formation number. The universality of this number was tested by generating vortex rings with different jet exit diameters and boundaries, as well as with various non-impulsive piston velocities. It is shown that the ‘formation number’ lies in the range of 3.6–4.5 for a broad range of flow conditions. An explanation is provided for the existence of the formation number based on the Kelvin–Benjamin variational principle for steady axis-touching vortex rings. It is shown that based on the measured impulse, circulation and energy of the observed vortex rings, the Kelvin–Benjamin principle correctly predicts the range of observed formation numbers.


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 25-32
Author(s):  
Sergey Skripkin ◽  
Mikhail Tsoy ◽  
Sergey Shtork ◽  
Pavel Kuibin

Current work is devoted to experimental investigations of behavior of precessing vortex rope in a draft tube model of hydraulic turbine. We used combination of stationary and freely rotating swirlers as a hydro turbine model. Such construction provides velocity distribution on the draft tube inlet close to distribution in natural hydraulic turbines operated at non-optimal conditions. The phenomenon of precessing vortex rope reconnection with further formation of vortex ring was founded in this experimental research using high-speed visualization technique. Synchronization of highspeed visualization and pressure measurements allowed us to relate pressure shock on the draft tube wall with vortex ring moving along wall.


2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xueying Yan ◽  
Rupp Carriveau ◽  
David S. K. Ting

When buoyant vortex rings form, azimuthal disturbances occur on their surface. When the magnitude of the disturbance is sufficiently high, the ring will become turbulent. This paper establishes conditions for categorization of a buoyant vortex ring as laminar, transitional, or turbulent. The transition regime of enclosed-air buoyant vortex rings rising in still water was examined experimentally via two high-speed cameras. Sequences of the recorded pictures were analyzed using matlab. Key observations were summarized as follows: for Reynolds number lower than 14,000, Bond number below 30, and Weber number below 50, the vortex ring could not be produced. A transition regime was observed for Reynolds numbers between 40,000 and 70,000, Bond numbers between 120 and 280, and Weber number between 400 and 800. Below this range, only laminar vortex rings were observed, and above, only turbulent vortex rings.


2007 ◽  
Vol 582 ◽  
pp. 449-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
RAJES SAU ◽  
KRISHNAN MAHESH

Direct numerical simulation is used to study the mixing of a passive scalar by a vortex ring issuing from a nozzle into stationary fluid. The ‘formation number’ (Gharibet al. J. Fluid Mech.vol. 360, 1998, p. 121), is found to be 3.6. Simulations are performed for a range of stroke ratios (ratio of stroke length to nozzle exit diameter) encompassing the formation number, and the effect of stroke ratio on entrainment and mixing is examined. When the stroke ratio is greater than the formation number, the resulting vortex ring with trailing column of fluid is shown to be less effective at mixing and entrainment. As the ring forms, ambient fluid is entrained radially into the ring from the region outside the nozzle exit. This entrainment stops once the ring forms, and is absent in the trailing column. The rate of change of scalar-containing fluid is found to depend linearly on stroke ratio until the formation number is reached, and falls below the linear curve for stroke ratios greater than the formation number. This behaviour is explained by considering the entrainment to be a combination of that due to the leading vortex ring and that due to the trailing column. For stroke ratios less than the formation number, the trailing column is absent, and the size of the vortex ring increases with stroke ratio, resulting in increased mixing. For stroke ratios above the formation number, the leading vortex ring remains the same, and the length of the trailing column increases with stroke ratio. The overall entrainment decreases as a result.


