Error Analysis of Integrated Absorbance for TDLAS in a Nonuniform Flow Field

As an effective optical diagnosis method, tunable diode-laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) has increasingly moved to examine nonuniform flows, such as two-dimensional combustion diagnosis. To investigate the effect of nonuniformity along the line of sight in a measurement using TDLAS, the integrated absorbance (IA, the key intermediate quantity in TDLAS) error was quantified. The error distribution is obtained from the line-shape parameters through the comprehensive analysis of the line-shape function and the fitting method. The effects of the fitting function and the absorption line overlap are also considered. A general method for estimating the error is given. The work illustrates the applicability of TDLAS technology in nonuniform flow fields and provides input parameters for the evaluation of tunable diode laser absorption tomography error.

Methods for predicting the noise of transport vessels propellers

Object and purpose of research. The object of the research is the cavitation noise of transport vessels propellers. The purpose is to analyze and generalize modern research and methods for predicting broadband noise induced by the operation of the transport vessels cavitating propellers. Materials and methods. A review of the research materials (published in the XXI century) on the cavitation noise of transport vessels propellers, in particular broadband noise, as well as the author's own research on the causes and physical aspects of the occurrence of broadband noise is carried out. Based on the Fourier analysis of the time functions of velocities and pressures in the flow near the propeller, the conditions for the occurrence of broadband noise at (4–10)-blade harmonics and the parameters that relate this noise to various types of cavitation on the propeller are found. Main results. A review of recent studies results devoted to the cavitation noise of transport vessels propellers has shown that the levels of the so-called broadband noise that occurs when the cavitating propeller operates in nonuniform flow at high (4–10)-blade harmonics are used as the basis for modern noise predicting methods. At the same time, the authors of the methods consider broadband noise only as a result of the tip vortices development. The paper considers and generalizes an alternative hypothesis of the broadband noise occurrence caused by the occurrence and collapse of cavities within the blade with the formation of a double-headed peak on the time function of pressures. The analysis of publications on the development of the vortex wake behind the propeller and the modeling of pressures at the buckling failure of the tip vortex spirals allowed to show that double pressure peaks can be formed in the flow during the development of the vortex wake behind the propeller. This made it possible to combine both hypotheses of the broadband noise formation – from the development of the tip vortex and from the occurrence and collapse of cavities on the blades – and to link the assessment of the growth possibility of high blade harmonics with the cavitation parameters. Conclusions. It is shown that modern research methods have made it possible to obtain new data on the mechanism of the occurrence and collapse of cavitation both on the blade and in the tip vortex. At the same time, the currently used methods for predicting cavitation and, in particular, broadband noise are very approximate and require refinement to assess the effect of various cavitation characteristics on broadband noise. The hypotheses of broadband noise occurrence and the proposed physical model covering both vortex cavitation and the formation and collapse of cavities can serve as a basis for such clarification.

Dune-scale cross-strata across the fluvial-deltaic backwater regime: Preservation potential of an autogenic stratigraphic signature

Dune-scale cross-beds are a fundamental building block of fluvial-deltaic stratigraphy and have been recognized on Earth and other terrestrial planets. The architecture of these stratal elements reflects bed-form dynamics that are dependent on river hydrodynamic conditions, and previous work has documented a multitude of scaling relationships to describe the morphodynamic interactions between dunes and fluid flow. However, these relationships are predicated on normal flow conditions for river systems and thus may be unsuitable for application in fluvial-deltaic settings that are impacted by nonuniform flow. The ways in which dune dimensions vary systematically due to the influence of reach-averaged, nonuniform flow, and how such changes may be encoded in dune cross-strata, have not been investigated. Herein, we explored the influence of backwater flow on dune geometry in a large modern fluvial channel and its implications for interpretation of systematic variability in dune cross-strata in outcrop-scale stratigraphy. This was accomplished by analyzing high-resolution channel-bed topography data for the lowermost 410 km of the Mississippi River, which revealed that dune size increases to a maximum before decreasing toward the river outlet. This spatial variability coincides with enhanced channel-bed aggradation and decreasing dune celerity, which arise due to backwater hydrodynamics. An analytical model of bed-form stratification, identifying spatial variability of cross-set thickness, indicates a prominent downstream decrease over the backwater region. These findings can be used to inform studies of ancient fluvial-deltaic settings, by bolstering assessments of proximity to the marine terminus and associated spatially varying paleohydraulics.

Confinement of surface spinners in liquid metamaterials

We show that rotating particles at the liquid–gas interface can be efficiently manipulated using the surface-wave analogue of optical lattices. Two orthogonal standing waves generate surface flows of counter-rotating half-wavelength unit cells, the liquid interface metamaterial, whose geometry is controlled by the wave phase shift. Here we demonstrate that by placing active magnetic spinners inside such metamaterials, one makes a powerful tool which allows manipulation and self-assembly of spinners, turning them into vehicles capable of transporting matter and information between autonomous metamaterial unit cells. We discuss forces acting on a spinner carried by a nonuniform flow and show how the forces confine spinners to orbit inside the same-sign vortex cells of the wave-driven flow. Reversing the spin, we move the spinner into an adjacent cell. By changing the spinning frequency or the wave amplitude, one can precisely control the spinner orbit. Multiple spinners within a unit cell self-organize into stable patterns, e.g., triangles or squares, orbiting around the center of the cell. Spinners having different frequencies can also be confined, such that the higher-frequency spinner occupies the inner orbit and the lower-frequency one circles on the outer orbit, while the orbital motions of both spinners are synchronized.