Estimation of Turbulent Length Scales at a Turbocharger Inlet using Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry

Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry measurements are carried out at the inlet of a turbocharger compressor at four different shaft speeds from 80,000 rpm to 140,000 rpm and over the entire range of flow rates from choke to mild surge. This paper describes the procedure used in processing the PIV data leading to the estimates of turbulent length scales - integral, Taylor, and Kolmogorov, to enhance the fundamental understanding and characterization of the compressor inlet flow field. The analysis reveals that at most operating conditions the three different length scales have markedly different magnitudes, as expected, while they have somewhat similar qualitative distributions with respect to the duct radius. For example, at 80,000 rpm and at a flow rate of 15.7 g/s (mild surge), the longitudinal integral length scale is of the order of 15 mm, the Taylor scale is around 0.5 mm, and the Kolmogorov scale is about 10 microns. With the onset of flow reversal, the turbulent kinetic energy and turbulent intensity at the compressor inlet are observed to increase rapidly, while the magnitudes of the Kolmogorov scale and to a certain extent, the Taylor scale are found to decrease suggesting that the increased turbulence gives rise to even smaller flow structures. The variation of length scales with compressor shaft speed has also been studied.

Undulatory Swimming Performance Explored With a Biorobotic Fish and Measured by Soft Sensors and Particle Image Velocimetry

Due to the difficulty of manipulating muscle activation in live, freely swimming fish, a thorough examination of the body kinematics, propulsive performance, and muscle activity patterns in fish during undulatory swimming motion has not been conducted. We propose to use soft robotic model animals as experimental platforms to address biomechanics questions and acquire understanding into subcarangiform fish swimming behavior. We extend previous research on a bio-inspired soft robotic fish equipped with two pneumatic actuators and soft strain sensors to investigate swimming performance in undulation frequencies between 0.3 and 0.7 Hz and flow rates ranging from 0 to 20 cms in a recirculating flow tank. We demonstrate the potential of eutectic gallium–indium (eGaIn) sensors to measure the lateral deflection of a robotic fish in real time, a controller that is able to keep a constant undulatory amplitude in varying flow conditions, as well as using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to characterizing swimming performance across a range of flow speeds and give a qualitative measurement of thrust force exerted by the physical platform without the need of externally attached force sensors. A detailed wake structure was then analyzed with Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) to highlight different wave modes present in the robot’s swimming motion and provide insights into the efficiency of the robotic swimmer. In the future, we anticipate 3D-PIV with DMD serving as a global framework for comparing the performance of diverse bio-inspired swimming robots against a variety of swimming animals.

A influência de estruturas preexistentes na formação de riftes oblíquos: o uso da modelagem física e sua comparação com a fase Pré-sal da Bacia de Santos, Brasil

A evolução de riftes oblíquos é analisada neste artigo pela realização de modelos físicos, em escala. O intuito foi analisar a fase rifte da Bacia de Santos, examinando a influência da estrutura preexistente do embasamento. Para refinar as informações obtidas, empregou-se a tecnologia particle image velocimetry. Desenvolveram-se três experimentos em caixas de acrílico, com dimensões internas de 37 cm x 41 cm x 07 cm (largura x comprimento x altura), empregando-se areia e silicone para crosta rúptil e dúctil, respectivamente. A estrutura foi simulada por duas folhas de acetato, na base da caixa de experimentos, constituídas de quatro domínios estruturais. A abertura do rifte ortogonal a oblíqua em relação à estrutura preexistente foi efetuada por duas paredes móveis. Os resultados revelaram que a estruturação de riftes é influenciada tanto pela configuração da estrutura preexistente quanto pela direção da extensão. Os dois modelos cujos domínios estruturais formavam ângulos de obliquidade com a direção da extensão menores que 90º produziram falhas com dimensões curtas a intermediárias, grande número de rampas de revezamento e zonas de acomodação. Já o modelo com os domínios estruturais formando ângulos de obliquidade próximos a 90º gerou falhas contínuas, longas, quase retas e nenhuma zona de acomodação. Nesse modelo, as falhas revelaram a maior magnitude de deformação. Nos dois primeiros modelos, ainda se destacaram um alto estrutural entre duas sub-bacias dispostas en echelon e a mudança de direção das falhas quando estas passavam de um domínio a outro. A configuração definiu uma geometria em S muito parecida com aquela da porção centro-norte da Bacia de Santos.

Design of a High Uniformity Laser Sheet Optical System for Particle Image Velocimetry

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) is a non-contact, instantaneous and full-flow velocity measurement method based on cross-correlation analysis of particle image. It is widely used in fluid mechanics and aerodynamics. Laser sheet optical system is one of the key equipment of PIV, and it is an important guarantee to obtain high definition particle image. In the PIV measurement task of large low speed wind tunnel, in order to solve the problem of sheet light illumination uniformity of large size model and take into account the requirements of PIV technology on the thickness of the sheet light, a hybrid algorithm is used to design a high uniformity laser sheet optical system based on the theory of physical optics. The simulation results show that the size of the sheet light is 400 mm ×1 mm, the diffraction efficiency reaches 97.77%, and the non-uniformity is only 0.03%. It is helpful to acquire high-resolution images of particles in the full field of view. It also can be applied to a series of non-contact flow field measurement techniques such as plane laser induced fluorescence, filtered Rayleigh scattering and two-color plane laser induced fluorescence temperature measurement.

Feasibility of Optical Flow Field Measurements of the Coolant in a Grinding Machine

For industrial grinding processes, the workpiece cooling by metalworking fluids, which strongly influences the workpiece surface layer quality, is not yet fully understood. This leads to high efforts for the empirical determination of suitable cooling parameters, increasing the part manufacturing costs. To close the knowledge gap, a measurement method for the metalworking fluid flow field near the grinding wheel is desired. However, the varying curved surfaces of the liquid phase result in unpredictable light deflections and reflections, which impede optical flow measurements. In order to investigate the yet unknown optical measurement capabilities achievable under these conditions, shadowgraphy in combination with a pattern correlation technique and particle image velocimetry (PIV) are applied in a grinding machine. The results show that particle image velocimetry enables flow field measurements inside the laminar metalworking fluid jet, whereby the shadowgraph imaging velocimetry complements these measurements since it is in particular suitable for regions with spray-like flow regimes. As a conclusion, optical flow field measurements of the metalworking fluid flow in a running grinding machine are shown to be feasible.

Study on Aqueous Humour Hydrodynamics of Glaucoma Condition Using 3D Printed Model and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV)

This study aims to explore the knowledge on fluid flow properties of the aqueous humour (AH), specifically on the anterior segment (AS) of the human eye for a medical condition called Glaucoma. The research objectives are to study on fluid flow characteristics of velocity and pressure of the AH on the AS of the eye using enlarged 3D printed model and computational analysis, and also to analyse the suitability of the 3D generated anterior AS in fluid flow analysis application on particle image velocimetry (PIV). Using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a water-soluble 3D printing filament, a 3D model of the AS of the human eye was generated with SolidWorks 2018 and printed using Creality Ender 3. This printed model serves as the pattern for silicon rubber mould production using vacuum casting process. Analysis of AH flow hydrodynamics are conducted with computational analysis using ANSYS Workbench 19.2. Key findings support that use of PVA material suite the creation of specific shapes and patterns for 3D modelling applications alike, and silicon rubber moulding creates a non-reactive and long-lasting mould for PIV applications. Computational analysis findings support the use of the generated model for PIV applications. Overall, the study successfully supports the use of 3D printed model for PIV application and future work that can be induced include direct experimentation of the mould with PIV.