Author(s):  
Lakshay Khera ◽  
Niraj Kumar ◽  
Ambrish Maurya

Currently demand of Indian budget cars also called people’s car in India is in great demand and around 1 million cars have been sold in the last financial year with 12% increase of sales in every forthcoming year. These are categorized in sub 4m category of sedan, hatchbacks and medium size SUVs’ and their price ranges between 7 to 11 lakhs. The aerodynamics significantly affects the performance of the vehicle particularly at high speed. The manufactures are more focused on styling and giving a luxury look and other features of the car which sometimes make them to compromise on its aerodynamic design. This may lead to increase in fuel consumption at Indian road conditions. A cost-effective way to reduce fuel consumption, drag coefficient, lift force is to improve aerodynamic behavior and reduce the aerodynamic drag. The software used in this work is Solidworks, Ansys Fluent and commercial CFD post. Consequently, of using this software, it allows us to apply, learn and link technical knowledge of aerodynamics and computer knowledge.


2018 ◽  
Vol 837 ◽  
pp. 729-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Xu ◽  
Jin-Jun Wang ◽  
Li-Hao Feng ◽  
Guo-Sheng He ◽  
Zhong-Yi Wang

For the first time, an experiment has been conducted to investigate synthetic jet laminar vortex rings impinging onto porous walls with different geometries by time-resolved particle image velocimetry. The geometry of the porous wall is changed by varying the hole diameter on the wall (from 1.0 mm to 3.0 mm) when surface porosity is kept constant ($\unicode[STIX]{x1D719}=75\,\%$). The finite-time Lyapunov exponent and phase-averaged vorticity field derived from particle image velocimetry data are presented to reveal the evolution of the vortical structures. A mechanism associated with vorticity cancellation is proposed to explain the formation of downstream transmitted vortex rings; and both the vortex ring trajectory and the time-mean flow feature are compared between different cases. It is found that the hole diameter significantly influences the evolution of the flow structures on both the upstream and downstream sides of the porous wall. In particular, for a porous wall with a small hole diameter ($d_{h}^{\ast }=0.067$, 0.10 and 0.133), the transmitted finger-type jets will reorganize into a well-formed transmitted vortex ring in the downstream flow. However, for the case of a large hole diameter of $d_{h}^{\ast }=0.20$, the transmitted vortex ring is not well formed because of insufficient vorticity cancellation. Additionally, the residual vorticity gradually evolves into discrete jet-like structures downstream, which further weaken the intensity of the transmitted vortex ring. Consequently, the transmitted flow structures for the $d_{h}^{\ast }=0.20$ case would lose coherence more easily (or probably even transition to turbulence), resulting in a faster decay of the axial velocity and stronger entrainment of the transmitted jet. For all porous wall cases, the velocity profile of the transmitted jet exhibits self-similar behaviour in the far field ($z/D_{0}\geqslant 6.03$), which agrees well with the velocity distribution of free synthetic jets. With the help of the control-volume approach, the time-mean drag of the porous wall is evaluated experimentally for the first time. It is shown that the porous wall drag increases with the decrease in the hole diameter. Moreover, for a porous wall with a small hole diameter ($d_{h}^{\ast }=0.067$, 0.10 and 0.133), it appears that the porous wall drag mainly derives from the viscous effect. However, as $d_{h}^{\ast }$ increases to 0.20, the form drag associated with the porous wall geometry becomes significant.


2013 ◽  
Vol 716 ◽  
pp. 470-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Marugán-Cruz ◽  
J. Rodríguez-Rodríguez ◽  
C. Martínez-Bazán

AbstractThe formation of vortex rings in negatively buoyant starting jets has been studied numerically for different values of the Richardson number, $\mathit{Ri}$, covering the range of weak to moderate buoyancy effects ($0\leq \mathit{Ri}\leq 0. 20$). Two different regimes have been identified in the vortex formation and the transition between them takes place at $\mathit{Ri}\approx 0. 03$. The vorticity distribution inside the vortex ring after pinching off from the trailing stem as well as the total amount of circulation it encloses (characterized by the formation number, $F$) show different behaviours with the Richardson number in the two regimes. The differences are associated with the different mechanisms by which the head vortex absorbs the circulation injected by the starting jet. While secondary vortices are engulfed by the leading vortex before separating from the trailing jet in the weak buoyancy effects regime ($0\lt \mathit{Ri}\lt 0. 03$), this phenomenon is not observed in the moderate buoyancy effects regime ($0. 03\lt \mathit{Ri}\lt 0. 2$). Moreover it is shown that the formation number of a negatively buoyant vortex ring can be determined by considering that its dynamics are similar to that of a neutrally buoyant vortex but propagating with velocity corresponding to the negatively buoyant one. Based on this simple idea, a phenomenological model is presented to describe quantitatively the evolution of the formation number with the Richardson number, $F(\mathit{Ri})$, obtained numerically. In addition, the limitations of different vortex identification methods used to evaluate the vortex properties in buoyant flows are discussed.


