Modeling of Cube Array Roughness: RANS, LES, and DNS

Flow over arrays of cubes is an extensively studied model problem for rough wall turbulent boundary layers. While considerable research has been performed in computationally investigating these topologies using DNS and LES, the ability of sublayer-resolved RANS to predict the bulk flow phenomena of these systems is relatively unexplored, especially at low and high packing densities. Here, RANS simulations are conducted on six different packing densities of cubes in aligned and staggered configurations. The packing densities investigated span from what would classically be defined as isolated, up to those in the d-type roughness regime, filling in the gap in the present literature. Three different sublayer-resolved turbulence closure models were tested for each case; a low Reynolds number k-ε model, the Menter k-ω SST model, and a full Reynolds stress model. Comparisons of the velocity fields, secondary flow features, and drag coefficients are made between the RANS results and existing LES and DNS results. There is a significant degree of variability in the performance of the various RANS models across all comparison metrics. However, the Reynolds stress model demonstrated the best accuracy in terms of the mean velocity profile as well as drag partition across the range of packing densities.

Optical response of jammed rectangular nanostructures

Random jammed dipole scatterers are natural composite and common byproducts of various chemical synthesis techniques. They often form complex aggregates with nontrivial correlations that influence the effective dielectric description of the medium. In this work, we investigate the packing dynamic of rectangular nanostructure under a close packing protocol and study its influence on the optical response of the medium. We show that the maximum packing densities, maximum scattering densities, and percolation threshold densities are all interconnected concepts that can be understood through the lens of Onsager’s exclusion area principle. The emerging positional and orientational correlations between the rectangular dipoles are studied, and various geometrical connections are drawn. The effective dielectric constants of the generated ensembles are then computed through the strong contrast expansion method, leading to several unintuitive results such as scattering suppression at maximum packing densities, as well as densities below the percolation threshold, and maximum scattering in between.

Effect of Adding Stone Sludge as Sand Replacement on Fresh Properties of Mortar

Shortage of river sand and disposal of stone sludge are the problem of the construction and stone product industries, respectively. Utilization of stone sludge in mortar is one of the feasible strategies to solve these two problems. To study the effects of addition of stone sludge on the performance of mortar, 20 mixes of stone sludge powder mortar with various water/cement ratios and various stone sludge powder contents were produced for flowability measurement. To further study the governing mechanism of flowability and the packing densities of the solid proportions of the 20 mortar mixes were measured. Based on the packing density results, the average film thickness (AFT) of the 20 mortar mixes were calculated for flowability indication. Results proved that addition of stone sludge powder as sand replacement would decrease the flowability. The flowability was mainly governed by the AFT.

Drying Shrinkage and Cracking Tendency of Concrete Pavement Mixtures with Variable Packing Densities of Aggregates and Paste Contents

Excessive drying shrinkage, and associated cracking, can lead to serious durability problem in concrete pavements and bridges. In the course of this study, the magnitude of drying shrinkage and cracking potential was evaluated for several concrete pavement mixtures as a function of packing density of the aggregate and paste contents. The results indicated that both, the shrinkage and the cracking potential depend on the volume of voids between aggregate particles (packing density), paste content of concrete mixture, and the paste-aggregate void saturation ratio.

The scaling of genome size and cell size limits maximum rates of photosynthesis with implications for ecological strategies

A central challenge in plant ecology is to define the major axes of plant functional variation with direct consequences for fitness. Central to the three main components of plant fitness (growth, survival, and reproduction) is the rate of metabolic conversion of CO2 into carbon that can be allocated to various structures and functions. Here we (1) argue that a primary constraint on the maximum rate of photosynthesis per unit leaf area is the size and packing density of cells and (2) show that variation in genome size is a strong predictor of cell sizes, packing densities, and the maximum rate of photosynthesis across terrestrial vascular plants. Regardless of the genic content associated with variation in genome size, the simple biophysical constraints of encapsulating the genome define the lower limit of cell size and the upper limit of cell packing densities, as well as the range of possible cell sizes and densities. Genome size, therefore, acts as a first-order constraint on carbon gain and is predicted to define the upper limits of allocation to growth, reproduction, and defense. The strong effects of genome size on metabolism, therefore, have broad implications for plant biogeography and for other theories of plant ecology, and suggest that selection on metabolism may have a role in genome size evolution.

Ultra-smooth and space-filling mineral films generated via particle accretion processes

Well-tuned bioinspired mineralization via liquid mineral precursors yields ultra-smooth, space-filling bodies, transgressing the supremum of packing densities of nonclassical crystallization.

Effect of packing density on selected tissue biochemical parameters of hatchery produced fingerlings of orange spotted grouper Epinephelus coioides (Hamilton, 1822) during transportaion

<p>Effect of different packing densities on water quality parameters, survival and selected tissue biochemical parameters during transportation of hatchery produced fingerlings of orange spotted grouper <em>Epinephelus coioides</em> (Hamilton, 1822) was investigated. Fingerlings (weight 3.0±0.2 g and length 6.0±0.2 cm) were packed in sealed double layered oxygen packed polythene bags (water and oxygen ratio 1:3) at different packing densities of 20, 30, 40 and 50 no. l-1. The packed fishes were transported for 6 h. After transportation, water samples and tissue samples from fishes were collected for further analyses. Levels of tissue glucose and selected metabolic enzymes (lactate dehydrogenase, LDH; aspartate amino transferase, AST and alanine amino transferase, ALT) significantly (p&lt;0.05) increased with increased packing density. Water quality parameters <em>viz.,</em> pH, dissolved oxygen, CO2, alkalinity, total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) and nitrite nitrogen (NO2-N) were also significantly different at higher packing densities (p&lt;0.05). However, levels of all the tissue biochemical parameters tested were in tolerable range and no mortality of fingerlings was recorded at any of the packing densities. Though the tissue enzyme levels were significantly higher and water quality was significantly deteriorated at the highest packing density of 50 no. l-1, it did not lead to mortality of fish. Therefore, it is inferred that this density can be used for short distance transportation of fingerlings of orange spotted grouper.</p>