2000 ◽  
Vol 416 ◽  
pp. 173-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHAEL SHUSSER ◽  
MORTEZA GHARIB

Vortex ring formation in a starting axisymmetric buoyant plume is considered. A model describing the process is proposed and a physical explanation based on the Kelvin–Benjamin variational principle for steady vortex rings is provided. It is shown that Lundgren et al.'s (1992) time scale, the ratio of the velocity of a buoyant plume after it has travelled one diameter to its diameter, is equivalent to the time scale (formation time) proposed by Gharib et al. (1998) for uniform-density vortex rings generated with a piston/cylinder arrangement. It is also shown that, similarly to piston-generated vortex rings (Gharib et al. 1998), the buoyant vortex ring pinches off from the plume when the latter can no longer provide the energy required for steady vortex ring existence. The dimensionless time of the pinch-off (the formation number) can be reasonably well predicted by assuming that at pinch-of the vortex ring propagation velocity exceeds the plume velocity. The predictions of the model are compared with available experimental results.


2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (6) ◽  
pp. 53-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. E. Vasil’ev ◽  
Yu. G. Matvienko ◽  
A. V. Pankov ◽  
A. G. Kalinin

The results of using early damage diagnostics technique (developed in the Mechanical Engineering Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IMASH RAN) for detecting the latent damage of an aviation panel made of composite material upon bench tensile tests are presented. We have assessed the capabilities of the developed technique and software regarding damage detection at the early stage of panel loading in conditions of elastic strain of the material using brittle strain-sensitive coating and simultaneous crack detection in the coating with a high-speed video camera “Video-print” and acoustic emission system “A-Line 32D.” When revealing a subsurface defect (a notch of the middle stringer) of the aviation panel, the general concept of damage detection at the early stage of loading in conditions of elastic behavior of the material was also tested in the course of the experiment, as well as the software specially developed for cluster analysis and classification of detected location pulses along with the equipment and software for simultaneous recording of video data flows and arrays of acoustic emission (AE) data. Synchronous recording of video images and AE pulses ensured precise control of the cracking process in the brittle strain-sensitive coating (tensocoating)at all stages of the experiment, whereas the use of structural-phenomenological approach kept track of the main trends in damage accumulation at different structural levels and identify the sources of their origin when classifying recorded AE data arrays. The combined use of oxide tensocoatings and high-speed video recording synchronized with the AE control system, provide the possibility of definite determination of the subsurface defect, reveal the maximum principal strains in the area of crack formation, quantify them and identify the main sources of AE signals upon monitoring the state of the aviation panel under loading P = 90 kN, which is about 12% of the critical load.


Author(s):  
Mark Kimball

Abstract This article presents a novel tool designed to allow circuit node measurements in a radio frequency (RF) integrated circuit. The discussion covers RF circuit problems; provides details on the Radio Probe design, which achieves an input impedance of 50Kohms and an overall attenuation factor of 0 dB; and describes signal to noise issues in the output signal, along with their improvement techniques. This cost-effective solution incorporates features that make it well suited to the task of differential measurement of circuit nodes within an RF IC. The Radio Probe concept offers a number of advantages compared to active probes. It is a single frequency measurement tool, so it complements, rather than replaces, active probes.


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